52nd Running of Daytona 500: Rants, Raves, and Questions For 2010

My fingers are shaking as I try to type. It's either from the anticipation for this weekend's race, the flow of caffeine, or the persistent chill winter. 

It's the eve of the Superbowl of motor sports and the official kick off of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Spring and summer can't be too far off, even with the foot of snow outside my window. I'm excited and cannot wait for the dropping of the green flag.

In preparation for making my fantasy league picks, I peruse the lineup for 52nd Daytona with a multitude of random thoughts racing through my head:

Is this the year that Mark Martin breaks two streaks? Winning at Daytona and finally finishing higher than second.

Can seven time NASCAR most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr , start to live up to the expectations when he signed with Hendrick Motor Sports?

HMS could sweep the top four spots this year.

There is no way Jimmie Johnson wins a fifth straight championship. Of course, that's what I thought the last two years!

Is it wrong that the lead driver for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing is not an Earnhardt or even an American?

At the same time, it's not right that there is no Petty driving for Richard Petty Motorsports . A little bit of history is lost without a Petty in the Daytona 500 lineup, this being the second year since Kyle finished 34th in 2008.

It's not right that a driver (Boris Said ) averages 53rd in the first three practices and still qualifies for the race.

Robby Gordon: Is this the beginning of the end for the single car operations? Teetering on the brink of the top 35 and sponsorship troubles, this shows there is no way for single car teams to compete. NASCAR need to look at a revenue sharing plan to help these teams.

With a name like Waltrip , why hasn't Michael been able to have the same success as quickly as Tony Stewart ?

Why can't the announcers get past all the references of "The Big One?"

Will the quality troubles of Toyota cast a pall over their NASCAR operations?

Which Toyota has the best chance to win a championship? Why hasn't Toyota been able to dominate the top series as it does the Camping World Trucks?

The rule changes this year will lead to more crashes, as the "gentlemen's agreement" no longer seems to be in effect.

It's impossible to see Joey Logano fall into the same bad boy persona as the other current and former Joe Gibbs drivers.

For all my friends who question the excitement of a series of left-hand turns, you are the ones who just don't get!

Come on! Let's get this season started so the snow starts melting!!