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 2nd 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 13th 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:
David Ragan...so much better this year....he's shown he's more than ready to be in VL
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 3rd at Sonoma and 2nd 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.
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