2014 Driver Spotlight Review: Brad Keselowksi

Brad Keselowski 2014 Review

By Richard Tix

Season Preview

Season Grade: A-

BK had a rough and tough 2013 campaign that left him looking for more heading into 2014. He never could seem to get things going and missed the Chase just one race after he won the Sprint Cup title. 

"Keselowski did however pull it together in the Chase to steal a Win from Chase contenders and maybe get his spirits up for 2014.  So the big question in this Driver Spotlight is will BK regain his 2012 form and bounce back? I see no reason why BK can not bounce back and be a contender again. Even in a struggling 2013 season he still had glimpses of the Championship run which makes me believe he has it in him." -From 2014 Driver Spotlight Preview

Regain his form he did. BK started the season off finishing 3rd, 3rd and 1st while also grabbing his first of 5 poles. It became an early season trend for BK and Penske teammate Joey Logano to start up front or even on the front row. The two of them followed that up with 6 total poles (BK-5 and JoLo-1). 

After BK's hot start he hit a stretch where he just plain struggled and it looked like 2012 again (except he was already locked into the Chase with his win). However, in 2014 he turned it back around at Dover and had finishes of 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 1st and 1st in his next 6. 

Brad took that hot streak and won the final regular season race of the season at Richmond. The streak continued right into the Chase when he won the first Chase race at Chicagoland. Then came Charlotte.... I will not get into the full factors as much of us know what happened, but he left Charlotte with a small shot to advance and a lot of enemies going into Talladega, were its a wild card race.

Needing a win to have any shot at advancing, Brad charged to the front almost all day at Talladega and pulled off the exciting win to advance to the Eliminator Round (last eight). Things started out rocky when he finished 31st in the first race at Martinsville and things boiled over into the next race of the round, Texas. Knowing he needed a win and running third BK tried to take a "hole" between Gordon and Johnson in a late restart and it didn't work out. It left he and Jeff Gordon all but needing a win at Phoenix to advance to Miami.

As we know, neither driver advanced to Miami (where they would have lost to Harvick anyways). Even though he didn't advance to the final, 2014 has to be looked at as a huge success. BK got back on track and showed his style of racing to everyone. He may have picked up some new enemies along the way but he also picked up a Cup leading 6 wins in 2014 (His new career high). With that, BK also picked up a career high 17 top 5's and 20 top 10's (his second highest career mark). He was one of the fastest drivers on the Cup level all season but came up short finishing 5th in points. Next year it will be interesting to see if Penske can keep the speed up or if others will start to catch up.

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2014 Driver Spotlight Review: Jeff Gordon

Jeff Gordon 2014 Review

By Richard Tix

Season Preview

Season Grade: A

Going into 2014 everyone was on the skeptical bandwagon when it came to Jeff Gordon. Was he over the hill? Would he retire? Is he merely just keeping the season warm for up and comer Chase Elliott? You name it, it was said. 

Myself, I looked at his stats in 2013 and looked past his career. I saw a down year and a driver another year older. I thought It might be the start of a slow decline. However, I did point out 2014 would be a big year to prove that wasn't the case:

"Jeff Gordon is at 88 career wins to start the 2014 season, but if he continues the pace he has been on the last 6 seasons he will need to race full time another 11 years. That puts Gordon at 52 years old and it starts to seem even more unrealistic that he will ever reach 100. So if Gordon ever wants to get to 100 wins he needs to start having seasons where he steals a few races from other drivers. With that in mind, 2014 is a big year for Jeff Gordon if he wants to get back on the path of 100 and chase another title." -Season Preview

Gordon did just that, he came out and proved he could still win at a high level. After such a good season in 2014, the questions now are, how many more years can he compete? Will he win another Championship in 2015? Where is Chase Elliott going to go since Jeff might stay a few more years?

It is refreshing to see Gordon back at a high level after a struggle in 2013. Its nice to have the sports biggest stars at there very best, Whether you love them or hate them, its good for the sport.

In 2014 Gordon's 4 wins were the most he has had since 2007. His 14 top 5's and his 23 top 10's were the most he has had since 2009. The most telling was that his average start position of 9th was the best he has had since 2003. Gordon seemed very comfortable in year two with the Gen-6 which will be something to watch going into 2015 as teams scramble to figure out the new adjustments.

As a whole, 2014 was a great season for the #24. If NASCAR was still decided by points only he would have been the Champion. But, in 2014 NASCAR is not decided that way and Gordon will have to find a way to overcome. It will be fun to watch and see if he can finally win title number 5 towards the end of his career.

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2014 Driver Spotlight Review: Dale Earnhardt Jr

Dale Earnhardt Jr 2014 Review

By Richard Tix

2014 Preview

Season Grade: A-

"After the review of 2013, it is hard not to think that Jr has a shot to contend in 2014. In fact, these numbers probably make Jr Nation drool with the thought of him holding that Championship Trophy. It all starts at Daytona where Jr use to be dominate. In his last 5 starts at the Daytona 500 he has finished runner up 3 times, the other to he finished 24 (but won the Pole), and 27th"

That is how my preview of Jr ended before the season started. I had a feeling that Dale Jr would take his good run in the 2013 Chase and roll it over into a good run in 2014. On top of that we found out the news that his CC Steve Letarte would be leaving him for the booth in 2015. So this past season was going to be a fun ride for the #88 team.

Dale Jr's season started off with a bang winning the 2014 Daytona 500. He ran with that into the next two races and finished runner up in both. In the first 21 races Jr had 15 top 10's and 3 of his 4 wins. So the beginning of his 2014 season was everything Jr Nation could want and more. 

However, the last 15 races were not as smooth. In no way did he finish out 2014 poorly, but after such a hot start most fans expected more. He has just 5 top 10's in the last 15. He did notch his last win of 2014 at Martinsville. That win would have been even bigger if the beginning of his Chase hadn't had so many poor finishes, as it would have locked him into the final race at Miami.

So we leave 2014 behind as the Dale Earnhardt Jr and Steve Letarte era ends. How will Jr's future go without Steve at the helm? That will be a major story line heading into 2015 and might also show up on Jr's season preview.

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2014 Driver Spotlight Review: Joey Logano

Joey Logano 2014 Review

By Richard Tix

2014 Preview

Season Grade: A

"2013 was hands down Logano's best season in the Cup Series with new Career highs in average finish position, top 10's, and top 5's. It was a bumpy first season with Penske, but not because of a lack of chemistry. It seemed that other then problems with Nascar Officials and Rules that Joey fit right in at Penske. Penske now has two young drivers with something to prove in 2014. I think now that Penske has another year under its belt with Ford and the Gen-6 car, and Joey Logano is also in year two with them, that he will have once again his best season yet. Joey Logano might be one of the drivers this season that takes his driving up to the next level and is talked about week to week as a race contender." - My Preseason take on Joey Logano from the Preview

2013 was JoLo's first season with Team Penske and he showed new life as a NASCAR Cup driver. He did this in a season where Penske and Ford seemed to lack the speed to really keep up with the likes of Hendrick and Joe Gibbs.

Enter 2014. Joey just had his best season ever (I know, that's what I said in the season preview about 2013) and now will be considered a title contender in 2015. So how did he get there?

In 2014 Joey Logano was the second driver to get multiple wins (first was Harvick) and lock in his Chase spot for sure. Joey Logano had his first season with multiple wins in 2014 (5 total) after having just just 3 his first 183 races. 

Joey rounded out his 2014 season with 16 top 5's (career high) and 22 top 10's (also a career high) on his way to second career and second straight Chase appearance. Once in the Chase, Joey reeled off finishes of 4th, 1st, 4th, 1st, and 4th to start. His top 5 streak ended when he helped Brad Keselowski win at Talladega which left Joey finishing 11th (he was already locked into the next round). He fought through a tough race at Phoenix to get to the finale in Miami.

Once in the final he looked like the co-favorite with Harvick, but a rough pit stop late in the race where a jack-man dropped the jack and sent Joey to the back, ended his title run. Overall Joey had one heck of a season and made a run that not many saw coming. I think he takes that fuel and passion from this season and brings it back in 2015.

• List of past Driver Spotlights