Drivers, owners applaud the testing ban, more news and notes

Carl Edwards said he had no problems with the testing ban that took effect this season. Getty Images

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida --When the green flag drops for the Daytona 500, fans in the grandstands and those watching on television won't notice whether teams tested in the offseason or not. They will see the same type of racing they have come to expect in NASCAR's biggest race. And because of that, NASCAR should make its offseason testing ban permanent for years to come.

"I think the teams have all realized the tremendous savings that have come with the testing ban," said NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton. "With this new car, there isn't a need to spend the offseason testing, and that has allowed the crew members to be better prepared and better rested at the shops.

"The other thing to consider is once these drivers have spent an offseason without testing, they aren't going to want to give up that free time, so maybe there is a little psychology there."

Pemberton got plenty of support from the drivers to keep the testing ban permanent.

"That's a big 10-4 there," Carl Edwards said. "There is no reason to test. If everyone goes and tests, it's the same as if no one goes and tests. It's very close to the same. It's also the same if we don't practice as much as we do.

"What we need to make sure is we put on the best show we can on Sundays. If teams can't afford to be there on Sunday because the expenses are so high, then that is not the best show we can put on. NASCAR made the right move and is going in the right direction. I'm really happy what they did with testing and hope they go one step further and eliminate all track testing."

The problem in NASCAR is if a team has a testing budget, then all teams feel a need to keep up, so budgets increase.

"No one wants to test any way," Edwards said. "If you are behind and you have found a place to test and have something you want to work on and that is the only time, it's good. But for the teams that feel they have it covered and their work is going the way they want it to go, if you add a test you are just adding more work for everyone, keeping guys away from their families and costing more money. There is a better use for time than that."

Kevin Harvick believes the proof is on the race track, that in Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout the racing was tremendous because teams didn't spend most of January testing.

"I told them on the way over here, they ought to cancel testing every year if you want to see a race like that," Harvick said after winning the Shootout. "That was a lot of built-up racecar drivers that were really looking for something to hang out on the edge. I think everybody got a good show tonight."

Martinizing

Martin Truex Jr. and Mark Martin have "Martinized" the front row of the 51st Daytona 500.

The All-Martin front row for Sunday's showcase has Truex's Chevrolet on the pole alongside 50-year-old Mark Martin's Chevrolet. Truex is the 34th different driver to win the pole for the Daytona 500. It was his second career Cup pole. His previous pole came at Texas in November 2007.

Ironically, Martin was Truex's teammate last year at DEI before the merger with Ganassi.

"That one team [Truex] just buckled down and kept the blinders on and kept it together," Martin said. "That's impressive, but those guys are impressive. That was a die-hard group of racers over there."

Truex's team has been the focal point of uncertainty during the offseason after the DEI-Ganassi merger.

"It was an interesting winter for most of us in the community," team owner Chip Ganassi said. "It was rewarding to come down here with a lot of hard work by a lot of people to bring these two teams together. There was a core group of people who never wavered on what they wanted to do.

"To put three cars in the top seven spots says a lot about this team (Truex on the pole, Juan Pablo Montoya fourth and Aric Almirola seventh)."

The pole winner believes the team was fresh after the testing banning and that preseason testing would have actually hurt the operation.

"I've done enough racing to keep the rust off," Truex said. "Any time there are changes that you are uncertain about, I just looked to the team and looked to Chip and tried to be a part of everything that I could. If you sit back and listen to what everybody has to say and believe it, you are worse off than if you ask questions.

"I know how good they are and we can get through a lot together. It shows how hard the guys worked but it's just one step along the way. This is just the first step."

For Martin it is his latest step. At one time, Martin was the young driver in this sport, when he won the pole at Nashville in 1981. Now, he's proving "It's Nifty to be 50."

"It beats the alternative," Martin said about turning 50. "It changes how you see life. It's the best it's ever been for me. Racing is my life and I'm in deep trouble if I don't do this anymore. This is all I've done since I was 15. Why in the world would I want to sit around at home?"

Life Of Brian

During Daytona 500 Media Day, it was NASCAR Chairman Brian France's turn to address the growing concerns of NASCAR's new era of economic uncertainty. And while France is hopeful that his sport will survive the economic downturn, he realizes it's a "cold new age" rather than a "bold new age."

"Everybody is very interested and understands what we are up against," France said. "Tracks, owners, drivers -- I'm meeting with everyone of them the next two weeks to talk about what we need to do to weather the storm.

"We're looking to get cars on the track and do what we do best. There's a lot of new things going on, new drivers with new teams. I'm anxious to see how that will play out. That will be the best tonic that we can get for us and our race fans."

France has to be pleased with last Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout, which turned out to be a wild race, ending with a big crash in a green-, white-, checkered-flag finish as Harvick made the race-winning pass a split second before the crash behind him.

And although France is confident Sunday's Daytona 500 will be a sellout, he knows the caution flag may wave at other markets.

"Everyone is in the same boat," France said. "Some markets are being impacted worse than others. Everybody is feeling it."

France recalled some advice given to him by his late father, Bill France, Jr., who had his own challenges, including the 1973 Energy Crisis and a series of recessions in the 1970s. "He told me, 'You got to have a long view,' " France said. " 'You can't panic. You have to stay on your course. These things do happen.'

"This is unprecedented, I'd say, in my generation. We have the business model and the confidence to know we'll get through it better than most."

In the "Life of Brian" the chairman believes NASCAR and its tracks will have to do more with less.

"Can we do any even more sacrifice?" France asked. "Sure. I just know budgets are coming down. Layoffs have happened. People are doing more with less. NASCAR is no different. We're doing every single thing we can for the sport. I'm hoping that underdog stories emerge. That would be pleasing to NASCAR."

After nearly three decades of growth, including a 10-year period in which the sport pushed aside the NHL and the NBA to go after the NFL and Major League Baseball in terms of popularity, it has to be hard for France to see a decline brought on by the economy.

Add a little duck sauce to that sub

Carl Edwards will have Subway as the sponsor of his Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion for three races in 2009. Edwards is sponsored by Aflac for the majority of the 2009 Sprint cup season. So that leads to the question of whether Subway is getting ready to add a "Roast Duck Sub" to its menu?

"I'm sure some of my competitors have thought about that," Edwards said. "There is no duck on the menu is there?" Edwards asked the Subway representative?

"Not in the U.S." was the response.

Now that should ruffle some feathers.

But all pluckiness aside, Edwards is one of the "fittest" drivers in the sport.

"I feel pretty comfortable against any of them except for Mark Martin," Edwards said. "I worked out with him one or two days two years ago and that guy is seriously in shape. Bobby Labonte is in amazing shape as well. Every year when I go to the gym here at Daytona, more people are in there working out. On the one hand that is good, but on the other hand it makes them harder to beat."

Quote Of The Week I

"Every race is always a challenge. In the 24 Hours of Daytona, people said, 'Oh my God, that pace you ran was incredible. I haven't seen you drive like that.' I said, 'I drive like that every [bleeping] week. That's what I do every week; I drive as hard as I can. I haven't forgotten how to drive. A lot of people who say they are friends of mine say I'm driving harder, but I drive my butt off every week."

-- Juan Pablo Montoya.

Quote Of The Week II

"Some of the races are boring. Not every one of them is an adventure. You have some races where whatever the case can be it's not exciting from a driver's standpoint. For the most part they are exciting from the driver's seat. Tune into our radio channel sometime and you will hear all the emotions because there are so many intense moments and you are on top of that adrenaline level for four hours. I don't know if we are fearless or if we are dumb."

-- Kevin Harvick.

Quote Of The Week III -- The Dale Earnhardt Jr. I Meant What I Said Edition

"I thought I was pretty clear in that statement [to SI.com]. Someone said that the track owners were complaining that the drivers were negative toward helping out. That is not true. We do the Winner's Circle program. We are constantly doing things every week for this guy, that guy to help race tracks. Shoot, we were in Daytona for the FanFest thing. I read off 20 darn scripts about selling tickets, that very thing. I think they [track owners] have to take a little responsibility for themselves.

"I was thinking the other day they should build their own hotels. That way they can control and bring the hotel prices down and control the hotel price in the region and make a little bit of money. People aren't coming to the race track because the drivers don't care, that is not what I meant. People aren't coming to the race track because it is expensive to do it.

"The drivers do pitch in. The drivers do go that extra mile and we are willing to do more. It is very easy to sit down and shoot a damn 30-second commercial; it is a piece of cake these days to do it. I can do it at home. We have the NASCAR tech center where we can do live teleconferences for an hour, whatever they want. We can push all we can push but they have to get a little more creative. They can't expect people to come back to spend that kind of money in this economy."

-- Dale Earnhardt Jr. backing up what he said to SI.com two weeks ago.

Quote Of The Week IV, The Legend Edition

"Naturally, I'm going to be pulling for the No. 14 to win the Daytona 500. I think Tony will do a good job as an owner or he'll have one angry driver on his hands, and I'm not talking about Ryan Newman. Seriously though, I'm looking forward to seeing Tony again. I'm hoping he can join me as a 500 winner at Daytona. I always tease him that he has won at Daytona but he hasn't won 'The Race' at Daytona. Maybe after this year I won't be able to tease him anymore. Actually, nothing would make me prouder than to see Tony win the 500 with the No. 14 -- I never did that."

-- A.J. Foyt, who will join Tony Stewart at Sunday's Daytona 500.

What I'm Looking Forward To This Week

Most sports have to wait until the end of the season for its premiere event, but NASCAR's crown jewel comes at the beginning of the year. While far too many NASCAR races never live up to the hype, the Daytona 500 usually delivers with a blockbuster performance. Here's hoping the 51st running does exactly that.