The 2015 series champion was unable to defend that title last season. Still, Busch had an incredible year, and one that easily ranks in the Top 3 of his career. The Joe Gibbs Racing star piled up four victories and a career-best 25 Top-10 finishes. The veteran driver of the No. 18 JGR Toyota wound up third in the final driver standings, and he was in the hunt for the championship until the final laps of last season. We expect the status quo to continue with this driver and team in the upcoming season. Busch and crew chief Adam Stevens have built the No. 18 team into something very special over the past two seasons. The level of performance is good enough to warrant multiple win seasons, and championship contention for the foreseeable future.

After suffering leg and foot injuries in last season's Speedweeks at Daytona, Busch came back after missing the first 11 races of 2015 to mount a historic comeback. He would win five races, including the season finale at Homestead, en route to winning the Sprint Cup Series championship. Busch's first title was a pretty impressive feat given the serious injuries he received in his Daytona crash. In just 25 starts the Joe Gibbs Racing star amassed 12 top-5 and 16 top-10 finishes to go along with those five victories. It took 11 full-time seasons for Busch to claim his first championship, but we're willing to bet it won't be nearly as long before his next. He's averaged three wins and 20 top 10s over the last five seasons, which makes the driver of the No. 18 an elite level driver in NASCAR's top division.

For the first time in his Sprint Cup career, Busch ended last season on a very strong note. The Joe Gibbs Racing star typically struggles to finish the season and has traditionally been a bad performer during the Chase. Not in 2012. Busch posted seven Top 5’s and eight Top 10’s in those final 10 races of last season and accumulated the second-most points of any driver in the series. Had he been a participant in the Chase for the Cup there’s little doubt he’d been a prime contender for the championship. Busch seems to be finally developing some good chemistry with crew chief Dave Rogers. The two have been working together for three seasons to get to this point. We expect very big things for the No. 18 Toyota team in 2013.

Busch exceeded everyone's wildest dreams in 2005. His rookie season saw him become the youngest (19) driver to ever win a Nextel Cup race. The sky's the limit in the 2006 season for this promising young talent.