NASCAR Daily News Headlines * November 19, 2009

Robby Gordon To Run Baja 1000

Gordon will race against 337 competitors in this weekend's Baja 1000. The field will include at least 35 entrants for the Trophy Truck division, in which Gordon competes.

The event will take place over a 672.85-mile course, with the competition both beginning and ending in Ensenada, Mexico. Gordon's class is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:30 a.m. PST on Friday. The vehicles leave the grid in 30-second increments for the timed event, which is expected to take the fastest competitors approximately 14 hours to complete. The duo of Robby Gordon and Andy Grider roll off eighth.

Meanwhile, his RGM Sprint Cup team will be working with Camping World Truck Series regular Matt Crafton to prepare the No. 7 entry for the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Crafton is set to practice and qualify Gordon’s Camry throughout the weekend. Gordon will then arrive at 1.5-mile oval to compete in the 400-mile event at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday.(scenedaily.com)

Jack Daniel’s Says Thanks

After five seasons with RCR, Jack Daniel’s and the people of parent company Brown-Forman wanted to show their appreciation in a very personal way for this weekend’s race in South Florida. So, they placed the names of everyone who worked on the program since partnering with RCR in 2005 right on the hood of the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet.

Drivers, crew chiefs, crew members and administration personnel are all being honored with approximately 140 names placed all around the words “Jack” and “Thanks” on the hood.

“The last five years in the sport has been fun and exciting, to say the least,” said Dave Stang, Assistant Vice President of Brand Awareness for Jack Daniel’s. “It took a ton of people, and all those fantastic fans, to help Jack get its responsible drinking message communicated throughout the USA and beyond. We recognize them all with this little token of appreciation, Jack would be proud.”

During their time with RCR in NASCAR, three drivers drove the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet. Dave Blaney in 2005, Clint Bowyer 2006 to 2008 and Casey Mears in 2009, who collectively earned two victories, two pole awards, 21 top-five and 61 top-10 finishes.

Fuel Injection In 2011

NASCAR and the manufacturers are presently considering which of the multiple fuel-injection types -- throttle-body, multi-point, sequential or -- the latest darling of the auto manufacturers -- direct injection, would be the best, and easiest to police.

Throttle-body injection is similar to a carburetor, and is the simplest method of fuel injection. Multi-point injection uses a nozzle per cylinder to inject gas into each cylinder. Sequential fuel injection times the spray from each nozzle to more effectively match the requirements of each separate cylinder. And direct injection, pioneered in diesel engines, is becoming more and more popular in gas engines, injecting fuel right into the combustion chamber, beneath the valves.

The biggest immediate challenge will be to govern the injected engines for restrictor-plate tracks like Talladega and Daytona, where a plate with holes drilled in it that are smaller than the barrels used in the carburetor cuts the gas-air flow. Sources suggest it will not be difficult to adapt a restrictor to fuel injection, or NASCAR could simply hand out ignition boxes that limit RPMs, like the ARCA series does, just as they hand out restrictor plates now.(orlandosentinel.com)

Wallace Switching To Toyota

The team currently plans to enter the No. 66 and No. 62 Toyota Camrys in the 2010 Nationwide Series, piloted by Steve Wallace and Brendan Gaughan, respectively.

Additionally, a separate agreement with RWR team owner, Rusty Wallace, will enable the racing legend, television analyst, and Toyota dealer to represent the Toyota brand on a national basis.

Said Rusty Wallace, "I'm very proud to have the opportunity for the team and I to represent the Toyota brand. Our team's decision on manufacturers involved input from a lot of people within the organization. We decided that at the end of the day, our goal as a race team is simple: to win races and championships. Thus, we all had to take a long look at which manufacturer partner could best help us reach that goal.

"I'm a Toyota dealer already, so I knew the high levels of support and dedication they provide to their partners. After touring the TRD facility in North Carolina, I was completely convinced. Toyota is the manufacturer to beat in the Nationwide Series right now and after seeing the level of engineering support they provide their teams, I understand why; their level of support is second to none. We're really excited about the opportunity to partner with Toyota for 2010 and beyond."

Toyota will enter the 2010 season looking for its new RWR partnership to aid in securing the brand's third consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series Manufacturers' Championship.

“We are looking forward to our partnership and working together with Rusty Wallace Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series," said Lee White, President and General Manager, TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development). "As a former Cup Series champion who is now a team owner, Rusty knows what is required -- in terms of equipment and people -- to win races and compete for championships. The team is a first-class organization and we are proud that they will be a part of the Toyota Camry roster.”

RWR's move to Toyota follows a two-year campaign in which the team enjoyed manufacturer support from Chevrolet. Said Wallace, "Chevrolet has been a great partner for our team and on behalf of RWR, I'd like to thank Pat Suhy, Shane Martin and everyone at GM Racing for their dedication and support. They were a key in our team's growth over the last two seasons."