Surprise Winner of the Year

What driver do you think will be the biggest surprise to win a race in the 2010 season?



This is a tough question for me. There are several drivers that haven't won (or haven't won in some time) that I feel like are poised to go to Victory Lane this season. Which of these to choose? Well, some of the options are Marcos Ambrose (no wins), David Ragan (no wins), Martin Truex (1 win in 2007), Kevin Harvick (last win Daytona, 2007), and AJ Allmendinger (no wins). I think it is very possible that at least 2 or 3 of these drivers WILL win a race this season. The question, remains, however, which would be the biggest surprise?

I think I'm going to choose David Ragan. After almost making the Chase in his 2nd full time season in the Sprint Cup Series, David and the UPS team fell apart in 2009, settling for 30th in the final points standings. Clearly, if David plans to continue driving for Roush Fenway, this cannot happen again. I think David and his team will turn it around this season and find their way to victory lane by midseason. If I had to make a guess, I would choose the first Michigan race for his win.

What do you think? One of the possibilities I listed, or someone else?

Well, let's see..... I think Marcos has an excellent shot at winning at Sonoma or Watkins, so it really wouldn't surprise me.
Of the drivers you listed I'd be more surprise to see AJ get a win followed by Ragan.

What would really surprise me is if Sam won. He has a habit of finding bad luck or bad luck finding him. Hopefully that will change this season.
I'd also be surprise if Bill Elliott won.

allmendinger is a good choice for a suprise winner, am i crazy to think elliott has a chance at daytona ......hornish jr. i think has a chance to be a breakout year too. harvick always has a chance to win a race, he's due, as is montoya. i'm a little worried about regan having fallen off so much, he really needs to turn it around or he'll be gone IMO.

i'll go with hornish, i think he has a chance to surprise everyone next season.

you were reading my mind DeeDee lol.

If Bill Elliott won in the 21 car, that would be huge; probably one of the biggest stories of the year...

Marcos could be depending on where he wins- anywhere but a road coarse would be a surprise, but short tracks wouldn't be to beig of a surprise

JPM would be plausible, but, unfortunately, not a huge surprise
Ragan
Keslowski
McMurray
Allmendinger
Truex


I wouldn't call Harvick a surprise

the most likely surprise that I listed would be JPM, Marcos, or Truex

I think the reason Marcos does so well at short tracks is because he's used to driving road courses with sharp turns, and short tracks have the same type of turns. Ambrose is one of my picks for a win.

The other would be Martin Truex. He's obviously a much better driver than the equipment he was given at EGR, and he even showed that by getting a win in 2007. Since MWR improved in a big way during the offseason from 2008-2009, I'd expect them to stay the same or improve more. David Reutimann's performance is where I'm setting the bar for how well I expect Truex to do.

I don't expect the others to win to be honest. I'm not sure if Harvick can win, because you never know what you'll get from him, and I don't expect Allmendinger to win either. I'd love for AJ to prove me wrong, but I don't see it happening.

Hornish? Maybe, if he forgets how to crash.

Ragan? He has to be more aggressive.

Marcos will definitely be a threat at the road courses. I think it's a matter of that team getting the car set up right at the very end. They seem it get it very close, but one other team has it together at the end.

I think Ragan can be a threat this year. They HAVE to step it up this year or David will be gone. I think his best chances for a win will be at the plate tracks.

I expect Truex to contend this year as well, considering how well the other 2 MWR cars ran last year.

JPM winning wouldn't be a surprise- he came close to oval wins last year on multiple occasions. Harvick winning wouldn't be a surprise either, although I just don't think that team is on the same page right now.

Allmendinger could also get one next year, although it will be hard to see if they can continue the run they had at the end of the year over time.

RacingDude wrote:

I don't expect the others to win to be honest. I'm not sure if Harvick can win, because you never know what you'll get from him, and I don't expect Allmendinger to win either. I'd love for AJ to prove me wrong, but I don't see it happening.

what?!?!?!?!?! you don't know if he CAN win??? uhh 11 career wins and you don't know if he CAN?? it's not a matter of can he- it's a matter of will he

I have to agree with Dog, Harvick CAN win for sure. He's won some pretty big races (Daytona 500, Indy), so he's capable. I just don't know if he is giving it his all at RCR anymore. He wanted out of his contract, they wouldn't let him, and the performance was atrocious last year...

TeamBlueOval wrote:

and the performance was atrocious last year...

thats putting it mildly

Well, I don't think Harvick is giving it his all either. That's why I said he won't win this year. His performance has just been up and down since he started in Cup, and although he has 11 career wins he's also wildly inconsistent.

Harvick's off to a good start winning the BS.
A good start to the season.

RacingDude wrote:

Well, I don't think Harvick is giving it his all either. That's why I said he won't win this year. His performance has just been up and down since he started in Cup, and although he has 11 career wins he's also wildly inconsistent.

it's only the shootout, but what do you say now about his desire?

OK, maybe I was wrong... but his performance on the track at times makes me wonder.

He won the Shootout last year, too.

Still hasn't won a points race since February 2007.

TeamBlueOval wrote:

He won the Shootout last year, too.

Still hasn't won a points race since February 2007.

I know that, but this gives him some momentum <that carried over from last fall> for this season. Sure he's sitting just like he was last year, but nascar drivers seem to be the most optimistic....... I don't think he's given up yet