Nascar Race Today

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Darrell Waltrip arrived Monday at Daytona International Speedway a little later than planned and without his gallbladder.

Instead of heading Feb. 12 to Daytona, Waltrip went to the doctor for significant stomach pain and soon found himself having his gallbladder removed.

MORE: SN's preseason Top 25 | Budweiser Duel lineups | NASCAR's must-follow Twitter list | Remembering Earnhardt's death

The NASCAR Hall of Famer and a member of the Fox broadcast team had to miss the Sprint Unlimited on Saturday while brother Michael took his place in the booth.

"I'm doing fine," Waltrip said Tuesday. "I feel great. I'm at the track. I'm recovering form gallbladder surgery. It was an emergency. I had no idea I had anything wrong.

"I was getting ready to leave to come down here and the next thing I know I was rushed in to the emergency room and they took out my gallbladder. ... I'm healing up good."

PHOTOS: NASCAR Media Day

It was the first time since he started with the network in 2001 that Waltrip had missed a race he was supposed to broadcast.

"I was in shock. ... Being at home watching guys (race) and watching somebody else do your job is like watching somebody else run your race car," Waltrip said. "It wasn't any fun."

Waltrip said he had a different perspective watching the race on television but not having a view of the entire track made a difference.

"I can see (things) developing whereas when you're watching it at home, you don't see it until it happens," Waltrip said. "I learned a lot watching Saturday night to understand what the fan at home is seeing."

What are fans at home seeing? Well one thing they saw that was different was a different graphic to tell them the running order of the race.

Instead of a crawl across the top of the screen, there was a box on the right-hand side that listed the top-three drivers and then a list of five others underneath that changed continuously to show where the rest of the field was running.

Fox Sports Chief Operating Officer Eric Shanks said the scroll took 90 seconds to go through the entire field. If a fan wanted to know the leader of the race or where a specific driver was running, that seemed too long to wait.

The new graphics resulted in some complaints on social media.

"We wanted to do something a little bit more modern, a little more up to date and got you to the more significant information you wanted faster and maybe showed you more drivers, which is what kind of led us to that vertical thing," Shanks said.

"We had a couple of options going on. This was one that we wanted to try."

Shanks said some tweaks are coming but he is unsure if they will be in place by the qualifying races Thursday.

"The guys are hard at work making some tweaks that are probably going to adjust the screen layout a bit but hopefully still achieve the goal that we wanted to, which is modernize the screen and get the people the information that they want in a faster and more readable layout," Shanks said.

"You can expect some changes. ... We noticed some of the same things that the fans did."

Fox will have nearly 60 cameras to cover the Daytona 500, including two super slow-motion cameras, an infrared camera and a "super zoom" camera. What it won't have is any cabled cameras that zoom above the track, such as the one that had a synthetic rope snap during the race at Charlotte last year. NASCAR continues to have a moratorium on those cameras.

NASCAR driver Parker Kligerman went for a wild ride in practice for the Daytona 500.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- An accident minutes into practice Wednesday for the Daytona 500 saw one driver flip and slide across the infield on his roof at Daytona International Speedway.

All drivers involved escaped injury, including Parker Kligerman, the driver who got airborne and ended up upside-down. The accident damaged the catch fence along the front straightaway along with the SAFER barrier, necessitating the end of practice as track workers made repairs.

A piece of debris from one of the cars flew into the lower section of the grandstand, but no spectators were injured according to a NASCAR spokesman.

The incident was reminiscent of the crash a year ago on the final lap of the Nationwide Series race at Daytona, when Kyle Larson took flight and flipped wildly in nearly the exact same spot. Debris from that crash injured 29 spectators, with some having to be transported to a local hospital for various injuries.

The mayhem Wednesday began as a group of cars barreled three-wide off Turn 4. Joey Logano made contact with the rear of Matt Kenseth, which sent Logano into the side of Paul Menard. Altogether, the cars of Logano, Kligerman, Menard, Dave Blaney and Ryan Truex suffered extensive damage.

"It's the first time I ever flipped over," Kligerman said. "I've never done that before in a race car. I assumed that it would be rougher, but it was actually really soft. I saw the whole thing go down. I'm up in the fence kind of floating along."

Logano took the brunt of the blame with Kligerman, a rookie, citing the veteran's overaggressiveness in the opening moments of practice. Kligerman will be forced to a backup for Thursday's Duel qualifying races, as will Logano, Menard, Truex and Blaney.

"It looks like the No. 22 (Logano) was just being overly aggressive," Kligerman said. "I want to talk to him about it. I think Paul and I had the same opinion there -- just what are you doing and why are you side-drafting and bumping people in the first drafting practice we've done all week."

Austin Dillon (3) drives past No. 3 flags flying in Turn 4 during qualifying for the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014. Dillon won the pole position for the race. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)nascarracetoday.blogspot.com

Martin Truex Jr. walks around his car after qualifying in the number two position for the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014. (AP Photo/John Raoux)nascarracetoday.blogspot.com

Brian Pattie knows grandma is always listening.

Pattie has made a name for himself as the crew chief for Clint Bowyer, which means his tips, jokes or code words are broadcast not only to his driver, but to any NASCAR fan with a scanner.

Pattie's 95-year-old grandmother is tuned in, one of the scores of fans who enjoy the behind-the-scenes listen not found in most other sports.

"We talk all the time and she'll say, 'I heard you tell Clint do this or that,'" Pattie said. "It makes me laugh. It makes you realize that what you say is broadcast to millions of people."

In NASCAR, eavesdropping on the action is as much a part of the race as the command to start the engines - and biting tongues is rarely an option.

"I don't know if you lose the fact that you forget about it or you just don't care," Bowyer said.

Imagine that kind of live sneak peek in other sports.

Take the NFL, for example, where Denver's Peyton Manning barked "Omaha!" into a national catchphrase. By one count, Manning used his word of the day 44 times before the ball was snapped during one playoff game.

What exactly did it mean?

Manning never told anyone the significance of his favorite word. No one could figure it out - as much a mystery to fans as what a baseball manager says to his pitcher during a trip to the mound. Or a basketball coach in the huddle drawing up the final play.

But fans sure heard Pattie and Bowyer last season in the Chase-setting race at Richmond when one suspicious command helped spark scandal. In-car audio framed the situation as Bowyer's crew goading him into spinning his car to bring out the yellow in an effort to prevent Ryan Newman from winning the race.

"Thirty-nine is going to win the race," Bowyer was told over his radio.

"Is your arm starting to hurt?" Pattie asked. After a pause, Pattie said, "I bet it's hot in there. Itch it."

Bowyer's car then spun.

Pattie was placed on probation, one of many penalties levied against Michael Waltrip Racing for trying to manipulate the outcome of the race.

Lesson learned? Perhaps, but with the Daytona 500 looming on Sunday, drivers, crew chiefs and spotters know everything is within earshot. NASCAR even banned teams from using digital radios not accessible to the public in the Richmond aftermath.

"It's not going to change the way we're doing stuff," Pattie said. "I'm passionate about what I do. When I get into the race, I don't even know what's going on. We're so focused on the event, that what you hear is what you get."

Pattie was in the thick of the action in 2009 with former series driver Juan Pablo Montoya at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Montoya was 36 laps away from becoming the first driver to win both the Indy 500 and the Brickyard NASCAR race when he was cited for exceeding the 55-mph limit on pit road. He had to re-pit and finished 11th.

"I swear on my children and my wife that I was not speeding!" Montoya shouted over his radio. "There is no way! Thank you, NASCAR, for screwing my day."

Pattie begged Montoya to calm down and focus on salvaging a solid points day.

"Don't tell me to relax, dude!" Montoya yelled. "We had this in the bag."

Jimmie Johnson, a six-time champion, said he does try to choose his words carefully, though late-race punishment can derail those cool thoughts.

"Just from venting, having an issue with another driver, it isn't worth the mess that follows if you say something bad about someone," he said. "All of (the media) comes asking questions, then you have to deal with that instead of working on your race car. You attempt to regulate yourself, but there are moments when you can't help yourself."

Johnson appeared to have the car to beat in last season's June race at Dover International Speedway, but he jumped leader Montoya off a late restart and had to serve a pass-through penalty.

"I was off the gas, NASCAR, please look," Johnson pleaded over the radio. "I checked up to give him his spot back but he blew it so bad. Please take a look at that. I totally checked up. Honestly."

Johnson stayed on the track while he protested before he finally hit pit road.

"No black flag, my man. They're not budging," crew chief Chad Knaus said. "C'mon."

NASCAR fans can listen to an uncensored buffet of communication ranging from foul-mouthed rants to finish line screams of victory on FanVision controllers that provide access to live broadcast feeds, onboard cameras, official timing, data, statistics, instant replays and a digital radio scanner. At Daytona, the device rents for $59.99 for the weekend. They have to be returned no later than 90 minutes after the race ends.

Randy Oberlander of LaBelle, Fla., was dressed in a Matt Kenseth hat and T-shirt as he rented FanVision on Wednesday. He listens only to Kenseth scanner chatter on race day.

"We're camping in the infield and we can't see the start-finish line," he said.

He'll miss little of the action deep in the heart of the track - just how NASCAR likes it.

Vickers, Whitt take substantial damage; Gordon's car caught up in mess

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Rookie Parker Kligerman went for a long slide on his roof after the front end of his No. 30 car got on top of the outside wall and into the catchfence as part of a multi-car crash that marred and eventually ended opening Sprint Cup Series practice Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway. The accident appeared to begin when Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth made contact in tight drafting practice, causing a number of vehicles to go sideways. Kligerman got the worst of it, riding up and over the car of Paul Menard, and then getting pushed from behind by the vehicle of Ryan Truex. The front end of the No. 30 car slid along the top of the wall and grinder against the catchfence to the point where repairs were necessary. With Truex still behind him, Kligerman rolled over and slid on his roof before being extricated from the car.

A number of drivers were involved, including Paul Menard -- among the fastest in qualifying practice -- as well as former Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne and veteran Dave Bleney. The accident came moments after an earlier wreck involving Cole Whitt and Brian Vickers, which proved just a prelude to the bigger one to come, and forced a number of drivers into backup cars. "Turns out Joey was bump drafting the 20 (car of Kenseth) in the middle of the pack when we were trying to getup to speed," Menard said. "I guess that's the end result." Kligerman said he was about to pull off the track and park his car for the remainder of the session. "I thought we were good. We were going to quit for the day, probably, pack it up and and wait until tonight," Kligerman said. "I guess from what I can see, the 22 (car of Logano) was just being overly aggressive. It's a shame. He's supposed to be a veteran. You go up here to the Sprint Cup Series, and it's supposed to be the best of the best, and you've got a guy in practice who wants to race people like that like it's the end of the Daytona 500. I don't quite understand that one. I'll have to talk to him about how all that went down. After reviewing a replay, Logano said "I guess that's partially my fault. I was probably working a little too hard there. It also seemed like one of those racing things. I thought he was going to keep going to the bottom, and instead he went to the top. One of those things that happens."

Piece of metal from Brian Vickers' car stuck in front end of Jeff Gordon's car, in crease where hood meets grille. No move to backup for 24.

.@ColeWhitt's car with big right-side damage http://ift.tt/ObGL5r

Coming in on the wrecker http://ift.tt/1eTGOaK

Wow. Here's @ColeWhitt's backup. A lot of work to do before tomorrow. Gotta race its way into the D500. http://ift.tt/ObGJKS

Scrapes and flattened roof flaps on @pkligerman's car. Scary stuff. http://ift.tt/ObGL5t

Since 2012, the Sunday of the Daytona 500 has featured the threat of rain, with 2012 being the first time the Daytona 500 was run on a day other than a Sunday. With rain threatening this year, how could that impact the Daytona 500 weekend?

The last two years, rain has threatened the Daytona 500. In 2012, "The Great American Race" was a washout and had to run on Monday night. It's a new year but feels like the same weather forecast, a chance of rain across Florida thanks to a stalled front across the state.

The cold front is expected to arrive across Florida Friday afternoon and evening, bringing with it showers and even the possibility of some strong gusty thunderstorms. This will be an issue for the Camping World Truck series race later that evening.

The threat of rain doesn't end Friday night, either. The cold front is expected to stall and become stationary over central Florida on Saturday and Sunday. This is almost the exact same thing that happened last year for the 2013 Daytona 500. It was a very similar scenario where a cold front moved through then stalled just south of Daytona International Speedway. The rain last year was about 15 to 25 miles away from the track but never threatened.

Like last year, the chance of rain will come down to where that boundary stalls and focuses the precipitation. The last couple of data runs on the various forecast models meteorologists use to predict the weather have not been favorable for this Sunday. They all continue with a chance of rain showers over Daytona International Speedway Saturday for the Nationwide race and Sunday for the Daytona 500.

Based on current data, I give the odds of racing on Sunday around 50 to 60 percent. I am not ready to call this a wash or even predict a Monday race. We are five days out from the Daytona 500 and a lot can change between now and then.

Please follow me on Twitter @NASCAR_WXMAN and like me on Facebook for the latest weather updates through the rest of the week and into the Daytona 500 weekend.

Conditions in Daytona Beach, FL: Click here for Current Weather Conditions - Look at Doppler Radar | Mobile Friendly Site | Mobile Radar

WEDNESDAYTruck Series Practice - Mostly sunny - temp: 4 p.m ETSprint Cup Series Practice - Mostly sunny - temp: 6:30 p.m ETSprint Cup Series Final Practice before 150's - Mostly clear - temp: 717:30 p.m ETSprint Cup Series Final Practice before 150's - Mostly clear - temp: 69

THURSDAY:12 p.m ETNationwide Series Practice - Mostly sunny - temp: 1:30 p.m ETTruck Series Practice - Mostly sunny - temp: 3 p.m ETNationwide Final Practice - Mostly sunny - temp: 834:40 p.m ETTruck Series Final Practice - Mostly sunny - temp: 817 p.m ETSprint Cup Duel 150's - Mostly clear - temp: 748 p.m ETSprint Cup Duel 150's - Mostly clear - temp: 729 p.m ETSprint Cup Duel 150's - Mostly clear - temp: 10 p.m ETSprint Cup Duel 150's - Mostly clear - temp: 69

FRIDAY:11:30 a.m ETSprint Cup Series Practice - Partly sunny - temp: 1:10 p.m ETNationwide Series Qualifying - Mostly cloudy, chance of T-storm & showers - temp: 2:30 p.m ETSprint Cup Series Practice - Mostly cloudy, chance of T-storm & showers - temp: 824:10 p.m ETTruck Series Qualifying - Mostly cloudy, chance of T-storm & showers - temp: 807:30 p.m ETTruck Series Race - Mostly cloudy, chance of T-storm & showers - temp: 738:30 p.m ETTruck Series Race - Mostly cloudy, chance of T-storm & showers - temp: 709:30 p.m ETTruck Series Race - Mostly cloudy, chance of T-storm & showers - temp:

* Austin Dillon puts iconic No. 3 on Daytona pole

* Danica Patrick irked by Daytona penalty

* Watch the pace car catch fire at Daytona exhibition

* Tony Stewart's return "like putting on an old pair of shoes"

* The good times, hard life and shocking death of Dick Trickle

Austin Dillon, right, holds up the pole award with car owner and grandfather Richard Childress after qualifying for the pole position in the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014. (AP Photo/Terry Renna) ORG XMIT: DBR107

Yes NASCAR fans, the Post-Tribune's annual Fantasy NASCAR reader contest is back for a seventh year. Things have changed in this business since starting the contest, but what hasn't changed is our dedication to keeping it going due to the number of entries each year.

What has changed multiple times is NASCAR's format, whether it be the point system or the Chase format or qualifying - or all of the above this season.

NASCAR's hierarchy just can't leave well enough alone, so they have implemented drastic changes to almost everything this year that's going to take a while for longtime fans to get used to. I know it took me a while to get used to the Chase, but now the Chase is way different - and way convoluted if you ask me.

If you haven't heard or just need a refresher course, here goes ...

The Chase has expanded from 12 drivers to 16, and a bigger emphasis has been put on winning one of the first 26 races to qualify for the Chase. A victory almost certainly guarantees a driver will qualify for the Chase. I'm OK with that part, but that's about it because within the Chase, it will now be a round-by-round elimination format similar to the playoffs in one of the four major team sports.

"We have arrived at a format that makes every race matter even more, diminishes points racing, puts a premium on winning races and concludes with the best-of-the-best, first-to-the-finish line showdown race - all of which is exactly what fans want," NASCAR CEO and chairman Brian France said at a press conference last week.

I disagree with his assessment that the new format is "exactly what fans want." What fans? None that I talk to and not this sportswriter who is also a fan.

The Chase now is broken down into three-race rounds: the Challenger round, the Contender round and the Eliminator round. After Challenger, the four drivers with the lowest number of points will be eliminated from title contention. Same for the Contender round, leaving eight drivers for the Eliminator round. Going into the last race at Homestead in Florida, only four drivers will remain and the one who finishes best among those four is the champion.

Before I go on, let's pause to shake our heads, roll our eyes and collectively tell NASCAR it's idiotic.

What was really wrong with the format over the last seven years? Is it because Jimmie Johnson has won six of those seven titles? If fans are upset that he keeps winning, then implore your favorite driver to go faster than Johnson. Otherwise, accept that he's better than everyone else.

What this new format does is open up the possibility that the best driver doesn't win. Heck, the champion actually may be a complete no name who barely survives each round.

For basketball fans, it's like the 68-team field of the NCAA Tournament. Smaller schools such as Butler (twice), Wichita State and George Mason have made it to the Final Four. In Butler's case, it reached the final game and had a possible game-winning shot rim out at the buzzer.

Would Butler have been the best team in the country if that shot is made? Heck no, but it would have been the champion because of surviving and advancing - like the ESPN 30-for-30 on North Carolina State back in 1983.

It could now happen with NASCAR in this watered-down format. How about an off-the-wall example ...

Despite Richard Petty's chauvinist statement about Danica Patrick, it's possible she wins in the first 26 races - especially since three of those are restrictor plate tracks where anything can happen. She did earn the pole at Daytona last year and finished eighth. If she were in a different draft on the last lap, eighth could have turned into first in the blink of an eye.

So let's say Patrick gets lucky in a restrictor plate race. She would qualify for the Chase. Then she hangs in there through the first three rounds of the Chase, just doing well enough to not be in the bottom four. She arrives at Homestead in the final four (sounds like Butler, right?). All she has to do is finish better than three other survivors and she wins the title.

Sound impossible? No, it's not. It's very likely that happens, and there would be no way Patrick or any other driver who matriculates into the Chase through that set of circumstances deserves to hoist a Sprint Cup Championship trophy, but it could happen.

NASCAR changed to the Chase after Matt Kenseth won the 2003 title with just one victory all season. Since then, the least amount of wins a champion has had was three. But now, the new Chase format reverts back to the chance that the champion only has one win again, and that's not the definition of progress.

There's also a major change to qualifying. It's not just one session of drivers running a couple laps to get the best speed. At bigger tracks (1.25 miles or larger ... except for the restrictor place tracks where it will stay the same), there will be a 25-minute racing session with the 24 fastest cars advancing to the next round. Then after 10 more minutes, the top 12 will advance to a final 5-minute round of qualifying. The fastest driver in that last round earns the pole.

At smaller tracks there will only be two rounds. I actually like this change because it sounds more interesting for the fans, but that's from a race-by-race viewpoint, which is hos the majority of fans look at the sport. The new Chase format doesn't really improve a fan's view of the sport, unless they like the possibility of an undeserving driver winning a title.

Contest time: Our P-T Fantasy NASCAR contest begins this week; with entries due an hour before the race. Entries consist of five drivers and we will use the NASCAR point system to determine the best lineup. The top two readers each week earn spots in our drawing in July for tickets to the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis.

As for this week, it's nice to see the No. 3 back in the fold. Rookie Austin Dillon, grandson of car owner Richard Childress, earned the pole for Sunday's Daytona 500. It's the first time "3" has been on a car in the 500 since 2001 when Dale Earnhardt died after a crash on the last lap. So I wouldn't be surprised if lots of readers pick Dillon in their five drivers. I know I did for sentimental reasons.

NASCAR's Chase Elliott at only 18 years old was among the fastest drivers at the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) qualifying race and is a team driver for the family affair racing team of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports and Cup team owner Rick Hendrick. JR Motorsports is co-owned by two children of Dale Earnhardt Sr., seven-time cup champion.

Elliott is the son of NASCAR star driver Bill Elliot. Bill Elliot was the 1988 Cup champion, he won 44 times on the Cup circuit and 16-time winner of the series' most popular driver award. Is Elliott the younger feeling the pressure of driving in the fueled fumes of history? Chase is embracing the history of his father's racing by assuming the No. 9 car the number that his father drove from 1977-1991 and 2001-2003.

Chase was not around for his father's 1977-1991 series but he says he does remember the 2001-2003 series and that's where he got his liking for the No. 9. JRM co-owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. raced his grand-fathers car number, No. 8, which raced on the historical short tracks of the Carolinas. Earnhardt, Jr. now drives the No. 88 car which may be a continued nod to his grandfather's racing days.

Kelly Earnhardt Miller co-owner of JRM said that she is glad to have drivers like Elliott on board and driving their legacy car numbers. Miller states that NASCAR needs to continue to strengthen its historical roots. She believes that team drivers like Elliott will tell the stories throughout the season again and again and that will educate the younger generation about the race. NASCAR looks to 18-year-old Chase Elliott continuing the family affair of racing and bond the historical element to the sport.

But after a 15-car crash at the Feb. 15, 2014 ARCA; some question if Chase Elliott, at 18 years old, is too young to be on the big NASCAR tracks. Elliott is being blamed for taking out Buster Graham in lap 13 of the 80 lap race. Elliott claims he did not bump Graham. Replays of the accident seem to not help the argument either way. The argument of the take-out spread to the crews of the two teams who scuffled in the pit and later in the garage. At one point police were called in to put a stop to a bat wielding team member.

Graham stated that it was too early to be driving that aggressive, referring to Elliott, and that Elliott had a lot of learning to do before racing in the NASCAR big leagues. Frank Kimmel who has an 80 win leader history at ARCA felt that the rookie drivers were coming in too aggressive and that they were too young to know what to do with such a fast car. Kimmel placed second behind ARCA winner Grant Enfinger. Elliott placed 9th at the ARCA race. Dylan Kwasniewski, also 18 years old, with his first ARCA start at Daytona placed 14th. Kwasniewski started in the pole position.

NASCAR officials will have a tough decision to make in coming days as they determine if NASCAR's family affair 18-year-old driver, Chase Elliott, will be able to debut in next weeks Nationwide Series.

by Anthony Clark

Dillon secures pole position in 500, Truex Jr. behind him in second

Making his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in the No. 3 Chevrolet, Austin Dillon won the Coors Light Pole for the Daytona 500 on Sunday. Dillon surpassed all other contenders with a fastest speed of 196.019 mph.

Following Dillon was Martin Truex Jr. with a speed of 195.852 mph in his No. 78 Chevrolet.

Both Dillon and Truex Jr. have set their starting positions in the Daytona 500 as first and second, respectively. The rest of the drivers will race in the Budweiser Duel events to determine their position in the race.

Danica Patrick, who topped Coors Light Pole qualifying in 2013, and Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Tony Stewart finished 25th and 35th, respectively, during qualifying. Both drivers suffered blown engines during practice Saturday and will start at the rear for their respective Duel races, as well as the Daytona 500.

The Daytona Duels will take place Thursday, with the first 125-miler beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Drivers will duel for 60 laps to earn their positions in the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

The field for each Duel is determined by assigning the cars that earned odd-numbered positions from qualifying to the first Duel race. The cars that earned even-numbered positions from qualifying will compete in the second Duel race. The starting positions for each Duel race will be based on the driver's qualifying times.

The top 15 finishers in each Duel race -- excluding Dillon and Truex Jr. who are starting first and second in the field -- will earn an automatic spot in the Daytona 500, filling positions 3-32.

On Saturday night the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will run the Sprint Unlimited at the 2.5 mile Daytona International Speedway.

While this race does not count for the season long championship it does mark the beginning of the NASCAR season as 18 drivers take to the track seeking a checkered flag.

The Sprint Unlimited will run on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 8:00 pm ET and will air on Fox Sports 1. The green flag is set to wave at 8:23 pm ET.

It will consist of three segments that total 75 laps. These segments will be 30/25/20.

NASCAR pace car catches on fire

The pace car caught fire during Saturday night's NASCAR race at Daytona. No joke.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR's first race of the season was a wild affair. So much so, the pace car seemed to combust spontaneously.

No, seriously, the pace car really caught fire Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.

The incident occurred on lap 55 of the 75-lap race as the Chevrolet SS circled the track under the yellow flag. It was then a fire erupted in the trunk causing pace car driver Brett Bodine to stop in the infield as smoke billowed.

"Tower, we're on fire," Bodine said to race control.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was crashed out shortly after the race resumed, said an electrical short may have triggered the fire.

"I guess it was the batteries in the back for the lights, because cars just don't catch on fire like that," Earnhardt said. "It was pretty weird."

Slugger Labbe, crew chief for Paul Menard, tweeted that a battery pack in the trunk for the external safety lights was the catalyst. NASCAR deferred all comments to Chevrolet, who through a spokeswoman declined.

At the time of the fire, Brad Keselowski was directly behind the pace car and was dumbfounded by what he saw.

"When you think you've seen it all, then you see that," said Keselowski, who was directly behind the pace car. "That was an interesting one; I just saw the whole back of the car on fire. I thought it was a race car, and then someone said it was the pace car and I just started laughing."

Denny Hamlin passed Keselowski with two laps to go to win the non-points exhibition.

* Jeff Gordon may retire if he wins Sprint Cup

* Danica Patrick brushes off Richard Petty criticism

* Brad Keselowski not "muzzled," just more "informed"

* NASCAR hot seat: The drivers, crew chiefs and teams under pressure

* The good times, hard life and shocking death of Dick Trickle

Stewart-Haas Racing teammates suffer engine issues ahead of Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick suffered engine failures within minutes of each other Saturday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway, sparking talk of potential engine reliability concerns on the eve of qualifying for the season-opening Daytona 500. All four of Stewart-Haas' Chevrolet entries are powered by Hendrick Motorsports engines. HScott Motorsports cars also use Hendrick engines, and Bobby Labonte experienced engine trouble with his No. 52 HScott car. Stewart's No. 14 car was the first to expire, letting go on the backstretch of the 2.5-mile track. Just minutes later, Patrick's No. 10 Chevy lost power as it approached the start-finish line, spewing smoke as it coasted back to the garage area. Patrick claimed the first Coors Light Pole Award of her NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in qualifying for last season's Great American Race. She backed it up with an eighth-place finish, the best for a woman driver in the Daytona 500.

See the Sprint Unlimited race format, starting order and restart order that fans voted for

You've been voting to define the rules of the Sprint Unlimited and the polls are closing. See if your votes made the cut for tonight's event.

Race Format 75 laps; 3 segments: You pick how many laps are in each segment

Options:

30 laps/35 laps/10 laps

30 laps/30 laps/15 laps

30 laps/25 laps/20 laps WINNER

The fans have spoken! Official #SprintUnlimited race format will be 30/25/20 for tonight's race! -BW, KC, MM http://ift.tt/1dV00Vn

Starting Order You pick how drivers will be lined up to start the race (voting ends at 7:30 p.m. ET)

Options:

Most career poles

2013 driver points standings

Final Sprint Unlimited practice speeds

Restart order for final segment You detemine how drivers will line up for the final segment (voting ends at the conclusion of the second segment)

Options:

Fastest lap over the first two segments

Most laps led during the first two segmentss

Mandatory pit stop results should determine lineup

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Danica Patrick and Tony Stewart both blew engines during practice at Daytona Saturday as Hendrick Motorsports may have engine problems.

Hendrick leases engines to Stewart-Haas Racing, and both Stewart and Patrick drive for SHR. Bobby Labonte also blew an engine. His HScott Motorsports team also uses Hendrick engines. Justin Allgaier, Labonte's teammate, also had an oil leak.

MORE: Childress clears air Earnhardt's mother | Stewart ready to race | Gordon and Evernham

After changing engines, Stewart, Patrick and Labonte all will have to start at the rear of the field in their qualifying races next Thursday, regardless of where they qualify Sunday.

Daytona 500 qualifying is set for 1 p.m. Sunday. That session will set the front row for the Feb. 23 Daytona 500 and help set the field for the two 150-mile qualifying races next Thursday.

Though Hendrick Motorsports drivers had no engine problems, the Hendrick teams and their affiliates seemed to be down on horsepower.

The fastest Hendrick driver during the first two-hour practice session Saturday was Jeff Gordon, who was 21st on the speed chart. Patrick, who won the pole for the Daytona 500 last year, was 19th, best among Stewart-Haas drivers.

Patrick blew an engine about 10 minutes after Stewart's motor went up in smoke.

"It was a concern when Tony blew up, and then we did," Patrick said. "It's something we're doing in our family, I guess, and we need to figure it out.

"I'm sure the Hendrick teams are wondering what is going on."

Hendrick personnel immediately began diagnosing the problems.

"At this point, from the driver comments and the data we've been able to look at, it is something in the bottom end of the engine," said HMS director of track support Scott Maxim. "Until we get the engines further apart to be able to more closely analyze, I really couldn't ay anything more than that (about them being related).

"We'll be all right," Maxim said. "We'll make the changes needed and I think that we'll be able to make corrective action. We'll be able to look the engines over closely and make sure we're not going into tomorrow with an issue and then after that, we'll be all good."

The Richard Childress Racing teams, meanwhile, topped the speed chart with Paul Menard leading the first practice and Ryan Newman leading the second practice with just a few minutes left in the session.

Menard led the first practice with a speed of 195.042 mph, followed by Newman at 194.839. Matt Kenseth was third, followed by RCR's Austin Dillon and Brian Scott.

The Hendrick and Stewart-Haas teams, meanwhile, were struggling in single-car runs. Patrick was 19th, followed by teammate Kevin Harvick and Hendrick's Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Defending Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson was 29th in the first session.

Newman and Dillon led the second practice session.

Robert Laberge/NASCAR via Getty Images

On Sunday, the K & N Pro Circuit East begins down in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. And if the track and pit look a little more diverse than they have in the past, that's because of a NASCAR program designed to entice different communities to try out the sport.

Market research says NASCAR's bread-and-butter fan base is about 60 percent male and 80 percent white, mostly from the Southern and Midwestern states. But as the country continues to become even more diverse, the sport is working to make sure its fan base is, too.

That's a challenge.

Last year, Arsenio Hall captured NASCAR's dilemma while making it his punch line with references to racial profiling and NASCAR's traditional homogeneity. He joked that Darrell Wallace, the first black NASCAR driver to win a series in 50 years, "actually would've won by a wider margin, except the police pulled him over three times."

And in the past, NASCAR hasn't always been considered user-friendly for ethnic folks, especially black ones. An incident from two years ago, when first lady Michelle Obama was booed by some in the crowd during her visit to a Florida track, still remains a sore spot for many black folks.

Max Siegel is a former sports and entertainment attorney who saw an untapped opportunity in NASCAR. He came to the organization from Dale Earnhardt Jr's race shop where he'd been head of global operations.

Siegel saw a chance to increase the sport's fan-base by getting women and people of color interested in racing through a NASCAR program called Drive for Diversity. And he quickly identified where he needed to focus his efforts.

"What we found is the biggest barrier in diversifying the audience is the perception," says Siegel.

So Siegel went on the road, speaking to church, school and civic groups to tell them about Drive for Diversity. And, drawing on his entertainment experience, he built another potent weapon:

"I created a reality show with BET called Changing Lanes, and we were trying to find the next woman or minority driver," says Siegel. "And that was one effort to start to educate a broad community about what goes into racing and the sport."

Think Survivor meets Big Brother at dangerously high speeds with plenty of high-octane fuel.

A few years ago, Siegel left NASCAR to found his own shop, Revolution Racing, in Concord, North Carolina. That made him the first and only African-American president of a NASCAR franchise. His mission: to find new drivers and fans.

Down the hall from Siegel's office at Rev Racing, two of his drivers are getting ready for the season. Daniel Suarez, 22, joined Drive for Diversity's Class of 2013, after having raced for years in Mexico. He's excited that corporate sponsors are excited about them, since corporate underwriting is essential.

"This year, 2014 , we've got 16 races, and we've got three or four sponsors for every race," says Suarez.

Devon Amos is also 22 and part of the Class of '13. The young African American grew up in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and first became intrigued with NASCAR because of a cartoon.

"I remember - I think I was 9 or 10 - the show that really got my interest in NASCAR was NASCAR Racers," says Amos. "And it was not realistic or anything - I mean, they were going upside down, doing loops with jet boosters - and I thought, 'man, that's so cool, I want to do it some day.'"

And like Daniel Suarez, he started with go carts and worked his way up.

Max Siegel is proud of Drive for Diversity's record so far, and Rev Racing's role in it.

"We've been able to place about 26 women and people of color throughout the NASCAR ranks in the pit crew side of things," he says.

So the track is diversifying and so is the pit crew. As for spectators - that's taking longer.

On the day he introduced the 2014 Driver for Diversity class, NASCAR spokesman Marcus Jadotte said they have their eye on the ultimate prize.

"The multiethnic, diverse group of drivers we introduced today as part of the Drive for Diversity Program, we believe represents the face of what NASCAR can become," he says.

And that more diverse face, says Jadotte, will be the key to growing and broadening NASCAR's fan base.

John Raoux/Associated Press

"I still think the way you win a championship is the same: You've got to win races."

That's six-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson talking to the media earlier this week at NASCAR's annual preseason media day at Daytona International Speedway. The man knows a little something about winning championships and winning races.

Never mind all the hoopla surrounding NASCAR's changes to the Chase, the takeaway here is that series boss Brian France has made it very clear that he wants his champion to be a race winner.

The biggest change in the format has caught everyone's attention: You win a race, you make the Chase field. Win races in the Chase and you win the championship.

It's that simple.

Or is it?

"Yeah, winning a race and you're in, but winning a race is tough," said Roush Fenway Racing driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. "It sounds really easy."

Teams have always gone into the season knowing that they needed to start strong. The phrase most often used has been, "Be in the top 10 in points by the fifth race of the season (which this year is at Auto Club Speedway in California) and you'll be in the top 10 at the start of the Chase come September."

A quick glance into the NASCAR history books and maybe that old adage just might be true.

Over the past 10 years, there's evidence of static movement in the top 10 standings between race No. 5 and the final race before the Chase begins (Richmond). That's because, with the current points system, drivers who get off to a strong start usually stay strong, leaving little opportunity for others to move ahead of them in the standings. It takes an unfortunate event or a two- to three-race DNF (did not finish) streak to take a driver out of the running.

Now, with the new Chase format, what's going to happen when a team wins an early race? Will it change the way it approaches the rest of the season?

"Winning a race early would give you the opportunity to go for another win. And going for multiple wins, you try to build up those bonus points that I think are ever so important to win any championship," said Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Is there a downside to an early win? Will it mean that the pressure is off, leaving the door open to complacency for the team?

"I think that it gives you an opportunity where it relieves a little bit of pressure because you can say, 'Okay, we're locked in the Chase, so now we don't have to try so hard and put ourselves in bad situations or whatever when it comes to trying to make the Chase,'" said Kyle Busch.

Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Those bad situations Busch refers to are the errors in judgement, a wreck, a cut tire or some other issue that can result in a driver's weekend ending with his or her car in the garage-or worse, with the car already on the hauler well before the checkered flag flies.

"The flip side of that," Busch continued, "is you can win a race early on in the season and the pressure comes off and you can go on and you can win six or seven because you're just going 'out of the box.' You're trying crazy stuff and seeing if you can't steal some wins versus earning them, I guess."

These new Chase rules, it seems, are open to interpretation.

One thing the new emphasis on winning has done is make racing for points a thing of the past. That's a good thing. Nothing causes more irritation to dedicated fans than hearing their favorite driver say after a race that he had a good day after finishing in 10th place. Or that their driver had "a top-10 car."

According to Tom Jensen of Fox Sports, research done by NASCAR revealed that fans wanted their favorite driver to be thinking more about winning.

Now, with a new emphasis on winning, maybe we can expect to hear more drivers say, "I just didn't have the car to win today" or "I had the car to win, but I didn't."

But we probably won't.

Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon likes the new Chase format, and he's on the side of risk-taking.

"[It's] going to make you take a few more risks and push just a little bit harder because a win now has become more important than it was before," said Gordon. "The risk versus reward is what it's always been about. And the reward for being consistent was very high in previous points systems. The reward for taking more risk is now greater, so guys are going to take more risk."

Drivers taking more risk. That sounds like part of the recipe for real racing excitement-something many fans believe has been missing from the sport for too long. And, according to driver Casey Mears, making it more exciting makes the sport more fan-friendly, another critical goal that's often been voiced by NASCAR execs.

"I think the biggest thing is to create more excitement and making it easier for a lot of the fans to follow it," said Mears. "Quite honestly, if you start getting into the nuts and bolts of how it's always been, it can get somewhat confusing to the casual fan. I think it (the new Chase format) makes it a lot easier to kind of understand."

But what if a driver doesn't get off to a strong start? In the past, if a driver struggled for the first five to 10 races on the schedule, his season was often over and both he and his team found themselves in the unfortunate position of thinking more about building momentum for the next season than their chances in the current one.

"Now, if you struggle for the first 18 races but win the 19th, you're right there and have a shot at the championship," said AJ Allmendinger. "I think that's what makes the new format fun."

The former open wheel racer drives the No. 47 Chevrolet for JTG Daugherty, one of NASCAR's smaller teams. The new Chase format has opened the door for the one- or two-car teams in an era where three- or four-car teams are the standard.

"It leads to more of variety of things that can happen," added Allmendinger. "For us, I think it gives us a good chance."

David Ragan, who drives for the two-car Front Row Motorsports team, has not made a Chase field yet, but he has won a Cup race. Ragan sees the new rules opening up the championship to more of the the field.

"I think this opens the field up for the Chase for another 20 potential teams. A team like us that can win a race, but we're not consistently good enough to be 10th in points or 12th in points.

"I think you look at our team, Richard Petty Motorsports, BK Racing, Swan Racing, you even look at a team like Chip Ganassi's. They're not good enough to run in the top 10 every single week, but if they could win a race, you're in the Chase and then anything can happen."

It appears that this new emphasis on winning has been given the thumbs up by NASCAR's drivers.

The new attitude in the garage that places more emphasis on winning is long overdue. NASCAR officials have been searching for the past several years for a way to spice up the sport and make it a better fit into a 21st century world.

They may have found their answer.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Martha Earnhardt, the mother of Dale Earnhardt Sr., admits that it will be hard for her to see her son's famous No. 3 back on the track in the Sprint Cup Series.Austin Dillon, the grandson of team owner Richard Childress, will drive a black car with the No. 3 on the side this season - the first time that Earnhardt's car number will be raced in the Cup series since his death in the 2001 Daytona 500.

MORE: Danica brushes off Petty criticism | Earnhardt Jr. lands new sponsor | Return of 3 to be emotional

Childress, who owns the rights to the number, has said the time was right to get the No. 3 back on the track and has said over the years that only a member of his family or the Earnhardt family would race it.

PHOTOS: Memorable moments of Earnhardt's No. 3

"I have mixed feelings because I was told that I would never see a number three on the racetrack after Dale died," Martha Earnhardt told Fox Sports 1's NASCAR RaceHub. "I can understand it to a point. "I know it was Richard's number when he drove and this is his grandson, and I understand that. As long as they don't make it look like (Dale's car). If they painted it a different color ... I can sort of deal with it, but I don't want to see the black number three just like Dale's. But that's not my decision."

It's the band name that perplexes NASCAR fans across the United States: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

No, this isn't Dale's side gig as a musician. Nor is it some sort of tribute from diehard NASCAR fans. They are a band led by Detroit duo Josh Epstein and Daniel Zott. Epstein explained the origin of the band's name to Sporting News.

"We didn't really have any ambitions of making it a real band, we didn't know anyone was going to hear it," Epstein said. "We didn't know what kind of music we wanted to make and we both loved all kinds of music.

"We ended up naming it the most ridiculous name we could think. We kept it so we could go any direction we wanted to as opposed to having a name that has a sort of tone that sets the tone for what kind of genre of music we could make.

"We went from a hip-hop mixtape to putting up a serious album of indie rock. It's nimble."

Despite a lack of ambition for anyone to actually hear the band, they've found success since their earliest stuff in 2010. ( You can get their latest album, The Speed of Things, here.)

And while Epstein told SN he's never been to a NASCAR race, both he and Zott are big sports fans. The band's latest tour brought them to Charlotte on Feb. 8, which isn't just home to a number of NASCAR teams, but also the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

It was only fitting that they made a stop at the venue.

"We went, I enjoyed it," Epstein said. "I understand why there's such a reverence for it.

"The thing that they've got going is very cool. The sport is branded so well. It's really easy to become a diehard fan and enthusiast. More sports could learn from it.

But the two have more direct experiences with the sports world. Epstein and Zott, big Detroit Tigers fans, sang the National Anthem at Game 3 of the 2013 ALDS.

Epstein called the Tigers' big move of Prince Fielder for Ian Kinsler a bittersweet one.

"When they signed [Fielder], it was, short-term, a really cool idea, long-term, a disaster," Epstein said. "You can't have him and Miguel in the lineup for the long haul.

"They're going in more of a direction of speed. They were so reliant on the long ball and Prince Fielder had the worst playoffs I've ever seen of anyone. They needed him, if he would've just hit three home runs in the postseason, just at different times, we would've gone to the World Series. He could've helped so much.

"It's bittersweet, because i think he'll be an All-Star for seven years."

Outside of the Tigers, Epstein considers himself more of a college football fan than pro, calling Michigan State's Rose Bowl win in 2014 "one of the best days of my life."

Both guys are big NBA fans, but Epstein yields to Zott when it comes to NBA fandom.

"He's an NBA dork," Epstein said. "He streams the D-League. It's getting a little bit out of control."

Their hometown Pistons have, of course, found themselves in the news a lot of late with the firing of coach Mo Cheeks. If Epstein were picking the next coach, his vote goes to Lionel Hollins, the former Grizzlies head man.

But what about Joe Dumars' future? He points the finger at owner Tom Gores for some of the "win now" roster moves, and says if it was only Dumars making the picks, the team would've likely selected Trey Burke or Michael Cater-Williams instead of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, but that doesn't hide some of the other blemishes.

"I loved the guy," Epstein said. "I grew up a huge fan of the Bad Boys, I think he did a great job for a lot of years.

"But if you look at some of the bad decisions he made ... Josh Smith didn't work out. Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva didn't work out. The Nazr Mohammed move was a bust. ... I kind of do feel like they're one of the most poorly run teams in the NBA."

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Don't be surprised if 2012 Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski is not quite as outspoken and critical this season as he has been in the past.

It's not that Keselowski is tired of paying NASCAR fines - he estimates he's paid out more than $75,000 in fines the past few years. Instead, he's taking his criticism and strong opinions about the sport behind closed doors, talking directly to NASCAR officials about changes he thinks should be made.

After being fined and called on the carpet several times for being outspoken and critical, Keselowski says he now has more of a private forum with NASCAR officials.

MORE: Richard Sherman example | Contenders Kez vs. Kyle | Latest from Daytona | Keselowski files

Asked if he had been muzzled by NASCAR officials, Keselowski said, "I don't have a muzzle on my face right now, but maybe I should have.

"I'm in an increasingly difficult position as a champion of this sport to try to convey the very strong situation and the health of this sport, which, although it could always be better, is not terrible, and also my own personal agenda to be a champion that moves this sport forward," Keselowski said at NASCAR Media Day.

"I think the most significant way I can answer that question is I think quite a few back channels have opened up within NASCAR over the last six to eight months that have given me the ability to not have to go to the media to get something done. That fits my personal and professional agenda, and out of respect for that I think it maybe creates a situation where what might look like a muzzle to you or to the outside is perhaps more a moment of opportunity I just don't want to piss away."

Keselowski has been fined for criticizing NASCAR penalties and its inspection process and for making other statements that were critical of the sport and the sanctioning body's policies and procedures. He had to meet with NASCAR officials just prior to last season for criticizing NASCAR's business model and was later openly critical of NASCAR implementing baseline testing for concussions.

Keselowski admits now that he may have been a bit too harsh and may have gone too far in some of his public criticism.

"Are there things I could do better? Absolutely, but the mistakes are what builds your character and helps you become the person that you are and that you can learn from, so they're only a mistake if you don't grow and learn from them," he said.

It appears, though, that those mistakes may have led to Keselowski having more contact and more input with top NASCAR officials. As a former champion, he believes he has NASCAR's ear more than in the past, even more than last year, when he was the defending champ.

"Either that or just being so damn annoying that people start listening to you - one of the two," he said. "I don't know why channels are the way they are ... but I do feel like this sport has grown a lot over the last year in the sense of new people, new hires, and a new level of transparency that will serve it for years to come. It's not really fair for me to answer why it has been the way it has, but from my perspective it certainly has gotten better."

Keselowski said he will continue to offer his strong opinions about issues in the sport, but added, "I just don't think it's as sharp." He said he's not being restrained from speaking out, but is simply "more informed."

He believes some of his criticism has led to some of the changes NASCAR has made in the past two years.

"I don't want to sit here and try to take credit for things that I didn't do on my own because that would not be fair, but I feel confident that I had at least some small role in some of the changes that have gone on in this sport over this off-season, and I'm very happy for all of them," he said.

"I'm still gonna be vocal about something that I disagree about that there's no progress or no change being made on, but if there's progress or change being made, then why be an (expletive)."

Image from nascar14.etxracing.com

NASCAR' 14 hits stores on Tuesday, Feb. 18, and this is a major release in the lineage of the series under its current affiliation.

The pressure is on publisher Deep Silver and developer Eutechnyx to deliver the best NASCAR title ever. It could be the last version released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Leaving the current generation of consoles on a positive note would be nice.

From what we've seen, things are looking good, but the definitive word won't be spoken until the controller is in the gamer's hot little hands, and the game is in our consoles.

Here are the specs you need.

Release Date: Tuesday, Feb. 18

Consoles: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Steam

Speaking of consoles, it may seem a little strange that NASCAR 14 is only being released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and not either of the next-generation consoles.

Eutechnyx executive vice president Ed Martin sat down with Jon Robinson of Sports Illustrated's Extra Mustard to discuss the matter and to talk other specifics about the game.

The quote is a bit long, but it seems necessary to add the proper perspective. Martin said:

We took a good, hard look at it, but there just isn't enough hardware out there yet to justify the cost of development. The nail in the coffin was when a guy from Sony talked about Gran Turismo, and how their new game was launching on PS3.

He said something like, 'Why would we put Gran Turismo on a console that has zero units in the market when there are 150 million PlayStation 3s out there?' Well, it's a great question. It costs us about $6 million to develop a next-gen version of NASCAR.

You have to sell an awful lot of copies in order to meet the development costs, on top of all the licensing. There are about 4-5 million worldwide combined units of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, so it just doesn't add up for us right now. We own the rights, and we absolutely have plans, but it won't be later this year.

Gamers should appreciate the candor there, but next-gen console owners/NASCAR fans are still likely to feel bummed. Undoubtedly, they want to see what the combination of NASCAR goodness and next-gen technology can create.

As Martin said, there are plans for that marriage, but those interested will have to wait.

Cover Driver and Features

That's enough talk about what's not present. Let's delve into what we will get an opportunity to experience. Here's the official trailer for the game.

NASCAR veteran and three-time Sprint Cup series champion Tony Stewart won the cover vote.

Stewart said this to NASCAR.com after he was announced as the winner of the fan vote:

Being selected by the fans to be on the cover of NASCAR '14 is a huge honor. It's been a long couple of months, but my fans' passion has been one of the driving factors in helping me rehab and my ability to prepare for returning to the race car in February.

This will be the third time Stewart has graced the cover of a NASCAR title. The outpour of support for Stewart shows his fans are fired up for his return to the track after a broken leg kept him out of action for most of the 2013 season.

image from NASCAR

With Eutechnyx technology recreating the proper weather and track conditions for races during the season, this mode allows you to experience the best competitions with a twist.

The car and driver you're controlling has the ability to re-write history.

image from NASCAR

A more comprehensive and detailed career mode experience is promised. It will include custom-car builds, sponsor acquisition as well as research and development.

Official NASCAR teams and drivers are at your disposal and provide the opposition for gamers. The real-life tracks are available as well. Daytona, Talladega and Sonoma are just a few of the legendary runs you'll be able to race on.

In the weeks leading up to release, NASCAR Gaming on Twitter has been whetting our appetites with images of car renders.

Here's a look at a few notables:

Nine down, just one to go - The final render of #SuperAssetSunday....it's only reigning champion #48 @JimmieJohnson! http://ift.tt/1cEySKB

Hey guys check it out - it's only the in-game render for NASCAR '14 cover star Tony Stewart!! @StewartHaasRcng http://ift.tt/1cEySKD

And here it is in full, the render from NASCAR '14 of Mr @JeffGordonWeb!! #24 http://ift.tt/1f1r5uN

And finally, completing our trio of NASCAR '14 renders for today it's @DanicaPatrick!! http://ift.tt/1f1r6yX

One of the most interesting inclusions in this year's title is the online leagues. The game boasts fully supported statistics, challenges, rankings and even replays.

I'm not sure you understand how cool that could be.

To have the opportunity to have your own NASCAR season and The Chase with friends online is pretty awesome. Hopefully, this mode is as good as it sounds.

In case you're not interested in playing through an entire season online, there's an option for single races and tournaments. It's a nice alternative made to appeal to gamers with varying amounts of time and attention spans.

With less than a week before release, there's enough information about NASCAR' 14 to create some excitement. Stay tuned for a full review post-release.

One crew member can go over the wall for in-session service

RELATED: Breaking down the changes | Qualifying changes FAQ | VIDEO: New format explained

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR on Thursday morning confirmed a pair of tweaks to its new group qualifying procedure, placing road courses under the format used for shorter tracks, and allowing adjustments to be made during sessions at all but two facilities.

Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president for competition, made the announcement Thursday morning at Media Day, which kicked off Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway. Series officials hinted last week that such changes were coming in a briefing with media members at the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C.

NASCAR will move to group qualifying this season for all three of its national series, with the exception of the Daytona 500, the Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora and non-points events. Tracks of 1.25 miles or longer will utilize a three-step process consisting of an opening 25-minute segment for all cars, a 10-minute segment for the fastest 24 vehicles, and a final five-minute segment for the fastest 12 drivers. Road courses had originally fallen under that format, but will now use the procedure reserved for tracks of less than 1.25 miles -- which includes a 30-minute first round, a 10-minute second round comprised of the fastest 12 cars, and a 10-minute break in between. The tweak stems from feedback from race teams and the length of laps on circuits like Sonoma and Watkins Glen. In addition, adjustments to vehicles will now be allowed during every round of national series qualifying at all tracks -- except Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway -- while vehicles are on track, as well as during breaks between the rounds. When vehicles are on track, one helmeted crew member will be allowed over the wall to make adjustments. During the breaks between rounds, three crewmen will be allowed over the wall.

NASCAR had originally ruled that teams could make only minor adjustments -- such as tape, tire pressure and wedge -- to cars during the breaks in between qualifying sessions. But teams requested to be able to make similar tweaks to their vehicles during the sessions, in an effort to more immediately improve their qualifying efforts.

The Nationwide and Camping World Truck series will use the group qualifying format for the first time next week, during preparations for their respective season openers at Daytona. The Sprint Cup Series will continue to use the traditional single-car format for qualifying for the Daytona 500, and then move to group qualifying for the season's second race, at Phoenix International Raceway.MORE:

The Daytona 500, also known as the Great American Race, is less than two weeks away, and NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson will try for his third win at the race. Johnson is also a six-time Sprint Cup champion.

Johnson joined the "CBS This Morning" co-hosts from the Daytona International Speedway in Florida to discuss the significance of the race and criticism surrounding Danica Patrick. He told the co-hosts that the Daytona 500 "is a great race" for his sport.

"Our sport was founded here in Daytona Beach back in the late '40s. This racetrack was put here, and really the spectacle of all NASCAR racing started here," he said. "It's kind of hard to have the Super Bowl of racing start off as our first event, but it's the history of our sport, and we're all geared up and ready to go."

Johnson said that, although it was a very short off-season for him and many others, they are ready to "come out and put on a great show for the fans."

He also discussed what makes his strategy different from that of others on the track, saying he feels like his background in racing in the dirt on motorcycles and in trucks as a kid gave him the ability "adapt" to diverse situations.

"Those vehicles were never stable or comfortable, and being on the dirt certainly gives you that uncomfortable feeling too," he said. "We have a long season, and our races are very long. You have the opportunities to work on your car, to evolve across the season, and over the course of the race and I think our team does a great job of managing that."

Most people do not think about how being physically fit impacts NASCAR racing, but Johnson has taken to running and discussed the importance of building endurance for a racecar driver.

"The strength training ... is so important for being in our cars and dealing with the G-forces and the physically loading that we deal with in just a standard turn, and of course in an accident or a crash you need that mass to hold you in place and take care of yourself," he said. "Endurance is a big part of what we do, and of late I've been very interested in triathlons and spend a lot of time running, swimming and biking."

"CBS This Morning" co-host Norah O'Donnell asked Johnson about remarks that fellow NASCAR driver Richard Petty made about Patrick's driving ability. When asked whether Patrick could ever win a championship, Petty said Patrick was only capable of winning "only if everyone stays home."

Johnson told the co-hosts that this was the first time he had heard that comment but he thinks Patrick is "very good for the sport of NASCAR."

"That's a pretty strong zinger there," said Johnson. "Danica is a great competitor, and, you know, at this stage she's still learning and developing as a driver, and only time will tell what degree she'll arise to among a stock car- these vehicles are very different than what she started off racing in an open wheel. She definitely has a long road ahead of herself, but she's committed to our cars."

NASCAR's track-drying system will be a fixture at every track beginning this season, and that should help alleviate some of the long rain delays.

The name of a new HD video board at Texas Motor Speedway that will change the viewing experience. When finished - scheduled for March - it will be the world's largest HD screen. The display will feature 20,666.64 square feet of 1080p HD, which easily surpasses the 16,000-square-foot video board built two years ago at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

NASCAR can't seem to stick with the same points system or Chase for the Sprint Cup format for more than a few years. How will the latest adjustments play out?

The tandem drafts are a thing of the past. The two-car pairings already were made physically impossible in Cup, and a new rule bans them from taking place in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series.

This season marks ESPN's last as a NASCAR partner. Will the network put as much energy into promoting races during its lame-duck year?

This controller available for rent at the track enhances the viewing experience with various video angles, live audio and standings updates during races.

NASCAR tweaked the rules package on its still-new car after last season in hopes of making for closer racing. Fans shouldn't expect to see any difference on the track.

Kevin "Happy" Harvick could be a threat for the title again after finishing third in 2013. With a new team (Stewart-Haas Racing) and crew chief (Rodney Childers), Harvick is more enthusiastic and energized than ever.

Clint Bowyer's suspicious spin in the closing laps at Richmond International Raceway - the team said he was scratching his arm - triggered a series of unfortunate events, including a reset of the Chase field, a major sponsor leaving Michael Waltrip Racing and Martin Truex Jr. losing his ride there. The impact of the cheating scandal will be felt and talked about this season.

Clint Bowyer, left, and Martin Truex Jr. are no longer teammates at Michael Waltrip Racing. Truex, right, will race for Furniture Row this season while Bowyer remains with MWR.(Photo: Jerry Markland, Getty Images)

Some viewers can't stand watching the six-time champion win again and again. Will they be able to stomach his potential seventh championship, which would tie him with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt?

If drivers get knocked on the head this year, they'll be subject to NASCAR's new concussion policy. Drivers had mandatory baseline testing during the preseason that will help doctors evaluate them after crashes.

Dale EarnhardtJr.'s crew chief will be a frequent topic all season. His decision to step away from the crew chief role to become an NBC TV analyst in 2015 will leave Junior Nation fearing what might happen to the No.88 team after this year.

Sprint customers have free access to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile App on smartphones. It features a live running order and slightly delayed radio chatter.

There are 12 night races on the 38-race schedule this season, the same as last year. Texas Motor Speedway moved its Saturday night race to Sunday afternoon to accommodate the NCAA men's basketball Final Four, but Kansas Speedway added a Saturday night race in May.

Kurt Busch's self-given nickname might not work as well now that he's back with a major team. Then again, Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Gene Haas did sign Busch without Tony Stewart's full knowledge.

NASCAR fans have found that practice sessions are less available on TV than before, particularly for those fans who don't receive Fox Sports 2. When Speed Channel became Fox Sports 1 in August, some motor sports content was moved to FS2 or canceled entirely.

The new-look, revised qualifying format could make Fridays more fun to watch. Or at least more fun than watching paint dry.

Fans will probably keep hearing about the relationship between Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - in part because the couple seem to love letting people know their every move via Twitter.

Tony Stewart's still-healing right leg will be NASCAR's most-watched limb in the early part of the season. Will he be the same driver he was before?

It is a vital race-watching companion for those viewing from home. Reporters and teams at the track often tweet driver radio chatter and in-race developments that might not make it onto the TV broadcast.

They are rare in NASCAR these days. Four races were won by drivers outside of the top 20 in points last year. And only two of those drivers - David Ragan and Brian Vickers - could be considered surprise winners.

Jeff Gordon's 88 wins at NASCAR's premier level ranks third all time and is the most among active drivers.(Photo: Rob Grabowski, USA TODAY Sports)

The veteran full-time driver with the most Cup starts is Jeff Gordon (725). No longer a kid, the 42-year-old is 12th on the all-time starts list.

Race wins were dominated last year by the top four drivers in the standings. Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch combined to win 21 races - 58% of the schedule.

Here's hoping that, after a busier-than-usual year of driver injuries in 2013, there are fewer X-rays needed this season.

With at least seven rookie drivers in the field this season, cautions figure to increase. That could be good for entertainment.

That's the combined number of wins last season for Earnhardt, Bowyer and Kurt Busch, all of whom are capable of winning multiple races this year.

The day after the next Daytona 500 champion is crowned, NBCSN introduces NASCAR AMERICA, a new 30-minute daily show dedicated to the nation's longstanding fascination with speed and stock car racing. Making its debut on NBCSN at 5 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 24, and returning each weekday at the same time and place, NASCAR AMERICA will cover the sport from all angles, delivering news, highlights and access to NASCAR's dynamic stars and personalities. The announcement was made today by Sam Flood, Executive Producer, NBC Sports and NBCSN.

Each episode of NASCAR AMERICA will bring fans closer to everything that drives this American pastime with in-depth access to the drivers, crew chiefs and team owners that are integral to the sport, opinions and analysis from NASCAR's most prominent personalities, and exclusive looks inside the high-tech race shops and storied racing venues that dot the country. "NASCAR AMERICA will engage the true racing fan in a number of ways, providing viewers with a mix of breaking news, storytelling and daily features," said Flood. "We're going to celebrate the traditions as well as the changing landscape of the sport from coast to coast with wide-ranging content that feeds America's passion for racing." Originating from NBC Sports Group's International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., as well as a new NBC Sports' studio located in the racing hotbed of Charlotte, N.C., NASCAR AMERICA's primary host is Rick Allen. Allen, who will usher in NBC Sports' live coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series racing as lead announcer in July 2015, will interact daily with NBC Sports motorsports reporters Marty Snider and Kelly Stavast. Snider and Stavast, both based in Charlotte, N.C., will operate on location throughout the country to deliver the latest news and features on NASCAR's drivers and race teams. NBC Sports Group's IndyCar and Formula One play-by-play voice Leigh Diffey will also serve as host of NASCAR AMERICA. Alongside Allen in the studio will be a constant rotation of guest analysts offering fresh perspectives and insights. Guest analysts who will join NASCAR AMERICA throughout February and March include NBC Sports NASCAR analyst Jeff Burton, Sprint Cup Champion Bobby Labonte, Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader, and crew chief Frank Stoddard. Future guest analysts, which will include former and current drivers and crew chiefs, NASCAR executives, and even prominent fans such as NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, will be announced at a later date. "The excitement and energy that the NBC Sports team is pouring into all the great ideas and concepts for NASCAR AMERICA has me convinced that this show will be special for race fans," said Burton. "I'm looking forward to contributing to NASCAR AMERICA, and watching it as well." NBC Sports' unique position as a multiplatform media destination for not only NASCAR, but also Formula One, IndyCar and several other exciting racing series, provides the creators of NASCAR AMERICA with the ability to showcase a strong mix of motorsports coverage. As such, NASCAR AMERICA will regularly feature input from NBC Sports' IndyCar and Formula One on-air talent, including Leigh Diffey, Wally Dallenbach, Townsend Bell, Steve Matchett, David Hobbs and Will Buxton, each contributing from various locations around the world.Background On July 23, 2013, NASCAR and NBC Sports Group reached a comprehensive agreement that grants NBCUniversal exclusive rights to the final 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, final 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series events, select NASCAR Regional & Touring Series events and other live content beginning in 2015. With this partnership, NBC's 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race schedule includes a designation as the exclusive home to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, when the elite national series races through its final events of the season in an exciting and new elimination format. The Chase culminates with the season-ending championship event, which returns to network television in 2015 for the first time since 2009. Of NBC Sports Group's 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, seven will be carried on NBC annually, with 13 airing on NBCSN. Four of NBC Sports Group's 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series races will air on NBC, with 15 airing on NBCSN. In addition to NASCAR's Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races, NBC also obtained exclusive rights to practice and qualifying sessions for NBC's national series events during their portion of the season, as well as rights to broadcast the NASCAR K&N Series, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Toyota (Mexico) Series, the NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony and NASCAR's season-ending banquets. Further, NBC is granted Spanish-language rights, certain video-on-demand rights and exclusive TV Everywhere rights for its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series events.MORE:

There aren't enough Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles in homes yet to justify the cost of releasing NASCAR '14 for the new platforms from Microsoft and Sony, developer Eutechnyx has explained.

"We took a good, hard look at it, but there just isn't enough hardware out there yet to justify the cost of development," Martin told Sports Illustrated's Extra Mustard in a new interview.

Sony has sold 4.2 million PS4s, while Microsoft has shifted more than 3 million Xbox Ones, meaning there are a total of at least 7.2 million next-generation systems out there right now. This compares to at least 160 million combined PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in the wild currently.

Martin explained that Eutechnyx made up its mind about releasing NASCAR '14 on Xbox 360/PS3 instead of Xbox One/PS4 after hearing from Sony CEO Jim Ryan. The Sony executive said in May that Gran Turismo 6 would be released for PS3--not PS4--because there are 80 million PS3 units in the wild, compared to zero PS4 consoles at the time.

Notably, first-week Gran Turismo 6 sales were down significantly compared to 2010 PS3 game Gran Turismo 5, at least in the UK.

Though the math doesn't add up for Eutechnyx right now to release a NASCAR title on Xbox One or PS4, Martin explained that the studio is open to the idea of bringing the franchise to the new consoles sometime in 2015 or beyond.

"It costs us about $6 million to develop a next-gen version of NASCAR," Martin said. "You have to sell an awful lot of copies in order to meet the development costs, on top of all the licensing. It just doesn't add up for us right now. We own the rights, and we absolutely have plans, but it won't be later this year."

NASCAR '14 launches February 18 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC published by Dead Island and Saints Row publisher Deep Silver.

(CNN) -- If you think drag racing is extreme, you should try doing it uphill and on sand.

Dune bashing is an action-packed motorsport popular in the Gulf, enjoyed by both local Emiratis and foreign tourists alike.

It is not for the fainthearted and accidents are not uncommon. It is a sport that enthusiasts say requires not only speed and power, but also nerves of steel.

Perhaps nothing tests all of these better than the Liwa International Festival, which ended last month, where 100 dune-bashing competitors battled it out to be the fastest up the tallest sand hill in the UAE.

The 30-meter-high "Scary Hill" (Tel Moreeb in Arabic) earns its name thanks to the dizzyingly 50-degree steep slope.

The government-funded festival is claimed to be a celebration of the desert landscape and the Bedouin culture. One competitor who shrugged off the fear factor at the recent event was Ahmed Al-Mashgouni of Team Sandtoyz. "For me, it's normal because I'm Bedouin," he said. "This is not scaring me."

The annual event also features a classic car show, as well as traditional sports such as falcon, camel and horse racing. But this year it was the dune-racing challenges that attracted most attention, with spectators and participants coming from across the region.

Al-Mashgouni had an American mechanic to tune his buggies. His roaring, six-cylinder vehicles, with modified, turbo-charged engines, were the fruit of his travels around the region -- Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait -- that brought back homemade, sometimes crudely built, bikes and buggies.

"We are using a two-speed transmission," said Al-Mashgouni, winner of his class in the latest tournament. "The normal one is one speed. It's especially built for us."

In contrast, Jasem Al-Ali of Team Victory learned how to build his vehicle from online videos. "It was a 200-horsepower engine. Now it's 1,100 horsepower," he said.

Sand dune racing is not a cheap hobby. The cars are built mostly with foreign parts. And even in this oil-rich region, the fuel needs to be imported from America.

Salem Al-Dahmani's modified truck cost him $100,000 -- about ten times the modest prize the race awarded. But passion not money is motivation for the competitors.

"If you go to Japan, people are crazy for drifting," said Al-Dahmani of Team Champions. "If you go to the U.S., people are crazy about drag racing. Here, we're crazy about this sport."

Read more: Dinosaurs in the desert

NASCAR 14 developer Eutechnyx decided against going next-gen when even Sony didn't bring Gran Turismo 6 to PlayStation 4.

Speaking to Sports Illustrated's Extra Mustard, Eutechnyx executive vice president Ed Martin said there aren't yet enough next-gen consoles in the wild to justify the developer's investment.

"The nail in the coffin was when a guy from Sony talked about Gran Turismo, and how their new game was launching on PS3. He said something like, 'Why would we put Gran Turismo on a console that has zero units in the market when there are 150 million PlayStation 3s out there?'" Martin added.

"Well, it's a great question. It costs us about $6 million to develop a next-gen version of NASCAR. You have to sell an awful lot of copies in order to meet the development costs, on top of all the licensing. There are about 4-5 million worldwide combined units of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, so it just doesn't add up for us right now. We own the rights, and we absolutely have plans, but it won't be later this year."

The spin Sony chose to put on Gran Turismo 6′s PS3 release was that it showed the company's ongoing commitment to the console. If the rest of the franchise is anything to go by it had likely been in the works far too long to cancel and rejig for PS4, too.

That said, Polyphony has more than hinted that a PS4 release may happen at a later date. Kazunori Yamauchi said early on that it was possible and that Polyphony had a PS4 version in mind. Later, he said it will "naturally" come to PS4 but not soon, and also ruminated on the possibility of the project eventually becoming Gran Turismo 7, which would release in 2014 in a "best case" scenario.

NASCAR 14 is due on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on February 18, and will support custom online leagues for the first time in the franchise's history - a much requested feature.

Thanks, Joystiq.

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

Richard Petty Motorsports could be one of the most improved teams in NASCAR's Sprint Cup division in 2014.

Yes, you read that right.

The legendary team, which has been relegated to also-ran status for much of the last three decades, could potentially have its best season since the 1970s and early 1980s.

Just three years after nearly being forced to close the doors on its legendary NASCAR program, RPM has been revived and bounced back in a big way, particularly during the current offseason.

"I've seen it at its darkest days, and I'm really looking forward to 2014, because I think it's the year that [RPM] can break out and really show everybody the maturity that it's taken since I've been there, which is four years now," Australian Marcos Ambrose, driver of the No. 9 Stanley Tools Ford Fusion, told Bleacher Report.

"At the end of the day, we're all racing to win and put Richard Petty back in Victory Lane. We've been able to do it occasionally over the last couple years, but we want to do it on a more frequent basis if we can."

One of the biggest changes is that RPM finally has-and it's hard to believe it hasn't had one up to now-its own research and development (R&D) program, which should in theory go a long way in improving the organization's fate and performance in 2014.

It also has a hefty new three-year deal with Smithfield Foods as primary sponsor of Aric Almirola's Ford Fusion that should pay big dividends.

"We're probably in the best shape we've been in the last three or four years," Richard Petty said to B/R. "Everybody knows we hit the bottom of the deal three years ago. ... We just tried to get some foundation (since then). I don't know if our year (2013) was that much better than the year before, but we were a lot more stable."

For a good chunk of the first half of last season, Almirola's performance was one of the most pleasant surprises in the Sprint Cup Series. He managed to get as high as eighth in the standings before a variety of problems-many mechanical that could potentially have been helped by having an R&D program in place-caused him to finish 18th.

But that's nowhere near as much as Almirola's teammate, Ambrose, suffered through, as he had arguably his worst season ever in Sprint Cup racing, finishing a disappointing 22nd.

"Certainly, 2013 was the most difficult year of my racing career," Ambrose said during the recent NASCAR media tour. "The fact that I've always been on an upward trend in NASCAR, 2013 was the first year that I flattened off and even dropped back down."

As a result, Ambrose, 37, is facing a very pivotal season in 2014. Unless he shows marked improvement and bounces back from last season's disappointments, it could potentially be his last season of racing in the U.S.

"If I have another year like [2013], I'm going to have to really start scratching my head and have a good hard think about what I'm doing, because this year is certainly the year we need to break out and do something special," Ambrose said.

Petty admits concern that Ambrose will leave after 2014. The only way to prevent that, obviously, is for both Ambrose and the organization to have stellar seasons.

"I don't know how much longer he wants to stay in the U.S.," Petty said. "[Ambrose has] come a long way. He's sort of a hero in Australia just because he's running Cup. His big deal is if he could win on a round racetrack, that would be the optimum for him. If he did do that, he'd probably just go home and say, 'Thank you guys,' but I don't know."

But Ambrose is ready to give everything he has to not only stay in the States, but, more importantly, to see the Petty resurgence through for not only this upcoming season, but for several more seasons to come.

"Where the rules are going this year, it's going to give us a better chance to make the Chase and really do something special," Ambrose said. "The gloves are off, and we're looking forward to turning a fresh page."

The Hendrick Motorsports driver's ability to adapt -- to new cars, new rules, new point systems -- is a hallmark of his run of success

How do Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 Chevrolet remain a title-caliber constant in the Sprint Cup Series?

Change.

During his unprecedented run of six championships in 12 seasons, Johnson has been an annual contender - the only driver to qualify for every edition of the Chase for the Sprint Cup - because of his extraordinary ability to adapt.

Whether it's mastering three iterations of stock cars (most recently the Gen 6), multiple points formats or myriad rules tweaks, the Hendrick Motorsports team has dominated a NASCAR era that is constantly in flux - and will remain just as fluid this year whether it's determining a pole winner through group qualifying, setting up a car under the auspices of a revamped rule book or deciding a champion in the Chase.

Johnson, naturally, seems unfazed about the prospect after a decade of rolling with the punches.

Last season, he and crew chief Chad Knaus won a title while meshing seamlessly with a new lead engineer - turnover that isn't unusual for a team unafraid to make personnel moves while on top.

"Things always change," said Johnson, who has worked with dozens of crewmembers outside of the continuous core of Knaus and car chief Ron Malec since his 2002 rookie season. "We always look at ourselves as individual members of the team and what we can do better. Last year, I let a lot of races slip away during the regular season that I shouldn't have. So that is an area that I've got to focus on."

Though he notched six victories in 2013 (his highest total since his previous title in '10), Johnson probably could have tallied double-digit wins for only the second time in his career if checkered flags hadn't eluded him at Dover, Kentucky, Indianapolis, Michigan and Pocono.

If that's the facet of Johnson's game that needs shoring up the most entering the 2014 season, it's hard to look past him and the No. 48 on the list of title contenders.

"I think they certainly go in as the championship favorite," ESPN analyst and 1999 champion Dale Jarrett said. "They're just such a polished group, and what's so great about them is they adapt better than everyone else. Jimmie is such a talent in so many ways and just doesn't let anything rattle him. He understands the changes to the cars, and once he gets his mind wrapped around the whole thing, that's what makes him so good. He continues to set the standard for physical conditioning, which makes him strong mentally. He just has it all there.

"It's going to take a big effort on their part to win another championship, because everyone is gunning for them. But it's going to take a bigger effort from everyone else to stop him."

Another championship would tie him with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for a record seven, but Johnson has parried such lofty comparisons while maintaining that he isn't motivated by history.

"I love to compete and to race," he said. "It'd be great to tie (Petty and Earnhardt) or separate myself, but that's not what sends me out there every week. I love my job. I've worked my whole life to get to this point. I understand the equipment and my team. I'm far from slowing down."

Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus, right, and the No. 48 crew celebrate their sixth Sprint Cup championship on Nov. 17.(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)

Despite becoming a father for the second time last year, Johnson, 38, didn't lose a step outside the car.

He added another gear to his game by embracing distance running with a newfound passion. Working with personal trainer Jamey Yon, he began running five days a week for a total average of 30 to 40 miles. During one memorable outing halfway through the Chase, Johnson ran 20 miles at Yon's encouragement (with the inspiration being title rival Matt Kenseth's No. 20 Toyota) and finished at a seven-minute clip per mile.

Over the last 18 months, Johnson has trimmed more than three minutes off his pace per mile and is approaching the five-minute bracket. Last year in an Olympic-distance triathlon in Palm Springs, Calif., he finished in 2 hours, 17 minutes. That was 13 minutes better than his goal.

Johnson is mulling his first marathon, but he already is excelling in long-distance events. ESPN analyst Ricky Craven said Johnson's fitness is critical to maintaining his performance in the last 20% of grueling races that often can become 500-mile endurance contests in midsummer heat.

"Certain drivers are so fast but don't have the speed in the last 200 miles," Craven said. "That's one thing that separates Jimmie. He's not like a Terry Labonte who saves the best for last. He's as capable at the end as the beginning.

"There's a level of determination that I've never seen when you look at Jimmie's commitment and discipline to all aspects of being an athlete. Jimmie enjoys life but isn't a hell-raiser. He's not going to put himself in position where he's distracted."

Jeff Gordon has perhaps the most in-depth understanding of the successful underpinnings for Johnson, whom he helped pluck from the obscurity of a nondescript Nationwide ride 13 years ago.

The four-time champion watched Johnson quickly blossom into a superstar at Hendrick, which employs an open-book philosophy among its four cars. That has allowed Gordon a window into what makes the No. 48 team tick, whether it's sitting beside Johnson during Hendrick's crew chief-driver debriefings on Tuesdays or accessing the setups of the Chevrolet SS.

"I know how Jimmie drives the car," Gordon said. "It's as incredible to me as anybody else, but probably more so. Because everyone is saying, 'They must be doing something we're not.' Yet they're just that good. They also have good fortune on (their) side. You make that happen by being the best team.

"The only way to beat him is put more pressure on him. Even then, it's not going to be guaranteed. He knows how to close out the Chase."

With the exception of Talladega Superspeedway, the 10 tracks that conclude the season suit Johnson well. Martinsville Speedway and Dover are his best with eight wins apiece, and he also has multiple triumphs at Phoenix International Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway.

Though he hasn't conquered Homestead-Miami Speedway, he also hasn't needed to win the season finale to wrap up a title.

Across 100 Chase starts, Johnson's results break down into roughly impressive quarters with 24 victories, 56 top-fives and 74 top-10s. He has led 5,440 laps in 10 seasons of the 10-race title playoff - nearly twice as many as the second-ranked driver (2013 runner-up Kenseth has 2,763 laps led).

But even more important, Johnson and Knaus seem to have a knack for flipping the switch with the title on the line.

In the four races leading into last year's Chase, Johnson endured the worst stretch of his career - finishing 40th, 36th, 28th and 40th. He then reeled off the second-best playoff run of his career, averaging a finish of 5.1 and finished outside the top 10 once (13th at Talladega) in the last 10 races.

"It was almost as if Jimmie and Chad were messing around and preparing for the Chase more than I've ever seen," Roush Fenway Racing veteran Carl Edwards said. "That was interesting to see the disparity of performance before the Chase started and after. That was an eye-opener to all of us in how confident those guys are."

So, does that mean more teams will attempt to mimic Johnson's methods for tuning up for the Chase? Not necessarily.

"It's a risky thing to do what I think the 48 guys were doing," Edwards said. "Jimmie was trying different things before the Chase started, but it worked for him. If you're in position to do things like that and lay things on the line before the Chase with a big points lead, that's one more step you have to take to beat guys like Jimmie."

Said Jarrett, "They use that first part of the season to get themselves in a position to be ready for those last 10 races and be at their very best. But if they went back to a 36-race points championship, they'd adapt to that, too."

So are there any weaknesses in Johnson's game?

It's hard to label it as a major shortcoming, but restarts were an Achilles' heel for Johnson during the 2013 Chase. His car didn't accelerate as quickly as others several times when the green flag dropped, and it put Johnson in precarious situations that demanded deft saves after contact at Martinsville, Phoenix and Homestead. Restart miscues also cost him wins at Dover and Kentucky.

Jarrett said Knaus' insistence on setting up Johnson's car for longer green-flag runs makes it more vulnerable on restarts because the handling isn't as stable until the laps begin to mount.

"The competition understands that restarts are the time to attack Jimmie," Jarrett said. "If they can crowd him, they may force him into a mistake. That's the time they can take advantage."

Craven suggests rivals might go a step further.

"The only thing I haven't seen is guys trying to rough Jimmie up," Craven said. "I think it's because he's earned that. His championships haven't come at someone else's expense. He's either outdriven or outmanaged them. That's why he's so highly regarded and hasn't gotten roughed up."

Declining to play hardball with his crew was listed by Johnson as one of the keys to last year's crown. When a slow pit stop cost him a fifth Brickyard 400 victory, Johnson "didn't bust their asses through the media. That took our bond to a whole new level."

Unlike 2012, when mistakes on setups and in the pits during the last two races of the season knocked Johnson from the points lead and behind champion Brad Keselowski, the team mostly was flawless during the Chase.

It's a brand of constancy and reliability that Johnson can trust with another transformative season in the offing.

"We reaffirmed we can do this," he said. "The ability to execute when the pressure's on and you have to win ... it's nice to know we still can."