Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 team struggled all year long to get a handle on the new car at intermediate tracks, an issue that proved to be their downfall just one year after collecting six wins and a modern-era record 30 top-10 finishes.
Kyle Busch was stomping on the competition so hard for the first 26 races of 2008 that the big question before the Chase was whether Carl Edwards or Jimmie Johnson could even mount a serious challenge.
It was an aggressive start to 2008 by Tony Stewart, who spent Daytona Speedweeks feuding with Kurt Busch after an on-track incident in practice led to some extracurricular activities.
JJ Yeley’s spirits in an otherwise lackluster year had to soar after a second-place run at the Coca-Cola 600 this May.
Surprisingly enough, the second half of the season saw Michael Waltrip’s team begin to capture a small bit of momentum.
Kenny Wallace – the 2006 Busch Series Most Popular Driver – trounced the competition to take the slot among Nextel Cup’s best and brightest.
Despite missing two of the first five races of the season, Brian Vickers ran well in the races that he did qualify for in 2007.
Surrounded by his hometown fans, there was no more suitable place for Martin Truex Jr. to make a statement about his future in racing than the Monster Mile.
Early on in 2007, it was David Stremme, not Clint Bowyer, who looked like he’d be the series’ breakout sophomore.
Reed Sorenson’s second season in Cup came with a pair of firsts. At Indianapolis, Sorenson tamed the 2.5-miler at 184.207 mph to earn his first career pole.