ESPN Sprint Cup

ESPN.com preseason rank: No. 13

2009 outlook

Following two straight Chase runs in the No. 07 Jack Daniel's Chevy, Clint Bowyer is making a substantial transition in 2009, moving to the newly formed Richard Childress Racing No. 33 outfit.

New team. New crew. No owner's points.

The switch could go either way.

It could go as planned, i.e., deepen the RCR information pool by 25 percent, in turn making the organization that much stronger. Or it could upset harmonious organizational chemistry -- the main reason Childress waited so long to add the team in the first place.

"I guess if you're going to change, might as well do it from the ground up," Bowyer said. "We've definitely done that. Looking at this season, I'm looking forward to it. All kidding aside, I see a lot of great things happening within this team and a lot of possibilities. The possibilities are high. The future is bright. Now it's going to take some time. There will be a transition period."

The key player in that transition is crew chief Shane Wilson. The last time he held a full-time position atop the box, he led Kevin Harvick to the most dominant season in NASCAR Nationwide Series history. This year, he'll have to focus on Fridays for the first five weeks, as Bowyer must first make the show on time come pole day.

"If you look at everything, and the way I think it's going to go, I hate to say it, but I'd rather not have points this year than in the past two or three years," Bowyer said. "We've lost some teams that were pretty good. Not to say it'll be easy, but it'll be easier than it has been in the past."

The No. 33 took advantage of some other teams' misfortunes amid the struggling economy, plucking skilled crewmen who'd been let go by other teams.

"The talent within this team, the guys that work on the cars, there's a lot of talent there," Bowyer said. "We took care of some rough times for some other teams, too, that were letting go of some people."

2008 review

Bowyer won one race in 2008 en route to that second straight Chase before ultimately finishing fifth in the championship standings.

The victory came at Richmond in the spring after Bowyer took advantage of a Kyle Busch banzai move with three laps to go that wiped out Dale Earnhardt Jr. and nearly triggered a riot in the Commonwealth.

"I told the cops when they were escorting me [after the race], I told them they better get over there and escort Kyle Busch out of here," Bowyer said after the win. "It was just meant to be, I guess."

All said, Bowyer scored seven top-5 and 17 top-10 finishes.

Has a shot at the title if: His new team jells quickly. He says the talent and equipment is there. It's about chemistry.

He won't win the title because: He won't win enough races. At this time, drivers must win races to win championships.

-- Marty Smith