Welcome to the 2007 NASCAR Draft
By David Smith (04/26/2007)


Yes, I sort of have to credit Mel Kiper for blazing the path for talent scouts and draft experts everywhere. After all, the NFL Draft Expert has a cushy job at ESPN, a booming publication business, and shiny hair that is unparalleled.

Since I started scouting and evaluating race car drivers in 2001, I've quickly realized that Kiper's job is unenviable: keeping track of 1,000+ players every year and putting together a Big Board that is, time and again, eerily accurate on how teams pick. Over the course of those last 5 1/2 years, I've started the website, built relationships with teams, drivers, and race promoters, kept track of nearly 1,000 prospects in the racing world, and have become perpetually sleep deprived. In some ways, it's the best job in the world. On the other hand, well, the fun sometimes gets lost.

So today I decided to do something fun. In honor of this weekend's NFL Draft, I'm doing my best to channel Kiper in the fictional NASCAR Mock Draft.

The rules are simple: drivers that are not signed to a NASCAR contract (this constitutes development drivers) are the only ones eligible. NASCAR teams will pick in reverse order from their highest entrant in the Owner Standings following last weekend's race at Phoenix.

So without further ado, Team Red Bull is on the clock...

 

1		Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Sprint Car/Midget - Olive Branch, MS
TEAM RED BULL is one of two expansion teams in 2007. While performance issues have been the main struggle, the team is need of a franchise player whom they can build a team around, earn fan support, and fit their eccentric "Red Bull" image. Look no further than Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The Mississippi native has come out of the gate strong in 2007 and has already emerged as NASCAR's most exciting prospect. In the USAC community, where pure driving talent is revered, the 19 year-old is a cowboy hat and belt buckle away from being a cult figure.
2		James Civali Regional Touring - Meriden, CT
BILL DAVIS RACING is in a serious need of a youthful blood infusion. While any top young prospect would be a step in the right direction for BDR, Modified superstar James Civali may just be the bull-in-China shop needed to pump some life into this organization. Fresh off of his Icebreaker win, Civali looks to be the gem in the Modified class of '07 and his pairing with childhood friend and current BDR development driver Bobby Santos could make for a very formidable 1-2 punch in the future. Plus, team GM Tommy Baldwin comes from a Modified background himself and would love nothing more than to see a former Mod winner rule the ranks of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
3		Ryan Lawler Regional Touring - Colleyville, TX
MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING needs help...bad. But what they need the most is a driver who hasn't reached his prime but is physically able to change the shape of the race from the driver's seat. Texan Ryan Lawler might just be that guy as his recent domination of Hickory and his front-running capabilities in PASS Late Models have demonstrated. The team already has 2-time USAC champ Josh Wise in its stable and with the addition of Lawler and some engineering help, the pride of Toyota (can't believe I just typed that) could turn its cellar-dwelling ways around for the better.
4		B.J. McLeod Regional Touring - Wauchula, FL
WOOD BROTHERS/JTG RACING is a throwback team and deserves a throwback driver. As far as working on his car and wheeling the hell out of it, B.J. McLeod is as throwback as they come. The Blue Collar-style racer would immediately fit in with the family-oriented Wood brigade, be the type of driver who could interact in a hands-on manner, and be the kind of driver-coach that development head Michael McSwain looks for in a racer.
5		Drew Herring Local Track - Benson, NC
ROBERT YATES RACING has to find something to take its organization off of life support. Stephen Leicht is decent but a tad too complacent to get the team to believe in him as a leader. That's why Doug Yates goes flashy here and picks '06 South Boston stud Drew Herring. He's racing at Southern National now, and despite not racing in a touring series, he still has a lot of fans within the NASCAR garage. Herring has often been compared to a Kasey Kahne-type driver and it was just five years ago that Yates let Kahne slip away. Here's the next best thing.
6		Matt Hawkins National Touring - Canton, GA
HAAS CNC RACING would be delighted if Matt Hawkins fell to them at the 6th pick. Haas has been on a roll lately, especially in the Car of Tomorrow races and the team loves intelligent drivers who are able to communicate (i.e. Jeff Green and Johnny Sauter). Hawkins, aligned with the right crew chief, could be dangerous in the NASCAR ranks some day and Haas, a growing team, would be happy to capitalize.
7		Woody Howard National Touring - Chesapeake, VA
PETTY ENTERPRISES is planning to start its development program soon. The easy way to do that is to go with what you know. Well, the Pettys know drivers in the South and Woody Howard is one the best among them. Another Blue Collar racer, the former Joe Gibbs Racing development driver has been near perfect in the USAR Pro Cup Series in 2007 and hopes to wrangle a title by season's end.
8		Lewis Hamilton F1 - Hertfordshire, England
EVERNHAM MOTORSPORTS would be the one team to pull the draft-day shocker, and here it is. Owner Ray Evernham is an F1 nut, so why not pick the hottest young driver in the F1 Series? England's Lewis Hamilton races for Mercedes-McLaren, owned by the DaimlerChrylser family. With Juan Pablo Montoya having already made the dive into NASCAR waters, it's only natural that someone else will follow. In Evernham's case, they hope it's Hamilton.
9		Hunter Schuerenberg Sprint Car/Midget - Sikeston, MO
CHIP GANASSI RACING Driver Development Director Lorin Ranier prides himself on finding diamonds-in-the-rough. While it would take a lot of mining to discover teenaged sprint car racer Hunter Schuerenberg, the Missouri native has a chance to be a diamond. He has yet to conquer the USAC level but has boatloads of potential and tremendous upside, similar to current Ganassi development drivers Bryan Clauson and Brady Bacon.
10		J.R. Norris Regional Touring - Hueytown, AL
DALE EARNHARDT INC. is upside down with the negotiations with lead driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Now, assuming that Dale Jr. gets majority control of the company, the team could likely go for the same Gunslinger-like racer (similar to Earnhardt, Martin Truex Jr., and Paul Menard) that they're used to. They could go one of two ways here: Southern late model racer J.R. Norris or USAC's resident "Modern Day Cowboy" Daron Clayton. The logical choice would be Norris, who would get along amicably with the likes of Earnhardt and Truex. Clayton would earn fans in the DEI nation, but it's not the DEI way to sign racers from the open-wheel genre.
11		Colin Braun National Touring - Ovalo, TX
PENSKE RACING, without a doubt, would be the team to take on Grand-Am young gun Colin Braun. The 18 year-old sports car racer wants to be in NASCAR but is unproven behind the wheel of a stock car. Penske gambled on Ryan Newman (which worked); however, out of the last three established stock car racers that Penske brought in (Brendan Gaughan, Travis Kvapil, and Kurt Busch), Busch is the only one that has panned out to be a good fit. So why not attempt an unproven racer? Plus, Braun's clean-cut, professional at-track image is the personification of the term "Penske Perfect."
12		Levi Jones Sprint Car/Midget - Olney, IL
JOE GIBBS RACING is pretty much loaded with development racers and chances are, they'll promote the best two of the bunch, Joey Logano and Marc Davis up the ladder. With this pick, J.D. Gibbs and crew will go with Levi Jones, one of Tony Stewart's USAC drivers. Jones has already earned wins at East Bay (FL) and Lawrenceburg (IN) behind the wheel of a sprint car in 2007 and would immediately earn the continued tutelage of the one they call "Smoke."
13		Jeff Choquette Regional Touring - Palm Beach, FL
GINN RACING has established that they're suckers for homegrown Florida boys. It just so happens that the best available on the board is Florida late model racer Jeff Choquette. The Ginn roster of Nextel Cup drivers (part-time driver Regan Smith not included) are all over 40 and the team is in desperate need of a young, hard-nosed racer. Essentially, Choquette is a no-brainer.
14		Matt Hirschman Regional Touring - Northampton, PA
ROUSH FENWAY RACING is in dire need of a development program re-vamp. Here's where it begins. Matt Hirschman is a super intelligent Mod racer with a championship pedigree (his dad is Mod legend Tony Hirschman). With Roush's recent Busch Series duds, a proven winner in the Modified Series will be the remedy that the team needs. And Hirschman is used to the Roush atmosphere; his brother, Tony Jr. is a spotter for Roush driver David Ragan.
15		Alex Yontz Regional Touring - Walnut Cove, NC
RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING owner Richard Childress has an affinity for dirt late model drivers (which needs to stop already). The team has enough affiliations with minor league teams to put together a dominant development program but currently has a thinly-talented driver roster. UARA driver and 2006 Martinsville winner Alex Yontz would be a great fit and could improve ten-fold under the mentorship of veteran and future ambassador of the sport, Jeff Burton.
16		James Buescher National Touring - Plano, TX
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS has zero needs. None. Zilch. Casey Mears is the weak link of the Cup program and at this point, he's keeping the seat warm for development driver Landon Cassill. So, General Manager Marshall Carlson would go best available here and pick USAR Pro Cup rookie James Buescher. Buescher, the '06 ASA South champ, won in his ARCA debut at Lakeland (FL) and has loads of room for improvement.