Last year, the Nationwide Series brought forth many headlines of their own with many sparkling moments. Building on that momentum, 2012 looks like it has the potential to top that.
To begin, reigning series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. returns to defend his title with Roush-Fenway Racing.
“We’re ready for another championship,” he said in his Daytona preview. “Our Nationwide Series season starts this week and I think we have worked on a few things that we needed to work on during the off-season and want to start out strong this year.”
Stenhouse Jr. shocked critics with how well he ran last year after having some bad seasons prior and causing some to believe he would be done.
A couple years ago when Stenhouse had those issues, Jack Roush made the decision to remove Stenhouse from driving and make him work on the cars. It certainly gave him a new perspective as he was out running strong each week.
He will be joined at Daytona with his teammate Trevor Bayne, who won the Daytona 500 last season. Bayne missed most of the season due to health issues, however is back and ready for 2012. The only thing holding him back is the lack of the sponsorship, which could be attracted easily depending on how Bayne does this weekend at Daytona.
Looking to continue to improve is Danica Patrick. After running a partial schedule last year, Patrick returns to run the full schedule this year for JR Motorsports with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. Last season saw a lot of improvement for Patrick throughout the season as she started as a back of the pack runner, though by the end of the season, was seen running in the top 15, sometimes even in the top 10.
"As Tony Jr. told me, the first 10 races really set the stage and set the pace for the rest of the year,” she said. “It's like being in school; you get a couple of bad grades on your first few tests and it just seems you can't get out of that hole and it's always the same. If you can start the year off well, have great test results at the very beginning it seems like you just kind of hang up there. So hopefully it's a good start to the year and we can feel good about it."
Eury Jr. has good expectations for 2012 as he feels that if they keep working down the same road, she’ll be able to continue running in the top 15 each week easily.
While Patrick had seasoned racer Aric Almirola as a teammate last year, she will have a rookie teammate in 2012. Cole Whitt signed to drive for JR Motorsports following the 2011 season and will drive the No. 88 car all season. Whitt last year impressed many fans with his success in the Camping World Truck Series with TurnOne Racing. He had two top fives, 11 top 10s and one pole in 25 starts in his rookie year to finish ninth in points. Beyond that, Whitt has an impressive resume that has led many to believe he is the next big thing. In 2008, Whitt became the youngest winner of the USAC National Midget Championship while winning one of the biggest races of the season, the Hoosier Hundred.
Returning back to the Nationwide Series once again is Elliott Sadler, who is looking to have more success this year. Last season driving for Kevin Harvick Incorporated (KHI), Sadler finished second in the standings, 45 points behind Stenhouse. This year, Sadler will be driving for Richard Childress Racing as KHI shut their doors following last season. However, that shouldn’t make a huge difference as he’ll have the same crew behind him.
The only change for Sadler will be in the driver that he will call his teammate – Austin Dillon. The 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion will move up to the Nationwide Series, set to run for Rookie of the Year honors. Dillon will also bring the No. 3 up the ladder with him, continuing the Earnhardt/Childress number tradition. Dillon’s grandpa and car owner Richard Childress first ran the number in the career, before Earnhardt taking it over once he made the jump to RCR.
Lots of people have questioned if this is the right move for Childress and Dillon to make. Dillon says it is as it’s a number that he has run since he was a little kid. Childress also says that he feels it’s right as he doesn’t mind running the number and got approval from the Earnhardt family first.
Following an impressive victory last season, Sam Hornish Jr. has landed a ride driving full-time in the Nationwide Series for Penske Racing. Hornish originally made the jump from IndyCar to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. However, the jump was marked as being too early as it hurt Hornish’s career in him not being able to find that needed success. Luckily, Roger Penske stuck with his buddy and is letting him get up to speed now through the second-tier division.
Ex-Penske Racing driver Justin Allgaier is back and ready for another season, too, as he will once again drive for Turner Motorsports. Last season, Allgaier finished third in points with one win, six top fives and 17 top 10s. With Turner Motorsports entering their second season as a full-time Nationwide Series operation, it could easily help Allgaier in bringing him to championship level.
After a solid season with Joe Gibbs Racing last year, Brian Scott returns for another season, ready to take it to next level. Last year, he finished eighth in points with two top fives and seven top 10s. Joe Gibbs Racing is known for having one of the strongest teams in Nationwide, especially when Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin are behind the wheel, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Scott hit that next level.
Also returning to the Nationwide Series is Michael Annett, who will drive the No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports. Annett struggled last year with bad runs throughout the season, whether it be due to wrecks or some say due to the quality of the cars. The result was his 2011 team, Rusty Wallace Racing, shutting down to lack of sponsorship. In January, RPM made the announcement about the new Nationwide team that they were forming with Annett driving.
Beyond those listed, there are many other drivers who be a threat to win throughout the season. The Daytona Entry List is a clear example as many past winners are mixed in there with past champions and new faces. As the same with any other year, the Nationwide Series promises to offer excitement for fans across the board throughout the entire season.
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