Racin' With Russ
By Russell Schmidt

2008 Sprint Cup Team Lineups (Part 5)
Monday, January 7, 2008

Here is Round 5 of a multi-part series to describe the 2008 Sprint Cup team lineups for next season. There are lots of wholesale changes between drivers, sponsors and car makes, so take notes and enjoy some of my predictions:

No. 49
John Andretti will return behind the wheel of this BAM Dodge with several associate sponsors backing the team, but still actively looking for a major player to help foot the bills. Dean Johnson will call the shots from atop the box. Results? Just making the races and taking the checkers is the major mission with this one car team.

No. 55
Michael Waltrip has tabbed himself to continue driving the NAPA Toyota with an eye on making more than half the races, reminiscent of last year. Supposedly, there are more parts and personnel in place to create better results. Perhaps new veteran crew chief Paul Andrews can help this team get back among the top 35 in points. I see this team struggle as long as the current driver remains behind the wheel.

No. 66
Scott Riggs was let go from the Evernham Racing team, only to have the HAAS Racing Team pick him up. State Water Heaters was recently named as the major sponsor with the very cagey Bootie Barker returning as crew chief. With Hendrick Chevy engines, some technical support and a little luck, this could be the surprise of the 'non-big team' set. Still young, hungry, talented driver with 'Bootie's' talents creates a good combo.

No. 70
Jeremy Mayfield gets the nod for this HAAS Chevy ride as teammate to Riggs. Dave Skog has been named crew chief, yet sponsor details are still being worked on. Mayfield needs to get everything he can out of this deal, before his 'stock' heads into oblivion.

No. 77
Ex-open wheeler Sam Hornish Jr received an early Christmas present when NASCAR informed car owner Roger Penske they would allow the transfer of owner points from ex-champion Kurt Busch over to Hornish. Mobil 1 will adorn the 'quarters' with Chris Carrier as crew chief. It is certainly a distinct advantage over his fellow competitors to make those first five races, but with only qualifying for 2 of 8 races on his own late last year, I believe Hornish will struggle to stay among the top 35.

No. 78
Joe Nemechek was booted out of his GINN ride late last year, but has landed on his feet with a full-time gig with the Furniture Racing Team Chevy. It's a three-year deal with Jay Guy as crew chief and Hendrick engines under the hood. Making races and finishing will be their major mission.

From Rumorville
Kasey Kahne has entered a not guilty plea to that security guard incident in Florida. That wipes out the scheduled arraignment for Tuesday, yet creates more hearings and a civil trial as well. Stay tuned.

Michael McDowell will take over the driving duties once David Reutimann vacates the No. 00 Toyota after five races, moving over to the No. 44 UPS ride when Dale Jarrett steps out into retirement. (Did you catch all that?) McDowell was impressive to finish as last year's runner-up in the ARCA series at only 22-years-old. Good choice!

Did you know?
That Speed Channel starts nearly daily TV coverage of NASCAR testing on Monday, Jan 7? That's right, it's time to watch, at least taped highlights of the day's events. (I know, you feel like you've been out of touch...)

Kicking off the 2008 Sprint Cup Series season is sanctioned testing, and naturally, it starts at the big Daytona in Florida. Testing the new COT car at the high bank track is paramount to the chances of a good season.

Check your local TV lineups to see when the daily early evening show is scheduled to air. Don't expect all the cars to have the newest paint schemes as many are usually primer. We'll compare notes next week.

That's it for this week. Next week's RWR will wrap up a preview of this year's Sprint Cup team lineup, results from the opening week of Cup testing and more racing news from around the globe.

Questions? Comments? Contact Russ