NASCAR Cup Series 2018

Since Haney's thread has about reached its destination of 2015, it would make sense to start over, this time going to 2018. Like with the 2015 imagined season, simply post your predictions for what teams and drivers you think will be around at this time. Have fun!

Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevy)
42 - Dylan Kwasniewski (R)

McMurray retires after the 2017 season and Larson has moved on to bigger things, leaving Kwasniewski as the only driver on the team.

Germain Racing (Chevy)
13 - Casey Mears

Germain is consistently satisfied with Mears performing right where he needs to be and keep him for at least another season.

Hendrick Motorsports (Chevy)
5 - Kyle Larson (2014 ROTY/2017 Champion)
9 - Chase Elliott (2016 ROTY)
48 - Jimmie Johnson (2016 Champion)
88 - Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Kasey Kahne leaves Hendrick after 2015 and is replaced by Chase Elliott, who almost wins the championship as a rookie. When Jeff Gordon retires after the 2016 season, Elliott takes his car and it's renumbered to the #9 with permission from RPM. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson takes his old ride and goes on to win the championship in 2017. Johnson and Jr. stay put, but the question of retirement begins to linger over their heads as well.

Richard Childress Racing (Chevy)
3 - Austin Dillon
27 - Paul Menard
31 - Ryan Newman (2014 Champion)
33 - Ty Dillon

Ty Dillon reaches the Cup level in 2016, only to be overshadowed by a dominant Chase Elliott. After Ryan Newman's shocking championship win in 2014 without winning a single race, he ends up going back towards the midfield as Childress continues to boost the careers of his grandchildren. Menard and his boatload of money keeps him basically under a lifetime deal with RCR.

HScott Motorsports (Chevy)
51 - Justin Allgaier
52 - Ben Rhodes/Scott Heckert (PT)

Allgaier manages to hold on to his ride in the #51 while newcomers Ben Rhodes and Scott Heckert begin to run a few races to get an idea of Sprint Cup racing while maintaining rookie eligibility for the future.

JTG Daugherty Racing (Chevy)
47 - Kimi Raikkonen (R)

After retiring from F1 in 2015, he reenters the NASCAR scene in 2016. While unimpressive in his first year back, he makes significant improvements in 2017, earning him a ride with JTG Daugherty.

Stewart-Haas Racing (Chevy)
4 - Kevin Harvick (2015 Champion)
10 - Danica Patrick
14 - Tony Stewart
41 - Kurt Busch

Everything ends up just right for Harvick as he wins the 2015 championship, and continues to be a championship threat. Danica won the Daytona 500 in 2015, and had the best season of her career in 2017, which included 2 wins and a top 12 finish in the points. Despite the tragic accident that occurred in 2014 and not having won a race since 2015, Stewart continues to race his heart out. Kurt Busch also remains on the team.

Tommy Baldwin Racing (Chevy)
36 - Michael McDowell

After the Leavine Family team closed down after 2015, McDowell found a home at TBR. Besides that, the team is running exactly where they have been running for their entire existence.

Front Row Motorsports (Ford)
34 - John Wes Townley (R)
38 - David Gilliland

Townley brings in some desperately needed money while Gilliland remains unmoved.

GO FAS Racing (Ford)
32 - Paydrivers/Various

GO FAS continues to bring in drivers of questionable talent, even at one point having Milka Duno drive for them for a race.

Richard Petty Motorsports (Ford)
43 - Aric Almirola
44 - Sam Hornish Jr.

RPM remains loyal to Hornish and Almirola, despite their average performances.

Roush Fenway Racing (Ford)
6 - Trevor Bayne
17 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Biffle retires after the 2016 season and Roush had the worst season in its history in 2017, with only one top ten finish scored between Bayne and Stenhouse.

Team Penske (Ford)
2 - Brad Keselowski
12 - Ryan Blaney
22 - Joey Logano

Penske expanded to a 3-car operation in 2016, adding Ryan Blaney to their lineup. They continue to be a force to be reckoned with on the 1.5 mile tracks, but are plagued by bad luck when it counts and their drivers getting involved in conflict.

Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
11 - Denny Hamlin
18 - Kyle Busch
19 - Carl Edwards
20 - Matt Kenseth

Gibbs fails to develop their talented drivers such as Erik Jones and Darrell Wallace Jr. due to his Cup drivers continuing to take up slots in the Nationwide Series.

Michael Waltrip Racing (Toyota)
15 - Clint Bowyer
55 - Brian Vickers
56 - AJ Allmendinger
66 - Michael Waltrip (SS only)

MWR adds a fourth team to their lineup this season with AJ Allmendinger driving. Other than that, little has changed.

Chip Ganassi Racing

Jamie McMurray's contract is in it's last year but he holds station for now and Kyle Larson gets swooped up by a bigger team. Dylan Kwasniewski wrecks his way up to Cup.

#1 Jamie McMurray
#31 Dylan Kwasniewski

Penske Racing

Despite all the controversy he brings in, Brad Keselowski is kept by the team. Joey Logano's good performance means he'll also stay put. Penske supplies a full-time cup race for Ryan Blaney by 2017, where he won a few races and made the chase.

#2 Brad Keselowski
#12 Ryan Blaney
#22 Joey Logano

Richard Childress Racing

Austin Dillon wins in the #3 car and the teams performance in general goes up. Newman makes way for Ty Dillon. Paul Menard stays because he's bringing in too much money to let him go.

#3 Austin Dillon
#27 Paul Menard
#33 Ty Dillon

Stewart-Haas Racing

Stewart's performance never goes up, and he eventually retires and focuses on team ownership. With the F1 team commitments, the NASCAR team struggle in 2016 and cut down to 3 cars.

#4 Kevin Harvick
#10 Danica Patrick
#14 Kurt Busch

Roush Fenway Racing

The downward spiral continues for Roush Fenway Racing, and they're left only supplying a car for Ricky Stenhouse Jr after Bayne jumps ship to go back to MWR, and Biffle hangs up the helmet. Because Stenhouse isn't all that good, Roush Fenway struggle to do anything noteworthy, and are stuck in midfield.

#6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Tommy Baldwin Racing

Michael Annett jumps ship to go to Richard Petty Motorsports, but a driver swap sees Almirola struggle with the dying team.

#7 Aric Almirola

Hendrick Motorsports

Chase Elliott replaces Kasey Kahne after 2016 meaning that the #5 car finally gets a consistently good driver, but the #5 car is renumbered to the #9. Jeff Gordon calls it quits entirely in 2016, which is when Kyle Larson swoops in and starting winning left and right in the #24 car. Jimmie and Jr stay put, after Jimmie surpassed 7 championships and Jr continues to be a contender.

#9 Chase Elliott
#24 Kyle Larson
#48 Jimmie Johnson
#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr

Joe Gibbs Racing

Hamlin and Edwards stays put, Kyle Busch puts his Nationwide team into Cup levels and is surprisingly decent after a year or two of struggles in the car. Kenseth calls it quits, making room for Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace.

#11 Denny Hamlin
#18 Erik Jones
#19 Carl Edwards
#20 Darrell Wallace, Jr.

Germain Racing

WHAT CAN GEICO DO FOR YOU???

#13 Pay Drivers

Michael Waltrip Racing

Michael Waltrip realises Clint Bowyer is actually kind of terrible and gives him the boot, so that Bowyer can run in Nationwide for a bit. This leaves a space open for Trevor Bayne to be reunited with the team. Brian Vickers has more health problems and this causes him to hang up the helmet, and the team put faith in Ryan Truex.

#15 Trevor Bayne
#55 Ryan Truex
#66 Michael Waltrip/Brett Moffitt

Wood Brothers Racing

Wood Brothers run select races with Ryan Sieg behind the wheel pumping money into the team, and they're not as terrible as expected.

#21 Ryan Sieg (R) (PT)

Front Row Motorsports

They downscale as Roush is dying, and make a jump to Chevrolet with Toyota with Gibbs backing. Performance doesn't really improve, but that's largely down to their drivers.

#34 David Ragan
#38 Kasey Kahne

Richard Petty Motorsports

The #9 is renumbered to the #42 in respect to Kyle Petty, and Hornish does well enough to stick around. Annett comes in to drive the #43

#42 Sam Hornish Jr
#43 Michael Annett

JTG Daugherty Racing

The teams performance improves along with RCR's and the team expands. Allmendinger sticks around after winning a few more racing for the team, and the team put their faith in Cole Custer who doesn't perform near as well as Allmendinger but shows signs of hope.

#47 AJ Allmendinger
#57 Cole Custer (R)

Kyle Busch Motorsports

Kyle Busch brings his team up to Cup with HEAVY backing from Gibbs and doesn't do terrible, but performance gradually improves. He also brings Gray Gaulding up to Cup level as a rookie against Cole Custer. He wins this battle, simply because he's in a better car than Custer.

#54 Kyle Busch
#56 Gray Gaulding (R)

Furniture Row Racing

This team continues to slide down in performance, and the team put their faith in Regan Smith again, but Smith doesn't do anything.

#78 Regan Smith

NEMCO Motorsports

John Hunter Nemechek runs some races with his dad.

#87 Joe Nemechek/John Hunter Nemechek


OTHER NOTES

There will also be some new backmarker teams but it's practically impossible to tell who they will be.

NASCAR scrap the 2014 chase system in 2016 after a driver is severly injured after a crash/stupid brawl.

Danica will win a race at Talladega and just as the media stops talking about it 3 years later, she wins a race at an oval that takes slightly more talent.

While JJ will win the title twice more, Kyle Larson will also feature on the champions list, just beating Chase Elliott barely.

Chip Ganassi Racing

#41 - Dylan Kwasniewski
#42 - Jamie McMurray

McMurray and Kwasniewski team up at CGR, McMurray returns to the 42, while Kwasniewski goes to the 41.

Furniture Row Racing

#78 - Martin Truex Jr.

This team continues to do their usual runs and Truex becomes a staple in that team.

Germain Racing

#13 - Casey Mears

Mears clinches a surprinsing non-chaser win at Texas in 2016, where several cars were taken out in a incident that involved chasers and resulted in the scrap of the system by NASCAR.

Hendrick Motorsports

#9 - Chase Elliott
#25 - Kyle Larson
#48 - Jimmie Johnson (2017 Champion)
#88 - Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Elliott replaces Gordon at the end of 2015, and Larson joins the team after Kanhe is taken out. Johnson captures another title and ties Petty/Earnhardt, this is Johnson's first title under the good old regular system.

JTG Daugherty Racing with Phil Parsons

#47 - AJ Allmendinger
#98 - Josh Wise

JTG merges with PPR at the end of 2015, and Josh Wise joins the team. Both Dinger and Wise become usual threats to take a couple of wins through the 2016 and 2017.

RCR

#3 - Austin Dillon
#31 - Ryan Newman (2014 Champion)
#33 - Ty Dillon

The Dillon brothers and Ryan Newman become heavy-hitters in 2015 amd onwards.

Hillman/Circle Sport

#30 - Various
#40 - Landon Cassill

Landon Cassill captures a upset victory at Talladega and locks himself in the 2015 Chase. He isn't able to do much with the car and gets eliminated in the first round. He continues to do runs with the team, as several drivers drive the #30.

SHR

#4 - Kevin Harvick (2015 Champion)
#10 - Danica Patrick
#14 - Tony Stewart
#41 - Kurt Busch

2018 is Stewart's last season, while Danica won her first race at Talladega in 2016, and Harvick gets the 2015 title.

Tommy Baldwin Racing

#7 - Michael Annett
#36 - Reed Sorenson
#37 - Travis Kvapil

Not too much to say about this team. they don't get to do anything special in the 2015-2018 seasons.

To be continued when I actually get ttime to...........

Accuracy is not what we're shooting for here...

Hendrick Motorsports
#5 - Regan Smith -PT-
#24 - Jeff Gordon (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2015 Champion)
#25 - Chase Elliott
#48 - Jimmie Johnson (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2016 Champion)
#88 - Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Gordon & Johnson are on lifetime contracts, and Jeff has continuously put off his retirement, even after securing his 5th championship in 2015. Chase Elliott moved to the #5 in 2016, replacing Kasey Kahne. The car was renumbered to 25 for the 2018 season.

Penske Racing
#2 - Ryan Blaney
#12 - Sam Hornish Jr.
#22 - Joey Logano (2017 Champion)

- Brad Keselowski shocked NASCAR fans by leaving Penske Racing at the end of the 2016 season in favor of bringing his truck team to Cup. Ryan Blaney jumped at the opportunity to pilot the "Blue Deuce". Joey Logano, fresh off his 2017 championship, signed a new 10-year deal at Penske, confirming that he won't be going anywhere for awhile.

Richard Childress Racing
#3 - Austin Dillon
#27 - Paul Menard
#31 - Ryan Newman (2014 Champion)
#33 - Ty Dillon

- RCR have been consistently in the chase, and even stole the title in 2014 with Ryan Newman despite never winning. Newman's championship victory proved to the fans that the chase format is a complete joke, yet NASCAR has refused to change anything about it. Austin Dillon came 2nd in 2017, crashing in the final laps at Homestead to be denied the #3's first championship since 1994.

Stewart-Haas Racing
#4 - Kevin Harvick
#14 - Tony Stewart (2002, 2005, 2011 Champion) -PT-
#41 - Kurt Busch

- Notice that Danica Patrick isn't here? Yeah, she was released at the end of 2017. Otherwise, largely unchanged from what we are used to seeing since 2014. Stewart has not been in the chase since 2012, and is going part-time in 2018.

Joe Gibbs Racing
#18 - Darrell Wallace Jr.
#19 - Carl Edwards
#20 - Matt Kenseth (2003 Champion)

- The Kyle Busch era is over, and his seat is taken by Darrell Wallace Jr. JGR have been contenders, but still cannot close the deal when it matters the most.

Roush-Fenway Racing
#6 - Trevor Bayne
#16 - Greg Biffle
#99 - Ryan Reed (R)

- After rotating several mid-tier drivers in that #99 entry for the past few years, the team finally decided to bring Ryan Reed up from the Xfinity Series for a rookie of the year campaign. Reed has not been anything spectacular, but sadly, he's the best young driver Roush now has. My, how this team has fallen...

JTG-Daugherty Racing
#47 - A.J. Allmendinger
#49 - James Buescher (R)

- After the success in 2014 of getting into the chase with Allmendinger, this team continued to build on that success. The #47 saw victory lane twice in 2015 on both road courses, and got their first oval victory in 2016 when Allmendinger won the Daytona 500. Despite no wins in 2017, they still managed to get into the chase and was among the last 8 thanks to good luck and consistent results. This success has encouraged the team to expand to two full time cars, signing James Buescher to drive their #49 entry which they bought from the fledgling Jay Robinson outfit.

Richard Petty Motorsports
#9 - Kasey Kahne
#43 - Aric Almirola

- Kasey Kahne jumped over to RPM in 2016 after losing his Hendrick Motorsports ride, and experienced instant success, getting them to the chase with 3 victories. He did not win in 2017, experiencing a lot of bad luck in getting involved in other drivers' wrecks. Since his chase season in 2014, Almirola has struggled for consistency, but managed to add another win in 2015.

Chip Ganassi Racing
#1 - Jamie McMurray
#42 - Kyle Larson

- Completely unchanged from the mid-2010's, as Ganassi has opted to keep the same lineup. His patience with drivers Jamie McMurray & Kyle Larson has been rewarded in the form of several wins as well as a 2017 chase spot with Larson, who ended up 4th in the championship.

Phil Parsons Racing
#98 - Josh Wise

- The Reddit era for Phil Parsons Racing just keeps going. A continued influx of new money coming in from Reddit members has kept PPR competitive, and thanks to a surprise Talladega win in the fall of 2017, more sponsors are coming aboard. This former start & park team has shown that you can successfully make the jump from farcical operation to legitimate contender. Confidence is high in the PPR camp and they have high hopes for 2018, believing they can make the chase. The only negative from the offseason is that longtime backer Mike Curb has opted to invest with CircleSport, knowing that PPR are now self-sufficient thanks to a seemingly never-ending stream of Reddit member donations.

Keselowski Family Racing
#26 - David Ragan
#29 - Brad Keselowski (2012 Champion)
#92 - Brian Keselowski -PT-

- After Brad Keselowski's departure from Penske, he took a two year sabbatical from NASCAR. We still don't know why he did this. However, he is resurfacing for 2018, bringing his successful Truck Series team to Cup and rebranding it as Keselowski Family Racing, as his father Bob and brother Brian have become more involved in the day-to-day running of the operation. This has allowed Brian to run part-time at the Super Speedways in strong equipment. The team also signed veteran David Ragan from Front Row Motorsports for the 2018 season.

Waltrip/Scott Motorsports
#15 - Clint Bowyer
#51 - Justin Allgaier
#55 - Michael Waltrip -PT-
#57 - Timothy Peters (R)

- After troubles in 2016 and 2017, Harry Scott has merged his Cup operations with Michael Waltrip Racing, and the two partner up to field three full time cars in 2018. Allgaier returns from the Scott side of the team, and Timothy Peters will finally make a run at Rookie of the Year after several aborted attempts in 2017.

Germain Racing
#13 - Casey Mears

- Geico has continued to sponsor this competitive single-car team. Still looking for their first win, but they've begun cracking the top 15 on a quasi-regular basis.

Furniture Row Racing
#78 - Chris Buescher (R)

- Success has been very hard to come by since Kurt Busch was with the team. They've had numerous different drivers, and all of a sudden the self-sufficient team out of Denver is mired in the muck that is the lower midfield. For 2018, they've called on rookie Chris Buescher to try and get the team back on course.

Hillman Racing
#40 - Landon Cassill

- "Constant Growth" has been the mantra for Mike Hillman's team. After going completely independent from the Joe Falk operation CircleSport from 2016, the team has experienced moderate success, notching top 5's on the Super Speedways and top 20 finishes at the short tracks. While they are still not consistent enough to make a serious chase challenge, they are competitive thanks to their new technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports.

CircleSport
#33 - Alex Bowman

- The team took a step back in 2016 & 2017, failing to qualify for several races. However, a new driver in Alex Bowman, fresh financial backing from Mike Curb who jumps over from the Phil Parsons team, and a new in-house engine program have Joe Falk's group hoping for big progress in 2018.

NEMCO Motorsports
#66 - Pay Drivers
#87 - Joe Nemechek -PT-
#97 - John Hunter Nemechek (R) -PT-

- Progress has been very limited for Front Row Joe's team, having spent the past few seasons primarily focusing on their Truck Series & Xfinity Series efforts. However in 2018, John Hunter Nemechek will be running a handful of events. Their #66 entry will continue to be filled by various pay drivers. A top 25 finish in a race this season would be the equivalent of a victory for this group.

Kyle Busch Motorsports
#54 - Kyle Busch
#72 - Erik Jones (R)

- Cup Championships: Still 0. Xfinity Series & Truck Series wins: Way too many. Kyle Busch's continued hack & slash domination of the supposedly lower tier series has only served to alienate fans of those series even more than they already are. He is showered with boos (and occasionally beers) at every track he goes to. He has not won in Cup since he left JGR, but has managed to be an even bigger crybaby than he was back in the day! So much for being the voice of reason...at least there's rising star Erik Jones, 2017 Xfinity Series champion running for rookie honors.

Front Row Motorsports
#34 - Blake Koch
#38 - Michael McDowell

- Bob Jenkins' Front Row Motorsports are like a Jekkyl & Hyde team. Great on Super Speedways, borderline awful everywhere else. Their driver lineup for 2018 does not inspire very much confidence, as Blake Koch & Michael McDowell take the reins after the departures of David Ragan & David Gilliland.

Go FAS Racing
#32 - Pay Drivers

- Without Terry Labonte around for them to use on the Super Speedways, the team have had to rely on pay drivers to bring sponsors. They are an operation under threat of closing due to poor results. It is believed that they will not make it out of 2018 unless they downsize to only running select events instead of the full time campaigns they've had the past two seasons.

Leavine Family Racing
#95 - Pay Drivers -PT-

- Another team with a heavy reliance on pay drivers. This group just have not been able to make the jump to being a full time operation, and it doesn't look like that will change anytime soon.

Team XTREME Racing
#44 - J.J. Yeley -PT-

- There hasn't been much to love for the most Xtreme of race teams. Poor performances as well as limited funding have led to nothing more than sporadic appearances for the John Cohen-owned outfit.

The Motorsports Group
#30 - Matt DiBenedetto (R)

- After floating around with various pay drivers from 2015 onwards, the team decided to promote from within and bring Xfinity Series backmarker Matt DiBenedetto up to Cup. They have reportedly acquired enough sponsorship to run full races all season, but fans are still taking a "We'll believe it when we see it" approach to team owner Curtis Key's claims of financial solvency.

Tommy Baldwin Racing
#36 - Michael Annett
#37 - Reject Drivers -PT- -S&P-

- After crash-filled 2015 & 2016 campaigns with two full time cars, TBR downsized to one full time car, opting to run the #36 and keeping Michael Annett as he still brings the Pilot Flying J money. They have filled their part-time #37 "start & park" machine with various reject drivers.

Venturini Motorsports
#02 - Steven Wallace (R)
#26 - John Wes Townley (R)
#35 - Milka Duno (R)

- Also known as "Death From Above, Below, Sideways, Forwards, Backwards, and Every Which Way Possible"...why, Venturini Motorsports, why?

Robby Gordon Motorsports
#7 - Robby Gordon -PT-
#77 - Kimi Raikkonen (R)

- Welcome back, Robby Gordon! After selling his interest in Stadium Super Trucks at the end of 2017, the veteran road racer has re-opened his NASCAR team and made a huge splash by signing former Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen. The "Iceman" gives NASCAR another try after a brief attempt in 2011. Kimi will run the full season with backing from Kikkoman, while Gordon will only run the road courses.

These predictions can be summed up in one image...

Oh god...:

Well here goes...

Chip Ganassi Racing:
#1 Jamie McMurray
#42 Casey Mears

Casey Mears signs a 2-year deal in 2018 for partner McMurray at Ganassi.

Furniture Row Racing:
#78 Gray Gaulding

Give him the money please.

Germain Racing:
#13 Landon Cassill

Cassill makes a one-year move to Germain Racing, and announces his retirement after the season.

Hendrick Motorsports:
#5 Kyle Larson
#24 Chase Elliott
#48 Jimmie Johnson
#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Kasey Kahne is dumped by Hendrick Motorsports after yet another poor performance in 2015, making way for Kyle Larson to make his real mark in NASCAR. Jeff Gordon finally retires after 2016, leaving the seat open for Chase Elliott to shine like a star. Johnson and Dale Jr. decide to stick around with HMS until 2020.

H-Scott Motorsports:
#51 Brennan Newberry

With Harry Scott's team starting to become underfunded, money is just what they need, in the hands of Brennan Newberry

JTG Daugherty Racing:
#47 Kasey Kahne

Kasey Kahne goes to JTG Daugherty after being fired from Hendrick Motorsports, in the #47 car to try and get the team further off the ground with better results.

Phil Parsons Racing:
#98 Casey Lester

Because Casey is a faggot and doesn't deserve anything better.

Richard Childress Racing:
#3 Austin Dillon
#27 A.J. Allmendinger
#31 Ty Dillon

Ty Dillon moves up from the Xfinity Series to the #31 Childress Chevy in Cup in 2017, with A.J. Allmendinger replacing Paul Menard in the #27.

Circle Sport:
#33 Dylan Kwasniewski
#40 Ryan Sieg

Dylan Kwasniewski gets a very questionable full-time ride with Circle Sport, joined by Mike Rutana who will have more common sense than Kwasniewski will ever have.

Stewart-Haas Racing:
#4 Kevin Harvick
#10 Danica Patrick
#14 Paul Menard
#41 Kurt Busch

Tony Stewart retires from Full-time racing after 2016 to focus on his Team Owner role, as Paul Menard fills in his shoes as he steps away from RCR.

The Motorsports Group:
#30 Ian Cooper
#03 Timmy Hill
#09 John Wes Townley

Ian Cooper is crowned the greatest driver ever so he gets a lifelong dream of racing in NASCAR, partnering John Wes Townley and Timmy Hill at the Motorsports Group. Cooper is the only driver on the team to fail to qualify for the 2018 Daytona 500, and blames Michael Waltrip for it because he is allowed to.

Tommy Baldwin Racing:
#7 Michael Annett
#36 David Ragan

It starts to become clear that David Ragan is losing his momentum to stay fastest in Practice, so he gets demoted to TBR after 2017.

XXXTREME Motorsports:
#44 Mike Rutana

Ohio native and TeamSpeak regular Mike Rutana fulfills a life long dream of driving for his beloved team, bringing all the talent and money he possibly has to go full-time from 2016.

Front Row Motorsports:
#34 Alex Bowman
#38 David Gilliland

Alex Bowman moves up just that little bit more in Cup, replacing the ever slowing David Ragan in the #34 at FRM from 2018.

Go FAS Racing:
#32 Tanner Berryhill (Part-time)

Some backing from Tanner Berryhill is just enough to land him a part-time ride with Go FAS Racing from 2017.

Richard Petty Motorsports:
#9 Sam Hornish Jr.
#43 Aric Almirola

Roush Fenway Racing:
#6 Trevor Bayne
#16 Chris Buescher
#17 Ben Atkins

Greg Biffle retires after the 2017 Season, making way for Chris Buescher. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. breaks both his legs in a massive crash at Talladega in the Fall Race in 2017, ending his career and giving Ben Atkins his greatest chance to make Stenhouse look like absolute shit.

Team Penske:
#2 Brad Keselowski
#22 Joey Logano

Both driver's sign further contract extensions with Penske through to 2020.

Identity Ventures Racing:
#66 Michael Waltrip (Part-time)

This team only scales back to running SS races with Michael Waltrip behind the wheel, who in the process goes out and wrecks Ian Cooper intentionally during the Qualifying Races for the Daytona 500.

Joe Gibbs Racing:
#11 Denny Hamlin
#18 Kyle Busch
#19 Carl Edwards
#20 Darrell Wallace Jr.

Matt Kenseth retires after 2016, giving Darrel Wallace Jr.his big break in the #20 from 2017 with JGR.

Michael Waltrip Racing:
#15 Ryan Blaney
#55 Brian Vickers

Clint Bowyer is fired from MWR after 2015 for ridiculous against his own team, with Ryan Blaney getting a big shot with Michael Waltrip Racing, taking over the #15 alongside Brian Vickers.

BK Racing:
#23 Treck Tauger
#83 Dakoda Armstrong
#93 Michael McDowell

Michael McDowell and Dakoda Armstrong sign one-year deals with BK Racing from 2016, with TRECK TAUGER. Tauger gets the #23 car as BK Racing were very impressed by his twerking skills which got him free meals for Burger King for life, and the fact that he hears too much smoke WHEN HE SHOULD SEE CRASHES IN FRONT OF HIS GOD-DAMN EYES!!!!!!!!!!!

2018 for NASCAR is a huge year...

Penske Racing

1- Joey Logano- 2015 & 2017 champion
2- Ryan Blaney- 2016 ROTY
22- Marcos Ambrose- Part Time
-Penske would eventually get pissed off with Keslowski's attitude just like he did with Kurt Busch, and promptly fires him. Penske then would then start bitching about Logano not having a car numbered 1 after he won the championship. So NASCAR takes the 1 from Ganassi, and gives Penske the 1. Ambrose would come in for Watkins Glen just because V8's were off that week, and he proceeded to ROFLStomp the field every time he ran that race.

Richard Childress Racing

3- Austin Dillon
27- Paul Menard
31- Ryan Newman- 2014 Champion
29- Ty Dillon- 20

-It still amazes everyone that Austin Dillon still has a ride here in Richard Childress... Outside of his 2015 Coke Zero 400 Win, he has done absolutely nothing. Paul Menard is still there because of his daddy's money. And Ryan Newman would win the 2014 Championship, however NASCAR would dump the stupid system they used in 2014 for the old chase system. Ty Dillon is a bit better then his brother, but not much as he lost the 2016 ROTY battle to Blaney.

Tony Stewart Racing

4- Kevin Harvick
10- Danica Patrick
14- Tony Stewart
41- Alex Bowman

-Gene Haas would leave the team all to Stewart because he would deem F1 more important midway through 2014. Kevin Harvick would end up getting narrowly beat for the title in 2014 by slamming into Joey Logano and causing a huge fight at Homestead. Harvick would continue to be in the chase, however his relative crappiness at the chase tracks comes to bite him every time. Danica Patrick wins the 2015 Daytona 500, and would continually improve. Tony Stewart is still pissing about, but really doesn't do anything. And Alex Bowman is hired after Gene Haas makes the horrific mistake to put Kurt Busch in a developmental program for Formula 1. Bowman becomes the lead driver at Haas finishing runner up to Logano in 2017.

Hendrick Motorsports

5- Kasey Kahne
8- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
25- Chase Elliot-
48 Jimmie Johnson- 2016 Champion

-Jeff Gordon would somehow make it into the final race at Homestead in 2014 to be in the title hunt, however he would get wrecked by some slow-ass backmarker. He would proceed to call the NASCAR chase system used in 2014, stupid, and the Gordon and Earnhardt fans would whine to NASCAR to change the system which they ended up doing for 2015. Gordon would retire in 2015 after having a dreadful year. Fans would demand that the 24 be retired for life, and so Hendrick throws Chase Elliot in the car in 2016, to which he under preforms quite badly. For some reason Kahne is still pissing around in the 5. Dale Jr. gets sponsorship from Budweiser back so they renumber the car 8. And Johnson would tie Petty and Earnhardt for 7 championship, and tries to go for 8 in 2018.

Roush-Fenway Racing

6- Trevor Bayne
17- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
99- Elliot Sadler

-This team fell to the back FAST! By 2018, they are commonly fighting just to qualify. Biffle at the end of 2015, would realize this and take off for greener pastures, leaving Roush in a bind to find a driver. So they pluck Sadler out of Xfinity, only to have him do poorly and flip at Talladega a bunch. Bayne and Stenhouse would become quite annoyomus, with the exception of the very public break up of Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Joe Gibbs Racing
11- Denny Hamlin
18- Kyle Busch
19- Carl Edwards
20- Matt Kenseth

-Denny Hamlin would continue to do well in the chase. But the Hendrick and Penske equipment is just too strong. In a huge change of heart, Kyle Busch becomes the most popular driver in NASCAR after he directly calls out Brian France and Mike Helton, proving that he has a backbone. He would get unjustly suspended from the final race in 2015 eliminating any chance of him winning the 2015 championship. The fans would begin to side with Busch causing the termination of Robin Pemberton in the offseason, and leaving NASCAR in shaky waters in 2016. Edwards would become the king of the midfield in his 19 car. And Kenseth would continue to be strong, but not enough to win the title.

Micheal Waltrip Racing

15- Sir Clint Bowyer
55- Brian Vickers
56- Micheal Waltrip

-Bowyer would actually be knighted by Queen Elizabeth after becoming the most popular driver in Britain. He is routinely seen eating scones and crumpets with her, and participating in the occasional grouse hunt. Brian Vickers is still with the team. Outside of crashing everyone at Martinsville, he doesn't do much. Waltrip would win at Talladega in 2015, this gives him the confidence that he still has it, and he returns to full time competition.
Wood Brothers Racing
21- David Ragan
-There still here, not doing anything, but they are there.
Honda Development
23- Greg Biffle
26- Fernando Alonso- ROTY 2017
-Honda would come in as a full time manufacture for two teams. Their cars are surprisingly quick after their entrance in 2016. Biffle would make the chase in every year he drove for them. And Fernando Alonso surprisingly does well on the Ovals, and nearly wins his debut in the Daytona 500. He also said that NASCAR was more fun than Formula 1.
Front Row Racing
34- Chris Buscher
35- Dave Blaney
38- Brian Scott
-This team is on the move… They have quickly passed Roush as the 2nd Ford Team. Even to the point where Scott made the chase in 2017. Watch this team outside of Blaney, he is pretty slow.

Chip Gannasi Racing
41- Jamie McMurray
42- Kyle Larson
-McMurray continues to be wildly inconsistent, while Larson becomes the new Carl Edwards and is routinely a championship contender, but can never win the title.


Petty Enterprises

43- Sam Hornish Jr.

-Sad story here, Aric Armirola would be blown into the weeds by Hornish in 2015, therefore he would get fired by Petty. Sponsorship dried up, so Petty becomes a one car team. The team is renamed Petty Enterprises.

Mobil 1 Incorperated
44- Lewis Hamilton- 2018 ROTY contender
45- Brad Keslowski
46- Mason Mitchell- 2018 ROTY contender
-This team would start in 2017 as one car with Brad Keselowski, who got canned by Penske, to wind up in the other Honda Team. He has to mentor Lewis Hamilton, who constantly complains about his teammate being better then him, and Mason Mitchell, who is better than Hamilton. This team quickly becomes the most hated team in NASCAR even to the point where drunken fans at Talladega light their hauler on fire, to the point where they couldn’t race in 2016 at Talladega.

JTG Daurghtey Racing
47- AJ Allmendinger
-Unlike the Wood Brothers team, these guys run a one car team pretty well. Allmendinger is the only person who can keep up with Ambrose at Watkins Glen, and runs top 3 Sonoma and Road America practically every time he is there.

Phoenix Racing
51- Who Cares
- Yeah they are here… and yes, who cares
Gene Haas Incorporated
66- Kurt Busch
70- Austin Theriault- 2018 ROTY Contender
-Gene Haas’ F1 team flops and he runs back to NASCAR with his dignity. He takes Kurt Busch, who bombed in GP2 with him, and picks up Austin Theriault who is the reigning Xfinity Series champ.

NEMCO/Furniture Row
78- Martin Truex Jr.
87- Joe Nemecheck/Various Drivers
-This should be fun. These two teams have merged to create NEMCO-FR. While Furniture Row had good equipment, they had a crappy driver. Well, NEMCO had a decent, yet past his prime driver, and crappy equipment. So we will see if this team survives, or dies.

Red Bull Racing
83- Daniel Riccardo -2018 ROTY contender
84- Landon Cassil
-Red Bull is pissed that NASCAR is the only series that they haven’t done well in, so they will do everything in their power to make sure it doesn’t happen again. They bring in the big guns for this, Christain Horner would get plucked from his comfy position in the F1 paddock, and told to run this NASCAR team. The team prior to 2018 is already being accused of cheating the system. To which Red Bull told the team to get out of their way. Their cars are scary fast in pre-season testing and many are questioning it. Riccardo realizes that he is never going to win the F1 championship with Rosberg in Mercedes, so he comes to NASCAR because he is bored. Landon Cassil also, somehow winds up here.

BK Racing
92- Some Kid who is a rookie
93- See above
Yeah- they are still around, they don’t do much but are around

スピードのスーパー恐ろしい日本メガチーム
96- A robot designed to be better than Johnson- 2018 ROTY Contender
97- Takuma Sato- 2018 ROTY Contender
-This team is AWESOME… They have designed their own car, their own Robot to race the car, and hired Takuma Sato. What can be better than that?

Phil Parson’s Racing
98- Josh Wise
-Reddit users raise enough money for a season long sponsorship of this team. The team uses the funding well, and there car is actually good!

My honest predictions.

CHEVY TEAMS
Gannasi
1 Jamie McMurray (McDonalds)
42 Dylan Kwasneski (Rockstar-Royal Purple)
Jamie stays and eventually retires with Chip, may win some races, Dylan gets the nod after Larson leaving, mostly because of sponsorship.

Furniture Row
78 Josh Wise (Furniture Row-Reddit)
Reddit/Wish leave PPR, join FRR, and help the stuggling team with some backing, along with it's alliance with RCR.

Germain
13 Landon Cassill (GEICO-Carsforsale.com)
Casey goes back to Xfinity, Landon Cassill lands here.

Hendrick
5 Alex Bowman (Nationwide/Farmers? Pepsi?)
9 Chase Elliott (NAPA) 2016 ROTY
24 Kyle Larson (Target-ENEOS-Axe) 2017 Champ
48 Jimmie Johnson (Lowes) 2015 Champ
Kahne gets booted, Gordon retires without 5th title, Jimmie is on the verge of doing the same. Junior retires after his contract expires in 2017. Larson, Elliott joins, Bowman after a great resurgence with JRM, along with a Xfinity title, joins HMS, handpicked by Jr to replace him. Dale focus on his race team.

HScott (Done after 2016)
Allgier goes back to Xfinity with Penske

JTG
47 - AJ Allmendigner (JTG Sponsors)
59 - Kasey Kahne (Farmers?-JTG Sponsors)
This team along with RCR's return to glory, Kahne and AJ endure some success and some chase spots.

PPR
98 - David Ragan
Ragan is booted from FRM joins Phil Parsons. Gets Top 10's at SuperSpeedways

RCR -
3 Austin Dillon (Cherrios, DOW, GM Goodwrech) 2016 Champ.
27 Paul Menard (Menards)
31 Ryan Newman (Cat)
33 Ty Dillon (Bass Pro Shops)
Dillon wins the 2016 title, while RCR become the best team on the grid. They all contend for titles.

Circle Sport
40 - Pay Drivers

SHR
4 Kevin Harvick (Bud)
10 Danica Patrick (GoDaddy, Aspen Dental)
14 Regan Smith
41 Kurt Busch (HAAS)

Harvick finishes 2nd in points in the last 3 years. Danica wins Dega, and some random race at Kansas/Martinsville. Tony retires and gives the seat to Regan.

TBR
7 Michael Annett
36 Reed Sorenson
Nothing Changes, nothing improves

FORD

Front Row
34 Elliott Sadler (One Main Financial)
38 David Gilliland
Sadler joins, Gilliland gets his first win in 2016 in the Daytona 500

Go Fas
32 Pay Drivers

RPM
43 Aric Almirola (Smithfield)
45 Sam Hornish Jr (Twisted Tea)
After giving the 9 to Chase, RPM gets the 45 in honor of Adam. Almirola goes win a race at Kansas.

Roush
6 Trevor Bayne (Advocare)
16 Chris Buescher (Cheez-it-Orhto)
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Zest, Fastenal, Cargill)
Biffle retires after a 2nd place in the 2017 Daytona 500. Stenhouse still is here SOMEHOW!!!

Penske
2 Brad Keselowski (Miller Lite)
12 Ryan Blaney (AAA)
22 Joey Logano (Shell-Pennzoil) 2014 Champ
Logano wins a title this year (AND I WILL LAUGH) Blaney joins, They all become race winners and title contenders.

Wood Brothers
21 Tyler Reddick, Jeb Burton (Motorcraft)
Reddick and Jeb share the car in a full-year attempt. Hopefully they can succeed

TOYOTA
JGR
11 Denny Hamlin (Fedex)
18 Kyle Busch (M&M's)
19 Carl Edwards (Arris)
20 Matt Kenseth (Dollar General)
02 part-time mobile. Jones-Bubba-Suarez.
For some reason this stays, no one gets kicked. and they 3 young guns will replace the drivers that will likely retire soon, (Edwards, Kenseth, Hamlin)

MWR
15 Clint Bowyer (5 Hour Energy)
55 Brian Moffitt (Aaron's)
66 James Buescher (Reems)
Vickers retires due to blood clot.. Waltrip retires. Moffitt gets a shot along with James

BK Racing
23 Pay Drivers
26 Cole Whitt (some average sponsor here)
83 Dakota Armstrong

RAB
29 Matt Crafton
Crafton gets a shot at becoming a good driver. That or JGR puts their Part-Timers here to develop.

Idea to improve your posts:
Do the drivers and teams, but also talk more about other things in NASCAR that have changed or stayed the same.

Some Funny predictions.
"スピードのスーパー恐ろしい日本メガチーム
96- A robot designed to be better than Johnson- 2018 ROTY Contender
97- Takuma Sato- 2018 ROTY Contender
-This team is AWESOME… They have designed their own car, their own Robot to race the car, and hired Takuma Sato. What can be better than that? "
"Venturini Motorsports
#02 - Steven Wallace (R)
#26 - John Wes Townley (R)
#35 - Milka Duno (R)

- Also known as "Death From Above, Below, Sideways, Forwards, Backwards, and Every Which Way Possible"...why, Venturini Motorsports, why?"
"The Motorsports Group:
#30 Ian Cooper
#03 Timmy Hill
#09 John Wes Townley

Ian Cooper is crowned the greatest driver ever so he gets a lifelong dream of racing in NASCAR, partnering John Wes Townley and Timmy Hill at the Motorsports Group. Cooper is the only driver on the team to fail to qualify for the 2018 Daytona 500, and blames Michael Waltrip for it because he is allowed to."
BK Racing:
#23 Treck Tauger
#83 Dakoda Armstrong
#93 Michael McDowell

Michael McDowell and Dakoda Armstrong sign one-year deals with BK Racing from 2016, with TRECK TAUGER. Tauger gets the #23 car as BK Racing were very impressed by his twerking skills which got him free meals for Burger King for life, and the fact that he hears too much smoke WHEN HE SHOULD SEE CRASHES IN FRONT OF HIS EYES!!!!!!!!!!!
Micheal Waltrip Racing

15- Sir Clint Bowyer
55- Brian Vickers
56- Micheal Waltrip

-Bowyer would actually be knighted by Queen Elizabeth after becoming the most popular driver in Britain. He is routinely seen eating scones and crumpets with her, and participating in the occasional grouse hunt. Brian Vickers is still with the team. Outside of crashing everyone at Martinsville, he doesn't do much. Waltrip would win at Talladega in 2015, this gives him the confidence that he still has it, and he returns to full time competition.
Mobil 1 Incorperated
44- Lewis Hamilton- 2018 ROTY contender
45- Brad Keslowski
46- Mason Mitchell- 2018 ROTY contender
-This team would start in 2017 as one car with Brad Keselowski, who got canned by Penske, to wind up in the other Honda Team. He has to mentor Lewis Hamilton, who constantly complains about his teammate being better then him, and Mason Mitchell, who is better than Hamilton. This team quickly becomes the most hated team in NASCAR even to the point where drunken fans at Talladega light their hauler on fire, to the point where they couldn’t race in 2016 at Talladega.

I'm not going to even bother replying this time. Hayden's is perfect.

Hayden1117 wrote:
"The Motorsports Group:
#30 Ian Cooper
#03 Timmy Hill
#09 John Wes Townley

Ian Cooper is crowned the greatest driver ever so he gets a lifelong dream of racing in NASCAR, partnering John Wes Townley and Timmy Hill at the Motorsports Group. Cooper is the only driver on the team to fail to qualify for the 2018 Daytona 500, and blames Michael Waltrip for it because he is allowed to."
BK Racing:
#23 Treck Tauger
#83 Dakoda Armstrong
#93 Michael McDowell

Michael McDowell and Dakoda Armstrong sign one-year deals with BK Racing from 2016, with TRECK TAUGER. Tauger gets the #23 car as BK Racing were very impressed by his twerking skills which got him free meals for Burger King for life, and the fact that he hears too much smoke WHEN HE SHOULD SEE CRASHES IN FRONT OF HIS  EYES!!!!!!!!!!!

I hate to sound like a jerk but I don't appreciate the fact that you stole some of my predictions for the 2018 Season.

I was just listing ones i found funny.

BBoy wrote:
Hendrick Motorsports (Chevy)
5 - Kyle Larson (2014 ROTY/2017 Champion)
9 - Chase Elliott (2016 ROTY)
48 - Jimmie Johnson (2016 Champion)
88 - Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Kasey Kahne leaves Hendrick after 2015 and is replaced by Chase Elliott, who almost wins the championship as a rookie. When Jeff Gordon retires after the 2016 season, Elliott takes his car and it's renumbered to the #9 with permission from RPM. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson takes his old ride and goes on to win the championship in 2017. Johnson and Jr. stay put, but the question of retirement begins to linger over their heads as well.

Richard Petty Motorsports (Ford)
9 - Sam Hornish Jr.
43 - Aric Almirola

RPM remains loyal to Hornish and Almirola, despite their average performances.

Number conflict with the #9

Finishing my 2018 team lineup

previously:

Front Row

#34 - David Ragan
#35 - David Gilliland
#38 - Justin Allgaier

DERP A DERP A DERPY DERP - Oh yeah, David Ragan continues to be fastest in practice

"Gotta" Go FAS

#32 - Various

This team puts several pay-drivers and Terry Labonte THAT STILL DIDN'T FREAKING RETIRED

Richard Petty

#43 - Aric Almirola
#44 - Greg Biffle
#45 - Sam Hornish Jr.

Petty starts to get a couple of wins, fucken' Biffle goes to RPM and KEEPS WINNING MICHIGAN. Sam Hornish Jr has a much better time with Petty than when he was at Penske, Almirola starts running strongly and keeps getting wins once in a while.

Wood Brothers Racing

#6 - Ryan Reed
#17 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Ben Atkins)
#21 - Trevor Bayne

Wood Brothers lucks up into several wins, and at the same time Roush-Fenway continues into a downward spiral of bullcrap, what results at Wood Brothers buying Jack Roush's operation at the end of 2017, Bayne and Reed become dependable drivers, while Stenhouse Jr. gets replaced by Ben Atkins mid-season, because Atkins beaten Stenhouse in iRaisins.

Team Penske

#2 - Brad Keselowski (2016 Champion)
#12 - Ryan Blaney
#22 - Joey Logano

Keselowski lucks up into the 2016 title after major clusterfucks at Texas and Phoenix, which folded the chase format.

Idendity Ventures Racing with NEMCO

#66 - Michael Waltrip (SuperSPEDways)/Jeff Burton/Brett Moffitt/NASCAR Driver Timmy Hill
#87 - Joe Nemechek

This is MWR + NEMCo = WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE - Timmy Hill acts with mild retardment and wrecks everyone everywhere, but they need his money.

Joe Gibbs Racing

#11 - Denny Hamlin
#18 - Kyle Busch
#19 - Carl Edwards

Matt Kenseth ragequits after 2016, Denny Hamlin continies to have debris in his eye and break his back at Fontana. Kyle Busch was so close, but yet so far,he lost the 2017 title for Jimmie Johnson by a slim margin. Carl Edwards just doesn't does nothing.

BK Racing

#23 - Various
#83 - Cole Whitt

Everyone runs in the 23 while Cole Whitt has a halfway decent car, but doesn't do much.

Let's try this i guess, will add in a little fun as well

Ganassi/Gallagher Racing:
#1 Ben Rhodes
#23 Spencer Gallagher
#42 Kyle Larson

Gallagher partners up with Ganassi as a way to get in to cup, Kwasniewski gets dropped in favor for Rhodes, Larson stays with Ganassi until an opening in 2019.


Penske Racing:

#2 Brad Keselowski
#12 Ryan Blaney
#22 Joey Logano

Same team as now but Blaney full-time

Richard Childress Racing:

#3 Austin Dillon
#27 Paul Menard
#31 Ryan Newman
#33 Ty Dillon

Newman winning the 2014 title gets him job security and Ty finally comes up to Cup


Stewart-Hass Racing

#00 Cole Custer
#4 Kevin Harvick
#10 Danica Patrick
#14 Alex Bowman

Cole Custer with Has Development eventually makes up to Cup and replace Kurt Busch who goes to Indycar, Danica in the last years off her contract, Alex Bowman goes down to Nationwide and wins back-to back Nationwide titles to get a return to Cup with SHR in 2018

Hendrick Motorsports

#5 Daniel Suarez
#24 Chase Elliott
#48 Jimmie Johnson
#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr

The rise of Chase Elliott enters full swing with Hendrick, Hendrick poaches Suarez from Gibbs in an attempt to make Nascar's first Mexican star.

Roush Racing:

#6 Jamie McMurray
#16 Trevor Bayne
#60 Chris Buescher

Roush with needing a more experienced driver hires back McMurray, Bayne in twlight years of the Cup series as Roush's next development guy of an unknown name is getting ready, Chris Buescher makes it to cup


Tommy Baldwin Racing:

#36 Cole Whitt

Whitt joins Baldwin.


Richard Petty Motorsports:

#9 Sam Hornish Jr
#43 German Quiroga

Hornish proves to be effective in the 9 car and grabs wins here and there, Quiroga looking for an in into the cup series goes to RPM


Joe Gibbs Racing:

#11 Darrell Wallace
#18 Kyle Busch
#19 Carl Edwards
#20 Erik Jones

Bubba makes in to Cup and becomes one of Nascar's fan favorites in just his 1st year in Cup, Erik Jones gets Kenseth's car after a successful Nationwide run while Matt goes to help Ross's Nascar career


Germain Racing

#13 Casey Mears

Casey Mears stays in the 13 and eventually gets his 2nd Nascar win with them.


Michael Waltrip Racing:

#15 Clint Bowyer
#55 Kimi Raikkonen
#66 Ryan Sieg

Bowyer stays with that team, Kimi goes back to Nascar with a semi-decent team, After years of being the Nationwide series favorite underdog Ryan Sieg is picked up by MWR.


Hattori Racing Enterprises: (Formerly BK Racing)

#70 Shigeaki Hattori (Part-Time)
#80 Ross Chastain
#90 Akinori Ogata

Hattori buys out BK Racing because he's Shigeaki Hattori and he has more swag than you, Hattori also tries a few races up Cup that end horribly,  Chastain get's his ticket into cup via Hattori and Akinori Ogata gets into the Cup series as these decades attempt at a Japanese Star in the Cup Series, Ogata runs a Hatsune Miku car at Talladega which gets the anime crowd to watch a Nascar race.


Curtis Key Racing:

#30 Reed Sorensen

Curtis Key's team is around in Cup despite motors-a-blowin and 40th place runs on dial.


Front Row Motorsports:

#33 Brian Scott
#34 David Ragan
#38 Landon Cassill

Scott gets into the ride thanks to yo boys at Shore Lodge, Cassill jumps to FRM after Hillman closes and Gilliland decides to call it quits.


JTG Racing:

#47 AJ Allmendinger
#57 Kasey Kahne
#74 Kenzie Ruston

Allmendinger stays around with that team and turns it into a powerhouse. Kahne jumps to JTG and finds a second wind, Kenzie Ruston becomes Nascar's 2nd female star


Furniture Row Racing:

#78 Martin Truex Jr.

Pretty much the same team as currently.


Phil Parsons Racing:

#98 Justin Allgaier

Allgaier after Scott folds jumps to Parsons team.



Wood Brothers:

#21 Tyler Reddick

Reddick becomes the Wood Brothers Driver.


Other Notes/Jokes:

Joe Denette will win the lottery again and start a cup team with Milka Duno and Gray Gaulding, But the dough will crumble on that team and they will leave as fast as they

2018 Nascar will introduce a new points system which is called "The Chase for The Sprint Cup: Revengence" in which a chase driver will get out his car and down a bottle of Jack Daniels, and then get a pair of throwing darts to hit the flagman who has a dartboard on his face, the person who hits the dartboard wins a free trip to space camp somewhere in a forest in Alabama. (But seriously i do see points changes, not sure if it will be a revert back to the old system or some version of the chase that makes thing even more convoluted)

Ben Atkins will get a ride with Roush but will lose the ride when Ben makes public a scandal involving Jack Roush drivers, Roush gets out of it by hooking up with his Bestie Bernie Ecclestone who met at a Hard Rock Cafe in Vegas.

Steve Seligman after his cocaine-induced nightmare of a first run at Cup will make his big return to the cup series hiring well known musician Andrew WK as his crew chief, They go onto win the 2017 Daytona 500 in biggest upset story in sports history, with an emotional victory lane celebration and a tearful speech by Seligman...Steve, the team, and the car suddenly start turning into dust and they are blown away by a late winter's breeze. As the credits begin to roll it is annouced that Brian France has won at least 12 Oscar's. "We'll never forget you Steve."

Chip Ganassi Racing
#1 Charlie Kimball
#42 Kyle Larson

Kimball brings his Beetus money to Nascar, while Larson still stays.

Roger Penske Racing
#2 Brad Keselowski
#02 Juan Pablo Montoya/Simon Pagenaud
#12 Ryan Blaney
#22 Joey Logano

After winning the 2016 Xfinity championship, Ryan Blaney moves up to cup and for the third year in a row, Simon Pagenaud shares a ride with Montoya, Pagenaud runs only the road courses and on odd numbered years, Indy.

Richard Childress Racing
#3 Austin Dillon
#30 Ty Dillon
#31 Ryan Newman

Menard leaves RCR in 2016 with Ty taking over and going to the 30.

Roush Racing
#6 Ben Atkins
#16 Greg Biffle
#17 Ryan Reed

Bayne's MS forces him out after 2015, and giving British Formula 5 champion Ben Atkins the shot he finally deserves. Stenhouse is kicked out after poor performance in 2015, giving Ryan Reed to do be more mediocre. Biffle sticks around like a bad smell.

Hendrick Motorsports
#5 Jamie McMurray
#25 Anders Villarino 
#48 Jimmie Johnson
#94 Chase Elliott

McMurray takes over Kahnes spot, Whelen Euro series champion Anders Villarino takes over the 25, defending 7 time series champ Jimmie Johnson returns, squeakers still rage, and Chase Elliott takes over Jeff Gordons seat after Gordon retired in 2016 after getting 100 wins. Dale Jr retires.

Richard Petty Motorsports
#9 Sam Hornish, Jr
#43 Aric Almirola

Nothing changes

Stewart-Hass Racing
#00 Cole Custer
#4 Kevin Harvick
#10 Danica Patrick
#14 Tony Stewart

Kurt goes to Indycar for Andretti full time, Cole Custer moves up, the other three stays the same.

Joe Gibbs Racing
#11 Darrell Wallace
#18 Kyle Busch
#19 Carl Edwards
#20 Matt Kenseth

Bubba moves up in 2017 after Hamlin's back forces him to retire. Kyle still cries.

Germain Racing
#13 Jamie Dick

Mears gets out in 2016.

Michael Waltrip Racing
#15 Clint Bowyer
#55 Brian Vickers
#66 Michael Waltrip

Lineup stays the same, Waltrip still tries to win on Superspeedways.

Andretti Autosport (Part time)
#27 Kurt Busch

Fas Lane Racing
#32 Many pay drivers

Team XTreme Racing
#44 Gray Gaulding

Xtreme is a midfield team and brings in Gray Gaulding for his rookie season.

Furniture Row
#78 Martin Truex, Jr

Nothing changes

JTG Daugherty Racing
#47 AJ Allmendinger

AJ Allmendinger stays with the team he won 5 races for in his career.

Circle Sport
#40 Landon Cassill

LOL he still sucks

Tommy Baldwin Racing
#36 Brian Scott
#37 Reed Sorenson

Key Motorsports
#46 Bietske Visser
#47 JJ Yeley

The team surprised the paddock with a win at Road America with the Dutchwoman Bietske Visser, who is still best bae. Yeley still sucks.

Cowart Racing
#0 John Wes Townley

After a 20 year absence, Delma Cowart returns to Nascar but as a team owner.

Front Row Motorsports
#34 David Ragan
#38 Jason Plato

Ragan is fastest in practice.

Notable Events

Road America finally gets a Cup date in 2016.

Austin Dillon wins the 2015 Daytona 500, track riot ensues.

Jimmie now has 84 wins and seven championships, people still continue to watch despite threats of leaving Nascar forever.

After winning the 2014 championship, Ryan Newman's neck grew back.

An error in the 2016 chase format gives a winless in Cup Kyle Busch an automatic spot due to his Xfinity wins, where he went undefeated. Still loses Cup title.

In 2018, NASCAR changes the points system for the third year in a row. Their new "points" system awards the championship to any driver who has won a race in any series, unless of course someone wins a race after them. Win counts are reset three times in the last 10 races, ultimately meaning that whoever wins Homestead wins the Cup. Unless they aren't in the top 6, in which case winner take all tiebreaker races are run afterwards until someone from the top 6 wins one and is declared champion. Despite 17 fans being seriously injured by crash debris, Nascar decides that the format is successful enough to start their own reality show based on the Chase, which ultimately becomes more profitable than the entire Cup series. Despite winning a total of 48 races across the top three series, Kyle Busch still doesn't come close to winning the championship

No team predictions at the moment, but here are some general predictions.
Danica wins on a track that requires skill, and 95% percent of the online NASCAR community either ignores it or claims the race was somehow rigged
Jeff Gordon doesn't retire, primarly because 2014 quickly proves to not be a fluke
NASCAR goes back to the previous chase elegibility system, due to backmarkers lucking into the chase, but keeps the rounds and eliminations, albiet with lowest points going out. Despite the change fixing all the problems with the current chase format, most, for some reason, consider it even worse.
Road America and Eldora get cup dates.
Kyle Busch scales back to only running the non-cup tracks in the lower two series, but everyone still hates him for running lower series.

Ok, my turn. XD

Team Predictions (For sake of shortening the list I'm only doing team with more than one car per team, I may add the single car ones later on):

1. Hendrick Motorsports:
24-Chase Elliott/Jeff Gordon (part-time 2016) (ROTY 2017)
5-Kasey Kahne
48-Jimmie Johnson (2016 champion, runner-up in 2017)
88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.

-HMS has it's first major shake up in late 2015 when Jeff Gordon decides to retire from full-time Cup racing. He does however remain with the team and runs in partial schedule in 2016 to help mentor Elliott.
-Johnson does claim his 7th championship in 2016 after him and Knaus figure out the Chase format. However, all is not well, after a runner-up finish in the standings in 2017, Knaus steps down as Johnson's crew chief and steps into a management role with the team.

2. Penske Racing:
2-Brad Keselowski (2017 champion)
22-Joey Logano (2015 champion)
12-Ryan Blaney (part-time in 2016/2017)

-PR using the disappointment of 2014 as a building block, Penske comes out of the block strong yet again. This time things go Logano's way and he ends up with the title after battling Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth down the stretch.
-Blaney is brought up to the Cup level on a partial schedule in 2016 and for 2017, before moving to Cup full-time in 2018.


3. Joe Gibbs Racing:
11-Denny Hamlin
18-Kyle Busch (2018 runner-up)
20-Matt Kenseth (2015 runner-up)

-JGR uses the momentum built from the end of 2014 to make a run for the title again in '15. As in 2013, it is Kenseth leading the charge. After winning his 3rd Daytona 500, Kenseth wins 4 races and has 0 DNF's in the 26 race regular season. Kenseth ends up as one of the final four in 2015, along with Gordon, Logano, and surprise entrant, Kyle Larson. However, he finishes 4th in Homestead and 2nd of the Chase drivers.
-Kyle Busch finally does have a championship caliber season in 2018, but ends up short of the title after blowing a late race restart at Homestead.

4. Roush/Fenway Racing:
6-Trevor Bayne
17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
16-Chris Buescher (2016 rookie)

-RFR has bit of a rebuilding year in 2015, this is an understatement that takes more meaning when Greg Biffle decides to walk away at the end of 2015. Buescher is brought up in his place and is surprisingly consistent, despite being a rookie in 2016, Buescher ends the season with the fewest DNF's among the rookie class.
-Bayne finally finds a stable home and is competitive on a week to week basis. Yet, he has not won a race with RFR so far.

5. Stewart/Haas Racing:
4-Kevin Harvick (2018 Champion)
10-Danica Patrick
14-Tony Stewart
41-Kurt Busch

-SHS despite their best efforts aren't able to defend their title in 2015. Harvick though still makes the final 8 and continues to have speed week in and week out. He does get his 2nd title though he has to wait till 2018.
-Stewart on the other hand never is able to get back his former form and despite his best efforts in '15, '16, and '17, he makes the decision to make 2018 his final year in Cup.
-Patrick and Busch show flash of strength but aren't title contenders at least in this period of time.

6. Richard Childress Racing:
3-Austin Dillion
27-Paul Menard
31-Ryan Newman
33-Ty Dillion (2016 ROTY)

-Not much changes in the RCR line-up in this period. The only major change is Ty moves to the 33 as a full-time Cup driver in 2016. Ty isn't that impressive, but because RCR's equipment is better at RFR's at this point, he easily beats Buescher for ROTY. Dillion does win a couple of races in 2016 after winning his first career cup race in 2015. Menard also continues to show some strength.

7. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing:
42-Kyle Larson
1-Jamie McMurray

This the only driver line-up/team that remains consistent from 2014. Larson has an unbelievable year in 2015, winning 3 races in the regular season and 2 in the Chase. He makes the final four, but a tire failure 25 laps from the finish gives a 4th place points finish. Despite that set back, Larson proceeds to make the final four in the Chase the next 2 years (2016, 2017). EGR does have a bit of a down year in 2018, but both Larson and McMurray are able to claim wins late in the year.


Other notes:
-Richard Petty Motorsports 2 car operation has a bit of an upswing in 2016, but the team hasn't quite reach a point of mention.
-The Chase system remains the same through this 4 year period, however, Brian France states that some changes could be coming in 2019.
-Sponsorship and lack there of continues to be an issue of concern going forward for a lot of smaller teams.
-The popularity with the return of the Southern 500 at Darlington on Labor Day weekend, causes NASCAR to add a 2nd Truck date at Rockingham in 2015, with a possible return for the Cup series in 2019.

(All of these are just my opinion, not to be taken seriously, though I tried to be realistic. As I said, I may add to this as I think of other things in the off-season.)