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CUP: 2013 NASCAR Media Tour Blog - Monday
The Charlotte Motor Speedway Sprint Media Tour kicks off...
Mike Hembree  |  Posted January 21, 2013   Concord, NC
The Stewart-Haas team gathers to address the media as part of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Sprint Media Tour. (Photo: Mike Hembree)
Editor’s note: Each day, we will bring you the latest reports from the Charlotte Motor Speedway Sprint Media Tour. Check back for frequent updates.

[Monday 4:50 pm ET]

REBOUND FOR STEWART? – After winning the 2011 Sprint Cup championship, Tony Stewart dropped a few notches in 2012, finishing ninth in points with three wins. This year? “It’s a clean slate with this new car,” said crew chief Steve Addington. “It’s exciting to have a group of guys here that are open-minded and able to sit down and try to get on top of this thing before everybody else does.” That could make the difference in Stewart being a championship contender again.

PEOPLE GETTING DIRTY – Tony Stewart, owner of Eldora Speedway, which will host NASCAR’s first major-series dirt race in decades July 24, said Monday the track has sold more than 16,000 reserved seats for the highly anticipated race. The Camping World Truck Series will run at Eldora.

[Monday 1:35 pm ET]

SMALL GOALS – Tony Gibson, crew chief for Danica Patrick’s first full Sprint Cup season, says the team is establishing “small goals” for Patrick this season. “We will need to meet those and then make bigger ones,” he said.

[Monday 12:10 pm ET]

FANS GO RACING – Fans can play a key role in the format of the Sprint Unlimited, the new name for the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway Feb. 16. Fans can vote at NASCAR.com/SprintUnlimited on the number of laps in each of the race’s three segments, the type of pit stop each team makes and how many cars will be eliminated from the race after the second segment.

[Monday 9:30 am ET]

LET THE SPIN BEGIN – It’s Day One of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Sprint Media Tour. More than 220 journalists from across the country are gathered in Charlotte, NC for four days of interviews with Sprint Cup drivers, team owners, crew chiefs and officials. Included on today’s agenda is a noon-time announcement by Sprint officials regarding the Sprint Unlimited race at Daytona International Speedway next month.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 31 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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