DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A bout with the flu and a lack of practice time didn’t seem to bother Kevin Harvick, who won Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway for the second consecutive year.

In a green-white-checkered finish, Harvick took the lead on Lap 75 and earned the win when caution froze the field after a push from Jeff Gordon’s Chevrolet spun Greg Biffle’s Ford in Turn 3 and ignited a multi-car wreck that trashed the car of polesitter Carl Edwards, among others. READ FULL STORY

Last night was my first ever flag to flag watching of an ARCA race and yes Danica Patrick brought me there and kept me there. SHE WAS AWESOME!!! With all the hype this lady gets, it would have been so easy for her to just put in her miles, stay out of trouble, finish top 20 and laa-dee-daa on to the next race. She started 12th out of 43, pretty good for any first time stock car driver, even if it is a Hendrick car. She stayed in the top 10 most of the night, until a mid-late race spin put her at the back of the field race over right???  NO NO NO, Ms. Patrick put on new tires,got back on the gas and before the end of the race, she had passed all but five of the other racers finishing 6th, including some rubbin’ is racin’ action with Ricky Carmichael on the last lap, pushing him to 7th place. I loved it, it was the most excitement I’ve seen at a stock car race in a while. Now, her Nationwide team owner says she did so good why wait, if she wants to race next weekend at Daytona, she’s good to go. Racing with so many of the Good-ole-boys should be a real fun experience. Just like for INDY car racing, Danica Patrick is bringing some needed excitement and interest to NASCAR. I can’t wait to see one of her patented stomps through the infield, as she scolds some competitor for an on track infraction. By the way, there were five other female drivers in last nights ARCA race and Danica beat them all.

Show #180 is right there, just click the big RED BUTTON on the left. It features some NAPA Auto Parts National Time Trials nitro testing from Firebird Raceway, the “Roddin’ on the River” car show from Laughlin, NV. and a look at some of the vehicles inside those tents at the Russo & Steele auction before the tents blew away.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Danica Patrick had fun in her stock-car debut Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. She parked her car in the ARCA garage on four fully-aired tires with four fenders still on it and it was impounded as the sixth place finisher, a solid ARCA performance, decision is hers to make. READ FULL STORY

All participants in the Top Fuel dragster and Funny Car classes will be required to use an Electrimotion Safety Shut-off Receiver at the season-opening 50th annual Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline. READ FULL STORY

Interstate Batteries will serve as the major sponsor for 2009 NHRA Pro Stock world champion Mike Edwards’ Pontiac during the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock season.

The partnership with Mike Edwards Motorsports marks Interstate Batteries’ return to NHRA competition. READ FULL STORY

NHRA will launch its 10th anniversary season with ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports television, with a prime-time telecast of the most highly anticipated Full Throttle Series race in many years at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona: the 50th Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline, Feb. 14 from 8 to 11 p.m. ET. READ FULL STORY

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Joao Barbosa powered Action Express Racing to the 24 Hours at Daytona title with an improbable victory in the organization’s first appearance in the sports-car endurance race.

The newly formed team avoided major mechanical problems and benefited from a late blunder by star-studded Chip Ganassi Racing to win by 50 seconds. No other car was within four laps of the winner. READ FULL STORY

Purses in each of NASCAR’s three national series are going down roughly 10 percent as the sanctioning body attempts to reduce the financial burden on race tracks struggling with empty seats.         For each event, tracks typically pay a sanctioning fee to NASCAR, purse money and money that goes into the year-end points fund for that particular series. A number of tracks have lost sponsorship in the recession, and most have reduced ticket prices in an attempt to lure back fans saddled by the current economic environment. In a financial report issued this week, track company International Speedway Corp. said it had reduced price on half a million Sprint Cup Series tickets across its eight member venues. READ FULL STORY

Responding to an unpredictable economy, drag racing icon John Force on Thursday outlined a plan to ensure both the competitive and financial viability of John Force Racing Inc. for years to come. The plan has been a work in progress for more than a year.

The cornerstones of Force’s initiative are a reduction in the number of cars the team will support next season in its bid for an unprecedented 17th NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car world championship, relocation of all JFR racing resources to its Brownsburg, Ind., facility, creation of new revenue streams through production of the BOSS 500 engine and the JFR chassis, and personnel consolidation. READ FULL STORY