DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.: NASCAR launches its new season with rivals trying to dethrone Team Penske after two years atop the Cup Series whereas a off-monitor battle over income sharing threatens to overshadow the competitors.
Teams report back to Daytona International Speedway this week for Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500 with out a new settlement that has been a sore spot for months. Talks on extending the constitution settlement — which primarily is a franchise system within the prime racing collection within the U.S. — took a backseat to NASCAR’s negotiations on the brand new, $7.7 billion tv deal that begins subsequent yr.
The present constitution settlement expires on the finish of this season. The groups declined to increase unique talks with NASCAR into February. They may theoretically race for an additional collection if the state of affairs deteriorates, although the challenges there can be immense.
Members of the negotiating council for the groups say they need a justifiable share of NASCAR income, don’t imagine the TV deal was as profitable as NASCAR anticipated and imagine groups are getting shut out of licensing agreements that must be shared.
Denny Hamlin, the three-time Daytona 500 winner for Joe Gibbs Racing and co-proprietor with Michael Jordan of 23XI Racing, used his podcast to accuse NASCAR of utilizing the TV package deal negotiations as a stalling tactic.
“We tried to start these conversations two years ago and it’s just been delay, delay, delay. So now here we are at the end of the rope,” Hamlin mentioned. “Do I believe we are closer to a deal now than 12 months ago? I don’t think so.”
While ia deal will seemingly be reached — NASCAR, in spite of everything, controls many of the main racing amenities within the United States — the discontent may make for a strained season.
Ryan Blaney is the reigning Cup champion after a late-season surge helped him comply with Penske teammate Joey Logano with again-to-again NASCAR championships for Roger Penske. Blaney’s title was considerably stunning largely as a result of Ford groups struggled final yr with simply eight wins in 36 races.
But Blaney held off Hendrick Motorsports drivers Kyle Larson and William Byron, in addition to Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing, to win his first profession championship.
Blaney is NASCAR’s dream champion, a blue-collar racer from a household of racers rooted within the mill nation of northeastern Ohio. He appears delicate spoken however confirmed he’s acquired the inner fireplace to be a champion and delivered down the stretch final yr.
He was crushed by good buddy Chase Elliott within the fan-voted NASCAR hottest driver contest, however Blaney is the one man many imagine — if marketed accurately — is NASCAR’s subsequent star
Ford, in the meantime, launched a reworked Mustang for Cup competitors this season. Ford will use the Dark Horse mannequin because it makes an attempt to choose up its efficiency with prime groups Penske, Stewart-Haas Racing and RFK Racing.
Toyota has been wanting so as to add extra groups to its secure and does so this yr with Legacy Motor Club, the group co-owned by Jimmie Johnson. The transfer retains Toyota growth drivers Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek with the automaker, in addition to 9 races for Hall of Famer Johnson, who begins his season with the Daytona 500.
Toyota at all times expects all 4 of its Gibbs entries to make the playoffs and 23XI noticed each Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace make the playoff discipline final season.
Like Ford, Toyota additionally rolled out a brand new design for its Camry and the XSE will race in 2024.
Larson fell in need of a second Cup title final yr however is poised to have one other magical season. His yr is centered across the Indianapolis 500-Coca-Cola 600 double, the longest day in motorsports over the Memorial Day weekend.
He will drive a Hendrick Motorsports entry fielded by McLaren Racing, which has been impressed thus far with Larson automobile. He’s simply the fifth driver to try to run the Indy 500 and the Coke 600, the longest race on the NASCAR schedule, and solely Tony Stewart in considered one of his two makes an attempt accomplished all 1,100 miles.
Larson began this yr with a win within the Wild West Shootout, a slight restoration after his wreck that very same week of January on the Chili Bowl. When boss Rick Hendrick checked in with Larson following his dash automobile win final month, he mentioned Larson “forgot to tell me” about his flip on the Chili Bowl.
“I found out about it later and asked him about it,” mentioned Hendrick. “He said, ‘I was hoping you wouldn’t find out about that.’”
Hendrick Motorsports celebrates its fortieth yr in NASCAR with Rick Hendrick’s first Indy 500 entry and a hopeful comeback yr for Chase Elliott.
Elliott missed seven races final yr — six with damage after a snowboarding accident and one for a suspension — and it led to the worst season of his profession. He was winless and missed the playoffs for the primary time. Elliott has vowed to be higher and again among the many title contenders come November.
Kevin Harvick is the newest veteran to retire and made his debut as NASCAR on Fox’s new full-time analyst with the exhibition Clash. He was been changed at Stewart-Haas Racing by Josh Berry, a journeyman who lastly will get his shot with a Cup group and joins Noah Gragson as SHR newcomers.
Shane van Gisbergen, winner of the road race in Chicago in his NASCAR debut final season, has now moved from Australia and embarks on a multi-collection season that begins with ARCA and Xfinity races this week in Daytona.
Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar are each transferring from the Truck Series to Cup with Spire Motorsports, Smith underneath a growth take care of Trackhouse Racing.
RFK Racing has launched a program that may enable the group to discipline a 3rd Cup entry at choose races. First up? David Ragan will try and make the Daytona 500 this week.
NASCAR will proceed to attempt to enhance its quick monitor racing package deal, which has suffered because the 2022 implementation of the“Next Gen” inventory automobile. NASCAR examined a brand new guidelines package deal at Phoenix Raceway in December that was encouraging however clearly not a miracle repair..
“NASCAR threw the kitchen sink at it in Phoenix and the consensus was, ‘Eh, maybe a couple things might have helped,’” mentioned David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development. “Unfortunately, with technologies in aerodynamics, there is no silver bullet. There is no magic that’s going to be a cure-all, because you may fix one thing but then you’ve created a problem somewhere else.”
NASCAR final yr introduced North Wilkesboro in North Carolina again to the schedule and efficiently held its first road race in downtown Chicago.
This yr, NASCAR takes the Cup Series to Iowa Speedway for the primary time. Atlanta Motor Speedway and the street course at Watkins Glen in upstate New York had been added to the playoffs. Bristol Motor Speedway is eradicating the grime for its spring race and Indianapolis Motor Speedway is returning NASCAR to his historic oval. The season ends as soon as once more at Phoenix Raceway, the place the Cup champion will likely be topped on Nov. 10.
The Clash was held at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum the final three years as NASCAR constructed a short lived monitor inside the enduring venue. Fan curiosity within the occasion has waned and NASCAR may discover a brand new idea, and even nation, for subsequent yr’s occasion.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)
