Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth are two drivers, that any year before 2014, they were a force to be reckoned with.
After winning his sixth championship last year at Homestead, Johnson has yet to prove that he is the same man that he was at the end of last year.
Johnson was close at Darlington on Saturday night, despite the rough start that he had in qualifying 26th. He drove himself up to second a late caution changed the complexion of the race. Finishing third at Darlington is tough for anybody, but after being so close, how much longer until he finally brings home the victory?
Also, Matt Kenseth could potentially be going through a second place slump. After finishing third in the points to Jimmie Johnson last year, we expected almost as much from Kenseth as we did from Johnson.
Kenseth also had a solid night at Darlington lingering in the top ten much of the day. While he was never a winning car throughout the race, he was putting out consistent lap times, and was keeping his nose clean. All for a fourth place finish.
Third and fourth are by all means great finishes, but not for two men that had high hopes riding on them coming into this season. Despite going on nine races into the 2014 season, neither of these drivers have been as dominant, or even as good as we thought they were going to be.
Coming up in the next couple of weeks, we have Richmond, Talladega, and Kansas. Three different types of racetracks. A Short track, A uperspeedway, and a one and a half mile track. Kenseth was incredible last year at half mile tracks, while Hendrick Motorsports is geat at superspeedways.
Will these be the tracks that these two drivers’ lucks will change?
Only time will tell.
