Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr were the top two disappointments of 2007.
1. 9-Kasey Kahne:
Ever since Kasey Kahne’s rookie season in NASCAR, expectations have been through the roof. Kahne scored 13 top five finishes and 14 top ten finishes in his debut season; however his sophomore season left a lot to be desired. In 2006, Kahne had the breakout season that everyone had anticipated. He posted a Nextel Cup series-high six victories, 12 top five finishes, and 19 top ten finishes. He also qualified for the Chase for the Championship and ended up eight in the final championship standings. Undoubtedly, Kasey Kahne was projected to be a solid championship pick in 2007. Other than the race at Bristol in August and maybe the fall race at Atlanta, Kahne was a total non-factor all season long, and the frustration was evident.
Early in the season Kahne lashed out at fellow driver David Stremme following an on-track incident at Richmond. He went as far as to call Stremme ‘out of shape’ and ‘fat’. At Homestead, Kahne encountered a highly publicized a confrontation with a security guard. Kahne is typically quiet and composed, so it leads one to believe that mediocrity finally set him off.
Kahne finished 19th in the final championship standings with only 1 top five and 8 top tens.
2. 8-Dale Earnhardt Jr:
Dale Earnhardt Jr was the story of the 2007 season. It is hard to believe that a driver who failed to win a single race, or even qualify for the Chase for the Championship engrossed such a media frenzy. But after all, it is Dale Earnhardt Jr.
In Earnhardt Jr’s defense, his season was chock-full of distractions. It was nearly a year ago when his stepmother and former boss Teresa Earnhardt called him out in a national interview. Basically, Teresa questioned Earnhardt Jr’s desire to be a racecar driver. The feud eventually led to his departure from DEI, and to his awaiting home at Hendrick Motorsports. And then you had the conspiracy theorists crying foul, insinuating that Teresa Earnhardt was behind the myriads of engine failures. No, it was just plain bad racing luck.
The fact is, Earnhardt Jr was not that bad in 2007. He led 433 laps throughout the season, which is more than three of the drivers that made the Chase for the Championship. However, anytime you post more DNF’s (9) than top five finishes (7), your season is doomed for failure. Moreover, the 2007 campaign marked the first time in Earnhardt Jr’s Cup career that he finished a season without a single win. Disappointing indeed, but many Earnhardt loyalists sense that a turnaround is on the horizon as Earnhardt Jr will team up with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson at Hendrick Motorsports starting in 2008.
3. 16-Greg Biffle:
When Greg Biffle missed the Chase for the Championship in 2006, it was not because of performance. Like Tony Stewart, Biffle missed the Chase for the Championship because he did not peak at the right time. In 2007, missing the Chase was 100% performance-related. Biffle and the 16 team lost their mojo on the intermediate tracks, which was their bread and butter in 2004, 2005, and 2006, and they struggled with the Car of Tomorrow. Biffle seemed to improve as the season drew to a close, as he posted a win and two second place finishes in the final nine races. Still, this was not the same Biffle that led all of them laps in previous seasons. In 2005, Biffle led 1,322 laps, and in 2006, he led 993 laps. In 2007, he only led 78 laps throughout the entire season. Biffle could lead 78 laps in an hour back in 2005 and 2006.
Overall, Biffle scored 1 win (at Kansas), 5 top five finishes, and 11 top ten finishes and was 14th in the final championship standings.
4. 55-Michael Waltrip:
It is not as if Michael Waltrip was expected to light up the NASCAR world in 2007; however, he had the resources from Toyota Racing Development to produce better results than he did.
His introductory season as a NASCAR owner turned into a nightmare before the season officially began. Everyone recalls the thwarting cheating fiasco that occurred after Daytona 500 qualifying involving an illegal substance on the intake manifold of his Toyota Camry. Waltrip was docked 100 owner and driver points and lost his crew chief as well as his director of competition. And after the Daytona 500, Waltrip failed to qualify for the subsequent eleven races.
In the midst of his involuntary sabbatical, Waltrip was charged with reckless driving after he fled the scene of a single-car accident that bizarrely took place around 2 o’clock in the morning.
Once the season hit its midpoint, Waltrip appeared to show a bit of improvement as he would qualify for 13 of the final 24 Nextel Cup races and score 2 top ten finishes and a Bud Pole award.
Waltrip’s teammates did not fair much better. Dale Jarrett missed 12 races and rookie David Reutimann missed 10 races.
5. 19-Elliott Sadler:
Like Michael Waltrip, Elliott Sadler was by no means a trendy pick when it came to projecting the top twelve drivers in 2007. Nevertheless, very few anticipated that he would only score a pair of top ten finishes and finish 25th position in the final Nextel Cup championship standings. Sadler was a conceivable top 15 driver heading into the 2007 season, especially after the way that his Gillett Evernham Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne performed the prior season. His move to Gillett Evernham Motorsports was assumed to be a significant upgrade from his former ride at Robert Yates Racing; however, Sadler’s season nearly mirrored David Gilliland’s. Gilliland, who was competing in his first full season, supplanted Sadler in the Robert Yates Racing Ford.
Sadler showed no signs of picking up the pace, so he may be on the hot seat in 2008. Ray Evernham has showed in the past that he will make a driver change the minute he deems necessary.
Honorable mention: Jeremy Mayfield, Dale Jarrett, Scott Riggs, Brian Vickers
