Driver Chassis Selections at Talladega: Earnhardt Jr and Patrick using Daytona 500 cars

Danica Patrick is using her Daytona 500 chassis this week at Talladega

#2-Brad Keselowski: Primary Chassis: PRS-649. Last Raced: Talladega 1. Backup Chassis: PRS-648. Last Raced: Superspeedway backup.

#5-Kasey Kahne: Crew chief Kenny Francis has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-768 for Sunday's race at Talladega. Kahne has driven this chassis three times this season and all at restrictor-plate venues. In February, he posted the sixth-fastest time during Daytona 500 qualifying and followed up that effort with a second-place result in the second Budweiser Duel. In May, Kahne qualified 10th in this car at Talladega. 

#9-Marcos Ambrose: The No. 9 team will bring chassis No. 836 this weekend. The team worked on the chassis after posting a 14th-place finish earlier this season at Talladega.

#10-Danica Patrick: Chassis No. 10-758: This was a new car for 2013 that was wind-tunnel tested in January before being used by Patrick in the 55th Daytona 500. Patrick qualified the car on the pole with a speed of 196.434 mph and then started first and finished 17th in the first Budweiser Duel. She started on the pole and led five laps in the Daytona 500 before finishing eighth the best finish ever for a woman in the "Great American Race." The next on-track activity for Chassis 10-573 was during a Goodyear tire test April 16-17 at Daytona. Patrick last drove Chassis 10-758 in May at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, where Patrick started 23rd and finished 33rd after being involved in a late-race accident. Since then, the car has been rebuilt and wind-tunnel tested.

#12-Sam Hornish, Jr.: Primary Chassis: PRS-654. Last Raced: Daytona 1 (as No. 2 car) BK finished 4th.

#15-Clint Bowyer: Primary chassis No. 752 finished fourth in the July Daytona race and served as a backup for the Daytona 500 in February. Backup chassis No. 755 finished 11th in the Daytona 500.

#16-Greg Biffle: Primary Chassis: RK-852 Last ran Talladega finished 36th. Backup Chassis: RK-798 Last ran Daytona finished 17th.

#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Primary Chassis: RK- 830 last raced at Talladega- finished 13th. Backup Chassis: RK-799 - Last ran during Daytona test.

#22-Joey Logano: Primary Chassis: PRS-653. Last Raced: Daytona 1. Backup Chassis: PRS-651. Last Raced: Superspeedway backup

#27-Paul Menard: will pilot chassis No. 406 at Talladega Superspeedway. This No. 27 Chevrolet SS was previously run this season at Talladega in May and Daytona International Speedway in July. In addition, this chassis was tested at Daytona in January and April.

#29-Kevin Harvick: will pilot chassis No. 432 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in the Camping World RV Sales 500. This RCR-prepared machine is new to the No. 29 team lineup and will run its first competitive laps this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be using runner-up Daytona 500 chassis on Sunday.

#31-Jeff Burton: will race chassis No. 410 this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. This No. 31 Chevrolet will see its first race action after being tested by RCR teammate Austin Dillon at NASCAR Preseason Thunder at Daytona International Speedway in January.

#39-Ryan Newman: Chassis No. 39-606: Chassis 39-606 has six combined starts at the two restrictor-plate tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule three apiece at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. In its six previous starts, its best results have come at Daytona a pair of fifth-place finishes. Chassis 39-606 last saw action in July at the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona, where Newman was caught up in a multi-car wreck coming to the checkered flag but was able to score a solid 10th-place finish. Since then, Chassis 39-606 has undergone repairs and visited the wind tunnel in preparation for Sunday's Camping World RV Sales 500.

#43-Aric Almirola:: The No. 43 team has prepared chassis No. 780. They posted a top-10 finish with this chassis earlier this year at the Talladega Superspeedway.

#47-Bobby Labonte: Chassis 706: "We are bringing chassis number 706," crew chief Brian Burns said. "It is only our second race with this car. We raced it in the second Daytona race."

#48-Jimmie Johnson: will drive a chassis No. 764 at Talladega. Chassis No. 756 serves as the backup.

#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: This weekend at Talladega, crew chief Steve Letarte and the No. 88 team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-773. This is the same chassis Earnhardt raced to a second-place finish in February at the 2013 Daytona 500 and to an eighth-place finish at Daytona in July. He also raced this chassis at Talladega in May.

#99-Carl Edwards: Primary: RK- 797 last ran at Daytona 500. Backup: RK 835 last ran at Talladega.

- compiled by Jayski.com

Tony Stewart Grabs Texas Pole; First Cup Pole Since Martinsville in 2005

by Sporting News Wire Service

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Tony Stewart and the Coors Light Pole award rarely belong in the same sentence.

Stewart, however, defied his self-proclaimed status as a poor qualifier Friday by winning the pole for Sunday's Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, breaking a drought of 155 races.

Turning a lap at the 1.5-mile track in 28.224 seconds (191.327 mph), Stewart edged another surprise front-row starter, Sam Hornish Jr., who posted the second-fastest speed at 191.232 mph. The pole is the 11th of Stewart's Cup career, which began in 1999.

Greg Biffle (190.900 mph) qualified third, four-time defending Cup champion and current points leader Jimmie Johnson (190.880 mph) qualified fourth, and Kasey Kahne -- the week's big newsmaker thanks to his announced move from Richard Petty Motorsports to Hendrick Motorsports -- nailed down the fifth starting spot with a lap at 190.712 mph.

"I'm surprised," confessed Stewart, who will make his 400th start in the Cup Series on Sunday. "I'm not really much of a qualifier, but it shows what [crew chief] Darian Grubb and all the guys at Stewart-Haas ... how hard the work they've been doing, and [this is] the result."

Stewart was the 23rd driver to make a qualifying attempt, but he didn't think the relatively late draw gave him a significant advantage.

"It seems like the track cools down a lot during the session, and everybody worries about where you draw for your run," Stewart said. "We picked up time from practice, which was good, obviously, but it didn't seem like the conditions changed a lot [Friday], which was unusual."

If Stewart chooses the inside lane to start the race, Hornish will start directly in front of Johnson, who seldom misses an opportunity to recall his wreck at Texas during the Chase last fall. Contact from Hornish's Dodge sent Johnson's Chevrolet spinning into the inside wall.

Read More Here....

Kurt Busch Fastest in first New Hampshire Practice

by M Roberts

Kurt Busch led the first practice on for Friday’s only session prior to qualifying for Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire. Busch, last years New Hampshire winner in a rain shortened race, came in with the fastest a lap of 130.667 mph at the very end of the practice session.

Most of the teams came in with a race setup to start the afternoon and then in the final thirty minutes rolled out with their qualifying trim. Prior to the qualifying setup, Busch was fast as well along with Penske racing teammate Sam Hornish Jr.

Hornish finished with the 13th fastest lap overall, but was very fast in race trim which goes along with his success at the similar tracks of Phoenix and Richmond where Hornish is the only driver other than Mark Martin and Tony Stewart to finish in the top 10 in each of those races this year.

Kyle Busch came out fired up and laid down an early fast lap in race trim and continued so throughout the practice. The Richmond winner looks to be equally ready for this week as he was for that race.

Jimmie Johnson has always been good on these type of tracks, but struggled in practice until he put on qualifying trim. Johnson had the fourth fastest lap overall, but struggled earlier despite running the most laps in practice with 61 laps run.

Tony Stewart came out full throtle with the second fastest lap in practice early, but then he had to go to a backup car after crushing his rear into the wall. He’ll be using a backup car, but the backup car has race experience on these types of tracks finishing second at Phoenix. He’ll be fine on race day for sure!

Before qualifying setup came into play, the best looks to be Kyle Busch. Ryan Newman, and Tony Stewart.

It appears that qualifying will be wiped by rain in New Hampshire, so Saturday’s practice session will give further clarification on who looks sharp for Sunday’s race. I’ll update then.

Friday Practice for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway:
1) #2-Busch 130.667
2) #00-Reutimann 130.011
3) #42-Montoya 129.967
4) #48-Johnson 129.927
5) #43-Sorenson 129.900

slowest: #27-Christopher 124.033 and #51-Bean 125.442
incidents: #14-Stewart smacked the turn 2 wall hard and did a lot of damage to the rear of the car and will go to a backup car, but since it is before qualifying, he will not have to go to the rear. #5-Martin got in the marbles and scraped the turn 3-4 wall and spun around, no serious damage.