*Kurt Busch debuts the No. 007 car at Daytona and executes a last-lap pass of Denny Hamlin to win the 500. In post-race interviews, Busch goes on a ten minute rant and bad-mouths the entire NASCAR community, earning him the nickname “American Sniper.”
The countdown has begun to the start of a new season, with less than ten days to go before the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race at Daytona. A new campaign, some new teams and some new expectations.
As one season ends and a new one approaches, teams begin a self evaluation that often results in changes among key personnel. Here’s your guide to some of the new alliances we will see in 2015.
here was lots of news during Hendrick Motorsports’ presentation at the 2015 Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour on Thursday. The biggest news of the day was what we all knew was going to happen. Chase Elliott will be driving the No. 24 Chevrolet in 2016. It’s a year off yet, but that was the buzz around the Charlotte Civic Center.
A new season, with a new defending champion, will be soon upon us. Kevin Harvick and the rest of the boys, and girl, will be in Daytona in less than a month to kick things off.
There were those who put on the fire suits, got to be among the big boys, but when it came time to go they might have been best suited to go down the road instead of the track. Instead of being competitors, they were lucky to be participants, saddled in entries that had no hope of being anywhere near the front.
As the NASCAR season approaches anticipation builds for the endless possibilities that a new year can bring. Will Earnhardt Jr. contend for a title? Will Smoke rise again? Will Kyle Larson finally grab that win? Will Roush Fenway Racing regain its former glory?
Over the course of the season, Jeff Gordon was the top driver of 2014. However, NASCAR has not determined its champion using the results of the entire campaign for more than a decade. They want excitement, drama, unpredictability. They want what the other big boy sports have, and when they waved the flag to start the season finale, four drivers had an even shot to claim the prize. Unfortunately, 39 we knew who would not, also were out there.
The 2014 NASCAR season is officially over with the notable exception of the Championship Banquet. What kind of year was it? With the multitudes on talk radio praising the new format for determining a champion, what does the rest of NASCAR Nation think? This reporter has a “wait and see” attitude on the format, but that comes later.
