When the end of the NASCAR Season in 2011 came to an end, there were many questions that finally had been answered, but more questions were also up in the air.
The big "domino" of the year was the announcement that many expected would never come as Carl Edwards would announce that he would return to Roush Fenway Racing for the 2012 season (adding five more years to his contract in the process), but that wasn't the only big story for "Cousin Carl" as he would capture his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship barley beating out Jimmie Johnson (by four points) and Kyle Busch (by six points).
This lead to the announcement by Kyle Busch and Kyle Busch MotorSports that Busch would not be returning for a full season in the Camping World Truck Series, instead looking to focus on his quest to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. This wouldn't be the only shake-up by a Sprint Cup Driver as Carl Edwards announced that he would not return to the Nationwide Series in 2012 due to wanting to focus on retaining his NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship in 2012.
The questions began being asked of who would come into Kyle Busch MotorSports to run the truck series for Kyle Busch? Would Roush-Fenway bring someone new in to replace Carl Edwards in the NationWide series? Will we finally see seasons for the Camping World Series and Nationwide Series that aren't dominated by Sprint Cup Regulars? Will we ever find out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie-roll pop? Okay, maybe that last question wasn't really being asked among NASCAR Fans, but you get the picture.
These questions would open the door for one young driver who has been scratching and clawing his way toward a NASCAR ride for the past six years... and his entire life is about to change!