Some dark clouds on NASCAR’s horizon

At the beginning of each season, hope springs eternal. This is the year that your favorite driver will win the championship, the season that your favorite make of car will turn the tide. But behind every silver lining, there's a dark cloud. And NASCAR has several dark clouds on the horizon for the 2007 season. Here's seven situations just waiting for a tire to blow.

1. Toyota (the manufacturer): The debut of a new manufacturer in Nextel Cup is bound to cause controversy and plenty of rain — no matter how things go. Most established Cup teams are concerned, believing that well-funded Toyota is going to be a creature of the night that just sucks the life out of stock-car racing. Toyota will be hated if their teams succeed, but will be a failure if the team struggles. Even if the cars are just middle-of-the-pack, the Toyota approach will drive up the cost of doing business, further angering rival teams In other words, there's not a happy ending in sight. More at SI.com