New Look, Same Tough Trucks
After 14 years with Craftsman, 2009 ushers in a new look as Camping World joins the Truck Series as the title sponsor. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will feature the same tough competition, as veterans and young up-and-coming drivers alike compete for the coveted series championship.

New Team for Defending Champ
Johnny Benson managed to edge Ron Hornaday Jr. by seven points for the 2008 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title in what was the second closest championship battle in series history. Benson will be defending his title with a new team, as he and crew chief Trip Bruce made an off-season move to Red Horse Racing.

Benson will also attempt to become the first back-to-back champion in series history.

Count On Hornaday For 2009
Three-time series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. will no doubt be a threat for 2009. After finishing second to Benson in a last lap battle for the championship, the veteran driver would like to add an unprecedented fourth series title to his resume. Hornaday will once again drive the No. 33 Camping World/Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Chevrolet with crew chief Rick Ren.

Bodine Looks to Become First Daytona Repeat Winner
Todd Bodine, the 2006 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion, is looking to begin the new season just as he did last year, in Victory Lane. Bodine and his No. 30 Germain Racing team are the defending winners at Daytona International Speedway. Should Bodine find himself with the checkered flag on February 13, he would become the first repeat winner in the series at the famed track.

Braun Racing For A Golden First
Colin Braun, the 2008 Raybestos Rookie of the Year, will be striving to reach a couple of milestones in 2009. The 20-year-old Roush Fenway Racing sophomore has two goals in his sights — his first career win and Roush’s 50th victory in the series.

CAR DRIVER
00 David Reutimann
2 Kurt Busch
6 David Ragan
7 Robby Gordon
07 Casey Mears
9 Kasey Kahne
11 Denny Hamlin
12 David Stremme
14 Tony Stewart
16 Greg Biffle
17 Matt Kenseth
18 Kyle Busch
19 Elliott Sadler
20 Joey Logano
24 Jeff Gordon
26 Jamie McMurray
29 Kevin Harvick
31 Jeff Burton
43 Reed Sorenson
44 A.J. Allmendinger
48 Jimmie Johnson
55 Michael Waltrip
82 Scott Speed
83 Brian Vickers
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
99 Carl Edwards

Continue reading “Budweiser Shootout – Entry List”

Budweiser Shootout at Daytona Gets Facelift

There will be a new format for the preseason spectacle known as the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona. This year’s field will feature 28 cars, representing the top seven teams from Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Toyota. That lineup will consist of the top six teams from each manufacturer based on the final 2008 car owner points, with the seventh team filled by a “wild card entry” based on the following criteria:

any owner outside of the top six in year end 2008 owners’ points whose driver is a past NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion that attempted to qualify for all of the 2008 events (only one position will be filled per manufacturer and will be based on the most recent past champion per manufacturer);

if an owner/manufacturer doesn’t have a past champion driver, the next highest eligible owner outside the top six in year end 2008 owners’ points from each manufacturer will be eligible to compete in the event.

KERNERSVILLE, N.C. (February 2, 2009) – Ricky Carmichael will drive the Monster Energy No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Chevrolet in Saturday’s season-opening Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Lucas Oil Slick Mist 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Carmichael, a 29-year-old resident of Clearwater, Fla., is slated to make his second career ARCA start for KHI after racing last season at Talladega, Ala.

UPDATE: LISTEN TO KERRY’S INTERVIEW WITH RICKY

In addition to the ARCA start, Carmichael and Monster Energy have teamed with KHI to race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) during the 2009 season. Carmichael, the most successful motocross racer in history, will drive the No. 4 Monster Energy Silverado for the KHI All-Star Team in at least 14 truck events.

In the history of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), no other rider has won as many championships (15) and races (150) as Carmichael, earning him the nickname the Greatest of All-Time (the GOAT). Carmichael was a record five-time AMA “Rider of the Year.”

Continue reading “Ricky Carmichael to drive KHI #33 in ARCA Race”

‘Smoke’ Rises from Fiesta Bowl Parade
Two-Time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart Serving as Fiesta Bowl Grand Marshal

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., (Jan. 4, 2009) – No passing. That was the only rule Tony Stewart had to abide by in Saturday’s 38th Annual Fort McDowell Fiesta Bowl Parade presented by Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. Thankfully, the two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion sat far enough away from the steering wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette that he couldn’t break the one rule just days into the New Year.

Instead, the driver better known as “Smoke” sat atop the trunk of the Corvette convertible waving to the crowd along the 1.9-mile parade route, dutifully fulfilling one of his primary duties as grand marshal of this year’s Fiesta Bowl, which features a Monday night match-up between the Big Ten’s Ohio State and the Big 12’s University of Texas.

“That was like driver introductions at Indianapolis times 10,” said Stewart, referring to the ritual of riding in the back of a pickup truck around the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway before racing 42 other drivers for 400 miles. “This is a huge event and I’m just honored to be a part of it. It’s pretty cool to sort of venture outside our box a little bit and take in a game of this magnitude. With the racing season being what it is, getting away to see a college football game is kind of tough. When the Fiesta Bowl Committee called and asked if I was interested in being their grand marshal, I said, ‘As long as I get a ticket and a field pass to the game, I’m in.”

Continue reading “Tony Stewart Fiesta Bowl Grand Marshal”