Denny Hamlin posted three top-10s in seven Cup starts in 2005, and will compete for rookie honors this year. Credit: Autostock

Track Smack: Offseason

1. Guys, what kind of impact will the rookie class make? Can any of them make the Chase?

Dave Rodman: Based on what they already have achieved in Nextel Cup, either Martin Truex Jr. or Denny Hamlin would be capable of doing it -- but with it being so difficult for veteran teams to do so, hard to imagine a first-timer achieving it.

Ryan Smithson: A rookie won't make the Chase when guys like Jeff Gordon and Elliott Sadler are scrambling on the final day to make the Chase. Even the best rookies bend a little sheet metal, and even as recently as 2002, things were different.

Duane Cross: They can forget the Chase -- even Truex, with DEI's deep-pockets backing. But overall the rookie class should be competitive enough to signal youth is still being served on the Cup level. But in the end, experience will pay dividends in the Chase.

Mark Spoor: But, Smithson, the question isn't "will" they. It was "can" they? Truex can, he just needs everything to fall the right way, as does everyone else.

Duane Cross: C'mon, Spoor -- you're splitting hairs. "Can" they, "will" they -- the bottom line: No, this rookie class will not have a Chaser. Sure, some of these guys will be expected to be competitive each time off the truck, but the reality is that the Cup Series may be more competitive on a weekly basis right now than at any time in its history.

Ryan Smithson: Truex is clearly the front-runner for best rookie, even with Hamlin's success last year. Truex is going to have a good Speedweeks. Momentum is everything.

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Dave Rodman: Everything about Daytona can hinge on a wisp of wind, but on a percentage basis, the 1 team is a heavy favorite to succeed just about anywhere the series goes. But a lock, no. I think most of the rookie class will have classic rookie seasons -- a lotta lumps with some pretty spectacular rays of sunshine.

Ryan Smithson: I used to think Reed Sorenson was going to come in and really set the world afire, but I am more realistic now. I doubt even he expects to do well early. It'll take time, especially if the Charger has problems.

Mark Spoor: Another thing you have to look at with Sorenson is the team he's on. There isn't a veteran presence there. When you're looking to Casey Mears as your veteran, you're not exactly looking at Jeff Gordon.

Ryan Smithson: I would be very surprised if Clint Bowyer is able to really give Truex and Hamlin a good rookie battle.

Duane Cross: You would be surprised, Ryan? The RCR crew has enough experience -- and Jack Daniel's backing -- to be competitive with DEI and Joe Gibbs. Bowyer will be better than Dave Blaney, without question.

Dave Rodman: I think ol' Clint is pretty solid emotionally, and that will help him quite a bit. What he did at Memphis last fall -- not to mention some of those other hiccups he had -- was impressive.

	Martin Truex Jr. is a two-time Busch Series champion. Credit: Autostock
	Youth Movement 2006 Nextel Cup rookies Driver Team Clint Bowyer RCR Denny Hamlin JGR Brent Sherman BAM Racing Reed Sorenson Ganassi David Stremme Ganassi Martin Truex Jr. DEI J.J. Yeley JGR

Ryan Smithson: Duane, they didn't do a thing last year. What has changed besides a crew chief change? Gibbs is way ahead of the curve.

Dave Rodman: The interesting aspect about those rookies is that how many of them are going to try to run both series -- all of them but one? That will weigh in Martin's favor, I think.

Duane Cross: Didn't hurt Carl Edwards last year -- and he was a Cup rookie in almost every regard.

Ryan Smithson: Rodman, running both series has nothing to do with it anymore.

Mark Spoor: Never really liked Cup guys running the Busch Series. In a way, I think it destroys the whole point.

Ryan Smithson: Y'all are crazy. If anything, running both series helps. That is why you see Jimmie Johnson double-dipping.

Dave Rodman: Smithson, you know Carl Edwards is quite an anomaly -- a once-in-a-lifetime treasure, virtually.

Mark Spoor: But who's to say one of this crop isn't?

Dave Rodman: No one has really shown me the potential to be a Carl Edwards.

Duane Cross: Spoor has a valid point -- the Busch Series should be a stepping stone, not another full-time gig.

Ryan Smithson: The Busch Series will be dead without Cup guys.

Ryan Smithson: You don't think Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin won't breathe some life into that series?

Dave Rodman: It would be like the Truck Series -- great racing with something of an identity crisis, unfortunately.

Deputy Carl, at your service, ma'am. Credit: Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images

Ryan Smithson: Rodman, that is the first coherent statement you've made in years.

Duane Cross: I disagree; I believe good racers are out there that Joe Fan hasn't seen -- but deserves to see on a weekly basis.

Mark Spoor: Here's all you need to know about the Busch Series. In nine starts in '05, Ryan Newman tied for the series lead in wins and led the series in laps led.

Ryan Smithson: Pretty good one too, Spoor.

Duane Cross: Yes, it's a Catch-22, but one that can be addressed -- and should be.

Mark Spoor: But did Carl Edwards show that this time last year, Dave?

Ryan Smithson: Spoor, Edwards showed a lot in 2004. You forget that. ... Rodman's dream in life is to be arrested by Carl Edwards. He's a part-time deputy, you know.

Dave Rodman: He is a constable, you know -- or a deputy sheriff.

Duane Cross: We wonder ... if Carl Edwards arrested Kurt Busch, if he'd accuse Edwards of being a Jeff Gordon fan?

Mark Spoor: Rodman just liked the hockey seats Edwards gave him.

Dave Rodman: We actually never sat down at that hockey game -- always on the move.

Mark Spoor: You should put that on your business card, "Dave Rodman: Always on the Move"

Dave Rodman: Well, Carl had what, a top-five in his first Cup start -- or was it a sixth?

Duane Cross: A 10th-place finish at Michigan -- and he finished with four top-10s in 13 starts

Ryan Smithson: Carl could have won two races in 2004.

Mark Spoor: I stand corrected.

Ryan Smithson: Guys, just threatening to win a Cup race is a huge deal these days. That is what was so impressive about Mears in the last five races.

Dave Rodman: But to do what Edwards did in '05, I don't think anyone could have predicted that. And that's a pretty thin limb to go out on in '06.

Mark Spoor: So it begs the question: Is younger better?

Ryan Smithson: Yes. In today's NASCAR, sure.

Duane Cross: Heck no -- experience is better. It matters where and what you've done. The fact you're not old enough to buy beer is irrelevant.

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Mark Spoor: In the short term?

Ryan Smithson: What do you mean exactly? If people were still stuck on experience, Denny Hamlin would have been on the sidelines.

Duane Cross: Hamlin had a racing background; they didn't pluck him out of the stands at a Redskins game.

Ryan Smithson: The experience argument leads to recycled drivers.

Mark Spoor: We always talk about NASCAR being a win-now atmosphere. Aside from Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards, have any of the young guys pulled that off?

Dave Rodman: Younger is perceived to be better. But at least T.C. is getting a shot in Grand-Am.

Ryan Smithson: Hamlin gave the No. 11 team a "win-now" feeling, even if he didn't win.

Mark Spoor: But he hasn't -- yet.

Dave Rodman: He's only had seven starts -- give him three or four more, eh?

Ryan Smithson: It doesn't matter. You think Kasey Kahne's rookie season wasn't a resounding success?

Duane Cross: Again with the hyperbole, Smithson. "Resounding" -- no! Yeah, he had good runs, but he also had too many DNFs. And he didn't back it up in 2005; he regressed, despite his first win.

Mark Spoor: Look at the Chase -- lot of veteran names there.

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Ryan Smithson: In today's NASCAR, 35 is the new 40.

Mark Spoor: I'm just saying that maybe signing teen-agers to Cup rides may not be the best strategy in the win-now world of NASCAR.

Ryan Smithson: Well, only two of 10 Chase drivers were born before the Nixon administration.

Mark Spoor: 30 is a lot different than 19, however.

Ryan Smithson: I'll bet you $10 Rodman voted before eight of the Chase drivers were born. ... Wait, I better make it $2.

Dave Rodman: That would be a good move on your part.

The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer. And remember: We can dance if we want to; We can leave your friends behind; 'Cause your friends don't dance, and if they don't dance; Well they're no friends of mine.