2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series - Rookies

Rookies

For the second consecutive year, the fight for ROTY was expected to be fierce, as competitors from all areas or racing expertise battled in NASCAR's top level. The most profiled rookie was ex-Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya, driving Chip Ganassi Racing's #42 Dodge vacated by Casey Mears. Montoya would permanently leave F1 after a fallout with his boss, Ron Dennis. Montoya was widely criticized for his over aggressive driving style in his open wheel days. Although this came to be true in the early part of the season, Montoya, with help from his owner, teammates, and crew chiefs, managed to tame his aggressive nature and translate it into his first ever win at Infineon Raceway, becoming the first foreign driver to win a race since Earl Ross of Canada. The win would propel Montoya to be the first ever foreign born driver to win ROTY. Runner-up David Ragan had big shoes to fill, as he would be taking over the legendary #6 ride for veteran Mark Martin. Despite his limited experience in NASCAR, having only ran part-time in the ARCA RE/MAX Series and the Craftsman Truck Series, Ragan would make a splash with a fifth place finish in the Daytona 500. After that, he would have an up and down year, gaining experience along the way. As Montoya and Ragan were the only two drivers with guaranteed starting spots, the rest of the rookies were trying to make races with new teams. Busch Series driver Paul Menard contunied his relationship with DEI, but struggled to make races until the DEI-Ginn merger (see "Merger Mania" section). Another open wheel immigrant, ex-Champ Car driver A.J. Allmendinger struggled to adjust to stock cars, and his development as a driver was further hampered with his allegiance with Toyota, a new manufacturer. Former Truck Series driver David Reutimann also struggled with a new team and manufacturer, and like Allmendinger and Menard, was out of the critical top 35 in owners points. Brandon Whitt attempted at least a partial schedule with CJM Racing, but after missing race after race, the team decided to release Whitt and move down to the Busch Series.