2014 Season Preview ~ Part 5: The Rest Of The Field
Welcome back to our 2014 Season Preview! This is part five, and we’re going to be covering some of your favorite drivers who will be making limited appearances in the 2014 season.
(Unless otherwise specified, all car images are courtesy of Jayski)
No. 12 – Ryan Blaney(PattyKay Lilley)
This team is from Team Penske, and having perhaps not so politely declined the further services of former IndyCar star Sam Hornish Jr., will run only as a trial balloon in 2014 for Ryan Blaney, the young and very promising son of Dave Blaney. Having just turned 20 on New Year's Eve, Ryan is no stranger to the ranks of Nationwide, (1 win, 10 top-10s) Camping World Trucks, (2 wins, 18 top-10s) K & N Pro Series West, (1 race, 1 win) K & N Pro Series East, (7 races, 4 top-10s) and ARCA. (5 races, 4 top-5s, 5 top-10s and 3 poles) Ryan is scheduled to make his Cup debut at Kansas this May and reappear for an encore at Talladega in October.
Make no mistake about it, this young man is good in just about anything with a steering wheel and has the stats to prove it. Penske power, with engines from Roush-Yates Racing, is always a force to be reckoned with, and SKF is expected to adorn the hood of this Ford in both races. At this time, Greg Erwin's name is on the door that says "Crew Chief." Can he guide a first-time-out rookie to a win? No, not at Kansas. Talladega could always be a different story, but short of some miracle laced with a lot of luck, this is a team to watch but not yet have expectations for... unless of course, you are married to Dave and the Mother of Ryan. These runs will be for seat time and getting familiar with Cup racing only. My guess is, we won't see Ryan move up full-time until 2016. That might sound pessimistic, but the Captain is known to guide with a slow hand. Good luck Ryan... better luck than that of Sam Hornish... who missed being Nationwide Champ last year by 3 points, and was relieved of a ride as a result.
No. 21 – Trevor Bayne (Alabama Fitz)
So far a part-timer in Sprint, but full-timer in Nationwide. In 2013, he finished 6th in Nationwide points which is his best to date, and I found it interesting that he qualified 10th or better in 17 of the 33 Nationwide races. He also finished in the Top 10 in 21 of the 33 races. The youngster can drive. In Sprint Cup, he has run 46 races on the part-time schedule, 44 of them on tracks of one mile or longer. He still has a few tracks he hasn't run in Sprint: Richmond, Loudon, nor either of the two road courses. He drives for the Wood Brothers, but his driving contract is actually with Jack Roush. He only has three Top 10s in Sprint, but one of those was that exciting win in the 2011 Daytona 500. If Jack Roush brings him up full time, he needs to bring the Crew Chief Jack Kelley with Trevor. They seem to work well together. Early in 2013, there was some talk, by Jack Roush, that if things connected and everything came together, he would consider Sprint full time in 2014. As of right now, the word is another partial year. No. 35 - Eric McClure (PattyKay Lilley) This team is from Front Row Motorsports, owned by Bob
Jenkins, the restaurant guy, not the TV guy. Front Row's other two teams, the
#34 with David Ragan and the #38 with David Gilliland are planning full
schedules, sponsorship permitting. This one isn't even pretending. It was
announced on January 29 that Eric McClure would pilot the #35 Ford Fusion in the Daytona 500 with sponsorship from Hefty on the
hood. It's surmised that Todd Anderson will be sitting on the box for at least
the first race of the year. Other drivers, "TBA", will fill the seat
when and if a sponsor is found for that particular race. There is no set
schedule. The team does sport Roush-Yates engines, but is one of those teams that always makes me think of a line Robert Yates tossed out to the media years ago. "I build the engines all the same. What they do with them after they get them is not up to me." There's a whole world of truth in that statement. A whole world! Think about that when you see Eric McClure mixing it up with Carl Edwards in the Daytona 500. Don't look for a top anything from the #35, save perhaps if you are a fan of reading LASTCAR stats. When and if it is seen on the track, it will park, sooner rather than later. No. 40- Landon Cassill (Jim Fitzgerald) |
Car Owners Joe Falk and Mike Hillman have tapped Landon Cassill to run their No. 40 car in the Daytona 500. The team appears to be making a one race effort, at least to begin with, and will be running a Chevy. Mike Arber is rumored to be the crew chief and the engines will come from Earnhardt-Childress Racing. Honestly, there is nothing here except for a team and a driver trying to make the Daytona 500.
No. 52- Bobby Labonte (Jim Fitzgerald)
While originally thought to be just for the Daytona 500, it is now rumored that this car will attempt to run a few additional races during the season. Bobby Labonte will be at the wheel and the car is provided by James Finch as a sister car for Phoenix racing, the team he recently hold to Harry Scott. So far, not much more is known, regarding the sponsorship, if any, or a crew chief, but the engine will probably come from Hendrick Motorsports.
No. 66- Michael Waltrip/Jeff Burton/Joe Nemechek (Kevin Abraham)
This team was the No. 56 team that Martin Truex Jr. drove for last year, but lost the NAPA sponsorship after 'spottergate'. This team was supposed to run 8-10 races this season with Waltrip, and Burton; however the team entered into a partnership with Jay Robinson Racing to enable this team to run full-time in 2014. Filling the schedule in the No. 66 will be journeyman driver Joe Nemechek. Since this team will now be running full-time in 2014, the season outlook for each driver is as follows: Michael Waltrip is expected to contend for wins in all restrictor plate races every time he runs in this car. Jeff Burton is expected to be competitive in the races he competes in as well. If there is sponsorship for Joe Nemechek time in the No. 66, I expect him to be to be competitive and contend for top twenty's, but if there is no sponsorship for when Nemechek, see PattyKay's review of the No. 87 team for his season preview. I look for this team to steal a win with Waltrip or Burton, and earn three to five top tens in 2014. No drivers from this team makes the Chase.
No. 92- Brian Keselowski (Alabama Fitz)
If and when BKM gets it together, Brian will be driving the #92. I say if and when because first off, they are switching from Toyota to Ford for 2014 (a Roush/Fenway Ford). Secondly, on Jan. 10, 2014, BKM was reportedly ready to make some announcements concerning a new partnership and sponsorship. It is now over two weeks later and nothing has come forward as far as I know and, as of this writing, we are only a few weeks from the start of the Daytona 500. Some people say Brian has the same amount of talent as his brother, Brad, but can't quite get everything together to prove it. Stay tuned...this is the Keselowski family we are talking about here.
No. 95- Michael McDowell (Kevin Abraham)
McDowell enters 2014 with a new team in Leavine Family Racing. The change in teams is an upgrade for McDowell as he has been relegated to mostly start and park driving since being released from Michael Waltrip Racing in 2008. McDowell even addresses this fact with the statement: "I'm not even sure I'm allowed to say this, but I'm glad I don't have to start and park anymore," McDowell currently has sponsorship for three races in 2014 from the Christian radio station K-Love, the Daytona 500, the race in Sonoma, and a third unnamed race (Brickyard 400?, Watkins Glen?) Look for this team to use 2014 to build for the future. McDowell like many others has a shot to pull off a great finish at Talladega and Daytona. Keep an eye on McDowell on the road courses as well, as he is a decent road racer.
That does it for Part 5 of the preview for 2014. We’ll be taking a break from the predictions for a while, but we’ll be back the week of the Sprint Unlimited, as we bring back the Fast Forward Fantasy Racing League Picks and Race Previews for you. We’ll be running our own points Championship, and we’ve added a twist to it this year as well…we’re bringing in some fans to play along with us! Until then, we’re going to continue to have some great content and columns here on Race Fans Forever!