Elliott to drive for Phoenix in 2011

Former NASCAR champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner Bill Elliott will contest at least 18 Sprint Cup races with the Phoenix Racing team this year.

The 1988 title-winner has only raced part-time since 2004, contesting around a dozen Cup rounds per season in recent years, but will ramp up his schedule in 2011 as he drives for a Chevrolet team for the first time in his 35-year career.

"This may well be my last really good chance as a driver," Elliott said. "I'm going to give it my best shot. I feel like I'm still in good shape, and I thought we ran pretty good last year."

Team boss James Finch is confident that 55-year-old Elliott can be a frontrunner this season.

"It's big for us and big for Chevrolet to get Bill Elliott," Finch said. "With the right equipment, he's ready. He was just a couple of hundredths of a second off the pole at Homestead last year."

Phoenix won its first race with Brad Keselowski at Talladega in 2009 but had a difficult 2010 campaign with a number of drivers. Elliott expects Phoenix's 2011 package - which includes Hendrick-prepared engines - to be very competitive.

"I think this will be a really good deal," said Elliott. "James has really good racecars, and there's no doubt about the Hendrick equipment. After all, look at all the championships they've won."

Di Maria clinches Real dealHendrick reshuffles crew chiefs

Waltrip Toyotas top drafting session

The Michael Waltrip Racing Toyotas of David Reutimann and Martin Truex Jr topped an uneventful Thursday drafting practice session as NASCAR Sprint Cup teams continued to gear up for the Daytona 500.

Reutimann, a two-time winner in the series, set a fastest lap of 45.970 seconds, at an average speed of 195.780 mph, achieved while running in tandem with his MWR team-mate Truex, who was second on the timesheets.

Behind them, Red Bull's returnee Brian Vickers was third-fastest, also achieving his best lap while working in tandem with his team-mate Kasey Kahne.

Stewart Haas' Tony Stewart was fifth, setting his best lap while drafting in single file with both MWR and Red Bull cars in a five-car group, the biggest seen during the four-hour session. However, his best lap was over a second slower than what the top four managed after splitting into two-car team formations.

Despite much anticipation to the afternoon session, few drivers ventured on the track to draft and figure out the effect of the new, smoother Daytona asphalt, which proved to allow more bump-drafting than in the past.

"It looked like a lot of guys were just working on a lot of stuff today so maybe they're going to be focused on drafting tomorrow," said Vickers. "I'm sure before we leave you'll see a pretty big pack. I can't imagine you wouldn't because I know pretty much everybody wants to see how the cars react in that situation, the track and all that stuff."

Many drivers and teams continued to focus on single-car runs, hoping to get most of their programmes done before switching to drafting mode. Some rain is forecast for the Daytona area on Friday.

Teams will continue to test until Saturday for the Daytona 500, which takes place on February 20.

Bowyer leads first Daytona testNadal set for Mallorca role

Keselowski fastest on final test day

Brad Keselowski topped the final day of testing at Daytona on Saturday as teams continued to find more speed in preparation for next month's 500-mile NASCAR season-opener at the track.

The Penske driver, using a two-car draft, was able to break into the 198mph bracket reaching an average speed of 198.605 mph, with a lap time of 45.3126 seconds, the fastest seen during the three days of running. His Penske team-mate Kurt Busch was second, lapping in the same tenth and also reaching a similar speed while working in tandem with the Nationwide Series champion.

"It's a completely new breed of racing," said Keselowski about drafting on the new Daytona surface, which offers more grip.

"It will take an intelligent duo to pull it off. From a driver's side, it's similar to a baton relay. If you have the two fastest runners in the world and you put them in a baton relay and they can't exchange, an average Joe that can exchange will beat them.

"As the weekend has progressed, it has become more and more obvious, the thought of there being a big pack - I think we might see an extinction of that here."

The Joe Gibbs Racing duo of Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin had been fastest in the morning, lapping over 197mph, while Richard Petty's AJ Allmendinger became the first Ford driver to test in the draft, working with rookie Steven Wallace to set the fifth and sixth fastest laps of the morning session.

Despite drafting speeds reaching almost 200mph, NASCAR officials did not anticipate any changes being made to the current restrictor plate, which uses holes of 29/32nds of an inch.

Drivers making single-car runs, which continued to be a clear majority, lapped in the 185mph bracket, topped by Roush Fenway's Greg Biffle on Saturday afternoon and followed by the Earnhardt Ganassi duo of Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Sprint Cup director John Darby underlined that many teams focused on testing the two-car breakaway, which some still doubt will yield as much dividend as it has shown in the past at Talladega come race day.

"Obviously the guys are working on the tandem deal knowing that's faster than the draft," Darby said. "Everybody's working on a little different agenda, and it's all trying to find that edge to win the Daytona 500.

"I think this test has done more in building confidence. There's always some anxiety around what happens when a track repaves."

Teams will return to Daytona in the second week of February for the Budweiser Shootout, followed by the Daytona 500 a week later.

Bowyer leads first Daytona testHammers lead Barrera chase

Steve Wallace to enter Daytona 500

NASCAR Nationwide Series regular Steve Wallace will make his Sprint Cup debut next month at Daytona, driving for his father's Rusty Wallace Racing team in the season opener.

The 23-year-old, son of former Cup champion Rusty Wallace, who fields his own team in NASCAR's second-tier series, will make the jump up together with his family's outfit, which will enter the #77 Toyota Camry in the Daytona 500.

Wallace, who has finished in the top 10 in the Nationwide Series points in the past two years, will have his start in the race guaranteed after his team was able to secure a deal to have the 2010 owner points transferred from Penske Racing's #77 car of Sam Hornish Jr, who is not expected to compete for the team in the Cup series this year.

According to NASCAR rules, the top 35 cars in the owner standings from the previous year are automatically guaranteed the start in the first five races of the new season. Penske's #77 was 29th in that ranking at the end of last year.

"Starting my first Daytona 500 is definitely going to be the most exciting day of my career - make that my life - so far," said Wallace. "It's something that every kid wanting to be a racer - including me - dreams of doing one day. It's the some of the best drivers in the world competing in the biggest race in the world.

"As far as the race, my goals are simple: to stay out of trouble, earn all the respect I can from the other guys and make sure [the car] is there at the end of the race. The way restrictor plate racing goes, if we can do that, there's no telling what can happen."

Larry Carter, who was crew chief for his father Rusty on his final appearance in the Daytona 500 in 2005, when he finished 10th for Penske Racing, will be calling the shots from the pitwall for the younger Wallace on his Cup debut.

1989 Cup champion Wallace, who never claimed a Daytona 500 victory despite his 55 wins in the series, believes the new grippy asphalt at the 2.5-mile oval will make it easier for his team to be competitive on its debut as handling will no longer be as large a factor.

"When you're a young driver coming up, you dream about racing in the Daytona 500 and now Steve's going to get the opportunity to do it," said team-owner Wallace. "He's grown by leaps and bounds as a driver in the Nationwide Series over the last few years and we think he's ready for this opportunity.

"We've been looking at this race as an opportunity for a while, because I really believe that the new pavement at Daytona is going to be a great equaliser among the teams. The cars will have a tonne of grip and it's going to make handling a much smaller part of the equation."

Steve Wallace will be the fourth different member of his family to compete in the Daytona 500.

Forlan refuses to rule out moveSteve Wallace to enter Daytona 500

Steve Wallace to enter Daytona 500

NASCAR Nationwide Series regular Steve Wallace will make his Sprint Cup debut next month at Daytona, driving for his father's Rusty Wallace Racing team in the season opener.

The 23-year-old, son of former Cup champion Rusty Wallace, who fields his own team in NASCAR's second-tier series, will make the jump up together with his family's outfit, which will enter the #77 Toyota Camry in the Daytona 500.

Wallace, who has finished in the top 10 in the Nationwide Series points in the past two years, will have his start in the race guaranteed after his team was able to secure a deal to have the 2010 owner points transferred from Penske Racing's #77 car of Sam Hornish Jr, who is not expected to compete for the team in the Cup series this year.

According to NASCAR rules, the top 35 cars in the owner standings from the previous year are automatically guaranteed the start in the first five races of the new season. Penske's #77 was 29th in that ranking at the end of last year.

"Starting my first Daytona 500 is definitely going to be the most exciting day of my career - make that my life - so far," said Wallace. "It's something that every kid wanting to be a racer - including me - dreams of doing one day. It's the some of the best drivers in the world competing in the biggest race in the world.

"As far as the race, my goals are simple: to stay out of trouble, earn all the respect I can from the other guys and make sure [the car] is there at the end of the race. The way restrictor plate racing goes, if we can do that, there's no telling what can happen."

Larry Carter, who was crew chief for his father Rusty on his final appearance in the Daytona 500 in 2005, when he finished 10th for Penske Racing, will be calling the shots from the pitwall for the younger Wallace on his Cup debut.

1989 Cup champion Wallace, who never claimed a Daytona 500 victory despite his 55 wins in the series, believes the new grippy asphalt at the 2.5-mile oval will make it easier for his team to be competitive on its debut as handling will no longer be as large a factor.

"When you're a young driver coming up, you dream about racing in the Daytona 500 and now Steve's going to get the opportunity to do it," said team-owner Wallace. "He's grown by leaps and bounds as a driver in the Nationwide Series over the last few years and we think he's ready for this opportunity.

"We've been looking at this race as an opportunity for a while, because I really believe that the new pavement at Daytona is going to be a great equaliser among the teams. The cars will have a tonne of grip and it's going to make handling a much smaller part of the equation."

Steve Wallace will be the fourth different member of his family to compete in the Daytona 500.

Forlan refuses to rule out movePiquet to race for Harvick in Trucks

Bowyer leads first Daytona test

Clint Bowyer topped the timesheets during the first NASCAR Sprint Cup testing session of the year at Daytona on Thursday, as teams kicked off a three-day programme which got their on-track preparation for the season-opener underway.

Richard Childress driver Bowyer set a fastest lap of 48.855 seconds at an average speed of 184.219mph, with Chevrolet Impalas sweeping the top five spots with four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon finishing second best, ahead of Mark Martin and the Earnhardt Ganassi duo of Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya. Reigning Nationwide Series champion Brad Keselowski was sixth in the #2 Penske Dodge.

Drivers and teams focused on single-car qualifying-type runs on the new surface, which continues to show the improved grip and smoothness already evident when a number of cars laid rubber on it for the first time last December during a Goodyear tyre test.

"It's almost identical feeling to what we have at Talladega," said two-time champion Tony Stewart following the session. "Obviously the transitions off [Turns] 2 and 4 are a little more abrupt than what we have at Talladega, but as far as the ride, you literally could hold a cup of coffee with the lid off full and not spill a drop riding around there."

Besides the new nose on the Cup cars, all teams were also running with the new Sunoco Green E15 gasoline, as well as testing the new self-ventilated dump cans that will be used during pitstops this year.

Thirty-three cars completed laps during the session, the caution flags only being displayed for debris on the track.

Teams are set to finish the day with an afternoon drafting session, although many have no plans to run in the pack thus far.

Drivers praise new Daytona surfaceZaragoza want Pennant stay

Stewart laments incident in Australia

Tony Stewart has expressed his regret at getting into an off-track incident in Australia last week, while competing in a sprint car event at Sydney Speedway.

The two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion was reportedly questioned by local police last Saturday after having a physical altercation with track co-owner Bret Morris following a dispute over safety conditions at the track, which was affected by heavy rain.

Stewart, who returned to the US last weekend, confirmed on Thursday at Daytona that he was involved in the confrontation and then questioned by the police over the incident.

"There was an altercation at the racetrack," said Stewart. "It was a dispute between myself and one of the owners of the facility. But as it also reported, we went down to the police station, we gave them a statement. They told us after the statement that we were free to go back to the hotel room and free to get on the plane the next day. But definitely wasn't the way I wanted to end my trip.

"We had a fun trip over there. Obviously there was a lot of flooding and raining while we were there, but at the same time we still had a good race trip over there and didn't end that last night the way we wanted to by any means. But it's not uncommon to see drivers and track owners have disputes over what's going on, but this one went a little bit further than a normal dispute."

Although the issue has reportedly not yet been closed by police in New South Wales, Stewart shrugged off any concerns about it possibly going any further.

"I'm not concerned about it," Stewart said. "If there is and we have to go back, we'll deal with it. But it's nothing that we're concerned with at this point. Like I said, when they were done with us, they said we were able to go back to the hotel and were able get on our flight and come back.

"I made sure that they knew exactly where we were staying, when our flight was, what the flight number was and how to get hold of us the whole time. We'll deal with it if anything else comes about."

Stewart, also a team and track owner in the US, has previously been involved in other off-track altercations, shoving a journalist at a NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Indianapolis in 2002 and more recently pushing a USAC official at an event where his team was competing in 2008.

"Well, I'm definitely not proud of what happened, and if I had to do it all over again, I would have dealt with it much different," said an apologetic Stewart about last week's incident.

"Like I said, this isn't something that I've blown off. I've lost a lot of sleep over it because I'm very embarrassed that I made it through a whole trip and the night before I come home I get in an altercation with somebody, and that really hasn't happened for a while.

"I'm not at all the least bit proud of it. I'm ashamed about it, but at the same time it's been nice to get back with the team and it's nice to come down here and worry about driving the racecar again.

"And it's not that it's making me forget about it, but it's at least getting my mind off it enough to relax."

Stewart laments losing Loudon winForlan refuses to rule out move