Even though it's a bit past the halfway point, a big companion event is a good time to review some notable teams--the good, the bad, and the ugly. We'll go in order by owner's points, highlighting the top 50.
#2: Kevin Harvick's been the fastest car on the track week in and week out. He built on a solid rookie year and is not only leading in the Busch series, he's notched a couple of wins already in Cup replacing Dale Earnhardt after his death. In fact, Chicago was the first race Harvick finished a race outside the top 5. His only problem? Getting involved in wrecks caused by slower cars. It's happened twice already, contributing to his three DNFs. But through 19 races, 5 poles, 4 wins, and 553 laps led aren't anything to scoff about.
#60: Greg Biffle's been the most consistent of the rookies with 0 DNFs, 2 finishes off the lead lap, and 3 wins already. He's having one of the best rookie seasons in BGN history, and aside from a (rather horrible) rookie mistake at Rockingham, has been pretty damn flawless. He led the points for quite a stretch, and even with his early-season penalty is well in the hunt to become the first rookie to win a championship.
#10: Jeff Green's championship defense isn't going too well for his standards. Sure, he's third in points and only 197 back, but he only has 8 top-5s compared to Harvick's 15 and Biffle's 12. The switch to Ford might've hurt more than it helped. Or maybe Harvick's just that much improved and Biffle's just that good. Either way, Green will need to step it up a bit to claim his second consecutive championship.
#57: Jason Keller has been solid week-in and week-out. He hasn't quite had the speed of his teammate, but he's still well within range for that elusive title. Part of his problem has been qualifying, with an average start of a mediocre 16.2. If he wants to win the title this year, he'll need to step it up there.
#42: My rookie year has had its ups and downs. From a very consistent first dozen or so races, to a stretch of checkers-or-wreckers, my being 361 points behind Harvick is a bit of an obstacle. However, the rookie race is a different story. As only the best 17 races are counted, I remain within 20 points of Greg Biffle, and replacing some poor finishes with more top-5s can help me steal the show from the favorite entering the season.
#17: Matt Kenseth has had a bit of a disappointing year speed-wise. Only four top-5s in his 13 races piloting his crew chief's team, in combination of a consistent but not stellar Cup year, has Kenseth a bit frustrated. Clay Rogers hasn't really done his part to keep the ride competitive. Aside from his top-10 in the Nazareth attrition fest, he's been pretty bad. Worst comes to worse, Russ Strupp made one of the biggest bonehead moves of the year at Watkins Glen. Boris Said could've won easily if he didn't pit early for no good reason. Instead, he was relegated to 6th.
#18: Jeff Purvis was kicking ass in the first few races, but dropped off considerably, leading to him losing this ride. The more consistent Mike McLaughlin has only had a couple of races with his new team, but he ran in the top-5 all day at Watkins Glen and top-10 at Chicagoland (though faded late in both races). Maybe this will breathe some life into McLaughlin's campaign, though a title is probably out of the question at 730 points back.
#21: Mike Dillon's unfortunate injury while testing may have been a blessing in disguise, as Mike Skinner and the numerous other pilots have brought home 9 top-10s in 13 races. The summer stretch of non-companion races in conjunction with Skinner's recent injury is giving Jeff Purvis another chance to shine. An owner's title may be out of the question, but between Skinner learning more for his Cup team in the companion races and other drivers getting breaks in limited events, Childress has a lot to look forward to.
#98: It's safe to say Elton Sawyer's rebounded quite nicely from his rather abysmal start to the year. He's up to seventh in driver's points after four DNFs in the first six races, thanks to his current run of five straight top-10s. His latest race at the new Chicagoland Speedway may have been his best yet, coming from provisional land with the help of only one caution to finish 7th. Look out for him to win a race as the year goes on.
#1: Even with week-to-week uncertainty of the team actually having a driver, being top-10 in owner's points is pretty impressive. P.J. Jones's struggles have allowed Mr. Excitement himself to show his stuff. Before Chicagoland, where Spencer led 33 laps en route to a 5th place finish, Kevin Lepage's one start at New Hampshire might've been the best run the team has seen, a top-5 after winning the pole and leading the first 22. They may be skipping Gateway, but that doesn't mean they can't be competitive with the right driver.
#33: Tony Raines has had a quietly successful year. Already quintupling his top-10 amount from 2000, Raines's consistency (having 0 DNFs thus far) has allowed him to compete for a top-10 points finish. Sometimes not being in the spotlight is a good thing.
#48: Kenny Wallace has been the epitome of heartbreak. Three times he's started a race with the fastest car and leading a bunch of laps, and all three times he failed to finish in the top-10. He doesn't even have a top 5. This on top of Wallace's Cup team struggling to make races and ultimately letting him go for Mike Bliss hasn't bothered him, he says. Hopefully he can turn it around at his home track of Gateway, especially now that he's officially a full-time BGN driver.
#00: Sponsorship woes have plagued this team pretty hard. Todd Bodine was championship material in the first eleven races, but now that he's stepping back to focus on his Cup ride, the team's struggling to justify racing in the first place. They've picked up Tim Fedewa, who had a couple of solid races (even if one resulted in no points), and Buckshot's had a couple of races himself now, but the team's future remains in jeopardy.
#23: Scott Wimmer has been a drastic improvement to a disastorous 2000 season for the Bill Davis BGN team. Qualifying hasn't been great, but four top-10s and only two DNFs (both unfortunate incidents) have the rookie vying for a top-10 points finish. The team's looking to build and learn, hoping for a championship run in 2002.
#36: Hank Parker, Jr. started off strong, with a slew of top-10s and a fuel-mileage win at the new Nashville Superspeedway, but hasn't had a top-10 since the race after that at Talladega. He's been by far the best driver on his team even with that. Maybe some non-companion races will help.
#92: Jimmie Johnson may be headed for one of the most elite Cup rides possible in 2002, but that doesn't mean he checked out. After no top-10s in the first eleven races, he's had five since then, including top-5s at Lowe's and the new Kentucky Speedway, where he had one of the fastest cars all day. Fans may be scratching their heads at Jeff Gordon's decision, but Jimmie wants to prove himself before he gets to run with the big guys.
#74: Chad Little's been even quieter than his teammate, but he too has zero DNFs. He's been a bit slower, but still has three top-10s at three tricky tracks in North Carolina, Texas, and Nazareth. He's coming off his best race of the season at Watkins Glen, running top-5 all day before dropping after a late-race restart. Still, Little is showing he can still wheel it, even if he got fired from Roush.
#43: Jay Sauter may only have one top-10--a fourth at Talladega--but that doesn't mean he hasn't shown speed. Kentucky in particular was quite the heartbreak, driving up to the front from 27th, making an unscheduled pit stop right before a caution, and being trapped a lap down while running with the leaders had him frustrated. Aside from dumping Mike McLaughlin at Lowe's and being caught up in a wreck at Daytona, he's kept his nose clean and is looking to sneak some top-10s in.
#20: See #18. The team has shut down pending sponsorship.
#27: Jamie McMurray turned some heads with a fourth at North Carolina, but he's been quietly mid-pack since then. He's outrunning his teammate fairly consistently, but still not quite living up to what Casey Atwood did in this ride the previous two years.
#59: Rich Bickle's team has struggled with speed with just one top-10. He's being relieved for the next few races to try and find it with Winston West veteran Mike Chase, and hopefully Bickle can bounce back when he comes back. In the meantime, he has a Cup ride for Indy lined up, which he's excited for.
#26: Bobby Hamilton, Jr. isn't very happy with his results. He's qualified great, with an average start of 11.8, but only one top-10 and a dismal average finish of 22.7 has the team scratching their heads. He has no DNFs on the plus side, but that doesn't mean he's avoided some bad breaks.
#7: Six DNFs has NEMCO's start-up team for the past champion Randy LaJoie scratching their head. He's been fast, with two top-5s and was the fastest car at one point at Lowe's, but in order to win a race, you need to finish a race. It's not LaJoie's fault, as he's doing everything they can, but the broken clutch coming to the green at Daytona while on the outside pole was just the beginning, it turned out.
#37: The hottest rumor in the garage is Kevin Grubb's ride being on the line. And that rumor is very justified, with just one top-10 in a very mediocre season for the youngster. Having had two teammates now consistently outrun him isn't giving him any credibility. There is still plenty of time to get on track, but Kevin Grubb's future is in jeopardy if he continues to struggle.
#66: After a rough first fifteen races, veteran Tim Fedewa was relieved by fellow veteran Geoffrey Bodine. Bodine proceeded to wreck two cars in practice at Kentucky. Still, in Hank's backup, he managed a solid twelfth. Time will tell if the older brother of the team's most successful wheelman can run with the best of them.
#46: Ashton Lewis had a career-defining race with a fifth at Nazareth. The season hasn't been pretty otherwise. He's been the anti-Kenny Wallace, having a terrible car to start races but improving as the race goes on, but only after falling a lap down within the first fuel run. That won't help him get more good finishes. They're skipping Gateway to regroup after losing a car at Chicagoland, and hope to bounce back in style.
#34: To say it's been a season to forget for David Green is one of the biggest understatements of all time. Six DNFs, a best finish of 13th, an average finish of 26.5, and a deficit to Harvick of 1323 has Green infuriated. Whenever they have speed, they get wrecked or a part fails; otherwise, they struggle to get a top-20. Repeating a 9th place points finish is probably out of the question unless these guys get their shit together. Not to mention this team existing next year with sponsors presumably losing their patience.
#25: This is a prime example of a team that needs a consistent driver, but also one that needs to be good. Chad Chaffin was struggling in his first seven races and got the boot. Now David Donahue, a supposed road course expert with the genes of the great Mark himself, had an abysmal run at Watkins Glen, then proceeded to be one of the slowest on the track. He's not fired, but Andy Houston will take the reigns at Gateway as this team needs to figure something out. The Marines have high expectations of their members, and they certainly must have high expectations of their sponsored team.
#11: Yet another team with uncertainty linked to sponsorship, they've resorted to skipping the next three races, instead having Andy Santerre run his car with their sponsorship and owner's points. Marty Houston was pretty woeful, but Ron Hornaday, Jr. was improving the team, even if results didn't show it. Still, you know it's bad when you're lending your points to a part-time team with no sponsorship.
#14: Yikes. That's all I can say. Or anyone. Larry Foyt doesn't seem to carry any of his relatives' racing genes.
#61: The team's high moment by far was a top-5 at Nazareth after starting from the rear. Three races later, they shut down as a result of a major safety violation. Tim Sauter's looking for a ride still.
#71: Kevin Lepage is hoping his moderate success in his own equipment here can translate to a good ride. Three top-5s in 11 races help. Scott Pruett was fast but struggled to get good track position in his one race, unfortunately.
#63: Nineteen races, five DNFs, one lead lap finish (at Talladega, barely), an average finish of an abysmal 33.9, just one finish better than 27th, and only scoring 2/5 of the points Kevin Harvick has scored. This team has fallen hard from its glory days in the early '90s. Even compared to a year ago, the results aren't close.
#87: Joe Nemechek has been solid, as he always is driving his own cars. Not much more needs to be said, aside from Ron Fellows not winning thanks to an abysmal qualifying run at Watkins Glen. Still, Nemechek will probably end up with a win by year's end.
#55: Despite a solid start with Mark Green, including two top-10s, this team cannot find sponsorship. They're hoping to run Indy in Cup with Green, but rumor has it that's not happening.
#02: Ryan Newman became the first driver to win in his first BGN start in history at North Carolina. Yes, this was mostly because six of the fastest cars were wrecked by a combination of lappers and Greg Biffle, but the point stands. Newman's qualified exceptionally but despite three top-5s in eight races, has a few finishes outside the top-15. He's kept his nose clean, which is the most you can ask for a rookie.
#99: Michael Waltrip is coming off a fantastic run at Chicagoland. His Cup season is a different story, marred by the death of a great friend in the biggest win of his life. Shawna Robinson wasn't all that good in this car, and Kerry Earnhardt's one start was unspectacular.
#77: After Kelly Denton left, the team was relegated to starting and parking. Yikes.
#49: Yes, a full-time team is behind Shane Hall's team in owner's points. That actually wasn't the case in the very beginning of the season, but at least the 63 doesn't start and park occasionally or finish multiple laps down every race. Their highlight by far was Andy Kirby running with the lead pack at Talladega, but his engine blew and he finished 40th. They also somehow got Dick Trickle to drive for them.
#54: This new team has had ups and downs already in just nine races. They finished an impressive twelfth at Lowe's, but they've been back of the pack in most other races. Denton's kept it clean, at least.
#38: Christian Elder has been horribly slow compared to his teammate Elton Sawyer. He may be a rookie, and he may have no DNFs, but he's been in his fair share of incidents still.
#28: Brad Baker had pretty big ambitions to start the year. Those were foiled following a DNQ at Daytona and a plethora of poor results.
#31: Steve Park is having a much better year in Cup than in his BGN ride. Only one top-10 in five races isn't anything to write home about.
#8: After Blaise Alexander left the team, they've struggled to find drivers and sponsorship. They started the first four races but only have four races since then. They damn near DNQ'd Kentucky, where they were the slowest car on the track.
#16: After a long hiatus, they're returning for Gateway with Chad Chaffin part-time for the remainder of the year. David Starr was incredibly slow in his races in this car, then proceeded to have a top-15 as Larry Foyt's teammate.
#9: They've only run four races in the puke-green Gain machine, but just one top-10 isn't great for this team. Jeff Burton's not having a great year in Cup, either.
#01: Sponsorship woes have plagued Andy Santerre's team. Their future is uncertain, though running a few races with sponsorship and practically guaranteed entry will probably help.
#35: Lyndon Amick's team went part-time, but that's not helping their results. Four races, zero top-10s, doing about as well as they did in 2000 in a full schedule.
#52: The usual backup car for the 77 that has parked every race, nothing to see here.
#95: Steadman Marlin is looking to start his career the same way his father did--in a Sadler Brothers car. Steadman's been quite slow in his four races, but hasn't wrecked or DNQ'd at least.
