During the first on-track test for the new car at Richmond International Raceway in 2007, NASCAR Nationwide Series director Joe Balash was told he looked like a proud papa. Now, his look can best be described as watching one of his kids graduate from college and preparing to head out on their own. Were all anxiously anticipating a great first event, Balash said of the historic official points race for the new car, Friday night at Daytona International Speedway. Weve had numerous tests on various-sized tracks. Weve had a lot of great participation from the teams and manufacturers. That tells us the project is headed in the right direction. The debut also will show off some iconic models as Dodge brings its Challenger and Ford will showcase its Mustang. Chevrolet introduces a new model to the series with its Impala while Toyotas standard Camry model has a sporty new look.With our first race at Daytona, were starting with a track that the owners the shareholders of our series, if you will selected, Balash said. They gave us the direction of what four events to start with this year. The new car also will be on track later this season at Michigan International Speedway (Aug. 14), at Richmond (Sept. 10) and at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Oct. 15) before being fully integrated in 2011, starting at Daytona next February.(NASCAR PR), see more on the News & Notes section of the Daytona race page.(6-28-2010)
