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NASCAR Preview: 75th season one of celebration & transition

FILE - Kyle Busch smiles prior to a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022, in Concord, N.C. This 75th season of NASCAR begins Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, with the Daytona 500 and is a year of both celebration and transition. One Cup victory this season would give Busch at least one win in 19 consecutive seasons, breaking a tie with Richard Petty. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley, File) FILE - NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain speaks during the NASCAR Championship media day, Nov. 3, 2022, in Phoenix. Chastain, who used a video-game style move now dubbed the “Hail Melon” to snag the final spot in last year’s championship race, earned global recognition in and outside the industry for last October’s wall-riding gamble. The tactic he used of deliberately crashing into the wall for momentum has since been banned by NASCAR. (AP Photo/Matt York, File) FILE - Austin Cindric celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Feb. 20, 2022, in Daytona Beach, Fla. As Kevin Harvick prepares to depart, the stage is open to be seized by Noah Gragson, watermelon farmer Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez, the only Mexican-born winner in NASCAR history. There’s also Cindric, a Team Penske fixture who won last year’s Daytona 500 as a rookie on Roger Penske’s 85th birthday, or Bubba Wallace, the only Black driver competing at NASCAR’s top level. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File) FILE - Jimmie Johnson looks on before the IndyCar Detroit Grand Prix auto race on Belle Isle in Detroit, Sunday, June 5, 2022. Kevin Harvick is looking for the exit ramp as he enters his final season as a NASCAR driver, at the same time seven-time champion Johnson is sliding back into stock cars. Harvick is making 2023 his last as a full-time driver, while Johnson, after two years away in IndyCar, has returned to NASCAR as its newest team owner. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) FILE - Kevin Harvick celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Richmond Raceway, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, in Richmond, Va. Harvick is looking for the exit ramp as he enters his final season as a NASCAR driver. This 75th season of NASCAR begins Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, with the Daytona 500 and is a year of both celebration and transition. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File) FILE - Kevin Harvick (4) drives during the NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022, in Avondale, Ariz. Harvick is looking for the exit ramp as he enters his final season as a NASCAR driver, at the same time seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson is sliding back into stock cars. This 75th season of NASCAR begins Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, with the Daytona 500 and is a year of both celebration and transition. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File) FILE - Kevin Harvick greets fans during driver introductions prior to the start of a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Richmond Raceway, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, in Richmond, Va. Harvick is looking for the exit ramp as he enters his final season as a NASCAR driver, at the same time seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson is sliding back into stock cars. This 75th season of NASCAR begins Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, with the Daytona 500 and is a year of both celebration and transition. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File) FILE - Austin Cindric (2) takes the checkered flag in front of Bubba Wallace (23) to win the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, in Daytona Beach, Fla. As Kevin Harvick prepares to depart, the stage is open to be seized by Noah Gragson, watermelon farmer Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez, the only Mexican-born winner in NASCAR history. There’s also Cindric, a Team Penske fixture who won last year’s Daytona 500 as a rookie on Roger Penske’s 85th birthday, or Bubba Wallace, the only Black driver competing at NASCAR’s top level. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
NASCAR Preview: 75th season one of celebration & transition