Feud: Stewart's odds, coveted free agents and coasting along - NASCAR

Pete Pistone	Brian De Los Santos
Do you think Tony Stewart will enjoy success as an owner in his new endeavor? If so, how quickly?
Stewart will be successful and it may not take as long as some suspect. He has a few things going his way and one is the Haas affiliation with Hendrick Motorsports. Engines and chassis needs are already handled through that partnership so maybe the two biggest components of a racecar come from one of the top teams in the industry. Stewart will also have the backing of Chevrolet as well as two major sponsorships in Office Depot and Old Spice with a third rumored to be Jack Daniels. That funding will help with R&D and luring over the right personnel from other teams, like JGR which Stewart will certainly dip into for his new operation. It won't be easy by any means but Stewart has about as good a start as any new team owner in recent history and with his determination, success will come quickly.	If the rumors bear out with sponsors and other personnel that he's lining up, he's off to a good start. But it looked like Michael Waltrip was on the right path when he started his operation and look where that's got him. Now Stewart is definitely more skilled behind the wheel than Waltrip, but I don't know that the equipment, even with an assist from Hendrick Motorsports, will be up to the standards to which he's become accustomed. I think his new team will compete for wins on occasion -- but not consistently -- and he'll be fighting for Chase table scraps. I think for it to become a championship caliber team, it's going to eventually need to start its own engine development program.

Casey Mears, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Newman are the hot names in the rumor mill right now. Which driver would you covet the most?

Newman hands down and he'll be scooped up by Stewart and company in a matter of days when he's announced as a teammate with Smoke at the new Stewart-Haas operation. I'm hard-pressed to remember a driver who won the Daytona 500 and announced he was leaving his team five months later, but that's how far behind Penske has fallen in Newman's eyes. Truex Jr. is the next most-coveted driver and if he can get his DEI release from 2009 straightened out, he'll go to the RCR fourth ride. Mears will have to battle David Stremme to replace Newman in the No. 12 ride and really doesn't carry much stock value these days.

I'd rank 'em Newman first, Truex a close second and Mears a distant third. Newman is the most established of the trio, racking up 13 career Cup victories and he's also shown a knack for strong qualifying runs with 43 career poles. I'd be pretty happy with Truex, however. He's no slouch, having two Busch Series championships under his belt. Put him in the right equipment and he's capable of winning a Cup championship. I can't say the same for Mears. He's earned plenty of plaudits for his potential, but for whatever reason it hasn't turned into results. He's star-crossed and I don't see that changing.

From CowboysForever 9: Are certain drivers just not putting all their effort and energy into these first 26 races knowing they can go all out the last 10 and still win a championship as long as they're in the top 12? Not trying to take away from what Kyle Busch has done so far but after seeing what Jeff Gordon did last season and not win the championship, does this make the drivers just not want to try as hard as they normally would?
I don't think you can take a coast-through-the-regular-season attitude, no matter how good a driver or team you are these days. The Sprint Cup Series is too competitive and too unpredictable to think any driver can pick and choose how hard they run just to slip into the Chase. Kyle Busch isn't slowing down any and is trying to rack up as many bonus points as he can for wins to be further ahead when the Chase begins and drivers are seeded. And with the 12th and final spot still up for grabs, I think the next seven races leading to the Chase are going to be interesting for several drivers and lead to some hard racing.	If there are drivers and teams not giving 100% in the first 26, thinking they're just going to turn it up once the Chase starts they're nuts. I don't see any benefit to coasting, only detriment. Sure, when it comes right down to it, it's the final 10 races that ultimately decide the championship, but you've got to be in it to win it and there are no guarantees in NASCAR, no matter how established or popular a driver may be. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Gordon and Stewart are just a few of the A-list drivers who missed the Chase over the past few seasons. A few parts failures and/or a wreck or two are all it takes to derail a season. On top of that, victories have taken on extra importance in the first 26. With each win, Kyle Busch is picking up valuable bonus points for the start of the Chase.
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