Looking Ahead: 17 days to go!

During the off-season, Looking Ahead gives a snapshot of where drivers finished in 2012 and what’s ahead for them in 2013. We will look at drivers who scored at least 250 points in the Cup Series and those who earned at least 200 points in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.

With 17 days to go until the 2013 season-opening Daytona 500, here are some driver recaps followed by a tentative list of 2013 Sprint Cup Driver/Team lineups.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS):
Jimmie Johnson finished third in the standings and earned 2360 points.
2012: Drove the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. In the 36 starts, he led 1,744 laps, earned five poles, five victories, 18 top five and 24 top 10 finishes. He had an average start of 10.6 and an 11.2 average finish.
Best NSCS starts: 1 - Kentucky 06/30/12, Chicago 09/16/12, Martinsville 10/28/12 and Texas 11/04/12 10/07/12 and Kansas 10/21/12
Best NSCS finishes: 1 - Dover 06/03/12, Darlington 05/12/12, Indianapolis 07/29/12, Martinsville 10/28/12 and Texas 11/04/12
Last NSCS Win: Texas 11/04/12.
2013: Johnson is signed thru 2015 with the No. 48 team. Lowes and Kobalt Tools continue as sponsors and Chad Knaus will return as crew chief. Johnson has also signed to drive JR Motorsports Nationwide Series No. 5 Chevrolet at Phoenix in March.

Clint Bowyer finished second in the standings and earned 2361 points.
2012: Drove the No. 15 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. In the 36 starts, he led 388 laps, scored three victories, 10 top five and 23 top 10 finishes. He had an average start of 12.8 and a 10.9 average finish. He also drove one Nationwide Series race in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota; finished 26th at Daytona.
Best NSCS start: 2 - Dover 09/30/12
Best NSCS finishes: 1 - Sonoma 06/24/12, Richmond 09/08/12 and Charlotte 10/13/12
Last NSCS Win: Charlotte 10/13/12.
2013: Bowyer is signed thru 2014 with the No. 15 Toyota team. Five Hour Energy Drink and Peak Motor Oil return as sponsors. Brian Pattie returns as crew chief as well.

Brad Keselowski is the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. He earned 2400 points.
2012: Drove the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge for Roger Penske Racing. In the 36 starts, he led 735 laps, scored five victories, 13 top five and 23 top 10 finishes. He had an average start of 16.2 and a 10.1 average finish. He also drove Penske Racing’s No. 22 Dodge in 21 Nationwide Series races. He scored one pole, three wins, 14 top 10 finishes and averaged a 10.9 finish in that series. He piloted his own Brad Keselowski Racing Nos. 19 and 29 RAM trucks in six NCWTS races. His average finish of 11.2 in that series included three top five and four top 10 finishes.
Best NSCS start: 2 - Bristol 08/25/12
Best NSCS finishes: 1 - Bristol 03/18/12, Talladega 05/06/12, Kentucky 06/30/12, Chicago 09/16/12 and Dover 09/30/12
Last NSCS Win: Dover 09/30/12.
2013: Keselowski returns to defend his championship in the No. 2 Ford (Penske switched from Dodges at end of 2012). Power will come from Roush-Yates engines. Keselowski, along with sponsor Miller Lite and crew chief Paul Wolfe, are signed thru 2015. Keselowski plans on running a limited schedule in the NNS driving Penske Racing’s No. 22 Ford Mustang as well as some truck races in his BKR No. 19 Ford F-150.

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS):
Austin Dillon finished third in the standings and earned 1227 points.
2012: Drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Chevrolet. In the 33 races, he led 486 laps, started on the pole in three races, scored two wins and had 16 top five and 27 top 10 finishes. He had an average start of 7.4 and a 7.1 average finish. He made one Sprint Cup start at Michigan in Joe Falk Motorsports’ No. 33 Chevrolet; finished 24th. In addition, Dillon entered the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series road course race in Montreal where he piloted Fitzpatrick Motorsports No. 4 Chevrolet to a seventh place finish.
Best NNS starts: 1 - Michigan 06/16/12, Kentucky 06/29/12 and Kentucky 09/22/12
Best NNS finishes: 1 - Kentucky 06/29/12 and Kentucky 09/22/12
Last NNS Win: Kentucky 09/22/12.
2013: Dillon will run another full season in RCR’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro. Advocare will sponsor all races. Danny Stockman returns as crew chief. Dillon will be preparing for a 2014 move up to Sprint Cup by running a limited Cup schedule this season. At this time he is set to drive Phoenix Racing’s No. 51 Chevrolet at Las Vegas and Joe Falk Motorsports’ No. 33 Chevrolet in some yet-to-be-named races.

Elliott Sadler finished second in the standings and earned 1228 points.
2012: Drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 2 Chevrolet. In the 33 races, he led 366 laps, earned five poles, scored four wins and had 15 top five and 24 top 10 finishes. He had an average start of 6.7 and a 7.6 average finish. He made one Sprint Cup start for RCR at Daytona in the No. 33 Chevrolet; finished 27th.
Best NNS starts: 1 - Las Vegas 03/10/12, Talladega 05/05/12, Iowa 05/20/12, Iowa 08/04/12 and Charlotte 10/12/12
Best NNS finishes: 1 - Bristol 03/17/12, Chicago 07/22/12, Phoenix 03/03/12 and Iowa 08/04/12
Last NNS Win: Iowa 08/04/12.
2013: Sadler parted ways with RCR at the end of 2012 bringing OneMain Financial sponsorship with him to Joe Gibbs Racing. He will drive JGR’s No. 11 Toyota Camry with Chris Gayle heading up the team. Nothing firm at this time, but Sadler may run some Sprint Cup races for JGR in a fourth team car.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion. He earned 1251 points.
2012: Drove Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 Ford. In the 33 races, he led 788 laps, earned four poles, scored six wins and had 19 top five and 26 top 10 finishes. He had an average start of 5.8 and a 7.3 average finish. He made four Sprint Cup starts in RFR’s No. 6 Ford with a best finish of 12th at Dover. 
Best NNS starts: 1 - Darlington 05/11/12, Daytona 07/06/12, Chicago 07/22/12 and Richmond 09/07/12
Best NNS finishes: 1 - Las Vegas 03/10/12, Chicago 09/15/12, Atlanta 09/01/12, Texas 04/13/12 and Iowa 05/20/12 and Kansas 10/20/12
Last NNS Win: Kansas 10/20/12.
2013: Stenhouse has moved up to Sprint Cup driving Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 17 Ford (Matt Kenseth moved to Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota). He will be running for NSCS Rookie of the Year. Best Buy, Zest and Fifth Third Bank will sponsor the team with Scott Graves handling the crew chief job.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS):
Joey Coulter finished third in the standings and earned 789 points.
2012: Drove the No. 22 Chevrolet Silverado for Richard Childress Racing. In the 22 races, he led 90 laps, scored three poles, one win, eight top five and 15 top 10 finishes and had an average start of 9.2 and an 8.5 average finish. He also finished 10th and 14th in two NNS races driving RCR’s No. 21 Chevrolet.
Best NCWTS starts: 1 - Michigan 08/18/12, Kentucky 09/21/12 and Las Vegas 09/29/12
Best NCWTS finish: 1 - Pocono 08/04/12
Last NCWTS Win: Pocono 08/04/12.
2013: RCR will not run the No. 22 in 2013 and Coulter has parted ways with the organization. He has signed on for a full season driving Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra. Harold Holly, Coulter’s crew chief at RCR, has also joined the KBM No. 18 team in the same role.

Timothy Peters finished second in the standings and earned 802 points.
2012: Drove the No. 17 Toyota Tundra for Red Horse Racing. In the 22 races, he led 402 laps, scored two poles, two wins, 10 top five and 16 top 10 finishes and had an average start of 7.5 and an 8.3 average finish. In the August race at Bristol Motor Speedway, he led all 204 laps, becoming the first driver to achieve the feat in this series since 1997.
Best NCWTS starts: 1 - Iowa 07/14/12 and Martinsville 10/27/12
Best NCWTS finishes: 1 - Bristol 08/22/12 and Iowa 07/14/12
Last NCWTS Win: Bristol 08/22/12.
2013: Peters will continue driving the No. 17 Toyota truck and will have Charles 'Butch' Hylton leading the team again this season.

James Buescher is the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion. He earned 808 points.
2012: Drove the No. 31 Chevrolet Silverado for Turner Motorsports. In the 22 races, he led 505 laps, earned four wins, 10 top five and 14 top 10 finishes and had an average start of 8.8 and an 8.6 average finish. Buescher also drove Turner Motorsports’ No. 30 Chevrolet in 22 Nationwide Series races. He won the NNS season-opener at Daytona and averaged a 13.4 finish which included eight top 10’s.
Best NCWTS start: 2 - Texas 11/02/12
Best NCWTS finishes: 1 - Chicago 07/21/12, Kentucky 06/28/12, Kentucky 09/21/12 and Kansas 04/21/12
Last NCWTS Win: Kentucky 09/21/12.
2013: Buescher is defending his 2012 championship in the Turner Scott Motorsports No. 31 Chevrolet Silverado. Rheem has signed on to sponsor at least 15 races. Michael Shelton is the returning crew chief for the team.  Buescher will also continue to hone his skills running select Nationwide Series events.

During the off-season, Looking Ahead gives a snapshot of where drivers finished in 2012 and what’s ahead for them in 2013. We will look at drivers who scored at least 250 points in the Cup Series and those who earned at least 200 points in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.

With 17 days to go until the 2013 season-opening Daytona 500, here are some driver recaps followed by a tentative list of 2013 Sprint Cup Driver/Team lineups.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS):
Jimmie Johnson finished third in the standings and earned 2360 points.
2012: Drove the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. In the 36 starts, he led 1,744 laps, earned five poles, five victories, 18 top five and 24 top 10 finishes. He had an average start of 10.6 and an 11.2 average finish.
Best NSCS starts: 1 - Kentucky 06/30/12, Chicago 09/16/12, Martinsville 10/28/12 and Texas 11/04/12 10/07/12 and Kansas 10/21/12
Best NSCS finishes: 1 - Dover 06/03/12, Darlington 05/12/12, Indianapolis 07/29/12, Martinsville 10/28/12 and Texas 11/04/12
Last NSCS Win: Texas 11/04/12.
2013: Johnson is signed thru 2015 with the No. 48 team. Lowes and Kobalt Tools continue as sponsors and Chad Knaus will return as crew chief. Johnson has also signed to drive JR Motorsports Nationwide Series No. 5 Chevrolet at Phoenix in March.

Clint Bowyer finished second in the standings and earned 2361 points.
2012: Drove the No. 15 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. In the 36 starts, he led 388 laps, scored three victories, 10 top five and 23 top 10 finishes. He had an average start of 12.8 and a 10.9 average finish. He also drove one Nationwide Series race in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota; finished 26th at Daytona.
Best NSCS start: 2 - Dover 09/30/12
Best NSCS finishes: 1 - Sonoma 06/24/12, Richmond 09/08/12 and Charlotte 10/13/12
Last NSCS Win: Charlotte 10/13/12.
2013: Bowyer is signed thru 2014 with the No. 15 Toyota team. Five Hour Energy Drink and Peak Motor Oil return as sponsors. Brian Pattie returns as crew chief as well.

Brad Keselowski is the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. He earned 2400 points.
2012: Drove the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge for Roger Penske Racing. In the 36 starts, he led 735 laps, scored five victories, 13 top five and 23 top 10 finishes. He had an average start of 16.2 and a 10.1 average finish. He also drove Penske Racing’s No. 22 Dodge in 21 Nationwide Series races. He scored one pole, three wins, 14 top 10 finishes and averaged a 10.9 finish in that series. He piloted his own Brad Keselowski Racing Nos. 19 and 29 RAM trucks in six NCWTS races. His average finish of 11.2 in that series included three top five and four top 10 finishes.
Best NSCS start: 2 - Bristol 08/25/12
Best NSCS finishes: 1 - Bristol 03/18/12, Talladega 05/06/12, Kentucky 06/30/12, Chicago 09/16/12 and Dover 09/30/12
Last NSCS Win: Dover 09/30/12.
2013: Keselowski returns to defend his championship in the No. 2 Ford (Penske switched from Dodges at end of 2012). Power will come from Roush-Yates engines. Keselowski, along with sponsor Miller Lite and crew chief Paul Wolfe, are signed thru 2015. Keselowski plans on running a limited schedule in the NNS driving Penske Racing’s No. 22 Ford Mustang as well as some truck races in his BKR No. 19 Ford F-150.

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS):
Austin Dillon finished third in the standings and earned 1227 points.
2012: Drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Chevrolet. In the 33 races, he led 486 laps, started on the pole in three races, scored two wins and had 16 top five and 27 top 10 finishes. He had an average start of 7.4 and a 7.1 average finish. He made one Sprint Cup start at Michigan in Joe Falk Motorsports’ No. 33 Chevrolet; finished 24th. In addition, Dillon entered the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series road course race in Montreal where he piloted Fitzpatrick Motorsports No. 4 Chevrolet to a seventh place finish.
Best NNS starts: 1 - Michigan 06/16/12, Kentucky 06/29/12 and Kentucky 09/22/12
Best NNS finishes: 1 - Kentucky 06/29/12 and Kentucky 09/22/12
Last NNS Win: Kentucky 09/22/12.
2013: Dillon will run another full season in RCR’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro. Advocare will sponsor all races. Danny Stockman returns as crew chief. Dillon will be preparing for a 2014 move up to Sprint Cup by running a limited Cup schedule this season. At this time he is set to drive Phoenix Racing’s No. 51 Chevrolet at Las Vegas and Joe Falk Motorsports’ No. 33 Chevrolet in some yet-to-be-named races.

Elliott Sadler finished second in the standings and earned 1228 points.
2012: Drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 2 Chevrolet. In the 33 races, he led 366 laps, earned five poles, scored four wins and had 15 top five and 24 top 10 finishes. He had an average start of 6.7 and a 7.6 average finish. He made one Sprint Cup start for RCR at Daytona in the No. 33 Chevrolet; finished 27th.
Best NNS starts: 1 - Las Vegas 03/10/12, Talladega 05/05/12, Iowa 05/20/12, Iowa 08/04/12 and Charlotte 10/12/12
Best NNS finishes: 1 - Bristol 03/17/12, Chicago 07/22/12, Phoenix 03/03/12 and Iowa 08/04/12
Last NNS Win: Iowa 08/04/12.
2013: Sadler parted ways with RCR at the end of 2012 bringing OneMain Financial sponsorship with him to Joe Gibbs Racing. He will drive JGR’s No. 11 Toyota Camry with Chris Gayle heading up the team. Nothing firm at this time, but Sadler may run some Sprint Cup races for JGR in a fourth team car.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion. He earned 1251 points.
2012: Drove Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 Ford. In the 33 races, he led 788 laps, earned four poles, scored six wins and had 19 top five and 26 top 10 finishes. He had an average start of 5.8 and a 7.3 average finish. He made four Sprint Cup starts in RFR’s No. 6 Ford with a best finish of 12th at Dover. 
Best NNS starts: 1 - Darlington 05/11/12, Daytona 07/06/12, Chicago 07/22/12 and Richmond 09/07/12
Best NNS finishes: 1 - Las Vegas 03/10/12, Chicago 09/15/12, Atlanta 09/01/12, Texas 04/13/12 and Iowa 05/20/12 and Kansas 10/20/12
Last NNS Win: Kansas 10/20/12.
2013: Stenhouse has moved up to Sprint Cup driving Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 17 Ford (Matt Kenseth moved to Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota). He will be running for NSCS Rookie of the Year. Best Buy, Zest and Fifth Third Bank will sponsor the team with Scott Graves handling the crew chief job.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS):
Joey Coulter finished third in the standings and earned 789 points.
2012: Drove the No. 22 Chevrolet Silverado for Richard Childress Racing. In the 22 races, he led 90 laps, scored three poles, one win, eight top five and 15 top 10 finishes and had an average start of 9.2 and an 8.5 average finish. He also finished 10th and 14th in two NNS races driving RCR’s No. 21 Chevrolet.
Best NCWTS starts: 1 - Michigan 08/18/12, Kentucky 09/21/12 and Las Vegas 09/29/12
Best NCWTS finish: 1 - Pocono 08/04/12
Last NCWTS Win: Pocono 08/04/12.
2013: RCR will not run the No. 22 in 2013 and Coulter has parted ways with the organization. He has signed on for a full season driving Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra. Harold Holly, Coulter’s crew chief at RCR, has also joined the KBM No. 18 team in the same role.

Timothy Peters finished second in the standings and earned 802 points.
2012: Drove the No. 17 Toyota Tundra for Red Horse Racing. In the 22 races, he led 402 laps, scored two poles, two wins, 10 top five and 16 top 10 finishes and had an average start of 7.5 and an 8.3 average finish. In the August race at Bristol Motor Speedway, he led all 204 laps, becoming the first driver to achieve the feat in this series since 1997.
Best NCWTS starts: 1 - Iowa 07/14/12 and Martinsville 10/27/12
Best NCWTS finishes: 1 - Bristol 08/22/12 and Iowa 07/14/12
Last NCWTS Win: Bristol 08/22/12.
2013: Peters will continue driving the No. 17 Toyota truck and will have Charles 'Butch' Hylton leading the team again this season.

James Buescher is the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion. He earned 808 points.
2012: Drove the No. 31 Chevrolet Silverado for Turner Motorsports. In the 22 races, he led 505 laps, earned four wins, 10 top five and 14 top 10 finishes and had an average start of 8.8 and an 8.6 average finish. Buescher also drove Turner Motorsports’ No. 30 Chevrolet in 22 Nationwide Series races. He won the NNS season-opener at Daytona and averaged a 13.4 finish which included eight top 10’s.
Best NCWTS start: 2 - Texas 11/02/12
Best NCWTS finishes: 1 - Chicago 07/21/12, Kentucky 06/28/12, Kentucky 09/21/12 and Kansas 04/21/12
Last NCWTS Win: Kentucky 09/21/12.
2013: Buescher is defending his 2012 championship in the Turner Scott Motorsports No. 31 Chevrolet Silverado. Rheem has signed on to sponsor at least 15 races. Michael Shelton is the returning crew chief for the team.  Buescher will also continue to hone his skills running select Nationwide Series events.