Nascar 2013 Half Season Review

Let's get to a review of the top half of the drivers standings

**Following the same guidelines as the Nascar 2013 Quarter Season Review I will take a look at where I think the drivers are at this point in the season. I will include which section I had them in at the Quarter Season Review as well as many drivers have been moving and shaking.**

On Vacation (Drivers In)

• Jimmie Johnson (Quarter Season- On Vacation)- Well no where else for JJ to be, he is in the Chase already and he is just trying to smooth everything out.
• Carl Edwards (On Vacation)- I still think Carl is in the Chase no matter what. He is 3rd in the points with a win on the season so he is no lock but he has been pretty consistent.
• Matt Kenseth (On Vacation)- He has four wins on the season which ties him with JJ. On the Quarter Season Review he has two wins. He is in on wins alone but he should get a top 10 spot.
• Kyle Busch (On Vacation)- Well he still has the two wins he had in the Quarter Season Review and they still look good for the Chase. He has had some hard luck but still sits 7th and I think he will get a top 10 spot, if not he will for sure get a WC spot with the two wins (most likely will find at least one more before the Chase).
• Kevin Harvick (Work to be done)- Well he is a big mover in the Half Season Review but I did have him as the safest driver in the Work to be done section. He now has two wins in 2013 and is 4th in the standings.
• Clint Bowyer (Sitting Pretty)- Well Bowyer is the lone driver in this section without a win after moving up from the Sitting Pretty Section in the Quarter Season Review. He is second in points and is bound to find a win in 2013, maybe he will even find that win in the Chase and make another run at a title.

Sitting Pretty (Looking good but could use some work in the next quarter)

• Dale Earnhardt Jr (Sitting Pretty)- He is practically in, but he still doesn't have that win and at times he has been just too quiet. He is 5th in points and should lock down a top 10 Chase spot.
• Greg Biffle (Work to be done)- Well Biffle has been much better in this quarter and found a way to get a W. He is sitting 8th in points right now but is trending the wrong way and it could mean he may slide out of the top 10.
• Tony Stewart (Starting to worry)- Well he was almost cast off last time I reviewed the season but he made a strong run and found a win in 2013. He is 10th in points right now and just finished 2nd at Daytona.

Work To Be Done (In the top 12 right now, but need to get moving)

• Kasey Kahne (On Vacation)- He literally took a vacation when I wrote the last article and he has slipped to a WC spot. Well unfortunately for Kahne he has one win and that WC spot may need multiple wins. Also, fortunately for him he still has time and has been fast time to time. (12th in standings).
• Kurt Busch (Starting to worry)- Well back then I thought the little team that could may not be able to find a way to get in, and he has been on the uphill since then. I still am not sure if he can get in but the fact is he has been fast and is sitting 9th in points.
• Martin Truex Jr (Sweating it)- Well he was sitting outside the top 10 during the last review, and didn't have a win in over 200 races. Now Truex has a win and holds a WC spot. I think he could be a guy who has to worry about dropping out, but he has shown resilience and made the Chase last year so he can get it done.

Sweating it (Guys outside the top 12 who have a decent shot but need to get going)

• Jeff Gordon- Well Gordon isn't out of it yet, but he would love it if he could stay away from trouble. He has seemed to be getting it going as of late and that bad luck is the only thing in his way from making a run.
• Joey Logano- Still on the verge of breaking out, JoLo is having his best year of his young career and is just outside the top 12.
• Brad Keselowski- He has totally fallen off the grid but he still has a shot at the Chase which is amazing in itself. BK needs to find a way to finish strong and pick up a win or two.
• Ryan Newman- Well he has been the more consistant driver between him and Smoke but he hasn't goten hot like Stewart did. He has a bit of a good track record at Loudon so if he could pull off a win it owuld make it interesting in the Stewart-Haas camp.

Starting To Worry

• Jamie McMurray- Well he is starting to get hot, so he could end up being the big mover out of this group. On that note, we head into Loudon for a race where he only has one top 10 in the last 10 races.
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr- Ricky isn't going to make the Chase, so he may as well be in the "Pack It Up" section. I gave him the pass for now because he is a rookie and he still does have a chance if you look at the points. Having a nice rookie year, he seems to always finish from 14-19th every week.
• Aric Almirola- He has a nice run where he posted top 10's but it seems like that has faded and he and his RPM teammate -Marcus Ambrose- are on the outside looking in when it comes to the Chase.

Pack It Up

• Denny Hamlin- Well he is done. He just keeps finding the wall and when you find the wall your chances of wins and top finishes goes down the drain. I do however think he can notch a win this season (I actually have him this week as a front runner at Loudon).
• Paul Menard- Bad luck did Menard in at Daytona this last week and he was out almost before it started. He had a good run early this year sitting in the top 10 but he has faded and he now is all but out of contention -picking up 1 point will do that to you-.

Who I like to get in at this point in the season (Also added in who I liked at the Quarter Season Review and Current Standings)

	Quarter Review		Half Review		Current Standings
1	Jimmie Johnson	1	Jimmie Johnson	1	Jimmie Johnson
2	Kyle Busch	2	Matt Kenseth	2	Clint Bowyer
3	Matt Kenseth	3	Kevin Harvick	3	Carl Edwards
4	Dale Earnhardt Jr	4	Clint Bowyer	4	Kevin Harvick
5	Carl Edwards	5	Kyle Busch	5	Dale Earnhardt Jr
6	Brad Keselowski	6	Dale Earnhardt Jr	6	Matt Kenseth
7	Clint Bowyer	7	Carl Edwards	7	Kyle Busch
8	Kasey Kahne	8	Kasey Kahne	8	Greg Biffle
9	Kevin Harvick	9	Greg Biffle	9	Kurt Busch
10	Jeff Gordon	10	Joey Logano	10	Tony Stewart
11	Greg Biffle	11	Martin Truex Jr	11	Martin Truex Jr
12	Ryan Newman	12	Tony Stewart	12	Kasey Kahne

*No real order, but it is kind of by who I think is the safest as of today 7/11/13.*

Some notes on the Chase Standings:

• I had Gordon being the big mover between he and Smoke and was wrong. Gordon still has a shot and if I ranked them I would have him 13th.
• With his win I think Truex will get in, but he is a risk because the WC spot may go to a guy with 2 wins.
• Kahne is struggling right now but his win and the fact he has been fast (plus he is a Hendrick car) leaves me thinking he will make a run. 
• I have Kurt Busch dropping out of the standings as my only mover. Joey Logano meanwhile is the guy who moves into his spot.

Well that's it for now. The next 8 races are crunch time for drivers and we will know more each week as we get closer to the Chase, the key will be wins. Will Kenseth and Johnson keep stealing wins? The more they steal the more it looks like one win will get a WC spot with a lot of guys fitting that category and making a crazy last couple races.

Nascar 2013 Quarter Season Review

Let's get to a review of the top half of the drivers standings.

On Vacation (Drivers In)

• Jimmie Johnson- It is the Quarter mark to the Nascar 2013 season and JJ has already amounted a 43 point lead in the point standings. In that time he has 2 Wins, 4 top 5's and 6 top 10's while finishing every race. On top of that, guys like Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth have been hit with fines from Nascar and also ran into some bad luck that has left JJ by himself at the top. Nothing to see here, just JJ already marking his spot in the Chase. The rest of the way him and Chad will be just fine tuning.
• Carl Edwards- He started the season off by getting a win week two and ever since then has been very consistent. He also has 4 top 5's and 5 top 10's in those 9 races. It is hard to see at this point Carl not staying in the top 20 and not getting a Chase spot.
• Kasey Kahne- Kasey had a hot stretch where no one could touch him, well except for Matt Kenseth (finishing 2nd to him twice). Kahne also has an early season win that should help him keep a Chase spot at the end of 2013
• Kyle Busch-Well the last two weeks have been ugly for Kyle, but he has his hot start of the season to fall back on. He has two early season wins that will at the very least get him the Wild Card spot (most likely). Kyle has been known to fall of once the Chase comes around, so that should start being the focus soon.
• Matt Kenseth- Kenseth is in the same boat as Kyle with two wins almost assuring himself to at least a WC spot. Other then the Toyota Racing incident (50 points deducted) Kenseth hasn't had too many miss steps along the way.

Sitting Pretty (Looking good but can use some more in the next Quarter)

• Dale Earnhardt Jr-I think he is a lock to get into the Chase but he still doesn't have a win and has had a few bad luck cases as of late. 3 top 5's and 6 top 10's have helped Jr stay in 3rd in the standings. Maybe Talladega he can get going again with a Win. Even without the wins he is 3rd so no real worries here.
• Brad Keselowski- Well the current Champ has gone through just about everything a driver could in the past few weeks. Nascar penalties, fantum pit stop penalties, speeding penalties, spies, hitting the wall early, or finishing the race with half the car you started with, BK has done it. That being said he still has 7 top 10's in the first 9 races which is the most in Nascar. What BK needs is to get past the bad luck and get a win to really make sure he solidifies his spot. Can he do it at a track where his first Nascar win came and without his crew chief?
• Clint Bowyer-He is really the third driver in this list that I think will end up in but a win would really help. Like I mentioned, Clint and the previous two drivers have done it all but just need to get that win to get it off there backs and make sure they are in for sure. Then they all can start getting ready for the Chase. Bowyer has only 5 top 10's but 4 of those are top 5's.

Work To Be Done (In the top 12 right now, but need to get moving)

• Kevin Harvick- He is the safest driver in this section. Harvick just got his first win of the season at Richmond after finishing in the 12th-14th spot most weeks early on. The win will help him in the long run as will solid finishes, but if he gets hot watch out he could be sitting well by Chase time.
• Greg Biffle- The Biff has had quite the ride so far this year. He started off with a top 10, then struggled a few races, then back on track, and now lately had two races with struggles.  This is part of the reason he hasn't finished above 3rs in the final season rankings since 2008. He will need to find consistency and at the right time to have a chance in 2013.
• Paul Menard- Can he hold on to a Chase spot? That is the big question with Menard. Mostly because Menard is not normally in this position. He is almost half way to his career mark for top 10's in a season (at four now) but has yet to finish above 16th in the standings. If one thing is on his side, every season he has been getting better.
• Aric Almirola- Who wants a Chase spot more, Aric or Richard Petty? Almirola started off the season on a good note not finishing worse then 16th in the first 4 races. In the middle he had two mis steps but in the last 3 races he has 3 straight top 10's. I would love to see the ole STP car back in a title chase but he needs to keep it up and find his first career win this season to releave some stress.
• Jamie McMurray- If you didn't know the standings would you really think McMurray is in if the season ended after 9 races? Well even though he is in a spot now, his mind set doesn't change because he needs to get going. He has been very inconsistent but has racked up 3 top 10's/ McMurray just needs to find a win in the next quarter and stop riding the roller coaster ride in finishing position.

Sweating It (Guys outside the top 12 who have a decent shot, but better not wait too long)

• Jeff Gordon- Well he had an up and down start to the season, and has had some issues that have held back his run the past few races but he managed a 13th and 11th back to back weeks. Gordon has a good chance with his track record to get into the Chase but it wont be easy. A few wins would really help his chances.
• Martin Truex Jr- Well he made a two week run where he had a chance to break his win less streak but came up short. He sits just outside the top 12 but mostly because of those two races. Truex needs to find some top 10's in the next 9 races to have a shot to get in.
• Ryan Newman- If you take out his bad luck races to start the season and the one other race (Martinsville) he hasn't finished higher then 15th (6 races).  4 top 10's and a top 5 in the early season has shown he still can run. He maybe the only chance for Stewart-Haas to get into the Chace this year. I think he has a good chance to sneak in if he avoids the 30+ finished that have him sitting so low.
• Joey Logano- He would look a lot better with those 25 points back, say in a top 12 spot. Needless to say the Penske Nascar penalty hit this team hard but he has put together a good start to the season. He has been in some races down the stretch and in position to win so he has a shot to make the Chase if he gets really hot.

Starting to Worry

• Denny Hamlin- DH is cleared to get back in the car at Dega. The thoughts are that he will start the race and sit towards the back until he can switch out so he can collect some points. He is 28th in points right now, or 71 points out of 20th. He still has an outside chance but no one really knows how he will come back. If he comes back to a slow start and he doesn't feel comfortable he may just shut it down for the season.
• Kurt Busch- The little team that could. He has been impressive with his small team and has had some nice runs. I just don't know if it will be enough. He has an outside shot if he can stay consistent and in the top 20 and find a win or two.
• Tony Stewart- A terrible season yet he is in 21st. Smoke could find a way to get hot and find some wins in 2013. If he does he could sneak in with a wild card spot and get hot at the right time. But the way he has looked this year it is hard to imagine that big of a turn around. I say he becomes more of the owner for the season and give everything he has to get Newman in and Danica as much advise as she wants.

Pack It Up (Guys who's Chase chances are slim to none)

• Juan Pablo Montoya- Until last week at Richmond JPM hasn't been seen. He has had a dismal season and just doesn't have it this year. He always does have the long shot of getting a win or two because of road courses, but he still has not won on an oval.
• Ricky stenhouse Jr- He has run pretty well for his first full season in Nascar, but I don't seeing it being enough. He will finish the season above fellow rookie and girlfriend Danica Patrick
• Danick Patrick- Speaking of Danica, she doesn't have a chance at the Chase, but no one thought she did. She will just continue this season learning week by week and trying to get some top 10's. (And beating Smoke)
• Jeff Burton- Burton just doesn't seem to have it again this season, so I doubt he will get back into the Chase and may have missed his window to ever have a good chance again. He will be focusing on just getting another win to snap his streak.

Who I like to get in at this point in the season: (Safest drivers towards the top)

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Kyle Busch
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr
5. Carl Edwards
6. Brad Keselowski
7. Clint Bowyer
8. Kasey Kahne
9. Kevin Harvick
10. Jeff Gordon
11. Greg Biffle
12. Ryan Newman

Making it close: Tony Stewart, Paul Menard, Kurt Busch, and Joey Logano. We will see how the next 9 races pan out and take a second look at how the Chase will shape up. Until then here are some extra links to take a look at.

Sprint Cup Standings
Latest Power Rankings: Pit Road Week 9
Rest of the Season Nascar Schedule
Talladega Preview