That’s good because Stewart doesn’t think he will be 100 percent recovered by then after suffering a severely broken leg in an Aug. 5 sprint-car crash at Southern Iowa Speedway. The three-time Cup champion has had three surgeries since the accident that sidelined him for the final 15 races of the 2013 season.

The 42-year-old Stewart was at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday to watch Cup testing while Mark Martin was on hand to test Stewart's car for him.

“I feel pretty good,” Stewart said. “I still have a little ways to go, but we've got four weeks to get ready the rest of the way.

“Even when we get here in February, it's not going to be 100 percent. Physically I'm not going to feel 100 percent, but I'll be able to do my job 100 percent, so that's the main thing.”

After two surgeries the week of the accident, Stewart had a third surgery Oct. 7 because of an infection. He said he was ahead of his rehab schedule before that surgery and has remained on schedule since then. He is expected to get cleared just days before the first day of Cup practice on Feb. 14 at Daytona.

He has been able to drive a street car for the last four months, but has continued to go through rehab to be able to race. The key will be his stamina and the ability to hold down the gas pedal without lifting, which is typical at Daytona.

"I'm 100 percent confident when I get here in February I'll be fine to drive and race and be able to do everything I need to do,” Stewart said. “Today I can't sit here and say I'm 100 percent, but I've got four more weeks.

“I'm a lot further along now than I was four weeks ago, so I'm confident when we come back I'll be fine. … I feel like I could get in the car and drive right now.”

Stewart plans to run every Cup race in 2014 and also plans to race sprint cars again at some point. But he expects to only drive Cup cars until he feels 100 percent.

“I'm not going to feel 100 percent physically, but I'm going to feel 100 percent enough to drive a Cup car,” Stewart said. “Bouncing around in a sprint car is a little different deal.”


EARNHARDT’S NO. 3 RETURNS TO CUP


The 3 has finally returned to the Sprint Cup Series.

One of NASCAR’s most famous car numbers has not been on a Cup car at Daytona since the death of seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

But nearly 13 years later, the legendary No. 3 has returned as rookie driver Austin Dillon, the grandson of team owner Richard Childress, will race it this season. Childress announced in December that he would bring back the No. 3 and Dillon is set to drive it on the track for the first time Friday during preseason testing at Daytona. Testing was rained out Thursday.

Dillon, the 2013 Nationwide Series champion and 2011 Camping World Truck Series champion, has driven the No. 3 throughout his racing career but Thursday was his first time in a Cup car bearing the famous number.

“It’s really special to see it back at the track,” Childress said Thursday. “I’ve been seeing the Nationwide 3 and the truck 3, but today it will be real special seeing the 3 back on there.

“I’ve already had fans as I walked in saying, ‘Hey, we’re glad to see it back, we want to see it back.’ I’ve had a couple of drivers already tell me the same thing, too, that it’s going to be neat to race against the 3, especially some of the guys that never got to race against it.”

Childress, who owns the rights to the number and raced it early in his driving career, has said only his family or a member of the Earnhardt family would ever race the slanted, stylized 3 made famous by the Hall of Fame driver.

“In my ideal world, Dale Jr. would have driven the 3, but interestingly enough, he and (Earnhardt replacement) Kevin Harvick … didn’t want any part of that, didn’t want that responsibility, didn’t want that pressure,” said NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Darrell Waltrip, one of Earnhardt’s longtime rivals.

“It’s really bold on Childress’ part, and for Dillon to be willing to accept the pressure that comes with that number. But I’m excited for it being on the track.”


DAYTONA TESTING RAINED OUT


Rain washed out both Sprint Cup test sessions Thursday at Daytona.

Cup teams had seven hours of testing scheduled for Thursday and seven more for Friday. NASCAR plans to have more than eight hours of testing Friday by starting at 9 a.m., eliminating the one-hour lunch break and going beyond its original 5 p.m. ET scheduled finish.

Sprint Cup teams will not test Saturday as Nationwide Series teams are scheduled to begin a two-day test.

The National Weather Service predicts a 30 percent chance of rain Friday.


DANICA ENJOYED SHOWGIRL ACT


Danica Patrick made news during the offseason as the co-host of the American Country Awards, where she attracted widespread attention for a skit in which she strutted on stage with a group of Las Vegas showgirls.

That was about the biggest news of her offseason.

“I’m not engaged,” Patrick said Thursday, answering the question many have been anticipating.

Patrick, whose relationship with fellow Sprint Cup driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is a hot topic in both the NASCAR world and celebrity news circles, had hoped to spend Thursday testing at Daytona. But rain washed out the entire morning session and kept her offseason going, with the exception of meeting with the media.

So with no engagement to talk about, Patrick was asked Thursday about being a Vegas showgirl?

“It took a little bit of convincing, but I was pretty much of the mindset that I'm up for anything,” Patrick said. “So that's why I did it.”

During the Dec. 10 event in Las Vegas, Patrick participated in a dance with a group of showgirls. The skit was a last-minute addition to the program, with the idea beginning to take shape just three days prior to the show.

“Myself and a producer that I had worked with at the ESPYs every year who I asked to come help me with it, we really wanted something that was going to stand out, be something that people would talk about, be something that would be good for photos, something that was going to make headlines, something to come away from the show on the next day,” Patrick said.


DARBY REPLACED AS CUP DIRECTOR


Longtime Sprint Cup Series director John Darby is being replaced by Richard Buck, NASCAR officials announced Thursday.

The move comes four years after NASCAR first announced it was seeking a successor to Darby so he could take a managerial role.

Buck spent last year as vice president of racing operations for the International Motor Sports Association and managing director of NASCAR's Touring Series. He worked from 1980 to 2000 as a crew chief, team manager and director of operations with Champ Car teams, and won five Indianapolis 500s as a crew chief. He worked with teams in all three NASCAR national series before joining NASCAR in 2005.


PENSKE CHANGES NAME TO TEAM PENSKE


Roger Penske has changed the name of his racing operation to Team Penske, placing all of his NASCAR and IndyCar teams under the same brand name.

Penske’s NASCAR operation had been called Penske Racing but will now operate under the Team Penske brand to help make it easier for fans and the media to follow and engage with the operation.

Team Penske features two Sprint Cup teams with 2012 champion Brad Keselowski driving the No. 2 Ford and Joey Logano in the No. 22.

Contributors: Bob Pockrass, Jeff Owens, The Associated Press

VIDEO:  Stewart, Johnson, Patrick ready for 2014