The Nextel Cup series has one of the deepest rookie classes ever, and the headliner could be the baby of the group, Brian Vickers.

Vickers, 20, is one of Jeff Gordon's teammates at Hendrick Motorsports and is joined by five other first-year series drivers.

"There are a lot of great candidates for the rookie title, a lot of people I've raced with in the past in the Busch Series and Late Models," Vickers said. "We're going to go out there and do our best and get as much experience as possible."

Last season Vickers became the youngest Busch Series champion in NASCAR history. He also ran five Winston Cup races in that car, qualifying fourth or better in four of them.

The recent rookie assault started in 1999 with Tony Stewart, who set a NASCAR record by winning three races his first season. Since then drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman and Jamie McMurray have followed.