Teammates could battle for NASCAR Xfinity title again
NASCAR's No. 2 circuit has a new name — the Xfinity Series — but in most other ways the tour will be quite familiar in the new season.
Xfinity, the cable and broadband division of Comcast, replaces Nationwide insurance as the series' title sponsor. Nationwide sponsored the series from 2008-14, following original sponsor Anheuser-Busch (1982-2007). Xfinity has signed on for the next 10 years.
The favorite to win the first Xfinity championship trophy is Chase Elliott, last year's champion. Son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, Chase won the Nationwide championship and its rookie of the year award last season with a performance that placed him on the short list of potential future NASCAR superstars.
Only 18, Elliott won three races, coasted to the point championship with one race remaining on the schedule and quickly built a significant fan base, in part because of the fine career built by his father. Chase became the youngest winner of a NASCAR major-series title.
Only two months into the season, with Elliott having scored wins at Texas and Darlington, fans were ready to push him a level ahead into Sprint Cup.
Hendrick Motorsports announced Jan. 29 that Elliott will take over the legendary No. 24 Chevrolet in 2016 following Jeff Gordon's final Cup season this year.
Elliott is scheduled to run a few Cup races this season (in Hendrick Motorsports equipment), but his focus will be landing the Xfinity championship for JR Motorsports for a second straight season.
That wouldn't break new ground. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the series title in back-to-back seasons in 2011 and '12, and Martin Truex Jr. was a repeat winner in 2005 after winning in '04.
Elliott's biggest competition could once again come from within his shop. Regan Smith, also driving for JR Motorsports, finished second to Elliott last year and could challenge again.
Also back to shoot for the title again are the other top-five points finishers from last year — Elliott Sadler, Brian Scott and Ty Dillon. Sadler will race from a new address, as he has moved from Joe Gibbs Racing to Roush Fenway Racing.
Key newcomers to the series are Darrell Wallace Jr., newly arrived at Roush Fenway Racing and a graduate of the Camping World Truck Series, where he won four races last season, and Daniel Suarez, an accomplished Mexican driver who will run the full schedule for Joe Gibbs Racing.
And, of course, the series' victory lanes are likely to be dominated by Sprint Cup invaders, as has become the norm. They can't win the championship, but they can win almost everything else.
Kyle Busch won seven Nationwide events last season, while Brad Keselowski won five, Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick four and Joey Logano three.