First-time winners
It happens most years, and it's bound to happen in 2007, and that's a driver winning his first-ever Cup race. There were two last year (Denny Hamlin and Brian Vickers) and three in 2005 (Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards).
Dustin Long mulls the subject here. Here's his short list of possibles first-time winners: Dave Blaney, Clint Bowyer, David Gilliland, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears, Tony Raines, Scott Riggs, Reed Sorenson, David Stremme, Martin Truex Jr. and J.J. Yeley.
Montoya's not on the list because he's a known commodity and Dustin got to thinking about all of this after Zach Johnson won the Masters. McMurray's on the list because the statute of limitations on his first win way back in 2002 has expired. (Seriously, no. Dustin also included some one-time winners in his glance.)
My gut tells me Montoya, but that's too easy. Dustin's going with McMurray, who has had three top-10 finishes in the past four starts and is third of the five RoushSox cars. (He's 12, which means he'd be Chasin' if it started Sunday.)
I'm going with Truex. He started OK, but cut at tire at Bristol, then burned up the brakes at Martinsville. He's due. I don't think his two Busch titles were a fluke.
Second choice: Bowyer. The Childress team has got it going on, and he's due, too.
Anyone want to go out on a limb and say Mears? Stremme? Sorenson? Mike Bliss?
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