Michael Waltrip to drive the #55 car at Daytona

Michael Waltrip, the owner of the #55 Toyota currently driven by Brian Vickers, will drive the car in the Budweiser Duels on February 19 and the Daytona 500 on February 22. Vickers will miss the Daytona and Atlanta race weekends as he recovers from his December heart surgery. If Waltrip does not race into the 500, he should have enough owner points from the #55 in 2014 to make the show. Waltrip won "The Great American Race" in 2001 and 2003 driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team with which he enjoyed his greatest success in NASCAR's top series. Waltrip has led laps in the race even in the past few years.

Chase Elliott to replace Jeff Gordon in the #24 car

The speculation has turned out to be true. Chase Elliott will be the driver in 2016 to take over the #24 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports made famous by Jeff Gordon. Gordon, who is retiring from full-time competition after the upcoming season, has taken the #24 car to 92 race wins and four series championships. He has driven it in every race since his series debut in the 1992 Hooters 500 at Atlanta, which was also the legendary Richard Petty's last race.


Elliott is the defending Xfinity Series champion and currently drives the #9 Chevrolet Camaro full-time in the series for the Hendrick-aligned JR Motorsports. In 2015, Elliott will drive a #25 NAPA Auto Parts-sponsored Chevrolet in five races in preparation for his 2016 rookie campaign. The #25 is also a famous car in the history of Hendrick Motorsports, and today that car is now Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s #88. Although it appears Elliott will keep the #24, some sources are reporting that the team is trying to get the number 9 or 94, which are two of the numbers driven by his father Bill Elliott. Richard Petty has even offered to give up the number 9, which he inherited from Ray Evernham (Gordon's former crew chief and former owner of that Petty car, which Bill Elliott once drove as an Evernham Dodge) for Chase to drive at Hendrick. But Elliott has said that no one will truly replace Gordon, even if the number 24 is indeed kept.

Yeley driving for BK Racing full-time; Bowman rumored to Tommy Baldwin

J.J. Yeley announced Tuesday on Twitter that he has re-signed with BK Racing to drive one of their Toyotas, possibly the #83, in the 2015 season. Yeley, who first joined the Sprint Cup circuit in 2006, was a development driver for the team in a few races in 2014. Meanwhile, 2014 rookie Alex Bowman, who drove BK's #23 entry this past season, is currently rumored to be headed to Tommy Baldwin Racing to replace fellow sophomore driver Michael Annett in the #7 Chevrolet.

David Pearson had a stroke in December

It has been made public that legendary NASCAR driver David Pearson, nicknamed "The Silver Fox," suffered a stroke on December 9. The stroke, which occurred on the left side of his brain, was only a mild one, Pearson's family said on Wednesday. They say he is "80 to 85 percent recovered" but is still undergoing therapy for his left arm and leg. A full recovery for Pearson is expected soon, to the delight of the NASCAR community.


Pearson, 80, has the second-most wins of any driver in the Sprint Cup Series, with 105 visits to victory lane between 1963 and 1980. The only driver with more wins is 200-time winner Richard Petty. Pearson and Petty had something of a rivalry in the 1960s and '70s, finishing first and second with each other a total of 63 times (with Pearson having the edge 33-30), and even crashing with each other off the final turn of the 1976 Daytona 500, which Pearson won with a damaged car. Pearson earned 43 of his wins in the Wood Brothers' #21 car. That car and the Petty #43 car are regarded as the most famous NASCAR cars in the sport's history. However, Pearson's success has been largely overshadowed by Petty's, but that didn't prevent Pearson from getting into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011.

Moffitt to drive #55 MWR Toyota at Atlanta; Annett signs with HScott

Brett Moffitt will drive the #55 Toyota of Michael Waltrip Racing as a substitute for Brian Vickers, who will return to Sprint Cup competition on March 8 at Las Vegas following his December heart surgery. Moffitt is signed with Identity Ventures Racing, who is aligned with Waltrip's team, and drove the #66 Toyota under the IVR banner in seven Cup races in 2014.

Also, Michael Annett has moved from the #7 Chevrolet at Tommy Baldwin Racing to a second car at HScott Motorsports, making him teammates with the driver of the #51 car, Justin Allgaier. Annett's 2014 teammate, Reed Sorenson in the #36, is also believed to be leaving TBR and the #36 could become a part-time car with Jay Robinson Racing, who has an affiliation with the MWR-IVR partnership.

Gordon, Harvick, Keselowski join NASCAR on Fox Xfinity team

Sprint Cup drivers Jeff Gordon, defending champion Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski will serve as guest analysts during some of Fox's Xfinity Series races during the first half of the season. This will be Fox's first time broadcasting the series since 2006. This also coincides with Jeff Gordon's announcement on Thursday. Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip will remain on Fox as commentators. Also joining Fox as pit reporters are Jamie Little and Chris Neville. Meanwhile, Dale Jarrett and Kyle Petty have joined the new NASCAR on NBC broadcasting team that will begin its coverage later this year along with commentators Rick Allen, Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton.

Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson help Ganassi entry to Rolex 24 victory

Sprint Cup Series drivers Jamie McMurray (#1) and Kyle Larson (#42) helped take Chip Ganassi's #01 Chevrolet to victory in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona sportscar endurance race on Sunday. The race is sanctioned by the United SportsCar Championship. Larson and McMurray were joined by Ganassi's IndyCar drivers Tony Kanaan of Brazil and Scott Dixon of New Zealand. McMurray is now just the third driver in motorsports history to win both the Rolex 24 and NASCAR's Daytona 500, joining open-wheel legends Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt. McMurray won the Great American Race in 2010 in his first race reunited with Ganassi after leaving following the 2005 Nextel Cup season. Meanwhile, Dixon won the Indianapolis 500 in 2008 and Kanaan in 2013.