Jimmie Johnson isn't the only one giving thanks this holiday weekend for the NASCAR season that just ended. There's another group of drivers who will give pause before the holiday feast and be thankful it's finally over.
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| Hopefully, Junior can put a season of engine failures and personal turmoil behind him. (Getty Images) |
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: The biggest sigh of relief when the checkered flag flew in last Sunday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway came from inside the cockpit of the DEI Budweiser No. 8. After Junior's last ride in the car he'd driven his entire Cup career ended in a 36th-place finish after two separate accidents, he had to have a smile from ear to ear knowing the nightmare season was finally over. Saddled at times with inferior equipment that resulted in nine engine failures and just plain bad luck, Earnhardt Jr. can finally put aside the DEI chapter of his career and begin anew with powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports next season. "I guess I thought I would be sadder, but I am not. I still have all these guys as friends; that is even better than the working relationship. Now, I am ready to get to work."
2. Kasey Kahne: How could a driver who won six races in 2006 suddenly turn into an also ran on a weekly basis? Don't ask Kahne or team owner Ray Evernham, who doesn't know how to explain where the wheels came off the formerly potent No. 9 Dodge. "It wasn't just one thing," said Kahne, "it seemed like everything." The restructured Gillett-Evernham Motorsports Team, which will have Kahne, Elliott Sadler and newcomer Patrick Carpentier on board in 2008, needs to make some major adjustments after a year in which only Kahne cracked the top 20 in the point standings. With outside sponsorship coming to the Dodge team for the first time, including Budweiser and Best Buy, along with new co-owner George Gillett's deep pockets, GEM should have the resources to get back to the level it enjoyed only last season.
3. Michael Waltrip: You wouldn't wish the start of Waltrip's much-heralded Toyota Cup team ownership on your worst enemy. After embarrassing himself, the team and Toyota in a scandal at Daytona when Waltrip's car was found to be using an illegal fuel substance, the veteran driver suffered through one of the most miserable years in the sport's history, failing to qualify for more than half of the season's races. With teammate Dale Jarrett also floundering, the only bright spot was unsung rookie David Reutimann, who was able to carry the Camry colors impressively. Jarrett opted for retirement rather than spending another year like 2007, leaving Waltrip, Reutimann and either development drivers Michael McDowell or Josh Wise to try to right the MWR ship next season.
4. Kevin Harvick: It's hard to believe a season that includes a Daytona 500 win and an All-Star race victory could be considered a disappointment, but Harvick's was a bust after May. The No. 29 team never seemed to be a factor in the summer months, and although he made the Chase, Harvick wasn't heard from throughout the 10-race playoff run. His Craftsman Truck Series team won a championship with Ron Hornaday Jr., but Harvick has to hope he can shake the big-race-only syndrome he seems to have acquired and become more of a consistent force in 2008.
5. Joe Nemechek, Sterling Marlin, Johnny Sauter, David Stremme, David Green and Tony Raines: These six drivers all found themselves on the Cup Series unemployment line when their teams decided to bring in fresh blood. Nemechek and Marlin were the victims of the Ginn Racing-DEI merger and, after suing former owner Bobby Ginn for their salaries, found part-time rides with much lesser teams. Sauter and Green were bounced from Haas-CNC Racing in favor of veterans Scott Riggs and Jeremy Mayfield, and neither has anything lined up for the new year. Stremme was the victim of team owner Chip Ganassi's fascination with open-wheel racers and replaced by last year's Indy 500 winner, Dario Franchitti, who joins Juan Pablo Montoya on the CGR team. And Raines was bounced by Hall of Fame Racing, which brought in J.J. Yeley to wheel the team's No. 96 entry in 2008, leaving Raines to read the help wanted ads this winter.
