Ragan Named as Busch's Replacement at Joe Gibbs Racing

David Ragan will fill in for Kyle Busch (Google Images)

Joe Gibbs Racing announced Tuesday that David Ragan will fill in for Kyle Busch as driver of the No. 18 Crispy M&M's Camry beginning this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Busch was released from Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach on Tuesday afternoon and will be transferred to a hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Las Vegas native suffered a compound fracture in his lower right leg and a broken left foot after wrecking late in Saturday's XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway. Defending Truck Series champion Matt Crafton filled in for Busch in Sunday's Daytona 500. He finished 18th on the day.

In eight seasons in the Sprint Cup Series, Ragan has made 291 starts and managed to collect a pair of wins. His first victory came in the 2011 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona and his most recent one came in last year's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. He has driven a Ford his entire career so this will be his first start in a Toyota Camry, however it will be his first start in winning equipment since leaving Roush Fenway Racing in 2011.

Since 2012, Ragan has driven for Front Row Motorsports and, aside from his win a year ago, outside of plate racing, the team has not had much success. It will be really interesting to see what the Unadilla, Georgia native can do behind the wheel of a JGR prepared machine.

Ragan's sponsor CSX and Front Row Motorsports facilitated the move. No timetable has been given for Busch's return, but Ragan is expected to return to the No. 34 Ford later this year.

Additionally, JGR announced that Erik Jones will drive Busch's No. 54 Monster Energy Camry in the XFINITY Series race in Atlanta this weekend. Jones drives full-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series and the No. 20 JGR Camry in the XFINITY Series on a part-time basis. An announcement as to who will drive the Monster Energy car beyond this weekend will be made at a later date.

Will David Reutimann return to the Cup Series this season? (Google Images)

"We appreciate being able to work with Front Row Motorsports and CSX for David's availability," said Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. "We are fortunate to be able to have someone of David's caliber behind the wheel while Kyle recovers. Erik is a big part of our future at JGR and we will be increasing his schedule in the XFINITY Series beginning this weekend in Atlanta and seeking the earliest opportunity to provide him some Cup experience. We appreciate all the support we have received from the NASCAR community including our fans and we look forward to getting Kyle back in the car as soon as possible."

"Everyone at Mars is thankful that Kyle is doing well and we continue to wish him a speedy recovery," said William Clements, vice president of sponsorship and sports marketing for Mars Incorporated." While we can't wait until Kyle returns behind the wheel of the No. 18 M&M's Crispy Toyota, we are excited to work with David and we're pleased JGR was able to work it out for him to step in during Kyle's absence."

In the meantime, Ragan's now vacant No. 34 car needs a driver. Front Row Motorsports has acknowledged that they have spoken to 2000 champion Bobby Labonte about filling in at Atlanta this weekend. Another name mentioned as a potential substitute is David Reutimann. The Zephyrhills, Florida native is a two time Cup Series winner and drove FRM's No. 35 car in three races last season. However, Reutimann will need to renew his NASCAR license and undergo a physical before he can be considered to fill Ragan's seat.

UPDATE: Front Row Motorsports tweeted Wednesday that Cup Series veteran Joe Nemechek will wheel the team's No. 34 Fusion this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Logano and Ford Win Big in Daytona; Gordon Wrecked on Final Lap of Final 500

Joey Logano: Your 2015 Daytona 500 champion (Google Images)

The winners and losers in Speedweeks 2015 were clear early on. Matt Kenseth and the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas and the four Hendrick Motorsports Chevys were all dominant in the preliminary events leading up to Daytona 500. On the flip side, any car with a blue oval on their car appeared to be playing catchup. Aside from Greg Biffle, the Ford camp is full of driver who are either inexperienced (Ryan Blaney, Cole Whitt, Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr) or cars that don't run competitively on a regular basis (David Ragan and David Gilliland). The Penske cars also had trouble, with Brad Keselowski getting wrecked in the Sprint Unlimited and Joey Logano getting into a heated debate with Kevin Harvick after contact late in that same race. Going into Sunday's race, Ford seemed like it stood for Found On Racetrack Dead.

But despite these issues, it was time for the Ford camp to try and redeem themselves and the Toyotas and Chevrolets to try and close out a very exciting, controversial Speedweeks in victory lane after the Great American Race. It was time to officially kick off the 2015 season.

Making his final start in the season's biggest race, Jeff Gordon very appropriately led the field to the green after winning the pole. Once the race got underway, there was not big one, all 43 cars stayed firmly planted on the ground and nobody was injured. This was all slightly abnormal for Daytona, but following how eventful Saturday's XFINITY Series race was, this was a welcome change. But that doesn't mean that the racing was boring. Yes, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jr and Jeff Gordon (clearly the sentimental favorite) were swapping the lead back and forth most of the day, but the field was constantly racing behind them. Drivers were two and three wide for what seemed like the entire race and sometimes they'd get really adventurous and take it four wide. The wrecks might've been small, but the racing was absolutely incredible.


Jeff Gordon (24) races his teammates in his final 500 (Google Images)

The first incident occurred when Tony Stewart got loose and slid up into Blaney's No. 21 car on lap 42. The wreck destroyed Stewart's right front suspension and ended his chances of capturing NASCAR's biggest prize in his 17th try. The wreck also led to damage to the cars of Matt Kenseth and Michael Waltrip.

The only other on track incidents were for blown motors. Landon Cassill lost an engine on lap 20, Keselowski blew up on lap 162 and Blaney blew up on lap 177. The Keselowski incident also collected the cars of Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman because they were following behind the No. 2 car and got in the snail trail of oil and fluid Keselowski's blown engine left behind. But while a few mechanical issues and a few bumps and scraps were seen, there was no big accident. And with 20 laps to go, it appeared we might have one.

But we didn't

Inside of 20 laps to go, we saw quite the opposite. Fans were treated to some of the best racing at Daytona in recent memory. Cars were beating and banging on each other trying to bump draft and side draft, cars were bobbing and weaving in and out of line, side by side at 200 mph. The most exciting part though, was when we saw every car in the field get three wide, nine rows deep for the lead with 12 laps to go. It looked like NASCAR's version of the pace laps at the Indy 500. These drivers did this for laps on end, inches apart and they truly showed why they are the best drivers in the world. This sport isn't just driving in circles all day. Then Justin Allgaier crashed and set up the green white checkered finish that would decide the race.
Remember how the Ford's were a non factor in every race in Speedweeks? Remember how Blaney and Keselowski (two Penske powered Fords) both lost engines. Logano's No. 22 Fusion was the only Penske Ford remaining and, despite running up front all day and leading 31 laps, it appeared he might be next in line for a mechanical failure. That is until the race went back to green and Logano got out to another big lead.

Some of the unbelievable racing at Daytona on Sunday (Google Images)

It appeared that Earnhardt Jr and Kevin Harvick were going to have a chance to race Logano for the win  on the final lap entering turn three, that is until Austin Dillon tipped Gordon's No. 24 and caused a pileup off turn two. So rather than letting these drivers decide the biggest race of the year, NASCAR threw the caution, freezing the field and handing Logano his first Daytona 500 win. With a race as exciting as this and without having a clear cut winner, fans deserved to see these drivers race back to the line. The wreck was at the other end of the speedway and at a 2.5  mile track, the leaders would have had plenty of time to slow down and get through the wreckage safely. Unless you're a Joey Logano fan, this was a disappointing end to an otherwise incredible Daytona 500. You can click these links to see Logano's celebration (interview starts around 1:15) and Gordon's reflections on his final Daytona 500.

But caution or not, Logano's win was a surprise. I wouldn't have given you a plug nickel for any of the Ford Fusions in the field on Sunday. If this race sets the tone for the remainder of the season, then fans really are in for another exciting, unpredictable year of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing.

Busch Brothers Add Controversy to Final Days of Speedweeks

Medical personnel attend to Kyle Busch after his vicious wreck in
Saturday's XFINITY Series race (Google Images)

Just when you thought Clint Bowyer's qualifying rant and Danica Patrick's shoving match with Denny Hamlin was all the intrigue we were going to get during Speedweeks, guess again. The controversy just got cranked way up.

Late Friday night, news broke that Kurt Busch had been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR competition in the wake of the domestic abuse case that has recently plagued his career. Last September at Dover International Speedway, Busch allegedly had an argument with his now ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll. The dispute got heated and Busch grabbed Driscoll's face and slammed her head against a cabinet in his motorcoach. Since then, Busch has claimed in court that his ex is, in fact, a trained assassin who had the combat know how to beat him up too.

Busch went through both levels of the NASCAR appeal process on Saturday and, ultimately, the sanctioning body upheld the decision to ban the 2004 champion from the sport for the foreseeable future. Stewart-Haas Racing has named XFINITY Series regular Regan Smith as the substitute wheelman for Busch's No. 41 Chevy for this Sunday's Daytona 500. Any driver(s) beyond this weekend will be announced at a later date.

Honestly, this came as no surprise. With the recent developments in the NFL this past season (Ray Rice and Greg Hardy were two big name players found guilty of such behavior), the league was forced to make changes and react swiftly and effectively. NASCAR is no different. Yes fans have been posting comments online about how this suspension will "ruin Busch' career" or how in America, people are "guilty until proven innocent." These are the kinds of people who need to shut their mouths, open their ears and think before they talk. If Busch is truly innocent in all this, then when the court renders a final ruling, Busch will be exonerated and return to the drivers seat.

Busch's nickname is "The Outlaw" and, while that's a really cool sounding way to make him seem tough and misunderstood, it's really a goofy label for a driver with a track record of acting like a complete and total maniac.



Kurt Busch and Patricia Driscoll (Google Images)

But this is also a driver who was kicked out of his Roush Racing ride for the final two events of 2005 for drunk driving before the Phoenix race. He's also a driver who was fired from Penske Racing in 2011 for verbally assaulting reporter Jerry Punch in the garage before an interview at Homestead (a word of warning, the video clip contains some adult language). He was also kicked out of his Phoenix Racing machine for the June 2012 Pocono race for threatening reporter Bob Pockrass on pit road following the previous week's XFINITY Series race. He's even sped on pit road and almost taken out other drivers pit crews.( For example, Tony Stewart in 2007 at Dover and Ryan Newman in 2012 at Darlington) So, while  is indeed innocent until proven guilty, it's hard to have any sympathy for someone with Busch's track record of borderline insanity behind the wheel of a 3,800 lb weapon on wheels.

NASCAR made the right call by outlawing "The Outlaw." Maybe this will finally teach him a lesson.

Kurt's brother Kyle also made headlines this weekend and, while "Shrub" is almost as hated as his older brother, any real race fan had to cringe and hold their breath at what happened to him Saturday. With just nine laps remaining in Saturday's XFINITY race, Busch made contact while drafting with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Eric Jones as the field moved out of the tri-oval towards turn one. Several other cars were collected and a lot of those hits looked pretty ugly. But it was Busch's No. 54 Camry that hooked hard left and crashed head on at full speed into the inside retaining wall; a solid, white concrete wall, unprotected from any type of SAFER barrier.

The end result was Busch exiting his car under his own power, but then promptly laying on the ground to be tended to by medical personnel. His right leg was placed in an air cast, he was strapped to a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance that bypassed the infield care center and headed straight to Halifax Medical Center; the hospital up the road from the speedway. You can watch the video of this vicious impact here. Busch was later diagnosed with a compound fracture in his lower right leg and mid foot fracture in his left foot (the same foot he had surgery on prior to this season). As a result, he will miss Sunday's Daytona 500 and quite a few events after that. Defending Camping World Truck Series champ Matt Crafton will fill in in Busch's No. 18 car Sunday and additional drivers will be named at later dates. It'll be a long road to recovery for Busch and love him or hate him, you have to feel bad for the guy.

This impact also turned the spotlight onto NASCAR and track officials because, in this age of increased safety and constant innovations to protect drivers, Busch crashed into a solid concrete wall rather than the energy absorbing steel and foam of the life saving SAFER barrier. Drivers and fans alike took to Twitter to express their outrage, with his brother's replacement for this weekend, Regan Smith going as far to say that he was "genuinely furious" because the idea of having a track with any piece of unprotected wall "in any of the top 3 series... is INEXCUSABLE. It's 2015." You know something? He's absolutely right.


Kyle Busch's wrecked race car gets hauled off (Google Images)

No matter where it is on the track's property, if there's a wall anywhere around a racetrack, a race car will find it at some point. Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III, held a press conference after Busch's wreck. Chitwood told reporters that the track would place SAFER barriers "on every inch at this property" in the future and that they would begin construction as soon as this coming Monday. Until then, the track is employing some technology used in ancient Rome to protect chariot racers. Large stacks of tires will be placed in front of the wall where Busch hit to protect drivers on Sunday. Chitwood also said that cost cannot and will not be a factor in installing the new walls. Funny he should say that.

There's no excuse to have any unprotected wall at any race track anywhere in this day and age. But especially not at Daytona. The speedway has been working on Chitwood's "Daytona Rising" project that will update and improve seating and amenities around the speedway. This is a multi-million dollar project. So not spending another few million to add safer walls, something so crucial to driver safety is absolutely absurd and, to quote Smith, "inexcusable." It seems that now Chitwood might realize that, if his track doesn't do a good enough job of keeping drivers safe, fans won't keep showing up to see all of the wonderful new amenities he spent so much time and money installing.

And the shame of it is, this soft wall controversy overshadowed an amazing win by driver Ryan Reed and his No. 16 Roush Fenway team. He did an amazing job passing Brad Keselowski on the last lap for his first career win in the biggest race of the year. Reed is also a Type 1 diabetic, so this really was a great win by a great guy and a great role model.

This has quickly become one of the most intriguing and dramatic Speedweeks in recent memory. Maybe in history. This will also be the first race without a Busch brother in the field since 2001. Both brothers are out for different reasons, it's easy to feel sympathy for one and complete contempt for the other. But love them or hate them, one thing is for sure; Kurt and Kyle Busch are polarizing, they are colorful and they bring a ton of personality to the sport. And that aspect; the idea of having two drivers most people love to hate, is something that the sport is going to miss until at least one of them is able to return.

Hendrick Cars Sweep Duels; Hamlin and Danica Tussle

Dale Jr scored a historic win in his duel Thursday night (Google Images) 

After Sunday's pack qualifying session at Daytona, fans and drivers alike (especially Clint Bowyer) started a debate about what should be done to make qualifying less risky. And if you haven't seen Bowyer's post-wreck rant yet, you can see it here. It's worth a look because it started a lot of controversy over NASCAR's recent changes to qualifying for the "Great American Race." But while Sunday's time trials locked a few cars in and won Jeff Gordon the pole for his final Daytona 500, the risk wasn't over for drivers still trying to make the field.

Thursday nights Budweiser Duel 150 qualifying races are always treacherous for those on the bubble and this year's twin races kept to that tradition. Both races had drama and disappointment, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. They also had a bit of history because for the first time in its history, Hendrick Motorsports swept the Budweiser Duel races, with Dale Earnhardt Jr winning the first one and Jimmie Johnson scoring the win in the second.

Junior's win was also fairly historic because, since his qualifying time was disallowed, he was forced to start at the rear in his duel. He started in 25th and finished in first and that is the furthest anyone has ever come from to reach victory lane in one of these qualifying races. Dale Jr was also helped by the fact that teammates Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne were at the front to run with him because Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr picked up where they left off Saturday night and looked like the cars to beat again.

The only incidents that occurred in the first race came when Casey Mears lost a motor and when Johnny Sauter got squeezed by AJ Allmendinger and sent Sauter's No. 83 Camry through the infield grass and into the outside wall. Trevor Bayne also got loose and hit the turn three wall and damaged the No. 42 of Kyle Larson. However, the real fireworks were yet to come.



Denny Hamlin and Danica Patrick talk on pit road (Google Images)

After Junior, who said earlier in Speedweeks that he had the fastest car in Daytona, scored a very convincing victory, it was time for the second race to go green.

Jimmie Johnson led the field to green and, despite a round of pit stops a few wrecks, he managed to dominate the race, hold off Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards and complete the Hendrick Motorsports sweep. But this race did feature a lot of drama as to who would make the field and who wouldn't.

David Ragan lost his owner points when Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins moved the points from Ragan's No. 34 car to teammate Cole Whitt's No. 35 because of Ragan's plate racing prowess. The only problem was that on lap 21 of his duel, Ragan spun around off the nose of Justin Allgaier's No. 51 Chevy. Ragan suffered some right rear damage and lost a lap in the repair process, but while he was down, it was early enough in the race that he was not out just yet.

The next wreck was much bigger and had major implications as to who went home. On lap 38 Jeb Burton, attempting his first Daytona 500, appeared to wiggle behind the No. 9 of Sam Hornish Jr and caught Hornish's right rear. This turned the No. 9 into the outside wall and collected the No. 7 of Alex Bowman and the No. 3 of Austin Dillon. The wreck also led to a 7 minute red flag to clean up the race track. This caution also led to Ragan getting back on the lead lap. Remember that for later.

Oh yea... Jimmie Johnson won the second duel (Google Images)

Once the race went green, it was clean until the end. But with four laps to go, Denny Hamlin lightly bumped Danica Patrick for the second day in a row (the two wrecked in practice Wednesday afternoon) and sent her spinning into Bryan Scott and Bobby Labonte. This led to a post race argument and a post race reaction where Patrick talked for two minutes and managed to say absolutely nothing.

However, despite running the risk of missing the race, Danica still managed to make the field for the 500. Oh and David Ragan? Despite his early wreck, all the subsequent carnage allowed for him to pick up the draft and finish inside the top 15 and also make the field for Sunday's race.

However, some drivers were not as lucky. Bowman, Burton, Scott, Josh Wise, Justin Marks and Ron Hornaday all missed the cut for the big dance and were forced to pick up their marbles and head home.

So now all that remains is to run the 57th installment of the biggest race in NASCAR. Forty-three teams will take to the high banks of Daytona for 500 miles on Sunday and every one of them stands a chance of taking home the coveted Harley J. Earl Trophy. This is really shaping up to be one of the most exciting 500s yet. Tune into FOX this Sunday at 1 pm Eastern to watch it all unfold.

Matt Kenseth Wins Sprint Unlimited; Breaks Winless Drought

Matt Kenseth and his crew pose in victory lane at Daytona (Google Images)

The 2015 Sprint Cup tour is officially underway and Matt Kenseth took the first trophy of the season Saturday night. While it wasn't a points paying win, this also snapped a losing streak for the No. 20 team; one that stretches back to the September 2013 race at Loudon.

Saturday's race was also a big one for second place finisher Martin Truex Jr. The New Jersey native put his defensive driving skills to the test and blocked all of his challengers to lead 28 laps in the season-opening event. Last season, Truex and his Furniture Row team only led one lap the entire year so their season started off great as well.

The race began with Paul Menard and Kasey Kahne leading the field to green and drivers like Truex quickly asserting their dominance. Drivers got close to bumping into each other, but it wasn't until lap 23 that one car got too close to the edge. Second year driver Kyle Larson tried to squeeze his No. 42 Chevy in between Penske Racing teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. This sent Keselowski spinning through the infield and back up the track. While he managed to avoid collecting other cars, Keselowski did hit the frontstrech wall head on, demolishing the front of his Miller Lite Ford and ending his night early. The wreck also provided a dramatic end to the first  25 lap segment, which was won by Truex Jr.

Once the second half of the Unlimited began, fans were treated to a no holds barred shootout for the first trophy of the season.

The racing was still really hard and really close, but drivers managed to avoid taking each other out. But just like a 200 mph game of musical chairs, once the music stops, someone is going to wind up without a place to sit.

One tap, one big wreck and a  bunch of cars done (Google Images)

On lap 46, Greg Biffle tapped the rear bumper of Jamie McMurray off of turn four and sent the No.1 car spinning down the track and back up in front of traffic. But unlike Keselowski's wreck, the rest of the field wasn't lucky enough to miss him. The wreck collected Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard, Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson and last years Unlimited winner Denny Hamlin. Kenseth also suffered a couple scrapes from this accident. Once the carnage had been cleared, only 11 cars remained on track. More than half the field had been eliminated in one spin.

After that wreck, with just a handful of cars remaining, you'd think the drivers would've calmed down a bit and preserved their cars. Wrong. With just eight laps remaining, Tony Stewart got loose and collected Biffle and Kurt Busch. The wreck sent Biffle into the backstretch wall (really hard) in a shower of smoke and sparks.

Once the race went back to green, Kenseth grabbed the lead back from Truex and managed to build up a pretty sizeable gap. Normally at plate tracks this is a bad thing and everyone was waiting for Truex to build a run and slingshot the No. 20 for the win. But surprisingly that didn't happen and Kenseth held off Truex and teammate Carl Edwards for his first win in the Sprint Unlimited and his first win in a year and a half.

After the race, the fireworks continued as 2014 champion Kevin Harvick and Logano exchange words on pit road after late contact. You can watch the FOX footage of this little skirmish here.

But one thing Logano said is, "new year, same stuff." And that's absolutely true. Last season ended with some wrecks, some fights and a nail biter of a final race. Now, in this opening race we saw some wrecks, a fight and an exciting fight to the finish.

NASCAR is back and they're picking up right where they left off. We should be in for one heck of a year

Heading into 2015,Change is the Name of the Game

Austin Dillon (3) leads the field to green in last year's Daytona 500
(Google Images)

This is it. After almost three months of waiting, this Saturday's Sprint Unlimited at Daytona marks the beginning of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. This race, which this year has become more like a big game of musical chairs than the prestigious race it was when only pole winners were eligible, will kick off the latest campaign for NASCAR's top series. And as this new season begins, there are a lot of changes taking place and a lot of questions that fans are awaiting the answer to.

First off, will the changes made by NASCAR to limit horsepower have any impact on the actual on-track product? Going into this year, the sanctioning body decided to do to the cup cars what they did to the Xfinity cars and Camping World Trucks a few years ago and run a tapered spacer on the cars at every track. Essentially, a tapered spacer is akin to a restrictor plate. It limits the amount of air allowed into the intake manifold and limits the car's power. This change alone is expected to cut horsepower from around 850 to around 725, according to NASCAR.com. In addition to reducing power, teams will also use roller valve lifters instead of flat valve lifters, lower gear ratios in the rear differentials and rear spoilers that have been shortened from 8 inches to 6 inches. This should all lead to lower speeds, tighter packs and, hopefully, better, closer racing.

One of the more unconventional changes, which has already been tested at Michigan International Speedway, is the optional driver-adjustable track bar. Located in the rear end, the track bar is the part of the race car that helps to control how "loose" or "tight" the car is and helps the rear tires grip better. Until now, it has only been adjustable with a wrench that the tire carrier's had to stick through a hole in the car's rear window. So now that a driver might have the option to adjust the way his car handles on his own and not wait for a pit stop could make things much more interesting.

Changes are coming to pit road in 2015 (Google Images)

Speaking of interesting, NASCAR has also changed their pit road officiating policies. The days of "Storm Troopers" in their white suits and helmets standing beside a car to overlook every pit stop are over. NASCAR will now use 45 cameras placed along pit road, the data from which will be fed to a central location where eight officials will keep track of what happens and report any potential violations. NASCAR.com also explains how this new technology will work in a little more detail.

The sanctioning body also changed the rule that each car must have all 20 lug nuts securely tightened down before they leave their pit stall. This used to draw a penalty and forced the driver to return to pit road to bolt down their loose wheel. But now, tire changers need no longer drive themselves "nuts" worrying about tightening down each lug. Technically, crew chiefs could even gamble and only tighten four or even three lugs on a late race stop with the win on the line, banking on their car crossing the finish line with all four tires still underneath it.

All of these changes are geared towards improving racing and making the competition more enjoyable for fans. But there are quite a few teams that are hoping these changes will help them improve their performance from last season.

Richard Childress Racing might have come within one position of winning last year's championship with Ryan Newman, but that was based solely on consistency. RCR drivers Newman, Paul Menard and Austin Dillon all went winless last year. Roush Fenway Racing also failed to score a victory with drivers Greg Biffle and Ricky Stenhouse Jr (Carl Edwards won two races for RFR, but will drive for Joe Gibbs Racing this year) and Gibbs Racing's Matt Kenseth went from winning seven times in 2014 to a giant goose egg in the win column last season. All of these drivers are more than capable of winning and a few have also shown they're capable of contending for the Sprint Cup trophy as well. These teams are all looking for a serious rebound and will no doubt be expecting big things in 2015 season.



Can Kevin Harvick defend his title this season? (Google Images)

Hendrick Motorsports also has a few drivers worth keeping an eye on. Jeff Gordon will be retiring after this year and his legions of fans will be hoping that his final "Drive for Five" will finally be the one to net him his fifth championship (and his first since 2001). And, in all honesty, Gordon is so well respected that anyone would be happy to see him go out on top like that. It will also be fun to watch his replacement, Chase Elliott run his first five Sprint Cup races in preparation to take over Gordon's famous No. 24 in 2016. With a schedule that is designed to challenge him, Elliott will be running some tough events, like the Coke 600 and the Southern 500 at Darlington. Seeing if he can reach the level of success he has in the Xfinity Series behind the wheel of a Sprint Cup Series car will be exciting to watch.

But perhaps the biggest question is can Kevin Harvick defend his Sprint Cup title? A driver who always came up just shy of the title in his tenure at Richard Childress Racing managed to win his first championship last season in his first year at Stewart-Haas Racing with crew chief  Rodney Childers. As mentioned before, in 2013 Matt Kenseth won seven races and came within just a few points of winning his second title. That was his first year at JGR. But last year he had a serious sophomore slump in his No. 20 Toyota. He failed to win a race and was eliminated right before the final round of the Chase began. Harvick won five races last year en route to his first championship. Will he be able to maintain his success? Or will he suffer the same fate as Kenseth did this past year?

There are a lot of questions to be answered this year. From rules changes to driver changes, there is a lot to look forward to this season. And when these changes go into effect this Saturday night at 8pm Eastern on FOX, fans will finally get a glimpse as to what the season might hold. We also might find out some answers to some of these questions, find out which changes were worth it and which might  work out to be a complete bust.

Jeb Burton Signs Multi-Year Deal with BK Racing

Jeb Burton will make his Sprint Cup debut in 2015 (Google Images)

On January 28th, Jeb Burton tweeted that "Due to a lack of sponsorship, I do not have a truck program for this year. I will continue to do everything in my power to fulfill my dream!" Now, just two short weeks later, it appears that Burton no longer needs to worry about his dream of being a race car driver passing him by.

After retooling their driver lineup for this season, BK Racing announced Monday that they have signed Burton, the 22-year-old son of 2002 Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton, to a multi-year deal that will keep him in the team's No. 26 Toyota for the foreseeable future.

"We are very lucky to have a great, young, talented driver like Jeb Burton in one of our NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars," BK Racing co-owner Anthony Marlowe said in a statement. "It was important for us to find full-time anchor drivers for this season that are experienced and team-oriented. Jeb's success in the Camping World Truck Series, along with his family's history in the sport, makes his emergence into Cup a great story. The story, which also includes a strong shot at winning Sunoco Rookie of the Year in 2015, has already proven to be very marketable."

Burton, who has seven poles, 19 top tens and a win at Texas in 49 truck series starts, said that he is, "...so thankful for the opportunity that BK Racing has given me. It has been a dream of mine to race in the Daytona 500 since I was 9-years-old and I stood with my dad in victory lane." The young rookie went on to reminisce about that day and talk about his cautiously optimistic outlook for 2015.

Jeb Burton (L) poses with his father, Ward, after his lone truck series win
at Texas in 2013 (Google Images)

"I remember thinking to myself then, in 2002, I would like to win the 500 one day," Burton continued in a team statement. "Now I have a chance at making that dream come true. I am looking forward to making the 500, providing the best possible finish I can by racing and by running and racing hard every lap this season. I also look forward to competing for the 2015 title of Rookie of the Year. Each week I will be concentrating on finishing on the lead lap and learning as much as possible."

In addition to Jeb Burton, BK Racing also landed his father. The elder Burton will be working with the organization as a "team ambassador" and accompany his son to select appearances throughout the year.

This latest addition is the latest in what has been a rough offseason for BK Racing. After losing rookie Alex Bowman to Tommy Baldwin Racing and Cole Whitt to Front Row Motorsports, the team only had J.J. Yeley signed a few weeks ago. But now, it appears BKR will be able to maintain the two full-time cars it had a few years ago with veterans Travis Kvapil and David Reutimann.

Yeley will pilot the team's No. 23 car and Burton will be in the No. 26 Camry. The team also announced that it will field a third car on a part-time basis for Johnny Sauter. So far, Sauter will be in the team's No. 83 Toyota in the Daytona 500, the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona this July, as well as both events at Talladega.