NASCAR on TV this week

2013 Season Preview, Part V: Bruton, Start-And-Parks, And Parking The Issue

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Today’s Season Preview Topic: Bruton Smith has said this January start-and-parking is detrimental to the sport and must be stopped. Do you agree with that statement, and if so, jump in Bruton’s shoes and give us an idea to stop it.

Tom Bowles, Editor-In-Chief: I think start-and-parking has been a problem for years, done in part to make a profit and in part because teams feel hopeless. If you’re no better than a 35th-place car, and the difference between that and 34th in the purse won’t get you an extra set of tires then why finish the race?

I think that mentality was partially addressed by NASCAR through redistributing the purse. But cutting money for 39th through 43rd by $4,000 isn’t enough.

25 NASCAR Questions For 2013: Gordon, Stewart, Harvick, Kenseth, Hamlin

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*Jeff Gordon*
*2013 Ride:* No. 24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports)
*Season With Team:* 21st
*Crew Chief:* Alan Gustafson

*Burning Question:* Will Gordon ever win another title?

It’s hard to believe that Gordon hasn’t won a Cup title in 12 years, but it’s true. The only driver to go that long between championships was his former teammate at Hendrick, Terry Labonte, who won his first in 1984 and beat out Gordon for his second in 1996. Gordon put up strong bids to win his fifth championship in 2004 — the first year of The Chase — then three years later, setting a modern-era record for top-10 finishes (30) to go along with ten wins but fell short to others on both occasions.

Frontstretch Foto Funnies: Dude, Where’s My Car?

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_Welcome to the Frontstretch Foto Funnies! Ever see a photo that’s just begging for a caption? We see them all the time! Each week, we’ll pick a few, and our let our staff give it their best shot. Then we’ll post the best ones for you!_

_Want to get in on the fun? Each week, we’ll also designate one of the photos for fan captions. Leave your best ideas in the comments below or on our Facebook page. We’ll choose our favorite one and reprint the photo next week with its new caption! This week’s Fan Foto is Photo No. 6 (the one with Tony Stewart pointing his finger at Danica Patrick in her car). Ready, set…caption that!_

25 NASCAR Questions For 2013: Edwards, Newman, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt, Truex

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*Carl Edwards*
*2013 Ride:* No. 99 AFLAC/Fastenal Ford (Roush Fenway Racing)
*Season With Team:* 10th (ninth full season)
*Crew Chief:* Jimmy Fennig

*Burning Question:* Is Jimmy Fennig the solution?

After Matt Kenseth struggled a little at the start of the 2010 season, Jack Roush replaced Todd Parrott atop the pit box with the veteran Fennig. It proved to be a successful partnership as Kenseth had points finishes of fifth, fourth and seventh in the last three seasons with Fennig calling the shots.

A Social Standstill: Why Twitter Isn’t Sustaining NASCAR Like It Should

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Dear Amy,

Your column on social media made total sense in the wake of a Media Tour that struggled to gain traction. I mean, when the biggest story entering February is still Kasey Kahne’s haircut, either we’re all doing a very bad job of reporting, TMZ has taken over _SportsCenter_, or there were no earth-shattering pieces of news to run with.

2013 Staff Preview, Part IV: Solving The Cup Sponsorship Crisis

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Tom Bowles, Editor-In-Chief: I feel a bit more positive on this issue than I did two weeks ago. There has been a sudden jump in announcements as of late for the smaller teams, from Tommy Baldwin’s two-car organization to Swan Racing’s No. 30 that makes me think new deals with companies are still possible.

The problem to me, in a nutshell is Hendrick’s attitude towards the No. 88 car. The owner is claiming companies are lining up in droves to back Earnhardt but he just hasn’t found the right fit, pushing him to the point he’ll even fund the ride out of pocket if necessary. That leaves us with two realities. One, Hendrick is full of you-know-what and the car, which at one time I’ve been told had $40 million in cash getting pumped to it has priced itself out of the market.

25 NASCAR Questions For 2013: Martin, Busch, Labonte, Montoya, McMurray

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*Mark Martin*
*2013 Ride:* No. 55 Aaron’s Toyota (Michael Waltrip Racing)
*Season With Team:* 2nd
*Crew Chief:* Rodney Childers

*Burning Question: How much longer can Martin be competitive?*

With Martin, at this point it’s continually a question of age. The veteran turned 54 years old in January, and while his skills haven’t diminished at the rate of many of the drivers of his generation (Terry Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace) it’s only a matter of time before Father Time catches up with him – physical fitness be damned. Even the timeless Harry Gant, who holds the record for oldest Cup victory at 52 years of age couldn’t hang on forever. Holding his retirement tour in 1994, two years after that record he couldn’t even pull down a top-5 result despite driving for the same organization.

2013 Staff Preview, Part III: Does A Champ Need To Change?

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Today’s Season Preview Topic: Jimmie Johnson has now gone two years without a championship after winning five in a row. Does the team need to change anything for 2013 or is it simply a case of bad luck catching up with them?

Tom Bowles, Editor-In-Chief: I’m sure many NASCAR-ites are reading this question and groaning. There’s no question Johnson, outside of his rabid fan base has become Public Enemy No. 1 for the old school crowd’s complaints about everything from the sport becoming too politically correct to a potential double standard amongst crew chiefs. But for Johnson, 2013 is a crucial year if he’s looking to inch closer to that iconic mark of seven titles. If you look at the careers of the men he’s chasing, Petty and Earnhardt once they hit their prime there were never huge gaps in between first place…

25 NASCAR Questions For 2013: Almirola, Burton, Ambrose, Logano, Menard

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*Aric Almirola*
*2013 Ride:* No. 43 Smithfield Foods Ford (Richard Petty Motorsports)
*Season With Team:* 2nd
*Crew Chief:* Todd Parrott

*Burning Question:* Can Almirola get it done in Sprint Cup?

Richard Petty Motorsports’ selection of Almirola before the start of 2012 was a bit of a head-scratcher. Almirola had just come off of a mediocre season in the Nationwide Series with JR Motorsports, in which he failed to win a race (or really even come close). Drivers such as Brian Vickers, Trevor Bayne and maybe even Ricky Stenhouse were available as quality alternatives.