Five stories to watch during the 2015 Sprint Cup season
While the NASCAR season does not get underway until mid-February, it is never too early to start thinking about the upcoming year. The 2014 season saw some of the most intense on-track action and off-track drama in quite some time, but will that continue into 2015?
New rules package
The 2015 season will see a host of changes for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, including reduced horsepower, a reduced rear spoiler, driver-adjustable track bar, new automated pit road officiating and more.
Whenever NASCAR implements new rules, a handful of teams hit on the package right away while others struggle to wrap their heads around it. Many teams began working on the 2015 rules before they were even announced, as to get a head start on the competition.
With a ban on testing another part of the 2015 rules package, teams will rely more heavily on their in-house technology such as seven-post shaker rigs and computer simulation.
Whether or not the new rules package creates better racing will not be known until the cars hit the track in 2015, particularly once they leave Daytona International Speedway and really dive into the start of the season.
Second year of Chase format
Will teams approach the Chase differently in 2015 after having one year of experience under their belts?
When Brian France introduced the new 16-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup format during the 2014 NASCAR Media Tour, the goal was to place a larger emphasis on winning races, create more drama on the race track, and produce 'Game 7' moments in the post-season.
The first season of the new format seemed to accomplish all of those goals. The racing in the late stages of the regular season and throughout the Chase was among the most intense in quite some time.
Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski and eventual champion Kevin Harvick all scored must-win victories to advance their title hopes.
That must-win attitude also led to a number of drivers getting upset and showing their displeasure on the track, on pit road, and in the garage -- leading to some increased media attention from outside the typical NASCAR world.
Yet despite it all, Ryan Newman was able to finish second in the series standings and nearly win the title with no wins, and just five top-five finishes (three of which came in the Chase).
With little to no changes expected to the Chase format for the 2015 season, teams will have one year's worth of notes to plan for this year's championship battle. How they plan their season and how they proceed through the first 26 races in an attempt to make the Chase may evolve from where it was in 2014.
Also, will the off-track drama be replicated again in 2015 or was last year's extracurricular activities some sort of fluke? Again, only time will tell.
Will Kyle Larson earn his first Sprint Cup Series victory in his sophomore season?
Kyle Larson's sophomore season
When the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup rookie class was announced, many figured Richard Childress Racing's Austin Dillon would run away with the Rookie of the Year honor.
Instead, it was Chip Ganassi Racing's Kyle Larson that was knocking on the door of Victory Lane, turning the heads of Sprint Cup veterans, and taking the ROTY title at the end of the season.
In his rookie campaign he proved he could run with the likes of Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, and Kyle Busch, but can he take what he learned from 2014 and do even better this season?
Still searching his first Sprint Cup Series victory and first Chase berth, there will once again be many eyes on the 21-year-old driver in 2015.
Tony Stewart faced a host of off-track issues the past two seasons and did not earn a victory in 2014.
Can Tony Stewart get back to Victory Lane?
The 2014 season marked the first time since 1999 that three-time Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart did not earn a victory. The co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing has a turbulent year, to say the least.
His driver Kevin Harvick won the Sprint Cup Series title, the company's second in four years. Yet he was forced to deal with a host of off-track issues surrounding the death of sprint car racer Kevin Ward Jr., who Stewart struck while racing at Canandaigua Motorsports Park.
As a result of the tragic incident, Stewart missed three races, was isolated from many of his friends and fellow competitors, all while the possibility of criminal charges lingered over his head.
Stewart did not face any charges from the incident, but was unable to score a victory once he returned to the car.
This was the second season in a row Stewart was forced to miss Sprint Cup Series action as a result of a sprint car incident in his free time. In 2013, Stewart was involved in a sprint car wreck and severely broke his right leg, forcing him to miss 15 races.
Denny Hamlin was one of only two Toyota Racing drivers to earn a win in 2014.
With sprint car racing now on the back burner, can Stewart rebound in 2015 and make his way back to Victory Lane?
Will Toyota rebound?
The 2014 season was anything but ideal for Toyota Racing. Despite putting three drivers into the 16-driver Chase field, Toyota struggled throughout the season to match the speed and reliability of their Chevrolet and Ford counterparts.
After winning 14 races in 2013, Toyota was only able to visit Victory Lane twice in 2014 -- Kyle Busch at Auto Club Speedway and Denny Hamlin at Talladega Superspeedway.
Given the new rules package and the disappointment of the 2014 season fresh in their minds, how the Toyota teams rebound in 2015 will be another of the big storylines to watch as the season gets underway.
