No shortage of storylines as Daytona 500 approaches

After winning six races last year -- his most since the 2001 season -- Jeff Gordon (24) has lofty hopes for the '08 campaign. George Tiedemann/Getty Images

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The Sprint Cup season is upon us, officially getting underway Saturday with the Budweiser Shootout, followed by Daytona 500 qualifying Sunday and NASCAR's biggest race a week later. Then it's 35 more events until the championship. Indeed, this promises to be one of the most interesting of the circuit's 60 seasons.

Storylines are boundless. Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Hendrick Motorsports. Joe Gibbs Racing to Toyota. The influx of open-wheel drivers. Jimmie Johnson's run at a third straight championship, a feat accomplished only by Cale Yarborough 30 years ago. Jeff Gordon's Drive for Five.

Much has been written on those subjects already -- but the anticipation and speculation will end shortly. The reality, joyous and harsh, is in the racing.

Here are five pressing questions in need of answers on the eve of the season:

1. How will the Dale Earnhardt Jr. saga play out?

The pressure is on Junior, but it's always been since his arrival. Earnhardt is coming off a winless, Chase-less season -- the worst of his Cup career -- and steps into the Hendrick machinery at the perfect time to revitalize his career. Earnhardt had 17 Cup wins at DEI. Nobody should doubt he has the talent to perform at the highest level. Owner Rick Hendrick adroitly managed the transition, bringing in crew chief Tony Eury Jr. late last season to prepare for 2008. First cousins Earnhardt and Eury Jr. will be on the same page from Day 1, a big advantage for a driver with a new team. And since Eury was also able to bring some crew from DEI for the No. 88, the team is only partially new.

Earnhardt will win races, make the Chase and maybe even challenge for the championship this season. He has the hardware, he has the people and he can drive the car.

2. How soon will Joe Gibbs Racing take Toyota to Victory Lane?

You shouldn't be surprised if Tony Stewart wins Daytona. Toyota had a strong restrictor-plate package at Talladega last fall, taking the pole with Michael Waltrip, and it was with this year's car design: yesterday's Car of Tomorrow.

Toyota had a respectable showing at all the big tracks in 2007. It's easy to overlook Brian Vickers' 10th place finish at the California Speedway in the second race of last season. Toyota's most serious problems were on the one-mile and smaller tracks. Stewart and teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch should be running at the front in the fifth race at Bristol's half-mile.

We broke the Toyota-to-Gibbs story in early June. It was a story I stumbled across from one source and was able to confirm with another who knew everything. The second source, a friend for many years, was reluctant to talk but gave me enough to write it. Over the winter, a third source told me the deal had been completed before last season started and Gibbs' Mark Cronquist-led engine department had been working with Toyota since early spring -- even sending team members to Toyota Racing Development headquarters in Costa Mesa, Calif. With Gibbs' help, Toyota is much farther along than what could have been done in the last couple of months.

Does anybody think Gibbs would enter this season without everything it needs to win races? How long would the team be able to keep Stewart happy if they don't have the ability to win races?

With Gibbs' trio, Vickers at Red Bull and J.J. Yeley at Hall of Fame, Toyota is headed for a dramatic turnaround in its second Cup season. It's not if Toyota will win -- it's when and how many.

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