IT WASN'T A SURPRISE to any of us in NASCAR when the news broke that Charlotte would host the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Why, you ask? Well, you might not believe this, but down in this neck of the woods we're all about hope and change these days. Yeah, that's right: We're hoping to bring fans back to NASCAR with change. Lots of change.

When we drop the green flag on the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, we'll be racing cars with all-new fronts on a track with all-new pavement under an all-new points system. We've also got an all-new track on the circuit where we'll be July 9: the Kentucky Speedway. And don't even get me started on all the new babies in the infield motor coach lot. It's a revamped Chase, for sure.