Second-Half Grades
NASCAR.COM hands out the final report card of 2005 season
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
The Chase for the Nextel Cup aside, at the end of the season the numbers -- like it or not -- tell a very large part of the tale of a team's season.
If a driver and team were going to get it done, they likely got it done in the second half of the 36-race campaign.
The performances ranged from newcomer Carl Edwards' startling emergence while also winning the Busch Series' rookie of the year award, to Tony Stewart's second Cup championship and Greg Biffle's establishment as a solid title contender to teams scrambling to simply make the 43-car fields.
So without further delay, here's one professor's take on the second half of the Cup season -- with a bonus: season grades.
A-plus
Tony Stewart
Carl Edwards
• After positioning themselves to make a run at the championship in a first half that had a sub-par start, including a DNF, all Stewart and crew chief Greg Zipadelli's Joe Gibbs Racing's team did was improve every critical statistical category -- and one that's only subjectively measurable but incredibly noticeable: Personality. [Season grade: A+]
• What can you say about the kid who just did not know enough about "can't do" to fear it? All Edwards and crew chief Bob Osborne's Roush Racing team did in the stretch run of Edwards' first full season in Nextel Cup was score the most points (4,425), equal their first half total of wins (two) and ratchet up their total of top-five (8-5) and top-10 finishes (11-7) -- without having a DNF. It was just amazing. [Season grade: A]
A
Greg Biffle
Matt Kenseth
• The performance of Biffle and crew chief Doug Richert's Roush Racing team fell off in the second half by a margin measurable by only a couple loose lug nuts at Texas Motor Speedway. While their ultimate league-leading victory total fell from five to one, their other stats all improved and their second place championship run made Biffle's third national touring championship a case of "when" more than "if." [Season grade: A]
• When it came time to put up, Kenseth and crew chief Robbie Reiser's Roush Racing team did that and more, jumping nine positions in the standings from the first half, winning a race and exponentially increasing their top five (10-2) and top 10 production (12-5) while cutting DNFs (3-1). Only two bad races in the Chase held them back. [Season grade: B+]
A-
Mark Martin
Kyle Busch
• The crucible Martin endured while trying to determine whether his Cup career would continue beyond its planned end with 2005's "Salute to You" tour knocks him and crew chief Pat Tryson's Roush Racing team up a grade from the first half, as they scored the third best point total (4,226) while winning a race and moving up two spots in the points. [Season grade: A-]
• To use a baseball analogy in analyzing Busch's season with crew chief Alan Gustafson's Hendrick Motorsports' team, when you swing for the fences, sometimes you're going to strike out. But the younger Busch brother's two wins, seven top fives and Raybestos Rookie of the Year award more than balanced out five second half DNFs. [Season grade: B+]
B+
Casey Mears
• Mears gets a good second half grade for elevating, in concert with crew chief Jimmy Elledge and their Chip Ganassi Racing team, their performance to double their critical stats and, much more importantly, becoming a legitimate threat to win by season's end. [Season grade: B-]
B
Ryan Newman
Rusty Wallace
Jeremy Mayfield
Jeff Gordon
Kyle Petty
• Newman and crew chief Matt Borland's Penske Racing South team did win a race in the second half, cut their DNFs in half, had the fourth best point total (4,163) and had no critically bad races in the Chase; but their critical statistical totals remained the same in the second half -- which had to be a disappointment. [Season grade: B]
• A lot of what doomed Wallace, crew chief Larry Carter and their Penske Racing South team at the end of Wallace's storied Cup career was circumstantial, but the most troubling aspect of their DNF-free season was, when it came time to make something happen -- nothing happened. But in the end, Wallace did go out on top. [Season grade: B+]
• Personnel shuffles at the end of the season might have hurt Mayfield and his Evernham Motorsports team, which had the seventh best point total of the half (3,894) but perhaps the 2005 Dodge Charger was the biggest millstone he and his fellow "Dodge Boys" carried in a season in which Mayfield picked up a victory in the second half and scored no DNFs on his way to his second Chase entry. [Season grade: B]
• A terribly jagged season for Gordon and his Hendrick Motorsports team, which considering its pedigree and history was a career worst for the four-time champion, was mercifully heading in the right direction for Gordon and new crew chief Steve Letarte at season's end. DNFs fell from an abysmal first half six, but so did top fives and wins. [Season grade: B-]
• Petty, who continues to persevere in an eclectic environment with an incredible sense of balance, did well to run appreciably better in the second half of the season -- despite having only one top-10 finish. [Season grade: B-]
B-
Jimmie Johnson
Kurt Busch
Kevin Harvick
• It's too early to tag Johnson with any awards for failing to win a Cup championship, since he, crew chief Chad Knaus and their Hendrick Motorsports team have never finished out of the top five in the standings, but in what's becoming an annual second-half swoon, they fell off in every statistical category while tumbling from the lead at halfway to a career-worst tying fifth. [Season grade: B+]
• Busch, crew chief Jimmy Fennig and their Roush Racing team struggled to maintain a championship performance level throughout the second half of the season, which was colored somewhat by news that Busch would leave the team when his contract expired. Even with his suspension from the team with two races remaining, Busch had the 10th best point total of the half (3,802). [Season grade: B]
• Maybe the biggest danger for Harvick, crew chief Todd Berrier and their Richard Childress Racing team is getting into a rut from which there's no escape. The team's second half production fell off with no wins or top fives and Harvick remained mired in 14th in the standings despite finishing every race this season. [Season grade: B-]
C+
Joe Nemechek
• Despite a lot of high hopes for the second half of the season, Nemechek never managed to equal his win total of a year ago and, while he positioned himself for a run at the 11th position in the standings early in the second half, it truly never came to fruition. [Season grade: C+]
C
Dale Jarrett
Brian Vickers
Jeff Burton
Bobby Labonte
Mike Bliss
Jeff Green
Mike Wallace
• Personnel shuffling once again marked Jarrett's season more than on-track success, and that was extremely frustrating for the former series champion, whose production and point standing both fell off despite a second-half victory with old buddy crew chief Todd Parrott. [Season grade: C]
• Even though his point position picked up five spots from the first to the second half of the season, Vickers struggled to make a consistent, quality impact. But at season's end he, crew chief Lance McGrew and their Hendrick Motorsports team definitely were heading in the right direction. [Season grade: C]
• Burton made a marginal pickup in top five and top 10 production, but had more second half DNFs to cap a truly disappointing season at Richard Childress Racing, which ended with big personnel changes. Knowing the direction they need to head give this competent veteran hope for the future. [Season grade: C]
• Change is sometimes a good thing, and when you look at the production of an eminently competent former champion such as Labonte, at Joe Gibbs Racing, you knew it was time for change. Picking up his second half numbers with three top fives and halving his DNFs did little to salvage the season. [Season grade: C-]
• Bliss is one of the league's good guys who is still deserving a shot, as he gave as good as he got in Haas CNC Racing's cars, including two second half top 10s, despite falling off four spots in the standings. [Season grade: C]
• The youngest racing Green brother ended the season marginally trailing his boss and heads off to a new job after doing a lot to continue Petty Enterprises' march back toward the front of the Cup field. [Season grade: C-]
• There were a lot of variables in place at Morgan-McClure Motorsports for Mike Wallace, who was the most consistent driver for the team. [Season grade: C]
C-
Jamie McMurray
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Ricky Rudd
Dave Blaney
Sterling Marlin
Ken Schrader
Scott Wimmer
Travis Kvapil
• You wouldn't have thought McMurray's announcement that he was planning to leave Chip Ganassi Racing -- and that he hoped it would be sooner rather than later -- would affect his results so drastically; but the second half of 2005 was the proof as he fell four spots to miss the Chase for the second time, with only three top 10s. [Season grade:
• Somewhere, Pete Rondeau shouldn't be feeling so bad, as Earnhardt's second half stats can only make you shake your head and go, 'huh?' Despite running much better with Tony Eury Jr. back at the helm of his Dale Earnhardt Incorporated team, their second half production was still off that of the opening 18 races -- but they get extra credit for effort. [Season grade: C]
• Incredibly, Rudd's grade bump based on career achievement only brings him and his Wood Brothers team to this point, after a second half that had a decent point output that didn't make up for a very disappointing 18 races. One top five and five top 10s in the half were a disappointing way for Rudd to leave his full-time career in the sport. [Season grade: C-]
• Everyone with a heart in the Nextel Cup garage wants to see Blaney get the best possible shot to fulfill some real potential to win races, but personnel mixing at Richard Childress Racing never solved it this season. [Season grade: C-]
• Marlin's final season with Chip Ganassi Racing never turned itself around, so he has high hopes of getting his career back on track with MB2 Motorsports in 2006. [Season grade: C-]
• How much powder is still left in peripatetic racer Schrader's magazine will be proven next season with the Wood Brothers, but in the second half of 2005 it was a case of coming up short at BAM Racing. [Season grade: C]
• One of only two full-timers who made all 36 races but didn't score a top-10 finish, Wimmer is a good guy who has actually had good success in the Busch Series, and deserves a shot to step up his game. [Season grade: C-]
• The former Truck Series champion Kvapil had a difficult season in Cup but did prove his potential with a couple top-10 finishes, but they paled in comparison to his main rookie of the year competitor, Kyle Busch. [Season grade: C-]
D
Elliott Sadler
Kasey Kahne
Michael Waltrip
Scott Riggs
Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Robby Gordon
• Sadler's almost incomprehensible spiral out of the upper echelon of Cup racing continued until the end of the second half, as he plummeted eight spots from the lofty fifth place he held at halfway, with only three top 10s and three Bud Poles coming nowhere close to offsetting point production that was well below expectations. [Season grade: C]
• A new personnel mix in 2006 will begin to tell the tale of how a promising first half, including Kahne's first career win, turned into a profound second half disappointment for Evernham Motorsports' promising youngster. [Season grade: C]
• Waltrip can get the job done, but for the popular veteran it was sad to see it not come together in his final half-season at Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. [Season grade: C]
• The news of a departure usually can't, or won't be kept secret, and maybe it was a coincidence that Riggs' second half dive coincided with news he would go from MBV Motorsports to Evernham Motorsports in 2006. [Season grade: C-]
• Hamilton needs to get with another team to prove where the shortcoming falls, as he was an effective performer in the Busch Series. [Season grade: D]
• Gordon gets an A+ for perseverance and effort -- but his new engine program was a serious letdown in a tough comeback season as an owner/driver. [Season grade: D]
The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.
NASCAR.COM hands out the final report card of 2005 season
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
The Chase for the Nextel Cup aside, at the end of the season the numbers -- like it or not -- tell a very large part of the tale of a team's season.
If a driver and team were going to get it done, they likely got it done in the second half of the 36-race campaign.
The performances ranged from newcomer Carl Edwards' startling emergence while also winning the Busch Series' rookie of the year award, to Tony Stewart's second Cup championship and Greg Biffle's establishment as a solid title contender to teams scrambling to simply make the 43-car fields.
So without further delay, here's one professor's take on the second half of the Cup season -- with a bonus: season grades.
A-plus
Tony Stewart
Carl Edwards
• After positioning themselves to make a run at the championship in a first half that had a sub-par start, including a DNF, all Stewart and crew chief Greg Zipadelli's Joe Gibbs Racing's team did was improve every critical statistical category -- and one that's only subjectively measurable but incredibly noticeable: Personality. [Season grade: A+]
• What can you say about the kid who just did not know enough about "can't do" to fear it? All Edwards and crew chief Bob Osborne's Roush Racing team did in the stretch run of Edwards' first full season in Nextel Cup was score the most points (4,425), equal their first half total of wins (two) and ratchet up their total of top-five (8-5) and top-10 finishes (11-7) -- without having a DNF. It was just amazing. [Season grade: A]
A
Greg Biffle
Matt Kenseth
• The performance of Biffle and crew chief Doug Richert's Roush Racing team fell off in the second half by a margin measurable by only a couple loose lug nuts at Texas Motor Speedway. While their ultimate league-leading victory total fell from five to one, their other stats all improved and their second place championship run made Biffle's third national touring championship a case of "when" more than "if." [Season grade: A]
• When it came time to put up, Kenseth and crew chief Robbie Reiser's Roush Racing team did that and more, jumping nine positions in the standings from the first half, winning a race and exponentially increasing their top five (10-2) and top 10 production (12-5) while cutting DNFs (3-1). Only two bad races in the Chase held them back. [Season grade: B+]
A-
Mark Martin
Kyle Busch
• The crucible Martin endured while trying to determine whether his Cup career would continue beyond its planned end with 2005's "Salute to You" tour knocks him and crew chief Pat Tryson's Roush Racing team up a grade from the first half, as they scored the third best point total (4,226) while winning a race and moving up two spots in the points. [Season grade: A-]
• To use a baseball analogy in analyzing Busch's season with crew chief Alan Gustafson's Hendrick Motorsports' team, when you swing for the fences, sometimes you're going to strike out. But the younger Busch brother's two wins, seven top fives and Raybestos Rookie of the Year award more than balanced out five second half DNFs. [Season grade: B+]
B+
Casey Mears
• Mears gets a good second half grade for elevating, in concert with crew chief Jimmy Elledge and their Chip Ganassi Racing team, their performance to double their critical stats and, much more importantly, becoming a legitimate threat to win by season's end. [Season grade: B-]
B
Ryan Newman
Rusty Wallace
Jeremy Mayfield
Jeff Gordon
Kyle Petty
• Newman and crew chief Matt Borland's Penske Racing South team did win a race in the second half, cut their DNFs in half, had the fourth best point total (4,163) and had no critically bad races in the Chase; but their critical statistical totals remained the same in the second half -- which had to be a disappointment. [Season grade: B]
• A lot of what doomed Wallace, crew chief Larry Carter and their Penske Racing South team at the end of Wallace's storied Cup career was circumstantial, but the most troubling aspect of their DNF-free season was, when it came time to make something happen -- nothing happened. But in the end, Wallace did go out on top. [Season grade: B+]
• Personnel shuffles at the end of the season might have hurt Mayfield and his Evernham Motorsports team, which had the seventh best point total of the half (3,894) but perhaps the 2005 Dodge Charger was the biggest millstone he and his fellow "Dodge Boys" carried in a season in which Mayfield picked up a victory in the second half and scored no DNFs on his way to his second Chase entry. [Season grade: B]
• A terribly jagged season for Gordon and his Hendrick Motorsports team, which considering its pedigree and history was a career worst for the four-time champion, was mercifully heading in the right direction for Gordon and new crew chief Steve Letarte at season's end. DNFs fell from an abysmal first half six, but so did top fives and wins. [Season grade: B-]
• Petty, who continues to persevere in an eclectic environment with an incredible sense of balance, did well to run appreciably better in the second half of the season -- despite having only one top-10 finish. [Season grade: B-]
B-
Jimmie Johnson
Kurt Busch
Kevin Harvick
• It's too early to tag Johnson with any awards for failing to win a Cup championship, since he, crew chief Chad Knaus and their Hendrick Motorsports team have never finished out of the top five in the standings, but in what's becoming an annual second-half swoon, they fell off in every statistical category while tumbling from the lead at halfway to a career-worst tying fifth. [Season grade: B+]
• Busch, crew chief Jimmy Fennig and their Roush Racing team struggled to maintain a championship performance level throughout the second half of the season, which was colored somewhat by news that Busch would leave the team when his contract expired. Even with his suspension from the team with two races remaining, Busch had the 10th best point total of the half (3,802). [Season grade: B]
• Maybe the biggest danger for Harvick, crew chief Todd Berrier and their Richard Childress Racing team is getting into a rut from which there's no escape. The team's second half production fell off with no wins or top fives and Harvick remained mired in 14th in the standings despite finishing every race this season. [Season grade: B-]
C+
Joe Nemechek
• Despite a lot of high hopes for the second half of the season, Nemechek never managed to equal his win total of a year ago and, while he positioned himself for a run at the 11th position in the standings early in the second half, it truly never came to fruition. [Season grade: C+]
C
Dale Jarrett
Brian Vickers
Jeff Burton
Bobby Labonte
Mike Bliss
Jeff Green
Mike Wallace
• Personnel shuffling once again marked Jarrett's season more than on-track success, and that was extremely frustrating for the former series champion, whose production and point standing both fell off despite a second-half victory with old buddy crew chief Todd Parrott. [Season grade: C]
• Even though his point position picked up five spots from the first to the second half of the season, Vickers struggled to make a consistent, quality impact. But at season's end he, crew chief Lance McGrew and their Hendrick Motorsports team definitely were heading in the right direction. [Season grade: C]
• Burton made a marginal pickup in top five and top 10 production, but had more second half DNFs to cap a truly disappointing season at Richard Childress Racing, which ended with big personnel changes. Knowing the direction they need to head give this competent veteran hope for the future. [Season grade: C]
• Change is sometimes a good thing, and when you look at the production of an eminently competent former champion such as Labonte, at Joe Gibbs Racing, you knew it was time for change. Picking up his second half numbers with three top fives and halving his DNFs did little to salvage the season. [Season grade: C-]
• Bliss is one of the league's good guys who is still deserving a shot, as he gave as good as he got in Haas CNC Racing's cars, including two second half top 10s, despite falling off four spots in the standings. [Season grade: C]
• The youngest racing Green brother ended the season marginally trailing his boss and heads off to a new job after doing a lot to continue Petty Enterprises' march back toward the front of the Cup field. [Season grade: C-]
• There were a lot of variables in place at Morgan-McClure Motorsports for Mike Wallace, who was the most consistent driver for the team. [Season grade: C]
C-
Jamie McMurray
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Ricky Rudd
Dave Blaney
Sterling Marlin
Ken Schrader
Scott Wimmer
Travis Kvapil
• You wouldn't have thought McMurray's announcement that he was planning to leave Chip Ganassi Racing -- and that he hoped it would be sooner rather than later -- would affect his results so drastically; but the second half of 2005 was the proof as he fell four spots to miss the Chase for the second time, with only three top 10s. [Season grade:
• Somewhere, Pete Rondeau shouldn't be feeling so bad, as Earnhardt's second half stats can only make you shake your head and go, 'huh?' Despite running much better with Tony Eury Jr. back at the helm of his Dale Earnhardt Incorporated team, their second half production was still off that of the opening 18 races -- but they get extra credit for effort. [Season grade: C]
• Incredibly, Rudd's grade bump based on career achievement only brings him and his Wood Brothers team to this point, after a second half that had a decent point output that didn't make up for a very disappointing 18 races. One top five and five top 10s in the half were a disappointing way for Rudd to leave his full-time career in the sport. [Season grade: C-]
• Everyone with a heart in the Nextel Cup garage wants to see Blaney get the best possible shot to fulfill some real potential to win races, but personnel mixing at Richard Childress Racing never solved it this season. [Season grade: C-]
• Marlin's final season with Chip Ganassi Racing never turned itself around, so he has high hopes of getting his career back on track with MB2 Motorsports in 2006. [Season grade: C-]
• How much powder is still left in peripatetic racer Schrader's magazine will be proven next season with the Wood Brothers, but in the second half of 2005 it was a case of coming up short at BAM Racing. [Season grade: C]
• One of only two full-timers who made all 36 races but didn't score a top-10 finish, Wimmer is a good guy who has actually had good success in the Busch Series, and deserves a shot to step up his game. [Season grade: C-]
• The former Truck Series champion Kvapil had a difficult season in Cup but did prove his potential with a couple top-10 finishes, but they paled in comparison to his main rookie of the year competitor, Kyle Busch. [Season grade: C-]
D
Elliott Sadler
Kasey Kahne
Michael Waltrip
Scott Riggs
Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Robby Gordon
• Sadler's almost incomprehensible spiral out of the upper echelon of Cup racing continued until the end of the second half, as he plummeted eight spots from the lofty fifth place he held at halfway, with only three top 10s and three Bud Poles coming nowhere close to offsetting point production that was well below expectations. [Season grade: C]
• A new personnel mix in 2006 will begin to tell the tale of how a promising first half, including Kahne's first career win, turned into a profound second half disappointment for Evernham Motorsports' promising youngster. [Season grade: C]
• Waltrip can get the job done, but for the popular veteran it was sad to see it not come together in his final half-season at Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. [Season grade: C]
• The news of a departure usually can't, or won't be kept secret, and maybe it was a coincidence that Riggs' second half dive coincided with news he would go from MBV Motorsports to Evernham Motorsports in 2006. [Season grade: C-]
• Hamilton needs to get with another team to prove where the shortcoming falls, as he was an effective performer in the Busch Series. [Season grade: D]
• Gordon gets an A+ for perseverance and effort -- but his new engine program was a serious letdown in a tough comeback season as an owner/driver. [Season grade: D]
The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.