A year ago, that No. 00 driven by Michael McDowell suffered one of the single-most violent crashes in NASCAR history as it first slammed the turn one wall before rolling multiple times down the track in qualifying. McDowell, miracuously, was uninjured.
Friday, though, David Reutimann continued his hot start to the season in the No. 00 by taking the pole for Sunday's Samsung 500.
When the checkers fell, Greg Biffle was left out front -- literally, as just 10 cars finished on the lead lap -- to snap his 76-race drought of winning in the series.
But in between, the 209 laps that made up the Sam's Town 300 turned out to be quite hairy for a number of drivers.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Maybe the question isn't whether Scott Speed is ready for NASCAR, but if NASCAR is ready for Scott Speed.
The 26-year-old Californian has a personality as high octane as the Red Bull energy drink that sponsors his No. 82 Toyota Camry in the Sprint Cup Series, and sponsored the open-wheel driver competition that landed him a Formula One job in the 2006-07 seasons.
Speed carries himself with the unmistakable swagger that comes from being supremely confident and massively talented.
If the starting order of Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout at Daytona left you feeling a little bit uneasy about the start of the non-points dash for cash, well, Friday night's practice likely isn't going to calm your nerves:
Paul Menard's new season with a new team is starting out on a refreshingly good note.
Menard, who left the Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing team following 2008 to drive the No. 98 Ford at Yates Racing, drew the pole for Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout at Daytona during a made-for-TV draw "party" Thursday night just outside of the speedway.
The lineup -- one that is set completely at random for the 28 eligible drivers -- has left some drivers that don't fall into "favorites" category sitting at the front while others, including last-place starter and former Shootout winner Jeff Gordon, will have plenty of traffic to negotiate at the green flag.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Ironically, in the week one of America's great Olympic champions is embroiled in a drug controversy, another of its favorite pasttimes is conducting its first large scale drug testing.
NASCAR finished its first round of mandatory drug tests and will continue to conduct random tests throughout the season. It's a big step for the series, which has only tested with probable suspicion for the previous 59 years of its history.
But in this sport, being under the influence of a drug could mean death for you or another – there's no gray area at 200 mph.
A.J Allmendinger, after an interesting month of rumors, finally has nailed down a ride for a portion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
The former open-wheel driver with five Champ Car wins to his credit and two seasons of Sprint Cup racing with Team Red Bull that ended in 2008 signed with Richard Petty Motorsports Wednesday for up to two years.
The contract, at the moment, has afforded Allmendinger -- ousted by Team Red Bull towards the end of the 2008 season in favor of the unproven, yet talented Scott Speed -- nine races at the start of 2009 including next weekend's Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.
NASCAR made a mockery of the Budweiser Shootout format back in August thanks to a conflict of sponsorship, and this week, an attempt to improve the race took another step back.
The August changes to the annual season-opening non-points race made eligibility requirements revolve around the previous season's manufacturer standings with the top six team from each car make earning a spot in the dash for cash. According to NASCAR, it was an attempt to give more exposure to the four car companies that compete in the Sprint Cup Series.
The result left Tony Stewart and other notable drivers ineligible for the Feb. 7 race and on Friday, NASCAR changed that.
Ironically the start of a Sprint Cup Series weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway that's supposed to be the coronation of one of NASCAR's greatest drivers started with a relative unknown taking the race's best starting spot.
Johnson carries a 141-point lead over Carl Edwards with only 400 miles left to go in the 36-race NASCAR season. Should Johnson manage a finish better than 36th Sunday, he'll be the first driver since Cale Yarborugh in 1978 to win three straight championships.
Edwards will start a much improved 4th.
On the outside of the front row and next to Reutimann, Red Bull Racing's Scott Speed will start the No. 83 Toyota after swapping rides this week with teammate Brian Vickers. Vickers, in Speed's normal No. 84, starts 20th.
Instead, the team was given all but a heavy dose of corporal punishment Wednesday afternoon thanks to NASCAR finding that the sheet metal on Vickers' No. 83 was too thin for NASCAR's specifications.
The lack of depth left Vickers with 150 less points (drops from 15th to 17th in the driver point standings) and without a car cheif (Craig Smokstad) or crew chief (Kevin Hamlin) for an unknown amount of time after both were suspended indefinitely by NASCAR.
Ouch.
However, the team took complete responsibility for the violation in a subsequent press release saying they wouldn't appeal the ruling and that they realize it's a "privilege" to compete in NASCAR. Ominous words for the person mainly behind this penalty were also included in the release as it said "necessary steps will be taken to rectify the situation and ensure it won't happen again".
All that being said, what in the world does it mean and why does it help for a team to have thin sheet metal?
The old cliché 'what a difference a year makes' couldn't have rang more true for Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 00 Friday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway.
Did you get a chance to catch that 
A.J Allmendinger
NASCAR made a mockery of the 
Ironically the start of a 
Brian Vickers
