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Richard Childress has regained his swagger. Not that he ever lost it. But the suave R.C. greeting visitors at his winery is far from the hungry guy who used to sell hot dogs at Bowman Gray Stadium to subsidize his racing efforts. Early on race day, the owner in the crisp lavender shirt with the fresh manicure isn't about to get his hands dirty.

Still, Childress says he spent the three weeks leading up to Daytona working around the clock at his shop. Perhaps the engine problems at preseason testing served as a wake-up call--if his teams finishing 14th, 22nd and 24th in owners points last season didn't do the trick. "I'm trying to get back on top of any holes and gaps," Childress says. "We have good people, but I want to see what we're missing. I need to spend more time with my people to figure out what we need to do to get our stuff back together. I think I need to be there to let everyone know how serious I am about it."

At Daytona, you have to be prepared to defend your honor, especially when you have the storied past Childress had with Dale Earnhardt.

Since becoming an owner in 1969, Richard Childress has won 76 races. Only seven of those victories were in the past four seasons. The last win came 52 races ago, when Robby Gordon took the checkers at Watkins Glen on August 10, 2003.

Gordon and Childress since have parted ways. In the past year, Jeff Burton and Dave Blaney have joined Kevin Harvick as full-time RCR teammates. Burton and Blaney bring maturity to an organization that desperately was in need of direction. Blaney can get along with anyone, and Burton is a leader--the man who Dale Earnhardt once chose to be his successor.

Burton is a savvy car guy and knows how to motivate a team. Despite problems with a rear-end gear and an eventual 29th-place finish at Daytona, Burton showed the promise of great things to come.

"This is a good race team," he says. "There's a lot of dedicated people, a lot of commitment. Those things will pay off."

Childress hasn't been pleased with those who have even hinted at having doubts about his commitment or the caliber of his organization--including me. In the offseason I asked him who was minding the race shop if he was at his winery, and Childress answered, "Let me take the knife out of my back before I answer that question."

I meant no disrespect, and anyone familiar with racing knows the sport runs in cycles. But a lot of us have been wondering when RCR will cycle up again.

"There are no excuses this year," Childress says. "We may not start out running good. It may take us three or four months to fix it. But it will get fixed."

You have to believe it will.

speed read

The family feud has gone on way too long at Penske Racing. It was obvious from the start of Ryan Newman's tenure with Penske that he and Rusty Wallace were not going to be bosom buddies. But the two teams are not working together at all, which undermines the benefits of a multicar team. The bigger question is: Why didn't Roger Penske call these boys to the principal's office after their altercation at Martinsville last season and prevent the bad blood from boiling?

INSIDE DISH

NASCAR has installed more scoring loops around the racetracks to get a more accurate read on the position of racecars. That should clear up potential scoring issues and confusion about the order cars line up in for restarts. Originally, NASCAR placed the loops at quarter-mile intervals on the larger speedways and every one-eighth of a mile at short tracks. Although electronic equipment also has been installed on pit road, the sanctioning body will continue to rely on radar guns and stopwatches to gauge the speed of cars coming into and leaving the pits. * Ganassi Racing is recruiting former college athletes for its pit crews. The philosophy is it's easier to train an athlete to perform pit stops than it is to turn a mechanic into a top-tier athlete. Six of Sterling Marlin's seven over-the-wall crew members changed this season. His crew now includes two former college football players, jackman Dauntae Finger from North Carolina and rear tire carrier Dion Williams from Wake Forest. * Goodyear has been associated with NASCAR for more than 50 years, and the company is negotiating an extension of its contract as the sport's tire provider. * Nextel Cup teams have been given a new "X-measurement" across the roof of the cars that lines up with the original X-measurement that stretches across the rear windows. Before the change, a team could lengthen the right side of the car, which would give the driver an aerodynamic advantage, especially in the corners. * Busch teams are expressing concerns about the upcoming race in Mexico City. Cost tops the list of issues, but crew safety is a problem, too. On a recent visit, several Richard Childress Racing team members were told to pay a $787 bill for four beers or face dire consequences. Busch Series director Joe Balash's response to that episode: "If it goes on outside the fence, they're on their own."