DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — AAA’s national motorsports sponsorships will end after the 2008 season. Its primary sponsorship of Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 wheeled by David Ragan is its main NASCAR investment, but AAA has also been the official auto insurance provider for International Speedway Corp.
Finally, AAA’s involvement with the Indianapolis 500, also ends this year.

• Clint Bowyer was the latest driver to characterize testing at Daytona Int’l Speedway as boring.
“There’s a lot of asphalt. It’s kind of slow (laughs). And it’s pretty boring. No, it is what it is. It’s all for a good cause. It is boring,” he said. “You hear all the drivers come down here and complain. I was sitting there signing a few autographs and looked over my shoulder and saw this guy laying concrete, and I thought, well, it can always be worse (laughs). I’ll get back in (the car). So, it’s all for a good cause and hopefully I’ll be holding that (Daytona 500) trophy.”

• Some teams experienced problems with right-front tires blistering during the first three days of Cup testing at DIS.

• With the Car of Tomorrow now the mandatory race car in the Sprint Cup Series, some of the drivers liked what they saw during the first test session at Daytona.
“It’s pretty fun to drive around the race track in the draft,” said Roush Fenway Ford driver Carl Edwards. “They move around a lot and they slide and stay loose and they’re kind of a handful to drive, so, to me, that’s fun. It makes it a setup and a driver’s race.”
“This car, first time being here on such a rough surface, there’s a lot of speed in making the car drive right. It’s been fun,” said Jimmie Johnson during the first day of testing. “I didn’t expect today to be this much fun and really be challenging as a driver and challenging as a team in finding the right setup and balance of the car.”
 
• Although his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team was not testing at Daytona Int’l Speedway Jan. 7-9, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was on hand at Daytona in support of his new teammates Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears, all of whom were testing.

• Former Formula One World Driving Champion Jacques Villeneuve, who is a NASCAR rookie, was near the top of the speed charts all three days in his No. 27 Bill Davis Racing Toyota.
“It’s fun, first time,” said Villeneuve. “I guess it’s the one track that’s known in Europe. It is one of the special tracks. First time here, it’s nice. I live in Montreal now. We’ve been in snow storms for a while so it’s nice to be on the beach a bit.”

• With his second retirement as coach of the Washington Redskins team owner Joe Gibbs is expected to be spending a little more time at his race team’s Huntersville, N.C., facility.
“As far as my role with the team goes — nothing changes, just like nothing really changed when he went back to the Redskins in 2004,” said Gibbs’s son and JGR President J.D. Gibbs. “I guess it’s a good thing I never moved into his office.  We’re all working really hard to win races and championships, just like we always have.”  

• NASCAR Nationwide Series veteran Jason Keller tested a No. 98 Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge during this week’s test. Kirk Shelmerdine steered the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

• Mark Martin will race in 26 Sprint Cup events in 2008, including 24 point races and two non-point events. Martin will kick off the 2008 season and his tenure in the No. 8 U.S. Army/Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet with his record-extending 20th-consecutive Budweiser Shootout.
He will also race the No. 8 he will share with Aric Almirola in the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400 and Sprint Cup All-Star event.

• Petty Enterprises is the newest resident of Race City, U.S.A. As of Jan. 7, the organization began operating completely out of its 115,000 square-foot facility in Mooresville, N.C. The team completed its move from Level Cross, N.C., during the off-season.

• With country singer Garth Brooks on hand, the NASCAR Foundation announced that it will celebrate “Five Years of Caring” May 16 during the fifth anniversary of NASCAR Day.  As part of his role, Brooks will appear in a print, radio and television advertising campaign.

• Camping World, Inc., and Richard Childress Racing agreed to a one-year contract extension. The extension will showcase Camping World as the primary sponsor of Clint Bowyer’s No. 2 Chevrolet in 10 races as Bowyer pursues the NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship. Camping World will also be a major associate sponsor on RCR’s No. 2 machine for the remaining 25 races.

• Stanley Tools will sponsor Elliott Sadler’s Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge in 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this season.
“We are excited about our increased involvement with Gillett Evernham Motorsports and Elliott Sadler,” said Scott Bannell, vice president, brand marketing at Stanley Works. “We are optimistic about the 2008 season and look forward to seeing the Stanley Tools Dodge at the front of the field.”
Stanley will continue its involvement as an associate sponsor on the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge of Kasey Kahne and the No. 10 Valvoline Dodge of Patrick Carpentier.