Kyle Larson is moving on up to the Sprint Cup Series in 2014

   Kyle Larson isn't staying put very long.

    Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates will move the 21-year-old upstart to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series fulltime in 2014, multiple sources confirmed Tuesday to The Observer and ThatsRacin.com.

   An official news conference to introduce the team's new driver is scheduled Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

   Reached by phone on Tuesday evening, a team spokesman declined comment.

   Larson and team members of the Ganassi organization were notified of the decision this week, sources said. Larson will replace Juan Pablo Montoya in the No. 42 Chevrolet.

   Larson is in his first full season in the Nationwide Series, running with Turner Scott Motorsports. He has yet to win in Nationwide but is eighth in the series standings and has finished second twice this season.

   The native of Elk Grove, Calif., earned his first Truck series victory earlier this season at Rockingham, N.C., and won the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship.

   As a teenager, Larson raced open-wheel cars, including USAC midget, Silver Crown and sprint cars. He also raced World of Outlaws sprint cars.

Martin Truex Jr. fractures wrist at Bristol; will race with cast

 

   Statement from Michael Waltrip Racing:

    An MRI on Monday confirmed a scaphoid fracture and sprain of Martin Truex Jr.’s right wrist suffered in Saturday night’s accident at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Doctors fitted Truex with a special cast Tuesday he’ll wear indefinitely. The cast enables him to better grip the steering wheel and compete in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway as well as the 11 remaining races.

    Truex worked closely with NASCAR this week and has been cleared to race.

    A multi-car crash collected Truex on lap 448 Saturday sending the NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota into the outside wall. Truex was treated in the medical center Saturday. MWR has yet to determine if a stand-by driver is needed for this weekend.

    Truex is 14th in the points and holds the first of two wildcard entries as he seeks his second consecutive berth in NASCAR’s Chase the for Sprint Cup.

Furniture Row Racing's response regarding Kurt Busch's decision

   Joe Garone, general manager of Furniture Row Racing in regards to Kurt Busch's decision not to continue as the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet after the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

   “It was always our intention to extend Kurt's contract with Furniture Row Racing. We made him an offer last week to to continue as the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet in 2014 and beyond. Though he did not accept our offer we respect his decision and wish him future success. His driving skill and being a dedicated team player will always be appreciated at Furniture Row Racing. But for right now the main focus for Kurt and the team is to qualify for the Chase and contend for the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship.

   “Furniture Row Racing’s technical and engineering programs along with a talented road crew have made great strides this season, which have been evident with the consistently fast race cars that we have brought to the track week in and week out. We, along with our technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing, are deeply committed to continuing the work in progress. We are currently in a search process for a new driver in 2014, one who shares the same commitment and winning attitude that we all do at Furniture Row Racing.”

Kurt Busch to join Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014

   As expected, former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kurt Busch will join Stewart-Haas Racing next season to drive a fourth car and become teammates with Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick and Kevin Harvick.

   Busch confirmed the signing of a multi-year deal with several reporters on Monday. An official announcement with team co-owner Gene Haas - the man behind the decision - is set for 2 p.m. Tuesday at SHR headquarters in Kannapolis, N.C.

   Sources say SHR is attempting to obtain the No. 00 for Busch to use beginning next season in the Sprint Cup Series.

Take that Joey Logano haters

 

   Joey Logano's Sprint Cup Series win was big for several reasons, including giving the driver of the No. 22 Penske Racing Ford a chance to make the Chase for the first time.

   Teammate Brad Keselowski was a big proponent of Logano getting the No. 22 ride and obviously, owner Roger Penske wouldn't have hired him if he were not talented. I asked Logano on Friday if he honestly had some self-satisfaction after winning last Sunday toward the people who doubted whether he belonged at Penske or would have preferred another driver in the ride.

   Here was Logano's answer:

   “Of course. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t. Anytime you win it’s kind of like an in-your-face thing. You want to do that.  We’re all competitors, so we’re gonna be excited when we win and I feel like I’m very privileged to be sitting in the seat that I’m in right now with a great team. Roger, I could never ask to work for someone better than that. He’s an amazing person, so it’s the best second chance I could ever have, obviously, and it will really be the best chance I’ll ever have, so I’m having a lot of fun with it," he said.

   "Yes, it was important for me to go out there and run well, and it is important for me to win races, especially after last year and going through all of that."

Brian Vickers has lost his crew chief before he started the fulltime ride

   When Brian Vickers was recently announced as the fulltime driver of Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 55 Toyota for the 2014 season, one of things he said he looked forward to was working more with the team's crew chief, Rodney Childers. The past two seasons, Vickers has shared the No. 55 ride with veteran Mark Martin.

   As it turns out, Vickers won't be working with Childers beyond this season.

   MWR officials confirmed Friday that Childers would not be returning to the organization next season and Vickers would get a new crew chief.

   Sources say Childers is headed to Stewart-Haas Racing where he will be paired next season with new driver Kevin Harvick. An SHR official said no new crew chiefs had been hired for 2014 but the organization thinks highly of Childers and he is on the "short list" of candidates.

   Friday at Bristol, Childress said his future location wasn't "100 percent done" but he would not be back at MWR.

   "I think everybody has a good idea what it is," Childers said of his new job. "There was not one big thing that stood out. MWR has been great for five years.

   "I've thought about this for a long time. I just woke up one day and this is what my heart told me to do. Hopefully, it all works out." 

  

Who says drivers like Kyle Busch are bad for NASCAR's lower series?

   Who says Sprint Cup Series drivers like Kyle Busch are bad for NASCAR's lower series like Nationwide and Trucks?

    Not track owners. 

   Not fans of those drivers who get to see them compete in other NASCAR events at a lower cost than in Cup races.

   Not NASCAR itself, which actually promotes their appearances.

   Oh, fans who don't like Busch ... and the media.

   Well, it's a wonder the whole idea wasn't quashed a long time ago then.

   Take a good, long look at where the comments originate about whether Cup drivers should be allowed to compete in NASCAR's lower levels (and forget for a moment they have been allowed to do so since NASCAR's inception).

   The complaints come from fans, almost universally not from the driver involved in the discussion. And the questions come from media, who ask because of the complaints directed at them by fans, almost universally not from the driver involved in the discussion.

   After Busch received yet another question about his participation in a Truck race following his win Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, I asked him a serious question. In the course of his career, has any driver in any series other than Cup ever said anything to him complaining of his participation in that series?

   Here is his entire response (It's not a surprise for those who actually listen to what Nationwide and Truck drivers say week in and week out):

   "Probably a couple times I've had them say it jokingly. They would see me walking in the gate or something like that and walk in with me and say something like, 'Aw damn, you're here again,' or something like that. Other than that, no. Seriously, when I talk to any of the guys -- Matt Crafton and I, we're pretty close friends, probably the closest friend I have in NASCAR. After every practice we're like teammates. I'm trying to help him with his truck and with what those guys are doing and seeing if we can't help them achieve their ultimate goal of winning a championship this year," he said.

   "I think that when you have people that are true to you and respect you for who you are then you want to help those guys, but everybody else that isn't that way you don't give two craps about."

   Follow up question: "So, for all practical purposes, the complaints you hear are not from other drivers?"

   Busch: "Right. It's fans or from the media."

   Shocking.