The Spin Out Zone – Roush Racing & Rookie of the Year Candidates Get Bumped

Hold on – here is the bump and the SPIN OUT!

As Winston Cup FANS, we are not short on Rookie of the Year Candidates in
2003. However, I truly believe we will be extremely disappointed with their
campaign of racing for the title. Compared to last year’s battle between Rookie
of the Year winner Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson, I predict this year’s group
will lack excitement and rivalry.

How can any group of rookies out-perform the Ryan & Jimmie Show of last
year? Both drivers won at a level few can only dream about. Both drivers
outperformed some of the best drivers and teams in Qualifying to take Poll after
Poll and yes, both finished the season in the Top 10 in Winston Cup Points.
Unbelievable accomplishments!

Greg Biffle, Larry Foyt, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears, Tony Raines and Jack
Sprague head into Daytona as OUR candidates bidding for the ROTY title.
Obviously Biffle and McMurray lead this class as they have a proven record of
winning, however both will find their challenges throughout the season.

I am not SOLD on Biffle yet and I think he’ll find his pears at this level of
racing will not put up with his whining attitude. He’s playing with the BIG BOYS
now and he is no longer THE MAN. Unlike in the Busch series last year, his
competitors will not move over when he wants them to. I think Wally Dallenbach
will back me up on this issue. For Biffle, unfortunately he’ll have the HARVICK
FACTOR going against him. Kevin Harvick may end up being his worst nightmare and
could cost him the ROTY title. Time will only tell if Kevin has forgotten his
o’l buddy Greg.

Do we have a new Boy Wonder in Jamie McMurray? If his new team is anything
LESS than the #40 Coors team last year, then Jamie will have a long, painful
rookie year. Last year, he benefited from an experienced Coors team, who lost
their driver to injury. I will admit it, he impressed me. I BUMPED Chip for his
choice, but he proved many others and me wrong. However, the big question is can
Jamie keep impressing or will he need time to jell with his new team? If he
needs time, he may loose out on the ROTY title and Chip could grow impatient
with him as he did with Jimmy Spencer. I doubt he’ll pull the plug on Jamie as
he did with Jimmy, but Jamie will most likely need to keep in front of Casey
Mears, his rookie teammate, if he wants to keep Chip happy.

As for the others, don’t expect too much action from them. I think they’ll
struggle to make races and when they do make them, they’ll end up being another
under-funded team that has no chance against the deep pocket teams. Same old
dance. I wish and can only hope I am wrong. Casey Mears does have the best shot
in this group because he has the teammates, the sponsor and solid ownership
behind him. Is he the dark horse? Maybe, but if I had to put my fantasy dollars
on someone, it would unfortunately have be Greg Biffle. My gut says Biffle, I
hope its McMurray.

ROUSH RACING

I am completely lost for words on what is happening at Roush Racing. Do I
feel sorry for them or do I simply chalk this up as a bad management decision
that will eventually come back around and bite them in the rear-end? Time will
tell.

It’s being reported that Kyle Busch has signed with Hendrick Motorsports for
2003. The younger brother of Kurt Busch, who currently drives for Roush Racing,
has made a name for himself as one of the future stars of NASCAR. At 17 years
old, he is unable to drive in NASCAR because of his age, however Roush Racing
has had a huge interest in this kid and had planned on putting him in the Truck
Series this May after he turned 18, the age required to drive in NASCAR.
However, something now has happened and Kyle’s deal with Roush Racing fell
through. Just like many years ago when Jeff Gordon was with Bill Davis Racing,
Rick Hendrick is right there to pick up the pieces and now is the beneficiary.

Just last year, both Bill Davis Racing and Roush Racing complained about
other teams coming in and taking their employees away. If you remember, Joe
Gibbs Racing was accused of taking Jeff Burton’s top tire changer and the folks
at Roush were rather upset. Jeff Burton said at the time "over the years we
have put increasing effort into employee morale. Next year you’ll see the next
phase of it." I gave them a hard time then and I am going to give them a
hard time now because it’s the next year and they just shot employee morale down
the tubes. They just kissed a future Winston Cup winner, another young gun and a
real opportunity for future championships goodbye. Why? In this time of owners
struggling to make ends meet, desperately looking for sponsors, looking for a
young talent, why would you let this one go?

For Hendrick Motorsports they took a risk and won the prize. It’s kind of
like draft day in the NFL or NBA. They just signed the 1st pick in the draft and
the future looks bright for an all ready talented organization. For Terry
Labonte and Joe Nemechek, this is a wake up call. Both sponsors, Kellogg’s and
Delphi Automotive/UAW-GM’s contract is up after the 2003 season and they will be
foaming at the mouth to have an opportunity to land a young gun to market to
their customers. Terry and Joe’s contract is basically year to year and if Terry
shows no real spark, we’ll see Kyle Busch in the #5.

This could only be the beginning of a painful relationship between Roush and
the Busch’s. If Kurt Busch is unhappy about this situation, he may move on to
bigger and brighter opportunities. What a catch he would be! Could you image the
DYNASTY if Hendrick Motorsports is there for that catch too? Jeff Gordon, Jimmie
Johnson, Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch all under the same roof, heck I almost want
that to happen.

For now, Roush Racing can only put a band aid on this situation, but this
will hurt them long after Mark Martin is gone!

This weeks SPIN OUT goes to – ROUSH RACING! Has anyone at Roush ever heard
the saying, "early bird gets the worm?"

Until next week, happy bumping!