Carl Edwards & 10 NASCAR Drivers Who Have Disappointed so Far This Season

After an action-packed first six weeks of the NASCAR season, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will take a week off for the Easter holiday. The break in the schedule could not have come soon enough for some of the biggest names in the sport.

One driver who needs a break to refocus on the 2012 season is Carl Edwards.

Edwards is still suffering a hangover from the disappointing second-place finish in 2011. Last season, Edwards finished with 26 top-10 finishes in 36 races. Although he only won one race, Edwards finished in the top five 19 times and led 903 laps.

Edwards is No. 11 in the 2012 point standings. There are many drivers who would gladly change places with Edwards, but the No. 99 team has higher expectations. The team expects to be inside the top 10 and competing for wins each week. That has not been the case for Edwards in 2012.

Edwards did finish the races at Las Vegas and Fontana in the No. 5 position. He has proven that he is still competitive on the intermediate tracks. The other tracks have been a disappointment for him.

Edwards used to be known as “Concrete Carl” because of his dominance on concrete racetracks. This year at Bristol, Edwards finished the race No. 39. That was his worst performance in two years (finished No. 39 at Atlanta in 2010).

Edwards is too talented of a driver and Roush Fenway Racing is too good of a team to keep down for too long. After the Easter break, Edwards will be one of the teams that shows the most improvement.

Here is a list of nine other drivers who will be happy to see the break in the schedule because of a disappointing start to the 2012 season…

Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch was ready to come into the 2012 season as focused as he has ever been. Busch was giving up racing in every Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series race he could so he could focus on his Sprint Cup car.

So far, Busch has been a disappointment.

Busch is always known for his hot starts to the season. Last year at this time, Busch had three wins and sat No. 1 in the point standings. This year, Busch has an average finishing position of 19.3. He has one top-five finish with four finishes of No. 17 or worse.

Before the season began, I predicted that Busch would struggle in the Nationwide Series as a result of starting up a new team, but I did not think it would translate into a poor showing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Since Busch is known for starting fast and finishing slow, his slow start to the 2012 season does not look good for the No. 18 team. Maybe Busch should go back to what he did in the past: race every race he can each weekend.

Jeff Gordon

Jeff Gordon’s disappointing start to the 2012 season is not a result of bad cars. In at least half of the races in 2012, Gordon has had the best car on the racetrack. Gordon’s poor start to the season is a result of bad luck.

Gordon cannot catch a break in 2012.

At Bristol, Gordon was making his way to the front when his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. bumped the side of his car. The exhaust pipe on Earnhardt’s car touched Gordon’s tire causing his tire to go flat and sent Gordon into the wall.

Gordon finished the race in the No. 35 position when he had a top-five car.

The next week at Fontana, Gordon had a good car. He qualified poorly and started the race in the No. 21 position. After only 20 laps, Gordon made his way into the top five. Gordon had a penalty on pit road because his gasman could not get the gas can out of the car before Gordon left pit road.

The penalty and the rain caused Gordon to finish the race in the No. 24 position when he had a top-five car.

Last week was the worst luck for Gordon. He led 328 of the 500 laps. Gordon battled teammate Jimmie Johnson for the lead and it looked like the worst Gordon would finish was the No. 2 position.

With two laps left in the race, David Reutimann’s car stalled and brought out the caution flag. Gordon restarted the race in the pole position, but Clint Bowyer tried to force his way to the front. Bowyer spun out Gordon and Johnson, causing Gordon to finish the race in the No. 14 position.

Gordon is No. 21 in the point standings. As good as his cars have been this year, there is no way Gordon continues to have bad luck. Gordon will easily make his way into the top 10 before the NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star race in May.

Kasey Kahne

Some people would say that Kasey Kahne’s luck has been worse then his teammate, Jeff Gordon's. I think Kahne has had bad luck, but part of the problem has been caused by overdriving the car.

Kahne came into the season with high expectations. He was scheduled to move into the No. 5 car at Hendrick Motorsports for two years. Finally he had his chance to drive for the best team in the sport.

This had to be the best year of Kahne’s career, right?

So far it has been Kahne’s worst start to a season in his nine-year career in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Kahne is No. 31 in the point standings. He is only four positions away from becoming a “go-or-go-home” car (Cars outside the top 35 must qualify on time for the race or they will go home).

Kahne’s best finish this season was his No. 14 place finish at Fontana. Kahne has finished four of the six races in the No. 29 position or worse. Kahne has dug himself a hole he may not be able to climb out of.

At least the No. 5 team has a week off to try and figure out what went wrong this season.

Juan Pablo Montoya

Juan Pablo Montoya’s season could not have started any worse. After running into the jet dryer at Daytona, Montoya has only one top-10 finish in six races.

Montoya is No. 17 in the point standings. After his dominating career in the Open Wheel Series, Montoya was expected to come to NASCAR and compete for championships. So far, it has not happened.

This is Montoya’s sixth season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. So far, Montoya has only made the Chase once. He needs to improve upon his No. 17 position in the point standings and make the Chase to prove he belongs in NASCAR.

Jamie McMurray

Two years ago, Jamie McMurray looked like he was ready to become a star in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. In 2010, McMurray won three of NASCAR’s biggest races (Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Bank of America 500 at Charlotte).

Since McMurray’s stellar 2010 season, he has only two top-five finishes in 42 races.

McMurray needs more consistency if he wants to be a part of the Chase in 2012. McMurray has two top-10 finishes this year, but also has three finishes of No. 31 or worse.

It is time for the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing cars to step up their game. What was once a prestigious organization is quickly becoming an also-ran in NASCAR.

A.J. Allmendinger

A.J. Allmendinger came into the 2012 season with the opportunity to drive the best cars in his career. After racing for Red Bull Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports, Allmendinger was going to be driving for Penske Racing.

This opportunity would give Allmendinger a chance to compete for a spot in the Chase in 2012.

So far, it has not worked out as planned. Allmendinger is No. 20 in the point standings. In five races this season, Allmendinger has finished No. 15 or worst. He is showing signs of improvement, though. Last week, Allmendinger finished the race at Martinsville in the No. 2 position.

The No. 22 team needs to build upon last week’s strong performance in order to meet the preseason expectations.

Jeff Burton

In 2012, Jeff Burton needs to show that he still has what it takes to compete in NASCAR, or it will be another disappointing season of Burton proving that he is well past his prime.

Six races into the 2012 season, the latter circumstance holds true.

Burton has not finished inside the top 12 in the NASCAR point standings since 2008. It does not look like he will in 2012 as well.

Burton does have two top-10 finishes this season, but he also has three finishes outside the top 20. Burton must be more consistent to become a member of the 2012 Chase.

The No. 31 team will have a week off to figure out how to get their car inside the top 12.

Kurt Busch

Kurt Busch was not expected to perform well in 2012 after he was released from Penske racing and signed a one-year contract with Phoenix Racing.

Most people did not think it would be this bad.

Busch is racing for a single-car team, but their equipment is provided by Hendrick Motorsports. Busch only has one top-10 finish in 2012. His average finish for the season is 24.8.

He will have to make significant improvement if he wants to finish anywhere near a spot in the Chase.

David Reutimann

David Reutimann is another driver who was not expected to fare well in 2012.

Reutimann was released by Michael Waltrip Racing and signed with Tommy Baldwin Racing before the 2012 season. The goal for Reutimann is to keep the No. 10 car inside the top 35 in the point standings so Danica Patrick would be guaranteed a spot in the races she in which is scheduled to drive the No. 10 car.

So far, Reutimann has had a hard time doing that.

Reutimann is No. 32 in the point standings.

Patrick’s next scheduled race is May 12 at Darlington. If Reutimann continues to finish races outside the top 25 (he has finished four of five races No. 27 or worse), Patrick will have to qualify for her race at Darlington.

That is not an easy task for even the most experienced driver.

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