NASCAR's 'senior' circuit undergoing a lot of changes

WHAT DO Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick have in common?

With the retirement of Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart's latest injury, the forty-ish five are the senior statesmen as the NASCAR Sprint Cup series glides into a year of transition.

Gordon, 44, is now a Fox Sports racing analyst. Stewart, also 44, is recuperating from a fractured vertebra suffered in an all-terrain vehicle accident Jan. 31 in California.

"Seniors" Biffle (46), Kenseth (43), Earnhardt (41), Johnson and Harvick (both 40) will be in Sunday's Daytona 500.

Since Stewart is retiring after this season, he'll miss his last chance to win the Daytona 500. The three-time Cup series champion is winless in 17 Daytona starts. Brian Vickers is filling in for Stewart Sunday in the No. 14 Chevrolet. The earliest predicted return for Stewart is May, perhaps in time for the May 15 race at Dover, Del.

Other story lines to follow this season include Kyle Busch defending his first Sprint Cup series championship. Busch accomplished the remarkable feat of winning last year's title after missing the first 11 races while recuperating from a broken leg and foot suffered in a crash in the Xfinity series race at Daytona in February.

Meanwhile, Johnson is seeking his record-tying seventh title. Johnson began last season winning four of the first 13 races, then won only once more and finished 10th in the Chase.

This transitional season also includes a reduction in the field each week, from 43 cars to 40, a result of the new franchising setup for teams, as opposed to the old sponsorship model.

Also, there is another new rules package: less downforce designed to give the drivers more control of their race cars and increase passing.

While Busch is focusing on this year's racing, he knows his 2015 comeback is still a timely topic.

"It's definitely crazy the way it all that it all happened and the way it went down," he said Tuesday. "It's obviously still a story were talking about, but for me to go through what all I went through and my family went through and everything, to then be able to enjoy the end of the season and the enjoyment of what all that meant in winning a championship was pretty awesome and very special.

"It's something I've dreamt of as a kid, something I've always wanted to accomplish and something a lot of people have expected me to be able to accomplish since I joined this sport, so pretty excited to have that now off my shoulders as a champion and to go out and try to get No. 2, No. 3 - however many on down the line - and keep it going."

Busch and teammates Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Hamlin are trying to give Joe Gibbs Racing its first Daytona 500 victory since Dale Jarrett in 1993. Hamlin won the Sprint Unlimited non-points race Saturday night at Daytona.

The Cup series' top rookies are Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher. Elliott, son of two-time Daytona 500 winner Bill Elliott, is off to an impressive start, taking over the No. 24 Chevrolet for Gordon. Elliott won the pole for Sunday's race with a clocking of 196.314 mph.

Elliott, 20, is the youngest Daytona 500 pole winner ever. Gordon, a four-time series titlist, retired with 93 career victories, third highest all-time.

Referring to Alan Gustafson, his crew chief who also served in the same role for Gordon, Elliott said, "(He) has done such a good job of welcoming me. I've had his support since I walked in the door in December to go test at Homestead (Fla.) with that team. Their entire group welcomed me with open arms, making me feel at home. I feel like it was a very big step into trying to get things started off the right way."

Buescher, winner of last year's Xfinity series title, drives the No. 34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports, which has a Roush Fenway Racing alliance.

Roush Fenway's three drivers are Biffle, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Trevor Bayne. Competing against the formidable Gibbs, Hendrick and Penske teams, there's a good chance none will qualify as Chasers. This is a story longtime owner Jack Roush is getting tired of seeing.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: At age 41, he's starting to run out of time to win his first Cup series title. He finished 12th in last year's Chase.

Matt Kenseth: He needs to rebound from his late-season two-race suspension for wrecking Joey Logano at Martinsville.

Greg Biffle: The oldest (46) full-time driver in the series hasn't won a race since Michigan in 2013.

Ryan Newman: He's also caught in a victory-lane drought and hasn't won since Indianapolis in 2013.

Danica Patrick: She makes her annual appearance on the hot seat. Entering her fourth full-time Cup season, it's time for her to collect some top-five finishes and maybe even her first win. Last season, she had just two top 10s.

The 16 drivers I believe will be Chasers (in alphabetical order): Aric Almirola, Kyle and Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr.

Daytona 500

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach, Fla.

When: 1 p.m. Sunday

TV/Radio: Fox/WNPV (1440-AM)

Course: 2.5-mile tri-oval

Distance: 200 laps/500 miles

Forecast: Sunny, mid-60s

Last year's winner: Joey Logano

Last year's pole: Jeff Gordon, 201.293 mph

Track qualifying record: Without restrictor plates, Bill Elliott, 210.363, February 1987; with restrictor plates, Gordon, last year.

Track facts: Joey Logano led six times for 31 laps, including the last 13, to win last year's race. Kevin Harvick was second, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third. Gordon led the most laps, 87, but finished 33rd when he was involved in a crash on the green/white/checker segment that extended the race three laps . . . Other former Daytona 500 winners in the race are two-timers Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth; Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, Trevor Bayne and Michael Waltrip won once each . . . AAA is switching its sponsorship of its NASCAR weekend at Dover International Speedway to spring from the fall and extending the deal for the "AAA 400 Drive for Autism" through 2018.

Up next: Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500, Feb. 28, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga., 1 p.m.; TV: Fox; last year's winner: Jimmie Johnson.