2014 Preview: Irish Lads Racing

Owner- Mike Mahon

2013 Standings- 5th / 2014 Projection- 6th

Irish Lads really turned it on at the end of last season. In the first 5 races, they had only scored one top 10 finish. In the next nine, both cars finished out of the top 10 in only one race. The proection may be decieving, because of their bad start, but if they can post good results from race one, they should be competing for the team championship come race 20.

Joey Walkowiak / 25 / Havoline Cheverlet SS

2013 Standings- 11th / 2014 Projection- 13th

 One of the best young talent in the field, don't be surprised to see the 25 in victoy lane this season. He is 10 years younger than Bowen, but he plays the role of team leader. The key to finishing in the top half this season is to have the form he had mid season last year. In a 4 race stretch, his lowest finish was 7th, including the Lads' first victory. Expect the 25 to mix it with the best around, but be realistic for the young guy.

Tim Bowel / 82 / Buffalo Wild Wings Cheverlet SS

2013 Standings- 13th / 2014 Projection- 15th

 The biggest thing for the 82 to work on is get more top 10s. Only 6 from last year wont be enough to mix it with the top drivers this season. Especially if he has another poor start like the 2013 season. His win at Phoenix helped him out with momentum fot his next year. But the in shop rivalry with Walkowiak should push him to better finishes.

2014 Preview: Fletcher Autosport

Owner- Brian Fletcher

2013 Standings- 3rd / 2014 Projection- 3rd

Fletcher Autosport knows what works. Right out of the gate, they established themselves as one of the teams to beat. A few more sponsors were added to the side, but other than that, they have the same approach to this season as the last.

Davis McAffee / 53 / Dinaco Ford Fusion

2013 Standings- 4th / 2014 Projection- 4th

 The 53 car had a bunch of top 5s, and only one DNF. Even the mid-season low of 4 non top 10s in a row didn't completely ruin his season.  The only part of the season he could possibly improve upon would be earning a win. With Irons being his biggest competition in house, they both will challenge eachother to end up in victory lane more this season.

Brendan Irons / 87 / Kodak Ford Fusion

2013 Standings- 5th / 2014 Projection- 5th

 Irons had 9 top 10s last season, which was the 2nd most in the season. He even earned the first win for the Fletcher Autosport stable at Michigan. To compete with for the title, he will need to win atleast one more race. If he stays the course for this year, there should be no reason the 87 wont be in contention down the stretch. 

2014 Preview: Dumas Racing

Owner- Patrick Dumas

2013 Standings- 7th / 2014 Projection- 10th

The Fords of Dumas Racing have a new look, but need to show us something for this season. Richmond finished 17th in the standings last year, but needs to be a mentor to rookie teammate Patrick Cobb, Jr. If they can improve, it'll go a long way to establishing the team as a contender.

Kevin Richmond / 17 / Times Warner Cable Ford Fusion

2013 Standings- 17th / 2014 Projection- 17th

 The 12 car moved over to the 17 this year. Richmond had a disappointing season last year. His best finish was 5th, twice. He needs to break that barrier and compete for the wins. He knows that his boss can pull the trigger on him at any time, so he should feel the pressure. Only one DNF last year is a positive, he just needs to work on the results.


Patrick Cobb, Jr. / 71 / Pabst Blue Ribbon Ford Fusion

2013 Standings- Rookie / 2014 Projection- 16th

 The 71 is projected to be the better rookie. This team was the 17 last year, who Unger took to victory lane once last season, and wound up 12th in points. That winning team will give him a jump start on Fitzpatrick in the Rookie of the Year race. He will have to prove to the other drivers why Dumas decided to give him a ride by performing early.

2014 Preview: Chretien Racing

Owner- Randy Chretien

2013 Standings- 10th / 2014 Projection- 7th

Last season's last place team has only up to go. We think they will! Last year, the team was weighed down by Danny Harkins. He has since been repaced by a smart fast rookie, who will be looking towards his teammate for help.

Drew Tabulov / 2 / DC Shoes Ford Fusion

2013 Standings- 10th / 2014 Projection- 9th

 Despite only 10th place finish last season, the 2 car ran well. His 5 top 5s had him up there with the best of the series. Even despite his 3 DNFs, none of them resulted in a 20th place finish. The thing Tabulov needs to do is find himself in victory lane. If he can win one or two more races this year, he will be in the running come Vegas.

 Carson Fitzpatrick / 22 / Tim Horton's Ford Fusion

2013 Standings- Rookie / 2014 Projection- 20th

The 20 car changed their number and sponsor for this season. The reason his projection is so low is due to not having any performances to base a rating for him. What we do know is that he will be one of the two drivers to have rookie stripes on the back of his bumper. He also replaced one of the worst drivers. So we know the team isn't that strong. Maybe Fitzpatrick can write a new chapter in the Chretien Racing book.

2014 Preview: Big Stuff Racing

Owner- Shane Ca'nup

2013 Standings- 8th / 2014 Projection- 9th

The two Fords with Winthrop logos on the back end will have an uphill battle. Last season, the team did record 2 wins, but the team never really contended on the regular. For this season to go better, Flint will need to finish races, and Dorian will need to score some top 5s.

Karl Flint / 0 / O'Charly's Ford Fusion

2013 Standings- 14th / 2014 Projection- 14th

 Karl Flint's 2014 campaign will rely on how consistant he can be. Last year, he recorded a win at Atlanta, and a win at Sonoma. The problem was that, those were 2 of the 5 top 10s he scored. Most of the 9 finishes outside 10th were at the very back of the field. 4 DNFS was tied for most in Sim Cup. If the team cuts down on mistakes, and hang on to some low-number finishes, he can wind up higher than what we have him. But until then, Flint will be 14th.

Zach Dorian / 61 / Stove Top Stuffing Ford Fusion

2013 Standings- 16th / 2014 Projection- 18th

 Zach Dorian surprisingly recorded a top 10 in half of the races, but the problem with him was he only turned one of those into a top 5 result. The key to success is staying up front. With only 20 cars, a top half finish can only do so much. That's why he wound up all the way down in 16th this past season. For this year, we have him at 18th. Not so much regression, more of some drivers that should beat him out in 2014.

2014 Sim Cup Preview

Going in alphabetical order by team, the preview for the upcoming season will be revealed shortly. The projections are based on an average of the drivers as ranked by the owners of Taylor Motorsports and Team Harden.

Updates!

All the cars for the 2014 Sim Cup Season are done and ready to race! They will be posted in our team by team season preview. During that time, a new add on to this blog will sync posts to the @Mock_Sports twitter. That will let me seamlessly update everyone on the league. It'll update every half hour, so I hope this works!

I also did some house keeping on the sidebar and tabs up above, so be sure to check those out.

But the recording system is still needing to be played with. It's the last step from us starting up the engines at Homestead. Sometime in May will be the starting date.