Will Smoke Rise in 2012?
Last year, Tony Stewart came from being a driver just happy to make it into the Chase to one of the most dominating drivers in Chase history.
Stewart won half of the races in the Chase, coming from deep in the point standings to overtake Carl Edwards in the final race at Homestead Speedway.
I am guessing that most of you already know the storyline of Stewart’s remarkable 2011 campaign.
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The question is: Can Tony Stewart win back-to-back NASCAR Sprint Cup Championships?
Jimmie Johnson made winning the NASCAR championship look effortless. Johnson winning the championship became a given instead of a question at the beginning of the last five seasons. Fans forgot how difficult it is for a driver to win one championship, much less win back-to-back championships.
I think Stewart can win his fourth NASCAR championship in 2012, but I do not expect it to happen.
The reason why I do not think Stewart will win is solely based upon the competition in the Sprint Cup Series.
I am one of the biggest Tony Stewart fans alive, but as much as I want Stewart to win his fourth championship, I have a hard time believing that anything is going to stop Carl Edwards from taking the title in 2012. Edwards barely missed out on the championship last year, and the loss will motivate him more than ever this season.
Roush-Fenway Racing is reducing the number of teams in their garage from four to three. I think a smaller Roush-Fenway Racing team will help Edwards. The organization can focus more on Edwards’ car and not have to worry about dealing with the three other teams.
If Edwards slips up in 2012, there is always “Five-Time” to worry about.
As much as Edwards will be motivated by losing the championship on a tie-breaker, Jimmie Johnson will be motivated by having his title reign taken away.
Johnson has been the class of NASCAR for five years. I do not see him slipping into mediocrity anytime soon. Johnson will once again be a factor in the championship race of 2012, making Stewart’s defense of the championship even more difficult.
Instead of sitting celebrating his championship at the end of the season, Stewart immediately went to work to improve his team for the 2012 season. In order to win back-to-back championships, teams must always try to stay ahead of their competition. That is what Stewart did this offseason.
Stewart let his crew chief, Darian Grubb, go (Grubb was hired by Joe Gibbs Racing to be Denny Hamlin’s crew chief) and hired Steve Addington (former crew chief of Kurt Busch) away from Penske Racing. Stewart worked with Addington at Joe Gibbs Racing while Addington was the crew chief for the No. 18 car.
Stewart did not stop with Addington when trying to assemble his all-star team from his glory days at Joe Gibbs Racing. Stewart hired his former crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, to be the competition director at Stewart-Haas Racing. Zipadelli will also be the crew chief for Stewart’s third racing team in 2012—the No. 10 Go Daddy car driven by Danica Patrick.
I think the changes at Stewart-Haas racing will be good for the organization, but I do not think the changes will be enough for him to win back-to-back championships.
Stewart will battle for the title in 2012, losing out in the last race of the season to Jimmie Johnson and the 2012 champion, Carl Edwards.
You know what they say about payback…
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