8 – THE DERRICK. / The News-Herald 4

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Ken Willis has been covering NAS-CAR for The Daytona Beach News-Journal for 27 years. Reach him at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com

QUESTIONS & ATTITUDECompelling questions ...

and maybe a few actual answers

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ONLINE EXTRAS

KEY DATESDec. 6: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards, Las VegasJan. 9-10: Daytona Preseason Thunder testing (Sprint Cup)Jan. 11-12: Daytona Preseason Thunder testing (Nationwide)Jan. 13-14: Daytona Preseason Thunder testing (truck series)Jan. 29: NASCAR Hall of Fame, 2014 induction, Charlotte, N.C.Feb. 15: The Sprint UnlimitedFeb. 16: Daytona 500 qualifyingFeb. 18: UNOH Battle at the Beach (K&N Pro East, Whelen Modifieds)Feb. 20: Budweiser DuelFeb. 21: NextEra Energy Resources 250Feb. 22: DRIVE4COPD 300Feb. 23: Daytona 500

Godwin Kelly is the Daytona Beach News-Journal’s motorsports editor and has covered NASCAR for 30 years. Reach him at godwin.kelly@news-jrnl.com

Feb. 15 Sprint Unlimited, Daytona FOX Sports 1Feb. 16 Daytona 500 qualifying FOX Feb. 20 Duels, Daytona FOX Sports 1Feb. 23 Daytona 500 FOX March 2 Phoenix International Raceway FOX March 9 Las Vegas Motor Speedway FOX March 16 Bristol Motor Speedway FOX March 23 Auto Club Speedway FOX March 30 Martinsville Speedway FOX April 6 Texas Motor Speedway FOX

April 12 Darlington Raceway FOX April 26 Richmond International Raceway FOX May 4 Talladega Superspeedway FOX May 10 Kansas Speedway FOX May 17 All-Star Race, Charlotte FOX Sports 1May 25 Charlotte Motor Speedway FOX June 1 Dover International Speedway FOX June 8 Pocono Raceway TNT June 15 Michigan International Speedway TNT June 22 Sonoma Raceway TNT

June 28 Kentucky Speedway TNT July 5 Daytona International Speedway TNT July 13 New Hampshire Motor Speedway TNT July 27 Indianapolis Motor Speedway ESPNAug. 3 Pocono Raceway ESPN Aug. 10 Watkins Glen International ESPN Aug. 17 Michigan International Speedway ESPN Aug. 23 Bristol Motor Speedway ABC Aug. 31 Atlanta Motor Speedway ESPN Sept. 6 Richmond International Raceway ABC

Sept. 14 Chicagoland Speedway ESPN Sept. 21 New Hampshire Motor Speedway ESPN Sept. 28 Dover International Speedway ESPN Oct. 5 Kansas Speedway ESPN Oct. 11 Charlotte Motor Speedway ABC Oct. 19 Talladega Superspeedway ESPN Oct. 26 Martinsville Speedway ESPN Nov. 2 Texas Motor Speedway ESPNNov. 9 Phoenix International Raceway ESPNNov. 16 Homestead-Miami Speedway ESPN

2014 SPRINT CUP SCHEDULE

Do you have questions or comments about NASCAR This Week? Contact Godwin Kelly at godwin.kelly@news-jrnl.com or Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com

SPEED FREAKSA couple questions we had to ask — ourselves

Did FedEx win the race of carri-ers?

“Win” might not be the operative word, because when your opponent elects to not participate, losing is no longer an option. But FedEx can definitely boast that it outlasted UPS when it comes to NASCAR involve-ment. UPS has announced that it will be out of the racin’ game for good after the 2014 season. UPS ended its team sponsorship of Jack Roush’s No. 6 car in 2012 and now is taking its tens of millions of marketing dollars elsewhere — specifically to 68 college athletic programs through marketing behemoth IMG College, which is cur-rently gobbling up every available big college as a client.

Oops, that doesn’t sound good for NASCAR’s business climate, does it?

While NASCAR would certainly rather keep UPS on board, these things are fluid — companies come and go every year. Few of them are as huge as UPS. In a press-release statement, UPS Public-Relations Director Susan Rosenberg called it “strictly a business decision.” Well, yeah, of course. We weren’t assuming it had anything to do with a lack of pit passes or quality parking spots. Mean-while, NASCAR’s chief sales officer, Jim O’Connell, went to the cabinet marked “Universal Statements, Fit for all Occasions” and released the following about UPS: “As we celebrate its long and successful tenure, we also welcome seven new companies to the family of Official NASCAR Partners.” That’s aimed at those of you — includ-ing his bosses — who might cast a sideways glance in his direction.

Homologate? Isn’t that something they do to milk?

At first glance, it might appear that way. At second glance, it signals a need for the dictionary. And as it turns out, to “homologate” means to make something official, to bestow upon it the Good Housekeeping Seal.

Why do we now know this?Oh, because the FIA’s Land Speed

Records Commission announced last week that Colin Braun’s record run at Daytona in October — 222.971 mph in a Ford-powered prototype sportscar — has, yes, been officially homologated by the world’s foremost motorsports authority. Oops, it ap-pears we’re already using our new word incorrectly. If it’s “homologated,” by definition it’s official, so to say “officially homologated” is redundant, isn’t it? Let’s move on.

Staten Island is back in the game?

Yes and no. That NASCAR dream of building a track in the shadow of the New York City skyline has come and gone. That property is now in the hands of a company that’s in the early stages of turning it into a marine port. And frankly, NASCAR’s higher-ups — including many of the well-heeled drivers and owners — have such a long history with floating toys, the thought of a marine port might be a “Plan B” they wish they’d dreamed up. Considering the NYC red tape that must be involved, no thanks.

We have a new year, which means a new NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, which means anybody competing for the championship is tied in points in the title chase. Yes, a 43-way tie.

With that, we’ll look into our crystal ball and pick the top-five drivers to watch in the championship hunt.

This is tricky because NASCAR made dramatic rule changes to the Gen-6 car, which only has one season of competition under its belt.

Obviously, the elite teams with the big budgets should have an edge right out of the gate, but remember, the fastest car doesn’t always win the race.

Here are the top-five picks in no particular order, other than listing the defending Cup Series champion first.JIMMIE JOHNSON: He won his sixth Cup Series championship in 2013. Now it’s on to try to catch all-time winners Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, who both notched seven titles. Johnson has to be the odds-on favorite, since he knows how to steer a stock car in playoff mode and represents the strongest race team, Hendrick Motorsports, in the series.BRAD KESELOWSKI: If you are looking for a driver with a big chip on his shoulder, “Kez” is your man. Keselowski won the 2012 Cup Series championship, then turned around and missed the

2013 Chase. He came out of the chute strong, with four consecutive top-five finishes, but was plagued by gremlins after that. He could be Ford’s top driver in 2014 over in the Penske Racing camp.DENNY HAMLIN: Remember 2010? Hamlin went into the final race with the points lead and exited with a frown. In 2013, he not only suffered a frac-ture to his backbone, but had a lackluster season. But keep this in mind — he won the season finale at Homestead, which should give him momen-tum going into the 2014 season. He was third on the Joe Gibbs Racing depth chart in 2013, so the incentive to perform is flush for glory.KEVIN HARVICK: After going the entire 2013 season as a lame-duck-driver, Harvick gets a clean sheet at Stewart-Haas Racing. No longer under the shadow of the late Dale Earnhardt, Harvick may go berserk and have a first-year season like Matt Kenseth in 2013. Kenseth won seven races and finished second in points. Expect those kind of numbers from Harvick.CARL EDWARDS: After a year of getting-to-know-you with veteran crew chief Jimmy Fennig, Edwards could erupt like a dormant volcano. The trick here is to pay attention to the crew chief. Fennig knows all the nuances of the sport, and if Edwards goes with the Fennig flow, the No. 99 car could become NASCAR’s new standard-bearer. The theme here should be: Watch. Learn. Listen.

What should be NAS-CAR’s New Year’s resolution for 2014?GODSPEAK: Even out the competition so that the “middle of the pack” teams have a better chance of winning races. Only David Ragan broke the seal in 2013.KEN’S CALL: To increase its stated efforts to put more emphasis on winning races. You can’t guarantee last-lap fireworks, but you can encourage them.

And Jimmie Johnson’s New Years resolution?GODSPEAK: That Hen-drick Motorsports hires more racing engineers to keep with tradition and stay ahead of the curve on rules changes.KEN’S CALL: To keep Chad Knaus happy and comfortable. Sure, Jimmie could maybe win without him, but why take that chance?

Sportscar testing this week at Daytona. Where’d the offseason go?GODSPEAK: There is no such thing as an offseason in this day and age. Folks in racing get a day off here, a day off there. I just hope they got some eggnog.KEN’S CALL: We’re in man’s Age of Diminished Attention Span. In market-ing, a slow news cycle is death.

Getty Images/ANDY LYONS

UPS is moving out of NASCAR faster than it moved Christmas packages.

Getty Images/JERRY MARKLAND

Let’s hope we see more of this in 2014 — little-team drivers, like David Ragan, in Victory Lane.

Getty Images/ROBERT LABERGE

Don’t be surprised to see a different version of this photo again at the end of the 2014 Sprint Cup Series season.

2014 contendersTOP 5 DRIVERS FOR THE TITLE

Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014