Jamie McMurray is perhaps the most enthused about his change—a return to Earnhardt Ganassi Racing—which was known as Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates when McMurray last drove there in 2005. McMurray annually contended for a Chase spot while he was there.
McMurray drove the past four years with Roush Fenway Racing but never was as successful in the five-car RFR format as he had been at Ganassi. He says he’s hit it off extremely well with both his new crew chief, Kevin Manion, as well as his new teammate, Juan Montoya.
Travis Kvapil, who has the 2003 Truck Series championship on his resume, will be FRM’s lead driver, primarily in the No. 34. Rookie Kevin Conway isn’t NASCAR-approved to compete at Daytona, but will start his season at Fontana in the No. 37. Jenkins’ No. 38 car is a new team that will use a mix of drivers: Andretti, Speedweeks pilot Robert Richardson Jr. and David Gilliland, who will run the majority of the races.
The veteran Mike Bliss earned a lot of well-deserved praise for maintaining a top-five position in the Nationwide driver standings while hopping from ride to ride after he was released from Phoenix Racing. Bliss joins Tommy Baldwin Racing’s gutsy program that also switches from Toyota to Chevrolet and brings new crew chief Kevin Buskirk into the mix as well.
While it apparently remains to be seen if Phoenix owner James Finch’s tribal sponsorship will continue on his Cup and Nationwide cars, Aric Almirola is earmarked to run the full season, which would be a first for the promising Tampa, Fla., native; for hard-core racer Finch’s No. 09 team.
Brad Keselowski, who’s one of three drivers—along with Carl Edwards and Menard—who are contesting full schedules in both Nationwide and Cup, ran three races in Penske Racing’s No. 12 car last season, after replacing David Stremme. This season Keselowski will work with Penske’s newest crew chief, Jay Guy, who came over from Furniture Row Racing.
The most significant here is for 2003 champion Matt Kenseth, who’d been identified with a single sponsor since his Cup career began, until the toolmaker decided to leave the sport after last season. Thus, Kenseth will start 2010 resplendent in Crown Royal purple, mixed with Valvoline’s red, white and blue.
Veteran team owners Beth Ann and Tony Morgenthau’s BAM Racing fits that mold only because of the uncertainty surrounding their return to the series. Gilliland will drive BAM’s No. 49 Toyota at Daytona with Larry the Cable Guy riding along courtesy of Warner Music Nashville. After that the plan is somewhat up in the air, along with that of close ally Robby Gordon Motorsports.
Latitude 43 Motorsports has remained a mystery since the operation was named as the purchaser of the 2009 owners’ points accrued by Roush Fenway’s No. 26 program and McMurray. No other news has been released on this team.
And maybe the best news would be if former two-time Cup champion Terry Labonte were able to establish the part-time program he was contemplating at the end of 2009, in partnership with former team owner Billy Stavola.
| 
|