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1. Alex Bowman Tests For David Reutimann at Charlotte; Is He Close to a Cup Shot?
A piece of driver news came out during the test at Charlotte. Due to scheduling conflicts with David Reutimann, BK Racing decided to let Alex Bowman test the #83 at Charlotte earlier this week. If you recall, Bowman ran the entire season with RAB Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2013. That adds another wrinkle to this story. RAB Racing signed James Buescher to drive for them in Nationwide next season, which means that Bowman does not have a ride yet for 2014. This raises one question in my mind. Is Alex Bowman close to a Cup shot? I personally believe he is. Think about it. If BK Racing hasn't announced their driver lineup for 2014, it seems kind of obvious this might be a test for Bowman. I mean, Bowman has the credentials to run in Cup. He was great last year in the RAB Racing car with two poles and a couple of chances to win last year. Granted, it wasn't a championship season, but it wasn't terrible. A second thing to add to this is the equipment he had in 2013. He was competing with Turner-Scott Motorsports, Roush-Fenway Racing, and other top teams in the Nationwide Series in a car that wasn't the best in terms of speed and parts on the track. This sounds like the same situation with BK Racing. They just need that driver to take them to the top. All in all, Bowman just needs that one shot with the right equipment to get to the front and possibly become a contender in the series.
2. Bobby Labonte Possibly Running in the 2014 Daytona 500; How Will He Perform?
I would say a piece of expected, but surprising news came out during the week. It was announced that Bobby Labonte received an offer from James Finch to race his car at DIS in the 2014 Daytona 500. If you recall, Labonte drove for JTG-Daugherty the past few years before A.J. Allmendinger took the ride for 2014. This left Labonte without a ride and possibly on the verge of retirement, but it seems like that is not the case at this point. I am going to jump a little bit ahead in terms of this announcement. I believe he will accept the offer for the ride, but that brings up one question in my mind. How will Labonte perform in possibly this one off race? I think he will perform pretty well. Think about it for a moment. Labonte is a champion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and he has won a good many races. The 2011 Daytona 500 comes to mind when Labonte helped pushed Trevor Bayne to the win in that race and grabbed a good finish. Plus, it isn't like Labonte is lacking any talent or will to race. To me, he still has that drive to win and all he needs is the car and the opportunity to do it. With this possible run in the 500, we could be looking at another underdog winner in the Great American Race.
3. James Finch Possibly Running a Car in the 2014 Daytona 500; Will He Grab a Win?
The second piece of the Bobby Labonte running the 2014 Daytona 500 news came out during the week. James Finch announced that he was going to have a car ready to run the Daytona 500 and he had offered Bobby Labonte a chance to drive it. If you recall, Finch had been a mainstay owner in the Cup Series for years before he sold his operation to Harry Scott near the end of 2013. Before he sold it, though, he gave Bobby Labonte an opportunity to drive his car and he must have been impressed, which gave Labonte this opportunity. Now, this news still isn't official, but I am going about as if it is official. The question that comes to my mind is this: does James Finch have a legitimate shot at winning the 2014 Daytona 500? I personally believe he does. I mean, I am sure he will have decent equipment when he shows up in February. Plus, we know he has a great and qualified driver behind the wheel. Finally, the restrictor plate races are the ultimate equalizer, which means pretty much anybody can win the race. All these factors in mind lead me to the conclusion that we might be talking about Bobby Labonte winning the 2014 Daytona 500. Now, others might have differing opinions on this subject, but I see this deal going extremely well for both of these men.
4. IMC Approves Modifications at IMS, But No Lights; Will We See a Night Time Brickyard 400?
A piece of track modification news came out during the week. The Indiana Motorsports Commission announced that the group had approved the modifications to be made to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but the track would not get a set of lights. If you recall, a lot of rumors were spread around Brickyard 400 weekend in 2013 that IMS would try to get lights installed before the next event there. It did not happen this time around, but it might happen next time around. This does raise one question in my mind. Will we ever see a Brickyard 400 at night? I do not believe we ever will. The main reason is just the heritage and tradition at IMS. The track has never had lights before and some people would be opposed to messing with such great tradition. I mean, I would love to have lights at the track. The race seems so tedious now and I just feel like a night time race would spice things up. But the IndyCar guys and fans of the Indy 500 would probably be very opposed to messing with tradition, but I would be surprised with lights at the track in the next few years.
5. Austin Dillon Running the Number 3 in Cup in 2014; Will He Make His Own History in the Number?
Well, it is finally time. The news we expected for months now was finally made official. Richard Childress announced that his grandson, Austin Dillon, would make his Cup Series debut next season in Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s famous number 3. Dillon has all ready won a championship in NASCAR's Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series and is now destined for success in NASCAR's highest series. There has been a lot of controversy around this topic for years now. Ever since Earnhardt passed away at Daytona in 2001, some people have wanted the number retired and never used again in any of NASCAR's series. But I believe this is the time. It doesn't do the number any good to sit on the sidelines just because people don't want somebody else racing it. I am sure Earnhardt would want Austin Dillon to drive the car with the number 3. Dillon knows how much it means to the NASCAR world and he will definitely respect that. Now, the one question I have is a very crucial part to this. Will Austin Dillon make his own history in the number? I believe he will. He is a really good race car driver. In just a few years, he could become the first driver to win a championship in all three of NASCAR's highest series. That is a huge accomplishment and he has the talent to do it. Plus, he has the equipment and the backing to make something of his career in NASCAR. In a few years, we very well could be talking about Dillon as the next Jimmie Johnson in the number 3. But we should give him some time to grow in the series before we make him the best thing since sliced bread. I wish him all the luck in the world and hope he makes the best of this awesome opportunity.
That is all for week #4 of the NASCAR offseason. We draw less than a month away from PreSeason Thunder and I am excited to get it underway. The next few weeks will probably still be calm, but the action should pick up as we crawl our way to the fifty sixth running of the Great American Race. I thank you guys once again for reading through my thoughts. If you have any differing opinions on the issues I mentioned, let me know in the comments down below. I am still working on the season reap and it should be up around Christmas. Plus, Flashback Friday is going well and I hope to have a supply of those ready in the next couple of months. That is all for me and until we meet again.
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