Stock Car Spin’s Sprint Cup Champion Pick
Alright fans! The Chase is about to begin. And before it does, I’d like to, once again, congratulate those 12 drivers that made it in. It took a lot of hard work to come this far.
Unfortunately, though, only one driver will win it all. Many believe that Jimmie Johnson will win a record-breaking 4th consecutive title. I’m not one of them. Others believe this is the year that Mark Martin finally gets the title, or Jeff Gordon completes his Drive for Five, or even that Tony Stewart will win the title in his first year as an owner/driver.
That’s about as far as the picks go.
Personally, I don’t believe the champion will be any of those guys. Johnson’s had his time on top. Stewart is beginning to stumble. Martin’s been either really good, or really bad. And Gordon, well, I’m just not feeling it. But I’ve been wrong before.
I don’t believe that a Roush-Fenway car will win. That team just doesn’t seem to have it together. Kasey Kahne has been solid, but consistency, as always, will be the question. Same for Denny Hamlin, who has been great all season, but has a history of stumbling in the Chase. As for Kurt Busch, he went from being solidly in the Chase to nearly missing it. Same for Ryan Newman.
That leaves Juan Pablo Montoya and Brian Vickers. Yes, I said Montoya and Vickers. While both have been equally stout in their run to the Chase, Montoya is one run-in with Kahne away from wrecking out of championship contention. And seeing as the two race with each other a lot, that’s likely to become a reality.
So my pick to win the 2009 Sprint Cup championship is Brian Vickers. Yes, he only made the Chase by 8 points. Yes, the one race I singled out as being the one that helped him make the Chase was one he wrecked out of. Yes, I often like to pick on his teammate Scott Speed(how many laps did he run last week before crashing?). But Brian Vickers is not Scott Speed(thank goodness for small miracles), and I believe that he will win it all.
Here’s why. This team, not just Vickers, but the whole team, has shown that it can flat perform under pressure. They accumulated more points than anybody over the 8 races leading up to the Chase. They went from 17th to 12th in points during that time. They don’t mess up in the pits. Their driver can drive as well as Kyle Busch(only without taking risks), and everyone is performing well even on tracks where their record is poor.
Not to mention that these guys fixed a broken axle on pit road, without losing a lap, and finished 7th.
The schedule favors Vickers. Among the remaining races are Talladega(where Vickers got his first Cup win), Lowe’s(that place owes him at least one), and Auto Club(a sister track to Michigan, where he won). There are also 3 other intermediates, and 2 flat mile tracks, both of which Vickers seems to like.
The only two question marks for the team are Dover and Martinsville. But if Richmond was any indication, this team is ready to turn their question marks into exclamation points.
You may think I’m crazy for going with an unproven Chaser to win the title. But we’ll see who’s crazy when the trophy is being hoisted at Homestead. I bet it will be Vickers. Who do you think it will be?