2007 The
Beginning of a New Era; 2008 More Changes to Come
January 1, 2008
Jack Lewis - SCR
Many
viewed the 2007 Nextel Cup season as a year of change. A new TV package saw ABC/ESPN return to the booth covering Cup races,
as well as acquiring exclusive rights to covering the Busch Series.
Juan Pablo Montoya brought international interest
into NASCAR, with the hopes of attracting more foreign-born racers into the sport.
Oh, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the
hottest free agent on the market, as his contract with the team he drove his entire NASCAR career with, the one his father
built from the ground up, was coming to an end.
Well, for most, Earnhardt's unprecedented move to Hendrick Motorsports,
often noted as an arch-nemesis of Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI), was the biggest story of the 2007 NASCAR season.
In May, the talks between Earnhardt Jr. and spokesperson and
sister Kelley, broke down with DEI's chief negotiator Max Siegel, and in the month-long job search for 2008 would become enormous
media frenzy around the sport's most popular driver.
He said he wanted to stay with Chevrolet, and every Chevy team
offered him a job following his announcement to leave DEI… except one -- Hendrick.
Team owner Rick Hendrick was
quoted as saying that "there's no room in the inn" for Earnhardt Jr. to vacate a Hendrick Motorsports ride. But in a huge
turn of events that saw one of the sport's rising stars, Kyle Busch, become curious of moving from his seat at Hendrick, talks
began between Hendrick and Earnhardt.
On June 13, it was announced that Earnhardt Jr. will join HMS and form a "dream
team" with teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Casey Mears beginning in 2008. Kyle Busch announced his leaving HMS.
In August, Busch announced he is joining Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), who announced in September they will be switching manufacturers
for the first time in their existence, from General Motors to Toyota.
Speaking of Toyota, their quiet and possibly disappointing entrance into Cup competition was another story of 2007. Many didn't expect
Toyota to light up the Cup Series, but some expected more than what they
saw from the Japanese manufacturer. No wins, and between seven teams that intended to run full-time, none of those teams made
all 36 events.
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Another big story of
2007 was the Car of Tomorrow. A project years in the making got its first points-paying race test on March 25th at Bristol. The
finish was exciting, and was for most of the COT races. However, many driver complaints throughout the 16-race schedule make
many skeptical about the COT going full-time Cup racing in 2008.
All of the afore-mentioned stories will be fun to
watch in 2008 -- how Dale Earnhardt Jr. does with his new ride at Hendrick Motorsports will have a lot to say about the slightly-declining
TV ratings we saw in 2007, as well as the debacle that turned out to be the Chase for the Cup.
Toyota
seemed to have some great runs going towards the end of the '07 season, and many think that a win is on the way for them.
And Juan Pablo Montoya enjoyed some success last year, winning the Cup race at Infineon Raceway and claiming Rookie
of the Year honors. His move to Sprint Cup racing has sparked a revolution of open wheel and foreign-born racing stars coming
to NASCAR. How that turns out will no doubt have an effect on NASCAR racing in the many years to come.
2006 StockCar Review.
