At the end of most NASCAR seasons, contracts run up and some drivers begin to look for a new team to partner up with. The hope of this new team will bring them more success than the previous team did. Some of these ideas work, while others fail.
So how do the prospects look for the 2014 season?
One of the most interesting moves that will take place is the move of Kurt Busch over to Stewart-Haas Racing.
Last year, Kurt Busch had a great season driving for the single-car operation known as Furniture Row Racing out of Colorado. He proved they were the little team that could as he had 11 top fives and 16 top 10s on the way to finishing 10th in points. He also came close to winning some races. However, in his eyes, the team wasn’t capable of winning a championship and winning multiple races a year. If you’re going to do that in NASCAR, you have to be with one of the bigger teams. So Kurt Busch left Furniture Row for Stewart-Haas Racing.
A lot of questions surround how Busch will do next year. He becomes the fourth driver at SHR as a teammate to Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Danica Patrick. The organization considerably struggled last year and expanding isn’t going to help that. It was well documented that Stewart and SHR Competition Director Greg Zippidelli were against the idea due to the logistics of expanding the organization. Buildings needed to be constructed, parts moved around – worry had it that it wouldn’t get done in time.
Depending on how this all comes together will depend on how well the 2004 Sprint Cup Series Champion does next year.
Speaking of Harvick, next year will mark his first year at Stewart-Haas Racing also as he replaces Ryan Newman.
Harvick had been with RCR since the beginning of his career, scoring 23 wins, 100 top fives and 209 top 10s in 466 starts. He also had a best finish of third in points, three times, including this past season. With success at it’s top, why leave the team?
In 13 years with the team, they’d been successful (as noted) but hadn’t won a championship. Harvick, for those reasons, believed that a change in scenery would bring forth the change needed to be a champion.
It’s also no secret that Richard Childress has his grandsons’ interests at the front of his mind and no doubt that in a couple of years, Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon will both be in the Sprint Cup Series. Harvick knew that he’d be always behind them in the pecking order so why stay with an organization he hadn’t found championship success with? Cue the move to SHR. Sure, he isn’t at the top of the pecking order – but he knows that his interests are profound with his best friend Stewart running the organization.
Now will all this translate to success? Well, that has yet to be seen. Harvick was fast during the Charlotte Motor Speedway test, but that’s just a test. The true test to this will be the first couple races of the year. If Harvick comes out of the gate strong, he made the right decision. If he struggles, then he may be thinking that he made the wrong decision.
You also have to factor in that SHR struggled last year as they only scored one win – Ryan Newman at the Brickyard – across their three teams. Needless to say, boss Tony Stewart being out of the seat for the second half of the year didn’t help. However, will they be able to overcome that along with the new faces to run well?
In the shuffle with both Harvick and Busch joining SHR, Ryan Newman was shuffled out, though he landed a seat at Richard Childress Racing, replacing Jeff Burton.
Well questions surround the lack of success for SHR in 2013, there are also questions surrounding RCR. While Harvick posted high numbers in hi exit tour, Jeff Burton posted only two top fives and six top 10s in the season. Newman’s numbers at SHR were better – a win, six top fives and 18 top 10s as he he finished 11th in the Chase. Can he bring that success and elevate the No. 31 team’s program? Or will he find himself in Burton’s shoes, struggling in the team’s second car? After all, one of those aforementioned grandsons will be replacing Harvick in the other team car.
Austin Dillon makes the jump up to the Sprint Cup Series after winning the Nationwide Series championship. The young driver has had a lot of success the past couple of years and seems to be progressing as well as anyone would hope. He won the Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year, followed by the championship. He won the Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year, followed by the championship. Can he carry that to the Cup Series? Perhaps.
One of the bigger factors is the number that will be on the side of Dillon’s car – 3. Dillon will be bringing the No. 3 back to the Sprint Cup Series for the first time since the death of Dale Earnhardt. Lots of people have expressed their pleasure, and displeasure with the decision. Regardless, it brings a lot of pressure and the question will be whether Dillon can live up to that pressure and start off strong right out of the gate.
Dillon isn’t the only rookie that we will have in 2014 as Parker Kligerman has joined the fold, along with Kyle Larson.
Larson will make the jump up to the Sprint Cup Series next year with Chip Ganassi Racing. Larson has been mentioned as one of the biggest talents behind the wheel and said to be a driver that could have a lot of success. People have placed him in the same category as Two-time Champion Tony Stewart – a driver that can do anything behind the wheel. He didn’t have spectacular Nationwide Series numbers last year to back up the hype, though, with nine top fives and 17 top 10s in the 33 races. Oh but don’t fear because other top stars didn’t do perfect there and yet have done well at the top level.
My biggest fear, personally for Larson, isn’t his own talent. It’s the team. CGR hasn’t really run that well over the last couple of years. Last season, Juan Pablo Montoya finished 21st in points with no wins, four top fives and eight top 10s, while Jamie McMurray finished 15th with one win (Talladega), four top fives and nine top 10s. If the team doesn’t step their game up, the young driver behind the wheel of the Target Chevrolet may suffer with lack of success.
Lost in all this discussion is a driver that was at the forefront of the discussions back in September.
Following the Chase scandal, Michael Waltrip Racing lost sponsor NAPA Auto Parts as they weren’t happy with the team’s conduct. As a result, the innocent player in the scandal – Martin Truex Jr. – lost his ride due to lack of sponsorship. No fear, though, as Truex has landed his feet with Furniture Row Racing.
Ah yes, the same team that led Kurt Busch to 11 top fives and 16 top 10s on the way to finishing 10th in points. Now can Truex repeat that success? If he gets along well with Todd Barrier, there seems to be no reason why he wouldn’t as he had a win, seven top fives and 15 top 10s last year with Michael Waltrip Racing.
With these new combinations picked apart, I leave you with this one question – who do you think will do the best of the new combinations in 2014?
