The first installment in a series of 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team previews ahead of the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 21:
GERMAIN RACING
Principal owner: Bob Germain
Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Engine source: ECR
Alliances: Richard Childress Racing
Drivers (crew chiefs): Casey Mears (Bootie Barker)
2015's top finisher: Mears (23rd)
2015 Grade: C-plus
Ownership stability: B-plus
Sponsorship stability: A
Driver/crew chief quality: C-plus
2016 team grade: C-plus
Outlook: Germain continues to take a step of improvement every year. A top-20 finish in the standings is not out of the question. A win at a restrictor-plate track or a fuel-mileage gamble is not out of the question. Which means that making the Chase isn't out of the question. The alliance with Childress helps, especially if they are out to lunch on a weekend. "Right now, I feel the best I ever have about Germain Racing," Mears said. "I feel like last year, if we did not have several things go the way we did, I could have easily been 18th or so in points. ... We just had some really odd things happen that don't typically happen."
DRIVER LINEUP
Casey Mears (No. 13 Geico Chevrolet): Mears signed a three-year extension last year, and it caused some people to scratch their heads. But Mears is a good fit for Germain: He is experienced and doesn't wreck cars. Plus sponsor Geico loves Mears. Geico also loves Barker as the crew chief. This team lacks the drama of the big teams; Mears and Barker just go about their business.
2016 goal: Finish top-20 in points.
HSCOTT MOTORSPORTS
Principal owner: Harry Scott Jr.
Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Engine source: Hendrick
Alliances: Stewart-Haas Racing, Hendrick Motorsports
Drivers (crew chiefs): Clint Bowyer (Steve Addington); Michael Annett (Jay Guy)
2015's top finisher: Justin Allgaier (30th)
2015 Grade: C
Ownership stability: B
Sponsorship stability: B-minus
Driver/crew chief quality: B-minus
2016 team grade: B-minus
Outlook: HScott Motorsports looks to boost its performance with the addition of Bowyer for a year and the alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing. Will it help? That's questionable. Bowyer knows he'll be at SHR in 2017, and truthfully, how will he be much better at HScott than he was during an average year last season at MWR? If he barely made the Chase driving for MWR, that doesn't bode well for doing much better at HScott, a smaller team still trying to build.
DRIVER LINEUP
Clint Bowyer (No. 15 5-Hour Energy/Peak Chevrolet): Bowyer will bring some new blood and energy to the team. Yeah, he'll be out the door after the season and can't be counted on for anything as far as "building the program," considering he already signed with SHR for 2017. The good thing for Bowyer is he will have an old-school crew chief in Steve Addington. The two should get along.
2016 goal: Make the Chase and don't do anything stupid to ruin Bowyer's 2017 deal. And leave the organization stronger when he leaves than when he arrived.
Michael Annett (No. 46 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet): Annett finished 36th in points in his second season. With the Pilot Flying J sponsorship, he is an adequate driver among those who bring sponsorship. He was fifth in the 2012 Xfinity Series standings and for the most part doesn't wreck equipment (he crashed out of just two races last year). He just needs to show more improvement.
2016 goal: Finish top-25 in points.
FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS
Principal owner: Bob Jenkins
Manufacturer: Ford
Engine source: Roush Yates
Alliances: Roush Fenway Racing
Drivers (crew chiefs): Landon Cassill (Donnie Wingo); Chris Buescher (Bob Osborne)
2015's top finisher: Cole Whitt (31st)
2015 Grade: C-minus
Ownership stability: A
Sponsorship stability: B-minus
Driver/crew chief quality: C-plus
2016 team grade: C-plus
Outlook: Front Row took a step backward last season. Of course, that should have been expected as Roush Fenway, its alliance partner, also took a step in reverse. Front Row has a new driving stable to see if that will help and a deeper alliance with Roush Fenway that will loan Buescher and Osborne to the team for 2016.
DRIVER LINEUP
Landon Cassill (No. 38 Ford): Cassill is a driver who has earned respect in the garage after an early part of his career in which he might have seemed in a little over his head. People might not realize he's just 26 years old and already has 187 starts in the Sprint Cup Series. He has tremendous upside. The question is how high? And will he be able to do something that David Gilliland didn't when he was there?
2016 goal: Finish top-25 in points.
Chris Buescher (No. 34 Love's Travel Stops/CSX Ford): The defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion moves to the Sprint Cup Series. Most view his time at Front Row to be short -- that he will be in one of the Roush Fenway rides in 2018. He has a lot of talent and loves to race. "There is a steep learning curve ahead of me, and I know that," Buescher said.
2016 goal: Finish top-25 in points, and like any rookie, complete as many laps as possible.
CIRCLE SPORT-LEAVINE FAMILY RACING
Principal owner: Bob Leavine
Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Engine source: ECR
Alliances: Richard Childress Racing
Drivers (crew chiefs): Michael McDowell (Dave Winston); Ty Dillon (Winston/Todd Parrott)
2015's top finisher: Michael McDowell (39th)
2015 Grade: C-minus
Ownership stability: B
Sponsorship stability: B-plus
Driver/crew chief quality: C-plus
2016 team grade: C
Outlook: McDowell will drive in the majority of races with Dillon, who's doing a handful of races as part of the RCR relationship (assuming that Dillon doesn't end up as the substitute for Tony Stewart). The team will field a second car for the Daytona 500 with McDowell, and was formed by a merger of Circle Sport and Leavine Family Racing. The reason? Circle Sport will have one of the 36 expected "charters" in 2016 because it has fielded the No. 33 car full time since 2013. Leavine, being part time, didn't have access to one of the guaranteed spots.
DRIVER LINEUP
Michael McDowell (No. 95 Thrivent Financial Chevrolet): McDowell is a down-to-earth guy just looking to race and help build a team. He was thrown into the Cup too quickly while at MWR and now is just trying to make a living while hoping that if he's in the right place at the right time, he might get another chance with an elite team. Being knowledgeable about cars, he is the perfect fit for this team.
2016 goal: Finish in top-30 in points.
Ty Dillon (No. 95 Cheerios Chevrolet): Dillon will run a handful of races for the team as he gains additional experience in preparation for an expected full-time Sprint Cup effort in 2017. He has always had the speed; it's a matter of managing a race and getting better throughout an event.
2016 goal: Finish top-10 in one of his races.
TOMMY BALDWIN RACING
Principal owner: Tommy Baldwin
Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Engine source: ECR
Alliances: Richard Childress Racing
Driver (crew chief): Regan Smith (Tommy Baldwin)
2015's top finisher: Alex Bowman (33rd)
2015 Grade: C-minus
Ownership stability: B
Sponsorship stability: B-plus
Driver/crew chief quality: B-minus
2016 team grade: C-plus
Outlook: The underfunded team did about as well as it could last year with a young driver such as Bowman, who is widely respected as a budding talent who probably should have spent more time in a developmental series. TBR will see what it can do with a more experienced driver in Smith. While the racing team does have some support from Toy State, the fact is when Baldwin has to serve dual roles as crew chief and owner, they don't have the depth to compete with bigger teams on a weekly basis. Then again, if there is a team that could be considered "the little engine that could," the Baldwin team would be the one.
DRIVER LINEUP
Regan Smith (No. 7 Toy State Chevrolet): Smith is used to winning. He has won at least one race in each of the past five years. A win would be tough for Smith, who is trying to get another shot with a major Cup team. He brings experience, having run for Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Furniture Row Racing, as well as substitute-driver duty with Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing.
2016 goal: Two top-10 finishes and top-30 in points.
BK RACING
Principal owner: Ron Devine
Manufacturer: Toyota
Engine source: Triad
Alliances: None
Drivers (crew chiefs): David Ragan (Patrick Donahue), Matt DiBenedetto (Gene Nead)
2015's top finisher: Matt DiBenedetto (35th)
2015 Grade: D-plus
Ownership stability: B
Sponsorship stability: B-minus
Driver/crew chief quality: C-plus
2016 team grade: C
Outlook: This team's biggest issues have been youth and a sour engine package. BK hopes that having Triad will mean a consistent package in 2016, and also bought more than a dozen Michael Waltrip Racing cars. That will be a step up in equipment, but the question will be whether the team has the engineering depth to keep that equipment competitive. The team has added former Richmond and Iowa track president Doug Fritz as its chief marketing officer in hopes of generating additional revenue. The team will field an additional car for the Daytona 500 for Michael Waltrip.
DRIVER LINEUP
David Ragan (No. 23 Dr. Pepper Toyota): Ragan provides veteran leadership to this team; he has 326 career Cup starts. Ragan knows he will be part of a building process. "[Those] are good race cars that I have a lot of experience with," Ragan said. "They've hired some of the key people at MWR who built and assembled these race cars. That was really the big thing that drew my interest."
2016 goal: Finish top-30 in points.
Matt DiBenedetto (No. 83 Dustless Blasting/Cosmo Motors Toyota): With just one DNF last year, DiBenedetto completed 91.5 percent of the laps. That means even when he was slow, he didn't do anything stupid. He's learning as he goes, and he's earning respect along the way.
2016 goal: Finish top-30 in points.
PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS
Principal owner: Jay Robinson
Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Engine source: Race Engines Plus, Pro Motors, ECR
Alliances: None
Drivers (crew chiefs): Cole Whitt (Mark Hillman)
2015's top finisher: Josh Wise (37th)
2015 Grade: D
Ownership stability: B
Sponsorship stability: D
Driver/crew chief quality: C-minus
2016 team grade: C-minus
Outlook: The team plans to field one full-time car and one part-time car in 2016. Wise came to the team in 2015 after Robinson bought out Phil Parsons, but left during the year with the team being uncompetitive.
DRIVER LINEUP
Cole Whitt (No. 98 Chevrolet): Whitt was respectable at Front Row Motorsports last year and is considered a young driver with potential. He needs to take advantage of this opportunity, but for him to do so, the team needs to show signs of competitiveness.
2016 goal: Finish top-35 in points.
WOOD BROTHERS RACING
Principal owner(s): Glen, Leonard, Len and Eddie Wood
Manufacturer: Ford
Engine source: Roush Yates
Alliances: Penske Racing
Driver (crew chief): Ryan Blaney (Jeremy Bullins)
2015 top finisher: N/A (not full-time, Blaney didn't get points in series)
2015 Grade: B-minus
Ownership stability: A
Sponsorship stability: B
Driver/crew chief quality: B-minus
2016 team grade: B-minus
Outlook: The Wood Brothers return to full-time racing after going seven years on a part-time basis. Ford, through its Motorcraft and Quick Lane divisions, will back the effort. The team is not expected to have one of the 36 guaranteed spots that would go with the new charter system, but it should be one of the strongest non-guaranteed teams around. The impact of its relationship with Penske can't be understated. Penske will want the best for a driver it hopes will compete in a third Penske car sometime soon.
DRIVER LINEUP
Ryan Blaney (No. 21 Ford Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford): Blaney has 18 career Sprint Cup starts with a career-best fourth at Talladega. Many expect Blaney and Chase Elliott to battle for rookie honors, but Blaney has his sights set on more than that. He wants to win a race and get in the Chase. That is doable; he has won eight career races in other series. "Honestly, I really want to make the Chase. That's the goal for every team," Blaney said. "I believe if we can perform like I know we can and not have any issues, I feel like we can be close to making the Chase. That is going to be a very tough task to do, but I feel like our team is qualified to do that."
2016 goal: Blaney will say make the Chase, but a better goal would be top-20 in points.
GO FAS RACING
Principal owner: Archie St. Hilaire
Manufacturer: Ford
Engine source: Roush Yates
Alliances: None
Drivers (crew chiefs): Jeffrey Earnhardt, Bobby Labonte (Wally Rogers)
2015's top finisher: Josh Wise (37th)
2015 Grade: D
Ownership stability: B-minus
Sponsorship stability: B
Driver/crew chief quality: C-minus
2016 team grade: D-plus
Outlook: With Earnhardt behind the wheel for most races, this will be a learning experience for the organization.
DRIVER LINEUP
Jeffrey Earnhardt (No. 32 Can-Am Ford): Earnhardt will be a Sprint Cup rookie this year. He's friendly enough but the question is whether he has the skills to make it in the Cup. One top-10 in 76 starts in the developmental series shows he still could use a little more seasoning.
2016 goal: Finish all the laps and finish on the lead lap in 10 events.
Bobby Labonte (No. 32 Can-Am Ford): Labonte will be in the car for the four restrictor-plate races. Labonte is a solid restrictor-plate racer, but many of those events can come down to having a pit crew who gets the job done on a late pit stop. Whether this team has it put together to pull off an upset is questionable.
2016 goal: Top-10 finish in one of the four restrictor-plate races.