Nov. 20 NASCAR Nationwide Series: The final practice session of 2009 in the Nationwide Series has concluded at Homestead Miami Speedway. This night session clocked the quickest times of the day, with #60 Carl Edwards posting the top speed in Happy Hour, and overall today. Edwards spun and lightly clipped the wall in Turn 2, ending up in the infield grass early in this second session, but the crew made repairs and he was able to get back out on track quickly. His top time was 32.026, and his speed, 168.618mph. Second fastest, #33 Ryan Newman with a lap time of 32.146, and a speed of 167.984. Cup teammates, #11 Denny Hamlin, and #18 Kyle Busch were third and fourth, with speed of 167.764, and 167.634 respectively. Scott Speed rounded out the top-five at 167.463. The rest of the top-ten were #29 Jeff Burton-167.442, #88 Brad Keselowski-167.095; #6 Erik Darnell comes in as fastest rookie at mph, #05 Mark Day-166.708, and #38 Jason Leffler-166.610mph. Day was quickest of the go-or-go-homers in this 52 car entry list, and only turned one lap during Happy Hour. Other than Edward's spin, the only incident involved #26 Kevin Conway brushing the wall. There were 47 cars on track for this last practice. (THL) (11-20-09)
Nov. 20 NASCAR Nationwide Series:ML Motorsports crew chief Chris Rice said the new Chevrolet RO7 engine is so good, teams almost have to have it. The Warsaw-based NASCAR Nationwide Series team, which has competed in 17 NNS races this season and is scheduled to compete in Saturday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, will use the new engine package next season."PME (Pro Motor Engines) has been good to these guys, but the new RO7 Chevy engine is just so good," said Rice, who joined the team as its crew chief at the race at Bristol Motor Speedway in August. "There's so many benefits with the new engine. You almost have to have it." ML Motorsports will buy their engines for the 2010 Nationwide Series season from Earnhardt-Childress Racing. Read more (timesuniononline.com) (11-20-09)
Nov. 20 NASCAR Nationwide Series: First practice at Homestead Miami Speedway has concluded, with the bulk of the top-ten speeds being posted by double-duty Cup drivers. Quickest was #29 Jeff Burton, who clocked a top lap of 32.416, and a speed of 166.584mph. Second fastest, #60 Carl Edwards, posting a lap of 32.424, with a speed of 166.543. Rounding out the top-ten, #11 Denny Hamlin-166.052mph, #99 Scott Speed-165.522, #18 Kyle Busch-165.502, #16 Matt Kenseth-165.062, #1 Mike Bliss-165.032, #88 Brad Keselowski-164.981, and #20 Joey Logano-164.936. (So, we have all three JGR Cup drivers posting times in the top-ten, two in JGR machinery, and Hamlin in the CJM Racing entry, which shares a technical alliance with JGR). Fifty-two cars made it out on track for this first session. The #0 car of Jeremy Clements had an incident where he spun and hit the wall, the team is working to repair that car now. (THL) (11-20-09)
Nov. 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series:Mike Wallace will again be in the #01 www.getnutone.com J-D Motorsports Chevy at Homestead November 20-21. The Phoenix race was a little frustrating for the Davis crew. Working on the pit stops was the goal and that improved. However a couple of strategically-placed hits to the left side wheels during some close racing cut short the progress toward the front. Mike Wallace would like to thank all of his fans for their support in his move into the #01 ride. He is really looking forward to hosting NuTone HVAC customers from across the state of Florida this weekend, and a good run at Homestead Mike is poised for great 2010 with the Davis-owned Nationwide series Chevy. (JDM) (11-19-09)
Nov. 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series: Officials of Rusty Wallace Racing (RWR), Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. and TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) announced today that beginning with the 2010 season, RWR will field Toyota Camrys in its quest for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship.The team currently plans to enter the No. 66 and No. 62 Toyota Camrys in the 2010 Nationwide Series, piloted by Steve Wallace and Brendan Gaughan, respectively. Additionally, a separate agreement with RWR team owner, Rusty Wallace, will enable the racing legend, television analyst, and Toyota dealer to represent the Toyota brand on a national basis. Read more (RWR)
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Nov. 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series:Kyle Busch’s (No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota) incredible season finally gets its proper recognition Saturday when he’s crowned the 2009 NASAR Nationwide Series champion at the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch needs only to start the Ford 300 to claim the title. Although he was unable to secure his first NASCAR national-series championship last weekend at Phoenix International Raceway — despite a 272-point advantage going in — how he didn’t clinch was a microcosm of his season, arguably one of the greatest in series history.Read more (NASCAR) (11-19-09)
Nov. 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series:Kyle Busch practically is guaranteed the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide championship, and is guaranteed the most statistically-dominant season since the inception of Loop Data in 2005.Even if he has an uncharacteristically horrible day at Homestead-Miami, Busch will own the top season numbers in several key categories. For instance:Driver Rating: Currently, he has a Driver Rating of 126.2, which is eight points ahead of the second-best season-ending total. He set that record last year at 118.2. In a testament to the strength of this season’s field, three drivers rank in the top 10 of Driver Rating: Busch, Carl Edwards (113.2, fourth-best) and Brad Keselowski (106.3, seventh-best). Read more (NASCAR) (11-19-09)
Nov. 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series:Michael Annett and his No. 15 Pilot Travel Centers/Germain.com team set a goal to finish in the top-10 in points, and currently sitting steady in tenth, a strong run in Saturday’s Ford 300 at Homestead Miami Speedway will finish the 2009 season with a nice cap for the year. If he claims that position in points following this weekend’s race at Homestead, it will be the first time since 2005 that three Raybestos Rookie of the Year contenders have finished in the top-10. The 2005 trio of top-10 rookies were Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Reed Sorenson. Read more (teampr) (11-19-09)
Nov. 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series:It took 34 races, but Mike Bliss (No. 1 Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet) is this close to an astounding accomplishment. Ironically back in the No. 1 Chevrolet for the season’s final race — the ride from which he was released after the Aug. 1 race at Iowa Speedway — Bliss has risen to the all-important fifth spot in the rankings. Drivers in the top five in the final standings in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be honored on stage at the combined Awards Banquet, Nov. 23 in Miami. In ninth place after the Sept. 11 race at Richmond International Raceway, Bliss methodically passed Justin Allgaier (No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge) for the fifth position last Saturday at Phoenix. He comes to the season finale with a 14-point lead over Allgaier, the Raybestos Rookie leader, who now is sixth. Allgaier had held the No. 5 slot for 11 of the last 13 weeks, including five in succession until Bliss’ charge. After his original release from Phoenix Racing, Bliss drove the next 13 races for five different teams in order to keep his top-five opportunity alive. Should he finish fifth, Bliss would match his best-ever series standings result. He was fifth in 2004 and equaled that ranking last year. (NASCAR) (11-19-09)
Nov. 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series:Justin Allgaier or Brendan Gaughan? The 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year honor in the NASCAR Nationwide Series comes down to those two drivers at Homestead-Miami. Allgaier has an eight-point lead in the rankings, but the award is based on more than competition points, bonus points, entry points and final driver standings. Contenders also are voted upon by the Rookie of the Year Panel, consisting of NASCAR competition executives and a select group of veteran drivers. Allgaier has led since the July race at Daytona International Speedway. Michael McDowell and Gaughan also have led the standings. Read more (NASCAR) (11-19-09)
Nov. 18 NASCAR Nationwide Series:JASON KELLER ON HOMESTEAD-MIAMI “I’m looking forward to going to Homestead and finishing the season out strong. Our mile and a half program has continued to improve throughout the season, including a few weeks ago in Texas when we finished 12th. Steve Wallace is just ahead of us for seventh place in the point standings with one race to go. We can’t control where he finishes in the race but inorder for us to have a chance to move up, we need to put together a top-10 finish. We have the United States Postal Service on board as the primary sponsor for this race, so hopefully we’ll deliver them a solid finish!” Read more (BCR)
Nov. 18 NASCAR Nationwide Series:Middle Tennessee State University/31-W Insulation on the #05 at Homestead: Middle Tennessee State University and 31-W Insulation have teamed up to sponsor the #05 Day Enterprise Nationwide Series race car, with Mark Day of Clarksville, TN. driving, for the Ford 300 Nationwide Series Race at Homestead Miami Speedway. The MT logo will be on the hood, lower quarter panels, and TV panel with 31-W Insulation on the quarter panels. Visit MTSU.edu or GoBlueRaiders.com to find out more about Middle Tennessee State University and www.31w.com for information about home improvement products 31-W Insulation can offer. 31-W Insulation has over 40 branches in 12 states to serve you. Middle Tennessee State University and 31-W Insulation will be teaming up again with the #05 team in the Spring at one of the Nashville Superspeedway races. (teampr) (11-18-09)
Nov. 18 NASCAR Nationwide Series: David Reutimann returns to the No. 32 this weekend at Homestead. Reutimann will also host the Fifth Annual Charity Cookout, Auction and Golf Tournament in his hometown of Zephyrhills, Florida. The cookout and auction will take place on Friday, November 27, followed by the golf tournament on Saturday, November 28. Proceeds from all activities will be donated to numerous Florida-based charities. For additional information, please visit www.davidreutimann.com. Read more (BR) (11-18-09)
Nov. 18 NASCAR Nationwide Series: Justin Marks returns to the No. 10 Toyota at Homestead-Miami Speedway.Marks has made five career NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) starts and four in 2009. His best career start of seventh came at Montreal (August, 2009). His earned his best finish of 24th this season at Memphis Motorsports Park. Borrell Electric Co. joins Construct Corps on board the No. 10 Toyota this weekend. Read more (BR) (11-18-09)
Nov. 18 NASCAR Nationwide Series:NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin returns to CJM Racing for the Nationwide Series event at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla., this weekend. He will make his third start in the No. 11 Toyota.
Hamlin had two good runs in the No. 11 car at Watkins Glen and Michigan earlier in the 2009 season. In both races, he was a contender for the win until mechanical issues hampered his strong run. GodSpeaks.com makes its debut as the primary sponsor of the No. 11 Toyota this weekend. GodSpeaks.com started as an anonymous billboard campaign promoting quotes attributed to God. In its first year, the campaign grew from nine billboards in South Florida to 10,000 billboards in 200 U.S. cities, with the common goal of creating a spiritual climate and getting people to think about a relationship with God. In addition to furthering the billboard campaign, GodSpeaks.com offers resources, testimonials, downloads and other support services. Visit GodSpeaks.com to learn more. Read more (BL)
Nov. 20 NASCAR Nationwide Series: The final practice session of 2009 in th
