1998 Winston Cup Preview
Dateline: 02/03/98I'm Back!
It's been a long off season with a number of important changes in drivers, crews, sponsors and cars. Who's going to win the Winston Cup and who's going to disappoint?
Ford's New Look
One of the major NASCAR news items from the first part of 1998 is going to be the Ford teams' switch from the Thunderbird to the new Taurus. While this will no doubt have a large impact on the first part of the season, I'm not sure whether this will be good for the Fords or good for the G.M. cars.
The early Daytona test results seemed to indicate that the Ford teams were in trouble. However, the fact that the Ford teams would not release the speeds from their most recent series of tests in Talladega, combined with the fact that they still have not asked for any concessions from NASCAR leads me to believe that maybe they have found some more speed and are not in too bad of shape for the upcoming season.
One way or the other you can rest assured that by the time the teams head to Texas on April 5th NASCAR will have tinkered with the rules some to re-level the playing field for all makes.
Winners In The Off Season
While this was a fairly active "Silly Season" there really are only a few driver changes which stand out as having the biggest potential impact on the sport.
First of all, the Robert Yates Racing number 28 car will be driven this year by my pick for the Rookie Of The Year Kenny Irwin Jr. This kid has immense talent and a natural feel for the race car that will definitely take him far. Kenny may well win a race or two this season.
His closest competitor for the Rookie title will likely be Steve Park who will step into the new Dale Earnhardt owned car #1. Although I do believe that Park has talent and could very well be a factor in Winston Cup championships in the future. I also think that his talent will be a little longer developing than Irwin's and that driving for a brand new team will leave him struggling from the middle part of the season through the end when his provisionals run out.
Another big winner in the drivers' seat shuffle is Bobby Hamilton. Hamilton has consistently produced solid runs for Richard Petty and I think that over all the 4 car is a better ride. I expect Hamilton to battle for a top ten spot in the points.
Drivers Stepping Down
The guy that tops this list has got to be Ernie Irvan. Stepping into a ride that has rarely been a factor with a crew chief that has not yet learned what it takes to win. I believe that "Swervin" Ernie Irvan has visited victory lane for the final time in his career.
One other driver who has slipped in the quality of his ride is Sterling Marlin. Certainly the reuniting of Sterling with his old friend Tony Glover has a lot of promise, and few would argue that Robby Gordon drove that car up to it's full potential. However, I think that it's going to take a full season for that team to get it's act back together and put Sterling Marlin back on the Winston Cup map. Watch for them in 1999.
The Prediction
First let's take a look at last season's leaders. Certainly two thirds of the team formerly known as Rick Hendrick Motorsports (I really don't know what they're calling themselves this year while Rick is banned from being involved) can never be counted out. Terry Labonte is too tough of a competitor to allow himself to run like he did in 97. If his behind the scenes changes click. Terry will make a strong run for The Cup. Certainly Ray Evernham and Jeff Gordon will finish in the top 3. I know it's partly wishful thinking but I just don't think that racing luck will shine brightly enough again to bring him home Title #3.
Earnhardt is attacking this season with a renewed attention to detail that will have him in the hunt, Mark Martin will struggle early as he adjusts to losing Steve Hmiel, Bobby Labonte returns the same team that got him a strong finish last year, and Jeff Burton will be out to prove that he deserves to be mentioned in the same paragraph as the others. But none of these guys will take home the big money next November.
If the AFC can win the SuperBowl then a Ford can win the Winston Cup. Dale Jarrett is the 1998 Winston Cup Champion.
Agree? Disagree? Want to throw hot spark plugs at me? I'm available in the chat room every Wednesday night at 8pm to answer questions and defend my opinion.
