It will be Stewart-Haas Racing's championship to lose in 2012

Image by sidehike via Flickr

Never mind what I said about Denny Hamlin kicking butt in 2012. This time I will make a prediction--sthe Sprint Cup will stay in the possession of Stewart-Haas Racing in 2012!

I was pretty pumped about Championship Crew Chief Darian Grubb's move to Joe Gibbs Racing as Crew Chief for Denny Hamlin. But now, I take it all back after reading this little tidbit: Greg Zipadelli Named Competition Director for Stewart-Haas Racing, reported this morning. This changes the whole scenario in my mind.

This puts all the pieces of the puzzle in place; the stars are aligned; it's karma! Tony Stewart's success with Zippy was almost legendary. Now with the two former teammates back on the same team, it will be a beautiful thing to watch. Steve Addington as Stewart's new Crew Chief, with his obvious talent will round out the championship-in-the-making potential.

Image via Wikipedia

Waiting in the wings to make Stewart-Haas Racing the team of the year is its other potential winner--the other (full-time) half of Stewart-Haas Racing. Ryan Newman has been way under-appreciated, though not by me. I've been in his corner for years and plan to stay right there--one day soon with the ability to say, "I told you so!" Newman and Tony Gibson have been on an up and down ride, but I expect to see lots more ups this season.

While discussing former teammates let us not forget that Matt Borland, who temporarily filled the position Zipadelli will now occupy, was once Newman's Crew Chief at Penske Racing. The two were wildly successful in 2003 with eight wins and 11 poles. I'm ready to see that again.

Related articles

• JGR tabs Darian Grubb for Denny Hamlin (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Zipadelli well aware of job opening at Stewart-Haas (aol.sportingnews.com)
• Sources: Stewart's crew chief fielding job offers (espn.go.com)
• Addington denies reports he's leaving Penske (espn.go.com)
• Denny Hamlin, the one to watch in '12 (chontrack.blogspot.com)
• Bruce Martin: Hamlin, Grubb hope to be a winning combination in 2012 (sportsillustrated.cnn.com)

Denny Hamlin, the one to watch in ‘12

Image by RiverRatt3 via Flickr

I just heard that Championship Crew Chief Darian Grubb will be Denny Hamlin’s Crew Chief at Joe Gibbs Racing next year.

While I’m not making any predictions, I believe this could put Hamlin right where he wants to be at the 2012 season’s end.
Hamlin has surprised me in the last couple years. For some reason I still think of Hamlin as one of the new kids on the block, though he certainly hasn’t performed like a new kid.

I admit I wasn’t even real fond of Denny until he started drafting with Ryan Newman at Daytona and Talladega. Anybody who works with Ryan is OK in my eyes. I’m a fan, what can I say?

I sure hope Tony Stewart doesn’t have regrets at the end of the next season at the hands of his former Crew Chief and former team mate. No predictions on champions, but I do see this as a happy marriage, so to speak.

I believe Denny will be a force to be reckoned with this year, even though my heart still belongs to Stewart-Haas Racing.