The most popular rookie in this season's class will probably be Kyle Busch, the younger brother of our current Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch. Kyle will be driving the #5 Kellogg's sponsored Hendrick Motorsport's Chevy, taking the seat vacated by seasoned veteran and former two-time Cup Champion Terry Labonte.
The 19 year-old Las Vegas native attainted superstar status last season in the Busch Series by winning the Raybestos Rookie of the Year crown. Busch had five victories in 2004 and finished the season a close second in championship points. He'll be attempting to win back to back rookie titles this season by vying for the rookie crown in the Cup Series. In NASCAR'S modern era, Kevin Harvick, driver of the Richard Childress Racing's #29 Goodwrench sponsored Chevy, is the only driver to have accomplished back to back Raybestos Rookie of the Year titles. Harvick won the Busch Series rookie crown in 2000 and the Cup Series rookie crown in 2001.
Although he may not be as popular as Busch in certain circles, Travis Kvapil (Kwa-pul) isn't any slouch on or off of the race track. Kvapil moves into the Cup Series from the Craftsman Truck Series, where he took the championship crown for the 2003 season in a controversial season finale at Miami/Homestead. He has a win for each of the four years he drove in the Truck series, along with a second win garnered this past season, giving him a total of five.
Kvapil won the Craftsman Truck Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year title in 2001, so he's no stranger to rookie awards. I look for him to be a fierce competitor this season in the Penske Racing's #77 Kodak sponsored Dodge.
The third and final addition to the 2005 class is an unproven commodity in the stock car racing world. Boris Said, the curly haired sports car racing guru who is always tapped to run the road courses for Cup teams at Watkins Glen and Infineon (Sonoma, Ca.), has finally landed himself a permanent Cup Series ride. He always claimed in the media interviews surrounding the road race events that his life long dream was to be ensconced within NASCAR's Cup Series. His dream has come true.
At this time. Said is only listed as running a partial schedule for 2005 in the MB2 Motorsports #36 Chevy sponsored by Centrix Financial. The last reports on the new team was that it had backing for only 10 to 12 events, which constitutes only a third of the upcoming season. Frank Stoddard, former Roush Racing crew chief of note for Jeff Burton, will be the crew chief on the entry that will be powered with Hendrick Motorsports engines. Given these factors, Said is not a serious contender for the rookie crown.
Go To Page: 1 2
