Originally, the Formula 1 race was one week later but F1 announced a change in its schedule Wednesday after dropping three previously tentatively scheduled events.

Texas Motor Speedway, where NASCAR will hold the eighth race of its 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, is about 220 miles from Circuit of the Americas.

The announced attendance for the F1 race at COTA last November was 113,162. TMS does not announce attendance figures but it is reducing its grandstand capacity to 112,552 for 2014 with infield admission also available.

“It’s a foolish move by Formula 1,” TMS President Eddie Gossage said in a statement Wednesday. “Our two NASCAR Sprint Cup races draw the two largest crowds in Texas sports. It isn’t the smartest move to try to compete with that.

“I’m sure regardless of what they say publicly, the folks at the Austin track are pulling their hair out over this one. They don’t have any say over their date.“

The Formula 1 race the last two years has conflicted with NASCAR’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“Due to the large number of NASCAR events scheduled annually, there will occasionally be overlaps with events at Circuit of The Americas, and that will happen next year,” COTA Chairman Bobby Epstein said in a news release. “However there are few similarities between a NASCAR race and the Formula 1 weekend we have developed. The F1 USGP is a massive, fun and entertaining experience that has performed well against all kinds of competition.”


CUP TEAM ADDS ROOKIES 


Add two more drivers to the Sprint Cup Series rookie list.

Cole Whitt and Parker Kligerman will drive full time for Swan Racing in 2014.

The team, which oil executive Brandon Davis bought from David Stremme last year, will expand from one to two cars. It will also move into a shop in Statesville, N.C., as part of the expansion.

“When we launched Swan Racing we pledged to race hard every lap of every race,” Davis said in a news release. “That's what we have done and what we will continue to do.

“We learned a lot this year and now is the time to plan for the long-term future by adding more resources to be more competitive.”

The 23-year-old Kligerman, who was ninth in the Nationwide Series standings driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2013, has two career Cup starts, both for Swan Racing, finishing 18th at Texas and 25th at Homestead.

Whitt, 22, was seventh in the 2012 Nationwide standings driving for JR Motorsports. He has 14 career Cup starts, with a best of 27th at Dover in seven starts for Swan late in the season.

They will join a rookie class that is expected to include Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, Justin Allgaier and Michael Annett

The team did not announce car numbers, crew chiefs or sponsors.


NBC TABS BURTON, ALLEN 


NBC has named Rick Allen as its play-by-play voice when it picks up race coverage for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series in 2015.

Allen is the play-by-play voice for Fox Sports’ coverage of the Camping World Truck Series. He also has been in the booth for select Cup and Nationwide practice sessions.

“I met Rick early on in his career and it has been fun to watch him develop into one of the most talented voices in motorsports,” said NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood in a news release. “His energetic delivery, great voice, and ability to bring the best out of his analysts have led him to this well-earned position of covering NASCAR’s most-watched events.”

Allen will be joined by Cup driver Jeff Burton, who was named Monday as a color analyst for NBC's coverage, which will consist of the final 20 Sprint Cup races and 19 Nationwide Series races each year starting in 2015.

NBC has not announced whether it will add a third person to the booth. Traditional Cup telecasts have had a play-by-play announcer coupled with a former driver and a former crew chief.


SHOWTIME FOR NASCAR IN VEGAS


NASCAR will honor Jimmie Johnson and his sixth Sprint Cup championship over the next three days in Las Vegas.

The championship festivities began with a fan Wednesday. The rest of the main weekend activities will be streamed on NASCAR.com, starting with the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday.

That event will be followed by the NASCAR victory Lap with the 13 Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers driving show cars down The Strip. There typically is a burnout or two. That event starts at 6:30 p.m. ET Thursday.

Following the parade of cars, the drivers will take part in the “NASCAR After The Lap” event at the Palms Casino Hotel. That event, an unscripted and no-holds-barred event that sometimes features some good-natured digs at the champion, starts at 8 p.m. ET.

Finally, NASCAR will have its awards ceremony at 8 p.m. Friday, where the top 10 drivers will be honored. The event — hosted by comedian Jay Mohr with musical performances by John Mellencamp, Dierks Bentley and Sara Bareilles — will be streamed on NASCAR’s website with the radio broadcast streamed on Motor Racing Network as well as SiriusXM. Fox Sports 2 coverage, which will be on a delay, begins at 9 p.m. ET, with replays on Fox Sports 1 at 1 a.m. ET Saturday and noon Sunday.


KENSETH SPONSOR EXPANDS


Coming off a successful 2013 campaign, Dollar General will increase the number of races it will be the primary sponsor for Matt Kenseth in 2014.

Dollar General will expand its sponsorship from 17 to 27 races on Kenseth's Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 car.

The Home Depot, which had split the season with Dollar General last year and primarily put its Husky brand on the car, will have the remainder of the schedule for the 36 points races.

Dollar General will no longer sponsor a full-time Nationwide Series team at JGR but instead will focus on Kenseth, who won seven races and finished second in the Cup standings in his first year at JGR following a move from Roush Fenway Racing.

“NASCAR is key to connecting with our customers, many of whom are loyal race fans, and we look forward to a continued partnership with JGR to further our business,” Dollar General Chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling said in a news release.

“Having the talent and passion in a driver like Matt and the way he represents our brand is a dream come true for a sponsor.”


STEWART SPONSOR RETURNS


Tony Stewart announced Tuesday that Mobil 1 will return in 2014 to sponsor him for 11 Sprint Cup races.

With Bass Pro Shops still on board for 18 races, Stewart has the majority of the 36-race schedule filled.

The three-time Cup champion is expected to drive the full season in 2014 after missing the final 15 races of 2013 because of a broken leg suffered in a sprint-car racing accident.

Contributors: Bob Pockrass, Jeff Owens, The Associated Press