The 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 65th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 42nd modern-era Cup season. The season began on February 16, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway, with the Sprint Unlimited, followed by the Daytona 500 on February 24. The season ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 17.
The 2013 season was the first season using the Generation 6 race car, the Car of Tomorrow's successor, and marked the return to the qualifying procedure that was used before the 2005 season. However, at the two road courses on the schedule drivers qualified in groups instead of single laps. In September 2012, NASCAR removed a ban introduced in the 2008 season on testing at tracks that were on any of the premier series' schedules, replacing it with a testing limit.
Chevrolet entered the season as the reigning Manufacturer's Champions, while Brad Keselowski was the reigning Drivers' Champion. However, because Keselowski failed to make the Chase, he was unable to defend his title. By the end of the season, Jimmie Johnson claimed his sixth Sprint Cup Championship. This was the final full season & final starts for Juan Pablo Montoya, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Scott Riggs, Scott Speed, Ron Fellows, Kevin Swindell, Jason Leffler, Brian Keselowski, Tony Raines, Dave Blaney, Owen Kelly, Paulie Harraka, and Tomy Drissi.
The season was also marred by the death of Jason Leffler, 3 days after making his final Cup start at Pocono in June. Leffler would be the last overall driver to pass away during a season since Dale Earnhardt's death in 2001 until 2026, when Kyle Busch died from pneumonia and sepsis at the age of 41.
This was the last season until 2026 to feature a 10-race Chase format, as the 2014 to 2025 seasons would feature a four-round elimination playoff format across the final 10 races instead.
Teams and drivers Complete schedule
There were 40 full-time teams in 2013.
ManufacturerTeamRace DriverCrew Chief Chevrolet Earnhardt Ganassi Racing 1 Jamie McMurray Kevin Manion 42 Juan Pablo MontoyaChris Heroy Furniture Row Racing 78 Kurt Busch Todd Berrier Hendrick Motorsports 5 Kasey Kahne Kenny Francis 24 Jeff GordonAlan Gustafson 48 Jimmie Johnson Chad Knaus 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Steve Letarte Phoenix Racing (Finch) Phoenix Racing (Scott) 51 Regan Smith Nick Harrison Jimmy Elledge A. J. Allmendinger Austin Dillon Bobby Labonte Jacques Villeneuve Owen Kelly Brendan Gaughan Ryan Truex Mike Bliss Justin Allgaier Michael McDowell Kyle Larson Richard Childress Racing 27 Paul Menard Slugger Labbe 29 Kevin Harvick Gil Martin 31 Jeff Burton Luke Lambert Ernie Cope Matt McCall 33 Austin Dillon Scott Naset Ryan Wellman John Rahlf Shane Wilson Mike Abner Brian Scott Circle Sport Landon Cassill Ron Fellows Tony Raines Stewart–Haas Racing 10 Danica Patrick (R) Tony Gibson 14 Tony Stewart Steve Addington Greg Zipadelli Max Papis Austin Dillon Mark Martin 39 Ryan NewmanMatt BorlandTommy Baldwin Racing7Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Jr.Justin Marks 36J. J. Yeley Joe LaxVictor Gonzalez Jr. FordFAS Lane Racing 32Terry Labonte Frank StoddardKen Schrader Timmy Hill (R) Boris Said Front Row Motorsports34David RaganJay Guy 35Josh Wise Steve Lane Derrick Finley Todd Anderson Michael McDowell 38David GillilandFrank KerrGermain Racing13Casey MearsBootie BarkerPenske Racing2Brad KeselowskiPaul Wolfe Kevin Buskirk 22Joey LoganoTodd Gordon Steve Reis Richard Petty Motorsports9Marcos AmbroseDrew BlickensderferAric AlmirolaTodd Parrott Sammy Johns Greg Ebert Roush Fenway Racing16Greg BiffleMatt Puccia17Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (R)Scott Graves99Carl EdwardsJimmy FennigToyotaBK Racing83David ReutimannPat Tryson Doug Richert 93Travis KvapilTodd Anderson Mike Ford Dale Ferguson Joe Gibbs Racing11Denny Hamlin Darian GrubbMark Martin Brian Vickers 18Kyle BuschDave Rogers20Matt KensethJason Ratcliff Wally Brown JTG Daugherty Racing 47Bobby Labonte Brian BurnsA. J. Allmendinger Michael Waltrip Racing15Clint BowyerBrian Pattie55Mark Martin Rodney Childers Scott Miller Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Elliott Sadler 56Martin Truex Jr.Chad JohnstonNEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing 87Joe Nemechek Scott EgglestonTomy Drissi Swan RacingMichael Waltrip Tony Eury Jr. Steve Lane David Stremme Cole Whitt Kevin Swindell Parker Kligerman
Limited schedule ManufacturerTeamRace DriverCrew ChiefRound(s) Chevrolet Circle Sport 40 Landon Cassill John Rahlf Mike Abner Tony Raines Max Q Motorsports 37 J. J. Yeley James Parrott Ford Leavine Family Racing 95 Scott Speed Wally Rogers Reed Sorenson Scott Riggs Blake Koch Penske Racing 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Greg Erwin Phil Parsons Racing 98 Michael McDowell Gene Nead Johnny Sauter Wood Brothers Racing 21 Trevor Bayne Donnie Wingo Xxxtreme Motorsport 44 Scott Riggs Tony Furr Walter Giles Toyota Humphrey Smith Racing 19 Mike Bliss Peter Sospenzo Jason Leffler Alex Kennedy Scott Riggs Joe Gibbs Racing 81 Elliott Sadler Chris Gayle Toyota Ford Brian Keselowski MotorsportsHamilton Means Racing 52 Brian Keselowski Bob Keselowski Morgan Shepherd Ben Leslie Go Green Racing Paulie Harraka
Team changes Penske Racing changed their manufacturer to Ford after being with Dodge since 2003. Penske had collaborated with Ford from 1994 through 2002. During the off-season, Inception Motorsports was purchased by Swan Energy Inc. CEO Brandon Davis, renaming the team to Swan Racing. However, David Stremme remained as the driver of the team's car. Tommy Baldwin Racing changed the number of their primary car from 36 to 7 in honor of former Modified Series driver Tom Baldwin Sr., the father of team owner Tommy Baldwin Jr. During the season, James Finch announced that he would sell Phoenix Racing, and that his final race as owner of the team would be the Crown Royal presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard which was later changed to the AdvoCare 500.
Driver changes 2011 and 2012 Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove the No. 17 Ford Fusion to replace Matt Kenseth, who decided not to renew his contract with Roush Fenway Racing after his fourteenth season with the team. Stenhouse Jr. ran the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFR from 2009 to 2011 in the Nationwide Series. Kenseth later replaced Joey Logano in the No. 20 at Joe Gibbs Racing. Logano, who had been racing for Joe Gibbs Racing since the 2008 season, replaced A. J. Allmendinger – who had been suspended from the series in July 2012 – and his temporary replacement Sam Hornish Jr. at Penske Racing. Furniture Row Racing chose not to retain Regan Smith, instead choosing the 2004 season champion, Kurt Busch for the 2013 season, and for the final six races of the 2012 season. Busch was previously with the Phoenix Racing team during the 2012 season. Smith later moved to the Nationwide Series to drive for the JR Motorsports team for the 2013 season. *Afterward, Phoenix Racing announced that Smith would drive in the 2013 Daytona 500 for the team. After conflicts arose over payment for 2012 and 2013, Landon Cassill left BK Racing. David Reutimann, who drove for the team in the Daytona 500 and at Darlington during 2012, drove the No. 83 full-time instead. Cassill later joined Circle Sport.
Changes
Generation 6 car
In preparation for the 2013 season, NASCAR allowed the manufacturers participating in the series to develop a new car that resembled the production models. Areas of the car that were allowed to be changed were the area above the doors, hood and truck lid.
Ford was the first to announce their 2013 car on January 24, 2012, with the Ford Fusion; however, the company modified the car in June 2012 by designing a new grille and hood lines. Afterward, Dodge revealed their 2013 Dodge Charger, while Chevrolet announced that the Chevrolet Impala would no longer race in the series, instead the Chevrolet SS, expected to go into production in 2014, would. On May 22, 2012, Toyota announced that the Toyota Camry would continue to be their race model for the 2013 season.
On July 30, 2012, NASCAR approved each of the manufacturer's design after the results of the final aerodynamic test, allowing them to begin making parts for the cars. The new cars are expected to premiere in the 2013 Daytona Speedweeks. Dodge announced on August 7, 2012, that it would not participate in the series during the 2013 season after recording 55 victories in the previous eleven years.
To benefit the safety of the drivers, NASCAR improved the roll cage surrounding the driver after a large amount of testing in the NASCAR Research and Development Center. The improvement featured a new forward roof bar and center roof support bar intersecting in the center of the front section of the roll cage. NASCAR later released cosmetic changes to the 2013 car, including the driver's last name on the windshield, the sponsor's logo placed on the roof, the team logo being moved from the headlights to the front bumper, and the reduction in size of contingency decals and car numbers due to the smaller size of the car. During the Autoweek's Racing Conference in Detroit, Michigan, NASCAR announced that the manufacturer logos would be placed on either side of the drivers' name to increase manufacturer identity.
Starting with the Subway Fresh Fit 500, the roof camera was removed for approximately two-thirds of points races to lessen turbulent air impact, though tracks like Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International retained the cameras.
Rule changes After banning all testing on tracks where any of the three premier series sanction races in 2008, NASCAR announced on September 29, 2012, that they will implement limited testing at tracks which sanction a race on the schedule. However, NASCAR stated that each organization is only allowed to test four different times, with each test at a different track. Rookie of the Year participants were allowed one extra test session, while NASCAR chose two other events for extra testing during the race weekend. NASCAR changed the car inspection process as well. The new process involves a laser mechanism which scans different parts of the car. Teams were first introduced to this new inspection process during the Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway testing. It was also used during preseason testing at Charlotte Motor Speedway to make sure it doesn't have any problems.
Furthermore, NASCAR removed the top-35 qualifying rule that was introduced in 2005 to revert to the previous qualifying rule. The rule was originally established so that full-time teams, as well as their sponsors, were ensured a spot in the race when 50+ cars attempted to race. For 2013, the top 36 starting positions were set by qualifying speed. Positions 37 to 42 were set by provisionals (based on owners points). Similar to previous seasons, the forty-third position were given to the most recent series champion who didn't qualify on time or the next available team in owner's points. Unlike in previous years, the previous years' Owners points were only used for the first three races of a season instead of five. Also, NASCAR instituted a random draw to determine qualifying order instead of inverting the first practice speeds. Director of Competition Robin Pemberton stated the change was made due to teams manipulating their first practice run to get a later qualifying draw.