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NASCAR: THE TOP 12 CONTENDERS

If you're one of NASCAR's Top 12 drivers by the time the Sylvania 300 kicks off at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in March, you'll have a chance at winning to NASCAR Sprint Cup.

If you're 13th, you can win all the races you want but you'll never have the chance to win it all...

Here are Skysports.com's Top 12 drivers for 2008:

1. Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports)

At Hendrick Motorsports, good drivers and good cars go hand-in-hand. And Johnson was certainly good last year, running away with 10 victories and the NASCAR Nextel Cup (which has now been renamed the "Sprint" Cup, after the new corporate sponsors). Johnson may have been in second place in the pre-Chase points standings, but he got his #48 Lowes Chevrolet into Victory Lane in no less than four out of the last five races.

2. Jeff Gordon (Hendrick Motorsports)

If it wasn't for the Chase, Gordon would have wrapped up the Nextel Cup - and his fifth championship - by early November. Gordon dominated the early proceedings, and finished up winning six races and finishing in the Top Ten 30 times in 38 races. One of NASCAR's most established drivers, it's safe to think that Jeff Gordon will be there or thereabouts come the end of the year.

3. Tony Stewart (Joe Gibbs Racing)

Although Tony Stewart won three races and finished sixth overall in 2007, the season must have been one of frustration for the 2005 Nextel Cup Champion. Although he was nearly always at the front, he couldn't get past the Hendrick cars. If the new Toyota Engine in his Home Depot #25 car is a good 'un - and if Stewart doesn't do anything reckless - then all that will change in 2008...

4. Carl Edwards (Roush Racing)

Edwards returned from a disappointing 2006 to pick up three wins in 2007 and ninth place overall. If he can improve on his up-and-down performance in the Chase races, then Edwards will definitely compete for the Sprint Cup this year.

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr (Hendrick Motorsports)

NASCAR's most popular driver started his career at Hendrick Motorsports with a bang when he won the Bud Shootout at Daytona last Saturday night - his first win of any sort since 2006. Despite leading or being in the top five during the early stages of many of last season's races, 'Junior', as he's affectionately known, just couldn't get his car into Victory Lane as exploded engines and mid-race prangs blotted his copybook. Now a team-mate of Johnson and Gordon at Hendrick, the future may well be rosy for the #88 car.

6. Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing)

He decided to leave Hendrick Motorsports last season after Hendrick brought in 'Junior'. He said he hated the 'Car of Tomorrow' at Bristol - the Car of Tomorrow's first race - while in Victory Lane. Week in, week out, the man's proven to be not only a good soundbyte, but one heck of a racer too. Now partnering Tony Stewart at Joe Gibbs Racing, Busch should be a massive competitor come Championship time....if the Toyota engine doesn't cause any problems.

7. Martin Truex Jr (Dale Earnhardt Inc)

Last year's surprise package with the DEI team, Truex eclipsed 'Junior' when he beat off the competition to win at Dover last year. The win helped him qualify for the Chase for the Championship. However, his last few races in the playoff weren't anything to talk about, and he ended up 11th - one from bottom - in the Chase standings. However, it's still early days in Truex's NASCAR career so one can expect big things from him this year.

8. Matt Kenseth (Roush Racing)

The 'Mr Steady' of the NASCAR Circuit, Kenseth recovered from $50,000 fines and the suspension of his crew chief Robbie Reiser to win two races and finish in the top five an astonishing 13 times, walking home with over $6 million in prize money. Expect the same for this year and for years to come.

9. Clint Bowyer (Richard Childress Racing)

Clint Bowyer was exceptional last year, moving from 17th overall in 2006 to a brilliant third in the 2007. And after he qualified for the Chase, Bowyer finished in the Top 12 for the first seven races in the 'race section that mattered' - including a win at New Hampshire.

10. Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing)

Quite possibly one of the best young drivers on the NASCAR circuit, Hamlin has made The Chase in his first two seasons on NASCAR's senior circuit. Although a dreadful Chase outing meant that he finished 12th in the standings, Bowyer came away with a win, 12 top-five finishes and over $4 million in prize money. He - and team-mate Tony Stewart - will be hoping for better in 2007.

11. Kevin Harvick (Richard Childress Racing)

Harvick won the best race of 2007 by taking victory in the biggest of all, the Daytona 500, by the width of the bumper. Adding to an eventful year for Harvick was a Chase finish and a fight with ex-Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya. The TV guys loved it....although NASCAR didn't.

12. Juan Pablo Montoya (Chip Ganassi Racing)

Montoya may have come 20th in his rookie year this year, but he beat off every other driver in terms of sheer on-track excitement. As he battled it out each race, Montoya managed to infuriate NASCAR's elite, annoying 'big guns' Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick in the process, culminating in a fight with Harvick at Watkins Glen. And the fans absolutely loved it, too. But despite the disagreements with his more experienced driver colleagues, Montoya still came away with one victory - as well as another in the Busch Series - and six top five finishes, as well as over $4 million in booty.