How long will it take?

RCR has been struggling for a few years, and I don't believe that Austin Dillon is more talented than Kevin Harvick or Jeff Burton at this time. Childress is bringing the #3 back to Grand National, and a lot of people have high hopes to see that car in Victory Lane again.

And none more than NASCAR. It would bring them a lot of press if it were to happen at Daytona, Charlotte or Talladega. I'm inclined to think that the #3 will get a less rigorous inspection at the super-speedways in order to grease the skids for a win. Kind of like how Harvick scored a win at Atlanta in only his third start. Brian France really likes a compelling story.

So do you think that Austin will win a race this year?

im sure nascar will figure out how to give him a win just as they make a cinderella story out of jimmy johnson and the 48 team

Watch out for a "Sparkle Pony" pole run for the Daytona 500. They did it for her so they could get a week's publicity so you know they would love the publicity of having the 3 on the pole for the 500. Watch and see what happens.

Yeah, that's a good possibility, and a pole run might keep folks from getting suspicious too quickly. I know the super speedway races are wildcars and anyone can win, but I truly believe that NASCAR will do all they can to create a fairytale story. Especially with the bad feelings surrounding the 2013 chase. They can't keep pushing the Sparklepony story because she didn't get the results to keep everyone believing.

You can call it good promotion or wrestling-on-wheels, but NASCAR has a lot to gain from a good season for the #3. There are too many variables to make "The Call" practical, but I believe the France Family does what it can when they know it would make a good story. Their big names are approaching retirement and they need to create new stars. I think this Kyle Larson fellow might be someone to watch but Austin Dillon will be held back by the current state of RCR.

Agreed, I've always suspected NASCAR juggled the deck to accomplish the objective of the moment, and they've laughed all the way to the bank. The guard is changing, we can see the new players: Kyle Larson, Chase Elliot, Jeb Burton, Ryan Blaney, and the Dillon brothers, to name the more visible. Austin and the 3 could win any of the plate tracks this year.........as could anyone else in the starting field. It's all the other tracks, that'll be the problem. But a more complicated question: How has NASCAR kept a lid on these "special weapons and tactics" missions for 60 some years? The racing grapevine has never failed to rat-out a story. Hats off to NASCAR for keeping all this under wraps.

"How has NASCAR kept a lid on these "special weapons and tactics" missions for 60 some years?"

Well that's a fair question and one I can't answer. Up through the Eighties, before the sport broke into the big time, Bill France could probably slip someone a few dollars to keep their mouth shut. I don't think they seriously try to influence a race very often. I don't think anyone really put an effort into gaming the system until Richard Petty reached 198 wins. I love the man, but those last few wins were hard to reach, and the fact that they stopped exactly at 200 raises my eyebrow.

I don't think Bill France used the nuclear option many times, but Brian France is struggling to keep the sport on top and may be more desperate. When NASCAR was at its peak there was that story about "The Call" that was squashed quickly. They have been known to punish journalists and nobody would have wanted to open their mouths and get kicked off the gravy train back then.

Princess Sparklepony's Daytona pole got a lot of positive press. But if I were Brian France, I wouldn't have used that weapon in the first race of her first full season. I would have waited a year to see if she could put up reasonable numbers to keep the story going. Given her poor performance for the rest of the year, it looks like somebody pulled some strings. But I don't think that was fixed. I think she was excited, ambitious, and got lucky at a place where luck plays a big role.

I don't think NASCAR favors one driver, team or manufacturer. I think they play all the pieces for the best publicity. It's possible that the inspectors are mentioning little inconsistencies and are being told to ignore them and wait to see how the affect the competition. No penalties are being handed down until the folks in the trailer have made their decision. If the guys in the trailer begin to look like they're playing favorites, they announce a huge fine and suspensions. Then it goes to appeal and those are reduced. They've played that a few times though and probably won't get away with it much longer.

I don't think that NASCAR wanted six championships for Jimmy because he's not one of the more popular drivers. But they will want seven, and I think they'll try to make that happen in 2015 and beyond. It would help prove that the sport is just as good as it was at its peak. Tell your grandchildren that you watched Jimmy Johnson, one of the all-time greats. I think there will be some skullduggery to get that 7th championship. Brian France is a complete idiot if he let's Jimmy rack up more than Richard and Dale though.

A good friend of mine once told me.........."NASCAR may not be able to pick who's gonna' win but they can damn sure give them all the "advantages" they can".

Exactly what I was thinking Tim! Last year, what better publicity for a women to win a pole in the biggest race of the year in one of the most popular forms of sports in America. It brought it to the attention to women, especially those who doesn't even know where Daytona International Speedway is!

The same will happen this year, you just wait! There's going to be a HUGE extravaganza if #3 wins the pole, let alone the race. NASCAR will have a majority of Earnhardt fans having a backlash saying that "it's disrespectful to Dale" and that Austin "doesn't deserve to be in that car" and so forth.

Oh well, I love to predict things!

Google Trends - Trending Annual Events, 2013, United States
1.Black Friday
2.Cyber Monday
3.Daytona 500
4.Chinese New Year
5.Tour de France
6.AMAs
7.French Open
8.Cinco de Mayo
9.Yom Kippur
10.LA Auto Show

You can thank the Sparklepony for that. After that first Indy 500 it became apparent to me that her reach exceeded her grasp but she brings new eyes to the sport and Austin doesn't have the same drawing power. Her new teammates' knowledge will probably make the team more competitive and she's probably good for a couple of top tens this year. I don't think she's developed the necessary skills to hold anyone off for the win though.

If Jimmy can hurry up and get his 7th championship then Chad Knaus can zip over to Danica's team and prove that was the more talented one behind all of those championships.

Am really shocked that the Super Bowl is not on there. I'm not a football fan, but I've always been under the assumption that the NFL was more popular than NASCAR.

I was also surprised by that. No baseball, no football, bicycling and tennis. And the LA Auto Show? Detroit and New York have more prestige as far as I remember.

I rationalized it this way. There is a ton of Super Bowl coverage for a week or two leading up to it, and everyone is watching the game live. There's little need to fire up the search engine to find information. The Tour de France lasts 23 days, so people are often looking up the results of various stages. The French Open is in Europe and I guess the it and Wimbledon are the Daytona and Talledega of tennis. It takes like two weeks to play out and the time difference probably has people looking online to find the preliminary tournament results.

I think that the people Googling the Daytona 500 couldn't be bothered to actually watch the race, they just want to know how the girl did or to find out what Cosmopolitan/Sports Illustrated was talking about when they mentioned stock car racing. It's an extraordinarily high placement, especially considering that there are no major sports/players on the list also. It has to be Danica, and I doubt we'll see that happen again.

Back when Danica was running Indycar, I wished that she would just hurry up and win so that the "big moment" would pass and they'd stop publishing all these stories. But the Junior stories haven't stopped even though he's only got three wins in eight years. heroes are made regardless of whether they deserve it. They bring new people to the sport. Because auto racing is still not a valid sport in the media, I have to suck it up and accept whatever it takes in order to legitimize my favorite sport.

But I draw the line at DW. He's just a clown dancing for whatever quarters they throw at him. I mentioned on another blog today that it would be awesome if we replaced DW and McReynolds with Kyle Petty and Ken Schrader. They'd be worth sitting in front of the TV for four hours. With those two I would even tolerate having Mikey over in the Hollywood Hotel, just so I could hear Kenny telling him to shut up.