Some of the greatest names in country music will kick off the two-day event at the Grand Ole Opry when Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust hits the stage of the Ryman Auditorium.

On Friday, Jan. 8. The special night of music, which will include two shows at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., will feature American Idol Season 8 finalist Danny Gokey, making his Opry debut, Holly Williams (9:30 p.m. show only) and Jason Michael Carroll (7:00 p.m. show only) along with already announced participants Hank Williams Jr. (9:30 p.m. show only), Chris Young and Kyle Petty and his band. There will also be appearances by Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Jamie McMurray and Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Greg Biffle during the Friday night event.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Sound and Speed[audio:http://www.finallapradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/dalejr_on_soundspeed.mp3|titles=Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Sound and Speed]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Country Music[audio:http://www.finallapradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/dalejr_on_country.mp3|titles=Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Country Music]

On Saturday, Jan. 9 the event continues at Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium, where fans of racing and country music will have the opportunity to get up-close and personal with drivers, team owners, and top-name artists for autographs, story-telling, and question-and-answer sessions. The fan event will feature show car and sponsor displays, as well as a charitable auction with memorabilia from the racing and entertainment industries. NASCAR stars Aric Almirola, Justin Allgaier, Kyle Petty, Michael Annett, Carl Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Busch, James Buescher, Brad Kesolowski, Logan Ruffin, Brian Scott and Morgan Shepherd join already announced participants Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Michael Waltrip, Clint Bowyer, Reed Sorenson, and David Stremme. Also participating in the festival will be Danny Gokey, Danielle Peck, Corey Smith, Ashton Shepherd, Brady Seals, Nathan Lee Jackson and duo Kate & Kacey who join previously announced participants Jason Michael Carroll, Josh Turner, members of Diamond Rio, and Chris Young.

Team HUMMER: Robby Gordon wins Stage 4 in the 2010 Dakar Rally

Copiapo, Chile (January 5, 2010) – For today the story wasn’t about 4-wheel drive systems or restrictors, it was about Robby Gordon in his Monster Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER proving that he can hang with the best in the 2010 Dakar Rally as he wins Stage 4 from Fiambala to Copiapo. He becomes the stage winner by just 1 second over Stephane Peterhansel in his BMW. This marks Robby Gordon’s first Dakar stage win since 2007 and his third stage victory since he started competing in the world’s toughest race back in 2005. He now sits 8th overall in time behind the leader moving up one spot from 9th. For the team who had such a disappointing outing the day before now sits on a high as they look to keep the momentum going into Stage 5.

Robby Gordon talked about momentum after his Stage 4 victory, “Here’s a stage we thought we were going to be good and we were – we went out and won. Now we’re still an hour behind overall and had our bogey yesterday, we just have to be strong from here on out and I feel that we can carry it through starting with today.”

For the Vanguard HUMMER it was also a successful day as he finishes the stage 10 minutes behind his teammate Robby Gordon coming in 8th place. The driver of the Vanguard HUMMER is optimistic about a good starting position for Stage 5 and looks forward to helping the team develop for further years to come.

Stage 5 will start in Copiapo and end in Antofagasta which will feature a liaison of 90km, a special stage of 483km and another liaison of 97km – totaling 670km. Stage 5 will feature some of the biggest and toughest sand dunes any driver or rider has faced before. For the HUMMERs Stage 5 will fit their cars well as they expect nothing less than another stage victory.

Race Coverage – For fans tracking the Dakar Rally at home, please visit robbygordon.com, planetrobby.com, and Robby Gordon’s twitter page for daily updates on the team’s performance including a daily recap, photos and videos. Versus will provide coverage throughout the United States. A 30-minute daily program featuring highlights from that day’s racing will be aired on Versus daily at 3:30 p.m. with a replay airing later in the day. The show is set to air daily from January 3rd through January 18th, check your local listing for exact show times. A 60-minute recap show featuring all fourteen stages will air on Versus on Sunday, January 24th at 3:00 p.m.

NASCAR announced that beginning with the 2010 season-opening race at Daytona on Feb. 13, the NASCAR Nationwide Series will institute crew member limits similar to the program the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series utilized last season.

Teams will be limited to 15 crew members for each event, including the driver, crew chief, spotter and seven over-the-wall team members each race weekend throughout the season. Teams also will not be required to provide a scorer.

“The crew limits are a direct result of the continuing dialogue we have with our series owners to reduce at-track costs,” Balash said. “The program was successful in the truck series and we anticipate that same result.”

Another change involves the sealed-engine rule. This year, a team will run no more than two consecutive races without using an engine previously sealed by NASCAR officials. This excludes events at Daytona and Talladega. Last year, teams were to run no more than three consecutive races without using a sealed engine.

Atlanta Motor Speedway Kicks Off 2010 Hosting Goodyear Tire Test
Edwards, Hornish, Martin and Truex to Assist Goodyear in Testing at AMS

HAMPTON, Ga. (Jan. 5, 2009) – The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series action at Atlanta Motor Speedway will kick off early and in full speed with four top teams preparing for the Kobalt Tools 500 during offseason tire testing for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Carl Edwards, Sam Hornish, Jr., Mark Martin and Martin Truex, Jr. will participate in two days of testing for Goodyear on January 12 and 13.

The two-day test is closed to the public and will aid Goodyear in determining the paramount tire for Atlanta Motor Speedway’s March 7 Kobalt Tools 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

Of the four drivers currently slated for the test, Edwards is the most accomplished at Atlanta Motor Speedway with three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins and a weekend sweep in 2005, including a Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series win. Martin has two wins and two poles in Atlanta, while Truex, Jr. won the most-recent pole for September’s 2009 Pep Boys Auto 500.

Team HUMMER: Stage 3 Review

Fiambala, Argentina (January 4, 2010) – Unfortunate circumstances plagued Team HUMMER this afternoon in the dune sections of Stage 3. The team had first thought that the these set of dunes would be a good stage for the HUMMERs but due to a smaller restrictor cutting the horsepower down, the HUMMERs couldn’t carry the momentum needed to get through the heavy sand that was featured during Stage 3. Robby Gordon said his HUMMER won’t run the dunes in 2nd gear and for that reason he got stuck and lost valuable time to the leaders. Robby Gordon talked about his performance during Stage 3, “I feel we are at a major disadvantage when it comes to restrictors. My top speed is about 165mph and the Volkswagens’ are going 190mph. Plus my Monster Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER needs to carry extra weight because of the fuel mileage we get. The sand dunes in this stage needed the car to have forward momentum to get through them. I would run up and try to come down and get stuck. For tomorrow we’ll move on and drive again.”

Robby Gordon would end up in 12th place in his Monster Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER for the stage and now 1 hour and 4 minutes down to the overall leader in 9th place. That’s not the only disappointment of the day. Around kilometer 57 the Vanguard HUMMER had a transmission failure and was forced to be towed in along with Carlo De Gavardo having clutch problems 10 kilometers before the Vanguard HUMMER had its issues. They were both able to make it to the bivouac after getting a tow from one of Team HUMMERs’ support trucks.

All in all it’s a day that the team would like to soon forget. They will regroup tonight in Fiambala and try to make the best of tomorrow’s Stage 4. Stage 4 is set from Fiambala to Copiapo, a liaison for 394 kilometers and a special that will be 203 kilometers. Another 32 kilometer liaison back to the bivouac in total distance of 629 kilometers. The first car is set to leave the bivouac at 6:05 am with the special starting at 12:05 pm local time.

Race Coverage – For fans tracking the Dakar Rally at home, please visit robbygordon.com, planetrobby.com, and Robby Gordon’s twitter page for daily updates on the team’s performance including a daily recap, photos and videos. Versus will provide coverage throughout the United States. A 30-minute daily program featuring highlights from that day’s racing will be aired on Versus daily at 3:30 p.m. with a replay airing later in the day. The show is set to air daily from January 3rd through January 18th, check your local listing for exact show times. A 60-minute recap show featuring all fourteen stages will air on Versus on Sunday, January 24th at 3:00 p.m.