 | | NASCAR.COM's Ryan Smithson says Jeff Gordon will celebrate another championship in 2006. Credit: Autostock |
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
January 2, 2006
08:35 AM EST (13:35 GMT)
When you work in sports, everyone asks you what you think is going to happen. It gets to the point where you almost want to carry a crystal ball with you to keep up with the demand. With testing set to begin at Daytona in about a week, here's a gaze into my crystal ball at what to watch for in 2006. 10. Casey Mears will finally make some noise. Casey Mears won't make the Chase for the Nextel Cup, but he will score his first Nextel Cup win sometime in the first half. Mears was the best Dodge driver in the last six races of the season, and with his move to the No. 42, expect that success to continue. 9. Elliott Sadler will be Comeback Driver of the Year. Sadler's 2005 season was bad, but a lot of good things happened. He consistently qualified well, and I believe the move away from impound races will benefit Sadler more than anyone. Tommy Baldwin will breathe some life into this team, which ran very well with interim crew chief Kevin Buskirk. Yates has been spending a lot of money in the offseason to add some brainpower to his operation, and these moves will help RYR run like Roush did last year. 8. Brian Vickers will threaten to make the Chase. Vickers, like Mears, will become a first-time winner in 2006. Vickers made tremendous strides last year and only needs to run better on short tracks to become a legitimate Chase contender. Vickers will end the year with over 15 top-10 finishes, and his improved consistency will keep him in the Chase hunt until crunch time. 7. Boris Said will win a road-course race. Boris Said is starting to learn that Nextel Cup road races are won with patiently aggressive driving. A road-course ringer has never been able to win in NASCAR's modern era, but Said finally seems ready to snap that streak. 6. Rookie of the year: Martin Truex Jr. Not only will Martin Truex Jr. win Rookie of the Year, he will give Dale Earnhardt Jr. a heathy battle for DEI supremacy. Truex Jr didn't get to display much in his seven starts in 2005 -- he blew two engines and got caught up in two accidents -- but his seventh-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 showed that he has the potential to rack up a dozen top-10s. 5. Ryan Newman will challenge for the title. Newman had just as many lead-lap finishes in 2005 as anyone, and he did it with a severe handicap in the Dodge Charger. There is nothing wrong with Newman's well-known penchant for qualifying well, and one of these years, he is going to figure out how to turn five poles into five wins. 4. Jimmie Johnson won't finish in the top five in points. A world of Roush Racing dominance makes for a crowded Chase field, and with both Penske cars in the Chase, it will make it tough for Johnson to extend his four-year streak of top-five points finishes. 3. Bobby Labonte will finish 15th or better in the points. Labonte is eager to prove that he isn't washed up at age 41, and crew chief Todd Parrott is equally as motivated. Labonte will thrive with the reliable Evernham motors under his hood. Look for him to have a Jeremy Mayfield-type season. 2. It will be a long season for Michael Waltrip.  |  | STORE | |
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Michael Waltrip's new No. 55 program at Bill Davis Racing has no owners points to fall back on for 2006, and it will be difficult for him to gain any type of momentum. Waltrip will fight simply to get his car in the field in the first five races, and that pressure will make it hard for the team to compete. The possibility of missed races is front and center. 1. Jeff Gordon will win his fifth title. Hendrick Motorsports probably jinxed itself with the whole "Drive for Five in 2005" slogan. Gordon's team made tremendous improvements to its 1.5-mile program in the second half of the season, and Gordon will be one of the drivers who will benefit from the move away from impound races. | 
