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Five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus are back in the spotlight at one of racing's biggest stages -- and not for the right reason.

NASCAR confiscated part of their Daytona 500 car Friday because of illegal modifications, a rocky start to Speedweeks for a team trying to bounce back from its worst season.

Sprint Cup Series officials determined the No. 48 Chevrolet had illegally modified C-posts, an area of sheet metal between the roof and the side windows. It could lead to penalties for Knaus and the team.

Officials cut off the C-posts and planned to ship them to NASCAR's research and development center in Concord for further testing. In the meantime, the parts in question were put on display for other teams to examine, a routine procedure for the sanctioning body.

NASCAR allowed the Hendrick Motorsports team to fix that area of the car before practice begins for the Feb. 26 Daytona 500. Qualifying is scheduled for Sunday.

STEWART WRECKS: Defending Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart wrecked during practice for the exhibition Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.

Stewart, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, AJ Allmendinger and Jeff Gordon were involved in a six-car accident about 45 minutes into the first practice session.

The Budweiser Shootout, a non-points race, kicks off the 2012 season today (8 p.m. WGHP-8).

Stewart was transported to the infield care center, treated and released. He seemed to start the melee by driving into the left side of Kurt Busch's rear bumper.

The cars of Stewart, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Allmendinger sustained significant damage. Gordon's car sustained minor damage.

REPUTATION IN REPAIR: Kurt Busch does not want this season to be called a fresh start, and he doesn't want to declare himself a changed man.

But with a new team and a clean slate ahead of him, Busch has an opportunity to repair his tarnished reputation and learn how to enjoy life a little more.

He split with Penske Racing in early December after one too many public temper tantrums. The 2004 NASCAR champion is now driving for underfunded Phoenix Racing, and he's embraced this chance to make racing fun again.

Busch is the defending race winner of the Budweiser Shootout.

BAYNE ON THE BEACH: Defending Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne went for a spin in the sand, driving his race car down a stretch of Daytona Beach in a salute to NASCAR's roots.

"This is probably the coolest thing I've gotten to do outside of racing on other tracks," said Bayne, who became the Daytona 500's youngest winner last year at the age of 20. "I wish we could come back out here and get the groove rutted up a little bit and try to miss the potholes. This is an unbelievable feeling being on the beach where it all started."

Before moving to Daytona International Speedway in 1959, NASCAR raced on a temporary track running partly on the beach and partly on an adjacent road from 1948 to 1958. Today, passenger cars still are allowed to drive on the beach.

MYERS' SON KILLED: Christopher Myers, the 19-year-old son of NASCAR on Fox studio host Chris Myers, was killed in a car accident in Southern California, where the family resides. The network said Myers will not be part of Fox's coverage of the season-opening Daytona 500. SPEED studio host John Roberts will replace Myers at Daytona International Speedway.