Denny Hamlin (Right) and new crew chief Darian Grubb (Left) confer at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Top Contenders

1. Denny Hamlin – Hamlin was a head case last year after coming oh so close to the 2010 title. When his team got off to a slow start, he complained all season about his cars, his team and the direction of Joe Gibbs Racing. At one point, he needed a sports psychologist to get his mind right and at the end of the season he moved to Arizona to get away from it all. Now Hamlin returns with new crew chief Darian Grubb, who led Stewart to last year’s championship, and is as confident and optimistic as ever. Can he bounce back and finally put it all together?

2. Matt Kenseth – Kenseth, the 2003 champion, was in the hunt for another title himself last year until Brian Vickers took him out. Kenseth entered the seventh Chase race at Martinsville second in points. But after Vickers retaliated and wrecked him, he left Martinsville fifth in points. When Vickers wrecked him again the next week at Phoenix, Kenseth was done. He rebounded to finish fourth in the final standings, but Kenseth was a factor again all season, winning three races and coming on strong near the end of the season. With veteran crew chief Jimmy Fennig, Kenseth should take up where he left off last season and be a strong challenger again.

3. Jeff Gordon – Gordon shook off three disappointing seasons by winning three races last year, but he was still too inconsistent to be a serious championship threat. He faded in the Chase for the third time in four years and finished eighth in the standings. But Gordon showed promise and great potential in his first year with crew chief Alan Gustafson and the duo believes they are building toward something great. Gordon, 40, went toe-to-toe with Johnson for the 2007 championship and believes his team is poised for another title run. He also derived a bit of extra incentive from watching 40-year-old Stewart win his third championship. Look for Gordon to be a more serious threat this year.

Kyle Busch finished 12th in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

4. Kyle Busch – Busch has two major issues to overcome – his head and his team’s propensity to fade in the Chase. Busch had another fabulous regular season last year, winning four races and leading the standings after 26 races despite suffering such embarrassment as his infamous off-track speeding ticket and getting punched by team owner Richard Childress during a long-running feud with Harvick and RCR. But when the 10-race Chase began, Busch faded again. Finishes of 25th and 34th in the middle of the Chase buried him and he wound up finishing last among the 12 teams. His Chase performance wasn’t helped, of course, by him getting suspended for a race for intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday in a truck race at Texas. Once again, Busch looked like a championship contender for most of the year, but allowed his head and his emotions to get in the way. Can he finally overcome those issues and contend until the end?