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As the 2014 NASCAR season prepares to come to an end this weekend at Homestead-Miami, this is a great opportunity to look forward to some of the situations around NASCAR that are still unresolved. When the green flag waved at Daytona in February the future of several drivers was in question in regards to 2015. As the season has progressed a lot of those situations have seemed to work themselves out. Listed below are the drivers who have had any questions about next season answered.
- Greg Biffle – re-signed with Roush Fenway Racing
- Carl Edwards – left Roush to join Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015
- Trevor Bayne – replacing Edwards at Roush and will drive the No. 6 machine
- Marcos Ambrose – leaving NASCAR at the end of 2014
- Sam Hornish Jr. – replacing Ambrose at Richard Petty Motorsports in 2015
Those are the things that we know for sure about next season. However, there are still a handful of drivers and teams that we do not know about and those are listed below.
- Parker Kligerman – Kligerman began the 2014 season as part of a two-car operation with Swan Racing. Unfortunately the operation folded and while his teammate Cole Whitt found a ride, Kligerman did not. There is no word on whether or not Kligerman will run in the Sprint Cup Series in 2015 although it’s fair to point out that the No. 30 team does need a driver and Kilgerman could be an option.
- David Ragan – Ragan has not signed a new deal with FrontRow Racing yet but it is expected that he will according to multiple racing websites.
- David Gilliland – Gilliland runs the No. 38 machine this season and his contract will expire at the end of the year. There has been no indication as to whether or not Gilliland will be returning to the No. 38 ride in 2015.
- No. 33 team – six different drivers drove the No. 33 car in 2014 and there is no word about what will happen with that car next season.
- No. 32 team – Terry Labonte will officially retire from NASCAR after this season and as a result the status of the No. 32 team is up in the air. Boris Said ran the road courses for the No. 32 team in 2014 and could still do so in 2015.
- No. 66 team – Michael Waltrip, Jeff Burton, Joe Nemechek and Brett Moffitt all drove this ride in 2014. It would seem this car will stay under the MWR banner in 2015 but the question is whether or not it will remain part-time or run full-time.
- Chase Elliott – It is widely believed that Elliott will run a handful of races in 2015 for HMS as Dale Jr. mentioned that as a likely possibility earlier this season. It remains to be seen which races he will run and what number he will be using.
The 2014 off-season lost some of its luster once drivers the likes of Edwards and Biffle were taken care of. However, there are still plenty of moves and decisions that will still have to be made by teams before the start of 2015. Even teams who do not have driver issues might still have changes coming. Earlier this week it was reported by Motorsport.com that Team Hendrick might be changing around their teams, similar moves seem to be inline for Stewart-Haas Racing.
What changes do you see coming during the off-season? Be sure to comment below and let us know!
Christopher Olmstead is the Editor of BeyondTheFlag.com on the FanSided Network. Follow us on Twitter @Beyond_The_Flag and “Like” us on Facebook.
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