Fast guide to NASCAR as season opens

NASCAR THRIVES on speed and story lines. Each year there's always plenty of speed. Same with story lines for the soap opera on wheels.

As the Sprint Cup race teams prepare for Sunday's season-opening Daytona 500, here are some major themes:

* Will Tony Stewart's memorable charge to last year's championship carry over? Stewart won five of the 10 Chase races, including the last one. He has a new crew chief, Steve Addington, previously Kyle Busch's crew chief. After guiding Stewart to last year's Sprint Cup championship, Darian Grubb is now with Denny Hamlin.

* Carl Edwards: He was so close to his first title last year, leading Stewart by three points entering the season finale at Homestead, Fla. Can Edwards close the deal this year?

* Will Jimmie Johnson regain the form that led him to a record five consecutive championships? Johnson finished sixth in last year's Chase.

* The Brothers Busch: Kyle and Kurt plummeted to the bottom of the Chase. In his last-lap pass of Tony Stewart to win the Bud Shootout last Saturday night, Kyle showed he's as aggressive as ever. Kurt, now driving for Phoenix Racing, says he just wants to have fun again after his meltdown last year.

* And there's a racer named Danica something . . . oh, yes, Danica Patrick. She says she can win the Daytona 500 in her debut. Why not? Trevor Bayne won last year in his first Daytona 500.

* Stewart's charge to the 2011 championship was one for the books: Winless in the season's first 26 races, he won five of the 10 Chase races to gain his third Cup title. Stewart and Edwards tied in points; Stewart's five wins gave him the title. Now, the question is, will he sustain his momentum from last year with a new crew chief?

Asked if he is picking up where he finished last year, Stewart replied, "I don't think we know until we start. The hard thing is you have to improve through the winter and all the teams will improve. I don't think you really know until you get two or three races into the year exactly see what the results are from the winter.

"I think the racing this year will be just as good as it's always been; and potentially even better. I think you'll see a bunch of guys that actually get on a roll this year."