Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

By: Toby Christie

I have had many heated debates over the past couple of days with disgruntled fans on Twitter. The thing they are all bent out of shape about is the dismissal of Casey Mears from Red Bull Racing effective immediately after last week’s run in with his teammate Scott Speed at Michigan.

In case you missed it Mears, who is filling in for Brian Vickers, made contact with his teammate during the race which spun each of their days into the sewer. Then just days later it was announced that Mears was out.

However here is my question…. why is everyone so shocked?

Not meaning any disrespect towards Casey Mears at all, in fact I believe if you are in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series you are one of the 43 best drivers in the entire world. However that being said, he is in the bottom half of those 43 in performance, always has been his entire career.

His shaky performances in the past, have paved his current unsteady future where he is destined to bounce from team to team. This latest stop produced less than stellar results (best finish of 22nd in five starts), which is another reason Red Bull had to pull the trigger as soon as possible. They had to make the move to save their 2011 season.

What do I mean? Well since Mears took over the 83 car, the team has plummeted to 25th in the owner standings. If Red Bull didn’t do something soon they could be staring from the outside of the top-35 in owner’s points looking in. If that were to happen, then Brian Vickers (who made the chase in 2009), wouldn’t be guaranteed a spot in the first five races next season. If the team were to miss any of those five races, their shot at the chase would most certainly be gone.

Fans on Twitter cite the fact that Mears has lacked a steady crew chief throughout any extended period of time in his career as a reason for him failing. Well this simply isn’t true. In fact for the first three years of his career he had the same crew chief… Jimmy Elledge. This three year run of consistency on the pit box actually resulted in the least consistent performance on the track for Mears of his entire career thus far… Well at least until this season that is.

Mears in 2006 swapped from the No. 41 car at Ganassi to their No. 42 car. This paired him up with crew chief Donnie Wingo for one season. This actually produced the best season, points wise, of Mears’ career. He finished 14th in the final standings. However since that season it has all been downhill.

In 2007 he was paired with Darian Grubb which did result in a victory in the Coca-Cola 600, fuel mileage or no fuel mileage it is still a win! However they could only muster a 15th place spot in the point standings at the end of the season.

In 2008 Mears moved to Hendrick’s No. 5 car and had Alan Gustafson atop his pit box. Mears struggled all season long, and a 20th place showing in the points was all it took for Hendrick to cut him loose.

The best average finish Mears has ever ended a season with was 18.6 in 2006… That’s not too sporty, especially when you consider the fact that the low average finish wasn’t because of DNFs. Mears only failed to finish two races that season.

I’m not saying that Mears lacks talent, I’m just saying he is not, and will not ever be an elite driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

I know it sounds harsh, but sometimes reality can be harsh. I do want to explain that I don’t blame Mears for his struggles. I really honestly believe he could of been a great driver. In my opinion he is a product of being brought to the Sprint Cup Series too quickly. Just as has happened to others such as Casey Atwood, he was placed in the pack of wolves before he was truly ready.

I also don’t want you to think that I am trying to discourage anyone from rooting for Mears, I’m not doing that at all. There are more reasons to be a fan of a driver than average finishes or wins. Some may love his driving style or personality. I respect his fans who have stuck by him, all I am saying is that the move Red Bull Racing made actually made a lot of sense.

It will now be Reed Sorenson’s turn to attempt to revive his career, as he will step into the No. 83 car starting at New Hampshire. Good luck Reed, but if things don’t pan out for Sorenson you can basically copy and paste this article as the reason why for him.

Photo Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

By: Farrah Kaye

In the All Eyes On series, I usually share a personal story of the person I am profiling and spout off facts about their racing career.

But this one is special.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Brian Vickers announced he will be out the remainder of the season due to blood clots. While the reason is still unknown what was caused the blood clots, it is still a scary situation and we wish Brian a speedy and healthy recovery.

The press conference in which he announced this was of a somber but uplifting tone. Vickers has a great attitude and says he will make the most out of the situation by taking a look at the behind-the scenes operations of Red Bull Racing. He plans on attending as many races as he can and sitting on top of the pit box and even spend time on the spotter’s stand.

Filling in for him is friend and fellow driver Casey Mears. Feelings have been mixed over Mears, who has driven for the likes of Rick Hendrick and Richard Childress.

But if Saturday was any indication of Vickers’ and Red Bull’s faith in Mears, I hope the fans hop on board, too. Red Bull appealed to NASCAR to allow Mears to replace Vickers in the All-Star race and they allowed him in.

Personally, my feelings were mixed getting ready to watch driver introductions. Thanks to a tape delay, I knew a secret.

Mears was introduced along with a special guest: BRIAN VICKERS. And there he was, Red Bull in hand, walking next to the driver who was about to get into HIS car and drive in the race HE earned a place in. I think we all teared up (okay, I cried a bunch). Twitter was blowing up with “Oh my gosh, do you see that?!” and “Brian’s there! YAY!”

I’d say that will go down in history as one of the best driver introductions in NASCAR All-Star Race history. In my opinion anyway. (It definitely beats the Kyle Busch Bow!)

So what makes Vickers so special? Why do we care so much?

We care about him because he cares about us (by us I mean fans…well and media too…but really it’s about the fans).

I’ve never been to a race where he has ignored a fan. I’ve never heard a media member say he’s declined to answer a question. He is always poised and mature, not to mention lives life on the edge thanks to his Red Bull adventures.

I could sit here and tell you about how he made the Chase by eight points in 2009 or won the 2003 Busch Series championship by 14 points. There’s his famous New York City pit stop with the No. 83 crew and of course, “I forgot this was the Kyle Busch show” post-race comment in Michigan.

SBNation.com writer Jeff Gluck does a column, “12 out of 12,” and in it he asks drivers if they want to be remembered as a great driver or a great person.

There’s no doubt in my mind Vickers will be remembered as both, whenever he leaves racing, which I hope is a long, long time down the road.

I’ll finish up with one last story.

During the 2009 Champion’s week in Las Vegas, I attended the Jimmie Johnson Charity Roast. When Brian Vickers took to the microphone, he told a funny story from Jimmie’s birthday several years ago. You can tell their friendship has lasted since he has left Hendrick Motorsports, just like his friendships with other drivers in the garage.

And it appears that no matter where Brian Vickers goes, he fits in. He makes friends. He makes fans.

Brian Vickers is the epitome of class and that is the reason why all eyes are on him.

“This is my life, this is what I love to do. I fully intend to be able to do it again.” – Brian Vickers

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

By: Toby Christie

Brian Vickers has been dealt with some very tough news in the past few weeks. The driver checked himself into the hospital a couple of weeks ago complaining of chest pains, but he had no idea just how serious it really was.

Vickers as it turned out had blood clots around both lungs and in his left leg. Friday Vickers dropped another bombshell in a press conference at Charlotte Motor Speedway, announcing that his condition will keep him out for the remainder of the 2010 season.

“This sucks, because this is what I love to do,” Vickers said. “This is my life, this is what I love to do. I fully intend to be able to do it again.”

Vickers of course has two career victories in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and he actually made it into the chase for the championship last season. Casey Mears, who subbed for Vickers last week in Dover, will also fill in this weekend in the All-Star race, and beyond.

Vickers’ doctor is Steven Limentani. Limentani explained that the reason Vickers will be unable to compete for the remainder of the season was that he is currently using blood thinners.

“It is not advisable for him to race while he’s on blood thinners,” Dr. Limentani said.

Limentani did go on to say that he saw no evidence that use of Vickers’ sponsor Red Bull contributed to his condition. I must say my respect for Brian Vickers has grown immensely since this condition popped up, because he has dealt with it with great grace, and he has remained upbeat through it all. In fact he even cracked some jokes throughout the press conference including one about what may have caused the blood clots.

“I drink lots of water, too. So maybe that’s what caused it,” Vickers said sarcastically.

It’s horrible that Brian Vickers will have to miss out on what he loves most for the rest of the year, but health is the foremost concern on everyone’s mind. Without a doubt things could have played out a lot worse for the 26-year old North Carolina native driver, as blood clots are a very serious condition.

I fully believe in my heart that Vickers will be back, and when he does indeed come back he may be back with a vengeance.

“I do expect to be back in the car next season, and to win the Daytona 500,” Vickers said.

Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

By: Toby Christie

In a story that was broke by the Associated Press Thursday, it was found that Brian Vickers will miss this week’s Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway. Vickers was apparently checked into a hospital Wednesday with what has been revealed as bood clots.

This is a shocking development that has taken everybody by surprise, but energy drinks have been known to cause blood clots in the past. Vickers who drives for Red Bull Racing, has obviously had his fair share of energy drinks over the past few years. I’m no medical expert, and I’m not saying this IS what caused the clots, but do some research via google on the correlation of blood clots with the use of energy drinks.

Casey Mears, who has been driving the Tommy Baldwin Racing’s No. 36 car, will drive the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota this week in relief of Vickers. Johnny Sauter will attempt to make the Sprint Cup race in Baldwin’s No. 36 car. Remember Vickers made it into the Chase for the Championship last season, but it will be extremely hard to make it into this season’s edition if he misses a race… However team manager Jay Frye said that missing the race isn’t the thing that the team is worrying about.

“Our main concern right now is with Brian and his health and recovery,” Frye said. “All things are looking good at the moment; this is just a minor setback. We appreciate Casey filling in this weekend and know he will represent the team well.”

Regardless of the how or the why, lets hope that Brian Vickers has a safe and speedy recovery.

Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

By: Toby Christie

Hello there everyone if you’re like me you have long ago given in to the Fantasy Sports craze. You put a great deal of thought and effort, to build your team just like you really owned a race team in real life. However finding information on who to select each week is very difficult, but welcome to the first edition of a new weekly series. Each week I will be breaking down past trends by drivers at each race track, and steer you in the right direction. I will also each week provide you with my actual team of drivers I will be using in my fantasy league.

This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series goes to one of it’s most unpredictable, and hardest tracks to drive… Darlington Raceway. At Darlington you try to survive more than anything else, that being said some drivers have had better success at surviving than others over the years.

Start ‘Em At Will:

• Jeff Gordon has seven career victories at Darlington, which is the most among active drivers, and with the way he is driving of late, you have to imagine that he’s bound to hit victory lane soon. He has led 599 laps this season, and at Darlington in his career he has led 1,610 laps (Nearly double the next highest active driver Bill Elliott, 980).
• Jimmie Johnson has two career victories at Darlington, and just because he hasn’t won since the inception of the spoiler, doesn’t mean he is irrelevant in Fantasy NASCAR. Johnson has the highest career average finish at Darlington among active drivers at 6.9. Not only that, but he is a virtual lock for a top-ten, as he has finished in the top-ten nine times in his 11 career starts at the track “Too Tough To Tame”.
• Jeff Burton, just like Jeff Gordon, has been extremely competitive as of late. He goes into Darlington with momentum, and he is actually my pick to win this weekend. He has two career victories at Darlington, and he is looking to snap a 51-race win-less streak. Expect Burton to be hungry this week.
• Denny Hamlin is undoubtedly one of the hottest drivers on the circuit since the spoiler came into play, and I expect that trend to continue this weekend. In four career starts at Darlington Hamlin has a top-five and three top-tens. His average finish at “The Lady In Black” is an impressive 8.0.
• Greg Biffle has been without a question the best car at Roush-Fenway Racing this season, and he comes to a track where he has two previous victories. Biffle is tied for the league lead in top-tens for 2010 at seven, expect him to carry the Ford banner this weekend.
• Mark Martin is an extremely clean race car driver, and that is why Darlington suits him so well. He doesn’t overdrive his car, he is patient enough for it to come to him. Martin won this race last season, and he has two career victories at Darlington. Also despite his sluggish start to 2010, he has found a way to sit sixth in the point standings.
• Martin Truex Jr. is clawing into chase contention. After a slow start he has moved to 14th in the overall point standings, and he is real sporty at Darlington. In four career starts here he only has one top-ten, but he’s never far from the front. His career average finish at Darlington is an 11.2.
• Brad Keselowski is an intriguing pick. Keselowski only has one career start at Darlington, but it ended in an eighth-place finish. His feud with Carl Edwards has seemingly cooled off, so I think it’s safe to start Keselowski this week.
• Joey Logano has gotten better at each track he has visited the second time around… Well in his only career start at Darlington Logano finished ninth. If Logano can avoid other people’s troubles, which has been the only reason he’s not in chase contention right now, he will have a great run.

Stay Away From ‘Em

• Sam Hornish Jr. is a driver that you absolutely should stay away from at Darlington. In two career starts his best finish here is a 30th-place in 2009. Hornish is only ahead of Max Papis, Norm Benning, and Jeff Fuller as far as career average finish is concerned at Darlington.
• Marcos Ambrose has only one career start at Darlington, and he came away with a 33rd place finish. So until I see further data on Ambrose I cannot suggest anyone to start him at this tricky race track.
• Casey Mears is not only not for sure in the race just yet, as he is a go-or-go-home driver, but he also has been terrible at Darlington in his career. Considering that he is in far less superior equipment that he has been in for his entire career tells me that he will finish lower than his average finish of 30.2 at Darlington.
• Brian Vickers, David Reutimann, and A.J. Allmendinger are also guys to stay away from this week. Not only do each of them have career average finishes lower than 25th-place, but between the three of them they have only combined to lead one lap at Darlington.

I participate in ESPN’s Stock Car Challenge Fantasy League, so I get three drivers from Category A, and two drivers from Category B. Now here is my actual fantasy team lineup for Darlington:

• A1: Jimmie Johnson
• A2: Jeff Gordon
• A3: Mark Martin
• B1: Jeff Burton
• B2: Martin Truex Jr.

Photo Credit: Christopher Smith. Copyright 2010 RubbingsRacing.com.

By: Toby Christie

At Phoenix International Raceway, just a couple of weeks ago, Ryan Newman broke his 77-race winless streak. Newman of course was able to capitalize on a great restart on a green-white-checkered finish to seal the deal on his first victory since the 2008 Daytona 500.

Fast Forward to Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega. Kevin Harvick came into this race riding a 115-race winless streak. Harvick’s last victory, was the 2007 Daytona 500. Earlier in the week it was announced that Harvick’s sponsor Shell/Pennzoil was leaving him at the end of the season to go to Penske Racing… Things were beginning to spiral out of control for Harvick.

That was until a thrilling last lap pass, in the most competitive race in NASCAR history. Harvick waited until the last possible opportunity to make his move on Jamie McMurray (the 2010 Daytona 500 winner), in a third green-white-checkered attempt. He was able to win by 0.012 of a second (the eighth closest finish since electronic scoring in 1993). Harvick commented on his race winning move following the race.

“coming into the last lap, that’s exactly how we planned it out on paper, and it’s hard to not pull out, but I could say that we were way in front of all the guys behind us with the push that I was able to give Jamie there,” Harvick said, “And when he made that dart to the right, I immediately went to the left.”

Harvick would have won the Daytona 500 this year, had not it been for the newly instituted green-white-checkered rule, so for Harvick the circumstances of his win Sunday were ironic.

“Yeah, I remember Gil being kind of down in the dumps and telling Mike Helton, he said, that rule sucks. Mike patted him on the back, and he said it’ll all come full circle. And today it’s all worked itself out and we were able to finish it off.”

So for whatever reason, whether it be the new spoiler, a new fire in their belly, pure coincidence, or whatever the case there is a trend happening in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series… In the past three weeks two talented drivers, have broken their long losing streaks… So my question is, who is next? In my opinion there are really two great candidates to be the next big streak buster this week.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s season has been much improved over his horrid 2009 campaign. Not only did Earnhardt not win in 2009, but he didn’t even come remotely close to working his way into chase contention all season long.

Earnhardt came out in the 2010 Daytona 500 with a renewed vigor. He made a thrilling final restart, where he was able to pick off several positions on the final lap, but he came up just a little short with a second place finish. Earnhardt has been a staple in the chase standings ever since.

In Texas Earnhardt led 46 laps en route to an eighth-place finish. Had it not been for pit sequence issues, Jr. may have ended his winless streak right then and there. Earnhardt came back with a vengeance at Talladega this week. He only led eight laps on the day, but not many people were able to lead a substantial amount of laps throughout the day. Jr. would prove all day long that he was one of the best cars on the track. Earnhardt, however would be shuffled out of the draft late, and would go on to finish 13th, but there is no denying that he, and crew chief Lance McGrew are on the verge of finding victory lane. In fact he is the driver I see most likely ending his winless drought.

Earnhardt now enters Richmond, a place he has won three times in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, on a 66-race winless streak.

The other guy I believe will end his winless streak sooner, rather than later is Jeff Gordon. Gordon is currently on a losing streak of just over a season. His last victory came 38 races ago at Texas Motor Speedway in 2009. He has been very strong all season long, but unfortunate circumstances have shut him out of victory lane thus far in 2010. At Las Vegas Gordon led 219 of the 267 laps, and looked destined to go on to victory… but a late race caution changed everything for him. He took four tires, while other people took two tires, and he wouldn’t be able to recover.

Three weeks later in Martinsville, Jeff Gordon led 92 laps on the day. Denny Hamlin was the strongest car by far, but towards the end of the race Gordon found himself right in the catbird seat for the win… until things got crazy on the green-white-checkered finish. Matt Kenseth got into Gordon into turn-one, which resulted in the two champions got into a shoving match, this effectively took each of them out of the battle for the win.

Then at Texas last week Gordon was again the most dominant car. Gordon led 124 of the 334 laps on the day, before being caught up in a huge crash on the front stretch late in the event. Jeff Gordon has come so close, so many times already in 2010 to that elusive 83rd career Sprint Cup Series victory… One would have to think he is destined to capture it eventually.

This week Gordon enters a track (Richmond) where he has two career victories, but none since 2000. However Gordon has finished in the top-ten at Richmond in each of the last six races there. If Gordon comes up short this week, expect him to possibly end his streak at Darlington the next week. Gordon has an incredible seven career wins at Darlington Raceway, which is the most among active drivers.

Here are NSCS past winners that are looking to end lengthy losing streaks:

Robby Gordon, 230 races

Bobby Labonte, 225 races

Elliott Sadler, 200 races

Joe Nemechek, 177 races

Martin Truex Jr., 104 races

Juan Montoya, 101 races

Casey Mears, 97 races

Clint Bowyer, 71 races

Dale Earnhardt Jr., 66 races

Greg Biffle, 53 races

Jeff Burton, 50 races

Carl Edwards, 45 races

Matt Kenseth, 43 races

Jeff Gordon, 38 races

By: Toby Christie

Qualifying for the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 was canceled Friday. As a result three drivers had to go home without even getting a chance to prove if they deserved to be in the field. Casey Mears, Terry Cook, and Johnny Sauter will all watch the Sprint Cup Series race from the discomfort of their couch instead of from their carbon fiber race seats.

This is the latest example of why NASCAR’s qualifying procedure is broken.

For years NASCAR’s starting lineup due to a qualifying rain out has been based on Sprint Cup Series owner’s points, and in the shuffle someone always has to go home… but is there a better way? Heck yes there is, and it is actually because of the Top-35 rule.

Saturday morning at Martinsville it was beautiful, sunny, and clear. The track was empty and silent. My question is: With the top-35 rule, no matter what we have 35 guys locked into the field. So in the event of a rain out why can’t we have the go-or-go-home guys fight it out in a mini-qualifying session the next morning for the final eight spots in the field?

It’s a simple way to ensure everyone has a chance to make the field, and with only eight to twelve cars usually vying for the spots, it would be a speedy process.

Maybe Casey Mears, Terry Cook and Johnny Sauter would have went home anyway this morning, but at least they could of went down swinging.

The big show, our Super Bowl the Daytona 500 will get our season going finally this Sunday, however for some drivers their season rests in the balance of Thursdays results.

Drivers such as Casey Mears, Dave Blaney, and Terry Cook a great finish in Thursdays Gatorade Duels may lead to a full season of racing. These drivers and many more are not locked in the Nascar Sprint Cup Series season opener by virtue of not being in the top-35 in Sprint Cup Owner points. Some aren’t planning on making the full commitment of races for 2010, but if they make it into the great American race, and do well those plans could very well change.

The Gatorade Duels are always very dramatic as it is the final chance for anyone to squeeze into the biggest race in the world.

This season it may become even more frantic towards the finish as you will have 15 drivers fighting for the four spots currently open in the field. The Gatorade Duels will also sort out the starting field for the actual Daytona 500 itself. Of the 43 starters the only two that know where they will be lining up are Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who were locked in on pole day, by capturing the first two spots in the field.

The first Duel race is scheduled for a 2pm Eastern Time start.

Birthdate: March 12, 1978

Age: 31

Hometown: Bakersfield, CA

Team: Tommy Baldwin Racing

Teammates: None

Manufacture: Chevrolet

Sponsor: Baldwin Automotive

Career Wins: 1

Casey Mears comes from a very famous racing family. Mears’ uncle is Rick Mears (four-time Indy 500 champion), and his father is Roger Mears, who raced in off-road and Indy. Casey made it to the open wheel series CART in 2000. Mears finished fourth in his very first start, Mears would finish his CART career with one top-five and two top-tens.

Late in 2001 Mears decided to jump ship to NASCAR, and he made his debut in the NASCAR Nationwide Series season-finale at Homestead. Mears ran ARCA and Nationwide events from 2001 to 2002, before moving to the Sprint Cup Series in 2003. Mears was running for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2003. Mears had success with the team, but in 2007 he jumped at the chance to move to Hendrick Motorsports to drive their famed No. 25 car. Mears would capture his first career Sprint Cup Series victory in the Coca-Cola 600 that season.

At the end of 2008 Mears was released from Hendrick Motorsports in favor of Mark Martin, and he has bounced around from ride-to-ride since then. He has landed at Tommy Baldwin Racing now for what appears to be the remainder of the 2010 season. Fun fact about Mears he also has a NASCAR Nationwide Series victory at Chicago in 2006, and that same year he was part of the winning team at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Two down. One to go.

Kyle Busch moved one race closer to an unprecedented weekend triple Saturday — and, oh, by the way — a giant step closer to his first title in a major NASCAR touring series.

Busch dominated the 300-mile O’Reilly Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway, leading 179 of 200 laps and pulling away after a restart on Lap 187 to beat substitute driver Casey Mears to the finish line by 3.154 seconds to win his eighth Nationwide Series race of the season and the 29th of his career.

More important from a historical perspective, perhaps, Busch has the opportunity to become the first driver to win races in each of NASCAR’s top three series at the same track on the same weekend. Busch won Friday night’s Camping World Truck Series race at the 1.5-mile speedway. On Sunday he’ll start fifth in the Dickies 500 Sprint Cup race at Texas.

“Four in a row at Texas, baby!” Busch shouted after crossing the finish line, referencing his fourth straight Nationwide win at the track.

Mears took his first ride in the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet after Jeff Burton, who was supposed to drive the car, was banged up in a Friday crash during Sprint Cup practice. Burton was not seriously hurt, but owner Richard Childress made the switch as a precaution, and Mears validated the decision in his first Nationwide appearance since 2007.

Busch opened a 272-point lead in the Nationwide standings over ninth-place finisher Carl Edwards. Brad Keselowski, who ran fifth Saturday, is 292 points back in third place. Busch can clinch the series title outright next Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway by finishing 15th or better. He also clinches with a finish of 34th in the final two events of the season.

Jason Leffler came home third Saturday, followed by polesitter Matt Kenseth.

Busch came close to a triple in February, when he won the truck and Nationwide events at Auto Club Speedway in California and finished third in the Cup race. If he completes the weekend sweep at Texas on Sunday, he’ll do so in crew chief Dave Rogers’ debut on the pit box. Rogers replaced Steve Addington as Busch’s Cup crew chief after last Sunday’s race at Talladega.

“We qualified better than we expected — fifth, so that’s cool,” Busch said when assessing his chances for the Cup victory. “The car wasn’t bad in practice (Saturday). There were some areas where we felt really good about it; there were some other times when we didn’t feel so good about it.

“I like what’s going on there. I think we’ve got about a fifth-to-10th-place car right now, and if we can just hang there throughout the day — make some good changes, make some good adjustments, have Dave learn some things, maybe — that we can be contenders. And if you’re contenders at the end of the race, you never know.”