NASCAR Cup Series

No. 66 BlueDEF/AAA Toyota driver Michael Waltrip begins his quest for a third Daytona 500 victory when practice and qualifying begins this weekend for the Feb. 23 Daytona 500.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - What kind of challenges will Tony Stewart face coming back from an injury? “I think Tony (Stewart) has less challenges because he’s more talented. I think he’s shown he wins in everything he gets in. I think that not being in the car for him -- although it’s for a longer extended period of time -- will come relatively easy."

MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - How can you improve for 2014? “You always go back after every race, every practice, every qualifying session, certainly every season and you look back and try to see what you can do to improve."

"I got mine from my dad. He made me work on my race cars and go-karts and everything growing up if I wanted to race. If I didn’t put time in the shop, I didn’t get to go race. He works 16-18 hours a day even still, building engines so he works really hard and I learned from an early age that if you want something you’ve got to work hard for it.”

Roush Fenway Racing driver Greg Biffle, whose contract runs out at the end of the 2014 season, expects to sign an extension to remain with the organization.

CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Fastenal Ford Fusion – THOUGHTS ON THE NEW CROP OF YOUNG DRIVERS. “I think it’s always exciting to see new guys come in. A lot of times they come in with new ideas and a lot of energy and it’s fun to watch. I enjoy watching it and it’s really fun to do, too. I remember coming into this sport when Jack Roush hired me and it’s just so neat to come to these tracks for the first time and to figure everything out and realize the size of this sport. It’s a real enjoyable time.”

49 drivers will be vying for 43 spots in the 56th annual Daytona 500 this year. It's an increase from 2013, which had a...

TREVOR BAYNE – No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion – HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR YOU TO STAY IN GOOD SHAPE? “To me, I’ve been working really hard this off-season to get more fit and with my diagnosis last year I wanted to turn everybody away from that by showing them that I can do everything that I did before. So this off-season I’ve been working out about three hours every day – from 8 o’clock to 11 o’clock – and that’s kind of been my routine. It’s been really good. We’re doing the triathlon style training and that’s been fun for me because it mixes it up with the swim, the bike and the run and we’ve really enjoyed it so far.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed his trip to Barrett-Jackson, race car drivers salaries compared to other athletes, crew chief, Daniel Knost, and more