Casey Mears is out at Red Bull and, at least for New Hampshire, Reed Sorenson is in.
Our How-To Guide: Is Your Favorite Driver Is Good Or Not?
Is that an upgrade? We weren’t quite sure how to quantify if Sorenson is “good” or not.
Like Mears, Sorenson hasn’t done much with the chances he’s had. But perhaps his opportunities haven’t been as golden as Mears’ have been.
So to help us (and you) decide whether Sorenson will succeed at Red Bull, we created a handy guide to find out.
Here are some ways to tell if your favorite driver is good or not:
• GOOD: If your driver has made the Chase more than once.
• NOT GOOD: If your driver has had multiple opportunities with respected teams and never seems to consistently run in the top 15 or top 20.
• GOOD: If your driver leads a significant number laps at a downforce track while driving for a mid-pack team, or runs competitively with Jimmie Johnson for said team (AJ Allmendinger/Dover). That shows with a better team, the driver might be more of a contender.
• NOT GOOD: If your driver stinks in a car, then gets replaced and out-performed by another driver with the same team and equipment (Mears/Mark Martin at Hendrick, JJ Yeley/Kyle Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing). That’s the clearest sign it’s the driver, not the team.
• GOOD: If your driver has won more than five career races (not counting restrictor-plate, fuel-mileage or rain-shortened victories). Who cares if they haven’t won as often (Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman)? Drivers don’t suddenly forget how to drive.
• NOT GOOD: If your driver wrecks too many cars. It’s one thing to be slow while learning (Kevin Conway), especially with no testing these days. But if you wreck your equipment every single week (John Wes Townley), no one is going to give you a chance to learn and will assume you can’t drive.
• GOOD: If your driver is fast right away at a track he or she has never seen before (Denny Hamlin/Pocono, Joey Logano/Almost Everywhere). That shows an ability to adapt quickly.
• NOT GOOD: If your driver is more known for posing in swimsuits or appearing in commercials than driving.
• DON’T KNOW YET: If your driver has only been with one team or has been around less than four years. It’s tough to make any firm judgments in that case.
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