With the NASCAR betting season set to begin in Daytona on February 14th it’s that time of the year to start looking at what drivers are going to be competitive this year. Last year was another excellent year for Jimmie Johnson and if you bet on him throughout the year then you definitely made some money. Jimmie managed to do what no other NASCAR driver has ever been able to do is the history of the sport and that was win four consecutive NASCAR championships.
There has never been a driver in the history of the sport that has accomplished what Jimmie Johnson has done. The sport has gained a lot of mainstream exposure from Johnson’s success as well which has helped the sport grow. This past year Jimmie Johnson was named the AP Athlete of the Year which is a huge honour in itself. There is no doubt in my mind that Johnson is the clear favourite going into the 2010 NASCAR season, but let’s take a look at some of the drivers that could potentially pose a problem for Johnson.
* Mark Martin finished in 2nd place behind Jimmie Johnson for the NASCAR championship last season and he’ll be looking to improve upon that this season. Mark Martin won five races last year which was just a bit behind Johnson. Martin did have some bad luck throughout the season though which ended up costing him the chance to win the championship at the end of the year. Martin should have an improved car this year and that might prove enough to pull him over the hump.
* Kurt Busch has really been atop of the leaderboard every single season lately and he’ll be looking to finish in first place this season. Busch only won two races last year so he will need to win more races if he wants to have a chance at taking home the championship. Busch had a better average finish then Martin did over the course of last season and he’s always been a good bet in match-up bets.
* Jeff Gordon finished last year’s NASCAR championship leaderboard in 3rd place and proved to everyone that consistency pays off. Gordon only won one race all season, but his consistency throughout the entire season helped him earn 3rd place. There is no doubt that Jeff is going to be atop of the leaderboard again this season, but he’ll have to piece together 4-5 more wins to have a good shot at taking down Johnson.
* Tony Stewart dropped off the nascar odds radar a bit last season with a 6th place finish in the NASCAR championship, but he’s always a contender for first place. Stewart won four races last season which is more then almost everyone else on top of the leaderboard, but he proved to be a little bit inconsistent. If Tony can win 1-2 more races and finish in the top 5 more consistently next season he could easily win the championship by the end of the year.