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Which five teams improved most in 2006?
No. 31 Chevrolet: The intellectual Jeff Burton turned rebuilding Richard Childress Racing into a group effort. Last year, Burton finished 18th in points; this year, he finished seventh. The pit crew didn't change, but the addition of crew chief Scott Miller, who had been the engineer on Kevin Harvick's team during most of the 2005 season, has enabled Richard Childress' No. 29 and 31 teams to work together more closely.
The most dramatic difference on the track has been the improvement in the cars' aerodynamics and mechanics, which has bolstered the performances of all three RCR Cup teams.
No. 9 Dodge: Kasey Kahne had a solid rookie season in 2004, but after he finished 23rd in points under crew chief Tommy Baldwin Jr. in his sophomore season, the kinder, gentler Kenny Francis took over the team for 2006.
Francis provided a comfortable environment in which Kahne could build confidence and flourish. It also helped that the crew from the No. 19 team, which had made the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup the past two years, moved to the No. 9 team before the season. The makeover worked; Kahne won six races and had 19 top 10 finishes, including 12 in the top five, in 2006 and made his first Chase appearance.
No. 11 Chevrolet: Though this team incorporates the technology of the other two Joe Gibbs Racing squads, it tailors its cars to rookie phenom Denny Hamlin. Crew chief Mike Ford credits Hamlin with turning around the team, which finished 33rd in owner points last season.
Hamlin made his Cup debut in the No. 11 car last season at Kansas, and Ford says he knew after four laps that he had "a wheel man that I could build a team around." Hamlin has become such a student of the sport that success -- a sweep at Pocono and a Chase berth -- has come easily.
No. 43 Dodge: Bobby Labonte inherited a team that had posted zero top 10s and just two top 15 finishes in 2005, but the addition of Labonte as driver, Todd Parrott as crew chief and Robbie Loomis as vice president of race operations at Petty Enterprises worked wonders for the No. 43.
The team's momentum was slowed by a late-race accident in the Daytona 500 and two engine failures in the first nine races, but Labonte persevered and finished in the top five three times and in the top 10 eight times in 2006. Parrott left the team in August, but Paul Andrews stepped in and Labonte never missed a beat.
No. 8 Chevrolet: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the brew crew were criticized by the media and fans in 2005, and that seemed to cause the No. 8 team to adopt a family-style mentality and pull together under the leadership of crew chief Tony Eury Jr.
Earnhardt's maturation was the key. He showed undying determination this season -- especially during the Chase race at Texas. Fighting the flu, he finished sixth after battling back from a midrace accident that dropped him to 34th. A weaker driver would have mailed it in.
Staff writer Lee Spencer covers NASCAR for Sporting News. E-mail her at lspencer@sportingnews.com.
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