There was plenty of news during the 2012 edition of the annual NASCAR media tour, but perhaps none was bigger than the announcement that Kevin and DeLana Harvick, arguably the most popular couple in NASCAR racing today, are expecting their first child in mid-July.

No matter how well Harvick fares this season, his leap into fatherhood will far outshine any on-track successes or failures he experiences, and NASCAR Ranting and Raving congratulates the Harvicks on the impending arrival of their bundle of joy.

After the two finest seasons of his career, however, Harvick is poised to take another leap: from Sprint Cup driver to Sprint Cup champion.

Indeed, before Tony Stewart won three of the last four races, the Chase of 2011 seemed to be shaping up into a battle between Harvick and old nemesis Carl Edwards. A crash in the sixth race at Talladega shelved his hopes, though, and he was ultimately a distant observer to the epic duel between Stewart and Edwards for the championship.

A year prior, he far-and-away dominated the circuit in total points scored, but was unable to overcome another Jimmie Johnson Chase Juggernaut.

If Harvick couldn't pull off the title in 2010 or 2011, what makes him the favorite this year, you might ask?

For one, he will be strictly a driver in 2012. The competitive operations of Kevin Harvick Incorporated ceased at the conclusion of the 2011 season, and this will be the first time since 2000 that he will be able to focus soley on driving race cars - from a competition standpont, of course.

He has already proven to be one of the most talented drivers in the garage, capable of winning on any type of track, and taking the day-to-day pressures of running a race team off of him will make Harvick as potent as he has been in his Sprint Cup career.

Add on top of that the extra motivation fatherhood will no doubt give him and the powerful No. 29 Chevrolets he will wheel for Richard Childress, and the ingredients are there for one of the most dominant seasons our sport has seen since Jeff Gordon's three-consecutive 10-plus-win seasons from 1996-98. Consistency has been his hallmark in the past two seasons as well, and he could just as easilly win the title by top-fiving the field to death, with a handful of wins thrown in.

Regardless of how he goes about accomplishing it, however, it will be Harvick who assumes his place at the head table in Las Vegas this December, alongside his lovely wife and a five-month-old child.

I realize that this is slightly taboo but I wasn't that excited for Friday's NASCAR Hall of Fame ceremony. It's not that I don't appreciate the inductees' contributions to the sport, because I do.

It's just that I'm beyond excited for the 2012 season to get under way.

We're exactly one month away from dropping the green flag on the Daytona 500 and there's a wealth of fantastic new stories to tell this year. There's more energy toward writing these untold stories than reliving many of the old ones.

One such story to keep an eye on once we get to Speedweeks is several top-tier teams who are seeking rebound seasons following a winless 2011.

Read about these teams after the jump. Hint: All three were involved in the only accident of Daytona preseason testing.

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Fellow NASCAR blogger and cartoonist Lori Munro posted an awesome guessing game at her site today, Lori's War Wagon (http://www.war-wagon.com). Think you know the makes of cars competing in NASCAR's top series? Give it a shot, I bet you don't.

Oh and don't be fooled by the red herring that has been placed in there. In order from top to bottom pick the four NASCAR manufacturers out of the five cars shown. Good luck!

So what have we learned from this task? We all complain that the CoT looks the same no matter what the manufacturer is, and yet the normal everyday street cars are the same too - so what are we complaining for?

Special thanks to Lori for letting me post this at NASCAR RnR.

Keep reading for the 2012 debuts of Penske and Michael Waltrip Racing's drivers.

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New 2013 Ford Fusion NASCAR Sprint Cup Car Brings the "Stock Car" Back to NASCAR

CONCORD, n.c, Jan. 24, 2012 - Manufacturer brand identity is back in NASCAR.

The 2013 Ford Fusion NASCAR Sprint Cup car, unveiled today as part of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour, was worked on by Ford designers in an effort to bring brand identity back to the sport. The result is undeniable with the 2013 Sprint Cup car mirroring the recently unveiled 2013 Ford Fusion production car.

Featuring a completely redesigned sleek new silhouette and fresh face, the 2013 Fusion Sprint Cup car was designed to be the face of a new era of stock car racing.

"We wanted Fusion to be the car that helped return ‘stock car' to NASCAR." stated Jamie Allison, director, Ford Racing. "I think fans, when they see the car, are just going to smile and cheer. It is going to reengage them with the sport and make the sport better because there is just something natural about seeing race cars that look like cars in their driveways."

This marks the third time Ford simultaneously launched production and NASCAR versions of a new model. The first dual launch came in 1968, with the sleek fastback Ford Torino. Legendary NASCAR driver David Pearson drove the Torino to back-to-back NASCAR championships in 1968 and 1969. The second time came in 2006, when the then newly introduced Ford Fusion appeared in showrooms and on the track.

Ford took a different approach with the development of the 2013 Fusion racer. Ford Design Center staff, led by Garen Nicoghosian, and Ford aerodynamicist Bernie Marcus, spent the past year doing the early design development, freeing up the Ford race teams to concentrate on weekly NASCAR competition.

"This is a seminal moment in the sport where we had a chance to get it right once again and make sure the race cars are race versions of street cars. And I am proud because I believe we have accomplished just that," continued Allison. "The 2013 Fusion is a stunning car and the 2013 NASCAR Fusion is even more stunning and I can't wait to see it perform on the track and connect with race fans."

Ford designers, led by Nicoghosian, addressed three main issues to mirror the 2013 Sprint Cup Fusion to the 2013 production Fusion found on showroom floors.

Design Features of the 2013 Fusion Sprint Cup Car

· Designers addressed the overall proportion of the race car to reflect proportions found in the production Fusion.

· Brand and design cues in the side of the vehicle.

· An identifiable front end grill with the distinctive look of a Ford.

"It looks fun to drive and very much eager to go and tear up the track. It has a very aggressive stance from the outside and the inside. From all angles the vehicle exudes performance and I think it reflects our general attitude of how we go about setting up our cars very, very nicely," said Nicoghosian. "It brings a certain level of nimbleness and lightness and agility to the NASCAR platform, much like we do in our production cars, because all of our production cars have that nimbleness and agility and eagerness about them."

The new NASCAR Fusion entries will be tested throughout the 2012 campaign in preparation for their racing debut at the 2013 Daytona 500 in February.

After an unplanned hiatus, the cartoons return to NASCAR Ranting and Raving with the heartthrob of the high-banks herself, Danica Patrick!

Keep reading for the 2012 debut of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers.

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NASCAR families, friends, resident enthusiasts and new fans looking for their first affordable weekend getaway of the New Year will find it at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the Charlotte (N.C.) Convention Center, where NASCAR Acceleration Weekend 2012 will hit into high gear. The action-packed weekend, slated for Jan. 20-22, provides an opportunity for audiences to interact with the sport’s legends, current stars and catch a sneak peek at the upcoming season.

A snapshot of events includes:

· Friday, Jan. 20: Storytelling with 2010 and 2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductees in the Great Hall (4 p.m.), followed by the Red Carpet event (4:30-6 p.m.) featuring past and current Hall of Fame Inductees, celebrities and NASCAR executives leading up to the 2012 Induction Ceremony. The Hall will welcome its third class – Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, Glen Wood, Dale Inman and Richie Evans (posthumously) – with enshrinement.

· Saturday, Jan. 21: NASCAR legend Junior Johnson will serve breakfast to Hall of Fame guests, free with paid admission to the NASCAR Hall of Fame (7-9 a.m.) kicking off NASCAR Preview 2012, Presented by Sprint. Top NASCAR drivers and legends will be on hand throughout the day (9 a.m. – 5 p.m.) for autographs and on-stage Q&A sessions, as well as interactive experiences for fans held at the Charlotte Convention Center. To put a nightcap on the day’s events, NASCAR legends and new Hall Inductees will be stationed at their respective exhibits telling stories and visiting with fans (7-9 p.m. ET).

· Sunday, Jan. 22: Fans will have the opportunity to mingle with the 2012 Hall of Fame class as they get their first glimpse of each inductee’s Hall of Fame cars and exhibits (9:30-10:30 a.m.). A perfect exclamation point to the weekend!

· Ticket special: Combo tickets for the NASCAR Hall of Fame and NASCAR Preview 2012 start at $20. Children under five-years old are FREE.

For more information on NASCAR Acceleration Weekend, visit NASCARacceleration2012.com or call 1-800-745-3000