Kvapil May Replace Hornish In Aaron’s 499

On NASCAR RaceDay, it was reported that Penske Championship Racing driver Sam Hornish Jr is suffering from the flu. He is expected to start the race in the No. 77 Penske Trucking Dodge, but Travis Kvapil was flown in this morning just in case Hornish can’t complete the race.

Kvapil was being fitted in the seat, so that a swap could be performed quickly, if needed.

The team should have plenty of time to swap drivers under caution without going a lap down because Talladega Superspeedway is a big track.

Harvick, Mears To Swap Crews, Chiefs

Richard Childress Racing will swap the crews and chiefs of Kevin Harvick and the no. 29 and Casey Mears and the No. 07 in an effort to improve performance.

The switch is expected to be made after this weekend’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Todd Berrier will move from the No. 29, where he served as Harvick’s crew chief for five years, to Mears and the No. 07.

Gil Martin will move to Harvick’s team. Martin was the crew chief for Clint Bowyer where he made two consecutive Chase appearances.

One of the reasons Mears never performed up to expectations at Hendrick Motorsports was that he never established a relationship with a crew chief because they were bounced around to and from his team.

I hope that’s not happening at RCR. I hope he gets in a season or two with Berrier to see what this kid actually has got.

Labonte To Get New Crew Chief

Yates Racing is also giving Hall Of Fame Racing driver Bobby Labonte a new crew cheif.

Ben Leslie, former crew cheif of Yates’ No. 28 and driver Travis Kvapil, is moving over to the team.

The No. 28 team was performing pretty well, before having to close its doors due to lack of sponsorship.

Current crew cheif Todd Parrott will move to another role within the organization, working with all Yates teams.

Labonte said:

I’m looking forward to working with Ben. He’s done a lot with Ford Racing specifically and I like that he has experience with many Champion drivers. I’m excited to see what we will do together on the track in the next few weeks.

Also, a crew cheif swap was discussed at Hendrick Motorsports.

I guess spring is the season of change.

Busch Brothers Qualify 1,2 For Shelby 427

Kyle and Kurt Busch qualified first and second for the Shelby 427 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway. But, Kyle lost an engine in practice and will need to start from the rear of the field.

Jimmie Johnson, David Reutimann, and Marcos Ambrose will start third through fifth, respectively.

Rounding out the top 10 are Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, and Tony Stewart.

Notables: Jeff Burton (14th), Carl Edwards (16th), Greg Biffle (24th), Jeff Gordon (28th), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (31st), Denny Hamlin (34th), and Matt Kenseth (40th).

Go-Or-Go-Homers That Will Start: Stewart, Max Papis, Brad Keselowski, Regan Smith, AJ Allmendinger, Joe Nemechek, David Gilliland, and Todd Bodine.

Did Not Qualify: Travis Kvapil, Dave Blaney, Mike Garvey, Jeremy Mayfield, Sterlin Marlin, Scott Riggs, Tony Raines, and Dexter Bean.

Truex Jr. Takes Daytona 500 Pole

Martin Truex Jr. drove his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, Bass Pro Shops No. 1 Chevrolet to the pole for next Sunday’s Daytona 500 with a lap of 188.001 mph.

Mark Martin, driving the No. 5 Kelloggs Chevy of Hendrick Motorsports, will start outside row one in second position with a speed of 187.817 mph.

While the rest of the positions will be set by the results of the Gatorade Duels on Thursday, the top three of the ”go or go home” cars are locked in to the Daytona 500. Those drivers are Bill Elliott, Tony Stewart, and Travis Kvapil.

Terry Labonte is also locked in the show because of his past champion’s provisional.  He can race his way in, but if he fails to do that, he will claim the 43rd starting spot.

Gilliland Out At Yates?

With Hall Of Fame Racing forming an alliance with Yates Racing and signing Bobby Labonte to drive the No. 96 Ask.com Ford Fusion, David Gilliland figures he is the odd man out at Yates.

The team intends to field three cars this season, and, for those of you counting, the addition of Labonte and Paul Menard, who will drive the no. 98 Menards Ford, that leaves Gilliland and Travis Kvapil vying for that last ride.

Most expect Kvapil to be back next season, leaving Gilliland without a ride.

Gilliland said:

I haven’t actually had a sit-down with them, but I’m still under contract with them through 2009. So we’re just going to have to work through it, and hopefully, we can get something else going. It’s just kind of a bummer that it’s this late in the [offseason], you know? We’ll just have to see what we can come up with and see what we can try and do.