Nationwide Lineup for 2010

After wrapping up most of Who’s Where for 2010 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup lineup, let’s take a brief look at the Nationwide team chart for this year.
_*1-*_ Young James Buescher has been tabbed to drive the James Finch Chevy with Miccosukee backing in a full-time effort. I’d look for this group to be competitive on any given weekend.
_*6 – 16 – 60 – 98 -*_ Roush-Fenway has an impressive lineup in the Nationwide ranks this year with two rookies and two veteran racers, those being Carl Edwards and Paul Menard behind the wheels. Edwards is back as runner-up with Fastenal and Menard will drive for Menard’s home improvement materials. Ricky Stenhouse Jr will be in the No. 16 car with Citi-Financial as sponsor while Colin Braun will drive the No. 6 with Con-Way Freight as the backer.
_*10 – 11 – 32 – 38 -*_ Braun Racing will expand to running four teams this year with drivers Jason Leffler, Brian Scott, Brian Vickers and Reed Sorensen taking turns behind the wheel. These Toyota can be near the front and in position to win depending on how many other full-time Cuppers are trying to crash the party.
_*12 – 22 -*_ Penske Racing has two full-time Dodge deals this year with Justin Algaier in the 12 and Brad Keselowski in the 22. Look for Verizon and Discount Tire decals on these cars and for either one to be among the top dogs.
_*18 – 20 -*_ Gibbs Racing returns with hothead, I mean, hot shoe Kyle Busch in the No. 18 and Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Matt Dibenedetto swapping seats in the No. 20 during the year. Busch returns as reigning champion and may or may not compete for the entire season. Sponsors Z-Line, NOS, Interstate Batteries and Gamestop return to writing checks.
_*21 – 29 -*_ John Wes Townley comes over to Childress Racing after a crash filled 2009 season. I guess Zaxby’s has more faith in their driver than I do as I don’t see much better results for this young driver than tearing up more equipment. The No 29 will have Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer piloting the No. 29 Holiday Inn car which consistently proves to be competitive.
_*33 -*_ Kevin Harvick, Ron Hornaday and Ryan Newman will share this Chevy out of the Harvick stable for this year with question marks remaining as to sponsor.
_*62 – 66 -*_ Rusty Wallace Racing has switched to Toyotas this year with son Steven and Brendan Gaughan returning as drivers. Despite both drivers finishing in the top ten, neither one notched a win and Steven was often a rolling wrecking ball. The young man has not found a wall or car he hasn’t bounced off of more than once during each race. With the switch from Chevy to Toyota, question marks remain.
_*7 – 88 -*_ Danica Patrick and Kelly Bires will drive these two Jr Motorsports Chevy rides. Bires has shown well so far, yet Patrick has a whole lot to learn and a short time to get there. They’ll both have top notch equipment, yet I would expect Patrick to leave more racetracks on the hook rather than in the winner’s circle. Bires running among the top five would not be out of the question.
— This isn’t the complete lineup, but pretty close and illustrates the majority of real ‘players’.
_*From Rumorville -*_ Former VP candidate Sarah Palin will make a guest appearance next month a day prior to this year’s Daytona 500.
– For those Ford fans out there looking to see when the new FR9 engine will be used full-time, it appears that many of the teams will use it for qualifying and the Twin 125’s, but not in the 500 or any other race along the lines until later in the season. I’d say there is still concern with longevity for the newly engineered piece.
– Look for a Ford Mustang to pace this year’s Daytona 500, the first Ford since 1970 when a new Ford GT Convertible led the pack to the green.
That’s it for this week. Next week’s RWR will continue with some of the highlights as to who’s where in the Truck series along with more racing news from around the globe.
Questions? Comments? Contact Russ at racinwithruss@comcast.net