iNSIDE SCOOP: Crank 'Em Up!

If you're not sitting in a block of ice somewhere, you'll realize that it's about to get warm in Daytona.

That's because NASCAR Preseason Thunder is about to kick off on Thursday. That is a sign that the cold and bluster and freezing and all that stuff is about to leave and the spring is about to...spring again, if that makes any sense.

Ah, to be in Daytona in the winter. It's what makes the cockles of a NASCAR fan's heart sit up and shake off the torpor of the holidays and get ready for another season in the sun.

One of the items that is sure to catch your attention is the fact that Rusty Wallace will take laps in the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion on Thursday, part of the 40th anniversary of the Miller Lite brand and the 25th anniversary of his championship season.

The Hall of Fame driver and current ESPN analyst will be wearing a firesuit with the original Miller Lite logo during the test. This retro firesuit will also be worn by Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford team crew members at the upcoming Daytona 500 as well. The Miller Lite Ford Fusion will also feature a commemorative white Miller Lite paint scheme for the “Great American Race” 

“I am pretty pumped up about this,” said Wallace. “This is a big deal, and I can’t wait to get the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford up to speed – especially at Daytona. This will be my first time driving the new Gen-6 car, and I think it will give me a better perspective on how I cover the races for ESPN as an analyst. This is going to be a lot of fun, yet there is also a business component too. I can’t thank Miller Lite, ESPN and Team Penske enough for giving me this opportunity. Man, what a fantastic way to start the year.”

He's right, for his reasons and for ours. 

Who can remember sitting around waiting to see how testing was going? Back before the advent of the internet, all you could do was wait for your issue of National Speed Sport News to arrive, or hope that your local paper would list the testing speeds (somewhere amid the bowling scores and middle-school sports results). Now, you can watch it all on TV or your computer. I'm shaking my head here, because of how fast all this changed.

There's a lot at stake this year. The new car is not so new and is in the tweaking phase. How it responds is going to be a big story this year, and maybe for many years. If NASCAR gets it right and there is side-by-side racing on a regular basis, then it's a watershed year. If it doesn't...well, it's going to be interesting to see the reactions.

I'm enthused about the possibilities, and you should be too. There's a lot of good things coming out of the R&D Center these days, thanks to Gene Stefanyshyn and his group of innovators. 

Stock-car racing hasn't been stock for many years, owing to the way they race. Can you imagine taking your Ford Fusion, removing all the glass and taping the rest, then putting it on the track? That's the way it was back then. Shoot, they'd buy a car at a dealership, tow or drive it to the track, make it legal and race it. Wow.

It's not that way now, of course, and it shouldn't be. But it is worthwhile to compare apples to apples, and these days, the cars are essentially the same except for style cues and other branding. They'll race the same way, overall. 

For me, I can't wait to hear the engines and see the cars again. It's been that way since the early 1970s, at least for me, and I imagine for most of you as well.

Bring it on, pop the top on an original Miller Lite and let the good times roll!