Robby Gordon Motorsports has signed Kevin Conway and ExtenZe Racing to pilot RGM’s No. 7 Sprint Cup Toyota for the remainder of the season, according to FoxSports.com.

Conway will pilot the RGM Toyota starting with this weekend’s Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Team owner Robby Gordon said:

We are excited to have ExtenZe Racing and Kevin Conway join Robby Gordon Motorsports. This is an excellent opportunity for everyone involved, and I am excited to have Kevin behind the wheel of the No. 7. I hope that we will be able help Kevin bring home the Rookie of the Year Award while expanding our team and his on-track experience.

 Conway added:

I am thrilled to finally be able to announce our signing with Robby Gordon Motorsports. The Bristol race a couple weekends ago came together very late and gave everyone just a quick peek at what was possibly to come. Now that everything is in place I can’t wait to take to the track this weekend in Atlanta in the No. 7 ExtenZe Racing Toyota.

Conway started the season with Front Row Motorsports in the No. 37 car. He struggled to keep the car in the top 35 in owner’s points. Team owner Bob Jenkins had to change car numbers a few times to keep Conway in the top 35.

Conway was rumored to be on thin ice at FRM and rumors indicated that he would be replaced, with ExtenZe staying with FRM. ExtenZe issued a statement shortly thereafter reiterating their commitment to Conway.

FRM replaced Conway with Tony Raines. Conway then started a race for RGM. It was then reported that RGM was working to keep Conway for the rest of the season.

Related posts:

1. RGM Working To Keep Conway For Rest Of Season
2. Conway On Thin Ice At Front Row Motorsports?
3. FRM Announces Sprint Cup Lineup Changes

Regan Smith has signed a two-year contract extension with Furniture Row Racing, FoxSports.com is reporting. The deal puts Smith in the No. 78 Sprint Cup Chevy through the 2012 season.

Joe Garone, of FRR, said:

This continues to show the commitment we have to achieving our goals in Sprint Cup. We feel like Regan is a good fit for Furniture Row and Denver Mattress as well as an up-and-coming talent in NASCAR. He continues to get better and he’s a great personality.

Garone also added that the team hopes to expand to a two-car operation in the future.

Related posts:

1. Smith Injures Thumb In Multi-Car Wreck At Infineon
2. FRR Announces Crew Chief Change
3. Furniture Row Racing Hires 2, Promotes 1

Kyle Busch held off David Reutimann and Jamie McMurray to win the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. With the win, Busch made NASCAR history, becoming the first driver to sweep three NASCAR national touring events at the same track in the same race weekend.  The win is Busch’s third this season.

Top 5: Busch, Reutimann, McMurray, Clint Bowyer, and Kasey Kahne.

Ryan Newman, Juan Montoya, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top 10.

Notables: Jeff Gordon (11th), Carl Edwards (12th), Dale Earnhardt Jr (13th), Kevin Harvick (14th), Jeff Burton (15th), Martin Truex Jr (17th), Mark Martin (23rd), Tony Stewart (27th), Elliott Sadler (29th), Denny Hamlin (34th), and Jimmie Johnson (35th). 

Around lap 262, Jimmie Johnson, who led 175 laps to that point, was racing with Juan Montoya down the backstretch. The two made contact, sending Johnson spinning into the turn 3 wall. Johnson went to the garage for repairs and finished 35th.

About halfway through the race, Denny Hamlin broke a drive shaft, which required repairs inthe garage. He finished 34th.

Tony Stewart was also running in the top 5 when Regan Smith spun in front of him. Stewart slowed to avoid hitting him, and Tony Raines ran into the back of him, damaging his car. Stewart spent time on pit road getting repairs, but never had a competitive car after the contact. He finished 27th.

Related posts:

1. McMurray Completes Trifecta For Ganassi At Brickyard
2. Busch Makes It Five Out Of Seven For JGR
3. Johnson Earns First Career Win At Bristol

Brian Vickers revealed that he had surgery to close a hole in his heart earlier this year, but said he fully expects to be back in a Sprint Cup car by the start of the 2011 season.

After he was found to have blood clots in May that sidelined him for the rest of the season, Vickers said that doctors began to search for causes. They focused on his heart because a clot was found in one of the fingers on his left hand.

Vickers said:

The only way for a clot to get there was through my heart, from the right atrium to the left atrium. It’s a hole between the two atriums. Surprisingly enough, it’s pretty common. About 25 percent of people have this hole. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to diagnose and very intrusive to diagnose.

Doctors also confirmed, during the surgery that Vickers is a candidate for May-Thurner Syndrome, which Vickers said:

[is] basically where a vein and an artery pinch. It slows the blood flow down in that region. It’s very difficult to diagnose that issue without being intrusive. So we had both of those decisions out there that might have been part of the cause. Obviously, it wasn’t the entire cause, because that’s something you’re born with, and I spent most of my life without clots.

Vickers had heart surgery in July at Charlotte Medical Center. He also had a stent placed in a vein in his left leg, a day after heart surgery. He said that no more surgeries are scheduled and he will be evaluated this week.

Vickers is still taking blood thinners and clot-blocking drugs, and will continue to do so through the remainder of this year. But, he cleared the genetic blood testing and has received a clean bill of health.

Vickers said:

My chances right now of having a clot, when I come off Coumadin, are no higher than anyone else in the garage. So I’m as good or better than I was a year ago, from that standpoint.

With this news, Red Bull Racing will face a decision on whether they will field a third Toyota next season to accomodate the addition of Kasey Kahne, or replace Scott Speed with Kahne and continue to run as a two-car team.

RBR General Manager Jay Frye said the team is still evaluating Speed, but they would like to see improvement.

Related posts:

1. Kahne To Red Bull Racing In 2011?
2. Sorenson To Replace Vickers In BR’s No. 32 In N’Wide Series
3. Report: Vickers To Miss Remainder of Season

NASCAR announced yesterday the 2011 schedule for its three national series, highlighted by several key changes for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said:

The adjustments and realignment of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule will make for an exciting race season next year. The revised schedule provides better situated dates for the tracks, a more challenging lineup for the drivers and ultimately more intrigue for the fans.

One of those changes comes early, as the second race of the season will be held at Phoenix International Raceway on Feb. 27, a week after the season-opening Daytona 500. PIR replaces Auto Club Speedway in Week 2. Texas Motor Speedway fills in the vacated Phoenix spot on Saturday, April 9 for what will be an exciting night race in the Lone Star State.

Southern California’s Auto Club Speedway will now run its race date on March 27, providing the track and its fans an optimum point in the schedule.

The series’ 36-race schedule will feature two realigned events. A second Kansas Speedway date follows the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and will be held on Sunday, June 5. And for the first time in a decade the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series realigns to a new track with a race at Kentucky Speedway. The Kentucky race will be held under the lights on Saturday, July 9.

The 2011 “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup” – consisting of the season’s last 10 races, during which the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship is decided – will begin at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 18.

Chicagoland’s previous race date was in early July, a slot that went to the realigned event at Kentucky. New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which previously had the first Chase date, will now have the second, on Sept. 25.

Sprint Cup Schedule

Changes are highlighted in yellow.

* New to Sprint Cup Schedule

# New to Chase

Also released today were the 2011 schedule for the NASCAR Nationwide Series, highlighted by a second race at Iowa and Chicagoland speedways, and the 2011 schedule for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, which will see nine races moved to different dates on the calendar.

All three national series – NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – will begin their seasons at Daytona International Speedway’s “Speedweeks,” with a weekend culminated by the Daytona 500. The traditional “non-points” Budweiser Shootout at Daytona will provide fans a NASCAR Sprint Cup preview, on Saturday night, Feb. 12, followed by qualifying for the “Great American Race” to be held on Sunday, Feb. 13.

All three series will end their seasons with another tradition – Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Nov. 18-20.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series will consist of 34 races, all featuring the new car that is being run a total of four times this season.

Iowa Speedway, which joined the schedule in 2009, receives a second date in 2011. The series will visit the Newton, Iowa, facility for the first time on Sunday, May 22 and return on Saturday, Aug. 6.

A new date has been added at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday, June 4. The series returns on Saturday, Sept. 17 as part of a NASCAR national series tripleheader featuring the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday, Sept. 18 and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Friday, Sept. 16.

Last season’s successful inaugural event at the Road America road course in Wisconsin returns in 2011 on Saturday, June 25, the weekend before the Friday, July 1 race at Daytona International Speedway.

A previous stand-alone event at Kentucky Speedway now will be part of the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup/NASCAR Nationwide Series weekend on Friday, July 8.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series will be paired with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on three weekends, at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, April 23 and Saturday, July 23 and at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis on Saturday, July 30.

The 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will consist of 25 races, one of which will be announced at a future date.

Phoenix International Raceway, which traditionally hosted the penultimate race in November, will host the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Friday, Feb. 25.

Darlington Raceway, which returned to the schedule in 2010 after an absence of six years, moves from August to Saturday, March 12.

Michigan International Speedway’s truck race, previously held in June, will accompany its late-summer NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday, Aug. 20.

Two additional date shifts in the fall have stand-alone events at Kentucky Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, moving a month later on the schedule. The series races at Kentucky on Saturday, Oct. 1 followed by Las Vegas on Saturday, Oct. 15.

Nationwide Series Schedule

Changes are highlighted in yellow.

 Camping World Truck Series Schedule

Note: One additional date to be added to schedule.

Changes are highlighted in yellow.

Related posts:

1. AMS Will Only Host One NASCAR Racing Weekend In 2011
2. Gateway Will Not Host Any NASCAR Races In 2011
3. SMI Officially Requests Kentucky Be Added To Cup Schedule

Richard Petty Motorsports announced today that Marcos Ambrose will drive the team’s No. 9 car in 2011, replacing the departing Kasey Kahne, who is leaving to drive for Red Bull Racing in 2011 while he waits for a seat to open up at Hendrick Motorsports.

Ambrose will be sponsored by Stanley Black & Decker, which was rumored to be leaving to team to follow Elliott Sadler to another team. Sadler announced last month that he was leaving the team at season’s end. There have been reports that RPM is interested in bringing him back, though.

Kahne announced in April that he signed a deal with Hendrick Motorsports in 2012. But, because HMS has four drivers under contract for 2011, Kahne was left without a ride.

Speculation began that Mark Martin would be asked to step aside so that Kahne could drive the No. 5 in 2011. Martin maintained that he would be in the No. 5 next season, leading to speculation and rumors about where Kahne would end up. He signed a one-year deal with RBR last week.

Last month, Ambrose also announced that he was leaving  JTG Daugherty Racing at season’s end. At that time, he was instantly linked to RPM and the seat Kahne was vacating. Bobby Labonte was announced as Ambrose’s replacement at JTG.

With this news, RPM has two drivers under contract for 2011. Sadler is still looking to leave the team, and Paul Menard left the team to join Richard Childress Racing.

AJ Allmendinger signed a contract extension with RPM earlier this summer.

Team owner Richard Petty said:

Ambrose said:

Stanley Tools said:

Related posts:

1. Almirola To Richard Petty Motorsports In 2011?
2. Report: Allmendinger Signs Extension With RPM
3. RCR To Field Fourth Chevy With Menard As Driver?

Richard Childress Racing announced today that Budweiser will sponsor the team’s No. 29 Sprint Cup entry and driver Kevin Harvick in 2011, replacing Shell Pennzoil, which is leaving the team to sponsor Penske Racing and Kurt Busch.

Ever since Kasey Kahne announced that he signed a contract with Hendrick Motorsports, there was speculation that Budweiser would leave Richard Petty Motorsports. Harvick and RCR were one of the first teams linked to Budweiser. HMS was also rumored to have had discussions with Budweiser about a sponsorship opportunity.

But, as time went on, the rumors began focusing solely on Harvick and RCR. Earlier this month, Marty Smith wrote in his Door 2 Door column:

Sources tell me Harvick will have a split sponsorship on the No. 29 in 2011, and Budweiser will be on the car in the majority of points races, as well as the two exhibition events.

Budweiser will sponsor the No. 29 in 20 points-paying races and the Bud Shootout and the All Star race.

Harvick said:

Budweiser is one of the most respected sponsors in our sport. They do a lot to market their teams and the sport in television broadcasts and away from the track. I’m looking forward to driving the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, taking it to Victory Lane and winning championships.

Team owner Richard Childress added:

Throughout his career, Kevin has shown he can win at any level in NASCAR. Combining his talent with Budweiser’s NASCAR lineage and proven track record of innovative sponsorship activations makes this an exciting pairing for fans everywhere. RCR prides itself on its heritage and authenticity, so working with a brand like Budweiser, which has built their reputation on those same values, is a very special opportunity.

Mark Wright of Anheuser-Busch said:

Budweiser’s involvement in NASCAR dates back more than three decades, and we’re excited to have as successful a driver as Kevin Harvick to usher in a new era for Budweiser. Kevin also benefits from having the support of a highly respected owner in Richard Childress and the great people of Richard Childress Racing, who will help put the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet in a position to challenge for Sprint Cup championships.

Related posts:

1. Report: Bud To RCR, Harvick Close To A Done Deal
2. Report: Allmendinger Signs Extension With RPM
3. Budweiser To Richard Childress Racing, Harvick?

A late tire gamble paid off for Kevin Harvick, helping him win the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The win locked him into this year’s Chase.

Harvick stayed out on old tires under the final caution, and he was able to pass then-leader Denny Hamlin with about 10 laps to go. He crossed the finish line nearly two seconds ahead of Hamlin to capture his third victory this season.

Top 5: Harvick, Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, and Matt Kenseth. 

Tony Stewart, Juan Montoya, Martin Truex Jr, Elliott Sadler, and Joey Logano rounded out the top 10.

Notables: David Ragan (11th), Jimmie Johnson (12th), Clint Bowyer (13th), Kasey Kahne (14th), David Reutimann (16th), Kyle Busch (18th), Dale Earnhardt Jr (19th), Jamie McMurray (20th), Ryan Newman (23rd), Jeff Burton (24th), Jeff Gordon (27th), Mark Martin (28th), and Kurt Busch (40th).

Kurt Busch lost an engine on lap 32. He finished 40th and fell six positions in points to 10th.

On lap 148, Joey Logano got loose inside of Ryan Newman in Turn 4. Logano bobbled and drifted up the track into Newman’s left read quarter panel. Newman went around but managed to keep it off the wall.

After the race, Newman confronted Logano. The discussion didn’t appeared heated, but Newman was not pleased with Logano’s actions on the track. Newman said that he was “racing for points,” indicating that Logano should have more respect.

Logano lightly touched Newman. Newman gave Logano a light shove telling him, “Don’t touch me.”

After the exchange Logano said:

I tried to talk to him about it. But, I don’t know. I didn’t get [anywhere]. 

Jeff Gordon cut a tire around lap 153 and hit the wall. He damaged his race car and finished 27th.

Mark Martin also had problems. He scraped the wall while racing with Carl Edwards and damaged his race car, leading to handling problems. He finished 28th and fell out of the Chase.

Related posts:

1. Harvick Wins Wreck-Filled Coke Zero 400 At Daytona
2. Keselowski Wins Aaron's 499
3. Busch Dominates Food City 500

With Kasey Kahne headed to Red Bull Racing in 2011 while he waits for Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 Sprint Cup Chevy to become available in 2012, several people are wondering what each side gets out of the deal.

For HMS, it’s pretty obvious: they couldn’t let Kahne miss a year, nor could they afford to put him on a team without the resources to field a competitive car consistently. Stewart Haas Racing probably made the most sense from that standpoint. SHR is a competitive team with Hendrick affiliation.

But, any deal with SHR would have been contingent on HMS finding sponsorship for Kahne. For a driver with the marketability and driving talent of Kahne, that shouldn’t have been too hard. But, in today’s economic climate, finding sponsorship for any driver is no easy task. And, when you add in the deadline given by SHR (about two months after Kahne’s signing), there was no realistic way for them to get a deal done in time. (I don’t think a sponsor would sign on with Kahne without knowing what team he’d be driving for.)

I also can’t imagine SHR expanding to three teams before Tony Stewart feels comfortable with the idea. Stewart has maintained that his organization would not expand in 2011. With Old Spice leaving the team at season’s end, and Ryan Newman’s car looking for sponsorship to fill out the 2011 season, Stewart had to make securing sponsorship for his existing cars a priority. And, what sense does it make to expand to three cars when you don’t have two fully sponsored?

Once SHR was eliminated from the equation, there weren’t very many options left. Phoenix Racing was the only other Hendrick-affiliated team out there. But, rumors of the team shutting down at the end of the season probably hurt their chances of landing Kahne. It also may have been hard to secure sponsorship without a guarantee that the car would be competitive.

Unable to get Kahne into a Hendrick-affiliated car, HMS had no choice but to look elsewhere. The only competitive team with a potential vacancy was Red Bull Racing. So, they weighed the options and determined that RBR was the best place for Kahne. RBR is relatively competitive – or they were with Brian Vickers – and they have a short team need that coincides well with Kahne’s short term availability. They also had a fully sponsored ride available.

HMS also didn’t have to force Mark Martin — a fan favorite — out of the car. They could honor his contract and keep him relatively happy for the rest of the season.

For Red Bull Racing, the deal makes sense. They don’t know for sure if Brian Vickers will be back, and they have a decision to make on Scott Speed. With two potential vacancies and a limited number of drivers available next season, they weren’t likely to find a driver better than Kahne. So, with an opportunity to land him – if even for one year – they had to take it.

Kahne knows what it takes to win and be a winning team. RBR wants Kahne to help get their program back on track. They hope that he can provide insight into what the team needs to do be a winner. They want him to essentially tell them what they’re doing wrong.

Back when the team had AJ Allmendinger, they brought in Mike Skinner to fill in for five races or so to point out flaws in the team and help them improve. They’re hoping Kahne can do the same thing, and they think that an entire season should be plenty of time for him to help turn them around. By signing Kahne, they’re not only hoping to improve on the track, but off of it as well.

For his part, Kahne gets to drive a competitive car – or at least a car that is more competitive than the other options out there. He also gets to have fun. When he heads over to HMS in 2012, there will be high expectations, and the pressure to perform. At RBR there is virtually no pressure.

RBR is struggling, and seems to have taken a step back. If Kahne posts top 15 finishes, that would be considered an improvement. And, considering that the team is not expected to seriously contend for a championship, he can race without the burden of worrying about points. He may need to worry about staying in the top 35 in points, at least at the beginning of the season, if the team falls out by season’s end. But, he won’t need to worry about making the Chase.

That’s not to say that he will not try to make the Chase. I think he’ll try. But if he doesn’t, it’s not a big deal because he’s gone at the end of the season.

I also suspect that Kahne will be looking at RBR’s Toyotas to see if there’s anything he can bring back to HMS that might help them be more competitive in 2012. I’m not saying that RBR is at the forefront of cutting edge technology and processes, but if they are doing something that gives them an advantage, I’m sure Kahne will bring that to HMS in 2012.

I can’t imagine that RBR didn’t think of that. But, it seems that they’re willing to risk it in exchange for Kahne’s insights and driving ability. To them, it may be a small price to pay.

All in all, the deal seems to make sense for all of those involved.

Related posts:

1. Kahne To Red Bull Racing In 2011?
2. HMS, Phoenix Racing In Talks For 2011 Ride For Kahne
3. Report: Harvick Re-signs With RCR

Kasey Kahne may be headed to Red Bull Racing in 2011, that according to the Charlotte Observer and ThatsRacin.com. Kahne would take over one of the team’s Toyotas as he awaits to jump into Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 Sprint Cup Chevy in 2010.

RBR may be in the market for two drivers next season, as rumors are surfacing that Scott Speed may be out at the end of the season. Brian Vickers’ status is also up in the air, as he recovers from blood clots that sidelined him for the season.

Mark Martin would continue to pilot the No. 5 in 2011, the final year of his contract with HMS. Ironically enough, Martin’s name has also been linked to RBR in recent weeks. But that was denied by Martin’s representatives and RBR GM Jay Frye.

Frye would not confirm or deny whether his organization has had discussions with Kahne or Hendrick Motorsports. Frye said:

Kasey is under contract with Hendrick Motorsports next year. That is a question for Hendrick. 

Sources said that the deal is not complete, however. Still, they say that this is the most viable option for Kahne.

HMS and Kahne representatives have declined to comment.

Kahne was signed by HMS earlier this year, despite having a full stable of drivers under contract for next season. Since then, rumors have persisted of where Kahne, whose contract with Richard Petty Motorsports expires at season’s end, will end up in 2011.

Thus far, he has been linked to Phoenix Racing. But, that rumor was denied by James Finch, Phoenix Racing’s owner. He was also linked to Stewart Haas Racing, but the team said that there have been no discussions. He was also said to be considering staying at RPM for one more season.

Update: According to  SceneDaily, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed that Kahne would indeed drive for Red Bull Racing in 2011. It’s unclear at this time which car he would drive, as Brian Vickers’ health status is unknown, and the team has not decided whether or not it will keep Scott Speed in its second car.

Update 2: Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, issued a statment saying:

Kasey [Kahne] is going to a competitive organization that made the Chase last season and has great leadership and resources. Of everything we looked at, he and I agree it’s the best opportunity for him to be successful in 2011, which was always our number-one priority. The process went on longer than any of us anticipated, but I’m glad that we took our time to make sure it was right. And although I’m not looking forward to racing against him next year, I’m comfortable knowing this is the best situation for Kasey.

Related posts:

1. Kahne-RBR Deal Makes Sense For Everyone Involved
2. Is Mark Martin Headed To Red Bull Racing In 2011?
3. Finch Denies Talking With Hendrick About Kahne