It’s good to be back. For most casual Nationwide fans, and even us hardcore ones, this year will be filled with a lot of new aspects.
New Season, New Nationwide: The DRIVE4COPD 300 Preview
Not only do we have a new set roster of cars and drivers that comes with every new season, but we also have a new point system, a new Nationwide car, and a new Championship format.
Let’s start with the new points format. Drivers had to chose which driver Championship to run for, which means that Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards and Paul Menard will not receive any points when driving in the Nationwide Series. Should any Cup or Truck regular enter and race in the Nationwide series, they will receive zero points for the effort but the car owner they are running for will still receive their all important owner points, while and both driver and owner will receive their share of the race purse as well as any trophy for winning.
That means that the Nationwide-only driver who does best, not against other Nationwide drivers, but against all 43 drivers on the track all year will be crowned champion. I already posted my picks to watch for. Have no fear, I will let you know which drivers are running for the Championship, and which are running for bragging rights.
We also will see the new Nationwide vehicles hit the track in all 34 races. Last year we got a taste in just four events, and it left me hungry for 2011.
So join us yet again, for a preview of Nationwide Racing at Daytona.
Entry List and extensive notes on new drivers and new teams after the JUMP!
| Ent. | Car # | Driver | Sponsor | Manu. | Owner |
| 1 | 1 | Landon Cassill * | PHOENIX CONSTRUCTION | 10 Chevy | James Finch |
| 2 | 01 | Mike Wallace | GK Services | 11 Chevy | Lori Davis |
| 3 | 2 (was 33) | Elliott Sadler | OneMain Financial | 11 Chevy | Delana Harvick |
| 4 | 4 | Tony Stewart(i) * | Oreo-Ritz | 11 Chevy | Delana Harvick |
| 5 | 5 | Dale Earnhardt Jr(i) * | Hellmann's | 11 Chevy | Rick Hendrick |
| 6 | 05 | David Starr(i) * | 31-W Insulation | 10 Chevy | Wayne Day |
| 7 | 6 (was 16) | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Blackwell Angus | 11 Ford | Jack Roush |
| 8 | 7 | Danica Patrick | GoDaddy.com | 11 Chevy | Kelley Earnhardt |
| 9 | 09 | Kenny Wallace | UNOH | 11 Toyota | Robby Benton |
| 10 | 11 (was 20) | Brian Scott | Shore Lodge | 11 Toyota | J D Gibbs |
| 11 | 12 | Sam Hornish Jr | Penske Dodge | 11 Dodge | Roger Penske |
| 12 | 14 (was 34) | Eric McClure | Hefty "Black Out" | 11 Chevy | Mark Smith |
| 13 | 15 | Todd Bodine(i) | Tire Kingdom-Valvoline | 11 Toyota | Bob Germain |
| 14 | 16 (was 98) | Trevor Bayne | FORD MUSTANG | 11 Ford | Jack Roush |
| 15 | 18 | Kyle Busch(i) | Z-Line | 10 Toyota | Joe Gibbs |
| 16 | 19 (was 35) | Mike Bliss | TBA | 11 Chevy | Mark Smith |
| 17 | 20 | Joey Logano(i) * | GameStop | 10 Toyota | Joe Gibbs |
| 18 | 22 | Brad Keselowski(i) | Discount Tire | 11 Dodge | Roger Penske |
| 19 | 23 | Robert Richardson | R3 Motorsports | 11 Dodge | Robert Richardson Sr |
| 20 | 24 | Kevin Lepage * | NA | 11 Ford | Ed Rensi |
| 21 | 25 | Kelly Bires * | N/A | 11 Ford | Gary Weisbaum |
| 22 | 27 | J R Fitzpatrick | TBA | 11 Ford | Mike Curb |
| 23 | 28 | Derrike Cope | TBA | 11 Chevy | Jay Robinson |
| 24 | 30 (was 11) | Jason Leffler | AccuDoc | 11 Chevy | Harry Scott Jr |
| 25 | 31 (was 10) | Justin Allgaier | Brandt | 11 Chevy | Steve Turner |
| 26 | 32 | Reed Sorenson | Dollar General | 11 Chevy | Sandra Turner |
| 27 | 33 | Clint Bowyer(i) * | Rheem Heating, Cooling & Water Heating | 11 Chevy | Delana Harvick |
| 28 | 38 | Kasey Kahne(i) | Great Clips | 11 Chevy | Steve Turner |
| 29 | 39 (was 6) | Josh Wise * | Cajun USA | 11 Ford | Jack Roush |
| 30 | 40 | Scott Wimmer | TBA | 11 Chevy | Curtis Key Sr |
| 31 | 44 (was 36) | Jeff Green * | TBA | 11 Chevy | Mark Smith |
| 32 | 51 (was 0) | Jeremy Clements * | RacedaySponsor.com | 10 Chevy | Johnny Davis |
| 33 | 52 | Bobby Santos III * | TBA | 11 Chevy | Jimmy Means |
| 34 | 55 | Brett Rowe * | Victory in Jesus Racing | 11 Chevy | Cindy Shepherd |
| 35 | 60 | Carl Edwards(i) | FASTENAL | 10 Ford | Jack Roush |
| 36 | 62 | Michael Annett | Pilot/Flying J | 10 Toyota | Rusty Wallace |
| 37 | 66 | Steve Wallace | 5 Hour Energy | 10 Toyota | Rusty Wallace |
| 38 | 70 | Shelby Howard | Foretravel | 11 Chevy | Mary Louise Miller |
| 39 | 79 | Jennifer Jo Cobb * | Rimrock Designs, Inc. | 11 Ford | Rick Russell |
| 40 | 81 | Donnie Neuenberger * | Eagle Convenience Stores | 11 Dodge | Pat MacDonald |
| 41 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | D.A.B. Constructors, Inc. | 11 Toyota | Andrea Nemechek |
| 42 | 88 | Aric Almirola | Grand Touring Vodka | 11 Chevy | Dale Earnhardt Jr |
| 43 | 89 (was 21) | Morgan Shepherd * | Salvation Army | 11 Chevy | Morgan Shepherd |
| 44 | 99 | Michael Waltrip(i) | NAPA Auto Parts | 11 Toyota | Gary Bechtel |
Late Entry:
| 45 | 41 | Patrick Sheltra | Fuel Doctor | 11 Chevy | Rick Ware |
*-Needs to Qualify on time, (i)- not running for Nationwide Championship, no driver points
- Phoenix Racing, which has long been the subject of sale rumors, returns with the #1 Chevy. This year is still a mystery as to how many races James Finch’s team will run, but at least we know for Daytona Landon Cassill will drive the currently unsponsored Chevy. Landon will have to qualify on time for the race.
- Mike Wallace returns for another full year in the JD Motorsports Chevy.
- This is race one of Elliott Sadler’s road to redemption. Sadler will run the full year in the #2 Chevy with OneMain Financial as the sponsor, as well as a few other one race sponsors. Sadler will have the owner points from the #33 Chevy so he is locked into Daytona.
- Last year Tony Stewart only raced once in the Nationwide Series. It was at Daytona. In the #4 Chevy for Kevin Harvick Inc. He won the pole, then won the race. Guess who’s back? This year sporting a baby blue paint job in honor of everyone’s favorite dunkable cookie, Oreos. Tony has won the past three opening Nationwide races at Daytona, and has five Daytona wins in Nationwide in his career. If Stewart is not the favorite to win the DRIVE4COPD 300, I don’t know who else would be. Tony is not running for the Nationwide Championship. Stewart needs to qualify on time.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr will run the #5 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports/JR Motorsports in a few events this year. Hellman’s joins the new team for Daytona. Earnhardt is not running for the Nationwide Championship. Earnhardt is a past champion, and is locked into the event if Jeff Green and Clint Bowyer qualifies on time.
- David Starr returns to the #05 Chevy. Starr drove the Wayne Day owned team for a handful of races last year. No word on who else will drive for the team this year since Starr is a full-time truck driver and not running for the Championship. Starr will have to qualify on time.
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. returns to the Roush/Fenway #6 Ford. Stenhouse is still looking for sponsorship for the rest of the year, but has Blackwell Angus on for Daytona. Stenhouse has received the owner points from the #16 team.
- Danica Patrick will once again attempt 10-13 races in the #7 GoDaddy.com Chevy.
- Kenny Wallace moves from the #28 Jay Robinson Chevy to RAB Racing and the #09 Toyota. RAB used a few different drivers in 2010. Wallace will run the full year and is a contender for Nationwide Champion.
- Brian Scott moves to Joe Gibbs Racing after being released from Braun Motorsports near the end of last year. Scott will pilot the #11 Toyota with Shore Lodge as sponsor. Brian Scott will have the owner points from the #20 Toyota and is locked in.
- Sam Hornish Jr joins Penske Racing’s nationwide program after Penske downsized to two Cup entries. Hornish will pilot the #12 in just a handful of races this year as he looks to find a full time position.
- Eric McClure brings his Hefty Sponsorship with him to TriStar Motorsports. Last season McClure drove the #24 for Team Rensi. TriStar has renumbered all three of thier entries after they split from Front Row Motorsports. McClure will pilot the #14 Hefty Chevy in all 34 races of 2011, and is locked into Daytona.
- Todd Bodine, who is running for the Truck Championship, will pilot the #15 Toyota at Daytona before handing the ride over to Rookie of the Year contender Timmy Hill. Bodine is trying to pull triple duty this weekend and will have Tire Kingdom sponsoring each effort.
- Trevor Bayne moves over to the #16 Ford after a short stint last year with Roush. Bayne was released from Michael Waltrip Racing before the end of 2010. Bayne is still looking for sponsorship, but claims they will run Bayne the entire year with or without it. Bayne has the owner points from the #98 team.
- Kyle Busch returns to the #18 Toyota for another handful of races in 2011. Busch is fresh of his record setting 2010. Busch is trying to win Joe Gibbs a fourth straight Owner’s Championship.
- Mike Bliss joins TriStar Motorsports after bouncing around in 2010. Bliss will pilot the #19, which last year ran as the #35 with Jason Keller. Bliss is locked into the Daytona race and will try to win the drivers championship.
- Joey Logano returns to his part time duty driving the #20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Denny Hamlin and Michael McDowell will also take a turn at the wheel this year. Joey Logano will have to qualify on time.
- 2010 Champion Brad Keselowski returns to Penske Racing and the #22 Dodge. As of right now, Keselowski will run the full season, but he cannot win the Nationwide Championship as he is a Cup regular. Keso will help Penske try to win his first owner’s championship.
- Robert Richardson returns to drive his father’s #23 Chevy. Richardson is running for the Nationwide Championship this year.
- Kevin Lepage takes over for Eric McClure in the Team Rensi #24 Ford. Lepage will have to qualify on time for the event.
- Kelly Bires will pilot the #25 Ford for Team Rensi. No word on if this is a full time entry or simply a one race deal. Bires will have to qualify on time.
- J R Fitzpatrick, a runner up in the Canadian Tire Series, will pilot the Schick #27 Ford for struggling Baker-Curb Racing. Many thought that Baker-Curb would close down before the start of the season, but Fitzpatrick may be able to keep them alive.
- Derrike Cope moves to the #28 Chevy for Jay Robinson Racing that Kenny Wallace vacated. No word on how many races Cope will drive the #28 Chevy.
- Jason Leffler will yet again move over for Kasey Kahne. When Kahne is not in the #38 Chevy, Leffler will be. The #30 Chevy was the #11 Toyota last year. When Turner Motorsports bought Braun Racing he made the decision to move to Chevy for 2011.
- Justin Allgaier moves from Penske Racing to Turner Motorsports in 2011. Allgaier will pilot the #31 Brandt Chevy. Last year this team was Brian Scott’s #10 Toyota. Allgaier is running for the Nationwide Championship and aspires to move to Cup in 2012.
- Reed Sorenson will drive for Turner Motorsports full time in 2011. Sorenson split time last year with Brian Vickers and raced well enough for Turner to warrent a full challenge for the Nationwide Title. Sorenson will be in the #32 Dollar General Chevy for most of the year. Mark Martin will pilot the team for a few races. When he does, Sorenson will drive the #30 Chevy. This deal is much the same as Jason Leffler’s and Kasey Kahne’s. I’m not sure why you would want to pull two of your full timers when you could just have Martin and Kahne drive the #30, but then again, I’m not a team owner.
- Clint Bowyer will join Kevin Harvick Inc. this year for a few races. Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard will all share the #33 Chevy. Bowyer, Harvick and Menard are running for the Cup Championship, Dillon for the truck Championship, so the #33 can only win the Owner’s title. Clint is the most recent past champion not in the race due to owner points. Clint can either qualify on time, or use a past champions provisional.
- Kasey Kahne returns to the #38 for about the same amount of races as last year.
- Josh Wise joins Go Green Racing for 2011. Go Green should attempt the full season this year after only a few attempts last year. Wise will split time between Go Green and JR Motorsports. Wise is running for Nationwide Champion. Go Green has received the owner points from the #6 team and is locked into Daytona.
- With Mike Bliss heading to TriStar, Key Motorsports needed a new full time driver. Enter veteran Nationwide driver Scott Wimmer. Last year Wimmer only raced a few races, but led at least one lap in every even he raced. Wimmer will try to give Raymond Key his first Nationwide Championship.
- Jeff Green returns to TriStar with a new number: Forty Four. Green raced the #36 largely as a start and park ride. There is a chance that he could fill that role again this year. Green is a past Champion and is locked into Daytona as long as Clint Bowyer qualifies on time.
- Jeremy Clements joins JD Motorsports as Mike Wallace’s teammate. I have no word on if this is a one race deal or if Clements will race the second team full time. Either way, Clements will have to qualify on time.
- Bobby Santos III joins part time team Jimmy Means Racing in the #52. Means attempted just a handful of races last year, and will probably do the same in 2011. Santos will have to qualify on time.
- Brett Rowe returns to Faith Motorsports, but this time as a second full time team. Brett will have to qualify on time.
- Carl Edwards returns to the #60 team, but cannot win the Nationwide Championship. Edwards right now is scheduled to run the full year, but that may change as the season goes on.
- Michael Annett, who is on season long probation after a DUI, joins Rusty Wallace Racing for 2011. Annett brings Pilot Travel Centers with him from Germain Motorsports and replaces Brendan Gaughan, who joined Germain Racing in the Truck Series. Annett will run for Nationwide Champion.
- Steven Wallace will be pulling double duty this week, but his main focus is winning his first Nationwide Championship. Wallace has another year under his belt and has improved every year he has raced in Nationwide. A win cannot be to far off.
- Shelby Howard returns to ML Motorsports. Howard helped put the team into the top 30 in owner points last year, and had a chance to run the full year.
- Jennifer Jo Cobb joins Second Chance Motorsports as both will run full time for the first time. Jo Cobb has checked the Nationwide box instead of the Truck Series and will challenge for Rookie of the Year. Cobb must qualify on time.
- Donnie Neuenberger joins MacDonald Motorsports for 2011. Neuenberger replaces Michael McDowell and will drive for only ten races. No other driver has been named yet, but the team has sponsorship for at least seven races from Eagle Stores. Donnie must qualify on time.
- Joe Nemechek returns again in his own team for another run at a second Nationwide Championship. Nemechek only has sponsorship for Daytona.
- Aric Almirola takes over the #88 Chevy full time and is a favorite to win the Nationwide Championship. He should have plenty of help with both Jr and Danica Patrick as teammates.
- Last year I learned a tough lesson. Don’t make fun of Morgan Shepherd. Shepherd will again try to win the Nationwide title as he expands his team to two entries. Shepherd has received the owner points from the #21 team and is locked into Daytona.
- Michael Waltrip Racing will feature four different drivers this year. Martin and rookie brother Ryan will join rookie crossover Travis Pastrana and owner Michael Waltrip as they try to win the Owner’s Championship. Pastrana has bought into the team renaming it Pastrana-Waltrip Racing. Michael will drive the #99 Toyota at Daytona with Napa Auto Parts on board.
- Rick Ware Racing was a late addition to the Entry List. I’m not positive if they missed the deadline or not. If they did, they will receive no driver or owner points. Patrick Sheltra joins the team for at least Daytona.
Good god my fingers are bleeding. That was much more then I thought it would be. The points swapping has really gotten outta control this year. Was it really worth switching the #16 and the #98 points, switching the #6 and #16, then selling the #6 points to Go Green? Couldn’t you have just sold the #98 points? All three are locked in. Does it really matter? If any of the first five races are rained out, all this does is have Stenhouse start 13th instead of 16th, and Bayne starts 9th instead of 13th. Doesn’t seem like it should matter all that much. I was happy to see that Morgan Shepherd is locked into the first five races thanks to Richard Childress Racing ending their Nationwide program. Elliott Sadler is locked in thanks to the #33 points, and Brian Scott is in thanks to the #20 points.
I’ve waited all winter to say this; Join us Saturday, February 19th, 2011 for the DRIVE4COPD 300 from Daytona International Speedway Live on ESPN2 at 1:00PM Eastern. Enjoy!
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