2004 Nextel Cup Preview

49 Is Kenny Schrader such a great racer that he will drive every kind of vehicle imaginable, or is he just a fading racer who hasn't won an important race in more than a decade, who will strap on anything with wheels to collect a check? We'll never know as long as he climbs into cars like the No. 49 BAM entry, which failed to make races late in 2003 and has major sponsorship concerns entering 2004. Look for Schrader to move to the Truck series if no major sponsor signs here.

54 Todd Bodine and the No. 54 bunch somehow made it through the '03 season, and Bodine is said to be back in the seat of this entry in 2004. The problem is the National Guard has mustered itself off the car's panels, and any driver with additional cash can probably have the ride for the asking.

74 Tony Raines did more with less than almost any driver in 2003 by carving outa respectable rookie campaign. The BACE Motorsports entry will return this season, but as usual, sponsorship money is the question.

77 The Jasper Motorsports car was either wicked fast or a field-filler in 2003. Driver Dave Blaney returns this season in a Dodge, new for 2004.

88 Easily one of the biggest disappointments of the '03 season, Dale Jarrett considered leaving this Robert Yates ride before announcing at Indy he'd be back in 2004 with options for 2005 and 2006. With a reported $16 million in sponsorship from UPS, you'd have to think this group is going to rebound this season after a dreadful '03 campaign.

97 Love 'em or hate 'em, Kurt Busch has proven he has the talent to compete, and more importantly, win big-time stock car races. With a solid Roush Racing team led by wily veteran Jimmy Fennig, shared information from the No. 17 Matt Kenseth and No. 6 Mark Martin teams, and full sponsorship backing from Newel Rubbermaid and others, Busch has to be considered a favorite to win multiple races and the championship in 2004. If you don't like the guy, you'd better get over it because he's only 25 and he's going to be around a while.

99 Citgo's out the door on the fifth and final Roush Racing entry-the No. 99 driven by Jeff Burton. Burton's group floundered in 2003 with crewchief changes and lackluster results. Despite a more than 50-race winless streak, Burton re-upped with Roush in early September. Meanwhile, every potential sponsorship buzz-Smirnoff, Dominos, Subway, a pharmaceutical company-all have Burton and the 99 in the mix. Stay tuned.

01 Jerry Nadeau's injury at Richmond cut short a promising career and the '03 season for this bunch, which consistently outperformed its team car (the No.10) and the rest of the Pontiacs in the field. Mike Skinner showed he could be fast in his short stint in this car as long as he could keep it out of the fence, which based on the number of wrecks he had, proved to be difficult. Joe Nemechek jumps to this ride in 2004 in a deal leveraged by the fact that Hendrick Motorsports provides the engines for the 01 car. Look for Joe to be racing a Chevy Monte Carlo because of the Hendrick connection.

That wraps up those teams dedicated to a full-time Nextel Cup series schedule in 2004. There's also a third Joe Gibbs select event entry on the drawing board with USAC open-wheel star J.J. Yelley's name being penciled in as the driver after off-season testing went well. In an effort to keep budding star Kasey Kahne, Ford rolled out its checkbook for a select event entry fielded by Robert Yates Racing this season. Meanwhile, Chip Ganassi already has an eye on the '06 Cup season dipping into the ASA ranks to ink the newest young gun, Reed Sorenson, while 18-year-old ARCA star Shelby Howard will make the jump to the NASCAR ranks this season in a Toyota Truck entry out of the Bill Davis shops.

In the end, we think the '04 Nextel Cup season is destined to be remembered as one in which the NASCAR universe tilted, maybe to the point where it will rival 1948, 1959, and 1972 in historical terms. We're not telling you to make book on any or all of the changes we've indicated here. There's bound to be some swings and misses given the scope of today's NASCAR checkbook loyalty. What we are betting on is that you'll be surprised when you get to Daytona and see all the changes in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series. Even the sound of that seems a little odd to us. Nonetheless, the '04 season should provide plenty of hot action. After all, raging fires always give off plenty of heat.