The roar of 250,000 people will rock the doors of heaven when the 2007 NASCAR season kicks off in style at the Daytona 500. Off the track, there have been some major changes, including a new car which premieres at the Food City 500 in April, as well as a new Chase format, which will allow 12 drivers have a chance to win the Championship. Skysports.com previews the Top 12 drivers this season…..1. Tony Stewart
Although he shocked the world by not qualifying for last year’s Chase for the Championship, Stewart showed why he’s still one of the best drivers in NASCAR by winning three out of the last seven races. However, thanks to the Chase format that only lets the top 10 drivers in with a chance of winning the title, he didn’t touch the `big trophy’. This year’s already started with a bang for the 2005 Champion by a victory in the Bud Shootout at Daytona last Saturday. Expect big things from the Home Depot team in 2007.
2. Jimmie Johnson
If there’s any driver more adept at “winning the big one”, it’s Jimmie Johnson, who won the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 500 at Indianapolis and spring race at Talladega, as well as two others to boot. Winning the championship in a canter, Johnson overcame a rough start to the 2006 chase – he finished 39th, 14th, 13th and 29th in the first four races of the playoff – to come no lower than tenth in the last six. If there’s any driver you should watch out for in 2007, it’ll be Johnson and the #48 car.
3. Kevin Harvick
A driver highly-regarded by NASCAR fans for his `devil may care’ attitude on the track that brings back memories of the drivers of yesteryear, Harvick barged and battered his way to five wins, 15 top 5s and 20 top 10s, averaging a 12th placing all season long. Not only that, but he destroyed the opposition in 2006 in the Busch Series – he won 9 races and was in the Top 10 in countless others en route to a championship – Harvick will be looking to do the same to his Nextel Cup competition in 2007.
4. Jeff Gordon
Four-time NASCAR champion Gordon had an excellent 2006, recording two wins, 14 top 5s and 18 tops 10s. However, his exploits were eclipsed by Johnson, his championship-winning teammate. Gordon, who is generally one of the cleaner drivers both on and off the track, made headlines last April when he got into a scuffle with rival Matt Kenseth after the Food City 500 at Bristol. Everyone (apart from NASCAR’s regulators), will be hoping for more of the same fire. We think he’ll have a bit of flame on the track, too.
5. Kyle Busch
Tipped by some members of the US media as the driver to watch for in the 2006 Chase, Kyle Busch, the brother of 2004 Nextel Cup champion Kurt, fell apart, averaging 22nd in his last ten races. However, his form throughout the season, which included 1 win, 10 top five finishes and 18 top ten finishes, made people take notice. With mentors Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon on the same team, Kyle Busch can only get better. Watch out for this one.
6. Matt Kenseth
Kenseth was `Mr Consistency’ last year, winning four races and finishing in the top 5 15 times and in the top 10 21 times. Although the driver of the #17 car is not the media `face’ like some of his rivals, the 2003 champion was the epitome of reliability last year – even when the rest of his Roush Racing teammates didn’t exactly have show-stopping years.
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr
Just because the crowd wants you to win every race it doesn’t mean you actually will, as `Junior’ proved in 2006, when he only came home with the goods once in 36 races. However, the #8 didn’t have a terrible year after recording 10 top 5s and 17 top 10s last year. This year – like every year – will come with the same expectation, although there are worries that Junior’s off-the-field problems with stepmother/DEI owner Teresa Earnhardt might be a bigger headline than his on-the-field exploits.
8. Kasey Kahne
If there was an award for the best looking man in NASCAR, then Kasey Kahne would win it. The man from Washington State can also win races, too. He drove into Victory Lane 6 times in `06- more than any of his rivals. Watch out for him on the 1 ½ mile tracks, where he was one of the best drivers on the circuit. However, he’ll need Lady Luck – and a bit of consistency – if he is to drive away with the `07 title.
9. Carl Edwards
Carl Edwards suffered from two things last year- too much expectation and too much bad luck. On the front cover of a prominent US sports magazine for being one of the best young talents in NASCAR, Edwards simply didn’t live up to expectations, and failed to qualify for this year’s Elite 10. If it wasn’t crashes (he had two last year) then it was engine problems – or simply bad driving. However, if he can continue his form during the Chase he averaged ninth in the last ten races of the year, then this’ll be a year to remember for the #99 car.
10. Greg Biffle
Biffle’s 2006 was a strange one. Although he took his #16 car to a respectable 13th place overall with two wins, 8 top five places and 15 top 10 places, you couldn’t help but feel that it could have been so much better. On a lot of tracks he was the best driver, but ill luck fuelled by bad engines and bad crashes (six in total) took him out of the chance for a Chase spot – so much so that before one of the last races of the year he went off to Mexico with his long-time girlfriend. But when it finally came together – like it did at Homestead last year on the final day of the season – Biffle lived up to his billing as one of NASCAR’s top talents, blowing the rest of the field away in one of the year’s better performances. So how will things go in 2007? If the engines run well and no-one does anything stupid in front of him, we predict a top 10 championship finish. But in racing, that’s a big `if’.
11. Kurt Busch
The 2004 champion had a mediocre season last year. Although he went to victory lane after winning Food City 500 at Bristol in April, Busch never really found any consistency in his first season in the Miller Lite car, after being axed in 2005 by Roush Racing in an acrimonious split. However, his second year in the car is bound to be a better one. As is the case with the beer itself, you simply can’t keep a Busch down.
12. Jeff Burton
One of NASCAR’s veterans, Jeff Burton and his #31 Cingular car came into its own last year with 1 win, 7 top 5s and an astonishing 20 top 10 finishes. He was also an excellent qualifier – 4 poll positions – and always good value for the punter’s money. Although his last five races of the year were a source of frustration (he averaged 23rd), he certainly had tongues wagging after averaging 8th in the first five Chase runs. Rivals should be very worried about him in 2007.