2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be the 62nd season of professional stock car racing in the United States, which will begin at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida with the 2010 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, a race for the top six teams of the four brands in the 2009 season on February 6th, with the first points race being the 2010 Daytona 500 to be held on February 14th. The 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup will start on September 19th with the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, and ending on November 21st with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. The official schedule was announced on September 15, 2009.

2010 Budweiser Shootout At Daytona Features Revised Criteria

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 23, 2009) – NASCAR announced Wednesday a revision to the 2010 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona format that provides fans with a strong lineup of drivers highlighted by last year’s top performers and a collection of previous winners at the sport’s most-storied race track.

The 32nd annual season-opening event launches Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 6 with green flag set for 8:10 p.m. The new criteria are based upon the following qualifications, with eligibility based on a driver having competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series within the last two seasons:

• The 12 drivers that qualified for the 2009 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup • Past NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions • Past Budweiser Shootout champions • Past Daytona 500 and Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola champions • The reigning Raybestos Rookie of the Year

“We’re always looking at ways to make this event bigger and better for our fans and we believe the new format for the Budweiser Shootout puts together an exceptionally strong lineup of our top drivers,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition.

“In our discussions with the track, we thought by placing an additional emphasis on the drivers who had performed well at Daytona over the years would create an even more compelling element for the fans to get excited about at the beginning of the season.”

The race distance will continue to be 75 laps (187.5 miles), consisting of two segments – 25 and 50 laps. Both green-flag laps and yellow-flag laps will count. Between segments there will be a 10-minute pit stop allowing teams to pit and change tires, add fuel and make normal chassis adjustments. Crews will be permitted to work on cars and will be allowed to perform functions they would do on a normal pit stop in a regular NASCAR Sprint Cup event. All work must be performed on pit road or in the garage. Changing of springs, shock absorbers or rear-ends will not be permitted.

Starting positions will again be determined by a blind-draw at the annual Budweiser Shootout Draw Party on Thursday night, Feb. 4 on the SPEED stage in the Midway, outside Turn 4.

The Budweiser Shootout – a “non-points” event for NASCAR Sprint Cup competitors – was first held in 1979, originally known as the Busch Clash. Kevin Harvick won last year’s event.

Tickets for all 2010 Speedweeks events are now available online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.

Drivers eligible for the 2010 Budweiser Shootout include:

2009 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Drivers Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Brian Vickers,

Others (criteria filled in parentheses) John Andretti (Coke Zero 400) Geoff Bodine (Daytona 500, Budweiser Shootout) Jeff Burton (Coke Zero 400) Kyle Busch (Coke Zero 400) Derrike Cope (Daytona 500) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400, Budweiser Shootout) Bill Elliott (Series champion, Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400, Budweiser Shootout) Kevin Harvick (Daytona 500, Budweiser Shootout) Matt Kenseth (Series champion, Daytona 500) Bobby Labonte (Series champion) Terry Labonte (Series champion, Budweiser Shootout) Joey Logano (Reigning Raybestos Rookie of the Year) Sterling Marlin (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400) Jamie McMurray (Coke Zero 400) Ken Schrader (Budweiser Shootout) Michael Waltrip (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400)

Like the 2009 schedule realignment, the calendar has forced some changes to the schedule, but this time less important. The Autism Speaks 400 at Dover is moved to 2 weeks earlier, to mid-May, and Phoenix and Texas swap dates. Also, all races will have standardized starting times, meaning that the 2010 Daytona 500 and the 2010 Ford 400 will be completely raced without lights, which according to critics would hurt West Coast ratings as those races started at 3 PM ET and ended in prime time on the East Coast.

NOTE: All race dates, names, distances, television and radio stations and start times are subject to change. Schedule changes are listed in boldface

The total distance of the season will be 14,461.9 miles (23,274.2 km).
Key to symbols:
¹ - All races will be broadcast on Sirius XM Radio.
^* - Television times are listed. Pre-race show start times are not known because of the new uniform start time rule. Traditionally, Fox and TNT have their "formal" pre-race show 30 minutes before the start of the race, and ESPN one hour before the start.
♣ - This race will be run at night or begin in the day and finish that evening.
¶ - Non-points race.
♥ - This is a pair of races that will set the field for the Daytona 500.
† - This race will be produced and distributed by IMS Radio and the broadcast will be produced in conjunction with Performance Racing Network.

Full Time Teams

Car #	Driver	Sponsor	Car make	Team	2009 Owner Points
00	David Reutimann	Aaron's Dream Machine / Best Western / Tums (5 races)	Toyota	Michael Waltrip Racing	16th
1	Jamie McMurray	Bass Pro Shop (20 races) / TBA	Chevrolet	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	23rd
2	Kurt Busch	Miller Lite	Dodge	Penske Racing	4th
5	Mark Martin	GoDaddy.com (20 races) / Carquest (8 races) / Delphi (2 races)	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	2nd
6	David Ragan	UPS	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	27th
9	Kasey Kahne	Budweiser / Budweiser 2010 Olympics	Ford	Richard Petty Motorsports	10th
09	TBA	Miccosukee Resort & Gaming	TBA	Phoenix Racing	38th
11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	5th
12	Brad Keselowski	Verizon Wirelessʋ	Dodge	Penske Racing	30th
13	Max Papis	Geico	Toyota	Germain Racing	43rd
14	Tony Stewart	Office Depot (22 races) / Old Spice (14 races) / Burger King (2 races)	Chevrolet	Stewart Haas Racing	6th
16	Greg Biffle	3M / Post-It / Red Cross	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	7th
17	Matt Kenseth	Crown Royal (18 races) / Valvoline (3 races)	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	14th
18	Kyle Busch	Interstate Batteries (6 races) / M&Ms (23 races) / Pedigree(3 races) / Snickers (2 races) / Doublemint (2 races)	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	13rd
19	Elliott Sadler	Stanley Tools	Ford	Richard Petty Motorsports	26th
20	Joey Logano	Home Depot	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	20th
24	Jeff Gordon	DuPont / Pepsi Max / National Guard (8 races)	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	3rd
29	Kevin Harvick	Shell / Reeses	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing	19th
31	Jeff Burton	Caterpillar / Prilosec / Lenox Industrial Tools	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing	17th
33	Clint Bowyer	General Mills / BB&T / The Hartford / Prilosec	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing	15th
36	Mike Bliss	Wave Energy Drink (14 races)/TBA	Toyota	Tommy Baldwin Racing	41st
39	Ryan Newman	US Army / Haas Automation / Tornados	Chevrolet	Stewart Haas Racing	9th
42	Juan Montoya	Target	Chevrolet	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	8th
43	A.J. Allmendinger	Best Buy	Ford	Richard Petty Motorsports	29th
44	Paul Menard	Menards	Ford	Richard Petty Motorsports	33rd
47	Marcos Ambrose	Little Debbie / Clorox / Kingsford Charcoal / Bush's Baked Beans / Lance Snacks / Kleenex (5 races)	Toyota	JTG Daugherty Racing	18th
48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's / Teresa Earnhardt	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	1st!
49	TBA	Warner Music	Toyota	BAM Racing	Returning Team
56	Martin Truex, Jr.	NAPA Auto Parts	Toyota	Michael Waltrip Racing	32nd1
71	Bobby Labonte	Taxslayer.com (12 races) / TBA	TBA	TRG Motorsports	37th2
77	Sam Hornish, Jr.	Mobil 1 / Penske Truck Rental / AAA - Auto Club	Dodge	Penske Championship Racing	28th
78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row	Chevrolet	Furniture Row Racing	40th
82	Scott Speed	Red Bull	Toyota	Red Bull Racing Team	36th2
83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull	Toyota	Red Bull Racing Team	12nd
87	Joe Nemechek	Lowe's \ Kobalt Tools	Toyota	NEMCO Motorsports	39th
88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Lowe's / Teresa Earnhardt	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	25th
99	Carl Edwards	Aflac / Subway / Scotts (6 races) / Kelloggs & Cheez-it (2 races)	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	11st

¹The 2009 #55 team number was changed to #56 to match the number Truex and his father used in the NASCAR Camping World Series and predecessor series.

²Two teams from the 2009 top 35 (Roush Fenway #26, Yates Racing #98) will not return because of NASCAR's four-team limit as Roush Fenway had to take one team off as planned, and the merger of the George Gillett operation with Doug Yates resulted in one team being cut off because of the limit. Should that happen and no exemption rights be transferred, both teams will be exempt for the first five races. Should one of those teams be "sold," the #82 has first priority in moving up, and the #71 has second priority.

Part Time Teams

Car #	Driver	Sponsor	Car make	Team	Races Attempted/Planned
02	David Gilliland	TBA	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	TBA
7	Robby Gordon	Menards / POLARIS / TBA	Toyota	Robby Gordon Motorsports	8 races
07	Casey Mears	Izod IndyCar Series	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing	Daytona 500
08	Boris Said	TBA	Ford	Carter / Simo Racing	Daytona 500, both road course events
21	Bill Elliott	TBA	Ford	Wood Brothers Racing	12 races
55	Michael Waltrip	NAPA Auto Parts	Toyota	Michael Waltrip Racing	Daytona 500, Aaron's 499, Coke Zero 400, AMP Energy 500
66	TBA	TBA	Toyota	Prism Motorsports	TBA
70	TBA	TBA	TBA	TRG Motorsports	TBA
90	TBA	TBA	Chevrolet	Keyed Up Motorsports	first 5 races
TBA	TBA	TBA	Toyota	Braun Racing	5 races

ʋ - This car is sponsored by Verizon, however it will not run the Verizon logos due to Sprint's exclusivity clause in their title sponsor contract with NASCAR. Due to that clause, Verizon was unable to assume the grandfather clause rights of Alltel when the purchase was completed. The team and Verizon will run the car as unbranded, similar to Marlboro in Formula One and the IRL. Verizon's contract with Penske Racing expires at the end of the 2010 season. Similar schemes with Verizon logos are run in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the Indy Racing League Izod IndyCar Series.

Richard Petty Motorsports & Yates Racing in September 2009 announced the intent to merge into a 4-car team for 2010 with Richard Petty Motorsports drivers Kasey Kahne (#9 Budweiser), Elliott Sadler (#19 Stanley) & A.J. Allmendinger (#44 switch to #43) and Yates Racing driver Paul Menard (#98 switch to #44) making up the driver lineup. The team plans to race Ford Fusions.

Fox Sports, their corporate sibling Speed, TNT, and ESPN/ABC are in the fourth year of a seven year television contract scheduled to expire after the 2013 season.

Fox Sports will continue to broadcast the first 13 races, including the Budweiser Shootout, the 52nd Daytona 500, and the Coca-Cola 600. With Dover moving to mid-May, Fox will end their coverage with the 51st Coca-Cola 600. The Sprint All-Star Race XXVI along with the Gatorade Duels, practice sessions, and all qualifying and practice sessions (except for Daytona qualifying, which will air on Fox) will all broadcast on Speed.

Time Warner's Turner Sports division (through TNT) will continue to broadcast the next six races, including the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in its limited commercial interruption wide open coverage format. TNT's coverage will begin with the June Pocono race and end with Chicagoland. Qualifying and practice sessions will remain on Speed.

ESPN will then carry the next six races, beginning with the Brickyard 400. ABC will carry the 26th race of the season (Richmond in September) and the entire Chase for the Sprint Cup. ABC does not have the right to move any races to ESPN, unless the race is postponed due to weather/unforeseen events. Most qualifying sessions will air on ESPN2, practice sessions and some qualifying will be shared by Speed and ESPN2. Qualifying for the Pep Boys Auto 500 and AMP Energy 500 air on Speed because they are Saturday afternoon sessions during the college football season.

On radio, Sirius XM Radio will carry all races in the series. Terrestrial radio rights are being handled as follows:

• Motor Racing Network will carry races at tracks owned by their corporate sibling, International Speedway Corporation as well as the races at Dover and Pocono and the All-Star Race at Charlotte;
• Speedway Motorsports, Inc.-owned Performance Racing Network will carry events from those SMI tracks, and will joinly produce the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network.

In Canada, TSN and TSN 2 will have full coverage for the 2010 season.

In Australia, Fox Sports will show all Sprint Cup races live across their networks. Network Ten will also show races on its digital sports multichannel, ONE.

In Portugal, all races this season will be telecast on SportTv 3, while in Sweden, Viasat Motor will televise the races.

In nearby Finland, Urheilu+Kanava will telecast the season's events.

In Great Britain and Ireland, the whole season will again be telecast on Sky Sports

In Spain Teledeporte telecast six races of the season.

• 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at ESPN
• NASCAR.com
• NASCAR 2010 Schedule Released
• RacingOne
• Jayski's Silly Season Site
• Speed Channel
• ThatsRacin.com
• 2010 Sprint Cup Series schedule
• Racing-Reference.info

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