Daytona Beach, Florida. With the month of February quickly going by, that could only mean one thing: NASCAR’s Super Bowl is coming! It was only a few months ago that we were celebrating a young man from Rochester Hills MI. Find out if bad Brad will be able to defend his title in this preview. In Jeremiah’s top five drivers to watch in 2013, you will find out who I expect to make noise. First, I expect a lot out of Mr. Gordon, coming off a year in which he was unusually quiet. I expect the win that he earned at Homestead Miami Speedway to carry over. I also expect Jeff Gordon to be in the championship fight! The first 26 races mean a lot because I’m not buying the fact that you have to be good in the last 10 races. You have to be good all season long to be able to defend your title. That is why Tony was unable to defend his title from 2011. It’s going be hard for Brad to defend the title, and there are several reasons why. When he won the title, it was in a Dodge and he and Paul had everything clicking in the right way. Now with everything having to be in a new brand of car, that will challenge Brad and Paul, in a way that they have never been challenged before. Also, you add in the fact that he is carrying the title of champion. Now, he is switching over to a totally new brand. He is going to have to learn how to drive a Ford. If he can get through the first couple of weeks with a lot of top five finishes, then maybe that is a sign of good things to come. As far as the rookies, in this year’s field the one rookie that I would keep my eye on is from Olive Branch Mississippi, and his name is Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. He replaces Matt Kenseth. If last year’s Nationwide championship is any indication of how good he will be on the Sprint Cup side of things, I think we have something special. Another story to watch for is Ricky Stenhouse’s girlfriend Danica Patrick. Danica gets to drive for the same team as Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman. So, who do I see being your top five drivers going into Homestead Miami? Number one has to be Brad Keselowski, number two will be “JJ” Jimmy Johnson, number three will be Ricky Stenhouse Jr, number four will be Tony Stewart, and number five will be Ryan Newman.
