Best new combination
Of the several new driver-team combinations coming in 2006, I think the best one will prove to be between the drivers involved in a headline-grabbing swap. Kurt Busch moves from Roush Racing to replace Rusty Wallace at Penske Racing South, while Jamie McMurray takes the ride in which Busch won the 2004 Cup championship for Roush Racing.

While I think McMurray will win races and end up in the Chase, I’m looking for the Busch-Penske combination to do real good things. I believe Kurt Busch is one of the very best drivers on the circuit, and I feel that he will fit in very well with the personalities and racing approach of the Penske group.

Busch’s new crew chief, Roy McCauley, will be a good fit for him, and my opinion is that they will end up being the best of the new combinations over the next 12 months.

Rookie of the Year
The Rookie of the Year award has not gotten much attention over the past couple of seasons, but I think that will change in 2006. This year’s class of first-year drivers may be one of the strongest in some time.

Don’t misinterpret what I’m saying as a slight against recent first-year drivers because there’s a lot of talent in the likes of Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch, the past two Rookie of the Year winners.

But this year’s class has that same level of talent, plus numbers! There will be at least a half-dozen drivers competing for top rookie honors this year, and all six of the prime candidates race for top teams.

There will be two-time NASCAR Busch Series champ Martin Truex Jr. racing for Dale Earnhardt Inc., and last year’s Busch Series runner-up Clint Bowyer driving for Richard Childress Racing. Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley will be in rides for Joe Gibbs Racing, and speedy youngsters Reed Sorenson and David Stremme will run for Chip Ganassi Racing.

All are very talented, and all are in well-financed rides with good people and equipment behind them. It should be a lot of fun watching this unfold.

I’m going with Hamlin, the young Virginian who made a great impression at the end of 2005, to be the Rookie of the Year.

Hamlin got the chance to drive the final seven races of last year for the team he’ll race with in 2006. And in that stretch, he scored three top-10 finishes and one pole position. That’s impressive stuff, so I’ll take Hamlin in a very close call.

First-time winner
The first driver to score an inaugural Nextel Cup win in 2006 will be Casey Mears, and he’ll do it at either Atlanta Motor Speedway or Texas Motor Speedway.

Mears had a chance to win a couple of times late in 2005, including during the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he led until a pit stop late in the race under a caution flag for debris shuffled him back from the top spot.

Mears seems ready to win on one of the sport’s super fast tracks like Atlanta or Texas. And not only does Mears seem ready to win, he needs to win. Mears is getting to that point in his career where people will question whether or not he has what it takes to outrun the competition at this level. The only way to answer that question is to win.

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