What’s on the agenda for the new year in NASCAR? That’s Racin’ motorsports writer David Poole provides a “to-do” list for some of the sport’s major players:

NASCAR

¢ Work to refine the “car of tomorrow” package whenever possible to make the changeover as economically efficient as possible for teams, but at the same time resist the urge for knee-jerk reactions to every bump in the road the teams squawk about.

¢ Allow Toyota’s new Nextel Cup teams every effort to compete fairly and equitably with Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge. That’s all that anybody on any side of that equation can reasonably ask for.

¢ Do whatever it plans to do about the Chase for the Nextel Cup format before the season starts and then make it clear that those rules won’t be changing again for at least five years.

¢ Decide what the Busch Series needs to be five years from now and start working toward that with ESPN and whichever company is lured to replace Anheuser-Busch as the title sponsor.

¢ Stop merely playing shell games with dollars coming from sponsors and start providing NASCAR’s own funding to efforts to broaden the sport’s diversity. Good intention can only be accepted for so long. Eventually, diversity efforts need to result in people of color being on the track.

Hendrick Motorsports

¢ Buck a trend and keep

Jimmie Johnson’s team at a championship level in 2007. Since Jeff Gordon won back-to-back titles in 1997 and 1998, no champion has finished better than fourth in the final standings the year after winning the title.

¢ Continue the upward trend enjoyed by Jeff Gordon in 2006, moving the No. 24 toward contention for a fifth championship.

¢ Keep Kyle Busch’s team performing at a Chase-worthy level while bringing the No. 25 team and new driver Casey Mears toward that level as well.

Roush Racing

¢ Do absolutely nothing to disrupt the efforts of Matt Kenseth and crew chief Robbie Reiser to make a fourth straight Chase.

¢ Wipe 2006 from the memory banks for Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, giving them a fresh slate for 2007.

¢ Hope for some early success for Jamie McMurray in the No. 26 and David Ragan in the No. 6 or get ready for the rumor mill to fire up.

Joe Gibbs Racing

¢ Don’t worry about Tony Stewart and the No. 20. Not making the Chase in 2006 was a blip.

¢ Worry, at least a little, about what happened to Edwards in his second full season and see to it that Denny Hamlin doesn’t fall into whatever traps that might be there.

Richard Childress Racing

¢ Avoid satisfaction over the improvements shown in 2006 as much as is possible. Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton were nice stories a year ago, but if both teams keep working as hard as they have to get better they could legitimately contend for a title.

¢ Hope Clint Bowyer can add consistency to the flashes of potential he showed in 2006. If that happens, he could be one of the year’s breakout stories.

Dale Earnhardt Inc.

¢ Sign Dale Earnhardt Jr. to a new contract as soon as possible. Until that happens, nothing else this team does will be relevant.

Evernham Motorsports

¢ Build on Kasey Kahne’s success in 2006, when he led Nextel Cup with six victories, and move his team truly into the sport’s elite class.

¢ Work to make this the year that Elliott Sadler and Scott Riggs match their performance to the potential each has always seemed to have.

Penske Racing

¢ Stop worrying so much about Kurt Busch’s image. Put winning race cars under him and everything else will fall into place.

¢ Hope that whatever happened to the No. 12 team is repaired by giving Ryan Newman a fresh start with a new crew chief.

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates

¢ Concentrate on making Juan Montoya a story because of what he does in NASCAR, not because of what he did before coming to NASCAR.

¢ Remember that Reed Sorenson and David Stremme each deserves a full measure of effort behind his car, too.

Michael Waltrip Racing, Bill Davis Racing, Team Red Bull

¢ Strive to be the first Toyota team to win a pole, earn a top-five finish and get the first victory for the manufacturer. Cooperation will help Toyota’s teams do better faster, but there also should be competition among them, too.

Petty Enterprises

¢ Take another step forward to match the ground gained with Bobby Labonte and the No. 43 in 2006. A return to Victory Lane isn’t out of the question.

Robert Yates Racing

¢ Exceed expectations. The 2006 season was such a struggle that any success for David Gilliland and Ricky Rudd in 2007 will seem like a pleasant surprise.

Ginn Racing

¢ Mold Mark Martin, Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek into a team that shares their strengths. That figures to be harder than it might appear.

Single-car teams

¢ Survive. With 46 to 48 full-time teams, depending on who’s counting, fighting for spots in 43-car fields in a sport dominated by the multicar operations, it’s all about staying alive for Robby Gordon, the Wood Brothers, BAM Racing and several others.