There are, at best, the bare-bones makings of two rivalries in the Cup series this year. The first 'rivalry', and it's tenuous at best, is between Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. The Hendrick monster is running at full song now so I expect to see much more of what concluded the race on Sunday. Any racing series benefits from good rivalries but the thought of these two particular drivers and teams being the best NASCAR can produce doesn't exactly thrill me. (By "produce" I don't mean to imply that the fix is in.) I'll accept Rick Hendrick's statement that there are no team orders among his group. But I can't help but envision the struggle between these two teams playing itself out as a chess match rather than a bar fight. My tastes in stock car racing lean tend slightly toward the latter.
The most loved driver and the most hated driver come together in a lopsided fight in the other 'rivalry'. Unfortunately Dale Earnhardt Jr. has brought a knife, and a dull one at that, to a gun fight. His astronomical t-shirt sales numbers, his folksy good nature and his father's legacy are really no match for Kyle Busch's racing stats. Had the PR machine been cranked up before the season started and if Busch and Earnhardt were performing at a more equal level we'd be witnessing some incredible races.
For those Busch haters out there I counsel patience. Cocky driver after cocky driver has been tamed in this series over the years. No driver, not Earnhardt, not Waltrip, not Gordon nor even Petty, is bigger than the sport. While I'm unable to deny his driving skill I'm inclined to believe that to work with him would be a tremendous pain in the ass.
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