NASCAR president Mike Helton will answer questions Friday

NASCAR president Mike Helton will answer questions Friday about the new racing season and the nature of some of the changes the sanctioning body is considering. Helton and vice president of competition Robin Pemberton are scheduled to attend a noon press conference at Daytona International Speedway as part of NASCAR's three-day preseason testing. No dramatic revelations are expected, but Helton probably will expand on changes officials are considering and some that are definitely in place. For the first time, drivers in NASCAR's three major series have been required to choose the series in which they will pursue the championship, meaning full-time Sprint Cup drivers won't be in the running for the Nationwide Series title. Another change involves pit road, where there will be six over-the-wall crewmen instead of seven. The catch-can position has been eliminated with the arrival of new self-venting fuel cans. Helton is expected to address those topics Friday in addition to questions about possible changes in the Sprint Cup point system and possible modifications to the Chase for the Sprint Cup format, although key information about Chase changes is not expected to be released until next week. SPEED