Harvicks-Vandergriff To Form Partnership

Kevin and DeLana Harvick will join with veteran Bob Vandergriff, Jr., to field a Top Fuel dragster on the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series next season.

Vandergriff confirmed the project this weekend, saying, “We want to offer the companies aligned with Harvick-Vandergriff Motorsports the chance to use the best of NHRA and NASCAR through the same program.”

He and the Harvicks will begin assembling the team within the next two months, with an eye toward a 2009 debut. The Harvick-Vandergriff partnership should be attractive to potential sponsors, offering exposure in the NHRA, NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’.

Harvick confirmed the project this weekend, saying, "The response from the companies we've spoken to already has been tremendous," Harvick said. “The more we come to understand what is happening in the NHRA, the more attractive it's becoming as a whole.”

Bob Vandergriff, Jr., will join us today on Sirius Speedway to discuss the project.

Stremme To Penske? Published reports this weekend say that David Stremme will join Penske Racing as a test driver, a move that could put him in the drivers seat of the team’s #77 Mobil One Dodge for the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

That car is currently driven by former IndyCar champion Sam Hornish, Jr. But Hornish stands 33rd in points in his rookie season, prompting speculation that he may elect to bypass the Coke 600 in favor of driving Penske’s currently idle #77 IndyCar in the Indianpolis 500.

Penske’s three-car entry for the Indianapolis 500 shows Helio Castroneves at the wheel of the Penske Racing #3, with teammate Ryan Briscoe in the #6. The driver of Penske’s #77 entry is listed as "TBA," prompting speculation that Hornish could run the race on a one-off basis. That move would presumably put Stremme in the driver’s seat of Penske’s Spring Cup car at Lowes Motor Speedway.

Stremme has once again become a hot property in the NASCAR ranks, after being released by Ganassi Racing at the end of the 2007 season. He ranks 13th in NASCAR Nationwide Series points for Rusty Wallace Racing, and has played a major role in turning that team’s fortunes around. He finished tenth in Friday night's Bashas' Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway; his third Top-10 finish in the last four races. Published reports say he has recently turned down at least two offers to return to the Sprint Cup Series.