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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Jarvis Landry Kids Jersey . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. As far as hes concerned, those are the only major changes since he broke two bones in his leg in an August sprint-car crash. So when the green flag drops Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway for his first race since the accident, Stewart believes it will be the same old "Smoke" behind the wheel. "Were not going to need a backup driver," boasted Stewart, who is scheduled to be in the race car for the first time Friday for 105 minutes of practice for the exhibition Sprint Unlimited. "I feel good enough that Im confident were not going to have to worry about anything," he added. "Weve planned for anything that we think might or could go wrong, and when I say go wrong, its not anything thats going to take us out of the race car. Its just a matter of making everything as comfortable as possible." Stewart has not raced in more than six months, an unheard of amount of time off for a driver who makes his money racing in NASCAR yet crisscrossed the country cramming 50 or more weeknight events into his year-round schedule. Six-time champion Jimmie Johnson isnt dismissing Stewarts chances of making a successful return. "Tonys a guy that when hes motivated, he can do anything," Johnson said. "And his motivation and desire to get in the car is probably higher than its been since he was a little kid, so it could be really dangerous for all of us, you know what I mean?" Last August, Stewart was leading with five laps remaining at Southern Iowa Speedway when a lapped car spun in front of him, causing Stewart to hit that car and flip several times. Stewarts time sidelined was certainly difficult, enhanced by the pain from his broken leg. He had two surgeries for the breaks, then a third to treat an infection. He was flat on his back, confined to the first-floor bedroom of his longtime business manager, where he was forced to lay with his leg elevated above his heart. When there was Stewart-Haas Racing business to address, team personnel did it at his bedside. Stewart required an ambulance to get to his doctor appointments, and when he finally was able to get out of bed, he needed a wheelchair to get around. And when Stewart -- a driver SHR vice-president of competition Greg Zipadelli referred to as "Superman" in the days after his accident -- finally made an appearance at the race track, it was on a motorized scooter. Nobody was comfortable seeing the three-time NASCAR champion so restricted. Many wondered if hed ever be the same. Not Stewart. "Right off the bat, the surgeon, the therapists, theyve all said, Youre going to have 100-per cent recovery," Stewart said. "With that, from Day 1, it took the doubt out." Any questions about getting back into a race car were erased, and Stewart turned his attention to his recovery. He wondered when hed be 100 per cent -- doctors have told him it will take a year, and he said this week his leg is only 65-per cent healed -- and when the pain would subside. He asked doctors if hed always have some sort of lingering pain, and he threw himself into a tough rehabilitation program. As he progressed and moved closer to Fridays practice sessions, his SHR team built a module that includes a seat, steering wheel, steering column and pedals so Stewart could sit and hold the pedal down for 20 minutes to simulate the pressure of having his foot on the throttle. New teammate Kevin Harvick ordered Stewart a special pad that hangs off the steering wheel that will prevent his knees from banging into the steering column. Now his peers wait to see how Stewart will drive. Harvick said they attended a sponsor appearance together this week and when they left, Stewart "was like a crazed lunatic. You could see that look in his eye. He looked at me and said, Im ready to ... race!" A driver who has excelled in races because of his ability to feel the car, some have wondered if the injury has taken that talent from Stewart. He doesnt believe the broken leg has robbed him of anything. "When you hear the quote, Its a seat-of-the-pants feel, you feel it in your core," he said. "Everything that is processed through your brain is between your core as far as feeling whats going on. Your hands and arm are feeling pressure in the steering wheel. But as far as from your legs down, youre not really feeling that sensation. Its more of what your brain is telling your legs to do. "If we had to have an area to have an injury, my right leg was probably the one." Denny Hamlin struggled all last season after missing five races with a fractured vertebra in his lower back. But Hamlin cited Stewarts superior talent as reason why Stewart wont have similar issues. authenticdolphinsshop.com/Jarvis-Landry-Dolphins-Jersey . -- Green Bay Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy says the team will eventually retire Brett Favres No. http://www.authenticdolphinsshop.com/Arthur-Lynch-Dolphins-Jersey .com) - The San Antonio Spurs will try to even their series with the Dallas Mavericks Monday night when the two teams collide at American Airlines Arena for Game 4.Edmonton Oilers 6 Winnipeg Jets 2 - The Oilers scored three unanswered goals in the third period for the win on Monday, as they snapped a six-game losing streak while handing the Jets their second straight road loss and dropping them two games below .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. It was Jordan Eberle with the goal. Mark Stuart with his second from Olli Jokinen and Devin Setoguchi tied it less than three minutes later, but poor defensive zone coverage resulted in a Sam Gagner goal and a 2-1 Edmonton lead after one. The Oilers outshot the Jets 14-7. If not for great goaltending by Ondrej Pavelec, the score would have been much worse. The Jets were much better to start the second and controlled the play. The Jets power play connected for the ninth time in eight games to tie the game. Andrew Ladd snapped an eight game goalless stretch by deflecting a Dustin Byfuglien miss fire. A great play by Brian Little to enter the zone started the play. Little snapped a season-high three-game pointless stretch with the assist. But at 16:40, again poor defensive zone coverage led to a David Perron goal to regain the lead for Edmonton after two periods. The Jets outshot the Oilers 10-7 in the second. Early in the third, the Jets went back to the power play and came close to tying the game with a Blake Wheeler shot going off the cross bar. Seconds after the power play expired, Jeff Petry came in from the right point unnoticed and made it 4-2. Taylor Haall made it 5-2 at 8:34 with the Oilers second power play goal of the game. authenticdolphinsshop.com/Arthur-Lynch-Dolphins-Jersey. After a clean hit by Stuart on Yakupov, Luke Gazdic went after Stuart to start some of the rough stuff with lots more to come. Yakupov made it 6-2 and the fireworks were on. Earlier in the game, Yakupov made contact with Pavelec. Andrew Ladd after the game saying "I wasnt happy he threw a forearm at our goalies head. That was pretty much it." After the goal, Byfuglien got a minor for slashing Yakupov. On the ensuing face-off, Yakupov and Ladd exchanged slashes; Ladd got his stick into the stomach of Yakupov and that brought everyone into it. Zach Bogosian ended up with two Oilers, as the Jets were down a man with Byfuglien in the penalty box. Somehow here were the penalties when all was said and done. Yakupov got two for slashing and a 10-minute misconduct. For the Jets, Bogosian got a spearing major and a game misconduct, Little two for slashing and a misconduct, Ladd two for slashing, two for cross-checking and a game misconduct. The final penalty total in minutes was Jets 78, Oilers 25. Final shots 30-20 Oilers. The Jets were not happy with their performance. "Frustrating doesnt begin to describe it," stated captain Ladd. "Its the same (crap) game after game." "We didnt play very intelligent," added coach Claude Noel. "The way we played you knew the game was going to get out of hand and by opening it up against this team, we got what we deserved."The Jets next action is Friday at MTS Centre against Minnesota. (TSN Jets, TSN 1290).  After losing 6-0 at home against St. Louis, the Oilers got the response game they were looking for. Friday it will be the Jets turn. ' ' '