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Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports broke the news this morning that NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion Austin Cindric is expected to attempt to qualify for the 2021 Daytona 500 under the Team Penske banner. According to the announcement, the car will be numbered 33 and is likely to include additional races for the young driver from Columbus, Ohio. It was announced earlier this year that Cindric would take over for Matt Dibenedetto in the #21 Ford Mustang in 2022 season as a full-time rookie. No details on sponsorship were available at the time of the post. Miles Stanley will be the crew chief.

It was announced this morning that retired driver Jamie McMurray will return to the wheel of a NASCAR Cup Series race car after being away from the sport for 2 years. The Joplin Missouri native is a past champion of both Daytona's Rolex 24 hour endurance race as well as the Daytona 500. He also has past victories in the summer race at Daytona and victories at Talladega making him a favorite for the win every time he is on the high banks. McMurray will be driving in the #77 Chevrolet Camaro and it will be sponsored by Advent Health. While on paper this is a Spire entry, it was reported by Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass that the ride will be prepared by Chip Ganassi Racing, the team McMurray raced for in the majority of his Cup Series Starts. In a release, McMurray commented with the following. “It doesn’t get any better than the Daytona 500, and I am so excited to have the opportunity, thanks to AdventHealth, to run this race one more time. I have enjoyed my time out of the car as an analyst covering NASCAR, but nothing can replace the feeling of actually racing.” McMurray has 7 career wins in 583 starts, most recently in 2013 at Talladega. The 2021 Daytona airs on Fox on February 14th.

10. Kyle Busch returns with a vengeance – Kyle Busch was notably absent from victory lane for much of 2020. Kyle only notched one win in 2020, at Texas in the 33rd race of the season at Texas. JGR, as a group, was off their game in 2020, with Martin Truex, Jr., also notching only one win. Nothing was normal in 2020, and nothing was odder than seeing Kyle Busch running outside the top 5 in most races. Look for the Gibbs camp to get things straightened out this offseason and look for a highly motivated Kyle Busch to return with a vengeance. My prediction: Kyle Busch gets the monkey off his back by winning the Daytona 500, ends the season as part of the Championship 4, and the over/under on his victories for the year is 5. 9. Matt D. gets the Wood Brothers their 100th win – Matt D. has made a name for himself over the last two years.First, with his impressive run at Bristol in 2019, where he led a ton of laps and nearly held off a hard charging Denny Hamlin for the win, and then in 2020 he dramatically raced his way into the playoffs, securing his spot in the final regular season race at Daytona.Matt D. has capitalized on the underdog role, and his likable personality is quickly making him a fan favorite.Some of DiBenedetto’s losses have been heartbreaking!Bristol, Talladega and Las Vegas are examples of how Matty D. is this close to grabbing his first win, and the Wood Brothers’ 100th win as NASCAR owners.The fact that DiBenedetto’s near wins have come at a short track, a mile and a half, and a Superspeedway shows the breadth of his talent and that he is a threat to win at almost any track.My prediction:put all your chips on Matt D. when the NASCAR series visits Las Vegas in March. 8. Ryan Blaney has a breakout season – Ryan Blaney was an absolute beast in 2020….. in the first two stages.Stage 3 was Blaney’s Achilles heel.Whether Blaney used up his equipment early, whether his team wasn’t as adept at making pit road adjustments, or whether it just bad luck, Blaney didn’t have nearly the success when the pay window opened, as he did in the preliminary stages.Blaney reminds me a lot of Chase Elliot.Blaney has started 198 races, Elliot 185, Blaney is 27 years old, Elliott is 25, more importantly, Chase Elliott was a young driver that gave away some victories (Darlington, the All Star Race, etc.), and later matured into a champion.I see Blaney in much the same way.He’ll figure how to keep his speed when the pay window opens and visit Victory Lane multiple times in 2021.My prediction:3 wins for Ryan Blaney in 2021. 7. The Championship 4 looks like a Hendrick Motorsports group photo – Hendrick Motorsports is set for success in 2021.The momentum from Chase Elliott’s championship, the confidence gained from having the Championship Trophy in their building for the first time since 2016, the addition of Kyle Larson, and the expanded role of Chad Knauss all mean trouble for the competition in 2021.Rick Hendrick has definitely reloaded his arsenal, and probably has the best group of drivers since Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were in their prime.My prediction:Look for at least 2 of these drivers to find their way to the Championship 4 in November. 6. Father Time catches up with Kevin Harvick – Ok, maybe Father Time doesn’t catch up to Harvick in 2021, maybe he just gains a little ground on Harvick.With 9 wins and 20 Top 5’s, it’s not exactly a bold prediction to say that Harvick will take a step back in 2021.I see Harvick’s season playing out a little differently in 2021.I’m seeing fewer victories, but I’m seeing him as a member of the Championship 4 in November.My prediction for Harvick is 5 wins, including two in the playoffs for 2021. 5. Brad Keselowski leaves Team Penske – Keselowski signed a contract extension in August 2020, but it was only for one year.At that time, he had 3 wins on the season, and was a serious title contender.It seems like Keselowski wanted to get a contract extension done to remove any distractions and let the team focus on a run at his 2nd title, but it also seems clear that Keselowski is interested in testing the free agent market, why else would he sign a one-year extension?Keselowski’s decision to re-up for one year shows some serious strategic thinking on his part.There will be a number of major rides potentially up for grabs at season’s end.Among the contracts that are set to expire at the endo of 2021:Aric Almirola and Cole Custer at Stewart-Haas, Alex Bowman at Hendrick Motorsports, and Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin at Joe Gibbs Racing.Some of these drivers will likely be re-signed, but some will likely be let go.This could put Keselowski in position to sign a very lucrative contract with a top-tier team at season’s end.My prediction:This one is a shocker – Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski have never had a good relationship, but Tony knows a good driver when he sees one, and he’s shown a history of preferring veteran drivers over unproven rookies.With Kevin Harvick entering the latter part of his career, Tony will put aside his differences with Keselowski and capitalize on the opportunity to sign a big-name driver in the peak of his career. 4. Richard Childress Racing visits victory lane multiple times – Austin Dillon visited victory lane at Texas for his 3rd career victory, notched 4 top 5’s (the most of his career) and had a surprisingly strong playoff run.Tyler Reddick will be entering his 2nd full time Cup season and is likely to show improvement and build on the 3 finishes he had inside the Top 5 in 2020.RCR seems to be undergoing a resurgence, and the overall organization seems to be more competitive.They are on the verge of being mentioned with the top-tier teams in the sport and they will continue that climb back to prominence in 2021.My prediction for RCR:2 wins in 2021. 3. Denny Hamlin doesn’t win at Daytona – Hamlin has won two consecutive Daytona 500s and 3 overall, making him the current king of tapered-spacer racing.Hamlin has actually been pretty dominant across the spectrum of tracks over the last two years, notching a total of 13 wins over the last two seasons.Hamlin is in the prime of his career, and he’s likely got several more years where he will be a threat to win at virtually every track, but I’m predicting that Daytona won’t be good to him this year.There are a million ways to lose a race, maybe more at tracks like Daytona, and very few ways to win.Even if Hamlin can avoid the “big one” and be up front near the end of the race, his reputation as the undisputed king of Daytona will likely work against him.Other drivers will be looking for him and they are all well aware of what a threat he is at Daytona.For this reason, they will probably be more aware of where he is on the track and take view him as “the guy” that they have to beat.My prediction:Hamlin runs near the front all day, but aggressive blocking at the end of the race keeps him from notching victory number 4 at Daytona. 2. The 23XI team struggles – So, you walk into a new job, it’s in a highly competitive industry, and you look around and realize that it’s everyone else’s first day on the job too!No one there has ever worked together before.Then you realize that your new company has never actually produced a single part, piece, or component, everyone has to learn their roles, responsibilities, how to work together, and how to somehow organize all the parts and pieces into a world-class product.Oh, and your first product has to be delivered in just a few months!Sounds like quite a challenge!This is exactly what is facing the 23XI team in 2021.They’ve got some very talented people there, they’ve got big-time sponsors with deep pockets, but it will take time get everything together, so don’t expect big things from this team right away.They might pull of some decent finishes, and might even get to Victory Lane through some pit strategy, but don’t expect them to live up to the hype this year.They have the money needed to succeed, and the alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing will be incredibly helpful, but look for this to be a season of growing pains for this team.My prediction:0 wins, 7 Top 10 finishes. 1. Chase Elliot repeats as champion – It was a joy to watch Chase Elliott grow into a champion during the 2020 season.Chase has reminded me of a young Kyle Busch over the past couple of years – extremely fast, but gave away some victories because of his youth.Chase’s most notable gaffs came at Darlington and the All-Star Race, but it’s hard to be critical of Chase.What he was going through is very typical of young, talented drivers.There’s a difference between being fast and winning races, and when the maturity, experience and talent all come together, that’s when the young driver transforms into a champion.We all watched this transformation over the course of the 2020 season, culminating with him starting at the back of the field at the Championship race at Phoenix and driving through the field to end the day in Victory Lane as a champion.Now that Chase has blended talent, maturity, and experience, I expect him to be a force to be reckoned with in 2021.My prediction:10 wins and he repeats as Cup Series Champion! There they are! Some bolder than others, please leave a comment and tell me what you agree with, disagree with, or give me your own set of predictions for 2021.

In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020. 14th Place – William Byron – 2247 pts By the Numbers: 98th Race – A recap of William Byron’s 2020 wouldn’t be complete without mentioning his first career win. Coming in his 98th Career Race, William Byron led the field across the finish line, beating teammate Chase Elliott by 0.119 seconds in an overtime finish. However, some of the excitement over his first career win may have been overshadowed by the sealing of NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson’s fate, as he missed the playoffs by 7 points. 24 Laps Led @ Daytona 2 – In a perhaps curious wink from the NASCAR Gods, William Byron (who drives the 24 car for Hendrick Motorsports) led a total of 24 laps over the course of his first victory at the regular season finale. 9.67 Average Career Finish @ Pocono – William Byron leads all active drivers in career average finish at Pocono, with a score of 9.67 over 6 career races. Pocono, was slated to be a guinea pig for the first NASCAR double-header weekend (though COVID-19 took some of that fanfare away). Byron finished the weekend with a 14th and a 7th place finish. 20th Miles Driven – William Byron drove 93.89% of the 13,520.69 miles that were driven in 2020, good enough for 20th out of all drivers. He did manage to finish on the lead lap 25 times out of a possible 36, but a catastrophic start to the season definitely contributed to a lower Miles Driven than might be expected. Byron finished 40th place at the Daytona 500, driving only 58 of the 209 laps. 23 Years Old – 2020 was William Byron’s 3rd full-time year in the NASCAR Cup Series, and as a result, sometimes it’s hard to remember just how young he still is. Despite 108 career Cup Series races under his belt, Byron is still younger than 2020 Rookies Tyler Reddick and Quin Houff, and is only the 2nd youngest active driver behind Cole Custer. William Byron will return to Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, continuing to drive the No. 24 Chevy. With Jimmie Johnson’s retirement, Hendrick is looking to younger drivers to take up the mantle. The Hendrick Motorsports team of 4 drivers will have an average age of 25.8 (down from 29.8 in 2020). Coming up in two days – Matt DiBenedetto Follow us on Twitter @StatChat_RR

In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020. 15th Place – Aric Almirola – 2235 pts By the Numbers: 9 Races – 2020 was a sneakily solid year for Aric Almirola. It wasn’t always flashy, but it was his 2nd best year as far as average finish goes. Over the course of the 9 races from Homestead to New Hampshire, each of Almirola’s finishes were in the Top 10, with five of them being Top 5s. Almirola only had one other Top 5 all season long. 1 DNF – One of the (many) keys to success in any racing series is to keep your car ‘clean,’ so to speak, meaning you finish the race without crashing. Aric Almirola finished 2020 with only a single DNF (Did Not Finish), coming at the 2nd Talladega race. 28 Lead Lap Finishes – Not only did Aric Almirola keep his car clean throughout most of 2020, he also managed to finish 28 races on the lead lap. This certainly contributed to a consistent season for Almirola, helping him to earn a spot in the playoffs despite no win in 2020. 8th Best Avg. Finish – Almirola may have finished the season in 15th place, but his average finish was still better than 9 of his fellow playoff drivers. Finishing the season with an average finish of 13.44, Almirola can chalk his 15th place finish up to a poor showing in the Round of 12, where he finished 17th, 37th, and 16th, ultimately leading to his elimination. 306 Laps Led – Good enough for 10th best of all drivers in 2020, Almirola led 306 laps throughout the course of the season. The majority of these came at Kentucky, where he led a field-leading 128 laps, eventually finishing 8th in the race. Aric Almirola will return to the Stewart-Haas No. 10 Ford in 2021. Despite only two career wins (only one with Stewart-Haas), Almirola’s good relationship with Smithfield – one of his key sponsors – certainly makes him an attractive commodity for a top-tier team. Coming up in two days – William Byron Follow us on Twitter @StatChat_RR

In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020. 16th Place – Cole Custer – 2202 pts By the Numbers: +28 positions – On July 12, 2020, Cole Custer started the race in 29th position. 267 laps later, he shocked the NASCAR world by crossing the finish line 0.271 seconds ahead of Martin Truex Jr. to take his first ever victory in his first full-time season in the Cup Series. It was also the first time a rookie had won a Cup Series race since Chris Buescher won at Pocono in 2016. 39th Place – Unfortunately, Cole Custer’s winning ways didn’t last long. The week after his best finish of the season, he posted his worst finish – 39th place – at the first Texas race. An accident took him out 219 laps into a 334 lap race, finishing only ahead of Ryan Preece. 5 Laps Led – In 2020, Cole Custer only led the field for 5 laps, and they all came at the Kentucky race where he won. He didn’t lead the field for the final 5 laps, though, as he actually restarted in 5th position on the final restart with 2 to go. 3 Races – Cole Custer’s teammates in 2020 were Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola, and Kevin Harvick, with the latter being the cream of the crop by a long shot. However, in 3 races in 2020, Custer was the best of the 4 drivers. Other than the obvious win at Kentucky, he also finished 9th at the Charlotte Roval and 14th at the 2nd Texas Race, beating out each of his teammates in the process. 13th Best Win % – Having run an entire season in 2020, plus 3 one-off races the year before for Rick Ware Racing, that puts Cole Custer’s winning percentage at 2.56%, or 1 win in 39 tries. While it is a small sample size, that is good enough for 13th best of active drivers (12th if you take the retired Jimmie Johnson out of the equation now). Cole Custer will look to improve on his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2021 as he returns to the Stewart-Haas No. 41 Ford. Coming up in two days – Aric Almirola Follow us on Twitter @StatChat_RR

In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020. 17th Place – Erik Jones – 873 pts By the Numbers: 0.31 – Erik Jones’ average finish in 2020 was 0.31 spots better than his average in 2019 (15.94 and 16.25, respectively). While Jones didn’t manage a win in 2020, his average finish shows a more consistent year. Regardless, it was announced in early August of 2020 that he had been let go from his ride in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota. 2 Races – Over the 2020 season, only twice (Darlington 3, and the Charlotte Roval) was Erik Jones the best Joe Gibbs Racing driver. This might not be entirely Jones’ fault, as he faced some tough competition from his 3 championship contending teammates, Hamlin, Truex Jr., and Kyle Busch (all of whom made the playoffs). However, when looking for a weak link within the JGR team – and perhaps simultaneously a spot for Toyota up-and-comer Christopher Bell, Erik Jones may have been more obvious a choice than it initially appeared. 21 Lead Lap Finishes – Finishing a race on the lead lap doesn’t always necessary equate to greatness, but over the course of a whole season, it can show who is consistently in contention to win. Erik Jones managed 21 Lead Lap Finishes over 36 races (Compare that to Kevin Harvick’s nearly inhuman and series leading 33 Lead Lap Finishes). 8 Drivers – Erik Jones may have missed the 2020 playoffs, but he still managed to stay at the front of the pack for a decent amount of time. There are only 8 other drivers who managed more Top 5 finishes than Jones did. 147 Career Starts – Erik Jones has only 2 wins in his 147 career starts, none of which came in 2020. That amounts to only a 1.36% winning percentage. Since Jones is leaving JGR and moving to what is largely seen as lesser equipment in 2021, it may be even tougher for him to turn that winning percentage around. As mentioned above, Erik Jones is leaving his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota behind and will take over the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Chevy (driven by Bubba Wallace in 2020). Coming up in two days – Cole Custer Follow us on Twitter @StatChat_RR

(Photo Source: Twitter.com/Erik_Jones) As we all know this silly season has been unprecedented in a flurry of twists and turns, not unlike a road course. Perhaps the most surprising move of the Silly season has been Erik Jones heading to the iconic 43 to drive for Richard Petty Motorsports. It certainly wasn’t a major shock when it was announced Jones wouldn’t be returning to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2021. When you’re teammates of 2 cup champions still in their primes and a 3 time Daytona 500 winner who has as many Cup wins as Bill Eliott it’s not hard to figure out who the replaceable driver is. Of course, we have to factor in the success of the man who is replacing Jones, Christopher Bell. Bell won the Truck Series Championship in 2017. He would go on to win 16 Xfinity series races with 46 top tens. He drove in the Cup Series this season for Levine Family Racing where he finished 20th in points, highlighted by 2 top 5’s and 7 top 10’s. None of this is meant as a knock on Jones. He’s had his share of success. He too is a Truck Series champion. He has 9 Xfinity Series wins and most importantly 2 Cup series victories. Some may scoff at being overly impressed with the two victories, but when you look around at this season’s crop of free-agent drivers it’s easy to see how tough it is to win in the sport’s top series. Anyone that watches our weekly show knows I love Richard Petty Motorsports. You also know that we universally agreed that Jones was likely too big of a get for the team. As it turned out we were wrong. “Bubba” Wallace leaving the team was nothing short of a gut punch in terms of all the funding and momentum he was taking with him, but serious credit has to be given to Petty and company for signing a driver that regains some of that lost momentum. Naysayers will undeniably point out that this is a giant step back for Jones and on paper, it’s tough to disagree. There’s no denying the team’s overall lack of success for the better part of 4 decades. Whether we’re discussing the final decade of Richard Petty’s career with Petty Enterprises or its current form as Richard Petty Motorsports. Overall since roughly 1980, the team has been on a slow and steady decline. Richard Petty would win his final race in 1984 and to top it off the last two wins of his career were for Curb Racing after he left Petty Enterprises in 1984. He would return to the team in 1986. From then on he and the team would have their moments occasionally but the magic was gone. Since Petty retired in 1992 the team has just won 6 times. It hasn’t been all bad for the team since The King’s prime though, there have been bright spots. Whether it’s John Andretti getting what would be Petty Enterprise’s final win in 1999. Bobby Labonte stabilized the team in his first two seasons. Later on, after becoming Richard Petty Motorsports Kasey Kahne would give the new incarnation of the team two wins in its inaugural season but would depart from the team before the completion of the 2010 season. A.J. Allmendinger proved to be a step in the right direction. As did Aric Almirola who provided the team with their most recent win in 2014 in the rain-shortened Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. Unfortunately, things would go south in the 2017 silly season. Almirola would leave for Stewart-Hass Racing and Smithfield would go with him after a messy exit. Then came Bubba Wallace. After two seasons of stagnant results and sponsorship trouble, the 2020 season was the latest bright spot. RPM and Wallace showed considerable improvement spending much of the summer on the playoff bubble. Wallace would finish 22nd in the season’s standings after results faded some as the unique season went on. While that may seem like nothing to get too excited about it’s a sizable improvement from finishing 28th and 30th in the two previous seasons for Wallace. Much of the credit must be given to Bubba for running so strongly and with the help of his advocacy for racial injustice, he was able to help acquire a lot of funding for the team. No matter what your opinion is on Wallace and his views he certainly helped raise the notoriety of the team. However, credit must also go to the team at the shop and crew chief Jerry Baxter, who will be back atop the box next season. Now, with Erik Jones behind the wheel, the team enters 2021 in what I believe is the most momentum they’ve had since at least the Almirola years. However, I also believe this the most pressure they’ve been under since Petty Enterprises closed. We must consider the fact that Richard Petty will turn 84 next year. You do have to wonder if this will be the last time he’s able to start over with a new driver? By all accounts, he remains in very good health so it’s very possible, perhaps even likely that he remains involved with the team for years to come. However at that age, you just never know. I’m sure some of you have read this entire article thinking something along the lines “Petty doesn’t really own the team.” Yes, I’m aware that the co-owner and the money behind the operation is Andrew Murstein, but reports of just how much power and influence Petty has over the team have been conflicting since Murstein got involved in 2011. No matter who owns what, Richard Petty is still the face of the organization. Speaking of Murstein, it’s fair to wonder how much longer he’s willing to supply the necessary funding for the team to operate? It’s safe to assume that as long as “The King” is alive and well the odds are good that Murstein will do what he can to support the race team, especially with Petty’s influence. Again, I have to ponder, what about afterward? In most ownership operations it’s a safe assumption that at some point the children of the owner either step in or are handed ownership once the elder family is no longer able to run the show. The issue in this unique case is that Petty’s kids likely don’t want the team. Kyle Petty has come and gone from the Petty organization multiple times. He ran the team in the two seasons his father was at Curb Racing. He would leave and go on to drive for the Wood Brothers. He spent several seasons at SABCO Racing before returning to Petty in the late 90s. When the team closed and was reborn as RPM Kyle Petty was forced out. Since then he has never returned to the team in any role and shows no sign of doing so. Richard’s daughters have never shown any interest in the team so the future without The King would be a complete mystery. The most immediate question though is can Erik Jones be the guy that brings the 43 back to prominence?" He signed a multi-year deal so that helps the process. The next-gen car debuting in 2022 is expected to be much cheaper and make it easier for smaller teams such as RPM to compete. Looking straight ahead to next season, naysayers will say that the equipment just isn’t good enough to win, but I think there are reasons to be optimistic that Jones can get the 43 in victory lane in 2021. Let’s start with the obvious, the 4 super-speedway races. One of Jones' two Cup Series wins came at Daytona. On top of that RPM has shown the ability to run up front at these tracks. The winners of these races tend to be those that have done it before, at least in recent memory. As I mentioned earlier Denny Hamlin is a 3 time Daytona 500 winner. How often do we see members of Team Penske up front at Talladega? The times we saw “Bubba” Wallace leading these races, from a tv viewer’s perspective it always felt like he was anxious and trying to do too much. I know it’s easy to diagnose it from my couch but it always seemed like he was feeling the pressure of the moment, not that anyone could blame him. I spent most of this article sparring you few details of just how hard it has been for this team to get a win since the last century. Maybe with Jones at the helm, someone who has won before in a pressure-packed situation, a win will be a little easier to come by. Jones’s other win came at the Southern 500 in 2019, one of the crown jewel events. So, he has a crown jewel to his credit and while it’s not “The Great American Race” any win at Daytona is pretty special. Let's not forget that he won the Clash in 2020 as well. My point being, Jones can obviously perform under pressure. Say what you will about the organization, but there’s no denying there’s pressure in driving the 43, especially when the man that made the number famous still looms over the team. Another thing to factor in is the fact that Richard Childress Racing and Hendrick Motorsports are going to join forces in building engines for Chevy next season. RPM has a technical alliance with RCR so there’s no little doubt they’ll benefit from this move, as will every other Chevy team in the sport. Another underrated factor is that Covid restrictions will likely get lighter as next season goes on. Many crew chiefs and drivers were barely at their shops last season. It wasn’t all that long ago where that would be unheard of. RPM was able to pull off a respectable improvement during a year in which there were more restrictions than ever and less time in between races than ever. While NASCAR was able to pull off the scheduled 36 races it was not without numerous changing circumstances. At times races this season felt like we were watching one big conveyor belt, churning one after another with little to no time in between. Assuming this season can be much closer to normal it’s fair to speculate that it very well could help RPM’s performance. Finally, let’s not forget all the schedule changes scheduled for next season. The added road Courses at COTA, Road America, and the now road course at The Brickyard are complete wild cards. We saw what kind of chaos the Roval created, maybe Jones finds himself at the right place and the right time at one of these races next season? While results for Jones in terms of road courses have been a mixed bag, he did win the Canadian Tire road course during his championship season in the Truck Series in 2015. There’s the Bristol dirt race but the returning Kyle Larson has to be considered the heavy favorite there. However, if Larson were to falter that day all bets would be off. Traditional Bristol could be a race to keep our eye on. RPM showed a lot of improvement in their short track program this season and shows has won twice at Bristol in his Xfinity career. Another track he had plenty of success at during his Xfinity days was Texas. Mile and half “cookie cutters” are still mostly the name of the game and Jones will without question help the team there. Dover and Phoenix have been other strong points to keep an eye on. In summary, Jones’s resume has success sprinkled at every type of track, and that’s something that thus far the driver he’s replacing can’t lay claim to. There are serious questions in terms of sponsorship for 2021 but Jones is young and has had a level of success, and perhaps it should be noted he isn’t controversial and that helps market to the “old school” NASCAR fan who wants drivers to stay away from our social and political fray. For better or worse those individuals make up an extremely large portion of the sports fan base, teams and sponsors know that. The most controversial thing about Jones was his once infamous mullet. While 2021 could be a year of adjustments for “That Jones Boy” and “The King” there’s plenty of reasons for optimism about next year and beyond. However, if it doesn’t work out it’s fair to wonder if this will be a type of last stand for one of the true icons of the sport, but with Jones’s impressive resume and the next-gen car quickly approaching I wouldn’t write Petty and company off just yet. It’s not insanity... it’s Loganity!

In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020. 18th Place – Jimmie Johnson – 836 pts By the Numbers: 663 Consecutive Starts – Before the 16th race of the 2020 season at Indianapolis, Jimmie Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 and was ruled out of the race. This ended a streak of 663 consecutive starts Johnson had going, and also likely ruined his chances at the playoffs (more on that below). 7 Points – Even including an untimely disqualification at the first Charlotte race in May 2020, Jimmie Johnson missed the playoffs by a mere 7 points. Had he not contracted COVID-19 and been able to race at Indianapolis (a track where Johnson doesn’t necessarily shine, but where he has the 14th best career record of active drivers), it’s certainly within the realm of possibility he could have earned the 7 points he needed to supplant Matt DiBenedetto, the last driver to make the playoffs. 18th Best Season – Of his 19 full-time seasons at the Cup Series level, only in 2019 did Jimmie Johnson have a worse average finish. His 2020 average finish of 17.29 (slightly better than his 17.36 in 2019) left a bit too much to be desired in his final season before retirement from NASCAR. 18.32 Average Finish @ Daytona – Jimmie Johnson’s worst career track is Daytona, where he has an average finish of 18.32 (the worst he has at any track). Considering that Johnson started 686 races over the length of his career, the fact that his worst career average finish is still below 20 (at a track where chaos is rampant) says a lot about just how dominant he was over his entire Cup Series career. 23 Years Difference – Jimmie Johnson was the oldest full-time active driver at the start of the 2020 season (later to be topped by Matt Kenseth replacing Kyle Larson). Rookie of the Year Cole Custer (and coincidentally the youngest full-time driver) is 23 years younger than Jimmie Johnson. Custer was 4 years old when Jimmie Johnson scored his first Cup Series win in 2002. Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson announced at the end of the 2019 season that 2020 would be his last. He is slated to drive part-time over the next two years for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IndyCar Series. Alex Bowman will move from the 88 and take over the 48 car in 2021. Coming up in two days – Erik Jones Follow us on Twitter @StatChat_RR

In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020. 19th Place – Tyler Reddick – 780 pts By the Numbers: 3 Tracks – Albeit with a small sample size (one full-time season and 2 one-off races the year before in the Cup Series), Tyler Reddick holds the best career record at 3 tracks. With an average finish of 11.00 at Charlotte, 8.50 at Texas, and 4.00 at Homestead-Miami, no other drivers have better career averages at these tracks. As Reddick’s career progresses, it will be interesting to see if he can hold on to these 3. 9 Top 10s – Tyler Reddick had the most Top 10s out of all the rookies in 2020, with 9, matching his Richard Childress Racing teammate, Austin Dillon. This also surpasses Chris Buescher and Ryan Newman, and is one Top 10 shy of matching NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson’s 2020 numbers. 1 Stage Win – Similar to what happened to Chris Buescher this year, Tyler Reddick scored his first (and only, so far) stage win under caution. At the Spring Talladega race, Reddick took the lead just before a caution was called with 5 laps to go in Stage 1 for some light rain on the track. 17.1 Average Running Position – Again, another rookie-leading stat by Reddick. While Cole Custer managed the one win that put him in the playoffs (and guaranteed him the Rookie of the Year prize), Tyler Reddick’s 17.1 Average Running Position beat Custer’s by 1.5 positions. 3,964 Green Flag Passes – Tyler Reddick had the most passes while under green in 2020 out of any driver. Unfortunately, he was also passed the most out of any driver under green (3,821 times), leading to a still-respectable Pass Differential of +143. Tyler Reddick will hope to build off of a great rookie season when he returns to the Richard Childress Racing No. 8 Chevrolet in 2021. Coming up in two days – Jimmie Johnson Follow us on Twitter @StatChat_RR

Some updates to the 2021 SRX (Superstar Racing Experience) schedule have been finalized for the new racing series. There has also been talks from league executives to allow for up to 2 exhibition entrants into the race each week. The first would be the 'ringer'. This spot would be allowed for a top-tier competitor such as NASCAR Champion Chase Elliott to make a one-off start in the series when the schedule works, The second would be the Balboa car. This would be a car dedicated to representing the local track champion or hero in that particular city. Schedule dates for the first season are below. (Photo courtesy - https://twitter.com/SRXracing) 2021 Confirmed Driver List TONY STEWART TONY KANAAN MARK WEBBER WILLY T RIBBS PAUL TRACY HELIO CASTRONEVES BOBBY LABONTE BILL ELLIOTT