NASCAR Holds 2012 Preseason Test At Daytona International Speedway

On Kurt Busch’s first day at Phoenix Racing, the conversation in the shop began winding down as quitting time approached. It was 3:45 in the afternoon and Busch, team owner James Finch and some of the team’s 18 employees had just about run out of business to discuss.

So Busch, taking note of the laid-back atmosphere at his new organization – the opposite of Penske Racing – offered a suggestion.

Kasey Kahne wants to clear up a misconception some fans might have: He didn’t force Hendrick Motorsports to hire his longtime crew chief Kenny Francis.

Rather, he said, Hendrick wanted Francis to stay with Kahne after the driver suggested it.

Tyrann Mathieu, the fierce football player for LSU, gained notoriety this season as the “honey badger.”

The honey badger – as you may have learned in the famous YouTube video (below) about the animal – takes what it wants. And it don’t care.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars took to the Daytona International Speedway track on Thursday for a preseason test – and Chad Knaus wasn’t there.

In fact, he wasn’t even in the country.

Bowyer has a new team (Michael Waltrip Racing), a new manufacturer (Toyota), a new car number (15) and a new crew chief (Brian Pattie) – among other changes.

So the former Richard Childress Racing driver knows it’s possible there could be an adjustment period at the start of the Sprint Cup Series season while he gets up to speed with MWR.

If you blinked, you probably missed NASCAR’s offseason.

But that’s OK. Who needs an offseason, anyway? It’s time to get back to racing, and the Sprint Cup Series drivers will take to the Daytona International Speedway over the next three days in their first action of the season.