NXS: 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series Season Preview – Richard Childress Racing’s No. 33

After scoring a victory last year and seeing success with a mixture of drivers, Richard Childress Racing’s No. 33 car is set to return in 2015 with an interesting line-up at the helm.

Looking back at 2014

The No. 33 car was entered into 21 races throughout the course of the 2014 season with four different drivers taking a turn behind the wheel. In those 21 races, the drivers were able to accumulate a win, three top-fives and seven top-10 finishes.

The highlight of the year was Menard’s victory at Michigan International Speedway, which marked his second career NASCAR XFINITY Series win. He proved throughout the year that the job could be done in the equipment, evident by only one finish outside of the top 12 in his eight starts. Certainly running the races in the second-tier division could be said to have helped the Wisconsin native as he was able to put together his best season statistical-wise in the Sprint Cup Series this past year with five top-fives and 13 top-10 finishes.

2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion Matt Crafton and 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year Austin Dillon each took a turn behind the wheel, both posting top 12 finishes with Crafton 12th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Dillon seventh at Texas Motor Speedway. For Dillon, it marked his return behind the wheel of an XFINITY car since winning the championship in 2013. The solid finish, as well as seeing the benefits for other drivers in running both series, started off the discussion for the 2015 season.

Cale Conley ran the most races of any driver behind the wheel of the No. 33 car, looking to get some experience under his belt as a young driver. The West Virginia native proved that he could get it done, only failing to post a top-15 finish when he was involved in a wreck. Most of those wrecks, by the way, were not his fault either. For being a young driver, that says something as normally the blame falls on the young driver versus the veteran. Certainly if sponsorship is there and available races, Conley would be a safe bet to continue to add more laps under his belt. With a possible full season maybe down the road, he could eventually grow into a solid front running contender.

Looking ahead at 2015….

Seeing the benefits of running both series, Austin Dillon will be running the majority of the XFINITY schedule, alongside the full Sprint Cup Series schedule. This is a move that should help both programs for Richard Childress Racing. It’ll improve Dillon’s Sprint Cup Series performance with having the added seat time to get used to the tracks on any given weekend. On the flip side, he will be able to add feedback to the team to help improve the cars for himself and RCR’s regulars Brendan Gaughan, Brian Scott and Ty Dillon. RCR proved on a couple occasions in 2014 that they could be up front with the likes of JR Motorsports, Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing – but not consistently. Perhaps bringing back Dillon into the fold will bring that competitive edge that they need.

In addition to Dillon, RCR has announced that Brandon Jones will be running select races in 2015. Jones ran five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races last year for Turner-Scott Motorsports, posting four top-20 finishes, highlighted by a fourth place finish at Dover International Speedway in June. He also ran the full NASCAR K&N Pro East Series schedule, finishing fourth in points with a win, five top-fives and 11 top-10s. Considered as one of the young prospects to watch moving forward, all eyes will be on Jones to see how he runs this upcoming season. Expect him to post finishes around those of Cale Conley’s from the previous season, though perhaps stronger in parts if the cars are underneath him and if he adjusts well to the cars.