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With the last off-week of the season winding down, let’s take a look back at the hot button topics of the week….

*Daytona 500 qualifying moved back a day-In order to avoid going head-to-head with the Super Bowl NASCAR announced Friday that it will move qualifying for the 52nd Daytona 500 back a day to Saturday, February 6th. The move gives Daytona 500 fans a full, triple-header day of on-track activity starting with qualifying and ending with the ARCA/RE-MAX series race that afternoon and the Budweiser Shootout later that evening.

*2010 Schedule taking shape-As tracks begin to announce their 2010 schedule it appears there isn’t much difference between the ‘09 and ‘10 schedules. From all indications Kentucky will once again be left off of the Sprint Cup schedule as the lawsuit against NASCAR continues to linger. Texas and Phoenix will reportedly swap Spring dates to accommodate a conflict Fox had with The Masters on CBS. Another potential move could see Dover’s June race move back in the schedule to a mid-May race date. Other than that all other dates and venues seem to mirror that of 2009; but it’s still early. 

*”Bootie” Barker replaced as crew chief on the 55-Michael Waltrip Racing announced that “Bootie” Barker has been replaced by veteran crew chief Gene Nead for the remainder of the 2009 season. Barker will remain at MWR and will move over the engineering side of things.

*Brad Keselowski will not return to JRM in 2010-Brad Keselowski didn’t exactly let the cat out of the bag when he announced to the assembled media in Montreal that he will not return to JR Motorsports in 2010. The announcement all but assures that BK has made up his mind and will be moving to the soon-to-be vacated #12 Penske Dodge currently driven by David Stremme. I don’t know about you but I am still trying to decode Rick Hendrick’s “he won’t stray too far” comment.

*Ray Evernham ties the knot-The couple that Jeremy Mayfield blames for the destruction of his career have wed. Ray Evernham and former developmental driver/long-time girlfriend Erin Crocker exchanged vows during a private ceremony Wednesday at a Las Vegas hotel. The ceremony, attended by family and close friends, marked the culmination of a relationship that dates back to Evernham’s days as Sprint Cup series car owner. The Mayfield camp had no comment.  

*ESPN Ratings up again-For the second straight week ESPN announced an increase in their TV ratings from the previous year. Could this have something to do with the potential turn around by the former face of NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr? The ratings have been in the tank all year, so why the sudden change? I’m not a betting man but if I had to put my money where my mouth is I’d say this has something to do with the 88 bunch turning the corner. I am sure there are those who will unload on me because I am saying this, but the fact that the ratings are getting better the same time Dale Jr is running better is more than just coincidence. Don’t buy into that theory? Then tell me otherwise……..

*Danica Patrick not ready to confirm 2010 plans-Just checked Twitter and nothing from Danica about where and what she will drive in 2010. She did, however, tell her followers that she was disappointed in her qualifying effort and that pics from her GQ photo shoot were up; but no major announcement about 2010. In all seriousness, don’t expect Danica to jump ship and leave the IndyCar series any time soon. This is a bad time for her to make a jump to stock cars. With quality rides at a minimum she would do herself (and her brand) a huge favor by simply staying put. The only move that would really make sense for her would be to the vacant JR Motorsports #88. And I don’t see her doing that; but I have been wrong before. Stay tuned….

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