Kenseth leads the pack to the finish

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Matt Kenseth was steady, Dale Earnhardt Jr. a surprise. Dale Jarrett and Tony Stewart were downright disappointing.

Winston is out, Nextel is in and Toyota is coming. Then there's the infighting between teammates Kevin Harvick and Robby Gordon.

The first half of the NASCAR season was full of ups and downs -- just ask Ryan Newman, who flipped, flopped and almost caught fire.

Now the second half is here, and Saturday's Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway began 20 straight weeks of racing.

"It's been an entertaining first half of the season," Jarrett said. "We had some really good races, side-by-side close finishes at the beginning, and I look for more of that in the second half."

What's next is the final stretch for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., which is ending its 33-year run as title sponsor of NASCAR's top series at the end of the season. The Winston Cup will be the Nextel Cup next season, when the wireless communications giant begins a 10-year, $700 million deal.

RJR helped build NASCAR into the moneymaking machine it now is, and longtime competitors aren't looking forward to Winston's final days.

"I remember all the jokes my dad used to make when I was growing up about all the money he had won from Winston," said Kyle Petty, son of seven-time series champion Richard Petty.

"They used to say the house I grew up in and the land we lived on was all paid for by Winston."

But the sadness is lifted by the excitement over Nextel's arrival. Because RJR can't advertise or market to the young audience NASCAR is after, Nextel is expected to connect with more and more fans and help the series continue to grow.

The change in sponsorship is just one of many NASCAR is making in an attempt to change its face.

Darlington Raceway will host its final true Southern 500 this Labor Day weekend, then the date goes to California Speedway next season as NASCAR tried to spread out of the congested South and into bigger markets.

And, the sanctioning body is allowing Toyota to come into the sport next season when the Japanese automaker fields Tundras in the truck series.

But the drivers are thinking only about the task at hand -- buckling in for a run at the final Winston Cup championship.

"I'd love to win the last ever," four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon said. "I won during RJR's 25th anniversary. I'm the only one who has a silver Cup. And I won during NASCAR's 50th anniversary."

But Kenseth looks to be the driver to beat, holding a 180-point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the standings.

With zero fanfare and a quiet confidence, Kenseth has been atop the standings since winning his only race of the year, in March at Las Vegas. He's finished out of the top 10 just three times this season and always seems to be in the hunt at the end of a race.

Lurking right behind Kenseth is Earnhardt, who has finally started to live up to all expectations as the son of seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt.

"I take my job a lot more seriously now than when I started," he said. "I've matured a little bit, and I'm more focused."

He certainly was in April at Talladega, where he won for the fourth consecutive time to score his only win of the season. But the victory was marred by a controversial move he used when he dipped his car below the yellow line on the race track as he appeared to take the lead.

Drivers aren't supposed to do that, but NASCAR didn't penalize him, leading many teams to demand clarification of the rule.

Another focus through the second half of the season will be the simmering feud between Harvick and Robby Gordon, teammates at Richard Childress Racing. Gordon took the lead en route to a win in California three weeks ago by passing Harvick as the two raced back to the caution flag.

That's frowned upon under a gentleman's agreement in NASCAR, especially between teammates. Jeff Gordon thought so, and criticized Robby after the race. Harvick kept quiet for two days, then released a statement independent of RCR criticizing his teammate.

"There's an unspoken code we all follow as race car drivers," he said. "You race hard under green, but you also have a mutual respect for each other. Robby didn't show that respect."

The gentleman's agreement came up once before this season, when Kenseth slowed in Texas to let some lapped cars by him and Jeff Gordon showed his objection by racing past Kenseth to the line.

Now it seems fewer drivers think the agreement should exist at all.

"I think the pressure of the sport has caused drivers to say, 'I agree, there is a gentleman's agreement.' Then we put our helmet on, we get in the car and say, 'To hell with the gentleman's agreement,"' Jimmy Spencer said. "It's the drivers' fault. Some guys push the limit and some guys don't."