Fansided

3 NASCAR Cup Series drivers who need to step it up in 2018

By Nick Tylwalk

Trevor Bayne, driver of the #6 AdvoCare Ford, leads Cody Ware, driver of the #23 RaceTrac Convenience Stores Chevrolet, and Kyle Busch, driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, during the NASCAR Nationwide Series Virginia529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway on September 5, 2014 in Richmond, Virginia.
Trevor Bayne, driver of the #6 AdvoCare Ford, leads Cody Ware, driver of the #23 RaceTrac Convenience Stores Chevrolet, and Kyle Busch, driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, during the NASCAR Nationwide Series Virginia529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway on September 5, 2014 in Richmond, Virginia. /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – JANUARY 31: Ryan Newman, driver of the #31 Caterpillar Chevrolet speaks with his crew in the garage during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series testing at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on January 31, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for NASCAR)
LAS VEGAS, NV – JANUARY 31: Ryan Newman, driver of the #31 Caterpillar Chevrolet speaks with his crew in the garage during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series testing at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on January 31, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for NASCAR) /

Ryan Newman

If not for his early season victory at Phoenix last year, there’s a good chance we’d put Newman at the very top of this list. That win ended a multi-season drought and sent him to the playoffs, though outside of a runner-up finish at Talladega that came with only about a third of the field still running, he didn’t do much of note once he got there.

Like Bayne, Newman has some justification for not winning a ton of races because no one at Richard Childress Racing has really been tearing it up either. Even Austin Dillon, once thought of like the newer young guns are now, hasn’t consistently been able to find his way to Victory Lane.

Yet Dillon still has youth on his side, whereas Newman, now 40, does not. RCR cutting back to two cars could be a blessing in terms of resources for the Rocket Man, but it could also increase the expectations. He could really use multiple wins in 2018 to stave off any doubts about his future.

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