Image Courtesy Getty Images For Nascar

All though our Nations 236th Birthday falls on Wednesday this year, the celebration will undoubtedly carry over through the weekend. And what could be a better way to wind up the weekend than with a Stock Car Race under the lites at The Daytona International Speedway, and ending with one of the worlds largest fireworks displays.

As a resident of Central Florida, and Daytona being my home track, I can tell you first hand about the festivities coming up this weekend, where we will be treated with racing both Friday and Saturday nights. I had the pleasure of attending the last daytime race won by John Andretti in 1997, and the first night race won by Jeff Gordon in October of 1998. As you probably remember, the race in 1998 was postponed until October because of fire and extreme drought conditions in July. That first night race at Daytona was one of the greatest events I have ever attended.

Matt Kenseth will be making his last start at Daytona for Roush Fenway Racing. The next time he lines up here, he will be in a new car, driving for an entirely new race team. Being the winner of the 2012 Daytona 500, Matt will have to overcome some history if he intends to win Saturday night. Daytona in February is a completely different race track than what the race teams face at a night race in July. The season sweep at Daytona has only been accomplished five times in history, and has not been done in 30 years.

Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough,LeeRoy Yarbrough and Fireball Roberts – have been able to win both Daytona races in the same season. Allison’s sweep, the most recent, came 30 years ago when he drove a DiGard Racing Buick to Victory Lane in 1982.

NASCAR founder Bill France referred to Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 as “America’s largest Independence Day celebration.” NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway continue to honor the nation’s service men and women – veteran and active duty – with NASCAR Unites – An American Salute, which culminates this weekend.

Four Vietnam War Congressional Medal of Honor recipients will be hosted during this week’s activities, continuing a tradition France implemented in 1969 when he invited all living Medal of Honor recipients to his Independence Day party. Eighty-seven of them attended the race.

Veterans have been a large part of NASCAR since its formative years. France built submarine chasers in the Daytona Beach boatyard. Among its pioneers who served in World War II – several of whom were wounded in action and earned Purple Hearts – included NASCAR Hall of Famer Bud Moore, 2013 Hall of Fame inductee Cotton Owens and NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees Red Byron, Raymond Parks, Fireball Roberts and Joe Weatherly.

Others – drivers, owners, mechanics and race inspectors – used their military experience to build the sport.Marvin Panch, whose 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup victories included the 1961 Daytona 500, used the word “loyalty” to explain why veterans made great competitors. Panch served in a stateside U.S. Army motor pool during the Korean War.

The King’s Birthday Celebration Rolls To Daytona

Richard Petty has been around racing nearly all his life – all 75 years. On Monday, July 2, Petty celebrated his 75th birthday in Level Cross, N.C.

Less than two years after Petty started his first NASCAR premier series race, he claimed his inaugural victory in the series at Southern States Fairgrounds in Charlotte, N.C., on Feb. 28, 1960. From that point on, the victories, records and accolades never stopped piling up.

For a driver to hold just one of the records Petty set is considered impressive, but for one driver to collectively set all the records Petty has is what legend is made of. In his career, he has set records that likely will never be broken: 200 career wins, 27 wins in one season, 10 wins in a row, 123 career poles, 555 Top-5 and 712 Top-10 finishes. In addition, he is tied with Dale Earnhardt with seven championships in the premier series.

Action begins Friday Night with The Nationwide  Subway Jalapeno 250 where the broadcast will begin at 7:00 PM EDT on ESPN with the Green Flag about 7:30.

Austin Dillon will be looking to bounce back from being fined 6 driver points after his win last weekend in Kentucky for failing post-race inspections, where it was determined that his rear end was too low. The penalty dropped him four points behind series leader Elliot Sadler. Look for Joey Logano, last years winner to be a factor once again Friday night. Logano, who looks to be possibly losing his Cup ride to Matt Kenseth next year is very good in both series’ at Daytona.

The Coke Zero 400 will get underway Saturday evening with the broadcast on TNT starting at 6:30 PM EDT and the Green Flag around 7:30. The race will be simulcast on truTV. David Ragan is your defending champion.

With the top 10 in the Sprint Cup points standings being fairly secure, look for some of the drivers on the Wild Card bubble to push hard to win this race. With positions 11-18, drivers like Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards are in bad need of a win at this time, and some of the one-win drivers could use another victory to pad their chances of making the chase.

With Brad Keselowski sitting in tenth place with three wins on the year, he would assuredly make the chase even if he drops out of the top 10. This could make the wild card selection a one-horse affair.

They don’t talk about the Big One at Daytona like they do at Talladega, but as everyone knows, an incident close to the front with speeds close to 200 mph, can really mess up a driver’s chances of finishing this race where the expects to. This can be a real problem if the overheating problems continue and we get more door to door type of racing, instead of the nose-to-tail affair we saw last July.

So do like I’m going to do Saturday night, buckle into my Laz-y-Boy, get some food and a cold one(or two) and get set for what should be a great night of racing. We just need for Juan Pablo Montoya to stay clear of the Jet Dryers so the race can finish at a decent hour, and we can all see the spectacular fireworks show that’s sure to come after the Checkered Flag.

Image Courtesy Getty Images for Nascar

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Series Champion Tony Stewart poses with his trophy during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion's Week on November 29, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has one of the shortest offseasons in all of professional sports, but it is constantly rife with developing stories despite the short schedule.

Drivers and teams are already looking forward to the testing session at Daytona International Speedway for the 54th running of the Daytona 500.

Faces and places have been altered in the past couple of weeks since the checkered flag dropped at Homestead-Miami Speedway. While, many driver placements are still in the works.

Here are just some stories that we’ve seen come into the fold during the 90 day offseason.

Can Tony Stewart Win Another Championship?

Its pretty safe to say that Tony Stewart can’t be expected to duplkicate his 2011 Chase performance. Winning five of the ten Chase races is a new record that may never be broken. However, the question of whether or not he can repeat as champion will be asked and asked again until most everyone is sick of talking about it. At some point, Smoke will definitely get sick of repeating himself. It would not be a major surprise to see a sound-bite of his going viral that sees him berating another helpless reporter. Better question should be, who will be the reporter that gets harassed by Stewart?

How Short is Kyle Busch’s leash?

The short answer to the question is that he will not have a huge margin for error. His best bet is to avoid any conflict at all costs and to keep his mouth shut about different incidents, including Kevin Harvick. The tenuous standing with NASCAR may result in a slow start for Busch; he will have to curb his aggressiveness which is partly what makes him a great driver. As soon as Kyle Busch is involved in his first incident, questions will explode as to what NASCARS, M&Ms, and Joe Gibbs Racing will do with the younger Busch.

Darian Grubb+Denny Hamlin= ????

I figure I will stay in the Joe Gibbs Racing organization for just another topic that has developed this off-season. JGR replaced Mike Ford with the reinging NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief, Darian Grubb. This definitely drew a lot of attention and will put some extra pressure on Grubb to get results fairly quick. While the expectations of Joe Gibbs Racing have not been expressed in the public, it is assumable that they hired Grubb to get te No. 11 Toyta bback to its 2010 form. While this has been a heavily discussed topic since it was announced in early December, this story will continue to develop for the better part of 2012.

Kasey Kahne Heads to Hendrick Motorsports

Based on Kahne’s stellar performance in the 2011 Chase, he was not a contender for the championship, Hendrick Motorsports has to be excigted about the prospects of putting him in one of their rides. The media and fans are already excited to see what Kahne can do. Better funding and better equipment, Kahne has a great chance of being in the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2012.

How Will NASCAR Change Two-Car Tandems?

The general consensus at the superspeedway tracks is that its boring and produces random winners. NASCAR has recognized this and pledged to make an effort to change it. The question being asked by fans is How. One way could be to remove the restrictor plates, but for safety concerns this is an unlikely option. Perhaps in the weeks leading to the Daytona 500, NASCAR will unveil its official plan to truly change a formerly exciting for of racing that has become unpopular to the fans, but to the drivers as well.

Fuel Injection

This topic will be discussed until the checkered flag of the Daytona 500 has been waved. NASCAR has finally removed the carburetors from its cars and switched to a more modern fuel injection system. Whoever wins the Daytona 500 will love it, while others will dispise it. Either way, all the teams have had a chance to test it and see how differently it performs in terms of fuel conseravation and overall mileage. The real testing ground will begin in race condtions at Daytona.

What Will Brian Vickers Do?

With the doors of Red Bull Racing being closed after the last race of the 2011 season, Brian Vickers was without a job. He is currently unemployed and was never considered a leading candiate to replace Kurt Busch in the No. 22. While Vickers mentions through social media that he is working on things for the 2012 season, he is not mentioning as to what route he will be heading. Could the former Busch champion head back to the Nationwide series? Guess we will have to wait and see.

What Will David Reutimann Do?

Former Michael Waltrip Racing driver, David Reutimann is in the same spot as Vickers. He is not at the top of any lists to get a new ride and was given much less warning than David Ragan to try and find one. The best he can realistically hope for is to make a last minute deal to drive either a NASCAR Nationwide or Camping World Truck Series vehicle. Either way, Reuitimann will be taking a serious pay-cut in 2012.

Where Will David Ragan Do?

Roush-Fenway Racing scaled back to a three-car team for 2012 as UPS was no longer willing to sponsor a car fulltime. That was bad news for the UPS driver. Like Reutimann and Vickers, he is currently unemployed. According to many, he was a lead candidate to replace Kurt Busch in the No. 22 but A.J. Allmendinger will be in the Shell-Pennzoil Dodge next season. Ragan may be spending another season in the Nationwide Series.

Will Carl Edwards Be the Next Denny Hamlin?

In 2010, Denny Hamlin had the NASCAR Sprint Cup points lead going into the last race of the season. We all know what happened next, Jimmie Johnson captured his fifth title. Carl Edwards did the same thing in 2011, though he was even closer to the title than Hamln and did not surrender the points lead. Edwards just didn’t win enough races. Edwards’ season will be followed closely in 2012, as he emerged as a perennial Chase contender and a serious championship contender. During the 2011 season, Denny Hamlin did not rebound well from his near-miss at the title. What will Carl Edwards do? Will he improve to win the 2012 title? He will be asked that question a lot during Daytona SpeedWeeks and throughout the course of the season.