Like any good story, '07 season a prologue to '08

Kyle Busch's win at Bristol in March demonstrated that the Car of Tomorrow would add to, not cut, the cost of winning. AP

Jimmie Johnson is ready to celebrate his 2007 championship at this weekend's Nextel Cup Awards banquet. He's excited about reviewing and savoring the past season. Most other NASCAR driver and their fans are ready to put the year in the rearview mirror -- and not look back.

In that spirit, here's a look ahead by glancing back. We're going back to the future, picking out six key events from '07 and predicting what each means for the future.

Event: Martin Truex Jr. wins at Dover in June.

The Future: Dale Earnhardt Inc. will survive, despite the departure of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Truex underachieved during his '06 rookie season. Of course, he's not the first Busch champion to struggle at the next level. His performance in '07 was strong, despite the ongoing soap opera surrounding his teammate and mentor, Dale Jr. Not only did he stomp the field at Dover by winning by more than seven seconds, he also qualified for the Chase for the Championship. His steady improvement has the DEI folks feeling good, while DEI's commitment to improving by acquiring the assets of Ginn Racing has Truex feeling good. Don't be surprised if Truex wins a Cup championship before Dale Jr.

Event: Kyle Busch and Hendrick Motorsports win the first race using the Car of Tomorrow.

The Future: Same as in the past, the team that spends the most money will usually win the most.

Despite NASCAR's desire to cut back on costs, dollars spent as a primary factor in winning is perhaps the biggest constant in the history of auto racing. The CoT was designed to cut costs, supposedly. Poor Roush Racing took NASCAR at its word and didn't test the CoT much. Hendrick spent oodles on testing the CoT, won the first five CoT races, and captured nine of 16 CoT races in '07. In case you missed it, the team's two best drivers -- Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon -- finished first and second in the points. How have teams reacted? By lining up extra investors, merging with other teams and asking sponsors for more money.

Event: After five races, Mark Martin leads the point standings.

The Future: Veteran drivers will get the opportunity to run part-time schedules for at least a few more seasons.

Martin simply had more success on a limited basis than anybody in recent NASCAR history. He nearly won the Daytona 500, ending up just inches behind Kevin Harvick, and posted top-10 finishes in his first five races. But Martin stayed true to his word, and ran a part-time schedule. Former Cup champions Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte had tried to run partial schedules in the past, but their competitiveness quickly dropped off. Not so with Martin, who wound up 27th in the final standings despite sitting out 12 races. Veterans such as Elliott, Dale Jarrett and Sterling Marlin who want to drop back to a limited schedule should be sending Martin notes of thanks.

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