Updated

The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season hasn't "officially" taken the green flag, but there's already been plenty of action on the track. And several teams should be very pleased with the positive signs from what they've seen.

You have to tip your hat to the rebound that Richard Childress Racing, specifically Kevin Harvick and his No. 29 team, have made coming out of the gate on a hot streak.

They were beaten up pretty good during the offseason. In addition to all that, Kevin was sick before the running of the Budweiser Shootout - but he still came away a winner. You have to be excited for that camp.

The other encouraging thing for that team was they ran well the entire race. It wasn't a fluke that put the No. 29 car in Victory Lane. That car showed some good muscle and the crew made the right adjustments. Everything about Saturday looked like a positive effort across the board.

Look who finished second Saturday night. Kasey Kahne and Richard Petty Motorsports have to be relieved that despite all the mergers and with the switch-over from Dodge to Ford, they got a positive result after Saturday's race. They started pretty far back. They ran well and took home second place. If they can step it up even more come the 500 on Sunday, it should lead to a very interesting day for that group.

The other organization that has to be relatively pleased is Stewart-Haas Racing. They are starting their sophomore season as an organization and I think a lot of positive things came out of Saturday for them.

When you look at qualifying, how can you not be excited for the Wood Brothers and the legendary No. 21 car?

That bunch, even on a limited schedule, has done an exceptional job of putting together a great group of racers. When they raced in 2009, they were good, and now they show up at Daytona and are kicking their season off in fine style. Last year, they qualified fifth for the Daytona 500, but this year they stepped it up a notch and snagged fourth position.

We know they are already locked into the race and maybe, just maybe, with Bill Elliott behind the wheel, that 21 car might be a factor in the outcome of Sunday's race.

One thing on their minds

So next up are the Thursday races at Daytona - The Gatorade Duels at Daytona - and these races will set the field for the 500. Teams that are locked in and teams with good cars have to race smart and not beat themselves. They can't afford to throw away possibly the best opportunity they might have to win our series' biggest race.

Everyone's main priority is to win the Daytona 500. I don't want to hear about points right now. I don't want to hear whether Jimmie Johnson has started his "Drive for Five." These two weeks in Daytona are geared for one thing and one thing only -- winning the Daytona 500.

So for those teams locked in - the front row and the three "Go or Go Homers" that locked in via speed - they have to race smart during Thursday's races.

This is "the" car that was chosen for the 500. Do they have a good backup? Sure, most teams do, but this is your best piece and so you have to take care of it.

They don't need to be making any death-defying moves Thursday. The risk/reward simply isn't there when you look at the big picture and clearly the big picture is racing on Sunday in your primary car. Thursday you just can't do something stupid.

Complete package

If you look to last weekend as a glimpse of a favorite or two for Sunday, one pick has to be Kahne.

I think that bunch has a good engine package to go along with a good handling package. Kahne's team moving to Ford power is a real positive for them. Thursday will be a good indicator of how things will shake out.

Handicapping Sunday's race also makes you look at Kevin Harvick. He won Saturday night, and he has won the Daytona 500 before.

Plus, you simply can never count out Tony Stewart on the superspeedways. He has Hendrick power under his hood, and everyone knows how good that is to have. There is obviously extra motivation for Tony. As we always tell you, the Daytona 500 is our sport's biggest race and one of the crown jewels in NASCAR that Tony has never won.

I also think it would be a mistake to not look at Penske Racing come Sunday. It has definitely improved its speedway program from a year ago. Also don't lose sight of the fact that it was a Penske car winning the Daytona 500 two short years ago. My point is we know these Dodges can be a threat when they drop the green flag Sunday afternoon.

Penske has a great group of drivers over there. You have a past NASCAR champion in Kurt Busch. You have the continued improvement and learning curve of Sam Hornish. New to the Penske stable this year is Brad Kesolowski, and he brings not only fresh ideas, but also fresh energy to the organization.

You go, girl

I also have to say "job well done" to Danica Patrick in Saturday's ARCA Series race. She did an incredible job rebounding from a spin to race hard and get a great finish.

I am cautiously optimistic of how she will do Saturday now that they have announced she will be in the Nationwide race. She proved Saturday that she can do well in a stock car. I think everything about that effort Saturday was positive.