Could be no new winner for 1st time since '04
Time running out in season dominated by big teams, veteran drivers
 John Harrelson / Getty Images for NASCAR Regan Smith appeared to be a first-time Sprint Cup winner Oct. 5, but he was disqualified after he drove below the yellow line while hitting the finish line first at Talladega. |
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Not since 2004 has a Sprint Cup season passed without a first-time winner, and time is running out in 2008. This season's biggest roadblock to drivers still seeking their first victory: the dominance of the top teams.
The four organizations that put three drivers each in the Chase — Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Fenway Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing — accounted for 29 victories in the first 33 races. Three drivers have 21 of those wins — Kyle Busch has eight, Carl Edwards seven and Jimmie Johnson six.
The pool of drivers with no career wins includes nearly a dozen veterans but only two full-time rookies — Regan Smith and Sam Hornish — because the 2008 class has been thinned by sponsorship and performance issues. Plus, there were fewer breakthrough candidates entering the season after four drivers got their first wins in 2007.
The issue would be moot, of course, had NASCAR ruled in Smith's favor after he dipped — or was forced — below the yellow line Oct. 5 at Talladega and beat Tony Stewart to the checkered flag.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is among some who said Smith should have been declared the winner, but NASCAR sent Stewart to victory lane and demoted Smith to 18th for an illegal pass.
"The No. 01 (Smith) was forced below the line," Earnhardt said. "The two didn't make contact. He was on the inside of Tony, and he had no other choice than to move away from Tony, and that sends him below the line. In my opinion, the No. 01 wins the race."
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