Finally! We are here. 5 suspended Crew Chiefs, 175 total points reduced, and a winning duel car starting from the back. The 2007 Nextel Cup Season is already in top RPM's, and the green flag is going to drop.

I can't remember another Daytona 500 that had this many story lines going into it. When it comes to qualifying for the 500; rules will be bent, strategy will be played, and the Big One is always going to happen. We set the stage, then we drive over it.

Put all that into your rearview mirror. When the Daytona 500 goes green, none fo that matters anymore. It's all about staying in one piece, who you can make friends with in the draft, bump drafting, and avoiding that wreck. And for the Daytona 500 of the 2007 Nextel Cup Season, it's all about #20 Tony Stewart.

The prize purse is 18 million, with last place paying $226,000. Gentleman, Start Your Engines!

Let me clear my throat. I'm sorry, for a second I thought you said a $50,000 fine, 50 driver points, and 50 owner points penalized against the #17, and the #9. Why not throw the two crew chiefs out for 4 races too?

Oh, you did.

Wait; is this the same governing body that ruled over the #48's penalty last year at this time? Where were you during the whole 'bleeder valve' controversy with the #29 and the #31 last year? Didn't see you investigating the tape that Jimmie Johnson was taking off his car after he won the Brickyard. Didn't see JJ and the #48 crew start their Championship run from the hole last year, when he was found with a 'questionable' back windowpane during qualifying for the Daytona 500.

Come to think about it, didn't you guys keep the #48 car for the year after they won the Daytona 500? You didn't find one damn thing in the past year? No loose lug nut, shaved rim, or longer fuel line?

Evernham and Roush got the book thrown at them. That same book that so few of us have ever even seen. Some may be quick to defend that the #48 didn't break any rules last year because there was no rule against it written at the time. How do we know? We have never seen the book! Show me the rule against the #17 and the #9. Was it the same 'unapproved aerodynamic modification?' Or was it the 'non conforming equipment?'

The rules of NASCAR are simple. There are no rules. Just guidelines. And NASCAR has the freedom to move those lines whenever they wish.

If you're sleeping with a driver, they will come down on you. If you bad talk the new money coming into the league, you will be made an example of. If your Hendrick Motorsports, you still have a great chance at winning the Daytona 500, and the Cup.

I feel that cough coming on again.

Don't They Know Who I Think I Am?

I'm late. I wake up to a race. I have so much to do at work today, and I am already starting behind: right from the green.

I race into my pit stall while still trying to get my fire suit on. (I'm going to need it with the heat I am going to take.) My black #4 is cold, as I crank the ignition with those most famous words of motorsports ringing in my head. I go through a quick checklist as I read the dashboard. Power is good, fuel is full, seatbelt is on, but the engine temp is too low. Got to take it easy going through the neighborhood before I reach the highway.

I live in the suburbs, and work downtown. I share the track at this late hour with like-minded competitors. The clock is ticking. Get fast!

I take my first left turn to merge into the race. Damn, give me some room. We're just getting started; they are already racing me hard. We have a long way to go till the checkers. I take note of my engine temp; she is warm and ready to lay it down. I calculate my move and make a strong motion for a minimum space amongst the traffic. I give it some gas, but she gets loose on me. My tires are still cold. I crank the wheel and catch a lucky groove. I quickly glance at the rearview. The car behind me gets on the break, and gives me some room. Ha..., rookie.

I'm keeping pace on the outside wall as I wait for my chance at the inside lane. I have driven this track a hundred times, and I know my line. Another quarter mile till the turn, and I have to get down on the track to avoid the marbles. My tires are warming up, but I can't take any chance at getting into debris. I can feel the horsepower kick in as I force the gear ratio to make up for my lack of confidence in my grip. The bottom line is mine with a good two feet to the car in front of me.

Everyone gets out of the gas as they approach the turn, and we all come into it at the same speed. As we are coming off the center, I realize the car in front of me is trying to go high, leaving me all alone on the lower groove. I test the throttle and find my tires right underneath me. I open it up and get off the corner with full RPM's.

The straight is all mine as I leave everyone in my rearview mirror. No pace car in site, and absolutely no sign of any cautions. I come into the dogleg at top speed. I am almost downtown. White flag.

I've got one car that I am coming up on quickly, and they are holding the low line as I stare down their back bumper. I come out of the gas, and shake off any dirty air coming off their back spoiler. We draft through the last stretch of the back straight, as I wait for my move. Timing is everything, and I am confident. 50 feet to turn 4, and I get on the throttle and drive into the high lane. The slingshot works every time, and I caught them by surprise as I make my pass and cut them off before the off ramp.

I pat my steering wheel in triumph as I check my time. 10 ticks off my best lap, but where I place is what they all notice. I get to the finish line and meet that last passed car as I turn off the track. A scorned face and pumping fist challenges my bravado, but I shrug it off.

Don't they know who I think I am?

Boogity, Boggity, Boggity, Let's Go Racing Boys! Hot Damn! It's that time of the year again. Speedweeks has begun, and that means the off-season is over.  Saturday marks the first sign of racing in the top series of NASCAR with the Budweiser Shootout.

For those that are slow, the Budweiser Shootout is like an Allstar event. It consists of every driver that won a pole in the previous season, (As long as that car was wearing a Budweiser decal when they did,) and any past winner of the Shootout event. It's a 70 lap race broken up into two segments. The first is a fast 20 lap, then a 10 minute intermission, fallowed by a 50 lap segment with a mandatory 2-tire pit stop made under green. It's not a regular season race, with no points rewarded. Just bragging rights, a great head start into the season opener next weekend, and straight cash.

Daytona is really heating up right now with the anticipation for the Daytona 500. It really makes you understand why the biggest race of the year is the very first one. It takes so much hard work to put this thing together. Just to get a chance to race in the Daytona 500 is a dream. To race well in Daytona is destiny. It makes for one great show!

And every show needs a stage. Daytona's is set. If anyone out there doubts that the 2007 Daytona 500 is one more week away, listen for those engines roar this Saturday night. You won't need to be anywhere near a TV or Florida. The Bud Shootout is the starting gun for the 2007 Nextel Cup Season.

Perfectly sandwiched between the Super Bowl and March Madness, is the Super Marketing Madness of NASCAR. The Great American Race can make the biggest NASCAR dollar-doubter take a hard left turn into the spectacle we call, The Daytona 500.

Take the Super Bowl, and it's marketing value. Now add a few more hours, and a sport that was designed for that exact marketing make. Call the league the NEXTEL CUP, and invite 160,000 people to the warmth of Daytona in the middle of February. Show them all some fast cars, and make those cars prove it. Bargain a few advertising opportunities to some executives, with a promise of a fixed television audience of 20 million strong. Light fuse, get away.

The Daytona 500 has become the biggest race in the world. NASCAR has become the biggest bang for the marketing buck of the century. Now with the NFL safely in their rear view mirror, expect to see the madness begin. Speedweeks will be starting on Thursday, and culminates with the biggest NASCAR race of the year. Two weeks from today we have another Super Sunday.

It's that time of the year again. It's the Super Marketing Madness. Up next is another word from our sponsors. Up next, The Daytona 500.