Bob Parsons is expected to stay on as CEO. He is a supporter of Danica Patrick, and a spokesperson for the company said that the sale would not affect their sponsorship of Patrick

Farmers president Paul Patsis said:

Kasey Kahne is a very talented driver and a class act. He will represent Farmers well, and we are all so proud to have him driving what will be a successful partnership, both on and off the race track.

Team owner Rick Hendrick said:

It’s extremely positive when a company of this caliber sees the value of NASCAR and immediately wants to do more. Farmers will have an excellent spokesperson in Kasey, and we’re committed to putting him in a position to win races and championships. Our organization is proud to extend this partnership, and we look forward to a very bright future with everyone at Farmers.

Kahne is set to take over driving duties of the No. 5 from Mark Martin, who has yet to announce his 2012 plans.

This news is also sure to fuel speculation that Danica Patrick is working on a full time Nationwide Series ride with GoDaddy.com, current sponsor of the No. 5 car. GoDaddy.com indicated that they would follow Patrick if she were to make a move.

She will drive the car in the first four races of 2011: Daytona International Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Bristol Motor Speedway.

JRM also unveiled GoDaddy.com’s paint scheme for next season, which is the same scheme Mark Martin will drive in the Sprint Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports.

Patrick said:

GoDaddy has been extremely good to me in both series.  I know Bob Parsons is a huge fan of our racing program, and I thank him for all the support.  We’ll have four extremely challenging and unique races to start our 2011 season, and I’m anxious to return to a lot of those tracks with at least a little bit of familiarity.

JRM General Manager Kelley Earnhardt said:

Starting this weekend at Charlotte, [Patrick] will compete in each of the final five races of 2010.  Add the first four Nationwide races of next season, and that’s a solid stretch of seat time she will get to continue learning the intricacies of these race cars.  She has done a commendable job so far given the limited seat time, and we appreciate her work ethic and dedication to Go Daddy and our race team.

The 2011 GoDaddy.com Nationwide Chevy:

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.

Keselowski will also run seven races in the No. 25 GoDaddy.com Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports. By running 17 races, if Keselowski runs the full 2010 Sprint Cup season, he will not be elligible for Rookie of the Year.

The rest of the races will be run by Sterlin Marlin, Mike Bliss, and Ken Schrader in Dodges.

He is also slated to drive in the Dickies 500 from Texas Motor Speedway.