I have made it to La La Land (aka Los Angeles) safe and sound. I’m staying at my sister’s house for the weekend and the weird/sad thing is that for the next three days I’ll hardly see her because I’ll be all NASCAR all the time. I’m even missing the Oscars for this! (I’ve got it set to be recorded on my Tivo at home though)

Tomorrow I’m getting up way too early to head to the Auto Club Speedway to pick up my credentials and then prepare for a day of press conferences and qualifying.

There’s more to tell but it’s super late, I’m tired and like I said, I gotta get up at the butt crack of dawn.

But first, in other news…

Tony Stewart had his first in-store appearance for one of his new sponsors, Office Depot, last week:
Tony Stewart signs autographs for fans at a local Office Depot store in Daytona Beach, Florida on February 10, 2009 (photo courtesy of Office Depot Racing)

At a recent autograph session at a local Office Depot store in Daytona Beach, Florida, Tony Stewart – driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet – was quick to notice one of the perks of working with Office Depot, the Official Office Products Partner of NASCAR.

“It’s awesome,” Stewart said. “I mean, (this was) definitely the most comfortable chair I’ve done an autograph session in for sure, so that part was pretty cool.”

If you’re interested in getting your own comfortable chair, which I can actually say is true because I bought my desk chair from Office Depot years ago and I still love it, then you should enter The Speed of Smart Sweepstakes which will give you the insanely cool opportunity to go on a $14,000 shopping spree in an Office Depot store with Tony by your side.

The deets:

Think Tony Stewart is impressive behind the wheel of his No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet?

Wait until you see what he can do with a shopping cart!

The two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion will personally take one lucky fan on a $14,000 shopping trip to an Office Depot store during the Coca-Cola 600 race weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May.

Plus, the winner will receive a VIP experience at the race, including a ride-along with Tony around the track in a two-seat race car – talk about a “Smokin'” ride!

To enter, fans should simply visit OfficeDepotRacing.com now through February 28 and type in the transaction code from any Office Depot in-store or online purchase receipt. Every code entered counts as an additional sweepstakes entry.