NASCAR News

Kyle Busch set the pace on day two of the latest Nextel Cup test at Daytona International Speedway, with Chevrolet again proving to be the marque to have as it dominated the time sheets.

Former Championship winning crew chief Todd Parrott will be Bobby Labonte's new crew chief at Petty Enterprises in 2006, returning to the team he grew up around when his dad Buddy performed similar duties for 'The King' Richard Petty.

The Haas CNC Racing team will sport a new primary sponsor as well as a new race number in 2006 after concluding a deal with Best Buy. Incoming driver Jeff Green will use the #66 plate formerly used by the Peak Performance Motorsports team which, in turn, has switched to the #61.

Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards stole a minor march on some of their opposition by conducting the first of two days of Goodyear tyre testing scheduled for Atlanta Motor Speedway this week.

Ultra Motorsports, which ran the #7 Nextel Cup entry for, among others Michael Waltrip and Jimmy Spencer in recent years and who claimed NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship honours in 2005, has closed its doors for good.

Nextel Cup veteran Kyle Petty has secured Wells Fargo as a primary sponsor for his #45 team in 2006 as he continues to seek replacement funding for the loss of former sponsor Georgia-Pacific.

Chat show host and motorsports fan Jay Leno will drive the ceremonial pace car for this year's Daytona 500. Leno will drive a specially outfitted 2006 Corvette Z06, a car that serves as the official pace car for the second straight year.

The William Edwards owned Mach 1 Motorsports team has given up its struggle to remain on the Nextel Cup grid according to a story on U.S. based NASCAR website www.jayski.com

Scott Wimmer has grabbed one of the final full-time seats still up for grabs in next year's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series with news that Morgan McClure Motorsport have secured the services of the former Bill Davis Racing driver for its newly sponsored #4 Chevrolet.

Talladega Superspeedway officials have announced that the giant 2.66-mile oval is set to be repaved for the first time since 1979, and the project is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2006 UAW-Ford 500, race four in next year's Chase for the Championship.

Roger Penske's eponymous Nextel Cup organisation have announced that they will not run the #77 Dodge run in conjunction with Jasper Motorsport in the 2006 season.

NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader has been confirmed as the latest driver of the famous #21 Ford owned by the Wood Brothers/JTG Racing team, the likeable journeyman aiming to end his full-time Nextel Cup career on a high with one of the most storied teams in the garage.

Evernham Motorsports will begin the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season with a radical new approach to its team structure as former crew chief and team boss Ray Evernham does away with his old post in place of three separate 'directors.'

NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader has gone back on his decision to see out his Nextel Cup career with the #49 BAM Racing team, with team owner Beth Ann Morgenthau confirming current Busch Series driver Brent Sherman as the driver of the Schwan's sponsored Dodge for the 2006 season.

Robby Gordon's decision to use Dale Earnhardt Inc. prepared engines for the final two races of the 2005 season resulted in him taking his best oval course finish of the year on Sunday at the Phoenix International Raceway.

Joe Gibbs Racing has plumbed for a second rookie driver for 2006 with confirmation that JJ Yeley will replace Bobby Labonte in the #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet.

Former Nextel Cup Series Champion Bobby Labonte will take the wheel of the most famous car of them all next year after signing a deal to drive the #43 Petty Enterprises Dodge alongside Kyle Petty.

Casey Mears has talked about his delight at being named as the full-time driver for Chip Ganassi's #42 Texaco/Havoline backed Dodge for the 2006 season, essentially becoming team leader for Ganassi's three-pronged attack on the 2006 championship.

Bobby Labonte's departure from the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Interstate Batteries team may have handed JJ Yeley a Nextel Cup lifeline after the former single seater aspirant lost out to Denny Hamlin for the #11 FedEx sponsored ride.

Jeff Gordon has reminded everyone that 26 year-old Steve Letarte will continue to be his Nextel Cup crew-chief for the 2006 season and that his performances to date atop the #24 Hendrick Motorsports pit box have continued to astound him.

Just six weeks ago, FedEx's first year as primary sponsors of the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing team looked little short of catastrophic as initial driver Jason Leffler battled with plenty of new team blues.

Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage announced on Tuesday that the inaugural Dickies 500 on Sunday would have a purse in excess of $6.8 million, making it the richest payout in the two-year history of the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Kevin Harvick and the #29 Richard Childress Racing team will compete in this weekend's Dickies 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway with heavy hearts after Harvick's father-in-law John Paul Linville passed away earlier this week.

MB2 Motorsports has announced that two-time Daytona 500 champion Sterling Marlin has agreed to a multiyear contract to drive the team's No. 14 Chevrolet, beginning in the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season.