Pressure combines high expectations, multiplies that by heightening stress levels and adds a dose of natural competitive nature. NASCAR drivers experience this on a daily basis—some much more so than others.

At some point, all drivers feel pressure, whether from sponsors, fans or the media. More often than not, it is a simultaneous onslaught of all three.

Some drivers, whether fortunately or unfortunately, feel more pressure than do others. Some drivers are under more pressure for past transgressions and/or the expected results of the 2012 season.

Here are a few drivers that will be subject to the greatest grind and the most constant scrutiny in 2012.

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Racin’ with Russ—the latest episode for Danica Patrick’s entry into stock car racing—has me and a lot of other race fans up in arms about how the diminutive princess of racing will gain entry into this year’s Daytona 500 without ever having been in a Sprint Cup race before!

Yes, she’s pretty and yes, she is certainly marketable, whether it be open wheel Indy cars or taxi-cab style stock cars. The sponsors, starting with GoDaddy.com, are forever lining up to back the photogenic 29-year-old driver.

For most aspiring drivers, talent is the barometer among other things to gain backing. That hasn’t necessarily been the case for Patrick.

Before she started her Indy car career with Rahal Racing, her latest win was not in Europe in Formula Ford or America in Formula Atlantic, but rather way back in the days of go-kart racing!

Yes, she led her first laps as a rookie at Indy and yes, she ultimately won an Indy race in Japan, where all the stars and moons lined up correctly with gas economy strategy and a confused Helio Castroneves letting her think she was a lap down!

Enter the stock car scene. She didn’t start with some so-so team with marginal equipment or even have to qualify on her own. No, she had some of the best stuff with JR Motorsports and always a guaranteed starting spot, leaving qualifying just a formality. Even during the weeks she was off, someone else drove the car in order to keep it among the guaranteed starters.

So, with Indy car racing in the rear view mirror, Patrick puts together yet another top shelf situation with Stewart-Haas Racing alongside mentors Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman and GoDaddy.com as backer.

But the corporate wheels have been in overdrive at SHR to figure out how to get Patrick into the big show with marginal worries. At one point, it was said Stewart debated about giving her the points status of his No. 14 and he would qualify on his own each week.

Surely there was a better idea for all concerned, well almost all concerned.

Enter Tommy Baldwin Racing. This relatively new team was certainly in position for a better idea, and this one is a doozy.

TBR driver Dave Blaney managed to stay among the top 35 in points last year with consistent runs. Patrick is slated to run 10 Sprint Cup races this year. New driver David Reutimann was slated for a partial season in the No. 36, so why not combine the two? And that’s just what they did.

Danica will drive 10 races starting with the Daytona 500 and when not in the car for the other 26, Reutimann will pilot the car and more than likely keep the car in the top 35, allowing Patrick to slide in and out of the drivers seat without worrying about qualifying for the shows.

What a deal!

Is this legit? Oh yeah, and while it appears to be a win-win for SHR, TBR and NASCAR in general, the fans are the losers in not being able to see what Patrick can do on her own merits, which includes the unbelievable pressures involved in making each show.

Surely this is points and money at work at the highest level. After all, with the latest record breaking purse for the Great American Race, Patrick will be guaranteed at least $200,000 just for taking the green flag.

I’ve been following racing for a very long time, and I can never remember a driver, male or female, been given so many opportunities financially and otherwise to be successful.

It shouldn’t take very long to see if this silver spoon method of getting into racing works or not. One thing is for sure, with the quality of equipment, personnel and resources (read money), there are no excuses available not to achieve success.

What do you think? Should Patrick be allowed to slip through the cracks and gain entry to the biggest race of the year despite never having taken a Sprint Cup green flag before?

Me? I say no, but I’m also from the old school that feels the fastest 43 cars on any given weekend should start the race regardless of points status or celebrity.

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The crop of drivers running for the NASCAR Nationwide championship is replete with young driving talent and full of the personalities and storylines that may make for one of the most competitive and exciting seasons we have seen in the second-tier series for some time.

Certainly the usual suspects from the Cup series will still make their appearances, sans Carl Edwards, who claims he will try and sit the season out.

Those same Cup drivers will also continue to dominate many of the races and steal wins from the series regulars.

The presence of some new blood in the series is likely to spice things up considerably.

We saw in the 2011 season that the young guns of the Nationwide series are gaining strength with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. being one of the hottest drivers. He is also last year's series champion.

The 2012 season should be full of exciting racing with the new generation of racers proving their worth, as they make the tough trek to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

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When the Caterham CT01 was launched, it became clear 2012 would not see the most beautiful cars.

With an ugly stepped nose and humps, it surpassed even the Williams-Walrus of 2004 as one of the most ghastly creations to ever leave an F1 factory.  Some quite accurately said it resembled a platypus, while I immediately thought of the gharial—a small crocodilian from the Indian subcontinent.

The step was due to a change in the regulations which stated the nose must be lower than on previous cars, but the height of the front bulkhead remained unchanged.  Caterham's solution was to draw inspiration from a child's animation of an earthquake.

The news that most teams would follow suit filled aesthetes the world over with dread.  The Ferrari was reported to have a hump on its nose and had been called ugly by the Italian press.

But when McLaren unveiled their challenger on February 1st, it appeared that not all was lost.  The English team usually make attractive cars, and the MP4-27 was beautiful.  They already ran with a lower front end prior to the change, so it didn't need to drop down so drastically.

The result is that the nose is without a hump, step or bump, and while the rear of the car tapers inwards in a rather unattractive manner, it doesn't detract from the overall appearance.  Things were looking up.

Then Ferrari and Force India launched their cars on February 3rd.  Oh dear.

The Ferrari F2012 features a flatter step than the gharial-eyed Caterham, which only serves to reinforce the unappealing look.  Hammering the nail into the coffin, the support struts holding the front wing in place are very bulky and the nose looks too blunt to ever be called beautiful.

The back end looks tidier, and the sculpting for the additional air intake on the engine cover is a nice touch, but the overall result is still painful on the eyes. 

Force India's VJM05 went for a design very similar to Caterham and made it 3-1 to the stepped noses.  Lotus will launch on February 5th, followed by three further teams—including Red Bull—on the 6th.

Can we at least count on Adrian Newey to produce an attractive car?

Probably not, but there's no harm in hoping.

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Ever since Tony Stewart put together a 10-race deal to bring Danica Patrick to the Sprint Cup Series this year, he had been looking for another driver to complete the full schedule in her No. 10 car.

It was a long-term move: Stewart wanted to make sure that Patrick would have enough owners' points to guarantee her a starting spot in the first five races of 2013, when she will run her first full Sprint Cup schedule.

Mark Martin, who had planned to shift back to a part-time schedule in 2012 anyway, came up in discussions, especially because Martin and Patrick shared sponsor GoDaddy.com last season.

But GoDaddy's Bob Parsons balked at funding the full season, and Martin landed a ride at Michael Waltrip Racing instead, splitting time with Waltrip himself.

For months, the names of other free agent drivers bounced around, but nobody had the money behind them to join Stewart's operation, or the talent to attract new sponsorship dollars.

Meanwhile, when Martin landed his ride with Waltrip, it came at the expense of a slumping David Reutimann.

The move came in November, when most of the good open rides were gone, seriously limiting Reutimann's options for the 2012 season. Eventually, Reutimann hooked up with Tommy Baldwin Racing for a 26-race schedule to run alongside Dave Blaney.

Here's where these two stories intertwine: Blaney put one of Baldwin's cars in the top 35 in owners' points last year, guaranteeing them a spot in the Daytona 500.

Stewart was looking to make a deal with another team to get Patrick into the race anyway, rather than shifting his championship-winning owners' points to her car and relying on his past champion's provisional to start the season.

Baldwin, like Stewart, runs Chevrolets, and Reutimann's 26 races plus Patrick's 10 would equal a full schedule.

And so, NASCAR's newest version of "the odd couple" was born.

The move benefits both sides in more ways than one, particularly Reutimann. As the team's primary driver (at least as far as starts go), he'll benefit from Stewart-Haas' technical and pit crew support; while Baldwin will remain his crew chief, he'll also get to work with Greg Zipadelli, Patrick's crew chief, and the man who led Stewart to his first two championships in 2002 and 2005.

Patrick gets to avoid what would have been a media disaster had she missed the Daytona 500, and gets to join a team of hard-working, less spectacular NASCAR lifers who bring a sense of racing's roots everywhere they go.

The team's performance, however, may be uneven, given the fact that this essentially remains two teams who simply share a number. Baldwin established a deal to run Earnhardt-Childress engines for 2012, while Stewart-Haas runs Hendrick engines, and what's under the hood will change on a race-by-race basis depending on who's in the car.

The other issue is finding sponsorship for Reutimann's 26 races. It's a shame that GoDaddy.com likely won't pick them up, because Reutimann gained plenty of experience doing fun and goofy advertisements while driving cars sponsored by Aaron's Rent.

A series of commercials depicting competition between Patrick and Reutimann would surely be a hit, but with the partnership likely only lasting one season, they may not have long-term viability.

But since the endgame is to get Patrick ready for 2013, pairing her with Reutimann on the track is far more important than on the TV set.

Reutimann should be the latest in a long line of assets that Patrick has had in her transition to stock cars, particularly because his dirt-track background offers her the style of coaching that she so desperately needs to succeed.

Experts have long been saying that Patrick will be a quality NASCAR driver once she learns how to muscle and slide around her car, the hallmarks of dirt-track racing.

If Reutimann works as her coach while he's not in the car, he can offer her far more than just owners' points. And if the two teams, one car approach doesn't lead to uneven results, they could even outperform Martin and Waltrip in owners' points in 2012.

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As the wraps come off the 2012 batch of Formula One cars, it is becoming increasingly apparent that this year’s stable will be one of the ugliest on record, as the constructors are forced to introduce cars with an unsightly kink in their noses.

F1 has, for the last decade at least, played host to a no-holds-barred battle of form versus function when it comes to car design—one that has left aesthetics cowering in a corner, lamenting its former glory days when looking good mattered more than a few tenths off the lap time.

As if the design teams weren’t handicapped enough by the computer jockeys and aerodynamicists insisting that the cars be covered with winglets, tuning vanes and other sticky-out bits that would be more at home on a science fiction movie set, now they have to deal with the FIA’s modified design rules.

In the constant pursuit of safety, the FIA has decided that everything would be much better if the nose of the F1 cars were closer to the ground. Thus, they have decide to insist that the maximum height in front of the bulkhead be 55cm—10cm lower than in 2011.

According to the experts, this will reduce the chances of cars launching themselves skyward—as was the case with Mark Webber in Valencia in 2010—in the case of hitting another car from behind.

It is also meant to be less dangerous in other collisions and give drivers better visibility in their ridiculously laid-back driving positions.

The problem is that the cars need the height behind the bulkhead to allow the driver room for the pedals and to give them a fighting chance at escape when things go pear-shaped.

The end result is all of the cars launched so far have noses uglier than that of the late, great Karl Malden.

Most manufacturers have gone for the easy solution and stepped the nosecone down in front of the bulkhead, but they have done it with varying degrees of finesse.

McLaren, whether by virtue of a sleek paint job or other means, seem to have gotten around the problem with a deal of style and panache, although it’s difficult to know how, given the severity of other constructor’s solutions.

Ferrari, on the other hand, has decided to take their inspiration from Lego, with a chunky transition to the lower nosecone. For a manufacturer who has a hard-earned reputation for producing elegant and beautiful cars, this one is a pretty miserable effort.

Of course, Ferrari isn’t alone. Caterham and Force India have also produced their own nausea-inducing assaults on the eyes.

No doubt we will also see other monstrosities being released over the coming days and weeks.

Let’s hope that the racing makes up for the cruelty of making us watch this motorsport freak show. We can dream, can’t we?

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A.J. Allmendinger has been the victim of a tumultuous five years since he left open-wheel racing to pursue NASCAR. His stints with Red Bull Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports proved to be less than gratifying, but he appears to have hit the jackpot with Penske Racing.

At the end of the 2011 season, the sponsor for the No. 43 driven by Allmendinger, Best Buy, jumped ship for the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford driven by Matt Kenseth.

The future looked less than secure for the driver known as the "Dinger," and one of the "silly season" predictions was that Kurt Busch would become the driver of the No. 43 after his departure from Penske Racing.

Allmendinger drove full-time in the Sprint Cup Series for the last three years, and though he didn't set the world on fire, he has made steady improvements each year, finishing 15th in the standings last season.

The ability to finish races and his continuous ability to improve his performance did not go unnoticed by Roger Penske.

After the 26th race of the 2011 season, Allmendinger was 13th in the points standings, 13 points behind 12th-place Denny Hamlin. Penske gave Allmendinger the opportunity of his racing career when he named him the driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, replacing Kurt Busch.

The new driver of the No. 22 referred to Penske as the "pinnacle."

"It's my time to go out and deliver victories," Allmendinger said. "I have big shoes to fill. Kurt is one of the best guys out there. For sure, when it comes to outright speed, outright driving a Sprint Cup car."

Indeed, he does have big shoes to fill, but his pairing with Brad Keselowski at Penske Racing seems to be a wise one. The two drivers are getting to know each other, with Keselowski providing leadership.

Allmendinger is much more of an extrovert than his teammate, but the two compliment each other nicely.

"I can honestly say this is the most excited I have been since coming to the Cup Series," Allmendinger said. "How can I not come into the garage every day and not have a smile on my face? This is the best situation I've had."

The Dinger was part of the winning team in the Rolex 24 at Daytona last weekend. In a three-hour stretch, he brought the car to Victory Lane with an aggressive bumping-and-banging, NASCAR-style finale.

Though driving a Grand-Am car on the infield circuit and high banks at Daytona is a great race,  it doesn't really translate over to NASCAR performance.

For Allmendinger, being part of the winning team in the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 was the biggest win of his career, giving him confidence heading into Speedweeks at Daytona.

During the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway, there seemed to be a permanent smile on Allmendinger's face, and his swagger was clearly evident with his crisp white shirt and black slacks that are standard Penske attire.

Last year Penske Racing had both of the team's drivers, Keselowski and Busch, in the Chase. Penske is proud of the strong sponsorship they have and the solidarity of the organization.

Now Allmendinger, who drove for "the King," Richard Petty, is driving for "the Captain." It just may be his time to shine as a Cup Series driver with top-tier equipment, and making the Chase might be a reality in 2012.

All quotes were obtained in person or by official press releases unless otherwise noted.

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The fourth week in January is a month from the start of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season in Daytona. It hardly seems like time to be touting eager drivers, owners and new paint schemes.

Yet scheduled activity at the hub of stock car racing in Charlotte was brisk for fans, drivers, crew chiefs, and media members.

Acceleration Weekend included the induction of new class of legends into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, as well as the return of the popular preview where fans get autographs and question opportunities with 50 NASCAR drivers, courtesy of Sprint.

For 230 fortunate media members, the new racing year started off with the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway. The previous day the National Motorsports Press Association held its annual convention and honored many members with awards.

Tony Stewart won the 2011 NMPA Richard Petty Driver of the Year Award.

Kerry Tharp, NASCAR senior director of competition communications, won the Ken Patterson Helping Others Award on Sunday night during the 2012 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Convention at the Embassy Suites in Concord, N.C.

NASCAR vice president and chief communications officer Brett Jewkes commented on Tharp.

“Kerry is a great communications professional, but more importantly he is a great human being and that is reflected in this award,” Jewkes said. “He loves our sport and the people in our industry and it shows in everything he does.”

Eleven top NASCAR teams scheduled breakfast, lunch and dinner events for media. Owners and drivers were on stage giving one-on-one interview opportunities after announcements.

So what happened in late January that will affect the 2012 season?

The tour started with 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion team Stewart-Haas Racing. Tony Stewart was jubilant coming off his successful season, and welcomed new crew chief Steve Addington from Penske Racing. But SHR’s biggest news was Danica Patrick’s arrival to NASCAR.

Patrick will race the No. 10 Chevrolet in Sprint Cup and the No. 7 car in Nationwide Series for JR Mortorsports. The No. 10 has since been moved to Tommy Baldwin Racing which will guarantee a starting spot in the Daytona 500 because TBR finished 33rd in 2011 points.

Danica Patrick

“I'm very fortunate to be in this position with this team and these people,” Patrick said. “I've been wanting to race stock cars full time for a little while here, and it's happening.”

The next stop for tour attendees was Joe Gibbs Racing which features drivers Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano for yet another season. The big news for JGR was the arrival of crew chief Darian Grubb for Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota. Grubb was fired from SHR despite winning the 2011 Sprint Cup championship. He could bring an advantage to Toyota as she was at Hendrick Motorsports and with Chevrolet for years.

Darian Grubb

“We’re having lots of fun, we’re having lots of meetings,” Grubb said. “We’re kind of setting the course for what we want to do. We want to go out there and be competitive.”

A bus trip to Michael Waltrip Racing soon revealed a stage set with Michael Waltrip quizzing tenured driver Martin Truex Jr. and new cast of Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin. Martin will race a limited 25 race schedule, but his mentoring is always a plus to other drivers. Bowyer and Truex seem to have a bond that was apparent before Bowyer left Richard Childress Racing for MWR.

Clint Bowyer

“I am very relaxed coming to MWR,” Bowyer said. “The comforting factor of coming to a new place is when the captain of the ship is someone I am comfortable working with.”

A breakfast meeting with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing revealed a frustrated Chip Ganassi who can’t tolerate the dismal results of the 2011 season for Juan Pablo Montoya (21st), and Jamie McMurray (27th). Neither Montoya nor McMurray could pinpoint factors that lead to the poor performance.

At Roush Fenway Racing the news was more of who was not there than who was there. Matt Kenseth was absent due to his mother’s poor health and Carl Edwards was on vacation. It was reported a week later that Kenseth’s mother died of Alzheimer’s disease.

Missing at Roush Fenway was David Ragan, dismissed after Homestead, and although his No. 6 will be piloted by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. the team will field three race cars all season.

Perhaps the biggest car news of the tour wasn’t from any team, but from an engaged manufacturer. Ford Racing unveiled its 2013 Ford fusion Sprint Cup race car and production car. Although all four manufacturers will be revealing their new race cars and production cars soon, Ford was the showcase at the tour.

The manufacturers approached NASCAR with the idea of fashioning the 2013 Sprint Cup car with comparable production models.

The results are stunning and practical. Sprint Cup cars will once again look much like manufactured street versions.

Jamie Allison, director of Ford North America Motorsports.

“Really, the project at Ford started when we introduced Mustang into [the NASCAR] Nationwide [Series],” Allison said. “But we always said that was a great first step. We, along with NASCAR and the [other] manufacturers, wanted to go further in the Sprint Cup Series.”

The next article in this series will examine more upbeat teams and NASCAR’s take on changes for 2012.

FYI, WIRZ is the select presentation of motorsports topics by Dwight Drum at Racetake.com. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained from personal interviews or official release materials provided by sanctions, teams or track representatives. Photo credit: Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com

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After a full season with the new points system in action in 2011, it is apparent that the system is pretty good.

It's easy to understand, and contributed to an unprecedented tie atop the championship standings last season.

However, the system could still be improved significantly.

Most criticisms of the new points system claim that it punishes poor finishes too severely (finishes often due to factors entirely beyond a driver’s control). However, I don't have a problem with that objection.

Everyone plays under the same rules. If you blow an engine and finish last in one race, you can always hope that the points leader will do the same the next week. Finishing poorly has always led to a bad points day. What’s wrong with falling behind when finishing last?

If anything, ALL points should be eliminated for finishes below a certain position to make this a moot point entirely, as is the case in Formula One, in which it doesn't matter whether you finish last or fifth-to-last. And that's not what most fans care about, anyhow.

The more fundamental problem is that winning itself (the ultimate goal of NASCAR and any sport) isn’t rewarded enough.

And that is my primary problem with the current NASCAR points system: Winning is not rewarded enough. I have two additional objections to the current points system which I will also discuss: Qualifying is virtually meaningless, and therefore boring; and it makes no sense for a driver to receive a bonus point for leading a lap under caution.

My proposed point scoring system is simpler than either the pre-2011 system or the current system, and addresses each of these three problems.

Here’s my idea: Only the top 20 finishers receive points, from 20 points (winner) down to one point (20th place). The winner receives a three point bonus. Both the driver who leads the most laps and the pole winner receive a one-point bonus.

If a driver wins the pole and the race while leading the most laps, he can score a maximum of 25 points.

Problem No. 1: The current points system does not properly reward winning. When announcing the new points system early last year, Brian France acknowledged, “The fans have been clear about one thing: They care about winning.”

If that is true, then why is the maximum number of points (48) only 14.3 percent higher than the minimum number awarded to second place (42)?

Under the old system, the highest points finish (195) was actually 14.7 percent higher than the minimum number of points for second place (170). Thus, winning is not actually rewarded any more than it used to be.

Under my proposed system, a maximum points day (25) would be worth 25 percent more than second place (20). This would serve two purposes.

First, it would give drivers extra incentive to "go for the win," rather than being content to have a "good points day." The best points day ought to be sitting on the pole, winning the race and leading the most laps, and the difference in points should be enough to make that matter!

Second, it would allow drivers to make up ground in the points not by racking up top-10s in Matt Kensethian fashion, but by gunning for the win in a way that would make racing fans get up and out of their seats.

Want to see more of what Tony Stewart did in the 2011 Chase? Then this is the point system for you!

Problem No. 2: Qualifying is virtually meaningless, since there is no reward for winning the pole and races are long enough that it's possible to win from any starting position.

Obviously, under my proposed system there would be a significant incentive to win the pole.

Drivers currently go out of their way to get a bonus point for leading a lap, and they'd approach qualifying seriously in order to gain a point in a way that would demonstrate actual ability.

It's worth pointing out that one point would be more meaningful in my system, worth 4 percent of the total for a maximum points day—one out of 25—as opposed to just 2.1 percent under the current system—one out of 48 points.

Problem No. 3: The bonus for leading a lap doesn't make sense. Why should a driver be rewarded for staying out a lap when the field is under caution?

Under my system, that oddity is taken away, while the meaningful accomplishment of leading the most laps (having the dominant car throughout the race) is retained.

There are a couple of additional advantages to my proposed points system.

The maximum number of points is 25, a nice round number, rather than 48 (can you say conspiracy theory?).

In addition, teams won't rush to put junked cars back on the track to log laps, getting in the way of the actual racing to pick up a few extra points when they have no hope of an actual decent finish.

Under my system, there would be no advantage to finishing, say, 32nd rather than 39th.

What do you think of my idea? Leave a comment to voice your opinion!

Follow Luke on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nascarfanumber1

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With less than a month until the start of the season, it's safe to say that the short offseason we had this year is officially done. And like always, with the offseason (and late season), comes driver changes.

While most of these changes aren't done quietly, it's hard to keep track of who will be in what car come 2012. So in the interest of making it easier for everyone, here are some of the driver changes for this year.

Most on here are high profile, and I'm sure I have missed some so feel free to add any driver changes you may know of in the comment section below.

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Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, amongst many others, did not just jump in a 900-horsepower stock car one day and decide to make it a career.

Rather, they started racing go-karts at a young age. Gordon's family even moved from California to Indiana to pursue his future endeavors as a youth.

The environment today is quite similar, and perhaps even more intense than before NASCAR exploded into the American mainstream. The World Karting Association is serious business, and these kids know it.

It is Little League for youngsters who dream of driving stock cars for a living.

Marshall Curry's documentary Racing Dreams, executive produced by Duane "The Rock" Johnson, follows three aspiring youngsters as they attempt to pursue racing as a profession, rather than just a hobby.

The film, released in 2009, is set to make its television debut in the PBS series POV on February 23rd. Curry, as a filmmaker, is no slouch: He is on the ballot this year for an Academy (Oscar) Award for his more recent documentary If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front.

Racing Dreams is a great film for any racing fan. It details the sacrifice, dedication and tribulation that all must coagulate in order for any aspiring youngster to make it to the professional levels of NASCAR.

Curry, admittedly, was not much of a racing fan before he began the project. However, during the making of the film, his alacrity grew for the sport.

When asked who his favorite driver is, he responded, "probably Tony Stewart." He elaborated that his (at the time of the filming) infant son had an orange, No. 20 pacifier. In 2007, Stewart drove the No. 20 under the primary sponsorship of Home Depot.

Anyone who has seen Steve James' 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams about basketball will appreciate Racing Dreams. Curry certainly has watched it and described that film as, "the greatest documentary ever."

Though the children's environments are completely different from inner-city Chicago's Hoop Dreams setting (two are from rural North Carolina, one is from the suburbs of Flint, Mich.), some similar themes are explored.

Jeff Gordon is featured in one scene where Josh, one of the film's subjects, gets the chance to ask questions to his hero at Sprint Cup race.

Even though Gordon was busy signing other autographs, he did take the time to answer Josh's questions, even though his answers were a bit short on detail.

No matter, Josh is thrilled by the whole affair, nonetheless.

And this is the essence of the movie. It shows younger viewers the hard road that a dream can pave when finances prohibit/hinder participation, while simultaneously reminding adults of a time in their youth when they dared to dream, unencumbered the ramifications of said dream.

Either way, it is a film with heart: it both breaks and warms.

David DeNenno is a Featured Columnist with Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained first-hand by the author.

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Polarizing personalities who wheel race cars in NASCAR's top series sometimes end up being the most respected and accomplished drivers as history unfolds. Controversial drivers make racing fun.

When it comes to controversy, Kyle Busch is perhaps the chart-topper in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing. He is a driver fans either love or love to hate.

He and his older brother, Kurt Busch, come from a racing family, with both sharing abundant talent to drive a race car—but both may be genetically predisposed to arrogance tempered by immaturity and unharnessed emotions.

The younger Busch faced the reality of using poor judgment when he was parked at Texas Motor Speedway after a dangerous racing incident in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Race last year.

He was unable to drive in the Cup race and sat atop his pit box watching his No. 18 M&M's Toyota make laps on the track. For a driver, that equates to a form of Chinese water torture.

Busch then came dangerously close to losing his major sponsor Mars M&Ms. Though he got back in the car for the remaining two races, M&M's was not on his car. They will return in 2012.

Busch found out quite quickly just how many ramifications there can be from a brief moment of poor judgement.

He learned how many people's lives could have been affected had he lost his sponsor, or perhaps been fired from Joe Gibbs Racing.

Those who love him and care about him showed their support, but their disappointment was hard for Busch to watch. Much of that disappointment came from his boss, Joe Gibbs.

Busch described the time after the Texas incident by saying, "Went through a lot for about a month after Texas." The experience had more impact on the driver than he expected.

Though the driver of the No. 18 knows he needs to watch his manners a bit more heading into the 2012 season, he claims he doesn't feel handcuffed.

The driver of the No. 18 knows he must balance his edgy personality with the professionalism expected by his sponsors. It is not an easy task for this driver.

Busch is driven to win, and win he does. His record shows 23 Cup wins and he has the most wins of any driver in the NASCAR Nationwide series and 30 victories in the truck series.

Knowing his accountability to JGR and the sponsors, plus operating Kyle Busch Motorsports and the sponsorship duties involved there, can only make Busch more responsible and mature.

At KBM, the younger Busch is partnering with his older brother to run a NASCAR Nationwide team sponsored by Monster Energy.

The older Busch vows to treat his boss with respect and allow him to call the shots, though he did say it would be easier calling him "dude." Being the boss of a Sprint Cup champion should challenge him.

Running this Nationwide team is a big deal. The edgy drivers with the edgy sponsors will run for the owner's championship and will be a really big threat to consistently win races.

Kyle Busch Motorsports is a state of the art operation that Busch has built himself; it wasn't handed to him. It takes ability to deal with others who can help him grow that operation which can only raise his maturity level.

Busch did not go the way of a sports psychologist after his variety of troublesome incidents in the 2011 season.

It seems the reality check he got was adequate along with the guidance of Joe Gibbs, J.D.Gibbs and, of course, his wife, Samantha Busch, who has a degree in psychology.

Kyle Busch has always felt that if he didn't win, he didn't have a job. He said, "I need to win for job security." It is self-inflicted pressure that leads to his high emotional level and passion to win.

Finishing second just means he is a loser in his mind and he must find a way to suck up not winning and be more gracious for whatever finish he gets.

NASCAR needs heroes and villains, so we need personalities like the Busch brothers to add to racing excitement.

The JGR driver is very confident this year that he and crew chief Dave Rogers will have wins in the Sprint Cup series. His focal point is on Cup racing and winning the series championship.

Will he get involved in some on-track unpleasantness? More than likely he will. Kevin Harvick just plain doesn't like him and may test his ability to keep his temper in check.

When we look back at some of the sport's top drivers, like Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip, we must remember how untamed they seemed and the dislike they felt from other drivers and fans early on.

As history plays out, we may well find Busch in the category of those drivers. He may also become an owner in the big leagues with one or more Cup teams and a driver with multiple Cup titles.

Busch, 26, is still young and has his best years ahead of him. He has accomplished a great deal already, and in the years to come, who knows what he will be able to do.

Busch will rein in his attitude just enough to start regaining respect from his peers, sponsors and any fans who may have jumped ship.

We need drivers who express their personalities on and off the track because it makes NASCAR racing more entertaining.

So will he be able to keep his attitude in check during the 2012 season? We can only hope not totally, because that unpredictability is part of his persona.

All quotes were obtained in person or by official press releases unless otherwise noted.

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NASCAR's top series has raced at many different racetracks countrywide. There are currently 24 different tracks that are active on the Sprint Cup schedule.

The top NASCAR series formed in 1949, and has run races at 168 different tracks. Many of these tracks have been leveled and housing developments are in their places, but these tracks should not be forgotten. Some of these tracks played an integral part in what made the sport of auto racing what it is today.

Lets take a look back at some of these tracks and why they are so infamous in the NASCAR history books. 

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The Grand-Am Rolex 24 at Daytona in late January was a golden moment for the 50th anniversary, with almost golden Florida weather, cool nights and warm days, too. Over 200 race car drivers from around the world swapped seat time so their car could finish the grueling race.

The 1440-minute, 761-lap (or 2709.16 miles) race was a dog fight during the last hour and an intense chase the last few minutes.

It appeared for many late-hour laps that Scott Pruett in the No. 01 BMW Riley machine was the car to beat, but the loss of first and second gears sent him to pit road. Pruett faded upon his return to the track.

Then A.J. Allmendinger bumped the No. 8 Starworks Motorsports Ford Riley, and once his No. 60 got around the No. 8, the margin of separation grew to 11 seconds as the laps and time wound down.

Allmendinger took the checkered flag with a 5.198-second margin of victory.

The Rolex 24 win is always a golden moment, but this year it celebrated that treasured 50th year as well.

The 2012 Rolex 24 at Daytona Podium

First place: Oswaldo Negri, John Pew, AJ Allmendinger and Justin Wilson in the No. 60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Ford Riley

Second place: Pole-winning No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Ford Riley and Ryan Dalziel, Alex Popow, Lucas Luhr, Allan McNish and Enzo Potolicchio

Third place: The No. 6 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley with Michael McDowell, Jorge Goncalvez, Gustavo Yacaman and Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Driver Challenge winner Felipe Nasr.

Seeking answers for fans is always a noble cause. When this question about transference surfaced during the testing and running of the prestigious 24-hour race, this reporter sought answers.

A suspected byproduct of racing Grand-Am sports cars—seat time experience helping drivers of other series—does not appear to be valid.

NASCAR drivers echo the notion that not much transfers from Rolex to Sprint Cup.

Juan Montoya

“I don’t think it does,” Montoya said. “It’s a fun race to start the year. All the drivers. Good friends. Good memories. It’s just a fun race. It’s exciting because we want to come here just to win.”

Montoya’s NSCS teammate seemed to agree about passing on of any technique.

Jamie McMurray

“This doesn’t have to do anything with NASCAR Cup racing other than it’s fun,” McMurray said. “It’s one of the biggest races that you can win. I’m excited to be here and nowhere else other than to be the winner of the Rolex 24.”

Even though a Daytona Prototype may seem sleek and low profile like an IndyCar, the 2011 IndyCar champion agreed with NASCAR drivers about transfer.

Dario Franchitti

“No not really, Franchitti. “But we have fun doing it. It’s a bloody difficult challenge if you want to win it, but we have fun. You have to take it seriously, but we have fun.”

If one believes in momentum, a win in the Rolex 24 at Daytona might signify more winning to come. NASCAR’s A.J. Allmendinger may not take technique from sports car racing to stock car racing, but winning the Rolex 24—especially the 50th anniversary race—is special.

A.J. Allmendinger

“There's no similarities when it comes to...being in a Cup car,” Allmendinger said. “Back when I ran Champ Car it was more similar.

“You ask anybody up here, it's not what I learned or technique, it's just confidence. You win a race, especially as big as the 50th anniversary of the Rolex, it's just confidence, and that'll take a race car driver or anybody for that matter in any career further than he can expect.”

Allmendinger’s teammate in Grand-Am will return to IndyCar, where the cars are very different.

Justin Wilson

“It's all about confidence,” Wilson said.

“Hopefully that will snowball for the rest of the season. But as far as what did we learn, what can we transfer over, there's a lot of techniques that you pick up driving these cars that's very, very different to an open-wheel car, just the way you treat the brake pedal, the way you treat the spotter pedal, you've got a lot more weight, no downforce and less grip. So you've got to be very patient.”

So, although not much seems to transfer from driving in a Grand-Am sports car race to other types of racing, fun seems to be a constant factor.

And winning always soothes the competitive spirit within any race car driver.

FYI WIRZ is the select presentation of motorsports topics by Dwight Drum at Racetake.com. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained from personal interviews or official release materials provided by sanctions, teams or track representatives. Photo credit: Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com

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The best part about winning the NASCAR championship is that you are the top driver in the sport for a year. The bad part about winning the championship is that every other team is trying to take away your title.

Winning a championship in NASCAR is very difficult. Many great drivers raced for years and never won the championship (see Mark Martin). As difficult it is to win one championship, winning back-to-back championships is even harder (unless your name is Jimmie Johnson).

This year Tony Stewart will try to defend his NASCAR championship. During the offseason Stewart made changes in his organization to help him stay on top of the sport. Stewart added Steve Addington as his new crew chief and his old crew chief at Joe Gibbs Racing, Greg Zipadelli will serve as the Competition Director for Stewart Haas Racing. It will be interesting to see if these changes make Stewart’s team stronger, or if they backfire on him. One thing is for sure, the other teams want his championship.

Here is a list of 10 drivers I think will compete for Stewart’s championship in 2012...

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A collaborative partnership has been announced by Stewart-Haas Racing that will have Tommy Baldwin Racing field the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet Impala for all 10 of Danica Patrick's NASCAR Sprint Cup races in 2012.

The alliance will guarantee a starting spot for Patrick's Cup racing debut in the 54th annual Daytona 500 on Feb. 26.

Dave Blaney drove the TBR No. 36 Chevrolet to 33rd place in the points during the 2011 season and that car will become the No. 10 car with David Reutimann driving the remaining 26 races that Patrick is not driving.

Matt Borland, vice president of competition for Stewart-Haas Racing said, "It's a Chevrolet team led by a racer who knows every inch of a racecar. That kind of technical expertise, along with a company mindset that is similar to ours, provides the ideal environment for Danica to learn and succeed."

TBR was formed as a single-car team in 2009 and has matured to a two-car team for 2012 with a NASCAR Nationwide team as well.

Tommy Baldwin is a former crew chief who secured five Cup series wins including the 2002 Daytona 500 with Ward Burton behind the wheel.

This agreement means TBR will work with GoDaddy.com and Baldwin stated, "Look how they've supported Danica over the last six years. GoDaddy is a sponsor who knows how to get things done right."

Baldwin maintains a hands-on presence and will work closely with Greg Zipadelli, director of competition at SHR. Both men have similar backgrounds, having grown up in the Northeast.

Zipadelli said, "We both grew up together and competed against each other in Modifieds and we did the same thing when we got to Sprint Cup."

He went on to say, "To finally be able to work with each other and help Danica Patrick make a successful transition from Indy cars to stock cars is a challenge we're both looking forward to."

The 2012 season is all about getting Patrick comfortable on a variety of tracks with as much seat time as possible.

Nine of the 10 races have been announced for the GoDaddy.com driver. The remaining race will be announced later in the season based on need and competitive reasoning.

Tony Stewart, co-owner of SHR, said, "Our goal with Danica is to maximize her 10 races so that she's as prepared as she can possibly be for a full-time Sprint Cup schedule in 2013."

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In late 2004 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, two big drivers and two big sponsors missed out on the race.

Scott Wimmer, driver of the No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge, and Scott Riggs, driver of the No. 10 Valvoline Pontiac, missed the race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

This Atlanta race was the 34th of the season. The numbers 22, 10 and 4, which were being driven by Mike Wallace at this time, all missed the Atlanta race. However, they had attempted the previous 33 races of the then Nextel Cup Series schedule.

NASCAR took issue with the big sponsors of Caterpillar and Valvoline missing races. So in order to "protect" these sponsors, NASCAR makes sure the sponsors make races.

NASCAR decided to institute a new rule which went into effect at the start of the 2005 season. The rule stipulated the teams in the top 35 in owner's points are guaranteed a starting spot in the upcoming races. This way teams don't need to be fast every week, and can still make the race.

In a sport that is based on speed, it didn't make a lot of sense to me but I decided to live with it  knowing what was going to happen next.

Everyone's concern was that these points were going to be sold and the big teams would buy them out.

But NASCAR said that was not going to happen. They were going to police this.

Now I was born in 1989, and I remember the tail end of the 1992 season. I know the history of this sport very well. And I know what NASCAR policing rules means—some people get away with things and others can't.

But hey, I was giving them the benefit of the doubt.

For a year and half after the rule was passed, the issue of policing never came up. That was until halfway through the 2007 season.

Ginn Racing, which had purchased MBV Motorsports, were running the No. 01 team driven by Mark Martin/Aric Almirola. Glinn Racing was also running the No. 13 team driven by Joe Nemechek, and the No. 14 team driven by Sterling Marlin. However, it was struggling financially.

Dale Earnhardt, Inc., now owned by the late Dale Earnhardt's widow, Teresa Earnhardt, stepped in to "purchase" Ginn Racing.

DEI had the No. 1 car driven by Martin Truex, Jr., the No. 8 driven by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and another car that was not in the top-35, Paul Menard's No. 15.

When the DEI/Ginn merger took place Menard's No. 15 team got the points from Ginn's No. 13 team, and kept running the No. 01. NASCAR's four car limit forced DEI to run No. 14 points. So there was talk that the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team, lead by driver Kenny Wallace, was going to buy those points.

It didn't seem like NASCAR liked that. DEI bought Ginn and they were going to police this tops-35 rule.

So far they were policing this rule, but that all changed in the middle of 2008. From that point forward there has been 11 other questionable point swaps.

Michael Waltrip Racing had three sets of points in 2008, the No.'s 55, 44 and 00. A new organization known as JTG Racing, who was running Fords in 2008, somehow became the No. 00 at MWR.

JTG Racing didn't run under the MWR banner, and didn't even run the No. 00, but because the driver was from Australia and had big backing, NASCAR allowed it.

TV ratings in Australia are essential to this sport's survival. But honestly, if Brian France had to defend this, those words would probably come out of his mouth.  

DEI ran one more year as a four-car organization before sponsorships left and funding fell out from under the team. Menard left and went to Yates Racing, US Army went to Stewart-Haas Racing and Budweiser and Dale Jr. also left the team.

They merged their remaining sponsor/driver combination with another organization that was having sponsorship problems.

Chip Ganassi Racing stepped up and came to the rescue and purchased DEI. CGR had points from their No. 41 and 42 entries. Now as well as all four, No. 01, 1, 8 and 15, from DEI. Six sets of points.

Ganassi decided to hang on to the No. 42, 1 and 8 for 2009. They ended up selling their points from the No. 15 team to Richard Childress Racing's new No. 33 team. Wow.

To get past it they said that Childress had bought DEI. But didn't Ganassi? Yes. He did. So why should the No. 33 get those points?

Oh, I know why, because Cheerios had left Petty Enterprises, the operation that put NASCAR Racing on the map, to go to RCR and NASCAR didn't want that big sponsor missing a race.

Policing it? Good job.

That wasn't the end either.

Then the new EGR team sold the No. 01 points to an organization known as Front Row Motorsports and their No. 34 entry. Bobby Ginn was the listed owner of the 34 team.

Isn't this is supposed to be policed?

How can DEI/CGR/Ginn Racing now become RCR and FRM? This is not policing the rule. Now this rule has just become a free for all. And it didn't end there.

In the same off season, Bill Davis Racing, a Toyota team, closed up shop, selling their engine department. Penske Racing was in search for points since they didn't hire anybody better than Sam Hornish Jr. Yet, because of Sam's name earned in a different racing series, NASCAR allowed Penske Racing to "purchase" Bill Davis Racing. Not one chassis was exchanged because Penske runs Dodges, but this was still allowed by NASCAR.

This is their version of policing the top-35 rule.

Also during this same time period, Yates Racing purchased Hall of Fame Racing and the Yates points were spread between the No. 96 and 98 teams. That's fine. I only stated this to show what happens to these points later. Let's keep going.

Before the 2010 season, Furniture Row Racing, who was using Hendrick engines gets points from Richard Childress Racing's No. 07 team which had lost its sponsor, Jack Daniels.

Ginn's No. 13 points that kept the No. 15 team in, that went to the 33 to keep the 07 in, is now a part of the No. 78 team.

This is all making sense. Their policing is working. The big teams are not getting bigger.

Remember those Yates points? Well, Yates Racing lost Paul Menard to Richard Petty Motorsports when they merged with Yates Racing. Menard took one of the RPM points. But RPM bought the Yates team and those points should've stayed there. But of course, they didn't.

Front Row Motorsports, which was starting two new teams, buys the Yates points for their No. 37 and 38 teams. So, did Front Row Motorsports buy chassis from Yates? Let's not fool ourselves. No, they didn't! But they did switch to Ford.

So before the 2011 season, it gets even crazier.

Paul Menard leaves the Yates team and joins Richard Childress Racing. Originally RCR thought that they were going to get the No. 98 points as Richard Petty Motorsports was downsizing to two teams.

But NASCAR stepped in. So instead, RCR "bought" TRG Motorsports' No. 71 team and then TRG got the No. 98 points. How that is any different is beyond my understanding.

Also, RPM had another set of points, those of the No. 19 car formally driven by Elliott Sadler. What happened to those points? The Wood Brothers Racing team was able to acquire the points from the No. 19 team. The Wood Brothers must've bought Richard Petty Motorsports or merged with them? Oh wait—they didn't.

But what's happening in 2012 is the worst example and abuse of a top-35 rule in the history of the top 35 rule. It is a blatant attempt by NASCAR to put in a driver who otherwise couldn't get his/herself into the Daytona 500.

Danica Patrick is a beautiful woman, but can she drive a Sprint Cup Series car with the best drivers in the business? That has yet to be seen.

But yet, NASCAR thinks that by fudging the rules and having Tony Stewart's No. 10 team form an alliance with Tommy Baldwin Racing and get Patrick into the Daytona 500 is somehow, for the best interest of the sport. That's unbelievable.

Brian, Mike, Robin, John and the rest of NASCAR, it’s in the best interest of their pockets.

Fans are leaving, TV ratings are falling, racing is getting worse, and NASCAR's way of trying to make it better is to anger fans more. They're doing a good job.

But let's just look at the bigger picture. The top-35 rule has run its course. Let's find something else. NASCAR has made the points system easier for the fans to understand, so let’s have a qualifying scenario which is easier for fans to understand.

And NASCAR, instead of promoting Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr., can we please promote drivers who run up front and win? Drivers such as Jimmie Johnson or Carl Edwards?

Why doesn't NASCAR paint the same picture for those drivers that it does for the other two?

If Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards were promoted, and were as popular as Dale Jr. and Danica, there would be no need for a top-35 rule at all. Those guys wouldn't miss races. Dale Sr. never did.

What's the sport going to do in 10 to 15 years when Dale decides to hang it up and Danica is in IRL and hasn't been in NASCAR in seven to 12 years? Good question. I don't know either!

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Adrian Sutil has been convicted of causing grievous bodily harm to Lotus (then Renault) director Eric Lux in a Shanghai nightclub last April.

The incident involving a champagne glass left Lux bleeding from a neck wound which required  24 stitches.  The German driver was handed an 18-month suspended sentence and fined €200,000 (£167,224; $264,092) by a Munich court.

Sutil had admitted to unintentionally injuring Lux—saying he had meant to simply throw his drink over him and accidentally released the glass.   But the court decided he had intentionally caused the injury to Lux.

GBH (or the German equivalent) is a serious offence, and Sutil can consider himself lucky to have received a "celebrity sentence" of a massive fine rather than a spell behind bars.

The fine is a drop in the ocean for Sutil, who had offered a greater sum to settle the issue out of court.  The real damage is to his future in F1.

Leaving the court, Sutil's statement to reporters indicated he may believe his career is over.

Maybe I will take some time out now.  Maybe I will do something completely different, think about things in peace.  At least I shook Mr (Eric) Lux's hand.  That's a good thing.

Whether or not the assault charge hanging over his head contributed to his failure to land the Williams seat alongside Pastor Maldonado in 2012 is open for debate.  It seems likely that it did.

But now the case has been decided against him, the shadow it cast has lengthened into 2013 and beyond.

He'll never be an all-time great, but few would doubt he possesses sufficient talent to deserve a drive.  In uncompetitive cars, numerous points finishes and skilled performances marked him out as a worthy competitor.

However, securing a seat in F1 isn't only a matter of talent.  With a conviction for a serious offence now hanging firmly around his neck, it's unlikely any of the image-conscious teams on the grid would touch Sutil.

He will also have lost his personal sponsors, without whom securing a drive would be even more difficult.

Though Sutil is no longer a young, up-and-coming driver, he is by no means an elder statesman. 

But his future looks bleak, and at the age of just 29, it's likely he has driven his final race in F1.

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Of all NASCAR drivers who were in peril of not getting the chance to continue racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Brian "The Sheriff" Vickers has had the worst time finding a new ride after the dissolution of his old team, Red Bull Racing.

Most, if not all, other drivers who had no contract for 2012 have found a new ride. Not all of them are prestigious, but beggars cannot be choosers.

A.J. Allmendinger was signed fairly soon after the sudden departure of Kurt Busch. Busch was then signed to a new team. David Reutimann, kicked to the curb by Michael Waltrip Racing in favor of Mark Martin, has even been signed to race again in the Sprint Cup.

David Reutimann? Not to mention David Ragan in addition to that.

Vickers is not a NASCAR pushover. He has made the Chase. He has won races—more races than most of these drivers, with the notable exception being Kurt Busch.

He even won a battle with a serious medical condition that sidelined him for the entire 2010 season. Perhaps that is what makes owners a tad hesitant to sign Vickers; they fear losing him midseason to a relapse of a medical emergency.

That is purely speculative.

Another reason may be Vickers' relatively dismal performance in 2011. Whereas his teammate at Red Bull Racing, Kasey Kahne, persevered and fought hard to do his best with an organization that announced it would be defunct in 2012, Vickers could not muster the same panache.

Actually, he finished out the year in seeming opposite fashion of Kahne: While Kahne went on to a race during the Chase, the only notable accomplishment of Vickers was to, more or less, ruin the championship hopes of Matt Kenseth at Martinsville and Phoenix.

In essence, Kahne showed some character while Vickers dove into the moral gutter of a useless vendetta against a Chase contender.

It is difficult to say whether that is the particular reason for "The Sheriff" to be without a ride at this point in 2012. However, it may have led some owners to veer away from putting Vickers in their car.

Whatever the exact causes, Vickers is certainly a victim of the economic climate; there are simply too many drivers and too few cars.

In 2012, Vickers has drawn the short end of the stick, as he is the highest-profile driver that has yet to find a job.

Unfortunately, "The Sheriff" may have to leave town for a year in order to make a triumphant and authoritative return.

As it stands, Vickers' website still reports that no luck has yet been had in relation to his 2012 NASCAR participation.

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Predicting who is going to win the NASCAR championship is not as hard as predicting who will win the championship in other sports.

Winning a NASCAR championship depends on the talent of the driver, the equipment of the team and the financial stability of the team. There are only about 15 drivers who fall into this category. Picking which one of those 15 drivers will win is the tricky part.

There are many different websites providing odds to win the NASCAR championship in 2012. Most of them have different drivers at the top of their list. I chose to use TheSpread.com for this article. I have noticed in the past that this website gives the odds consistent with other top betting sites.

So, who is going to win the championship in 2012? Here is a list of the drivers, their odds based upon TheSpread.com and my analysis of the odds.

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We're standing on the precipice of February, and with the second month of the year comes the start of the American motorsport calendar in earnest.

The Rolex 24 at Daytona has been won (by a team that included NASCAR driver A.J. Allmendinger), and Daytona Speedweeks are now in full force as NASCAR teams prepare for the Bud Shootout, Gatorade Duels and the crown jewel of the calendar, the Daytona 500.

Most teams, by now, have settled on their plans for the season, picking up drivers and filing their entry blanks for full-time or part-time schedules.

But in an owners' market, with some big-name teams folding (Team Red Bull comes to mind) or contracting (Jack Roush and Richard Childress are among the owners to do so), and only underfunded privateers replacing them, plenty of drivers are still sitting on the sidelines right now, looking for sponsorship or right opportunity to present itself.

Don't be shocked if (or when) these drivers show up on one of the top three NASCAR circuits. For now, though, all 10 are waiting in the wings to seize a strong opportunity. Without further ado:

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When will Dale Earnhardt Jr. win again?

Will he ever be a factor in the Chase?

Does he still have the talent worthy of driving a Hendrick Motorsports race car?

As NASCAR heads into 2012, there are—as usual—a multitude of questions swirling around the sport's most popular driver. Naysayers are out in full force, voicing doubts over Dale Jr.'s ability to live up to expectations that, at times, have been sky-high.

Several years of underwhelming performance have given Junior's critics plenty of ammunition. Comparing him to Dale Sr., they denigrate his abilities and claim he is a failure.

Of course Junior will never be a seven-time champion like his father, but his reputation could certainly use bolstering. And that process needs to start right away—the 37-year-old isn't getting any younger.

So what does Dale Jr. really need to accomplish in 2012?

Win a race, first and foremost. It's that simple.

It has been nearly three years since Junior took the checkered flag in a Cup race, and that Michigan fuel-mileage victory is growing ever more distant in the past. Despite agonizingly close calls in 2011, the winless streak continues.

Simply put, the 2012 season will be a failure for Dale Jr. without a race win, short of an improbable winless championship run.

Second, make the Chase again. Prove that the consistency we saw in the No. 88 camp in 2008 and 2011 was no fluke.

Making the Chase is essential if Junior doesn't want to be the HMS laggard. Rick Hendrick has stacked his team with top-notch drivers from top to bottom.

Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon are perennial championship contenders, while newcomer Kasey Kahne is finally getting the opportunity to show us what he can do in first-class equipment. Junior had a better year than HMS teammate Mark Martin in 2011, but Martin will be driving part-time for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2012.

Junior will be the first to tell you that he needs to do better if he can't get past the bottom rung on the totem pole of his own team. He's certainly capable of avoiding that label and that's one of the things he needs to accomplish this season.

Third, stay in the championship conversation through the halfway point of the Chase.

Junior doesn't have to win a championship this year, but showing he can be relevant in the title hunt at the end of the year will go a long ways toward restoring his image as an elite NASCAR driver.

Look at what Kevin Harvick has done the last couple of years. In 2009, Harvick finished 19th in the standings, and many fans wrote him off as finished. But the last two years, Harvick has finished third in the championship standings. He's now considered a top driver and a favorite to win the Cup championship—despite never having done so in his career.

Dale Jr. had a solid seventh-place points finish in 2011, and if he can back that up with a similar finish this season, fans will be forced to take him seriously when thinking of championship contenders, whether or not they belong to Junior Nation.

If Dale Jr. can accomplish these three things—win a race, make the Chase, and stay relevant in the title discussion deep into the Chase—he will have a successful season.

Junior is comfortable in his own skin and being his own man. But at the same time, he is a consummate professional. He has personal goals and aspirations, and as a competitor he isn't content to see others take the glory while his proven talent goes to waste.

Beyond that, Junior wants to live up to the expectations of his legions of fans. Expect to see great things from the No. 88 team in 2012.

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After failing to complete the "six pack" in 2012, five-time consecutive Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson's season may have seemed like a relative failure.

He finished lower (sixth place) than any other year in his Sprint Cup career. He also won fewer times than in any prior season where he raced in all 36 scheduled events.

But Johnson's relative failure seemed to actually aid NASCAR in declaring 2011 an overwhelming success. Recently, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France was able to deliver a speech that basically expressed that the biggest challenge for 2012 is repeating 2011.

This is a fairly decent position to be in when speaking of an entire sport. Few other organizations could say the same. With the possible exception of the NFL, no organization was in such better health at the end of 2011 compared to 2010.

Johnson may have had a hand, indirectly, in this. For the first time in years, he did not truly contend for a title.

Of course, he made the Chase and certainly turned heads when he dominated the field for a Chase victory in Kansas.

This turned out to be perfect: In doing this, Johnson was able to pull his hefty fanbase back into the mix while simultaneously scaring fans of other drivers into believing that, even when not at his best, Johnson could still be a threat to take away a title from their driver.

This drama ensued until Johnson's rough crash at Charlotte a few races later. This was, for better or worse, the precise moment when most NASCAR fans realized that it would indeed be crowning a new champion as 2011 closed up shop.

Make no mistake, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards made major contributions to the success of 2011 by engaging in a now-classic Chase battle that was historically decided on the last lap of the season (and even then, it was a tie).

But Jimmie Johnson should be credited, willingly or not, on his own account for having a solid season where he simply was not the best the sport had to offer.

Undoubtedly, other factors contributed to the overall success of NASCAR's 2011 season. However, by Johnson coming up short, the only thing that could have gone better in 2011 was the complete eradication of tandem drafting at restrictor plate races.

Well, at least NASCAR has one thing to tweak in 2012. The same can be said for Johnson and his colleagues on the Lowe's No. 48 Chevrolet team at Hendrick Motorsports.

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Racin’ with Russ - After spending the past seven weeks explaining the many changes in store for the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series, I thought I’d hit some of the highlights in the same vein related to the Camping World Truck series. I’ll also throw in my predictions as to how well the various combos will fare.

Ty Dillon will fill the seat of his brothers (Austin) championship ride in the familiar black No. 3 Chevy. This talented young man comes off seven wins and an ARCA title with a few truck starts under his belt. I think between his natural talent and the Childress team resources, a few wins and a shot at a title are not out of the question.

With Monster Energy drinks moving their backing over to the Busch brothers Nationwide ride, that leaves Ricky Carmichael wondering how to pay for his No. 4 truck ride. Questions remain at this time.

Veteran truck racer and multi-time champion Jack Sprague may be back in the saddle in a Randy Moss No. 5 Toyota truck. Stay tuned. Could be a good combo.

Justin Lofton will return full-time to the Eddie Sharp No. 6 Chevy truck with mid-pack results with an occasional top 10 expected.

Ron Hornaday Jr has found a full-time ride with Joe Denette racing. The winning-est truck driver will drive the No. 9 Chevy and I’d predict more wins but no title shot.

Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton will return to their Thorsport No. 13 and No. 88 Toyota rides respectively. Sauter comes off  the 2011 runner-up spot with several wins and I see more of the same for this year and cannot rule out a big trophy at the end.

Timothy Peters has had a steady diet of good runs in the trucks as he returns to the No. 17 Toyota with TBC sponsorship in place for a full-time 2012 gig. No great shakes here.

Jason Leffler has been tabbed to drive the Kyle Busch No. 18 Toyotas for most of the season with Dollar General as sponsor. I see this as a good combo and wonder why full backing can’t be put together.

Hillman Racing No. 27 made one of the most exciting off-season news the other day with announcing father and son team of Ward and Jeb Burton running a full schedule this year starting with the senior member running the Daytona opener. Results? Wards will be more noteworthy than his sometimes hot headed son, fresh off the Late Model ranks.

Parker Kliggerman returns as Brad Keselowski’s pilot of the No. 29 Dodge with Penske power. Decent backing with continued maturity may just land this team in victory lane before seasons end.

James Beuscher return to the No. 31 Turner Chevy with full sponsorship from Wolfpack Rentals. I’d predict a long overdue first or second win and a top three in points for this talented driver.

Cale Gale will drive for Eddie Sharp Racing in the No. 33 Chevy with Rheem as backer. It would not surprise me to see this truck among the top 10 on a any given race day and in victory lane at least once.

Then, there is a long list of part-time rides and question marks still not answered with less than four weeks before the season truck opener, such as ex-champ Todd Bodine has a ride with Red Horse Racing…if they can find a sponsor.

Rick Crawford, Max Papis, Dennis Setzer, Mike Skinner, David Starr and Michelle Theriault are among those that competed last year but are without any prospects of racing this year.

Rookie of the year candidates include #98 Dakoda Armstrong, #27 Jeb Burton, #08 Ross Chastain, #3 Ty Dillon, #24 Max Gresham, Paulie Harraka and John Wes Townley. I’d have to give the early nod to Dillon in this category and put Townley at the bottom of the list or top of the crash list.

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From Rumorville

Veteran racer Kevin Harvick announced during last week’s media tour that his wife DeLana was 14 weeks pregnant with their first child. Kevin a daddy…..who’d a thunk it?

Bill Elliott will be back behind the wheel of a Sprint Cup car in July’s visit to Daytona with Wal-Mart as the major sponsor. You can’t keep a good man down, eh?

That’s it for this week. Next week, RWR will take a look at this year’s rules changes for NASCAR along with more racing news from around the globe.

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