Owens said:

It’s exciting to be part of Turner Motorsports’ first Cup race with Bill Elliott and support from Walmart. We’ve come a long way in just the last two years, so to take this step is really going to be a milestone for everyone who works so hard for this team every day.

Waltrip will drive the No. 40 Aaron’s Dream Machine in his 75th start at the famous track — including Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.

Waltrip said:

I appreciate what the folks at Hillman Racing including Joe Falk are putting together. Hopefully my experience at Daytona will help them get out of the gate strong with their new team.

Waltrip will drive Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine in the Bud Shootout. Mark Martin will then drive the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine in the Daytona 500. this team changed numbers from the No. 00, which was driven by David Reutimann last year.

Coming back to Daytona International Speedway, David Ragan knew he had what it takes to win the Coke Zero 400.  With the help of his Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth, Ragan was able to take home his first career win and get redemption at Daytona.

Two Car Tango

The two car tango: You either love it or you hate it.  It forces drivers to work together, teammates or not.  They have to talk with each other on the radio and coordinate their strategy.   Before this style of racing cam about, you would see large groups of cars drafting together at Daytona.  Some drivers preferred to race up front, others would ride out the race in the back until the closing laps, when they would race their way to the front.

With the two car draft, the drivers really have no choice but to ride two-by-two the entire race.  It keeps the drivers close enough that they have to race constantly, but not so close that they take out the entire pack if one car spins.

But, the biggest downside of the two car tango is, if the driver behind you isn’t the best dancer.  Right off the bat on lap 5, Brad Keselowski got into the back of Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne putting him into the wall.  Bayne was forced to take his car to the garage and was not able to finish the race.  A lack of communication between drivers seemed to be the cause of the accident.

On lap 23, there was another incident of this style racing.  Greg Biffle got into teammate and points leader Carl Edwards, sending him into the inside wall.  Edwards’s team was able to repair the damage, but he had other problems. The accident broke the crush panels on Edwards’s car, causing him to inhale exhaust fumes. The team later fixed the problem, but he was eight laps down.

Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr’s tango did not work out as planned.  At the start of the race, Earnhardt and Johnson hooked up and decided to ride it out towards the back of the field.  When Johnson made a pit stop to make adjustments to his car, Earnhardt pitted with him to make sure they would stay together on track.  Earnhardt and Johnson had great radio communication throughout most of the race.

When a late race caution came out, however, the No. 48 team pitted without informing the No. 88 team.  This resulted in Earnhardt Jr not having a teammate to draft with and a slim chance to get out front to win the race.  Earnhardt seemed agitated about the incident on the radio.  Adding insult to injury, Earnhardt and Johson were involved in the crash on the final lap and finished19th and 20th, respectively.

Their teammates, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon had a similar strategy of hanging near the back until the closing laps. In the final laps of the race, Gordon and Martin were charging to the front when Red Bull Racing teammates Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers checked up. Kahne slid up the track in front of Gordon and the two made contact.

Gordon spun, but was able to save it, setting up the first green-white-checkered finish. On that G-W-C attempt, Martin was trying to draft with Joey Logano because neither had a drafting partner when the two made contact and Martin spun, hitting Vickers. That triggered the big one and set up a second attempt at a G-W-C finish.

RBR teammates Vickers and Kahne had no problem with the two car racing in the early part of the race.  They led about 20 laps total with Kahne out front.  Kahne finished the race fourth and Vickers, getting slight damage in the last lap pile up, finished 12th.

In conclusion, the two car tango is still taking some time to get used to.  I miss the huge packs racing three and four-wide at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway.  I also miss how drivers would switch drafting partners continuously during the race, trying to get their car out front.

With the two car draft, it’s almost like two teams become one.  If one car can’t win, the person drafting with them can’t win either.  But, when leading the race, the car out front will be the winner rather than both teams getting the win.  There are pros and cons with all styles of racing.  I think this two car tango is going to be around for a while so we might as well get used to it!

The No. 5 Chevy will be split among team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr, all-time series wins leader Mark Martin, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, and Scott Wimmer.

Jr will drive at Texas Motor Speedway in April, Talladega Superspeedway in April, Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May, Daytona International Speedway in July and Atlanta Motor Speedway in Sept. in Chevys that will be sponsored by Fastenal, Godaddy.com, and Unilever.

Martin will drive the Chevy at Richmond International Raceway in May with Lipton as a sponsor. Tony Stewart will drive at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Oct. with Delphi as a sponsor. Stewart already has one victory in the series this season, winning the Camping World 300 at Daytona in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevy.

Newman will drive the No. 5 Fastenal Chevy in four races: Dover International Speedway in May, Chicagoland Speedway in July, Michigan International Speedway in Aug., and Kansas Speedway in Oct.

Wimmer will also pilot the No. 5 Fastenal Chevy for six races: Darlington Raceway in May, The Milwaukee Mile in June, O’Reilly Raceway Park in July, Iowa Speedway in Aug., Bristol Motor Speedway in Aug., and Richmond International Raceway in Sept.

Wimmer said in a JR Motorsports press release:

I am really excited to be associated with JR Motorsports and a great sponsor like Fastenal. I will be running at tracks that have been good for me in the past and look forward to my first event with JR Motorsports at Darlington in May. Hopefully, we can get the Fastenal car in the Winners Circle.

The announcement leaves two races without a named driver — the road-course events at Watkins Glen and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, both in Aug. Drivers for those races will be announced at a later date. Last season, Ron Fellows drove the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevy to victory in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, so he may be considered for that race.

Earnhardt Jr. drove at Watkins Glen last year, presumably to get more experience at road courses, so he may take one of those races.

Also, anytime you mention road courses, you have to mention Boris Said’s name. He could also be considered.

Earnhardt Jr said:

This No. 5 team carries a strong tradition and a lot of expectations, and we are fortunate to attract such quality talent to help carry on that tradition. We had a similar set-up with this team last year, and we were able to go to Victory Lane twice. Obviously with this driver line-up, there’s no reason we can’t exceed last year’s win total.

Stewart held off a hard-charging Kyle Busch, who got him lose in Turn 4. Stewart went up the race track, but managed to hold off Busch, who then got passed by Carl Edwards.

Stewart, Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Busch, and Greg Biffle finished first through fourth, respectively.

Brian Vickers, Dale Earnhardt Jr. , David Ragan, Jason Keller, and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top 10.

Notables: Kevin Harvick (11th), David Reutimann (12th), Joey Logano (13th), Kenny Wallace (17th), Brad Keselowski (23rd), Michael Waltrip (24th), and Steve Wallace (42nd).

Keselowski had a car capable of winning and was contending for the lead in the later stages of the race. He got loose coming out of the corner and over corrected, hitting the outside wall and causing significant right-side damage. About a half of a lap later, his right side tire went down, sending him into the outside wall again, effectively ending his chances of winning.

The announcement led to questions about the future of Dale Earnhardt Inc. In addition, questions surrounded Martin Truex Jr.’s ability to become the face of the legendary team.

While DEI has never won a Sprint Cup championship, the team bears the name of a NASCAR icon. And for that reason, expectations are huge.

Jr.’s highly publicized departure seemingly looked to be the end of DEI. The team struggled in 2008.

Truex was hit with a 150 point penalty. Teresa Earnhardt was rumored to be considering selling the team. There were conflicting reports over Truex Jr’s option for 2009, which led to a fight with DEI’s president Max Siegel. Siegel eventually left the team. Mark Martin, like Jr., left the team for Hendrick. Paul Menard left the team for Yates Racing, taking his father’s Menard sponsorship with him. The team also lost its US Army sponsorship to Stewart Haas Racing and Ryan Newman. DEI was left with four cars, three drivers (Truex Jr, Aric Almirola, and Regan Smith), and one sponsor.

Enter Chip Ganassi Racing. CGR and DEI merged to form Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, virtually saving both companies. CGR brought Juan Pablo Montoya, and Target. He also had Wrigley’s signed for a half-year worth of sponsorship.

Things were looking up for the team, as EGR was said to be courting past champion, Bobby Labonte. But then, a deal feel through and Labonte was announced as the driver of Hall of Fame Racing’s No. 96, which has an alliance with Yates Racing.

When the dust settled from the offseason, and teams returned to Daytona International Speedway for practice for the 500, Truex unloaded with a fast car. He was in the top 5 in both practices. And when qualifying came around, he posted the fastest time, taking the pole.

This is exactly what EGR needed to do out of the gate. Taking the pole of the season’s biggest race will help this team put one of its toughest offseasons behind it.

While the work is not done yet, the team can pat itself on the back for a good showing in the first step of the Daytona 500. Next up, winning one of the Gatorade Duels.

Following Sunday’s showing, I for one will not be counting out EGR.

He will also start the Winn Dixie 250 at Daytona International Speedway in July.

The other 12 races and drivers will be decided at a later date.

The Budweiser Shootout will now feature the top six teams from each manufacturer in the final owner points. The move seems to be designed to put the emphasis on the manufacturers.

The race distance will also be increased from 70 laps to 75 laps. There will be two segments of 25 and 50 laps, with yellow flag laps included. There will also be a 10 minute break between the segments.

From a logical perspective, the reason for the change does make sense, though. After all, Budweiser used to sponsor the pole award, so there was a link. But, with Coors now sponsoring the pole, the two are no longer connected, and probably shouldn’t be linked.

Kobalt Tools, a Lowe’s brand, is said to be the leading candidate to sponsor the truck series. Craftsman, a Sears brand, will not renew its sponsorship of the series.

Stanley Tools and NAPA have been rumored to be potential sponsors as well.

Should Kobalt reach and agreement to sponsor the series, it would replace Craftsman as the official tool of NASCAR. Lowe’s could also become the official home improvement store of NASCAR, replacing Home Depot.

Anheuser Acquired By InBev

Anheuser-Busch has agreed acquired by InBev for $52 billion. Under the deal, which will create the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser will receive two seats on the board of the new company. The takeover also contains a provision that requires either side of the agreement to pay a “breakup” fee of $1.25 billion if it was responsible for the breakup.

The deal shouldn’t affect the company’s NASCAR sponsorship. Budweiser has signed a multiyear agreement to remain as sponsor of the Budweiser Shootout.

Budweiser will also become primary sponsor on Kasey Kahne’s World of Outlaws team.

GM Woes Trickle Down To NASCAR

Chevrolet will not renew sponsorship agreements with two tracks that host Sprint Cup races next season. The company is also evaluating all levels of its motorsports operations.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway are the two tracks. GM has contracts with 12 of the 22 tracks where the Cup series races and is the title sponsor for the fall race at Richmond International Raceway. GM also is the official vehicle provider for Daytona International Speedway.

SK Telecom In Talks To Acquire Sprint

SK Telecom would solicit the help of private equity firms, which would provide the cash for the deal.

Sprint has been contemplating a sale as it struggles with subscriber losses and remaining competitve with Verizon, which recently acquire Alltel. Should Sprint decide against a sale, SK will not pursue on, sources say.