Julie Henderson

Julie Henderson for USA WEEKEND's annual NASCAR cover/poster issue. Spirits are high, given what's kicking off this week: this weekend's Budweiser Shootout and other racing events leading to the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15, and the swimsuit issue, which hits newsstands on Tuesday. Earnhardt confesses that, like the 500, the swimsuit issue was an irreplaceable part of his formative years.

Both events could not come at a more opportune time: It's cold. The Super Bowl is history. March Madness is a month away. Then, for one wonderful week, we get a reprieve as welcome as a beach blanket under the Florida sun: fast cars, beautiful women and tropical beaches.So start the engines, folks, and break out the sunscreen while you're at it. It's going to be a great week.

It's an icon," Earnhardt says at the shoot, which takes place at the Richard Petty Driving Experience headquarters in Concord, N.C. "A lot of women have become very famous because of it. My all-time favorite would have to be Tyra Banks. Raised in Charlotte, Decker realizes how big this week is for race fans. "Cars get decked out with the drivers' stickers and flags," she says. "All the storefronts would get decorated, and the kids in school get their faces painted in their favorite racer's color scheme."

Dara Torres

Dara Torres is the first American swimmer to compete in five Olympic Games. She is also the oldest female swimmer in Olympian history. The Meridian Flexibility System, also referred to as Resistance Flexibility and Strength Training (RFST), is a new stretching technique that not only makes bodies like Torres' more limber but also stronger. The concept is really simple: resist when you stretch," Cat Fitzgerald, a certified RFST trainer and director of Hara Health in Coral Gables, Fla., told Ivanhoe.

Lee Kaplan, M.D., chief of the Division of Sports Medicine at the University of Miami, says RFST may especially benefit older individuals, who have decreased water concentration in their soft tissues. "Tendons and cartilage can become more brittle, and when they become more brittle, they are more susceptible to injury." Older bodies take longer to bounce back, but RFST may speed recovery time. Dr. Kaplan warns, however, not to overdo it.

RFST was developed by Bob Cooley, who in 1978 was hit by an automobile driving at more than 70 mph. After traditional therapies failed to rehabilitate his body, Cooley turned to stretching. He came up with 16 stretches -- eight targeting the upper body and eight targeting the lower body. Cooley soon realized each move equated with meridians of traditional Chinese medicine that run throughout our bodies.

Collin Raye

Collin Raye Songs “A Soldier’s Prayer”. It’s a beautiful song that says God is there. My favorite part is The song is about having faith in God and tells you that He is listening. Now if you’ve read my blog before, you might know that I have lost my faith. I believe in Him, but I turned my back on Him. I have my reasons and I thought they were good. I have been unable to forgive him.

I tried to push it to the back of my mind. I don’t have time to deal with this now, I need to write. After several hours of me trying to force myself to write, I asked my writing mentor Michelle L Devon(Michy), for help. As usual she gave me good advice. She said, don’t write. Work on promotion, search for leads and add non-exclusive articles to Helium.com.

But today, I feel like He is calling me. After hearing that song again after not listening to it for a while, I decided to go online to facebook. I connected with a childhood friend. I made the comment that she looks so happy in all her pictures. She told me about all the hardships she has suffered, but she has kept her faith and it has seen her through. Ring, Ring