Well, it's never too early to wind-up the old rumor mill. There's always the potential for a driver to get a boot in the rear as he/she heads out the door, or they just might move on to greener pastures.  So here's my early, off the cuff, cruel-hearted predications for each race organization:

Hendrick: Casey Mears has probably two years to get it right. Otherwise you'll see another driver defect from open-wheel racing and jump into a #25 fire suit every Sunday.

This is Casey's best chance to live up to his family's name.  Or else it proves that he's on the backside of their gene-pool.

Gibbs: JJ Yeley is probably on the bubble.  If he has another season like he did last year, you know... where the number of wrecked cars almost exceeded the number of finished races, then he'll get a dismissal.  Watch for a possible vacancy in the #18 before or after Homestead-Miami if he repeats his 2006 performance in 2007.

If I wrecked a lot of cars, I would want to look cool too.

Ginn: They're starting to run well, but it's still early.  Sterlin Marlin, Joe Nemecheck and Mark Martin certainly won't carry the team through 2010.  I expect at least one of them to join Mark Martin in the retirement chair here soon... eating cream pea soup while watching "Matlock" re-runs.

Matlock, a great representation of elderly America.

Rouch-Fenway: Jamie McMurray is another one who might see more action in the Busch series then NEXTEL Cup next near.  The win in 2002 at Lowe's is looking more to be a fluke than anything else.  I don't expect Jack Roush to allow his patience to wear anymore thin with McMurray behind the #26.  Roush-Fenway has some talent in the Busch series that may be of better use then Jamie right now.  Unless his self-motivational sessions in the off-season pays off more than a lone top 10, then I expect the #26 to change hands soon.

"Gee, I know I can drive... I just have to believe in myself first"

DEI: If you have absolute power over a multi-million dollar company, would you want to share?  I don't think that Teresa Earnhardt does either.  I also think that we'll see the death of DEI at the end of 2007.  Dale Earnhardt Jr will push his teammates Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer or Jeff Burton to victory at the 2008 Daytona 500 while driving the #3 Budweiser Chevy.  Meanwhile Shane Huffman will drive the #8 Bob's Steak House Chevy to his first of many 38th place finishes.  He will be right behind teammates Martin Truex Jr and Paul Menard who rounds the top 30.

He's probably spinning in his grave right now.

Yates: I foresee no changes here.  They've pulled a complete 180-degree turn back towards the same direction where the competition is heading.  The "Candy Men" will be a force to reckoned with by this time either next year or 2009.

Signs of things to come?

MWR: Toyota will either (a) drop the notion of racing in NEXTEL Cup because their drivers, with their sponsors, made only 21 of 36 races this season... (b) look into converting other established race teams to switch their respective makes of cars... or (c) continue to ride the storm that has already produced a tornado (Michael Waltrip's fuel additive scandal), and a severe thunderstorm (Dale Jarret using up his provisionals).  I don't see a change here unless the storm turns into a hurricane.

Poor Mikey.  If I was in your shoes, I'd make that face too!

Red Bull: Does anyone remember the #32 Tide car?  It raced the entire season last year, but the team closed up shop and folded at the end... deja vu for the #84, perhaps?  A.J. is now 0 for 4, and Brian Vickers has the only top 10 so far.  It will be interesting to see what happens here at the end of the season.

Don't see much of the #84 on Sunday's, now do we?

RCR: Please see DEI above.
 +   ++=  

Could this be RCR's roster in 2008?

Bill Davis: Jeremy Mayfield has seen better days, that's for sure.  I predict the same scenario will play itself out just as it did when he spouted off at the mouth at Penske and at Evernham.  Then he'll be out of yet another job.

Jeremey, before you say it... don't.

Penske: This just in: It wasn't the Dodge Charger's old nose that was causing the car to be unbalanced... it was Kurt Busch's ears and Ryan Newman's lack of a neck that was the issue.  Kurt trimmed his ears before the 2006 season and he won at Bristol last March.  Ryan Newman didn't win a single race because he didn't fix his neck.  The only change at Penske this year will be a certain collar size on shirts, not a driver.

If he ever asks you:  "Are you looking at my neck?"   The proper response is: "What neck?"

Evernham: No changes here, I assume. Except the Allstate commercials (we hope), because we get the point already!

 Jeff Green is kicking his agent in the rear.  For once in his life he could have had women chasing him around but nooooo... Kasey stole the bit!