1/12/05… Kenny Wallace will be back in full swing this season for PPC Racing in their #22 Ford with his familiar Stacker II colors. He'll be teamed up with John Andretti on the Cup side and with former Hispanic CART Champ star Michel Jourdain as a teammate in the Busch series.

Wallace is reported to have signed a three year contract with PPC, and has also signed with Michael Waltrip Racing to enter four 2005 Cup restrictor plate events in the #00 Chevy. This entry is reported to be the same car that Dale Earnhardt Jr. won last season's Bud Shootout with. It's a new team, so Wallace will have to race his way into the events because the number has not earned any provisional starts.

Jourdain's migration from CART into the NASCAR world has upset the applecart on Gerald Forsythe's Champ Car team. Forsythe is reported to have fought hard to keep Jourdain happy in his CART ride, but these race drivers in other series and leagues see the bigger picture with more money and prestige available on the NASCAR circuit.

The fact that Jourdain has raced Champ Cars in Mexico and that the Busch Series will be going down there to race this winter is another plus. Jourdain is a big name to grace NASCAR's ever controversial diversity program with, the sanctioning body is really glad to have his participation.

Robby Gordon is not expected to run as many events in 2005 as he and his team earlier anticipated. There were plans to run at least 24 Busch Series events coordinated with their new Cup Series efforts, but those plans seem to have wafted off into the breeze.

The sponsor has decided to put all financial efforts possible behind the Cup team, leaving any Busch Series activity up in the air at the present time. John Story, Robby Gordon Motorsport's General manager, says that they'd like to run the Mexico and Watkins Glen events given Robby's penchant for road racing and his history of racing in Mexico. He's a popular driver in that country because of all of his years running the Baja 1000 and other off-road events. Any other Busch Series races will have to tie in with possible testing and feeling out the tracks for their Cup Series efforts.

Bang Racing may be coming apart at the seams. Cameron Tousi, vice president, legal council and part owner of the team has parted ways with the organization. He was the one who was responsible for setting up the team with marketing, merchandising and licensing, sports transactions, and legal affairs. He'll be a hard man to replace! Alex Meshkin, the principal owner of the team, will have his work cut out for him, as John Adalio, VP of sponsorship has also jumped ship at the beginning of the teams venture into the Busch Series. I wondered what the problem was with that team last season when Larry McReynolds, one of the principal owners, pulled out. Don't be surprised if the team folds early in the season, if it hasn't done so already.

1/24/05… Who would have thought that Jeremy Mayfield and Rusty Wallace would be thought of as being part of the same racing organization again? Certainly not me, and four years ago, certainly not Rusty or Jeremy either. The two were like oil and water when they were both driving for Penske Racing South from 1998 to 2001.

I remember well, how Wallace berated Mayfield because he didn't allow him the superiority he thought he deserved on the race track because of his seasoned veteran status. We all know how outspoken Wallace was, and still can be, given an aggravating circumstance beyond his far reaching control. As a part owner (1/3) of the team, he had issues that carried over to his driving and relationship with his teammate.

At any rate, it appears that now Wallace has tapped Mayfield to team up with Jamie McMurray as the key drivers for his Rusty Wallace Inc. (RWI) #54 Miller Lite Dodge Charger Busch Series entry. Blake Bainbridge will continue as the crew chief in 2005.

Mayfield tested the car for Wallace this past week when the Busch Series took to the Daytona track for the first time in 2005 in preparation for the upcoming Speedweeks event. The team had a great test and ended up sixth overall with Mayfield piloting the new Dodge Charger. According to his reports, both the #54 Busch Series car and his #19 Cup Series Dodge Charger from the Evernham Motorsports organization, is up to par with expected speeds and performance. Mayfield is confident that the new charger will be a contender to beat in 2005.

Looking at the front of the new Charger, I kind of have an issue with all of the open area in the nose. I'm wondering how it can possibly cut through the air aerodynamically with all of that apparent resistance. It must be engineered to where the bigger openings than usual have something to do with the downforce, planting the front end on the track making it competitive and susceptive to speed from that standpoint.

The real test for me will be how Kasey Kahne handles his Charger. When it comes to handling and adapting to race cars, Kahne will be the one who will tell the best story. If he doesn't show great testing results with his entry, then there is something amiss.

As far as other testing went, I was surprised to see Kevin Harvick leading the drafting speed sheets with a 187+ mile per hour speed. Richard Childress Racing (RCR) had problems with their Cup cars getting the required competitive speed out of them, but it appears that the #21 Busch Series entry is up to snuff. There are different rules for engines and aerodynamics in the Busch Series as opposed to Cup.

Aaron Fike, testing for Brewco Motorsports, also graced the charts with a 187+ mile per hour showing in the drafting tests. Stacy Compton in the #59 Ford, along with Denny Hamlin in the #20 Chevy and Greg Biffle in the #66 Ford, rounded out the top five with drafting speeds in the 186+ mile per hour range.