NASCAR hopes changes breathe life back into circuit

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR has a new title sponso and a new format and welcomes back its most popular driver, all providing optimism for a series eager to halt a steady decline in attendance, ratings and sponsorship.

Money is down across the board and everyone is doing more with less to save a buck.

Teams began preparations this weekend at Daytona International Speedway, which hosts next Sunday’s seasonopening Daytona 500. It will kick off a season of hold-your-breath, wehope-this-works efforts by NASCAR, the television networks, tracks, teams and drivers to turn things around.

This season begins with Monster Energy debuting as title sponsor amid promised marketing to millennials and the opportunity to lure new eyeballs to a sport with an aging audience. Part of the new approach is a wholesale redesign of the definition of a NASCAR race.

Remember how NASCAR ran in circles for 500 miles every Sunday for hours on end? Well, this year it’s about “enhanced competition” in segments broken up over three periods.

It will be somewhat like innings in baseball or quarters in football. More accurately, the first two race segments are now the appetizer to the longer main event. In the meantime, networks promise to use breaks between segments to dump all the commercials.

Even better news for the sport is that NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., is cleared for competition after missing the second half of last season with a concussion. Earnhardt’s absence cut into the audience, and sent shivers down NASCAR’s spine over its dwindling “I got real close to not being able to compete and it being someone else’s decision. I don’t know when I’m going to stop racing, but I want to able to make that choice and not have it made for me.”

Dale Earnhardt, on the medical process to restore his health cast of superstars.

Jeff Gordon is in the TV booth, and Tony Stewart is retired, so NASCAR is counting on Earnhardt to bring his fan base back to the track with him.

But Earnhardt is married now, wants to have a family at 42 and seems to relish the opportunity to race again on his own terms.

“I got real close to not being able to compete and it being someone else’s decision,” Earnhardt said of the medical process to restore his health. “I don’t know when I’m going to stop racing, but I want to able to make that choice and not have it made for me.”

Nonetheless, NASCAR must prepare for life after Junior and other stars. Defending series champion Jimmie Johnson (41 years old) and past champs Matt Kenseth (44), Kevin Harvick (41) and Kurt Busch (38) aren’t getting any younger.

NASCAR hopes it’s off to a good start with Daniel Suarez, the only non-American in the top series and a sensation in his native Mexico. Yet the 25-year-old Suarez was promoted to a Monster Energy series ride only after Carl Edwards abruptly walked away from racing in January.

The 37-year-old Edwards gave no clear explanation on what he plans to do, but his refusal to use the word “retire” seemingly left open a return in some form.

What really matters to NASCAR is whether the racing is good, the characters come out and there is drama. So as we wait to see what this season brings, NASCAR holds its breath.

Theriault wins ARCA race

Austin Theriault would have welcomed another restart in the ARCA season opener.

After all, he figured he had the field covered.

"I feel strongly we still would have been in good shape," he said.

Theriault never got a chance to find out. He won at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday after a harrowing late accident damaged part of the energy-absorbing wall and halted the race. The 200-mile event was called with five laps remaining with Theriault sitting in his No. 52 Chevrolet on the highbanked track.

"When you're fast and you play a smart race, you're hard to beat," Theriault said. "Fortunately, everything played out in our favor."

While Theriault celebrated his second ARCA victory in three career starts, concern surrounded Justin Fontaine. Fontaine was transported to a hospital for evaluation after his wild ride brought out the final red flag. He slammed into the outside wall, slid on his driver's side door, flipped and then came to a stop on his roof. Fontaine was stuck in the car for several minutes as safety workers turned his car over and cut him out of the cockpit.

Eight-time race winner Bobby Gerhart, Codie Rohrbaugh and Derrick Lancaster also were caught up in the late melee. None of them was injured.

Terry Jones was second, followed by Shane Lee, Dalton Sargeant and pole-sitter Tom Hessert.