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KINDRED SPIRITS Indiana native Tony Stewart and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning are buddies, so now that Manning finally has his Super Bowl trophy and a game MVP to boot, Stewart figures he's due to score his first Daytona 500 victory. To that end Stewart sent Manning a text message after the Super Bowl, congratulating the quarterback.
"I sent him a text message a few minutes after the game was over and I wrote 'You've got yours finally, now it's time for me to get my Super Bowl,'" Stewart said Thursday during Media Day at Daytona. "There's been a lot of things that have lined up for us this year - winning the Chili Bowl again this year with Chevrolet, them being our sponsor for our open-wheel teams for the first time. Peyton winning the Super Bowl, a lot of things that have lined up to make us feel really good coming in here this year. It's kind of one of those things where I'm superstitious about everything and it's one of those things where this falls in line. I feel like maybe we'll have the opportunity to get there."
And the two-time Nextel Cup Champion is as determined as ever to win this year. "I would destroy my car to win the 500 if that's what it takes on the last lap," Stewart said. "I don't care if I slide upside down across the finish line to win. This is one of those races you'll take any chance that you have to try to win. I won't say that's my attitude towards every race but this isn't just any race. This is the marquee event for us this year. I would do the same in the Indy 500."
FAMILY MAN With a new baby on the way in July, four-time NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion Jeff Gordon isn't making noises about retiring. Far from it. Gordon has insisted all winter that he's more fired up than ever this year, though his teammate Jimmie Johnson said he wouldn't be shocked if Gordon retires from driving within the next five years.
"A five-year window? I wouldn't be surprised," Johnson said Thursday during Media Day at Daytona. "This is the start of his 16th year. So in 20 years, I think 20 years of doing anything you're probably looking for a change. So I wouldn't be shocked with that." Johnson added that Gordon hasn't made any such pronouncements about the future.
"The side I see of him is very focused on the coming year I think he's got at least two or three more years on the contracts he has in place right now," Johnson said of Gordon. "Everything I hear is trying to win a fifth championship. So I haven't seen any side of when he may be thinking about hanging up the helmet. … I really think he's a force to win a fifth championship and I know that's his focus and that's all he and the team talk about. They brought Steve (Letarte, crew chief) in at the end of '05, to try and get prepared for '06. They made great gains last year. But I really see that team, with another year together, the chemistry with Jeff and Steve is even better so I think Jeff will be a threat."
Jeff Gordon says he's not thinking about retirement ahead of his 16th Cup season. (LAT Photo) MORE NASCAR PHOTOS » More Photos
As for Gordon, he laughed. "I hope there's a Jeff Gordon sitting in victory lane with a five-year-old daughter in his arms is what I'm hoping for."
GOING GREEN With no 2006 owner points to fall back on with his new No. 13 Ginn Racing Chevrolet, Joe Nemechek will have to make the first five races of this season on speed. Nemechek, known as "Front Row" for his qualifying prowess can take one other worry off his plate, though: qualifying.
Ginn
NEW YEAR HALLELUJAH What a difference a year makes. When David Gilliland joined Robert Yates Racing in mid-season last year, driver Elliott Sadler had just bolted the team and Dale Jarrett was a lame duck. Both of RYR's crew chiefs already had left, too, as had the team's general manager. In 14 races with the team, Gilliland's best finish was 15th.
But the chaos and dysfunction are gone this year, as Gilliland has a fleet of new cars, crewmen who want to be there and a new teammate and mentor in Ricky Rudd. "As a rookie, I can't tell how much it means when you go to a test somewhere and you get out of the car and you can go straight to someone like Ricky and ask him a question and have an answer right then and there," Gilliland said Thursday at Daytona. "You're not going throughout the day still wondering and you go to sleep and you wake up and you're still wondering. That's kind of how it was last year. This year, with having Ricky, he's just a phone call away if he's not at the test. He's been a tremendous help to me. I'm really honored to have the opportunity to work with him this year."
And the good vibes Gilliland feels have spilled over to the shop floor at RYR. "The biggest difference in the shop is, you walk in there when I went there, with Dale Jarrett leaving a lot of the guys came there with Dale Jarrett and those guys in the shop didn't really want to be there anymore. The biggest difference in the shop is, you walk in there when I went there, with Dale Jarrett leaving a lot of the guys came there with Dale Jarrett and those guys in the shop didn't really want to be there anymore. Now, you walk in there and every single person in the shop is there because they want to be there. That's what it takes to have a successful team."
ODDS & ENDS NASCAR officials said Thursday that it looks like the final entry list for the Daytona 500 will be 61 cars, which means 26 drivers will be racing for the final eight spots in the field. The top 35 in 2006 owner points are all guaranteed a starting spot in the race. … Bobby Labonte said he's not spoken with his older brother Terry about pinch-hitting for Kyle Petty this summer when Petty steps out of the No. 45 Dodge to work as an analyst for TNT for five races. Jon Wood said he's exciting about making his Nextel Cup debut this year, but admitted he's a little nervous, too. Few drivers seemed to have any concern about racing at Daytona with James Hylton, who at age 72 will try to make the 500 field.
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