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On the horizon Four youngsters look to make impact in 2002Posted: Thursday November 29, 2001 10:09 PM
By Stephen Thomas, CNNSI.com At this time last year, Kevin Harvick was, begging his pardon, anonymous. And, had it not been for terrible circumstances, he would still be fairly anonymous and eagerly anticipating his rookie year in Winston Cup. As Harvick's experience demonstrates, there could very well be another relative unknown out there who is just an opportunity away from establishing himself as NASCAR's next big thing. Still, on the assumption that NASCAR has endured its fair share of tragedy and that we are not in for any other unwelcome surprises, there is a finite pool of newcomers who will be making their presence felt in 2002. Here's a brief look at each of the four: Jimmie Johnson: The 26-year-old raced motorcycles and did some off-road racing while growing up in California and comes into Cup with relatively little experience. "He has about as much experience coming into Winston Cup as I had going in late-models," said Harvick, "but he's a quick learner." A two-year Busch Grand National veteran with one win and 14 top-10 finishes in 64 races, Johnson parlayed an informational meeting with Jeff Gordon into a ride in a car team co-owned by Gordon and Rick Hendrick. "Jimmie is a heck of a talent," Gordon said before Johnson's first race with his new team. "You put the right equipment under him and he's going to get it done." Ryan Newman: Newman has already proven himself an expert qualifier, earning six Busch (in just 15 attempts) and one Cup pole in 2001. He also won one Busch race and finished an impressive second in the inaugural Cup race at Kansas. Of next year's quartet, the 23-year-old Newman could face the stiffest test: He comes into the series not only with a great deal of fanfare behind him as something of a protégé to teammate Rusty Wallace, but because Penske Racing recently folded the no. 12 car, Newman becomes Wallace's only teammate and, therefore, the focus of that much more scrutiny. Greg Biffle: The 31-year-old Biffle won a Busch Grand National Series-record five races as a rookie in 2001. Though he will only race a handful of times next season, his graduation to Winston Cup figures to be interesting. Along the way to his five wins this year (and a fourth-place finish in points), Biffle established himself as a hard-nosed driver who isn't afraid to mix it up. "He'll be a contender right off the bat," Harvick said of the man whom he famously beat and banged on more than one occasion in 2001. "He doesn't hold anything back." Jeff Green: Of these four, Green is the only one who won't be a NASCAR rookie in 2002. But while he had run 50 Winston Cup races entering 2001, there's no doubt that by becoming the third driver for Richard Childress racing, the 39-year-old Green has his best opportunity to succeed. The 2000 Busch Grand National champion (he finished second to Harvick this year) had managed just one top-five and one top-10 finish and sat on one pole in those 50 starts; in just eight races this year, Green won one pole and earned one top-10 finish.
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