Driving for defending series champion owner Eddie Sharp in the car that won the championship with Justin Lofton behind the wheel, Piquet Jr. started the weekend off well—qualifying a strong seventh out of the 51 cars that took time.

Now the race was not all good for Piquet Jr., who—despite running in the front of the pack for most of the day and avoiding the well-known "big one" crash, which collected ten cars in this year's edition—ended the day still on the track, but 13 laps down, in the 27th position.

The unfortunate side for Piquet Jr. was his involvement in accidents with both nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel as well as fellow stock car newcomer Danica Patrick, which led to his finish outside of the top 20, despite running in the top 10 for most of the day.

But there is a light at the end of this short tunnel for Piquet Jr. Much like fellow newcomer Danica Patrick, Piquet Jr. will get another crack at the 2.5 mile track later this week, as he will drive the No. 1 Red Horse Racing Toyota in Friday's NextEra Energy Resources 250 Camping World Truck Series race.

Piquet Jr., who was without teammates in the ARCA race, will have two strong teammates in the CWTS race on Friday in series veteran Timothy Peters and fellow rookie, and 2009 ARCA series champ, Justin Lofton.

"I'm very excited! The size of the Daytona track is amazing. I can't wait to reach 200mph side-by-side in a tight drafting pack of trucks!" Piquet said in a recent interview. "The plans for the season are coming together really well. I can't wait to get out on track and start my NASCAR career!"

Obviously the truck series will be a brand new experience for Piquet Jr., who only has minimal testing at a short track in a truck on his record, but under the guidance of a team like Red Horse, and with teammates like Peters and Lofton, don't be surprised to see Piquet Jr. running towards the front of the pack come Friday night under the lights of Daytona.

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PRISM Motorsports, owned by Phil Parsons and Randy Humphrey, announced that not only will they return to Sprint Cup competition in 2010 with the No. 66 and driver Dave Blaney but also with a second team to be campaigned by Michael McDowell.

"We didn't want to be a start and park last year. But we're trying to build something for the future and that's what we had to do to survive without sponsorship. We want to race this year. We're talking to people about sponsorship but don't have anything yet.

"We hope to have the money from the outside that will let Dave race. But if we don't, we want to be able to do it ourselves. And having a second car is part of that," said Parsons, addressing the team's status in 2009 as a "start and park" and finding a way to afford to race in 2010.

Both Front Row Motorsports Teams Locked-In For First Five Races

Travis Kvapil and teammate Kevin Conway are both expected to have locked in positions for the first five races of the 2010 season driving for Front Row Motorsports. Kvapil will be locked in as he is taking over the No. 34 ride, which former driver John Andretti placed 35th in final owner standings from 2009.

As far as the No. 37 of Kevin Conway, there are several possible scenarios that could give this team a place in the top 35 come Daytona. One of those scenarios is a deal to acquire the owner points from the No. 96 of Hall of Fame Racing who have not announced any racing plans for 2010. Also in speculation is the now defunct No. 44 of Richard Petty Motorsports which was forced to shut down after the merger with Yates Racing.

Gunselman Motorsports Back In 2010

Gunselman Motorsports will be back with the No. 64 in 2010, but are making the switch from Toyota to Ford. No mention of a driver as of yet but their website does state that they are, "working diligently to secure sponsorship and new alliances that will allow our team to compete in all 36 races in 2010."

Could Gunselman Motorsports be making the switch to Ford in an attempt to make a deal or alliance to acquire owner points, from either the No. 44 or No. 96, for the locked-in position? Only time will tell.

Mad Max Papis To Return In 201

Max Papis revealed in an interview with a German racing website that he will be back in the No. 13 GEICO Toyota for Germain Racing in 2010 and plans to race in 20 of the Sprint Cup events, while attempting to qualify in most if not all.

The reasoning for attempting to qualify in more races then he plans to race is not a matter of start and parking, but more a matter of preventing being one of the teams on the outside looking in when Sprint Cup qualifying gets cancelled by rain. Papis does not want to get sent home after rain because he didn't attempt enough races.

2010 Chili Bowl

Kevin Swindell was able to follow in his father's footsteps winning his first Golden Driller trophy this past weekend at the famed 24th Annual Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Cole Whitt finished second, followed by Sammy Swindell in third, Jerry Coons Jr. in fourth, and Chris Windom in fifth.

NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Kasey Kahne finished 18th in the A-main feature after transferring in by winning B-main No. 1. Another name some NASCAR fans will recognize, Bobby East, finished 17th in the A-main feature. Other notable NASCAR names that took part in the Chili Bowl include J.J. Yeley, Shane Hmiel, and Josh Wise.

New Voice In Newman's Ear

Jimmy Kitchens will be taking over spotting duties for Ryan Newman in the No. 39 this season taking the place of Newman's father, Greg Newman. Kitchens was the spotter for Casey Mears in the No. 07 at RCR which recently announced that it would not be competing in 2010 due to lack of sponsorship.

Danica To F1?

You read that tag line correct. Danica to F1, but only for one hour as she and VH1's Antonio Sabato Jr. will portray Formula race car drivers in the February 17th episode of CSI:NY."

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Some of the 10 races include races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bowman Gray Stadium, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, and both events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The events at Atlanta and Charlotte will be run on the one quarter mile tracks primarily used by INEX Legends and Bandalero divisions.

Current schedule of events to have television coverage (date is date of race, not of broadcast):

March 5—NWSMT—Atlanta Motor Speedway (0.25 mile oval)

June 26—NWMT—New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1.058 mile oval)

August 7—NWSMT—Bowman Gray Stadium (0.25 mile oval)

August 18—NWMT/NWSMT Combo—Bristol Motor Speedway (0.5 mile oval)

September 18—NWMT—New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1.058 mile oval)

October 14—NWSMT—Charlotte Motor Speedway (0.25 mile oval)

That leaves four other unannounced events to be televised. Here are the remaining dates on both series schedules:

March 14—NWSMT—Caraway Speedway (0.455 mile oval)

April 3—NWSMT—South Boston Speedway (0.4 mile oval)

April 11—NWMT—Thompson International Speedway (0.625 mile oval)

April 25—NWMT—Stafford Motor Speedway (0.500 mile oval)

May 28—NWMT—Stafford Motor Speedway (0.500 mile oval)

June 6—NWMT—Martinsville Speedway (0.526 mile oval)

July 2—NWSMT—Caraway Speedway (0.455 mile oval)

July 3—NWMT—Lime Rock Park (1.53 mile road course)

July 17—NWMT—Monadnock Speedway (0.25 mile oval)

July 31—NWMT—Riverhead Raceway (0.25 mile oval)

August 6—NWMT—Stafford Motor Speedway (0.500 mile oval)

August 12—NWMY—Thompson International Speedway (0.625 mile oval)

August 28—NWSMT—Caraway Speedway (0.455 mile oval)

September 4—NWSMT—Langley Speedway (0.395 mile oval)

September 25—NWSMT—Tri-County Motor Speedway (0.4 mile oval)

October 3—NWMT—Stafford Motor Speedway (0.500 mile oval)

October 17—NWMT—Thompson International Speedway (0.625 mile oval)

Don't be surprised if both the Martinsville and South Boston events are announced as televised races as they are combination shows with the Camping World East Series.

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Falk's keynote accomplishment was winning the track championship at historic Langley Speedway, a track which has been home to his family for many decades and both C.E. and his younger brother Wes call their home track. Falk also was able to end the season seventh in the national NWAAS point standings and second in the Virginia state points behind Philip Morris who also won the national title

In recent weeks Falk has received recognition from multiple short track racing websites being named to NASCAR talent scout David Smith's second team All-American drivers as well as being named the number one most improved and number two best driver of 2009 by Race22.com.

But if you talk to Falk you'll quickly realize that 2009 is behind him and his focus is entirely on 2010 and doing what he needs to do to draw the attention of teams in NASCAR's premier levels.

Falk once again is eyeing racing a mixed bag schedule at tracks such as Langley, South Boston, Caraway, Motor Mile and others but has yet to decide where he plans to run for points as he waits to hear what a certain track is going to do with their tires.

Falk told me that the big plan for the season is to take down the giant in NWAAS competition, that being the man who has won three of the last four national titles Philip Morris. Falk wants to run more races than he did in 2009 in effort to put together the best 18 races possible to be in contention for both the Virginia state and national titles.

But that being said there are three races that Falk has scheduled on his 2010 schedule that he wants more than anything to win. The Hampton Heat 200, Langley's new premier race which Falk came close to winning in 2009 in a battle with former USAR Pro Cup standout Woody Howard. Also the South Boston 300, formerly part of the Mason Dixon 500 weekend in October, has a nice bold circle around it on Falk's schedule.

But without a doubt the biggest and most important event for Falk in 2010 will be a return to Martinsville Speedway for the race until recently known as the Bailey's 300, the biggest and most premier Late Model Stock event in the southeast.

Last season Falk was able to transfer into the race after an impressive victory in his heat race but after being caught up in multiple wrecks he was only able to rough it out for a 12th place finish in one of the toughest Late Model Stock fields of the year.

Obviously the long-term goal for Falk is to make it in one of NASCAR's premier division, but until a sponsor or team comes along to give Falk that opportunity he'll keep putting forth his best effort in the Late Model Stock ranks trying to prove he has the talent to get the job done on any Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

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The Modified division at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. is known throughout the region as not only one of the toughest divisions to win in due to the level of competition but also one of the toughest divisions to survive in at times.

With drivers like Junior Miller, Tim Brown, Burt and Jason Myers and Chris Fleming as well as a host of others not prominently featured on the show its easy to see why the division has both reputations.

The fans at the Stadium go absolutely nuts for the Modified division. Some fans have the kind of fanatical devotion generally reserved for NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers.

But no matter what week it is the Stadium is always jam packed full of fans ready to see what is going to happen next. Need more visual proof as to why? Just take a short trip on over to Youtube and you'll find out quick. Bowman Gray is truly a track where anything can happen on any night.

But the action on the track and in the pits isn't the only reason why this show is as good as it is and will have the success that it will.

The show does an excellent job of showing the viewers who these drivers are off the track as well as showing the amount of work that the drivers and their teams go through every week in order to go racing on Saturday night.

I know what people are going to say and already have said. The show sets NASCAR back, they look like a bunch of dumb rednecks cursing and fighting all the time, and so on and so forth. Well guess what people, that is the way it is on the short track level!

The pretty boys on Sunday may not get as mad at each other, but the Saturday night warriors at tracks like Bowman Gray not only drive the cars but also pour their blood, sweat, tears and hard earned money into the cars each and every week and tend to have their emotions run a bit higher. But that's what has made the Stadium so popular, its raw, real and uncensored drama each and every week.

Plus I can tell you from personal experience 90 per cent of short track racers out there if they're at the track, four letter words are going to be heard around the pit area. Drivers all think they're the best in their division and got the best equipment in their division.

And if a driver has some reason not to like another, its going to be on their mind 24/7. To these drivers, racing isn't just a hobby it is a way of life and that is why the fans show every week.

In a time where so many "reality" shows are filled with fake drama and producer created events to create story lines, "Madhouse" features drama that is created each and every week by the stars of the show, the drivers on the track, and just ask anyone who has ever been to the Stadium not one bit of that is fake and that is why the History Channel has struck gold with this series.

Here's a Youtube video from a local news station about the final night of the 2008 season which is what the show addresses in the premiere episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7LxpBYp_hk&feature=related

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