MOORESVILLE, N.C. – JR Motorsports will leave it up to Danica Patrick as to when she will make her NASCAR Nationwide Series debut.

Patrick definitely will race in the Feb. 20 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway in California and the Feb. 27 Nationwide race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway but could wait until after the Automobile Racing Club of America event Feb. 6 at Daytona International Speedway before deciding whether to race in the Nationwide event Feb. 13 at Daytona.

“The race is basically a Cup race – some 30-odd drivers from Cup [are] running that race, and is that the right time for me to start or not? I’m really not sure,” Patrick said Thursday at JR Motorsports. “You only get one grand opening, as I’ve heard. We want it to be the right opportunity. We want to make sure everything is going the right direction, and everyone is on board with that.

“There is support across the board if I do or don’t do it. It’s just really a matter of time when we make that decision. We don’t want to overcommit and underdeliver.”

Continue reading “Danica Patrick to race at California and Las Vegas”

Caterpillar Celebrates 80th Anniversary of New York Stock Exchange Listing; Chairman and CEO Jim Owens to Ring Opening Bell

PEORIA, Ill. – To mark the 80th anniversary of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) being publicly traded on the world’s foremost securities marketplace, Chairman and CEO Jim Owens will be ringing the opening bell today on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The NYSE is considered the world’s foremost securities marketplace, and Caterpillar is among the two percent of companies that have been listed on the NYSE for more than 80 years.
“For decades, our customers have counted on Caterpillar products to help them achieve success in their businesses,” Owens said. “Caterpillar has also forged a strong reputation with stockholders for performance and financial strength in both good times and challenging environments such as those facing the global economy during the last year.”

Continue reading “Jeff Burton's CAT Car at NYSE”

Guest Column By Cathy Elliott

OK, it’s the end of the year, and you know what that means: lists.

Some of them are forward-looking. There are lists of what we plan to gain — and in the case of those of us with hips, to lose — in 2010. There are lists of which credit card bills we can get away with making the minimum payments on, and lists of numbers to block from our cell phones.

But this is also traditionally a time to look back on another nearly completed year, and specifically in this case, to look back on the year in NASCAR.

I’ve spent some time checking out a few of my fellow motorsports writers’ opinions on the “top” stories of 2009, and for the most part they’re on the money. This year has been quite remarkable, and there are a lot of spectacular and historic things for which it will be remembered.

Continue reading “Taking Stock of a Most Valuable Year in NASCAR”

Top Drivers (in alphabetical order)

Jimmie Johnson – Made NASCAR history by becoming the first driver to win four consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships … His team has truly reached the “dynasty” level … Won a series-high seven races, including four during “clutch time” in the Chase … Had a series-best Driver Rating of 112.2 … Posted 16 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes … Led a series-high 2,238 laps … Won three of the first five Chase races to put himself in position to claim an unprecedented fourth straight title.

Mark Martin – At the age of 50, turned in perhaps his finest overall season … Finished second in the point standings … Was the points leader for four weeks and led the standings heading into the Chase … Won five times on the year; second most in the series … Claimed a career-best seven poles, also tops in the series on the season … Posted 14 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes … His average starting position of 9.8 led the series while his Driver Rating (100.3) was second best in the series … Was sentimental favorite to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

Continue reading “Cup Series Top Performances of 2009”