SM Staff

It's happening. What exactly is happening you ask? Well, I made, what at the time, seemed like a bold prediction in 2012. I proclaimed...

While Daytona presented some solid top 10 rookie performances, Phoenix produced some struggles for our rookie contenders, as well as some got bit by bad luck.

It’s hard to judge a season by two races, especially if one race is at Daytona and the other is Phoenix, two tracks that are atypical of the rest of the series. One is a restrictor plate track where almost anyone can win and the other a quirky one-miler with flat corners.

Kurt Busch announced today that he will be attempting to do the Indianapolis 500-Coca Cola 600 double. The 35-year-old will attempt to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 for Andretti Autosport, while running the Coca Cola 600 later that same day in his No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing.

Two-time Las Vegas winner Jeff Burton will make his season debut this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, as this marks the beginning of a part-time campaign for Burton in this season, who will be retiring at the end of the season to join NBC Sports' broadcast team in 2015.

With the first knock out qualifying of the season and special guests like AJ Foyt celebrating the 50th anniversary of Phoenix International Speedway, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from The Profit on CNBC 500 presented by Small Business Fueling America.

While the focus has been on the Sprint Cup Series rookies, there is also a strong Nationwide Series rookie contingent. This year's series brings us five strong young drivers, who are each with strong teams, and have plenty of pressure on their shoulders. So far, it has been mixed results but they're off to a solid start.

With winning a necessity to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2014, NASCAR has some decisions to make. With the inspection process much simpler this season, it leaves some possible rule changes open for discussion.

Last year, Ed Carpenter did it all as he drove all the races while running the race team. This year, however, Carpenter is taking a slightly different approach as he will be running the race team - while only racing the ovals this year.

While teams prepare for the new year ahead, Panther Racing has a dispute to settle over a sponsorship deal. Panther Racing has filed a lawsuit against Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, IndyCar and other parties with regards to the National Guard sponsorship.