The announcement that Ward Burton had signed for the #4 Morgan McClure Motorsports team for the new season has brought the number of full time teams aiming to contest the 2007 Nextel Cup Championship to a best-ever 50.
With no less than six brand new Toyota teams and extra entries from Ginn Racing (formerly MB2 Motorsports), DEI and Haas CNC Racing joining the fray, the competition for a place on the grid each week will be tougher than ever and there are plenty of drivers already under a great degree of pressure.
With all 35 teams that finished in the top 35 in team points in 2006 returning, the raft of start-up outfits have their work cut out to make it past Bud Pole qualifying never mind work on breaking into 'guaranteed starting spot' territory.
Only PPI Motorsport, which finished 37th in the 2006 standings, is unlikely to return in 2007 from the list of teams who contested the majority of the last season, leaving 15 full-time outfits fighting for a maximum of eight non-guaranteed places on the starting grid.
Leading the list of hopefuls is veteran Sterling Marlin, whose #14 Ginn/MB2 team finished 36th in 2006 points. Fellow veteran Michael Waltrip is next up in his #55 NAPA Toyota having finished 38th in 2006 while returnee Burton inherits the ride that finished 39th in points last year. BAM Racing (40th) and Furniture Row Racing (41st) will both be back with veterans Mike Bliss and Kenny Wallace while DEI's #15 team, which finished 44th in 2006 points, will return to full time activity with rookie Paul Menard.
While uncertainty surrounds the plans of 2006 strugglers Front Row Motorsports (#61, #34, #92), R&J Racing (#37), Phoenix Racing (#09), Stanton Barrett Motorsports (#95), Kirk Shelmerdine Racing (#27), Morgan Shepherd Racing (#89) and Michael Anderson Racing (#00), the #74 McGlynn Motorsports camp will be back for another full-time crack at the action next year with Derrike Cope while CJM Racing (#72) have also stepped up and will attempt all 36 races on the schedule.
No Fear Motorsports have, perhaps sensibly, chosen to stick to a part-time schedule in 2007, which still leaves no less than seven brand new teams all trying to make their debuts in next February's
Daytona 500.
Brian Vickers and rookie AJ Allmendinger will be behind the wheels of the two new Red Bull Racing Toyota's while Dale Jarrett and rookie David Reutimann will be piloting the second and third Toyota entries from Michael Waltrip's stable. Joe Nemechek will move to the new #13 Ginn Racing entry, Johnny Sauter has signed for the new #70 Haas CNC Racing squad while Bill Davis Racing has brought back the #36 team for Jeremy Mayfield.
