Even though Dale Earnhardt, Jr is encouraged by the progress his No 88 team has made in recent weeks, he says it will be very difficult to leapfrog 7-8 drivers in the race to The Chase.
“Making the Chase [For The Sprint Cup] is a goal, but at the end of the year when you’re done [...]

NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway has been cancelled due to rain. The field will be lined-up based on points and that will put Tony Stewart on the pole.
STARTING LINEUP:

Chrysler is working on a deal to pay off some of its debt to Richard Petty Motorsports, co-owner Richard Petty said on Friday at Daytona International Speedway.
Petty said last month that Chrysler’s bankruptcy put cash flow from the manufacturer to the organization on hold. The subsequent layoff of nine RPM employees also was blamed on [...]

THE MODERATOR: We are now joined in the infield media center by NASCAR chairman and chief executive officer, Brian France. Brian will start off with a mid-year update and brief discussion on current events and then we’ll turn it over to questions from the media.
BRIAN FRANCE: Thank you, and good afternoon, a couple things. [...]

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET IMPALA SS met with media and discussed Jeremy Mayfield, Joey Logano’s win, his season to date, and more.
ARE YOU READY TO RACE AT DAYTONA? “Uh, yeah. I always forget how warm and humid it is until we show up and then its like, ‘oh yeah, July in Daytona’.
I’m looking [...]

Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M / Scotch-Brite Ford Fusion, is in ninth place in the standings heading into this weekend’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Biffle won the July race at Daytona in 2003. He met with the media between Thursday’s practice sessions.
GREG BIFFLE — No. 16 3M /Scotch-Brite Ford [...]

Kasey Kahne says NASCAR has stepped up its drug testing procedure since the suspension of Jeremy Mayfield. Kahne said the tests he took prior to the suspension were “in and out” in five to 10 minutes. He said his most recent test two weeks ago at Infineon Raceway took nearly 40 minutes. “It’s a process [...]

NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Jeremy Mayfield’s absence from the track Friday called into question the argument his attorneys used in requesting a preliminary injunction on NASCAR’s drug suspension. Here’s what Poston said:

NASCAR announced a history-rich list of 25 nominees for the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame induction class. From that list, five inductees will be chosen via a process that includes a nationwide fan vote on NASCAR.COM; the inductees will be announced in October and honored next May at the new Hall of Fame facility in [...]

Red Bull Racing [#82 & #83] will decide in a month whether to switch from Toyota to General Motors in 2010, sources close to the situation said. There has been speculation for a month that Red Bull would move to Chevys with the chassis and engines supplied by Hendrick Motorsports. HMS owner Rick Hendrick has [...]

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 BURGER KING IMPALA SS met with media and discussed his role as an owner/driver, the heat and how that affects the race, the people he has chosen to join Stewart-Haas Racing, Danica Patrick, and more.
YOU’VE WON THIS RACE TWICE. WHAT’S YOUR OUTLOOK FOR WINNING IT A THIRD TIME? “I’m excited about [...]

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET IMPALA SS met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway and discussed racing at Daytona, the ‘Chase,’ NASCAR drug testing and other topics.
WHAT IS YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THIS WEEKEND?: “Survive. I think we have a good race car every week and this restrictor-plate racing is all about [...]

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT IMPALA SS met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway and discussed NASCAR’s drug testing policy, bump drafting and other topics.
WILL THE PREFERRED LINE FOR RESTARTS AT DAYTONA BE THE INSIDE OR OUTSIDE LINE?: “That’s why I don’t think much about it because you never know until the [...]

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG’S IMPALA SS met with media and discussed Jeremy Mayfield and the drug situation, his season to date, and more.
MARK, EVERY DRIVER SO FAR TODAY HAS BEEN ASKED ABOUT JEREMY MAYFIELD AND HIS SITUATION. IT SEEMS AS IF IT’S AN UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTION FOR A DRIVER TO ANSWER. DO YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE? [...]

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 U.S. ARMY IMPALA SS, met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway and discussed the heat in the cars, coming back to Daytona as a 500 winner, his top-five picks for the Hall of Fame and more.
WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK FOR THIS WEEK? “We were just talking at the [...]