[simple simon]

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON Car: 48. Previous: 1
Nobody has won back-to-back titles since Jeff Gordon in 1997-98. This team has been so solid, though, you have to entertain that possibility.


2. TONY STEWART Car: 20. Previous: 5.
If anyone can cope with different cars, it figures to be the sport’s most versatile star.


3. KASEY KAHNE Car: 9. Previous: 6
Dangerous if new car helps on short tracks, because this team had 1.5-mile tracks nailed.


4. KEVIN HARVICK Car: 29. Previous: 3.
Has Richard Childress Racing truly bridged the gap between itself and sport’s elite?


5. MATT KENSETH Car: 17. Previous: 2.
Always steady and sometimes spectacular, he also has been a perennial Chase participant.


6. DENNY HAMLIN Car: 11. Previous: 4.
Sophomore jinx? We’ll see, but this team fashioned a stellar 2006 season.


7. JEFF GORDON Car: 24. Previous: 8.
Making the Chase shouldn’t be enough. Let’s say it – the 48 is what the 24 once was.


8. DALE EARNHARDT JR. Car: 8. Previous: 7.
Trendy pick for this year’s title. If contract mess lingers, though, that won’t happen.


9. KYLE BUSCH Car: 5. Previous: 11.
Fell apart after making Chase last year, but this team believes it’s on the rise.


10. JEFF BURTON Car: 31. Previous: 9.
Could go way up, could slip a bit. Team needs to run up front a lot more to win a title.


11. (13) Carl Edwards, 99 Crew chief Bob Osborne’s back. Edwards hopes he brings magic from 2005 with him.


12. (12) Greg Biffle, 16 A lot depends on how switch from Doug Richert to Pat Tryson as crew chief pans out.


13. (15) Kurt Busch, (2) These guys need to worry less about their driver’s image and more about going fast.


14. (16) Clint Bowyer, 07 Is Childress operation deep enough to put three teams in contention this year?


15. (21) Scott Riggs, 10 Repeatedly seems to be on the verge of a breakout season. Maybe it’ll come in 2007.


16. (1 Ryan Newman, 12 Not sure what went wrong, so can’t be confident anybody’s figured out how to fix it.


17. (22) Elliott Sadler, 19 If Evernham tide goes as high as some think it might, this boat will float upward, too.


18. (14) Casey Mears, 25 Mears joins the Hendrick Motorsports fleet and gets his best shot to show his stuff.


19. (17) Juan Pablo Montoya, 42 He figures to have some noteworthy successes and some spectacular failures, too.


20. (34) Jamie McMurray, 26 No question about it, the time has come for McMurray to fish or cut bait with Roush.

That's Racin' | 02/09/2007 | David Poole ranks the top-40 NASCAR drivers

hope Montoya finishes in the top 15 but i guess top 20 would be ok