Zero To Hero: Five Drivers Who Will Make It Happen In 2009

Here we are, just a few weeks away from the start of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. 

It seems like just yesterday that Jimmie Johnson was wrapping up his third consecutive championship, and already we find ourselves on the verge of beginning anew the grueling week-in and week-out cross-country adventure that is the Sprint Cup schedule.  

The great thing about the start of Speedweeks at Daytona is that it provides a fresh start for everyone.  It’s a 43-way tie in every category and nobody has even registered a DNF. 

It is a time when optimism abounds—new cars are being built, new paint schemes are being designed, and new personnel are being put into place so that every last team, from powerhouses Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing to the single-car operations of the Wood Brothers and Hall of Fame Racing, hope that they have made the right moves to have a season more successful than the one before.  

For some, that means domination of the series and a cake-walk to the championship.

Others, however, are simply looking to lock themselves into every race by working their way into the unnecessary safety net that is top-35 in owner's points.  No matter what the goal, these last remaining weeks of the offseason are some of the most exciting weeks of the entire season.

For some drivers, starting fresh and erasing the memory of 2008 can’t happen soon enough.  While the 2008 season did not provide any breakout superstars or feel-good underdog storylines, it did feature a few potentially successful drivers performing far below their talent levels.  

The following is an unconventional list of drivers who had a disappointing 2008, but look to rebound with new life for a great 2009. 

You won’t find names like Dale Earnhardt, Jr. or Jeff Gordon on this list.  It’s obvious that those guys are capable of more than they accomplished last year and it is expected of them.  

This is a list of drivers who have what it takes, but haven’t gotten over the hump, so to speak.  They’ve all got something to prove, and 2009 offers them their best shot at doing just that.

Casey Mears—Poor guy.  Mears isn’t even tops among guys that share his name.  He is tops among those spelling it with a ‘C’ though.  

It has been thought that Mears is in a bit over his head in the Cup series, but he had endured the past few seasons as the red-headed stepchild of Hendrick Motorsports in the No. 5 and No. 25. 

Casey gets a new start with Richard Childress Racing in '09, as well as a top-35 ride, as his car was formerly Clint Bowyer’s, so look for this breath of fresh air to propel him to the front more often.  Casey is a good guy, let’s all root for him!

Brian Vickers—Everybody liked Vickers before he caused that fateful 2006 Talladega crash that took out JJ and Junior.  He may have ruffled a few feathers then, but the fact is that he is still a good young driver.  

That No. 25 Hendrick car has done no favors for anyone since Tim Richmond (Ken Schrader won a couple races in that car in the early 90s, but nothing to write home about.)

Team Red Bull showed signs of life at times in 2008 and should be making enough progress to compete more consistently in '09. Ryan Pemberton is on board as crew chief and of course we know that Vickers is going to drive the red wheels off that No. 83 Toyota!

Jamie McMurray—Veteran crew chief Donnie Wingo migrates to Roush Fenway Racing from Ganassi Motorsports to reunite with McMurray.  The pair spent three seasons together while Jamie wheeled the No. 42 Havoline Dodge to 11^th and 12^th place points finishes in 2004 and 2005, respectively.  

Had the Chase accepted 12 drivers back then, he’d have been in.  McMurray was inconsistent in 2008 but still scored four top-five finishes and 11 top-10’s. 

Look for Wingo and McMurray to parlay past chemistry into getting the guy with the girliest name since Tracy Leslie running with the big dogs far more often this year.

Michael Waltrip—NAPA continues to hang in with Mikey, probably because he makes funny commercials, but 2009 could be the year that he proves that his success with DEI was not a fluke. 

Hampered by mediocre equipment for most of his pre-2001 career, Waltrip showed that he is a capable driver in the No. 15 car.  Recently hampered by owner responsibilities and development of the Toyota race car, now is his best chance to get everything ironed out and run well.  

There were fleeting flashes of success over the past two seasons, but if there is anyone with enough heart to make something out of nothing, it’s Mikey.  Creative crew chief “Bootie” Barker joins Michael Waltrip Racing on the No. 55 team this year as well.

Fifty-five is the car number, Michael, not the speed limit!

Ha, gotta love those NAPA spots.

Marcos Ambrose – Okay, Ambrose only made 11 starts last year, and only two finishes were in the top 20.  It's not surprising that a driver attempting such a limited schedule would have limited success.  

The silver lining is that one of those finishes within the top 20 was actually a third.  Ambrose is a driver who will continually evolve into a very solid Cup series driver as he gains experience.  He is great on road courses—his third was at Watkins Glen—but will no doubt get the hang of these roundy-round’s that dominate the Sprint Cup schedule.

He is far too nice of a guy and has far too much fun out there to not be successful.  Not to mention, he has a cool accent.

So there we have it—five drivers who have golden opportunities to erase frustrations of years past and do what many believe they can do: run well every week and tally a few in the win column.  

It is also much more satisfying to think of it from the perspective of the desire to see these guys do well than to simply hope and pray that someone other than Johnson or Carl Edwards finds their way to victory lane, but that’s another story…