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As Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick battle for the points lead and the Gibbs cars make their performance surge, a story few have been talking about is the race at the other end of the point standings – that is the race to stay in the top 35 in the owner standings.

For most of the last 11 weeks as NASCAR has traversed the country and this season’s plot lines have developed and grown, Front Row Motorsports (collectively) and Robby Gordon have been trading that dreaded 36th spot in the points standings.

Front Row Motorsports for its effort has three drivers – Travis Kvapil, David Gilliland and Kevin Conway -  that it’s been attempting to keep in the top-35 and locked into races. With a limited budget, and old Roush-Yates motors, the team has performed admirably. The story of Bob Jenkins and his little team that could has been one of the feel good stories of the year.

The team’s main goal has been to keep the fully sponsored, but struggling Kevin Conway with a guaranteed starting spot. Conway has traded his number/team with teammate David Gilliland twice now. Though it’s purely a surface thing (the team even changes the number on the hauler), it’s worked. Conway hasn’t missed a race. Perhaps more remarkably, neither has Gilliland.

Front Row’s main foe this season has been the independent Robby Gordon. Gordon, like Front Row, faces some adversity – he’s under-funded and under-supported- still Gordon has been able to fight against the start-ups and even Front Row’s three car assault and keep his team in the top-35 (most weeks).

Gordon though may or may not compete the whole season. And this week’s penalty didn’t help him in his bid to keep his team with a guaranteed starting position. After losing 25 points for unapproved additional door braces, Gordon is now just 18 points ahead of David Gilliland and that 36th place position.

As these teams fight to maintain their very valuable points positions every little mistake will be amplified and every position will count. As we continue through the summer and the season (barring anyone falling way behind) this will one fight to keep your eye on.

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Just less than a month after NASCAR veteran Larry Carter joined Robby Gordon Motorsports as a “consultant” we are hearing he has been named crew chief of the #7 team. Carter would take over the spot from Iain Watt who has been in the position since January.

Gordon and his team have struggled this season, averaging just a 34th place finish. On top of that they are in a precarious owner points situation. With one race to go before this season’s points take effect, Gordon sits 38th. Given his average qualifying position (38.8), without the guaranteed starting spot he runs the risk of not making races.

That struggle with performance coupled with RGM’s history of crew chief longevity (or lack thereof) make this move less than surprising.

Over the last few seasons Robby Gordon has had a staggering number of guys on top of the box. Since 2005 Doug Richert, Peter Sospenzo, Kirk Almquist, Frank Kerr, Gene Nead, Walter Giles, Bob Temple and Greg Erwin (in no particular order) have all come and gone.

Many throughout the sport have their opinions about the organization and the reasons for the high turnover. Gordon’s demeanor has been blamed, as has his unrelenting control over the team. Beyond second hand information though I unfortunately can’t give a comprehensive explanation.

Obviously Gordon has a drive and passion for racing that few others around the world of motorsports have. That said, his Cup operation has problems. There is absolutely no reason why any team should go through the number of crew chiefs his has gone through. All of the guys who have held the position are competent team managers (most have wins, one has a championship) so you’d think one of them would have clicked.

At this point the team would be well served to do some self reflection. Without some changes in the very near future I would be willing to bet Larry Carter and Iain Watt won’t be the last guys to hold the title of crew chief at Robby Gordon Motorsports.

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Following the 2008 season, Journo and myself wrote a series of posts that covered all the major teams in the Cup Series.  We looked at where they had been in 2008 and where they were going in 2009.  The posts contained some predictions for the 2009 season, with some being more specific then others.  I thought, since 2009 is in the books, that it would be fun to go back over the posts and see how we fared with our predictions.  Listed below you will find all the teams we covered, our predictions, and what actually happened.  Enjoy!

Hendrick Motorsports
Prediction: All four drivers will be contenders for the 2009 title.
Actual:We were right, with one notable exception.  Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, and Jeff Gordon finished 1-2-3 in the standings for HMS.  But, Dale Earnhardt Jr. struggled all season and finished a disappointing 25th.

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing
Prediction:Martin Truex Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya should win a few races each and both could make the Chase.  The jury is still out though on Aric Almirola.
Actual: He never won a race, but Montoya did make the Chase and was a factor until late; we missed on Truex though.  The Bass Pro Shops team only had one top five finish all season and they finished way down in 23rd in the standings.  Almirola did struggle, and ended up only running eight races before the sponsorship money dried up.

Team Red Bull
Prediction:Expect Scott Speed to struggle in his rookie season, and a top 30 in points would be a victory.  Brian Vickers will finish in the top 15 in points, but the Chase will still be out of reach for this team.
Actual: Speed did indeed struggle, and did not qualify for three races.  He ended up 35th in driver standings and 36th in owner standings.  He will be on the outside looking in for 2010.  Vickers did a little better then we expected, with one win and a Chase appearance.

Joe Gibbs Racing
Prediction:Denny Hamlin will make the Chase, but isn’t good enough to really contend yet.  Kyle Busch will continue being a force and will contend for the Cup.  In his rookie season Joey Logano will finish top 25 in the points and show flashes of brilliance.
Actual: We were right about Hamlin and Logano, but we missed the call on Busch’s season.  Hamlin finished fifth in the final standings, but too many DNFs in the Chase killed his chances at the Cup.  Logano won at Loudon and finished 20th in the standings.  Busch won four races, but struggled for much of the season and missed the Chase.

Richard Childress Racing
Prediction: Jeff Burton will win 1-3 races and make the Chase, but will not be a contender.  Clint Bowyer will win 3-5 races and challenge for the Cup.  Casey Mears will finish top 20 in points at best.  Kevin Harvick will win a couple races, make the Chase, and have an outside shot at the Cup.
Actual: RCR was probably our biggest missed prediction.  Bowyer, Burton, Harvick and Mears finished 15th, 17th, 19th, and 21st respectively.  The whole organization struggled all season and didn’t win a single race.

Stewart-Haas Racing
Prediction: Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman will finish top 20 in points, we might see a couple wins between the two teams, but a Chase appearance and title contention are a few years away.
Actual:SHR was definitely a pleasant surprise this season.  Stewart won four races and finished sixth in the standings.  He led the points going into the Chase, but lost his momentum and slipped down the stretch.  Newman never found victory lane, but did make the Chase on his consistency and finished ninth.

Penske Racing
Prediction: The whole organization will struggle with the exception of maybe Kurt Busch.
Actual: Kurt Busch won two races and finished fourth in the Chase.  Sam Hornish showed a little promise, but could only manage a 28th place points finish.  David Stremme continued his history of lackluster performance and finished 32nd in the standings.

Gillett Evernham Motorsports/Richard Petty Motorsports
Prediction: The team won’t improve much over 2008, Kahne and Allmendinger are their greatest hopes.
Actual:Kahne won two races and did make the Chase, finishing 10th, but that was the bulk of their success.  Allmendinger, Reed Sorenson, and Elliott Sadler all failed to finish inside the top 20 in points.

Roush Fenway Racing
Prediction: Carl Edwards will be dominant and could be the leading contender for the championship.  Matt Kenseth will win 1-2 races and make the Chase.  Greg Biffle will also win a race or two and make the Chase, but will not be a serious contender for the title.  David Ragan and Jamie McMurray should improve over 2008 but neither will contend or make the Chase.
Actual: Edwards was a miss, as he failed to win a race and was never really a factor in the Chase.  Kenseth did win two races, but just missed making the Chase.  Biffle also went winless, but did make the Chase, finishing seventh.  Ragan and McMurray had disappointing seasons, but McMurray did find victory lane at Talladega.

Yates Racing
Prediction: Travis Kvapil and Paul Menard will continue to struggle.  Bobby Labonte could surprise, but past history doesn’t bode well for him.
Actual: Kvapil ended up only running the first five races before his team was shut down due to lack of funding.  Menard didn’t earn a top five or top ten all season and finished 31st in the points.  Labonte did manage one top five finish, but ended up 30th in the driver standings and was replaced in the #96 late in the season by Erik Darnell. 

Michael Waltrip Racing
Prediction: David Reutimann should continue to improve, but expect Michael Waltrip to hang up his driving gloves after 2009.
Actual: Reutimann did indeed improve in 2009, and collected a win, five top five, and ten top ten finishes.  His team nearly made the Chase, but they faded late in the season and finished 16th in the standings.  Waltrip’s struggles continued and a 33rd place points finish will see him run only a part time schedule in 2010.

Robby Gordon Motorsports
Prediction: Expect more of the same from Robby Gordon, a good finish here and there is the best he’ll do.
Actual: Gordon struggled most of the season, and only mustered a 34th place points finish.  He did finish third in the rain shortened Coke 600 though.