2009 Sprint Cup Preview: Kahne, Montoya, Mears, Stewart

To prove to you how indecisive I am with these picks, I reshuffled my entire 13th-20th rankings this morning driving to work. How I managed to dodge insane Delaware drivers and think at the same time, we may never know. This comes a day after I switched out one of my 12 preseason Chase drivers. We'll get to those guys at the end of the week or this weekend. Just be patient.

Anyways, it is time to continue on with the Sprint Cup Preview, as the 17th through 20th slots have several big-time names.

17. KASEY KAHNE

Age: 28
Hometown: Enumclaw, WA
No. 9 Budweiser Dodge
Crew Chief: Kenny Francis
Owner: George Gillett/Richard Petty/Ray Evernham

I'm going to start calling Kahne the Enumclaw Enigma. 23rd in points in 2005, 8th in '06, 19th in '07, and 14th last season. As was the case for much of 2008, Kasey and the 9 team can't make up their minds if they want to be an elite team or simply a good one. There is a lot of potential here, but for some reason, they cannot get over that proverbial hump and into the sport's top echelon.

I think the main issues with the nine bunch are a lack of consistency, even at their best tracks, lack of continuity (changing owners every 15 minutes cannot be good for team morale), and the fact that they often struggle at any track that isn't a 1.5 mile tri-oval. Kahne is marketable and talented, but the GEM team (and Dodge horsepower in general) may be holding him back.

The addition of Richard Petty to the ownership team will not have an impact on Kahne's on-track performance, but maybe the King can give the team a pep talk every now and then.

18. JUAN PABLO MONTOYA

Age: 33
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
No. 42 Target/Wrigley Chevy
Crew Chief: Brian Pattie
Owner: Teresa Earnhardt/Chip Ganassi/Felix Sabates

JPM's sophomore season in stock cars was a major disappointment, as the Colombian finished 25th in points. A driver of his caliber should not be back in the land of David Gilliland and Paul Menard in the final standings. But Dodge teams as a whole struggled in 2008, and it has to be a relief for Montoya to be moving to a Chevy operation. Let's face it, EGR is not Hendrick or Childress, but they should still give Juan Pablo the chance to succeed.

While 2008 was an uphill battle, the 42 team started to show signs of life during the Chase, just as the communication between Pattie and Montoya was beginning to gel. The finishes may not have been there, but you have to remember he had a shot of winning the event at Texas.

I look for this team to be a pleasant surprise at the intermediate tracks in 2009, and of course, JPM will rule the road. If other areas of their program can pick up, Montoya may be able to finish higher than 18th.

19. CASEY MEARS

Age: 30
Hometown: Bakersfield, CA
No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevy
Crew Chief: Gil Martin
Owner: Richard Childress

Casey Mears had great opportunities at both Ganassi and Hendrick, but failed to deliver for the most part. Somehow, he has earned himself a third chance in a prime seat, which I guess is the benefit of being young, good-looking, and sponsor savvy. He will be paired up with a team and crew chief that has made the Chase the past two seasons with Clint Bowyer, which for someone trying to prove themselves, could be a major asset.

I believe one of Mears' problems at Hendrick was constantly living in the shadow of Gordon, Johnson, Busch, and later Earnhardt Jr. While Burton, Harvick, and Bowyer are all great wheelmen, none of them are really headline grabbers. Maybe this will allow Casey to relax, focus, and deliver.

I've never been high on Casey's driving ability, but with a strong team surrounding him and the need to perform as strong as it has ever been, he could sneak up on people and challenge for a Chase berth in 2009.

20. TONY STEWART

Age: 37
Hometown: Columbus, IN
No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevy
Crew Chief: Darian Grubb
Owner: Tony Stewart/Gene Haas

The last time an owner/driver won a race? Ricky Rudd at Martinsville in fall 1998. In today's NASCAR, serving in this dual role, and being highly effective at both, is next to impossible. Sure, Robby Gordon and Michael Waltrip run teams, but their on-track results leave a lot to be desired (but this was also the case before they became owner/drivers). If anyone is going to bring success back to this dying breed, it is going to be Tony Stewart.

Stewart is a man of many projects: owning Eldora, owning teams in World of Outlaws, Midgets, and Sprint Cup, and driving in Cup to top it off. He obviously has the ability to put in the hours necessary to run a successful Cup team, but that's not to say he is going to immediately be a Chase driver out of the gate.

While this team will receive help from Hendrick and is essentially Gene Haas' team from a year ago, there will be tons of new people and cars that must be put in place. This will be a year of adjustment for Stewart off the track, and a year of growth for SHR on it.

Don't be discouraged if Tony slips to 15th or 20th in the standings making this difficult move in 2009, because I think we will see that 14 team running towards the front on a weekly basis a year from now.

In closing, some late-breaking, but good news: Aric Almirola will run a third full-time entry for EGR (the third team was up in the air as of last week, after everyone spent the entire holiday season figuring EGR would run four full-time entries) while the team will field a fourth car at Daytona. My prediction for the driver? Mike Wallace.