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Burning Questions Several multi-car teams continue to struggle
By Stephen Thomas, CNNSI.com On paper, it seems like a great idea. Multiple cars multiplied by multiple data equals multiple victories. But NASCAR doesn't race on paper. After four races, some multiple-car teams are finding the road to Victory Lane a bit bumpy. Other teams -- Dale Earnhardt Inc. (two wins), Hendrick Motorsports (one win) and Richard Childress Racing (one) -- seem to have it licked. As stock car racing prepares for a weekend in Darlington, S.C., here are three teams facing the same question: 1. What the hell's wrong with Roush Racing? Answer: Before the 2001 season began, both Mark Martin and Jeff Burton were seen as legitimate threats to win the Winston Cup title. And, on the face of it, each seemed a reasonable pick. Burton, the winner of 15 races in the previous four years, including four in 2000, had finished a career-best third in points. And Martin? True, he did have his worst Cup finish in 11 years, crossing the line a well-beaten eighth, but, come off it ... Mark Martin? Surely, such a consistent winner would bounce back in 2001.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we, the prosecution, would submit to you the following evidence, evidence that we feel certain will finally and forevermore firmly establish the fact that any and all previews, predictions and otherwise entirely speculative articles are, fundamentally and essentially, gar-bage: Currently, Jeff Burton is 38th in the standings. His high-water mark so far was the 19th he nailed at Daytona. In the three races since, Burton has bagged a 37th, 39th and a 30th. And Mr. Martin? Heck, he's all the way up there in 25th, the beneficiary of such stellar results as 33rd, 20th and 41st. Take away the sixth he managed in Las Vegas a week ago and the man is swimming with the fishes. So ... what's wrong with Roush Racing? We are talking about one of NASCAR's best-funded outfits, one mentioned in the same breath with Hendrick and Yates and Gibbs (we'll get to them) and Penske (them, too), a team that has grown accustomed to blowing raspberries at the rest of the suckers who continue to show up on Sundays. Jack Roush? The man has finished second or third in owner's points in three of the last five years. So gilded is the name that it was widely believed that Kurt Busch, a 22-year-old kid whom you last saw delivering your Sunday paper, was an automatic contender for the rookie of the year award. And Busch has he's done all right for himself, with an 11th and a 10th in the last two races (third in rookie points, 27th overall). Good enough, in fact, to conjure up bizarre images of a sheepish Burton and a frustrated Martin surrounding their protege in the garage after he's qualified: So, Kurt, buddy ... what can you tell us? But, really, is this what Roush Racing had in mind? 2. What the hell's wrong with Joe Gibbs Racing? Answer: Another of NASCAR's gilded lilies, another of its big-money, high profile teams, Joe Gibbs Racing fairly owned the sport in 2000 and thoroughly dominated the owner's points. Bobby Labonte, with his four wins and a (some would say) somnambulistic consistency that netted him his first Winston Cup title, complemented the, um, prickly Tony Stewart and his series-leading six wins (and a sixth in points). If any team was a solid pick for two drivers finishing in the top five, it was Gibbs. But thus far in 2001, with the exception of an exciting second-place finish at Rockingham, Labonte has been consistently bad, with an average finish of 34th in the other three races. He is currently 26th in points, about 250 points behind the leader, Jeff Gordon. Now, last we heard, NASCAR makes it damn near impossible to win the championship if you're not within three points of the leader with 14 races to go. True, there are still 32 to go, but you might say Labonte has his work cut out for him. And Stewart? Fine, we'll acknowledge that he's totally dominating the drivers discussed, standing an impressive 14th in points, but let's be honest: Most people expected better than an average finish of about 20th. 3. What the hell's wrong with Penske Racing South? Answer: Rusty Wallace led more laps than any Winston Cup driver in 2000, won four races, took nine poles and finished a solid seventh in points. Jeremy Mayfield did have 11 DNFs, but so too did he have two wins and four other top 10s. But in 2001 ... oh, never mind. You get the idea.
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