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.

Four time defending champion Jimmie Johnson and his wife Chandra Johnson announced they are expecting their first child. Chandra is due in July, but no other details were given just yet.  The couple recently celebrated their 5 year wedding anniversary, having been married on December 11th, 2004. Congratulations to the Johnson’s.

Looking at the Cup Series schedule, here are the races and tracks that the Johnson’s will be looking at around the time of birth.

Jun 27 Sun. New Hampshire Motor Speedway TNT 1:00 PM
Jul 3 Sat. Daytona International Speedway TNT 7:30 PM
Jul 10 Sat. Chicagoland Speedway TNT 7:30 PM
Jul 25 Sun. Indianapolis Motor Speedway ESPN 1:00 PM
Aug 1 Sun. Pocono Raceway ESPN 1:00 PM

Coniam named crew chief; McArdle competition director, Rondeau car chief

DENVER (Jan. 4, 2010) — Furniture Row Racing announced today that it has filled three key positions as the Colorado-based NASCAR team prepares to run a full Sprint Cup schedule in 2010 with driver Regan Smith.

Ryan Coniam has been promoted to crew chief while Mark McArdle joins the team as managing director of competition and Pete Rondeau, also new to the team, will serve as car chief for Smith’s No. 78 Chevrolet Impala.

“What’s exciting about Ryan, Mark and Pete spearheading three essential areas is that it brings a special synergy to Furniture Row Racing,” said team general manager Joe Garone. “I worked with Mark back when we helped start PPI Motorsports in the Cup series. Ryan and Regan worked together at Ginn Racing and Mark and Pete were teammates at Richard Petty Motorsports. We have good chemistry which most likely will shorten the all-important learning curve. The addition of these three individuals has generated a new wave of optimism to our team.”

Coniam, 30, a native of Burlington, Ontario (a Toronto suburb) joined Furniture Row Racing in early November following two years as a race engineer at Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR). During his stint at MWR he was the race engineer for Michael McDowell’s entry in 2008, and the past year he was liaison between MWR and Germain Racing while overseeing the race engineering duties for driver Max Papis.

Coniam began his engineering Cup career in August 2005 with MB2 Motorsports and worked the following two seasons with the race team, which eventually merged with Dale Earnhardt Inc. A 2000 mechanical engineering graduate from Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario, Coniam is a former sprint car racer in the World of Outlaws and All Star Circuit of Champions series.

“I am both excited and humbled to have been offered a position that I have dreamed about,” said Coniam, son of Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Warren Coniam. “With the driving talent of Regan plus the resources at Furniture Row Racing, I am full of confidence that we can achieve success in 2010.”

McArdle, a successful veteran of Indy Car and Stock Car racing, previously worked at Richard Petty Motorsports where he served as vice president and managing director of competition.

The 52-year-old La Crosse, Wis. native was a renowned engine builder and technical specialist in Indy Car Racing, dating back to 1986. He was the engine builder for two of Penske Racing’s Indianapolis 500 victories — Rick Mears in 1991 and Emerson Fittipaldi in 1993. McArdle later joined Ilmor Engineering and served as the engine builder for the Mercedes Benz pushrod engine project that powered Al Unser Jr. to the Indy 500 win in 1994.

McArdle moved to stock car racing in the fall of 1999 as technical director with PPI Motorsports. After two years at PPI, he became general manager of Yates Racing Engines from the fall of 2001 to the spring of 2003. He joined Evernham Motorsports (now Richard Petty Motorsports) in May 2003 where he directed the team’s engine program for more than six years, and at the end of the 2007 season was named managing director of competition.

“I am full of enthusiasm and eagerly look forward to this new endeavor,” said McArdle, who has been involved in 18 career Cup wins in various capacities. “What is appealing is the team’s unyielding commitment to build on its already solid foundation.”

Rondeau, 44,joins Furniture Row Racing from Richard Petty Motorsports where he served as the team’s director of research and development since July 2005. Prior to his employment at Richard Petty Motorsports, which was formerly known as Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Rondeau worked at Dale Earnhardt Inc. (2001 to May 2005) and Jasper Motorsports (1998-2001). During his three-plus years at DEI, Rondeau’s positions included the crew chief role for both Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“It’s an exciting time at Furniture Row Racing and I am happy to be joining the organization,” said Rondeau, a native of Saco, Maine. “This is a great opportunity and can’t wait to kick off the 2010 season at Daytona.”