Harvick and Johnson top 170 mph, Top Kansas' Second Practice Session

Kevin Harvick, with a lap speed of 170.401 mph, was the fastest in the second Hollywood Casino 400 practice session at Kansas Speedway.

Defending series champion, Jimmie Johnson, with a lap speed of 170.057 mph, was second fastest, followed by Carl Edwards (169.998), David Ragan ( 169.929) and pole sitter Greg Biffle (169.875).

Rounding out the top-ten fastest in practice were Denny Hamlin (169.811), Jeff Gordon (169.747), Kyle Busch (169.678), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (169.625) and Kasey Kahne (169.545).

Practice Times

Dayton Pre-Season Testing - Thursday Late Session

Harvick no longer in the Ronald McDonald fire suit

Daytona Testing - Day 1, afternoon: testing at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, January 20th, Day 1, Session 2, the final speeds of the session, the top four speeds were drafting, the rest were single car runs:
1) #00-David Reutimann, Toyota, 45.970 195.780
2) #56-Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 45.971 195.776
3) #83-Brian Vickers, Toyota, 46.312 194.334
4) #4-Kasey Kahne, Toyota, 46.312 194.334
5) #14-Tony Stewart, Chevy, 48.165 186.858
6) #24-Jeff Gordon, Chevy, 48.744 184.638
7) #33-Clint Bowyer, Chevy, 48.923 183.963
8) #1-Jamie McMurray, Chevy, 48.937 183.910
9) #18-Kyle Busch, Toyota, 49.031 183.557
10) #99-Carl Edwards, Ford, 49.043 183.512
11) #42-Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevy, 49.053 183.475
12) #20-Joey Logano, Toyota, 49.087 183.348
13) #11-Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 49.132 183.180
14) #5-Mark Martin, Chevy, 49.140 183.150
15) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevy, 49.177 183.012
16) #2-Brad Keselowski,Dodge,49.264 182.689
17) #78-Regan Smith, Chevy, 49.268 182.674
18) #29-Kevin Harvick, Chevy, 49.298 182.563
19) #9-Marcos Ambros, Ford, 49.305 182.537
20) #22-Kurt Busch,Dodge, 49.306 182.534
21) #31-Jeff Burton, Chevy, 49.340 182.408
22) #27-Paul Menard, Chevy, 49.352 182.363
23) #16-Greg Biffle, Ford, 49.370 182.297
24) #39-Ryan Newman, Chevy, 49.410 182.149
25) #21-Trevor Bayne, Ford, 49.424 182.098
26) #60-Todd Bodine, Toyota, 49.519 181.748
27) #6-David Ragan, Ford, 49.590 181.488
28) #09-Bill Elliott, Chevy, 49.620 181.378
29) #43-AJ Allmendinger, Ford, 49.687 181.134
30) #48-Jimmie Johnson, Chevy, 49.706 181.065
31) #36-Dave Blaney, Chevy, 49.739 180.945
32) #17-Matt Kenseth, Ford, 49.752 180.897
33) #13-Casey Mears, Toyota, 49.874 180.455
34) #77-Steve Wallace, Toyota, 50.036 179.870

Daytona Pre-Season Testing Times - Thursday's Early Session

Clint Bowyer was fastest during Thursday's early session

Daytona Testing - Day 1, morning: testing at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, January 20th, Day 1, Session 1, the final speeds of the session, looked like all single car runs:
1) #33 Clint Bowyer, Chevy, 48.855, 184.219
2) #24 Jeff Gordon, Chevy, 48.945, 183.880
3) #5-Mark Martin, Chevy, 49.079, 183.378
4) #1-Jamie McMurray, Chevy, 49.146, 183.128
5) #42-Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevy, 49.181, 182.997
6) #2-Brad Keselowski Dodge 49.204, 182.912
7) #99-Carl Edwards, Ford, 49.263, 182.693
8) #20-Joey Logano , Toyota, 49.279, 182.634
9) #31-Jeff Burton, Chevy, 49.287, 182.604
10) #27-Paul Menard, Chevy, 49.294, 182.578
11) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevy, 49.330, 182.445
12) #11-Denny Hamlin , Toyota, 49.341, 182.404
13) #18-Kyle Busch , Toyota, 49.376, 182.275
14) #22-Kurt Busch Dodge 49.387, 182.234
15) #16-Greg Biffle, Ford, 49.390, 182.223
16) #39-Ryan Newman, Chevy, 49.409, 182.153
17) #09-Bill Elliott, Chevy, 49.409, 182.153
18) #29-Kevin Harvick, Chevy, 49.410, 182.149
19) #21-Trevor Bayne, Ford, 49.484, 181.877
20) #6-David Ragan, Ford, 49.528, 181.715
21) #14-Tony Stewart, Chevy, 49.573, 181.550
22) #78-Regan Smith, Chevy, 49.628, 181.349
23) #83-Brian Vickers , Toyota, 49.668, 181.203
24) #60-Todd Bodine , Toyota, 49.688, 181.130
25) #9-Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 49.744, 180.926
26) #48-Jimmie Johnson, Chevy, 49.750, 180.905
27) #00-David Reutimann , Toyota, 49.762, 180.861
28) #4-Kasey Kahne , Toyota, 49.781, 180.792
29) #43-AJ Allmendinger, Ford, 49.845, 180.560
30) #17-Matt Kenseth, Ford, 49.850, 180.542
31) #13-Casey Mears , Toyota, 49.933, 180.242
32) #56-Martin Truex Jr. , Toyota, 49.971 180.104
33) #77-Steve Wallace, Toyota, 50.418, 178.508

Drivers Announced For 2011 Daytona PRESEASON THUNDER

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Daytona 500 champions Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are among the drivers that will appear at NASCAR Preseason Thunder Fan Fest at historic Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, Jan. 20 and Friday, Jan. 21.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will take to the new asphalt at Daytona International Speedway in a three-day test session, known as NASCAR Preseason Thunder, Thursday, Jan. 20 through Saturday, Jan. 22.

Tickets for NASCAR Preseason Thunder Fan Fest are $20 and available by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com. 2011 Daytona 500 ticketholders and children 12 and under will receive free admission. Advanced reservations are available (limited to 250 people) for special autograph sessions to be held with participating 2010 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers and Daytona 500 champions. Additional driver autograph sessions will be held on both days with wristbands available the day of the event.

To request access to the special autograph sessions, race fans can call 1-800-PITSHOP or visit the Daytona International Speedway ticket office beginning on Saturday, Jan. 8 at 9 a.m.

In addition to viewing the on-track activity from the Sprint FANZONE, fans can watch each day’s testing at no cost from a section of the Oldfield Grandstands near Turn 4.

Drivers currently scheduled to make appearances on Thursday, Jan. 20 beginning at 6 p.m. are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski, David Ragan, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Martin Truex Jr. and Regan Smith.

Scheduled to appear on Friday, Jan. 21, during the 5-7 p.m. session are Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, David Reutimann, Casey Mears, Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Kevin Conway, Kyle Busch, Paul Menard and Ryan Newman. In the 7-9 p.m. session, drivers scheduled to appear are AJ Allmendinger, Brian Vickers, Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Marcos Ambrose and Matt Kenseth.

- Daytona International Speedway Press Release


SPEED-TV Coverage - all times listed eastern
9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (SPEED.com)
1 p.m. - 5 p.m. (SPEED.com)
5 p.m. - 7 p.m. (same-day delay) (SPEED)

Friday, Jan. 21
9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (SPEED.com)
1 p.m. - 2 p.m. (SPEED)
2 p.m. - 5 p.m. (SPEED.com)

Saturday, Jan. 22
9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (SPEED.com)
1 p.m. - 2 p.m. (SPEED)
2 p.m. - 5 p.m. (SPEED.com)

Las Vegas Hilton Super Book First To Release 2011 NASCAR Championship & Daytona 500 Odds

By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

The Las Vegas Hilton is the state leader in offering NASCAR odds 

It’s only been a month since Jimmie Johnson claimed his fifth straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship to close out the 2010 season, Christmas isn’t even here yet and the 2011 season opener at Daytona is still nearly two months away. However, the crew over at the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book hasn’t wasted any time and have posted odds on the Daytona 500 and the 2011 Season Championship before anyone else in the world.

Despite coming from behind to win the Championship in the final race last season, Jimmie Johnson is still a considerable 5-to-2 favorite to win his sixth straight title. His machine-like performance year after year in the crunch, with what figures to be the exact same team for 2011, makes him the easy choice.

Unlike years past, Johnson’s odds gap between his closest contenders isn’t as large. Denny Hamlin had the champ on the ropes, but couldn’t close it out in the final round. No one has stood toe to toe with the champ like that in any of the five title runs which is why Hamlin is the 6-to-1 second choice. Coming into the 2010 season, Hamlin was 10-to-1.

Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards figure to chase Jimmie Johnson again 

Also coming in at 6-to-1 is Carl Edwards who closed out 2010 with two straight wins after going 70 races without one. The Roush-Fenway team came on strong in the second half of the season and found the horsepower that had been eluding them on tracks that the team had typically done well at over the years. We saw last season how momentum carried over from the previous season with the Childress teams who came within 39 points of beating Johnson with Kevin Harvick. Edwards and the other Roush teams could be in a similar situation for 2011.

Harvick will have Budweiser on the hood of his No. 29 Chevy and is listed as the fourth favorite to win at 8-to-1 along with Kyle Busch. The only negative affect that could slow Harvick from repeating his 2010 form is that Childress has brought on a fourth team with Paul Menard. Perhaps it’s a mere coincidence, but none of the four Childress cars made the Chase in 2009. When Childress eliminated one team for the 2010 season, all three drivers made the Chase.

Kyle Busch is the driver many point to as the one who could overtake Johnson, but the main component in Johnson’s success is something Busch has yet to figure out, consistency. Busch had three wins in 2010 with 10 top-five finishes, but couldn’t put together strong runs for long stretches at a time like Johnson, Harvick and Hamlin did all season, a story that has seemed to plague Busch for his entire career.

Jeff Gordon has gone 65 races without a win, but his consistency throughout gives him immense respect with the Hilton which is why he is 10-to-1. Last season he was fourth in the series with 11 top-five finishes. Coming into this season Gordon has quite a few changes that could lead to improvements. Not only will Dupont only be the primary sponosr for just 14 races this season, but in the Hendrick Motorsports crew shuffle, Gordon gets Alan Gustafson who worked with Mark Martin and Kyle Busch in the past.

Jamie McMurray and Dale Earnhardt Jr could be nice long shots

An interesting long shot choice is Jamie McMurray at 40-to-1 who had three wins with 9 top-five finishes in 2010. The horsepower is there, as is McMurray’s ability, but much like Busch, couldn’t put together a string of good runs.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is listed at 50-to-1 and gets an early boost with a fresh face overseeing the No. 88 car with Steve Letarte taking over crew chief duties. At no time in Junior’s career has his pre-season championship odds been as high as they are this year. The main positive for the No. 88 team this year is sharing garages with Johnson’s team. Ever since Johnson came into the series, it was Gordon’s team that shared garages with the No. 48. Letarte won’t even have to change his office with the switch and has a great relationship with Chad Knaus. Because of information being shared more due to the close proximity, look for Junior to have his best season while at HMS.

The Las Vegas Hilton Super Book has become the clear leader in Las Vegas for auto racing odds. Not only do they offer a multitude of weekly propositions for each Cup race, but they also carry the weekly Nationwide and Camping World Series odds as well. In addition to NASCAR, the Hilton also offers weekly Indy Racing and Formula-1 odds, a package of odds that no sports book in the state offers.

Odds to win 2011 Sprint Cup Championship
Jimmie Johnson 5/2
Denny Hamlin 6/1
Carl Edwards 6/1
Kevin Harvick 8/1
Kyle Busch 8/1
Jeff Gordon 10/1
Greg Biffle 10/1
Tony Stewart 12/1
Matt Kenseth 12/1
Clint Bowyer 18/1
Kurt Busch 18/1
Mark Martin 20/1
Joey Logano 30/1
Jeff Burton 30/1
Juan Pablo Montoya 30/1
Kasey Kahne 40/1
Jamie McMurray 40/1
Ryan Newman 50/1
Brian Vickers 50/1
David Reutimann 50/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 50/1
A.J. Allmendinger 100/1
Martin Truex Jr. 100/1
Paul Menard 100/1
David Ragan 100/1
Brad Keselowski 300/1
Marcos Ambrose 500/1
Field (All Others) 100/1

Odds to Win 2011 Daytona 500
Jimmie Johnson 10/1
Denny Hamlin 15/1
Carl Edwards 15/1
Kyle Busch 8/1
Jeff Gordon 12/1
Greg Biffle 30/1
Kevin Harvick 6/1
Tony Stewart 8/1
Matt Kenseth 30/1
Clint Bowyer 12/1
Kurt Busch 15/1
Mark Martin 20/1
Joey Logano 20/1
Jeff Burton 25/1
Juan Pablo Montoya 20/1
Kasey Kahne 30/1
Jamie McMurray 10/1
Ryan Newman 30/1
Brian Vickers 30/1
David Reutimann 30/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 12/1
A.J. Allmendinger 40/1
Martin Truex Jr. 30/1
Paul Menard 30/1
David Ragan 30/1
Brad Keselowski 50/1
Marcos Ambrose 601
Regan Smith 100/1
Bobby Labonte 100/1
Field (All Others) 25/1

Test Session Confirms Goodyear Tire Compound for 2011 Daytona 500

Trevor Bayne, Brad Keselowski and Jeff Burton Test Tires at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 16, 2010) – As sunshine warmed Daytona International Speedway’s new racing surface on Thursday, so did the expectations and excitement levels for the 53rd Daytona 500 on Feb. 20.

Thursday marked the second day of a two-day Goodyear tire test in preparation both for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ traditional season-opening event and the track’s new asphalt.

The repaving project – only the second in track history and first since 1978 – began immediately after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event on July 3 and ended last week. With this week’s test open to all series teams, a number took advantage, filling the frontstretch side of the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage with their haulers.

“I think it has gone really well,” said Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet). “Everybody is happy with the surface. The tire combination seems to be really good.”

“It's just a new attitude,” said Kurt Busch (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge). “This is what 2011 will bring to start off our Sprint Cup season. Big, exciting time. I'm proud to be able to say I got a chance to race on the surface when it was redone.”

Jeff Burton and Kurt Busch answer media questions

Busch and Burton, along with reigning Daytona 500 champion Jamie McMurray (No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) and Bobby Labonte (No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota) all visited the infield media center during Thursday’s lunch break. NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton, Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III and Goodyear Director of Racing Greg Stucker also participated in the midday press conference.

“Good communication all along between the folks here at Daytona, Joie, Goodyear, the race teams, the series directors, everybody that had input,” Pemberton said. “It's nice to know you can show up at one of these things, have so many different things that we faced and challenges over the last year to get ready for this. Looks like the plan came together nicely.”

Burton was heartened that Daytona’s repave – while cutting-edge – respected the venue. He cited the 2007 repave at another historic NASCAR venue, Darlington Raceway, as a positive example.

“It's much smoother, has a tremendous amount more grip, but it's still Daytona,” Burton said. “They didn't try to change the banking from the bottom to the top, do all that stuff. They just kept Daytona and put pavement on it. I'm glad that's what they did.”

Although the focus remains on the racing surface, McMurray noted details like a wider pit road.

“They did a really good job, not only on the racetrack, but widening pit road,” he said. “It's really nice to get that little bit of extra room on pit road. Pit road speeds are really fast when you come to [restrictor] plate tracks. Typically we have the smallest brakes on the car that we run all year long, so pit road is also trouble. So the fact they widened that 10 or 12 feet is really nice.”

Media and fan interest also is accelerated. A portion of Daytona’s grandstands was open for public viewing both Wednesday and Thursday and television cameras weren’t the only ones being wielded.

“It's real important,” Labonte said of public and media fanfare. “They have a section open for the fans. They can come down here and see us drafting. I'm sure they've got their cameras out showing video to their buddies now on who-knows-where it's all at. It's the first time we've been to the new facility. That's exciting.”

It’s worth noting that this week’s test was confirmation, not a search process. Stucker said a tight calendar meant Goodyear officials did the bulk of their compound research testing at Daytona’s sister track, Talladega Superspeedway, also the only other restrictor-plate track on NASCAR’s three national series’ calendars.
Drivers, teams and track and NASCAR officials all draw natural comparisons off Talladega, which was repaved prior to its fall 2006 event. The completion of a test asphalt strip at Daytona allowed Goodyear officials to gather additional data, which Stucker said was compared to August’s test results at Talladega.

“We're well into production for the 500,” Stucker said. “In fact, we're just about done. We've come down here and really confirmed that all those decisions we made were the right ones. Very glad to hear that all the guys are comfortable with our setup and really everything we've seen so far has been very good from our perspective, very consistent, a lot of good comments from the drivers.”

Chitwood said the repaving project only enhances the allure of the Daytona 500.

I think when we market Daytona, we market the fact that this is the biggest event we have on the calendar,” he said. “This is how you make NASCAR stars – you win the Daytona 500. It's going to be a great surface out there for all of them to put on a great show.”

NOTE: The next on-track activity for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be January’s three-day test at Daytona. The session, known as NASCAR Preseason Thunder, is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 20 through Saturday, Jan. 22. Sunday, Jan. 23 is the rain date.

Kurt Busch and Casey Mears during the test session

The 2011 edition of NASCAR Preseason Thunder will help teams further acclimate to the new pavement, plus speed their preparation for the 53rd Daytona 500 on Feb. 20.

All NASCAR Preseason Thunder sessions begin at 9 a.m. and end at 5 p.m., weather permitting. Each includes a lunch break from noon until 1 p.m.

Attending media will have daily interview opportunities in the media center.

Fans seeking to rev up their new year can do so at the NASCAR Preseason Thunder Fan Fest at Daytona – the companion event to the January test. Along with watching NASCAR Preseason Thunder track activity, fans can enjoy three Fan Fest sessions in Dayton’s Sprint FANZONE – from 5-7 p.m., and 7-9 p.m., on Friday, Jan. 21 and from 5-7 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 22.

Driver question-and-answer and autograph sessions are planned. Fans also can watch each day’s testing at no cost, beginning at 9 a.m.

- NASCAR Press Release

2011 Daytona 500 and Sprint Cup Championship Odds From Las Vegas Posted This Weekend

We'll have a full layout of next years NASCAR odds this weekend from the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book who have become the clear leader in auto racing odds around town. Guess who will be favored to win the title? A much more difficult task will be guessing who is the favorite to win at Daytona.

Looking forward to hearing people's thoughts on who will win it all after witnessing such a great Chase for the Championship in 2010. Will Denny Hamlin be ready to take over, or is the sour defeat a lasting downer? Will Kyle Busch's Cup potential ever come to fruition, or will he continue to show up for only half the races? How about Carl Edwards; can he keep the late Chase momentum going and contend like he did in 2008?

All the clues to the answers won't be known until at least a quarter of the season has passed, but it's always fun to put your money where your mouth, or heart, is early to prove you knew it along.  

Hendrick Shuffles Crew Chiefs for the 24, 5 & 88; Cites Complacency

By David Caraviello
NASCAR.COM

Rick Hendrick knew the world would be watching when he brought Dale Earnhardt Jr. into his race organization and, before he retires, the championship car owner wants to give NASCAR's most popular driver every tool he can to try to win races and contend for a championship. This week brings another step in that process, as Earnhardt assumes the crew chief and the team that once supported Jeff Gordon.

As part of a massive personnel swap intended to bolster his entire organization, Earnhardt will now work with Steve Letarte, whose crew chiefed Gordon for the past five seasons and never missed a Chase. Gordon will be paired with Alan Gustafson, who was previously Mark Martin's crew chief, while Martin will work with Lance McGrew, who for most of the past two years was teamed with Earnhardt.

Only Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus, who together have won the past five championships in NASCAR's premier division, will remain together. It's more of a driver change than a crew chief change -- Hendrick said the people at the shops will all remain the same, the only differences being the driver, car number, and sponsor. Which means that Earnhardt, 25th and 21st in points the past two years, will be inserted into the group that had been working around Gordon.

"When your confidence is shaken and you just get to the point where you need something to give you that feeling you can do it, and you've got faith in the guy you're working with, sometimes the frustration sets in and it just can't work," Hendrick said Wednesday. "That doesn't mean Dale wasn't a good driver, or Lance wasn't a good crew chief. It just got to the point where it wasn't working, and we needed to do something different. I've seen this many, many times, you make a switch and you get a new lease on life and everybody gets excited."

But Hendrick was quick to point out that these moves weren't made for Earnhardt's sake, rather to bolster an organization that had grown somewhat stagnant despite winning its fifth consecutive title. He began thinking about making changes following the recent Sprint Cup race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, after which he called crew chiefs and engineers together for a meeting that lasted three hours. In it, Hendrick quoted Winston Churchill: "It's not enough to do what's best. Sometimes you have to do what's required."

And what was required were changes. Hendrick admits his team fell behind after NASCAR moved from the rear wing to the spoiler. The organization's cars simply weren't as good as they had been in 2009, when Johnson led Martin and Gordon in a Hendrick sweep of the top three points positions. The result was a reshaping at Hendrick, which will now have the Nos. 48 and 88 teams working out of one building, and the Nos. 24 and 5 out of another. The Johnson and Gordon teams had been joined at the hip since the No. 48 team's founding.

"I think, in a nutshell, our whole organization after last year winning the championship and finishing 1-2-3 in the points ... we just got complacent, and other teams were stronger, and we were not where we needed to be," said Hendrick, who officially announced the changes Tuesday afternoon.

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