The talent pool in NASCAR Nextel Cup continues to swell as the list of non-winners is quite impressive.

Throughout my years of following NASCAR, it seems that every five years or so, a new group of stars emerge.

In the early 1980's, Dale Earnhardt, Terry Labonte, Bill Elliott, and Harry Gant began to make some noise. Towards the late 1980's, Rusty Wallace, Davey Allison, Mark Martin, and Alan Kulwicki materialized as NASCAR stars. In the mid 1990's, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Burton, and Bobby Labonte began to peak. And after the turn of the century, we have witnessed the emergence of a much larger list which includes Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, and Kurt Busch.

So it's about time for a fresh crop of drivers to rise to the occasion. Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, and Kasey Kahne lead the next generation of newcomers, but there are several other drivers on the verge of breaking into the winner's circle for the first time.

1. 11-Denny Hamlin- Denny Hamlin won the Budweiser Shootout back in February, and he is right on the threshold of winning his first points paying Nextel Cup event. Hamlin has displayed the ability to contend for wins at various types of racetracks. His finishes of fourth at Texas, and second at Richmond are living testimony that Hamlin is the most probable next first-time winner in Nextel Cup competition.

2. 10-Scott Riggs- Like Denny Hamlin, victory has barely escaped Scott Riggs. If it wasn't for a pit road miscue at Charlotte Sunday night, Scott Riggs could be the Evernham Motorsports driver celebrating instead of his teammate Kasey Kahne. It appears that Riggs and the #10 team have clicked, and that the move from MBV Motorsports to Evernham Motorsports was a brilliant decision. After failing to qualify for the Daytona 500, many skeptics had already written off Scott Riggs, but now, it wouldn't be inconceivable to believe that he may win a couple races in 2006. Riggs' only downfall is that he really struggles on NASCAR's toughest tracks such as Darlington and Bristol.

3. 42-Casey Mears- Before the 2006 season began, Casey Mears would have topped this list, bearing in mind how he nearly won at Texas and Homestead, which were two of the final three races of 2005. But Casey Mears hasn't been as competitive as he may have anticipated ever since the third race of the year at Las Vegas. Still, Mears has shown the capability to occasionally run with the frontrunners as he did much of the Coca Cola 600. Mears will likely win at a track such as Lowe's, Texas, or Atlanta. He tends to struggle at NASCAR's smaller venues.

4. 07-Clint Bowyer- Clint Bowyer took off early in the season after his sixth place finish in the Daytona 500, but his performance has been only decent since then, with exception to his near win at Phoenix last month. Bowyer is only a rookie, and prior to this season, he competed in only one Nextel Cup event, so he will only get better with experience. Unlike Casey Mears, Clint Bowyer has a propensity to run better at the shorter flat tracks such as Phoenix and Richmond.

5. 25-Brian Vickers- It's astounding that Brian Vickers has yet to visit victory lane driving for Hendrick Motorsports. It's not that he hasn't come close; he nearly won the Aaron's 499 at Talladega last month. But, for some reason, Vickers and the #25 team have not been able to operate at the same level as the three other Hendrick Motorsports teams. While Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Kyle Busch all currently have a seat in the top ten in the Nextel Cup standings, Brian Vickers is mired back in 27th spot, with five finishes of 37th or worse. He's approaching make or break time, and if he doesn't put that #25 Chevrolet into the winner's circle before long, he will become the center of silly season talk.

The rest of the top ten non-winners include

6. 18-J.J. Yeley

7. 1-Martin Truex Jr

8. 41-Reed Sorenson

9. 66-Jeff Green

10. 40-David Stremme & 22-Dave Blaney

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