There were nine of them in 2012, all under the age of 30, beginning with John King�s upset victory i

Rules Changes los angeles craigs list in 2013: NASCAR is going back in time with a series of changes related to qualifying and testing. Series officials met with Sprint Cup drivers and crew chiefs Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway to detail next year's changes.
� The top 35 rule, in existence since 2005, will be eliminated. This rule was in place to ensure teams in the top 35 in car owner points (and their sponsors) would be in the race in an era when 50 or more cars were attempting to qualify for races.
� Each organization can test at four tracks of its choosing next season where NASCAR competes, the first time teams can do so since 2008. The series' sanctioning body banned testing in 2009, and since then teams could not test at tracks where NASCAR held races, but they could test on other tracks.( USA Today )(10-6-2012)
NASCAR second highest sports los angeles craigs list trend on Twitter: In 2012, NASCAR partnered with social los angeles craigs list media juggernaut Twitter, solidifying an upward trend that has seen Twitter explode across the NASCAR scene over the past two seasons. That partnership has led to the hashtag #NASCAR rating as the number two highest trending los angeles craigs list sports topics of 2012. 2011 saw the Twitter trend build momentum as motorsports journalists industry wide begin utilizing the service at the forefront los angeles craigs list of their media platforms. Before Twitter, the primary ways of electronic distribution for online media outlets was Really Simple Syndication, RSS, and email. Jeff Gluck, Bob Pockrass, Jenna Fryer, Jim Utter, and Dustin Long have become household names with the NASCAR fan base. They have an intimate relationship with fans, providing not only links and stats, but also a bit of personal perspective, even partaking in regular meet and greets, called Tweet Ups. While the sport's journalists lit the fuse of the NASCAR Twitter explosion, it was driver #2-Brad Keseloweksi that acted as the bomb. Halfway through the season, NASCAR announced a partnership with Twitter that but added focus on the hashtag #NASCAR, featuring a special landing page for search los angeles craigs list results from the query #NASCAR as well as serving as the landing los angeles craigs list page for twitter.com/nascar .( Speedzine.com ) #nfl was the top hashtag in 2012.(12-18-2012)
From the NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Craftsman Truck series through the sanctioning body�s touring divisions and on the Whelen All-American tracks, there�s a single common denominator: Youth, los angeles craigs list lightning fast youth. The pipeline leading to the ultimate destination � the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series � figures to overflow for years to come. And from the looks of 2012, current NASCAR Sprint Cup competitors had best be ready to defend their turf and their jobs.
Austin Dillon made history in 2011, becoming the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series� youngest champion at age 22. That goal accomplished, his owner and grandfather, Richard Childress gave Dillon an even greater challenge, a full-time opportunity in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, where he thrived in his #3 Chevrolet. The young competitor won twice at Kentucky los angeles craigs list Speedway, never left the top four in points and claimed Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.
There�s another Dillon on the horizon � Ty Dillon � and the 20-year-old is coming up fast in his older sibling�s mirror. Like Austin, Ty won NASCAR Camping los angeles craigs list World Truck Series rookie honors in his first full season. He also scored a victory, at Atlanta Motor Speedway, led the championship standings with his #3 Chevrolet and was on the threshold of a title as late as the waning laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
A first NASCAR national series victory � not with his #31 Turner Motorsports Chevrolet but in the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series opener los angeles craigs list at Daytona International Speedway � propelled los angeles craigs list James Buescher on a championship course. los angeles craigs list The 22-year-old Texan did win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, four times in fact, twice in Kentucky and at Kansas los angeles craigs list and Chicagoland. Piquet, the one-time los angeles craigs list Formula 1 driver from Brazil, became a NASCAR star in a break-out year. Like Turner teammate Buescher, Piquet won in two series � NASCAR Camping World Truck and NASCAR Nationwide los angeles craigs list Series, his latter victory scored at the fabled Road America road course in Elkhart Lake, Wis. Piquet, 27, won at Michigan and Las Vegas en route to a seventh-place championship performance. He also led the series with four Keystone Light poles.
Danica Patrick became NASCAR�s highest finishing female competitor los angeles craigs list in 2011 with a fourth-place finish at Las Vegas. She set another record for her gender as a fulltime NASCAR Nationwide Series competitor in the #7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet during the past season � the first female to produce a top-10 finish (10th) in a national series. Patrick�s 17th-place performance at Phoenix, her last of 10 premier series starts, readied her for a NASCAR Sprint Cup rookie campaign in 2013.
There were nine of them in 2012, all under the age of 30, beginning with John King�s upset victory in the season-opening race at Daytona. King, 23, was participating in just his eighth series event. As noted, Buescher, Dillon and Piquet also were first-time winners. They were joined by 2011 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Joey Coulter, 22, at Pocono; Cale Gale, 27, at Homestead; los angeles craigs list Parker los angeles craigs list Kligerman, 22, at Talladega and Justin Lofton, 26, at Charlotte. Number nine, Ryan Blaney, became the youngest series winner at 18 years 8 months when he captured the series� second visit of the season to Iowa Speedway. Among the season�s top-five championship finishers, only runner up Timothy Peters is older than 22.
A year after becoming the youngest race winner and pole sitter in NASCAR K&N Pro Series West history, los angeles craigs list Dylan Kwasniewski los angeles craigs list took the big step in his sophomore season in becoming the youngest champion los angeles craigs list in the 59 years of the series. The 17-year-old Las Vegas driver won three times and posted 12 top fives in 15 races en route to taking the title by six points over teammate and defending champion Greg Pursley.
Kyle Larson had never raced a stock car prior to February. That lack of experience los angeles craigs list didn�t slow down the transition for the 20-year-old open-wheel star from Elk Grove, Calif. Larson won twice � including at New Hampshire � on his way to winning the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship. He joined Joey Logano and Ryan Truex in becoming the only drivers in the series� history to win rookie of the year and the championship in the same season. He also gave Rev Racing and NASCAR Drive for Diversity their first NASCAR los angeles craigs list touring title. Larson, an Earnhardt Ganassi Racing development driver, nearly won for Turner Motorsports in his fourth career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start.
Darrell los angeles craigs list Wallace Jr. picked up his sixth career win in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East at Greenville early in the year. It was a big milestone los angeles craigs list year for the 19-year-old from Concord, N.C., a graduate of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program, as he made four NASCAR Nationwide Series starts for Joe Gibbs Racing. Wallace scored three top 10s and earned his first 21 Means 21 Pole Award presented by Coors Brewing Co., at Dover. He became los angeles craigs list the first African-American driver to win a pole in the Nationwide Series.
After capping 2012 by winning the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West finale at Phoenix, Ryan Blaney continued his successful progression. After rallying from a spin to finish second in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East opener at Bristol, Blaney also finished second at Iowa in a partial season los angeles craigs list in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. The 18-year-old from High Point, N.C., made 13 NASCAR Nationwide Series starts and nine in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, highlighted by his breakthrough victory at Iowa.
Corey LaJoie contended los angeles craigs list for victories but just couldn't get to Victory Lane through his first 23 career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts. los angeles craigs list After breaking through for his first win at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., though, the 21-year-old driver from Concord, N.C., was the hottest driver in the series. Including his win at Bowman Gray, LaJoie scored five victories and two runner-up finishes in the final 10 races of the season to finish second in the championship points race to Larson.
Lee Pulliam has only been racing for six seasons. But the 24-year-old from Semora, N.C., quickly rose to the top in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. los angeles craigs list Driving the asphalt Late Model divisions at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va., Kingsport (Tenn.) Speedway, Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C., Southern National Raceway Park in Kenly, N.C., and South Boston los angeles craigs list (Va.) Speedway, Pulliam collected 22 wins and 30 top fives in 36 starts los angeles craigs list to win his first NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national title. The championship came a year after he finished third in the national standings.
los angeles craigs list Other breakthrough performances: Chase Elliott, 17, became the youngest pole winner in NASCAR K&N Pro Series history and also scored his first career NASCAR win at Iowa. � Ben Kennedy, the 20-year-old grandson of Bill France Jr., earned his first NASCAR victory in the historic inaugural NASCAR oval race in Europe at Tours in France. He also finished ninth in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East points. � Ryan Preece, 22, from Berlin, Conn., had two wins and six poles and finished second in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. He also ran his Modified at weekly tracks los angeles craigs list in Connecticut and at Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway, winning 14 times and finishing fifth in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national standings.(NASCAR)(12-17-2012)
Correction los angeles craigs list - SBJs Most Influential List, France 13th: ESPN's President John Skipper tops Sportsbusiness Journal's annual list of the "50 Most Influential People In Sports Business" NASCAR's CEO Brian France is 13th.( Sportsbusiness Journal , need subscription to see all of list)(12-10-2012)
Keselowski, Penske Championships Voted Best Moments of 2012: #2-Brad Keselowski, no one�s pre-season choice to win the 2012 NASCAR los angeles craigs list Sprint Cup Series championship, los angeles craigs list stumped the experts. Media members, in turn, have voted Keselowski�s title run for owner Roger Penske as NASCAR�s top story of the past season.