Owners Points UPDATE: on the Phoenix Entry List, Jack Roush is now listed as the car owner of the #32 FAS Lane Racing Ford, so looks like the #6 team owners points are with that team now and is guaranteed in the next four races after Daytona. Also notice the #30 Toyota's owner is listed as Kevin Buckler, who owned the #71 TRG Motorsports team in 2011. The #71 finished 36th in 2011 Owners Points. The thinking may had been, if the #33 or #6 teams didn't race after Daytona or swap points, the #30 would move up into the top-35 and be guaranteed in the race, but that doesn't look like it will happen now.(2-28-2012)

Some more odd owners points 'swaps? UPDATE: hearing that Frank Stoddard, owner of the #32 FAS Lane Racing team, has worked out a deal where the #55 Michael Waltrip Racing team [Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip as drivers] gets the 2011 owners points and a guaranteed starting spot in the Daytona 500 and next four races. Supposedly Terry Labonte will be the driver of the #32 Ford in the Daytona 500 and will have the past champions provisional to use if needed. Then the twist....after the Daytona 500, the #32 takes over the #6 owners points and will be guaranteed the next four races after the Daytona 500. This is all contingent on NASCAR's approval.(2-13-2012)
UPDATE: More points swapping and acquisition between race teams has landed veteran Mark Martin with a guaranteed starting position in this year's Daytona 500. Michael Waltrip Racing has worked out an agreement to transfer points from the FasLane Racing team to the #55 Toyota that Martin will pilot in 25 races this season. FasLane wound up inside the Top 35 of owner points last year and thus was guaranteed a starting spot in the first five events of the new year including the season-opening Daytona 500. While Waltrip will drive the #55 entry in Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout, Martin will now not have to worry about qualifying for the Daytona 500 through time trials or the Gatorade Duel qualifying races. #32-FasLane is still expected to field a car this Sprint Cup Series season and veterans Terry Labonte and Ken Schrader remain part of the roster. Labonte brings a past champion's provisional with him that would guarantee a Daytona 500 start for the team if he is tabbed to drive in the season opener.(CBS Sports)(2-3-2012)

Red Bull Owners Points changing hands? UPDATE 2: Been told that Thomas Ueberall [Red Bull's race director] is now listed as the owner of the #83 and now #93 [was #4] team owner points. Sinica Motorsports attempted to run Homestead running the #93, but their website now shows no car number and facebook and twitter pages no longer work. Ueberall may be listed as the owner when the new owners take place, due to the points. Supposedly part owners of TRG Motorsports are rumored to be buying the assets from Red Bull Racing.(2-3-2012)
UPDATE: Sinica Motorsports will be running a partial Sprint Cup schedule this year with a new car number to be released soon. The team will continue to run Chevys.(Sinica Motorsports)(2-6-2012)
UPDATE2: Landon Cassill is going racing at Daytona International Speedway with a new, yet-unnamed race team, at the wheel for a #83 Toyota purchased from the former Red Bull Racing team. In an exclusive interview with Sirius/XM NASCAR Radio's Sirius/XM Speedway with Dave Moody, Cassill said the team is preparing two cars for a full schedule of Sprint Cup Series racing, beginning with the Daytona 500. "We're going to announce a sponsor in the near future," said Cassill. "At this point, I can tell you that Doug Richert will be the crew chief, with (former Roush Fenway Racing executive) Harry McMullin serving as General Manager.
Multiple sources say Virginia resident and former TRG Motorsports minority partner Ron Devine is a leading player in the new ownership group. The team will reportedly be owned and sponsored by Devine and a group of his fellow Burger King franchisees. Cassill declined to speak specifically about the new owners, but confirmed they were involved with TRG Motorsports majority owner Kevin Buckler a year ago. "They broke away from TRG at the end of last year," said Cassill. "They want to go racing the right way and do it efficiently. They know what their goals are. They're going to be announcing the team name and our sponsorship information very soon. All I can say at this point is that they are investors. It'll be a company owned team from the sponsorship side of things." The team will operate out of the former Randy Moss Motorsports building in Statesville, NC, and will run with, with horsepower supplied by Triad Racing Technology.
"The guys are really hustling to get ready for Daytona," said Cassill, "and this will be my first time going into a season knowing there's a full-time ride with my name on door. I'm going to be locked into the Daytona 500 for the first time in my life, and that's an emotional deal for me." He confirmed that the team will field two cars in every race this season, beginning at Daytona. "They're working on signing the second driver right now, and there are some pretty good guys out there that still need a ride."
"This has been a tough deal to keep quiet," laughed Cassill. "They've had to make a lot of decisions before the story gets out and things begin to spin out of control. They've been working hard, 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week thrashing on things. Fortunately, Red Bull built really nice race cars that gave us a chance to pull things together quickly. A lot more is set in place than we can talk about yet, but the work is getting done. Cassill said he understands the team is behind the eight-ball at this point, and will need time to reach its full potential. "I think you'll see us shine 10-12 weeks into the season, once we get our feet underneath us," he said. "We need to establish a baseline on setups and find out what our cars and teams are capable of."(Sirius Speedway)
AND the AP's Jenna Fryer @JennaFryer is hearing Travis Kvapil could be second driver of the 2nd car [which was #4 with Kahne in 2011, but have heard it'll be #93](2-9-2012)
a couple UPDATES: Speculation is that former Red Bull driver Brian Vickers will be named Cassill's teammate in a second entry.(MRN)
AND II While Harry McMullen will act as general manager of the two-car operation, Cassill could not confirm nor deny that the team will be called BK Racing, a name that stems from Burger King franchisees that are expected to be associated with the deal. Sources said Ron Devine, of Virginia, and Wayne Press, of Florida, two former TRG partners, will be part of the new ownership group. Travis Kvapil has been mentioned as the driver for the team's #93 Toyota. Kvapil could not be reached for comment.(FoxSports)(2-10-2012)

Danica to get owner points from Baldwin? Reutimann in the #10? UPDATES: Danica Patrick will be a guaranteed starter in the 2012 Daytona 500, using owner points from Tommy Baldwin Racing. Multiple sources say a deal is nearly complete to make Patrick a guaranteed starter in Stewart Haas Racing's #10 Chevy in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season opener, using owner points accrued last season by driver Dave Blaney in TBR's #36 Chevy. Blaney will now be forced to qualify for the "Great American Race" on time. Patrick is scheduled to run approximately 10 Sprint Cup races this season, and TBR driver David Reutimann will run many of the events Patrick does not; also in the #10 machine. While Patrick will drive Stewart Haas cars purchased from Hendrick Motorsports in her 10 races, Reutimann will steer Baldwin's cars in his outings. TBR will reportedly receive technical and pit crew support from SHR as part of the deal.(Sirius Speedway)(1-30-2012)
UPDATE: Go ahead and pencil Danica Patrick into the Daytona 500 starting lineup. Stewart Haas Racing has finalized an alliance with Tommy Baldwin Racing that guarantees Patrick a starting spot in the Sprint Cup opener and keeps her #10 car on the track for the entire Cup schedule, team owner Tommy Baldwin said on Tuesday. Patrick will be locked into the Feb. 26 race with the owner's points accumulated last season by TBR driver Dave Blaney, who was 33rd. The top 35 in owner's points from last season are guaranteed a starting spot in the first five races, meaning Blaney now will have to qualify his way into the 500 field. Since Patrick is scheduled to compete in only 10 Cup races while participating fulltime in the Nationwide Series, TBR driver David Reutimann will drive the remaining 26 races in the 10 car. The goal is to keep the 10 locked into the top 35 so Patrick will be guaranteed a starting spot for the first five races of 2013 when she runs her first full Cup schedule. TBR will receive technical and pit crew support as a part of the deal. Baldwin said there were no conflicts with NASCAR or Chevrolet in having Patrick use Hendrick Motorsports engines as all the SHR cars do and Reutimann using Earnhardt-Childress Engines as all TBR cars do. Greg Zipadelli will remain the crew chief for Patrick's Cup races. Baldwin said he and Zipadelli will work with Reutimann in the other 26. Reutimann will not drive another TBR car in the non-Patrick races. Baldwin said this is all about getting Patrick "prepared for 2013."(ESPN.com)(1-31-2012)
UPDATE 2: Stewart-Haas Racing has entered into a collaborative partnership with Tommy Baldwin Racing where TBR will field the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevy for all 10 of Danica Patrick's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 2012. The alliance guarantees a starting spot for Patrick in her Sprint Cup debut  the 54th annual Daytona 500 on Feb. 26 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. TBR's #36 car, which finished the 2011 season 33rd in points, becomes the #10 for 2012. For the 26 races where Patrick is not scheduled to drive, David Reutimann will pilot the #10 car. TBR has sponsorship inventory available for these 26 races.(Stewart-Haas Racing)(1-31-2012)

Several big name drivers still not locked into Daytona 500: The big question that continued throughout testing was whether or not Danica Patrick would be locked into the Daytona 500. Or Mark Martin. Or Trevor Bayne. It likely will be a few weeks before teams know the answer. With Red Bull Racing having closed, there could still be a deal done for the points earned by the #4 car (14th) and the #83 (25th) last year. If those points aren't used, next in line is the closed TRG Motorsports #71 car. If it does not enter and a deal is not done to use those points, next in line are the Wood Brothers #21 car (Trevor Bayne) and Robby Gordon Motorsports #7 car, which Gordon will drive in the Daytona 500. Among those looking for points are Stewart-Haas Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing. There has been speculation that Stewart Haas would put together a deal with Tommy Baldwin Racing, possibly for points from the #36 car (33rd in 2011 owner points) to be transferred to Patrick. But it also could include a partnership where TBR would field a #10 car for David Reutimann in the 26 races in which Patrick doesn't compete, thus allowing that car to continue to earn owner points all season. MWR attempted to purchase Red Bull for the points and equipment, but that deal fell through. Team co-owner Michael Waltrip said last week no final determination of which two of his three drivers would have the MWR points from 2011, but it is expected those would go to the two drivers competing for the drivers championship - #56-Martin Truex Jr. and #15-Clint Bowyer - while #55-Mark Martin would have to get in the race on speed. It appears that Richard Childress Racing will enter a fourth car for the Daytona 500 and use its points from the #33 car last year. That fourth car would only run a handful of races throughout the year, possibly with Austin Dillon for select events although RCR could put in a more experienced driver such as Elliott Sadler or Brian Vickers for the Daytona 500.(Scene Daily)(1-18-2012)