New cars could give Hendrick the edge

Do you remember the last time that NASCAR made a major change to the Sprint Cup car? It happened in 2007 with the Car of Tomorrow and during that season it was Hendrick Motorsports who had a huge edge. NASCAR is changing the cars again for 2013 and it could be that Hendrick starts the season with a big advantage.

When it comes to being prepared there is no organization in NASCAR that is better prepared than Hendrick Motorsports. Back in 2007 when NASCAR introduced the Car of Tomorrow it was Hendrick who won 9 of the 16 Car of Tomorrow races. Jimmie Johnson went on to win the Championship that season and it could be the same scenario that plays out in 2013. Johnson is the early favorite in the odds according to BetDSI Sportsbook to win the NASCAR Championship in 2013.

The Hendrick teams are already trying to get a lot of testing in with the new cars including the team of Dale Earnhardt Jr. “NASCAR is changing a lot of rules with the cars." Earnhardt said, "If you do the homework and you go out and test as much as you can, you are going to know more, you're going to learn more, you're going to be more prepared and more ready for what you're going to face in the first several weeks of the season."

The early part of the 2013 NASCAR schedule is going to be critical for drivers who want to make the Chase. "That's when you need to establish yourself point-wise for that Chase is real early in the year, those first 10 races," Earnhardt said. "We can't come out doubtful and unsure about how to respond in the car in practice and work on the car in practice.”

The 2013 NASCAR season has a total of 36 races on the schedule beginning with the Daytona 500 on February 24th and concluding with the season finale at Homestead-Miami on November 17th.

The defending Sprint Cup champion is Brad Keselowski but he is not among the favorites to win the championship in 2013 at BetDSI.eu. Not only does Keselowski have to deal with NASCAR changing the cars, he is switching from Dodge to Ford. More likely to win the title this season if it is not Johnson is Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart or Matt Kenseth.