Drivers Most Likely to Win 3 or More Races in the 2015 Sprint Cup Season
Don't look now, but the Daytona 500 is right around the corner.
Perhaps that's exaggerating just a bit, but with less than 90 days until the command to start your engines booms out at Daytona International Speedway, it's time to make a few predictions about the season ahead.
Six drivers, including Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick, captured three or more checkered flags during an exciting 2014 season that—by design—came down to the very last laps of the very last race.
With so many returning veterans still pushing for their first, second or seventh championship, and the rise of new stars ready to race their own way to glory, it wouldn't be surprising to see an even more wide-open Chase in 2015.
But the cream usually rises to the top, and certain drivers just know how to win and win consistently.
These are the five drivers most likely to find their way to Victory Lane at least three times in the coming season.
Kevin Harvick
1 of 5
Anyone disagree with Harvick’s inclusion on this list?
Didn’t think so.
It was only a matter of time before Harvick, one of the most consistent drivers on NASCAR’s big league circuit over the past several seasons, won the Sprint Cup title, and boy, did he do it in dramatic fashion.
Harvick left no doubt, winning an elimination race at Phoenix to keep his championship hopes alive, before making it back-to-back victories at Homestead’s season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 to win the title in his first season with Stewart-Haas Racing.
The tangible benefits of working for a close friend, Tony Stewart, and with an experienced crew headed by Rodney Childers provided immediate benefits for Harvick, who led more than 2,000 laps this past season.
Harvick won five times in 2014, including the two most important races of the year, and there’s absolutely no reason to think that he’ll struggle to find his way to Victory Lane multiple times in the season ahead. Not with this team and not with this crew.
It’s just not very often that the No. 4 car doesn’t find itself in the mix at the end of races.
It’s never easy to defend the Sprint Cup championship, especially when everyone is gunning for you, but it's easier when you’re at or near the front each and every week. That’s how Harvick rolls—with 20 top-10 finishes last season alone—and you can safely expect that to continue given the confidence gained from wining a first title for the driver and his team.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2 of 5
JR Nation has to be wondering what could have been.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. began the season with about as big a win as you could imagine, capturing an emotional second career checkered flag in the Daytona 500, the same race that claimed his father’s life 13 years ago.
NASCAR’s most popular driver experienced a resurgence in 2014, winning four races—matching his combined win total over the past nine years—and he entered the Chase as one of the favorites to finally capture the elusive Sprint Cup.
Junior struggled when the money races began, though, cracking the top 10 only once before seeing his Chase hopes dashed with a 31st-place finish at Talladega to conclude the Contender Round. Still, it’s hard to look at this past season as anything but a positive for the 88 car, even if the ultimate prize proved once again to be just out of reach.
Junior got his mojo back.
He showed he could put his team in position to contend on a weekly basis and, unlike the previous year, close the deal when opportunities presented themselves late in races.
The loss of good friend and crew chief Steve Letarte—who left Hendrick Motorsports to become an analyst for NBC after the season—will hurt, and there will be a transitional period once Greg Ives takes the reins, but there’s no reason to believe Junior can’t build off of his solid 2014 season and keep winning.
Ives is an experienced hand, and he recently guided Chase Elliott to the championship in the Nationwide Series, helping his driver become the youngest champion in the history of NASCAR's three touring series. That championship pedigree, combined with an already close relationship with Junior, should help the No. 88 achieve big things going forward.
Brad Keselowski
3 of 5
Brad Keselowski probably shouldn’t invest too much of his time this holiday season waiting by the mailbox for Jeff Gordon’s Christmas card.
Or Matt Kenseth’s.
Probably not Kevin Harvick’s either.
Spoiler alert: They’re not coming.
Keselowski didn’t win himself very many friends this season, making waves with Kenseth during the season at Charlotte and with Gordon and Harvick during the Chase at Texas Motor Speedway, but he hardly cares. He won plenty of races and remained in contention for his second Sprint Cup title until the penultimate race of the Chase at Phoenix.
Keselowski made it very clear that his job is to win races and not soothe feelings, leading the Sprint Cup Series in 2014 with six victories, 17 top-five finishes and the best average start position.
He's aggressive, and he often makes moves on the track that rub other drivers and crews the wrong way. Love him or hate him, his aggressive style makes no apologies, and you shouldn’t put too much money on the No. 2 not winning his share of races and contending for the championship once again.
Sometimes on the track, you need to be daring in order to win, and Keselowski is certainly that. Being a part of Team Penske doesn't hurt, either. As a driver, there's nothing better than heading into the weekend knowing you'll have a car and that will crew perform at a consistently high level.
Penske—which captured more wins this season than any team except Hendrick, despite running only two full-time cars—is a professional outfit, and that benefits Keselowski's lone teammate as well.
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Joey Logano
4 of 5
Joey Logano broke out in a big way in 2014, establishing himself as one of the top drivers in NASCAR and leaving his fans optimistic about their chances of celebrating a Sprint Cup title in the not-too-distant future.
The 22 car was in the mix right up to the final race at Homestead, but a disappointing 16th-place finish left any hopes of a championship up in smoke.
At least for now.
Longano has a lot to build on heading into next year. The 24-year-old set career-high marks in victories, top-fives, top-10s and laps led in his second season as a member of Team Penske after shifting over from Joe Gibbs Racing.
His confidence continues to grow, as does his ability to close the deal at the end of a race. Add that to an obvious chip on his shoulder after coming close enough to taste it but coming up short, and you have a bona fide championship contender for years to come.
Will Logano snatch the ring this time?
Who knows. But he’ll be right there and win plenty along the way.
Kyle Larson
5 of 5
The emergence of Kyle Larson was one of the big stories of this past year’s Sprint Cup Series, and you can bank on the No. 42 Chevrolet not only winning races in the coming season, but likely competing deep into the Chase.
Winning the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year award was a nice consolation prize for the 22-year-old Californian, but you get the sense that all it will take is one victory to elevate him to that echelon of drivers who can contend week in and week out.
And once that dam breaks, watch out.
Larson certainly has nothing to be ashamed of coming out of his first full-time season in the Sprint Cup Series. He secured eight top-five finishes and 17 top-10s, narrowly missing out on victories, with second-place showings at California, New Hampshire and Kansas.
Any one of those would’ve been enough to qualify him for the Chase, where you’d have been a fool to dismiss his chances.
Not a bad showing for a driver some felt was being rushed to the big show too fast.
Jeff Gluck of USA Today wrote this when Larson was named the driver of the No. 42 car: "But is the 21-year-old ready for the big leagues? Though he might very well have the potential and talent to be one of NASCAR's greats himself someday, it seems awfully hasty to promote him to prime time."
Gluck, along with many others, was eventually forced to eat those words.
Larson has star potential, and with a year of experience under his belt, 2015 should have some big things in store for him.
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