Roush Fenway Could Announce Elliott Tonight

Roush Fenway Racing will make what is being called a “special driver announcement” tonight on SPEED’s NASCAR Race Hub program. Sirius Speedway first reported last Wednesday that Bill Elliott would drive Roush-Fenway’s #6 UPS Ford in next month’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, and sources say that those negotiations are nearly complete, and that the deal could be announced tonight.

David Ragan will drive the #6 Ford again this season, but is not eligible for the race. Elliott qualifies as a former Sprint Cup, Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400 and Budweiser Shootout champion.

Shrinking...And Growing: There were a pair of changes announced today to the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule.

Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California announced that their October 10th race will be shortened from 500 miles to 400. The new Pepsi Max 400 will be the fourth race in the 2010 Chase tor the Sprint Cup. Track President Gillian Zucker said the change came after discussions with NASCAR " in regard to making Auto Club Speedway the most competitive track possible for NASCAR racing."

While Auto Club trims one if its events, Phoenix International Raceway will lengthen the first race on its 2010 calendar. The April 10 Subway Fresh Fit 600 will be 600 kilometers in length, an increase of 100 kilometers (63 laps) from previous editions. PIR President Bryan Sperber, said the change was made in part to introduce new pit stop strategy by altering the required number of fuel cycles.

MWR/NASCAR Partner Up: NASCAR and Michael Waltrip Racing have announced that NASCAR will now be the sole licensing representative for the race team. The agreement includes the team itself, along with drivers David Reutimann, Martin Truex Jr., Michael Waltrip, Trevor Bayne and Ryan Truex.

With this agreement, NASCAR’s licensing arm will now oversee all the team’s licensed product business, including track merchandise, e-commerce and national retail, as well as retail development, new business, marketing, public relations and media assets. Michael Waltrip Racing Vice President and General manager Ty Norris will join us at 3:40 PM ET today to talk about the new deal.