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Championships are not won in the month of April in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as teams on a tear at the start of the season may be on a cold streak when the season comes to an end in late November.
Still, with six races completed in the 2009 edition of the championship chase, a look at the top 12 drivers in the standings shows the usual suspects who are consistent threats for the title, and some who have surprised fans and critics alike.
Of the drivers who comprised Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2008, 10 of those lead footers are making their case in the young season. However, there are two surprises who have been nothing short of impressive so far this year.
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge fielded by longtime racing icon Roger Penske, has a terrific season going on with an exciting win at Atlanta, Georgia in a green-white-checkered flag finish.
With two top-five finishes and three top-ten results, it may just be the year where this big brother shows his younger sibling, Kyle, that he’s not the only member of the family with the phenomenal skills on the track. The former champ looks to recapture the magic of his magical title season in 2004.
And then there’s Michael Waltrip Racing mainstay driver David Reutimann, who has piloted his No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota to a steady 11th place running in the championship hunt.
Once driving for an organization that looked to be in complete disarray, controversy and uncertainty, the 39-year-old Floridian has shown the potency and potential that this two-year old team has in the NASCAR circuit. Reutimann has tallied an amazing fourth-place position in the March 1 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Busch and Reutimann look to retain their Chase seats heading into Texas Motor Speedway for the 12th running of the Samsung 500.
A race that has traditionally won by Roush-Fenway Racing, TMS has produced some memorable moments in its lifespan, including its maiden voyage into the Cup ranks.
NASCAR fans who followed the Sprint Cup Series back in the late 1990s may remember the inaugural Interstate Batteries 500 held on April 6, 1997. Prior to the race, the track’s narrow lanes were one of the storylines heading into the weekend.
Those close racing lines may have contributed to the wreckfest that would ensure on an otherwise picturesque Fort Worth, Texas afternoon, including the lap one pileup that eliminated or damaged 13 cars. Driving aces like Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip were amongst those involved in that unforgettable incident in turn one.
It was also that very same that saw Ernie Irvan crashing hard into Greg Sacks’ ailing No. 20 Hardee’s Ford in the dogleg portion of the track, an accident which took out second-place runner Jeff Gordon out of contention and into the garage area for a stock car’s version of Ambush Makeover.
Just when it appeared as if the carnage was over, the 500-mile race produced a late race accident that took away Todd Bodine’s potential upset, first career victory in the Cup series into a mangled bunch of sheet metal.
Substituting for an injured Ricky Craven, who wrecked hard in a pre-qualifying practice session in the No. 25 Budweiser Chevrolet, Bodine had performed admirably all race long. With the increase in attrition, the Chemung, New Yorker found himself suddenly in the lead in the waning moments of the race.
Bodine’s storybook race would end in a nightmare, when Jeff Burton made slight contact with the Hendrick Motorsports car off corner number two. That would result in a Bud Chevy that went from winning material to the loser’s lounge.
With contenders by the way side and the household names out of his way, Jeff Burton in the No. 99 Exide Batteries Ford Thunderbird would clinch his first career points-paying race as a member of the Roush Racing outlet. This would begin the stranglehold that Roush has held on the 1.5 mile facility following the April ’97 race.
Improvements have been made to the track, where the transitions from the corners to the straights have been smoothened out. Thanks to the aging asphalt, the racing lanes have matured into their own, with the high line being an option for those fighting an ill-handling car.
The storylines are plentiful and the choice for the surefire winner on Sunday seems unimaginable at this time. But if you’re looking for an early favorite, Roush-Fenway Racing is a safe bet in terms of defending “their turf” in the winner’s circle.
However, upsets are not uncommon in NASCAR, and with the way this season has shaped up so far, Texas Motor Speedway may produce a new icon or be the scene of a veteran ending a winless streak.
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