Assessing how NASCAR’s top teams performed during the 2014 season.
For the third straight year SB Nation is assuming the role of teacher and handing out grades to the NASCAR teams which finished 2014 season 25th or better in owners points.
A reminder before the red pen comes out: as in years past, every team is graded fairly just not equally due to the differentiating capabilities of each organization. It's unreasonable to think a small team like JTG Daugherty Racing can win an abundance of races and compete seriously for the championship. Hence, JTG Daugherty cannot be held to the same standard as powerhouse teams such as Team Penske or Joe Gibbs Racing.
Team Penske
Although unable to claim its second championship, Penske came extremely close, and of all the organizations on the list, was by far the easiest to grade. Between them, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano delivered 11 wins, a total only surpassed by Hendrick Motorsports.
But whereas Hendrick is a four-car juggernaut, Penske runs just two cars full-time, and unlike Hendrick, was one of the most consistent teams for the duration of the season with no dip in performance from Daytona to Homestead. At no juncture was there doubt about Penske's ability to field race-winning, championship-caliber cars. That's not something Hendrick or any other team could say.
The strength of the Penske operation last season was the synergy amongst its two teams. Be it Keselowski and Logano or their respective crew chiefs, everyone within Penske enjoyed perfect harmony. Two teams operating at high level is not uncommon, but to have two teams do so blissfully without any signs of animosity or jealousy isn't a given. Penske accomplished that and more and is deserving of its grade.
Grade: A
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Hendrick Motorsports
A series-best 13 victories is hard to ignore, however Hendrick isn't judged by wins and instead by championships. And by that measure Hendrick fell short in 2014.
Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were unexpectedly eliminated in Round 2 of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Jeff Gordon fell a point short of the championship round, while Kasey Kahne was a nonfactor for the majority of the year. All may have won races -- four each for Johnson, Gordon and Earnhardt, with the latter two undergoing a rejuvenation -- but none of Hendrick's four drivers came close to bringing the organization a 12th championship.
Most troubling was Johnson's substandard season (at least compared to his lofty standards). Never comfortable with the redesigned Generation-6 car, it took until the 12th race before the defending Cup champion visited Victory Lane and overall, Johnson set career lows for top-fives and average finish. Not to mention were the repeated flare-ups with crew chief Chad Knaus, which led to speculation (later rebuked) that Knaus may step away at year's end.
Regardless, 13 wins is an impressive figure especially when that includes triumphs in the marquee events at Daytona, Charlotte and Indianapolis. Hendrick may not have won another title, but it still had a season just about any other team would happily take.
Grade: B+
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JTG Daugherty Racing
An emotional first victory and an unexpected spot in the Chase spot made AJ Allmendinger's first season with JTG wildly successful. But there was more to the No. 47 team's year than just those emotional, feel-good moments. For the first time the single-car outfit was regularly competitive, with Allmendinger notching several strong runs and elevating the team to unforeseen heights.
Grade: B
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Chip Ganassi Racing
For the fifth time in seven seasons CGR failed to win, but unlike previous years, the results weren't indicative of the actual competitiveness of Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray. As both drivers came close on several occasions, particularly Larson whose promotion proved judicious, while McMurray showed flashes of his 2010 form (when he won the Daytona 500 along with two other races) setting a career-high for laps led.
But it was Larson who deserves the accolades and really carried the CGR banner in 2014. En route to being named Rookie of the Year, Larson grabbed eight top-fives, 17 top-10s and is more than worthy of the immense hype accompanying his arrival. Big things are ahead for the 22-year-old and CGR's investment in Larson will soon pay dividends.
Grade: B-
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Stewart-Haas Racing
No team saw a greater variance of performance within its organization than SHR, where Kevin Harvick won five races en route to the championship while teammates Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick were inconsistent and often underachieved. That discrepancy would seem to constitute an average grade, except Harvick's dominance was too pervasive.
On the year Harvick won five times, led over 2,100 laps and would have had several more wins were it not for mistakes on pit road and miscellaneous parts failures. Considering it was his first season with SHR and essentially a brand-new team, Harvick far exceeded expectations.
As for Busch, Stewart and Patrick the year was a mix of good and bad with an emphasis on the latter. Though the only one of the three to win, Busch never clicked with an engineering-minded crew chief, Stewart was still not 100 percent after breaking his leg the year before and then had the distraction of the Kevin Ward Jr. tragedy, and Patrick, though showing occasional promise, struggled.
With a strong alliance with Hendrick, Busch, Stewart and Patrick all should have had seasons more in line with Harvick, not polar opposites.
Grade: C+
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Richard Childress Racing
Acclimating to his new home, Ryan Newman lifted the No. 31 team to the Chase after finishing 21st in owners points the year before with Jeff Burton driving. And once the playoffs began, the veteran nearly pulled off a miraculous title run, coming up just a position short.
But outside of Newman's championship push, there weren't many highlights for RCR in 2014 as the organization went winless for the first time in six years. Austin Dillon turned in a solid, though unspectacular rookie season, finishing every race and showing steady improvement, with Paul Menard setting career-highs in top-fives and top-10s, yet dropping four spots in points to 21st overall.
A good year, yes; just not the year RCR should be satisfied with by any means.
Grade: C+
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Joe Gibbs Racing
With all three of JGR's cars soundly qualifying for the Chase, and one advancing to the championship round, 2014 gives the appearance of a successful season. Except for the fact that the team won all of three races compared to 12 the year prior and the noticeable lack of competitiveness.
And the reason for the diminishing results? That can be directly attributed to a Toyota engine lacking in horsepower, something Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch frequently lamented throughout the year. Yet, Hamlin nearly won the title and Kenseth produced a very solid year -- he had more top-fives and top-10s than in 2013 when he finished runner-up in the championship -- despite going winless.
Grade: C
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Richard Petty Motorsports
There was plenty for RPM to be happy with this past season. The group returned to the winner's circle for the first time since 1999 and finally placed a driver in the Chase. And were it not for a blown engine in the playoff opener, Aric Almirola would have made it out of the first round.
But just as there were positives, there were negatives as well. Marcos Ambrose never found much consistency, and endured a 28-race stretch where he tabbed not a single top 10 result outside of a road course or restrictor-plate track. Almirola wasn't infallible either, crashing out of five races, leading a mere 23 laps and recording six finishes of 39th or worse.
Grade: C-
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Roush Fenway Racing
A once proud organization continued its regression in 2014, winning just twice and seeing its top driver announce his departure to a rival team. The issues inflicting Roush were many, including an aerodynamic package that made its Fords uncompetitive on intermediate speedways, Rick Stenhouse Jr.'s lack of progression, a reshuffling of key behind-the-scenes personnel and sweeping rule changes to the Gen-6 car.
Through it all and despite the inadequacies of its cars, Carl Edwards and sage crew chief Jimmy Fennig mustered a fine campaign. Edwards grabbed a pair of victories at Bristol and Sonoma, and made it farther in the Chase than many expected.
Though winless, Biffle also qualified for the Chase. A mid-summer stretch of five straight top-10s gave hope to something bigger, but that never materialized as Biffle was eliminated following Round 1. There is a lot of uncertainty about the viability of the No. 16 team entering the offseason.
It's easy to shrug off Stenhouse's struggles as a byproduct of the lack of speed in the Roush cars, but wouldn't be accurate. Just as he did during his rookie season, Stenhouse often overdrove and crashed too frequently. He also failed to lead a single lap, which is something the likes of David Gilliland, Reed Sorenson and Travis Kvapil all managed to avoid. Add everything together and Stenhouse's dropped eight positions in points and saw his average finish increase by three spots.
Grade: D+
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Michael Waltrip Racing
Two years ago MWR gave the appearance of an organization on the rise, having qualified two drivers in the Chase and with Clint Bowyer finishing second in the championship. For that season MWR justifiably earned an A grade, tied with Hendrick for best among all teams. But the promise of 2012 is long gone, as MWR produced an unsatisfactory 2014 campaign with zero victories and no Chase berths.
Like JGR, MWR struggled with a Toyota motor lacking power. But unlike JGR, MWR wasn't able to compensate in other areas with Bowyer and Brian Vickers placing 19th and 22nd in points, respectively. For Bowyer the season was notably frustrating with six finishes of 38th or worse, which led to several tweets of him wishing his nightmare season would just end.
Outside of its engine-related woes, MWR was also affected last season by the loss of high-dollar sponsor NAPA and several key personnel as part of the company's forced reorganization in the wake of the 2013 cheating scandal. Crew chiefs Rodney Childers and Chad Johnston left for SHR, where Childers won a championship, while Martin Truex and his entire pit crew moved to Furniture Row. That's a lot of talent to lose and not replace, with the results noticeable on the track.
Grade: D-
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Furniture Row Racing
A year removed from being the first-single car team to make the Chase, Furniture Row fell back towards the middle of the pack. Although unfair to expect Martin Truex Jr. to replicate Kurt Busch's production, who at times seemed to will the No. 78 car to the front, Truex came nowhere close. Struggling to adapt to his new surroundings and form chemistry with crew chief Todd Berrier, Truex didn't lead a single lap and failed to finish in the top-five until the fall Kansas race, the 30th event on the calendar.
Grade: D-
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