Reggie Jackson to pace field at Auto Club 500

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. — Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, who earned the nickname Mr. October for his World Series heroics with both the A's and Yankees, will be behind the wheel of the Auto Club Speedway’s 2009 Chevy Impala pace car as he leads the field before the start of NASCAR’s 2009 West Coast Premiere — the Auto Club 500 — on Feb. 22.

"In my lifetime I've played in six World Series, hob-knobbed with movie stars and been a part of the excitement of New York and the Yankees," said Jackson. "With all that, it’s hard to get excited over many things. But being behind the wheel of the pace car for the Auto Club 500, is right up there with some of the most exciting things I've ever done."

A five-year star with the California Angles (now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), Jackson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993. In 27 Fall Classic games, he amassed 10 home runs - including four in consecutive at-bats - 24 RBI and a .357 batting average. As one of the game's premier power hitters, he blasted 563 career round-trippers. A terrific player in the clutch and an intimidating cleanup hitter, Jackson compiled a lifetime slugging percentage of .490 and earned American League MVP honors in 1973. He won three consecutive World Series titles as a member of the Oakland A's in the early 1970s and also won 2 consecutive titles with the New York Yankees. He also played one year with the Baltimore Orioles.

Jackson is the only position player to win the World Series MVP Award 2 times ('73 with the A's and '77 with the NY Yankees).

Jackson is just one of several celebrities taking part in Auto Club Speedway’s Auto Club 500 Weekend. In addition to Jackson, Grammy-nominated Little Big Town will perform the National Anthem before the Auto Club 500. Gavin Rossdale, who is currently enjoying the success of his Top 40 hit single “Love Remains the Same,” will perform a pre-race concert prior to the Auto Club 500 in the Opportunity, California FanZone, while Rev Theory, currently on tour with Theory of a Deadman and Ten Second Epic, will perform Saturday Feb. 21 and Sunday, Feb. 22 also at Auto Club Speedway’s Opportunity, California FanZone.

Band from TV, noted celebrities from television’s Heroes, Desperate Housewives and House just to name a few is scheduled to rock the Opportunity, California FanZone Stage on Sunday and multi-platinum singer/songwriter and country superstar Billy Ray Cyrus will serve as Grand Marshal for the Stater Bros. 300 as well as perform the National Anthem prior to the start of the San Bernardino County 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event, both scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 21.

Media: No go on four-in-a-row

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The media have spoken, and it predicts Carl Edwards will end Jimmie Johnson's championship stranglehold.

In a NASCARMedia.com poll asking members of the media to forecast 2009's final top 12, Edwards received almost twice the first place votes as Johnson. Edwards finished with 70 first-place votes, compared to Johnson's 37.

Despite his proven dominance in winning three consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series titles, Johnson could not muster a majority of the support from the 198 voters who cast a ballot.

"It is an unreal compliment for 70 [media members] to think that I will win it all," Edwards said. "It's just great. What Jimmie has done is spectacular. For the media to say they think that I might be able to stop that is pretty neat."

The voters believe the rest of the 2009 top 12 will look much like the final 2008 version — with one notable exception.

In their opinion, Mark Martin's return to full-time competition with Hendrick Motorsports will shake up this season's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The media picked Martin to finish eighth. Clint Bowyer, who must adapt to his new No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet crew in 2009, is the only 2008 Chase participant who the voters feel will fail to make it in 2009.

Here are the media's final top 12 predictions:

1. Carl Edwards
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Kyle Busch
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
6. Greg Biffle
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Mark Martin
9. Jeff Burton
10. Matt Kenseth
11. Denny Hamlin
12. Tony Stewart

In Raybestos Rookie of the Year balloting, voters believe Joey Logano will live up to expectations. Logano, who takes over the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota from Tony Stewart, garnered 53% of the media vote. Scott Speed finished second with 44% and Max Papis finished third with 3%. A total of 185 votes were cast in the preseason Raybestos Rookie of the Year ballot.

Souce: NASCAR

Teams ready for new-look Budweiser Shootout at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Amid much anticipation, the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series officially returns to the track Saturday night.

The 31st annual Budweiser Shootout At Daytona — the non-points precursor to the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 15 — snares the spotlight first at Daytona International Speedway.

This year, the event will have changes in its format, with a slightly longer distance and an expanded field designed to showcase the four manufacturers competing in NASCAR's premier series.

And come Saturday, no one will be more eager to mash the gas than the Budweiser Shootout's defending winner — Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet).

"Winning the first race of the year — whether it's for points or no points — is always pretty special," Earnhardt said. "There's no better way to start a season than by winning the first one right out of the gate."

Doing so may be especially important this season, given NASCAR's 2009 suspension of testing at tracks that hold NASCAR-sanctioned events. Instead of the usual January tests at Daytona and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NASCAR Sprint Cup teams concentrated energy in shops and engine rooms to prepare for the season.

For the Budweiser Shootout's 28 eligible participants, Saturday night's race means the first opportunity to gather data under race conditions, a crucial component for Daytona 500 preparations.

Last year, Earnhardt used his victory to jump-start his first season at Hendrick Motorsports. The momentum carried over to a victory in the first of two 150-mile qualifying races for the Daytona 500 (the Gatorade Duel), and an eventual ninth-place finish in the Daytona 500.

"It doesn't necessarily determine how the rest of your Speedweeks will go, because we run different cars for the Daytona 500," Earnhardt said. "But it's the opening act of a new season, and everyone wants to start off with a bang. I guess it's more important for bragging rights."

He cites a "good car; good motor; being in the right place at the right time," for his 2008 Budweiser Shootout win — his third overall.

"Everything was clicking," Earnhardt added. "I had teammates up front, and we worked together quite a bit. It was just a good race where everything went right."

---

BUDWEISER SHOOTOUT AT DAYTONA

A New Format … The Budweiser Shootout race distance has been increased from 70 laps to 75 laps for 2009. That's a total of 187.5 miles on Daytona's high-banked, 2.5-mile layout.

As has been the case since 2003, the event will be run in two segments; only the first segment increases in distance from 20 to 25 laps.

Following the first segment, a 10-minute "pit stop" gives crews the opportunity to make normal adjustments to their cars. That means tweaks they would do on a normal pit stop during a regular NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event.

All work must be done on pit road or in the garage.

Teams may not change springs, shocks or rear-ends.

All green- and yellow-flag laps in both segments will count.

Following the 10-minute "pit stop", the event's second segment remains a 50-lap sprint for the win.

A New Field … As announced last August, the Budweiser Shootout field now includes the top six teams from each manufacturer based on the final 2008 car owner standings. Another change announced on Jan. 16: Each manufacturer also has a "wild card" entry, which increases the field from 24 to 28 teams.

Here's the criteria for including a seventh car, or "wild card" entry:

Any owner outside the top six for each manufacturer, whose driver is a past NASCAR Sprint Cup champion who attempted to qualify for all 2008 events. Each manufacturer is permitted only one of these positions, which will be based on the most recent champion per manufacturer.

If an owner/manufacturer doesn't have a past NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, the next highest eligible owner outside the top six, per manufacturer, in the final 2008 owner standings, will be eligible to fill that manufacturer's wild-card position.

Note: This year's 28-team Budweiser Shootout field is the largest in event history. Last year's 23-team field was the previous high.

The 2009 field includes five former Daytona 500 champions — including one three-time winner in Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet), one two-time winner in Michael Waltrip (No. 55 NAPA Toyota), 2007 winner Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet), 2004 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 2006 winner Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet), also the reigning and three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion.

First-time Budweiser Shootout participants include AJ Allmendinger (No. 44 Valvoline Dodge), Robby Gordon (No. 7 Jim Beam Dodge), Joey Logano (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota), Paul Menard (No. 98 Menard's Ford), David Ragan (No. 6 UPS Ford), David Reutimann (No. 00 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota), Scott Speed (No. 82 Team Red Bull Toyota) and David Stremme (No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge).

Participants with previous Budweiser Shootout experience include Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford), Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet), Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge), Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M's Toyota), Carl Edwards (No. 99 AFLAC Ford), Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota), Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge), Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford), Bobby Labonte (No. 96 ASK.COM Ford), Jamie McMurray (No. 26 Crown Royal Ford), Casey Mears (No. 07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet), Elliott Sadler (No. 19 Stanley Tools Dodge), Reed Sorenson (No. 43 McDonald's Dodge), Tony Stewart (No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet) and Brian Vickers (No. 83 Red Bull Toyota).

Souce: NASCAR

2009 NASCAR national series television broadcast times announced

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Broadcast times for the 2009 NASCAR season have been announced, beginning with FOX's broadcast of the non-points Budweiser Shootout at Daytona at 8:10 p.m. (ET) on Feb. 7 at Daytona International Speedway. The full broadcast schedules, including TV start times, for all three national series — the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series — are below.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races will be seen on either FOX, TNT, ESPN or ABC. In addition, two non-points events — the Gatorade Duel at Daytona (2 p.m. ET on Feb. 12) and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (7:30 p.m. ET on May 16 at Lowe's Motor Speedway), will be broadcast by SPEED.

FOX will broadcast the first 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup points races, beginning with the 51st running of the Daytona 500 (Feb. 15, 2 p.m. TV start time; green flag 3:20 p.m. ET) and ending with the May 31 event at Dover International Speedway at 2 p.m. (ET).

TNT will broadcast the next six events, beginning with the Pocono 500 at 2 p.m. (ET) on June 7 at Pocono Raceway and ending with Chicagoland Speedway's LifeLock.com 400, July 11 at 8 p.m. (ET).

ESPN and ABC will broadcast the final 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup events. ESPN will broadcast six, beginning with the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at 2 p.m. (ET) on July 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and ending with the Sept. 6 event at Atlanta Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET).

ABC completes the season with 11 broadcasts, beginning with race No. 26, the cutoff event for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup — at Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. (ET). ABC also will air the entire 10-race Chase. The season ends with ABC's broadcast of the Ford 400 on Nov. 22 at 3:15 p.m. (ET) at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series season will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. ABC will broadcast four events, ESPN will broadcast five and ESPN2 will broadcast 26. ESPN2 opens the season with the Camping World 300 at 1:15 p.m. (ET) on Feb. 14 at Daytona. New to the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule is a race at Iowa Speedway, held on Aug. 1 at 4:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPN. ESPN2 also will broadcast the season-finale Ford 300 on Nov. 21 at Homestead-Miami (4:30 p.m. ET).

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, with new title sponsor Camping World, returns to SPEED for a seventh consecutive season, beginning with the season-opening NextEra Energy Resources 250 on Feb. 13 at 8 p.m. (ET) at Daytona. The season-finale Ford 200 on Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami begins at 8 p.m. (ET). SPEED will broadcast 23 of the 25 races.

For the third consecutive season, FOX will broadcast two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events. The first will be at Auto Club Speedway on Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. (ET). The race is part of a NASCAR "double header" involving the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series (The NASCAR Nationwide Series race will be televised on ESPN2 at 7:45 p.m. ET). FOX also will broadcast the NCWTS Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway on March 28 at 2 p.m. (ET).

Sprint Cup Series schedule

Nationwide Series schedule

Camping World Truck Series schedule

Souce: NASCAR