Who will break their winless streak first?

Running out of gas in a green-white-checkered while leading. Running out of gas 500 feet from your first checkered flag in over 100 races. Everyone hates having a winless streak. Several drivers have them. Some drivers haven’t won in years, and some haven’t won at all. Some of the more notable drivers in that winless streak group are fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Jeff Burton, and Martin Truex Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who drives the Number 88 National Guard Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports, has been winless since 2008 when he won a single race in that season at Michigan in June. The next two seasons were not stellar for the 36-year-old. 2011 has been a big turn-around for the driver. Sitting fourth in points, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been there to contend for wins.

Kasey Kahne, who drives the number 4 Red Bull Toyota for Red Bull Racing, has been winless since 2009 when won twice in the Cup series, the most recent coming at Atlanta in September. The 2010 season wasn’t a great one, despite a streak of 3 out of 4 races with a top 5 in the summer months. He finished his worst in the points standings last season, 20^th. Kasey signed with Hendrick Motorsports for the 2012 season, leaving 2011 undetermined. 2011 has been a sort of slow start for Kahne, though he’s had some almost wins.

Jeff Burton, the driver of the Number 31 CATERPILLER Chevy for Richard Childress Racing, has been winless since 2008, winning the Bank of America 500. With the success of his teammates, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick and his new teammate Paul Menard, Jeff has been trying to keep up to par with the likes of them, but 2011 has been liking Burton this year.

Martin Truex Jr., the driver of the 56 Napa Know How Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, has been winless since 2007 when he won at what he considers his home track, Dover, which propelled him to his first and only chase seed. For the 2010 season, Martin made the move to Michael Waltrip Racing. In 2011, Martin has had some bad luck, wrecking at Martinsville, Texas; had pit problems several times, even fired his whole crew during a race.

The big question right now, with 13 races to go before the chase, is when are these four drivers going to break their winless streak, if at all. After 116 votes from my Facebook fan page, 62 people voted that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would go to Victory Lane before the others. 46 people said that Kasey Kahne would. Only one said Martin Truex Jr., and seven said Jeff Burton.

I picked Kasey Kahne. Why you may ask? It’s not because I’m a huge fan of his. It’s because there are so many tracks that are coming up that Kasey is really good at and has won at. Kasey has won at Pocono (where they are running this weekend), he’s won at Michigan (next week’s track), Sonoma, Atlanta, Richmond, Charlotte. There are some tracks that Kasey’s not very good at, but he always makes it up by running good at another track.

Whether you’re a Kasey Kahne fan or a Kyle Busch fan, you hate seeing your driver in a winless slump. It happens and there’s nothing you can really do about it. If the driver is good enough, that winless steak will end and a winning streak will start.

Is 2011 the year for the first-time winners?

The two biggest races in the Sprint Cup series were won by drivers that had never won a Cup race before. Is 2011 the year for the first-time winners?

Trevor Bayne, in his second cup start, won the Daytona 500 in the famed Wood Brothers 21, who up until then, hadn’t won a race in 10 years. You could consider Trevor Bayne is a rookie sensation, but after that win, his season hasn’t been stellar. If you look at the Nationwide Series, Trevor was surging until a mystery illness sideline the surprise 500 winner for six weeks. He is in his first race since April right now as I write this.

Regan Smith, who would have won a race back in 2008 if it weren’t for the double-yellow line, won the Southern 500 at Darlington. The race was dominated by Red Bull Racing’s Kasey Kahne. Smith, who drives for Furniture Row Racing, the only Cup team that isn’t based in North Carolina, but in Denver, Colorado, was at the right place at the right time to win the race.

If you even look at the Nationwide series, 2010 Nationwide Series Rookie of the year Ricky Stenhouse Jr., got his first win at Iowa.

If you look at all of these first time winners this year, there is something similar about them. It’s not the team the won for. It’s not the age of the drivers. It’s the driver who finished 2^nd to them. That guy? Carl Edwards. The Sprint Cup Series points leader.

On to what this blog is really about. Who will be the nest winner in the Cup series? Instead of doing the way I usually do to ask questions, I used one of the newest things on Facebook. I asked a question. I only had three options. David Ragan, Marcos Ambrose, and AJ Allmendinger. The results were tremendous. After 78 answers, the results were in. With a whopping 48 votes, David Ragan is pretty much everyone’s picks to be the next first-time winner.

A regular in the Cup series since 2007, David Ragan has had a roller coaster of a career. His sophomore season was a stellar one, finishing 13^th in points, being the high non-chaser in the final points. The next two seasons, however, weren’t as good. 2011 is a make-or-break year for the Unadilla Georgia native. This year, David earned his first career pole at Texas, a race that his teammate won, and earned his best career finish of second last week at Charlotte. Everyone has been saying ‘When will David Ragan break into Victory Lane?’ Here’s what some people said on why they picked David Ragan:

Cindy Huffaker

David Ragan...so much better this year....he's shown he's more than ready to be in VL

Steph Piech David has more experience in a stock car and I feel that he's got a stronger team and better equipment!

Gina Marie Navarra well since Roush Fenway is doing really good right now, why not Ragan? :)

Devin Bachman ragan mis i am picking ford kiss ass there and he win there would be sweet for jack there rouch racings rules there

Matt Kacar I chose Ragan because he has been fast all year long and he’s coming close to winning finishing second in last night race

Coming in second with 18 votes, Australian Marcos Ambrose has had his ups and downs as well. His first full season in the cup series was 2009. He’s been very competitive since then. In 2009, Marcos Ambrose finished 3^rd at Sonoma and 2^nd at Watkins Glen, road courses which are considered his best track. In 2010, after Kasey Kahne announced his departure from Richard Petty Motorsports, Marcos was named the driver for the 9 car. In the 2011, Marcos has been a factor at the end of most, if not all, of the races this season. Here’s what some people said about Ambrose:

Ashley Marie Shafer I picked Marcos Ambrose cuz I think he is doing great and I see him getting his 1st win when they go to a road course!! =) (If he doesn't screw up again like last year)
Melissa Goodwin I think that he is going to win this year at Sonoma

Eric Carlson I think if Hamlin doesn't win at Infineon, then it will be Marcos Ambrose that wins there. As long as he doesn't do what he did last year when he shut the engine off and could not get it restarted because he was on the hill and Jimmie Johnson passed him and won

The last driver in the poll was AJ Allmendinger with 12 votes. Starting his career with a generally new team, Red Bull Racing, Allmendinger’s start to his career wasn’t a very good one. After being dropped by Red Bull Racing, Allmendinger bounced around race teams until being picked up by Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2010 season. Now in 2011, AJ, like his teammate, has been running very well. (I would attach things people said about Allmendinger, but no one posted anything)

Will the poll hold true? Will David Ragan be the next first-time winner? Where will he get his first win? Only time will tell if anyone or all of these drivers get their first win in the Cup Series.