Images: added nearly 40 paint scheme images from Homestead to the 2009 Nationwide Series paint schemes pages.(11-25-2009)

Raybestos Rookie of the Year Notes:
" Justin Allgaier is the 2009 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Race. Allgaier claimed Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors 11 times during the 2009 season and his final margin of victory over Brendan Gaughan was 18 points (269-251).
" Allgaier finished the year with three top-five and 12 top-10 finishes and placed sixth in the series championship standings. His best finish was a fifth-place effort at Bristol Motor Speedway (race No. 4).
" Allgaier won his first career pole this past season at Memphis Motorsports Park (race 32) and came in his 36th career start.
" Three Raybestos Rookies finished inside the top-10 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship standings: Allgaier, Gaughan (ninth) and Michael Annett (tenth).
" At least one Raybestos Rookie scored a top-10 finish in 26 of 35 NASCAR Nationwide Series races this season.
" Allgaier is the first driver to win Raybestos Rookie of the Year winner for Penske Racing in a NASCAR national series since Ryan Newman captured top rookie honors in the 2002 Sprint Cup Series.(Camp & Assoc / Raybestos PR)(11-24-2009)

Homestead TV Ratings: ESPN2's live coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Ford 300 at Homestead earned a final national household coverage rating of 1.3, down from a 1.6 rating for last year's race that also aired on ESPN2. The telecast averaged 1,685,543 viewers. ESPN2's average rating for 26 NASCAR Nationwide Series race telecasts in 2009 was a 1.4, down from a 1.5 average in 2008 but even with the final average for 2007.(ESPN PR)(11-24-2009)

One full time car for KHI in 2010: The KHI plan for next season is to run two full-time Trucks and one full-time Nationwide car with the possibility of a second car in select races. Hornaday will drive one truck while Harvick will drive the other along with Cup drivers in the companion events to Cup races and another driver for non-companion events, Harvick said. Harvick also plans to split time with Hornaday (four or five races), Ryan Newman and possibly others in the Nationwide car. (SceneDaily)(11-23-2009)

News/Notes from Homestead:
Kyle Busch won the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch won the 2009 Nationwide Series championship just by starting the race.
Busch broke eight series records in 2009.
This is the first Nationwide driver championship for Joe Gibbs Racing, which won its second owners' championship (2008).
Busch scored his 30th career series victory in his 173rd start. He is fourth all time on the career wins list, one behind third-place Jack Ingram. It was his ninth victory of 2009.
Busch led 73 of the 200 laps, including the final 36. He led the most laps for the 17th time in 2009.
Busch scored 5,682 points, the most earned by a driver in a single season in series history.
It marked the second time the champion has won the final race of the season, joining Sam Ard (1983).
Busch has finished first or second in 35 of the last 65 races, since the start of 2008.
Carl Edwards (second) scored his fourth straight top-10 finish at Homestead, the longest current streak.
Jeff Burton (third) posted his fifth top-10 finish in seven races at Homestead.
Joey Logano (fourth) posted his first top-10 finish at Homestead.
Denny Hamlin (fifth) posted his third top-10 finish in five races at Homestead.
Brad Keselowski (12th) rebounded from a Lap 34 spin; he was running 35th on Lap 35. He ended a 16-race streak of top-10 finishes.
The 20 lead changes set a record for the most in a Nationwide race at Homestead.
Brendan Gaughan (11th) was the highest-finishing rookie contender.
Mike Bliss (16th) remained fifth in points (only the top five are on stage at the year-end banquet).(ESPN.com)(11-23-2009)

Kenny Wallace returning to Jay Robinson: UPDATE: #28-Kenny Wallace twittered Friday that he will return to run the full 2010 Nationwide Series season in the #28 of Jay Robinson Racing.(11-20-2009)
UPDATE: Kenny Wallace said this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway he will return to Jay Robinson Racing's NASCAR Nationwide Series team for the full 2010 season. Wallace said the team has a sponsor for eight races, but the team will race the remaining 27 races as well. "It was an interesting moment," Wallace said. "We were in Phoenix, up in my hauler. & Jay said, 'I'd like to talk about next year.' We agreed that we would do exactly what we're doing this year. I would race for Jay, there would be no start-and-parking. "But one thing we agreed on was that I would be happy with the moving target. I said, 'What's a moving target?'" A moving target means Wallace and the team will race only with the money they have. "If we go to California, and we can only afford three sets of tires & I said, 'OK, I'm all in,'" Wallace said. "We shook hands in front of everybody and made it official."(SceneDaily)(11-22-2009)

Paul Wolfe leaving CJM: ESPN2 reported during the Nationwide Series race that #11 CJM Racing crew chief Paul Wolfe was leaving the team at the conclusion of the season. No word on his plans.(11-21-2009)

Milwaukee race in jeopardy; The 2010 Nationwide and Truck Series races at The Milwaukee Mile appear to be in jeopardy as the track is still without a promoter. No promoter has been hired by the Wisconsin State Fair Park Board, and time apparently is running out. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported Friday that the most recent potential promoter, headed by the Giuffre brothers, has ended negotiations with the fair board to become the promoter. NASCAR's sanction for the 2010 races at the track was with the prior promoter, a fair board spokesman confirmed last month. So could those races move to other tracks? "There is a possibility [of those races moving]," NASCAR Vice President of Operations Steve O'Donnell said Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. "We are still doing our best to keep that race [weekend] in Milwaukee. It's no secret what you've seen in the papers. We've done everything we can to keep the race there. It's a tremendous fan base for us. We're still trying. We don't want to give up hope. But we are exploring all options at this time from the 2010 standpoint."(SceneDaily)(11-21-2009)

Howard returning to #70 team: UPDATE: Not only would the #70 ML Motorsports team like to finish the 2009 season on a good note, but also take some momentum into the 2010 season. Howard and ML Motorsports are tentatively planning to run 22 Nationwide Series events together next season.(ML Motorsports PR)(11-20-2009)
UPDATE: ML Motorsports will buy their engines for the 2010 Nationwide Series season from Earnhardt-Childress Racing. ML Motorsports will also update its fleet of #70 Chevys, which will again be driven by Greenwood native Shelby Howard. The team will purchase new cars from Kevin Harvick Incorporated, as well as share information and setups with the KHI teams.(Times Union)(11-20-2009)

Changes possible at RWI? UPDATE 3: hearing that David Stremme could be looking to run at least a handful of races in 2010 with Rusty Wallace, Inc. and could bring some sponsorship. The #66-Steve Wallace team has sponsorship for 2010 from 5-Hour Energy, but the #62 is looking for additional money. No word on the status of driver Brendan Gaughan, but he has expressed an interest in staying full time in the Nationwide Series next season with RWI.(10-29-2009)
UPDATE: Brendan Gaughan told Sirius NASCAR Radio's Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody Thursday that while his sponsorship situation for 2010 is uncertain, but that he expects to return to Rusty Wallace, Inc. Steve (Wallace) has sponsors signed full-time for next year, but I don't," he said. "We have a couple of races with the South Point Hotel and Casino, and a couple with Loan Max. We're working on the rest of schedule and all of RWI's marketing resources are going toward that. Rusty and I have always been straightforward with each other. I hadn't heard the Stremme rumor, but the bottom line is that we need sponsorship. Until we find that, I can't tell you for surw what's going to happen, but I'm certainly not calling any race teams saying, `I need a ride for next year.' My whole goal is to come back and race for RWI."(Sirius NASCAR Radio)(10-30-2009)
UPDATE 2: been told that additional sponsorship has yet to be secured for RWI's #62 team for the 2010 season. Hearing that crew members [including crew chiefs?] from both teams have been told that there could potentially be cutbacks at some point if full sponsorship is not in place soon. Although there are no layoffs planned at this time, employees have been told that they are welcome to look at employment opportunities with other teams if they arise.(11-11-2009)
UPDATE 2: Rusty Wallace Racing owner Rusty Wallace said Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway that he may have to cut back to one NASCAR Nationwide Series team car next season if more sponsorship isn't found for his #62 entry driven by Brendan Gaughan. Wallace said he has sold about 40 percent of the races for 2010, but that might not amount to enough to keep Gaughan in the car full time. Wallace said Michael Gaughan, Brendan's father, subsidizes sponsorship on the #62, but that he wants the full season. Wallace said he would run the #62 car part time in 2010, but it appears Gaughan would not be the driver under that scenario. Wallace's team has full sponsorship for the #66 entry and driver Steve Wallace, and the team announced this week it would switch to Toyota from Chevrolet next season. Wallace said Triad Racing Development would build the team's engines next year. The move to Toyota could be a precursor of a move to Cup in 2011 or beyond, as Wallace has wanted to take his team a step up.(SceneDaily)(11-20-2009)

Phoenix TV Ratings: Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Phoenix aired live on ESPN2 and earned a final national household coverage rating of 1.1, down from the 1.3 rating earned for last year's race that also aired on ESPN2. The telecast averaged 1,419,953 viewers.(ESPN PR)(11-19-2009)

Rusty Wallace to Toyota: Officials of Rusty Wallace Racing, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. and TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) announced that beginning with the 2010 season, RWR will field Toyota Camrys in its quest for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship. The team currently plans to enter the #66 and #62 Toyota Camrys in the 2010 Nationwide Series, piloted by Steve Wallace and Brendan Gaughan, respectively. Additionally, a separate agreement with RWR team owner, Rusty Wallace, will enable the racing legend, television analyst, and Toyota dealer to represent the Toyota brand on a national basis.(RWI PR)(11-19-2009)

Efland has 2010 deal: Nationwide Series driver Danny Efland announced a new partnership with M&W Motorsports to drive selected 2010 events in the NASCAR Nationwide series. The team, based in Columbia, South Carolina has purchased equipment from Richard Childress Racing and is currently equipping the shop. "This is a great opportunity for me," said Danny, "Our first race will probably be California since we don't have a Daytona car but we are looking." M&W Motorsports has watched Danny for a long time and think both can work together towards furthering Danny's career.(Danny Elfland PR)(11-19-2009)

Mike Wallace renews with JD Motorsports: Mike Wallace and J-D Motorsports have agreed they will compete together for a championship title run in the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series. Mike Wallace said, "I enjoy working with the entire 01 J-D Motorsports Chevrolet team. Johnny and Lori Davis are true racers and will do whatever it takes to be competitive. First and foremost they are great and honest people. They have already ramped up the shop and competition development with NASCAR Nationwide driver Kertus Davis heading up the team's in-shop efforts. Ricky Viers, a veteran crew chief, brought his talents and efforts to help lead the team to respectable results. As we continue our search for marketing partners for the 2010 season, we invite companies that have the same goals in performance and perfection as J-D Motorsports".(JD Motorsports PR)(11-17-2009)

Bechtel Join Forces with MWR to Form Diamond-Waltrip Racing: Diamond Ridge Motorsports and Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) announced the formation of Diamond-Waltrip Racing which will enter a full-time NASCAR Nationwide Series team starting in 2010 for driver Trevor Bayne. Diamond-Waltrip Racing, co-owned by majority owners, Gary and Blake Bechtel and owners, Michael Waltrip and Rob Kauffman, has purchased the assets and associated car owner benefits of Michael Waltrip Racing's #99 Toyota Camry team. Diamond-Waltrip Racing will field its team for Bayne out of Michael Waltrip Racing's Cornelius, N.C., facility and will continue to be managed by MWR personnel. The team has secured limited sponsorship and is seeking additional race sponsors for 2010. Bechtel jumped onto the NASCAR scene in 1990 when he formed Diamond Ridge Motorsports. Bobby Hamilton was slated as the first driver for Bechtel's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team. His first race was in the 1990 Coca-Cola 600. Bechtel's success on the race track didn't come until he started his NASCAR Nationwide Series program in 1995. Steve Grissom was tabbed as Bechtel's first Nationwide Series driver. In only 15 races, he notched two wins, four top-five and seven top-10 finishes.(Diamond-Waltrip PR)(11-14-2009)

Bayne to return to MWR? UPDATE 3: Trevory Bayne made 13 starts in 2009, including 10 races for #99-Michael Waltrip Racing, where he is expected to drive next year. The 19-year-old Knoxville, Tenn.-native's best finish was seventh on two occasions. Once at O'Reilly Raceway Park and again at Richmond. Bayne also won the pole at ORP.(FoxSports)(11-6-2009)
UPDATE: Representative from Michael Waltrip will make an announcement about a new partnership and the plans for the #99 NASCAR Nationwide Series team Saturday mroning at Phoenix International Raceway. Attending will be: Michael Waltrip, Gary and Blake Bechtel, Trevor Bayne.(MWR PR)(11-13-2009)
UPDATE 2: Former NASCAR team owner Gary Bechtel has purchased a majority interest in Michael Waltrip Racing's Nationwide Series team and will put Trevor Bayne in the #99 Toyota full time next year, sources say. MWR will continue to operate the team out of its shop in Cornelius, N.C. Bechtel was the owner of Diamond Ridge Motorsports, which won 10 races in what is now the Nationwide Series and competed in 129 Cup events from 1990 through 1998. Bechtel's last full season in Cup was 1997, and he sold the assets of his operation following the 1998 season to Joe Gibbs Racing.(SceneDaily)(11-13-2009)
UPDATE 3: Diamond-Waltrip Racing (DWR) announced that Trevor Bayne has signed a multi-year contract to drive the #99 Toyota in the NASCAR Nationwide Series beginning in 2010. Additionally, MWR has signed a contract with Bayne to run a minimum of seven NASCAR Sprint Cup races in 2011 with an eye on full-time Sprint Cup competition by 2012. Currently, Diamond-Waltrip Racing has limited sponsorship from Aaron's for the 2010 season and is still searching for additional sponsor support for the remaining races. "We are extremely excited to have Trevor behind the wheel of the #99 Toyota," said Gary Bechtel, co-owner of DWR. "Even though the No. 99 team is not fully sponsored, we are committed to running Trevor in the entire season so he can compete for the championship. He has shown a lot of promise this season and we expect him to be one of the frontrunners next year."(Diamond-Waltrip PR)(11-14-2009)