DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Denny Hamlin and Elliott Sadler both have new looks for the upcoming NASCAR Nextel Cup season, but it has nothing to do with paint schemes.

Hamlin hired a physical trainer in the offseason, and Sadler is hoping to lose weight and return to the size he was in his rookie season.

Hamlin, who sported a slight bulge in the midsection of his racing uniform last year, said he already notices a difference.

"I feel better than I have ever in just the short amount of time I've been doing it," Hamlin said of his workouts. "To me, it's more about working on those last 100 laps of the race when you need to dig down and get the most out of yourself. I felt like I was kind of slack on it last year."

Sadler said he weighed 211 pounds in 1999 and had not been below that until now. Sadler weighs 210 pounds. He says he's lost 10 pounds since last year's season finale at Homestead and wants to lose another 10 pounds before this season begins.

"I just want to be prepared mentally and physically the best I can to make sure I pull my weight," Sadler said.

He says he is not on a particular workout program other than watching what he eats.

"I can eat as much as anybody I think that you've ever met in your life," said the 31-year-old, who finished fourth in last year's Daytona 500. "I ordered two or three Big Macs at a time. I'd eat two or three steaks at a time when I go to a steakhouse."

Edwards apologizes

Carl Edwards apologized for comments he made last summer about Tony Stewart that surfaced again recently on Stewart's radio show.

Stewart made contact with Clint Bowyer, sending Bowyer into Carl Edwards' car and wrecking Edwards at Pocono last July.

Edwards said that day: "Let me just say this, if it weren't for respect of the sport and the people watching and his team and everything, he'd be out there bleeding right now.''

Stewart recently said on his Sirius radio show that "the next time that I hear Carl Edwards tell me that he's going to make me bleed, he better be ready to do it right then and there."

This week, Edwards responded: "What I did wrong was get out of the car and made it a personal attack. I shouldn't have done that. I'd do anything in the world for Tony. I think he's a good guy."

Long-term plan

Mark Martin says he plans to be with his new team, Ginn Racing, for several years, whether it's as a driver or in another position.

"This is not a short-term endeavor for me," Martin said. "I wouldn't be surprised to be with Ginn for 19 years. I might be driving the transporter."

Pit stops

Kurt Busch's car blew an engine late in Tuesday's practice session. Busch said it happened in the car he plans to drive in next month's Daytona 500. ... Busch also plans to test the team's car of tomorrow during today's test session. Teams can test any car they want but none of the others are expected to test a car of tomorrow in the session. "It's just a matter of us wanting to get ahead of the game,'' Busch said. ... Juan Pablo Montoya was the fastest in the morning session with a lap of 184.574 mph.