Most bubble drivers perform at Martinsville

April 2, 2007

By Chuck Abrams

Chuck Abrams

Last week I wrote about the bubble drivers, those below the top 35 in owner points, and how some should fear for their jobs. Chief among those was Jamie McMurray who has just two wins in over 190 Sprint Cup starts. McMurray was below the top 35 going in and had not run well as of late. But believe it or not, Martinsville could not have come at a better time for him. Of all the tracks, Martinsville is one where McMurray does run well on.

Go figure.

McMurray qualified fifth and finished eighth. Not bad for a guy driving for his job. Now he is in the top 35 but Texas is coming up and that is not one of his better tracks. And then there is Phoenix where he does even worse. So it is possible that McMurray could wind up outside the top 35 once again after Talladega and all his hard work this past week will be for naught.

Casey Mears was on the bubble and gave a top 10 performance as well. Mears has been a huge disappointment so far this year. While Hendrick Motorsports as a whole has been a bit off of their game, but Mears has definitely been at the bottom of the organization. Since he took over Kyle Busch’s team in the No. 5 car, you would have thought we would have seen some improvement. But the season is still young and perhaps they need more time for the chemistry to gel. If we get to the halfway mark and there is no significant improvement, I would not be surprised to see some changes made in that team.

Regan Smith had a top 15 run for DEI and kept out of trouble for the most part. He needs a few more runs like that to send his stock higher.

Dario Franchitti had a respectable top 25 for his first run at the giant paperclip, but it is not enough to get him out of the basement. He will need to improve on that and get some help from a couple other teams.

Poor Kyle Petty – he did not make the race and his team will have to race their way in on speed, for at least the next two weeks. Petty has struggled on speed and Texas is one fast track. His average there is a 26th place finish and that will not do anything to get him into the top 35. Chad McCumbee will be driving for Petty at Texas in an attempt to re-evaluate the team. He will have to perform.

Sam Hornish struggled this week and has squandered the season opening owner points he got from Kurt Busch. He is now on the bubble and will have to qualify on speed. While Texas should be a familiar track, he has not run it in a stock car. Hornish finished 41st at Las Vegas. Hmmm…..

Well that’s it for the bubble drivers this week. Let me know your thoughts and if I missed your favorite driver.

Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.

Feel free to send Chuck your thoughts on this and other race topics at Insider Racing News.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

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