To be an approved pace car, a car must be able to reach a speed close to 100 mph from the standy-by position near the end of pit road to the exit of turn 2.

This isn’t the first time NASCAR used a hybrid pace car. A hybrid Ford Fusion was used in the Sprint Cup series finale last year, the Ford 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway. But, that car only paced the start of the race because it did not meet performance standards.

In the New York Times Wheels blog, Robert Peele writes that history suggests that Toyota’s announcement “may have been another salvo” in Ford and Toyota’s “continuing war of words.”

Peele points to the fact that Toyota disputed Ford’s claim  earlier this year, “that its Fusion hybrid was the most fuel-efficient midsize vehicle, saying that the Prius, which boasts significantly higher mileage, also was a midsize car.”

He also noted that “Ford accused Toyota of cheating in its cargo space measurements for the Sequoia sport utility vehicle, using a different measuring standard than Ford had used for its almost identically sized Expedition.”

Toyota did share hybrid technology with Ford five years ago, but after that Ford accused Toyota “of using its influence to limit Ford’s access to suppliers of hybrid technologies.”

RPM is working to secure sponsorship for the No. 44 and Allmendinger. Hunt Brothers Pizza is rumored to be in discussions with the team.

Joe Gibbs Racing reportedly has inquired about Allmendinger’s status with RPM. He could possibly replace Joey Logano in the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota.

Allmendinger is currently 20th in points, with two top 10s and a top 5.

Kerry is the son of the seven-time Sprint Cup champion, and half-brother of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jeffrey is the grandson of Dale Sr.

RWR fields that No. 31 and No. 41 Chevys in the series. The No. 31 will be the focus of the team, with the No. 41 running on a part time basis.

Jeffrey was, and still is, a developmental driver for Dale Earnhardt Inc. DEI and RWR formed an alliance, and DEI will provide some Chevys to RWR.

Jeffrey is slated to drive  at Dover International Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Watkins Glen International, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Michigan International Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Lowe’s Motor Speedway.  Jeffrey may also race at Iowa Speedway and Auto Club Speedway, but those would have to be switched for other races to keep Jeffrey eligible for Rookie of the Year in 2010.

Kerry Earnhardt will run “several” races for the team, making his debut with the team at Texas Motor Speedway. He is also expected to run at Talladega Superspeedway and Atlanta.

In addition to the Earnhardts, Stanton Barrett, Derrike Cope, Travis Kittleson, Tim Brown and Tim Andrews drive for RWR.

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.

Last weekend at the Amp Energy 500 from Talladega Superspeedway, Earnhardt Jr blew, or cut depending on who you ask, a tire in practice and crashed. He had to go to a backup car.

This weekend at the Bank of America 500 from Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Earnhardt Jr. blew a tire on lap 103, hitting the wall and sustaining heavy damage that would effectively end his night.

At the Camping World RV 400 from Dover International Raceway, Earhnardt Jr. blew a right side tire and spun, again effectively ending his race.

At the Coca Cola 600 from Lowe’s, Earnhardt Jr. was leading when he blew a tire and hit the wall.

Add these incidents in with all the times Jr. complained of a bad set of tires and it makes you wonder what is going on. Personally, I think there has to be something with the set up of the car, for him to be blowing tires so often.

To quote Harry Hogge from Days of Thunder: “There’s [43] other vultures out there who manage to finish the race on THEIR tires.” Why don’t you see other teams having so many tire problems?

I don’t know the answer to that question. But, in the off season, this team better figure out what this issue is and fix it, otherwise this team won’t be winning a championship any time soon.

According to eye witness accounts, Edwards approached Harvick to talk. The conversation turn “heated,” and Harvick turned to walk away, when Edwards grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. Harvick then shoved Edwards, according to witnesses, who landed on the hood of Harvick’s No. 33 Chevy, leaving a dent.

Harvick’s motorcoach driver then put Edwards in a headlock. No punches were thrown.

Edwards said:

The deal with me and Harvick is between me and him and there’s nothing else to talk about. I’m not talking about that. That’s just what it is. We know where each other stand and that’s it.

The exchange was said to be the product of a handwritten note Edwards left in a seat on Harvick’s airplane following the AMP Energy 500 last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. The note facetiously thanked Harvick for disparaging comments he made toward Edwards on ABC following a multi-car wreck on Lap 174 of 188, which was triggered when Edwards tapped teammate Greg Biffle.

Harvick said:

I know that his fans won’t be very proud of him sitting back there riding around like a pansy. If he had been racing all day, maybe he would have known how long the front of his car was.

Mike Wallace will replace Carpentier in this weekend’s Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. AJ Allmendinger will take over driving duties of the No. 10 GEM Dodge for the remaining races.

Mark McArdle, GEM VP and managing director of competition, said:

We certainly appreciate all the effort that Patrick Carpentier made for us this year. But our job is to put ourselves in a position to win races, plus we’re striving to get the No. 10 into the top 35 in [owner] points. We feel A.J. gives us the best chance to do both.

Being 338 points out of the top 35 does not bode well for the team. After this weekend’s race, Allmendinger will have five races to make up those points, which is highly unlikely.

Logano was slated to drive at the Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the TUMS QuikPak 500 from Martinsville Speedway, and the Dickies 500 from Texas Motor Speedway. Ken Schrader is expected to drive in the car in those races.

Logano posted finishes of 32nd and 39th in his two races in the No. 96, and JGR opted not to have him compete in the car.

Instead, the sponsor will move to Tony Stewart’s Stewart Haas Racing’s No. 39, to be driven by Ryan Newman.

A formal announcement is expected at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

The news is not good for DEI, who also lost Paul Menard and its Menards sponsorship this week.