NASCAR season fast approaching
Drama between two drivers heats up
Brandon Scardiglia
Issue date: 2/18/08 Section: Sports
With football ending in a Giant upset and baseball season months away, sports fans are taking the hard left-hand turn into the world of NASCAR.
The rapidly approaching 2008 season is sure to deliver race fans a season they have never seen before, including new drivers, new cars and old favorites.
Five former Indy series drivers will be making a run at this year's Sprint Cup. And although open-wheeled racers have not made much of a splash in the past, look for Juan Pablo Montoya, who had six top-10 finishes last season, to make a name for himself in his second year.
Also hoping to make big waves is Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The perennial fan favorite made big changes in the off-season including leaving his late father's team, Dale Earnhardt Inc., and signing with Hendricks Motorsports. Along with the new team came a new number, a new sponsor and hopes of a better finish than last year's 16th.
Taking Earnhardt's place at DEI racing will be Martin Truex Jr. Starting his third full season, Truex, who finished 20th his first year and missed the top 10 by one spot last year, could be the dark horse to watch out for.
Joe Gibbs' racing team makes the big leap of faith, jumping from Chevrolet to Toyota, and taking with it two of last year's premier drivers-Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart-a move that could mean success for Toyota's NASCAR dreams.
Last year's Cup winner Jimmy Johnson hopes to turn his back-to-back titles into a three-peat and is the early favorite to do so.
But breathing down his neck the whole way will be Jeff Gordon. The 31-year old in his 16th season has spent only three of those seasons out of the top 10 and nine in the top five.
Whoever takes this year's top spot will do so in the Car of Tomorrow. The highly criticized car is now here for good and racing in its first full season. The Car of Tomorrow was built mainly for safety but is generally unpopular among fans and drivers alike. Both say it's too boring and does not live up to the safety standards promised.
The rapidly approaching 2008 season is sure to deliver race fans a season they have never seen before, including new drivers, new cars and old favorites.
Five former Indy series drivers will be making a run at this year's Sprint Cup. And although open-wheeled racers have not made much of a splash in the past, look for Juan Pablo Montoya, who had six top-10 finishes last season, to make a name for himself in his second year.
Also hoping to make big waves is Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The perennial fan favorite made big changes in the off-season including leaving his late father's team, Dale Earnhardt Inc., and signing with Hendricks Motorsports. Along with the new team came a new number, a new sponsor and hopes of a better finish than last year's 16th.
Taking Earnhardt's place at DEI racing will be Martin Truex Jr. Starting his third full season, Truex, who finished 20th his first year and missed the top 10 by one spot last year, could be the dark horse to watch out for.
Joe Gibbs' racing team makes the big leap of faith, jumping from Chevrolet to Toyota, and taking with it two of last year's premier drivers-Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart-a move that could mean success for Toyota's NASCAR dreams.
Last year's Cup winner Jimmy Johnson hopes to turn his back-to-back titles into a three-peat and is the early favorite to do so.
But breathing down his neck the whole way will be Jeff Gordon. The 31-year old in his 16th season has spent only three of those seasons out of the top 10 and nine in the top five.
Whoever takes this year's top spot will do so in the Car of Tomorrow. The highly criticized car is now here for good and racing in its first full season. The Car of Tomorrow was built mainly for safety but is generally unpopular among fans and drivers alike. Both say it's too boring and does not live up to the safety standards promised.
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