Biggest Surprises/Disappointments

With fifteen races now being history in this 2008 NASCAR season, it's time for teams that started out slow to start kicking it into gear. If they don't, they may find themselves out of the Chase. Let's look at who has surprised this year, pleasurably and badly:

Biggest Pleasant Surprises:

1. Kyle Busch(1st in standings)
Say all you want about his wreck less driving style and fiery personality, but you can't deny how well Busch has done so far. He is the leader by thirty-two points with a series' high four wins and nine top fives. The move to Joe Gibbs Racing has changed Busch's status from Kurt's younger brother to one of NASCAR's youngest, brightest stars.

2. Greg Biffle(8th in standings)
Biffle had been a pretty big disappointment since his breakout season in 2005. He hasn't been too bad, finishing in the top spots after the Chase drivers, but it hasn't been what was expected of him. He appears to have picked up where he left off in 2005 this year. No, he hasn't won any races or been dominant, but he just seems to be back among NASCAR's elite with seven top tens, and is poised to make a run in the standings.

3. David Ragan(13th in standings)
In just his second season taking over Mark Martin's ride, Ragan has flourished with four top tens and two top fives. I'm not saying he'll flirt with the top five standing spots this year, but he has made a huge leap from his 2007 rookie season and given Roush another car that will compete each Sunday.

Others: Carl Edwards(4th), Kasey Kahne(7th), Brian Vickers(16th)

Biggest Disappointments:

1. Kurt Busch(19th in standings)
Busch has barely even been noticed so far, with just two top tens and three DNF's. He better get it going quickly, or his season will go to waste.

2. Casey Mears(27th in standings)
At this point, it's tough to even call Mears a disappointment, as one kind of comes to expect it. I just can't get over the fact that a driver at Hendrick Motor Sports, a place that most guys in NASCAR would kill to get a gig at, can't do better than he's doing. Just astonishing.

3. Ryan Newman(17th in standings)
Not many people, including myself, expected much out of Newman this season after 2007. However, a win at the Daytona 500 quickly changed that, with some thinking that Newman was back to winning a ton of races. That thought is unheard of fifteen races in with Newman getting just one other top five finish. Because of this huge disappointment following an extreme high in February, Newman's future with Penske is in question.

Others: Jeff Gordon(9th), Tony Stewart(11th), Juan Montoya(22nd)