Penske took a step in the right direction in 2009, Stewart/Haas proved they can play with the big boys and nobody expects Childress and Roush/Fenway to combine for a grand total of three wins again this season. Although each of those teams will take their best shots at the 24, 5 and 48, there is only one poised to end Hendrick Motorsports’ dominance, Joe Gibbs Racing.
Gibbs’ 1-2 punch of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin combined to win eight races in 2009, including Hamlin’s three victories in the final 11 races. Unfortunately, Denny tore his ACL playing basketball in the off-season and has elected to have surgery after the season. Nobody is really sure how this injury will affect his performance, but I’m not ready to remove him from the list of Championship contenders in 2010.
Hamlin’s teammate, Kyle Busch, also looks ready to take a shot at the crown this season. A previous “10 for 2010” article declared that Kyle Busch will win the most races in 2010, which alone will catapult him into contention for the title.
Hendrick Motorsports is going to be tough to beat this year, but the two horses in Joe Gibbs’ stable have everything it takes to hoist the Cup in November.
You hit the nail on the head. Kyle Busch is going to win 5-8 races this year. But can he turn those 30th place finishes into 12th place finishes. If he can, he’ll have a shot at the Cup.
I think you’re right with this one, PJ. It’ll be tough unseating Hendrick (i.e. Johnson) this year, but if any team can, it looks like Gibbs may have the best shot.
I think Hamlin showed about as much speed as anybody during the last half of last year and was doing so on every type of race track. Even with the injury I think that will carry over into this season. If he can avoid the mistakes he’s made and/or some bad luck during the Chase, he may be right there to capitalize if Johnson is somehow not on form.
I also think Kyle will have a big year and may have the best shot of anybody in unseating Jimmie. Has as much talent as anybody out there, and judging by his off season comments, might have finally realized that he doesn’t need to win every time he hits the track. I think this past season has made him realize that if you only have a 6th to 8th place car it’s probably better to take that than to try to go above what the car has in trying to go for the win. A smarter Kyle Busch probably means a more consistent Kyle Busch. And a consistent Kyle Busch is going to be tough to deal with for every other contender out there.