NASCAR Announces New Format, Protects Danica Patrick; Nationwide Fields Shrink

NASCAR's vice president of competition, Robin Pemberton, has announced many changes for 2013 in a press conference this afternoon (h/t Motor Racing Network).The biggest affects how the Sprint Cup Series fields will be set. Instead of the Top-35 rule, (which ran its course long ago) NASCAR has implemented a system similar to the system prior to the Top-35 rule, which was based on provisionals.Every week, the 36-fastest qualifiers will be locked into the field no matter what. Then the remaining six spots from 37-42 will be based on owner's points, with no limits on how many provisionals a team can use. Then 43rd will be reserved for the most recent past-champion not already locked into the race.From 2012, they will use owner's points for...

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