Kyle Larson

The winless 2018 campaign was a bit puzzling and even frustrating for Larson. He still nabbed 12 Top-5 and 19 Top-10 finishes, with half of the dozen Top 5s being runner-up finishes. The Chip Ganassi Racing star was very close to winning on several occasions last year, so the winless campaign is a bit of a hollow tag. However, it could be the downgrade and poor optics that make Larson very affordable in fantasy racing drafts in 2019. Outside of the lack of wins, he still posted totals consistent with his previous three seasons. Larson is poised to pop at some point and wildly exceed expectations and recent statistical trends. Could it be this season? Very likely, as the team has one year under their belts with the new Camaro. The No. 42 CGR team seemed to the be the quickest Chevy outfit to adapt to the new car. That experience and easier transition should pay dividends in 2019.

Everyone thought Larson had his breakout season in 2016, but it was actually last year that he made the big splash. Four victories and 20 Top-10 finishes later, most fans have a higher respect for the driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Larson dominated the first half of last season and was well on his way to challenging for the championship, until a meltdown late in the Chase for the Cup put the young driver out of the playoffs. Larson will use that as motivation for next season. He demonstrated that fire and desire in the season finale at Homestead by leading 145 laps and finishing third in the final race of last season. Larson should carry that momentum forward into 2018. He and crew chief Chad Johnston are hitting on all cylinders and expectations to win are now on the No. 42 team.

We've always known that Larson had some major potential and we got to see glimpses of it in 2016. He grabbed his first-career victory with a thrilling win at Michigan in the late summer. Larson also posted a career-best 10 Top-5 finishes to go along with his first-ever Chase for the Cup berth. Yes, the Chip Ganassi Racing youngster really turned some heads after starting last season a bit slowly. The area where Larson needs to improve would be his consistency from week to week. Last season it seemed he could finish runner-up and contend for the win one week, and the very next he'd struggle to finish in the Top 20. We believe this to be more on the team and less on Larson if we had to guess. The Chip Ganassi No. 42 team needs to step it up to give this young driver better cars on a week-to-week basis, but it's clear they're heading in the right direction.

Sophomore seasons are always tough on Sprint Cup Series youngsters. Larson certainly had his ups-and-downs last year. His 10 top-10 finishes and 19th-place finish in the final driver standings fell short of expectations. The good news is that Larson can only go up from here, and he's a great buy-low fantasy racing candidate in 2016. Chad Johnston has been hired to crew chief the No. 42 team and get things headed back in the right direction in this racing camp. It is a good move considering that the last quarter of last season was nothing to write home about for Larson and the team. We've been waiting a long time for him to break through to his first-career victory and it could happen in 2016. Needless to say, we expect a Chase berth and a middle teen's top-10 performance for Larson this season.

The EGR development driver signed a deal to race the full Nationwide Series season with Turner Motorsports in their strong No. 32 team. Larson is the reigning K&N Pro Series East champion and he should challenge for Rookie of the Year in 2013.