Chevrolet will have a new entry in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2013: Camaro, the top-selling sports car in America, will make its series debut next February at Daytona International Speedway.

Each month, this new department will feature a few photos dug out from deep inside the Circle Track photo archives. We're kicking it off with our old friend, Bobby Allison, who celebrates his 74th birthday December 3 this year. This Hall of Famer may be known to NASCAR fans far and wide as a one of the greatest drivers to ever climb into a stock car. But did you know that the 1983 Winston Cup Champion could also wheel a mean dirt car and even an Indycar? Well, here's proof.

The NASCAR Car of Tomorrow (COT) is an interesting concept and one that rekindles our interest in Nextel Cup for several reasons. This magazine has, as a policy, refrained from either reporting on or covering NASCAR Nextel Cup racing because historically very little of the technology developed there pertained to the short-track racer. That has all changed with the COT.

It's five minutes before the start of final practice at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Florida. Marc Williams leans against the tailgate of a Ford F-250, taking the last drink from a water bottle under the hot Florida sun. He tosses the bottle into a nearby can and begins to make sure the equipment in the back of the truck is ready to go. The truck is outfitted with state-of-the-art hydraulic extrication equipment and rescue tools that would make any paramedic worth their weight in stethoscopes drool.

Fifty years ago, he was one of the kings of NASCAR. Even today, his name is still spoken with the same reverence as Richard Petty's and Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s Glenn Roberts certainly fulfilled his "Fireball" nickname from his daring performances on the NASCAR racetracks.

Track testing provides an opportunity to dial in the car to a particular track for speed and consistency. Most events don't offer enough time for adequate evaluation of our chosen setups, so we need to take advantage of every chance we get to go testing.

Having bloodied my knuckles knocking on doors over the past 10 years searching for sponsorship, I have found one common trend-success is based on education. Education, or lack thereof, could be the reason that finding sponsorship has long been perceived as one of the most difficult things a racer can accomplish, as well as the reason that so many racers might not achieve their racing goals. How many times have you heard or said, "We will move up if we can find sponsorship"? If we can agree that the definition of insanity is a state of mind that causes someone to do the same thing over and over while expecting a different result, then we can also agree that approaching racing sponsorship from a different perspective may be required to advance your racing career, while relieving some stress on your personal finances.

Did you know that you get roughly twice as much fire protection from an SFI-5 rated suit versus an SFI-1 rated suit?

Next to NASCAR and FIA, USAC might be the best-known sanction in the world. The Speedway, Indiana-based organization has a storied history with quite a story. The United States Auto Club, or USAC, was formed when the American Automobile Association (AAA) withdrew from auto racing following the infamous 1955 24 Hours of LeMans disaster in which 82 people were killed when a car crashed into the crowd. USAC effectively took AAA's place as the top sanction in the world for what they termed Championship automobile racing.

If you haven't kept your ear to the ground, you may not have heard that Chevrolet has been developing a new racing engine for the past few years. It was kept quiet as GM worked to create the successor to the SB2.2 for NASCAR's Nextel Cup Series.

Weight distribution and its relationship to our setup is more complicated than many choose to believe. We have learned how weight distribution affects our setups and how we can improve our setups to take advantage of different weight distribution ranges related to specific types of race cars and various racetracks.

There is a new wave of drivers sweeping into the ARCA RE/MAX Series this year, and they are not coming from the usual sources. It seems that ARCA has caught the eye of the sports car world, especially the Grand American Road Racing Association.

Say the words Grand National Division to any longtime NASCAR fan and it conjures up images of Sam Ard, Larry Pearson, and Tommy Houston. Known as the Busch Grand National Division for many years, it was the stepping stone to the big time for many drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, and Tony Stewart, all of whom cut their NASCAR teeth in this division, the middle rung on the NASCAR ladder.

Southern Mississippi race car driver Scott Spicer had his eyes opened on August 12, 2006. It started innocently enough, just another hot lap session in his Pro Stock on a track where he frequently races. But as he came out of Turn 4 and headed down the frontstretch of the quarter-mile dirt track, the trailing arm broke. The car spun and rolled over four times.

It was by many accounts a great idea: assemble the premiere sanctions of American dirt track racing under one banner. Bolster that formula with an aggressive marketing program, television coverage, and multimedia access for the fans. With a surge of former dirt racing champions such as Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne making it big in the upper echelons of motorsports, even the timing was right. But planning and execution are two very different things.

Wheely Cool Off The Track

No racer thinks a wreck is in his or her future, but it happens far too often. So many drivers get odd injuries that could have been prevented. Taking a thoughtful and careful look around the cockpit allows any racer to improve his or her safety. Follow along and learn about how a better understanding of your environment can help you survive a crash.

NASCAR star Carl Edwards is leaning against a cabinet in his team's transporter at Pocono. Qualifying is right around the corner, but Edwards has dirt on his mind. "I learned the most about how to run a team, how to build a car, how to maintain a car, and how to compete when I ran Modifieds," he says proudly.

Imagine a car with the speed of an Indy Car and the handling of a Midget. Imagine a car so fast in the corners that it'll try to suck your head off your shoulders. Imagine 847 hp dangling next to your left leg. Imagine no more. We are going to introduce you to one of the most exciting forms of circle track racing there is and take a look at the demographics and technical details of these wild race cars.

In racing, the standards of tomorrow are created by the testing oftoday. No part gets into a manufacturer's catalog or onto a retailer'sshelf without going through some type of testing.

Change is difficult to swallow for some. There are still pockets ofresistance that feel anything new may be accompanied by a hidden agenda.It makes life difficult for those who have a vision of the future andbelieve that the future can be better served by changing a bit of thepresent. After all, it has been proven, for the most part, that thesport has grown because of change.

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Memorial ScholarshipFund awarded a record $120,000 in scholarship to students workingtowards careers in the automotive industry earlier this year. Seventy-two young adults were awarded scholarships between $1,000 and$3,000.

You can read stories about many things that encompass a complicatedracing world. This story is not a feel-sorry story. It's not a put-downstory. It's definitely not anything of a negative vein. Actually, it istwo stories in one: the story of Norm Benning and how he has gotten themost out of his racing dollars.

Title: An Introduction to Race Car Engineering, Book I (2nd edition)
By: Warren J. Rowley
Note: Includes William Mitchell software program

The racing landscape has changed immensely since Pennsylvania's Jennerstown Speedway ran its first race. The fact that there is still a Jennerstown Speedway is a testament to the forethought of the promoters who have followed.