Six out of seven prognosticators recommend Bobby Labonte and/or Casey Mears in '06. Credit: Autostock

2006: Things to happen

Predictions that most assuredly will come true this Cup season

Predicting the future is an inexact science. It's rather, unpredictable. Nevertheless, NASCAR.COM gazes into the crystal windshield to see what will come true by the time the final checker waves at Homestead:

Dave Rodman

• Bobby Labonte will win a race, and both Petty Enterprises teams will finish in the top 25 in the standings.

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Labonte hasn't even thought about "losing a step," and if he and crew chief Todd Parrott hit it off, given the Petty organization's forward-thinking and 2005 performance, Labonte will finish in the top 20 and Kyle Petty will bump his way up into the top 25.

• A major team or driver will commit to Toyota some time during the 2006 season.

And despite the best efforts of the manufacturer to remain unobtrusive, the media will even uncover the move and report on it. Toyota, given the focus that will be put on its entry into the upper level of the sport, cannot afford to falter coming out of the gate in 2007, and choosing currently lower-profile teams is no excuse.

• Two rookie of the year candidates will win races.

This eight-man field has the potential to be the most successful rookie class in NASCAR history -- and is certainly the deepest. Who the winners will be is impossible to determine, but the most likely candidate is Martin Truex Jr., with Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer neck-and-neck behind him; and J.J. Yeley the dark horse to score.

Jarrod Breeze

• Jamie McMurray will have a better season than Kurt Busch.

Busch may be saying all the right things now, but he'll soon come to find that Penske's Dodge is not Roush's Ford. Busch might be a better person in '06, but he won't be a better driver.

• No Dodge will make the Chase.

The manufacturer put three cars in the Chase last season, but two of those teams have been disbanded. Rusty Wallace retired and crew chief Larry Carter moved to a consultant role with Bill Davis Racing. Ray Evernham released crew chief Slugger Labbe and gave the rest of Jeremy Mayfield's crew to Kasey Kahne. Ryan Newman will have the best chance, but he's known more for starting up front than finishing there.

• Veterans Bobby Labonte and Michael Waltrip will fall off the face of the NASCAR map.

Coming off disappointing years, the moves of Labonte from Gibbs to Petty and Waltrip from DEI to Bill Davis are not steps in the right direction. Out of the DEI spotlight and another year away before fronting Toyota's entry into Cup, here's hoping we won't have to listen as much to Waltrip's shameless and never-ending plugs.

Ryan Smithson

• Elliott Sadler will make a comeback.

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Tommy Baldwin brings a sense of work ethic that will breathe some fresh air into the No. 38 program. The team is already one of the favorites to win the Daytona 500, and Baldwin will find success in the first year of the Fusion. Expect Baldwin's philosophy to be victories -- not top-10s -- and Sadler will finally kick his slump-prone ways. There will not be any excuses with Baldwin around, and Sadler will thrive under his hard-nosed approach.

• Casey Mears will have a breakout season.

I said last year that Mears would win twice, and if the cautions had flown his way at Texas and Miami he would have. Donnie Wingo, like Baldwin, is an underrated crew chief, although Wingo's style is decidedly more laid-back than Baldwin's. Mears is an intense guy who hates the fact that he hasn't won yet.

• The other Ganassi cars will struggle.

Don't expect miracles from Reed Sorenson or David Stremme. This is a building year for each of them, and neither should be counted on to win rookie of the year. Wait until 2007 for them to start feeling pressure.

Mark Aumann

• Bobby Labonte is the perfect antidote for what ails Petty Enterprises.

If he can't get the No. 43 to the front, nobody can.

• Casey Mears will break through at Texas.

Mears has been knocking on the door for so long, he's got splinters in his knuckles. Now that his immediate future has been decided, he can go back to working on that first victory, perhaps at Fort Worth?

Ken Schrader looks to defy the odds in 2006. Credit: Autostock

• Ken Schrader will be back in Victory Lane in 2006.

Schrader will turn 51 around Memorial Day and hasn't won a race since 1991. However, there's something about combining Schrader and the Wood Brothers that could put the ol' No. 21 back in the thick of things. Schrader's too old? Well, a fellow by the name of Harry Gant won five races when he was 51. I don't think Schrader will win five -- but based on the runs Ricky Rudd gave that car at the end of the season, I wouldn't be surprised to see Ken Schrader win somewhere, maybe even Martinsville, since that's almost like a home game for Eddie and Len.

Josh Pate

• Jamie McMurray will win multiple races in 2006.

By moving over to Roush, McMurray hops into a race-winning car with a proven crew chief in Jimmy Fennig.

• Bobby Labonte will have more top-10s than DNFs in the No. 43 car.

Labonte had an uncharacteristically high 10 DNFs last year and only seven top-10s. Petty Enterprises had five DNFs as a team last season although a mere two top-10s.

• A road-course ringer will claim victory, namely Boris Said or Scott Pruett.

Said and Pruett finished third and fourth, respectively, at Watkins Glen last year. Although Said has been getting into the Cup cars on a somewhat regular basis (nine races last year), Pruett has a slight advantage. Pruett has been driving Ganassi's fourth car -- yes, fourth car -- and still has finished sixth or better in four of his last six races. Said has driven MB2's third car and been a consistent contender.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon will enjoy bounce-back years in 2006 ... Credit: Autostock

Marty Smith

• Once-elite teams will re-establish themselves.

Jeff Gordon, Elliott Sadler and Dale Earnhardt Jr., all inaugural Chase qualifiers, fell completely apart in 2005. Embarrassing doesn't even begin to describe it. New personnel promises renewed success for each. Stevie Letarte revitalized an aloof 24 bunch late last season, and when Gordon has a point to prove there is no one better.

... but one will be smiling more than the other. Credit: Autostock

Earnhardt's reunion with Tony Eury Jr., coupled with Martin Truex's move to Cup will pay instant and substantial dividends for the entire DEI organization. But Junior is still a year away from his second Chase.

And lastly, if Elliott Sadler and Tommy Baldwin can understand one another on the radio, the 38 could be a juggernaut. Well, wait a minute. Never mind. Baldwin worked with Ward Burton. Sadler's brand of mushmouth isn't nearly as undecipherable as Burton's.

• Bobby Labonte will win a Nextel Cup Series race in the No. 43.

Chalk it up, folks. I've learned better than to discount Todd Parrott. When he tells me he's going to do something, he always seems to follow through. And he ensures me that he, Bobby Labonte and Robbie Loomis will return the 43 to Victory Lane. It won't be Daytona, but it might be Darlington.

• Casey Mears will make the Chase.

Jamie McMurray was in Chase contention twice with this team, and Mears enters the year with more confidence than ever before. He's this year's Greg Biffle.

Mark Spoor

• Casey Mears will win a race.

In the final three races of 2005, Mears tallied two top-five finishes. He also added three other top-10 finishes during the Chase. The move to the No. 42 team formerly headed by Jamie McMurray -- a team that contended for each of the first two Chases -- will serve him well.

• Richard Childress Racing will continue to struggle.

The team may have made organizational changes, but it's tough to believe it will matter. In 123 starts last season, RCR scored only 19 top-10 finishes. By the way, it also has to deal with a new Monte Carlo. Ask the Dodge drivers how dealing with a new car worked out for them last year.

• Brian Vickers will find Victory Lane.

Sure, they struggled a bit through the latter part of last season, but the No. 25 bunch won't be playing catch-up this year as they did in 2005 while undergoing some team changes early in the season.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writers.