Jan 13, 2005

Jason Keller has a been inked to a multi-year deal with his new ride with Team Rensi in the Busch Series. Jason will drive the #35 McDonalds Ford, he'll be teammates with Ashton Lewis and the #25 Team Marines Ford. Keller has 10 series wins, 79 top 5's, and 11 polls in his 11 year career.

In preparation for the March race in Las Vegas, 35 teams including last years entire Top 10 drivers are heading there later this month to test their set-ups. Many teams will then head to California Speedway because NASCAR is allowing both tracks to count as only 1 test.

If you are a fan of Dale Earnhardt Jr., you shouldn't have any trouble seeing his face in 2005....everywhere! According to his public relations team, Dale Jr. will appear in 891 different TV commercials this year.....of course that number is a bit exaggerated...but it's going to be a lot. So just turn on the TV and chances are you'll see him in your livingroom pretty soon.

PRESEASON THUNDER
Jeff Gordon continues to top the speed charts at the track in his Dupont Chevrolet running a 184.786 in the morning session. Jeff has renamed his championship bid.

Jeff was followed by Dale Jarrett, Greg Biffle, Jeremy Mayfield, and Boris Said.

Jan 12, 2005

Roush Racing announced that Office Depot will ride along with Carl Edwards this season abord the #99 Ford as the primary sponsor. The office supply chain recently announced their multi year deal with NASCAR as well.

Dodge unveiled the new Charger yesterday which will make it's debut on the track in the Daytona 500. It looks similar to the new production car that you can drive with the crosshair front grill and signature rear side windows. You can check it out here

Terry Labonte announced his 10 race schedule for this year, calling it the "Shifting Gears, Schedule". It includes the following tracks: California, Bristol, Texas (twice) Lowes, Pocono, Chicagoland, Indy, and Kansas.

JANUARY TESTING | DAYTONA
Cars are finally on the track again, and Jeff Gordon posted the fastest speed yesterday morning at 185.265mph.

Second and third fast driving two different test cars was Boris Said which had people in the garage area talking. A couple of drivers not testing at Daytona are Tony Stewart whose on vacation, and Kevin Harvick who has other sponsor obligations.

Jan 11, 2005

Daytona Thunder starts today, testing for the Daytona 500 and will feature Cup cars that finished with odd owners points (like Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Jr.)

Charter Communications has re-signed with Roush Racing to sponsor the #60 Busch car full time this season, and as an associate for the #16 Cup car of Greg Biffle. Carl Edwards will be doing the double duty driving the 60 in the Busch Series and the #99 in the Cup Series.

Robby Gordon finished the last stage in 4th place, 11th overall, about 12 hours off the pace after having multiple problems at the Dakar Rally in Europe.

Craftsman Truck Series driver Mike Skinner will start his first full season with Bill Davis Racing, behind the wheel of the #5 Toyota Tundra. He ran most of last season for Bang Racing, then moved over to BDR for the last 9 races of the season. Skinner will be teammates to Bill Lester and Johnny Benson.

TESTING | ATLANTA
Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne are at the track today to run some Goodyear Tire tests. It's called the Atlanta Goodyear Tire, and is a different compound than what is used at other tracks.

Jan 10, 2005

There's 41 days until the Daytona 500, but that doesn't mean there isn't any racing before the big race. This week starts testing in Daytona, there's the Rolex 24 with a bunch of NASCAR drivers entering, the Bud Shootout, and the Gatorade Dual at Daytona.

Jeff Burton will be in Mexico City this week testing for Richard Childress Racing's Busch cars. The series will run the Mexico 200, the first road course race since 2001, also the first points race outside the US.

NASCAR is looking to build a Hall of Fame and Museum, and will choose a city by the end of this year. In the running are Charlotte, Atlanta, Daytona Beach, and Kansas City. The cities have five months to respond with their proposed plans.

Ultra Motorsports has announced their plans for this season in the Truck Series. Jimmy Spencer comes on board full time to drive the #1 Mopar Dodge, and Ted Musgrave moves over to the #2 ASE Dodge. Spencer will also race in some Busch and Cup events throughout the year.