NASCAR Revs Up '09 Season In Daytona

NASCAR will drop the green flag on the ’09 Sprint Cup Series season with Sunday’s Daytona 500, and THE DAILY presents its annual preview issue on the sport. Following a long offseason that saw the sport battered by the economic slowdown, Texas Motor Speedway's Eddie Gossage says the U.S. government and the media are making the impact on NASCAR worse by forcing corporations to rein in sponsorship spending. However, NASCAR insiders are confident in Brian France’s leadership, and the sport is still drawing interest from business execs, as indicated by Rick Clark joining the ranks of team owners. Fox says ad sales are strong for Sunday’s race, and a number of sponsors again will use the event to break new ad campaigns.

Spring Forward Or Fall Back?
As A-Rod saga gets messier, Selig downplays threat of suspension and wants answers from union on why test result was leaked.

When The Sun Goes Down  
Economy cools historically party-happy NBA All-Star Weekend; Stern says next year's game in Cowboys stadium is not the start of a trend.

The Prince & The Pauper
With District treading water, DC United commits to new stadium in Maryland.

Leading By Example
Goodell freezing his own salary for '09, will cut '08 compensation by 20-25%.

Sound Clips 
Elgin Baylor details lawsuit against Sterling, says NBA is "deaf, blind and mute" to race issues.

1,500 Miles To Graceland
Grizzlies unveil billboards in Phoenix in support of Rookie of the Year campaign for Mayo.

Nordic Skiing
Blackhawks-Panthers will open '09-10 NHL season in Helsinki; Blues-Wings in Sweden.

TV Timeout
THE DAILY catches up with NBA Digital Senior VP & GM Bryan Perez.