10 things to watch for this NASCAR season

The NASCAR season is almost upon us.

Preseason testing has been held in Daytona with more to come this week in Las Vegas and California.

The Daytona 500 is just three weeks away.

And already there are plenty of storylines to watch for during the upcoming

season:

1. How will Dale Earnhardt Jr. do in his first his season with Hendrick Motorsports?

Fans and media have been asking this question ever since Earnhardt announced the move in June.

Much has been said about his move to Hendrick, which will be chronicled in a five-part series on ESPN beginning Feb. 8.

The pressure to perform is definitely on Earnhardt. For the first time in his career, he will have the best equipment and be part of the best team.

NASCAR CEO Brian France put a little more fuel on the fire this week by saying declining TV ratings would be helped by a strong Earnhardt showing.

Earnhardt seems ready for the challenge.

“There ain’t a guy out there that would trade to be in this position,” Earnhardt said. “I feel real fortunate and blessed.”

Earnhardt is definitely a lot more relaxed and comfortable in his new surroundings and has done his part to win over his new teammates. Now it will be time for him to perform.

Earnhardt should snap his winless streak, which dates back to 2006. His crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., said he expects him to win four races, but two or three and a top-10 finish in the Chase is more realistic.

2. Car of Tomorrow to run a full schedule

NASCAR has sped up its move to the COT. The car will run in all 36 points races this season.

Teams and drivers have griped about the COT’s lack of speed and tough handling. But Kyle Petty put it best this week, saying, “If we are that good, we should be able to do it. So we need to shut up and go make it work.”

Petty’s right, and everyone involved should learn how to deal with it.

There were a lot of problems as far as rules and templates with the COT, but NASCAR had 16 races to figure it out last year and should be better able to deal with it now.

3. Can Jimmie Johnson threepeat?

It’s only happened once in Cup history, when Sardis native Cale Yarborough did it from 1976 to ’78.

Jeff Gordon was the most recent driver to attempt the feat but finished sixth in his try for a third title in 1999. Dale Earnhardt came close twice, finishing second in 1995 and third in 1988.

It will be hard for Johnson to do it, but his stats indicate he will be in the hunt. The California native has an average points finish of 2.6 in his six Cup seasons and has never finished below fifth.

4. Toyota’s rebound

The manufacturer took its lumps in its first Cup season.

Only one of its drivers, Dave Blaney, qualified for more than 30 races (33 starts). Blaney also had Toyota’s best finish in a race, third at Talladega in October.

The struggles were expected, Toyota senior vice president Lee White said this week.

But with Joe Gibbs Racing switching from Chevrolet to Toyota, the manufacturer has a proven winner and should rebound nicely.

5. Can anyone stop Hendrick Motorsports domination?

The easy answer to this question is no.

The team dominated Cup last year winning half of the series’ 36 races.

Hendrick was the front-runner in testing for COT races and it showed. Its drivers won the first five and seven of the 16 COT races last season. Other teams are upping their COT testing, and it remains to been if they can put a dent in the Hendrick juggernaut.

Hendrick doesn’t get 18 wins this year, but 12-15 isn’t out of the question.

6. How will the new surface at Darlington affect the racing?

Roush Fenway driver Greg Biffle said Darlington Raceway won’t race the same with the track being repaved for the first time since 1995.

That remains to be seen, but the track definitely won’t be as hard on tires as it usually is. And with the Car of Tomorrow  on a fast track with narrow turns, the record for cautions (15) might be challenged. There were 12 cautions in the first race after repaving last time at Darlington.

7. Open-wheel invasion

Juan Pablo Montoya’s move to NASCAR last year set off a chain of open-wheel drivers fleeing for the Cup series.

Former Indianapolis 500 champions Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish as well as Patrick Carpentier and Jacques Villeneuve will compete full time in Sprint Cup.

Montoya set the bar high for these open-wheel stars by winning a race, albeit on a road course, and finishing 20th in the standings.

It might be hard for this group to duplicate that success, but if one person can, it might be Montoya’s teammate, Franchitti.

8. Who will be this year’s Clint Bowyer?

Bowyer surprised many last season, winning a race and finishing third in the points.

It’s likely no one’s doing that this season, but two drivers to watch for are Casey Mears and Reed Sorenson.

Mears broke through last season by winning his first race. But he flies under the radar at Hendrick Motorsports with the likes of Earnhardt, Gordon and Johnson. Mears making the Chase, though, isn’t a long shot.

Sorenson, who doesn’t turn 22 until this year, is in his third year and has the most Cup experience at Ganassi ahead of high-profile drivers Montoya and Franchitti.

Sorenson won a pole last year and finished 22nd in points. The pressure to perform will be on, especially with other Ganassi open-wheel guys like Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon talking about making the move to NASCAR.

9. Bye, bye Dale

Dale Jarrett, the 1999 Cup champion, will climb out of the driver’s seat following the Bristol race in March.

Jarrett will be replaced by David Reuitmann and move into the ESPN/ABC broadcast booth to replace Rusty Wallace, who will become the lead analyst for the networks’ studio shows.

Jarrett, who was named one of NASCAR’s top 50 drivers in 1998, has 32 wins and 288 top 10s during his career.

10. Logano’s debut

While Jarrett will be leaving NASCAR, Joey Logano will begin his career May 31 in the Nationwide Series race in Dover after he turns 18.

Mark Martin has been singing the praises of Logano, who will drive for Joe Gibbs Racing, since he was 14 years old.

Now, everyone else will see if Logano, who won the Busch East Series title last year, can live up to the hype.