Top Three Stories For NASCAR In 2012

NASCAR was filled with storylines in 2011.  They ranged from the amazing to the downright disappointing.  We had a contender suspended for a race, a well-respected broadcaster ranted at with profanities, and the first championship decided by a tie-breaker rule.  And those examples were just in the last few races!

What crazy things will happen in 2012?  We just don’t know.  But what we do know is that there are several questions from last year that will be answered in 2012, and will be cause for conversation.

1.  Has NASCAR finally solved the mystery of the “Two Car Tango?”  For quite a

while now NASCAR has been trying to find a way to break up or severely limit the two car drafting style that has plagued the restrictor plate races.  Some readers will hate the fact that I wrote plagued, but tough. 

Two car drafting has taken the individual racer out of the equation.  No longer is a driver in full control of where he takes his car or whom he drafts with.  There are team orders, manufacturer orders, and only the last 20 laps are meaningful.

NASCAR has further limited the temperature allowed in the cooling system, a direction that rendered no benefit last season.  They have also allowed a larger restrictor plate which can give more throttle response and perhaps lessen the need to link up.  The most likely change to truly impact the driver’s ability, or rather their desire, to tandem draft is that they are taking away rear downforce by changing the angle and size of the rear spoiler.  This will make the two car draft less comfortable for the lead driver.

Will it work?  Ask me in February.

2.  Can the best loser in NASCAR become the next winner in NASCAR?  After losing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship to Tony Stewart by a tie-breaker rule, Carl Edwards said he would be a good sport about losing, and he has done a great job.  However, good manners aside, I wouldn’t anticipate Edwards holding back as the Chase approaches.

Carl Edwards has finished in the top 5 in 3 of the last 4 years, and although he may be glad to have been so competitive and have won so many races, any onlooker can tell he is hungry for one particular trophy.  There have been other great drivers to have gone without winning a championship, Mark Martin for example, but one has to believe that Carl will win one soon.

3.  Who made the best offseason changes?  One of the most common questions heading into any season is who made the most of their changes in preparation for the coming year.  Last year the big question was the Hendrick Motorsports shakeup.  This year there were changes from Champion Tony Stewart changing crew chiefs to Kurt Busch joining a 3^rd tier team (at best) after losing his job at Penske.  There were changes at MWR, RPM, EGR, and every other team from different crew chiefs or different drivers to additions of directors of competition or changes to crew.  Who made the best changes?  That we may not know until well into the 2012 schedule

What do you think will be the biggest question mark for the 2012 season?

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @the_Bumpdrafter or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bumpdrafter/273756966011479

Posted in: Kurt Busch,Mark Martin,Nascar,nascar news,NASCAR Race Results,Rick Hendrick,Roger Penske,Sprint Cup