Kevin Harvick Inc. Strengthens Sponsorship Portfolio ... What a difference a year makes for Kevin Harvick Inc., whose No. 33 Chevrolet and driver Ron Hornaday Jr. came to Daytona in 2006 without sponsorship. All that changed when AES HR Solutions came aboard after mid-season, and last week KHI announced the signing of Camping World for 12 races with the team's No. 2 truck shared by Harvick, Cale Gale and Clint Bowyer. Gale gets the nod for Daytona.

Hooping It Up In Daytona ... Gaughan tipped off the new season with appearances at a pair of Daytona Beach area high schools - Spruce Creek and Atlantic - prior to each's appearance in district basketball tournament games. Gaughan spoke to the students about teamwork as well as the philosophy that former Georgetown coach John Thompson imparted.

SPEED Boosts Coverage ... Each of SPEED's 23 broadcasts will be preceded by 45 minutes of pre-race coverage hosted by Krista Voda. All of Daytona's activities - practice and qualifying - leading up to the Chevy Silverado HD 250 will be carried live by the series' cable home. Viewership has increased in each season since SPEED began series coverage in 2003. New pit road reporter Adam Alexander joins the team of Rick Allen, Phil Parsons, Michael Waltrip, Ray Dunlap and Voda.

After A Season Away, Schrader Returns ... Believe it or not, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was one of the few places where Ken Schrader (No. 18 Fastenal Dodge) didn't compete in 2006. His last start came on Nov. 11, 2005 at Phoenix. Schrader has gone the longest - 11 years 10 months - since his only win at the old Saugus (Calif.) Speedway.

Drivers On The Move... Five competitors among last year's final top 20 come to Daytona with different teams. They are:

• David Starr (No. 10 MaxxForce Ford).
• Terry Cook (No. 59 Harris Trucking/Melling Engine Parts Toyota).
• Mike Bliss (No. 40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet).
• Dennis Setzer, (No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet).
• Bill Lester (No. 15 Billy Ballew Motorsports Chevrolet).

Starr was highest ranked (fourth) a year ago while Setzer becomes the 10th driver for a team that has competed in all but two of the series' 292 races.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Season Opening Winners

Year	Driver	Track
1995	Mike Skinner	Phoenix
1996	Dave Rezendes	Homestead
1997	Joe Ruttman	Disney
1998	Ron Hornaday Jr.*	Disney
1999	Mike Wallace	Homestead
2000	Mike Wallace	Daytona
2001	Joe Ruttman	Daytona
2002	Robert Pressley	Daytona
2003	Rick Crawford	Daytona
2004	Carl Edwards	Daytona
2005	Bobby Hamilton*	Daytona
2006	Mark Martin	Daytona

* Previous season's champion

Raybestos Rookie Candidates Class of '07
Willie Allen, Bon Aqua, Tenn.
Kelly Bires, Mauston, Wis.
Blake Bjorklund, Isanti, Minn.
Joey Clanton, Tyrone, Ga.
Aaron Fike, Galesburg, Ill.
Casey Kingsland, Las Vegas, Nev.
Matt McCall, Denver, N.C.
Peter Shepherd, Brampton, Ont. Can.
Tim Sauter, Nacedah, Wis.
Tyler Walker, Los Angeles, Calif.

On The Right Track - Daytona Drama Produces Seven Winners In Seven Races
Odds are good that this year's Chevy Silverado HD 250 will produce Daytona International Speedway's eighth consecutive different series winner. Of the 36 entered drivers, only three - Mike Wallace (No. 46 DIRECTV Hot Pass Chevrolet), Rick Crawford (No. 14 Circle Bar/Power Stroke Diesel Ford) and Carl Edwards (No. 50 Roush Racing Ford) - have visited Victory Lane at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.

Daytona has featured a number of dramatic finishes - beginning with the inaugural race in which Wallace overtook Andy Houston in the final lap's fourth turn.

In 2003, Crawford, Travos Kvapil and Robert Pressley swept under the checkered flag literally side-by-side in the series' closest three-way finish.

Two years ago, Bobby Hamilton led just a few feet of the final lap after starting 36th and last.

Daytona finishes have been measured in fractions of a second: Crawford's victory is the closest at 0.027 second. The race's widest finish (in 2001) was 0.318 seconds as Joe Ruttman defeated Ricky Hendrick.

Races have featured green-white-checker finishes on three occasions including a year ago.

Etc... This year's Daytona race carries record posted awards of $865,783. The figure tops last year's $835,651. A year ago, Mark Martin's victory was worth a record $88,850. ... Several teams and drivers will extend records at Daytona. The race will be the 291st for Spears Motorsports and 275th consecutive start for Roush Racing. Crawford and Sprague will make their 248th starts while Cook will compete in his 223rd consecutive race in a streak that began Jan. 19, 1998 at Walt Disney World Speedway. ... Last year's 27 finishers was a Daytona high. Martin's winning speed of 146.622 mph also set a track record. ... Martin was the track's first pole winner to reach Victory Lane. The trophy, however, has gone to a front row starter on three of seven occasions. ... FOX carries two races live in 2006, the first time the series has appeared on national television since 2000; at Martinsville, March 31 and Mansfield Motorsports Park, May 26.

In The Loop
In Todd Bodine's first visit to Daytona International Speedway as a Craftsman Truck Series driver in 2005, he finished third. Last season, in his second visit, he finished second. His third visit? Only time will tell, but the sequence - and the Loop Data - favors a trip to Victory Lane for the defending Craftsman Truck Series champion.

Bodine owns the second-best Driver Rating at Daytona with a 123.9, second only to Mark Martin, who won in his first and only series appearance at the track. He's also quick where it counts - in Daytona's pivotal turns. In Turn 3, Bodine had a third-best average speed of 187.606 mph and in Turn 4, had a fourth-best average speed of 184.074 mph. Bodine also owns the top Green Flag Speed of anyone competing in the Chevy Silverado HD 250 with a 186.658 mph average.

Bodine's consistency at Daytona shows in the numbers. He has a second best average running position of 5.1 and he dominates the Laps in the Top 15 stats, logging a series-best 186 laps in the Top 15. In addition, Bodine has led 22 laps over the last two years, which is third-best overall.

Quotable
"This will be the first time I've ever had a teammate. There have been plenty of times I wished I had a teammate to work the draft with and now I have one." - 2003 Daytona winner Rick Crawford, who'll team with David Starr this season.

"Talk about going from the outhouse to the penthouse! A few weeks ago I was looking for a job and didn't think I was even going to be in a truck at Daytona. - David Starr, who'll work with three-time champion crew chief Dennis Connor in 2006.

"If there was another lap of racing last year, we might have given the Germains and Toyota a one-two Daytona finish." - Todd Bodine reflecting upon his and teammate Ted Musgrave's race with winner Mark Martin.

"Daytona is my home track, and I love it. One of the reasons I love it so much is because we all start from zero, points-wise. Each driver has the chance to be a contender for the championship at Daytona." - Mike Skinner, whose residence in New Smyrna is a few miles from Daytona International Speedway.

"It seems a little strange being called a rookie, but the way NASCAR's rules are set up I have to run the yellow (bumper) stripes, so we might as well run for the award." - Tim Sauter, whose 116 NASCAR national series starts include only three in the Craftsman Truck Series.

"I was second at the white flag and first coming off the second turn. Things really got shuffled around and I wound up ninth. It's pretty tough to take when you have a win at Daytona swept away from you three-quarters of a lap short of Victory Lane." - Terry Cook recalling the 2003 Chevy Silverado HD 250 and why fans find Daytona truck racing so compelling.

The Race: Chevy Silverado HD 250
The Place: Daytona International Speedway
The Date: Feb. 16, 2007
The Time: 8:00 p.m. (ET)
Race Distance: 250 miles/ 100 laps
TV: SPEED, 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Track Layout: 2.5-mile tri-oval
Race Purse: $865,733
2006 Winner: Mark Martin
2006 Pole: Mark Martin