Five Stories to Watch in 2010
RacingOne.com
The start of the 2010 NASCAR season is only days away and as we head to Daytona for the start of Speedweeks here are the five biggest stories to watch this year:
JUNIOR'S PIVOTAL YEAR
There is only one way to say this and here it is - this will be Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s most important season in the Sprint Cup Series since his rookie campaign in 2000.
As Junior enters into his third year at Hendrick Motorsports the pressure to succeed has never been higher. Since getting out of the gate fast in his first season with Hendrick in 2008, Earnhardt has endured nothing but disappointment and ended last year 25th in the standings with only a pair of top fives to show for his effort.
Hendrick has made it clear the off-season focus was to get the 88 team back on track and after bringing back crew chief Lance McGrew, he aligned the squad with Mark Martin's No. group in hopes of sharing information, resources and results.
Earnhardt realizes what's on the line as the opening bell for 2010 nears.
“You don’t know how [changes] will relate to performance so you’re sitting here with a bunch of anxiety wondering what it’s going to do when it gets on the race track,” Earnhardt said. “Are we going to be better?
“Because none of us want to go through another year like we had last year.”
The prediction here is that this will be a pleasant turn of events for Earnhardt and Junior Nation and the 88 will make a turnaround.
However should that not come to fruition and more struggles are in store the Earnhardt-Hendrick marriage could have a bitter ending after only three years.
JOHNSON'S DRIVE FOR FIVE
Jimmie Johnson comes into the season again as the favorite to win the Sprint Cup title which would add to his record string of consecutive championships.
While there are certainly capable candidates to knock JJ from his perch, off season talk and confidence will have to be replaced by on track performance in order to do so.
What effect would Johnson winning a record fifth straight crown have on the series? His excellence didn't exactly ignite the sport's interest level either within die-hard NASCAR fandom or to general interest sports fans.
Dynasties don't come along very often in any sport and NASCAR currently has one of the best in its 60-plus year history. Watching the 48 team try to extend the mark while sizing up the contenders looking to steal the crown should make for a fascinating story.
NEW YEAR, NEW NASCAR
NASCAR's new policy of relaxing rules and letting drivers settle things between themselves has already been met with a resounding cheer from those drivers, team owners and maybe more importantly fans.
Lifting the heavy hand will at least give the perception the sanctioning body is trying to back away from over regulation which may be enough to win back some disgruntled fans who feel the sport has lost some of its spice and personality.
If drivers' emotions are more visible that will help bring back the valuable commodity of personality. And the decision to ditch the Sprint Cup car's rear wing for a more traditional spoiler will at least give fans back the "stock car" look that was lost when the COT came into play in 2007. If that also increases the competition and makes the racing better, it's a giant win for the sport.
ATTENDANCE AND TELEVISION RATINGS
The dip in ticket sales and television audience over the past two seasons has been well-documented. NASCAR, track operators and television partners have taken steps in hopes of reversing that trend in 2010.
Several tracks have slashed ticket prices, put together attractive packages and created as much added value experiences as possible in hopes of luring back those fans who have had a hard time finding their way to the track of late.
The shift of start times to a more formatted green flag may be the most positive move for fans since the double file restart rule went into play last season. The bulk of the races will start at 1:15 p.m. ET and give fans the traditional timetable NASCAR had for so many years until television experimented with later green flags.
While that may initially cause another ripple in the ratings, television executives are hopeful things will even out as fans become more accustomed to the new start times and the numbers will go up.
Of course a better product in terms of tight racing, more emotion from the drivers and overall increased competition would be the best cure for the sagging interest.
DANICA ARRIVES
Love her or hate her Danica Patrick's move into NASCAR racing will generate tremendous interest in the sport. Whether or not she ultimately succeeds isn't the issue right now - the whole world will be watching this season when Patrick straps into a stock car.
The Daytona ARCA opener will be the most-watched race in that venerable series' long history. If Patrick decides to follow that up with her Nationwide debut the following week, ESPN's television ratings will go through the roof.
In fact every ESPN Nationwide telecast with Patrick in the field will no doubt have higher ratings. And track promoters are already reporting higher ticket sales for events with Patrick on hand.
Even the struggling Indy Car Series will benefit from the experiment as Patrick will no doubt bring some curious fans with her when she jumps back and forth from stock cars to the open wheel world.