McDowell to run full season UPDATE: per Michael McDowell's Facebook page - Michael McDowell has signed with Prism Motorsports to run full time in the Sprint Cup Series in the #55 car. It was posted recently that Dave Blaney would return to Prism Motorsports to run the #66 car full-time in 2010 and McDowell would run some races in a 2nd car. The #66 Prism Motorsports team attempted all 36 Sprint Cup Series races in 2010, with Terry Labonte in the Daytona 500, Blaney in 34 races and McDowell at Talladega in April when Blaney had a family obligation. No word on a sponsor or crew chief.(2-1-2010)
UPDATE: Phil Parsons and Randy Humphrey's Prism Motorsports, which kicked off 2009 with a guaranteed start in the Daytona 500 and ran a single Toyota for the full schedule, will attempt to run two cars all season in 2010. Parsons confirmed Tuesday that Prism had entered a #55 Toyota for Michael McDowell, with debuting Cup crew chief Zach McGowan and a #66 Toyota for veteran Dave Blaney, again with Bill Henderson leading the crew. "We're going to race those things in," Parsons said. "We have our same alliance with MWR [Michael Waltrip Racing] that we did last year. We're going to attempt every race. We've been talking about the second car, and we solidified it in the last few weeks [because] if you're going to go anywhere and take a shot at getting in, that's the one to do it because the rewards are so great. We really don't have any sponsorship. We thought we were really close to having something for Dave for [Speedweeks], and it turned out they went a different direction at the 11th hour. We're still actively pursuing everything we can pursue; we have some good conversations going, but nothing imminent." Engines will be supplied by Pro Motor, built by Mark Smith and Terry Elledge, the father of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing crew chief Jimmy Elledge and a Parsons associate for 30 years.(NASCAR.com)(2-3-2010)

Blaney back with Prism, McDowell too: Dave Blaney will remain driver of the #66 Toyota with the Prism Motorsports team owned by Phil Parsons and Randy Humphrey even though he was a start and park driver in 29 of his 30 races for the team in 2009. The teamt is adding a second car to be driven by Michael McDowell, Parsons said Friday as he and Humphrey try to find an economic model that will allow Blaney to race this year. “Dave is our guy,” Parsons said. “We didn’t want to be a start and park last year. But we’re trying to build something for the future and that’s what we had to do to survive without sponsorship. We want to race this year. We’re talking to people about sponsorship but don’t have anything yet. We hope to have the money from the outside that will let Dave race. But if we don’t, we want to be able to do it ourselves. And having the second car is part of that.” Blaney said he talked to some other teams. “I talked to a couple of other small teams like Phil but this turned to be the best,” Blaney said. “Phil’s trying to get something established and they are heading in the right direction.” He said that he inquired about the [#49] BAM Racing ride and had not taken a look into an opportunity with Vermont businessman Bill Jenkins, who has purchased Roush Fenway Racing’s #26 team. “I talked to the BAM people at Homestead in November but I never heard anything from them, so I don’t know what they are doing,” Blaney said. “I don’t know anything about that new team but I would imagine that will go to one of the drivers associated with Roush." Parsons said that no matter the circumstances, Blaney will race the full distance in the Daytona 500 if he qualifies. “Daytona pays enough purse that you can afford to race,” Parsons said. “We’ve got to concentrate on going down there and racing our way in.”(High Point Enterprise)(1-18-2010)

Blaney's plans up in the air for 2010, Prism not returning? a few weeks old, but lack of money continues to be the bane for Dave Blaney, who sputtered through the 2009 Sprint Cup season with an under-funded #66 Prism Motorsports team. For the past 11 months, the Hartford native started in 30 of the season’s 36 races [Blaney attempted 34 of the races in the #66 Toyota, Terry Labonte ran the Daytona 500 and McDowell attempted Talladega in April] and handled the start-and-park gimmick as best he could to earn $2,343,060. At age 47, Blaney isn’t ready to put the brakes on his career, but he’s looking less like a NASCAR driver and more like a NASCAR dad everyday. “In Sprint Cup, especially, there’s not going to be any really good opportunities down the road,” said Blaney. “I’m old enough where it’s just not going to happen. So, we’ll run what we can and see what happens. But Ryan’s got a future, possibly, in racing, so we’ll see if we can help him and see how it goes,” Blaney said of his son, who most recently ran stock cars in North Carolina this past summer and ran well. Ryan Blaney turns 16 at the end of December and the likelihood of Dave grooming the son instead of pushing himself is real. “At the moment, I’m trying to help Ryan get going more than I’m worried more about my stuff, honestly, so I’ll do what I can do to help him first, then worry about me. From what I’ve seen of Ryan so far in the past few years, I think the sky’s the limit, potential-wise.” Although two months remain before the Sprint Cup’s 2010 season kicks off, Dave Blaney sees little movement in potential rides for himself. “There’s not much there, not much going on,” Blaney said, chuckling after being asked about the new season. “I don’t have anything other than the same stuff I was doing in 2009 — the start and park thing.” He rode for Prism Motorsports in 2009, but, although Prism still exists, it doesn’t have a budget for fulltime racing. He said there are some other opportunities, but nothing better. “I thought I was close to a 6-8 race schedule with one of those [Nationwide] teams, but that’s still up on the air as well,” Blaney said. “I’d run any of the series — trucks, Nationwide — whatever could be put together if it’s a pretty competitive team. It would all be fun to do, but there’s no sponsorship right now anywhere, so all the teams are struggling to stay alive.” Blaney insists that he’ll be racing in some form in 2010, even if it’s a smorgasbord.(in part from The Vindicator)(1-10-2010)