After five races, Sprint Cup has surprises

Five races into the 2008 Sprint Cup season, there are many early storylines — some expected, some that have come out of nowhere.

Who could have predicted the struggles of Hendrick Motorsports, Ryan Newman winning the Daytona 500 or Kyle Busch’s incredible start with Joe Gibbs Racing? Here’s a closer look at a few of these storylines:

1. The Hendrick ship is sinking. OK, not really, but there has to be some concern with racing’s version of the New York Yankees. There have been races on four of the five types of tracks (no road courses yet) and the Hendrick crew has only been strong at the two-mile California facility, so it’s not as if you can argue it’s just a fluke start to the season.

Two races, in particular, are worth noting. Jimmie Johnson’s struggles at a Las Vegas track where he had won twice in a row were, and still are, head-scratching material. Same goes for Jeff Gordon last week at Bristol. Neither driver experienced equipment failure, bad luck or poor pit strategy. They just weren’t good, and when was the last time you could say that? We know what George Steinbrenner would do.

2. He’s a shrub no more. Kurt Busch’s younger brother has clearly been the early story. He hasn’t just been good at every track, he’s had moments of domination in all three major series. It’s clear the ex-Hendrick driver loves his new team and its Toyota Camrys, and there’s no doubt he came into the season with a chip on his shoulder after Hendrick elected to let him go.

Busch loves a loose car and the new car, coupled with rock-hard Goodyear tires, has played to his strength. Still, he’s let a couple of possible wins get away, so let’s not anoint him just yet as the champion-in-waiting.

3. An inauspicious start. We were all told at January’s media tour that it would take time for the open-wheel drivers to get a feel for the heavier, ill-handling stock cars. Patience, yes, but no one expected such a poor showing from the three main Sprint Cup rookies.

Only Sam Hornish Jr. from that group is guaranteed a starting spot next week at Martinsville, and he’ll be out of the top 35 with one more poor showing. He’s even had the luxury of two qualifying rainouts, where he started in the top 10 due to having Kurt Busch’s points from last year.

Dario Franchitti, at 38th in points, and Patrick Carpentier, who’s made just two races, have been awful. Even Juan Pablo Montoya has been a disappointment, standing 19th in points. With sponsors needing to get the most bang for their bucks, the time for patience may be near an end.

4. It’s not been a very Goodyear. As the exclusive tire manufacturer for NASCAR, Goodyear is under a lot of pressure. Add the difficulties of working with the new car, coupled with several tracks having new surfaces, it’s no wonder drivers have been very critical of the tires this year.

Tony Stewart’s blow-up at Atlanta was a bit extreme — and he’s since apologized — but it needed to happen. It’s not that Goodyear isn’t trying. The company has a lot to lose if drivers go public as Stewart did. The problem lies in a lack of communication among NASCAR, its drivers and Goodyear. A more cooperative environment seems to have come out of the Atlanta fiasco, so maybe we won’t have to revisit this topic again this year.

5. Ratings are up, but .... NASCAR and Fox Television officials are eager to tell you that ratings for each of the five races have been up over last year. And while that’s true, there is a black cloud hanging over the sport that’s ready to let loose a storm.

Attendance is down, especially at California and Atlanta, two venues that haven’t had a sellout in some time. However, crowds at those races this year were even worse than usual. Even Bristol, though listed as a sellout, was different this year. The enormous mountain of campers and RVs was noticeably smaller this year, most likely due to the increasingly ugly price of gas.

Therein lies the cloud. A weak economy, coupled with the price of fuel, will definitely have an effect on attendance. Then there’s the sponsorship issue. If things don’t improve economically, you’ll likely see some teams start to sweat.