NASCAR NEWS FOR THE WEEKEND

Top Sponsors Fuel the Return of TNT's 'Wide Open Coverage': TNT announced its full lineup of sponsors for this year's highly-touted Wide Open Coverage race telecast, which will air once again during the primetime Coke Zero 400 race from Daytona International Speedway on Sat., July 5th. The ten national sponsors, which matches last year's sponsorship commitment, featured in this year's innovative telecast include Coke Zero, Coors Light, HP, Papa John's, Sprint, Subway, Toyota, US Army, Viagra and Warner Bros. TNT's exclusive Wide Open Coverage telecast is a groundbreaking television presentation format that provides continuous race coverage free of national commercial breaks and features 22% more unobstructed race action than that of a standard telecast by using a letterbox widescreen format. In place of the national ads, the telecast features a variety of animated sponsor messages, unique branded content and distinct on-screen graphic elements. Wide Open Coverage debuted on TNT during the 2007 Daytona 400 race and showcased extended non-stop green flag racing, missing only three laps of green flag racing. The network's race coverage begins at 6:30pm/et with the NASCAR Live pre-race show hosted by Marc Fein with analysts Kyle Petty and Larry McReynolds, followed by the Allstate Countdown to Green at 7:30pm/et with Bill Weber, Wally Dallenbach and Petty with reports from pit reporters Marty Snider, Matt Yocum, Ralph Sheheen and Lindsay Czarniak. The race will begin at 8:00pm/et with a brief Wide Open Coverage introduction by Sprint Cup Series drivers Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle

Martin back to fulltime in 2009, to the #5 HMS car: Mark Martin has signed a two-year agreement to drive for Hendrick Motorsports beginning in 2009. Martin will race the full 2009 Sprint Cup schedule in the #5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevy, becoming teammates with #24-Jeff Gordon, #48-Jimmie Johnson and #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. It will mark his first full season of Cup competition since 2006, when he finished ninth in points. A Batesville, Ark., native, Martin also is slated to run a partial Sprint Cup schedule for Hendrick Motorsports in 2010, sharing the #5 Chevys with a to-be-determined second driver. Martin will enter 26 events, including the non-points Budweiser Shootout and Sprint All-Star Race. “Mark is an incredible racer and one of the classiest guys around,” said Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick, whose organization will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2009. “He is a driver who makes everyone around him better, and our entire company is going to benefit from his presence.”
“I feel very fortunate to have this chance to win races and go after a championship with Hendrick Motorsports,” Martin said. “Coming back full time wasn’t something we planned, but driving the #5 car, with all its history, was an impossible opportunity to pass up. Rick and I have enjoyed a great relationship over the years, and we’ve always talked about doing this. Now it’s working out, and we’re both excited about the possibilities.” Martin, 49, will be paired with crew chief Alan Gustafson, who now is in his fourth season at the helm of the #5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevy team. Gustafson has posted four Sprint Cup wins as a crew chief and has a history with Martin, having worked with him in multiple Nationwide Series events

Menard and Yates? John Menard, the wealthy businessman (Menards, the privately owned home improvements company), may be losing interest in NASCAR racing after so many years, according to sources. Menard, whose son #15-Paul is driving for DEI, is reportedly in negotiations with Ford’s Jack Roush, perhaps to help fellow owner Doug Yates keep afloat in this sport, which would involve a move from Chevrolet to Ford. “I don’t have any idea what might be going on there,” DEI’s Story said. “We just met with John, and everything is good.