The Final 8 - 3rd Edition

Alex Bowman

In his first season with Tommy Baldwin Racing after leaving BK Racing Alex Bowman had an up and down season in which at times got really heated. Alex led a career record breaking 3 laps this season which if you view my next blog post about teams like these you will understand why thats something worth celebrating. Another impressive feat by Bowman The Showman was making 35 of the 36 races in 2015 missing the Daytona 500 when he was involved in a crash in the Duels. Alex had his best finish at Talladega in May where he finished 16th.

Season Rating - D+

Brett Moffitt

The 2015 Sunnoco Rookie Of The Year finally found his home at Front Row Motorsports when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series came to Kansas. Brett shared the ride with drivers like Josh Wise and 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion Chris Buescher. Brett also drove for Michael Waltrip Racing filling in for Brian Vickers. In that ride Brett got his best finish at Atlanta where he finished 8th. We are unaware as to if Brett Moffitt will be returning to FRM or not but I would think its a strong possibility.

Season Rating - C

Matt DiBenedetto

Matt DiBenedetto made his debut in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Phoenix and became the full time driver of the #83 Toyota Camry for BK Racing. After Johnny Sauter put on a show at Daytona Matt came to the #83 with high expectations and to many those high expectations were met. Matt finished 21st at Bristol, 18th at Talladega, and he stayed in the Top 25 at Darlington which is impressive for a rookie. Matt only had one DNF which was at Kentucky but had 3 DNQ's. Despite finishing 35th in points the points really did not show how well Matt did in 2015 and He will certainly look to continue his momentum going into 2016 in which he is speculated to return to the #83 at BK Racing! 

Season Rating -  C+

Michael Annett

The Des Moines, IA Native had a successful first season for HScott Racing despite the many hurdles this team was put through this season this team continued to push on. Not even completing one lap at Bristol in August, Missing Talladega, and to top the cake having their Hauler go up in Flames en route to Texas Motor Speedway. Despite the bad things there were positives to 2015 for Michael. A 13th place finish at Daytona in the Daytona 500, Haviing Circle Sport let Michael borrow a car to Race at Atlanta were just the few things that happened in 2015 for Michael. Michael will return to HScott with a new teammate in Clint Bowyer.

Season Rating - C-

Josh Wise

Josh Wise began the 2015 Season behind the wheel of the #98 Phil Parsons Racing Ford Fusion at Daytona. During the Duels Josh had technological issues which ended up making them miss the Daytona 500. Josh continued with PPR when it was sold to Jay Robinson and Premium Motorsports. At Talladega Josh finished his best of 2015 in 10th. After Kentucky Josh would venture away from Premium Motorsports and would drive the #32 for Go Green Racing at Indianapolis. At New Hampshire Josh raced the #23 for BK Racing and at Talladega in October he would return to his former team Front Row Motorsports for one race. Josh ended the season at Go Green Racing but at the moment his plans are foggy for 2016. Not many seats are available so we will have to see where he ends up.

Season Rating - D-

Jeb Burton

Jeb Burton made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in 2015 for BK Racing. An interesting season for Jeb missing 9 races including the Daytona 500. Jeb averaged a 38th place start and finished an average 36th. The season really was a disappointment for a hyped up driver and I really don't understand why? Jeb had the same equipment that his teammates had and they did moderate in 2015 compared to what Jeb did. It is unaware on if Jeb will return to BK Racing in 2016 

Season Rating - F

Michael McDowell

The plan was to run a minimum of 20 races for the Leavine Family Racing driver. Rain made sure that didn't happen, Along with Ryan Blaney Michael missed many races because of the rain or cloud cover in Daytona. Michael McDowell, who raced one race for Team Penske in the 2014 season, failed to compete in one Xfinity Series race in 2015 which left many of his fans dissapointed. Michael made the Daytona 500 which was really the highlight of the year for the team. 2016 is looking really foggy at the moment for Leavine as they look to run a full season in 2016 like Ford Teammate Ryan Blaney. Hopefully we will get to see Michael in that #22 in the Xfinity Series for Team Penske more in 2016 also. 

Season Rating - C

Alex Kennedy 

Like me you are probably still wondering who Alex Kennedy was. He was running for Rookie of The Year with Circle Sport Racing which is the #33 Car. Alex ran only 13 races in 2015 with a best finish of 25th at Sonoma! We are unaware of 2016 plans for Alex Kennedy but sure hope he finds a place so that we can hear more about Alex Kennedy! 

Season Rating - E+