lets see, if im right, i think there are six candidates for rookie of the year, (although im not sure of Leffler's status): Mike Bliss, Kyle Busch, Travis Kvapil, Carl Edwards, Bobby Hamilton Jr. and Jason Leffler................
my pick for Rookie of Year?..........Mike Bliss with Hamilton Jr. maybe coming in second ---there won't be any rookie sensastions like last years Kahne (whom i picked this time last year)
now for the title itself?.............i say Earnhardt Jr. of course (and i'll always say that, because my heart speaks first.......although im worried about the pit crew changes)..........but logically i'll say Greg Biffle or Tony Stewart -----last year i picked Jr. with jimmie johnson to come up second.
Most Wins?......this is always the tricky one..........i'll really go out there and say Jeff Burton with only four........i think this is the year of the first time winners...... ---last year i picked Jr. with five races.....he got six but not enough to overtake Johnson.
odds and ends:
Kahne will still not win a race....he was just a by-product of Elliott's hard work on that crew
Hendricks will suffer this year but still do well on short tracks and road courses
Newman and Wallace will finally make peace right about time of all-star weekend!
Jeff Burton will become top-dog at RCR and regained old glory.
Mayfield will be fired with six races left in the season.
Well, Bobby Hamilton Jr. and Carl Edwards are not elligible for rookie of the year because they ran more races last year. You could only run 7 or less races in a year to qualify for rookie of the year. Jason Leffler has run in the cup series for a number of years now, just not a full time ride. He doesn't qualify either. Neither does Mike Bliss.
The only two drivers that are going for the rookie of the year title and qualify will be Busch and Kvapil. Kvapil had a couple good runs last season, and Busch failed to impress in his few runs. However, I think Busch will get the title but he won't run away with it unlike Truex who will run away with the title in 06! He'll have a few top 10 finishes and possibly a top 10 in the #5 car.
As for the championship title... You know I'll be rooting for Jr the whole year, however with the changes during the offseason with his crew, I think he'll be finishing in the top 5 but won't really be in contention in the chase. This will be a transition year for him, getting used to his new crew.
I think Johnson will win his first title although Gordon will come close to getting his 5th. I'll still be rooting against that happening! Johnson will get the most wins again this year.
I think Childress will be a team to reckon with again this year, with Harvick earning a pair of wins, possibly Burton winning again in the Cingular car and Blaney impressing everyone with some top 10 finishes in the Jack Daniels car.
Kahne will earn his first win this year and it'll be fairly early, possibly at Vegas or Phoenix, however it will be his only win.
Jr. will dominate speedweeks this year however he'll just miss winning the Daytona 500. It may go to a complete upset like Scott Wimmer.
Greg Biffle will have a good year and will make the chase. Michael Waltrip will have a better year, but will just miss the top 10. DEI will resign him an extra year anyway.
