Drivers on a Current Win-Less Streak
By Richard Tix
It's time for NASCAR Behind the Wall's Annual article on 2014 win-less drivers and there current streaks heading into the 2015 season. Not all win-less drivers from 2014 will be listed here, instead we will focus on the most prominent and the ones with the longest active streaks.
"We're... We're going streaking! We're going up the quad and to the gymnasium."
"But... everybody's doing it."
Paul Menard (Streak Number: 124 Races)
The longest active streak among drivers I will count for this article, Paul Menard has spent 124 races wondering when his next win will come. He actually has one total win in his 291 career races. But, RCR keeps him around because his Dad can put the sponsors on the table. i have no problem with Paul, but I just think what if we could put a young talented kid in his car and sponsor him? I feel like Menard's dollars would go a lot father with a chance to win. Its hard seeing Paul winning in 2015, if he does I would guess it will be in the first 15 races and not the last 21. On the plus side, he had one of his better campaigns in 2014.
Clint Bowyer (Streak Number: 77 Races)
Well, Bowyer was on this list last year too. After a 2013 season that brought him and MWR zero wins I thought he would get one in 2014 (after all I gave him an 80% chance). Looks like I was wrong about that. In fact, MWR seemed to lack a lot of speed in 2014 as did JGR. Maybe the new 2015 Camry will help both teams bounce back and help Clint get back in the win column. Bowyer had at least one win in 5 of 6 years from 2007-2012, but has since gone on a 77 race win-less streak. I think Toyota will bounce back some in 2015 and Clint will soon get another chance at winning, but there is no denying he had one of his worst seasons since his rookie year.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr (Streak Number: 76)
I didn't spotlight Ricky last year, giving him a fair chance to get his feet wet on the Cup level. But after two full seasons, year three will be a show me season. Ricky actually regressed in 2014. It could have been the lack of speed with RFR or the competition is just that much better than Nationwide/Xfinity (where he was a Champion). Either way, in 2015 it wont matter, he will have to show something.
Greg Biffle (Streak Number: 57 Races)
Biffle went win-less for the first time since 2011 in the 2014 season. In all, Biffle had a bit of a rough season. As stated above, some of that could have been the lack of speed coming out of the RFR camp. That lack of speed from RFR showed up at Michigan where 2 of Biffle's last 3 career wins have come from. RFR just didn't seem to have it there or many other 1.5+ length tracks. Biffle will now be the veteran at RFR and they will be looking for a win or two from him in 2015.
Martin Truex Jr (Streak Number: 56 Races)
Martin had a good season in 2013 before getting left out of MWR when Napa left town as a sponsor. 2013 also happened to be when Martin picked up last Cup win. He struggled to find any consistency or speed in 2014 with Furniture Row, but they started to put a few good runs together late in the Chase. It will still be hard to pull off a win with such a small team, but it could be possible at one of the two road courses.
Ryan Newman (Streak Number: 52 Races)
Newman hasn't been the guy that won 8 races in 2003, but he has been a very consistent Cup driver. He has at least 1 win in 9 of his 13 career full time seasons. However, 7 of those 9 he had only 1 win during the season. Meaning, he may put together a win in a season, but streaks can come easy. He didn't win in 2014, but he put together a lot of solid top 10 runs (and very few terrible finishes) which helped him get to the Chase Finale in Miami.
Matt Kenseth (Streak Number: 44 Races)
Its crazy what a year difference means in NASCAR. One year you are joining a new team and winning 7 races. Then after a full year under your belt with a new team you go win-less. Crazy sport we watch. I think a lot of it had to do with the lack of dominate speed JGR had. I think Gordon, Penske, and Harvick were just that good. If you look at Kenseth's 2014 stats, he had more top 5's and top 10's then he had in 2013 when he won 7 races. So, the wins should come back in 2015.
Tony Stewart (Streak Number: 44 Races)
For the first time in 15 years Tony Stewart didn't win a race. I know you have all heard that by now, but I still find it absolutely crazy. He still sits 2 wins from 50, after I begged to ask the question how many races will it take for him to get to 50? I did not expect it to take until at least 2015, that's for sure. You have to think he bounces back in 2015, but what if Tony Stewart just doesn't find it again? I would hate to see it happen, because when the stars in NASCAR are hot it just brings that much more excitement week to week.
Jamie McMurray (Streak Number: 40 Races)
McMurray's last non restrictor plate race win came 149 races ago (Daytona/Talladega). Lucky for him, this accounts any kind of NASCAR win, which was only 40 races ago (Talladega 2013). Jamie actually had a very good 2014 season, but he just couldn't escape the bad luck enough to give him a shot at a win. In almost any season his best shot at a win will be a Superspeedway, but he has shown he can win elsewhere (like Charlotte).
*The Streak Number is the number at the beginning of the 2015 season
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