Stewart Hass Racing has secured owner points that will guarantee that former Indy car driver Danica Patrick will compete in the Daytona 500. The owner points will come from Tommy Baldwin Racing’s #36 car which was driven by Dave Blaney for most of last season.
In total Danica Patrick will run 10 races in the #10 car. Picking up the remaining 26 races in the car will be veteran David Reutimann who signed a deal with TBR earlier this off-season.The terms of that deal stated that Baldwin would be the crew chief for races driven by Reutimann.
In exchange for giving up the owner points to guarantee Patrick a start in Daytona, TBR will get technical and pit crew help from SHR.
The races set to be driven by Reutimann in the car will have sponsorship according to TBR. Earlier this winter there were reports that there was not a full slate of sponsorship to run Reutimann in every race. It is possiable that some sponsorship for Blaney could be moved to the #10 car when Reutimann is behind the wheel.
It is also unclear if Reutimann will drive another TBR entry when he is not in behind the wheel of the #10. Blaney who worked to get the #36 car into the top-35 in owner points will have to qualify for the Daytona 500 on time or via the Gatorade Duel. Any additional races he runs will also require him to make the race on time until the team can get the car into the top-35 in owner points. That is looking more like an if right now.
It is also unclear how the partnership with SHR will effect Baldwin’s existing plan to purchase race engines from Earnhardt Childress Racing.
