Racin' With Russ
By Russell Schmidt

2008 Sprint Cup Team Lineups (Part 2)
Monday, December 17, 2007

Here is Round 2 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. 7
In what has to be an uphill battle at times, Robby Gordon returns as one of the very few single car driver/owner teams with any level of success. His 26th place points finish is an accomplishment unto itself as bigger teams failed to make many more races than the single one missed by RGM. Look for Jim Beam and Menard's to return to his Ford Fusion.

No. 8
It will take a while for fans to get used to seeing Mark Martin and Aric Almirola driving this numbered racer instead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. The sponsor is Army and the colors are very different from the customary bright red of Budweiser. Martin will drive two dozen shows and the aspiring Almirola will drive the rest. Martin drove about the same amount last year, nearly won the Daytona 500, finished 27th in points and won nearly $4 million. Not too shabby for a part-timer. Almirola couldn't ask for a better mentor.

No. 9
Pretty boy Kasey Kahne returns behind the wheel of this GEM Dodge with Budweiser on the quarters. He'll have to step up to the plate of consistency to gain a spot in the Chase, something he's only done once.

No. 10
Open wheeler Patrick Carpentier will fill this GEM Dodge this year with Komatsu Equipment a possible sponsor and Mike Shiplett as team director. How will this ex-open wheeler do? He'll be lucky to finish among the top 25 in points and may get a top 10 here and there, more likely on the roadcourses.

No. 11
Other than changing from Chevy to Toyota, everything is in place for Denny Hamlin to pilot this Gibbs racer. Performance? That depends how quickly the team can gel with the new equipment. Chase? Maybe.

No. 12
Ryan Newman returns behind the wheel of this Alltel Dodge with Penske as captain of the ship. Newman comes off a so-so season and needs to 'get right' out of the gate with results to make the Chase.

No. 15
Paul Menard continues with the DEI lineup and should move up in the charts with a guaranteed spot in the first five races. Menards, Peak and Energizer return as backers in the familiar yellow livery.

No 16
3M will pay the majority of the bills for this Roush-Fenway Greg Biffle driven Ford Fusion. If Biffle's equipment and luck could turn around, he'd have a better shot at returning to top contender status. DISH and Lumber Liquidators may join the fun later in the season.

From Rumorville
NASCAR has given permission for Penske Racing to transfer the owners points of Kurt Busch to newbee teammate Sam Hornish Jr for next season. That will ensure Sammy to make at least the first five shows with Kurt being able to fall back on his champion's provisional status should he fall short during qualifying. What do I think? Ridiculous. No one should have that kind of guarantee without earning the spot.

Look for reigning champ Jimmie Johnson to run in three Nationwide series races next year with Lowe's on the doors.

It does appear there will be changes in qualifying for next year by having those outside the top 35 attempt to qualify first. Is this a fix to the current problem of who gets in the shows? Not by a long shot. I still maintain the fastest 42 should qualify with one spot left for champions provisional or the highest in points standings at that time. What do you think? Drop me a line.

Did you know?

Which driver used the most Lucky Dog awards this past year? If you guessed Bobby Labonte in the No. 43 with 13 times, you'd be correct. Paul Menard and Kyle Petty were right behind with 11 each. All time Lucky Dog recipient? That would be Kyle Petty with 48 and Jeff Green next at 34. Like the 'Dog' deal? I don't. Why are they giving someone a whole lap back…entertainment?
That's it for this week. Next week's RWR will continue with Part 3 of the 2008 Cup lineup and more racing news from around the globe.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Questions? Comments? Contact Russ