Pit Stop Report

I have a song running through my head…”I’m BACK…back in the saddle again…” Thought it appropriate as I still try to get over being sick!

For our fifth YIP, we’re going to take a look at Jeremy Mayfield and Sam Hornish, Jr.

Jeremy Mayfield
In 2001, at a race at Pocono International Raceway, a member of Mayfield’s pit crew gave me a lug nut from his car. I was at that race working as a bartender in the “nice seats”, and flirted my best to get that little piece to add to my NASCAR collection. Unfortunately, that’s about the last positive memory I have of Mayfield!

I mean, dude. He wasn’t even in the top 43 last year. He only had SEVENTEEN starts. Come on. My disastrously inaccurate 2007 predictions pinned mad hopes on him then…but I’m smarter now.

I think Mayfield’s troubles started when he lost his ride in the #19 back in ‘06…and they’ve just continued. So I’m going to go out on a real limb here when I say that in the #66 Best Buy Chevrolet in 2008, he will finish in the top…30. That’s as high as I can bring myself to say. Maybe he’ll at least qualify more regularly this year! I have hope.

Sam Hornish, Jr.
I think Mr. Hornish is about to find out that the transition from open wheel racing to NASCAR isn’t exactly…peaches. In his two test starts in ‘07, he was lackluster at best. Now…stick him in an IRL ride, and he can burn up a track. I’m just not convinced that he has what it takes to transition.

In a recent interview with NASCAR.com, Hornish talked about the luck of having Kurt Busch swap points with his team, guaranteeing him a spot in the big show at Daytona. That is pure luck…with slow times during practice sessions in Las Vegas, I doubt he’d qualify on his own.

Best guess? I think that Hornish is a smart enough driver to adapt to NASCAR, but it ain’t gonna be overnight… I predict at least 4 top tens and an overall finish in the top 25.

Hurry back to see the next set of 2008 Year in Preview Predictions! Next up: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Denny Hamlin!

Until then, drive fast and turn left!