NASCAR Sprint Cup: 10 Changes for the 2012 Season
What separates NASCAR from other sports is their ability to be in touch with their fans. Other sports debate for months before a decision is made to change a rule. That is not the case in NASCAR. If the executives at NASCAR hear that the majority of the fans are unhappy with a rule, or if they think a change can be made to improve the sport, the change is made sooner rather than later.
This year, the fans have spoken and NASCAR has listened. In order to improve the sport, NASCAR will make changes to put a better product in front of their fans.
The executives at NASCAR are not the only ones making changes in 2012. Many changes have taken place in the NASCAR garages. These changes will affect the outcome of the Chase in 2012.
Here are 10 changes made in NASCAR Sprint Cup series for the 2012 season:
Radio Communications
1 of 10The 2011 Daytona 500 was exciting with a virtually unknown driver, Trevor Bayne winning his first NASCAR Sprint Series race.
As much fun as it was to watch veteran Jeff Gordon push the young driver to victory, most of the fans were not happy with the two-car tandem driving that took place at the restrictor plate races in 2011.
Fans called the style of driving boring and preferred the old pack-style drafting.
Currently NASCAR is experimenting with changes to the car to keep drivers from driving in packs of two at the restrictor plate races in 2012.
One of the changes NASCAR plans to make is limiting or banning the radio communications between drivers during the race.
Last season each driver could preset a list of drivers he would like to communicate with during the restrictor plate races. Since the car in the back of the two-car pack could not see where he was going, this communication was critical to the success of the driver.
If NASCAR decides to ban radio communication between drivers during the race, driving in packs of two would be much more difficult.
Teams will have a chance to test out the changes to the car at Daytona International Speedway from January 14-16. (Speed TV will cover all of the NASCAR testing on those days)
Reducing the Rear Spoilers
2 of 10NASCAR does not plan to only use the ban of radio communication to prevent two-pack drafting. NASCAR is also experimenting with reducing the size of the rear spoiler on the car.
The reduction of the rear spoiler will allow less down force on the car and make it more difficult to stay tucked behind another driver.
A smaller spoiler may make it easier for a driver to see through the window of the car in front of his car, but it will not be necessary if the two-pack drafting is eliminated.
Reducing the Radiator Size
3 of 10The last change NASCAR is experimenting with to restrict two-car drafting is by changing the size of the radiator.
NASCAR plans to change the size of the radiator from five gallons to two gallons. This change would cause the cars to overheat more quickly during the race.
I am worried about this change. I know the teams will have an opportunity to experiment with the changes during the testing session next week, but I doubt any of the cars will be going anywhere close to 500 miles during the test.
I would hate to see the Daytona 500 ruined by numerous cars overheating during the race. I do trust NASCAR and know they will make the right decision.
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New / Returning Drivers to Sprint Cup
4 of 10The car is not the only part of NASCAR that will be changed in 2012. Some new drivers will be making their debuts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series in 2012.
The biggest name to enter NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series in 2012 is Danica Patrick. Patrick will be driving a limited schedule in the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevy. The sponsorship for the car will be Godaddy.com and the crew chief will be Greg Zipadelli.
NASCAR Nationwide series Champion, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be returning to the Sprint Cup series in a limited roll in 2012. He will drive the No. 6 Roush-Fenway Ford at the Daytona 500.
Aric Almirola will be returning to the NASCAR Sprint Cup series in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. Currently the U.S. Air Force is scheduled to sponsor the car.
Robert Richardson plans to run a full schedule in the No. 23 R3 Motorsports Chevy. The team has yet to secure sponsorship for the car.
John Wise will be the new driver for the No. 37 Larry Gunselman Ford. The team plans to run the full schedule and compete for the Rookie of the Year award. The team has yet to secure a primary sponsor for the season.
For a complete list of the drivers for each team, visit Jayski.com 2012 Team Chart.
Drivers on new teams
5 of 10Each season it takes a few weeks to get used to the new drivers in new cars. I cannot count how many times I saw the Budweiser car last season and said, “There goes Kasey Kahne.” It took me two or three weeks to get used to Kevin Harvick driving the Budweiser car.
It will be the same this year. Many drivers have switched teams and this is what makes the anticipation for the new season fun.
One of the biggest changes is with Kasey Kahne. Kahne will be driving the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy. Kahne will bring his crew chief, Kenny Francis with him from Red Bull Racing. His primary sponsorship in 2012 will be Farmers Insurance.
Clint Bowyer will move from Richard Childress Racing to the No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota. The primary sponsorship for Bowyer in 2012 will be Five Hour Energy Drink.
Kurt Busch was released from Penske Racing and will drive the No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevy in 2012. The team is still looking for a primary sponsor for the season.
A.J. Allmendinger will be replacing Busch at Penske Racing. Allmendinger will be driving the No. 22 Penske Dodge in 2012. The primary sponsorship for the car will be Shell-Pennzoil.
Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip will both be driving the No. 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota. The car will be sponsored by Aaron’s Dream Machine in 2012.
David Reutimann will be driving the No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Chevy in 2012. The car will be sponsored by Accell Construction.
Two drivers who drove for major teams in 2011 that are still looking for a ride in 2012 include Brian Vickers and David Ragan.
Crew Chiefs
6 of 10Drivers are not the only people changing in NASCAR in 2012. Many crew chiefs left their former teams to pursue jobs with new teams.
Darrian Grubb was released from his contract at Stewart-Haas racing after guiding the team to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. Grubb will be the crew chief of Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Toyota.
Replacing Grubb as the crew chief of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Chevy will be Steve Addington. Addington was the crew chief for Kurt Busch in 2011.
Taking Addington’s place as the crew chief of the No. 22 Penske Dodge will be Todd Gordon.
Brian Pattie will be the new crew chief for Clint Bowyer in the No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota.
Greg Zipadelli left Joe Gibbs Racing to reunite with Tony Stewart. Zipadelli will be the director of competition for Stewart-Haas Racing and serve as the crew chief the No. 10 car driven by Danica Partick.
Taking Zipadelli’s place as the crew chief of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Toyota will be Jason Ratcliff.
Kevin Harvick will also be receiving a new crew chief in 2012. The crew chief of the No. 29 Richard Childress Chevy will be Shane Wilson.
Drew Blickensdefer will serve as the new crew chief for Jeff Burton’s No. 31 Richard Childress Chevy.
Chris Heroy will be the new crew chief for Juan Pablo Montoya’s No. 42 Earnhardt-Ganassi Chevy.
Todd Barrier will be the new crew chief for Bobby Labonte’s No. 47 Daugherty Racing Toyota.
Paint Schemes
7 of 10If keeping track of what driver was in what car is not hard enough, fans most also keep up-to-date with the new paint schemes for the 2012 season.
The No. 5 car will change from Godaddy.com to Farmers Insurance.
The No. 17 car will change from Crown Royal to Best Buy.
The No. 20 car will have Dollar General as a sponsor in addition to Home Depot.
The No. 31 car will have Wheaties as a sponsor in addition to Caterpillar.
The No. 39 car will have Quicken Loans as a sponsor in addition to the U.S. Army.
The No. 99 car will have Fastenal and UPS as a sponsor in addition to Cheex-it.
Schedule
8 of 10NASCAR decided not to make any major changes to the schedule in 2012.
The only changes made in 2012 include:
Moving the Daytona 500 back a week to February 26, 2012.
The race at Kansas Speedway moved from June to April.
The race at Talladega was moved from April to May.
The first race at Dover moved from June to May.
The race at Kentucky Speedway will be a week before July 4, instead of a week after.
Teams calling it quit
9 of 10Some of the teams who raced in 2011 will not be back for the 2012 season.
These teams include:
Red Bull Racing is shutting down both of their teams. Last season Red Bull Racing had the No. 83 car driven by Brian Vickers and the No. 4 car driven by Kasey Kahne.
The No. 6 car at Roush-Fenway racing will not be back for a full season. The team does plan to run Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in limited races.
The No. 71 car driven by the 2011 Rookie of the Year, Andy Lally will not be back for the 2012 season.
NASCAR Commercials
10 of 10The last change to NASCAR are the commercials aired during the race.
Each offseason, many of the drivers spend time filming commercials for their sponsors. The Daytona 500 is quickly becoming like the Super Bowl in the NFL.
At each Daytona 500, NASCAR launches a new set of commercials for the upcoming season. It will be fun to see the new commercials for the 2012 season.
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