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Indianapolis, IN (July 26, 2007) – The DOW Jones hit an all-time high this week and just past the halfway mark of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series season, Joe Gibbs Racing rookie Brad Coleman’s stock seems to be rising to an all-time high as well.
In an article published earlier this week titled “The Next Generation” (si.com), Sports Illustrated journalist Tim Tuttle ranks Coleman as the No. 2 Sprint Cup prospect, just behind Coleman’s good friend and fellow competitor Stephen Leicht of Robert Yates Racing. This is the latest in a number of rankings that put the young Texan in the Top 5 when prospective NASCAR stars of the future are discussed.
Coleman continues to be the highest ranked non-Cup driver in the NASCAR Busch Series by per race average points. He currently sits 39th overall in the point rankings after only racing in nine of the series 21 races. Dividing the total points of all drivers that have competed in at least five races by their total number of races yields an average score that places Coleman 14th in points, only behind drivers with Nextel Cup experience. Quite an accomplishment considering he has been the youngest driver in the series, has not been in the car every week and is seeing most of the race tracks for the very first time.
“Rankings are great and I appreciate the accolades but they won’t change my focus,” stated Coleman. “I think they ought to rank sponsors and crews because I have two of the best in the business. My rankings are a combined effort of an awful lot of people, starting with everyone at Carino’s Italian Grill and Joe Gibbs Racing.”
Coleman’s accomplishments to date include consecutive Top 5’s at Kentucky and Milwaukee, a Top 10 and Pole at Talladega and two Top 20’s at Texas and Nashville. He was apparently on his way to another Top 5 finish last week at Gateway when caught up in a late race incident while running in sixth position. His next race will be the Kroger 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis this weekend.