1. Ron Hornaday is a four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion, and he has collected 51 trophies throughout a career in the series that has spanned 14 full-time seasons.

Hornaday has struggled for the last couple of seasons, but he was finally coming into his own toward the end of the 2013 campaign before being canned by NTS Motorsports. He has struggled to find solid sponsorship over the last few seasons, but if a Truck Series team owner is smart they’ll take a gamble on Hornaday in 2014. (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images)

2. David Reutimann recently took his name out of consideration for a spot at BK Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but we believe this was because “Reuti” saw the writing on the wall that his time with the team was numbered.

Still, Reutimann is a valuable commodity for several teams still looking for a capable driver to get their organizations wheels rolling. Reutimann has two Sprint Cup Series wins, which came while at Michael Waltrip Racing. If you remember Reutimann was the one shining feature during Waltrip’s team’s opening few abysmal seasons.

Reutimann has also proved in the past to be valuable in the Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide Series as he has a victory in each series. Reutimann’s career-high points ranking in the Nationwide Series was second back in 2007 and he finished third in the truck series standings in 2006, so he could be a championship contender in both of those series. (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images)

3. Corey Lajoie has a bright future ahead of him if he can find the right opportunity. Unfortunately he hasn’t had much of a chance to show what he can do on NASCAR’s big stage just yet. He’s under a developmental contract with Richard Petty Motorsports after racking up five wins and finishing second in the K&N Pro East Series point standings in 2012.

This past season Lajoie also started five ARCA Series races, winning three of them. If RPM decides to give him a full-time spot, or if someone can lure him out of his developmental gig, Lajoie will be a star in the making. (Photo Credit: Jennifer Coleman/NASCAR)

4. Ryan Truex rose to prominence after taking back-to-back K&N Pro East Series championships in 2009 and 2010 as a developmental driver for Michael Waltrip Racing. Since then though, Truex has struggled to get a fair shake in racing’s big leagues.

Since 2010, Truex has only started 41 races (an average of just over 10 per year) at the National level of NASCAR, despite already signing developmental contracts with three Sprint Cup Series teams (Michael Waltrip Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing included).

Last season he joined Richard Petty Motorsports as a developmental driver, but he hasn’t had much of an opportunity at any level to showcase his skills. Truex is chomping at the bit to join his brother — Martin — in the permier series of NASCAR, but he needs someone to take a chance on him before he can make his way up the ladder to the Sprint Cup Series. (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images)

5. Johanna Long is a talented up and coming racer, but she has been doomed by subpar equipment thus far in her career. She became the first female racer to win the prestigious Snowball Derby back in 2010, and a year earlier she won the pole for that event.

Long hasn’t even recorded one top-10 finish through 65-career NASCAR national series starts, but she ran for her family’s under funded Panhandle Motorsports team in the Trucks 2010 and 2011, and she has been running part-time for ML Motorsports for the last few years in the Nationwide Series.

Heading into 2014 her plans are up in the air, but if a decent team wants a driver with a ton of upside potential then Long would be a great hire. (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images)