NASCAR 2009 Preview, Part Three: Drivers with Something to Prove

For pitchers, to put up a goose egg or a zero on the scoreboard is small victory. It means your team is still in it. It means you did your part and now the offense needs to come out and do theirs.

For NASCAR drivers, a zero means your team couldn't close the deal on race day.

Coming into 2009, some in NASCAR top series are hoping to close the deal, starting with Daytona.

For Kevin Harvick, Daytona means something big.

It was only two years ago that Harvick and Mark Martin came to the checker flag in one of the closest Daytona 500 finishes ever.

Harvick took the the trophy in the first race of the year, and many thought 2007 was going to be his year.

It wasn't meant to be. Harvick has ran well the last two years and has finished in the top 10 in points the last two years.

In 2008 he finished fourth, with seven top-fives and 19 top-10s. But running well doesn't equate to wins.

They spent much of 2008 searching for the same consistency they had in the past only to come up short of a victory.

In 2009 Harvick expects to win, and expects to contend for a championship. Expect to see Harvick back in Victory circle, sooner rather than later.

For Michael Waltrip, The Daytona 500 is something special. In 2001, Waltrip won the race, finishing ahead of  Dale Earnhardt Jr. and winning the NASCAR Super Bowl for team owner Dale Earnhardt.

That win would come at a terrible price with less than 10 to go, when Earnhardt tragically died during a late-race accident. Waltrip would go on to celebrate another Daytona 500 win in 2003.

Waltrip hasn't won since the middle of 2003.

In 2008, Waltrip was continuing to improve his teams, as an owner and as a driver. Waltrip hasn't been in the Chase since its inception.

He has said that 2009 would be a key to defining his future in the sport as a driver.

"My goal is to go win some races this year, run up front so that I don't have to say this is my last year," Waltrip said.

"But if I don't do those things, if I can't compete at the level that [teammate David] Reutimann does or [primary sponsor] NAPA expects, then I probably won't get to do this again in 2010."

With the talent that is in the series right now it will be difficult for Waltrip but he is more than capable to win some races if they can find the consistency both on the track and on pit road.

Waltrip's average start in 2008 was 30.5 If you're looking for an area for improvement it has to be in qualifying better.

2009 should be better as the success Toyota has found in NASCAR with Joe Gibbs Racing driving Toyota's. Has given this manufacturer new life and given teams like MWR better equipment. That has translated on the track with strong runs for Waltrip and his teams. Look for that to continue this season.

For Elliot Sadler it has been an interesting off season. First he gets fired during the holidays, then he threatens to sue his employer for firing him and then he gets rehired to avoid a lawsuit.

Both parties put on this show that all was good in the family, when in reality most fans  can see through that fake facade. For Sadler he has a ride, although it meant that A.J. Allmendinger was out of a ride.

But now he has to prove that the organization was wrong in wanting to replace him in the first place and the way to do that in NASCAR is results, and for Sadler it just hasn't been there.

In 2008 Sadler had an average finish of 23.6. With no wins since 2004, and his cup ride on the line this year Sadler needs to prove his value by competing consistently each week and making a run for the Chase.

If not, then expect to see Sadler out of the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 19 sooner, rather than later.

2008 was a tough year for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. They ended 2008 with no wins and in the process merged with Chip Ganassi racing and formed  Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing.

2008 they also lost Paul Menard and his family's  sponsorship to join Yates Racing. Regan Smith lost his ride. EGR recently signed John Andretti to race the Daytona 500.

Meanwhile Martin Truex Jr. signed a one year deal with DEI through 2009. With the addition of  Juan Pablo Montoya, this organization is rebuilding and restructuring.

With so many teams struggling to secure sponsorship  merging is the best way to reassures sponsors that you are  there to win and want them to  sign on for the ride.

EGR now must re-establish itself as a contending organization to the likes of Hendrick Motorsports,  Roush Fenway Racing and Joe Gibbs racing and  Richard Childress Racing.

2009 will be critical for this newly formed organization, they need to run consistently  and have some strong finishes. EGR needs to find success on the track in 2009, or risk becoming  irrelevant.

2009 will be key for not only these guys, but many others who are looking to prove their detractors wrong and show some signs of success on the track.