Mike's 2011 NASCAR Cup Preview, Part 2 of 3

Continuing on with Mike's 2011 Cup Preview, Part #2 showcases the drivers who are JUST good enough to be mediocre, and almost get their names in the papers.

Without further adieu:

The Dick Trickle Rising Stars:
These drivers are on the cusp of something good, be it wins, top 5’s, top 10’s, or hilarious nicknames. One of these drivers might crack the top 14 in points, but for now they’re looking up at the top.

24) A.J. Allmendinger, #43 Best Buy Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports. I still say it should go back to Petty Enterprises, but who am I? I think less is more for RPM now, cut the dead weight of the two other teams and concentrate on ‘Dinger and Ambrose and it should pay off. Problem is they should have done this years ago, so they’ve got some ground to make up, which leads us to…

23) Marcos Ambrose, #9 Stanley Tools Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports. A more established team, back with Ford, all good signs for the Aussie here. Again, for him and ‘Dinger, I have to separate what I want to see with what we will see. And I see consistent finishes from them, it’ll just be in the 20’s though. But that is what you do, get the 20’s, then get the 15’s, then get the 10’s, and so on. End result just keep flip flopping these two, it doesn’t matter.

22) Brad Keselowski, #2 Miller Lite Dodge for Penske Racing. Keselowski, fresh off his Nationwide title, moves to the famed Blue Deuce looking to improve on his rookie, er, first season. If he can avoid Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and pretty much anyone else looking to cause bodily harm to him, he should have a solid campaign. He’ll continue to learn and get better, but Miller is going to be losing the beer battle for now.

21) David Reutimann, #00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. David made papa Buzzie proud with his dominating win at Chicagoland last year and me proud for taking Kyle Busch out during the chase. I don’t expect a win out of him this year…or ever again, but he’ll have some good runs here and there. He just unfortunately got a cup ride 20 years too late for his full talents to be shown (or taken to South Beach).

20) Joey Logano, #20 The Home Depot Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. I don’t like Sliced Bread, nor does Greg (he calls him “Moldy Bread”), but there’s no denying that with the equipment Gibbs is giving their drivers he’ll have some solid runs. The kind you get after going to Chipotle, and given his age we’ll be hearing about him for a long, long time. I mean come on, unless you’re named J.J. Yeley, you’ll do good in Gibbs equipment, heck Mike Bliss won a Busch race in some.

19) Juan Pablo Montoya, #42 Target Chevrolet for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing. I wanted to put him down for a win, since he’ll be up there at the road courses, but I just don’t see it. If he could keep his head on straight and not lose his temper, he’d be more a threat. How did he ever drive Indy Cars or F1 like that? Although if he does win he should be required to salsa dance around victory lane. At least he has one of the hottest chicks in the garage area. That’s a bonus.

18) Martin Truex, Jr, #56 NAPA Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. It’s very hard to ride around the track in the shadow of Michael Waltrip, all those 25th places finishes he racked up is a daunting task. But no one has done it with more dignity and gung ho spirit than Truex. Oddly, with that said I’m banking on him not doing that and actually running up front, well enough to get 18th. It’s about time NAPA gets rewarded for being such a loyal sponsor, and Truex deserves a good year. Na-Na-Na-Napa Know How!

17) Jeff Burton, #31 Caterpillar Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. I wanted to put Burton higher, but someone has to get the short straw at RCR and it was him. Paul Menard does not count. I think Bowyer and Harvick will have better seasons, and that will leave Burton with some good runs but nothing consistant.

16) Jamie McMurray, #1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing. Where did he come from last year? Three wins for a team that was DOA for most of the last three years. He showed consistency at the end and I think that’ll spill over to 2011, I just don’t think it’ll last. My theory is they’ll start running out of luck about mid season then come back but it’ll be too late.

15) Mark Martin, #5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. The swan song for Martin the #5 car before Kasey Kahne comes over, I foresee him getting1 win this year. Because in the end you can never count out Mark Martin. The guy is like 55 and still a machine, he should work well with Lance McGrew, which will further point out that Dale Junior is just the weak link the all equations. I think he’ll just miss the chase based on two other drivers winning more than him, but it’ll be close.

That does it for part #2. Stay tuned for tomorrows installment, How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Or, the finale of our series, showcasing the Chase drivers and the top 2 to miss.

*NOTE* Greg had actually added notes for most if not all of these entries, but Blogspot decided to fudge up right when he hit save, and all those notes were lost. How awesome is that? Grrrrr!