NASCAR Fan: Who Will Be the Top Sprint Drivers in 2012?

NASCAR Fan: Who Will Be the Top Sprint Drivers in 2012?

NASCAR Fan: Who Will Be the Top Sprint Drivers in 2012?, NASCAR greats Darrell Waltrip , Glen Wood , Dale Inman, Richie Evans , and Cale Yarborough were welcomed into the Hall of Fame on Friday evening, January 20, with the drivers making quite the memorable tributes to their career. Yarborough was especially grateful for his wife "putting up with him," for over a half century. He talked about how he started out sweeping floors for $1.25 hour to winning 83 races and three championship titles.

While there is no doubt they are all exceptional men, and race car drivers, who will be the next drivers to achieve greatness? While it may be difficult to accurately predict what will happen in the future, we can take a look at 2012 based on what happened last year in considering who might take the Sprint Cup Series Championship title this year.

Jeff Gordon

Gordon is already one of the best NASCAR drivers of all time, with 85 wins under his belt. He's third on the list of all-time victories, and a four-time Sprint Cup Champion. Last year he seemed to be on his way to a comeback and another championship title, but fizzled out during the Chase and ended up finishing in eighth place by the end of the year.

Gordon turned 40 in 2011, and as he faces the eventual end of his career, he's going to be going all out in 2012 to make his mark so that he can go out on top. I think he's got a good chance of doing that this coming season.

Brad Keselowski

Keselowski had a surge in popularity in the second half of last year's season. After his involvement in a serious accident left him with a fractured ankle at the beginning of August, he went on to win his second victory just days later. The following two weeks he had a second and third place finish, and before the month was out he had another victory. His run of good luck took a slight turn in the Chase, and he finished the last four Chase races outside the top-ten. Still, in the end, he came out at fifth place in the final standings and he ended with a pretty impressive season overall.

Keselowski has a good chance of taking the title from Tony Stewart in 2012, and if he doesn't do it this year, I believe he will in the very near future.

Tony Stewart

Stewart could very well continue his incredible winning streak in 2012. After going winless in the regular season, he had five Chase victories and made an amazing comeback to capture the Cup. He'll want to hold onto to his title, and will be going all out to do it again this year.

Jimmie Johnson

Five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson wants to take the Cup back from Stewart. In 2011, he had a victory in the regular season and one in the Chase but it wasn't enough to hold onto to his crown. He ended up at sixth place in the standings, and he'll be out for revenge this year.

Carl Edwards

Edwards came very close to getting the title in 2011, but Stewart took it right from underneath him. He was strong and steady all year, but 2012 could be the year he takes a little more risk and surpasses all the other drivers to get his first Sprint Cup trophy. Having it so close within his grasp only to slip away has got to be more than a little frustrating.

via: yahoo