I�m beginning to lose count of all the Lee Spencer articles (along with everyone else) � talking about how horrid the NASCAR rookie class of 2003 is. True, both Greg Biffle and Jamie McMurray are each performing seven spots below some lofty expectations I gave them in the pre-season. But before dismissing Biffle and JamieMac as bums, lets look at who has come in and out of NASCAR�s top division in just the past five seasons.

IN � Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler, Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears.

OUT � Dale Earnhardt Sr., Bobby Hamilton, Wally Dallenbach, Kenny Irwin, Chad Little, Kevin LePage, Geoff Bodine, Rick Mast, Ted Musgrave, David Green, Darrell Waltrip, Robert Pressley, Hut Stricklin.

Notice that there is a little bit of a talent discrepancy between the departures and arrivals. Those who�ve arrived since 1999 currently comprise of six of the top nine in the current point standings. Not to mention everyone knows that Ryan Newman rates much higher than his current 16th place standing. So it�s safe to say that seven of these drivers belong in the top dozen as of right now.

Then there are those who have departed. Obviously Dale Sr. is by far the class of this group. If we could re-write the course of NASCAR history and wipe out the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, Senior would obviously still be more than a competitive driver. But Dale would also be the circuit�s elder statesman at age 52. Top ten would be a possibility, but still too would be the possibility of a late-career slide similar to what occurred with Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip � a slide that actually started in what turned out to be the final years of Dale Sr.�s career.

Of the other drivers no longer on the Cup circuit, Bobby Hamilton finished the highest with a 13th place standing (to Dale Sr.�s third). Other than that only Dallenbach and Irwin finished in the top 20. Jimmie Johnson or Wally Dallenbach??? Wally himself would nominate JJ � if not he should immediately lose his media credential. Ryan Newman or Robert Pressley � that�s another no-brainer. And of course Busch over Chad Little is anything but an apples-to-oranges comparison. That was an obviously no-brainer for the #97 team. It is clear that the talent level has risen dramatically since 1999 � is it any wonder how the likes of Rusty Wallace and Jeff Burton have been going backwards, it is more a product of what�s happening around them than their own doing.

So how does Biffle and McMurray compare to the previous four rookie classes??? It isn�t that horrible, here is quick review of the 1999-2002 rookies.

1999 � Tony Stewart had a slow start, but came on very strong in the second half winning three of the final ten races and finishing fourth in points, at the time one of the best rookie showings in NASCAR history. Elliott Sadler started a four-year run with the #21 car that year and placed 24th in the standings, which would be followed by seasons of 29th, 20th, and 23rd. In his first year with Yates Racing, Sadler is currently having his best season as he�s currently sitting in 18th.

2000 � As much as the Matt Kenseth/Dale Jr. rookie battle was hyped, this duo did not finish much better than where Biffle/McMurray currently are � with Kenseth finishing 14th while Junior was 16th. But both did have their moments, Junior broke through for his first Cup win in Race 7 at Texas, and would score a second victory just four races later (Richmond). The following week Kenseth would score his first win in Race 12 (Charlotte 600). Then there was the Cup debut in 1998, a pinch-hitting appearance in Bill Elliott�s #94 car where Kenseth would place sixth at Dover. Elliott himself would place sixth over better in only 18 of 183 career races in that same ride.

2001 � Kevin Harvick�s splash into the Cup Division simply can�t be chronicled enough. Stepping into arguably the sport�s most storied car, under the most trying or circumstances � Harvick would debut with a 14th at Rockingham, followed by an eighth in Vegas and a dramatic photo finish win at Atlanta, the quickest anyone ever made it to Victory Lane in modern Cup history. Harvick would go on to a second win and finishing ninth overall. And that�s not mentioning Harvick honoring his Busch Series commitment (despite the untimely promotion to the Cup Circuit) and winning the title there. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch competed in his first full season with Rosch Racing and finished an unimpressive 27th, or worse than what Biffle and McMurray are currently running. Busch would make his quantum-leap the following season.

2002 � Ryan Newman flashed his vast potential in a limited schedule in �01, while Jimmie Johnson latched on to an incredible opportunity riding a car for Jeff Gordon. Both drivers managed to surpass enormously lofty expectations with Johnson finishing fifth (3 wins) while Newman placed sixth (win and five second-place showings). Those two, along with Kurt Busch (third in points, wins in three of the final five races) combined for perhaps the biggest youth invasion in Cup history.

Obviously, the bar has been set at incredible heights for Biffle and McMurray. The current 20th and 22nd place showings do pale in comparison to recent rookie classes � But keep this in mind, both are now Cup winners, with McMurray winning in only his second career start last fall at Charlotte. McMurray also had a top-ten run this past Sunday in Chicago. Also keep an eye on teammate Casey Mears, who seems to be making strides in recent weeks.

As far as the other rookies are concerned, not much was to be expected out of racing veteran Tony Raines � especially in an unsponsored ride. Expectations were a little higher for Jack Sprague, who was replaced this week after failing to finish in the top ten in any race. For the next two weeks John Andretti will be in the #0 car.

The early projections were that next year�s rookie crop could be much weaker � but Bobby Hamilton Jr. is starting to provide some hope with a dominating run in last week�s Busch Race, an outing that saw Hamilton lap all but four of his competitors in a 300-mile event. Morgan-McClure attempted to ink Hamilton to replace Mike Skinner a few weeks back, but Hamilton wisely is holding out for a better ride. And IRL driver Sam Hornish continues to be bandied as an eventual driver for the #1 car. Much of that speculation comes from Hornish�s current Pennzoil sponsorship in IRL. Hornish seems to have been in the open-wheel circuit forever, but he is still only 24 years old. His talent in the Indy-Car circuit is often compared to a younger Jeff Gordon in NASCAR.

This leads to my latest edition of my top 20 rankings�

1. (1) Kenseth, 2. J. Gordon (+5), 3. (3) B. LaBonte, 4. (4) Dale Jr., 5. (6) Johnson, 6. (8) Stewart, 7. (16) Newman (+5), 8. (5) Waltrip, 9. (9) Busch (-7), 10. (10) Harvick (+3), 11. (10) Marlin (-2), 12. (11) R. Wallace (-2), 13. (15) R. Gordon (+6), 14. (12) Martin (-3), 15. (13) J. Burton (+1), 16. (14) T. LaBonte (-1), 17. Biffle (NR) 18. (18) Sadler (-1), 19. (22) McMurray (+1), 20. (25) Mayfield (NR)

About the most disturbing image I�ve ever seen associated with racing occurred on May 17, 1992 when a shaken up Gary Batson attempted to get out of his burning race car at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Batson staggered out of the car but was having trouble clearing the scene as the fire grew and intensified. Wisely, the TV production staff switched to a more distant shot of the scene, which showed the inferno growing by frightening proportions by the second as emergency personnel arrive on the scene. Don't look for ever seeing the footage on 'YOU'VE GOTTA SEE THIS', as Batson suffered severe burns in the incident which the next day proved fatal.

We are beginning to see scenes similar to this on a frequent basis in NASCAR, the most recent being a horrowing accident involving Bobby LaBonte late in last Sunday�s Tropicana 400. After his burning car came to a stop LaBonte struggled for what seemed to be an eternity getting out of his battered machine. When he finally got out, LaBonte continued to stagger (a scene reminiscent of Rick Mears crewmen in the 1981 Indy 500) as if on fire before collapsing to the ground. Later on, Bobby would say the incident only looked worse than it really was � although he did also say something about smelling �Like a B-B-Q PIT.�

That is the fourth incident involving a fire in just the last month � Ken Schrader and Dale Jarrett were involved in separate fiery incidents at Pocono, while Ryan Newman had to extinguish himself before getting out of his car at a Michigan. And then there was Jeff Burton�s Busch car combusting out of nowhere during a caution period at Las Vegas. Things are getting very scary on this front, and has increased talk of installing an overhead �escape� hatch. That sounds fine and dandy, but something has to be done to reduce the chance of the fuel cells erupting. Thankfully, no one has been knocked out with a fire occurring on top of it � at least not yet.

Ryan Newman � I told you he�s going to come on. Look for victory #3 on the season to be the start of a huge second-half run.

Tony Stewart � Perhaps the best car all weekend. Started on the pole and was at or near the point all day. Newman fuel strategy was all that did the #20 in.

Kevin Harvick � Appeared in prime position to challenge for the Chicago �three-peat�, but ran out of gas with two laps to go and would finish 17th. Then it gets even worse, as the #29 was found to be in violation as well. The usual infractions, 12-4-A and 12-4-Q � unapproved equipment and actions �detrimental to stock car racing�. The least the #29 team could had done was take a page out of Morgan-McClure and expanded that fuel bladder a little.

Jeff Gordon/Jimmie Johnson � Gordon was just a notch behind Stewart all weekend, qualifying second and finishing fourth while teammate Johnson places third.

Michael Waltrip � More evidence that he is now a force on non-plate tracks. Was better than teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. all day.

Matt Kenseth � This week is almost as bad as it has gotten for the #17 all year, as Kenseth failed to complete only his second lap of the year. But was first among those a lap down finishing 12th, and actually increases his point lead to 165 over Jeff Gordon. However, some natives are getting restless - those of whom want to see Matt win a race and collect that huge leader (approaching $200,000) bonus. Myself I would had bet against Kenseth going 15 races without a win.

Casey Mears - After qualifying near the front, it looked like a real breakthrough day for the Skoal Bandit (that�s what the car looked like � how retro), but was involved in the LaBonte wreck and finished himself off soon after. In the end just another 34th place finish.

Kurt Busch � Blows up and has his second straight bad finish, placing 39th.

Robby Gordon � Starting to emerge, winding up with a seventh place showing. New Hampshire, Pocono, and Indianapolis are some of his better tracks.

Have any more questions about the firing of Jack Sprague. A USATODAY article this week reports that Sprague has been involved in incidents in 13 of 18 races � a whopping 72 percent, or 72 percent more than Matt Kenseth. Jerry Nadeau is second, being involved in accidents in seven of his ten races. Steve Park is third at a 56 percent spin/crash ratio.

Not unlike the freeway and some side streets in the neighborhood of the KACSPORTS palatial estate, New Hampshire International Raceway has spent plenty of time in recent years repaving, and then tearing back down, it�s surface � with this year being no exception. Look for some incidents along with drivers bitchin� afterwards, a group that will probably be led by Jeff Gordon. A THATSRACIN.COM poll this week asked which track should lose a date to give another track (such as Texas) a second day. NHIS won with over 30 percent of the vote, easily outdistancing the likes of Martinsville and Pocono and even edging out Watkins Glen.

For those new to witnessing events at NHIS, think a king-size version of Martinsville with massive breaking in the turns � there will be plenty of finesse involved. Matt Kenseth does not have a terrific track record here, but was a major factor last year leading 77 laps before a tire went down late. Jeff Gordon has three wins, which was part of 7 out of 8 top-five finishes between 1997 and 2001. However Gordon has failed to make the top ten the past three times out. Jeff Burton is a four-time New Hampshire winner and the second most successful driver at this track, but like Gordon not lately. Tony Stewart will again be a factor and was a winner here in 2000. This could be a down week for DEI, both Junior and Waltrip had their best finishes last September with the #15 finishing eighth and the #8 ninth. There is only one other career top-ten between those two. I�ve given my take on Robby Gordon�s win in the season finale in November 2001, a race that which many teams didn�t care much about and also featured some quirky tire problems. However Robby fared well in 2002 as well, placing seventh and 17th. Also don�t discount the �young guns�, Newman outlasted second place Kurt Busch to win the September race and Jimmie Johnson finished in the top-15 both times. If looking for home-cooking give Ricky Craven a shot, who is as popular here as the big boys (Gordon, Stewart, Junior) and has numerous wins in Busch and Regional series. Craven wound up sixth in September. And against my better judgment I will throw in Dale Jarrett as a remote possibility only because he�s placed 1st, 10th, 3rd, and 7th over the past two years. And believe it or not, DJ has won a race this year.

I close with my top 30�