So I didn’t check back in last night (sorry, LONG day). We went to Childress for dinner, and were ushered into his newest building: 93,000 square feet of space which houses his fabrication shop and an 18,000 square foot auditorium. The meal was stunning (Childress always goes all out on everything), and the press conference afterward was entertaining as well.

First he introduced his development drivers, which include his grandsons Austin and Ty Dillon. Then he brought up key players in the Earnhardt Childress Racing Engine program, including Richie Gilmore. Announcements for the upcoming season’s driver lineups: Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton in Cup; Bowyer in the No. 2 Nationwide car, Burton and Scott Wimmer splitting the No. 29 again, and Bobby Labonte and (hopefully) Stephen Leicht in the No. 21. That one depends on getting sponsorship for Leicht past his first two races.

Then we broke off into 1-on-1s (a misnomer if there ever was one, as I was stuck on the outside of about 15 people around Childress, reaching as far as I could with my digital recorder). My favorite tidbit of those sessions was Childress talking about Bowyer.

“I don’t think Clint’s even reached his stride,“ Childress said. “I saw a young man that had a desire to win that reminded me of another driver I had for quite a few years that started out with nothing and became one of the greatest race [car] drivers, and that was Dale Earnhardt. He probably reminds me of his style as anybody I’ve ever seen come along.“

Talk about high praise (and expectations).

This morning, Sprint previewed the season by talking about all its innovations…there are name changes (Sprint All-Star Race XXIV and Sprint Showdown instead of All-Star Challenge and the Open), as well as the introduction of Sprint Mobile, a way to follow races on the cell phone for free —if you’re a Sprint customer. Always a catch with those guys.

Tonight is Joe Gibbs Racing, with everyone’s favorite former Richmond-area resident Denny Hamlin holding court. I truly believe watching this team, with all of its talent and egos, could be my favorite thing about this season.

More to follow, probably later tonight. And don’t forget to e-mail me about your most memorable Daytona 500s!