The 2018 NASCAR Season Preview is here. A driver by driver preview from our Jim LaPlante.<\/p>\n
Martin Truex Jr<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u2013 Martin has a bullseye mounted squarely on the hood of his Toyota Camry<\/strong> and after what we all witnessed last season it probably will be sitting there all season.\u00a0 Last season saw Truex have as dominating a season as we have seen since the dominant years of Jeff Gordon<\/strong>.\u00a0 I cannot imagine any Chase Playoffs<\/strong> that does not include the #78<\/strong> car in the near future.<\/p>\n Jimmie Johnson<\/strong> \u2013 Oh sure, ole seven-time has shown a few dents in the bumper of late but is it possible for him and his team to go very long without getting a checkered flag?\u00a0 I say not a chance.<\/p>\n Kyle Busch<\/strong> \u2013 The winner takes all driving style of Kyle Busch is a perfect match for NASCAR\u2019s emphasis on the wins process.\u00a0 \u00a0Kyle will win multiple times during the season and will be a factor come the final race at Homestead-Miami<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Kyle Larson<\/strong> \u2013 As similar to Kyle Busch\u2019s win or bust driving style out there today. Larson has quickly become one of the most exciting drivers in NASCAR today.\u00a0 Larson will drive his #42 car while others will hardly dare.\u00a0 If he can just avoid a catastrophe in the final playoffs, Larson has a great chance to capture his first NASCAR Cup<\/strong> Championship.<\/p>\n Brad Keselowski<\/strong> \u2013 Brad talked about the aero advantage the Toyota\u2019s had last season and I\u2019m guessing he\u2019ll be adding the new Chevy Camaro<\/strong> to that list in 2018.\u00a0 Despite the fact the Ford\u2019s may have some catching up to do, Keselowski is way too talented a driver not to get the blue deuce on the Chase.\u00a0 He and his Crew Chief, Paul Wolfe<\/strong>, will find a way to garner enough points to be there at the end.<\/p>\n Chase Elliott<\/strong> \u2013 Chase fans are hoping the change from the #24 car to his Daddy\u2019s old #9 will also bring home a victory or two.\u00a0 The young Elliott has been really close several times. Let us say it here that he\u2019ll take his Chevy Camaro to the checkered flag sometime during the 2018 season.<\/p>\n Kevin Harvick<\/strong> \u2013 The torch-carrier of the Stewart-Haas<\/strong> stable, Harvick just has a knack for finding his way up front late in races.\u00a0 If it weren\u2019t for the fact that Ford may in fact have a disadvantage he\u2019d be in the lock category.\u00a0 As it is, the wily veteran will find a way.<\/p>\n Denny Hamlin<\/strong> \u2013 The dude seems to love short track racing and you have to believe he will find a way to capture a win in the Martinsville<\/strong> or Richmond<\/strong> races.\u00a0 Toyota\u2019s will be strong again in 2018 and Hamlin will be near the front of the pack when all is said and done.<\/p>\n Ryan Blaney<\/strong> \u2013 The young, clean-shaven Blaney moves over to the Penske<\/strong> stable and he\u2019ll benefit greatly by hanging with teammates Brad Keselowski<\/strong> and Joey Logano<\/strong>.\u00a0 Making the Chase in 2017 was a great experience for Ryan and I think it only gets better from here.<\/p>\n Ricky Stenhouse Jr.<\/strong> \u2013 Rousch-Fenway Racing<\/strong> has stumbled a bit of late, but Stenhouse gave the team a huge lift last season winning at Daytona and Talladega.\u00a0 Stenhouse is an immensely talented driver and he could certainly repeat his way into the Chase again.<\/p>\n Jamie McMurray<\/strong> \u2013 McMurray is one of the series\u2019 best athletes and also seems to collect top 10 finishes.\u00a0 Although Jamie did not win a race last season, his consistent finishes make him a likely candidate to sneak in on points.<\/p>\n Kurt Busch<\/strong> \u2013 Busch won the biggest race of the season last year, capturing the checkered flag at the Daytona 500<\/strong>, and then his season was pretty much bleh after that.\u00a0 Some believe this is the elder Busch\u2019s final season, the ultra-competitive Busch will pull out all stops to be there come playoff time.<\/p>\n Joey Logano<\/strong> \u2013 After his victory at Richmond<\/strong> was ruled encumbered (NASCAR won\u2019t be using that term in 2018), it seemed the wind was taken out of that teams sails.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be surprised if Logano finds his way to victory somewhere in 2018 and into the Chase.<\/p>\n William Byron<\/strong> \u2013 We\u2019ve had rookies in the Chase before and I\u2019m guessing we\u2019ll have one in 2018.\u00a0 Last season\u2019s teenage Xfinity<\/strong> Champion comes with a huge upside and a pretty good car and team, the #24 Hendrick Chevrolet.\u00a0 It\u2019s difficult for a rookie to have instance success at this level of racing but this dude is a super talent and very capable of doing just that.<\/p>\n Eric Jones<\/strong> \u2013 We saw glimpses from Jones at times last season.\u00a0 This youngster can drive a car and I think we\u2019ll see continued improvement from him this season.\u00a0 He\u2019s part of the next wave of NASCAR stars and he\u2019s close to making his impression on the sport.<\/p>\n Aric Almirola<\/strong> \u2013 Replacing the popular Danica Patrick<\/strong> in the Stewart-Haas #10 Ford, Almirola has jumped up in class.\u00a0 I for one am very interested to see how successful Aric is for that team this season.<\/p>\n Ryan Newman<\/strong> \u2013 He\u2019s as tough as anyone on the track to pass and he might be heard from again this year.<\/p>\n Austin Dillon<\/strong> \u2013 He and his team seemed to up their game after making the Chase last season.\u00a0 Can they continue on that upswing?<\/p>\n AJ Allmendinger<\/strong> \u2013 As long as there are road course on the schedule AJ will always be a threat to win one of those.<\/p>\n Dale Earnhardt Jr.<\/strong> \u2013 I know we\u2019ll still see him at the track as both a Xfinity team owner and a broadcaster for NBC Sports, but it\u2019s not gonna be the same with Junior riding around the track.<\/p>\n Danica Patrick<\/strong> \u2013 Her on-track performance never ever equaled her popularity off it, but she brought a new group of fans into our sport and that shouldn\u2019t be dismissed. She’ll be missed.<\/p>\n Matt Kenseth<\/strong> \u2013 One of NASCAR\u2019s best drivers and future Hall of Famer somehow finds himself without a ride in 2018.\u00a0 A huge loss for NASCAR and its fans.<\/p>\n Thanks for reading.\u00a0 Listen to WTBQ radio on Monday and Friday mornings at 8:45 as I join Frank, Taylor and the Morning Show gang to discuss all the current happenings in NASCAR.\u00a0 1110AM 93.5FM or online at WTBQ.COM.\u00a0 You can also follow me on twitter @JimLaplante<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Main Photo:These should be in:<\/h2>\n
Don\u2019t be surprised if:<\/h2>\n
If you\u2019re looking for Underdogs:<\/h2>\n
Honorable Mentions:<\/h2>\n
We\u2019re sure gonna miss:<\/h2>\n
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>