10 DRIVERS TO WATCH

KYLE BUSCH

A clear contender for this year’s title. Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing took longer to gel with the new Toyota Camry in the middle of a win drought that almost reached a year before his Pocono triumph. After that, he was a match for 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr right to the end. Expect that battle to continue in 2018 as the Toyota looks likely to be the frontrunning machine once again and Busch should have mastered the Camry.

RYAN BLANEY

Blaney has served his apprenticeship at the Wood Brothers outfit after being loaned out from Penske. He excelled in a single-car squad last year, earning him a return to Penske in a three-car outfit in 2018. Having taken a first win at Pocono last season, there’s no reason why Blaney can’t be a consistent frontrunner, and NASCAR would be all the better for it as he’s one of the series’ most charismatic drivers at a time when it needs new star names.

MARTIN TRUEX JR

The obvious choice as reigning champion, but the Furniture Row Racing driver has questions to answer in 2018. The Camry is clearly the car of choice, but opinions on how much of Truex’s success was down to the car continued to vary in the paddock. Once Kyle Busch got to grips with his Toyota at Joe Gibbs, he went toe-to-toe with Truex. With Busch expected to hit the ground running this season, Truex will need to show he’s a step ahead to dispel the doubts.

ARIC ALMIROLA

After Almirola suffered a serious back injury at Kansas Speedway in a collision between Danica Patrick and Logano last year, he had to watch for two months. But it was worth the wait when Stewart-haas Racing swooped for him after it became clear Patrick’s funds had dried up. Now in frontrunning machinery, a lot will be expected of Almirola, although he’s already had to cope with driving for the legendary Richard Petty.

JIMMIE JOHNSON

The seven-time champion looked to be a contender early in 2017, having won three races, but his form as the playoffs approached nosedived and he exited at the round of eight with a crash at Phoenix. The Hendrick Chevrolet driver was at a loss to explain why, saying he’d never worked so hard for so little. If he can lead the team in its new era and Chevrolet’s new Camaro fits the bill, a record-breaking eighth title may not be far away.

ERIK JONES

Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez were the two rookies to watch in 2017, but it was the latter who had the early advantage as he was picked for the Joe Gibbs seat ahead of Jones. But it was the Furniture Row Racing man who had the last laugh after beating Suarez in the points standings. He’s now been picked to replace Matt Kenseth at Joe Gibbs and, as Kyle Busch has consistently shown, that’s an outfit that can win races regularly. The onus is on

Jones to continue his rise.

CHASE ELLIOTT

Few things were more agonising than watching Elliott repeatedly haul himself into contention for a maiden win and then end up second. Elliott is adamant there was no main reason for his defeats, claiming it was “circumstantial”. As

Jeff Gordon reckons, once Elliott gets that first win it’ll be hard to stop him going on to greater things. At 24, that breakthrough needs to come sooner or later if he wants to start hunting titles in the same way as team-mate Johnson.

KYLE LARSON

Fast, but without the results the pace warrants. That’s a moniker Larson needs to offload in 2018. He started last year in imperious form, winning at California after three second place finishes in a row. Those successes should have set up a title campaign, but engine trouble at Kansas eliminated him from the playoffs as Jimmie Johnson snuck through instead. Larson felt it was a missed opportunity at his first real title shot, but he needs a second chance this year.

JOEY LOGANO

Penske’s Logano could not have had a more unlucky 2017. He took an impressive win at Richmond, only for it to be negated after his car failed a post-race inspection. With his playoff ticket snatched from his grasp, he nearly earned a reprieve at the return race there, but narrowly missed out. No wonder he called it a “horror film” year after he just lost out on the ’16 title. Refocused, he should be in the playoffs come the end of ’18.

WILLIAM BYRON

Byron’s climb to the Cup series has not been conventional, as he rose through the Truck and Xfinity series to the top tier in just three seasons. The reigning Xfinity champion has stepped in at Hendrick as part of its more youthful line-up. With Elliott, Johnson and the more experienced Alex Bowman in tow, Byron will need to show what he’s made of early on. With the might of Hendrick behind him, he’s well primed to make another great stride forward in 2018.