Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2004 | 9:39 a.m.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- On-track activity Monday at Daytona International Speedway was limited to a tram that was taking visitors on a guided tour of the historic 2.5-mile track.
For the first time since the season-opening Daytona 500 became a 10-day "Speedweeks" with the introduction of the Budweiser Shootout in 1979, NASCAR slipped an off day into the schedule this season.
Robin Pemberton, a veteran NASCAR crew chief and now NASCAR field manager for Ford Racing Technology, said the rare day off during Speedweeks is a welcome break for most teams.
"Oh, yeah, they're eating it up," Pemberton said during a brief visit to the track on Monday. "Everybody and their brother was out (Sunday) night, cruising the streets.
"There was a planeload that went to Key West (Monday) for the day and there are people over at Disney World; everybody's having a ball. There are going to be a lot of headaches tomorrow."
But for the teams that struggled during Saturday's practices and Sunday's qualifying session for the Daytona 500, the day off was anything but welcomed.
"Those teams that had problems over the weekend probably needed to run and shake the car down today," Pemberton said. "But we need to continue to slim down some of the race weeks that we go to. This is one step of many, I'm sure."
Track activity resumed today with Nextel Cup Series and IROC practices. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series won't hit the track for practice until Wednesday and the Busch Series cars begin practice on Thursday.
BUSCH GETS SUPPORT: Although you wouldn't know it based by the negative reaction he received from many fans last season after his run-in with Jimmy Spencer, Kurt Busch apparently has quite a few supporters.
In a recent poll on nascar.com, Busch was voted the Roush Racing driver most likely to give team owner Jack Roush his first Daytona 500 victory. Busch received 30 percent of the nearly 75,000 votes cast; teammates Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin tied for second with 23 percent of the votes.
CUP TEAM FOLDING: Ultra Motorsports team owner Jim Smith confirmed over the weekend that he would close the No. 7 Nextel Cup team following the Daytona 500 unless he is able to land a primary sponsor.
Jimmy Spencer drove for the team last season and is behind the wheel of the No. 7 Dodge this week in Daytona. Smith said he would focus his efforts on his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team.
CELEBRITY SHOWDOWN: At least three members of Fox Sports' NASCAR broadcast team are expected to take part in a celebrity race on March 6 during the Southern Nevada Dodge Dealers Showdown at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Fox lead announcer Mike Joy, infield host Jeff Hammond and pit reporter Dick Berggren have committed to compete in a 20-lap race in identically prepared Mechanix Wear Speed Trucks.
In addition to the celebrity race, the Showdown will feature a 100-lap Super Late Model race, 30-lap IMCA Modified feature, 25-lap Legends Cars race, 25-lap Thunder Roadster race and 40-lap Mechanix Wear Speed Truck feature.
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