2002 Fearless Predictions and Prognostications By-Don Hamm Check out ALL our sections and features here!! There is plenty to keep you busy on our main page! Since it seems to be obligatory for all columnists, aspiring or established, to predict who will do what for the upcoming season I therefore offer my wisened prognotications. In most of my rantings I usually try to be somewhat outside the box in what I choose to write about but as I sit here in extreme witdrawls from my favorite sport I just thought, "Why not?" So here goes. Daytona 500: All factors being equal I predict that Kenny Wallace will win and it will be a DEI sweep. Kenny has shown that even in inferior equipment he runs Daytona well. If the three DEI cars get hooked up I predict Kenny wins, Dale, Jr. second and Mikey third. I'll pad this fearless forecast and add Ryan Newman as a possible surprise winner. Remember, this is NA$CAR and rules change and penalty flags are thrown. Winston Cup Champion: While Jeff Gordon and his team are back to full speed and would appear to be in total control, I go out on a limb and pick Tony Stewart to win his first championship. As I see it, there are two things to prevent Tony from taking the CUP, his temper and NA$CAR. I sincerely hope Tony shows up at Daytona with a new attitude and NA$CAR isn't running a vendetta against him. Rookie of the Year: To my simple mind, this is a no braineer. Barring unusual circumstances I believe Ryan Newman will take rookie honors hands down.. This young Purdue graduate is smart and good. If he can contain his enthusiam and use his intellect, he will not only be rookie of the year but win at least one race. Jimmie Johnson is a definite outside shot and he will be in a good Hendrick ride. It could get very interesting. Most Imporved Driver: Depending on how long it takes Steve Park to recover, I look for Kenny Wallace to show us how good he really is. If Steve recovers early in the season I surely hope DEI can field a fourth car for Kenny to finish out the season. Kenny made some questionable choices in who to drive for but he's in a good seat now and I hope he upholds my belief in him as a driver. I like him better than Rusty too. NA$CAR gets Organized: After Talladega and The Big One, it appears that forty two of forty three drivers stormed the Big Red Trailer and told the powers that be, "Enough is enough." After all these years it has all the appearance that NA$CAR listened and the concerns of the drivers and owners are being given due attention. I also predict that falling fan attendance will wake them up. I just logged on the NA$CAR.com site and they have that blinking add that says, "Good seats still available." When is the last time you saw Daytona advertising for fans? I also predict that they (ISC) will look at the empty seats and realize how many of them are directly due to their stupid cooler ban and let the coolers back in. I hope they will do the right thing to put some crushability back into the front ends of the cars and added protection for our drivers. Soft walls are not an option for the forseeable future and, in my opinion, an oximoron. Mike Helton will apologize to Bill Simpson? I won't hold my breath for that one. 2002 Less Competitive: Due to the constraints of sponsorship money and the tight economy, I believe we will see a total resurgence of Hendrick, Roush, Yates and Gibbs. Even Roush has had problems with sponsorship. The little guys running on minimal sponsorship won't stand a chance unless the new single engine rule truly makes the smaller teams more competitive, as I hope it does. Until that new rule has it's full, intended effect I believe we will drop from nineteen different winners in 2001 down to fourteen for 2002. The race winners for 2002 will be Jeff Gordon, Kenny Wallace, Dale, Jr., Kevin Harvick, Robby Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Burton, Rusty Wallace, Ryan Newman, Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, one of the Petty teams, Sterling Marlin and Jerry Nadeau. I have left out many of your favorites but this is my story and I'm sticking to it. Comeback of the Year: Petty Enterprises has made some changes that should make them more competitive in the coming season. With the addition of Robin Pemberton as general manager and Mike Ege engines I see no way they can't make great improvements on their sad performance of last year. Kyle missed so many races that when a youngster asked,"What do you do when you have to go to the bathroom?" Kyle responded that, "I usually get up off the couch." How sad. Buckshot has a new baby and must be hungry. I, for one, like this young man and think he's a capable driver. I, for a majority of one, will not demean his driving until he shows he is the cause of the incidents, not a victim or byproduct. A Safe 2002: With NA$CAR's belated safety improvements and driver awareness, I most ferverently and hopefully predict a full season with no deaths or serious injuries. We have a long way to go to get the cars safer and the drivers better protected. NA$CAR had a big wake up call last February. May it be that they don'f fall asleep at the wheel again. Let's quit shrinking the drivers compartment and make them even safer. As the new season gets ever closer and InsideThePitBox.com gains in popularity you will probably see more of my rants and raves. Rob and I will probably go at each others throats where we differ on a given event or driver. Rob will play Ali, floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee. I will be Frazier, slow, methodical, determined and tough as nails. Rob is definitely two bricks short of a full load and I have bouts of senility. Should be fun. Always remember that you retain the right to disagree but never the right to be disagreeable. Don@insidethepitbox.com Check out ALL our sections and features here!! There is plenty to keep you busy on our main page! (Editors Note:The views and opinions of our writers are just that, theirs. If you have comments, write to them. We take no responsibility for their articles... Do you blame us?) Article archives Return to the Main Page