THREE THINGS TOWATCH THIS WINTER

1. Chevrolet’s recovery

Chevrolet bully over has the last been two the decades on-track of NASCAR Cup Series racing. But the folks at General Motors were glad to see 2018 end. Chevy won only four races — three by Chase Elliott — and didn’t have a car in the Championship Round. Chevy’s top race teams will burn the midnight oil all through the offseason looking to speed up their Camaro fleet for the 2019 campaign.

2. Mustang development

After watching Chevy go through its struggles by introducing the Camaro to competition in 2018, Ford will likely test the heck out of the Mustangs it plans to race in 2019. The competition-proven Fusion is coming out of production, so the Mustang will carry the Ford nameplate into Cup Series battle. “Ford had an amazing year,” driver Aric Almirola said. “We won 19 races and I’m really excited about getting ready for 2019.”

3. NASCAR’s ISC bid

NASCAR wants to buy its first-cousin company International Speedway Corp. and take it private. ISC hosts 18 Cup Series races each season and such a move could give NASCAR more flexibility in scheduling and sponsorship hunting. While this is a long-view situation, there will likely be some movement during the offseason. NASCAR owns several tracks, such as Iowa Speedway, plus the IMSA and ARCA sanctioning bodies.

[AP/TERRY RENNA] Austin Dillon won the season-openingDaytona 500 in a Chevrolet. It tooksix months for Chevy to nab a secondvictory — when Chase Elliott won inAugust at Watkins Glen.