DECADE IN REVIEW: Drivers of the next decade in NASCAR

By SceneDaily Staff

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Trevor Bayne is moving into a full-time NASCAR Nationwide Series ride with the newly formed Diamond-Waltrip Racing in 2010.

David Griffin
NASCAR Scene

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While it’s impossible to forecast exactly which drivers will rise to NASCAR prominence in the next decade, a crop of young drivers has shown the potential to impact the sport in a big way in the forseeable future.

Joey Logano and Brad Keselowksi have already established themselves as stars of the next decade, but who heads the next wave of young drivers likely to make it to NASCAR’s top level?

Here appear to be the most likely candidates:

1. Trevor Bayne: A hard-nosed driver who made his entrance into the Nationwide Series with a part-time schedule last season, Bayne is moving into a full-time Nationwide ride with the newly formed Diamond-Waltrip Racing in 2010. The 18-year-old made 12 of his 15 Nationwide starts last season with Michael Waltrip Racing, which sold its Nationwide team to Gary Bechtel in November but will be operated out of MWR through a partnership. MWR retains the rights to Bayne in hopes of bringing him to Sprint Cup racing, beginning with at least seven races in 2011 and a possible full schedule in 2012. Bayne won a race and finished fourth in points as a development driver for Dale Earnhardt Inc. in the Camping World East Series in 2008. His best Nationwide finish is seventh – on two occasions.

2. Colin Braun: After spending the last two seasons with Roush Fenway Racing in the Camping World Truck Series, Braun will compete for the organization full time in the Nationwide Series in 2010. A noted road-course racer, the 21-year-old Braun improved from 13th as a Truck rookie to fifth in last year’s standings and scored his first victory at Michigan International Speedway in June. Braun will carry Truck sponsor Con-way Freight to the Nationwide Series for 18 races. Eddie Pardue will be his crew chief.

3. Danica Patrick: The Izod IndyCar Series driver hasn’t turned one official lap in a NASCAR stock car yet, but the hype surrounding her arrival in the Nationwide Series next year has already sparked much anticipation and discussion. Will Patrick, an attractive 27-year-old with one IndyCar win in five years, usher the sport into a new era in which a female is reckoned both on the track and at the souvenir stand? She’s scheduled run up to 13 Nationwide races in each of the next two years for JR Motorsports as she continues to compete full time in IndyCar. Depending on her success, a move to the Sprint Cup Series could be in her future. While critics question whether she possesses the talent to live up to all the hype, the entire NASCAR nation will be closely monitoring her success or lack thereof.

4. Parker Kligerman: Kligerman rolled up an impressive nine wins and finished second in points while competing as a development driver for Penske Racing in the Automobile Racing Club of America Series in 2009. Kligerman attempted two Nationwide races for Penske late in the year, winning the pole and finishing 16th at Kansas but failing to qualify for the season finale at Homestead. Kligerman started the Homestead race for another team, however, and finished 25th. Plans call for the 19-year-old to run a partial Nationwide schedule for Penske in 2010.

5. Ross Kenseth: The 16-year-old son of 2003 NASCAR Cup champion Matt Kenseth has enjoyed considerable success in Late Models on Midwestern short tracks. Competing for Generation 3 Motorsports, a team owned by his father and grandfather, Roy, Kenseth won 11 Late Model races in 2009. He finished 12th in the annual Snowball Derby race won by Cup driver Kyle Busch.

6. Ryan Truex: The brother of Cup driver Martin Truex Jr. won the 2009 Camping World East title on the strength of three wins and seven top-fives in 11 starts. Truex, 17, competed as a development driver for Michael Waltrip Racing, the organization his brother will compete for in Cup beginning in 2010. Truex started four years ago racing a Bandolero at Wall Township Speedway in New Jersey before moving to Legends cars and wining a track championship in 2007. Truex spent 2008 driving a family-owned Late Model.

7. Matt DiBenedetto : A Joe Gibbs Racing development driver expected to run a part-time Nationwide schedule next season for JGR, DiBenedetto turned heads by scoring two wins, five top-10s and three poles in seven Camping World East starts in 2009. The 18-year-old started fourth and finished 14th in his Nationwide debut at Memphis last October.

8. Justin Lofton: The reigning Automobile Racing Club of America champion is preparing for a move to the Camping World Truck Series, where he’ll compete full time for Red Horse Racing in 2010. The 23-year-old, who could also make select Nationwide starts, won six ARCA races in 2009, his second season in the series. Lofton competed full time in the Camping World West Series in 2006 and 2007.

9. Robert Johnson: The 16-year-old son of NASCAR legend Junior Johnson began his racing career with five wins in his first 13 starts. Johnson is trying his hand at racing on both dirt and asphalt under his father’s tutelage. One of Johnson’s wins came earlier this year in the Sportsman division at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C.

10: Chase Elliott: The 14-year-old son of 1988 Cup champion Bill Elliott has found quick success in Legends cars, winning multiple races and titles in both the Atlanta Motor Speedway Winter Flurry Series and the Georgia Winter Series. Elliott was seventh driving a Late Model in the 2009 Snowball Derby. Depending on his progression, he could arrive in a NASCAR national touring series by the middle of the decade.

Others to watch: Justin Allgaier (Penske), Bryan Clauson (Earnhardt Ganassi), Austin Dillon (RCR), Ryan Gifford (RCR), Paulie Harraka (Drive for Diversity), Brian Scott (Braun Racing), Steve Wallace (Rusty Wallace Racing).