2016 NASCAR Driver Spotlight Review: Austin Dillon

Austin Dillon 2016 Review

By Richard Tix

2016 Season Preview

Season Grade: B

Season Preview: "I'm not sure that expectations should go up for Austin Dillon with him still being at RCR and really not showing much reason for hope in 2015. However, I think the pressure will start to mount for him in his third year. I still expect the same type of season for Austin, though. 1-2 top 5's, and 4-6 top 10's will be the floor for him, anything less and it is another disappointment."

Season Review: Let's start here, 2016 was anything but a disappointment. AD finally started to show a bit more of an all around performance while having his best season of his short career. Dillon scored career high's in top 5's (four), top 10's (13), poles (two), and average finish (15.9).

Most importantly, AD was the lone RCR car to make the Chase after getting in on points. He cut out most of his poor finishes (only seven finishes outside the top 25) while notching 21 top 15's and 27 top 20's. A lot of his performance can be linked to a career best starting position of 14th (on average), which helped him early on with consistency.

Considering he was the best of the RCR bunch, he really should be getting some credit for how his season went as a whole. He still has work to do, but he finally flashes a bit more of that potential that had been lacking in the top series so far.

Previous Driver Spotlights

2015 Team Spotlight Preview: Richard Childress Racing

RCR 2015 Season Preview

By Richard Tix

2014 Season Review

2014 Season Stats

Races: 108

Wins: 0

Top 5: 11

Top 10: 33

Pole: 1

2014 Chase Drivers: 1

Going into 2014 I would say most fans would have agreed that a RCR driver making the Final race at Miami was a 0% chance (other than fans of those three drivers), yet there Ryan Newman was competing for a Championship in the closing moments at Homestead.

RCR as a whole wasn't overly impressive, but yet they found themselves hanging along each race. Newman never won a race yet, he never had terrible finishes. Dillon didn't rack up the top 10's, but he found a way to finish top 15 a majority of the time. Paul Menard once again started the season out on the right path, but couldn't finish it off.

So, 2014 wasn't amazing, yet wasn't bad and the end goal of a Championship was within reach. So what does 2015 bring? I think the goal for RCR should be to go from one driver in the Chase to getting two of three guys in. 

I think Dillon could take the next step and run consistent enough to contend for a Chase spot. I also believe Newman can take his win-less streak from last year and find a win somewhere along the season. The wild card will be Paul Menard and if he can string together a full season.

RCR seemed to be gaining momentum to end 2014 so if they carry that over with the new 2015 package they could do some damage with what many people believe to be middle of the road talent. I don't think they will have enough momentum to win a Championship, but getting a pair of drivers into the Chase is a possibility,

Ryan Newman

• Newman proved the new system is more than just winning, but he also helped prove (with Harvick) that winning still is everything. That because Newman lost to Harvick at Homestead when Harvick won and took the title from the remaining three other drivers. But, Newman's run was an eye opener in year one of the Chase that you can get in many different ways. 2015 might prove that once again but I doubt he can make a run at the title again without a win. Newman does give RCR it's best shot to win in 2015 so he might be one to watch.

Austin Dillon

• Newman might give RCR the best chance to win next year, but Dillon is the long term fix. He could continue his development in 2015 by posting more top 10's then he did last season and maybe even contend for a few wins. Dillon gives RCR a shot at putting two drivers into the Chase in 2015.

Paul Menard

• Paul Menard is an interesting driver in 2015. No, not because of his personality that is as dull as a butter knife, but because he came off a strong 2014 season yet was no closer to making the Chase. In fact, this new system may make it even harder for him to make the Chase than the old one (which he never finished better than 16th). Menard is a quality driver that gets overlooked a lot, but he also isn't a consistent threat to make the Chase or even finish top 10, which makes his 2015 season an interesting one, even if he lacks the interesting interviews. 

2015 Driver Spotlight Preview: Ryan Newman

Ryan Newman 2015 Season Preview

By Richard Tix

2014 Season Review

Going into the Finale at Homestead was there a driver who had been getting bashed by the fans more than Ryan Newman? Ok, ok. Going into the Finale was there a driver bashed more than Brad Keselowksi ad then Newman in that order? I would beg to argue, no.

That's because fans just couldn't take it that Newman had a chance at a title without a win? Or maybe, they couldn't stand it because there driver had 4 or 5 wins and no shot at the title? No matter what the reason, fans took it out on Newman.

But, lets take a look back at 2003. Newman had 8 wins, 17 top 5's, 22 top 10's, and an average finish of 13.9 yet he finished 6th in the points, 6th! The winner that year was a one win Matt Kenseth who had 11 top 5's and 25 top 10's. I would beg to say he won his Championship mostly on consistency.

So, whats the difference? That one whole win? Or the fact that fans took NASCAR's marketing as winning meant everything?

Lets go bigger than that and form our own opinions after we see how the Chase plays out. I tried to hold back full judgement until the end of the Chase, and shut out the media hyping or playing down the new format.

In the end I found the last 10 races with a load of excitement and a system that left the door open to a guy with 5 wins or 0 at the end. 

2014 was Newmans most consistent season as a Cup driver. His 12.7 average finish was his best mark of his career. He found a different way to get to the Finale and it ruffled everyone feathers. In the end he came up short of the end goal, a Championship.

I would beg to bet that on average most seasons NASCAR will not have many guys like Newman with zero wins in the Finale, but it will happen every now and then. So, fans, brace yourself it might happen again.

Bold Predictions/2015 Season Expectations:

• It's not bold, but I will put it out there and say I don't think he will make the Finale again. Having said that, I think he has a shot to get back in the win column this season, but as a whole the season might not be as smooth. At this point in his career he is expected to at least make the Chase. I think a win, 5-7 top 5's, and 14-16 top 10's should be plausible. 

List of Past Driver Previews

2015 Driver Spotlight Preview: Austin Dillon

Austin Dillon 2015 Season Preview

By Richard Tix

2014 Season Review

I still am not sure what to make of Austin Dillons 2014 season and what it means going forward. He was in a huge rookie class and ended up losing the rookie of the year battle to Kyle Larson, but he also didn't have a terrible first season.

He ended the season with 1 top 5, 4 top 10's, and an average finish of 17.5, but the bigger story was his consistency. He didn't put up eye opening stats and didn't have many flashes of brilliance like Larson did, but he still put up 17 top 15's and 27 top 20's on his way to a 20th place points finish. In fact, at one point it looked like he or Larson may squeak into the Chase on points. 

But, going forward will those top 15's turn into top 10's? Will those top 20's turn into top 15's? 

Bold Predictions/2015 Season Expectations:

• I think year two Dillon will take a good step in the right direction. That consistency has to pay off eventually and I thing RCR will be at least as strong as last year. I am not sure he will get his first career win, but I do think 3-4 top 5's and 5-8 top 10's is easily attainable. I do think he has a high side of putting up 10+ top 10's, but realistically I think its safer to say he will be lower. He might take over 2015 as the second best driver at RCR after Ryan Newman.

List of Previous Driver Spotlights

2015 Driver Spotlight Preview: Paul Menard

Paul Menard 2015 Season Preview

By Richard Tix

2014 Season Review

The 2014 season started the same as many seasons have for Paul Menard. Menard started the season out doing very well, picking up most of his top 10's in the first 15 races, and then the wheels fell off a bit.

Not to say Menard had a bad season, in fact his full season numbers were some of the best of his career. He ended with 5 top 5's (career high) and 13 top 10's (career high and first time in double digits). But, because of the new points system and Chase format that just wont get it done. He ended up finishing the season 21st in points which was his worst finish since 2010.

Bold Predictions/2015 Season Expectations:

• Paul Menard had back to back quality season's now where he notched 3 and 5 top 5's respectively. On the stat sheet it doesn't look too bad, but I just don't think it will get it done when it comes to making the Chase with this format. I think in 2015 Menard will contend in a few races for a win (heck, he might pull one off), but will end up short of the Chase. A range of 3-6 top 5's, and 8-12 top 10's will be expected again. 

List of Previous Driver Spotlights

Driver Spotlight: Paul Menard

2014 Driver Spotlight on Paul Menard: Week 8

By Richard Tix

The first Driver Spotlight of the regular season was on underdog Casey Mears. NASCAR Behind the Wall will take advantage of this early season hot streak to spotlight another underdog, Paul Menard.  

The 2014 season started off with Paul Menard being the lone driver still in the RCR stable. RCR brought in Ryan Newman to replace a soon to retire Jeff Burton. RCR also brought in young gun Austin Dillon and the #3. So, as many off seasons go for Menard, not a lot of talk was on him.

The first two races of the season are not ones Menard wants to think about (32nd and 23rd) but since then he has been on a good run. Menard has finishes of 3rd, 9th, 10th, and 9th in his last 5 races. That is 4 top 10's (one top 5) in his last 5 and good enough to get him to 10th in the points standings, which is the highest of any RCR member.

Not only is Menard running well, but he also recently had a child with his wife. So, so far 2014 has been a good year for Paul. 

This week NASCAR heads to Darlington Raceway. Most race fans get excited about heading here as it tends to bring exciting, wheel man, racing. Once again, in the eyes of Menard, Darlington will prove a big test.

In 2013 Menard also started the season out pretty well, but eventually fell into his typical season and ended the year 17th in the points.  Darlington has not been kind to Menard as he has an average finish of 23.7 in his 7 career starts. Not once has he finished in the top 10 at Darlington.

So far Menard has passed the early season test, but if he wants to avoid another season where he finishes around the 16th-20th spot in points he needs a good finish this weekend. If he can manage a quality win and maybe even a top 10 at Darlington we maybe talking about Paul Menards first season finishing in the top 15. If not, we might be able to just expect the same Paul down the stretch.

Past Articles:

• Driver Spotlight
• Darlington Entry List
• Darlington Schedule
• Power Rankings

RCR's New Beginning

2014 Look at RCR After 6 Races

Team Spotlight: RCR

By Richard Tix

Since 1969 Richard Childress and his racing team, RCR, has had many ups and downs. Along the way many different faces and personalities have come and gone leaving Mr. Childress with many memories.  In 2014 RCR came into the new NASCAR season turning a new page.

Kevin Harvick is out as the driver of the #29 after taking over for Dale Earnhardt. Harvick was a main stay st RCR so it was big news in the NASCAR world (RCR Preseason Spotlight). Also, Jeff Burton announced he was leaving RCR full time and would only run a race or two in the 2014 season. That left RCR with one driver, Paul Menard.

Menard has not been a bad driver for RCR over his career, but he seems to have settled into finishing around the 16-19th spot in points every year. Add to that, last season RCR seemed at times to struggle to keep up with the top teams (Harvick got it going some) and many were left wondering how this season would go.

Well Richard Childress started out the year with a bang by announcing he would be bringing the #3 back for the first time since Dale Earnhardt had passed away. His own family would be driving it, Austin Dillon. Also announced before that was that Ryan Newman would be joining the team to replace Harvick.

So, RCR entered the season with one highly touted rookie, and former "next big thing" and rookie of the year (Ryan Newman) who has been in a funk, and a career average driver (Paul Menard).

2014 started on a high note after Austin Dillon won the Daytona 500 Pole in the #3. Since that moment I would argue that the season has stayed pretty steady. In fact, RCR is having a quiet but good season so far especially if you take into consideration all the new faces in the garage.

Current standings have the 3 drivers sitting 9th, 10th, and 11th in the Cup Standings. They have 6 combined top 10's and a top 5, but they all seem to just be heating up. Austin Dillon has spent the season riding around learning the Cup series and at the same time finishing about top 15. Menard has 3 top 10's in his last 4 races, which is all of his top 10's on the season.

If they can keep it up and somehow all get into the Chase it would be a huge accomplishment for RCR. But with NASCAR's new rules these drivers may need to find a way to win. Newman has shown he is capable, but Dillon is young and Menard has 1 win in 261 career races. So, can RCR somehow get all three drivers into the Chase? It will be fun to watch play out.

**Added note: AJ Allmendinger has started coming on as of late with an 11th and 8th place finish in his last two starts. AJ and the #47 team have a technical alliance with RCR. Martin Truex Jr also has an alliance but has had some bad breaks to start the season.**

Some RCR Related Articles:

• Preseason Spotlight on RCR
• The Intimidator
• Preseason Driver Spotlight: Ryan Newman

Nascar Sprint Cup 2014 Headlines

Nascar Behind the Wall is going to take a fast look at the to ten headlines that may impact the 2014 season plus we go for extra credit. We have got the Nascar offseason itch so lets get to it.

• Richard Childess Racing Bringing Back The #3
• RCR announce in December that they would be bringing back the number know most notably for Dale Earnhardt. The rumors were flying around before the season ended in 2013 that RCR may bring back the number and Austin Dillon would be in the drivers seat. The official announcement sent the Twitter and Social Media world into a frenzy over if it was right. Many mixed feelings by fans have been shared, and now in 2014 we will finally see the number back in the track.

• #SmokeRising
• Last year the Nascar world got a huge shock when Tony Stewart got in a racing accident and broke his leg, resulting in him missing the rest of the 2013 season. This drama started a #smokewillrise following for the rest of the season, and this season all of Nascar will be awaiting Smokes Return.

• NASCAR's New Rule's (New Era)
• When NASCAR Changes something they go all out. "Go big or go home," is what I always like to say. NASCAR seemed to not leave a stone upturned this offseason. Starting with new drafting rules, then onto a new penalty system, and then onto blowing up the Chase as we know it. It will be fun to see how the new Era shapes up in year one, while at the same time it could frustrate teams, drivers, and fans alike. 

• The Rebirth of Denny Hamlin
• At the beginning of the 2013 season Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano had a heated rivalry starting up and it was a joy to watch as a Nascar fan. That all ended when the two were racing hard and Hamlin ended up on the wrong end of a crash that sent him into back surgery. Yes Denny got back into the car by the end of 2013 but he was still recovering.  In 2014, Hamlin should be rested and ready to take on a full 2014 schedule.

• 7 Time?
• Year to year Jimmie Johnson is always the story line, whether winning or losing, people notice where he is. Well, now that he is 6-Time, can he become 7-Time? Can he/will he join the ranks of Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty as a 7-Time Champion?

• Stewart-Haas Racing
• Well, this past season was eventful for SHR. They let Ryan Newman go, saying they would not be resigning him, and then said most likely they would not go with four cars yet in 2014 until they could be more consistent with 3. Then they signed Smokes buddy Kevin Harvick to take over Newman's spot (does these mean more Stewart "goosing" Harvick's wife?). Later in the season, as a shock to most, Kurt Busch was brought in by Haas as a fourth driver to the team. Will all the personalities coexist? Will the team self destruct? So many stories within the story on this one.

• Brad Keselowski Bounce Back?
• Now yes, I am a big BK fan, but I do believe that this is a story line worth looking at. Between him and Smoke, theyre the only two to take down JJ resently. Plus, BK is always somewhere to be found because he lets his mind be heard. So is there a bounce back? Can Penske get it back together?

• Driver Changes
• Already mentioned in this article, Harvick and Busch both made there way to SHR, but a few other drivers of note have new rides. Newman left SHR for RCR and will take over Jeff Burton's old ride. Maybe some fresh air will get him going, at times he was the best driver at SHR last season, and that was while Smoke was in. Martin Truex Jr got caught up in the MWR scandal and missed his shot at another Chase, now he is out at MWR with no sponsor ship and in at Furniture Row where Kurt just left. Mark Martin is "retiring" but we may see him from time to time as a fill in, plus he is still testing with SHR. Last but not least, Jeff Burton will spend some time in the booth and also some time with MWR part time.

• 2014 ROY Class
• This class is headlined by Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon. Both of these drivers have rides with contending teams that may have decent equipment. Larson will be in the #42 Ganassi ride while Dillon will be in the #3 RCR ride. These two guys could make the ROY chase worth paying attention to. Joining them could also be Michael Annett in the #7, Justin Allgaier in the #51, and Cole Whitt/Parker Kligerman in the #30. The last guys all have different plans for the 2014 season but whoever runs full time may not have the equipment to run with Larson and Dillon. 

• Gen-6 Year Two
• Well the first year didn't go so bad for Nascar and the Gen-6. Seems like it went over better with fans then the COT.... Year two seems like it could be a big year though as it seems Nascar fans still want to see some improvement. Throughout the year it seemed like the topic of passing and being able to race someone came up a lot. Testing has been done at Charlotte with the car so maybe Nascar will make some minor changes to help out.

• Iowa Purchased
• Iowa Speedway was purchased by Nascar this off season and it hit Social Media hard. Speculation started right away if they would bring Cup to the track, but Nascar responded with a "not now" approach. Nationwide will still continue to run there, but I, and many other Nascar fans, would like to see a stop at the short track for the Cup Series soon.

• Danica v Ricky Round Two (Extra Credit)
• This one is a bit of a joke, but Danica will always find a way into the story lines. So here goes, my turn, will Ricky pull away from Danica in year two, or will she finally find a groove. Also, could drama start if they break up? I don't want to make this a daytime soap episode so here is to hoping they stick it out together and that a break up isn't the reason we talk about her in 2014.

Well those are my top 10 (plus extra credit) early season 2014 Nascar Sprint Cup Headlines. It will be interesting to see which one of these headlines become a front runner and which end up being a non story. Let the count down to Daytona continue!

**Updated 2/14/14 to reflect some big news, that is now old news, in NASCAR. The new Points System.**

Driver Spotlight: Ryan Newman (Preseason Addition)

Ryan Newman's 2014 Preview

By Richard Tix

Let's set the time back a few years...

Year 2008, and Ryan Newman is on his way out the door at Penske. In the past 3 seasons (08, 07, and 06) Newman has had 1 win, 11 top 5's, and 30 top 10's. Newman seemed to have hit a rut and would be joining Stewart-Haas Racing at the perfect time. Could he turn it back around and get back to his early years?

Let's now turn it back to the present...

Newman seems to be back in a rut, but this time Newman has been consistent. Every season with SHR except his first he has had one win. He has averaged 6 top 5's, 15.6 top 10's, and made the Chase 3 times in his 5 years at SHR.

As hard as it was to imagine at first (Smoke and Newman are pretty good buddies) the team planned to set ways with Newman after the 2013 season as Newman made the Chase and proved to be the most consistent driver on the season for SHR (to be fair Smoke go hurt at the time he normally gets hot).

In 2014 Newman will be set to start fresh at Richard Childress Racing in the #31 Chevy. Newman is hoping a change in scenery will help him bounce back to the once promising career he had (He had 8 total wins in 2003). We have seen team changes work out for the best in the past, most recently with Matt Kenseth this past season. They can also be the last stop in a drivers career if it doesn't work out. So the next few years will be important for Ryan Newman and RCR. With so many young guns waiting in the wings in NASCAR's lower ranks, it will be interesting to see which Cup veterans keep pace so they can keep there jobs with top level teams.

So what do you think? Let me know on Twitter! Will RCR help Newman contend again? Will this be Newman's last quality ride? Will Newman find a way to get multiple wins for the first time since 2004? Should SHR kicked him to the curb?

Let the count down to Daytona Continue!

A look at previous Driver Spotlights:

• Clint Bowyer
• Tony Stewart
• Matt Kenseth
• Jeff Gordon
• More Driver Spotlights