With the Pepsi 400 at Daytona approaching, it's time to look at the ups and downs of the 2003 Winston Cup season.

	Surprised by Matt Kenseth's strong start? You shouldn't be.

Biggest surprise: Michael Waltrip. Who would have thought a guy who can only drive on superspeedways would be fifth in Cup points nearing the season's midpoint? Actually, it's really not that shocking if you consider what Waltrip accomplished last year. Sure, he got his win at Daytona in July, but Waltrip was extremely consistent across the board last season and finished 14th in points.

With Daytona looming and another trip to Talladega on the docket, a first-career top-10 points finish is close to a lock -- but again, that's not shocking. The surprise here is that Waltrip's name needs to be mentioned when talking about title contenders.

Biggest non-surprise: Matt Kenseth leading the points. After a so-so sophomore season, the guy led Winston Cup in wins with five in 2002. It was just a matter of finding consistency and avoiding pitfalls and bad luck, which the No. 17 has done this year.

Also, Jeff Gordon being poised to make a run at Kenseth. His fifth title isn't a matter of "if." It's a matter of "when."

Biggest disappointment: Dale Jarrett. Sure, there are drivers performing worse than the 1999 Winston Cup champion, but none that entered the season with expectations as high as Jarrett and his No. 88 team. He does have a win this year -- the Subway 400 at Rockingham -- but he's 29th in points. Yes, 29th. DJ hasn't finished outside the top-10 in the final points standings since ending up 13th in 1995, his first season with Robert Yates.

And Brett Bodine. Hard to expect much from him when he's on track, but it's still nice to actually see him on track. First sponsorship disappears and then he's in a nasty wreck. The unofficial end of the driver/owner era?

Gutsy move: Will give the nod to NASCAR here for scoring a mega-sponsorship deal with Nextel to replace the departing Winston in 2004. What NASCAR is losing? Tradition and name recognition. What NASCAR is not losing? Money. What NASCAR is gaining? A new-age sponsor (in NASCAR terms, anyway) that can market to a broader audience than did RJ Reynolds. A sponsor that can cross-promote the series with its traditional ad campaigns on television, radio, etc.

Now, there is something to be said for some of the other reported finalists. UPS is already heavily involved in the series and might have provided an easier transition for fans, but there's only so far a big brown truck can go. Visa would have been solid, as would McDonald's and Coca-Cola. But Nextel's entry into NASCAR makes a bigger splash, which is just what the series and the company presumably wanted.

That, and the bajillions of dollars NASCAR will be getting, of course.

Boneheaded move: Kyle Petty and John Andretti, with more fault heading in Petty's direction. Petty shouldn't have made such a strong push to bring Andretti back for 2003 if he wasn't committed to keeping him on throughout the season. Andretti, meanwhile, showed misplaced loyalty by re-signing. He should have gone to Ganassi. Bad choice.

Also, Dodge and Bill Davis Racing. Did Dodge overreact? Was the manufacturer too nitpicky? Or did Davis royally screw up? Seems Davis might be at fault, however innocent his intentions. And Ward Burton and Kenny Wallace could end up being the big losers.

	Labonte

Redemption: Terry Labonte. He's washed up, they said. He's got nothing left, they said. Retire, already. True, the two-time Cup champion had been in a free fall since winning the title in 1996, with his overall Cup points finishes getting worse and worse (first in 1996, sixth in '97, ninth in '98, 12th in '99, 17th in 2000, 23rd in '01, 24th in 2002).

But Labonte has four top-10s this season -- as many as he had last year and one more than he had in 2001 -- and is sitting 15th in points with a legitimate shot at finding his way into the top 10. But here's the caveat -- Labonte was 16th after 22 races last season before a rough stretch ultimately dropped him to 24th. Still, this year's No. 5 crew has shown more chutzpah than last year's, so don't expect Labonte to again twirl out of the top 20.

Honorable mention in this category goes to Kevin Harvick, who currently is ninth in points after following his strong 2001 rookie campaign with a weak 21st-place finish last season.

Random stat: Penske teammates Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman present an interesting contrast. Newman has two wins this season. Wallace, as everyone is painfully aware, as Rusty never lets us forget, has no wins. And yet, Wallace is eighth in points while Newman, who also has more top-fives and top-10s than his teammate this year, is sophomore slumping in 17th.

Random thoughts: Will Jerry Nadeau recover and get another shot at a decent Cup ride? Ricky Craven did, and he's made the most of it over the past couple of seasons. But has Steve Park recovered? His attitude says one thing, his performance says another. ... Is Mike Skinner's Winston Cup career over? ... How long can Jeremy Mayfield hang on to his ride with Ray Evernham? Is John Andretti waiting with baited breath? ... How long until Hideo Fukuyama "Irabus" himself back to Japan? ... What can we do to get Wally Dallenbach out of the booth and back into a Cup ride? ... There's nothing wrong with a foreign manufacturer coming to NASCAR, is there? ... Will Ricky Rudd be competitive with the Wood Brothers -- ever?

General amazement: Bobby Labonte. Man, he's good.

Also, one has to be impressed with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Finally, the heir apparent is a title contender.

General (lack of) amazement: Yes, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman spoiled us last season. So are the performances of top rookies Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle disappointing? Nah. They've each shown signs of consistency, along with the potential to become very good Cup drivers. So what if they weren't perfect when they were unloaded from the Busch Series truck.

Quote: "The race is all or nothing. It is all about winning." -- Kenny Wallace on The Winston.

Photo: Check out one of the cooler shots of the the half-season. The Roush driver that led series in wins in '02 leads the points in '03. Replace 17 with 97, and scenario could repeat for '03-'04. Kurt Busch has shined.

Jonathan Baum is an RPM editor at ESPN.com.