Once Upon A Time In NASCAR

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Change is all around. Summer has given way to autumn, which will shortly give way to yet another winter. As November approaches, so, too, does a presidential election driven by the campaign rhetoric of change and better days ahead. Many of us embrace changes because they shake us out of the doldrums of what has become our everyday life. Others worry about the uncertainties that come with a change in routine, a change in the status quo.

NASCAR Nation is rolling through similar changes. Over recent weeks, we’ve been told about revisions to next year’s guidelines for testing and qualifying, and even more recently we were notified that the Top-35 rule had been dropped to make way for a new-and-improved approach to setting the starting grid. Other recent changes involved new rules for the Nationwide Series, as well, where only 40 cars will be allowed to compete in races, down from the current number of 43.

Vexing Vito: Smith Signs With JR Motorsports & NASCAR Odds ‘N’ Ends

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With just four races remaining in the 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup, signs are starting to point to the No. 48 team resurrecting their horseshoe-up-their-backside luck that manifested itself during five-consecutive tiles earned from 2006-2010. After shortening the Lowe’s Impala by about a foot at Kansas, Johnson and company rebounded to a ninth place finish. While the No. 48 kept pace with the Blue Deuce of Brad Keselowski at seven points, there is one glaring omission that many have seemed to overlook: Chevrolet hasn’t won a race in almost three months.

Did You Notice?… Earnhardt’s Financial Flaw, NASCAR Tire Testing For Two And Quick Hits

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*Did You Notice?…* Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is coming back with no real incentive to do so? Yes, you can tell me all you want about how Earnhardt loves to race, there’s still four chances to win and an outside shot to sneak back inside the top 10 in points, an improvement that would give the driver a little extra TV time at the Las Vegas Championship banquet. At heart, these men are racers, the passion for their craft pushing them to get back in the driver’s seat as quickly as possible. But outside of Martinsville, the No. 88 hasn’t exactly had the history as of late to suggest wins will come at Texas, Phoenix, or Homestead. Momentum for 2013 is a moot point, both in setup notes and at-track finishes as a new car will wipe the slate clean come Daytona. And while Earnhardt could assist teammate Jimmie Johnson with setup information, their relationship being better than Johnson and Regan Smith’s, it’s arguable that Smith was producing better results, driving quickly into the top 10 at Charlotte before blowing the engine and slotting in seventh at Kansas, the team’s best all-around performance since Michigan in August.

Next in Line: Six ARCA Drivers Who Deserve A NASCAR Debut

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The 2012 ARCA Racing Series season went out with a bang, rather than a whimper, last Friday at Kansas Speedway with three separate cars getting airborne during the 99-lap event. Alex Bowman won the battle — his fourth victory of the year — but Chris Buescher won the war, edging out nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel by 75 points en route to his first ARCA championship.

Parity, a running theme in NASCAR had to be a hallmark of this stock car series in 2012. Throughout the 19-race season (a 20th, DuQuoin, was cancelled due to inclement weather and the inability of series officials to reschedule a second time before season’s end) 11 different drivers found Victory Lane, three winning for the first time in the series. Officially, 147 different racers made an event, 10 of whom started every date on the schedule in 2012.

IndyCar Round Table: Drama Behind The Scenes And 2013

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*Tony George resigned his position on the board of Hulman & Company last week. He was part of the effort to buy INDYCAR that had the rumor mills working overtime since May. Does his resignation end the takeover bid and the drama? Thoughts on what is really going on here.*

Huston: I’m thinking it actually increases the likelihood that he tries to put together a group to buy the series. I think it’s a move to get out from under the Hulman family dynamic.
Toni: I’d like to think what happened is they actually gave him the ultimatum leave or we will throw you off and allowed him to save face and that it will signify the end of the drama of the buyout / ouster of Randy Bernard. I’d like to think it was really an effort to rid the series of negative influences and get back to thinking about the business at hand.

Mirror Driving: Progress Or Problems? Make-Or Break Moments And Eldora, 2013

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*Kansas Speedway was the latest racetrack to add progressive banking in hopes of producing a more competitive race. Did it work, and are there other ways that tracks and track owners should be looking towards to beef up the competition?*

Phil: Not really. There were faster speeds and a lot of wrecking. Overall, it wasn’t any more competitive.
Amy: There wasn’t any more passing on Sunday.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Kansas

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Admit it. You laughed when you heard people say that Kansas would be the “wild card” in this Chase. Well, we don’t think that the mechanics back at the shop are laughing now — especially those fabricators charged with rebuilding sheet metal. Heck, even the car in Victory Lane was damaged after Sunday!

Matt Kenseth’s Ford, its chassis bent and bruised had what amounted to a “Kansas stripe” in Victory Lane but still took home the trophy anyway in this race of survival.

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in NASCAR: Kansas/Martinsville Edition

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There are moments that define championship teams and Jimmie Johnson’s crew had one of them on Sunday at Kansas. Johnson seemingly drove himself out of Cup contention when he got loose trying to race his way through the pack and backed his No. 48 hard into the outside wall.

The wreck mirrored what happened to Johnson at Charlotte in 2011 in many ways. The impact wasn’t as great this time around, but it was a similar situation where the five-time champion jumped on the gas too quickly while looking to the inside of another car. At the time, the repercussions seemed the same — he appeared to be eliminated from the hunt for the big trophy.