Everyone knows that racing revolves around sponsorship. Without sponsors, this would be a very different business than it is today. In the 2001 NASCAR Season, I think there is one sponsor who is going to be extremely happy at the exposure is receives.

That sponsor is Raybestos Brakes.

You see, Raybestos sponsors the "Rookie of the Year Awards." We all made it through NASCAR's 50th anniversary and the NASCAR 2000 campaign. Well, I hereby declare 2001 the year of the rookie in each of NASCAR's top three divisions. The championship battles will be great to follow, but the competition between the young guns will be better than ever. Take a look at these names hoping to be the rookie of the year:

Winston Cup: Casey Atwood, Kurt Busch, Andy Houston and Jason Leffler.

Busch Series: Greg Biffle, Larry Foyt, Marty Houston, Jamie McMurray, Tim Sauter and Scott Wimmer.

Craftsman Trucks: Matt Crafton, David Donohue, Nathan Haseleu, Chuck Hossfeld, Travis Kvapil and Willy T. Ribbs.

Winston Cup

There will be a lot more new names in Winston Cup this year. Shawna Robinson, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Jimmy Johnson and Randy Tolsma all plan to attempt four to seven races in 2001. In addition to that, Todd Bodine and Mike Wallace are back and Ron Hornaday moves up to the big time. NASCAR's premier division should be very healthy this year, although having just one round of qualifying will make it tougher than ever on the green horns.

The easy pick for ROY is Casey Atwood. Having Ray Evernham as a mentor has to be an advantage, but I believe Andy Houston will win the award. Atwood and Leffler have the new Dodge problems to overcome and Kurt Busch might find his bump-and-run style not to the liking of some of the veterans. Houston is calm under pressure and will learn each week, becoming much better in the second half of the year. His chassis knowledge is similar to that of the 2000 ROY, Matt Kenseth.

	Andy Houston made five Winston Cup starts in 2000.

Picking a champion in Winston Cup is much tougher. With just a little luck -- and more consistent tires -- Tony Stewart should be a contender, if 2000 was any indication of how good this team is.

I think the chances of the No. 18 team having as much fortune as it did last year are slim to none. Bobby Labonte drove exceptionally well and the crew was flawless. Those kinds of years only come once in a long while. I doubt the Interstate crew can repeat as champion.

It also is very unlikely that you will see Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin back at eighth and ninth in the points this season. Look for Jeff Burton to capitalize on the few dumb mistakes he made in 2000 and if the 99 team has any luck at all they will go into Atlanta in November with a real shot at the Cup. Burton, Dale Jarrett, Stewart, Gordon and Martin all make the top five in points. You pick the winner. I'll take Jeff Burton.

Busch

The Busch Series, on the other hand, may be in for a tough season. It is very likely that there will be short fields in 2001. A small hiccup in the economy has seen sponsors running for the hills over the winter.

Gone are names like Castrol, Stanley, SlimJim, Lear, Schnieder, AT&T, Zippo, Lysol, and Bob Evans.

In addition, the change in the engine compression ration from 9½-to-1 up to 12-to-1 has increased the cost of engine programs by as much as $500,000. That is tough to make up on an already tight budget. When Dale Earnhardt Inc. leaves the series, you have to ask yourself why?

While the Raybestos rookie battle here should be great, Greg Biffle has a clear advantage -- Roush equipment. Also, former Roush BGN wheelman Mark Martin will not be stealing all the cash.

Every driver in the Busch Series has one job to do -- beat Jeff Green. It can be done, but now that Green and teammate Jason Keller are in Ford equipment, look out. Ford spent most of its BGN budget on Mark Martin. With the BGN's career winningest driver now gone, attention will be focused on making more Ford teams a threat to win.

I look for Randy Lajoie to return to victory lane more often in Joe Nemecheck- and Ed Evans-owned cars. Harvick will have a great year (Harvick and/or Grubb, that is)! Teams that are associated directly with Winston Cup teams should have a big advantage with the new engine package. Guys like Jeff Purvis and Mike McLaughlin, Harvick and Mike Dillon, Biffle and Scott Wimmer. The Cup teams already know which headers work best, and wind tunnel time is priceless. Championship to Green, ROY to Biffle.

Craftsman Trucks

If you think you're going to need a program to know who is in what car in the top two divisions, check out the Craftsman Truck Series. The top four guys in the 2000 points race are gone. In come a great bunch of new drivers with impressive resumés. Even if you have never heard of any of them, you will soon. During Speedweeks in Daytona last year the best race by far was the Trucks race. You can see this year's event live on ESPN at 11 a.m. ET Feb. 16. As they say on the radio, "BE THERE!"

Everyone says Jack Sprague is the man to beat. After all, he ran into a mountain of bad luck last season. If his luck changes this season, then look out. The team is solid. Sprague has the experience in championship fights and having lost a couple of very close battles, and he knows what it takes to win.

Big Track Jack will be joined with a "rookie" teammate this year -- Ricky Hendrick. Ricky posted four top-10 finishes in his six starts in the series in 2000. His challenge this year is to prove his abilities in first-class Chevy race trucks. This Super Team should be tops on the contenders' list.

Joe Ruttman might be able to make a run for the trophy. Joe ran his first Winston Cup race when he was 18. Now at age 56, he can still bump and grind with the young kids and will give Herschel McGriff a run at the distinction of being the oldest winner in NASCAR history. Mighty Joe also gets a rookie teammate in Willy T. Ribbs. Ribbs has a lot to learn about oval track racing, but he is a fast learner. Both are in Dodge Rams.

One question I want answered -- Can Randy Tolsma become a championship contender? This year the Idaho native teams up with rookie David Donohue at Rensi Racing. Ed and Sam Rensi are great people and the team will have good stuff to work with. The plan to run some Winston Cup races with Tolsma later in the season could prove to be a big distraction. I wonder if Cup plans will change if they are leading the points after 12 races.

The new factory Dodge team is Ultra Motorsports. Ted Musgrave and Scott Riggs will be the wheelmen. This team will win races and may become the ones to beat late in the season.

Big question marks are left for Dennis Setzer, Terry Cook, Rick Carelli, Rick Crawford and Bryan Reffner. For now I will say the Championship should come down to a Sprague-Hendrick-Musgrave-Ruttman battle. Raybestos rookie battle? Hossfeld vs Kvapil.

Predictions very rarely come true; I mean look at Nostradamus, Chicken Little and Y2K. But I am sure that my prediction of Raybestos getting a lot of press in 2001 will come true. The good news is the wait for racing season to begin is almost over. Keep on truckin'.