Halfway point in the season, who are the biggest surprises?

[Joe Fan]

1 Sterling Marlin 2483 Leader 18 2 6 10 $2,561,720
2 Mark Martin 2434 -49 18 1 7 13 $3,419,530
3 Jimmie Johnson* 2394 -89 18 2 5 12 $1,685,110
4 Jeff Gordon 2388 -95 18 0 6 11 $2,563,660
5 Tony Stewart 2326 -157 18 2 8 10 $2,559,280
6 Rusty Wallace 2312 -171 18 0 1 10 $2,000,890
7 Ricky Rudd 2274 -209 18 1 5 7 $2,203,240
8 Bill Elliott 2230 -253 18 0 2 8 $1,836,730
9 Kurt Busch 2223 -260 18 1 5 8 $1,892,970
10 Matt Kenseth 2219 -264 18 3 6 9 $2,161,020
11 Dale Jarrett 2114 -369 18 1 4 7 $2,128,160
12 Ryan Newman* 2033 -450 18 0 6 9 $2,479,410
13 Ricky Craven 2032 -451 18 0 3 5 $1,398,760
14 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2020 -463 18 1 5 7 $2,037,550
15 Michael Waltrip 2020 -463 18 1 4 7 $1,705,400
16 Jeff Burton 2000 -483 18 0 2 7 $1,969,270
17 Terry Labonte 1927 -556 18 0 1 3 $1,725,420
18 Kyle Petty 1871 -612 18 0 0 1 $1,073,800
19 Dave Blaney 1863 -620 18 0 0 2 $1,427,880
20 Elliott Sadler 1818 -665 18 0 2 4 $2,217,940
21 Bobby Labonte 1806 -677 18 1 3 3 $2,014,860
22 Jeff Green 1792 -691 18 0 1 1 $1,088,990
23 Jimmy Spencer 1772 -711 17 0 2 5 $1,178,410
24 Robby Gordon 1659 -824 18 0 0 2 $1,558,810
25 Bobby Hamilton 1631 -852 18 0 0 2 $1,340,260
26 Ward Burton 1609 -874 18 1 1 3 $3,024,800
27 Jeremy Mayfield 1608 -875 18 0 2 2 $1,422,950
28 Kevin Harvick 1576 -907 17 1 2 3 $1,894,290
29 Mike Skinner 1535 -948 18 0 0 0 $1,167,500
30 John Andretti 1506 -977 18 0 0 1 $1,550,140
31 Casey Atwood 1464 -1019 18 0 0 0 $1,147,900
32 Hut Stricklin 1425 -1058 17 0 0 0 $1,030,540
33 Ken Schrader 1385 -1098 18 0 0 0 $1,303,750
34 Brett Bodine 1375 -1108 18 0 0 0 $1,092,130
35 Johnny Benson 1283 -1200 14 0 0 2 $1,246,810
36 Stacy Compton 1242 -1241 17 0 0 0 $1,009,140
37 Jerry Nadeau 1203 -1280 15 0 0 1 $1,053,880
38 Joe Nemechek 1113 -1370 15 0 0 0 $1,133,880
39 Steve Park 1048 -1435 14 0 0 0 $1,177,280
40 Todd Bodine 757 -1726 8 0 0 1 $653,388
41 Kenny Wallace 666 -1817 8 0 0 1 $700,168
42 Steve Grissom 647 -1836 8 0 0 1 $447,416
43 Rick Mast 576 -1907 9 0 0 0 $469,843
44 Buckshot Jones 559 -1924 7 0 0 0 $394,223
45 Geoffrey Bodine 532 -1951 4 0 1 2 $887,388
46 Hermie Sadler 404 -2079 5 0 0 0 $275,720
47 Shawna Robinson* 361 -2122 7 0 0 0 $428,519
48 Frank Kimmel 292 -2191 6 0 0 0 $407,579
49 Mike Wallace 275 -2208 5 0 0 0 $470,962
50 Greg Biffle 124 -2359 1 0 0 0 $80,059

[Joe Fan]

I'd say Jimmie Johnson in 3rd and Bobby Labonte in 21st are the biggest surprises.

[Ax Slinger]

I'd say no wins for Jeff Gordon, and Robby Gordon still in the same ride are the biggest "Huh?"'s of the season so far. There are a few others, but those two are the biggun's.

[John B]

Gordon not winning for sure.

Martin 2nd in the points.

Johnson being up there is less of a surprise for me than it would have been before Stewart and Harvick had very successful break in years with top organizations.

Waltrip being even with DE II in the points.

I agree the highest Labonte being Terry is a surprise.

DEI not winning the Daytona 500...

[24thunder]

Jeff Gordon-no point wins
Mark Martin-winning No-Bull5 bonus
Matt Kenseth-currently leading drivers with 3 wins
Sterling Marlin-leading points race 4 all but week No.1

[Lars]

All of Ricky Rudd's whining...never thought of him to be that way.

[Jack Man]

The most pleasant surprize for me is the steady upward movement of the Jasper/D Blaney team. The head scratcher is the RCR/Harvick team being an also ran until last weekend. I hope this will be the turning point for them.

[John B]

Joe, over on ESPN they posted a midseason review....even mentioned you and your family



It's about Joe and Jane Fan, who think nothing about being stuck in traffic for hours or enduring the beating sun or torrential downpours. NASCAR fans give new meaning to words like "ardent" and "loyal." They withstand the weather and traffic just to cheer their favorites and forget about everyday life for a few hours, either in person or in front of the television.

[Joe Fan]

Good eye there John B. Me and my wife are now famous like Famous Amos.

[Speedworx]

Bobby Labonte down in 21st, despite winning a race is surprising.

I have cursed Jeff, so he won't win any races this year.

Also, Mark Martin 2nd in points is surprising.

[Lars]

Originally posted by John B
Joe, over on ESPN they posted a midseason review....even mentioned you and your family



It's about Joe and Jane Fan, who think nothing about being stuck in traffic for hours or enduring the beating sun or torrential downpours. NASCAR fans give new meaning to words like "ardent" and "loyal." They withstand the weather and traffic just to cheer their favorites and forget about everyday life for a few hours, either in person or in front of the television.

No mention of Lars & Shortie??? Hmph! We just didn't get enough racing last weekend in Chi Town so we decided to head to St. Louie for the Busch race tommorrow. At least Joe & the Mrs. got a mention!! Kewl!

[neilwaynesmith]

What has happened to Bobby Labonte? We don't get as much Nascar coverage over here, only the weekly 1hr drip-feed.

I know the Pontiac is getting on a bit, but surely NASCAR can cut it some aerodynamic slack to bring it back up to the front?

[BootsOntheSide]

"I know the Pontiac is getting on a bit, but surely NASCAR can cut it some aerodynamic slack to bring it back up to the front?"

Tony Stewart doesn't need it in the same car. A former champion shouldn't have journeyman drivers like Michael Wartrip, Craven or Sadler ahead of him

[neilwaynesmith]

Fair point, which brings me back to my original question. Even for a dispirited driver (?), it's a fair fall in performance.

[Sea Green]

A good surprise is Martin that close to a championship. Bad surprises are Jimmie Johnson in third, and jeff Gordon in fourth despite winning no races at all. The feel good surprise of the year is Geoffrey Bodine, making a few races and doing well in most of them. I was rooting for him at Daytona.

[muggle not]

Biggest surprise is Bobby Labonte....don't quite understand what is happening. He is too good a driver and Gibbs is a quality owner.

It is very difficult though for teams to stay on top nowadays but Pontiac better "get-with-it"!

[rustyfan]

Biggest surprises to me (in no particular order):

Jeff Gordon still being winless (although he has two solid chances coming up to end that winless streak..)

Ward Burton having won two races in one season

Jimmie Johnson 3rd in points

The struggles of powerhouses like RCR, DEI and to some extent RYR

Overall I think 2002 is one of the most intrigueing (sp?) Winston Cup seasons in a long time

[rustyfan]

As for Gibbs and Pontiac, they are most likely going to switch to Chevrolet for 2003 (I'm sure that has been mentioned earlier at the forum though) and might even use the Chevrolet in some races this season.

[muggle not]

Yes, Gibbs announced awhile ago that they will use Chevrolet next year. My comment was meant to indicate that Pontiac better get on the ball or they will be left in the dust. Losing Labonte and Stewart has to be a big blow for Pontiac. I dont quite understand how Pontiac can let that happen.

[Sea Green]

Pontiac is owned by GM. So technicly they're not losing Gibbs, he just moving to a different divison.

[rustyfan]

True, but that doesn't mean the competition between Chevrolet and Pontiac is any less fierce than between any other brand currently in Winston Cup.

[Joe Fan]

I don't know what has happened with Bobby Labonte. If someone told me that his brother would be ahead of him in the points at the halfway mark, I would have thought they were nuts. However, one should note that Bobby started off slow last year too.