The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is eight races in, with the ninth race of the season, the Capital City 400 in Richmond, on Saturday night.

Greg Biffle has been the most consistent so far, with one win (Texas), four Top 5s and six Top 10s. Biffle and Matt Kenseth (one points win, Daytona, and a Gatorade Duel win) are leading Roush Fenway to what might be its first championship since 2004 with Kurt Busch. Kenseth is in third place, 17 points back from his teammate Biffle.

However, right behind them are Stewart-Haas Racing. Tony Stewart has started off 2012 like he ended 2011. He has won two points races (Las Vegas and Fontana) and won a Gatorade Duel at the beginning of the season. He is eighth in points, just 47 behind Biffle. Teammate Ryan Newman also has a win under his belt, stealing a Martinsville win away from Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer on a last lap incident. Newman is 10th in points, just 63 back from the lead.

And let’s not forget who is doing the best over at Hendrick Motorsports. No, it’s not five-time champ Jimmie Johnson or four-time champ Jeff Gordon. It’s not even Kasey Kahne, who everybody thought would be winning from the start this season because he’s in Hendrick equipment.

The brightest shining star at Hendrick right now is none other than Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junior is in fourth, just 21 points back from the lead. Junior has been consistent, with three top 5s and six top 10’s, something his teammates, especially Kahne, haven’t been.

At Michael Waltrip Racing, it seems Waltrip himself getting out of the car and letting David Reuttiman go might have been the best thing he has ever done.

Martin Truex Jr. is second, just 15 points back from first. It’s the highest that Truex, a two-time Nationwide Series champion, has been in the Sprint Cup Series. He led the majority of the race Sunday at Kansas and was just seconds away from his second Sprint Cup win (his first was at Dover in 2007).

Truex’s teammate, Clint Bowyer, who took over for Reuttiman, is 11th in points, just 85 out of the lead.

At Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny Hamlin is the top dog, fifth in points, only 23 back from the lead. Hamlin snuck the win away from Truex at Kansas for his second win of the season with the reigning 2011 Sprint Cup crew chief, Darren Grubb.

Even Joey Logano, who seems to only be able to win Nationwide races and rain-shortened races, is 12th in points, three points above Kyle Busch in 13th.

Other shocking notes in the point standings seven races in is Carl Edwards, who seems to be in a slump in the ninth spot, 14 points behind Stewart, after just barely losing the 2012 championship to Stewart. Paul Menard is sitting in 14th and Jeff Gordon is slumping in 18th position.

——

Who will get the 200th win for Hendrick?

Almost everybody says that Jimmie Johnson will be the driver who gets Rick Hendrick his 200th win in NASCAR’s premiere series, and who could blame anybody for thinking that? It’s Jimmie Johnson after all. He got the organization’s most recent win in October of last season.

Sure, there have been teams winning that are associated with Hendrick Motorsports, like Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, but they are not Hendrick cars.

My money is on Dale Earnhardt Jr. He’s on the verge of getting that elusive win that’s been haunting him the past few seasons. He seems happy and content in his life for the first time in a while, and even if he is starting to look like Grizzly Adams with that beard, he still knows how to drive a race car.

It, however, won’t be Kasey Kahne. When was the last time Kahne has been consistent? Never. Kahne is kind of like a groundhog that jumps up once a year to see his shadow. Once in a while, Kahne will win a race from pure luck or pure talent, which he has, but doesn’t seem to show it often enough.

Watch out for Junior, he’s going to get that 200th win. Or Jimmie Johnson. He did decent at Kansas this past weekend.

——

Rusty Wallace for the Hall of Fame?

Last week, the list of 25 nominees for the 2013 NASCAR Hall of Fame class were announced, and the list left some scratching their heads.

The usual suspects were named — Buck Baker, Red Byron, Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Benny Parsons, Fireball Roberts, Wendell Scott. But Rusty Wallace? Really?

Sure, he has won a championship. He and Darrell Waltrip are the Kings of Bristol Motor Speedway, but does he really deserve to be in the Hall of Fame in just the Hall of Fame’s third year?

There are so many more people who deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.

Fireball Roberts, for one, who lost his life in a wreck, won 33 Cup races, including the 1962 Daytona 500. Rick Hendrick, who is currently on the verge of winning his 200th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race as an owner, and has won 13 championships in NASCAR’s top three series. Buck Baker, who was the first driver to win consecutive NASCAR Cup championships in 1956 and 1957. Wendell Scott, the first African-American to win a NASCAR Cup race. Leonard Wood, a former crew chief and co-owner for Wood Brothers Racing, who helped revolutionize pit stops. Let’s not forget Richard Childress, who has won 11 championships in NASCAR as an owner.

If the nominating committee has run out of nominees in its third year, maybe they should change the qualifications.

Karah-Leigh Hancock is a designer and reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times and can be reached on Twitter @KarahLHancock.