Forced exposure: a new TV contract and a fatal crash put Winston Cup in the spotlight last year. A talented collection of title contenders, led by Kevin Harvick, figures to keep it there in 2002 - Winston Cup

Auto Racing Digest, May, 2002 by Ken Willis

A NEW RACING SEASON ALWAYS brings certain expectations, anticipation, and excitement. Rarely, however, have racing fans been looking forward to a season as much as they anticipate the 2002 Winston Cup campaign.

The reasons? Of course, there is the usual list of questions to be answered over the next nine months and 36 races. But perhaps more importantly, this season is welcome because it officially puts last season--and all of its trials--squarely in the past.

There are a few new rules and some new looks this season--many of which are a direct result of last year's ongoing debate over safety issues in the wake of Dale Earnhardt's death. Seat belts and their method of installation remain under heavy scrutiny. The head-and-neck restraints--made mandatory late last season--are now a fully integrated part of the rulebook. Members of pit crews will now wear helmets.

Even when the residue of 2001 that has crept into 2002 is not considered, this season has many of the same subplots that greet most new race schedules. There are new faces at old places, old faces in new places, and some completely new faces. There are contenders and pretenders--those who are optimistic with good reason and those who talk optimistically because it's the thing to do early in the year.

The race teams headed by Robert Yates, Joe Gibbs, and Jack Roush are largely unchanged--at least in the cockpit. But some of Winston Cup's other big-name teams are featuring new drivers.

Compared to its make-up at the beginning of last season, no team looks more radically different than Richard Childress Racing. Childress began 2001 with the same two-car operation he'd headed for five years, led by drivers Earnhardt and Mike Skinner. Sadly, Earnhardt was killed in the tragic final lap of the Daytona 500 and Skinner battled injuries before exiting and landing with the Morgan-McClure team.

Childress not only has a different duo than he had at the start of last year--Kevin Harvick in Earnhardt's former car and Robby Gordon in Skinner's old ride--but he's added a third car, with veteran Jeff Green in the seat. Green takes the ride originally targeted for Harvick, whose inevitable move to Winston Cup was accelerated in the wake of Earnhardt's death.

Childress' three-car operation should be the most entertaining to watch in the coming season. For one, Harvick has established himself as a superstar-in-waiting. Even after moving into Earnhardt's Chevy, Harvick maintained his full-time seat in Childress' Busch Series car. That double duty produced the Busch Series championship and a two-win, ninth-in-points Cup sea, son--and was enough to earn him Driver of the Year consideration.

But along with the results, Harvick also earned a reputation as an aggressive racer worthy of Earnhardt's old seat. He wasn't the least bit shy about trading paint or rubbing bumpers with any other driver--regardless of who that driver was. Among those on the long list of Harvick's run-ins last season are his two new teammates, Gordon and Green.

Gordon--with his latest and best chance to produce consistent results on the Cup circuit--and Green both also have reputations as drivers who are not shy about getting physical on the track. It would have been difficult enough for Childress to go through his first season with three full-time cars, but doing so with three headstrong drivers will make this an interesting campaign for the veteran team owner, to say the least.

There are two familiar faces in new places that are expected to perform at a high level this season: Jeremy Mayfield and Jimmy Spencer, each of whom have moved to the Dodge camp and joined teams that could land them in Victory Lane.

Mayfield ended a difficult stay at Penske Racing last year by sitting out the last couple of months of the season. He was a hot item on the free-agent market until Ray Evernham signed him to his two-car Dodge operation. Mayfield will drive the No. 19 Intrepid and serve as a teammate to Bill Elliott. The Evernham team, which earned its first win late last year (Elliott at Homestead), should be prepared to compete in each race this season.

Spencer, a thickly built veteran, takes his rough-and-tumble reputation to Chip Ganassi's two-car Dodge team, which produced a third-place season last year for Sterling Marlin. Spencer replaces Jason Leffler as Marlin's teammate. Ganassi has shown his ability to build championship teams in the CART series, but last year was his first full season as majority owner of a Cup team. The veteran members of his NASCAR team marveled at Ganassi's organizational skills.

Another high-profile team gets a tweak this season: Hendrick Motorsports, which adds a fourth car to its championship organization. Rookie Jimmie Johnson joins the returning Hendrick stable of Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte, and Jerry Nadeau. Johnson will enjoy a rare opportunity for a rookie: His team will be housed in the same shop as Gordon's No. 24 championship team. (Gordon serves as co-owner of the Johnson car, along with Hendrick)