NASCAR Cup Series

Top drivers look to rally at Phoenix

Published Feb. 24, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

Larry McReynolds

For the top 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, other than Carl Edwards, the 2011 Daytona 500 sure wasn’t kind.

A lot of the heavy hitters from 2010 took a hit last Sunday. We have the new points system in place this year, but the saving grace for most of them is a lot of teams had issues of some nature last Sunday.

Guys like Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and others got a few points for finishing in the back, but are a long way from the leaders right now.

Now the ironic thing that has happened in the new points structure is the young man who actually won the Daytona 500 won’t even show up in the NASCAR Sprint Cup points. That’s because Trevor Bayne had declared to run for the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship and not the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. With the new NASCAR rules going into effect in 2011, each driver can only run for one championship and must declare it before the season.

Now all three series move to the desert. We’re in Phoenix with all three series and the racing will be different. You will no longer be dependent on having to have someone pushing you all the way around the racetrack. At the flatter Phoenix track, with no restrictor plates harnessing air flow, you now control more of your own destiny.

You’re going to focus on making your car drive well. You have to have good strategy in the pits. Also remember that it is a very short race. It’s actually one of the shorter races we run. Sunday’s race is a pretty quick 312 laps.

I look to the No. 48 team to bounce back strong Sunday. Jimmie Johnson always runs extremely well at Phoenix. I also look for Edwards to continue his hot hand. He won the last two races of the 2010 season. He finished second on Sunday, so I have no reason to believe he can’t keep his hot streak going.

It’s pretty simple to boil down actually. The teams who finished well in the Daytona 500 want to keep that momentum going this weekend in Phoenix.

On the flip-side, the teams that finished poorly or had bad luck want to rebound and get some momentum going on Sunday. That should make for an interesting race.