Danica To Run NASCAR Full-Time Next Season...?

((HT: ESPN))

Not really surprising anyone, Danica Patrick who has been purposefully coy about her future plans, looks like she is headed to the Nationwide Series full-time in 2012 before heading to the Sprint Cup in 2013.

Who, specifically, will she be driving for...??? Dunno...

Her contracts for both Andretti and JR Motorsports are both up after this season, and she looks like to be the mother of all free agents for the silly season...

Here's Linda Cohn with the guy who broke the story, Terry Blount...


One note... she wants the resources to run in the Indy 500 as well next year- regardless of who she runs for in the NASCAR ranks...

J-Dub's JR Motorsports Update

((HT: Examiner.com))

Scott Wimmer knew his deal with JR Motorsports was going to be a short one. After leading 21 laps and finishing a season-best 10th place at Bristol, Wimmer ran his last race in the #7 Lifetime Army Wives Chevrolet April 3 at Nashville Superspeedway. Wimmer started 17th, and once again finished 7th – the second consecutive Top 10 finish for the #7 car.

Enter Landon Cassill.

Cassill, former JR Motorsports driver and winner of the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award in the Nationwide Series in 2008, has been selected to drive four races in the #7 car. In 19 starts in 2008 (16 of those for JR Motorsports), Cassill took five Top-5 finishes and even took the pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Ironically, Danica Patrick will return June 26 to take over the #7 at NHMS.

Cassill’s first race will be in Phoenix this Friday (Apr 9) in the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Arizona is the home state of GoDaddy.com (Scottsdale), so the Internet domain name giant will be the sponsor for the #7 Chevrolet. The sponsor of Cassill’s next three races – Texas Motor Speedway (April 17), Talladega Superspeedway (April 24), and Richmond International Raceway (April 30) – is yet to be determined.

Cassill has three races under his belt at PIR, with his best finish being 6th on 11/8/2008. He has never led a lap at Arizona’s 1-mile oval.

"Landon is a familiar face at JR Motorsports, and it is with great pleasure that we welcome him back to drive our No. 7 Chevrolets these next few weeks," Kelley Earnhardt said. "We are committed to keeping this No. 7 team racing as long as possible, because with Tony Eury Jr. and an extremely dedicated group of employees, this team is too good to not be at the race track. We are fortunate to have GoDaddy.com on board at Phoenix. I know it's a big deal to have GoDaddy.com represented there, because the Valley is home to Bob Parsons and the GoDaddy.com team. They are great partners."

Also, Don "Hollywood" Yates has been selected to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the Bashas' Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix, PIR President Bryan R. Sperber announced. Known for his role as "Wolf" on NBC's "American Gladiators" and as a championship bull fighter, Yates also enjoys a diverse career as a vocalist.

J-Dub's JR Motorsports Update

((HT: examiner.com))

((ed. note- We're going to start showing you these when he pumps them out because he is finally writing things after a long absence not of his own doing- even if it is about the Nationwide Series...))

The NASCAR Nationwide Series is in the second of a two-week break, gearing up for the Scotts Turf Builder 300 on March 20 at Bristol Motor Speedway. JR Motorsports will probably only be entering one car into the NNS race – Kelly Bires and the #88 Hellmann’s Chevrolet. Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, has rejoined IndyCar full-time, and will not race for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and JRM again until New Hampshire on June 26.

Kelly Bires Update:

Bires ((pictured, thanks facebook.com)) has a good car during Las Vegas qualifying, but ended the race very early when a tire somehow got cut down on Lap 6 – sending the #88 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet hard into the wall. Replays of the crash showed what appeared to be tire parts coming out from underneath the #88 before it struck the wall. Bires was looking to improve on his 7th place finish in Fontana, and will have to wait until Bristol to get the car back on track. On his Twitter feed on March 10, Bires said, “Just spent some time at JRM and took the guys out for lunch. Bristol cars look awesome! Excited for my first race with Hellmanns!”

Some have said the Bires would be the “Invisible Driver” at JRM when they signed Danica Patrick, but Bires has responded well. Bires has developed quite a fan following, and his Facebook page was covered in condolences after Las Vegas. Some of the FB comments said, “Sucks that that happened, that car looked great. Hopefully you guys can catch a break at Bristol,” “Kelly, it is okay. I know you are going to be a winner. It is a shame that the racing tires do not have more puncture resistance,” and “Man that sucked, it is what it is, just gotta regroup and get ready for bristol. Tough break for jrm all together today.” The break has done Bires some good, allowing him to get in some rounds of golf, as well as goose hunting trip in Buffalo, NY. Would you call that a “wild goose chase?”

With two starts under his belt (Dale Jr. raced the #88 at Daytona, and came in second), Bires is in 33rd place with 183 points, and has brought home $54,861 for the season.

Danica Patrick Update:

According to Bob Pockrass at SceneDaily, Rick Hendrick likes how Danica Patrick has approached her first NASCAR NNS season. “She's a pro at handling herself," Hendrick said Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "And she's learning. She doesn't try to profess to be any further along than she is. ... It's so refreshing. "When you get someone who has done real good in one division and won big races in open-wheel, they come in and they [often] don't want to act like that they don't know everything and they feel like they've got to be [running] up front."

Kevin Harvick is also more than willing to help the NNS rookie, actually pointing her to the more efficient high line at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – urging her to follow him, even though she was towards the end of the pack and he was leading the race at the time. On January 19, Harvick also called Patrick the first true female “competitor” in NASCAR. "We've never had a female -- in my era -- that's been competitive," Harvick said, according to Tania Ganguli and the Orlando Sentinel. "I think most of them have just been here because they're female. I think Danica's the first real female racecar driver that's coming in here. I'm not saying she's going to be competitive overnight but she's the first one who's got any sort of credentials that should be racing cars."

After three races, Patrick is in 34th place with 183 points (tied with her teammate Bires), and has earned $102,679. Remember, Patrick will not get into an NNS car again until the New England 300 at Loudon on June 26.

Next NNS Race for JRM:
Race: Scotts Turf Builder 300
Location: Bristol Motor Speedway, TN
Date: March 20, 2010
Time: 2:00pm EST

Follow me on Twitter(JRM_Examiner), or become a fan on Facebook!

See you on the track!

Here's a flashback of Bires early Vegas experience...
((HT: NASCAR/ESPN2))


UPDATE: Scott Wimmer will be behind the wheel of the #7 car when Danica is not driving. Team co-owner Tony Eury, Jr. says the car is "too good" to be parked. JR Motorsports is trying to find sponsorship for the races where they have an interest in running, but no sponsor dollars as of yet...

Danica Gets 6th In ARCA Debut

((HT: Speed/ARCA))

Danica Patrick finished sixth in her stock car debut at Daytona on Saturday. She had a few white-knuckle moments including a big save through the infield grass after getting popped by Nelson Piquet, Junior, and a rubbin' moment in the final few laps.

"I had so much fun in a race car today," Patrick said in her post-race mob. "I enjoyed mixing it up. I can't wait to do it again."

That opportunity may come in the Nationwide race at Daytona next weekend. Her crew chief, Tony Eury, Junior, is all for the jump up, but word has to come from Patrick early in the week for it to happen.

Oh, by the way, Bobby Gerhart won another race in the ARCA series, and he was asked if he was overshadowed by Danica-Mania...

"Overshadowed? By what? Did I miss something?" he asked. "Honestly, I'm glad [Patrick] was here. She brought some well-needed attention to this series."

If Patrick decides to run in the Nationwide, it will be at the expense of full-time Nationwide JR Motorsports driver Kelly Bires.

Here's your highlights, thanks from our friends at BumpsNotes

Danica Nearing Deal To Race For JR Motorsports

((HT: ESPN))

IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick is nearing completion of a two-year contract with JR Motorsports, the NASCAR Nationwide Series operation owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., and a source close to the negotiations described the talks as being "in the final phase."

A second source close to the situation confirmed the deal is moving forward, saying "talks are moving in a very positive direction and it would probably be a surprise if it didn't happen."

A deal is likely to be closed in the next week to ten days, but won't be announced until the off-season.

Patrick is trying to secure the number 7 for her ride, and it looks like her main sponsor in IndyCar will follow her to the Nationwide Series.

Here's Mike Massaro, Marty Smith, and Ryan McGee discussing the idea of Danica driving for Junior and in the Nationwide Series...


Those of us at OSG HQ hope that she learns the appropriate lessons of driving in NASCAR and carries them over to open-wheel...

If she doesn't she'll end up like her predecessors- Patty Moise and Shawna Robinson

GM Announces NASCAR Cutbacks

((HT: ESPN))

General Motors has told NASCAR teams it is cutting back on its support in all of the sanctioning body's professional series.

Among the teams already notified that they will lose funding are JR Motorsports, owned by Sprint Cup star Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick Inc., co-owned by Cup star Harvick and his wife, DeLana. JRM races in the second-tier Nationwide Series, while KHI has entries in Nationwide and the third-tier Camping World Truck Series.

Cuts are also expected in the top-tier Sprint Cup series.

Chevrolet spokesman Terry Rhadigan said Friday that GM, reorganizing through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, said cuts would be made soon.

"Our discussions are indeed NASCAR-wide," he said.

Rhadigan would not say if one series would be affected more than others, nor would he say the size of the cuts or how much GM spends on NASCAR. The automaker, through its Chevrolet brand, provides cash and other support to teams, including engines and parts.

Rhadigan, however, said GM has no plans to withdraw Chevrolet from the stock car sport.

"Racing is still in Chevrolet's DNA, and I don't think that's going to change," he said.

Both JRM and KHI issued statements, acknowledging they must adjust their business models to address the funding cuts.

"We are fully capable of adjusting our business model to accommodate this change, and with the backing of Hendrick Motorsports, we will continue to lend our full support to Chevrolet," Kelley Earnhardt, general manager of JR Motorsports and Earnhardt's sister, said in a statement.

"The manufacturer support GM provides at the NASCAR Sprint Cup level is more critical in nature than in the Nationwide Series, and I hope Chevy is able to continue supporting that level, as the promotion of NASCAR works well for its demographics."

The GM cutbacks are the latest in a series of economic blows to the sport.

The global economic crisis led to more than 1,000 team members being laid off at the end of last season, and Chrysler, which just came out of bankruptcy, has cutback its funding of Dodge teams this year. Earlier this week, Richard Petty Motorsports laid off nine employees and reduced salaries throughout the company, a byproduct of Chrysler's Chapter 11 filing.

Ford, also facing financial problems, cut back its support in the truck series heading into this season.

"Obviously, Chevrolet has millions of fans, and they want to see Chevrolets on the track," NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said. "At this time, we don't have any reason to believe that that won't be the case, at least in the short term."