Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne failed inspection after qualifying Sunday for the Daytona 500, and their teams could face harsh penalties before NASCAR’s season opener.
Their qualifying times were disallowed after inspectors discovered illegal modifications in each car. NASCAR said Kenseth’s Ford had illegal holes in the wheel well and Kahne’s Dodge also had illegal holes [...]

DAVID GILLILAND — POLE-WINNER
CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS? “No, I can’t. I’ve said I’ve been pinching myself for the last eight months and I’m not gonna quit anytime soon. I’m real proud. The guys brought a great M&M’s Ford Fusion here this weekend. Todd Parrott is experienced and with the success he’s had here and Robert [...]

Pos No. Driver Make Time Speed +Time -Speed
1 38 David Gilliland Ford 48.304 186.32 0.000 0.000
2 88 Ricky Rudd Ford 48.489 185.609 0.185 0.711
3 40 David Stremme Dodge [...]

David Gilliland and Ricky Rudd won the top two starting spots Sunday in qualifying for the Daytona 500, putting Yates back on the racing map after a horrendous season.
He lost his drivers, a sponsor and both of his crew chiefs in a tumultuous year that saw the once-proud team collapse to the point that Yates [...]

NASCAR officials confiscated the intake manifold off of the No. 55 Toyota Camry of driver/team owner Michael Waltrip during the Daytona 500 pre-qualifying inspection Sunday.
Robin Pemberton, NASCAR’s director of competition, said they will send the manifold to the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., today.

NASCAR will use a smaller fuel cell and a different tire compound for the Nextel Cup and Busch races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway March 10-11. “We decided to go with a 13-gallon fuel tank for Las Vegas,” said Pemberton. “We discussed it with Goodyear and felt we have the potential for some of the [...]

Tony Stewart took aim at an old nemesis of his: The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Others might be thinking it, but as usual, Tony goes public, blaming the new tires “Goodyear was nice enough to bless us with.”
“I’m curious why we had a harder right-side tire this time around,” he continued. “That’s been Goodyear’s [...]

Dale Earnhardt Inc. President of Global Operations Max Siegel said Saturday he is pleased with the way negotiations are going with driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. but would not talk about specifics.
“The lines of communication are open,” Siegel said Saturday night prior to the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway. “It’s not prudent to talk about [...]

Robert Yates plans to turn over the running of his Nextel Cup organization to his son, Doug, after this season. This will be Yates’ 40th season in the industry since beginning with Holman-Moody in 1967.
“We’re giving it a shot so this year I can quit while I’m ahead,” Yates said on Saturday at Daytona International [...]

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announced a partnership with Fire-Dex, LLC of Medina, Ohio, who will join the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevy driven by J.J. Yeley as an associate sponsor for the entire 2007 Nextel Cup Series schedule. Fire-Dex, a leading manufacturer of protective firefighting clothing and emergency response apparel, will be featured on the [...]