2007 Rookie Of The Year

[RaikkonenRules]

Who do you think it will be?

[Lee Roy]

Who else, Juan!!!

[harvick#1]

will be Juan or Paul

but Juan will be ROTY because he is a better driver than Paul.

[Alexamateo]

Who's Jaun? :confused:

[harvick#1]

RaikkonenRules mis-spelled Montoya's name

[Alexamateo]

I know, I'm just bustin' on RRules

[jslone]

Lets see how the teams handle the pits,thats were the race is won or lost.Edge would go to JPM for ROY.

[slorydn1]

I'd say JPM or Menard. I picked JPM in the poll, but Menard can flat out wheel a stock car, so it should be interesting!

[Jonesi]

Didn't you leave off DAVID REUTIMANN in the #00 Toyota? Also I don't think Leicht has a ride, (unless you know something about #88.;-) Smith & Wood have no chance of winning RoY since they aren't running the whole year and may not get in a car until mid season.

[oldhippie]

i have to go with the roush car as jpm is in a junk car

[jeffconn]

JPM running away with it. Top 15 in overall points too!

[Labonte Massa]

Paul Menard, the REAL Busch champion, simply because he's been racing stock cars longer than Montoya and because DEI cars are better than Ganassi cars.

However, I'm pullin for Juan Pablo.

[dwboogityfan]

Montoya should win rookie of the year ahead of Menard. However, I think Reutimann will do a good job. He is a really solid driver who doesn't get involved in alot of accidents. Ragan should get some top 10s but will do well to be top 25 in points.

[tstran17_88]

Menard can flat out wheel a stock car,I'm not sure I'd go that far. He's more of a product of being in top notch equipment his entire life. It doesn't hurt when your daddy is a billionare and can buy your way into DEI.

His first and only win came at his home track, the Milwaukee Mile...hmmm?

[Hoss Ghoul]

I'm not sure I'd go that far. He's more of a product of being in top notch equipment his entire life. It doesn't hurt when your daddy is a billionare and can buy your way into DEI.

His first and only win came at his home track, the Milwaukee Mile...hmmm?

On the other hand, we didn't see too many Busch drivers win races in the Busch Series this year, did we? Now I'm not saying Menard is great, but I suspect he is good enough to hold his own in Cup. DEI has good cars sure, but that still didn't do much for Michael Waltrip or Jeff Green...no doubt Menard is better than those guys.

[BenRoethig]

I think JPM is going to run away with the thing. We have more full time teams than we have space for and I think the Toyota rookies are going to have a hard time making races. JPM, on the other hand, is on an established team.

[RaceFanStan]

It's a shame JPM didn't get a Hendrick or Roush ride. :s
Even the best driver can't make a bad car run faster than it is capable of.
JPM's success will hinge on engine horsepower & durability, the handling of car,
his crew doing their job & the crewchief making good calls.
Chip Gana$$i is best at spreading bullsh!t and his Cup cars suck ! :p

[DonnieDarco]

No contest, JPM for sure :D

[race aficionado]

i have to go with the roush car as jpm is in a junk car


It's a shame JPM didn't get a Hendrick or Roush ride. :s
Even the best driver can't make a bad car run faster than it is capable of.
JPM's success will hinge on engine horsepower & durability, the handling of car,
his crew doing their job & the crewchief making good calls.
Chip Gana$$i is best at spreading bullsh!t and his Cup cars suck ! :p

newbie here . . . .
is it really that striking a difference between Roush and Ganassi cars?

Could it be that Chips Cup car can be better next year?

I thought all cars were almost basically the same in Nascar . . . .

:s mokin:

[call_me_andrew]

I'm picking Montoya. He's the only driver listed that I would ever expect to win a race in Nextel Cup.

And not just this year either.

So can we make our own polls now or what?

[Jonesi]

It's a shame JPM didn't get a Hendrick or Roush ride. :s
Even the best driver can't make a bad car run faster than it is capable of.
JPM's success will hinge on engine horsepower & durability, the handling of car,
his crew doing their job & the crewchief making good calls.
Chip Gana$$i is best at spreading bullsh!t and his Cup cars suck ! :p

Ganassi cars may not be top tier, but the car was good enough for 14th this year in the hands of probably a lesser talent.

[RaceFanStan]

The other 2 Ganassi cars were 23rd & 32nd.

Don't doubt Casey Mears' talent, he took the a losing car to 14th.
I expect he will make the Chase in a Hendrick car. :D

I seriously doubt JPM will end-up as high as 14th at the end of 2007 :rolleyes:
The Ganassi cars are JUNK !!! :eek:

[DonnieDarco]

I believe, but am not completely sure, that JPM out qualified Mears in the last race? :D Just a thought :D

[RaceFanStan]

I guarantee Gana$$i put every effort into getting JPM to qualify for Homestead.
Casey Mears was in the top 35 to assure he would make the race, the focus was on JPM. :D
In 2007, JPM will benefit from Casey Mears putting the #42 car 14th in Owner's Points. :p :

[harvick#1]

The other 2 Ganassi cars were 23rd & 32nd.

Don't doubt Casey Mears' talent, he took the a losing car to 14th.
I expect he will make the Chase in a Hendrick car. :D

I seriously doubt JPM will end-up as high as 14th at the end of 2007 :rolleyes:
The Ganassi cars are JUNK !!! :eek:

don't forget that the two cars were driven by rookies, Reed Sorenson was showing in spurts that he could race with the best, while Stremme was never really good even in the Busch Series.

I see Mears will have the same results in the #25, that team has never taken off like the 5,24,or 48. Vickers tried his best but failed.

I see the Hendrick organization struggle next year, just like Roush this year. the CoT will give them fits and will of course complain. its the Championship jinx.

[DonnieDarco]

I guarantee Gana$$i put every effort into getting JPM to qualify for Homestead.
Casey Mears was in the top 35 to assure he would make the race, the focus was on JPM. :D
In 2007, JPM will benefit from Casey Mears putting the #42 car 14th in Owner's Points. :p :

But its not Ganassi who does the actual qualifying, its the drivers :laugh:

[Jonesi]

I believe, but am not completely sure, that JPM out qualified Mears in the last race? :D Just a thought :D
Yes, 29th to 39th, but not really a fair comparison. JMP had to get in on speed, a driver in the top 35 (and guaranted starting spot), with a car running mid pack or worse in practice doesn't really push the car in qualifing.

[RaceFanStan]

But its not Ganassi who does the actual qualifying, its the drivers :laugh:
True but I guarantee JPM's engine was the strongest of the 4 Gana$$i cars.
I also guarantee that ALL 4 Gana$$i crewchiefs had their heads together on the JPM car.
It would have been super-embarassing if JPM had been a DNQ. http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g202/gr8link/orn/00.gif

[DonnieDarco]

Well, that was hardly likely, was it :D As was proven :D

[RaceFanStan]

I'm sorry DD but if JPM hadn't made it in on speed he would have went home.
Only the top 35 in Owner's Points are guaranteed starting spots.
A car (& driver) has to be either in the top 35 in Owner's Points or 1 of the remaining 8 fastest cars.
When 50 or more drivers attempt a race, they know someone is going home as there are only 43 starting spots.
(43 starting spots in Cup Series & Busch Series but only 36 in Truck Series.)

BTW, JPM is jumping into a car that finished 14th in 2006 Owner's Points.
That means he is guaranteed to start the 1st 4 races of 2007.

[DonnieDarco]

And I'm sorry to break it to you Stan, but that didn't happen, did it :D

[RaceFanStan]

The real test will come in February at Daytona.
JPM will start the race but where will he finish ?
The 3 race rubberstamp promotion of JPM could become very apparent then. :eek:

[harvick#1]

he had a top 15 finish coming at homestead, before cryin ryan had to put him in the wall

[DonnieDarco]

The real test has already come and gone, and that was whether or nor he could hack it in Nascar :D

[RaceFanStan]

If only 1 race was the test, JPM failed because he crashed ! :eek:

[DonnieDarco]

He was taken out, as you well know :D

[RaceFanStan]

An experienced stockcar driver probably would have kept it off the wall. :laugh:

[DonnieDarco]

Oh, riiight :laugh: Thats not been my experience of Nascar so far :D

[RaceFanStan]

Ryan Newman would have saved it. ;) :laugh:

[DonnieDarco]

Oh, you would say that, wouldn't you ;) :laugh:

[harvick#1]

Stan, wasn't that Newman who was fliping in the air at Daytona in '03 :p :

[DonnieDarco]

You must be mistaken Harvick, Newman would have saved it :laugh:

[tstran17_88]

On the other hand, we didn't see too many Busch drivers win races in the Busch Series this year, did we? Now I'm not saying Menard is great, but I suspect he is good enough to hold his own in Cup. DEI has good cars sure, but that still didn't do much for Michael Waltrip or Jeff Green...no doubt Menard is better than those guys.On the back of that other hand...how many cup regulars were in the Milwaukee race? Only seven...four of which have actually won in cup. It's not like he was racing against the typical 12-15 cup regulars and past cup champions that you'd see during the companion races. I don't think there should be an asterisk by the win, but he was racing against James Hylton, Kim Crosby, Chris Horn and John Hayden (who?) in this race also.

Mernard is no Kerry Earnhardt either, but I don't see him being as competitive in Cup as a lot of DEI/RCR faithful think he'll be. The guy I bought Chicagoland tickets from one year worked on a crew that raced against the Mernard's at LaCrosse. He was telling me that their's and every other team's goal was to finish second in the championship because nobody could compete with their money. After every race, they run their cars down to the shop in Indy and rebuild the engine and repair any damage. Spending a 1/4 million to win a 10 Grand championship...what's the point?

[harvick#1]

plus he was having Harvick all over his back bumper and looked like he would've been passed by Harvick until Yeley punted him

[Mark in Oshawa]

Paul Menard will win because he has the stock experience. JPM will struggle because no one will cut him one INCH of slack out there, he isn't used to running under the pressure cooker that is Cup racing, (f1 is huge pressure, but this is a form of racing he has no real answers for. He will have to learn EVERYTHING). JPM has the talent, but his lack of NASCAR experience will kill him the same way it hurt Scott Pruett, Robby Gordon, and just about any other open wheeled guy who isn't named Tony Stewart. What is more, it is all ovals save the two road courses, and JPM needs to learn how to adapt his way of driving to the long race, patience is a godsend mentality. JPM is not patient, at least he wasn't in f1. I think he will learn, and ultimately be the better driver, but Menard for rookie.

[Smilieangel489]

I think JPM will win it. I think don't think Ragan will win it, I am surprised people voted for him after this year. I think there could be a surprise winner, but I still think JPM is the best driver and he won't make as many stupid mistakes.

[Cole_Trickle]

Menard or Montoya, I think it'd be close, BUT Menard's car isn't in the top 35 in points, so with the massive amount of cars entering next year he may miss out on some races. He ran well in some of the Cup races he did this year, two 7th places IIRC, but a DNQ in ine of the later races.

[carrera66]

Speaking of road courses, it'll be interesting to see what JPM can do at those two races. Probably very good as most road racers do.

[RaikkonenRules]

Yes i'm expecting him to win at least one of those. :D

[oldhippie]

jpm may have talent but he got on a bad team-driving for ganassi will cost him

[muggle not]

I voted Paul Menard. I would like to see Regan Smith win but I believe he is only running 20 races. Regan will be learning this year and it is very possible that he will be doing very good in 2008.

[muggle not]

I have been following the testing of Regan Smith and he has been posting consistently high speeds. Regan has a solid foundation in racing..........and, is a nice young man. I am really anxious to see him in action this year.

[race aficionado]

well this is on topic (Nascar) but I'll put it on this thread because it doesn't warrant a new thread and it is about my pick for 2007 rookie of the year. :D
This just made me laugh
It starts as a "serious' comment - but Juan's punch line just made me laugh. :p
http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=ap-nascar-daytonanotebook&prov=ap&type=lgns


`Personally, I wouldn't do it,'' Schumacher told the New York Times. ``What do you do in NASCAR? What is exciting there? I can't see that, running around on ovals.''

Although Montoya said he thinks Schumacher could make the transition, he said he's learned firsthand that stock cars are much harder than his former F1 foes believe.

``People don't understand what a big challenge this style of racing is,'' Montoya said. ``Michael Schumacher, just take him to Homestead (Fla.) and tell him to stay half a second off the pace. He would have a heart attack.''

he he :s mokin:

[tstran17_88]

I have been following the testing of Regan Smith and he has been posting consistently high speeds. Regan has a solid foundation in racing..........and, is a nice young man. I am really anxious to see him in action this year.
I like Regan Smith also & he's got one heck of a mentor in MM!

[AJP]

go JPM.....you can do it...!!!