Jeremy Clements

At the time of this writing it has not been announced that Clements and the No. 51 team are returning for the 2019 season, but it is very likely to happen and expected. This team has been together in some form or fashion since the 2011 season and should continue to go racing with steady sponsorship. Clements posted his usual two Top-10 and 11 Top-15 finishes in 2018 and that led to a career-best 18.9 average finish for the campaign. His 15th-place finish in the final driver standings is where he's been slotting most of the last eight seasons. The No. 51 team saw modest improvements in a lot of areas last season, and Clements will be challenged to push the bar higher in the upcoming season.

One of our favorite veteran drivers in the Xfinity Series had an exciting season in 2017. Clements took his small, single-car team to Road America last summer and upset the stars and better funded teams of this racing series to collect his first-career victory. Although weather played a part and the circumstances were a bit odd, it was a well-earned victory none-the-less. The Road America win was the crown jewel in what was a pretty good season of two Top 10's and four Top 15's. Like a lot of drivers deeper in the field, Clements and his team goes out each week and does impressive work against the big money teams of NASCAR. Clements should give us some more surprising highlights in 2018.

The 11-year veteran had one of his better campaigns in the Xfinity Series last season. Clements pulled his first-career Top 5 out of the hat with a strong performance at Talladega. He also claimed three Top-10 finishes over the season. Clements would wind up 15th overall in the driver points, which is about where he's slotted the last six years. This team and driver aren't world beaters, but they take the slow and steady approach to their racing. Clements will start every race, DNF in very few (maybe 3 or 4) and generally finish inside the Top 20 most weeks. He has deep fantasy league racing appeal and daily fantasy racing value due to his consistency and predictability.

The 10-season veteran should be back for another full slate in 2016. His family-owned No. 51 Chevrolet has been a steady performer over the last five seasons of full-time racing in this division of NASCAR. Over that span Clements has gradually improved his average starting position from 28.0 to 21.7 and his average finishing position from 23.6 to 19.8 last season (a career-best). While he only registered one Top-10 finish, he piled up the Top 20 performances. The driver of this small team posted 20 Top-20 finishes as opposed to only two DNF’s. The No. 51 team is running at the end of races and usually not far off the lead lap. That consistency should continue in the upcoming season, but they’ve likely hit the ceiling coming in at 14th in the driver standings last year.