Kyle Busch Rolls To Snowball Derby Win As Danica Patrick Joins NASCAR

The 2009 Nationwide Series champion, “Rowdy” Kyle Busch passed “Fast” Eddie Mercer on lap 282 of the 300-lap 42nd annual Snowball Derby in Pensacola, Fla.

“Well, since I didn’t make this year’s Cup Chase and didn’t have any obligation to go to the banquet, this was the best place for me,” said Busch. “This is the one (race) you want to win. This is the one that re ally counts.

“Unfortunately, my M&M’s Cup team didn’t make the Chase this year, so we decided to come down here and run the Snowball Derby.

“I’m very proud of my team. We came in here, and they’ve worked very hard. There is a lot of good racers here. We came in as the out siders, and they really gave me a good car. This was a full fledged ef fort to try to win.”

When asked about his thoughts on next year’s Cup season, he said, “I’d like to say we are going to win the championship, but you never know. We had some good runs this past year, and we had some bad runs. The bad runs overcame the good runs. I’m proud of all the guys on my Cup team, but today is what it’s all about and we won the Snow ball Derby.”

Kyle Busch Eddie Mercer finished second. Steven Wallace, another Nation wide Series driver and 2004 Snow ball Derby winner, finished third.

“We had a good car, and I thought we were in pretty good shape, but on the last pit stop, some thing was wrong with the set of tires, and it didn’t handle like it should there at the end.”

Race fans might have thought the 2009 racing season ended on Nov. 22 when NASCAR’s three major series competed at Home stead. But they were wrong. Fans know the racing season is never complete until a champion is crowned in the Snowball Derby, the country’s most prestigious short track race that occurs each Decem ber.

The polesitter was Johanna Long, the 17 year old daughter of racer Donald Long. Ross Kenseth, the 16 year old son of NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Matt Kenseth started second, while Kyle Busch qualified third. Chase Elliott, son of Bill Elliott qualified ninth.

With the regular racing season over, several of NASCAR’s bigger stars headed south to Five Flags Speedway in hopes of finding vic tory lane.

Those entered in this year’s clas sic included Cup driver David Stremme, Nationwide drivers Steven Wallace, John Wes Townley and Cale Gale, and James Buescher, Brian Ickler and Ryan Sieg from the Camping World Trucks.

Past winners of the Snowball Derby include such notables as Donnie Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Ted Musgrave, Rich Bickle, Gary St. Amant, Rick Crawford, Bobby Gill, Pete Hamilton, Ted Musgrave and Jody Ridley.

For the complete race rundown, go to: www.5flagsspeedway.com.

Danica Patrick coming to

NASCAR

Danica Patrick will drive a part time Nationwide Series schedule for JR Motorsports in 2010. The exact number of races has not been determined, but she is expected to compete in about a dozen races in a No. 7, her number in IndyCar, with GoDaddy.com as the sponsor.

When Patrick announced her three year extension with Andretti Autosport last week in New York a picture appeared on her website with her in a NASCAR fire suit bearing a JRM and other NASCAR related logos.

The plan is to enter Patrick in the ARCA Series opener in Febru ary at Daytona International Speed way and get her approved by NASCAR for the Nationwide [Day tona] race.

ARCA owner Bobby Gerhart re cently was contacted about putting Patrick in one of his cars for a Dec. 18 20 test at Daytona. He told ESPN.com he expected her to be in a car prepared by JR Motorsports at the test. “My gut feeling is I think she’ll drive something out of Mooresville, N.C.,” he said, refer ring to the location of JRM. “That’s what I’m hearing.”

Logano is Rookie of the Year

Joey Logano, who finished the Cup season 20th in points with one win, was also the youngest driver to earn the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award and became the youngest Cup winner when he won the rain shortened June 28 race in Loudon, N.H.

He beat out veteran open wheel and sports car racer Max Papis and former Formula One driver Scott Speed for the honor.

“It’s really cool to get the Raybestos award. That’s something you only get one shot at,” he said.

He will share a $114,000 top rookie bonus with his team along with the $5.3 million he won in Cup races.

“Sweet. I didn’t know the rookie of the year award paid that much,” Logano continued. “Wow, maybe I can buy the car I’ve been wanting.”

He has been modest throughout his first full Cup season after being elevated to replace Tony Stewart in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toy ota when Stewart announced his plans late last year to start his own team.

“If Tony hadn’t left, I probably would have run a full (NASCAR) Nationwide series this season with maybe some Cup races at the end of the year,” said Logano.

He won five of the 22 Nation wide races he entered.

Kansas Speedway ups ante

Kansas Speedway’s application to operate a Hard Rock Casino on speedway property has been ap proved by the Kansas Gaming Commission. International Speed way Corp., which owns the track and is controlled by the France fam ily, promised the track a second race, beginning in 2011.

Mike Helton, president of NASCAR said they would not add a race to the current 36 race schedule. The big question is which of the current ISC tracks will lose a race to Kansas?

Most fans would favor Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., but Michigan Speedway might be one to lose out. Sponsors want to race twice at ACS because it’s in the second largest market in the coun try. Michigan, an almost identical track to ACS but 30 years older, lies in one of the most depressed areas of the country. Being in the back yard of the Big 3’s headquarters was a big reason Michigan had played host to two Cup races a year since 1969. No one knows whether all three automakers will survive. Michigan Speedway also could be come a victim of the problem.

Martinsville, the oldest facility in NASCAR, was thought to be the location that would lose a race. But the resurfaced track at Bristol has eliminated much of the bumping, and banging that made the short track so popular. NASCAR officials aren’t going to mess that up and take a race away from the old Vir ginia track, a move that would cause a revolt by many fans. Mar tinsville appears safe for keeping both Cup dates.

ISC currently has two other Cup races at Daytona, Talladega, Rich mond and Phoenix. It has one race at Darlington, Watkins Glen, Chicagoland, Homestead Miami and Kansas.

Racing Trivia Question: What year did Mark Martin first compete in the Cup series?

Last Week’s Question: Where is the NASCAR Hall of Fame going to be located? Answer. Charlotte, NC. It will open in May, 2010.

You may contact the Racing Re porter at: hodgesnews@earth link.net.