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Five drivers in search of redemption

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Lee Spencer

Lee Spencer is the senior NASCAR writer for FOXSports.com. She has provided award-winning coverage of auto racing over the last 15 years. Spencer has lent her expertise to both television and radio and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM Radio and the Performance Racing Network.

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Updated Jul 10, 2009 3:34 PM ET
     
 

JOLIET, Ill.

The 2009 Sprint Cup season has reached halftime, but there's still plenty of time for struggling drivers to make a run at redemption. For many of these racers, an intermediate track such as Chicagoland Speedway sets the perfect stage to showcase their talent. However, others — similar to the Windy City's beloved Cubs — will be repeating the mantra "wait until next year."
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Chicagoland is the fourth 1.5-miler on the schedule, so most teams have a well- established game plan for the track. But unlike some tracks, Goodyear has not changed the tire combination for Chicagoland from last year. Tire specialists also worked with this tire in 2008 at Homestead and both Texas races (the left-side Texas tire changed in 2009). So there is familiarity for teams, which can be good for those struggling to find their way this season. Here are five drivers who could desperately use a bump at Chicagoland.

Kevin Harvick

Harvick kicked off the season with a victory in the exhibition Budweiser Shootout. No, it was not a point race but any win generally portends success. Harvick backed up that performance by finishing second in the Daytona 500 but hasn't had a top-five since finishing fourth at Atlanta in March. Harvick is 26th in the point standings — six positions lower than the team was before a crew chief swap following the Talladega race in April. Although the No. 29 team has competed in the Chase the last four years, that won't be the case in 2009. Chicagoland tidbit — Harvick won the first two races at this track in 2001-02 and has scored two Nationwide Series victories as well. He leads the tour with an average finish of 7.4 in the LifeLock.com 400 and has led 282 laps. Happy has five top-five and six top-10 finishes. Harvick will unveil a new car this weekend — Chassis No. 281.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Junior's travails have been well documented this — and every season. But let's look back before looking ahead. At this juncture last season, Earnhardt was second in the point standings behind Kyle Busch. He's currently 21st. It's been six races since Hendrick Motorsports made the decision to reassign Tony Eury Jr. and put Lance McGrew in charge of the team. While Earnhardt has dropped two positions in the standings since, the No. 88 team showed signs of promise at both New Hampshire and Daytona. Earnhardt has not posted a top-five finish since Talladega in April. Chicagoland tidbit — Junior won this race in 2005. Three of his 17 career wins were scored on intermediate tracks. At Chicagoland, Earnhardt has posted two top-fives and three top 10 finishes. He's led 121 laps in eight starts at the speedway.

David Ragan

After finishing 13th in the point standings in 2008 and barely missing the Chase — Ragan, 23, entered his third season on the Cup tour with a ton of promise. Unfortunately, 2009 has not panned out the way Ragan and Roush Fenway Racing had hoped considering that the No. 6 Ford is 30th in points. In 18 starts this season, Ragan's only top-10 finish came in the Daytona 500 (where he finished sixth). All the RFR cars seem a bit behind the performance curve and Ragan's own stats have been marred by two engine failures and two crashes. However, in the 14 races that he has been running at the finish, Ragan has just four finishes of 15th or better. Chicagoland tidbit — Ragan scored one of his 14 top-10 showings last year at Chicagoland after finishing eighth. He made a dramatic improvement over his debut in 2008 when he was scored 25th.

Reed Sorenson

For Sorenson, the grass has not been greener in the No. 43 Dodge at Richard Petty Motorsports. Although he has received an outpouring with the team, the 23-year-old has not taken advantage of his new situation at RPM and crew chief Mike Shiplett. Sorenson is 28th in the standings despite starting the season with a ninth-place finish in the Daytona 500. But that has been Sorenson's only top 10 this year. He's led just five laps all season and currently ranks third among his RPM teammates in the standings. Chicagoland tidbit — In three starts at Chicagoland, Sorenson's best finish came in his rookie year when he finished seventh. Sorenson led six laps in the 2006 event. He's completed all but one lap of possible circuits raced. Sorenson's average finish in his first two races was 9.5. Last year's 31st-place run knocked his Chicagoland average finish to 16.7.

Casey Mears

Mears was almost giddy about moving into the No. 07 Chevrolet before the season started. Certainly Mears had awesome equipment the last two years at Hendrick Motorsports. At Richard Childress Racing, Mears didn't have the overwhelming pressure he felt driving the No. 25 Chevrolet. But with just two top 10s to his record at RCR, he hasn't set the world on fire. After nine races, when Mears and RCR teammate Kevin Harvick were 21st and 20th in points, respectively, Childress swapped teams and crew chiefs. Nine races later, Mears, who is 22nd in points, has not benefitted from the change. Chicagoland tidbit — Mears has enjoyed relative success in the Land of Lincoln. In six starts, Mears has one top-five and two top-10 finishes. His first — and only — Nationwide Series win came here in 2006.
Tagged: Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick

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