Nascar Race Today

It's NASCAR Sprint Cup banquet week, which means it's time for drivers to make speeches that are part thanks to their team, sponsors and family, part comedy and part improvisation.

Typically, the speeches are well scripted, sometimes by the driver and sometimes by a representative of his team. NASCAR puts time limits on them, and some drivers stick to them and some don't.

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Here are some suggestions for people these drivers need to thank.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Stenhouse will have one of the first speeches of the week Thursday when he accepts the Sprint Cup rookie of the year award.

So how will he include girlfriend Danica Patrick, whom he beat for the award, into his speech?

Maybe he should say: "Thanks, honey, for losing to me most weeks."

Nah, that sounds a bit too condescending and might not make his girlfriend too happy.

Maybe it should be: "Thanks, honey, for the awesome meals you cooked for me during the season. And thanks for not putting a laxative in them."

That way he acknowledges their relationship, compliments his popular girlfriend and thanks her all in one breath.

Chad Knaus

One of the other major speeches Thursday will be delivered by championship crew chief Chad Knaus.

Knaus should start off by saying: "I need to thank Jimmie Johnson, Chandra Johnson, Jimmie Johnson, Rick Hendrick, Jimmie Johnson and the rest of the team."

That would give the proper credit to the person most responsible for their six championships together.

Jimmie Johnson

Johnson will thank his boss, Rick Hendrick. He will thank Knaus. He will thank his team and his sponsor and his family.

But one guy he really needs to thank, as he often does, is Jeff Gordon.

Gordon was the driver who saw him test at Darlington Raceway years ago and thought that Hendrick really needed to hire Johnson, who had not exactly had a great record in the Nationwide Series.

So maybe Johnson should end his speech like this: "Thanks, Jeff, for endorsing me for this ride. And thanks for struggling so much in the last decade so that I could win six titles."

Rick Hendrick

Hendrick needs to thank Geoff Bodine.

It was Bodine who won that first race for Hendrick at Martinsville Speedway in 1984 when Hendrick wasn't sure he would be able to afford to continue racing if the team wasn't successful.

While Hendrick can be stubborn and loves racing enough that he probably would have found a way to continue, that victory helped keep the doors open at Hendrick Motorsports and set the foundation for what is now one of the sport's powerhouses.

Matt Kenseth

Kenseth should thank the Roush Fenway Racing marketing department for being unable to land him sponsorship for 2013. That sparked his decision to go to Joe Gibbs Racing and have a breakout season.

Kevin Harvick

Harvick should thank Richard Childress for being supportive at times when he could have easily told Harvick to pack it up and hit the road. Instead, Childress stuck by Harvick through some tough times and through their final season together and they finished third in the standings for the third time in the last four years.

Kyle Busch

Busch should thank his wife, Samantha. Not that he won't or doesn't thank her enough already, but her influence has played a key role in his success, according to many who have worked with him.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

He needs to thank NASCAR for not having a "podium" for the top three finishers each week, where he would have had to be in victory lane and watch the winning driver celebrate. Earnhardt would have had to do that seven times this season, including four times in the final 10 races.

Jeff Gordon

Gordon needs to thank Brian France, of course. Without France, there's no decision to add a 13th driver - Gordon - to the Chase field after the shenanigans at Richmond. Without that move, Gordon would have finished no better than 13th.

Clint Bowyer

Bowyer needs to thank his girlfriend for accepting his marriage proposal so he will have something positive to talk about during championship weekend rather than the Richmond controversy and his disappointing season.

Joey Logano

Logano probably needs to thank AJ Allmendinger, whose drug policy violation resulted in Logano landing at Penske Racing. And he needs to thank the whole committee at Penske that chose to hire him.

Greg Biffle

He should thank NASCAR for not forgetting about him at the banquet. He is the top-10 driver who made the least noise in 2013.

Kurt Busch

He needs to thank everyone and anyone who helped him stay out of trouble and confrontations with the media this year. Busch handled himself reasonably well and it paid off with a Chase appearance and a better ride for next season.