Predictions for the 2013 NASCAR season
David Yeazell | SpeedwayMedia.comThe strike of the clock of Midnight, January 1st means a new year is upon us. Goodbye to 2012 and hello to the fresh and innocent 2013.
The turning of the calendar signals the beginning of a new NASCAR season. Testing for the upcoming year begins at Daytona in mere days. Some Sprint Cup teams getting their first chance to explore the new car, the G6, they’ll be working with moving forward. Others – having participated in a test at Charlotte last month – will now have notes from a mile-and-a-half track and a superspeedway.
A new season also means new predictions. It will be hard pressed to try and think of anything that might outdo last season. With history taking place in all three National Series with new champions, a record number of first-time winners in the Camping World Truck Series, and plenty of races that left of on the edge of our seats.
But we’re certainly going to try. Here are few things to watch for in the 2013 NASCAR season.
The 2013 race of the CWTS season = Eldora
This might not be that strong of a prediction or even one at all. When the trucks hit the dirt at Tony Stewart’s piece of heaven in Ohio, it will be one memorable night. For so long many have called for NASCAR to return to the dirt and let the drivers flex their muscle and show their skill.
The time has come. Stewart and NASCAR made it happen and the anticipation is already through the roof. Being a half-mile it’s the perfect place for the trucks to race and put on a show, and for feelings to get hurt. A short track means short tempers, maybe some more than others depending how well they adapt to the dirt.
Plus, there’s little doubt the race will draw in big stars from not just around NASCAR but the racing world.
Big Names Become Big Winners
Johnny Sauter is hungry to win a championship. Timothy Peters wants to finish one position better than 2012. And Brendan Gaughan has unfinished championship business.
These three will be the CWTS big winners in the upcoming season. Sauter has been the championship favorite the last few seasons, finishing second in 2011 but getting bitten by the bad luck bug this past year. If that carries over into a new season, he’ll have a steep hill to climb.
Peters however, is coming into his own at Red Horse Racing. While his 2013 plans have not yet been announced, it would be hard to imagine he won’t be back behind the wheel of the No. 17 considering his success and with RHR going to just two teams. John Wes Townley has signed on with Zaxby’s and Todd Bodine has confirmed he’s the odd man out because of sponsorship.
So, Peters becomes one of the favorites for the championship and a multiple race winner, even though champion James Buescher is remaining in the series to try and grab another title. He’ll be tough competition, but there’s a reason there hasn’t been a back-to-back champion in the CWTS, yet.
For Gaughan, who will return with Richard Childress Racing and run the full season, he’s going to break through for a few victories of his own. Running select races in 2012 with RCR, Gaughan showed why he was nearly a champion just a few seasons ago. Now he gets the chance to put it all together with a company that’s been in the same position the last few years. Yet, for as strong as Gaughan will be, not sold enough that he’ll be the strongest.
Camping World Truck Series Champion Prediction: Timothy Peters
The Nationwide Series ‘Big Three’
There will be a lot of old faces in new faces when it comes to the 2013 NNS season. Elliott Sadler, who has finished second the last two years in points, is now driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. Perhaps now with the team that can finally get him the championship that’s been eluding him.
In order to so however, he’ll have to beat new teammate Brian Vickers. In 2003 it was Vickers who hoisted the big trophy and he’s now back to try and do it again. Since he doesn’t have a full-time Cup ride – he’ll again share time in Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 55 – he’s got a great opportunity ahead of him.
The right team and attitude puts Vickers as the driver to watch. He has a lot of experience and hunger to get his career back on track and return to top form in the Cup Series. He and Sadler will most likely dominate the series driving JGR Toyotas, which have been the class of the field since their debut.
The third driver to be in championship contention is the most recent race winner. Regan Smith has a new home with JR Motorsports and will be running for the championship with the No. 7 team led by Greg Ives, a former engineer for Jimmie Johnson.
Of course we can’t overlook Austin Dillon, who will be back for his grandfather’s team and a sophomore season. Dillon won two races and finished third in points in 2012 and while he certainly will be a factor in the upcoming year, time will tell if Dillon and RCR have what it takes with the strength of Gibbs and the determination of Smith and JRM.
Nationwide Champion Prediction: Brian Vickers
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is the Cup Series New Star
Coming off back-to-back NNS championships Stenhouse finally gets his chance to shine in the big time. He remains with Roush Fenway Racing and will be driving for another championship team, now led by Scott Graves. And he keeps the familiarity of having spotter Mike Calinoff in his ear.
Stenhouse has limited Cup experience, except came in the older style racecar. But he’s proven he can drive the wheels off of anything and the new car might throw him for a little loop at first, but he’s going to win this year. Quite possibly win more than once.
And he’ll take home Rookie of the Year honors. Of course that’s because he doesn’t have any competition in the category. Though even if he did, doubt it would be much of a fight.
Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon Part II
This feud is far from over. At least for Bowyer if his comments in Las Vegas during the awards banquet were any indication, stating that he wasn’t settling anything with Gordon. There are two sides to the story, Gordon saying that Bowyer got into him one too many times during 2012 and that he finally had had enough. Bowyer surprised that Gordon was upset for the little contact that they made and taking it harder because it ended any chance he had at the championship.
When the series returns to Phoenix in the second week of the season, everyone will be ready to ramp up the talk and the highlights of the two from last November. And Bowyer, even though he wants revenge, will find a way to not play into it. He’d probably do more harm than good if he were to take his shot while everyone, including NASCAR, was watching.
Nope, these two will meet again at a later date. That would be the first short track race of the season at Bristol. It’s the perfect place for feelings to get hurt and Bowyer to get one back at Gordon.
Tony Finally Does It
It’s something Stewart fans have longed to hear, he will finally win the Daytona 500. Or at least, one prediction says so. In years past this is one that has been shied away from, obviously because Stewart is 0-for in the big race. This coming February will be his 15th attempt.
But have no fear, because No. 14 will be lucky in race No. 15 at Daytona. He’s already won everything else there is to win at the speedway, multiple times. This past July he again won the summer classic, but noted he would trade them all for a Daytona 500 win.
Stewart won’t have to. This coming year there will be a few things in his favor. Not just that he’s an excellent plate racer, or that the Chevy’s are always fast, or even that he’s the man to beat when it comes to Daytona. This year Stewart’s going to have another wingman when it comes to the draft.
Danica Patrick joins SHR full-time this year and she too, has become a quick study of the plate tracks. She won the pole at Daytona last year for the NNS race and she led late in the July race – with the help of Stewart – in 2011. If the two can find each and make the same thing happen this coming February, it’ll be awfully tough to beat them.
A Chase to Remember for Hamlin
We’re still waiting for the day that Hamlin said his team was going to be champions. Something he confidently said at the end of the 2009 season. As we enter 2013 there have been two seasons in the past that Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs team could have made that happen.
Last year, perhaps the most heartbreaking of them all, he had the best cars but not the best reliability. That won’t be a problem in the New Year as Hamlin is going to put it all together. There’s no better motivation for a team or company than losing the championship because they weren’t strong enough.
JGR is going to fix that and all three of their Camry’s will make the 2013 Chase: Hamlin, Kyle Busch and newest member Matt Kenseth. And it’s going to be Kenseth who plays a big role in both JGR and Hamlin’s success. His experience and leadership will go a long way in racing for a championship.
Hamlin and Kenseth have already gotten close during the offseason and worked well together during the Charlotte test last month. Should Hamlin continue to work well with his new teammate and use Kenseth to make himself better, he’ll have his most successful season in Cup.
Sprint Cup Series Champion Prediction: Denny Hamlin
Nationwide Series Silly Season Forming Star Studded Lineup for 2013
David YeazellThe 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.
Richard Childress Racing
After coming oh so close to the championship in 2012, RCR has made some changes for the upcoming season. Elliot Sadler was not re-signed so that left the No.2 car vacant for 2013. Who could come in and replace Sadler? Well RCR’s answer was Brian Scott. Scott has competed in the Nationwide Series for the past couple of seasons but has no wins or any great results to back him up. Scott brought sponsorship to the team from Shore Lodge so RCR decided to put Scott in the No.2 car. Scott will really need to prove he deserves the ride because RCR would like to better the performance of Elliot Sadler from the past two seasons and to better Sadler’s performance would mean to win the championship.
Austin Dillon will be the second full-time driver going after the Nationwide Series championship for RCR. Dillon placed third in the final standings last season in his first full-time season in the Nationwide Series. Dillon is definitely one of the stars that could compete for the championship in the upcoming season. RCR has the No.33 Nationwide car as well and many drivers ran the car last season. RCR plans on having Ty Dillon run select races in the car for 2013 and possibly a few other drivers. RCR said it would like to have three full-time teams in the Nationwide Series for 2013 so a possible third team could be announced to compete for the championship out of the RCR stable in the coming weeks.
JR Motorsports
After an iffy 2012 season, JR Motorsports has a whole new attack plan for success in 2013. Jr Motorsports will have Regan Smith competing full-time for the Nationwide Series championship in the No.7 car with Tax Slayer as the primary sponsor. Smith was released from his Sprint Cup ride with Furniture Row Racing last October and Smith has no full-time ride in the Cup Series for 2013 so Smith has found a home with JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series for the next season. Smith is one of the bigger names to be going after the Nationwide crown in 2013 so he should be a major threat for the championship.
JR Motorsports will have two drives share the No.5 car in 2013. Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet came over from Turner Motorsports where they shared the No.38 car sponsored by Great Clips last season and they will bring Great Clips to JR Motorsports to run a nearly full schedule in the No.5 car. The No.5 car is looking to go for the owner’s championship and it should be a great fight for that title. Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr will run select races in the No.88 car in 2013 including the February Daytona race. Cole Whitt is still signed with JR Motorsports but Whitt is without sponsorship which means he is without a ride. Whitt is not expected to run in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports this upcoming season.
Roush Fenway Racing
Following a championship season for RFR in 2012, they will have at least one car trying to bring home the teams’ third straight championship in 2013. With Ricky Stenhouse Jr moving up to the Cup Series, Trevor Bayne will fill in his No.6 car for 2013. Bayne has run numerous races for RFR in the Nationwide Series over the past few years but lack of sponsorship prevented Bayne from running full seasons. Bayne is now in a fully funded car and this will be our first opportunity to witness Bayne compete for the championship with a great car and team.
Travis Pastrana will field a second full-time Nationwide ride for RFR but the team is still likely going to have various sponsors. Pastrana ran a few Nationwide races for RFR last season but the team is going to run a full-time schedule in 2013 and compete for the championship.
Joe Gibbs Racing
Probably the most star studded team in the Nationwide Series is Joe Gibbs Racing. JGR will have two former Cup drivers competing for the Nationwide Series championship out of their stable. Elliot Sadler will be in one of two full-time rides that are coming out of JGR. When RCR didn’t re-sign Sadler, JGR picked him and his sponsor (One Main Financial) up and put them in the No.11 car. Sadler finished second in the Nationwide standings the past two years and now with Ricky Stenhouse Jr out of the Nationwide Series, Sadler has a chance to win the championship that Stenhouse Jr has edged him out for in the past two seasons.
Brian Vickers will field the second full-time JGR car in the Nationwide Series in 2013. Vickers hasn’t had a full-time NASCAR ride since 2011 but he is currently running part-time in the Cup Series with Michael Waltrip Racing. Vickers will be behind the wheel of the No.20 Dollar General car and he’ll be looking to bring home the Nationwide Series championship to JGR in the upcoming season. JGR will also field a part-time ride for various drivers in 2013. The No.18 car is expected to be piloted by Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Darrel Wallace Jr and possibly Matt Kenseth. The No.18 car would be going after the owner’s championship if it were to run full-time.
Penske Racing
Sam Hornish Jr will drive the one full-time car for Penske Racing in the Nationwide Series for 2013. Hornish Jr competed full-time in the Nationwide Series last season for Penske, finishing fourth overall. Hornish Jr will pilot the No.12 Alliance Truck Parts Ford with a few other potential sponsors. Penske is also going to field the No.22 car in the Nationwide Series but it will not be competing for the championship. The car will be shared among Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney.
Turner Motorsports
Turner Motorsports has not announced their Nationwide Series plans for 2013 but two full-time cars are expected. Justin Allgaier is likely going to compete for the championship in the No.31 car. Turner had also been rumored to have a second team running full-time for the championship but when Turner truck series driver James Buescher announced he was going to run a small amount of races for Turner in the Nationwide Series, the rumors of the second team basically died out.
Turner Motorsports is also expected to run a part time schedule with Danica Patrick with Go Daddy as the sponsor. Patrick will be running a full-time Cup schedule but she has showed interest in running a part time schedule in the Nationwide Series. Jeb Burton will also run a part-time schedule for Turner in the Nationwide Series in the No.32 car. Burton is running the full-time Truck Series schedule for Turner as well.
Kyle Busch Motorsports
After a semi-successful Nationwide Series program last season, KBM will field a full-time Nationwide Series ride for Parker Kligerman in 2013. Kligerman ran in the Truck Series last season and he was expected to move up to the Nationwide Series for 2013. Kligerman will drive the No.77 car and sponsorship for the car is currently un-announced.
KBM will also field a second car which will likely compete for the owner’s championship. The second car will be the No.54 Monster Energy car driven by Kyle and Kurt Busch. Team owner Kyle Busch is also expected to run some Nationwide Series races for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Other
Various other teams will compete in the Nationwide Series in 2013 including Richard Petty Motorsports with Michael Annett. With the Nationwide Series field shrunken down to forty cars in 2013, many start and park teams may not be able to run in the series which was the goal of shrinking the field.
After a few seasons of just having three or four drivers able to compete for the Nationwide Series crown, in 2013 we will see multiple more teams competing of the championship. Many drivers are looking to either to save their NASCAR career or build upon it in the Nationwide Series this upcoming season. A star studded field in the Nationwide Series will surely create some excitement, drama and much more. The Nationwide Series will be back on the map in 2013 with competitive racing once again. The excitement for 2013 builds as we head into the New Year and Daytona is just around the corner.
“Drivers Start Your Engines” Irwindale Event Center Announces Opening Night and Welcomes NASCAR as the Sanctioning Body
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.
A breath of fresh air along with a management team that is dedicated to serving the drivers, as well as the fans are on the top of the priority list when Irwindale Event Center opens its gates for the 2013 racing season on April 6th.
The opening night schedule will include, NASCAR Super Late Models, Late Models, Super Stocks, Mini-Stocks and an evening-ending fun-for-all Demolition Derby. Team 211 Entertainment’s President/CEO Jim Cohan is beginning his tenure at the track with a very strong statement, which will serve as the catalyst and the backbone to a very promising season of racing in 2013 and beyond.
Months and weeks of planning have gone into making sure the right people and the right formula would be utilized to make this a successful venture for everyone involved, including the right attitude to work with both drivers and the fans.
“I absolutely want to hear from the racers and fans. You’ve got a guy at the helm in me, and I am a PEOPLE person first and foremost. To work with me, folks have to leave their egos someplace else,” said Cohan when talking about the planning that has been taken place.
Cohan also added that, “We care and that we appreciate every single one of them, and that the old regime is dead and over. I want excitement in the air not only because racing is back at Irwindale, but also because folks know the group running it CARES about them and considers them family.”
Along with the schedule announcement for the 2013 racing season, Cohan also signed a deal with NASCAR this past week to fully sanction all the divisions that will be racing on the asphalt paved ovals.
“NASCAR is pleased to bring our Home Tracks program back to Irwindale Speedway,” said Duvall, NASCAR’s Senior Director of Business Development.
Duvall also added that, “This facility hasn’t changed physically in any way; it’s the same great race track. What has changed is the management group and spirit of teamwork that Jim Cohan’s people bring to the effort, they’re all top pros, and I’m really looking forward to working with them.”
“We met with Bob Duvall from NASCAR yesterday at our offices in Irwindale,” said Cohan.
Cohan finished with, “He really understands our mission to bring great short track stock car racing back to southern California and he’s very supportive of that goal. Bob made his presentation, answered all of our questions, we signed the sanction agreement, and he got back on a plane and took the papers back to Daytona Beach.”
With NASCAR once again as the sanctioning body, the crowning the state or national champion is a very good possibility. For the drivers along with the fans, racing is back in the Southern California area and it’s great to see the facility finally has a person in charge that cares.
“We plan to give it all we’ve got. Challenges may come and obstacles may get in the way but you and the entire community have my word that my team is totally committed to doing everything in our power to make this the very best it can be,” said a very confident Jim Cohan.
An announcement is forthcoming for meetings with car owners and drivers for each division by Irwindale Competition Director, Mike Atkinson.
Full racing schedule will be announced later on today, and the speedway office is now accepting applications for 2013 NASCAR licenses for drivers and crewmembers.
Irwindale Event Center Trying to Bring Short Track Racing Back to Southern California
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.
It wasn’t long after the track opened, that it became one the most talked about racing facilities from coast to coast, and the excitement the track generated during the early part of its inception was nothing like the disappointment it became in its latter years.
On any given Saturday night, car counts were at all-time high, and the level of competition was some of the best with the fans showing their appreciation by filling the stands week after week.
Irwindale would gain even more National exposure when NASCAR decided in 2003 to hold its annual non-points All-Star Showdown, which brought together both the Camping World East and West series teams to battle for bragging rights on the progressively banked ½ mile speedway.
The race itself was dubbed “The Daytona 500” of short track racing because of the prestige that came with winning this two day racing extravaganza, and the race itself attracted drivers from all over the country including NASCAR’s touring and regional series.
The following year in 2004, the track continued to flex its majesty when Greg Pursley won one of NASCAR’s most prestigious awards. Pursley, who had a full-time job at the track as an instructor at the Performance Race Training School, won the weekly series national championship, an award that had not been accomplished by a California driver in 19 years.
Attendance, as well as car counts began to decline when the drivers and teams begin to voice their opinions on rule changes that were taking place in the middle of the season, along with certain drivers and teams who were being given special treatment.
It became more and more obvious that the vice president and general manager of the track Bob DeFazio, along with competition director Lester Boyer were quickly losing control of the facility when the drivers and fans slowly began to look for other venues to get their racing fix.
During this time, one of the biggest questions surrounding the track was how the track’s CEO Jim Williams could allow the facility to take a turn for the worse, without stepping in and putting a stop to what became obvious throughout the pit area.
More and more things got worse around the track, and during the 2011 season NASCAR sent their officials to find out how the late model division, which happened to be the same division that would crown the national as well as the state champion could allow cars to race without first qualifying.
Defazio knew that in order for either the state or national champion to come from his track, they needed a minimum of 20 cars to start each race, so he allowed both super stocks and the S2 cars to start and park in order to reach the needed car count.
NASCAR approached Defazio and Boyer telling them that all cars had to qualify, in addition to passing tech inspection which included having the same rear spoiler.
All of this embarrassment along with the closing of the track could have been avoided if Defazio would have taken the time to listen and work with all the drivers in all the divisions, instead of playing favorites and trying to monopolize racing to a single track.
Jim Cohan’s Team 211 Entertainment group are on the right path to mending what was broken by a greedy, and unappreciative general manager who only looked out for his own interests while forgetting about the well being of the track.
Cohan knew it would be an uphill battle from day one, and overcoming the challenges ahead could only be achieved by getting the entire racing community involved. “We know that we’re starting out a couple of laps behind,” Cohan said.
“But we also know that we have the support of a great number of former racers, sponsors, and most importantly, our fans who have stood by waiting for this track to come back on line again. We’ll really need everyone’s good will and support, and we’ll be trying very hard to return the favor by running a facility that always puts the customer first.”
Cohan and his management team have been busy working on a schedule as well as formulating a universal rules package with other tracks, in order to accommodate all drivers with the goal of bringing short track racing back to the Southern California area.
With the opening night announcement and full racing schedule only a day away, Cohan secured Los Angeles-based LoanMart as one of the tracks sponsors.
“We met with Colby Estes (LoanMart’s Director of Marketing) two days ago and had an instant rapport,” said Jim Cohan, President of 211 Entertainment Company.
Cohan also added that, “LoanMart told us that they were pleased to be able to associate with Irwindale and that they had been waiting to hear that we were back in the oval track racing business.”
With the pieces slowly but meticulously falling into place, it won’t be long before opening night rolls around and the action and excitement of oval track racing picks up where you left off at the event center, but with a whole different outlook.
Cohan and his 211 Entertainment Company were able to resurrect the 1/8 mile drag strip bringing the Summit Racing Series racing back, along with the street legal program to give teenagers and adults a safe environment to race their cars on.
From all the hype the track has received since announcing it would bring back oval racing with the upcoming schedule only a day away, and the popularity the drag strip has generated since reopening in 2012. Cohan and company look to be on their way to a very successful and highly energetic racing season in 2013.
