2 -- OH -- 10

When I think about the year 2010, I have to chuckle. You see, back in 1985, Bill Elliott had by far the fastest car in NASCAR. I mean, it was the fastest thing I had ever seen. The man made up three laps under green at Talladega, for Pete’s sake. That tells you how fast that thing was.

Well, someone asked Jake Elder, my former crew chief, how fast he thought Bill would run at Daytona. He told them Bill was going to go down there and qualify at “2 – OH – 10.” Now, read that again so it sinks in. He didn’t say 210. He said 2 – OH – 10. Well, guess what? Bill went to Daytona and qualified, yes, at 2 – OH – 10.

So, as 2009 was coming to a close and the New Year started, I just had to smile and laugh after all these years of good ol’ Jake and his 2 – OH – 10 prediction. So you know what? I will make some of my own predictions for 2 – OH – 10:

• I think there will once again be three Hendrick cars in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. However, this year it will be the Nos. 48, 24 and yes, the 88. Sure, Mark Martin had an unbelievable season and finished second last year, but I just think Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his crowd are really going to get things turned around and make a lot of noise this year. I have put a question mark by the No. 5 car. I just don’t know that Mark can keep up that level of performance that he enjoyed last year. I just feel really comfortable saying there will be three Hendrick cars in the Chase, and who knows, maybe Mark will make the fourth?
• I think with the way Richard Childress had his cars running at the end of the year, I expect to see them back in the Chase this year. The No. 29, No. 31 and No. 33 seemed to have figured out their program, so look for them to be strong.
• I think Joe Gibbs Racing will have the No. 11 and the No. 18 back in the Chase. Kyle Busch is a year smarter now, and you have to admit, the guy has gotten better every year. I don’t think the third Gibbs car is ready to win a championship, but I still think Joey Logano could possibly win a race or two plus finish well in his second year in Cup racing.
• I think Kurt Busch and the No. 2 car from Penske Racing will be back in the Chase. I think his new teammate, Brad Kesolowski, will go through some growing pains. I think he will be competitive on a number of occasions, but I think he will learn that playing with the big boys week in and week out is different from when he raced a few of them in the Nationwide series. I just don’t think he is Chase material  yet.
• Over at Roush Racing, I think you can expect to see the return of the Nos. 16, 17 and 99 to prominence. I think the new Ford engine will be a big boost if it is as good as they say it is. I’ve been told that it is considerably better. That will go along way to not only helping the Roush cars but all the Fords get back up front.

So obviously there are cars that I have questions about making the 2 – OH – 10 Chase. I mentioned Mark Martin. I have question marks by both Stewart-Haas cars, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kasey Kahne and some others. The guys I have selected to be in this year's Chase are the ones I think have what it takes to not only get in the Chase, but also possibly take the crown away from Jimmie Johnson.

And so now all eyes are turned to the Daytona 500, which by the way is on Valentine’s Day this year. Back in my day, winning the Daytona 500 was the stepping stone to a really great season. The same can’t be said lately. Don’t believe me? Well, then go ask Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick. They all won the 500 and then struggled the rest of the year.

Trust me, though, as I tell folks all the time, if you are only going to run well one race, well, by golly the Daytona 500 is the one. It just has changed, and it is no longer a guarantee that you will have a great year even after winning it.

Time for change?

I was really confident after meeting with all the NASCAR folks during Championship week at Las Vegas that we were going to see some major changes coming down the pike. I really thought we would see some changes to the car and some changes to the Chase, just to name a couple. Here we are in early January, and I haven’t seen a thing happen. Maybe something will be announced during the Media Tour in Charlotte in a few weeks.

There are a lot of things out there that can be done. Fuel injection is on the radar. That will help get the interest of other car manufacturers into NASCAR. I’ve told you this many times before, but the engine we have now is basically a dinosaur. Really, the only place where it has any value is right here in NASCAR. So from a technical standpoint, we are going to have to ramp it up a notch or two to get other manufacturers to consider joining the sport.

If the economy and car business keep going like they are going, we definitely are going to need to attract other manufacturers to the sport. These teams need manufacturer help to be able to compete as they have in the past.

I am still disappointed the new Nationwide Series car can’t be brought to the Sprint Cup ranks. In reading and listening to my driver buddies, they all really think this will be a much better car and needs to be in the Cup series. It pretty much fixes all the things that I complain about on this current COT. This current car isn’t balanced. It’s stubby on the front and too long on the back, plus don’t get me started again on that big, ol’ wing. It sure doesn’t look much like a stock car to me.

So I am really excited to get this new Nationwide Series car in competition and see if it is going to be as good as everyone believes it will be. If it is, well I would love to see it moved over to the Cup series as quickly as possible.

Obviously, there are no schedule changes for this year. I can certainly see the 2011 schedule being shaken up a bit. Kansas wants another race, and Bruton Smith should have everything ironed out finally to move a date to Kentucky. He will have to get that date from somewhere, so it really wouldn’t surprise me to see him buy Dover International Speedway or even Pocono and then shuffle dates around.

So what can be done to make the racing better? I think changing the start times to something consistent is a great first step. It might take some getting used to for folks, but I really think it will be a huge benefit for our sport. Folks can simply plan their days better. They can go to church, grab some lunch and turn the TV on at 1p.m. Eastern.

Last year, NASCAR added the double-file restart, which had a huge impact. That idea came from the All-Star Race, which to me was the best race of the year. So why not take another page out of the All-Star manual and look at changing the points?

When there are no points involved, the racing and intensity get much greater. When guys aren’t points racing, well, they race for those greenbacks and a big trophy. That’s when business picks up. So consider this: Have a regular-season champion declared after the 31st race of the year. Then, the last five races feature no points, and it's all about that big trophy and even bigger check. It would be flat-out, pure competition. I think it would pack the grandstands and bring folks back to the TV broadcasts.

2009 is behind us. It was an amazing year, both good and bad. With a smile on my face and a remembrance of my ol’ buddy Suitcase Jake, I am excited about 2 – OH – 10. Walter Cronkite had that famous saying of “That’s the way it is.” Well, I am going to borrow it, because that’s the way it is.