NASCAR Enters A Season of Change

Columbia native Juan Pablo Montoya qualified fourth for the Daytona 500, his first race in NASCAR. (Charles W Luzier - Reuters)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- No sport rewrites it rulebook more frequently than NASCAR, which has built itself into America's dominant form of motorsports by tweaking its rules as needed to level stock-car racing's playing field and ratchet up its entertainment value. But the pace of change entering the 2007 season is dizzying even by NASCAR standards, enough so to raise concerns about turning off longtime fans in an effort to attract new ones.

On tap as drivers prepare for Sunday's season-opening Daytona 500:

· The debut of the first foreign nameplate -- Toyota -- in NASCAR's top ranks, which traditionally has been restricted to "American-made" cars.

· The unveiling of the "Car of Tomorrow" -- a multipurpose racecar constructed around a chassis designed by NASCAR engineers. Billed as safer and more cost-effective, the car has a radically different look and unknown racing characteristics.

· The rookie campaign of Juan Pablo Montoya, a native of Colombia, who brings the cachet of Formula One experience and a Monte Carlo residence, as well as the potential of wooing a Latino audience to stock-car racing.

· An expansion of NASCAR's postseason field from 10 to 12 drivers; an extra five points for winning races; and the return of ESPN as a broadcast partner.

The result, says NASCAR's third-generation chief executive Brian France, should be a more competitive and compelling brand of stock-car racing that boosts TV ratings, which dipped toward the end of last season, and puts more fans in the stands.

"The law of big numbers does catch up with anybody," France said, when asked about perceptions that NASCAR's growth has hit a plateau. "But I think you're going to see us have a very strong 2007. We still think, for a lot of reasons, that we can be more relevant to the casual sports fan."