As a result of the rumored deal, Dave Blaney will need to qualify for the Daytona 500 on speed or he will need to race his way in the race through one of the duels.

David Reutimann is rumored to possibly run the No. 10 in the races Patrick does not enter. Patrick will drive SHR machines in her events, while Reutimann will drive TBR equipment in his events in the No. 10.

TBR will reportedly receive technical and pit crew support from SHR as a part of the deal.

After this deal was reported, a posting on TBR’s Facebook page stated:

Not everything you read is true my friends. I was born at night but not last night.

TBR followed that posting up with another:

Nobody has the correct information or is posting the correct information stay tuned we hope to get the correct story out soon.

Update: FoxSports.com is reporting that TBR has reached a deal with SHR.  Under the terms of the agreement, TBR will transfer the points from its No. 36 entry, which finished in the top 35 in owner’s points and therefore is guaranteed a starting spot in the first five Sprint Cup events in 2012, to the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevy, which will be driven by Danica Patrick in 10 races.

In the remaining 26 races, David Reutimann will drive the car.

Team owner Tommy Baldwin will have a hands-on presence with the No. 10 and will work closely with Greg Zipadelli, SHR’s competition director.

Reutimann said:

The Truck series is where I got my start. It’s a very competitive series, and I am thrilled to have this opportunity to run some races with a good team that is in the process of building. There is definitely the potential to run well (at RBR Enterprises). I wouldn’t have accepted this opportunity if I didn’t believe that. It’s going to be a challenge, but I like the fact that they are committed to bringing the best piece to the track at the races we run instead of taking less than our best to every race.

Reutimann’s crew chief will be Jason Overstreet. The two worked together previously at Darrell Waltrip Racing and Germain Racing.

Overstreet said:

Having worked with David and having a great working relationship with him definitely flattens the learning curve. We have a lot of experience working together, so we have already hit the ground running and can’t wait for Daytona to get here.

Reutimann has signed on to drive for Tommy Baldwin Racing in the Sprint Cup next season.

Mark Martin replaced Reutimann in Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 00. Michael Waltrip will also drive the No. 00 in a few races in 2012. MWR also signed Clint Bowyer to drive the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota next season.

Reutimann said:

Tommy’s done a lot with a little over there and he’s definitely a racer, so that’s a good fit. With Tommy you never have to (wonder) what he’s thinking. He’s up front and that’s exactly what I need right now. He’s really put together a nice package over there. It’s awesome. Both our dads raced and Tommy has such an enthusiasm for the sport and that’s refreshing.

Baldwin said:

We’ve been working real hard since the end of the year to get our equipment right. Last year’s goal was to get in the top 35. This year we’re concentrating on competition. Given David’s experience, we thought it was best to bring him along to help us reach that next goal.

The team has not determined the number of races Reutimann will enter, nor has it decided on a car number. Last year, the team used Nos. 35 and 36.

TBR is currently seeking sponsorship to run the full season in 2012, as Golden Corral will not return.

Also, TBR signed an agreement to run Earnhardt Ganassi Racing engines next season.

Team owner Roger Penske said:

Our first priority is always to look within the walls of Penske Racing when making personnel decisions. We want to reward success. The path we are taking with Todd mirrors what we did with Paul Wolfe who led the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge to a Chase berth in 2011. We think Todd can get the job done in the same manner.

Gordon said:

I can’t thank Roger and everyone at Penske Racing enough for this vote of confidence. It’s an honor to step into a race-winning team. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but this is an organization full of talented people that know how to get the job done. I look forward to getting the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge back in Victory Lane.

Gordon replaces Steve Addington, who left the team at the end of the season to join Stewart Haas Racing as crew chief for Tony Stewart, after SHR let go of Darian Grubb. Grubb has since moved on to Joe Gibbs Racing.

Penske is still seeking a driver for the No. 22 team, as Kurt Busch and Penske mutually agreed to part ways, after a series of high-profile outbursts, including a video in which Busch berated respected media member Dr. Jerry Punch.

Candidates are said to include Sam Hornish, David Reutimann, David Ragan, and Brian Vickers.

In April of 2010, Busch signed a contract extension with Penske racing through the 2015 season.  However, the separation of Busch and his long-standing relationship with Penske proves that contracts don’t always secure a ride in NASCAR.  Over the course of the 2011 season, Busch’s became more known for his anger outbursts than for his performance on the track. Before the incident at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch’s outbursts were well-documented.

When it comes to sponsors, not only do drivers have to perform on the track, but they have to live up to high expectations off the track as well.  If the driver acts so poorly off the track that fans can’t remember what the driver did on the track, he is not living up to the expectations of the sponsor.

Sponsors want a driver who can be fan-friendly; a spokesperson for their brand; and an outstanding representative for their product.  If the sponsor is not happy with the driver representing their brand, the team generally has no choice but to make a change in order to appease the sponsor.

The separation between Busch and Penske has awakened drivers, I think, and it will change how they act on and off the track in the future.  We have seen that contracts can and will be dismissed if the sponsor is not happy.

To succeed in NASCAR, you must please the sponsor.  Without sponsors, there is no NASCAR.  Even in today’s economy, a driver may do well on the track and be a good spokesperson off the track (example: David Ragan), but may be jobless next season due to lack of sponsorship funding.  When sponsors are dishing out millions of dollars to have their logo on a driver’s race car and firesuit, they want to be sure that their money is spent on a driver who will represent them accordingly.

There are an array of jobless/sponsor-less drivers available for hire in the NASCAR circuit right now (David Ragan, David Reutimann, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Elliott Sadler, Brian Vickers, etc.) who are all proven winners and could be an excellent representative for a sponsor. So why would a sponsor waste money on a driver who is going to hurt their brand?

When a driver gets out of the race car, one of the top priorities for the post-race interview should be to thank the sponsor, not verbally abuse fellow competitors/media/team, etc.  Shell Oil decided that they had seen enough of Kurt Busch. They didn’t want to deal with the harm Busch’s mouth was doing to their brand, so Penske was forced to remove Kurt from the equation.

The moral of the story is: sponsorship money is everything in NASCAR.

Busch, the 2004 Sprint Cup champion, has been with Penske since 2006, and has been at the Cup level for 11 years. He has posted 24 wins in his Cup career, 1o of them with Penske.

But Busch has received extra attention this season after confrontations with media members and highly publicized in-race meltdowns directed towards his team and crew chief.

Following his transmission problems at the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch was caught on camera making an obscene gesture. He was later shown berating ESPN’s Dr. Jerry Punch in a video that went viral on YouTube. NASCAR fined Busch $50,000 for his actions. He apologized.

Both Penske and Shell Pennzoil, Busch’s sponsor, released statements condemning the behavior.

Penske issued its statement shortly after the video went viral. The organization said:

These actions do not represent Penske Racing and are inconsistent with the company’s standards for behavior, respect for others and professionalism. This matter is being reviewed internally with no further comment at this time.

Shell and Pennzoil echoed those sentiments in their statement:

Shell and Pennzoil are disappointed with recent actions by driver, Kurt Busch, at the final race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race season. His actions are in no way consistent with the way we want our brands represented and we have expressed our disappointment and concerns directly to Penske Racing.

In addition to his actions at Homestead, Busch has received a lot of negative attention for his tirades over the radio during races. Busch had a rocky relationship with his crew chief of the last two years, Steve Addington. The pair won four races in two seasons, but Addington chose to leave the team at the end of the season. While there is nothing official to indicate that Addington left due to the way that Busch treated him, it is hard to imagine that it did not play a role.

In his time at Penske, Busch had been with four different crew chiefs.

Rumor has it that David Ragan is the leading candidate for the job. Ragan is coming off of one of his best Sprint Cup seasons, having earned his first career victory at Daytona International Speedway, and being close to winning the Daytona 500. David Reutimann and Brian Vickers, and Sam Hornish, who has driven for Penske before, may also be considered for the ride, if the report is true.

At this time, there has been no official word, so assume this a rumor.

Update: The Associated Press is reporting that Busch and Penske have agreed to part ways. This is the second time in his career, Busch has been released from a major team for his behavior. Busch was released from Roush Fenway Racing following an incident with Arizona police.

Update 2: Penske officially announced the separation. Penske owner Roger Penske said:

I appreciate the victories that Kurt has brought Penske Racing and our sponsors over the past six years. While I am disappointed that Kurt will not be racing for our team in the future, both Kurt and I felt that separating at this time was best for all parties, including our team and sponsors. I wish Kurt the best in his future racing endeavors.

Busch added:

I am grateful to Penske Racing for six very productive years. Together we won a lot of races -16 in all. Leaving a great organization and a lucrative contract is not easy, but it’s an important step for me and allows me to take a deep breath to work on things that can make me a better driver and a better person. I want to personally thank Roger Penske for the opportunity that he has given me.

Martin will drive 30 races, according to the report. Michael Waltrip, the team’s co-owner, is likely drive the restrictor plate events in that car.

Reutimann told FoxSports.com via a text message that he was informed of the decision this week.

Reutimann was re-signed by MWR in July of 2010. His contract was slated to end at the end of the 2012 Sprint Cup season.

MWR has also signed Clint Bowyer to drive the No. 15 MWR Camry with sponsorship from 5-Hour Energy. Both Bowyer and Martin will become teammates to Martin Truex Jr.

The news of Reutimann’s release is shocking, but understandable. Reutimann has struggled this season. He currently sits 28th in the championship points standings, with only two Top 10 finishes this season.

Update: It’s official. Michael Waltrip Racing announced that Mark Martin will replace David Reutimann in the No. 00 Sprint Cup Toyota next season. Team co-owner Michael Waltrip said:

David has been a significant part of Michael Waltrip Racing since the very beginning and will forever be a part of our heritage. We want to thank David for his contribution to our growth and success over the past five years and wish him well in the future.

All three cars were found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules detailed in Section 20 of the rule book, or has not been approved by NASCAR prior to the event); and 20-3.2.1A (unapproved modification to an approved windshield) of the 2011 NASCAR rule book.

Crew chiefs Rodney Childers (No. 00), Frank Kerr (No. 47) and Chad Johnston (No. 56) were each fined $50,000 and suspended for the next four Sprint Cup events. They were also suspended from NASCAR until Nov. 23rd.

Car chiefs Steve Channing (No. 00), Raymond Fox (No. 47) and Anthony Lunders (No. 56) also received the same suspensions. And, MWR director of competition, Bobby Kennedy, has been placed on probation until the end of the calendar year.

The car owners, Rob Kauffman (No. 00), Tad Geschickter (No. 47), and Michael Waltrip (No. 56), have each been penalized with the loss of 25 championship owner points. Drivers David Reutimann (No. 00), Bobby Labonte (No. 47), and Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56) have each been penalized with the loss of 25 championship driver points.

JTG Daugherty owner Brad Daugherty said:

We are very disappointed in this entire situation and we will not appeal NASCAR’s ruling. We look forward to racing at Martinsville Speedway this weekend and getting ready for next season.

Team chief race engineer Brian Burns will assume the role as crew chief for the No. 47 Toyota Camry replacing Kerr and Bob Bechstein has been named car chief replacing Fox following the penalties.

MWR also commented on the penalties:

Michael Waltrip Racing is ultra-sensitive and very serious about working within the guidelines of NASCAR policy. We do not condone this type of activity and as such we will take appropriate internal corrective action immediately. We thank NASCAR for providing a fair and equitable platform for all of its competitors and respect its decisions; therefore, we will not appeal.

Pat Tryson will take over for Johnston as crew chief for the no. 56 team. Tryson was recently replaced on that team earlier this year.

Allen Mincey, race mechanic of the No. 56, will serve as interim car chief for that team in place of Lunders.  Bobby Kennedy will serve as interim crew chief in place of Childers on the No. 00. Chris Hall, race mechanic with the No. 00 , will serve as interim car chief for that team in place of Channing.

Rubbing is Racing

Boris Said and Greg Biffle weren’t talked about much during the race. Said spun early and ran in the back most of the day. Biffle ran out of gas early and ended up losing several laps. For them, the action heated up after the checkered flag. After Said spun, he spent the rest of the day racing near the back.  Biffle, who ran out of gas on lap 28, was also racing at the back, two laps down.  Said radioed to his spotter and said that Biffle was racing him “dirty” and let it be known that he would find him after the race to take care of it.

As soon as the race was over, Said parked his car in front of the No. 16 hauler to have it out. According to Said, Biffle threw some punches at him and then took off.  Said then got out of his car and took off angrily towards Biffle.  Pit crews from both teams restrained them and the drivers were sent separate ways.

Said let his voice be heard  in his post-race interview.  “He’s the most unprofessional scaredy cat I’ve ever seen in my life.  He wouldn’t even fight me like a man after (the race).  I won’t settle it out on the track. It’s not right to wreck cars, but he’ll show up at a race with a black eye one of these days.”

Said then went on to say he would get Biffle’s home address and give him a visit Wednesday for a ”whipping.”  Biffle responded via twitter, calling Said “unprofessional and disrespectful.”

NASCAR said let the boys “have at it”, but are they allowed to make threats towards other drivers?  I’m curious to see how far NASCAR will let this go.

Wild Wrecks

I’ve seen some crazy wrecks in my ten years of being a fan, but today’s wrecks rank as some of the wildest.  It started with Kurt Busch on lap 49.  Busch had a brake failure and crashed hard into the Turn 5 tire barrier.  Denny Hamlin, who also seemed to have a brake failure, had a very scary crash into the Turn 1 barrier.  The crash was so hard that it buckled the guard-rail behind the tire barrier.

The biggest crash of the day happened when Boris Said and David Ragan got together on the final lap.  Said and Ragan went for the same real estate at the same time. Said got his nose up to Ragan’s left-rear quarter panel. The two made contact, which ended up hooking Ragan causing him to bounce off the left rail.  Ragan then slammed into Reutimann, sending him into the right guard-rail.  The impact caused Reutimann to go airborne, then crash viciously into the fence.  Both Ragan and Reutimann walked away from the accidents sore, but okay.

The Tasmanian Devil

It’s no secret that when the NASCAR series comes to a road course, Marcos Ambrose is a contender.  He was able to beat last week’s winner, Brad Keselowski to get the win.  Ambrose is the fifth, first-time winner this year.  This puts him, along with Brad Keselowski and Paul Menard, into the Sprint Showdown, which pays a $3 million bonus if one of them were to win the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Amborse is also locked into the 2012 All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Suprising Contenders

Brad Keselowski isn’t just the surprise of this weekend, he’s the suprise of the month.  Racing hurt hasn’t phased him at all.  Keselowski finished a hard-fought second at the Glen.  He has moved up four spots in the chase to 14th position.  If he keeps this up, he may make his way into the top 10 in points!

Martin Truex Jr also deserves a shout-out for his fourth place finish.  Truex ran in the top five for most of the day and drove a clean race.  Martin has always been a good road course racer, having road course victories in the Nationwide series.  Hopefully this is the medicine this team needs to turn their season around, and finish the year out right.

Also, give a call to Dale Earnhardt Jr. The team was fortunate when the caution came out for Biffle running out of gas while Earnhardt was on pit road. When the race went green, he found himself in fourth. Several thought it would only be a matter of time before he started losing positions. But, he didn’t. He maintained his position in the top 5, holding off Truex Jr, Tony Stewart, and Jimmie Johnson.

Unfortunately, his pit strategy late in the race backfired, and he wound up 15th. Still, 15th place is his best finish at the upstate New York road course since 2005, and he moved up one position in points to ninth, 36 points ahead of 11th place.

It wasn’t that he’ll be written into the record book as the first Cup winner at the 1.5-mile track, the first speedway introduced into the series in 10 years.

No, Busch will remember Saturday’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky as the last thing he won on the way to his next race—in this case Sunday’s marquee Super Late Model event at Slinger Speedway in Wisconsin.

That’s the way Busch thinks—win and move on.

In holding off fast-closing David Reutimann and Jimmie Johnson in a two-lap stretch run, Busch won for the third time this season, the 22nd time in his Cup career and the 99th time across NASCAR’s top three national series, third most all-time.

Even though he won two of the three events at Kentucky Speedway over the weekend—he won the Camping World Truck Series race Thursday—Busch wasn’t thinking about the numbers, not even that he had leap-frogged past Kevin Harvick (16th Saturday) and Carl Edwards (fifth) into the top spot in the series standings.

Asked what the most impressive part of the Kentucky win was to him, Busch replied, “That I won on the way to Slinger. I’ve got to go to Slinger (Sunday). I’m going to stay here tonight, chill out and get a good night’s sleep, get out of here in the morning and head up there and, hopefully, win a Late Model race.”

Saturday’s race wasn’t settled until Busch kept Johnson at bay on the last restart, clearing Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet off Turn 2. Reutimann restated in the fourth spot but charged forward, passing Johnson just short of the finish line on the final lap. Reutimann finished .179 seconds behind Busch.

Johnson said his inability to stay beside Busch on the next-to-last lap cost him a chance to win the race.

“I was able to hang with the 18 (Busch) inside of Turns 1 and 2, and he just cleared me going down the back,” Johnson said. “The outside lane had a little bit more momentum coming off of (Turn) 2 down the back. If I could have stayed inside of him, it would have been one heck of a finish at the end.

“But it didn’t happen that way, and then he cleared me and went on, and then I had my hands full with the 00 (Reutimann). David was probably the best car at the end, and if he had cleared me sooner, I think he would have been up there with the 18 racing for the win.”

Ryan Newman played pit strategy perfectly and came home fourth, followed by Edwards. Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, David Ragan, Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon completed the top 10.

Busch had regained the lead during a cycle of green-flag stops late in the race, but a caution for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s blown left front tire slowed the race for the fifth time and set up a restart on Lap 260 of 267.

Busch pulled away, with Johnson chasing, but Clint Bowyer’s wreck in Turn 2 bought out the sixth caution on Lap 262 to bunch the field for a restart with two laps left.

During a 105-lap green-flag run that began on Lap 36 after a competition caution and included two rounds of pit stops, Busch opened a lead of more than eight seconds, but his advantage disappeared when NASCAR called a caution on Lap 140 for debris on the backstretch.

Keselowski and Tony Stewart opted not to pit under the caution and restarted on the front row on Lap 147. Earnhardt, who had fallen off the lead lap during the long green-flag run, got his lap back on a wave-around, and a quick caution on Lap 151 gave him a chance to pit for fuel and tires.

Keselowski and Stewart ran 1-2 after a restart on Lap 158, but both drivers had to pit for fuel early in the next cycle, and Busch reclaimed the top spot when Keselowski brought the No. 2 Dodge to pit road on Lap 186.

When Jamie McMurray’s engine erupted like Vesuvius on Lap 200, bringing out the fourth caution of the race, the lead-lap cars were back on similar pit cycles.

Busch, who led a race-high 125 laps, opened a four-point margin in the series standings over second-place Edwards and a 10-point cushion over third-place Harvick.

Note: When the green flag waved to start the race, cars carrying fans to the track were backed up on I-71, trying to get to the parking lots. Midway through the event, Kentucky Speedway G.M. Mark Simendinger issued the following statement: “We’ve had an overwhelming response to our inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400. We know we had challenges related to traffic. We’re already planning improvements and looking forward to a much better situation for next year’s event.”