Jerry Nadeau will act as a consultant for driver David Gilliland. Credit: Autostock

Notebook: Nadeau returns as consultant

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Whether or not Jerry Nadeau will ever return to the wheel of a NASCAR racecar in competition remains to be seen, but he's lined up this season as a consultant for a new Busch Series team.

Nadeau still entertains hope of making a complete comeback from a head injury he suffered in a crash during practice at Richmond International Raceway in spring 2003, but in the interim he'll work with former NASCAR West Series Rookie of the Year David Gilliland and Clay Andrews Racing.

Nadeau is already working for the team for which Gilliland, 29 and the son of former West Series champion Butch Gilliland is driving. They plan to make their 2006 debut on Feb. 25 at the California Speedway in the Stater Bros. 300.

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"I've been waiting for the right opportunity to make a return to the sport I love," Nadeau said. "I feel that this is it. Clay and general manager Rich Gautreau have put together a winning team in a very short time.

"I really want to help this team grow [so] this is also a great chance to work with a very promising driver. David is a very mature driver with a lot of talent [and] hopefully I can give him that extra guidance to run up front."

Nadeau competed in the Winston Cup Series for seven years with more than 170 starts. He one win, at Atlanta Motor Speedway; 19 top-10; and nine top-five finishes in his career.

"This is pretty special for me," David Gilliland said. "I'm going to be a rookie this season, but I think a person of Jerry's talents can really accelerate the learning curve.

"He is a winner, and has proven that in and out of a race car. I'm really looking forward to working with him."

Andrews Racing has acquired a 28,000-square-foot race shop in Statesville, N.C. In addition to Nadeau's advisory capacity, Andrews has hired former Cup crew chief Billy Wilburn to serve in that role plus the former head of Hendrick Motorsports' chassis shop, Eddie Dickerson.

Petty: No clear 500 favorite

After scoring two top-six finishes in their Gatorade Duel qualifying race for Sunday's Daytona 500, Kyle Petty says his cars have a legitimate shot at winning the Daytona 500 -- which would be a first for a long period.

Bobby Labonte ended up fourth in the 150 in the No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge and Petty was sixth in his No. 45 Wells Fargo Financial Dodge.

"Bobby [Labonte] had a shot at winning the 150," Petty said. "By putting two cars in the top six and then we've been at the top of the board all week.

"If you look at the top of the board for qualifying our speeds were in the top 10 pre-qualifying and then we had gear trouble [in qualifying] just like the 10 car did, and that didn't help us.

"We've got two good cars and we're starting the season on a good, solid note."

Even better, Petty said so far in Speedweeks no one has emerged as a clear favorite for Sunday's "Great American Race."

"We've come down here before and Tony [Stewart] has dominated every event or [Jeff] Gordon has dominated or somebody or Hendrick or Roush or Yates. Nobody is dominating right now, and I don't think there's a clear favorite for the 500.

"If there's not a clear favorite then that plays back to a team like Petty Enterprises, a team that's building. We've got just as good a chance as the other guys."

2006 rookie candidates declare

A total of 31 drivers have declared their intention of competing for rookie of the year honors in NASCAR's three national series.

Seven drivers will compete for the honor in the Nextel Cup Series, including Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Brent Sherman, Reed Sorenson, David Stremme, two-time Busch Series champion Martin Truex Jr. and J.J. Yeley.

Nine drivers will compete for the award in the Busch Series, including Nextel Cup veteran John Andretti, A.J. Foyt IV, Tracy Hines, Joel Kauffman, Todd Kluever, Burney Lamar, Danny O'Quinn Jr., Mark McFarland and Chris Wimmer.

Fifteen drivers will compete for the award in the Craftsman Truck Series, including Aric Almirola, Marcos Ambrose, Erin Crocker, Erik Darnell, Kerry Earnhardt, Bobby East, Kraig Kinser, Kyle Krisiloff, Scott Lagasse Jr., Chad McCumbee, Joey Miller, Sean Murphy, J.R. Patton, Boston Reid and Robert Richardson.

Petty the new 'ice cream man'

Schwan's Home Service will be the primary sponsor of Petty Enterprises' No. 45 Dodge in the Nextel Cup Series for four races this season, as well as a full season associate, the team announced Friday.

Schwan's sponsored driver Ken Schrader in 2005 when the veteran drove for BAM Racing. The four events in which the Pettys' car will appear in Schwan's yellow-and-blue colors are yet to be determined.