Kenseth Leaving Roush; Stenhouse Jr. Replacing Him

It was announced on Tuesday that 2012 Daytona 500 winner and current points leader, Matt Kenseth, would be leaving Roush Fenway Racing at the end of this season. Reigning Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr., also with Roush, would be moving up to Cup full time in 2013, replacing Kenseth in the #17 Ford. It's hard to imagine Matt anywhere else but RFR. He made 452 Sprint Cup starts in his career and won 2 Daytona 500's (2009 and 2012). He also has one championship for the organization in 2003 and currently reaching towards that goal this year as he leads the points standings.

Now, where will Kenseth continue his NASCAR career in 2013? Many are saying he will join Joe Gibbs Racing. Joey Logano, driver of the #20 JGR car, is in a contract year and it is possible Joe Gibbs could replace Logano with Kenseth. Another option would be adding a 4th team. Joe Gibbs Racing has the room and has wanted to expand for some time now. The possiblity of Kenseth going to Penske is slim because they are switching to Ford in 2013. Ford Racing boss Jamie Allison already commented that Matt Kenseth would not pilot a Ford in 2013. That opportunity is out, so Kenseth will without a doubt be moving to JGR, and Kenseth already said Tuesday that a deal has already been settled at a team for '13, he just cannot announce it until later in the year.

On the other side of things, this is a huge opportunity for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Coming off a dominant Nationwide Series championship, he has already proved to Jack Roush that he has what it takes to compete at the Cup level. Only a few years ago Stenhouse had his job on the line. He was wrecking cars left and right until eventually he was asked to sit out for a race by Jack Roush. Jack wasn't sure what to do in terms of where to place him. He gave him another shot in Nationwide and Ricky finally got his act together. He won multiple races and was able to win the championship. Roush never gave up on him and now he is offering what most aspiring drivers dream of everyday. This improvement will also help Stenhouse Jr's teammate and good friend Trevor Bayne (2011 Daytona 500 winner) get back on his feet. Roush was forced to cut back on their Nationwide program due to sponsor shortages. Now that Stenhouse will be in Cup full-time, Bayne could come back full-time in Nationwide and race towards another championship for the 6 team.

This is a huge change for RFR and the face of our sport. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will definitely add a new generation of drivers to the Sprint Cup level, and wherever Matt Kenseth decides to go, we know he will continue to do great things in the NASCAR world.

Contract Year for Joey

Fresh off his 2012 Pocono Cup victory last week, Joey Logano is hoping to prove he can compete in NASCAR's top series. This year is a contract year for Logano and he needs be especially consistent this year. His 2nd NSCS win at Pocono couldn't have come at a better time.

The 22 year old has been at Joe Gibbs Racing since 2009. Replacing Tony Stewart in the #20 Home Depot car at just 18 years old. He was dominant in the NNS series and K&N, but felt like he was rushed into the Cup series. He was able to snag one win at New Hampshire -- under a rain delay. Last weekend's win at Pocono was like his first win, he said. He finally won a race the "right" way. It was refreshing for him, the fans (yes, I am a big Joey fan!) and especially Joe Gibbs. He knew what he was doing when he signed him almost 4 years ago.

Joey Logano was fast all week. He won the pole and led the most laps at Pocono and went on to win it after passing veteren Mark Martin. He is the first driver to win from the pole this season and the first to win on the newly paved Pocono surface. He also has won 5 Nationwide races this season!

Mark Martin was actually a big part of getting Joey's career going. He told Gibbs about him and told him to give him a chance, calling him a future Cup champion.

Now, Logano finds himself waiting for Gibbs to resign him and Gibbs says he will most likely sign him for 2013. Let me tell you, you will definitely be seeing Logano winning races more and more. He is that good, and Joe Gibbs can see that.

Long Time Coming

Pictures courtesy of Dale Jr's Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/#!/DaleJr

 After what seemed like an eternity, Dale Earnhardt Jr, NASCAR's Most Popular Driver, found victory lane once again on June 17th, Father's Day. After a 4 year winless drought, Junior finally had everything go his way. Not to say he hasn't been close with a great run so far this season and finishing in the Top 10 consistently. But, nothing feels as good as a win, especially after 4 years of waiting. Oddly enough, Junior won at the same track his last win came at in 2008, Michigan International Speedway. It was sort of like a reunion. I'm sure Dale Sr. was looking down on his son, proud as ever.

This win, no doubt, will change Dale Jr's season immensely. He finds himself 2nd in points to Matt Kenseth and only 4 points behind! Just as Logano's win last week boosted Joey's confidence this win for Earnhardt Jr. will do more than give him confidence, it will give him hope. Some didn't believe he would EVER get back in the winner's circle, it just didn't seem like the day would ever come. All we can say now is "Junior's still got it!" No one will even remember the 2 hour rain delay at the beginning of the race.

This marks Hendrick's 4th (including the All-Star Race) win of 2012. We can already see the dominance yet to come for the organization. 4 time champ Jeff Gordon has yet to add to the 2012 win list. The 24 has had terrible luck this season and everything possible has gone wrong for them. On the other side of things, Jimmie Johnson won the All Star Race AND the 200th win at Darlington.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is definitely looking towards the championship and has a possible chance of winning it. I think we will most likely see The Intimidator's son back in VL this season, and many times at that. Until then, Junior Nation is still rejoicing.