SM Archive

lorida, February and racing have gone hand-in-hand for decades, as racers escape the cold and snow of others parts of the country to open their season in the “Sunshine State.” For the first time in her career, Taylor Ferns will have the chance to be part of the Speedweeks activities as she heads to Florida to compete in a pair of events with the USAC National Midget Series.

When it was announced that the USAC National Midget Series would open the 2013 season in Florida, Tracy Hines was pretty excited. He was already headed to the “Sunshine State” with his sprint car, so getting to race two more times in a midget and open both the sprint car and midget season at the same time offers the perfect way to kick-off the outdoor portion of his 2013 season.

CASEY MEARS, No. 13 GEICO Ford Fusion – YOU GREW UP IN RACING. WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR YOU AS A KID? WHAT ARE YOUR FIRST CHILDHOOD MEMORIES OF RACING? “I remember going to the off-road races with my dad and they used to give me little jobs like when the truck would come in to scrub the mud off the tires and stuff when I was like four or five-years old they would let me do stuff like that. I have a ton of memories of being at the race track and my dad racing and me being there. A lot of really good old memories from being at the track.”

ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards practice was cut short today at Daytona Int'l Speedway because of rain, but not before John Wes Townley, in the No. 15 Zaxby's Toyota, positioned himself atop the leader board.

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing- How important was your NSCS win in 2007 to your career to date? "It was huge -- '07, I remember that day like it was yesterday."

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 BASS PRO SHOPS CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the new race cars, why the Daytona 500 is so tough to win, bump-drafting, and more.

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., No. 17 Best Buy Fusion – HAVE THINGS CHANGED FOR YOU OUT IN PUBLIC SINCE YOU AND DANICA ACKNOWLEDGED YOUR RELATIONSHIP? “No, it hasn’t really changed. Not many people notice me out there. It has been fine. I have been spending most of my time in the shop though. I don’t go out a ton. Everything has been good. Everything is great.”

KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media and discussed competing in triathlon’s, last year’s Daytona 500 and other topics.

JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS, met with the media and discussed baseline testing and other topics. NASCAR TOLD US THEY SUGGESTED TO THE DRIVERS THAT THEY MIGHT WANT TO GET A BASELINE IMPACT TEST, WHICH COULD BE MANDATORY IN 2014. ARE YOU PLANNING ON DOING THAT? “I haven’t done it yet. I’m investigating it and getting all the information that I feel like I need to get. "

Officials from Statesville, North Carolina-based Bebida Beverage Company (BeBevCo.) confirmed today that they have reunited with NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) veteran Jennifer Jo Cobb for next Friday night’s running of the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.