What Top NASCAR Drivers Who Missed the 2014 Chase Must Do Differently in 2015
While this week begins the focus on the 16 drivers who will compete in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, this is also a week for those that failed to make the playoffs.
So many drivers came up short of the Chase, including several surprise failures such as Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart.
And while several of them could act as spoilers in the upcoming playoffs, if they're smart, they'll use the final 10 races of this season to get a jump on trying to get their derailed teams back on track for 2015.
Here's how those who missed this year's Chase look heading into 2015.
Clint Bowyer
1 of 11
To come as close as Bowyer did to making the Chase is disappointing, but not totally surprising.
For whatever reason, Bowyer simply didn't have, well, a typical Bowyer year. Just four top-10 finishes in the first 26 races? That's poor.
Even worse, he hasn't won a Sprint Cup race since 2012. Is there still carryover from last year's Chase scandal?
What Bowyer has to do in 2015 is pretty simple: Rededicate himself to winning, something that he just didn't seem to have in 2014.
Tony Stewart
2 of 11
After the most forgettable season of his career in 2013, Tony Stewart came back with hopes of getting back on track in 2014.
Unfortunately, he never got back on track. He still hasn't won a race this season, and then suffered through the devastating Kevin Ward Jr. situation, something that will be with Stewart for the rest of his life.
Stewart only had an outside chance of making the Chase.
Much like Clint Bowyer, this just wasn't a Tony Stewart kind of year.
What happens to Stewart in 2015? A good part of that question may likely be answered in what he does in the 10 remaining races of 2014.
Sure, he's not in the Chase, but if he can play the role of spoiler like he did in 2006, when he missed the Chase but went on to win three races in the 10-race playoff, it would bode well for a big Stewart comeback in 2015.
Martin Truex Jr.
3 of 11
Even if you're not a fan of his, you have to feel empathy for Martin Truex Jr.
After being disqualified from last year's Chase due to actions of others within Michael Waltrip Racing to rig the finish to make sure he made the playoffs, it's been downhill for Truex ever since.
Not only did he miss the Chase last season, he also lost his ride when primary sponsor NAPA pulled its support shortly thereafter.
Truex moved on to Furniture Row Racing, which made the Chase for the first time in 2013 with Kurt Busch. Everything was in place for Truex to pick up where Busch left off after leaving for Stewart-Haas Racing, but what resulted has been arguably the worst season he has had since his rookie campaign in 2006.
What does he have to do to turn things around in 2015? That's a tough question to answer. Truex definitely needs a teammate, but we don't see that happening anytime soon with FRR, which has been a one-car team since its inception.
Frankly, we don't see much improvement for Truex in 2015. If anything, he needs to find a different team, particularly a multi-car team, a situation that he's almost always flourished in during career, first at Dale Earnhardt Inc., and then MWR (2013 not included).
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Kyle Larson
4 of 11
Kyle Larson came so close to making the Chase this season.
Sure, he still has a chance of winning Rookie of the Year honors, but if he had managed to earn just one win in the first 26 races, something he came close to doing so a few times, he would have made this year's Chase.
Even though he's an immense talent, Larson made some typical rookie mistakes which hurt him and his Chase chances. There were times he was too aggressive or didn't have patience and it cost him.
Still, we think falling short this season may actually serve as inspiration for Larson not just in 2015, but also in the final 10 races of 2014.
With nothing to lose and no need to worry about points, he can let it all hang loose and go for nothing but wins.
If he can drive a bit smarter in crucial times and not repeat some of the mistakes he made during the 26-race regular season, he still has a chance at earning his first career Cup win in the Chase—even though he's not in the Chase.
Paul Menard
5 of 11
We had high expectations for Paul Menard this season.
With new teammates Ryan Newman and Austin Dillon on board, replacing Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick, we thought this could be Menard's breakout season.
He looked strong in the first seven races in 2014, reaching as high as 10th in the standings.
But then came several issues, starting with a 41st-place finish at Darlington that saw Menard plummet from 10th to 18th in the standings in just one race.
His struggles continued as the Chase drew closer, ultimately falling short of making the playoffs. The part of the season that really did him in was between the 17th race (Kentucky) and the 22nd race (Watkins Glen), when he finished 15th, 16th, 19th, 34th, 33rd and 32nd respectively.
But there's some irony there: At this point, with 10 races still to go, Menard is on pace to enjoy his best season ever in Sprint Cup.
He already has four top-five finishes, which ties his career best in 2011, and he has 11 top-10 finishes, which is a career best.
What does Menard need to do to turn things around in 2015? Honestly, keep driving the way he's driven in 2014 and hope that some of his bad luck turns good in 2015.
Danica Patrick
6 of 11
If you were to look strictly at the standings, Danica Patrick has made little progress in her first two years as a Sprint Cup driver.
Patrick finished last season 27th in the standings; she's currently 28th this season with 10 races remaining.
But what the standings don't show is the progress Patrick has indeed made.
Throughout all of the 2013 season, she managed just one top-10 finish. But thus far in 2014, she already has three top-10s, including a career best of sixth place two weeks ago at Atlanta.
With places like New Hampshire, Martinsville and Phoenix coming up, not to mention the wild card at Talladega, we think Patrick still has at least a couple more top-10 finishes in her this season—if not a possible top-five showing.
As she begins her junior year in the Sprint Cup Series in 2015, Patrick can proudly say she survived the sport's notorious sophomore jinx (just ask boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr. about that this season as well) and is looking for bigger and better things in 2015.
Marcos Ambrose
7 of 11
What began as a season of high hopes dissolved into yet another season—his sixth in a row—in which Marcos Ambrose failed to make the Chase.
And with Ambrose still unsigned by Richard Petty Motorsports for next season, the future looks rather cloudy for the No. 9 team.
Will Ambrose return for another three years with RPM, or will he go back to his native Australia and potentially race in his old stomping grounds, the V8 Supercar Series?
If Ambrose decides to leave RPM once his contract expires at year's end, he could be leaving the organization in a big bind when it comes to finding a replacement driver, and even a sponsor.
If he stays, Ambrose has to pick up his game substantially in 2015. He can't just be a guy who's known for his road-course prowess while being nothing but an also-ran driver on ovals.
Perhaps some changes in team personnel may be the ticket for greater success in 2015.
With just three top-five and five top-10 finishes thus far this season, Ambrose now has the chance to pick up his game in preparation for 2015.
If there is a 2015 in NASCAR in store for him, that is.
Jamie McMurray
8 of 11
When Juan Pablo Montoya left Chip Ganassi Racing after last season to return to IndyCar competition, it appeared to be Jamie McMurray's chance to shine as the organization's No. 1 driver in 2014. And teamed with rookie Kyle Larson, McMurray was in a great position to both teach and learn from Larson.
Unfortunately, McMurray will once again miss the Chase in 2014. Sadly, he has never made the Chase even once in his 12-year Sprint Cup career.
McMurray has talent, there's no question about it. During his career he's won the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, Sprint All-Star Race and five other races. But with just one win since the start of the 2011 season, after three wins in 2010, McMurray seems to be stuck in neutral the last few seasons, 2014 included.
One bright spot is on the horizon though: With McMurray and Larson going into their second full season together in 2015, they have already shown a knack of working off each other. That one-two punch should become even stronger and more successful next season.
Austin Dillon
9 of 11
The long-awaited return of the No. 3 to Sprint Cup competition was one of the biggest stories coming into the 2014 season.
Rookie Austin Dillon was the first driver to pilot the immortal No. 3 since Dale Earnhardt was killed in the 2001 season-opening Daytona 500.
Unfortunately, Dillon's first year full-time in the Sprint Cup Series has been marginal at best. In his first 26 starts, he failed to make the Chase, has not won a race and has just one top-five and three top-10 finishes.
Dillon is a very talented driver. He doesn't have championships in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series for nothing. It's understandable that he was going to make his share of mistakes as a Sprint Cup rookie.
Like fellow rookie Kyle Larson, if Dillon can learn from those mistakes, his sophomore season in 2015 will be significantly better—provided he doesn't fall victim to NASCAR's well-known sophomore jinx.
Brian Vickers
10 of 11
This was supposed to be Brian Vickers' big comeback year.
After missing most of 2012 due to illness and competing in just under half of the 2013 races, Vickers had a big-name sponsor (Aaron's), a big-name organization (Michael Waltrip Racing) and the potential of essentially restarting his Sprint Cup career once again.
Unfortunately, Vickers struggled through the first 26 races of 2014, much like MWR teammate Clint Bowyer. As a result, both drivers failed to make this year's Chase.
Vickers thus far this season has just three top-five and seven top-10 finishes. He also has had issues at times on pit road, which could require some personnel changes in the offseason.
Maybe, just maybe, after the 2013 debacle at Richmond, followed by both MWR drivers missing this year's Chase, 2015 can only go up for them, right?
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
11 of 11
Another victim of NASCAR's sophomore jinx, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has looked more like a rookie in 2014 than he did in his actual first full season in the Cup Series in 2013.
Stenhouse finished 19th in last year's standings. He's currently 27th in this year's standings with 10 races to go. It's a fairly safe bet that he'll finish worse than he did in 2013.
Stenhouse has the talent to compete on the Cup level. After all, he won back-to-back Nationwide Series titles before moving to Cup full-time.
It should be interesting to see what 2015 has in store for Stenhouse. With Carl Edwards leaving at the end of this season for Joe Gibbs Racing, Stenhouse will be the middle guy seniority-wise at Roush Fenway Racing, with Greg Biffle No. 1 and Trevor Bayne finally being promoted to NASCAR's big league next season.
Stenhouse needs to take a big swing next year. He's spent the last two seasons getting used to Cup competition, but in 2015 he has to prove he belongs.
Otherwise, he may be looking for a new ride come 2016.
Follow me on Twitter @JerryBonkowski
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