1. A Hendrick car will win the Daytona 500.
- With Dale Earnhardt Jr. moving to the #88 car, Hendrick Motorsports now has the best two restrictor plate racers in the sport with Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon. Those two drivers, along with two-time defending Nextel Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears should be extremely fast in Hendrick equipment. If they decide to draft together and settle it among themselves on the last lap, it could be a tough day for the rest of the field.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will finish the season in the Top 5 of the points standings.
- If DEI could build an engine that would last an entire race, he easily would have made the Chase last season. He now will have better equipment and better engines at his disposal, so don’t be surprised to see Junior contend for a title in ‘08.
3. Joe Gibbs Racing will step-up as the #1 Contender to Hendrick’s dominance.
- JGR now has three of the best 10 drivers in Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, and Kyle Bush. Combine that with Toyota’s deep pockets, and Joe Gibbs drivers are going to give the Hendrick guys a run for their money.
4. Kyle Busch will lead the Nextel Cup Series in wins.
- Busch will thrive now that he has finally gotten out of the shadow of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Expect to see him running up front all season and making frequent trips to victory lane.
5. Here come the open-wheelers.
- The open-wheelers are here and ready to prove that they belong in a stock car. Open-wheelers have tried their hand in NASCAR before, but there has never been an influx of talent like this. The last two Indy Car Champions and Indy 500 winners, Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr., will be hitting the track this season. Along with Juan Pablo Montoya, who is already an established Nextel Cup winner, the open-wheelers will be a force to be reckoned with in 2008. The only question is how long it will take them to get used to a stock car. My bet is sooner rather than later.
6. And the 2008 Nextel Cup Champion is…
- Jeff Gordon. Gordon dominated last season and would have won the championship by over 350 points in the old points system. Gordon had 6 wins and 30 Top 10’s in 36 races . That is mind-boggling. Johnson, Stewart and Matt Kenseth will give him a run for his money, but I think Gordon finally seals the deal and gets his 5th championship.
