TSN 10: the 10 big races to watch this year. (NASCAR).(automobile races)

Track Skinny

If Bristol is NASCAR's answer to Wrigley Field's friendly confines and Darlington is akin to quirky, asymmetrical Fenway Park, then Daytona is its Yankee Stadium. Daytona is mammoth, in breadth and length and height. Grandstands tower 10 stories high on the front stretch. Banners gloriously hang from each, boasting the names of the drivers for whom various seating sections are named. At 2.5 miles in circumference, Daytona is longer than every oval style speedway in NASCAR except Talladega.

--From The Racetracks Book. To order your copy, visit www.sportingnews.com/books/nascar.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Gives Us The Runaround

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished sixth at last year's Pepsi 400 and won the race in 2001, gives TSN Insider Lee Spencer the inside scoop on the night race at Daytona International Speedway.

The cars for the Pepsi 400 are different from cars for the Daytona 500, and they drive different. At night, the cars have a little more grip--they're a little more comfortable. It seems that the cars have more speed with the cooler temperatures in the night air. So you exercise a little more defensive driving because everyone has more ability to make a pass because of the cooler temperatures. You need to be up front all the time, whether you're Busch racing, Winston Cup racing, at Daytona or Talladega. You need to stay in the lead--that's what you try ...