Many new things announced for NASCAR in 2016

NASCAR revealed many new, exciting changes for the sport on Wednesday that should go into effect starting next season, involving racing teams, car manufacturers, television rights and even another modification to the already spectacular Chase for the Sprint Cup!

• After more than a year of rumors and speculation, it was confirmed that Dodge is making another return to NASCAR in 2016 with the Charger model, and that Richard Childress Racing will indeed be the manufacturer's flagship team this time around. Previously, Evernham Motorsports held that role when Dodge made its first comeback in 2001. Dodge's last race was the 2012 Sprint Cup season finale, which saw then-Dodge driver Brad Keselowski bring them out on top by clinching the series championship. RCR will now leave Chevrolet, the manufacturer it has been with since Richard Childress started his career as a driver 46 years ago. RCR and Chevrolet have been a winning combination, especially with the six championships the legendary Dale Earnhardt won with the team. Now, a new chapter begins as RCR becomes a Dodge team. Their Xfinity cars will also become Dodges and they will field Rams (Dodge's truck division) in the Camping World Truck Series. The RCR-aligned Germain Racing #13 car driven by Casey Mears, the #47 JTG Daugherty Racing car driven by A.J. Allmendinger and the Furniture Row #78 car driven by Martin Truex Jr. will also become Dodges as well.

• Michael Waltrip Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing, arguably the top two Toyota teams in NASCAR, will form an alliance in 2016 to essentially create a Toyota "superteam". MWR and JGR promise they will help each other succeed and win, and that this alliance could help Toyota start winning more races and beat the Chevrolets, Fords and next year, the new Dodges.

• Speaking of Toyota, its luxury brand Lexus will replace the Toyotas in the Xfinity Series next year. While Chevrolet and Ford have different models in the Xfinity Series (Camaro, Mustang) than they do in Cup (SS, Fusion), Toyota fields the Camry in both series, but they want to change that by having the same setup as Chevrolet and Ford. Dodge will also be like the other manufacturers by fielding the Challenger in Xfinity races.

• Thanks to the success of the first-ever Sprint Cup race on cable channel Fox Sports 1 at Martinsville on Sunday, and with more fans requesting the channel, it was announced that starting next year, all of Fox's 16 Cup races will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1, including the Daytona 500. This will free up space on the main Fox channel for other programs on Sundays.

• The Chase format is being modified once again. Starting in 2016, it will be expanded to 15 races, and one of the 16 drivers will be eliminated from championship contention after each of the first 14 races. For the 15th and final race, two remaining drivers will battle for the championship, and the higher-finishing driver will be crowned the series champion.

All of these things should make for a very exciting year in NASCAR starting next year!