Upcoming changes have busy Helton enthusiastic

As president of NASCAR, it is Mike Helton's job to oversee a wide variety of issues that face the sport of stock-car racing on a daily basis.

It is an exceptionally busy time for Helton these days, as he presides over a number of changes that have begun taking place already and will continue to occur as the summer progresses. Helton sat down with NASCAR.COM to discuss some of the changes and what he sees as the current state of the sport.

Nationwide Ford Mustang

The newest car

• All about the rollout
• Test opens eyes
• 'Loose' final word
• New car overview
• Manufacturers' take
• Nationwide coverage

Q: Can you talk a little bit about the new Nationwide Series car that will make its debut in Daytona over the July 4 weekend?

Helton: Well, it was exciting to see a test at Daytona about a month ago. The debut of it at Daytona here in a couple races is well anticipated. The reason it's so exciting has a lot to do with the style, particularly of the [Ford] Mustang and the [Dodge] Challenger as they are unveiled down there. But it's also a big step toward ensuring the safety of the drivers, being able to put the chassis into that series and being more confident of the safety of the driver with this chassis.

But it's exciting, and the debut of it in Daytona is going to be pretty exciting to watch. I think there's going to be a lot of chatter again about the Ford and the Dodge that are going to be there. And it raises the confidence of the Nationwide Series in general, to have something of that level to debut. It's going to be a moment to remember. Then we'll shake it out in a few more races this year and go full time with it in the Nationwide Series next year.

Q: Any other advantages to this new car?

Helton: Now we can have two communities that we can learn from -- the Cup community as well as the Nationwide community. When it comes to the technology of the chassis and everything, we'll now have both of those the same and we'll have more information to draw off of and learn from as we continue to go forward. (Continued)