Two Daytona 500 champions could have their backs against the wall entering the Gatorade Duel At Daytona qualifying races.
Ward Burton, the 2002 Daytona 500 champion, is making his full-time return to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series in 2007 driving the No. 4 State Water Heaters Chevrolet for Morgan-McClure Motorsports.
Michael Waltrip, the 2001 and 2003 Daytona [...]

The 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season begins Saturday night with the Bud Shootout at Daytona International Speedway and then single-lap qualifying on Sunday for the Feb. 18 Daytona 500.
Series champion Jimmie Johnson hopes to earn his second checkered flag in the non-points race. The 2005 Shootout winner and driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet [...]

Kyle Petty, Bill Weber, Wally Dallenbach to comprise announcers booth for 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series on TNT
Turner Network Television (TNT) announced today a multi-year contract agreement with NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver Kyle Petty to serve as an analyst for the network’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race coverage. Petty will take a five-week hiatus [...]

Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) will open a revamped NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series-themed mobile-marketing display, known as the NEXTEL Experience, Friday, Feb. 9, at Daytona International Speedway. The official grand opening will take place Friday, Feb. 16, with a Fan Appreciation Day.
The NEXTEL Experience, which first launched in 2004, is a 10,000-square-foot interactive fan exhibit focused [...]

‘The Shootout is a fun race and a great way to kick off the season. It is fun for the teams and drivers because there’s no points involved. We obviously want to win the race, but the Shootout is also a bit of a jumpstart on getting everyone prepared for the Daytona 500. We want [...]

With an accompaniment of off-season expectations and optimism, this Saturday night’s 29th annual Budweiser Shootout at Daytona marks the first on-track event of the 2007 season.But only for 21 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series teams.

While strong past performance does not necessarily guarantee future success in racing, Team Chevy has a history of its Monte Carlo SS drivers winning events at Speedweeks including the Budweiser Shootout and Daytona 500 pole positions (not to mention the race itself). With over half of all Shootouts won and five of its current drivers [...]

Kyle Petty figures driving in a Nextel Cup race while he calls it on TV won’t be that big a deal. So TNT will formally announce Wednesday that Petty will be an analyst on its six Cup races this summer, and call one — the June 24 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma, Calif. — as [...]

Teresa Earnhardt (right) announced that Dale Earnhardt, Inc. has officially signed Jeffrey Earnhardt, grandson of Dale Earnhardt and son of Kerry Earnhardt, to a long-term driving services contract. “In his young career to date, Jeffrey has displayed many of the attributes we are looking for in a driver,” said Mrs. Earnhardt. “Experience will be key [...]

Do you think running the Budweiser Shootout will help determine how well you will matchup against the rest of the field in the Daytona 500? “I don’t think so. I think most teams will bring their back-up cars for the Shootout and save their best car for the 500. I think the Shootout gives you [...]