Notes: Said nervous about his Daytona 500 chances (cont'd)

More road racers

If it can get an engine program in place for a second car during Speedweeks 2008, Furniture Row Racing hopes to enter a second car for the Daytona 500 and give road-racing veteran Max Papis a chance at his first Sprint Cup start.

As the second session of Preseason Thunder ended at Daytona, Furniture Row car chief Doug Holbrook said, following a successful three-day test with Jeff Fuller in which the team posted three top-12 speeds overall in three single-car sessions (read more), the No. 87 Chevrolet would return if everything worked out.

"We're trying to get a second car into the race with Max Papis, which would be sponsored by Denver Mattress," Holbrook said. "Right now we're kind of in limbo because the other day we found out we might not be able to get a motor for this deal, but we'll go from there and that's about all I can say.

"We're going to try to, and we'll see where we're at."

Furniture Row went to Hendrick Engines late in the 2007 season for its No. 78 Chevrolets.

Darby

Darby pleased with testing

Fifty-five Sprint Cup teams ended six days of hard work over two separate test sessions Wednesday, and series director John Darby said he couldn't be more pleased, especially with the competitors' feedback.

"I'm very happy with everything," Darby said. "The drivers that I've talked with have been very positive -- a lot of good comments on how the car drove. The teams are really focusing on their race setups, which is good."

Darby said teams worked with the same race package used at Talladega Superspeedway this past October, where the Car of Tomorrow debuted on a superspeedway. Only the gear ratio was different at Preseason Thunder, owing to Daytona's 2.5-mile length compared to Talladega's 2.66 miles.

Darby said officials may "tweak" the gear ratio for the Daytona 500, but that other components such as restrictor-plate size, wickers and rear-wing angles, appear set.

Daytona seen and heard

Jared Fogle, advertising spokesperson for the Subway restaurant chain who has served as Grand Marshal at Cup races in each of the past two seasons, proved how much of a NASCAR fan he was when he left an advertising shoot for a local Subway and went out of his way to get credentials to visit Preseason Thunder.

Fogle arrived in the test's final hour and no, he was not there as a guest of Tony Stewart -- his partner in several popular Subway ads -- because Stewart had already left the speedway.

Fogle said he was already looking forward to serving as Grand Marshal and giving the command to fire engines at the Subway-sponsored event at Phoenix International Raceway later this season. Then, he and his two companions hiked off toward the frontstretch side of the garage seeking Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton.

Daytona seen and heard, Part II

Ricky Pearson, longtime crew chief in what will this year be known as the Nationwide Series, may need full-time employment if a report published on the Internet proves true, that his McGill Motorsports team may take a year's hiatus from the series.

Pearson was at Daytona on Wednesday working with Stanton Barrett's race team, helping tune the No. 50 Chevrolet with which the Hollywood stuntman will try to make the Daytona 500. (read more)

Frye back in the sport

Red Bull Racing Team introduced its new general manager this week, 16-year motorsports veteran Jay Frye. Frye most recently spent the past 12 years, ending this past July, as CEO and GM of Ginn Racing, the former MB2 Motorsports, which Frye helped to form in the mid-1990s.