NASCAR on TV this week

40 Cars to Freedom: Change is Coming for the 2013 Nationwide Series

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It’d take an act of God to get this writer to declare that NASCAR has left the state of denial, but they did take a step in the right direction on the Nationwide Series front this week with the announcement that the field will be cut from 43 to 40 cars for the 2013 season. It’s been a change long overdue; though NASCAR’s AAA series has largely dodged short fields over the last eight months, the start-and-park entries filling the starting grids week after week have accounted for nearly 30% of those “full” fields.

Coupled with the return of testing, this week’s announced competition changes are absolutely radical alterations for the Nationwide Series, as 43-car fields have been the norm for a decade-plus. And even at only a three-car reduction, it will have an impact across the series. While it’s impossible to tell just how much of an impact this will have until the entry list for Daytona is released in February, it’s never too early to play a little fact or fiction.

Michael Annett Driver Diary: Happy Halloween!

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Charlotte was actually a really interesting weekend. We were OK last time we were there, but we were definitely not as good as we’d like to be so we unloaded with a baseline deal. Charlotte is kind of tricky because they give us an hour to practice when the sun is out and the track is just hot and slick and completely different than race time conditions. We kind of used that first hour of practice in the sun just to work up some ideas we had, not real practice for that race on Friday night. We tried some things and put them in our notes and then we had 50 minutes in the evening when it was closer to race time conditions. We picked up right where we left off and weren’t real good, but we thought we were competitive, probably a top ten, just needed to tweak on it a little bit throughout the race.

Professor Of Speed: A Difficult Lesson To Learn

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It’s all-too-common knowledge that men hate going to the doctor. The thought of turning heads, coughing, getting shots, and any procedure involving rubber gloves can transform a chronic ailment into a mere nuisance. Men often downplay their health complaints until the pain/illness/swelling/oozing cannot be ignored. If the patient seeks help promptly, his potentially-dangerous problem can be diagnosed and corrected. If the patient waits too long, his minor condition can quickly turn into a major concern.

Truckin’ Thursdays: Rule Changes, Off Weekends and Back to Dirt?

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The Camping World Truck Series takes another week off in its final extended break before the end of the year. While most of the drivers are taking their time to relax and refresh, I’ve got a few more odds and ends to take a closer look at before everyone heads back to the track next weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

*Truck Series on Dirt in 2013?*

Earlier this week, “ESPN.com’s David Newton reported”:http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/truck/story/_/id/8513382/truck-race-possible-eldora-speedway-dirt-sources-say that NASCAR may be looking at the possibility of hosting a Truck Series event on the dirt at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. According to Newton, “multiple sources with the series said they’ve been told a dirt track could be added to the 2013 schedule.”

Beyond the Cockpit: James Buescher On Starting Out, Moving Up, and Title Hopes

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_The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is immersed in a tight championship battle, with James Buesher and Ty Dillon at the forefront, each battling for his first series title. Buescher knows how intense the heat of the battle is; he was a contender in 2011 as well, finishing third–could that, along with his four wins, give him the edge this year? Buescher was in Charlotte last weekend, racing in the Nationwide Series, and he took some time to sit and chat with our Amy Henderson to discuss his beginnings as a hobby racer, growing up on the track, racing smart in the championship hunt…and much more._

Frontstretch Fan Q&A: Finding NASCAR Drivers Old and New

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For the first time since 1979, we watched a NASCAR Cup Series race without an Earnhardt in it. The world never stopped turning, the sky never started falling, and it was not the end of the world as we knew it. Though Earnhardt certainly wasn’t “feeling fine”, he made the right decision by sitting out. The ensuing panic that happened as soon after the announcement was made, was tantamount to another crash in the stock market. It was ridiculous.

Yet even after that, there were reports of likely reduced attendance and campers leaving the area, and post-race attendance reports had the numbers the lowest they had been in years. Somehow, the show _did_ go on and no one really noticed he was gone other than his fans.

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Four Burning Questions: Will Kansas Speedway Shake Up the Chase?

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The NASCAR circuit is making it’s second trip of the year to the Kansas Speedway this weekend, and much has changed since they last visited the Sunflower State in April. The track was repaved during the summer months, and new state of the art progressive banking was added as well. The track is now up to 20 degrees in banking and butter smooth, meaning that high speeds and a few tire blowouts will likely be the order of the day. How the Chasers fare during what has been billed as a wildcard round of the Chase leads our list of things to watch heading into this weekend.

A Quick Rundown of NASCAR’s New Qualifying and Testing Changes

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On Tuesday, NASCAR revealed multiple changes to the sport that will affect both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series when they take effect come 2013. Most prominently, the sanctioning body announced the abolition of the top-35 rule for qualifying and new testing procedures.

Let’s waste no time and take a closer look at all three changes, one by one.

Most notable is the Sprint Cup Series’ new qualifying format. Well… new-ish. Actually, come to think of it, it’s not very new at all. Recycled is the better term.