2016 Sprint Cup Series Early Superlatives
by Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service
Last Sunday’s Auto Club 400 officially completed the Sprint Cup Series’ west coast swing that was highlighted by races at Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Fontana. This week the Cup Series will receive their first break of the season for the Easter Holiday. In fact, all 3 of NASCAR’s touring series will be off this week in a rare weekend of absence from the track. However once we return to action in two weeks at Martinsville, we will have 11 straight weeks of racing before NASCAR’s next “off” week in the Sprint Cup Series. With 5 races in the books this season, we think this is a good time to hand out a few early progress reports for a few drivers and teams. Take a look as we provide our 2016 Sprint Cup Series early superlatives through the first 5 races of the season.
MVP – Jimmie Johnson
The end of Sunday’s Auto Club 400 was pretty ironic and iconic at the same time for Jimmie Johnson. NASCAR’s 6 time champion donned the cape of a Superman #48 paint scheme last Sunday and proved that he just may be the real Superman when it comes to the Sprint Cup Series. Not only did Sunday’s win move Johnson pass Dale Earnhardt on the all-time wins list but it was his 2nd victory in just 5 races this year. To possibly heighten the concern for the rest of the competition, NASCAR’s new downforce and aero package is here to stay. The racing has been spectacular and there is much more responsibility on the drivers raw ability behind the wheel. What you may not realize, is this package is similar in style to the lower downforce package the propelled the early part of Jimmie Johnson’s championship run from 2006-2010. It is not a coincidence that Johnson is off to a great start and it is likely not to fade anytime in the near future. Superman is back!
Honorable mention: Kyle Busch (4 top 5 finishes)
Rookie of the Year – Chase Elliot
The early Rookie of the Year without any doubt goes to Chase Elliot. Outside of running into a wreck at Las Vegas, Chase Elliot has been remarkable on the ovals this year in his first full season in the Cup Series. The rookie posted 8th place finishes at Atlanta and Phoenix while finishing a career best 6th last week in Fontana. The two poor finishes at Daytona and Las Vegas have the Rookie of the Year points battle in close proximity. However make no mistake about it, Elliot has far surpassed the rest of the rookies in performance and some of the veterans for that matter. It is quite remarkable how fast Elliot has adapted to the Sprint Cup Series cars and how he is performing so well at tracks where he has very little history. I expect this progress to only continue and Elliot to get better. For bold predictions, I expect the #24 to win a race this year and make the Chase.
Honorable mention: Ryan Blaney
Most Improved – Austin Dillon
In his 3rd year of competition in the Sprint Cup Series, Austin Dillon is starting to find his groove. In each of his first two seasons, Dillon posted just 1 top 5 finish and no more than 5 top 10 finishes in a single season. This year thus far Dillon has already posted 3 top 10 finishes through the first 5 races and a top 5 finish at Las Vegas. It’s not just Dillon that is doing a better job either. The entire #3 team has been putting fast cars on the track each week which is evident by their consistently strong practice and qualifying efforts. Dillon had a breakout season in the Xfinity Series last year with 4 victories and it is apparent that his overall confidence has made tremendous strides. It has also been openly apparent that Dillon is very hungry to duplicate that success in the Sprint Cup Series. If the #3 team continues to put fast cars on the track and can keep making gains, I expect the #3 car to find a way to victory lane before the year is over.
Honorable mention: Ricky Stenhouse Jr
2016 Sprint Cup Dark Horse – Carl Edwards
Last year was a breakout season for the Joe Gibbs Racing Team especially during the 2nd half of the season when they were winning nearly every week. Kyle Busch won the Sprint Cup Championship and led the team along with Matt Kenseth with 5 wins for the season. Denny Hamlin was impressive as well with 12 top 5 finishes and 2 victories. However, Carl Edwards did not experience the same level of success for the most part. Yes, he ended up with 2 victories but the Coca Cola 600 win was not a performance based victory but rather the product of a winning fuel strategy move. Edwards’s victory in the Southern 500 was impressive but he still did not quite have the overall season as some of the other JGR guys. This year things appear to be quite the opposite. Edwards has been just as fast if not faster than all the JGR cars. The #19 has already posted 3 top 5 finishes and was just inches short of his first win at Phoenix two weeks ago. I really like how this #19 team is going about their business every week and they are a team to watch for the long run this season.
Honorable mention: Denny Hamlin
Least Impressive – Clint Bowyer
Last year marked the worse season in Clint Bowyer’s career. He managed just two top 5 finishes along with 12 top 10 finishes. However, things have only gotten worse from the early looks of things. It does not seem like that long ago that Clint Bowyer was going after Jeff Gordon following a wreck that ended his championship hopes at Phoenix. However since that 2012 championship contending season, Bowyer has failed to score a single victory. So far this season, the #15 car has not even been close to competitive with just 1 finish inside the top 20. Bowyer has posted finishes of 33rd, 35th, 22nd, 31st, and 18th through the first 5 races which equals a 31st place standing in the points. There was hope going into 2016 that Bowyer and the #15 team could turn things around. However, they have shown no signs of that to be true.
Honorable mention: Kyle Larson and Kasey Kahne
