With four races in the books at four different race tracks, the contenders for this year’s Nationwide Series Championship are beginning to get clearer with each week that passes by. With that said, it’s time to take a closer look at five of the drivers who have risen to the top of the crop so far this year.
Regan Smith
Regan Smith kicked off his season the best way possible, scoring the win in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Backing up with a string of top 10 finishes certainly is the easiest way to get the points lead early on.
This isn’t something new for Smith, though, as he kicked off last year really well and had a solid point lead as we got into the summer months. However, struggles in the summer eliminated Smith from the championship picture totally. If Smith wants to have a shot this year, he cannot let that happen again as he has to take the lessons learned from that experience and put that to use.
JR Motorsports went through a restructuring process throughout the off-season, partnering Smith with veteran crew chief Ryan Pemberton, while hiring Ernie Cope to crew chief the team’s third car that will be running part-time with Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. behind the wheel. The personnel changes, as well as working on their equipment, certainly have helped put JRM closer to the level that Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing are each week. However, Smith struggled at Las Vegas and got lucky with the top 10 finish that he ended up earning. The way Smith runs this weekend could help determine whether he can remain in the championship discussion all year.
Trevor Bayne
Bayne’s start to the season has been stellar with finishes of third, seventh and a pair of eighth place finishes. Partnering Bayne with Chad Norris has certainly helped increase the performance.
This was the type of performance that people expected from Bayne last season when he took over the ride after Stenhouse Jr. moved up to the Sprint Cup Series. However, Bayne struggled and had a sub-par year. If Bayne can keep this going, there is a good chance that he can live up to the expectations that are laid out in front of him.
The only problem that could be seen in Bayne’s future is the lack of resourceful teammates compared to his competitors. Joe Gibbs Racing, JR Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing will have Sprint Cup Series drivers in their Nationwide Series rides throughout the year, while the same isn’t the case for Roush-Fenway Racing. Instead, Bayne will have to rely on rookies Ryan Reed and Chris Buescher for information to work with. This could present a problem especially if Bayne’s team is missing the set-up at all.
However, it may not be as big as a problem as perhaps people may believe. RFR Cup Series Carl Edwards has stated about working within the Ford Racing camp and with Team Penske in working to get better for the Cup Series. Could the same happen on the Nationwide Series side? Quite possibly.
Ty Dillon
As a rookie, Ty Dillon is off to a great start this season as in the first four races this season, Dillon has finishes of seventh, 10th, 11th and sixth while starting in the top nine in the last three races. As a result, he currently sits third in points. The finishes are surprising to some, based on the limited schedule that Dillon ran last season as he only had one top 10 in the nine races that he ran. However, Dillon is matched with Danny Stockman Jr. and the same group that led his older brother to the 2013 Nationwide Series Championship.
Stockman had the ability to bring out the best in Austin Dillon to lead him to the title, with encouraging him to be a solid contender, while helping keep him calm and out of trouble. If Ty Dillon can take the lessons that Stockman lays in front of him and avoid the rookie troubles that typically find new drivers, you may see a rookie stand on top as the series champion this year.
Chase Elliott
Dillon may not be the only rookie in contention as Chase Elliott has shown his strength as a driver early this season to currently sit fourth in points. Elliott’s worst finish is 15th, which came at Daytona to start the year.
So far this season, Elliott has shown a ton of maturity and looked to be possibly be a contender for the win at Las Vegas two weeks ago. Heading to Auto Club Speedway this weekend, Elliott may be one of hte darkhorses to consider for the win and dethrone the Cup regular dominance that we’ve seen.
If Elliott can keep the consistency going with Greg Ives (who led Smith to his success last season), Elliott also has a chance at being the champion come season’s end. However, if Elliott starts to be too aggressive and gets into trouble, that may be the downfall of championship contention this year.
Elliott Sadler
Arguably the most experienced driver on this list, Elliott Sadler has had a quiet start to the season, landing him fifth in points. Sadler’s current points position can be thanked to a fifth at Daytona and a sixth at Phoenix.
In the pair of races that have followed, Sadler has failed to finish inside the top 10 and has lost valuable points. If Sadler wants to put himself into championship contention this year, he will need to step it up to top 10 performances to match that of the previous drivers mentioned. That shouldn’t be a problem, though, as he has Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth to lean on as teammates and they’ve been fast in both races.
Sadler is good at being consistent and being in championship contention as he’s been part of the discussion the past two years. The key this year to make the championship happen will be stepping it up that extra little bit, while staying out of trouble. Being involved in accidents has been one of the biggest downfalls to Sadler’s past championship runs.
With four races in the bag and the chips laid on the table, I have this question to ask – Who is your pick for the 2014 Nationwide Series Championship?
