You may have noticed that Tony Stewart has slimmed down for the coming season, 15 lbs to be exact so far.  Tony said “I just wanted to feel better, actually, I’m realizing I’m not 20 any more. I’ll be 40 in May. It was just me sitting down and saying, ‘Hey, I’ve got to pay better attention to this.’  Don’t expect Tony to start working out like Mark Martin, as he calls his routine “insane”

Paul Menard is getting a guaranteed starting spot in the Daytona 500 for his Richard Childress car.  It’s a points deal made between RCR and TRG Motorsports and the car points from their #71 car from last year.  That team managed to finish 2010 in exactly 35th in points and that’s enough for Menard to sleep easy for at least the first 5 races of the season.

Teams have taking a liking to testing at Walt Disney World Speedway in Florida.  Drivers that have turned laps there recently include Kyle Busch, Todd Bodine, David Ragan, Brian Scott, Steve Wallace, Jeff Burton, Juan Montoya, and Paul Menard.  That speedway by the way is a 1 mile track with 3 turns and very little banking, like a tiny Pocono.