There is not a single wheelman who wants to be named Fantasy NASCAR Preview’s breakout driver. We’ve handed this out for the past three years and, in the process, have created a curse just as strong as the Sports Illustrated or Madden cover curse, although a bit less publicized.

In 2007, Jamie McMurray was our pick to breakout. McMurray did win at Daytona in July, but three Top 5’s and a 17^th place finish in the points is hardly worthy of breaking out, especially for a driver in Roush Racing equipment.

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In a word, yes. Earnhardt finished 25^th in the standings in 2009, while his other three teammates (Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon) finished 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd. Even part-timer Brad Keselowski won a race in 2009 and consistently outran Earnhardt when he was in the racecar.

I like to bash Junior as much as anybody, but if he is capable of being a Chase contender, this is the year to do it. Everyone, except Earnhardt and Tony Eury Jr., knew that Eury was not the right choice as Crew Chief for the 88 team and last year’s embarrassment gave Rick Hendrick the chance to replace Eury with Lance McGrew.

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