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NASCAR: 10 Drivers That Need To Improve In 2016

By Darius Goodman

USA Today Sports
USA Today Sports /
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Number 4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.,

NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17) is introduced before the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Nov 8, 2015; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17) is introduced before the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 4  – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Stenhouse being on this list may come as a shock to many people especially since he was really under the radar throughout the season. Stenhouse was the NASCAR Xfinity rookie of the year in 2010 and followed that up with back-to-back championships in 2011 and 2012. That ability was believed to transfer over into the Sprint Cup series, and it did leading him to becoming the 2013 Sprint Cup rookie of the year with his 19th place point’s finish. However fast-forward to 2015, it took until the eighth race of the season at Bristol for Stenhouse to break into the top 5. It wasn’t until the 29th race of the season at Dover where he recorded his 2nd top 10 of the season which continues his career trend of one top 5 in a season. Stenhouse experienced a career low Average Start of 23.6 and Average Finish of 24.3. Stenhouse has to improve in 2016 and at least return to his rookie form if he is going to be considered a championship threat.

Next: Will Cinderella Come Again?

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