NASCAR’s 2016 season is set to get started at the Daytona 500 on February 21st. There are some significant changes to both the rules packages for the cars, and the drivers that handle them. With the injection of new blood and the swan song for NASCAR champion Tony Stewart, plenty of drama should unfold throughout the year.
Package Changes:
NASCAR announced it will implement the new low-down force package for 32 of the 36 races for 2016. Only the restrictor-plate races at Daytona And Talladega’s super speedways will remain the same. Tested at Kentucky and Darlington in 2015, drivers and fans applauded the changes.
The reduction to the rear spoiler from 6″ to 3.5″ will allow the drivers to make better use of their skill. The new package will reduce the speed as they enter the corners, while having the ability to stay off the throttle, providing tighter racing and easier passing at critical times during the race.
Safety improvements are an ever-changing challenge from season to season. This year, NASCAR will include a double air duct by the passenger side window to keep drivers from competing in such extreme temperatures. A fire suppression system will be made available to drivers via the right side leg board to quicken response time. Also a higher quality seat-belt system will be installed in every car, keeping drivers’ movements in wrecks to a minimum.
The changes to the rules package should bring a competitive boost and safer environment to the racing series. Fans will relish watching drivers wrestle cars that will become harder to handle, so inevitably the better drivers should rise to the top. Expect a multitude of lead changes and tighter, faster races from beginning to end.
Driver changes:
Some big changes to personnel will occur in 2016. With the departure of racing legend Jeff Gordon, Chase Elliot will move up from the Xfinity series to take his spot. Hendrick Motor Sport’s team includes six-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmy Johnson, Kasey Kahne, and fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. There should be plenty of experience to help guide young Elliot in his rookie season.
Tony Stewart announced in 2015 that this will be his last season. Stewart has assembled a stellar career that includes 48 career wins and three Sprint Cup championships. Stewart just hasn’t been the same driver since the controversial accident that led to the death of fellow driver Kevin Ward Jr. at Canandaigua Motor Sports Park in New York. Clint Bowyer, who will be leaving Michael Waltrip Racing for HScott Motorsports, will take his spot in 2017.
Jeffery Earnhardt, Dale Jr.’s nephew, will be moving up to the big leagues from the Xfinity series. He started six Sprint Cup Races in 2015 and is looking forward driving for most of the year for GO FAS Racing. He will be a top contender for NASCAR’s Rookie of the Year award.
The Woods Brothers will have Rookie of the Year favorite, Ryan Blaney driving for them again this year. The big difference is that the team will compete in all of the races on the schedule this year instead of a select few. This was huge news for NASCAR junkies. The Woods Brothers have been involved in NASCAR since 1950 and have collected 98 wins, with some of the best drivers the sport has seen. Cale Yarborough, Dale Jarrett, Neil Bonnet, Buddy Baker and Ricky Rudd all have finished first in a Woods Brothers hot-rod.
Drivers to watch:
Although I’ll be writing other articles that will go in-depth on NASCAR’s Fantasy Classes, I wanted to include some drivers I think will be favorites to only not make the chase, but win it all. These drivers are the ones that seem to have the skill, attitude and teams to propel them to the top of the points in 2016.
Joey Logano finished the 2015 season with, possibly, the fastest car in the chase. Sweeping the first three chase races in the contender round had him brimming with confidence, but Logano got a little to big for his NASCAR britches, racing Matt Kenseth into the wall after he had already sealed a spot into the last round of the chase. The veteran Kenseth more than took offence and vowed to pay his new found adversary back. The very next week, in the opening race of the Eliminator round in Martinsville, Kenseth did it in spades. The 22 car was struck unapologetically and thrust into the wall, destroying his chances for a championship.
Kyle Busch will look to defend his Sprint Cup championship. The experienced driver may be the best fit to run the new NASCAR package. He won the first time the set-up was tested in Kentucky and took seventh in Darlington when it was initiated again. It never hurts being the best driver on 2015’s most dominate team, Joe Gibbs Racing.
Jimmy Johnson, the six-time Sprint Cup champion, has to be in this category. Though Johnson experienced somewhat of a letdown in the later half of the season, he did win five races, placing him second behind Joey Logano 2015. Hendrick Racing has been dominate in retrictor-plate races and Johnson is clearly the most experienced and well-rounded driver on the team.
Kevin Harvick has been the model of consistency in the past three years. His 12 victories, a 2014 championship, and his top three finishes in as many seasons makes him a valid candidate to compete for the title. His hard-nosed driving style will be perfectly suited for the close quarter battles that the new race packages will provide.
Any way you slice it, with the drivers having to adapt to the new set-ups, this should be a very competitive campaign. Tempers undoubtedly will flare with the bump-and-run type of scenarios that will surely occur. But as the old adage says…if you ain’t rubbing, you ain’t racing.
