Forum Activity for @dave-fulton

Daytona to Build 4/10-mile Track Behind Lake Lloyd for Speedweeks Short Track Stars Races in 2013 (Irwindale East?)

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A little more information on the Irwindale Speedway bankruptcy and how the property owner hopes somebody with race experience would step up to the plate. By the way, the folks leasing the property filed Chapter 7, meaning they're abandoning the place and sticking the creditors, rather than Chapter 11 which would have let them reorganize and attempt to restructure debt and pay off some of their obligations. The more I hear and read, the shadier the Irwindale operators seem to have been.

Irwindale Speedway Files Chapter 7; Owes Money to SCV Firm
By Tim Haddock, AM-1220 KHTS | Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012

Irwindale Speedway LLC filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Monday, the same day track management announced that it was canceling the race schedule for 2012.

In paperwork filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District California, Irwindale Speedway LLC owes creditors $331,773.11. One of the creditors is Cantrell Aire Inc. in Santa Clarita. Irwindale Speedway LLC owes $1,379 to Cantrell Aire, which is owned by Jim Cantrell, whose son Connor Cantrell won the NASCAR Super Trucks championship at the track in 2011.

Irwindale Speedway LLC leased the track and offices from a company called Nu-Way Industries Inc. in Arcadia. Jim Mnoian, the president of Nu-Way Industries Inc., said he would like to find a company or group to take over racing operations at the track and resume racing as soon as possible.

He has been in talks with city of Irwindale officials, who also would like to see racing return to Irwindale Speedway. Irwindale Speedway LLC had a 33-year initial lease with two 10-year options with Nu-Way Industries Inc., Mnoian said. Bankruptcy court papers show that Irwindale Speedway LLC owes Nu-Way Industries $55,000 in rent. Mnoian said in an exclusive interview that Irwindale Speedway is not behind in its rent.

Just a few months back, Mnoian said. That was not the case. Mnoian also said the Irwindale Speedway management team was actively seeking a partner. OnThursday, thats what we were told. They were looking for a partner.

Mnoian said he had no idea Irwindale Speedway LLC was going to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Monday.

I thought Jim Williams was above that, Mnoian said. When asked if $330,000, the estimated amount Irwindale Speedway declared it owed to its creditors in the bankruptcy paperwork filed on Monday, was a lot for Williams and his management group, Mnoian said, Not for someone of his means.

Williams is the majority shareholder in Irwindale Speedway LLC.

Mnoian said he would like to see another company come in and take over the racing operations of the track.

We wanted to re-lease the site or sell it, Mnoian said. Our companys intention is to find a new tenant.

We want an operator who has experience operating a track and take it over. The people who were running it didnt have the experience and didnt find anyone with experience in 15 years. Anyone is better than what they had.

Phone messages left for Irwindale Speedway vice president and general manager Bob DeFazio were not returned.

Daytona to Build 4/10-mile Track Behind Lake Lloyd for Speedweeks Short Track Stars Races in 2013 (Irwindale East?)

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Randy, several reports I read indicate that the Irwindale promoters had misled Lucas into believing they owned the track, resulting in his previously pulling a proposed Lucas Oil track sponsorship. Now, I am also reading of "alleged" accounting irregularities on the part of the promoters.

Like both you and PattyKay, I hate to see anything screw up New Smyrna or Volusia. Had some fun nights at New Smyrna with Derrike Cope back in the early 80s, although that place is COLD (brrr) at night in February. And, Volusia had some really stout things going at one time. They kinda confused me, though, transitioning back and forth from asphalt to dirt. I'm not sure what surface they currently run.

None of us want to see failure at a track, but track operators have also got to be realistic and honest.

Daytona to Build 4/10-mile Track Behind Lake Lloyd for Speedweeks Short Track Stars Races in 2013 (Irwindale East?)

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Hmmmmmmmmmmmm....

We used to have that at Daytona... back in the day.

We called them the Late Model Sportsman race and the Modified race as I recall.

Daytona to Build 4/10-mile Track Behind Lake Lloyd for Speedweeks Short Track Stars Races in 2013 (Irwindale East?)

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The stories I read all show tremendous unpaid debt, including one $150,000 personal liability judgement and two other personal injury judgements amounts unspecified. I would cite very poor track management as a considerable part of the problem here.

In fact, the property owner has gone on record as wanting to continue the racing.

Just because folks don't necessarily know what they're getting into or what they are doing does not make NASCAR a culprit. You have to look at the facts.

900 spectators?? Come on.. as I've stated before, I can draw more than 900 people to a snake race in downtown Charlotte.

You know my feelings about NASCAR, but it wasn't NASCAR that tried to build a Taj Mahal and didn't know how to promote it.

Daytona to Build 4/10-mile Track Behind Lake Lloyd for Speedweeks Short Track Stars Races in 2013 (Irwindale East?)

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Not sure it is fair to blame NASCAR for what happened at Irwindale.

From the Pasadena, CA paper regarding the economy doing in the Irwindale track:

But it all came unraveling last season. Car counts were down significantly and nearly every division had the fewest racers since the track opened. More important, attendance was down. There were roughly 900 people in the stands for a Saturday, May 14 race.

Attendance over the past two seasons gradually has dwindled since the heydays of the early 2000s. The track does not release attendance numbers, but they averaged about 2,700 people at 28 races last year.

Daytona to Build 4/10-mile Track Behind Lake Lloyd for Speedweeks Short Track Stars Races in 2013 (Irwindale East?)

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Daytona International Speedway to add short track races in 2013
Steppingstone series racers will compete

By GODWIN KELLY, MOTORSPORTS EDITOR send an email to godwin.kelly@news-jrnl.com
February 15, 2012 7:00 AM

DAYTONA BEACH -- There will be no gap in the 2013 Speedweeks stock-car schedule.

Beginning next year, Daytona International Speedway's "dark days," or the Monday and Tuesday before the Daytona 500, will be filled with a mega national event on a short track carved from the backstretch area fronting the Lund Grandstands.

"When I think about adding a short track event here, it's just an opportunity to connect with that local racer supporting NASCAR," Speedway president Joie Chitwood III said.

"Thinking about them, getting the chance to run at the World Center of Racing, it felt like the right thing to do. Whether it's a hobby or profession, everybody should have the chance to race at Daytona."

The lineup includes drivers from NASCAR's K&N Pro Series East and West; Whelen Modified Tour North and South; and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division I, or weekly track.

All these series are used as stepping stones to NASCAR's more lucrative national series, such as Sprint Cup and Nationwide.

A good example is Trevor Bayne. Bayne, the 2011 Daytona 500, ran a full K&N schedule in 2008. Three years later, he won NASCAR's biggest race.

Ben Kennedy, great grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., will compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series this season. His K&N teammate will be Chase Elliott, Bill Elliott's son.

"It will be awesome for the sport," Kennedy said of next year's short track event. "This will be great for the sport. The K&N Series has a lot of talent."

While all the details are not known -- the official announcement is Friday -- The News-Journal has learned Daytona will create a defined, 0.4-mile, flat oval using the newly paved racetrack and skid pad surfaces.

Removable concrete barriers will be used to identify the short track course. The two-day racing program will run under the lights.

Any K&N or Whelen race winner throughout the 2012 season will get an automatic ticket to Daytona's event. NASCAR's top 10 weekly track drivers (the Whelan All-American Series) will also get a Daytona invitation.

In addition NASCAR champions from Canada, Mexico and Europe will receive invites to this inaugural short track competition.

George Silbermann, NASCAR vice president of regional and touring series, said bringing the short-trackers to Daytona will fill two voids.

"From a racing perspective, this is featuring the future stars of the sport at Daytona," Silbermann said. "From a community standpoint, it's reconnecting Speedweeks; it removes Daytona's dark days."

New Smyrna Speedway, which holds the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing during Speedweeks, cheered the decision, even though on those two days of racing, it would be going head-to-head with Daytona's competition.

"We will obviously see more Modifieds down here," NSS general manager Terry Roberts said. "That certainly can help us.

"It's going to be what it is and we'll have to see how we can make it work to our advantage. We'll make it work."

updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM

Racers Young & Old Visiting the Beach Course This Week

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Racers young and old revisiting former beach course
By Andrew Gant, Staff writer send an email to andrew.gant@news-jrnl.com
February 15, 2012 12:05 AM

Racing memorabilia hanging on the wall at Racing's North Turn restaurant in Ponce Inlet shows the old beach course.

If You Go

FRIDAY

WHAT: Trevor Bayne's trip from the old beach racetrack to Daytona International Speedway

WHEN: 11:15 a.m. Friday

WHERE: State Road A1A, south of the Dunlawton Bridge, to International Speedway Boulevard

SATURDAY

WHAT: Historic beach-racing parade and memorial unveiling

WHEN: 10 a.m. Saturday

WHERE: Parade starts at the Beach Street approach in Ponce Inlet, and ends with an unveiling at Racing's North Turn restaurant

PONCE INLET -- Trevor Bayne, the 2011 Daytona 500 champion, may not know racing on the sand except as a history lesson. But just about every day, Russ Truelove sits down for lunch a few car lengths away from the stretch of beach where he rolled his stock car six times back in 1956.

Race fans will get a chance to experience the old and the new this week. On Friday morning at 11:15, Bayne -- who at 20 was the youngest 500 winner ever -- will take his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford out for a spin to officially open the stock-car portion of Speedweeks 2012, and the public's invited to watch. Bayne will start on A1A south of Dunlawton, head north on A1A then turn west on International Speedway Boulevard to the track.

Then, on Saturday at 10 a.m., the 87-year-old Truelove and other drivers who trace their racing roots back to the beach will bring out their classic cars for an A1A parade along the Speedway's predecessor -- the 4.1-mile beach-road course where the Grand National Race ran from 1948 to 1958. Truelove still has that No. 226 Mercury Monterey -- the body was wrecked, but the frame survived the 1956 crash -- parked at his condo nearby. And his old helmet, one of the few safety measures drivers had at the time, still makes its way into most of his photos with the car.

"Most of our visitors coming from out of town here have no idea where they used to race," said the 87-year-old former driver, who walked away from the rough wreck at that race and into a hospital for the night. Today, he routinely passes out cards with old race photos around the oceanfront restaurant Racing's North Turn, trying to spread the historical significance of that beach just outside the window.

He'll have some help with that this weekend. The Saturday morning parade will end at the restaurant, where city and county officials will unveil a new tribute to the forgotten track -- which, until now, has stayed fairly inconspicuous. The drivers will fire up their old cars and motorcycles at the south turn (the Beach Street approach in Ponce Inlet), roll up A1A and park on display outside the restaurant.

"This is where racing started, so having these markers here is really nice," said Racing's North Turn owner Rhonda Glasnak, whose restaurant has been the area's de facto beach racing memorial for years.

Volusia County and Ponce Inlet both paid for the new memorials, which include historic markers along with checkered-flag pavement and gates at both ends of the circuit. Truelove's face is on the south turn marker -- his name isn't on it, but ask around and you'll find out it's him -- with the face of Ray Chaike, another driver in that 1956 race, at the north turn.

Saturday's historic parade will include more of the area's early racers in their historic cars. A few among them:

Ray Fox, 95, the master mechanic whose cars -- along with rival Smokey Yunick's -- dominated the earliest races at Daytona International Speedway.

Glen Wood, who started Wood Brothers Racing with his brother in 1950 and won five Daytona 500s since, including last year with Trevor Bayne.

Vicki Wood, who set NASCAR's one-way beach speed record of about 150 mph in 1960.

Marvin Panch, winner of the 1961 Daytona 500 at the wheel of a Yunick Pontiac.

Organizers with the town of Ponce Inlet said they might have a surprise guest joining in Saturday, but couldn't say who.

NASCAR sanctioned races on the beach from 1948 to 1958, although cars and motorcycles raced there before and after that time. Racers first began testing the limits of speed on the shore in Ormond Beach in the early 1900s, but the races gradually moved south as the beaches became more developed.

In Ponce Inlet, the cars raced north on the beach, made a left at the north turn and headed south on A1A to make the loop. The ruts in the hard-packed sand meant wrecks like Truelove's were a common risk.

He remembers his crash well -- and they live on in series of photos printed in a 1956 issue of Life magazine -- but the exact number of flips isn't part of that memory.

"I wasn't counting," Truelove said of the wild ride. "Someone else did that."

updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM

2012 Cup Teams - Car Number, Owner, Driver, Crew Chief, Make, Sponsor

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From an Associated Press release:

Feb 15, 12:39 PM EST

Glance at drivers in the 2012 Sprint Cup Series

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No. 1 Chevrolet, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

DRIVER: Jamie McMurray

BORN: June 3, 1976

HOMETOWN: Joplin, Mo.

CREW CHIEF: Kevin "Bono" Manion

SPONSOR: Bass Pro Shops/McDonalds

NOTES: McMurray had a rough 2011 season, notching just four top-10 finishes. He was 27th in the final point standings.

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No. 2 Dodge, Penske Racing

DRIVER: Brad Keselowski

BORN: Feb. 12, 1984

HOMETOWN: Rochester Hills, Mich.

CREW CHIEF: Paul Wolfe

SPONSOR: Miller Lite

NOTES: Keselowski is coming off a breakthrough season, with three wins and a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. He was fifth in the final standings.

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No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

DRIVER: Kasey Kahne

BORN: April 10, 1980

HOMETOWN: Enumclaw, Wash.

CREW CHIEF: Kenny Francis

SPONSOR: Farmers Insurance

NOTES: Signed with Hendrick Motorsports in early 2010 but had to wait until this season to get into his new seat. Brought his longtime crew chief with him.

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No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports

DRIVER: Marcos Ambrose

BORN: Sept. 1, 1976

HOMETOWN: Launceston, Tasmania

CREW CHIEF: Todd Parrott

SPONSOR: Stanley/Black & Decker/DeWalt/Kwikset

NOTES: Ambrose won his first career Sprint Cup Series race last season on the road course at Watkins Glen. He had 12 top-10 finishes and was 19th in the final points.

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No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing

DRIVER: Danica Patrick

BORN: March 25, 1982

HOMETOWN: Roscoe, Ill.

CREW CHIEF: Greg Zipadelli

SPONSOR: GoDaddy.com

NOTES: Patrick is making her Sprint Cup Series debut in the Daytona 500 and will run 10 races total for new boss Tony Stewart. She also will run the full Nationwide Series schedule for JR Motorsports.

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No. 00 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing

DRIVER: David Reutimann

BORN: March 2, 1970

HOMETOWN: Zephyrhills, Fla.

CREW CHIEF: Tommy Baldwin

SPONSOR: (To Be Determined)

NOTES: Lost his ride with Michael Waltrip Racing late in 2011 season. Has teamed with Baldwin to run 26 races in which Patrick does not compete, but actual entries will depend on sponsorship.

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No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing

DRIVER: Denny Hamlin

BORN: Nov. 18, 1980

HOMETOWN: Chesterfield, Va.

CREW CHIEF: Darian Grubb

SPONSOR: FedEx

NOTES: Had a miserable 2011 season after just missing out on the championship the year before. Team replaced longtime crew chief Mike Ford in December with Grubb, who led Tony Stewart to the title.

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No. 13 Ford, Germain Racing

DRIVER: Casey Mears

BORN: March 12, 1978

HOMETOWN: Bakersfield, Calif.

CREW CHIEF: Robert "Bootie" Barker

SPONSOR: Geico

NOTES: Beginning his second season with Germain Racing, Mears made all but the season-opening Daytona 500 last season. Team was a start-and-park at times last year but hopes to race entire season in 2012.

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No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing

DRIVER: Tony Stewart

BORN: May 20, 1971

HOMETOWN: Columbus, Ind.

CREW CHIEF: Steve Addington

SPONSOR: Office Depot/Mobil 1

NOTES: Stewart turned it up at the start of the Chase, winning five of the 10 races and his third championship. But he overhauled his organization during the offseason, replacing crew chief Darian Grubb with Addington, who spent last year with Kurt Busch.

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No. 15 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing

DRIVER: Clint Bowyer

BORN: May 30, 1979

HOMETOWN: Emporia, Kan.

CREW CHIEF: Brian Pattie

SPONSOR: Five Hour Energy Drink

NOTES: Bowyer begins his first season with MWR after six seasons with Richard Childress Racing. He won at Talladega last fall and finished 13th in points.

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No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing

DRIVER: Greg Biffle

BORN: Dec. 23, 1969

HOMETOWN: Vancouver, Wash.

CREW CHIEF: Matt Puccia

SPONSOR: 3M

NOTES: Biffle had an off year and missed the Chase for the first time since 2007. He finished 16th in points with 10 top-10 finishes.

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No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing

DRIVER: Matt Kenseth

BORN: March 10, 1972

HOMETOWN: Cambridge, Wis.

CREW CHIEF: Jimmy Fennig

SPONSOR: Valvoline/Best Buy

NOTES: Had his best season in years in 2011, winning three races and finishing fourth in the final standings.

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No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing

DRIVER: Kyle Busch

BORN: May 2, 1985

HOMETOWN: Las Vegas

CREW CHIEF: Dave Rogers

SPONSOR: M&Ms/Interstate Batteries/Doublemint

NOTES: Busch ended the regular season as the top seed in the Chase but faltered in his title run. Suspended by NASCAR for intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday Jr. in a truck race at Texas, and that incident nearly cost him his job with JGR. Won't run in any Trucks Series races this year and is cutting back his Nationwide participation.

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No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing

DRIVER: Joey Logano

BORN: May 24, 1990

HOMETOWN: Middletown, Conn.

CREW CHIEF: Jason Ratcliff

SPONSOR: Home Depot/Dollar General

NOTES: Logano was rumored to be in danger of losing his job as JGR courted Carl Edwards over the summer. He's back, with a new crew chief, but in the final year of his contract.

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No. 21 Ford, Wood Brothers Racing

DRIVER: Trevor Bayne

BORN: Feb. 19, 1991

HOMETOWN: Knoxville, Tenn.

CREW CHIEF: Donnie Wingo

SPONSOR: Ford Motorcraft/Quick Lane

NOTES: An upset winner of the Daytona 500, Bayne didn't run the full season as sponsorship issues with the Wood Brothers and a bout with Lyme disease limited him to 17 events.

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No. 22 Dodge, Penske Racing

DRIVER: AJ Allmendinger

BORN: Dec. 16, 1981

HOMETOWN: Los Gatos, Calif.

CREW CHIEF: Todd Gordon

SPONSOR: Shell-Pennzoil/AAA

NOTES: Landed the best job of his NASCAR career when Penske Racing parted ways with Kurt Busch in December. Goes into the season on a high after driving the final leg for the winning team in the prestigious Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona race.

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No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

DRIVER: Jeff Gordon

BORN: Aug. 4, 1971

HOMETOWN: Pittsboro, Ind.

CREW CHIEF: Alan Gustafson

SPONSOR: Drive To End Hunger/DuPont

NOTES: Gordon went into the Chase with high hopes of winning his fifth NASCAR championship. Had troubles at the start though and finished eighth in the final points after a three-win season.

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No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing

DRIVER: Paul Menard

BORN: Aug. 21, 1980

HOMETOWN: Eau Claire, Wis.

CREW CHIEF: Richard "Slugger" Labbe

SPONSOR: Menard's

NOTES: Scored the first win of his Cup career with an emotional victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Had a career-best eight top-10s and finished a career-best 17th in the final points.

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No. 29 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing

DRIVER: Kevin Harvick

BORN: Dec. 8, 1975

HOMETOWN: Bakersfield, Calif.

CREW CHIEF: Shane Wilson

SPONSOR: Budweiser/Jimmy Johns/Rheem

NOTES: Harvick won four races and figured to be a strong threat for the championship. Instead, he finished third in the standings for the second consecutive year.

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No. 30 Toyota, Inception Motorsports

DRIVER: David Stremme

BORN: June 19, 1977

HOMETOWN: South Bend, Ind.

CREW CHIEF: Steven Lane

SPONSOR: (To Be Determined)

NOTES: Ran 18 races last season with a best finish of 32nd at Bristol.

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No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing

DRIVER: Jeff Burton

BORN: June 29, 1967

HOMETOWN: South Boston, Va.

CREW CHIEF: Drew Blickensderfer

SPONSOR: Caterpillar/BB&T

NOTES: Had his third consecutive winless season and finished 20th in the standings - his lowest finish in the points since 1995. Goes into the year with a new crew chief.

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No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports

DRIVER: David Ragan

BORN: Dec. 24, 1985

HOMETOWN: Unadilla, Ga.

CREW CHIEF: Jay Guy

SPONSOR: (To Be Determined)

NOTES: Despite winning his first career race - at Daytona in July - Ragan lost his ride with Roush Fenway Racing when his sponsor pulled back. He landed with Front Row in January.

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No. 36 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing

DRIVER: Dave Blaney

BORN: Oct. 24, 1962

HOMETOWN: Hartford, Ohio

CREW CHIEF: Ryan Pemberton

SPONSOR: Accell Construction

NOTES: Finished season inside top-35 in points but lost his guaranteed spot in the Daytona 500 when the team made a deal with Stewart and Patrick for points.

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No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports

DRIVER: David Gilliland

BORN: April 1, 1976

HOMETOWN: Riverside, Calif.

CREW CHIEF: Pat Tryson

SPONSOR: (To Be Determined)

NOTES: Although he finished 30th in the final standings, Gilliland was outstanding in restrictor-plate races and was third in the Daytona 500.

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No. 39 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing

DRIVER: Ryan Newman

BORN: Dec. 8, 1977

HOMETOWN: South Bend, Ind.

CREW CHIEF: Tony Gibson

SPONSOR: U.S. Army/Haas/Tornados/Quicken Loans

NOTES: Newman won one race and had 17 top-10 finishes - his most since 2003. He finished 10th in the Chase.

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No. 42 Chevrolet, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

DRIVER: Juan Pablo Montoya

BORN: Sept. 20, 1975

HOMETOWN: Bogota, Colombia

CREW CHIEF: Chris Heroy

SPONSOR: Target

NOTES: Had a slow year as he notched just eight top-10 finishes and went winless. Finished 21st in the standings and goes into season with a first-year crew chief.

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No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports

DRIVER: Aric Almirola

BORN: March 14, 1984

HOMETOWN: Tampa, Fla.

CREW CHIEF: Greg Erwin

SPONSOR: Smithfield Foods/U.S. Air Force

NOTES: Landed a return to the Cup Series as part of late musical chairs created when Penske parted ways with Kurt Busch. Almirola replaced Allmendinger.

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No. 47 Toyota, JTG-Daugherty Racing

DRIVER: Bobby Labonte

BORN: May 8, 1964

HOMETOWN: Corpus Christi, Texas

CREW CHIEF: Todd Berrier

SPONSOR: Bush's/Clorox/Kingsford/Kleenex/Lance

NOTES: Labonte, the 2000 Cup champion, hasn't won a race since 2003. Was 29th in points last season with two top-10s.

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No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

DRIVER: Jimmie Johnson

BORN: Sept. 17, 1975

HOMETOWN: El Cajon, Calif.

CREW CHIEF: Chad Knaus

SPONSOR: Lowe's

NOTES: His streak of five consecutive titles was snapped last season as Johnson, who won a career-low two races, finished a career low sixth in points.

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No. 49 Toyota, Robinson-Blakeney Racing

DRIVER: J.J. Yeley

BORN: Oct. 5, 1976

HOMETOWN: Phoenix, Ariz.

CREW CHIEF: Tony Furr

SPONSOR: (To Be Determined)

NOTES: Ran 31 races last year, mostly in start-and-park situations.

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No. 51 Chevrolet, Phoenix Racing

DRIVER: Kurt Busch

BORN: Aug. 4, 1978

HOMETOWN: Las Vegas

CREW CHIEF: Nick Harrison

SPONSOR: (To Be Determined)

NOTES: Although he won two races and made the Chase, Busch struggled with anger issues and parted ways with Penske Racing at the end of the season. He has said he's seeing a sports psychologist.

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No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing

DRIVER: Mark Martin

BORN: Jan. 9, 1959

HOMETOWN: Batesville, Ark.

CREW CHIEF: Rodney Childers

SPONSOR: Aaron's Dream Machine

NOTES: Cutting back his schedule, Martin won't run all the races. Team owner Waltrip wants to run some events when Martin does not.

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No. 56 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing

DRIVER: Martin Truex Jr.

BORN: June 29, 1980

HOMETOWN: Mayetta, N.J.

CREW CHIEF: Chad Johnston

SPONSOR: NAPA Auto Parts

NOTES: Truex enters his third season at MWR still looking for his first victory and a berth for MWR in the Chase.

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No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Motorsports

DRIVER: Regan Smith

BORN: Sept. 23, 1983

HOMETOWN: Cato, N.Y.

CREW CHIEF: Pete Rondeau

SPONSOR: Furniture Row

NOTES: Had the best year of his career, winning at Darlington and finishing a career-best 26th in points.

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No. 87 Toyota, NEMCO Motorsports

DRIVER: Joe Nemechek

BORN: Sept. 26, 1963

HOMETOWN: Lakeland, Fla.

CREW CHIEF: Steve Gray

SPONSOR: (To Be Determined)

NOTES: Started all 36 races last season but was running at the end of only one, Daytona in July. Completed 1,259 of 10,650 laps.

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No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

DRIVER: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

BORN: Oct. 10, 1974

HOMETOWN: Kannapolis, N.C.

CREW CHIEF: Steve Letarte

SPONSOR: Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard

NOTES: NASCAR's most popular driver made the Chase for the first time since 2008 but went winless for a third consecutive year. Finished seventh in the points.

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No. 98 Ford, Phil Parsons Racing

DRIVER: Michael McDowell

BORN: Dec. 21, 1984

HOMETOWN: Glendale, Ariz.

CREW CHIEF: Gene Nead

SPONSOR: (To Be Determined)

NOTES: McDowell was a start-and-park for this team last year and was running at the end of three of his 32 starts.

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No. 99 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing

DRIVER: Carl Edwards

BORN: Aug. 15, 1979

HOMETOWN: Columbia, Mo.

CREW CHIEF: Bob Osborne

SPONSOR: Fastenal/Kellogg's/Best Buy

NOTES: Narrowly lost the championship to Tony Stewart in the season finale. Signed a contract with RFR in August, ending a frenzied free agency period for Edwards.

2012 The Associated Press

updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM

For All You Rodeo Goats

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Happy Valentine's Day

updated by @dave-fulton: 04/01/17 11:46:59PM

Move Over Danica... Daytona 500 "Stooge" Grand Marshal New Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Girl

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