The heat is on in the chase for the 2013 Sprint Cup Title, and the top drivers are gearing up for their shot at the championship. Is Jimmie Johnson going to continue his stretch of dominance? Will Clint Bowyer improve on his great 2012 season? Or will Brad Keselowski repeat as champion? These top five drivers will be the ones to beat for the 2013 season.
Matt Kenseth
During the 2012 season, no driver had a better year on the Roush-Fenway team than Kenseth, who capped his season by winning the Daytona 500. This year, Kenseth has joined up with Joe Gibbs Racing and looks to improve on last season’s three wins. Will he be able to bond with his crew and develop good chemistry? AOL sports reported that Kenseth has spent a lot of time back in the shop with his new crew, getting to know how the technicians in his pit operate. He may be a rookie with the crew, but he has plenty of experience on the track.
Tony Stewart
After coming off an impressive 2011 Sprint Cup championship, many experts pegged Stewart as the driver to beat for the 2012 season. Instead, the highlight of his year came when he caused the massive crash in Talladega. It was a poignant reminder that even the best drivers struggle with their vehicles — thousands of Americans suffer from car wrecks daily, if on a much lesser scale, leaving many looking for new options for buying a vehicle. Online car shopping is as easy as checking out the Sprint Cup results these days. USA Today reported Stewart declined the offer to race with Roger Penske in the Indy 500, amidst boos by fans, saying that he did not want to pursue another team on top of the three he already runs.
Clint Bowyer
Statistically, Bowyer had one of his best seasons last year, placing second in the Chase standings up until his Phoenix encounter with Jeff Gordon. With 36 of 36 races completed, Bowyer won three races outright, placed top five in ten, and top ten in twenty-three, a better finalist placement percentage than any other driver, while leading for a whopping 388 laps. The season netted him just under eight million dollars in prizes.
Jimmie Johnson
Though he hasn’t won it all since 2011, five consecutive titles leave more than enough of a legacy to put Johnson ahead of the pack. Rumors swirling around his use of the Generation 6 car make for a tantalizing storyline. BleacherReport claims he’ll do better than most other drives in the new cars. The last time NASCAR pulled out a new generation of vehicles, Johnson’s team won a full 50% of the races, in no small part due to his skill.
Brad Keselowski
Little can be said about Keselowski that doesn’t involve a championship repeat. Like the Ravens or Heat or Giants, the pressure falls on the defending champ to maintain a high level of racing. Keselowski will switch to Ford this season and all eyes will be on his no. 2 car.
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Sports Techie, Blogging about NASCAR to the Sports Techie community is long overdue. I love how NASCAR positions sports technology and social media as important parts of their domestic U.S. and International brand identity. The driver who earns the 2013 Sprint Cup Championship will have to master the convergence of sports and technology to win it all.
Five To Follow on Twitter
@mattkenseth
@tonystewart_rcg
@ClintBowyer
@JimmieJohnson
@keselowski
Cutting edge sports technology products, solutions and systems make NASCAR what it is today. Crew chemistry is vital for every NASCAR superstar, veteran and rookie to have in order to win the checkered flag on race day. Using performance analytics, seeking the most advance medical procedures and having the courage to drive complex new vehicles are other important sports tech related keys to victory lane.
The amount of money NASCAR generates for racing teams, race tracks and sponsors that operate on the same cylinder is why the best drivers are paid so handsomely for winning, everybody triumphs when their driver wins.
As fans, we get to root on our favorite racers in our Sports Techie caves watching on HD Smart TV and using mobile devices for a second screen fan experience unlike any other in sport. Try sending Keselowski a tweet and tell him Sports Techie says to go for it and see if he responses. Those fans lucky enough to attend races in person and soak in the unique and exciting atmosphere of the NASCAR Sprint racing series can see firsthand all the different factors it takes to rally and win in front of 100,000 loyal supporters.
Who do you think will win the 2013 Sprint Cup Title, one of these five or someone else?
Let us know below as a blog comment or via our social media network links below who brings home the 2013 trophy.
I will see ya when I see ya, THE Sports Techie @THESportsTechie – http://twitter.com/THESportsTechie
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