NASCAR testing raises questions

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway answered some questions surrounding NASCAR, but it raised a few more.

There still remains more than a month before teams return to Daytona for the kickoff of the 2012 season, leading up to the Daytona 500 on Feb. 26.

What we know

Don’t look for a lot of NASCAR edicts

If NASCAR wanted to eliminate the two-car drafting tandems, it could pronounce a new rule to that affect.

During testing, however, it became clear NASCAR wants to get out of the business of banning things — and taking over the enforcement duty that comes with that. Instead, the sanctioning body will tinker with competition guidelines to encourage competitors down a different path.

Hamlin may have been burned out

Denny Hamlin — who came within a whisper of winning the Sprint Cup title in 2010 — struggled through the 2011 season. A much more upbeat Hamlin showed up at testing, perhaps in part because of an offseason away from the Charlotte area.

“Ever since I was 8 years old I’ve been consumed with racing. That’s 23 years — I needed a break,” said Hamlin, who has been playing lots of golf in Scottsdale, Ariz. “I needed to get away from racing as a whole after last year and get rejuvenated, and I feel like moving away for a few months does that for me.”

There is no magic 200-mph limit

For a long time, it seemed any time cars at Daytona or Talladega got around an average lap speed of 200 mph, NASCAR was quick to pass out new, horsepower-choking restrictor plates to slow them down.

With one rule change, drafting tandems reached speeds over 206 mph. At the end of the testing, drafting speeds still were running around 201 mph. NASCAR isn’t blinking, however.

“We feel comfortable,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR’s vice president of competition. “We’ve done a lot of work in the wind tunnel, and I think if you saw the little contact (in the test), cars stayed on the ground pretty good.”

Driver/fan interaction is soaring

More and more NASCAR drivers are starting or expanding their presence on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook and finding new ways to engage fans. During testing, drivers not only answered fan questions in person and online but also posted pictures and video from their cars.

No team has changed more than JGR

Forgive those at Joe Gibbs Racing if they need some extra time to learn each other’s names. All three Cup drivers — Joey Logano, Kyle Busch and Hamlin — have new spotters this season and Logano and Hamlin both have new crew chiefs. Not to mention, JGR will no longer build its engines in-house.

Still in question

What will the racing look like at Daytona?

It’s hard to tell. While NASCAR was able to get teams to run in larger packs during testing, teams have more than a month to work on the rules package. If their work makes two-car drafts faster next month, all bets are off.

How many teams will show up for the Daytona 500?

There were about 32 full-time teams at the Daytona test, and three others chose not to participate. That’s about 35 full-time teams in a sport with 43 spots in every race. Does that mean eight start and park cars in the 500? Could there be short fields when the series heads off to Las Vegas and Phoenix?

How will Danica’s debut go?

Given Danica Patrick’s effort in last season’s Nationwide race, if the two-car tandem is still viable and her owner Tony Stewart works with her like he did last season, she could do very well. If the race returns more to packs with more emphasis on speed and individual driver effort, Patrick likely will have a tougher time.

Can I see my favorite driver before Daytona?

More than 50 drivers from the Cup, Nationwide and Truck series will appear at the inaugural NASCAR Preview 2012 Presented by Sprint, scheduled for Saturday at the Charlotte Convention Center.

What Cup drivers still need a ride?

Three drivers who ran with full-time Cup teams last season — Brian Vickers, David Reutimann and Travis Kvapil — remain without rides.