Track Smack: So much to give thanks for this season (cont'd)

3) What will be the biggest stories of 2008?

David Caraviello: Junior. Junior. Junior. Junior. Junior. Junior. Junior. Now, you got that?

Dave Rodman: Right off the bat, in the truest sense of the history of the sport, it'll be Jimmie Johnson's drive to attempt to tie Cale Yarborough's mark of three consecutive titles.

Joe Menzer: Well, Junior's certainly in a position where he better produce. There can be no excuses now. And I think he will, by the way.

David Caraviello: You thought he was big at DEI? Wait until this new Hendrick version launches -- Junior 2.0. It's going to be crazy.

Joe Menzer: Right off the bat, the story will be Junior. Roadman, that JJ chasing Cale thing won't be a serious story until the Chase begins.

Dave Rodman: You can see I am trying to get a head start on not being consumed with the hysteria.

David Caraviello: Dave, Junior is going to eclipse everybody next year. Richard Petty could climb back into a racecar, and Junior would dwarf it all.

Dave Rodman: But in an environment where Junior picking his nose is front page news, for better or worse that will be the story all season long.

Joe Menzer: Another big story will be how well -- or not so well -- the Gibbs guys do in their Toyotas. If they struggle out the gate, which they very well might, Tony Stewart is not going to take long to blow up.

David Caraviello: Dave, this is not about Junior "picking his nose." This is about the biggest name in the sport finally getting a chance to show whether he can win a title. In our little bubble, that is serious stuff.

Dave Rodman: That was a comparative statement, DC. Obviously Junior's move is big stuff -- but I'm willing to have a little patience and give him a chance to get settled. I kind of hate it for Junior. If he thought he was in a fishbowl at DEI, he ain't seen nothing yet.

Joe Menzer: Come on, Roadman. Junior is a big boy. In fact, he's not a boy any longer. He's a man. He's welcomed this challenge, embraced it. Now it's time to see if he can do it. No excuses.

David Caraviello: The expectations on the kid ... I can't imagine what they're like, from outside and within. This is going to be the NASCAR equivalent of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. How big is Junior in a Hendrick car? Huge -- make that HUGE.

Dave Rodman: Junior will not get any rest. He didn't ask to be in the position he's in, and obviously he's done a great job of dealing with it.

David Caraviello: He most certainly did ask to be in the position he's in, Dave. He left DEI of his own volition. He knew what would happen if he linked up with Rick. He's a smart, savvy kid. He sees the big picture.

Dave Rodman: Again, David, that was a big-picture statement -- not just referring to the step to Hendrick. He didn't ask to be under a microscope every waking second.

Joe Menzer: The one thing that has amazed me a little bit about the Junior stuff is that when Darrell Waltrip said he will win the 2008 Daytona 500 and six races overall -- and neither Junior nor Rick Hendrick backed off those figures.

Dave Rodman: The funny thing was how Rick said how lucky they were to win a lot of the races they won in 2007. But he's adamant that they've paid to be where they are -- and he's right.

Joe Menzer: Six wins and the Daytona 500 is a lot for anyone -- considering he'll be competing with the likes of Johnson and Gordon for them.

Dave Rodman: And you know Rick, after being asked to quantify winning half the schedule's races this year, didn't want to go into much detail about where he thought Junior's six wins might come from.

Joe Menzer: But the thing about Junior next year is that when he puts himself in position to challenge for a win late in a race, you've got to figure his engines won't blow up time and time again like they did at DEI this year.

Dave Rodman: Looks like we ought to do a Junior day-by-day diary next year. This topic has been engulfed by the hysteria and it's barely Thanksgiving. God help us all -- and the rest of the Sprint Cup troops.

Joe Menzer: The Junior rules, in effect.

Dave Rodman: As long as we don't have to illustrate it with some of those 2008 car shots. They are heinous.

Joe Menzer: You don't like Junior's 2008 cars?

Dave Rodman: The red-white-and-blue one is OK. The green one I really didn't like.

David Caraviello: They are a little ... garish, to be kind. Nothing like that nice, clean white No. 88 Busch car he unveiled the other day.

Dave Rodman: You mean Nationwide car? Sorry guys, I need to start on getting sharp for 2008 right now. Practice makes perfect. But anyways, nice and clean has kind of been Junior's mark -- pure red car, plain black helmet. Solid.

Joe Menzer: Guys, guys -- I disagree totally. I liked the green one better than the blue one -- and I thought they both looked sharp.

Dave Rodman: But you saw them in person. Does that make a big difference?

Joe Menzer: I guess you had to be there in Dallas that day to see them in person, to really appreciate them.

Dave Rodman: That could be -- but that's what perspectives are all about. People have buying the stuff like crazy, so it's all good.

David Caraviello: Besides Junior, what else to look for in '08?

Dave Rodman: Face it: It will be a fascinating year to cover. I was only half-kidding about Junior's daily diary; but at least through the first short-track race that will be huge.

Joe Menzer: Well, I want to get off the Junior train for a minute here, too. But I can't believe you guys don't like the look of his new cars! ... I already threw out the Gibbs-in-Toyotas angle. That will be another biggie.

Dave Rodman: I think Gibbs' guys will threaten -- seriously threaten -- to win a race within the first three; make the first short-track race No. 4 -- but I don't think we'll have to wait that long.

Joe Menzer: How about how the open-wheelers will do? That will be another.

Dave Rodman: I think the open-wheel thing will be painful.

David Caraviello: I'm expecting a lot of these former open-wheel guys to struggle. Thus far, guys like Sam Hornish Jr. and Patrick Carpentier have given us little reason to believe they can be competitive. In contrast, we're going to learn how impressive Juan Montoya's rookie year really was.

Dave Rodman: Exactly.

Joe Menzer: I tend to think Montoya is going to do really well. But then I think I said I thought he would win three races this year. Maybe I meant 2008.

Dave Rodman: The guys will be a lot of fun to work with, but man, when you talk about what they'll be -- Joe, I'll hark you back to something I bet you heard a bunch while on the NBA beat: They are projects.

Joe Menzer: The COT, which can't be called the COT, I guess anymore after today, being used full-time will be a pretty big storyline early on. Then it will slowly be forgotten as the year goes on.

Dave Rodman: Since it is what is going to be, "it" should already be off the burner -- dealing with it, however, is going to be another story. Or 10-15 stories, maybe. And BTW, I will never call it anything but the COT. Hope that doesn't get me on some kind of blacklist.

Joe Menzer: It might be too late for that.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.