NASCAR Notebook: Sprint Cup Champion

The Top 20 Drivers of 2009 Part 8

Posted by Tee Riddle at 2:00 AM Saturday, February 7, 2009

Here it is – the final installment for The Top 20 Drivers of 2009. I have enjoyed writing all these posts and speculating on who I think will do what in the upcoming season.

Some folks may be surprised by my pick, others may not considering how well he ran in 2008. He came very close to winning it all last season, just being nudged by Jimmie Johnson. But 2009 is his year. He will take home the biggest trophy in Sprint Cup racing. Who is it I am talking about? The 2009 Sprint Cup Champion will be ……..

#1 Carl Edwards

Carl Edwards was born August 15, 1979 in Columbia, Missouri. Edwards began racing in 1993, driving MiniCup Cars throughout the Midwest. One year later he won four feature races in the MMRA National Future Stars MiniCup Series. He tallied a combined total of 14 victories in the 1995 and 1996 seasons.

In 2001, Edwards ran seven Craftsman Truck Series races, posting 8th at Kansas for his best finish. He also ran one Busch Series race finishing 36th. It was enough to get noticed by Jack Roush, who hired Edwards to run the full season in the #99 Superchips Ford F-150 in 2003.He won three races and the Rookie of the Year Award that year.

In August 2004, Edwards moved into the #99 Ford Taurus for Roush Racing at Michigan International Speedway. He raced the full season starting in 2005.

Edwards had 36 starts, 1 pole, 9 wins, 19 Top 5s, 27 Top 10s, an average start of 12.0, an average finish of 10.0, and finished the 2008 season in second place with 6,615 points.

Carl Edwards is my pick to win the season championship in 2009. You should see Edwards have about as many victories in 2009 as he did in 2008. What will make the difference is down the stretch in the Chase for Edwards.

Of course Edwards will be back in the Roush Fenway Racing #99 Ford Fusion. The sponsor will be AFLAC in 2009 and Bob Osborne returns as the crew chief.

That concludes The Top 20 Drivers of 2009! I hope you enjoyed this series as much as I did.

There will be a special post covering the 51st Annual Daytona 500 next Thursday – be sure to visit NASCAR Notebook to check it out!

If you missed the previous posts for this series, you can click these links to view them.

The Top 20 Drivers of 2009 Part 1

The Top 20 Drivers of 2009 Part 2

The Top 20 Drivers of 2009 Part 3

The Top 20 Drivers of 2009 Part 4

The Top 20 Drivers of 2009 Part 5

The Top 20 Drivers of 2009 Part 6

The Top 20 Drivers of 2009 Part 7

The Top 20 Drivers of 2009 Part 7

Posted by Tee Riddle at 2:30 AM Friday, February 6, 2009

We are inching closer to the start of the 2009 Sprint Cup season and our number one driver for The Top 20 Drivers of 2009. Today brings us to who I think will finish second in the season championship points.

#2 Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Johnson was born September 17, 1975 in El Cajon, California. Johnson began racing motorcycles at the age of five. From there Johnson began competing on four-wheels, racing off-road in SODA, SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group. He accumulated over 25 wins, 100 top-three finishes, six championships and was honored Rookie of the Year in all three leagues.

In 1998, Johnson moved to the ASA circuit, picking up Rookie of the Year honors. He began racing in ASA and the Busch (Nationwide) Series in 1999, winning two ASA races and finishing third in points.

Johnson was hired by Hendrick Motorsports in 2001 on the recommendation of Jeff Gordon. Johnson’s first Sprint Cup race was the 2001 UAW-GM Quality 500 at Charlotte.

Johnson has gone on to be one of only two drivers to win three consecutive Sprint Cup Championships in 2006, 2007 and 2008 (Cale Yarborough was the other, winning in 1976, 1977 and 1978).

In 2008, Johnson had 36 starts, 6 poles, 7 wins, 15 Top 5s, 22 Top 10s, an average start of 9.0, an average finish of 11.0, and first place in the points with 6.684.

Johnson will return to Hendricks Motorsports in 2009, piloting the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet Impala with long-time crew chief Chad Knaus.

2009 will be another good year for Johnson. He will be competitive at nearly every event, and be a staple of contention throughout the season. It will go down to the wire for the championship as Johnson tries for his fourth consecutive championship. I predict he will hit a few bumps during the Chase and fall short in 2009.

Well, there is one more to go! Can you guess who my number one driver for 2009 will be?