With under a month to go until the new 2015 NASCAR season gets underway, teams across all three of the top divisions are still finalizing their driver and crew chief line ups for the start of the racing campaign.

Last week saw a number of tracks around the country covered in snow, including Dover International Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Luckily for race fans, those venues do not host a race for another couple of months.

Speedweeks Schedule Released:

As is customary for the start of the NASCAR season, the Daytona Speedweeks kick off the season with a bang.

The first big event of the week sees a number of the Sprint Cup Series best do battle in the Sprint Unlimited on Friday, Fenruary14, at 8:15pm -- although there will not be much love lost even with it being Valentines Day.

Qualifying for the Daytona 500 takes place the afternoon of the 15th at 1:30 p.m. with the potential for a third unexpected driver in three years to get the Coors Light Pole Award.

Then, the 17th at 7:00 p.m. sees the Budweiser Duels moved to an evening slot for the first time.

On the 20th, the first main race of the week begins at 7:30 p.m. as the Camping World Truck Series takes to the track for the first race of their season.

Saturday the 21st sees the newly-named NASCAR XFinity Series race around DIS at 3:30 p.m. for the first time in 2015.

Finally, the premier event of the first week of the 2015 season is the Daytona 500 at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday when 43 of the best drivers in NASCAR will fight for the win in 'The Great American Race'.

Patrick Picks Up New Sponsor For 2015:

TaxACT, a tax preparation solutions company, has partnered up with Stewart Haas Racing and driver of the #10 car, Danica Patrick.

After last week's announcement that Daniel Knost would be Patrick's new crew chief for the 2015 season, this sponsor agreement is another boost for NASCAR's second most popular driver.

Patrick told reporters after the announcement, "TaxACT's sponsorship of our race team will span the height for tax season for most people; it's a great way to promote a terrific product. I always give credit to my team on the racetrack, but in this case it was off the track where my team shined."

TaxACT will be on Patrick's car along with GoDaddy for the Sprint Unlimited and will be the full sponsor on the #10 car for the race at Matinsville Speedway on March 29th.

Driver Announcements For The Upcoming Season:

During the week since January 7, a number of teams have announced the drivers who will be driving for their teams either full-time or part-time in 2015.

In the Camping World Truck Series, Mason Mingus has secured another full-time ride for Billy Boat Motorsports in the No.15 after a successful season in 2014 finishing 11th in the driver standings.

Cole Custer, who became the youngest ever winner in the Unoh 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2014, has picked up a part-time ride for JRMotorsports in the Truck Series driving the #00.

Finally, Brandon Jones will drive the #33 in the Camping World Truck Series for GMS Racing part-time for 16 races as he is only 17 years old.

NASCAR VAVEL USA Question Of The Week:

'Will Jimmie Johnson Win His Seventh Title In 2015?'

Respond via Twitter @MarkSmiggzy17 or email via [email protected]

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About the author
Mark Smith
Writer for VAVEL USA as a NASCAR writer in the Racing section. Contact me via Twitter @Marksmiggzy17 or email: [email protected]