Ranking the NASCAR Drivers with the Most to Prove in 2015

The next NASCAR season comes loaded and charged with the overflow of 2014’s storylines, expectations and unfulfilled goals.

There isn’t much time to waste. With two months or so to go before the start of the NASCAR season, there are a handful of drivers who need to prove themselves in 2015.

That could be someone like Carl Edwards, who just signed with Joe Gibbs Racing, or it could be Tony Stewart, who was coming off a year of recovering from a brutal leg injury—not to mention the emotional toll the death of Kevin Ward Jr. took on him.

There are others, from sophomores to seasoned vets. Read on to see who has the most to prove in 2015.

8. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Darryl Graham/Associated Press

There isn’t a whole lot Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t done in NASCAR. He’s been the most popular driver for years. He endorses insurance, jeans and the most delicious diet soda the world has ever known.

But he hasn’t won a title.

Now that Steve Letarte has left Earnhardt’s pit box, Junior has to retool with Greg Ives, a man who was an engineer for five championships with the No. 48.

Earnhardt said, via the Sporting News:

"

I know what Greg is all about and really respect him. He’s a strong leader with a cool personality, and we’re both competitors who want to win. It was important to find someone who would fit at Hendrick Motorsports and inside our shop, and he will for sure do that. We got the best guy for the job, and I look forward to working with him next year.

"

Earnhardt won four races in 2014, including a Daytona 500 and a contest at Martinsville.

7. Greg Biffle

Paul J. Bergstrom/Associated Press

Greg Biffle is the man now for Roush Fenway Racing. With the departure of Carl Edwards, it’s all on Biffle to lead his young team.

Biffle has been vocal about RFR failing to keep pace on the circuit.

Biffle said on Jayski's Silly Season Site:

"

We let go of our guy who was the head of engineering a while back. We don't want to point fingers in our organization, but we plain and simply didn't keep up with the Joneses. We got behind in simulation. We are still behind in simulation.

"

Biffle failed to win a race in 2014 but still managed to reach the Chase. He was quickly eliminated from the Chase after the first round, so coming into 2015, Biffle needs to prove he’s the man at RFR.

“I look forward to kind of carrying the flag and leading this organization," said Biffle on Motor Racing Network.

6. Carl Edwards

Ralph Lauer/Associated Press

"Anything less than a championship will be a disappointment."

Any time a driver makes this kind of pronouncement, you know he has something to prove.

Those were the words of Carl Edwards, the latest addition to Joe Gibbs Racing, per NASCAR.com. JGR is going big. With the signing of Edwards, it now has four all-star drivers in Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and now Edwards. On paper, that’s second only to Hendrick Motorsports.

Edwards is the new kid in town—someone who wants to bring his back-flipping deep into the Chase. Edwards said on NASCAR.com:

"

I know that I hope for some really great things and from what I've seen, the little I've seen, I believe we have the ability to go out and dominate next year. That's why I'm doing this and that's what I'm prepared for. ... We're going to come out guns blazing and just go for wins right off the bat, prepare for the Chase and dominate all the way to Homestead.

"

JGR qualified all three of its drivers in the Chase a year ago, and if you include Edwards from Roush Fenway, JGR has four Chase-caliber drivers.

Being the new guy in town comes with its own set of pressures, and Edwards has already said what he wants to do. Now he has to go out there and prove it.

5. Kyle Larson

Terry Renna/Associated Press

Being named Rookie of the Year bought Kyle Larson a season or two of good faith going forward.

Like Fox Sports' Larry McReynolds wrote:

"

This young man did everything but win a race in his rookie season. He finished second three times in 2014. I don't think you ever will have to question whether Kyle Larson is giving you 100 percent at all times. He showed that in spades and it didn't matter if it was practice, qualifying or the race.

"

Larson was highly touted at the start of the year and through the ups and downs of the regular season proved to be a winning driver—sans wins.

In 2015, he needs to reach Victory Lane and show the racing world his rookie campaign—one where he finished second three times—was no fluke.

McReynolds continued:

"

Now that they, along with Kyle and his crew chief, will have a second year together, well, the sky is the limit for this young man. I look for him and that team to be competitive from the drop of the green flag at Daytona next year.

"

4. Austin Dillon

Terry Renna/Associated Press

Austin Dillon came out of the gate swinging in 2014. Winning the pole at Daytona set the bar a bit high for fans of the famous No. 3 car and Richard Childress Racing in general.

Dillon shouldered the pressure of the No. 3 in true 10-gallon hat fashion, but it was all downhill from that memorable pole in the 500. Dillon told Fox Sports:

"

I think coming into this year we've got a better shot at that because we've got our notes, and I know what it takes now to run a full Cup season, and the preparation that goes into it. I think preparation's everything, and we have to refocus and start sitting down and setting our goals to accomplish what we want to, and that's having a championship run this year.

"

Dillon won the 2013 Nationwide Series title and is in desperate need of proving himself in the Sprint Cup. Dillon will race in more than half of the Xfinity Series races in 2015, giving him extra track time.

3. Tony Stewart

J Pat Carter/Associated Press

Tony Stewart can boast that a driver on his racing team won the championship—that being Kevin Harvick.

Stewart cannot say much about his performance in 2014. He failed to win a race for the first time in 15 seasons. He was rarely competitive. Let's not forget he was still recovering from a broken leg.

On a NASCAR track, the most noise he made was between he and Kyle Larson.

Being tied with Danica Patrick for wins in a year must take the fire out of Smoke. He told The Associated Press (h/t Beyond the Flag's Christopher Olmstead):

"

All streaks come to an end at some point. The streak is important to me, and this year, I still won a sprint car race when I came back. So I've had 36 straight years of at least winning a race. I was proud to have 15 years in a row that I won a race in the Cup Series. I'll be sad if it stops and it ends, but that's part of it.

"

Olmstead wrote: 

"

As far as 2015 goes, it’s going to be a rebound year for the No. 14 team. SHR showed in 2014 that they can win and produce a champion, one would have to imagine that Stewart is going to be right in the thick of things come 2015.

"

Stewart needs to prove, as much to himself as to anyone else, that he can put what was a disastrous and tragic 2014 behind him and move forward.

2. Kasey Kahne

Chris Keane/Associated Press

Until Kasey Kahne wins a championship, he’s always going to be the tire without enough air pressure on the four-wheel Hendrick Motorsports car.

Jeff Gordon has four titles. Jimmie Johnson has six. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has none, but he’s Dale Earnhardt Jr., so it doesn’t really matter.

Kahne’s performance in 2014 was fine by some standards (15th overall) but not by the lofty standards set by HMS.

"It seemed like things were always going all right (internally)," Kahne told the Sporting News. "We definitely haven’t been happy. Some of the performance this year wasn’t where we wanted it to be."

Now that Kahne’s contract situation is settled through the 2018 season, that should allow the No. 5 to race freely knowing he has the confidence of Hendrick. Throw in his new crew chief, Keith Rodden, and Kahne could be a force in 2015. He needs to be a force.

“I don’t go there to run 20th,” Rodden told the Sporting News. “You want to go there and win poles and you want to win the race. With the resources you have at Hendrick Motorsports, there shouldn’t be as much pressure.”

False. With the resources they have at HMS, there is more pressure. Kahne and Rodden have much to prove together in 2015.

1. Danica Patrick

Steve Helber/Associated Press

Danica Patrick has been one of the most recognizable and marketable drivers in NASCAR—whether it’s touting GoDaddy products or sharing a Coke Zero.

NASCAR, like any professional sport, demands results. Patrick has been good at times. She has excelled at the restrictor-plate tracks but more often than not found herself outside the top 20.

Jeff Hammond of Fox Sports said in a video:

"

She’s not turning out to be the racer we wanted. She’s got to be able to start and close out a race. She runs at well at certain times. They’re making the crew chief change. It’s really up to her. Can she really get focused? Can she get what she wants? To me, this could be the final season for Danica Patrick if she can’t step up. I’m talking top 20.

"

Who is the racer we wanted? One who figures in the Chase. Since it expanded to 16 drivers, not everyone has to win. Biffle, Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth proved that in 2014.

Patrick is not close to their league, but she’s going to have to step up in a hurry, because there are several drivers coming up through the Xfinity Series who can take her place and perform.

A successful Patrick, if nothing else, makes the week-to-week slog that is NASCAR more interesting.