Look Ahead: Daytona in 41 days

During the off-season, Look Ahead gives a snapshot of where drivers finished in 2014 and what’s ahead for them in 2015. We will look at drivers who scored at least 400 points in the Cup Series and those who earned at least 250 points in the XFINITY (formerly Nationwide) and Camping World Truck Series.

With 41 days to go until the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500, here are some driver recaps followed by a tentative list of 2015 Sprint Cup Driver/Team lineups.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS):
2014: Kasey Kahne (Hendrick Motorsports No.  5 Chevrolet SS) finished 15th in the standings, made the Chase and earned 2,234 points. The 34-year-old Enumclaw, WA driver led 218 laps and scored one win, three top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. He had a 17.2 average start and a 17.6 average finish. He also drove JR Motorsports’ No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro in the Nationwide Series picking up a win at Daytona in July and averaging a ninth place finish in three starts.
Best 2014 NSCS start: 3 – Charlotte 5/25
Best 2014 NSCS finish: Win – Atlanta 8/31
Last career NSCS Win: Oral-B USA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on August 31, 2014.
2015: Kahne returns to the No. 5 Chevrolet SS but will have a new crew chief. Keith Rodden takes over for Kenny Francis who has moved up as the vehicle technical director. Kahne will also drive in two XFINITY Series events behind the wheel of the JR Motorsports No. 88 (formerly the No. 5) Chevrolet Camaro.

2014: Greg Biffle (Roush Fenway Racing No. 16 Ford Fusion) finished 14th in the standings, made the Chase and earned 2,247 points. The 45-year-old Vancouver, WA driver led 110 laps, scored three top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. He had an 18.7 average start and a 16.4 average finish.
Best 2014 NSCS start: 4 – Fort Worth 4/6
Best 2014 NSCS finish: 2 – Talladega 5/4
Last NSCS Win: Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 16, 2013.
2015: Biffle is contracted thru 2016 to drive the No. 16 Ford Fusion. Matt Puccia will also return as Biffle’s crew chief. With former teammates Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards moving over to Joe Gibbs Racing, Biffle becomes the “senior” driver at RFR.

2014: AJ Allmendinger (JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47 Chevrolet SS) finished 13th in the standings, made the Chase and earned 2,260 points. The 33-year-old Los Gatos, CA driver led 68 laps, scored one win, two top-five and five top-10s. He had a 19.7 average start and a 20.2 average finish.
Best 2014 NSCS start: 2 – Sonoma 6/22
Best 2014 NSCS finish: Win – Watkins Glen 8/10
Last NSCS Win: Cheez-It 355 at the Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 10, 2014.
2015: Allmendinger is signed thru 2016 to drive the No. 47 Chevrolet. Crew Chief Brian Burns signed thru 2016. Sponsors extended thru 2016 and 2017.

UPDATES on previously covered NSCS drivers:
- Stewart Haas Racing has confirmed that Daniel Knost, who took over as crew chief on the No. 10 Chevrolet SS driven by Danica Patrick in November, will continue in that role for the full 2015 season.
- David Gilliland will return to the Front Row Motorsports No. 38 Ford Fusion team with a new crew chief. Donnie Wingo will take over the responsibility from Jay Guy.
- Tommy Baldwin Racing confirmed Michael Annett will return in the No. 7 Chevrolet SS as well as sponsorship from Pilot Flying J. Crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion will also lead the team this season.

NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS):
2014 (NNS): Landon Cassill (JD Motorsports No. 01 Chevrolet Camaro) finished 12th in the standings and earned 800 points. The 25-year-old Cedar Rapids, IA driver scored three top-10s and had an average start of 20.3 and a 19.8 average finish. He also made 34 Sprint Cup starts in the Hillman Racing No. 40 Chevrolet where he averaged a 28.8 finish included a best of fourth at Talladega.
Best 2014 NNS start: 9 – Iowa 5/18
Best 2014 NNS finishes: 8 – Talladega 5/3 and Road America 6/21
Last career NNS Win: None so far.
2015 (NXS): Cassill will return full-time in both the XFINITY Series No. 01 Chevrolet and the Sprint Cup No. 40 Chevrolet but will only collect championship points as an NXS driver.

2014 (NNS): Dylan Kwasniewski (Turner Scott Motorsports No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro) finished 11th in the standings and earned 867 points. The 19-year-old Las Vegas, NV driver scored a pole and three top-10s. He had an average start of 12.4 and a 17.7 average finish. He also drove TSM’s No. 4 Chevrolet in the ARCA Racing Series opener at Daytona; started on the pole, led 34 laps and finished the 80-lap event in 14th place.
Best 2014 NNS start: Pole – Daytona 2/22
Best 2014 NNS finishes: 8 – Daytona 2/22 and Mid-Ohio 8/16
Last career NNS Win: None so far.
2015 (NXS): Kwasniewski returns to the series but the organization has reformed as HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi fielding a one-car team. He will be sharing the ride in the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro with Ganassi’s Sprint Cup driver Kyle Larson. Mike Shiplett will be their crew chief.

UPDATES on previously covered NXS drivers:
- Eric McClure will switch from Tri-Star Motorsports to JGL Racing for the 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series season. He will run the No. 24 Toyota Camry (JGL used Dodge's in 2014) for his 13th season in NXS. Jay Guy will be his crew chief.
- Blake Koch will return to TriStar Motorsports and be behind the wheel of a new car number as he pilots the No. 8 Toyota Camry in all 33 NASCAR XFINITY Series races. He drove TriStar's Nos. 10 and 44 Camry's in 26 races last season. Bruce Cook will be his crew chief.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS):
2014: Mason Mingus (Win-Tron Racing No. 35 Toyota Tundra (16 races) and Billy Boat Motorsports No. 15 Chevrolet Silverado (6 races)) finished 11th in the standings and earned 545 points. The 20-year-old Brentwood, TN driver scored one top-10 and averaged a 19.4 start coupled with a 19.2 average finish.
Best 2014 NCWTS start: 10 – Talladega 10/18
Best 2014 NCWTS finish: 10 – Kansas 5/9
Last career NCWTS Win: None so far.
2015: Mingus will run a full season in the No. 15 Billy Boat Motorsports Chevrolet.

2014: Bryan Silas (T3R Racing No. 99 Chevrolet Silverado) finished 10th in the standings and earned 548 points. The 27-year old Stuart, FL driver led three laps and scored two top-10 finishes. He averaged a 19.2 start and a 19.2 finish. Silas also drove the David Ragan Ford sponsored car in the ARCA Racing Series season-opener at Daytona; started 11th and finished 12th.
Best 2014 NCWTS starts: 10 – Fort Worth 10/31 and Homestead 11/14
Best 2014 NCWTS finish: 8 – Fort Worth 6/6
Last career NCWTS Win: None so far.
2015: T3R Racing has confirmed Silas will return this season in the No. 99 Chevrolet truck.

UPDATES on previously covered NCWTS drivers:
- NEMCO Motorsports has switched from Toyota to Chevrolet for 2015. Joe Nemechek and John Hunter Nemechek will be sharing the ride in the No. 8 Chevrolet Silverado this season.