NASCAR Notebook: Stewart lays into Daytona qualifying format

The Week That Was

• Tony Stewart has criticized NASCAR's decision to hold group qualifying for the Daytona 500 at restrictor-plate tracks. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not a big fan of that," Stewart told Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. "What you have is guys dumping out of the throttle and closing rates that are not good at all. You can't hardly see through the guy in front of you." Kevin Harvick agreed with Stewart's assessment, saying "it's tough to make it work at Daytona and Talladega."

• A new sponsor and crew chief aren't the only changes Dale Earnhardt Jr. is making. Earnhardt announced last week that he's making changes to his pit crew, with ex-fueler Dustin Lineback returning to the team as a tire carrier and David Mayo working as the front tire changer. William "Rowdy" Harrell has been promoted from backup rear tire carrier to a full-time role. The biggest change remains the switch to Nationwide Insurance as the primary sponsor of the #88 car.

• Fans should expect a spike in pit road infractions - at least early on. Crew chiefs are concerned that infractions will increase now that NASCAR is using new technology for rules enforcement. While officials in the scoring tower will still identify pit violations involving excessive speed and passing a vehicle on the inside, video technology will help crack down on too many crew members in the pit area, members over the wall too soon and pitting outside the proper pit box.

The Lookahead

Sprint Unlimited

TV: Feb. 14, 8 p.m. ET, FOX

TRACK: Daytona International Speedway

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Denny Hamlin

NOTES: Brian Scott, Brian Vickers (health issue) and A.J. Allmendinger (lack of sponsor) have bowed out of the race, giving Clint Bowyer, Casey Mears and Paul Menard - the next three drivers in the 2014 championship points race - the opportunity to compete. ... A select number of fans will be paired with a crew chief for the random drawing that will determine starting positions. Drawings will take place Friday afternoon. ... The No. 2 start position has produced the greatest number of Sprint Unlimited winners (five). ... Jeff Gordon, entering his final season as a full-time driver, will be making his record 22nd consecutive start in the exhibition race. ... Harvick owns the unlikeliest win in Unlimited history, coming from 27th on the grid to prevail in 2009.

They Said It

"It was nowhere on our radar until they changed the rules on it. If we had won a pole during the season and knew we were in it, I'm sure we would have been well prepared for it. We appreciate being grandfathered in, but, obviously, have to manage our resources to deliver the best year-end points finish we can for our sponsors." 

-- JTG Daugherty Racing co-owner Tad Geschickter, explaining why Allmendinger won't compete at Daytona. Allmendinger was included in the field as a Chase driver thanks to a rule change that expanded the field beyond 2014 pole winners - but his team had already allocated its existing sponsorship dollars toward official races and didn't have the cash to compete Feb. 14.