There is no question the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season started out with a bang. A rain out of the Daytona 500 forced the race to a Monday night prime time slot that would lead to a race that finished well into the night after Juan Pablo Montoya found a jet dryer.
The race was filled with story lines that began with the rain, punctuated by the jet dryer, and ended with Matt Kenseth in victory lane. Who knew that a few months later Kenseth would announce his plan to leave the team he had been with since he began his NASCAR career.
The season would only continue to see driver changes, tension, and some good racing. Top ten lists have been thrown around as the calendar has turned to 2013.
Possibly the biggest story was the all around year for Penske. From announcing they would change manufacturers, which led to their change in engines, to having to release AJ Allmindger after he failed a drug test. But the season would end like no other had for Roger Penske when Brad Keslowski piloted the Blue Deuce to the Sprint Cup Championship.
The stories didn't stop there. A brewing situation that began at Martinsville in the spring between Jeff Gordan and Clint Bowyer exploded when the two got together at the fall Phoenix race. The Phoenix race wasn't just relegated to the 24 and 15 smack down. Jimmie Johnson's championship hopes took a big hit after hitting the wall. Kevin Harvick began the week with a report he was going to Stewart-Haas in 2014, then finished the weekend with his single win of the year.
Marcos Ambros, and Keslowski dueled to the finish at Watkins Glen with controversy flying about oil on the track that helped take out Kyle Busch, and infuriated Gordan. However the last lap battle and weaving around the track between the 9 and 2 eventually overshadowed the rest. The final laps at Texas in November also provided some thrills when Keslowski and Johnson battled through a series of restarts that eventually saw Johnson in victory lane, and a seven point lead going to Phoenix.
Dale Earnhardt Jr experienced one of his best seasons that enveloped into a lost year. Leading the points for a short time, then after qualifying for the Chase, had to step out of the car for two races after a second concussion suffered in a last lap crash at Talladega. The initial concussion came in an innocent test session at Kansas when a tire blew out and sent Dale Jr. into the wall.
In a series of moves the 88 ride received an unlikely fill-in when Regan Smith became available. Smith's time at Furniture Row was cut short when the Denver Colorado based team brought in Kurt Busch for the final six races of the year. Smith worked his way up to the top 10 at Charlotte before the engine gave out, then followed that up with a top 10 at Kansas. It would lead to a 2013 ride in the JR Motorsports 5 car in the Nationwide Series.
Busch in the meantime had a year he'd like to forget, and remember. Starting with Phoenix Racing he had a chance to win a few races. However comments to a member of the media after a Nationwide race had him in the hot seat with NASCAR. He would eventually be suspended for a race and wondered if he would be welcomed back to the 51 ride. He was welcomed back before leaving for the 78 team where he finished the year with three straight top tens, the best stretch for Furniture Row.
Through the course of the year the biggest change coming to 2013 was introduced in stages as each manufacturer wheeled out the new 2013 cars starting with the Ford Fusion, and ending with the new Cheverolet SS. Dodge also had wheeled out a 2013 car before deciding it would not return for 2013.
While 2012 had its moments, 2013 may easily top it with the new car, a return to the older qualifying format, interesting driver changes, and the Camping World Truck series hitting the dirt. The questions will come for 2013, and some of those will be answered in the next few weeks as teams will be testing at Daytona, and Charlotte. But the excitement that is running through NASCAR nation continues to point toward the 2013 Daytona 500.
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