This is Dover not Dega

I don't want to hear anything more about Daytona or Dega and the horrific crashes. It doesn't matter if they are racing at a one mile track or a 2.66 mile track, unbelievable wrecks can and will happen at any track at anytime. 

Didn't see the wreck? Go here.

I'm just very thankful Joey Logano is ok.

8 car could be returning to NASCAR

Hamptonroads.com

The folks at Dale Earnhardt Inc. are working at bringing the 8 car to both the Nationwide and Cup series next year.

The plan would be for Jeffrey Earnhardt, grandson of Dale, to drive the 8 car in the Nationwide series and have that team based out of the DEI shops in Mooresville, N.C. If sponsorship can be found, the 8 car would return to Cup and be based out of the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing shop in Cocord, N.C. (that also is home to the 42 car of Juan Pablo Montoya and the 1 car of Martin Truex Jr.).

"We do have plans to bring the 8 car back for next season,'' Jeff Steiner executive VP and general manager at DEI, told me Wednesday afternoon. "We are working with a number of sponsors. It's not a for sure deal. We haven't announced that we are officially bringing it back. We have a desire to bring it back. We have ongoing sponsor meetings looking at try to bring that back in 2010. I don't think we would see anything with the 8 car at the Sprint Cup level in 2009. I think based where we're at with sponsor discussions, I don't foresee that happening this year, but it is one of our aspirations to get that car back on the track together with the 1 and the 42.''

Busch docked 25 points, crew chief fined $25k

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP)—Kyle Busch has been docked 25 points and his crew chief fined $25,000 for failing post-race inspection at New Hampshire.

NASCAR fined Steve Addington because the left front of the No. 18 Toyota was too low after Sunday’s race.

Team owner Joe Gibbs has also been docked 25 points.

Busch finished fifth at New Hampshire, and his car was automatically inspected by NASCAR.

Even with the penalty, he holds the 13th spot in the Sprint Cup Series standings.

Jim Beam not returning to No. 7 Cup car next season

Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc., maker of Jim Beam Bourbon, announced that its marketing plans for 2010 will not include a return to the Sprint Cup Series. As a result, the company will not extend its current partnership with Robby Gordon Motorsports in 2010. The company plans to focus its marketing resources for Jim Beam into other platforms that directly impact the end consumer.

"It was a difficult decision to transition away from being a Cup Series team sponsor," said Bill Newlands, president Beam Global Spirits & Wine U.S. "We always take a hard look at our marketing resources and how we can best interact with legal purchase age consumers. After an extensive review of our marketing strategy, we have come up with new alternatives to fuel growth for Jim Beam in 2010."

Jim Beam will continue its support of Robby Gordon Motorsports for the remainder of the 2009 Cup schedule.

"Jim Beam has been a great partner for the past five years," Gordon said. "I would like to thank them for their support through the years. They have been with me since we started the team in 2005, helping build our Cup team and aiding in its success. Great relationships have been formed, and I expect those to continue well into the future."

"We would like to thank Robby Gordon and the entire No. 7 team for partnering with us these past five years," Newlands said. "Robby is a fierce and talented competitor and a sponsor couldn't ask for a more dedicated brand ambassador. Robby Gordon, fans of the Jim Beam No. 7 car and the entire No. 7 team have been very good to us, and that's what makes this such a difficult decision."

Jack Daniel's to Conclude NASCAR Program

From RCR

WELCOME, N.C. (September 21, 2009) – Brown-Forman, one of the largest American-owned companies in the wine and spirits business, will conclude its Jack Daniel’s NASCAR program and will not extend its sponsorship with Richard Childress Racing’s No. 07 team.

A change in Brown-Forman’s spending priorities led to the decision to conclude the sponsorship that began in 2005. The Brown-Forman/Jack Daniel’s partnership with RCR will continue for the remainder of the 2009 racing season and the entire team is committed to being competitive on the track each and every race.

“Jack Daniel’s has enjoyed a good five-year run with Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and NASCAR, and we are pleased with the overall performance of our sponsorship program,” said Tim Rutledge, vice president and brand director for Jack Daniel’s. “We have enjoyed building strong relationships with the people in Richard’s organization and throughout NASCAR. While it is difficult for us to end our formal relationship with RCR, the current economic environment has compelled us to revaluate our spending and we’ve concluded that other areas in the marketing mix require additional investment.”

“We want to thank the many friends and fans of the Jack Daniel’s 07 Racing Team, and we can’t say enough about your incredible support over the last five years. And, as we have since 1866, we will continue to find ways to thank you and keep your loyalty of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey,” said Rutledge.

Brown-Forman, Jack Daniel’s, and RCR are particularly pleased to have taken a leadership role in communicating a responsible drinking message throughout its NASCAR sponsorship through its core message of Pace Yourself, Drink Responsibly, featured in all NASCAR promotional materials, including on the race car itself.

“Brown-Forman has been a great partner of RCR for the past five years through its Jack Daniel’s brand,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “They quickly became a NASCAR-industry leader in the promotion of the Jack Daniel’s brand through the Pace Yourself, Drink Responsibly messaging, which our fans have embraced. We understand the shift in their spending priorities during these tough economic times and the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Racing program will continue to provide that successful platform for the rest of the 2009 season. We have built many valuable relationships with the loyal Brown-Forman employees and their distributors during our partnership and look forward to maintaining those relationships in the future.”

The No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Racing program began in 2005. Drivers Dave Blaney (2005), Clint Bowyer (2006-08) and Casey Mears (2009) have combined over 171 races for two pole positions, two victories, 16 top-five and 50 top-10 finishes. Bowyer earned spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2007 and 2008 and finished those seasons in third and fifth place, respectively.

“Being flexible with our strategic investments has been a consistent theme for us at Brown-Forman and I support the decision to move from sponsoring NASCAR to investments in other areas.” said Paul Varga, chief executive officer of Brown-Forman. “Richard Childress has been a great partner and this decision simply reflects a change in our investment mix, and not any dissatisfaction with RCR or NASCAR.”

I'm so mad!

David Reutimann comes up the track and puts Junior into the wall, ending his day in Loudon.

Watch the video here.

Note: In post-race inspection, the left front corner of Kyle Busch's No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was too low. NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said possible penalties will be announced early next week.

Martin signs through '11 and adding new sponsor

CONCORD, N.C. -- Mark Martin has agreed to a contract extension through the 2011 season with Hendrick Motorsports.

"That shouldn't come as any big surprise," Martin said Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. "Who would want to quit?"

And he will have a new primary sponsor.

GoDaddy.com has signed to sponsor the No. 5 Chevrolet for 20 races -- including the Daytona 500 -- during the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season.

GoDaddy.com's affiliation with Hendrick Motorsports began in 2008 with a two-race primary sponsorship of the No. 25, a program that this season expanded to seven Cup events. In 2009, the company also became an associate-level sponsor of the No. 5.

"It's neat to be associated with a fast, edgy company that's aggressive and out there doing what they do like we do on the race track with our race teams," Martin said. "It's a cool thing to be looking forward to year and having different colors and there is more to come."

Martin has four wins, tied for the series lead, in his first Cup Series campaign with Hendrick. The team announced May 6 that Martin would return full time in 2010.

"Mark has been an unbelievable asset to our organization," Hendrick said. "I can't overstate the contribution he's made or the kind of teammate he's been, and we're excited that he'll race with us for the next two years. With his focus and dedication, he will continue to make all of us better."

Martin, 50, is the oldest driver ever to qualify for NASCAR's championship-deciding Chase for the Sprint Cup, which begins Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Having Martin remain with the team for the 2011 season was Hendrick's idea, and embraced by Martin.

"It was still Rick's initiative," Martin said, "and I didn't have any reservations really when we talked about 2010; 2011 is a long way out. It's a long-term commitment. But I understood Rick. He had to make some decisions about some long-range things and he really wanted it. This was his first choice. With the success that we were having, I don't see me falling off a cliff anytime soon.

"I hope that I'll be able to do the job and I'm having a blast. I understand that it works better for sponsor commitments and those kinds of things. And so I'm pretty comfortable. There's no place I'd rather be today than at the race track. I didn't always feel that way. And so I did something about it. And now I feel that way. So now I'm doing something about that."

JR Motorsports Signs Bires To Two-Year Deal Starting in 2010

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 15, 2009) - Rising talent Kelly Bires has signed to drive a full-time NASCAR Nationwide Series entry for JR Motorsports in 2010-11, general manager Kelley Earnhardt announced today.

A native of Mauston, Wis., Bires has frequented the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series since 2006.  In 66 career Nationwide Series starts, Bires has earned three top-five and 11 top-10 finishes.  He tallied two of his top-fives this season with a career-best finish of fourth at Nashville Superspeedway on April 11 for Kevin Harvick Inc. and fifth at Iowa Speedway on Aug. 1 for Braun Racing.
 
"Kelly is a talented young driver, and we want to give him the opportunity to showcase that talent," said Dale Earnhardt Jr., owner of JR Motorsports.  "Our whole premise at JR Motorsports from the beginning has been to take up-and-coming drivers, give them the chance to drive good equipment, and help them reach the next level.  Kelly has a lot of promise.  I noticed his potential earlier this year, and we are glad to have him at JR Motorsports."
 
JR Motorsports fields the Nos. 88 and 5 teams in the Nationwide Series.  It has not been determined which of the two Bires will drive in 2010, as JR Motorsports is still in the process of securing sponsorship for next season.
 
"I can't thank Dale Jr. and Kelley enough for this opportunity," Bires said.  "JR Motorsports is a quality organization.  They win races, and they contend for championships.  As a driver, that's all you can ever ask for.  They have a tremendous infrastructure of support with Rick Hendrick and Tony Eury Sr.  These are people who know how to win races, know how to win championships, and know what it takes to be successful."
 
Bires got his NASCAR start in 2006 in a Camping World Truck Series entry for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing (now JTG-Daugherty Racing).  He was scheduled to tackle a partial truck schedule in 2007 but was promoted to the team's Nationwide Series entry after just seven races.  In 2008 - his first full-time Nationwide Series attempt - Bires finished 13th in the point standings with six top-10s.

Series' schedules shuffle

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR's 2010 schedules for the three national series will open at Daytona International Speedway on the weekend of Feb. 12-14 and conclude at Homestead-Miami Speedway on the weekend of Nov. 19-21.

The Sprint Cup Series will again have a 36-race schedule, starting with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 14, plus two "non-point" events -- the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona on Feb. 6 and the All-Star Race at Charlotte on May 22.

The Nationwide Series will again race 35 times, while the Camping World Truck Series will again have 25 events, including one of the most intriguing additions to the schedule in the series' 15-year history: a new event at Pocono Raceway's 2.5-mile triangle-shaped track on July 31, as a companion to one of the two traditional Cup Series weekends there.

The Truck Series race at Pocono will be the only new event on any of the three series' schedules. It replaces the series' previous February event at Fontana.

There will be some significant shuffling of events in 2010, compared to the current season's schedules.

In the Cup Series:

• Qualifying for the Daytona 500 will be held on Feb. 6, the same day as the Budweiser Shootout. Previously, qualifying was held the day after the Shootout.

• The season's first Dover race will be on May 16, before the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. Dover traditionally has followed that consecutive two-week stop in Charlotte.

• Phoenix's first race will be April 10, with Texas' first event April 18. Previously, Texas went first in April.

• Also, the Cup Series will have four off weeks, including the traditional Easter holiday on April 4.

In the Nationwide Series:

• A Nashville-Phoenix-Texas run on April 3, April 9 and April 17 will replace a Texas-Nashville-Phoenix spring lineup.

• The first Dover race will be run earlier than usual, on May 15, in companion to the Cup Series.

In the Truck Series:

• The Kansas race will be May 2, one week later.

• The series' race at Dover, as in the other two national series, will be held two weeks earlier, on May 14, kicking off a national series tripleheader weekend.

• The Iowa and Gateway events will be two months earlier, on July 11 and 16.

• Nashville's date moves a week later, to Aug. 7.

• Kentucky's date moves from July to Sept. 3.

Breaking News

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP)—JR Motorsports crew chief Tony Eury Sr. is being treated for minor injuries received in a two-car accident.

JRM says the accident took place Sunday afternoon near China Grove, and Eury was held overnight at Carolinas Medical Center-Northeast. The team says he is expected to be released this afternoon.

Eury is the uncle of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and was his crew chief at the start of his Cup Series career.

He’s currently crew chief for Brad Keselowski in the Nationwide Series. The team is third in the series standings.

The Nationwide Series has this weekend off.

Pat Tryson to be crew chief for Truex in 2010

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—Michael Waltrip Racing has hired Pat Tryson as the crew chief for Martin Truex Jr. next season.

Tryson will leave Kurt Busch’s team at the end of this season. He has been with Busch at Penske Racing since 2007 and guided him to four wins and two berths in the Chase for the championship. Busch will start the Chase this weekend seventh in the standings.

Tryson will be just the second crew chief in Truex’s NASCAR career. He’s worked with Kevin “Bono” Manion in all four of his Cup seasons.

Truex is leaving Earnhardt Ganassi Racing to drive the No. 56 Toyota for MWR next season.

Here's your 12!

 

Kyle Busch is not in it (I'm happy about that), neither is Kenseth (first time since the chase started), and Junior wasn't even close to making the chase.Pfft!

I am hoping one of these years, Junior will suck it up and actually have the determination to become a factor in Sprint Cup. As you can tell I am a bit disappointed with Junior, but I am and will always be a loyal fan. I just expected more from him, but it was not to be.

Petty to absorb Yates car, will race Fords in 2010

STATESVILLE, N.C. -- Richard Petty Motorsports and Yates Racing on Thursday announced they have signed a letter of intent to merge operations in time for the 2010 season. The four-car team will race Fords under the Richard Petty Motorsports banner.

Paul Menard will transfer to the Petty team, joining Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and A.J. Allmendinger. Sources have confirmed that Reed Sorenson, currently the driver of Petty's famed No. 43, will not be back with the team next year.

"This is a pretty big deal for us. We're thrilled to partner with Ford," Petty said. "We've talked with a lot of folks, but in the end it came down to the success the Gilletts and I think we can achieve with Ford Racing.

"Right now this deal is real new. There are lots of details still left to be ironed out so we don't have a lot of answers for anyone right now. We'll be working on all that in the coming days, weeks and months, but we do intend to have everything in place before the start of next season. I've won races with Ford and plan to again."

Petty claimed nine of his record 200 victories in a Ford in 1969, the only year he drove the brand. Kahne started out with Yates Racing, driving Fords in the Nationwide Series. After a full Nationwide season for Akins Motorsports in 2003, Kahne signed to drive Dodges in the Cup Series for Ray Evernham, who in 2007 sold majority ownership of his team to George Gillett.

"You know what I like -- we have really good cars, but I feel like we need to make some gains engine-wise," Kahne said. "And Roush-Yates engines are really good, but they can make some gains car-wise. Between all of us working together, we can make some big gains for next year." Read the rest of the story here.

FYI

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, will be a guest on MRN’s “NASCAR Live” radio show tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Visit http://www.mrnradio.com for a list of affiliates.

Yes...Yes...NOooo!

That was my response as I was watching the remaining laps of last night's race.

Was it really necessary to wave the caution? I mean really? Pfft.

My hopes of Kevin Harvick winning went down the drain as did my hopes of Junior finishing in the top 10.

What the heck? Junior goes into the pits seventh, leaves the pits in tenth and finishes the race in seventeenth. That just ticked me off. Junior probably would have finished better if he stayed out!!!

I am so glad I am not a part of a pool or a Fantasy racing league because there is no way I would have picked the top ten finishers with the exception of Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon.

1 Kasey Kahne
2 Kevin Harvick
3 Juan Montoya
4 David Reutimann
5 Mark Martin
6 Denny Hamlin
7 Brian Vickers
8 Jeff Gordon
9 Ryan Newman
10 Greg Biffle

Guidera disqualified from event, suspended for one year

Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt Guidera has been disqualified from the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil and suspended for a period of one year, it was announced today by NHRA officials. Guidera failed to comply with the NHRA’s drug testing policy within the required 24-hour time period. NHRA drivers have 24 hours from the time they receive the drug testing paperwork from the testing lab to comply with the policy during the random drug testing process. Guidera will retain his points in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. Per the NHRA Rulebook, Guidera is entitled to an appeal.

Sorta, Kinda On Hold

I'm really sick and had absolutely no energy to do anything for the past four days. Please bear with me during this time. I am hoping to get over this sickness very soon.



Thanks.

Keselowski to join Penske, drive Cup and Nationwide

Penske Racing on Tuesday announced that Brad Keselowski will compete for the team full-time, beginning with the 2010 season.

Keselowski, 25, will drive the No. 12 Penske Dodge in the Sprint Cup Series and also will run a full-season schedule in the Nationwide Series.
Brad Keselowski

"We are very excited to welcome Brad to the Penske Racing family," team owner Roger Penske said. "Brad has shown terrific success on track the past several years and has quickly established himself as one of the top young stars in racing. He comes from an impressive family background in motorsports. He is a proven winner and a welcome addition to our team." Read more here.