Intersting statistics on the free agents out there

Frontstretch has a good read on the free agent drivers still available: Free Agent Drivers

Some of the interesting statistics:

Bobby Labonte: 2000 Cup Series Champion, 21 wins and 199 top 10s in 580 Sprint Cup starts

Casey Mears: He’s averaged just two DNF’s over the past four seasons and has finished each of his 34 races in Richard Childress’ No. 07 Chevy in 2009. That’s put him in position to finish in the top 20 in points for a fourth straight season.

Yet all Mears has to show for it is one fuel mileage win at Charlotte, just eight top 5 finishes in 142 starts

David Gilliland: Qualified for every race he attempted in the No. 71. Just 24 lead lap finishes in 116 Cup starts.

Travis Kvapil: 2003 Truck Series champion, 6 top 10 finishes, and 1 pole in 111 Sprint Cup starts

The writer's order of preference if he were hiring a FA driver:

1) Bobby Labonte
2) Travis Kvapil
3) Casey Mears
4) Scott Riggs
5) David Gilliland
6) David Stremme
7) Reed Sorenson

MY order of preference if he were hiring a FA driver:

1) Bobby Labonte - still talented enough for top 15 finishes in good equipment. Probably would be the top choice by sponsors out of this group
2) Reed Sorenson - young and talented. Decent in-front of a camera, but doesn't have great results in cup
3) Travis Kvapil - he has shown flashes of being a top 15-20 type of driver. Doesn't strike me as being a top choice of sponsors
4) Casey Mears - he's solid, but has been overshadowed in organizations with top drivers. Still young and half way decent in-front of the camera
5) Scott Riggs - sort of surprised he hasn't done better. Based on talent alone, he might be up there right behind Labonte
6) David Gilliland - he's done better qualifying than racing. Doesn't strike me as being good in-front of the camera
7) David Stremme - most of the time he seems to be a wreck waiting to happen. Hard to believe a low budget team would want to put him behind the wheel considering the cars he tears up

My order of preference for those drivers:

1) Bobby Labonte - I think he can still get it done, and he comes with a free pass into races (PC provisional)
2) Reed Sorenson - I think he's got talent. He's shown flashes of brilliance in the NW Series; just hasn't translated to Cup for some reason.
3) Scott Riggs - This kid is good IMO. He had some really good runs in the 10 at Evernham, until they let him go for Carpentier.
4) Casey Mears - He has never impressed me at all. I would pick him mostly because his last name is Mears.
5) Travis Kvapil - Truck series champion can't be all bad.
6) David Stremme - Again, he showed that he can run up front in some Nationwide races, but has NO wins in NASCAR's top-3 series. That's not a great sign.
7) David Gilliland - Just where I rank him compared to these other drivers.


I think Bobby Labonte stands out FAR above all these other free agents. Like, 100x better than the alternatives... just my opinion!

OK, yes I'm a Reed fan, but how can he be ranked last? Stremme has not won at any level and has not done anything in Penske equipment this year- he i the clear last choice. Reed's Cup stats are not very impressive, yes. But look at what he has driven- Chip Ganassi cars every year except this year at RPM, where every car except Kasey has been poor.

Reed was brought to Cup too early probably, and has had no veterans to get help from his whole career except for this year with Kahne and Sadler. Ganassi really didn't have any other option as Mears left to go to Hendrick and the 41 opened up. Look back in 05 in Reed's rookie season in Busch- he finished AHEAD of Denny Hamlin in the points, and was 2nd in points for most of the year- ahead of guys like Edwards and Bowyer for much of the season. This all while being a rookie and in the worst equipment out of all those drivers.

My Rankings
Depending on what a team is looking for (experience vs. potential), I think it could be Labonte or Sorenson either way.

1) Bobby Labonte- Not going to be biased here, but Bobby Labonte is probably the tops for most openings. I mean he's a Cup champ and all wins, etc. speak for itself.

2) Reed Sorenson- I don't think he's had a real shot at Cup yet. Put him in a real car and let's see what happens. One upside he has over Labonte is youth and potential. 3 wins in NW, pole in Cup.

3) Travis Kvapil- Had a pretty solid 08 season. I don't think he's been in equipment in Cup that can show what he can do either. The #32 team is no longer and was awful when Kvapil drove for it, the 77 has never been great, and last year Kvapil had a good 15-20 finishes before Yates Racing just flat out lost it.

4) Casey Mears- I really don't see how he keeps being considered for top rides. Nothing against Casey, he seems like a very nice person, but he's been in Hendrick and RCR cars and gets outrun by his teammates every week. His best season came at Ganassi, so maybe reuniting would work.

5) David Gilliland- Finished 2nd at Sonoma in Cup, one NW win. Good enough to be in the top 43, but a midpack driver I think. Had some good runs in Cup in the 38, but wrecked out of the races.

6) Scott Riggs- Had some good moments in Busch, can't really think of anything special in Cup. After the 10 moved over to Evernham, I expected him to pick it up but he never did. I had forgotten all about him until this article brought him up.

7) David Stremme- No wins in any upper NASCAR divison. I can't think of any big moments in his career either except finishing 2nd in a NW race. He's a Nationwide driver at best.

Out of these drivers I think Travis kvapil would be my pick.

Yatesracing wrote:

Out of these drivers I think Travis kvapil would be my pick.

The thing about racing today is sponsors have such a big say, and I though I thought he did a very good job for Yates (all things considered), I don't see him being the type that sponsors really want.

My order of preferences:

1) Bobby Labonte - I believe he could still win a race and finish in the top-20 weekly if he were with a good team. He's also the 2000 Cup champion.

2) Travis Kvapil - He ran good in Yates cars in 2008 (even won a Pole at Talladega) and has a Truck title.

3) Reed Sorenson - I wouldn't say he has been all that good, but he hasn't been awful either. I think what he needed before moving to Cup was more time in Nationwide.

4) David Gilliland - When he was driving for Yates, he wasn't as impressive as Kvapil but had flashes of good runs, his best being 2nd at Sonoma to Kyle Busch in 2008.

5) Scott Riggs - At times, he looked like a guy who would break through but since 2006, we haven't heard much of him.

6) Casey Mears - He once looked like he had all the potential in the world, but once he went over to Hendrick and now RCR, he's been outrun by every one of his teammates.

7) David Stremme - He runs good in Nationwide, but that is it. He's been a wreck-fest in Cup.