Новости NASCAR

[Zhenek]

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — For the second year in a row NASCAR has announced major rule changes for the season opening Budweiser Shootout at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

Last season NASCAR modified the eligibility rules, allowing the top six teams from each manufacturer to enter the event along with one wild card team from each manufacturer.

Those rules no longer apply as Dodge now only has three eligible teams left, all from Penske Racing. The event had previously been only for pole winners from the previous year and any former Budweiser Shootout winners.

The new criteria is based upon the following qualifications, with eligibility based on a driver having competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series within the last two seasons:

- The 12 drivers that qualified for the 2009 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
- Past NASCAR Sprint Cup champions.
- Past Budweiser Shootout champions.
- Past Daytona 500 and Coke Zero 400 champions.
- The reigning Raybestos Rookie of the Year.

The race distance will continue to be 75 laps (187.5 miles) in two segments — a 25 lap opening segment and a 50 lap final segment. Green flag and yellow flag laps will count and there will be a 10-minute break between segments. Starting positions will again be determined by a blind draw.

- Danica Patrick will make her NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at California’s Auto Club Speedway Feb. 20, but she hasn’t ruled out entering the season-opening event at Daytona Int’l Speedway Feb. 13.

“Is that the right time for me to start or not? I’m really not sure,” Patrick said about possibly making her NASCAR debut at Daytona. “There’s support across the board if I do or don’t do it. It’s just really a matter of time before we make that decision. I think we all just don’t want to over commit and under deliver at this point.”

Patrick will enter the ARCA Racing Series event at Daytona Feb. 6 and the Feb. 27 Nationwide event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Patrick will enter as many as 13 events in 2010, with the remainder of her schedule to be announced later.

- Heluva Good! has extended its title sponsorship of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l through 2011. Elsewhere, Price Chopper and Kraft Foods have renewed their sponsorship of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway through 2010.

- CJM Racing, which fielded entries for a number of drivers in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series last year, will not race in 2010 according to a statement released by the team.

“As of now, it appears that CJM will not be running the 2010 Nationwide season,” team owners Tony and Bryan Mullet said in a statement. “It is really hard for us to see this great group of people move in other directions. They have done so much to build this program and beyond that, it has become like a family.”

The team made its NASCAR Nationwide Series debut in 2007, fielding a car for Jason Keller in 15 events that season. The team ran the full schedule in 2008 and again in 2009, but the team has been unable to secure sponsorship for the 2010 season, forcing the shutdown.

- Marty Reid will join Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett as the lap-by-lap announcers for ESPN’s NASCAR coverage next year. He will call 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup events and a number of NASCAR Nationwide events.

In addition, Dr. Jerry Punch will return to his role as a pit reporter for the 2010 season. Punch was a lap-by-lap announcer for the network the last three years.

- Richard Petty Motorsports driver A.J. Allmendinger received a 60-day suspended sentence, probation and community service after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of driving while impaired Dec. 18.

Allmendinger has been placed on 18 months unsupervised probation and will be required to complete 24 hours of community service. He was also fined $100 plus court costs and his driving privileges were limited.

- Furniture Row Racing has filled three key positions as the Colorado-based NASCAR team prepares to run the full Sprint Cup schedule with driver Regan Smith.

Ryan Coniam has been promoted to crew chief while Mark McArdle joins the team as managing director of competition. Pete Rondeau will serve as car chief for the No. 78 Chevrolet.