1. The 43 car will be back in victory lane

2. Danica will get into an altercation

3. Kurt Busch will be fired

4. Brian Vickers will go full time in the 55 next season

5. Joey Logano will make the chase

6. Jeff Gordon will disappoint

7. MWR won’t be quite as strong

8. Less start and parks than in recent years

9. Smoke captures the 500 crown

10. Denny ends the year third in points

11. Carl comes second again

12. Much to my surprise and yours, Dale Jr. wins the cup

I saw ESPN was trying to decide who the greatest athlete of all time is, and was curious what you guys would say?  Of importance here, we may disagree on what an “athlete” is.  We also may disagree on how exactly to measure up greatness, but I will be doing it by how dominant somebody was at their sport. Anyhow here’s my top 10, tell me yours and why you disagree with mine.

10. Tom Brady

9. Pele

8. Tony Hawk

7. Tiger Woods

6. Willie Mays

5.Jimmie Johnson

4. Muhammad Ali

3.Michael Phelps

2. Wayne Gretzky

1. Michael Jordan

#16days #nascar #daytona #carledwards #danica #kaseykahne #trevorbayne

This is a big season for NASCAR, with a new car and a talented group of young drivers, but NASCAR would prefer to see certain drivers win more than others.

1. Danica- Say what you want about Jr. , a Danica win would be bigger because of the gender.  Imagine if she had to wreck boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse to do it, it would be national news.   Best Shot:  Super speedways, Road Courses

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.- Like NASCAR or not, you know Jr.  If he competes for a title people will watch, but he has to win at a higher rate than he does now to keep fans engaged.  Best Shot: Super Speedways, Michigan, Richmond

3. Brad Keselowski- He’s now NASCAR’s most engaging driver, and fans know him after his cup championship.  Best Shot: Bristol, Kentucky, Kansas

4. Aric Almirola-  He’s young, would be a first time winner, of hispanic descent, and drives the famous 43.  It’s also not as big of a long shot as you probably think it is.  Best Shot: 1.5 mile and 2 mile tracks.

5. Jeff Gordon/ Clint Bowyer: Door to door against each other would be best, pick a side, but really either guy winning would be good for the sport.  Best Shot: Martinsville, Talladega, Dover

6. Trevor Bayne: He’s one of the most likeable people in the sport, a win for him would be huge.  Best Shot: Any Nationwide race

7. Ricky Stenhouse- He’s Danica’s boyfriend, and the sport needs new winners.  Best Shot: Michigan, Atlanta, Auto Club

8. Busch Brothers: It’s good to see people fans hate win on occasion.  Best Shot: Anywhere

9. Nationwides Next Generation: The Dillon brothers, Kyle Larson, James Buescher, Darrell Wallace Jr., Ryan Blaney, Travis Pastrana.  The future of the sport is really bright, and this is the cream of the crop, Wallace and Pastrana would be the biggest for obvious reasons though.

10. Somebody from Tommy Baldwin Racing, Front Row Motorsports, BK Racing,Swan Racing, FAS Lane Racing, Phoenix Racing.  Admit it, sometimes it’s cool to see the little guy win.  These teams are planning to drive the full race each time and hopefully are rewarded for that.  Best Shot: Talladega, Daytona, fuel mileage race 

I am a believer in Keselowski, I believe he will be a champion and believe he is a good champ for the sport.  But this championship is about another man, a man by the name of Roger Penske.  Remember Roush, Gibbs, Childress and Hendrick have all won a championship already at NASCAR’s highest level.  I admire Penske, he is a self made billionaire who knows more about cars than just about anyone.  But through all that, Penske has done things the right way and he expects his teams to.  His teams do not push the limits like the 48 team and while that may not be smart it is certainly admirable.  Penske deserves a championship for taking a risk on Keselowski and for the strides his team’s have made.  He sticks with guys who struggle to begin with like Keselowski and Hornish, and now it is time for him to be rewarded.  

I think it’s fair to say this, my next mattress won’t be coming from Furniture Row.  The race team that decided it would rather have Busch than Smith.  Busch may be more talented, though I think that would be unfair to say because Smith has never drove for Penske or Roush in his career.  But why did the company want to get ride of Smith so badly?  His team is having an awful season but to blame that all on Smith seems a bit ridiculous.  He out drove Carl Edwards last year at Darlington to get a win for the small organization and has for the most part stayed out of trouble.  Then there’s Busch, who hasn’t done a whole lot for James Finch other than tear up race cars.  Why on earth would a team want somebody who screams so much and refuses to listen to anyone, to drive a car for them?  I really have no clue, but either way I have lost a whole lot of respect for Furniture Row.  

The top 54 athletes currently.  This is my opinion, I would love to hear yours.  This is list 54-40. 

Tomorrow is racing at Martinsville, beating and banging at its best!  And then the ACM awards, where Eric Church, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Chris Young, The Band Perry, Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney and more are performing.  In other words, it is basically Christmas!!!

Take a look at my reasons and then tell me why I’m right or why I’m wrong

Owners:
1. Rick Hendrick- This is a guarantee, his cup championships with Labonte, Gordon, and Johnson pretty much make him a lock.

2. Richard Childress- His success with Dale Sr. puts him among the best

3. Jack Roush/ Joe Gibbs- To me they are almost equal, both have cup championships and have produced boat loads of talent.

Crew Chiefs:
1. Chad Knaus- Nobody pushes the limits more and ultimately nobody has more current championships.  

2. Greg Zippadeli- He hasn’t had success recently but his success with Smoke makes him a pretty safe bet.

Drivers:
1. Jimmie Johnson- He accomplished something nobody has ever done before, that is enough plus he has over 50 victories.

2. Jeff Gordon- He’s still a 4-time champ and one of the sports great ambassadors.

3. Tony Stewart- He has 3 championships and one as an owner, few people drive a car like Smoke.

4. Matt Kenseth- He’s a rookie of the year, Coke 600, 2 time Daytona 500, and Sprint Cup champ, that should be all that is needed.

5. Dale Jr.- Not off of driving alone but his impact on the sport is huge.  He kept the sport going after the death of his father and deserves some credit.

Something left to prove:

Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch,Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Steve Addington, Chip Ganassi, Roger Penske, Danica Patrick