NASCAR midseason report: Surprises, disappointments and more

The NASCAR Sprint Cup season reaches its unofficial midpoint this weekend when the series returns to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400 on Sunday, and the season has produced plenty of storylines to this point.

Jeff Gordon’s final season as a full-time driver in the series remains the No. 1 topic, but he has not found Victory Lane. Is he going to catch fire in the second half, or simply fade down the stretch?

Speaking of fading, what has happened to Tony Stewart? He hasn’t had a top-five run. Neither has his teammate Danica Patrick … in 98 career Sprint Cup races.

But that doesn’t mean the sport is lacking star power at the top. Jimmie Johnson is in championship form with a series-high four wins. Reigning champion Kevin Harvick and 2004 champ Kurt Busch each have two wins.

Kyle Busch just picked up his first win of the season after missing the first 11 races with a broken leg.

And, like any sport, there are always the surprises. Who would have thought Martin Truex Jr., driving for a one-car team, would be as dominant as he’s been? Or did anyone expect Jamie McMurray to rebound as he has?

Here is a look back and what’s ahead for the NASCAR season, with Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage providing his insight.

Usual suspects

▪ Jimmie Johnson: Nobody is surprised to see the No. 48 team back in form. After all, a “down year” for Johnson is finishing second. Said Gossage: “Jimmie’s problem is that he’s so good that it looks effortless, and people don’t have a sufficient appreciation for how darn good he is. He may be the best of all time.”

▪ Dale Earnhardt Jr.: At 40, Earnhardt Jr. remains as popular as ever and might be running as well as ever. He’s sure to be in the championship mix, and that is really the only thing missing from his Hall of Fame résumé.

▪ Kevin Harvick: Won the series championship for the first time last year, and is making a strong case to repeat. He is the series’ points leader with 11 top-five runs in 16 races.

Unusual suspects

▪ Martin Truex Jr.: A refreshing example that one-car teams can be successful against the high-dollar, multi-driver teams. What Truex Jr. and Furniture Row Racing are doing is simply remarkable. Said Gossage: “They are a really strong team and could win it. You always see teams doing better than expected, and they certainly are one of them.”

▪ Jamie McMurray: Chip Ganassi Racing has never established itself as a powerhouse, and hasn’t had a car make the Chase since Juan Pablo Montoya in 2009. But McMurray would be in it if the season ended today, posting seven top-10s to date. Said Gossage: “Jamie McMurray is having a year that nobody expected because that team has underperformed historically. All of a sudden, he’s seventh in points.”

▪ Paul Menard: He’s never made the Chase in his first eight full seasons in the Cup series, but he’d be in it now. Menard hasn’t had a great season, posting only four top-10s, but he’s been consistent enough and could sneak in for the first time in his career.

What happened to ...

▪ Jeff Gordon: Sure, Gordon would be in the Chase and that’s all that really matters for the veteran driver. He can get hot at the right time and make a run, but it’s still alarming that he has only two top-five runs through 16 races. He had 14 top-fives in 36 races a year ago. Said Gossage: “Oh, I don’t think there’s any doubt he can turn it up and will down the stretch. I think he’s going to be in contention all the way to the end of the season. You can never sell Jeff short. Do not bet against him.”

▪ Tony Stewart: Is the 44-year-old on the downswing of his Hall of Fame career? He hasn’t been the same since he struck and killed a fellow driver in a dirt-track accident last August. Stewart’s last win was in June 2013. Said Gossage: “He’s on the backside of his career in terms of age and length, but I still think Tony has a lot of wins in him. He’s coming off a really tough experience, and I don’t think people have a true handle on how big of an impact that has had on him. It’s going to take him some time. But he’s a real momentum kind of guy, and when things are going good, they’re going great. When things are going bad, it’s going extremely bad. But he still has the fire and ability to compete. It’s a matter of when, not if.”

▪ Ryan Newman: He snuck into every round of the Chase a year ago despite not winning a race. He seems set on replicating that strategy this year. Newman would be the 15th driver in the 16-team field, somehow getting nine top-10s without contending for wins. Hey, if it works, it works.

Danica watch

Big news from earlier this season is Go Daddy’s announcement that it wouldn’t sponsor Danica Patrick next year. That’s a significant loss for the sport and Patrick, but Gossage is confident a company will step up and sponsor Patrick.

Despite having no wins or top-fives in 98 career Cup races, Patrick remains one of the sport’s most popular drivers. And, to be fair, it’s a little too early to call Patrick a bust in the Cup series, considering she is still fairly inexperienced in the sport in her third full season.

“I think she’s performing quite well,” Gossage said. “Has she run up front consistently? No. But there are a whole lot of drivers in that field that haven’t. She runs up front some, has some top-10s and has won one pole in her NASCAR career.

“The spotlight is just so hot and focused on Danica that the expectations are really unrealistic. Yes, I’d love to see her win, she’d love to win, and the sport would love her to win, but there are a lot of people who never even get to this level.”

As far as landing another sponsor, Gossage said: “Before we get too deep and get to the Chase, I’ll imagine she’ll be signed with a sponsor ready to go.”

This story was originally published July 3, 2015 at 5:09 PM with the headline "NASCAR midseason report: Surprises, disappointments and more."