After an offseason replete with offseason announcements – both in terms of drivers switching teams and competition changes – the NASCAR industry can now focus on the on-track competition. First up on the docket: the most exciting preseason event in all of sports, the Sprint Unlimited (8 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM Satellite Radio). The fan-favorite event kicks off an event-packed Speedweeks that culminates in the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 23. Eighteen drivers are entered for the event, including 2013 rookies Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and three-time winner Tony Stewart, who returns to racing action after sustaining a broken leg that sidelined him for four months. Once again, fans will play a big role in determining the outcome of the event when they vote for the race’s format, starting order and restart order for the final segment. On Sunday drivers go two laps for two positions – first and second – to start the 56th running of the Daytona 500 on February 23. Everyone other than the first and second fastest will need to rely on Thurday’s Duels to determine their starting spot in the race. These and other storylines for this weekend follow… 2014 Is Officially Underway With Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited On Saturday, Feb. 15 at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR kicks off the 2014 season with the annual non-points event – the Sprint Unlimited. Similar to last year, the exhibition race’s format, starting order and restart order for the final segment will be determined by an online fan vote. Among the 18 drivers who are entered are first-time participants Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Can Kevin Harvick, who moved over to Stewart-Haas Racing during the offseason, duplicate last year’s success? The Most Unique Qualifying Session In Motorsports Takes Center Stage On Sunday, Feb. 16 drivers will vie for a spot in the Daytona 500, with the front row being set for The Great American Race. Last season, Danica Patrick grabbed the headlines after becoming the first female to capture a pole in the NSCS. At Daytona … There Will Be ‘Smoke’ After sitting out the final 15 races of the 2013 season following a sprint car accident on Aug. 5, three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart returns to action in Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited at Daytona. Although the driver commonly referred to as “Smoke” by his legions of fans didn’t win a Coors Light Pole Award last year, he qualifies as a past winner of the race. Stewart has won the event three times, most recently in 2007. Win And In … Pretty Much Though a victory doesn’t immediately guarantee a spot in the 2014 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – it comes close. As NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France two weeks ago, the top 15 race winners after race No. 26 at Richmond will earn a spot in the Chase. Only twice in the 65-year history of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) has there been more than 15 winners over the first 26 races — 1961 and 2003. So the victor in the season-opening Daytona 500 has an outstanding chance to make this year’s Chase. No. 3 Returns To Sprint Cup Series The iconic No. 3 Chevrolet makes its highly anticipated return to the NSCS, the first time it’ll race in NASCAR’s premier series since Dale Earnhardt’s fatal accident on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Reigning NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) champion Austin Dillon will pilot the ride, and looks to become the first driver to win championships in all three of NASCAR’s national series. source – NASCAR communications
