Contract Status: Driver: 201x; Primary Sponsor: 201x

Waltrip to attempt Daytona 500: Hillman Racing and Aaron's Inc. announced that two-time Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip will drive the #40 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota in the 2012 Daytona 500 on Feb. 26. The race will mark Waltrip's 75th start at Daytona in one of NASCAR's top three touring series (Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World trucks)  the most of any driver. "Aaron's really does make your dreams come true," said Waltrip. "When I was a kid thinking about racing in Daytona I never dreamed I would start more NASCAR races there than anyone. That's amazing." He said it takes many factors for success. "You have to have a great sponsor to race and Aaron's has been a great sponsor for a long time." Waltrip said. "I appreciate what the folks at Hillman Racing including Joe Falk are putting together. Hopefully my experience at Daytona will help them get out of the gate strong with their new team." Daytona's 2012 Speedweeks promises to be busy for Waltrip. He'll race the #55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota in the Feb. 18 Budweiser Shootout, oversee his three Sprint Cup teams at Michael Waltrip Racing and host several top executives from corporate America attending the races with the team. Waltrip will also continue his television work serving as a commentator for SPEED-TV's truck series broadcasts and begin his new role as an analyst for the Fox NASCAR Sunday broadcasts joining his brother and Hall of Fame member Darrell Waltrip. Aaron's Chief Operating Officer Ken Butler said the chance to have Waltrip drive the #40 and Mark Martin drive MWR's #55 Aaron's Dream Machines in the Daytona 500 is too good of an opportunity to miss. Hillman Racing is making its NASCAR debut this season, but the organization is anything but new to the sport. Team owner Mike Hillman Sr. played a key role in the founding of Germain Racing [was listed as the owner of the #60 Toyota in 2011 fielded by Germain Racing] and was the architect of the group's two NASCAR championships in 2006 and 2010. Hillman acquired the championship-winning NASCAR Camping World Truck Series assets following the conclusion of the 2011 season and is set to embark as the owner and general manager of Hillman Racing for the 2012 season.
"I can't think of a better way to start off the season than to have Michael Waltrip behind the wheel of our car at Daytona," said Hillman, who credits longtime friend and co-owner Joe Falk [was the owner of the #50 in 2011] for the inclusion of the Cup program under the Hillman Racing banner. "I've been in this sport a long time, but I've never been so excited to go to Daytona. To have two Daytona 500 champions at the start of the season  with Ward Burton in the truck and Michael in the Cup car  positions Hillman Racing for a strong debut and a chance to win both races."(Hillman Racing - MWR)(2-13-2012)

60 car parked for rest of season: per Sirius-Speedway.com / MRN announcer Dave Moody's twitter (@DGodfatherMoody). Moody was asked "is [Mike] Skinner out of the #60 or did they skip this weekend?" Moody replied: The car is parked for the year. The #60 is not on the entry list for Talladega.(10-19-2011)

Germain may switch manufacturers: Germain Racing [#13 GEICO Toyota & #60 Big Red Toyota] majority owner Bob Germain told Sirius XM NASCAR Radio's Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody that his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team may not return to the Toyota camp in 2012. "There is a possibility that we might not be a Toyota team next year," said Germain. "I never thought we'd be running anything but a Toyota, but I'm not sure we're going to be able to get on the TRD (Toyota Racing Development) engine program. We wanted to buy TRD motors for next year's Sprint Cup effort, but with Joe Gibbs Racing getting out of the engine business at the end of this year, I'm not sure we're going to be able to get our engines from TRD." Germain explained that TRD will have the capacity to build six sets of Sprint Cup Series engines next season. JGR's trio of Camrys driven by Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano accounts for three sets and Michael Waltrip Racing's Martin Truex, Jr. and David Reutimann account for two more. That leaves one engine set to be allotted, without accounting for MWR's expected third 2012 entry driven by Clint Bowyer, or JTG Daugherty Racing and driver Bobby Labonte. "Toyota has told us they will try to work something out," said Germain, "but it's not certain. There is a possibility that we may have to look elsewhere. We had already promised GEICO that we would go with TRD engines next year (after running Triad power in the past), and they were really excited about that. I never thought there would be a problem doing it, but now apparently, there is." Germain said he has already spoken to other manufacturers about possible 2012 alliances. "We went out and looked around little bit," he said. "We talked to Ford Racing and we talked to Rick Hendrick a while back, just to see what's out there and how their programs work. My hope is still to stay with Toyota, but we may not be able to do so."(Sirius Speedway)(10-1-2011)

Germain teams up with Native American Businessman: Sirius XM NASCAR Radio's Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody has learned that Germain Racing majority owner Bob German will form a new NASCAR National Series team in conjunction with Naples, Fla., resident O.B. Osceola, Jr. The team, to be called Germain-Osceola Racing, hopes to field an entry in 2012 on the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide or Camping World Truck Series in 2012 for a still unnamed driver, with backing projected to come from from a number of Native American tribes. Osceola is President of Pro Investment Group International and CEO of Pro Games, LLC, and has been instrumental in constructing and managing a number of large-scale projects for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, including fundraising and construction for Florida's Immokalee Casino, and overseeing the tribe's ownership of the worldwide Hard Rock and Hollywood Hotel/Casino franchises. Germain said the new team operate as a subsidiary of Germain Racing, with sponsorship flowing  at least for now -- into the existing race team, which fields Sprint Cup Toyota Camrys for #13-Casey Mears, #60-Mike Skinner and #50-TJ Bell, and Camping World Truck Series Tundras for former series champion Todd Bodine, Brendan Gaughan and Max Papis. He said Germain-Osceola Racing will make its NASCAR debut later this season, fielding a Hard Rock Vodka-sponsored Nationwide Series entry in the 2011 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. "That will be done as part of a launch for a new, Hard Rock-branded Vodka that's coming out," said Germain. "There are a lot of good things going on there, and I really think we're onto something. It's something new for NASCAR, and I think we're going to see a lot of good things come out of this program."(Sirius Speedway)(8-23-2011)

Big Red to sponsor 3 different manufacturers at Kentucky: Big Red Inc. will be making history at the Inaugural Kentucky NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race this weekend. For the first time ever, Big Red will be the primary sponsor for three cars from three different manufacturers in a NASCAR Sprint Cup race. Mike Skinner will pilot the #60 Big Red Toyota for Germain Racing, Mike Bliss will be behind the wheel of the #32 Big Red Ford for FAS Lane Racing, and Dave Blaney will pilot the #36 Big Red Chevy for Tommy Baldwin Racing in the first-ever NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at the Kentucky Speedway. The Kentucky region has been a heartland for Big Red soda for the past 74 years. The company wants to reach fans on a higher level than just consumption; they want them to feel the pride through their greatest passions-Big Red and NASCAR.(Big Red PR)(7-6-2011)

Cassill to drive the #09 at Auto Club: Landon Cassill will return to the driver's seat of the team's Sprint Cup car, the #09 Chevy, beginning this weekend at Auto Club Speedway. Team owner James Finch said he appreciates the contributions of Bill Elliott, who drove the #09 car in the first four Sprint Cup races of 2011 and helped the team achieve its goal of locking in a spot among the top 35 in car owner points, which assures starting positions for upcoming races. With one race remaining before the switch to this year's points, Phoenix is 26th in the standings, with a comfortable margin over the 36th-place team. "I am very thankful for what Bill has done for my team and sponsors to date, and we look forward to him running races later on this season," Finch said. In the meantime, Elliott plans to focus on working with his 15-year-old son Chase, who recently signed a driver agreement with Sprint Cup team owner Rick Hendrick.(Phoenix PR/Bill Elliott site), no word who will drive the #60 Toyota that Cassill was listed to drive at Auto Club.(3-22-2011)
UPDATE: Todd Bodine will drive the #60 Toyota for Germain.(3-22-2011)

Germain, Landon Cassill to run full season: UPDATE: Building on their heritage in motorsports, Big Red and ALL SPORT Body Quencher return to Sprint Cup competition in 2011 with a full time entry in the Sprint Cup series. Landon Cassill will drive the #60 car beginning with the SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 Sprint Cup Series Race at Phoenix International Raceway this weekend and will race for the full season. Launched in 1937, Big Red, with its distinctive flavor and widespread distribution in 44 states, was one of the nation's fastest growing soft drink brands in 2010. ALL SPORT is one of the nation's leading sports drinks and has an extensive history in motorsports including Tommy Kendall's Championship in the Trans Am series.(Co-Pilott Motorsports Marketing)(2-24-2011)
UPDATE: Despite the agreement, the team is apparently still in need of additional sponsorship to continue. Landon Cassil tweeted, "Great week, Big Red colors on the #60 car, still [start & park] but hopefully opportunities keep coming. gotta keep working, it's still week to week."(2-26-2011)

Todd Bodine to run three races at Daytona: Todd Bodine will compete in all three NASCAR divisions in next month's Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway. Bodine will race his championship-winning #30 in the Feb. 18 Truck race; the Nationwide [#15] car, which is locked into the field for the Feb. 19 season opener thanks to Michael Annett's 14th-place finish in the 2010 owners' points; and owner Larry Gunselman's #64, which has a technical alliance with the Germains, in the qualifying rounds for the 53rd Daytona 500. Bodine will spend the first day of next week's three-day Sprint Cup test at Daytona. Bodine said there was sponsorship in place for all three programs, which has yet to be announced. Bodine tested with Gunselman's team for two days last month at Goodyear's tire test and said "we're going to race the whole race."(NASCAR.com)(1-13-2011)