NASCAR Drivers Most Likely to Win 1st Career Sprint Cup Title in 2015
What does it take to be a Sprint Cup champion? Well, there are a host of drivers on the circuit who are hoping to find that out in 2015.
There are plenty of formidable drivers on the circuit who have already won a title—including Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski—who will be as dangerous as ever this upcoming season. But don't you dare sleep on the drivers who are still seeking their first championship.
After all, in 2014, all four of the drivers who made it to the final round of the Chase were racing for their first title. There's no reason to think that 2015 won't be more of the same.
Here are eight drivers who don't have a Sprint Cup championship yet but very well might one year from now.
8. Kyle Larson
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Wait, what is this? I'm saying that a driver who was a rookie in 2014 and still doesn't have a win in a Sprint Cup race has a decent shot at winning the entire Chase?
Indeed I am. That's just how impressed I am with Kyle Larson.
In 2014, Larson had eight top-five finishes and 17 top-10s. He led 53 laps and finished the year ranked No. 17, right outside of the Chase. However, he was more consistent than a lot of the drivers in the Chase and did some of his best driving during NASCAR's postseason, amassing two runner-up finishes, three top-fives and six top-10s in the final 10 races of the season.
He's a future superstar of the sport, and the Chip Ganassi driver will be competing for Sprint Cup championships throughout his career, starting in 2015.
7. Kyle Busch
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With 29 victories in his Sprint Cup career and 10,424 laps led, Kyle Busch is one of the most accomplished drivers on the circuit without a championship.
The younger Busch brother will be aiming to change that in 2015 as he tries to improve upon a rather disappointing 2014 in which he won only one race and finished 10th in the standings.
The 29-year-old, who will become a new father in 2015, will begin the season with a new crew chief, Adam Stevens. Busch has worked with Stevens extensively in the Nationwide Series, where they have had a lot of success as a team, notching 19 wins, 46 top-fives and 47 top-10 finishes in 52 starts. Of course, Sprint Cup is another monster altogether, but Busch has 10 years of experience as a full-time Sprint Cup driver, so he'll be prepared.
Last season was a down year for Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole. If the entire team can step it up in 2015, Busch will definitely be a threat for the title.
6. Ryan Newman
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Ryan Newman surprised everyone—perhaps even himself—when he finished as runner-up for the Chase title in 2014. He'll prove that it wasn't a fluke in 2015, when he'll put himself right back in the mix for the title again.
Newman has 13 years of full-time Sprint Cup experience under his belt, and while 2014 wasn't his winningest season—in fact, he didn't make it into Victory Lane once—it was by far his best season in the standings. The 37-year-old's previous best finish was sixth place in 2002, 2003 and 2005.
The Richard Childress Racing driver had five top-fives and 16 top-10s in 2014, and as his second-place finish suggests, he did some of his very best driving in the Chase, with six top-10s over those 10 races.
Newman's got the consistency part of the equation down, and we know that he can perform under pressure—he finished second at the championship race in Homestead, after all. If he can turn some of those top-10s into victories in 2015, he's going to be a real threat for the title.
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5. Kasey Kahne
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After a rather lackluster season, where in Kasey Kahne had only one win and three top-five finishes, the 34-year-old driver got a big vote of confidence when Hendrick Motorsports signed him to a three-year contract extension.
That's great news for Kahne—Hendrick had the best cars and drivers for the majority of the 2014 season.
Kahne made the Chase in 2014 after winning the Oral-B USA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but he was eliminated after the first round of the Chase. Still, he is so high on this list because of the team he has around him: The entire Hendrick Motorsports organization is top-notch and clearly knows how to get it done in the Sprint Cup Series.
He will also have a new crew chief, Keith Rodden, in 2015. Rodden used to be Kahne's engineer before he left to work as the crew chief for Jamie McMurray last season. That might be just the change Kahne needs to get back in the mix at the top.
Kahne has 17 victories in the Sprint Cup Series, and he finished in fourth place back in 2012. The talent is there, as is the team and equipment. If Kahne can put it all together in 2015, he could challenge for the title.
4. Carl Edwards
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Carl Edwards has been around for a long time, and he's tired of being a bridesmaid. He's ready for 2015 to be the year that he finally finishes in first place.
Edwards has finished as the runner-up in the Chase twice, in 2008 and 2011. He was also third in 2005 and fourth in 2010. In 2014, Edwards finished in ninth place with two wins, seven top-fives and 14 top-10s. But he wasn't satisfied and in the offseason made the move from Roush Fenway Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing.
The 35-year-old is convinced that this move will be the thing he needs to win the championship, as reported by Tony DiZinno of NBC Sports:
""I plan on winning 10 races and the championship," Edwards declared.
If it sounds like a crazy declaration, we need only remember two years ago Matt Kenseth transferred to JGR and won seven races, and came second in the championship.
"People will be like, ‘Ah, he’s crazy.’ But if we don’t win the championship, it will not be a success," Edwards said.
"Everyone’s putting in these resources to win a championship, and that’s what we’re going to do."
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In 2014, Kevin Harvick won the first championship of his career after switching to Stewart-Haas racing. Edwards is hoping that a team change is just what he needs to make the next big step in his racing career as well.
3. Denny Hamlin
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Will 2015 be the year of Denny Hamlin? It's about time for the 34-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver to find himself holding the trophy at the end of the season.
In 2014, Hamlin finished in third place in the standings, making it all the way to the championship race at Homestead. This was his fourth top-five finish in the championship standings, as he was also third in 2006, fifth in 2009 and second in 2010.
Hamlin will have a new crew chief in 2015—Kyle Busch's former crew chief, Dave Rogers—and he's confident that this will be a good change for him. He also thinks that the new NASCAR rules will give him an edge this year, as reported by Lee Spencer of Motorsports.com:
"Hamlin’s confidence is also bolstered by the aerodynamic changes to the Generation 6 cars which will "put greater emphasis on the driver/crew chief relationship" and less dependency on power, where the Gibbs cars have lagged behind the Chevy and Ford teams.
"Stars are going to show back up, the real drivers, more than it has in the past," Hamlin said. "You can take a car that wasn’t good in practice and out handle other guys, that’s what low downforce does you don’t have to beat them with speed anymore."
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In the No. 11 car, Hamlin had one win, seven top-fives and 18 top-10s in 2014. With the boost he's getting from his new crew chief and new rules, and the confidence he gained from a great Chase, he'll be a true threat to win it all in 2015.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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It's about time for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win a Chase title, don't you think?
Well, after his successful 2014 campaign, he's in a great spot in 2015 and might finally be able to get his first championship.
In 2014, Junior was revitalized, winning four races and notching 12 top-fives and 20 top-10s. He was considered one of the favorites for the championship until he stalled a bit in the Chase and finished in eighth place. Still, there is plenty for Earnhardt to build on.
Another Hendrick Motorsports driver, Junior has one of the best teams in racing in his corner. He'll undergo a huge change in 2015, teaming up with new crew chief Greg Ives after his former crew chief, Steve Letarte, departed to work as a commentator for NBC. But so far, so good.
Earnhardt told Tom Jensen of FoxSports.com that he's feeling great about the change after some offseason tests:
"It was fun to work with Greg and kind of skim through some of that stuff. I really think right away, as soon as we hit the track, our 2015 stuff felt great. We were really, really fast compared to the other guys who were at the test. So I think our speed's going to be good.
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Junior started the 2014 season with a win at Daytona. He might just finish the 2015 season with the biggest win of all.
1. Joey Logano
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Joey Logano won five Sprint Cup races in 2014. Now, it's time for the 24-year-old to completely fulfill his "Sliced Bread" potential and win it all.
Logano's season was more than just a breakthrough—besides his five wins, he had 16 top-fives and 22 top-10s, and he led 993 laps. Just two years after losing his ride at Joe Gibbs Racing and being considered a disappointment at the age of 22, it's clear that Logano has found his home at Team Penske and will be a champion sooner rather than later.
The newlywed made it all the way to the final round of the Chase at Homestead last season and was in the mix for the title until a pit-crew mistake late in the race took him out of contention. He ended the year finished fourth.
There are a lot of former title holders who will be tough to take down in 2015, including Logano's Penske teammate, Brad Keselowski. But with a championship-caliber season under his belt and a newfound motivation after the Homestead disappointment, Logano will be the most dangerous driver without a championship next season.
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