DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Snow made NASCAR drivers Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. no-shows at Daytona 500 media day. Newman and Truex missed the kickoff to Speedweeks on Thursday because a winter storm and icy conditions affected travel in the South and East. Newman posted a message on his Twitter page that included a photo of his snow-covered farm and several buffalo: "Stuck in NC. Headed out to check on Farm. Buffalo are happy this am." The weather caused several other NASCAR drivers to alter travel plans to Daytona International Speedway. David Gilliland and David Ragan were supposed to fly down Thursday morning, but instead of gambling on being able to get to the airport and take off without any delays, opted to drive Wednesday. They got on the road before the heavy stuff wreaked havoc on roadways. "If we left probably 30 minutes later, we would have been in trouble for sure," Gilliland said. "There was a lot of stuff happening. But luckily it was all a couple of exits behind us. We saw all the ice, snow, the trees breaking while we were driving down I-77 there." Parker Kligerman also ended up driving. But the Sprint Cup rookie made a rookie mistake by getting a late start and didnt get to Daytona until the wee hours Thursday. "We didnt get out til the midst of the storm," Kligerman said. "We literally hit gridlock. ... We had the car completely iced over at one point. We had to find a deicer. It was a disaster. We got stuck a couple of times. There were four or five overturned semis." Some drivers and teams arrived in Daytona a day or two early to avoid the chaos. Six-time and defending series champion Jimmie Johnson, though, decided to chance it and travel early Thursday. He said the key was moving his private jet to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, which was better equipped to clear runways. "The trip from the hangar to the runway was pretty exciting," Johnson said. "They hadnt plowed any of that. I thought I was in an off-road truck for a while there, trying to get out to the runway." Aside from travel troubles, here are five things to know about media day: DEFENDING DANICA: Several drivers, maybe even most, defended Danica Patrick. Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty said the only way Patrick could win a Sprint Cup race is if "everybody else stayed home." Patrick refused to fire back, politely saying everyone is entitled to an opinion. Her peers were more outspoken. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. said "it was a little rough on Danica" and added that "she goes by a different set of rules because of her gender, and thats unfortunate. It seems like shes always having to answer to something like that, and thats a pain in her butt. And frankly its just got to get old." RETURN OF THE 3: The return of the iconic No. 3, the famed number the late Dale Earnhardt drove with Richard Childress Racing, was a hot topic. Childress grandson, Austin Dillon, will drive the black No. 3 for RCR. Dillon handled the attention perfectly, saying "the legend of Dale has lived on for a long time and is going to continue to live on forever. Dale Earnhardt is not just famous because of the number." Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose father died after crashing on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, said hes "quite comfortable with how its going down and Im glad its back." STEWARTS REHAB: Tony Stewarts return to racing is down to hours. The three-time NASCAR champion has been out of a race car since crashing at a sprint-car event in Iowa last August and breaking his right leg. Stewart missed the final 15 races of 2013. He has been cleared to race and will be back in the car for practice Friday. "Its been the slowest off-season Ive ever had," he said. "Im ready to get doing something again." CHASE CHANGES: NASCAR drastically overhauled its Chase for the Sprint Cup championship by expanding the field, switching to a knockout-style format and placing more emphasis on winning. Johnson welcomed the tweaks. "I still think the way you win a championship is the same: youve got to win races," he said. "When we look around at sports, everythings changing. The Olympics look far different than they used to. The NFL is considering change. The world is changing. Our viewership is changing, so the sport has to change." GORDONS FUTURE: Four-time champion Jeff Gordon is talking retirement. Gordon said he is prepared to call it quits if he wins a fifth championship. "Go out on a high note," said the 42-year-old Gordon, who won titles in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001. Nike NFL Jerseys Outlet ... as usual. Even with the salary cap being set lower than many general managers expected and hoped for at $69 million and whats considered a shallow pool of top-end players available, this unrestricted-free-agent period figures to follow the familiar script of teams bidding up prices to keep up with each other. Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic . Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stood tall with 41 saves between the pipes, but it was defenceman Ryan McDonagh who got the first star of the game as he had a goal and an assist and now has two goals and four assists for six points in two games. http://www.jerseyswholesalenfl.net/.The Hamilton Tiger-Cat defensive back always has the required receipt. But he also walks around with a tangle of metal screws, rods and plates after breaking his neck in 2006 playing high school football in Louisiana. NFL Jerseys Cheap .Kraft says Goodell realized before seeing a video showing Baltimore running back Ray Rice striking his then fiance that domestic violence was very serious for society in general. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . - Even with a new coach, the Denver Nuggets still love to push the basketball.History repeats! Well kind of. Way back in 1986 the Toronto Argonauts lost to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a two-game total point duo of games and the Ticats went on to win the Grey Cup over the Edmonton Eskimos. What was so unusual was that for the first six quarters Toronto was dominant and when halftime rolled around in the second game all logic said easy victory. Well in the end, Hamilton won 59-56 as Toronto self-imploded and Hamilton capitalized. Fast forward some 27 years and again Toronto dominated (in the first half) and Hamilton came back to win in impressive fashion in the second half and won 36-24. I thought there were three key aspects that determined the game. First, Hamilton scored to end the first half to make the game 24-17 as compared to 24-10 if Hamilton did not score. All of a sudden it was a one-touchdown game. Its much easier to play a second half when you know you only need one touchdown. And that is what happened on the first drive of the second half with a Tiger-Cats touchdown and a 24-24 game. And confidence went from the team in blue to the team in white very fast. Ticats dominated time of possession almost 2 to 1. That was so surprising because during the regular season no team was better at avoiding two plays and a punt more than Toronto. But they had four in the game and three in the third quarter. By the start of the fourth Hamilton was in complete control. The final issue was red zone efficiency. To end the season the Argos were the best in red zone defence. Now you could move the ball with ease from the 20 to the 20 but all year anything inside the 20 the Argos stopped. Not Sunday afternoon, with 30 points scored by Hamilton from the 20 and in with three touchdowns and three field goals. Different Script Out west, yes I thought Calgary could win it by three but completely mis-evaluated the significance of the absence of the two defeensive tackles Demonte Bolden and Micah Johnson.dddddddddddd Big guys cant do a little guys job in football and little guys cant do a big mans job either. The seven turnovers killed any chance for Calgary but even if the turnovers were significantly less I still dont think Calgary wins. The Riders beat Calgary as much as Calgary beat themselves. Truth is that the West Semifinal was a greater threat to the Riders than the final itself. The BC Lions were close to beating Saskatchewan while the Stampeders never really came close. Grey Cup Promise With both Saskatchewan and Hamilton in the Grey Cup there are many unique stories to unfold. Kent Austin back in Regina. Same with Henry Burris and Andy Fantuz. A third home Grey Cup team in a row and this time with the best football fans. Darian Durant trying for his first Grey Cup win after two losses. George Cortez as an offensive coordinator competing against a team he was the head coach of not long ago. The one hundred and first Grey Cup is easy to make entertaining and interesting. There is no doubt that the Tiger-cats will be heavy underdogs come Sunday and they should be. The Riders beat Hamilton twice, at home 37-0 and at University of Guelph with Drew Willy at quarterback. But until the game is played you never know. Because you know that as a head coach Kent Austin will take an "us against the world" approach. Hell say that nobody gives us a chance and we "have them exactly where we want them". Corey Chamblin will be sending a message more towards "dont underestimate anyone", especially a team that started 1-4, and finished 10-4. Either way in the city of Regina you are guaranteed a great week with two new teams, the hometown fans and two quarterbacks closer to ending their careers than starting them. This years Grey Cup could be one of the best in many different ways. ' ' '