This news comes on the heels of news that TBR signed UME and Accell to sponsor the No. 36 Chevy driven by JJ Yeley for nine Cup races.

Blaney drove the No. 36 last year, but that car’s number changed to the No. 7, with a second team forming with the No. 36.

Update: Florida Lottery has signed on to sponsor TBR’s No. 7 for three races in 2013.

Update 2: TBR owner Tommy Baldwin announced that he would serve as crew chief for the No. 7 Sprint Cup Chevy and driver Dave Blaney.

Update 3: Tommy Baldwin Racing owner Tommy Baldwin expects to be more competitive in 2013. He expects his teams to run consistently in the top 20 to 25. The team also ended its alliance with Stewart Haas Racing, and is instead using Richard Childress Racing chassis that are modified in-house.

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Team owner Tommy Baldwin said:

United Mining Equipment tested TBR and NASCAR out at Homestead-Miami Speedway last year and really liked what they saw. By expanding their program this year emphasizes that our program and NASCAR can work for any business category.

The team will also field the No. 7 Chevy driven by Dave Blaney.

Update: TBR announced the Accell Construction will sponsor the team’s No. 36 Chevy and driver JJ Yeley for Sprint Cup six races in 2013. Accell will appear on the car in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 and the AdvoCare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, the Texas 500 and the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, and the STP 400 and the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

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• TBR Changes Numbers; Will Run No. 7 In Cup

Baldwin said:

It is a very special moment today to announce the number 7 on our Chevrolet SS. The number has been in the Baldwin family for a long time and it is going to be pretty special to carry on that legacy in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Tony Raines will take over driving duties in TBR’s No. 36 Chevy, which was to be driven by Blaney.

Team owner Tommy Baldwin said:

I understand the position James was put in this week. As an owner of a small team, I wanted to help him out. We talked and thought that this lineup would be best for both of our teams.

Busch was suspended following an incident with Sporting News reporter Bob Pockrass after the 5-Hour Energy 200 at Dover International Speedway.

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In a Daytona 500 that featured the first postponement in its history, a ball of fire from a racecar vs. jet dryer collision under caution and a surfeit of wild action in the closing laps, Matt Kenseth won his second Daytona 500 when the tandem of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Biffle couldn’t catch the race winner in a green-white-checkered-flag finish.

Earnhardt made a slingshot move around Greg Biffle to run second in the 54th running of the Great American Race at Daytona International Speedway. Biffle came home third, followed by Denny Hamlin and Jeff Burton, as a late caution necessitated two extra laps beyond the scheduled 200.

Paul Menard, Kevin Harvick, pole-sitter Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and Mark Martin completed the top 10.

Earnhardt hooked up with Biffle and pushed the No. 16 Ford after a restart on Lap 201, but the pair could not make headway against Kenseth who moved to the front of the field and stayed there.

Earnhardt expected Biffle to pull out and make a move, but the move never came.

“I was waiting and waiting,” Earnhardt said. “It looked like he might have been trying to make a move on the back straightaway, but nothing materialized there. Then we came off (Turn) 4, and I kind of waited till the last minute for him to have his opportunity to try to pass Matt, and nothing was happening, so I just pulled out and went around him.”

Kenseth had plenty of power at the finish, despite problems with the cooling system that plagued him early in the race.

“We had a lot of problems — it was spewing water,” said Kenseth, who notched the 22nd NASCAR Sprint Cup victory of his career. “I have to give a lot of credit to (engine builder) Doug Yates and the guys at the engine shop. We had great horsepower.

“I could get a pretty good start on the bottom and either Denny or Dale Jr. could push me for a while and then they just couldn’t stay attached and I would get away from them just in time to get in front of Greg, and the two of us together could make some unbelievable speed. I have to thank Greg. We worked together really good all day long. He had a really fast car all day as well.”

A multicar wreck on Lap 188 thinned the herd considerably, taking out a handful of competitive cars. Jamie McMurray spun wildly near the entrance to Turn 1, and the chain-reaction collision wiped out the cars of Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne and Aric Almirola and damaged the machines of Edwards and Tony Stewart.

Another melee on Lap 196 set up the overtime. After contact from Joey Logano’s Toyota, the Ford of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. caromed into Stewart’s Chevrolet, turning the defending Cup champion sideways and igniting a pinball-style wreck that also involved Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman.

A strange weekend that saw the first weather postponement in the history of the Daytona 500 got downright bizarre during a round of pit stops under caution late in the race.

Juan Pablo Montoya brought his No. 42 Chevrolet to pit road under caution on Lap 160, complaining of transmission issues. His car fell victim to a strong vibration when he returned to the track, and Montoya slid out of control at the entrance to Turn 3 and slammed into a jet dryer, which was against the outside wall, blowing the track.

The collision ignited the jet fuel in the dryer and set both vehicles ablaze. Montoya and the driver of the service vehicle both escaped the wreckage, but the latter — Duane Barnes, from Michigan International Speedway — was taken to nearby Halifax Medical Center for further evaluation.

“Something failed in the rear of the car, and the car just spun into the jet dryer,” Montoya said after a visit to the care center. “I left the pits and felt a really weird vibration, and I came back in and checked the rear end and (they) said it was OK, and I got into the backstraight and we were going in fourth gear but wasn’t going that fast.

“Every time I got on the gas, I could feel the rear squeezing. When I was telling the spotter to have a look how the rear was moving, the car just turned right.”

NASCAR red-flagged the race as safety vehicles arrived on the scene and track workers attempted to put out the fire.

“There’s going to be a big speed bump heading into Turn 3,” crew chief Steve Letarte told Dale Earnhardt Jr., fearful that the blaze would melt the asphalt. “I will be shocked — shocked — if we can get this race restarted.”

Letarte was wrong.

Safety workers cleared the scene by hoisting the remains of the jet dryer on a tow truck with a boom to prevent further damage to the asphalt. After a stoppage of two hours, five minutes and 29 seconds, the event resumed just before midnight ET.

The race was barely one lap old when contact from the front bumper of Elliott Sadler’s Chevrolet turned the No. 48 Chevy of five-time champion Jimmie Johnson hard into the outside wall near the exit from the tri-oval.

Unable to avoid the wreck, David Ragan plowed into the side of Johnson’s car. Neither Johnson nor Ragan was able to continue; they retired from the race in the 42nd and 43rd positions, respectively.

The cars of defending race winner Trevor Bayne, Danica Patrick and Kurt Busch were severely damaged in the melee and all three headed to the garage for extensive repairs and later returned to the track.

“The steering’s off,” Patrick said, as she brought the No. 10 Chevy to pit road. Her crew repaired the rear suspension, but Patrick was 62 laps down when she reappeared on Lap 66. She wound up 38th in her Sprint Cup debut.

Notes: Martin Truex Jr. won the $200,000 bonus for leading the race at the halfway point . . . The top four drivers when Juan Montoya hit the jet dryer were Dave Blaney, Landon Cassill, Tony Raines and David Gilliland, none of whom had come to pit road with the rest of the lead-lap cars. Irreparable damage to the track or an ill-timed rain cell could have made a winner of Blaney. . . . Edwards and Kyle Busch had to restart from the rear when the race resumed for removing tear-offs from their windshields under the red flag.

Mark Martin replaced Reutimann in Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 00. Michael Waltrip will also drive the No. 00 in a few races in 2012. MWR also signed Clint Bowyer to drive the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota next season.

Reutimann said:

Tommy’s done a lot with a little over there and he’s definitely a racer, so that’s a good fit. With Tommy you never have to (wonder) what he’s thinking. He’s up front and that’s exactly what I need right now. He’s really put together a nice package over there. It’s awesome. Both our dads raced and Tommy has such an enthusiasm for the sport and that’s refreshing.

Baldwin said:

We’ve been working real hard since the end of the year to get our equipment right. Last year’s goal was to get in the top 35. This year we’re concentrating on competition. Given David’s experience, we thought it was best to bring him along to help us reach that next goal.

The team has not determined the number of races Reutimann will enter, nor has it decided on a car number. Last year, the team used Nos. 35 and 36.

TBR is currently seeking sponsorship to run the full season in 2012, as Golden Corral will not return.

Also, TBR signed an agreement to run Earnhardt Ganassi Racing engines next season.

Dega Wreaks Havoc on Chasers

On Lap 174, Michaeal Waltrip was pushing Bobby Labonte when Labonte lost control of his race car and spun in the middle of the turn.  Kurt Busch had no where to go and drove straight into the side panel of Labonte.  This destroyed the hood of Busch’s race car and ended his day.  The elder Busch brother finished the race in 36th position, 15 laps down.  This did not help his chances for the championship, knocking him down one spot in standings to eighth place, 52 points behind the leader.

Luckily for Kurt Busch, he isn’t the only Chase driver that struggled at Talladega.  Hendrick Motorsports’ Chasers did not finish as expected on Sunday, coming home with 25th (Dale Earnhardt Jr), 26th (Jimmie Johnson), and 27th (Jeff Gordon) place finishes.  All three drivers rode out the race in the back of the pack and just didn’t seem to have the momentum to race towards the front at the end.

Earnhardt remains in ninth position in standings, 74 points behind the leader.  Thanks to others’ misfortune, Johnson moved up one position to seventh place, but is now 50 points behind the leader.  Jeff Gordon also moved up one position; however, he is now 82 points behind the leader.   I would say this is the end of Hendrick Motorsports’ chances to win the title.  Johnson would be the only driver with a chance, but he would need the drivers ahead of him in the Chase to have substantial bad luck to overtake them.

Kevin Harvick came to Talladega only five points behind leader Carl Edwards.  Leaving Talladega, he is in fifth position, now 26 points behind the leader.  Early on in the race, Harvick had a fast car; he even led the race on six different occasions.  But, he fell victim to a large pile-up on Lap 104 when AJ Allmendinger spun on the front-stretch. Harvick finished the race in 32nd position, nine laps down.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano worked well together early in the race.  On Lap 67, as the duo was attempting to make green flag pit stops, Trevor Bayne cut in front of them, abruptly separating the pair.  This caused Logano to spin his race car and forced Busch to drive down pit road to avoid an accident.  Logano then blew a left-front tire on the backstretch, bringing out the caution. Busch was then sent to the rear of the field for failure to reduce speed while driving down pit road.

Busch was able to recover, leading the race on Lap 90 with help of his teammate, Denny Hamlin.  After the pile-up on Lap 104, however, Busch was unable to race his way to the front and finished the race in 33rd position.  Logano on the other hand, was able to push Tony Stewart to the lead of the race on Lap 136, despite the damage to his race car. Logano finished the race in 24th position.  Busch is now sixth in standings, 40 points behind the leader.

Chase for the Sprint Cup

Carl Edwards remains the points leader after finishing in 11th position at Talladega.  Fellow Roush driver Matt Kenseth sits second, 14 points behind Edwards.  Brad Keselowski gained three spots in the standings, moving to third, just 18 points back.  Tony Stewart moved up to fourth position after finishing the race in seventh place and is now 19 points behind Edwards.

Both Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch dropped positions because of their misfortune and are now in fifth and sixth position.  Rivals Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson are now right beside each other in standings, sitting in eighth and ninth position.  Dale Jr and Jeff Gordon round out the top-10 in ninth and tenth positions, respectively.  Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman reside in 11th and 12th place, respectively.

Best Efforts of the Race

The Red Bull Racing team of Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne have to be recognized for their effort on Sunday.  Kahne started 26th, Vickers 30th, and the two pushed their way into the top-five within 10 laps.  They had troubles with the two-car tandem on Lap 159, causing Kahne to spin across the nose of Vickers to bring out a caution.  But with 50 laps to go, the pair had already hooked back up and were headed to the front.  Unfortunately they just couldn’t catch the RCR tandem, but still came home with fifth (Vickers) and sixth (Kahne) place finishes.

Dave Blaney’s third place finish at Talladega represented Tommy Baldwin’s Racing’s best finish yet at the Cup level.  Blaney was in the battle at the front in both the Daytona 500 and the spring race at Talladega this year, but couldn’t get the finishes he deserved.  This is a big step for a small organization with a short history in the sport.  Team owner Tommy Baldwin hopes the Talladega finish is a step in the right direction for a more competitive season in 2012.

Landon Cassill and Casey Mears deserve a shout-out for their strong effort at Talladega.  Before the race had even one lap in the books, Mear’s No. 13 GEICO Camry had moved from its 42nd starting position into 26th.  On Lap 3, Mears paired up with Cassill to head to the front.  They spent most of the race in the Top 5 and Top 10 until lap 174 when Mears lost his drafting partner.  Cassill was collected in a turn two crash involving Bobby Labonte and Kurt Busch, forcing Mears to find another dancing partner.  Although their finishes of 16th and 17th do not represent their hard effort, the fact that they survived Talladega tells the story by itself!

TBR put Blaney in the No. 35 because it is not locked into the race, and they feel Blaney is better suited to get it in the race. The No. 36 is in the top 35 in owner’s points and therefore locked in the show.

TBR owner Tommy Baldwin said:

With Dave’s 14 years of experience in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and his proven ability to qualify for races, we felt like swapping cars was best for our partners and will give us the best opportunity to get both cars in the field. I have full confidence in Stephen’s abilities, and he was very successful at the test. We just didn’t want his inexperience in Cup cars to affect both cars making the event. Both drivers are team players and understand how important it is for the future of TBR for both cars to make the field this weekend. Dave is a standup guy and understands that giving Stephen the opportunity to show his talent in a TBR racecar will help our team’s future.

Fellows won at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal driving for JRM in 2008.

Fellows will also drive the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevy for Tommy Baldwin Racing in the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen Sprint Cup Series race at Watkins Glen. Dave Blaney, the No. 36′s regular driver, will drive the No. 35 at the Glen.

Fellows drove for TBR last year at the Glen. He finished 40th after a suspension problem.

Fellows said:

I am excited to pick up where we left off last year. … It is always great to be a part of the Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen. We had a decent qualifying run last year at the Glen, but then didn’t finish the race after we were running inside the top-15. Although it is a year later, we are just looking to build on that.

TBR owner Tommy Baldwin added:

We had pretty good success last year until we were wrecked halfway through the race. We want to finish what we started last year. It’s always good to have a road course ringer, and Ron is the best of them. Dave has done a great job for us this season, so we are excited to field the 35 car for him as well.

Golden Corral and TBR will run the “Racing for America’s Families” for each race. Each time the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet finishes in the top-10, Golden Corral will offer a one-day “Kids Eat Free” promotion the immediate Monday following the top-10 event. Golden Corral will also make a $5,000 donation to the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) on behalf of its operators.

Ed Gleich, VP of National Marketing for Golden Corral, said:

We are thrilled to team up with TBR and Dave and extend our already successful partnership. This is a great way to reward families and recognize the Disabled Veterans who have honorably served our country.

Team owner Tommy Baldwin said:

We are thrilled to have Golden Corral come back and support us for the rest of the season. Golden Corral is a well-established company, and we are proud they recognized our team’s hard work and performance. We look forward to competing for a top-10 for the “Racing for America’s Families” promotion and will work hard to build successful programs with all of our partners.

Update: TBR has reached a sponsorship agreement with Big Red Inc. Big Red will appear as primary sponsor of the team’s No. 36 Sprint Cup entry in five races this season: Infineon Raceway, Kentucky Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway.

Combined with the Golden Corral sponsorship, that gives TBR sponsorship for 24 of the remaining 28 races.