Photo Credit: Noel Lanier/OnPitRoad.com
Each Nationwide Series season brings forth memories that live in the hearts of fans for years. This year was no exception as there are certain moments that will live on in the minds of the fans moving forward. Here are some of the memorable moments of the season, with some of OnPitRoad.com’s readers thoughts in bold and italics throughout.
Any reflection back on a season brings us directly to a champion because the season ends up becoming that of a glory tale for the champion.
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Let’s face it, the kid did everything right in his rookie year en route to winning the championship. Oh right – let’s not forget. Chase Elliott – 18 year old rookie coming into the season. As some say, it’s just too cool to put into words and he worked hard for it. With no Nationwide Series experience before the season, he was able to adapt quickly and was posting top 10 finishes right off the top of the season. Though Elliott’s quick success shouldn’t be a surprise as he won last year in ARCA at Pocono before claiming his first Truck victory at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park to close out 2013.
Its a simple fact with Elliott that he had poise, ability to stay calm under pressure, talent behind the wheel and the fact that he didn’t make rookie mistakes over the course of the season. Elliott’s attitude was something that he summed up quickly at the end of the year – you have to be honest with yourself, good or bad.
“There may be days where you have to be honest with yourself and in the back of your mind you know you didn’t do something right or know that you could have done a better job,” he said. “And I think you just have to face those issues yourself first and foremost because if you can’t get through it yourself, then it doesn’t matter what people say about you or from a distance or whatever. It’s kind of irrelevant if you can’t face those things personally and kind of get through them on your own. Obviously, you can have help to get through those things or through struggles or things you struggle with, but you’ve got to first and foremost realize that you need to fix something and know that just because you might excel in a certain area doesn’t mean you can’t get any better, and never stay closed minded enough where you’re not open to trying new things. But at the same time having enough confidence in your ability that you are giving it your best shot each week and believe in what you’re telling your guys and how you go about things.”
Though having the right attitude is only half the battle. You also have to have the talent. That was shown with his first career victory at Texas Motor Speedway, but even on display more a week later with his most memorable victory at Darlington Raceway as you never expect a rookie to win at Darlington with how tough the track is. Known as the toughest track on the circuit, Darlington normally takes rookies to school, with several scrapes with the wall and a beaten car at the end of the night. That wasn’t the story for Elliott as he stayed out of trouble all night and restarting sixth with four new tires late in the race, he was able to get by those in front of him and grab the lead with just a few laps to go.
The focus with Elliott and the Nationwide Series – youth is the future of NASCAR, and that future is now. However, Elliott wasn’t the only young driver to watch throughout the year as other young drivers began to etch themselves into history. Ty Dillon and Chris Buescher showed that they can win races as well, while putting together solid performances. Dillon was a solid top-10 performer over the course of the season, charting solid finishes with each passing week. Dillon’s season came to peak mid-summer when he was able to pick up the victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, Buescher didn’t start the year well at all with incidents and sub-par performances. However, he improved as the year went and began to post solid performances into the second half of the year. He also proved that he can be flawless, staying on the road and not making any mistakes to score his first career victory at Road America. Look for Dillon and Buescher to be even stronger in 2015.
Though while the focus seemed to be on the youth in the series, the veterans were also proving that they could get it done as well. Brian Scott would have the best season of his career for sure with 23 top-10s in 33 races, with only one finish lower than 18th after being taken out, wrong place wrong time, at Talladega. Certainly Scott making the move from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Childress Racing has proven to be beneficial. With coming close to winning races and putting himself in the top-five in points, look for Scott to break through with his first victory in 2015 and be part of the championship discussion.
While the focus was on youth and old, the races for the win were also dramatic and intense. One of the season’s closest finishes was at Daytona with JR Motorsports Kasey Kahne and Regan Smith teammates side-by-side under the checkered flag. By just an edge, Kahne would capture the victory to give JRM the Daytona sweep for 2014 after winning the February event with Smith. JR Motorsports certainly had a star studded year in winning the championship with Elliott, Smith finishing second in points and sweeping the Daytona races.
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RT @OnPitRoad_: NNS: Moments to Remember of the 2014 Nationwide Series Season by @ladybug388 http://t.co/mDbXZlr81r