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2015 NASCAR RCA Cup Series (Johnsonverse) | |||
Previous: | 2014 | Next: | 2016 |
The 2015 NASCAR RCA Cup Series was the 67th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 44th modern-era Cup season. The season began at Sonoma Raceway with the Toyota/Save Mart 350, followed by the Busch Clash, the Gatorade 125's, and the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. The season ended with the Los Angeles Times 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the championship. Alana Burleson, sister of USAC Gold Crown Series driver Wendy Burleson, was named Rookie of the Year. Chevrolet won the Manufacturers' Championship; Pontiac, in its first season back, finished second, Dodge finished third, Toyota finished fourth, and Ford finished a distant fifth after another dismal year.
2015 also marked the entry of Honda into NASCAR, and the return of Pontiac for the first time since 2003.
On January 22, 2015, four-time champion Jeff Gordon announced that 2015 would be his final season as a full-time driver, but he did not rule out complete retirement; Chase Elliott replaced him in the No. 24 car for Hendrick Motorsports in 2016, while Gordon became an analyst at WBC. Jerry Nadeau also announced that 2015 would be his final full-time season.
Teams, drivers, and manufacturers[]
Manufacturers[]
Marquee | Company | Model | Status |
---|---|---|---|
General Motors | Chevrolet | Camaro | Full factory support |
Impala | Full factory support | ||
SS | Full factory support | ||
Ford Motor Company | Ford | Fusion | Full factory support |
Taurus | Full factory support | ||
Mustang | Full factory support | ||
Roush Mustang | In-house variant | ||
Shelby Mustang | Full factory support | ||
Johnson Motors | Dodge | Charger | Full factory support |
Challenger | Full factory support | ||
Dart | Full factory support | ||
Pontiac | Trans-Am | NEW, full factory support | |
G8 | NEW, full factory support | ||
Toyota Motor Corporation | Toyota | Camry | Full factory support |
Corolla | Full factory support | ||
Honda Motor Company | Honda | Accord | Full factory support |
Civic | Full factory support |
Manufacturer notes[]
2015 was a big year for manufacturers. Johnson marquee, Pontiac made its first appearance in NASCAR since 2003. Also, after years of speculation, Honda finally bit the bullet and entered NASCAR.
Pontiac entered two models for its return: the Trans-Am and G8. The Trans-Am, being a pony car, was Pontiac's entry into the Horsepower Wars, while the G8 was part of a smaller Fourth Aero War, competing with the Chevrolet SS, Ford Fusion, Dodge Dart, Toyota Camry, and Honda Accord; this aero war was overshadowed by the Horsepower Wars, as it had been since 2008.
Complete schedule[]
Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race driver | Crew chief | Model | Primary sponsor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chevrolet | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | 98 | Shane Hmiel | 2015 SS | RCA | |
Earnhardt-Childress Racing | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Kevin Manion | 2015 Camaro | Bass Pro Shops | |
3 | Austin Dillon | Slugger Labbe | Dow Chemicals | |||
8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Tony Eury Jr. | Budweiser | |||
30 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Luke Lambert | American Ethanol | |||
31 | Ty Dillon (R) | Gil Martin | AT&T | |||
33 | Matt Kenseth | DeWalt Tools | ||||
Furniture Row Racing | 78 | Kurt Busch | Cole Pearn | 2015 Impala | Furniture Row | |
Hendrick Motorsports | 5 | Brad Keselowski | Keith Rodden | 2015 Camaro | Farmers Insurance | |
24 | Jeff Gordon | Alan Gustafson | Axalta | |||
35 | Landon Cassill | Castrol GTX | ||||
48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chad Knaus | Lowe's | |||
HScott Motorsports | 51 | Justin Allgaier | Steve Addington | 2015 SS | Brandt | |
JTG Daugherty Racing | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | Brian Burns | 2015 Impala | Clorox | |
PPI Motorsports | 32 | Boston Reid | 2015 Impala | Nickelodeon | ||
Tommy Baldwin Racing | 07 | Alex Bowman | Tommy Baldwin Jr. | 2015 SS | various | |
Dodge | AK Racing | 7 | James Kulwicki | 2015 Challenger | Zerex by Valvoline | |
Bill Davis Racing | 22 | Jason Leffler | 2015 Charger | Caterpillar | ||
23 | Scott Wimmer | |||||
Chip Ganassi Racing | 40 | Jamie McMurray | Matt McCall | 2015 Challenger | Coors | |
41 | Bryan Clauson | Hostess | ||||
52 | Kyle Larson | Chris Heroy | Target | |||
Evernham Motorsports | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Kenny Francis | 2015 Charger | Dodge Dealers | |
19 | Casey Elliott | Ernie Elliott | Stanley Tools | |||
91 | Casey Atwood | Chevron | ||||
Hillman-Circle Sport LLC | 04 | Kenny Irwin Jr. | Mark Hillman | 2015 Dart | Cellino & Barnes | |
36 | Alex Kennedy (R) | Todd Parrott
Mike Chance Pat Tryson Paul Clapprood |
Snap Fitness | |||
Derek White | ||||||
Travis Kvapil | ||||||
Mike Bliss | ||||||
B. J. McLeod | ||||||
Ryan Ellis | ||||||
McDuffie Racing | 70 | Crissy Hillsworth | 2015 Dart | Wendy's | ||
Moroso-Rudd Racing | 82 | Rob Moroso | 2015 Charger | Mountain Dew | ||
83 | Brendan Gaughan | South Point | ||||
Petty Enterprises | 42 | Aric Almirola | 2015 Challenger | Smithfield | ||
43 | Michael Annett | Pilot Flying J | ||||
44 | Chad McCumbee | Twisted Tea | ||||
45 | Adam Petty | STP | ||||
Team Penske | 02 | Joey Logano | Todd Gordon | 2015 Charger | Shell-Pennzoil | |
2 | Blaise Alexander | Paul Wolfe | Miller Lite | |||
12 | Paul Menard | Menards | ||||
Ford | Brett Favre Racing | 15 | Tim Steele | 2015 Mustang | Nike/Sony | |
90 | Parker Kligerman | Tabasco | ||||
Front Row Motorsports | 34 | David Ragan | Derrick Finley | 2015 Mustang | KFC | |
35 | Cole Whitt | Randy Cox | Rinnai Tankless Water Heaters | |||
38 | David Gilliland | Donnie Wingo | Love's Travel Stops | |||
Go FAS Racing | 65 | Bobby Labonte | Clinton Cram | 2015 Fusion | various | |
Mike Bliss | ||||||
Joey Gase | ||||||
Travis Kvapil | ||||||
Boris Said | ||||||
Will Kimmel | ||||||
Eddie MacDonald | ||||||
Josh Wise | ||||||
Kyle Fowler | ||||||
Medallion Racing | 09 | Sam Hornish Jr. | 2015 Fusion | ICEE | ||
Orr Motorsports | 37 | Regan Smith | 2015 Taurus | Craftsman | ||
Roush-Yates Racing | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Bob Osborne | 2015 Roush Mustang | AdvoCare | |
17 | Stephen Leicht | Nick Sandler | Fastenal | |||
28 | Clifford Allison | |||||
60 | Greg Biffle | Matt Puccia | Ortho | |||
88 | Jeremy Mayfield | |||||
99 | Trevor Bayne | |||||
Wood Brothers Racing | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Jeremy Bullins | 2015 Shelby Mustang | Motorcraft | |
Honda | Germain Racing | 13 | Casey Mears | Bootie Barker | 2015 Accord | GEICO |
Michael Waltrip Racing | 17 | Clint Bowyer | Brian Pattie | 2015 Civic | 5-Hour Energy | |
55 | Brian Vickers | Billy Scott | Aaron's Dream Machine | |||
56 | Brett Moffitt (R) | Dax Gerringer | NAPA Auto Parts | |||
Phil Parsons Racing
Premium Motorsports |
89 | Josh Wise | Gene Nead
Jay Robinson Scott Eggleston Zach McGowan |
2015 Accord | various | |
Timmy Hill | ||||||
Reed Sorenson | ||||||
T. J. Bell | ||||||
Ryan Preece | ||||||
Premium Motorsports | 49 | Brian Scott | Zach McGowan
Scott Eggleston Wayne Carroll |
2015 Civic | various | |
Reed Sorenson | ||||||
Timmy Hill | ||||||
T. J. Bell | ||||||
Pontiac | Combos Racing | 73 | Alana Burleson (R) | 2015 G8 | ||
Stewart-Haas Racing | 00 | Ryan Truex | Tony Gibson | 2015 Trans-Am | Haas Automotive CNC | |
4 | Kevin Harvick | Rodney Childers | Jimmy John's | |||
10 | Danica Patrick | Daniel Knost | GoDaddy.com | |||
14 | Tony Stewart | Greg Zipadelli | Home Depot | |||
Toyota | BK Racing | 26 | Jeb Burton (R) | Joe Williams
Patrick Donahue |
2015 Avalon | Dr. Pepper |
126 | Josh Wise | Patrick Donahue35
Joe Williams 1 |
Burger King | |||
185 | Matt DiBenedetto (R) | Doug Richert
Gene Nead |
Snapple | |||
Joe Gibbs Racing | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Dave Rogers | 2015 Camry | FedEx | |
18 | Kyle Busch | Adam Stevens | M&M's | |||
20 | Elliott Sadler | Jason Ratcliff | Rheem | |||
54 | Carl Edwards | Darian Grubb | Arris |
Limited schedule[]
Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race driver | Crew chief | Model |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chevrolet | Team XTREME Racing | 144 | Reed Sorenson | Peter Sospenzo | 2014 SS |
Travis Kvapil | |||||
Dodge | Leavine Family Racing | 95 | Michael McDowell | Wally Rogers
Kevin Walter |
2015 Challenger |
Premium Motorsports | 66 | Mike Wallace | Scott Eggleston | 2014 Dart | |
Tanner Berryhill | |||||
Honda | Rahal Letterman Lannigan Racing | 115 | Graham Rahal | 2015 Accord | |
Pontiac | RAB Racing | 29 | Justin Marks | Matthew Lucas | 2015 G8 |
Reed Sorenson |
Schedule[]
The final calendar was released on August 26, 2014, comprising 36 races, as well as two exhibition races. The schedule also includes two Gatorade 125's, which are the qualifying races for the Daytona 500.
Key changes from 2014 include:
- The Auto Club 400 was removed from the schedule entirely. This came following complaints that there were too many races in California (besides Auto Club, NASCAR also raced at Riverside International Raceway, Ontario Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, and San Jose Motorplex). The decision to remove Auto Club Speedway from the schedule came from a study that found it was the least-popular of the California tracks due to its "cookie-cutter" design that mimicked Michigan and Texas World (Ontario is also considered a "cookie-cutter" track due to mimicking Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but the track has seen consistent sellouts since it was added back to the schedule in 1988). Auto Club remained a very popular stop on the USAC schedule.
- The race at Atlanta Motor Speedway moved from October to March, while the spring race at Bristol Motor Speedway (often plagued by bad weather) moved from March to April. This created a three-race "west coast swing" for the third through fifth races of the season, wherein the events at Las Vegas, Phoenix and Auto Club (Fontana) now happened consecutively (as opposed to being broken up by a trip back east to Bristol).
- The Coors 400 at Pikes Peak International Raceway was reinstated between the Irwin Tools Night Race and Southern 500.
- Charlotte and Kansas swap fall race dates.
- The mandate of standardized start times was quietly abolished, with some races (especially in the second half of the season) occurring later in the afternoon than normal.
No. | Race title | Track | Date | TV |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Honda/Save Mart 350 | Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma | January 25 | WBC |
Busch Clash | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach | February 7 | WBC | |
Gatorade 125's | February 12 | WBC | ||
2 | Daytona 500 by Pontiac | February 15 | WBC | |
3 | Subway Fresh Fit 400 | Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham | February 22 | WBC |
4 | San Jose 500 | San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy | March 1 | WBC |
5 | Kobalt 400 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas | March 8 | ESPN |
6 | Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 | Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton | March 15 | ESPN |
7 | TranSouth Financial 400 | Darlington Raceway, Darlington | March 22 | ESPN |
8 | STP 500 | Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway | March 29 | TNN |
9 | Harley-Davidson 250 | Road America, Lake Elkhart | April 5 | WBC |
10 | Duck Commander 500 | Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth | April 12 | WBC |
11 | Food City 500 | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol | April 19 | TNN |
12 | Pontiac Excitement 400 | Richmond International Raceway, Richmond | April 26 | TNN |
13 | GEICO 500 | Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln | May 3 | WBC |
14 | Wells Fargo 400 | North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro | May 10 | ESPN |
RCA Open | Orange County Speedway, Rougemont | May 15 | TNN | |
RCA All-Star Challenge XXXI | May 16 | WBC | ||
15 | Coca-Cola 600 | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord | May 24 | WBC |
16 | FedEx 400 | Dover International Speedway, Dover | May 31 | TNN |
17 | Pabst Blue Ribbon 400 | The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis | June 7 | ESPN |
18 | Motorcraft 400 | Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth | June 14 | WBC |
19 | Budweiser 400 | Riverside International Raceway, Riverside | June 21 | WBC |
20 | Music City USA 420 | Fairgrounds Speedway, Nashville | June 28 | TNN |
21 | Coke Zero 400 | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach | July 5 | WBC |
22 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens 500 | Walt Disney World Speedway, Lake Buena Vista | July 11 | ESPN |
23 | 5-Hour Energy 400 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon | July 19 | WBC |
24 | Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway | July 26 | WBC |
25 | Windows 10 400 | Pocono Raceway, Long Pond | August 2 | ESPN |
26 | Cheez-It 355 at The Glen | Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen | August 9 | ESPN |
27 | Pure Michigan 400 | Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn | August 16 | TNN |
28 | Irwin Tools Night Race | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol | August 22 | TNN |
29 | Denver Post 400 | Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain | August 30 | TNN |
30 | Southern 500 | Darlington Raceway, Darlington | September 6 | WBC |
31 | Federated Auto Parts 400 | Richmond International Raceway, Richmond | September 12 | TNN |
32 | myAFibRisk.com 400 | Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet | September 20 | ESPN |
33 | Tyson Holly Farms 400 | North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro | September 27 | WBC |
34 | AAA 400 | Dover International Speedway, Dover | October 4 | TNN |
35 | Bank of America 500 | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord | October 11 | WBC |
36 | Hollywood Casino 400 | Kansas Speedway, Kansas City | October 18 | TNN |
37 | CampingWorld.com 500 | Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln | October 25 | WBC |
38 | Iowa Corn 400 | Iowa Speedway, Newton | November 1 | TNN |
39 | ACDelco 400 | Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham | November 8 | TNN |
40 | Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 | "Jeff Gordon Raceway", Avondale | November 15 | TNN |
41 | Ford EcoBoost 400 | Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead | November 22 | ESPN |
42 | Apple Watch 500 | San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy | November 29 | WBC |
43 | Sprite 500 | Denver International Speedway, Denver | December 6 | WBC |
44 | Los Angeles Times 500 | Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario | December 13 | WBC |
Media coverage[]
In the United States, coverage was divided between WBC Sports, TNN Motor Sports, and ESPN; much of the season was aired by WBC, including all of the restrictor-plate races (this includes the Daytona 500 and all Speedweeks coverage, including the Busch Series, Craftsman Truck Series, and ARCA races), most road courses, both Charlotte races, the races at Pocono, the Southern 500, the Brickyard 400, and the season-ending race at Ontario. Fifteen events were aired on TNN, while ESPN aired nine races. The Bank of America 500 was aired on WBC, but due to a rain interruption, the rest of the event was broadcast on Speed.
Season summary[]
Results[]
No. | Race title | Pole position | Most laps led | Winner | Make/Model |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Honda/Save Mart 350 | Denny Hamlin | Danica Patrick | Danica Patrick | Pontiac Trans-Am |
Busch Clash | Paul Menard | Martin Truex Jr. | Matt Kenseth | Chevrolet Camaro | |
Gatorade 125's | Jeff Gordon | Matt Kenseth | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro | |
Jimmie Johnson | Jimmie Johnson | James Kulwicki | Dodge Challenger | ||
2 | Daytona 500 by Pontiac | Jeff Gordon | Jeff Gordon | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Camaro |
3 | Subway Fresh Fit 400 | Joey Logano | Kevin Harvick | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet Camaro |
4 | San Jose 500 | Kasey Kahne | Brad Keselowski | Tony Stewart | Pontiac Trans-Am |
5 | Kobalt 400 | Jeff Gordon | Kevin Harvick | Adam Petty | Dodge Challenger |
6 | Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 | Kevin Harvick | Kevin Harvick | Kevin Harvick | Pontiac Trans-Am |
7 | TranSouth Financial 400 | Kurt Busch | Kurt Busch | Brad Keselowski | Dodge Charger |
8 | STP 500 | Joey Logano | Kevin Harvick | Denny Hamlin | Toyota Camry |
9 | Harley-Davidson 2500 | Jeff Gordon | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Michael Annett | Dodge Challenger |
10 | Duck Commander 500 | Tony Stewart | Tony Stewart | Tony Stewart | Pontiac Trans-Am |
11 | Food City 500 | Matt Kenseth | Kevin Harvick | Tony Stewart | Pontiac Trans-Am |
12 | Pontiac Excitement 400 | Joey Logano | Kurt Busch | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet Impala |
13 | GEICO 500 | Joey Logano | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro |
14 | Wells Fargo 400 | Joey Logano | Martin Truex Jr. | Alana Burleson | Pontiac G6 |
RCA All-Star Challenge XXXI | Denny Hamlin | Brad Keselowski | Danica Patrick | Pontiac Trans-Am | |
15 | Coca-Cola 600 | Matt Kenseth | Martin Truex Jr. | Carl Edwards | Toyota Camry |
16 | FedEx 400 | Denny Hamlin | Martin Truex Jr. | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet Camaro |
17 | Pabst Blue Ribbon 400 | Kurt Busch | Martin Truex Jr. | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro |
18 | Motorcraft 400 | Kasey Kahne | Kevin Harvick | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro |
19 | Budweiser 400 | A.J. Allmendinger | Jimmie Johnson | Mark Martin | 1994 Ford Probe |
20 | Music City USA 420 | Jamie McMurray | Adam Petty | Adam Petty | Dodge Challenger |
21 | Coke Zero 400 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro |
22 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens 500 | Kyle Larson | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch | Toyota Camry |
23 | 5-hour Energy 301 | Carl Edwards | Brad Keselowski | Tony Stewart | Pontiac Trans-Am |
24 | Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 | Carl Edwards | Kevin Harvick | Alana Burleson | Pontiac G6 |
25 | Windows 10 400 | Kyle Busch | Joey Logano | Matt Kenseth | Chevrolet Camaro |
26 | Cheez-It 355 at The Glen | A.J. Allmendinger | Kevin Harvick | Tony Stewart | Pontiac Grand Prix |
27 | Pure Michigan 400 | Matt Kenseth | Matt Kenseth | Matt Kenseth | Chevrolet Camaro |
28 | Irwin Tools Night Race | Denny Hamlin | Kyle Busch | Danica Patrick | Pontiac Trans-Am |
29 | Denver Post 400 | Tony Stewart | James Kulwicki | James Kulwicki | Dodge Challenger |
30 | Southern 500 | Brad Keselowski | Brad Keselowski | Tony Stewart | Pontiac Trans-Am |
31 | Federated Auto Parts 400 | Joey Logano | Matt Kenseth | Matt Kenseth | Chevrolet Camaro |
32 | myAFibRisk.com 400 | Kevin Harvick | Kyle Busch | Denny Hamlin | Toyota Camry |
33 | Tyson Holly Farms 400 | Carl Edwards | Kevin Harvick | James Kulwicki | Dodge Challenger |
34 | AAA 400 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Kevin Harvick | Kyle Larson | Dodge Challenger |
35 | Bank of America 500 | Matt Kenseth | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro |
36 | Hollywood Casino 400 | Brad Keselowski | Matt Kenseth | Danica Patrick | Pontiac Trans-Am |
37 | CampingWorld.com 500 | Jeff Gordon | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro |
38 | Iowa Corn 400 | Joey Logano | Jeff Gordon | Alana Burleson | Pontiac G6 |
39 | ACDelco 400 | Jeff Gordon | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro |
40 | Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 | Jimmie Johnson | Kevin Harvick | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro |
41 | Ford EcoBoost 400 | Denny Hamlin | Brad Keselowski | Tim Steele | Ford Mustang |
42 | Apple Watch 500 | Adam Petty | Adam Petty | Tony Stewart | Pontiac Trans-Am |
43 | Sprite 500 | Ryan Truex | Tony Stewart | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro |
44 | Los Angeles Times 500 | Kasey Kahne | Kevin Harvick | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Camaro |