We've made our list and checked it twice. We don't know if we're going to see more naughty — "Boys, have at it" — or nice on NASCAR racetracks in 2013. But we do know that it all begins in February at Daytona Beach. Here's a look at what we'd like to see.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. being sidelined with a concussion introduced a new wrinkle to the NASCAR world — one where a driver felt his own symptoms and was wise enough to step out of the car. Let’s hope that NASCAR finds a way to be more diligent in watching for concussion-type injuries — but also that it doesn’t find any this year.

No, we don’t want to see more crashes — but more of the snarky comments so well handled by drivers such as Tony Stewart (pictured) and Kevin Harvick would certainly be ideal. After all, isn’t it fun when drivers let their real — or overdramatized — feelings show?

OK, the cars look more like those you can drive off the lot now. Will they really show distinctive characteristics on the track? Once upon a time, manufacturers spent most of Speed Weeks politicking for a change in their favor while facing accusations of sandbagging from the better-performing makes. Wasn’t that fun?

Jeff Gordon showed his feisty tendencies this season. Matt Kenseth has been known to rise to the occasion, as well. And new champ Brad Keselowski (pictured) is brimming with potential to offer new and unique perspectives on issues and procedures in the garage. Here’s hoping the restrictor plates come off and NASCAR becomes a place where drivers freely and without limits offer opinions week to week.

There are an awful lot of them — some even related to racers (like pictured Jeb Burton, son of Ward Burton) and others already in the sport — who certainly deserve a shot. Want to tap into the young fan base? Here’s a surefire way to do just that.

It looked like a tie, like the one between Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart in 2011, might be in the works again this year. Can we have three consecutive years where things are tight until the closing races?

Yeah, yeah. Say what you want. But a female driver in Victory Lane would certainly vault NASCAR to a new level of equality — and spark more lively debate among its fan base. We’re not trying to play favorites, but the sport has worked hard to develop a diverse driver field. Adding diversity to Victory Lane with a win by Patrick (pictured, with team owner Tony Stewart) would only boost the effort.

Sure, there have been a high number of race wins year to year. But we’d like to see a new crowd start to take over from the old guard in terms of chipping into those win tallies. Next year offers the shot with drivers like Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (pictured) joining the fray.

Give her chance. She’s clearly talented and has shown flashes of just what she can attain while driving in sorely underfunded efforts. Put her in a top-notch ride and just watch what happens.

There’s always speculation about the number returning with someone, but we’d like to see Dale Earnhardt's famous No. 3 permanently parked from the Sprint Cup Series — in an official, honoring kind of way. No, it has not ever been done before. Is that really a reason not to do so now?