It’s hard to believe, but Kyle Busch was crowned 2015 Sprint Cup Series champion at Homestead-Miami Speedway nearly a month and a half ago. Now that we’re smack dab in the middle of NASCAR’s offseason and the season-opening Daytona 500 is on the horizon, it’s time to look forward to the 2016 season.
So let’s get to it — NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola and RJ Kraft make their cases for which Cup teams are in the best position to produce the 2016 champ and which is primed to make a comeback.
DeCola: First off — Happy New Year, everybody. Hope you’re starting to look forward to the upcoming season; I know I am. You know who else must be? Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, because Team Penske will produce the 2016 champion. After a successful, yet tumultuous 2015 season that saw a couple of their rivals finish first (Kyle Busch) and second (Kevin Harvick) overall, the Penske duo is primed to ride a wave of motivation into ’16 that should carry deep into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. It’s conceivable the pair will both be racing for a title in Miami this November. It’s likely one of them walks away a champion.
Kraft: The Penske duo is strong but I don’t see the title leaving where it currently resides at Joe Gibbs Racing. The four-car organization produced the most wins of any team last year (14) and has four title contenders taking the track every week. JGR hit big on the reduced downforce package in 2015 (with Kyle Busch winning at Kentucky and Carl Edwards winning at Darlington), and that will be the base package in 2016. It’s hard to see the Sprint Cup championship changing shop addresses after the upcoming season.
DeCola: Needless to say, I’m sure there will be surprises (like Kyle Busch winning the title after breaking his leg and foot to start the season) along the way that could change everything. Speaking of surprising comebacks, who do you have pegged as a team bound to make one in 2016? We saw plenty of organizations fail to meet expectations in ’15, so “bounce-back candidates” is a heavy category. I’m thinking Kyle Larson puts it all together in his third season to put his sophomore slump behind him and earn his first career Chase berth. Could certainly see him — and Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Jamie McMurray — picking up a win or two, as well, something the organization has lacked since 2013.
Kraft: I’m going a little more off the grid with my choice, Richard Petty Motorsports. Aric Almirola was a surprise Chase participant in 2014 and despite missing the Chase in 2015, Almirola was more consistent with his career-best average finish of 17.9. Add in two top-12 showings on the reduced-downforce package as well as five top 10s in his final 11 races and the 31-year-old looks poised to make a move up the standings. Adding Brian Scott as a teammate should help as well. The longtime XFINITY Series driver has only had a handful of Cup starts, but his three top 15s in 10 starts in 2015 were one less than former RPM driver Sam Hornish Jr. had over a full season in 2015.
This debate has established one thing for certain: The 2016 season can’t get here fast enough.