2013 silly season notes for #13-Casey Mears / Germain Racing: No changes as Casey Mears is supposedly signed thru 2014 and sponsor GEICO is signed thru 2014, which will be the primary for about 20 races. GEICO stays on the car for races it is not the primary unless another sponsor can be found. Mears tends to start and park or not run the full unsponsored races. Robert "Bootie" Barker returns as the crew chief and the team will run Fords with Roush Yates engines.

2013 silly season notes for #11-Denny Hamlin / Joe Gibbs Racing: no major changes in any way with the #11 team. Hamlin re-signed a multi-year deal with JGR midway thru the season. After a solid 2012 season, crew chief Darian Grubb starts his second season with Hamlin after winning the championship in 2011 with Tony Stewart. FedEx returns to sponsor the majority of the 2013 races.

2013 silly season notes for #10-Danica Patrick / Stewart Haas Racing: Patrick moves up from the Nationwide Series to run the full 2013 Sprint Cup Season. No word if she will be eligible to be a rookie of the year candidate as she didn't run for Cup points and the rules are unclear for the award since drivers had to declare which series they would run for points in 2011. Patrick ran 10 Sprint Cup races in 2012, which normally would make a driver ineligible for the ROTY award. Crew Chief Tony Gibson moved over to the #10 SHR Chevy from the #39 SHR camp to be Patrick's crew chief late in the 2012 season. Been told that Patrick is committed to the #10 and there are NO plans to switch from #10 to the #7. GoDaddy.com returns to sponsor the car for the full slate of races in 2013.

2013 silly season notes for #9-Marcos Ambrose / Richard Petty Motorsports: Richard Petty Motorsports re-signed Marcos Ambrose for the 2013 season, the third for Ambrose at RPM. Stanley and DeWalt will be the primary sponsors for the 2013 season as they have been the last two seasons. Ambrose has won a race a season the last two years, both at Watkins Glen. Ambrose won two poles in 2012 and will be in the Shootout at Daytona. Drew Blickensderfer ie the crew chief, moving over from Richard Childress Racing after Martinsville in October 2012. RPM re-upped with Ford for the 2013 season and will continue to get engines from Roush Yates. Ambrose will have the same teammate in 2013, with Aric Almirola returning in the famed #43.

2013 silly season notes for #5-Kasey Kahne / Hendrick Motorsports:: Kasey Kahne starts his 2nd full season in the #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy, his first consecutive full season season with the same team in quite some time. Farmers Insurance returns for 22 races, a deal signed in 2011 that runs thru 2014. Time Warner Cable will be the primary sponsor for four races each season thru 2015. Quaker State Oil returns tp sponsor the car in four races. Great Clips will sponsor the #5 for three races. Supposedly a Pepsi brand will be the primary sponsor for one race in 2013. Hendrickcars.com could be the sponsor on the car when no primary is secured. No word if Rockwell Tools, which sponsors the #5 at Darlington in 2012 will return in 2013. Longtime Kahne crew chief, Kenny Francis returns in 2013.

2013 silly season notes for #2-Brad Keselowski / Penske Racing:: The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion will have a new look on his Miller Lite car, plus the big change, switching manufacturers from Dodge to Ford. Dodge left the sport after the 2012 season. Penske Racing will use Roush-Yates power plants under the hood of their Ford Fusions in 2013. Crew Chief Paul Wolfe will return 2013 and is signed thru at least 2015. Keselowski said he is sticking to the contract he signed earlier in 2012 and not looking to renegotiate after winning the 2012 Championship, he is also signed thru at least 2015 as is Miller Lite. In an oddity, Keselowski is not currently eligible to run the Daytona Shootout as he didn't win a pole in 2012. Keselowski will have a new teammate, with Joey Logano taking over the #22 ride in 2013.

2013 silly season notes for #1-Jamie McMurray / Earnhardt Ganassi Racing:: McMurray signed a contract extension with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing for 2013, no word if it is long-term or just for 2013. Longtime #1 sponsor, Bass Pro Shops, will move to #14-Tony Stewart's Chevy, but supposedly sponsor the #1 for a race in 2013. McDonald's will be the primary sponsor for the more then the 13 races they sponsored in 2012. Liftmaster [was the sponsor in Sept NHMS race] and Bass Pro Shops are scheduled to be primary sponsor each for a race. The team will switch from Earnhardt-Childress Racing engines to running engines leased from Hendrick Motorsports. Crew Chief Kevin "Bono" Manion is signed thru at least 2013. No word if Belkin [was sponsor in Sept NHMS race] or Banana Boat [was sponsor in June Pocono race] return to sponsor a race as they did in 2012 or if AllState Insurance returns as a co-sponsor

2013 silly season notes for #14-Tony Stewart / Stewart Haas Racing: Office Depot left the sport and the #14 team after the 2012 season. Bass Pro Shops will be the primary for three-time champ Tony Stewart for 18 races in 2013 with Mobil 1 staying aboard and being the primary for 11 races. Nine races are still unsponsored for the #14. Steve Addington returns as the crew chief in 2013. SHR expands to three full time teams with Danica Patrick running the full season in 2013. SHR could become a four car team in 2014 with Kevin Harvick already signing to move from Richard Childress Racing AFTER the 2013 season. #39-Ryan Newman is signed thru 2013 and could return if sponsorship is found

2013 silly season notes for #15-Clint Bowyer / Michael Waltrip Racing: After finishing a surprise 2nd in the 2012 Sprint Cup Championship after moving to Michael Waltrip Racing. No major changes known for the #15 team as Bowyer and Five Hour Energy are signed thru 2014. Bowyer does get a new sponsor for 2013. Peak Motor Oil will be the primary sponsor for three races. Five Hour Energy drink was committed for 20 races in 2013 and mid season picked up another 15 races with Aaron's sponsoring the #15 at Talladega in May. No word on how many races Five Hour Energy will sponsor Bowyer, but it'll be at least 20. Brian Pattie returns as the crew chief for Bowyer. Bowyer is scheduled to run the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Michael Waltrip Racing owners Rob Kauffman and Michael Waltrip. See images of the Peak Motor Oil scheme on my #15 Team Schemes page.

With Penske now running Fords, this is going to be a killer year for Ford. BLUE OVAL GOING TO DOMINATE 2013 OH YEAH!!!!!

-J.

2013 silly season notes for #16-Greg Biffle / Roush Fenway Racing: No major changes with the #16 team. Biffle is signed thru the 2014 season. Matt Puccia returns as the crew chief of the #16, a spot he has held since July 2011. 3M returns as the primary sponsor, supposedly for 35 races, using different divisions/products of 3M (like ScotchBrite, Blue Tape, Post-It, etc). 3M is signed thru the 2014 season. Expect the Red Cross to show up on the car for a couple races, usually in conjunction with 3M. See images of the 3M regular scheme on my #16 Team Schemes page.

2013 silly season notes for #17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr. / Roush Fenway Racing: Two-time NASCAR Nationwide Champ Ricky Stenhouse Jr. moves up to the Sprint Cup level in 2013. Stenhouse Jr. will run for the Rookie of the Year and take over the #17 from Matt Kenseth, who ran the car since 2000. Scott Graves will lead the #17 team as the crew chief. Graves worked with Stenhouse Jr. in his three final Sprint Cup starts in 2012. Graves did a lot of R&D work for RFR on the 2013 car. Best Buy will be the sponsor for 12 races. Zest for an unknown number of races and Fifth Third Bank for four races. See images of the Best Buy, Zest and Fifth Third Bank schemes on my #17 Team Schemes page.