Daytona 500 2012: Kyle Busch and Other Drivers with the Most to Prove

One single race can never really prove anything in an absolute sense, though the weight carried by the Daytona 500 is a bit heavier and long-lasting than an average Sprint Cup win.

Every driver enters every season with something to prove. The proof usually ends up based on a season's entire results—wins, losses and everything in between.

Some drivers have more to prove than others if they are to remain employed with the same team that they race for right now.

One way to make a solid argument is to win the Daytona 500. Of course, not everyone can do that, but a strong showing at the Super Bowl of NASCAR is never a bad thing.

Here are a few drivers to watch who certainly have a thing or two to prove at Daytona and during the entire 2012 season.

Carl Edwards

What he Needs to Prove: That he can win a championship.

Few would call his second-place finish in points last year a choke, despite the fact that he led the Chase up until the last race.

Winning a championship is the next logical step in Carl Edwards' career. He just signed a multi-year extension with Roush Fenway Racing in 2011, and he is hardly concerned about his job status.

The 2012 Daytona 500 could be an important step in that process. Remember, if Edwards had been able to slip by Trevor Bayne at the 2011 Daytona 500 and finish first, he would be the reigning champion to begin the 2012 season.

Kyle Busch

What he Needs to Prove: That he can win a championship and keep his sponsors at the same time.

The Bud Shootout proved, to anyone who somehow forgot, what a great driver that Kyle Busch is. NASCAR may already have its highlight for the best on-track save of the season after only 75 laps.

Busch does not need to prove that he is a great driver. Rather, he needs to prove that he can remain a calm, rational human being and deliver solid results come Chase time. He actually did lose his primary sponsor for the last two races of 2011 due to his bellicosity.

Currently, he has no championships or Chase victories. He also has no Daytona 500 wins. Kyle Busch can prove absolutely nothing in the course of one race, but he already has set the course in the right direction at Daytona in 2012 by remaining calm after getting wrecked in the Bud Shootout.

Look what happened...he won that race.

Kurt Busch

What he Needs to Prove: That a top-tier Sprint Cup team is in need of his services.

Without trying to bad-mouth Phoenix Racing and the second-tier teams that participate in the Sprint Cup, Kurt Busch certainly took a step down in 2012. He went to the aforementioned team after parting ways with one of the sport's premier organizations, Penske Racing.

Like his brother Kyle, Busch will need to do a season's worth of work to prove that a top-tier team cannot do without him. Winning at Daytona in a second-tier car with second-tier equipment may turn some heads, though.

Joey Logano

What he Needs to Prove: He belongs in the Sprint Cup.

To put it bluntly, this will be the last year that Joey Logano is a member of Joe Gibbs Racing if he does not show some kind of improvement. Though he is very young, he has actually regressed since joining the team.

He is currently driving in the last year of his contract. A strong day at the Daytona 500 could help a great deal when it comes time to sign a new contract. He can use a fairly solid showing at the Budweiser Shootout as a building block.

A.J. Allmendinger

What he Needs to Prove: That he deserves to be in a top-tier ride

A.J. Allmendinger was the beneficiary of Kurt Busch's departure from the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger. With no career Sprint Cup wins and no participation in the Chase, 2012 stands to be a pivotal year for 'Dinger.

His first race in that car did not go too badly, as he started ninth and finished 12th at the Budweiser Shootout. 12th place or better would actually be a solid finish for Allmendinger in his first race for Penske Racing.

Still, he needs all of 2012 to prove his worth beyond a shadow of a doubt.

David Reutimann and David Ragan

What they Need to Prove: They should not have been released by their teams at the end of 2011.

This one is pretty simple. Both drivers were unemployed after the final race at Homestead-Miami last year. Both were able to secure new rides, albeit with different, lesser-known outfits.

What better way could there possibly be to prove that a racing employer was wrong for letting you go than winning the Daytona 500? Well, admittedly, they could win a championship, but a Daytona 500 win is a much more realistic way to accomplish this.

Jeff Burton

What he Needs to Prove: That he can still be competitive.

After the 2011 season, Jeff Burton really needs to take a mulligan. 2012 will prove whether or not there even should be a 2013.

If 2012 produces more of the same that Burton produced in 2011, he may perhaps be in the same position as Ragan and Reutimann. It may not be as abrupt, but the bottom line is that Burton needs to bounce back this year.

Denny Hamlin

What he Needs to Prove: That 2010 was not a major fluke.

Denny Hamlin fell prey to the recent trend that has plagued drivers that finish second overall in points: They follow that season with disappointing results.

After having a chance to clinch the title in 2010, 2011 was problematic and, while not awful by any means, was certainly not what he expected.

That said, he needs to have a solid 2012 to prove that 2010 was not his "one-hit wonder" season. Getting off to a solid, fresh start at the Daytona 500 would be a great way to prove that he is back and that the problems with his Toyota engines from 2011 have been eradicated.

2011 First Time Winners

What they Need to Prove: They can win again.

Although David Ragan did win his first race last year, he was already mentioned in a previous slide. This one concerns Paul Menard, Trevor Bayne, Regan Smith and Marcos Ambrose.

Perhaps it was a mere coincidence, but three of these wins were at major races: Menard won the Brickyard 400, Smith the Southern 500 and Bayne the Daytona 500.

They don't need to prove that they can win a big race, as they already have. However, they do need to prove that they can do it again and did not just get lucky one Sunday afternoon during their careers. There is no better race to do that than the Daytona 500.

To be fair, Trevor Bayne, as a part-time Sprint Cup driver, does not have this need quite like the other drivers do, but it would not be bad thing for Bayne to notch another victory in his belt.

Although Marcos Ambrose's victory at Watkins Glen last year would not be considered a major victory, he still needs to prove that he can win on the oval-shaped tracks that dominate the NASCAR schedule. He certainly made a step in the right direction by placing third at the Budweiser Shootout.