While 2012 has been a year of change for NASCAR driver David Ragan, including getting married in the off-season, 2013 will be the year of motivation for the 27 year old behind the wheel of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford Fusion.
The 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series can be best summed up with one word. Transition. Familiar faces in new places seems to be the theme this year for NASCAR's number two series. Heading into to this season we know with all certainty we will have a new NNS champion as 2-time champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is heading to the Sprint Cup Series to drive Roush Fenway Racing's iconic No.17 vacated by Matt Kenseth when he left for Joe Gibbs Racing.
The saying “what off-season” continues to be used in NASCAR because there really is no break in the NASCAR world. Moves are constantly being made in preparation for the season to come. Over the past few months, the Nationwide Series has been full of changes involving who will be competing for the championship in 2013. The result of the changes is a field full of stars that will compete against one another to bring home the Nationwide Series crown in 2013.
Four of the most recognized words in motorsports will once again be heard throughout one of the Nation’s most recognized racing facilities, after being closed for the entire 2012 season.
With the closing of Toyota Speedway at Irwindale this past season, it raised a lot of speculation on how a state of the art facility could go from one of the Nation’s most popular short tracks, to one of the biggest mismanaged fiascos since Ontario Motor Speedway closed its gates in 1980.
2012 featured many interesting, exciting and shocking events in the NASCAR world. Some of the most extreme events were a jet dryer blowing up, a huge brawl in the garage and a champion who had a tad bit much Miller Lite in victory lane following his winning of a championship.
For Southern California racers, it’s been a long 11 month hiatus from one of the premier short tracks in the Nation. After the company that managed the track, Irwindale Speedway LLC, filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on February 13, 2012, Jim Cohans Team 211 Entertainment group has been working feverishly to bring racing back to Southern California.
As 2012 rapidly fades into our review mirrors, it is time to look ahead to next season. 2013 is bringing a lot of changes to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as the brand new Gen6 race car makes it debut this season.
Brand loyalty—does it exist anymore? That’s a question that has come up with the recent move at Penske Racing to Ford from Dodge. Are there any teams that a loyal to the brand anymore? Lots of evidence suggests that there are.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones (second) and Christopher Bell (third) delivered podium finishes to lead Toyota in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Darlington Raceway on Saturday evening.
23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to the media on Saturday after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race from Darlington Raceway.
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Solomon Plumbing Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I thought it was really smooth. It looks like Chris is qualified right next to me. I felt like I got all it had. We know the cars are gonna be very difficult to drive and that did not disappoint.”
