10 races into the 2009 season is enough time for some larger themes to form. The Chase field boasts only accomplished names and that means it's time to look at the big issues around NASCAR. Kind of like a mid-term report card, but without the gimmicky grades.

• Roush Fenway Racing is still working out the kinks. Last year the team had the intermediate tracks figured out. Carl Edwards has led 42 laps and hasn't been a factor in most races (only one top five). Matt Kenseth won at Fontana (His Daytona win is pretty irrelevant to the rest of the season) but has been AWOL since. David Ragan's breakout season hasn't materialized and Greg Biffle has yet to catch fire. Oh yeah and Jamie McMurray just isn't the driver everyone expected in 2005.
• Startups aren't Starting. Remember in February when Tommy Baldwin and Jeremy Mayfield started new racing teams citing lower operating costs thanks to the CoT and the no-testing policy? Costs may be down, but neither team has made a big impact.The two teams have combined for 11 starts and only one finish better than 30th,
• Stewart-Haas Racing is better than advertised. I predicted Tony Stewart would make the Chase and have a nice year, but I thought it would take much longer to threaten for wins. With slightly different circumstances he could have won at Martinsville ,Texas or Phoenix. He followed it all up with a strong 2^nd place at Richmond and Ryan Newman has begun running in the top 10 as well.
• Testing? We're talkin' about testing? NASCAR's decision to ban all testing at NASCAR sanctioned tracks posed a large question mark entering 2009. The goal was to save the team's money, but how would it affect the racing? Well, let's hope the ban has saved teams a lot of money. The action at the front of the pack, especially on intermediate tracks, has been sparse. 
• Kurt Busch is a pretty good driver too. Kyle gets all the pub, both good and bad, but Kurt is showing he hasn't forgotten how to wheel it. Since the elder Busch switched from a Ford to Dodge he has almost single-handedly carried the Dodge banner. He dominated at Atlanta and has finally found consistency from his pit crew, allowing him to bring home deserved top 5's and top 10's.
• It's official: Dale Jr is struggling. The early season schedule plays to Dale Earhardt Jr's strengths and played a big part in his hot start in 2008. It used to be he could show up to Atlanta, Bristol, Texas, Phoenix or Richmond and effortlessly rattle off top tens. Now the team struggles with handling or pit road problems on a weekly basis, regardless of the track type. I'm not convinced a crew chief change is the answer, and the team has plenty of time to make the Chase, but something is not clicking right now. No matter your opinion on how good of a driver Jr is, he's clearly too good to regularly be mired in 25^th with a poor handling car. 
• Is RCR any better than they were in 2005 (Casey Mears makes a good Dave Blaney)? Sure they've won 13 races in the past three seasons, but the 2009 lineup at Richard Childress Racing is looking a lot like the team that won one race in 2005 and looked largely lost. Sure they can paper over the cracks on short tracks and road courses, but RCR has taken a step back on the intermediate tracks. Maybe it's the strain of a fourth team or combining their engine program with DEI, but none of the teams looks capable of notching more than a handful of top 10's all season.
• One Down, who's next? The #8 car at Earnhardt-Ganassi has already been put on cinder blocks thanks to sponsorship woes. There are bound to be others to follow. Because most teams have already merged or formed partnerships, it's less likely an entire team will fold like previous sesaons. But there are a lot of cars that could use more decals on their cars to ensure the parts and sheet metal keep arriving at the shop and the haulers keep arriving at the track.

 

• In case you forgot, Mark Martin is one of the greatest drivers of this era. Sports are littered with aging stars that hang on too long (psychologists have termed this affliction Favre's Syndrome). When Mark Martin first wavered on his decision to retire in 2005, it was fair to wonder if Martin would head down that path. After three poles and a win at Phoenix, Martin is clearly a top driver at age 50.
• There are only 10 races that matter for Kyle Busch. And everyone, including him, knows it's not the first ten. He's running like he did last year, leading laps and closing out races with wins. Great. Grand. Wonderful. Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus have used the first 26 races as one big preseason test session to peak for the final ten. We'll see where the #18 team truly is at that point.