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TESTED TYROS
This Year’s Cup Rookie Class Is New To Stock Cars — But Long On Experience
Six drivers will contend for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this season. It may be the most star-studded rookie class in series history.
The six drivers collectively are the most experienced and least experienced rookie class on record. They have combined to win three Indianapolis 500s, four Indy Car Series titles, one World Driving Championship and a Champ Car World Series crown, but their experience in stock cars is extremely limited.
Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish, Jr., Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier have combined to win countless open-wheel races, but have only a handful of stock-car racing starts among them and no victories in the heavier cars they’ll be learning during the first half of this season.
Michael McDowell and Regan Smith have the most stock-car experience, but neither is what one may call a veteran. Smith raced regularly in the Hooters Pro Cup Series for several seasons and has made starts in all three NASCAR touring series.
McDowell ran his first stock-car race in the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Daytona Int'l Speedway in February 2007 and went on to win ARCA rookie of the year honors.
While youth has become the standard for NASCAR rookies in recent years, this class as a whole is much older. McDowell is 23 and Smith 24, but Carpentier and Villeneuve are each 36 years old, while Franchitti is 34 and Hornish 28.
Three of the six drivers are foreign born, a NASCAR record for its rookie class. Franchitti, who won the Indy 500 last year, is from Scotland, while 1997 World Driving Champion Villeneuve and former Champ Car and IndyCar driver Carpentier, each hale from Canada.
A seventh driver, Australian Marcos Ambrose, who is 31 years old and has two years of NASCAR experience, is expected to compete in 12 races, but likely will not contend for rookie of the year honors.
Teenager Brad Coleman is also expected to make a handful of starts for Hall of Fame Racing.
Patrick Carpentier
Hometown: Joliette, Quebec
Team: Gillett Evernham Motorsports
Car: No. 10 Dodge
Last Year: Ran full season in Grand Am, made six NASCAR stock-car starts.
Key Accomplishments: Five Champ Car World Series triumphs in eight seasons; competed in Indy Racing League in 2005; won 1996 Champ Car Atlantic title.
Outlook: With only six career stock-car starts, Carpentier, who now calls Las Vegas home, will have to adjust to the heavier stock cars, but showed promise when he finished 22nd at Phoenix Int’l Raceway in November.
Quote: “Putting that car in the top 35 is the first goal we have. That is the first thing we need to do, but even the top 35 is so difficult to do. We need to finish races and put the car in the top 35. If we succeed to do that, we will move on to the next thing.”
Hometown: Edinburgh, Scotland
Team: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
Car: No. 40 Dodge
Last Year: Won IndyCar Series title and Indianapolis 500
Key Accomplishments: IndyCar champion; Indy 500 winner; eight IndyCar triumphs; 10 Champ Car World Series victories
Outlook: Franchitti got his feet wet at the end of last season, competing in Nationwide and Truck series events. He’ll have reigning rookie of the year Juan Pablo Montoya to lean on as a teammate. He knows how to get to the end of the race and that should benefit him in his first NASCAR campaign.
Quote: “It moves. The Indy car is unstable on the limit, but the Indy car brakes quicker and is easier to catch. But this thing, it is hard to catch. It is a lot of weight, a lot of mass. The way they go around corners, it doesn’t want to come back to you sometimes.”
Sam Hornish, Jr.
Hometown: Defiance, Ohio
Team: Penske Racing
Car: No. 77 Dodge
Last Year: Finished fifth in IndyCar Series standings with one victory; made 11 NASCAR starts in Nationwide and Cup series.
Key Accomplishments: Three-time IndyCar Series champion; 2006 Indy 500 winner; 19 IndyCar victories.
Outlook: Hornish struggled in his infrequent Busch Series starts and struggled to make Cup races at the end of 2007. He will benefit from the owner’s points from Kurt Busch’s No. 2 Dodge from last season and a deep and well-funded Penske Racing operation.
Quote: “There is no other racing series where there are 43 cars out there. Formula One is 22, IRL and Champ Car are happy to have 20 or 22. That’s twice as many cars, so if you were happy with a fifth-place finish before, maybe now you would be happy with a 10th-place finish.”
Michael McDowell
Hometown: Phoenix, Ariz.
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 00 Toyota
Last Year: Finished second in ARCA RE/MAX Series, winning four races, nine poles and rookie-of-the-year title.
Key Accomplishments: 2007 ARCA rookie of the year; 2004 Star Mazda champion; competed in Grand Am, Champ Car World Series.
Outlook: McDowell will be behind from the start, as he’ll sit out the first five races, moving into the car at Martinsville, Va., in late March after the retirement of Dale Jarrett. But McDowell adapted quickly in his first start in stock cars last year and clearly has the tools to impress. However, it remains to be seen if the MWR cars will be up to the task.
Quote: “There is so much talent in the rookie class this year. It’s going to be tough, but I’m up for the challenge. I’m anxious to see how I stack up and what I’ve got to work on as a Raybestos Rookie in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.”
Regan Smith
Hometown: Cato, N.Y.
Team: Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Car: No. 01 Chevrolet
Last Year: Made seven Cup, 17 Nationwide and 10 Truck series starts
Key Accomplishments: 2001 Allison. Legacy champion; former WKA champion; competed in Hooters Pro Cup Series.
Outlook: Smith will have experience on his side. He has more starts in NASCAR’s three national touring series than any of the other rookie candidates and will benefit from the knowledge of veteran crew chief Doug Richert.
Quote: “When you look at the names running for rookie of the year, there are two Formula One drivers and three Indy 500 winners. It would mean a lot to me to be able to win that award.”
Jacques Villeneuve
Hometown: Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec
Team: Bill Davis Racing
Car: No. 27 Toyota
Last Year: Villeneuve did not race until getting his feet wet in NASCAR and ARCA competition late in the year.
Key Accomplishments: 1995 Champ Car World Series champion; 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner; 1997 Formula One World Driving Champion; won 11 F-1 Grands Prix.
Outlook: Villeneuve has been fast in his limited experience in a stock car and has shown a knack for adjusting in nearly every type of car he’s ever raced. However, with limited sponsorship funds, Villenueve’s resources will be limited and it is somewhat in doubt whether or not he’ll run the full season.
Quote: “I’m not worried about ovals because I’ve always loved ovals. I’ve never driven cars with so little downforce, but since there is no driving aide, I should like it. As a matter of fact, it’s in these cars that a driver makes a difference, and that’s what I intend to do.”