YES, WE CAN; The Sprint Cup chase continues despite fears about the Detroit Three.(NEWS)

Byline: AL PEARCE

in case the recession and seemingly daily announcements about professional racing's troubles have caused you to forget, there will still be a 2009 NASCAR season. The stock-car tour kicks off with the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speed-way on Feb. 7, followed eight days later by the 51st running of the Daytona 500. Make no mistake, there is plenty to pay attention to other than Detroit's woes.

MOST SIGNIFICANT PERSONNEL CHANGES

> Tony Stewart from Joe Gibbs Racing to Stewart-Haas Racing: "Smoke may deny it, but many NASCAR watchers feel that he'd still be at Joe Gibbs if the organization had not switched from Chevrolet to Toyota last year. After all, Gibbs, Stewart and crew chief Greg Zipadelli scored 33 wins and two championships in General Motors products. Stewart's relationship with GM, and Chevy in particular, dates almost to his first open-wheel racing successes. In the end, that emotional pull was too hard to resist, especially when the price of becoming a Cup owner was so reasonable.

Bobby Labonte from Petty Enterprises to Yates Racing: NASCAR's 2000 champ had a busy off-season. It began with his abrupt mid-December exit from Dodge-based Petty Enterprises. It continued with negotiations to join the new Chevrolet-based Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team. It ended with a stunning move to Ford-based Yates Racing, replacing David Gilliland. Neither Labonte nor anyone at Earnhardt Ganassi announced a deal, but Labonte never dismissed the speculation. He said the deal was 90 percent done, but the final 10 percent never ...