Motorsports FanHouse

Petty, Yates Teams to Combine Forces

Holly Cain — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:04:00 EST

Filed under: Kasey Kahne, Ford, Yates Racing

RICHMOND, Va. -- Two of the biggest names in NASCAR -- Richard Petty Motorsports and Yates Racing -- announced Thursday they have signed a letter-of-intent to merge for the 2010 season and will field a four-car Ford team under the Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) banner.

Current Yates driver Paul Menard and current RPM drivers Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and A.J. Allmendinger will be the drivers.

"This is a pretty big deal for us," Richard Petty said. "We've talked with a lot of folks, but in the end it came down to the success the Gilletts (co-owner George Gillett and his sons) and and I think we can achieve with Ford Racing.

"There are lots of details still left to be ironed out so we don't have a lot of answers for anyone right now. We'll be working on all that in the coming days, weeks and months, but we do intend to have everything in place before the start of next season. I've won races with Ford and plan to again."

"I am very pleased that Richard Petty Motorsports has made the decision to switch to Ford," said Brian Wolfe, director of Ford North America Motorsports. "They had choices to consider other than Ford and it's gratifying to us that they have enough faith in the Ford Motor Company and what we're doing to make the switch."

"What's also really cool to me is the chance to have someone with the class and legacy of Richard Petty involved with Ford. Combine that with the chance to work with the Gillett family, who we have great respect for, and add some great drivers to the Ford camp, well, it's hard not to be excited about this opportunity.''

The Petty team's switch from Dodges to Fords leaves only Roger Penske's three-car operation in the Dodge ranks. and dispels season-long rumors that RPM would be fielding Toyotas in 2010.

George Gillett bought majority control of what was then Evernham Motorsports in 2007 (the company was renamed Gillett Evernham Motorsports after the deal was completed). Team founder Ray Evernham eventually sold most of his interest to Gillett in 2008 and relinquished almost all involvement with the organization -- which again changed names to Gillett Motorsports -- at that point.

Gillett and the legendary Petty joined forces following the 2008 season to form (and rename yet again) Richard Petty Motorsports. Evernham remains a small minority shareholder, but is not active in the organization's operation.

Thursday's news effectively means that Reed Sorenson, who moved to RPM this season to drive the No. 43, and former Cup champ Bobby Labonte, who moved from the former Petty Enterprises to Yates Racing after last season, will both once again be free agents at the end of this season. It also leaves the status of Eric Darnell, who will replace Labonte in the No. 96 Ford for six of the remaining 11 Cup races on the schedule in what was considered somewhat of a tryout on the Cup series for the young driver, uncertain for next season.

Petty, Yates Teams to Combine Forces originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsorship Woes Shelve Labonte

FanHouse Newswire — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Bobby Labonte, Yates Racing, NASCAR Sponsors, Sprint Cup

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Former NASCAR champion Bobby Labonte won't race this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his best track, because of sponsorship issues at Yates Racing.

The team had seven races to sell this season for the No. 96 Ford, and the sponsorship it secured wanted Erik Darnell in the car. The 26-year-old will make his Sprint Cup Series debut at Atlanta, where Labonte has six career victories.

"This is not about Bobby; it's about making sure we have funding for these races,'' Yates co-owner Max Jones said Monday. "If it was about Bobby, I would have just put Erik in the car for the rest of the year. That was hard to convey to Bobby.

"But we have this opportunity to get Erik some races, and that's the business part of this sport. It's challenging.''

Academy Sports & Outdoors will sponsor Darnell for three races, at Atlanta, Talladega and Texas. Northern Tool + Equipment, who sponsored him last season in the Truck Series, will be on the car at New Hampshire and Kansas.

Sponsorship for the other two races Darnell is slated to run was not announced.

Jones said Labonte did not take the decision well.

"I wouldn't have either if I was him,'' Jones said. "He's a class act, he's a professional. I had to explain my side, why I was doing it, and he wasn't happy about it. But he understood, and I respect that.''

Labonte, the 2000 series champion, left Petty Enterprises last season because he was unsure of its long-term stability. He put together a late deal with Hall of Fame Racing, the team owned by San Diego Padres owner Jeff Moorad and president Tom Garfinkel.

Garfinkel and Moorad were able to land a sponsorship deal with Ask.com, one of the only new companies to enter NASCAR since last fall's economic collapse, and then partnered with Yates Racing for equipment and technical support. The Ask.com deal is a one-year deal and covered only 29 of the 36 races.

Jones worked hard to fill the car, but ultimately was able to sell the potential in Darnell over the history of Labonte.

Labonte, who is 45, is in the midst of his sixth winless season. He's 30th in the standings with one top-10 finish this season. Teammate Paul Menard is 32nd in the points with no top-10 finishes. He has full sponsorship from his family's Midwest-based hardware chain.

The team also fielded a car for Travis Kvapil for four races but stopped when no sponsorship was found.

Labonte will return to the car at Richmond, Dover, Fontana, Charlotte and Martinsville.

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MONTREAL, QC - AUGUST 29: Carl Edwards, driver of the #60 CitiFinancial Ford celebrates by performing a backflip after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Napa Auto Parts 200 on August 29, 2009 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Carl Edwards

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American Sprint Car Series driver Jessica Zemken works on her car with NASCAR driver Tony Stewart after qualifying for an auto race in Dundee, N.Y., Friday, Aug. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/ Charles Berch)

** HAmerican Sprint Car Series driver Jessica Zemken talks with NASCAR driver Tony Stewart before qualifying for a Sprint car auto race in Dundee, N.Y., Friday, Aug. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/ Charles Berch)

American Sprint Car Series driver Jessica Zemken is push started by NASCAR driver Tony Stewart during qualifying for an auto race in Dundee, N.Y., Friday, Aug. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Berch)

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Hendrick Motorsports engineer Richie Parker, right, stands in the inspection line with the crew from Brad Keselowski before the NASCAR Carfax 400 Sprint Cup Series auto race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009. Richie Parker was born without arms, but that didn't stop him from working his way through college at Clemson _ then combining the engineering degree he earned with his boyhood love of cars to go to work for Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR's equivalent to the New York Yankees. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Hendrick Motorsports engineer Richie Parker, center, talks to a Tony Stewart crew member as they wait in the inspection line with the crew from Brad Keselowski before the NASCAR Carfax 400 Sprint Cup Series auto race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009. Richie Parker was born without arms, but that didn't stop him from working his way through college at Clemson _ then combining the engineering degree he earned with his boyhood love of cars to go to work for Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR's equivalent to the New York Yankees. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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NASCAR Nationwide driver Brad Keselowski smiles before the morning practice session in Montreal , Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009. Keselowski signed with Penske Racing on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009, to drive in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series next season. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)

FILE -- This is a July 2, 2009, file photo showing Bobby Labonte climbing into his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Coke Zero 400 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Yates Racing is taking Bobby Labonte out of its No. 96 car for seven upcoming races because of sponsorship issues.(AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

A member of the NYFD signs the hood of the NASCAR racecar custom-designed to commemorate 9/11 during a marketing event Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 in New York. Driver Benny Gordon and North South Motorsports will race the car to commemorate 9/11 on September 11, 2009 at the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Raceway. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

"This is a move that will be beneficial to Yates Racing surviving this difficult economic time,'' he said in a statement. ``Of course, I'm disappointed that the sponsorship environment is so challenging right now, but I intend to make the most out of the remaining races that I'm behind the wheel.''

Yates Racing is the sister team to powerhouse Roush Fenway Racing, and Jones said he doesn't expect Hall of Fame to be back under the umbrella in 2010. So he's had to approach future planning with a long-range view, which could include Darnell.

Stuck in the RFR development program because sponsorship issues and lack of available seats have slowed his progression, Jones said Darnell has earned this opportunity. He finished fourth in last year's Truck series, where he has two career wins.

He's raced in just 10 of 25 Nationwide Series races this season, but has five top-10 finishes.

Jones worked at Roush Fenway when Darnell won a seat in its development program.

"He deserves this opportunity. He's a really talented race car driver,'' Jones said. "It's taken a lot of guys a long time to move up because of the funding issues, and the opportunities aren't there anymore. Five or six or eight years ago, you could jump from Trucks to Cup.

"Then everything came to a screeching halt a few years ago.''

Although Labonte has not been ruled out for a Yates ride in 2010, Jones said Darnell is in the mix, as is current Roush driver Jamie McMurray.

McMurray is in the final year of his contract with RFR, which must cut down from five to four cars at the end of this season. The organization would like to keep McMurray by moving him to the Yates side of the team but lacks the funding to offer him a contract.

"We still have that opportunity out there to keep Jamie, but we have to find something and right now he's exploring his options,'' Jones said. "We'd love him to be here. We'd love to be a three- or four-car team, but you have to find someone to pay for it.''

By JENNA FRYER, AP Sports Writer

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Sponsorship Woes Shelve Labonte originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASCAR Teams Taking Cautious Approach to Danica Sweepstakes

Holly Cain — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:25:00 EST

Filed under: Tony Stewart, Yates Racing, Indianapolis Motor Speedway

INDIANAPOLIS -- Perhaps it was inevitable that Danica Patrick's name would come up here during preparation for NASCAR's AllState 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday.

She's the most successful woman driver in the history of the Indy 500, and she's openly flirting with NASCAR as she decides where she'll race when her contract with Andretti Green Racing ends this season.

But at least one of Patrick's potential suitors, team owner Chip Ganassi, said Friday he'd advise her to stay in the Indy Racing League.

More: Notes From Indy Motor Speedway

"My counsel to her was that she's close to making that last step in Indy Car racing, and she could easily do that in the next three to five years and still be able to do this [NASCAR],'' said Ganassi, who confirmed he has had discussions with Patrick.

"She's one of those athletes with an opportunity to make career moves into the foreseeable future. It's up to her.''

Ganassi's name has been mentioned because he owns teams in the Indy Racing League and NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series and would potentially be able to ease Patrick into the stock-car ranks while she still runs in the IRL.

"If she wanted to do NASCAR on full-time basis, I'd suggest there are better places,'' Ganassi said. "I don't think our team is in position to do that.''

Patrick made headlines last week when she visited Cup Series championship leader Tony Stewart's race shop in Charlotte, N.C. -- but Stewart wasn't even in town and Patrick also visited five other team shops.

Stewart, a former IRL champion himself, said he hasn't spoken with Patrick. He suggested earlier in the month that, before she sign a contract with a NASCAR team, she should at least turn a lap in a stock car -- something she hasn't done yet.

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Danica Patrick describes her car's performance following practice for the IndyCar Series auto race, in Edmonton, Alberta, Friday, July 24, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jeff McIntosh)

EDMONTON, AB - JULY 24: Danica Patrick drives his #7 Boost Mobile Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda during practice for the IRL IndyCar Series Rexall Edmonton Indy on July 24, 2009 at Edmonton City Centre Airport in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

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Danica Patrick rides her scooter back to the garage after the first practice run at the Edmonton Indy in Edmonton, July 24, 2009. REUTERS/Todd Korol (CANADA SPORT MOTOR RACING)

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Danica Patrick gets her tires changed in a pit stop during the first practice run at the Edmonton Indy in Edmonton, July 24, 2009. REUTERS/Todd Korol (CANADA SPORT MOTOR RACING)

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Danica Patrick comes in for a pit stop during the first practice run at the Edmonton Indy in Edmonton, July 24, 2009. REUTERS/Todd Korol (CANADA SPORT MOTOR RACING)

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Danica Patrick prepares to get her steering wheel from a crew member during the first practice run at the Edmonton Indy in Edmonton, July 24, 2009. REUTERS/Todd Korol (CANADA SPORT MOTOR RACING)

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Danica Patrick drives during the first practice session of the Edmonton Indy in Edmonton July 24, 2009. REUTERS/Dan Riedlhuber (CANADA SPORT MOTOR RACING)

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Danica Patrick talks to a crew member about the track during the first practice run at the Edmonton Indy in Edmonton, July 24, 2009. REUTERS/Todd Korol (CANADA SPORT MOTOR RACING)

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Indy Car Series driver Danica Patrick signs autographs for a fan in an Andretti Green Racing motorhome on Friday, July 24, 2009 in Edmonton, Alberta. Patrick will be competing in the Rexall Edmonton Indy race on Sunday. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Ulan)

Indy driver Danica Patrick arrives at the 2009 ESPY Awards Arrivals at Nokia Theatre LA Live on July 15, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. 2009 ESPY Awards - Arrivals Nokia Theatre LA Live Los Angeles, CA United States July 15, 2009 Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic.com To license this image (16869752), contact FilmMagic.com

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However, Stewart also insisted on Friday that no one else should judge whether Patrick, who currently ranks fifth in the Indy Racing League championship standings, should make the challenging transition to NASCAR.

"She is the only one that knows what she wants to do,'' Stewart said. "I feel that way with everybody that considers making a change. I made a significant change exactly one year ago today here, and people said I was crazy and now all of a sudden, people are saying, "Oh, it wasn't such a bad idea after all.'

"It's nice to have input from other people, but only one person knows what is right for them and that is that person.''

Ganassi, whose IRL team is leading the championship, said it's too early to characterize his discussions with Patrick.

"If I told you we didn't have conversations or weren't interested, I'd be lying to you,'' Ganassi said. "Like a lot of teams, we've had discussions, and she's on the market now and is ready to make the next step in her career where ever that takes her.

"Like most teams, we're in the top of the first inning. It's way early.''

NASCAR Teams Taking Cautious Approach to Danica Sweepstakes originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Menard, Sadler Start Up Front in Shootout

Geoffrey Miller — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:42:00 EST

Filed under: Elliott Sadler, Yates Racing, Sprint Cup, Scott Speed

Paul Menard's new season with a new team is starting out on a refreshingly good note.

Menard, who left the Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing team following 2008 to drive the No. 98 Ford at Yates Racing, drew the pole for Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout at Daytona during a made-for-TV draw "party" Thursday night just outside of the speedway.

The lineup -- one that is set completely at random for the 28 eligible drivers -- has left some drivers that don't fall into "favorites" category sitting at the front while others, including last-place starter and former Shootout winner Jeff Gordon, will have plenty of traffic to negotiate at the green flag.

After an interesting month of January for Elliott Sadler that saw him nearly fired and then re-hired, the driver of the No. 19 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge will start alongside Menard with teammate Reed Sorenson third.

Scott Speed rolls off in his first ever Sprint Cup restrictor-plate race from the fourth. Speed, the former F1-turned-stock car driver, is eligible for the race thanks to the owner points earned by the No. 84 car driven mostly by A.J. Allmendinger in 2008. NASCAR changed the Shootout eligibility requirements to include the top six teams from each manufacturer in addition to a wild-card from each make.

Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Brian Vickers, Bobby Labonte, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch will round out the grid's Top-10 at the green flag Saturday night.

The 75-lap race -- up five laps from the race a year ago won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- is scheduled to take the green flag just after 8:10 p.m./EDT Saturday night on FOX.

Menard, Sadler Start Up Front in Shootout originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:42:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stories for '09: The Mega-Merger Era

Holly Cain — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Yates Racing, Petty Enterprises, Gillett-Evernham Motorsports, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing

Here's what everyone will be talking about as the NASCAR haulers roll into Daytona International Speedway next month for the start of one the most unpredictable seasons in recent memory.

Especially early on, one of the most intriguing storylines of the season will be the success of the mega-mergers.

Will we see Kumbaya moments or power-plays as some of the biggest names and egos in the sport join hands hoping there's strength in numbers?

Sure, it'll take some drivers half a season to figure out the guy he used run up into the marbles is now his teammate, but that just makes this more fun to watch.

The general consensus is that the power-mergers between teams like Ganassi and Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Gillett-Evernham and Petty Enterprises along with the "alliances" of Yates Racing and Hall of Fame racing teams may be a temporary fix to a pressing problem, not necessarily a permanent solution.

It's also a sort of sentimental survival for NASCAR, which is weathering enough "issues" without having its highest profile names go away. It's hard to imagine the sport without Richard Petty's or Dale Earnhardt's namesake team legacies.

It would be like the NFL without the Dallas Cowboys or Major League Baseball minus the New York Yankees.

The actual benefit on-track and in-competition may be harder to quantify. Other than keeping the car counts up, it'll be interesting to see if the newly-merged teams will be any better equipped to challenge the Hendrick, Roush or Gibbs juggernauts.

I doubt it. At least not initially.

"I do think it's really cool that DEI figured out how to stay and Richard Petty figured out how to stay,'' Michael Waltrip said. "I believe two is stronger than one and it will allow them to get through these times and eventually have more competitive cars on the track.

"I believe things are going to come out on the other end of this looking a lot different than they ever have.''

Stories for '09: The Mega-Merger Era originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Labonte Slated to Drive No. 96 Fords in 2009

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:21:00 EST

Filed under: Bobby Labonte, Yates Racing, Sprint Cup

Move over Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, the newly crafted alliance between Yates Racing and Hall of Fame Racing -- I don't know if we can call it a merger just yet -- has landed 2000 Sprint Cup Champion Bobby Labonte.

Labonte, who left Petty Enterprises in December, moves to the team to drive the No. 96 car that, thanks to that new Yates/HoF alliance, will be a Ford. Surprisingly enough, Labonte's move also helped bring a new sponsor into the sport despite many teams struggling to even keep funding from the ones they currently hold.

Ask.com will serve as Labonte's primary sponsor on the No. 96 in addition to taking a role as the "official seach engine of NASCAR" -- something that sounds like it's going to benefit fans.

According to the release, Ask.com will use its technology to scan all of NASCAR's digital records to make them easier to find. The example cited says that fans will be able to type in a question like "Who was the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year in 1995?" and the search engine will deliver the answer immeditately.

I can't wait to try that one out with something like "How many times has Michael Waltrip hit the wall?" just to see how many calculations Ask.com's servers can handle because, well, Waltrip's banged a wall or two.

Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing was thrown into this mix as early as last weekend when rumors started claiming B-Lab would be taking over the No. 8 at EGR, shoving Aric Almirola out of his ride (that guy can't catch a break, it seems). The deal must have been close because even Almirola didn't deny it in an interview this week, and ThatsRacin.com said Labonte called off a lunch meeting with EGR officials on Tuesday after signing the Yates/HoF deal.

There's still plenty of questions about the future of Yates Racing, especially with sponsorship, but for now, the team includes Labonte, Travis Kvapil, David Gilliland and Paul Menard. Who knew a team with two under-funded cars for all of 2008 could double in size during the offseason?

Labonte Slated to Drive No. 96 Fords in 2009 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:21:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'08 Rear-View Mirror: Travis Kvapil

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:43:00 EST

Filed under: Yates Racing, Sprint Cup

Warning: Objects in this post may be the only way to successfully live through the NASCAR off-season. For best results, read rearview mirror early and often.

Driver: Travis Kvapil
Team: No. 28 Yates Racing Ford
'08 Final Standing: 23rd (-3300)
Best Race: Aaron's 499 at Talladega (6th-place)
Worst Race: Bank of America 500 at Charlotte (42nd-place)

Season in a box: Aside from a few Top-10s, Kvapil's (that's Kwah-pil) first season with Yates Racing showed signs of potential amid plenty of signs of driving for an underfunded team.

Kvapil, the 2003 Craftsman Truck Series champ, won his first career pole at Talladega Superspeedway in October but failed to finish after getting taken out in a wreck caused by teammate-by-affiliation Carl Edwards. Both Kvapil and his real teammate at Yates Racing, David Gilliland, didn't have the near the season they would like to have had, but taking into account that both cars lacked full-season sponsorship makes the good finishes that much more impressive.

The team stayed in the Top-35 in points all season and racked up 4 Top-10s, but managed 8 finishes in the Top-20.

Through the crystal windshield: In a normal economic climate, I could easily see Yates Racing securing decent sponsorship for both of its race teams in 2009 thanks to the impressive efforts that each team turned in 2009. Sure, they weren't in Chase contention, but for a team that lacked the funding of the top organizations in 2008, the results were impressive.

Paul Menard will join the Yates organization in 2009 to make it a three-car operation and the resources he's bringing from his father's home improvement company -- Menard's -- should make the financial situation a little better for the team.

Neither Kvapil or Gilliland have secured full-time sponsorship.

Next up: David Reutimann

'08 Rear-View Mirror: Travis Kvapil originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:43:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kvapil Earns Top Spot for Talladega Field

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:07:00 EST

Filed under: Yates Racing, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup

As is usual in the era of NASCAR impounding the cars following qualifying for three of the four restrictor plate races each season, the top dogs in qualifying for Sunday's Amp Energy Drink 400 at Talladega Superspeedway aren't the normal ones.

In fact, one would have to look back 11 spots to find the first driver who's an eligible entrant in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Travis Kvapil, though, isn't too worried about, as he scored the top spot in Saturday's session in his No. 28 Robert Yates Ford. To his outside, Hendrick Motorsports' Casey Mears -- who has Nationwide Series driver Brad Keselowski standing by for Sunday's race in case Mears' girlfriend goes into labor -- will start second.

Aric Almirola, Regan Smith, and Paul Menard finish out the Top-5 with a heavy Dale Earnhardt Inc. accent.

Some names that generally don't find the Top-10 including Mike Wallace, Joe Nemechek, and Tony Raines will start 6th-8th, respectively. Brian Vickers and Martin Truex round out the Top-10.

Carl Edwards will start 11th and will fill that spot as the top Chase qualifier, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. next in 15th and Jeff Burton in 17th.

Numerous Chase drivers fill in the field lower than 30th with Matt Kenseth starting 31st, Tony Stewart in 34th, Clint Bowyer in 35th, Denny Hamlin in 36th, and Kyle Busch 37th. Kevin Harvick starts 39th as the deepest Chaser, but with the way Talladega allows drivers to move so easily through the field thanks to the draft, Harvick will have as a good a shot to win on Sunday as anyone.

Sam Hornish Jr. and Patrick Carpentier will both be heading home after failing to qualify.

Kvapil Earns Top Spot for Talladega Field originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:07:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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