Martin, Stewart among Cup stars in IROC field
by: The Associated Press

TINTON FALLS, N.J. -- Five-time and defending champion Mark Martin heads a 13-man field for the 2006 Crown Royal International Race of Champions Series.

Martin, who holds the series record with 13 victories, will be joined in the four-race invitational series by reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart, former champion Matt Kenseth and budding star Carl Edwards, who finished third last year in his first full Cup season.

Inside the Numbers
NASCAR drivers in IROC
Driver No. W T-5 T-10

M. Martin 43 13 36 41
T. Stewart 17 2 7 15
M. Kenseth 8 2 6 7
M. Truex Jr. 4 1 4 4
C. Edwards 0 0 0 0
T. Musgrave 0 0 0 0


Also named to the all-star lineup from NASCAR were two-time Busch Series champion Martin Truex Jr., who will be a rookie this year in Cup, and Craftsman Truck Series champion Ted Musgrave.

Rounding out the field will be 20-time World of Outlaws sprint car champion Steve Kinser, seven-time ARCA stock car champion Frank Kimmel, Indy Racing League stars Sam Hornish Jr. and Scott Sharp and road racers Max Angelelli, Wayne Taylor and Max Papis.

In a first for IROC, Taylor and Papis, teammates and series champions last year in the Grand American Road Racing series, will share a ride, with each driving two races.

The 30th IROC season, with drivers vying for a $1 million championship purse, will open Feb. 17 at Daytona International Speedway. The series will also include events at Texas Motor Speedway on April 7 (YAY!! I got racin' to watch on my birthday!!!) , Daytona on June 29 and Atlanta Motor Speedway on Oct. 28. The second Daytona race will be run on the track's road course, the first road race in the IROC series in 14 years.