KATIE COPPLE: MULTIMEDIA PORTFOLIO
  • HOME
  • Reels/Awards
  • Anchor/Reporter
  • Producer
  • Social/Digital
  • Resume
  • About Me
    • Blog
    • Contact Me
    • Photography

What to Watch For in 2013

1/22/2013

0 Comments

 
Thankfully for NASCAR fans, there really isn’t an off season to deal with. Yeah, there might not be any “real” racing, but there are award banquets, testing, and media stops between the Homestead Finale and the Daytona Opener. There are also the endless questions that arise when NASCAR changes or add a new element into the upcoming season. This year, there are quite a few. With a new car, driver changes, and even new drivers entering the series full time, there is going to be a lot to look out for and prepare for this season.

Let’s start with the new car. Called the Generation 6 or Gen-6 for short, this new car models the body style of its original show room sibling. This just means that the Ford Fusion on the track will look like the Ford Fusion at your nearby Ford Dealership, same with the Chevy SS and the Toyota Camry, thus bringing back the true meaning to “Stock Car” racing. There have been a few dilemmas that have already arisen with this new car, the biggest being evident in the second afternoon session of Daytona Winter Testing. Dale Earnhardt Jr, a Chevy, tried bump drafting with Marcos Ambrose, a Ford, which in turn ended up wrecking most of the drafting field. Turns out that the differences in front and rear bumpers cause a problem. Will this change the outcome of Daytona and Talladega? Is tandem drafting a thing of the past? We will have to wait and see.

There are going to be a few new faces to the Sprint Cup schedule as well as some familiar faces behind very different numbers. Matt Kenseth will no longer be behind the wheel of the Roush Fenway Racing #17. After 13 years, Kenseth has jumped ship to Joe Gibbs Racing to get behind the wheel of the #20, previously driven by Joey Jogano. Logano now moves to the famed #22 Shell/Pennzoil that was driven by A.J. Allmendinger. Kurt Busch will be in the 78 for Furniture Row Racing and Allmendinger will share a ride with Regan Smith in the #54 car for Phoenix racing which Busch drove previously. If all of that made sense to you, I applaud you. Thanks in part to NASCAR, drivers last names will now be on the windshield, making all of these driver changes a little less confusing.

The Sprint Cup Series will also have a pretty exciting Rookie of the Year battle this season as two-time Nationwide Series Champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr and the polarizing queen herself Danica Patrick battle it out for the coveted title. Stenhouse, who took over the #17 from Matt Kenseth, had only six Cup starts last season with his best being 12th at Dover. Patrick, an IndyCar transplant, completed two part-time and one full-time season in the Nationwide Series along with 10 Sprint Cup races last year. She was well on her way to a top-15 finish in Phoenix until she was turned into the wall by Jeff Burton and finished 17th, her best Cup finish to date. Many people have already dubbed Stenhouse as the winner but don’t let Patrick fall by the wayside. She has 3-time Champ Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman by her side to help her along, as well as Crew Chief Tony Gibson. Look for Patrick to surprise her fans, critics, and even herself this season. We won’t have a clear picture on who will win Rookie of the Year until well into the season. Will Stenhouse come out of top or will Patrick take the title right out from under him?

The battle for the Sprint Cup Series Championship will be interesting to watch. Will Defending Champion Brad Keselowski make it two in a row or will someone else come in and take it away. Can Mr 5-time himself Jimmie Johnson finally get his 6 Pack? Or will Kasey Kahne get his chance at glory? The battle for the title this year will be as exciting as ever and we might not know who will win until the checkered flag at Homestead.

The 2013 season will have its fair share of ups and downs as well as its shocking moments no one can predict (example: the Jet Dryer). So stay tuned, the Daytona 500 is right around the corner. My only piece of advice is this, don’t miss a minute of this season, you might regret it.

Original Post: Click Here


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

    Categories

    All
    10 Reasons Why Nascar Is Better Than Football
    2012 Nascar Championship Predictions
    2013: NASCAR Isn't Playing Games
    2014 Driver Team Changes
    2014 Rookie Of The Year
    8 Ways To Make The Off-Season Not So Awful
    A Drop In Attendance: What Can Be Done?
    Alex Bowman
    A Look At Talladega
    ASCAR Silly Season: Here Is What Happened
    A Track Schedule Fans Want To See
    Austin Dillon: A Champion Once More
    Bad Luck For Hendrick Motorsports
    Bank Of America 500 Recap
    BK Racing
    Brad Keselowski 2013 Preview
    Breaking Down Hendrick Motorsports
    Bristol: Who Needs To Perform
    Can 5-Time Get His 6-Pack?
    Carl Edwards Is Coming
    Chase
    Chase Elliott Joins JRM
    Coca-Cola 600 Predictions
    Crafton Closes In On First Championship
    Dale Earnhardt Jr Shows No Signs Of Slowing Down
    Danica Patrick
    Danica Patrick 500
    Danica Patrick Is Measuring Up
    Danica Patrick: Is She Prepared?
    Danica Patrick's Rock Star Weekend
    Danica's Impressive Martinsville Finish
    Dario Franchitti Announces Retirement
    Daytona 500: Johnson Won
    Daytona International Speedway
    Divers To Watch In 2013
    DIVORCE: Danica's Devastating News
    Does Gordon Still Have A Chance?
    Earnhardt Continues Strong Run
    Earnhardt's Famed No.3 Returns
    Gordon: Victorious
    Green White Checkers
    Importance Of Daytona Testing
    Is Jeff Gordon's Career Coming To An End?
    Is Johnson The Best Ever?
    Issues Early In Sprint Cup Practice At Martinsville
    Jimmie Johnson Comtinues To Shine
    Jimmie Johnson Gets His 6 Pack
    Jimmie Johnson Is More Than Just A Driver
    Joey Logano Vs Tony Stewart
    Johanna Long 2013 Preview
    Johnson: Can He Do It Again?
    Johnson Makes History; Closes In On Kenseth
    Johnson's Championship To Lose
    Johnson To Repeat In 2014
    Junior Wins MPD
    Justin Allgaier
    Kahne Hoping For A Better 2014
    Kevin Harvick's Future With RCR And SHR
    Kyle Busch: How Much Is Too Much?
    LIVE! Kansas Speedway
    Martinsville: Who To Watch
    Matt Crafton Captures 1st Championship
    Michael Schumacher
    NASCAR
    Nascar And Indycar Go Pink
    Nascar Announces Rule Changes
    NASCAR Secondary Team Sponsor Terms Announced
    Nationwide Series
    Nationwide Series Drivers Who Deserve Sprint Cup Series Rides
    New Chase Format
    NNS Championship Outlok
    NNS: Keselowski Wins At Texas
    No.3 NCWTS Team Penalized
    Notables At The Monster
    Opinion
    OPINION: What Busch's Move To SHR Really Means
    Patrick 8th But What About The Others?
    Penske Racing
    Phoenix Racing
    Qualifying
    RCR
    Ricky Stenhouse Jr: A Champion
    Ryan Newman To Rcr In 2014
    Ryan Truex
    Sam Hornish Jr. Thinking Positive In 2013
    Shr Offers Ride To Kurt Busch
    Shr Troubles During The Fresh Fit 500
    Southern 500 Winners And Losers
    Sprint All-Star Race Fan Vote Predictions
    Stenhouse Jr's Zestfully Fast Weekend
    Steve Letarte
    Stewart-Haas Racing
    Stewart-Haas Racing And Kurt Busch Make It Official
    Stewart-Haas Racing Gaining Ground
    Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Endless Movie References
    Talladega's Dark Horse
    Talladega: What Happened?
    Texas Recap: Johnson's Dominating Win
    The Rain-Delayed 499
    Tied At The Top
    Travis Kvapil Arrested
    Travis Pastrana OUT
    Truck Series
    Truex To Furniture Row Racing
    Wallace
    What Does Danica Patrick's Pole Win Mean For NASCAR?
    What To Watch For In 2013
    Who Is Miss Sprint Cup
    Who Is The Real Bad Luck Brian?
    Who Must Win In 2014

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • HOME
  • Reels/Awards
  • Anchor/Reporter
  • Producer
  • Social/Digital
  • Resume
  • About Me
    • Blog
    • Contact Me
    • Photography