Who’s Where for Sprint Cup 2010 (Part 4)

Once again it’s that time of year to start to figure out Who’s Where for 2010 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup lineup. For the next several weeks, I’ll be talking about the drivers, sponsor and team lineups with some predictions for the upcoming season. You might need a score card to keep all of the changes straight as there are many.
_*24 -*_ Four-time Cup champion and third place in the ‘09 Chase was Jeff Gordon. He’ll return to his very familiar Dupont Chevy, with most of the same top running components in place. Like several others, they’ll have to step it up to more consistency to get to the top spot.
_*29 -*_ Yes, Kevin Harvick will be back in the Childress No. 29 Shell Chevy despite numerous rumors he wanted out. Well, he’s in for now. No telling what may happen if the also-ran status rears its ugly head again, but my little Magic 8-Ball says he’ll leave after 2010. Pretty much the same yellow and red scheme, kinda like the Ronald McDonald car with the clown behind the wheel.
_*31 -*_ Second member in the Childress stable is Jeff Burton. The Virginia driver, like his teammates, seemed to finally ‘get it together’ late in the season. Perhaps the advent of Todd Berrier as crew chief will help get back a winning combination. All of the same sponsors, those being Caterpillar, Prilosec and Lenox Tools return to help pay the bills.
_*33 -*_ Clint Bowyer is back as the third member of RCR while suffering through 2009 with so-so results. He did manage to net 16 top tens, but no wins yet kept this team down to 15th. General Mills with Cheerios is main backer with question marks remaining as to who will return as Primary’s. Results? Hard to say until after a look at winter testing.
_*34 -*_ This Front Row Motorsports Team has more question marks than The Riddler’s costume! They’re not sure of a driver, yet John Andretti may return full-time, but the likes of David Stremme or Travis Kvapil may emerge on the payroll. Throw in no ‘etched in bronze’ deals as to engine make, sponsors or engine builder and you’ve got a real mess. They did manage to compete in all but two shows and grossed $3.4 million. This year? Only the Riddler knows that.
_*36 -*_ New Yorker Tommy Baldwin, owner of this second year operation will be return with their Toyota starting the season with sponsor Wave Energy drink as the backer. It’s not a full shot, but a very good start, especially with Mike Bliss chosen to drive the car. Results? Making all of the races will be the first challenge, then they can worry about top 20 finishes.
_*37 -*_ This is the second half of all those questions spoken about earlier with the No. 34 Front Row Chevy. They may or may not have Long John Silver as a backer…might be a Dodge instead of a Chevy along with Tony Raines and the other potential candidates spoken of earlier. The clock is ticking….they need to get it together. Of course, the big stumbling block here is sponsor money.
_*From Rumorville -*_ The Feb 6th Budweiser Shootout has changed the rules for this year’s run…again. In addition to past winners of the event, current Chase participants, reigning Rookie-of-the-Year and past Cup Champions….they’ve added any driver that has won a points race at Daytona. Too broad…should we now expect Richard Petty and A.J. Foyt to come out of retirement? How about you? Drop me a line.
— Just when you thought Juan Pablo Montoya or Danica Patrick added some flavor to NASCAR, word from the pits has Narain Karthikeyan from India and Darryl O’Young from Hong Kong taking a serious look at the taxi-cab set. They both have professional experience overseas and are lining up a ‘shot’ as part of Michael Waltrip Racing in a Toyota. Stay tuned.
That’s it for this week. Next week’s RWR will continue with Part 5 of Who’s Where 2010 along with more racing news from around the globe.
Questions? Comments? Contact Russ at racinwithruss@comcast.net
Happy New Year to all!

Who’s Where for Sprint Cup 2010 (Part 3)

Once again it’s that time of year to start to figure out Who’s Where for 2010 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup lineup. For the next several weeks, I’ll be talking about the drivers, sponsor and team lineups with some predictions for the upcoming season. You might need a score card to keep all of the changes straight as there are many.
_*14 -*_ Two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart will return to his Chevy ride after a successful first year of competition. Sponsors Office Depot, Old Spice and Burger return to the Stewart-Haas Team car along with crew chief Darien Grubb. The team’s consistency stayed atop the points until the Chase, then things seemed to fall apart. They’ll need to work on staying out front in order to be successful.
_*16 -*_ Roush Fenway driver Greg Biffle was top dog in the Ford category, but came up snake eyes in the win column. Biffle wound up seventh overall with 16 top ten runs. Sponsors 3M and Post-It will be back on the quarters to back the ex-Busch and Truck champion. I see wins this year and a return to Chase form.
_*17 -*_ Matt Kenseth took two wins last year for Roush Fenway, then fell off the pace for most of the balance of the season. Call it pressures from becoming a new daddy, call it team performance falling off, call it whatever you want, but they didn’t make the Chase despite the two wins, one pole and a dozen top tens.
Perhaps the influx of new sponsors Crown Royal and Valvoline among others may inject some excitement for this team to perform better.
_*18 -*_ Kyle Busch is back in the saddle of this Joe Gibbs Toyota after four wins in 2009, but failed to make the Chase. The often contentious driver is capable of more, but until he undergoes a serious attitude adjustment, we can expect to see more of the same results, better known as spotty. Can he win on any given day with the right car? Yes, but his attitude on and off the track leaves much to be desired. Perhaps inserting Dave Rogers as his new crew chief may alter the big picture.
_*19 -*_ Elliott Sadler returns behind the wheel of what will now be a Ford under the Yates Roush Petty banner. This Virginia driver is on a slippery slope of leaving racing if his performance does not pick up and in a hurry.
The last two years have been very lackluster. Twenty-sixth in points with only one top five and five top tens is not exactly a job security resume.
_*20 -*_ Rookie of the year Joey Logano had an impressive year as part of Joe Gibbs Cup lineup, notching a win in New Hampshire, three top five’s, seven top ten’s and 20th in his first season. Let’s remember, ‘sliced bread’ is a teenager and competed at several tracks for the very first time, so I see his return visits to be even more impressive and more wins are on the way.
_*21-*_ The Woods Brothers will campaign a limited season of about 14 races with Bill Elliott as driver. For the few races they ran last year, their Ford often qualified well and ran good enough to notch 42nd in points and $1.3 million for their 13 venues.
_*From Rumorville -*_ Look for Danica Patrick to make her stock car racing debut in February with the ARCA series in a bright green and black No. 88 Chevy with GoDaddy.com livery. The popular driver ran hundreds of laps over the weekend at Daytona with top 12 results on the speed charts among more than 50 competitors.
I understand the decision to kick off her Nationwide debut at either Daytona or Fontana is up to Danica. I still maintain the results will be thin. How about you? Drop me a line.
— Looks like Michael McDowell will return to full-time action among the Nationwide ranks with occasional drives in the No. 36 Toyota in Cup. This driver and others such as Scott Riggs, David Gilliland and Travis Kvapil deserve full-time gigs.
That’s it for this week. Next week’s RWR will continue with Part 4 of Who’s Where 2010 along with more racing news from around the globe.
Questions? Comments? Contact Russ at racinwithruss@comcast.net
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Who’s Where for Sprint Cup 2010 (Part 2)

Once again it’s that time of year to start to figure out Who’s Where for 2010 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup lineup. For the next several weeks, I’ll be talking about the drivers, sponsor and team lineups with some predictions for the upcoming season. You might need a score card to keep all of the changes straight as there are many.
_*5 -*_ Veteran racer Mark Martin will return to his seat in the No. 5 Hendrick ride, this time with a few fresh names on the side of the car. GoDaddy.com will be the major backer for 20 races, while Carquest and Delphi should pick up the slack from there.
Certainly 7 poles, 5 wins and second in points will go down as a great year, but his fifth runner-up has to hurt a little. Can he nail down that first title in 2010? I and many others would like to see it, how about you? Drop me a line.
By the way, the car is no longer yellow and blue, rather a very bright lime green and black GoDaddy.com scheme.
_*6 -*_ Roush-Fenway driver David Ragan returns to his UPS sponsored Ford and with new crew chief Donnie Wingo. 2008 was a good year for the new driver, barely missing the Chase, but last year was dismal and the whole gang will have to pick up the pace in order to stay employed.
_*7 -*_ Robby Gordon will be back in the saddle in his own team No. 7 Toyota, but with Jim Beam leaving, his sponsor search continues. As of this writing, the independent owner/driver organization has Doug Richert taking over crew chief duties, but only eight races are paid for.
_*9 -*_ Kasey Kahne is set for 2010 in the new Ford of Team Petty with crew chief Kenny Francis back. Yes, Kahne made the Chase and got into the winner’s circle, but there remains unrest in Team Petty and they may lose the young Bud driver after this year. Results this year? Ford has not exactly been knocking down the wins of late, but the new power plant may produce better results.
_*11 -*_ Fed Ex is back and so are all of the ingredients that made this team climb to fifth in the points by seasons end. Denny Hamlin will have some off season surgery to his knee, but should climb back as competitive as ever in the Gibbs Racing Toyotas.
_*12 -*_ Gone is David Stremme…enter Brad Keselowski to this Penske Dodge ride. The oft time controversial driver will drive full-time in both the Cup and Nationwide ranks. On the Cup side, Jay Guy will call the shots from atop the box while Brad tries to get Dodge out front . Results? That depends on how well the young driver communicates with his crew chief and how much Penske personnel straightens out Brads attitude on and off the track. Seemed to work well with teammate Kurt Busch.
_*From Rumorville -*_ Sounds as if Formula One will have some changes this starting with an increase of six cars, bringing the new starting grids to 26. In light of this, they have also changed the points system whereby the top 10 will receive points, not eight and reward winning with a five point separation, instead of the prior two. A little more emphasis on winning…I like it!
— The worst kept secret in NASCAR was revealed last week with IRL driver Danica Patrick signing a two-year deal with JR Motorsports. The 27-year old driver will test this week with the ARCA series in preparation of her first attempt at taxi-cab stuff in February, then about a dozen shows in Nationwide with, who else, GoDaddy.com as the major backer.
Results? DNF’s, wrecked cars and more excuses on why she didn’t win, most of which have already been used in the IRL….Last Friday, Danica tested at Walt Disney Speedway in Florida her No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevy with Goofy, Mickey and Donald looking on. She topped the charts in speed as the only car on the track.
That’s it for this week. Next week’s RWR will continue with Part 3 of Who’s Where 2010 along with more racing news from around the globe.
Questions? Comments? Contact Russ at racinwithruss@comcast.net

Who’s Where for Sprint Cup 2010 (Part 1)

Once again it’s that time of year to start to figure out Who’s Where for 2010 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup lineup. For the next several weeks, I’ll be talking about the drivers, sponsor and team lineups with some predictions for the upcoming season. You might need a score card to keep all of the changes straight as there are many.
_*00 -*_ David Reutimann did a very respectable job with wheeling one of Michael Waltrip Racing’s Toyota’s by notching one win (albeit a rain-shortened affair), two poles and 10 top ten’s all adding up to nearly $5 million in winnings.
Reuti returns with pretty much the same crew and sponsor lineup with Aaron’s topping the list. Add Tum’s and Best Western and the money looks pretty good, but they are several races short of full season funding. Results? I’d look for pretty much the same without a Chase entry.
_*07 -*_ This Richard Childress Chevy entry is very much up in the air, from sponsors to driver lineups leaving Casey Mears with a lot of question marks. I’d say this team will not stay together for numerous reasons starting with the lack of the almighty dollars.
_*09 -*_ Brad Keselowski’s win at Dega last year put this James Finch car on the map, but a part-time lineup with numerous drivers may give way to one driver and a full-time gig for 2010.
It could be a Chevy, maybe a Dodge and the list of possible drivers includes David Stremme, Reed Sorensen, David Gilliland or Mears. Results? Mixed.
_*1 -*_ Exit Martin Truex Jr and enter Jamie McMurray to this Chevy of Ganassi-Earnhardt. McMurray salvaged his season last year with a much needed win, a 22nd in points and five top ten’s. If Jamie can gel with crew chief Kevin Manion, they may land in the winner’s circle more than once.
_*2 -*_ If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it could be the credo for this Penske Racing Team entry. Kurt Busch will return after three wins and a fourth in the Chase as the Dodge driver led the pack for Mopar fans. Sponsors and crew will be the same and more than likely will have Steve Addington as crew chief once a few more details are ironed out. Results? I’d say this team should work out and repeat their winning ways and an entry to the Chase.
_*Sprint Cup Banquet -*_ Like many of the race fans out there, we watched the Sprint Cup banquet on Friday night from Las Vegas. After 28 years in NY, they moved the whole deal out West.
Opinion? The four plus hour affair was too long. Too many comedians, too much music, too much yada, yada.
We want to see the drivers, maybe their wives, see some video highlights of the past season, listen to driver comments and see what kind of money they won.
The other thing that bothered me and probably many of you was the time of day this was broadcast. It started at 9 p.m. and ended around 1:15 a.m. EST, way past many East coast viewers lights out. I think NASCAR has once again forgot about where NASCAR started and catered to the West coast.
I did enjoy listening to many of Mark Martin and Kurt Busch’s comments, both of whom spoke very well. Martin eluded to his long experience in the sport and praising everyone connected with his outstanding year which included 5 wins, 7 poles and second overall. Very impressive for a any driver, let alone someone 50.
Newly crowned champ Jimmie Johnson also thanked sponsors, crew and the like as well and I can only wonder if it is the last time. Denny Hamlin’s line about needing sunglasses not to run into Keselowski was one of the better chuckles on the night.
What did you think of the awards? Drop me a line.
_*From Rumorville –*_ Nationwide and ex-Cup and truck driver Bobby Hamilton Jr has bought a racetrack. The Tennessee native wrote the big check to operate Highland Rim Speedway, a nicely banked paved ½-mile track. Plans are moving ahead to open in early 2010 with a weekly program.
— Mike Bliss was recently hired to drive the No. 36 Sprint Cup Toyota owned by Tommy Baldwin Racing. Excellent choice for one of the most underrated drivers in NASCAR. Wave drinks will be the backer, but they are looking for more funding to fill up a whole season.
That’s it for this week. Next week’s RWR will continue with Part 2 of Who’s Where 2010 along with more racing news from around the globe.
Questions? Comments? Contact Russ at racinwithruss@comcast.net

NASCAR Awards Banquets

While the awards banquets are done for the truck and Nationwide series, the NASCAR Sprint Cup hoopla starts on Monday in California, then carries through the week in Las Vegas, culminating in the big awards on Friday night.
Naturally, the lion’s share of money and prizes will go to Jimmie Johnson. Four-time consecutive champion…who’d a thunk it.
Monday’s lineup out West includes Johnson to attend a special Johnson Awards ceremony for 11 area schools to receive grants.
Later that evening, race fans are encouraged to get involved with more festivities at the Lowe’s retail store in Santee where live bands and special guests will attend.
Tuesday’s schedule includes Johnson being the star attraction at the Speedway Auto Club where 700 fans are expected.
Wednesday’s plans have Chasers for Charity fan fest and roast where Las Vegas headline comedian Carrot Top will help with the day’s entertainment while roasting the newest champion alongside numerous friends and fellow drivers. All this takes place at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Only the first 300 fans can pony up $250 to attend.
On Thursday, all 12 Chase participants will take part in showing their cars, and more….i.e. burn outs, on the famed Las Vegas Strip. All the fun starts mid-afternoon in front of the MGM Hotel where burnouts and pit stops will be the order of the day.
Friday wraps up a very busy week for most of the top drivers with the awards banquet at the Wynn Las Vegas and live coverage on Speed at 9 p.m.
By the way, don’t look for any cleaver comments from either 11th place Carl Edwards or 12th place finisher Brian Vickers as only the top 10 get to thank their team and sponsors. Kinda dumb, eh? You bet. I guess NASCAR couldn’t afford a few hundred dollars more for a few meals. They did the same stupid thing last year and I have yet to get an answer as to why. Twelve guys competed, yet only 10 get to speak? I’m sure their family, friends and sponsors are thrilled to hear of this idea as well. Not!
I enjoy the comments from many of the drivers, the money being awarded and usually take note as to who reads tele-prompters or notes and who stumbles through what is an ordeal for many drivers.
I’ll also be looking for Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Stewart who are supposed to be sitting at the same table….just kidding.
_*Nationwide and Trucks -*_ Both of these series’ awards banquets took place two weeks ago where only the top five took to the stage. More dumb ideas. Here are drivers and teams working very hard for the better part of nine months and only the top five get the limelight? That’s dead wrong. It’s been top ten forever. What do you think? Drop me a line.
These awards banquets were taped and you can watch them before the Cup banquet on Speed at 7 p.m. I’ll be curious to see how well champions Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday clean up and if they’ll be wearing tuxedos or suits or? And, what comments they have about the season.
_*From Rumorville –*_ The big news from this department has to do with IRL darling and soon-to-be NASCAR darling Danica Patrick. By the time you read this, the young driver will have announced her plans to compete on a part-time basis starting in February with Nationwide and ARCA entries. Jr. Motorsports will more than likely be the team with backing from current sponsor go daddy.com. Can she cut the mustard? No. More later.
— Kyle Busch has been saying the he would not compete full-time in the Nationwide series for 2010. That idea may be changing. Stay tuned.
— Laid off NASCAR drivers David Stremme and Reed Sorensen are busy beating the pavement for some kind of ride next year. So far, only Sorensen has a deal on the table with Braun Racing in the Nationwide series.
That’s it for this week. Next week’s RWR will review some of the highlights from the NASCAR Sprint Cup awards banquet from Las Vegas along with more racing news from around the globe.
Questions? Comments? Contact Russ at racinwithruss@comcast.net