So what did the racing geniuses at ESPN.com think of your favorite driver? Check out how writers Terry Blount, Ed Hinton, Ryan McGee, David Newton and Marty Smith as well as editors Joe Breeze and K. Lee Davis voted heading into the 2012 season. The Vote

Greg Biffle didn't win a race and didn't make the Chase last year. That pretty much tells you all you need to know.

Biffle believes he's better than that and plans to prove it.

"The 16 car didn't have the best season," Biffle said about 2011. "But we also had the crappiest luck that I've ever seen in my life. Ever!"

Better to be lucky than good sometimes, but it takes a combination of both, along with a driver/crew chief relationship that can, at times, make skill look like luck.

"Greg's team was a disappointment [in 2011], based on the chemistry between the crew chief and the driver," team owner Jack Roush said. "We had great people, had a great car chief, had a great crew chief in Greg Erwin on Biffle's program, but the two Gregs did not lock together.

"One of them didn't start a sentence and the other get to finish it. They didn't wind up always being as comfortable with decisions that were being made. We've got that behind us now."

Roush felt a change was needed mid-way through last season, replacing Erwin with engineer Matt Puccia. The improvement doesn't show if you only look at the standings. Biffle was 14th when Puccia took the job. Biffle was 16th at the end of the year.

But take a closer look. Biffle's average starting spot improved by more than five positions under Puccia, and Biffle almost doubled the number of laps led in the No. 16 Ford from the first half of the season.

"They've established harmony and positive chemistry between the two of them," Roush said. "Then we looked at what was the best personnel to complement Greg and Matt."

Now Biffle and Puccia start 2012 with a new pit crew. All new. Biffle now has the over-the-wall crew that David Ragan used last season in the No. 6 Ford, which isn't racing full-time this year. Problems on pit road plagued Biffle on several occasions last year.

Rather than try to replace two of three guys and mix them with another crew, Puccia and Roush felt it was best to keep Ragan's group together and bring them all to Biffle's car.

"Matt felt like they were one of the best teams with potential, so he wanted to keep them together," Biffle said. "Then he broke up the 16 pit crew and took the best guys and moved them around the company."

Puccia also has added Richie Letendre as the new car chief. Letendre is moving up after working as the car chief on the 2011 Nationwide Series championship team for driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

"I'm really looking forward to a fresh start with Matt and the team," Biffle said. "I felt like we had a lot of momentum at the end of the [2011] season and were close to getting a win several times. Everything is in place now for this to be one of our best years yet."

Biffle had made the Chase in three consecutive seasons before falling short last year, so the ESPN.com gang obviously feels last season was an aberration. At age 42, Biffle also is the oldest driver in our top 12.

Uh oh. Guess I just gave away that we won't be listing Jeff Burton or Bobby Labonte among our Chasers.

Odds of winning it all in 2012: 30-1 It all depends on how fast the new crew jells under Puccia's leadership, but it helps that all of them came as one unit from the No. 6 team. At age 42, the odds are against Biffle winning a Cup title now. He has only two victories in the past three seasons, but he's an aggressive racer who can get on a roll if his pit-crew woes are a thing of the past.

2011 Preseason Rank: 11

Obviously, our crew felt about the same on Biffle's chances last year as we do now. But no one anticipated the conflict between Biffle and Erwin that led to the change at midseason. He finished 20th or worse in 13 races and ended up with his worst season in six years. Some of it really was bad luck. He led 351 laps last year without winning a race.

Grade: C. Far below his usual standards, failing to finish on the lead lap in 13 races. And it looked worse considering the strong year teammates Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth had in 2011.

-- Terry Blount