2008 Raybestos Rookie of the Year Preview
Sunday January 20, 2008
The 2008 Raybestos Rookie of the Year contenders bring with them very impressive resumes including three Indianapolis 500 victories, four IndyCar Series Championships, one CART Championship and one Formula One World Championship. The open-wheel racers are invading!
Which of these very talented drivers has the complete package necessary to win the 2008 Raybestos Rookie title? Here is the complete 2008 rookie rundown including my prediction.
Comments
Steve, are you sure you did not mix up your list with a list someone left on your desk of Indy Car drivers. YIKES! That series will die very soon. Thanks Tony George.
Is there anyone left in open wheel worth watching? Maybe Danica can win one this year now that most have defected to NASCAR.
We have all discussed on this board how boring the NASCAR races have become, which they have. But maybe now that there is such an assortment of driver changes within the ranks of the sport, and the influx of new top notch drivers from open wheel, I think this season is shaping up to be worth watching.
I think going into this year, the big story lines will be Jr. and Hendricks, Toyota making it’s mark, COT standing for “Car of Today”, and the new faces from other forms of motorsports and how they integrate into the sport.
Can’t get use to the “Sprint Series” though. Saw Tony on Barrett Jackson this past weekend and he was referred to as “two-time Sprint Champ”. My wife said it reminds her of the winged cars of the dirt tracks. It just does not sound right. Nascar should be cautious of how many changes they make. Fans just got use to saying “Nextel” series. Now it is the “Sprint” series. Saw in the paper this past weekend where Sprint was closing 125 stores and laying off a ton of people. Wonder what the series will be called next year. Could be the “Insert-your-name-here” Series.
I have been a long time fan of NASCAR racing but the changes that have been made to the sport have made it so boring that it’s not worth watching any more. That and I can’t even pronounce the names of some of the drivers… NASCAR is basically slowly turning into a Euro-sport every year… Let’s bring back the good-ole-boy racing that started the sport.
I agree with the previous two comments. This is about as lackluster a crowd of rookie candidates I think I have ever seen in NASCAR. Steve might find that comment shocking but I stand by it. These are not rookies. They are a bunch of open wheel (yaaaawwwwwwnnnn) drivers that are invading the NASCAR circuit. Felix Sabates and Chip Gannasi have Indy/Cart drivers coming out of their ears. Penske joins in with Hornish.
Hey, I dont dislike these guys, just dont like open wheel racing. And to call these guys rookies is ridiculous.
Man I miss the good ole day’s. The sport got too big too quick and made too much money. That brought out a whole new crowd of fans that dont know a thing about NASCAR racing and how it used to be. Sad.
If the qualified drivers at the Cup level cannot garner rides with the so-called open wheel invasion, this may be the best thing thats happened in stock car racing in years.If enough sponsers,owners,drivers and fans,are disgruntled about the whole deal,they can form another racing league,then there can be a true play-off