NASCAR 2008 Team Capsules, Part 1

Its January and you know what that means. Less then two months from now America's favorite motorsports series will be taking to the high banks of Daytona to see who has the guts to take home the Daytona 500 trophy. Because of this, I felt it was time to start cranking out my 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Team Capsules. I've been planning this for a few weeks but I finally sat down today and wrote the first dozen. I'll keep doing 12 teams at a clip until I make my way through the entire roster of teams and drivers. This first capsule starts with Car No. 00 and ends with Car No. 10. Don't forget, if you have any thoughts or comments email me at adamfenwick@shelbystar.com!

Car No.: 00
Driver(s): David Reutimann (5 Races)/Michael McDowell (31 Races) (ROTY)
Sponsor: Aaron’s (5 Races)/Unconfirmed
Car Make: Toyota
Car Owner: Michael Waltrip Racing
Chase Outlook: Slim to None
Summary: This team is going to be one of many faces in 2008. David Reutimann will start the season with this team but after the first five races he will be jumping ship to take over the No. 44 UPS Toyota that Dale Jarrett is leaving. Michael McDowell, a MWR Developmental Driver, will be taking over the driving duties after Reutimann leaves. Sponsorship is a big question at this point because as it stands now Aaron’s is only sponsoring the first five races. Domino’s Pizza isn’t returning and Burger King may not be either. Odds of this team finding Chase glory are slim.

Car No.: 01
Driver: Regan Smith (ROTY)
Sponsor: Unconfirmed
Car Make: Chevrolet
Car Owner: Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Chase Outlook: Mild at best
Summary: The car that Mark Martin drove to a second place finish in the 2007 Daytona 500 is getting a major facelift in 2008. Martin leaves to be the co-pilot of the No. 8 Chevrolet vacated by Dale Earnhardt Jr. while Regan Smith, whose contract was acquired by DEI during the Ginn/DEI merger, takes over the No. 01. Sponsorship is still up in the air but rumors continue to float around saying Coors Light will join this team to become primary sponsor. I expect mild success from this team but the odds of a Chase berth aren’t very good.

Car No.: 07
Driver: Clint Bowyer
Sponsor: Jack Daniel’s
Car Make: Chevrolet
Car Owner: Richard Childress Racing
Chase Outlook: High
Summary: Clint Bowyer is coming off a career year in 2007 that included one win, five top 5’s and 17 top 10’s. Oh yeah, he finished 3rd in the final standings. Expecting a repeat of that kind of a season from Bowyer would be asking a lot, but odds are he will deliver a strong performance all season and be a threat for victories and his second berth in the Chase.

Car No.: 1
Driver: Martin Truex Jr.
Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
Car Make: Chevrolet
Car Owner: Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Chase Outlook: High
Summary: Another drive coming off a career year in 2007, Truex picked up his first career Cup win in 2007 along with seven top 5’s and 14 top 10’s. His 11th place finish in the standings doesn’t really indicate the kind of year he had, despite former teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s issues last year. I expect Truex to have another strong year with maybe another win or two coming his way. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him fighting it out for a spot in the Chase come Richmond in the fall.

Car No.: 2
Driver: Kurt Busch
Sponsor: Miller Lite
Car Make: Dodge
Car Owner: Roger Penske
Chase Outlook: Higher
Summary: Kurt Busch and his No. 2 team had a strong year in 2007 racking up two wins along with a 7th place finish in the standings. The only major change that could hurt Busch in 2008 is Roger Penske swapped out Kurt’s 2007 points and gave them to Rookie of the Year candidate Sam Hornish Jr. to make sure he was going to start the first five races. Lucky for Kurt he is a former series champion, meaning he is guaranteed to make the first five races as well. Lets just hope he doesn’t run into a wall of bad luck.

Car No.: 4
Driver: Unconfirmed
Sponsor: Unconfirmed
Car Make: Chevrolet
Owner: Morgan-McClure Motorsports
Chase Outlook: Slim to None
Summary: This former Daytona 500 winning franchise might be on its last ownership leg. With sponsor State Water Heaters apparently jumping ship to join Haas CNC Racing and Ward Burton apparently not returning its not a question of if, but when, will this team finally close up shop. Forget the Chase, just surviving the 2008 season is going to be a race all by itself.

Car No.: 5
Driver: Casey Mears
Sponsor: Carquest/Kellogg’s
Car Make: Chevrolet
Owner: Rick Hendrick
Chase Outlook: Fairly High
Summary: Another driver with a breakout year in 2007, Casey Mears shocked the world when he won the 2007 Coca-Cola 600 by using a little math. This year Mears moves to his fourth team in four years (2008, No. 5, 2007, No. 25, 2006, No. 42, 2005, No. 41) and you know by now he (along with his merchandise buying fans) must be hoping that this change sticks for at least two seasons. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this car, which made the Chase in 2007 with Kyle Busch, make the chase again, but Mears is going to have to do a little bit extra to get it there.

Car No.: 6
Driver: David Ragan
Sponsor: AAA
Car Make: Ford
Owner: Jack Roush
Chase Outlook: Fair
Summary: Ragan, coming off a decent rookie campaign, will look to avoid the traditional sophomore slump and break out in 2008 much like Clint Bowyer did last year. Ragan was actually the only Roush driver that didn’t pick up a Cup win in 2007 and he is likely hoping to change that in 2008. Odds of a Chase berth are slim, but I’ll bet money he makes his way into the top 10 a bit more often in 2008 and he may even surprise a few people (like he did at the fall Richmond race last year coming home an impressive third).

Car No.: 7
Driver: Robby Gordon
Sponsor: Jim Beam/Menard’s/Mapai/Camping World/More
Car Make: Ford
Owner: Robby Gordon
Chase Outlook: Mild at best
Summary: Always a threat to win on a road course, Robby Gordon needs to find a way to make this team competitive elsewhere if he ever wants to break the mold of a road course driver trying to make it in an oval series. Victories at Infineon or Watkins Glen wouldn’t shock anyone, but a victory at California or Michigan would blow the doors off everyone in the garage, including Robby.

Car No.: 8
Driver(s): Mark Martin (24 Races)/Aric Almirola (12 Races)
Sponsor: U.S. Army
Car Make: Chevrolet
Owner: Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Chase Outlook: Slim to None
Summary: The car formally known as the red No. 8 will now be driven by Mark Martin and Aric Almirola with sponsorship coming from the U.S. Army. I suspect this team will be highly competitive in 2008, with a victory or two not out of the question for either Martin or Almirola. Of course due to the fact that this team has two drivers its highly unlikely that this team will be in any position to make the Chase. That doesn’t mean however they can’t go after the Owner’s Championship though.

Car No.: 9
Driver: Kasey Kahne
Sponsor: Budweiser
Car Make: Dodge
Owner: Gillett Evernham Motorsports
Chase Outlook: Fairly High
Summary: Budweiser only had to move one number up the dial to find its new home, selecting Kasey Kahne’s red No. 9 as the new home for its NASCAR sponsorship. Good news for Kahne, bad news for everyone else, because Budweiser doesn’t like to lose. I expect to see a resurgence from Kahne in 2008 to make up for the awful 2007 campaign which saw him pick up only one top 5 and seven top 10’s.

Car No.: 10
Driver: Patrick Carpentier (ROTY)
Sponsor: Unconfirmed
Car Make: Dodge
Owner: Gillett Evernham Motorsports
Chase Outlook: Mild at best
Summary: The first of several open-wheel drivers making the fulltime jump to NASCAR in 2008, Patrick Carpentier is going to have a rough first season in this stock car sport. While Carpentier was impressive in the few starts he made in 2007, it’s a far cry from running the full schedule. Let’s not forget that this team has sponsorship questions. Valvoline is probably not going to be returning and rumors have Komatsu Equipment coming on to replace them, but at this point nothing has been confirmed by anyone within the organization.