[Bob Tanner]

Well, it's about that time of year again... So, after thinking about things I've heard and have seen, reading some tea leaves and visiting a direct descendant of Marie LeBeaux, over in N'Awlins, here's my guess as to what 2008 holds in store:

Playoffs

1. Junior I think the affect DEI had on him was immense. My bet is that this year we'll see a totally different Junior and with Hendrick $ and technology behind him, watch out!
2. Jimmy Johnson He'll try hard to make it a three-peat.
3. Kurt Busch Penske is getting its act together. Kurt has matured and I think he'll be a major player this season.
4. Carl Edwards He may not be this high but he'll be in the playoffs.
5. Matt Kenseth I don't think not having Robbie on his pit box will have that much of an affect.
6. Jeff Gordon He will be at least this high and will be in the playoffs.
7. Ryan Newman He now has Roy McCauley, another college educated engineer, and Penske showed a lot of improvement with the #12 in the last third of the season. I think Ryan will continue into '08.
8. Kevin Harvick It'll be just another year for "Easy Money." He'll win some and lose some.
9. Tony Stewart I see lots of turmoil here. The only thing saving Tony is his desire to race to win and he DOES NOT want to endure another 2006.
10. Clint Bowyer He has the talent and the confidence and he's one of the most consistent drivers out there.
11. Kyle Busch He feels he has something to prove. He'll create some more controversy but, at week 26 he'll be there.
12. Casy Mears With HMS machines, Junior as a garage mate and Alan Gustafson as a crew chief, how can he miss?

Drivers Who Could Easily Make the Playoffs
Martin Truex, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Juan Pablo Montoya and Bobby Labonte, Reed Sorenson

Teams Who Will Fight to Be In The Chosen
#00 - MWR - Driver unknown
#10 - GEM - Patrick Carpentier
#21 - Wood Bros - Driver Unknown
#27 - BDR - Giles Villeneue
#40 - Ganassi - Dario Franchitti
#45 - Petty - Kyle Petty
#49 - BAM - John Andretti
#66 - Hass CNC - Jeremy Mayfield
#70 - Hass CNC - Mark Riggs
#78 - Furniture Row - Joe Nemechek
#96 - HOF - J.J. Yeley

Rookie of the Year
Regan Smith No one is giving this kid any consideration. Remember, he's got stock car experience, he has Cup experience and he's one of The Chosen for the first six races.

I guessed right about Junior leaving DEI and them having twelve in the chase last season. Let's see if these cause some discussion:
Hamlin Splits with JGR
Denny just isn't feeling the love at Gibbs anymore. he's frustrated with his last Playoff performance and changing to Toyota and getting Shrub as a team mate won't help things. I think we'll see news about a swap with another big team sometime next season.
Tony Stewart Soap Opera
Tony will delay and delay signing a new contract. Finally, he'll agree to running a part time schedule in 2009 or he'll just leave NA__AR altogether. Reason: What does he have yet to accomplish? Plus his public embarrassment after the spring Phoenix race when he called out NA_+AR on their phony cautions still weights on him. His "sit in the booth to see how things were really done was a humiliation tactic only. I think Tony is ready to runs some big Cup races, run a lot of IRL (IRL needs a name driver and will probably kiss Tony's rather sizable posterior in order to get him) and manage his race tracks.
Bruton Names a Successor
Bruton will be 81 next season. He sees the inevitable and will begin to set his house in order. I think he will announce that Texas President, Eddie Gossage, will take over when Bruton calls it quits. (Bruton might die someday, but it'll be on HIS terms)
Brian Loses some Power
Lease France Kennedy will assume a bigger and more visible role in the running of ISC/NA__AR.
NA__AR Loses Two Teams
Before October, BAM Racing and Furniture Row Racing will be history.

Should It Happen
Next season's biggest continuing story will be Junior's lack of success IF that were to be the case. If he does fail, look for Tony Eury Jr. to fall upon his sword quite noisily.

Anyone else see things differently?

[PettyBlue]

May I add this?The hoards come after Brian France with pitchfork's and torches.Maybe,please!

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by PettyBlue

May I add this?The hoards come after Brian France with pitchfork's and torches.Maybe,please!

Though not quite so dramatic or theatrical, I believe we'll see Lesa take some of Brian's power. He's had his five year probationary period and I don't believe we fans are the only people who find Brian somewhat lacking.
He was going to cut costs by having impound races. That didn't fly across the board at all. SMI tracks killed it dead in its tracks.
He announced the four teams per owner rule by 2009. Roush has already shot that one by his making RYR effectively two more Roush teams.
He steadfastly maintains his pseudo-franchise/team owner welfare program, a.k.a The Chosen 35, is doing just fine. The fact that 75% of the fans and a slightly lesser percentage of the media see the unfairness in the whole thing and aren't hesitant in voicing their opinions, is NOT lost on the people Brian answers to.
The new race car has yet to effectively and consistently prove itself in competition.
The ONLY thing I can think of which Brian has succeeded is the Playoff System. This past season proved that no matter how much you tinker with the standings system, every few seasons you are just going to have to suffer through a boring season's finish. In effect, very little has actually changed.

The Family France would NEVER throw one of its own to the sharks. But I think they would s-l-o-w-l-y ease one into the pond.

[Phils20]

I think you have some great points in there, but I think Tony will give it a go with another team, IF they can pry Zippy away. He would make a good 4th driver for Childress, and maybe Jeff Burton being an example might help Tony out.

Might!!

He will end his carrer in open wheel though. Most likely following your scenario. But I do think Childress would take him on.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Phils20

I think you have some great points in there, but I think Tony will give it a go with another team, IF they can pry Zippy away. He would make a good 4th driver for Childress, and maybe Jeff Burton being an example might help Tony out.

Might!!

He will end his career in open wheel though. Most likely following your scenario. But I do think Childress would take him on.

I based my prediction on some of Tony's past history. He has never liked the lack of privacy and the forced fan interaction of NA__AR. I believe all of us can remember at least one incident of Tony's vocalizing his displeasure with NA__AR's administration policies. (There have been numerous ones) Though Tony has some close contacts in the media (besides Matt Yoakam), generally he disdains them and has, in the past had physical confrontations. Even today, to NA__AR's dismay, if some doofus reporter asks Tony what he considers a dumb question, he makes it pretty plain how he feels about such questions.
Then, last season after Phoenix, when Tony took one for us fans in his accusing NA__AR of manipulating races, to the point of comparison with WWF, the ship hit the sand. NA__AR had a private "come-to-Jesus" meeting with Tony, after which he became uncharacteristically contrite and conforming. If Tony has trouble suffering stupid media types, can you imagine his feelings toward NA__AR after his pubic humiliation? (Publicly apologizing and having to sit with the officials in the booth during the following Cup Lite race) The guy is a multi-millionaire, a successful businessman and has interests in things other than NA__AR (his tracks, his WoO and sprint car teams, his farm, etc.,etc.) Tony needs NA__AR like most us need an STD! He has nothing more to prove. I believe that it will take only one small, minute incident for Tony to tell NA__AR and Gibbs where they can stick their Cup.
That all is just conjecture but one thing is absolutely certain. It will be a more boring series if Tony does go.

[Phils20]

But I'm sure NASCAR would be happier. They just want robots. Robots that make them money.

[Racer Duck]

Interesting predictions, Bob.

Don't think there's but one I have a little trouble with, All the rest I can see.

The one I'm having problems with is Lesa Kennedy.

Currently she's the force behind ISC and the top executive. ISC's purpose is to build and maintain race tracks. That those tracks host the majority of NASCAR's Cup events is by design I'm sure.

However, I believe the people behind the Kentucky track lawsuit will become the dislocated lynch pin that will cause a drastic dismantling of ISC. The word "Monopoly" will be shouted loudly and often should the #1 at ISC be elevated to #1 in NASCAR also, and quite rightly so. This would be the undoing of the power base the France family has carefully built over many years in controlling/growing NASCAR.

When that happens, MSI, aka Bruton Smith, will rush in and gobble up as much as he can whether he can digest it or not. Then he, Bruton, will have the upper hand in the race track game and suddenly NASCAR will have to play by someone else's rules. And they won't like that one bit.

Whether Brian France has the foresight to see this coming, I'm not sure. But I have faith that both Lesa and James are astute business people and will not let that happen. James, being the elder France as well as the France with the largest holdings in the France Family Holdings will, I believe, instead pick someone else to run NASCAR, not Lesa. And it'll be for precisely the reason I've stated: the fear of appearing a monopoly. Public opinion will kill them no matter what happens with Kentucky (and my guess is that Burton will test the water before he jumps in, but when/if he does it'll be too late for them to do anything to save their empire.)

Now if ISC was not publicly traded they'd have no worries...

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

Interesting predictions, Bob.

Don't think there's but one I have a little trouble with, All the rest I can see.

The one I'm having problems with is Lesa Kennedy.

Currently she's the force behind ISC and the top executive. ISC's purpose is to build and maintain race tracks. That those tracks host the majority of NASCAR's Cup events is by design I'm sure.

However, I believe the people behind the Kentucky track lawsuit will become the dislocated lynch pin that will cause a drastic dismantling of ISC. The word "Monopoly" will be shouted loudly and often should the #1 at ISC be elevated to #1 in NASCAR also, and quite rightly so. This would be the undoing of the power base the France family has carefully built over many years in controlling/growing NASCAR.

When that happens, MSI, aka Bruton Smith, will rush in and gobble up as much as he can whether he can digest it or not. Then he, Bruton, will have the upper hand in the race track game and suddenly NASCAR will have to play by someone else's rules. And they won't like that one bit.

Whether Brian France has the foresight to see this coming, I'm not sure. But I have faith that both Lesa and James are astute business people and will not let that happen. James, being the elder France as well as the France with the largest holdings in the France Family Holdings will, I believe, instead pick someone else to run NASCAR, not Lesa. And it'll be for precisely the reason I've stated: the fear of appearing a monopoly. Public opinion will kill them no matter what happens with Kentucky (and my guess is that Burton will test the water before he jumps in, but when/if he does it'll be too late for them to do anything to save their empire.)

Now if ISC was not publicly traded they'd have no worries...

Thanks, Charlie. I took all of that into consideration. The way I see it coming down is:
Kentucky has a Hell of a case for a Sherman Anti-Trust suit because of the way NA__AR decides where they race. Since ISC became ISC and went public, now the SEC is involved and, like the IRS, the SEC is one group you don't want nosing into your business.
Lesa, since becoming a widow, has involved herself deeper and deeper in the corporation and being the remaining strongest, or second strongest personality in the family, I believe her taking some of her brother's responsibilities would be natural.
I don't think the change will be a "One day they ask for the key to the executive washroom" type of ouster. It'll be much more gradual and quiet. But, like you, I think the Kentucky lawsuit will be the linchpin which, when pulled, will give ISC/NASCAR HQ its own "Silly Season."

[Bob Tanner]

One classification I forgot to include:
Drivers showing most improvement over last season.

David Reutimann, Dave Blaney

[clutch]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

Well, it's about that time of year again... So, after thinking about things I've heard and have seen, reading some tea leaves and visiting a direct descendant of Marie LeBeaux, over in N'Awlins, here's my guess as to what 2008 holds in store:


NA__AR Loses Two Teams
Before October, BAM Racing and Furniture Row Racing will be history.

I certainly hope that you are wrong on this prediction.

In fact BAM have been talking about a second car.........add there new $5000 sponsorship plan ,..........I think John Andretti did a commendable job for them last year and always take note of his and their qualifying..........but like all things.......time will tell

[clutch]

And how about a Toyota win prediction Bob?

Do you think Toyota will get a win?.........how many? and who will be the first?


I'll go 2 wins.......Kyle Bucsh gets the first

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by clutch

I certainly hope that you are wrong on this prediction.

In fact BAM have been talking about a second car.........add there new $5000 sponsorship plan ,..........I think John Andretti did a commendable job for them last year and always take note of his and their qualifying..........but like all things.......time will tell

There is in fact a new sponsorship program out there. If you go to ebay you'll find that BAM racing is doing it. You'll get a logo on the car and maybe if John wins he'll mention your name .... if he wins !!!

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

There is in fact a new sponsorship program out there. If you go to ebay you'll find that BAM racing is doing it. You'll get a logo on the car and maybe if John wins he'll mention your name .... if he wins !!!

That's why I think BAM's days are numbered, Steve. These "Fan Sponsored" deals are historically a last gasp also. Single car teams are my favourites.

I also hope Larry McClure can hold out another year. However, I won't be surprised if Morgan-McClure, Front Row, Furniture Row and BAM will either be completely gone, or merged with another team by Firecracker 400 time.

[clutch]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

That's why I think BAM's days are numbered, Steve. These "Fan Sponsored" deals are historically a last gasp also. Single car teams are my favourites.

I also hope Larry McClure can hold out another year. However, I won't be surprised if Morgan-McClure, Front Row, Furniture Row and BAM will either be completely gone, or merged with another team by Firecracker 400 time.

While I dont much like talking about teams goin out of business ..........my prediction is Wood Bros. do before BAM

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by clutch

While I dont much like talking about teams goin out of business ..........my prediction is Wood Bros. do before BAM

Little Debbie is sticking by them .. but they do need a bit more success before they can back away from the edge of doom.