Petty Locked Into Top-35
This weekend, Kyle Petty and the #45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge team will travel to the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway (HMS) for Sunday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season finale. By virtue of his finish at the Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway last weekend, Petty has secured a finish inside the top-35 in the NASCAR Nextel Cup owner point’s standings. He will be locked into the first five events of the 2008 season, including the 50th running of the Daytona 500. Having met this goal, Petty can head to HMS with nothing but racing on his mind. Petty has made five starts at HMS. His best finish came in the inaugural race in 1999 when he crossed the finish line in the seventh position.

“I told my team in Phoenix that we weren’t racing the entire field on Sunday. We just had to focus on beating the cars that we were racing for the top-35. Our cars had been great over the last several races, but we needed to finish the season strong. I’m really proud of how the guys responded. We’ve locked ourselves in to the first five races next year and that is a big relief.”

“Now we can go to Homestead and just race our tails off. We don’t have to be cautious or hold anything back. It’ll be kind of like the all-star race for us. Just go out there and let the rough side drag. You can have a lot of fun at Homestead when you get aggressive with the setup.”

“Sunday’s race is going to be a little bittersweet, man. It’s the last race with the ‘standard’ car. I’ve had some good runs of the years with this car in my career. And Petty Enterprises has made a lot of gains with our intermediate program with this car. Now these cars are obsolete. But with the new Dodge Avenger comes progress. The new car will be good for our sport.”

“There has been some talk over the last few years about taking the last race away from Homestead. I personally think it is a great place to end the season. In a perfect world, NASCAR would prefer to have five or six guys going into Homestead with a chance to win the championship. You want to put them on a track where they can show all of their talent. A track where they can walk away, win or lose, knowing that they gave it everything they had. A track where the finish is not influenced by someone else. Homestead has all of that.”

“It’s hard to believe that the next time we go to the track for a race weekend, it will be the 50th Daytona 500. Everyone always puts a lot of time and effort into the Daytona 500. There will be more than ever during this off-season. We will have a lot of eyes on us next year. Plus, the race will be run with the new car. Looking back over my career I can’t think of a more important winter than the one coming up.”

Kyle Busch Quits Late Model Race
Nextel Cup driver Kyle Busch took an unexpected early exit from a planned Super Late Model feature race late Saturday night at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Busch, who had to start from the rear of the field, had moved into a battle for second place with driver Shelby Thompson on Lap 96 of 150 when Thompson wrecked Busch.

Track spokesman Jeff Motley said track rules require all cars involved in a caution to restart at the rear of the field, but both drivers refused. Track officials halted the race and issued an ultimatum to both drivers - they could move to the rear of the field or leave the track. Thompson elected to move to the rear of the field, while Busch drove to the pits and quit the race. Busch soon took a helicopter ride to the Las Vegas airport and returned to Phoenix for Sunday's Cup race.

Busch ended up credited with a 19th-place finish, while Taylor Barton won the race and Thompson finished 17th. The 22-year-old Las Vegas native has already won Craftsman Truck and Busch series races at Phoenix this weekend.(sunherald.com)

Record Field For Shootout
The 2008 Budweiser Shootout field reached a milestone over the weekend when Carl Edwards captured the pole at Phoenix International Raceway and qualified for the 70-lap All-Star non-points race held on Saturday night, Feb. 9 at Daytona International Speedway. Edwards, who turned a lap of 27.114 seconds, 132.773 mph in his No. 99 Office Depot Ford to earn the pole for the Checker Auto Parts 500, became the 23rd driver eligible for next year’s Budweiser Shootout, which features the previous season’s pole winners as well as past Budweiser Shootout champions. The record for most starters in the Budweiser Shootout was 22, set back in 2002.

“I think if I did it 10 more times, I couldn’t go faster,” Edwards said of his qualifying run. “That’s all I can ask of my guys. They gave me a great race car.”

Besides Edwards, other drivers that have already won pole positions during the 2007 season and qualified for the Budweiser Shootout include David Gilliland, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, J.J. Yeley, Jamie McMurray, Dave Blaney, Casey Mears, Reed Sorenson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Michael Waltrip, Greg Biffle and Martin Truex Jr.

Among the past winners of the Budweiser Shootout eligible include 2007 Budweiser Shootout champion Tony Stewart, Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin, Ken Schrader and Bill Elliott. There will be one more opportunity for NEXTEL Cup Series drivers to earn a starting berth in the 2008 Budweiser Shootout and that will be during qualifying for this weekend’s Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Ward Burton Out In Final Race
Tim Morgan, President of Morgan-McClure Motorsports, Inc. (MMM), and Larry McClure, Team Manager announced today that Todd Bodine will drive the #4 State Water Heaters/Lucas Oil Chevrolet for Morgan McClure Motorsports in the final race of the season this weekend at Miami-Homestead Speedway.

Morgan stated, “Ward has worked hard for us this year, he is a good driver and a friend. Todd has been helpful to us in the past and has agreed to step in and help us benchmark our efforts as we get ready for the 2008 season.” Both Ward Burton and the MMM team have agreed that his change is the best way to fully evaluate the performance of the team. -- Morgan continued, “We are proud to have State Water Heaters back as a sponsor for our team next year. We are currently in the process of negotiating additional sponsorship and selecting a driver for the upcoming 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season.”

Erwin Crew Chief Of Race
Working tirelessly throughout the 312 laps of the Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil, Greg Erwin, No. 16 Dish Network Ford, showed why crew chiefs really do earn their keep. Erwin knew of the passing difficulties that all drivers have experienced with the Car of Tomorrow throughout the 2007 season. To compensate the passing problems, Erwin’s race strategy at Phoenix International Raceway would revolve around track position to give his driver, Greg Biffle, a chance at a solid finish. However, track position was not all Erwin ended up battling with, as the No. 16 Ford was also experiencing handling problems throughout the race. To his credit, Erwin soldiered through the problems and masterminded a path to the front for Biffle to give him a shot at a high placed finish. As the checkered flag waved, the team picked up their fifth top five win of the season after Biffle crossed the finish line in second place. For his hard work and never quit attitude, Erwin was awarded the WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.

Starting from seventh position, the No. 16 Ford experienced early handling problems. These problems, coupled with varying pit sequences, dropped Biffle as far back as 26th at one point in the race. However, through a variety of air pressure and wedge adjustments, Erwin eventually gave Biffle a car that was the fastest on the track. As a caution flag waved with 40 laps remaining, drivers entered pit road for what was possibly the last stop of the race. Erwin took a gamble, giving Biffle a speedy two-tire change to earn him valuable track position. Biffle soon made his way into the top five and was quickly cutting through the leaders. As Biffle motored toward the leader, time ran out; however, Erwin and Biffle had worked diligently to take home a solid finish.

A panel of judges, including a member of the local media, Robbie Reiser, Kenny Francis and a WYPALL* Wipers spokesmen, all agreed Erwin was a stand out in Phoenix and was a deserving winner. “Greg [Erwin] just never gave up today and just keep battling all race until he got it right,” said Reiser of Erwin’s race. “It just goes to show what a crew chief will go through to give his team a shot. He really put it together at the end as everybody could see they were catching the 48. It was really a great day for those guys and especially for Greg.”

As the WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race, Erwin received $1,000. Mike Ford is the current leader in the overall standings with five wins. Bob Osborne and Chad Knaus are currently second with fours wins. Robbie Reiser and Steve Letarte are third with three wins each, while Tony Eury Jr., Jimmy Elledge, Larry Carter and Donnie Wingo all have two wins apiece. Greg Erwin, Pat Tryson, Tony Gibson, Mike Nelson, Darian Grubb, Alan Gustafson, Chip Bolin and Ryan Pemberton each have one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most wins will receive $20,000 and be crowned WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Year.

Andretti Signs For Full Season
BAM Racing co-owner Tony Morgenthau says driver John Andretti will return for the full NASCAR Sprint Cup season in 2008. Andretti qualified the team's No. 49 car for 10 of 11 races before missing the show at both Texas and Phoenix. "John's no slouch," said Morgenthau, who co-owns the team with his wife, Beth Ann. "He's going to be with us next year."

The No. 49 car was sponsored by the Paralyzed Veterans of America this season, but the PVA announced it will join Petty Enterprises in 2008. Morgenthau said BAM left the company on the hood of the car for several more races than originally planned. "We could have run a blank car, but might as well keep a good charity on the hood," he said. "I hope we helped the vets."

Morgenthau said he is a partner in a computer company that has patented what he calls a revolutionary process of sponsoring race cars. Next season, BAM plans to have 5,000 associate sponsors who each pay approximately $5,000 to be on the car for the full season.(scenedaily.com)