NASCAR Past News April 10 - 19

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April 19, 2005

NASCAR Testing at Infineon: The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series will visit Infineon Raceway for a two-day test session, April 19-20, on the 10-turn, 1.99-mile Sonoma Valley road course. This test allows NEXTEL Cup drivers to prepare for the Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway, June 24-26, which is one of only two road courses on the 36-race 2005 schedule. Drivers schedule to participate in the test are #9-Kasey Kahne ; #99-Carl Edwards; and #77-Travis Kvapil. Gates open at 8 a.m., with cars scheduled to take the track from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. This will be the first of two test sessions planned at Infineon Raceway in advance of the Dodge/Save Mart 350. The other test will take place June 7-8. On Wednesday, April 20, Infineon Raceway will make an announcement regarding the Dodge/Save Mart 350 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series weekend. (Infineon Raceway PR)

NASCAR Office in Bentonville, Ark: NASCAR will become the first sports property to open a licensing office in Wal-Mart's hometown of Bentonville, Ark., Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal reports. The office is designed to offer a direct link between the sanctioning body, its sponsors, its license-holders and Wal-Mart, which sells NASCAR-licensed products in more than 30 departments. Larry Helton, national retail operations manager for the Gillette Co., who is no relation to NASCAR President Mike Helton, has been hired to run the office. (Scene Plus)

Driver Safety Concerns: Questions were raised Sunday about NASCAR's commitment to safety after it allowed two ailing drivers, Kurt Busch and Bobby Labonte, to start the Samsung/RadioShack 500.  Busch was seriously bruised, particularly in his left shoulder, and may have suffered a concussion in Friday's IROC crash, his fourth hard crash in four weeks. Labonte needed IV fluids before the race to combat dehydration.  Ricky Craven was flown in by car owner Jack Roush to stand by in relief, but Busch performed strongly and didn't need relief. (Winston Salem Journal)

Daytona NASCAR HOF Study: A proposed NASCAR hall of fame would be a money-maker in Daytona Beach, drawing more than 400,000 people a year -- but it would need state dollars and Speedway land to be feasible, according to an economic study. Local officials who commissioned the study hailed it as proof the project could thrive in Daytona Beach, which is competing with five other areas to be home to the hall of fame. Fishkind projected the hall of fame would draw 406,300 visitors a year, more than halls of fame for baseball, football or basketball.  Company officials declined to comment on the study until it is made public, but Mayor Yvonne Scarlett-Golden called the estimate "a real conservative number." (News Journal)

PR Wire: Richert Wins Wypall Award

April 18, 2005

TEXAS NASCAR Ratings Down: Fox's broadcast of Sunday's Samsung/RadioShack 500 from Texas Motor Speedway earned a 5.0 overnight rating from Nielsen Media Research and an 11 market share, today's Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Daily reports. While the race was the weekend's highest-rated sports event, the rating was down from the overnight 5.6/13 (with the Albuquerque, N.M., market missing) earned by the Texas Samsung/Radio Shack 500 race last year, when the event was run on the first weekend in April, and the 5.8/13 in 2003.

Toyota on the move to NASCAR Busch in 2006? Toyota is getting closer to a Nextel Cup effort, according to sources, who say taht it's only a matter of time before Toyota executives finally pull the plug on their $98-million-a-year Indy Racing League operation and begin moving that cash to NASCAR, first for a Busch effort in 2006.  Johnny Benson is reported to be set to test a Toyota Busch car at Michigan soon and at an unnamed short track.  Among the drivers being mentioned in the rumor mill: Michael Waltrip, Sterling Marlin, Ward Burton, Martin Truex Jr., Brian Vickers, Jason Leffler, Casey Mears, Jamie McMurray, Reed Sorenson, Greg Biffle, David Stremme, Jeremy Mayfield and Ryan Newman.  (Winston Salem Journal)

Biffle Not Looking to Leave: Also, Greg Biffle, reported to be a top candidate for Penske Racing's No. 2 car when Rusty Wallace retires end of this year, insisted he will remain with Roush Racing. Biffle, two-time winner this season and fully competitive at most other stops, said, in the presence of owner Jack Roush, said that his contract-renewal negotiations with Roush are more a matter of timing. "There isn't a question about it, and there hasn't been this year," Biffle said.  Biffle's contract runs out after this year, which makes him a subject for rumor. He expressed discontent with the Roush group last year, but he and the No. 16 team began running well mid-summer, and all became well again. (Speed Channel)

Toyota and Bridgestone? There is a new twist to the Toyota-NASCAR game plan: according to sources Toyota is already testing NASCAR-style tires for Bridgestone-Firestone, with the implication that when Toyota does step up to the Nextel Cup series, it plans to do so with Bridgestone-Firestone. Since Goodyear has an exclusive contract with NASCAR, the questions are obvious - are Toyota and Bridgestone going to challenge that exclusivity, or is NASCAR going to open up the Cup tour to competition between the two tire giants? (Winston Salem Journal)

Charlotte Outlines HOF Financial Plan:  The city of Charlotte now has a financial plan in place for a NASCAR hall of fame.  Mayor Pat McCrory outlined the plan Monday at a City Council meeting.  “The major burden of who is paying for it is going to be on tourists and the hospitality industry, because they're the ones who get the greatest benefit,” McCrory said.  The total cost is expected to be $137.5 million. Of that, $37.5 million would come from the convention center fund. That money would be used to build a parking deck and expand the convention center, which sits across from the project’s preferred site on Brevard Street. (News14)

Vickers to Stay at 25? Wrong again. This one is extremely damaging since Hendrick Motorsports is about to announce the extension of its sponsorship deal with GMAC. As with the Leffler case, Vickers is loved by his sponsors. And this season he has been reunited with crew chief Lance McGrew, who was the crew chief on his 2003 Busch Series championship-winning team. (Yahoo!)

 Newman to Stay Put, Wallace to may own Cup team?  The two biggest rumors appeared to have little validity. Biffle and Ryan Newman are likely to stay put next year.  Biffle is going into the final year of his contract with Roush Racing. After winning Sunday's race, he said he has no doubts about returning to the team next year.  The former Busch Series and truck champion is one of the first names that comes up for just about every possible ride. Biffle said he is still negotiating for a possible extension with Roush. Don Miller, co-owner of Penske Racing South with Roger Penske and Rusty Wallace, said the rumor that he, Newman and crew chief Matt Borland were going to switch from Dodge to Chevrolet and start their own team "just isn't true."  Wallace is driving his final full season. There has also been talk that the former series champion will leave Penske and run his own team with the intention of eventually fielding a car for his 17-year-old son. Steven Wallace is running late model stocks and recently signed with Dodge's driver development program.  Miller said Wallace hasn't indicated what his plans are. (FoxSports)

Hendrick and Jeff Gordon to Toyota? This one sounds good because Rick Hendrick is one of the largest Toyota dealers in the country, but it won't happen. Unless, of course, Toyota buys GM in the next couple of years. (Yahoo!)

Stewart Okay After Fire: With 37 laps left in the NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Texas, something broke on Stewart's car, creating a fireball from underneath. Once the car rolled to a stop on the backstretch, Stewart scrambled out quickly.  He was treated at the infield medical center and released. "Tony has some first-degree burns," Joe Gibbs Racing spokesman Mike Arning said. "There is a small burn on the lower back of his right thigh that's about the size of a fist. The other area is on his right elbow about the size of the one on his thigh, and it's more like a bad sunburn.  "Both are minor burns, which he'll treat on his own in the coming days."  After leading the Samsung/RadioShack 500 twice for 45 laps, Stewart finished 31st. Also Texas Sellout: There was a sellout crowd estimated by race officials at 211,000. ..(FoxSports)

HOF Racing Looking for Sponsorship:  Dallas Cowboys icons Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach have been talking about fielding a NASCAR team for more than two years, but a lack of sponsorship has prevented them from getting on the track.  Bill Saunders, managing partner for the proposed team, says the team would have been on track last year if NASCAR officials hadn't rejected a potential sponsorship deal.  Saunders says the team had a deal with a "fairly large" telecommunications provider, whom he declined to name, but NASCAR rejected it because of its title sponsorship with cell phone provider Nextel. Saunders says the product he wanted to advertise was not a Nextel competitor, but the company has other products that compete with Nextel. The Nextel deal grandfathered in existing telecommunications sponsors, but teams are prohibited from signing new telecom deals. (USA Today)

April 17, 2005

Biffle Dominates Texas: Greg Biffle made the best of a difficult situation Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, charging from the rear of the field for a convincing victory. The Roush Racing driver was overpowering in the Samsung/Radio Shack 500, leading 219 of 334 laps on the 1 1/2-mile oval to grab his second Nextel Cup victory of the season and the fifth of his career. "The car was really loose out there with that short (rear) spoiler that NASCAR has us using, but I like having a loose race," Biffle said. "It works in my favor." (ABC News) (Results - Points)

JGR Denies Leffler Rumor: Joe Gibbs Racing President J.D. Gibbs on Sunday denied published reports that Jason Leffler is on the way out of the No. 11 Chevrolet and Ward Burton is on the way in.  Leffler, driving the high-profile No. 11 Chevrolet, has started slowly, scoring no top-10 finishes in six starts. The team has been burned by bad luck all season. Leffler was caught up in a wreck in the season-opening Daytona 500, then an engine let go the next week at Fontana, putting Leffler 37th in the standings.  Gibbs called Leffler on Saturday night at Texas to give a vote of confidence.  "I called Jason and kind of laughed," Gibbs said. "We have a multi-year deal with Jason and with FedEx, so there is no truth to that.  A source close to Burton also denied the rumor. (NASCAR)

PR Wire: No Injuries in Roush Fire

April 16, 2005

Truex Looking to Leave DEI: Martin Truex Jr. to the list of drivers shopping.The 2004 Busch champ is reported to be working the marketplace, and one report has Dodge's Ray Evernham and Ford's Robert Yates both interested in Truex.  But Yates denies he's looking at Truex. "We're set for next year (with Elliott Sadler and Dale Jarrett)," Yates said. "Now if we were going to do a third, we'd be looking around. That might be on our wish list, but it's not done yet, and I don't know that we're going to do that. (Winston Salem Journal)

Newman, Borland to Chevy? The hottest news on the corporate front is that Chevrolet executives may be making a run at Ryan Newman and crew chief Matt Borland, according to NASCAR sources.  Newman apparently has one more year left on his driving contract with Roger Penske but Borland's contract is reported to be up at the end of this season.  Now comes word Chevrolet is offering to set up a team for Newman and Borland for 2006, reported to be with engines supplied by Hendrick Motorsports.  Penske is buying out the 48 percent share of Penske South that is owned by Rusty Wallace and his long-time business manager Don Miller. It was Miller who discovered Newman and put together his deal with Penske.(Winston Salem Journal)

Leffler Out of Gibbs Car?  Motorsport.com has learned that the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Chevy team may be planning on replacing Jason Leffler with Ward Burton as soon as Darlington.  While denied by team officials, insiders Burton would fill the seat for the remainder of the season before a permanent driver was named to take over the ride. Burton stated that he has not been spoken to in regards to the No. 11 car but currently had several other offers in play. (Motorsport.com)

April 15, 2005

Goodyear to  Help teams: Each NASCAR racetrack rolls out unique demands on race engine setups, so NASCAR teams turn to Goodyear Engineered Products and its lineup of automotive belts to help optimize performance.  "Last week, many teams used mechanical cooling fans for engines at the Martinsville Speedway's 1/2-mile oval track," explained Mike Gregg, chief belt engineer for Goodyear. "This weekend's race at the Texas Motor Speedway's 1- 1/2 mile quad-oval doesn't require the fans, which means a different engine configuration and different belts."  Goodyear Gatorback Poly-V belts, found on every Nextel Cup Series racecar, have the flexibility built into them to match changing engine demands brought on by varying track lengths, surfaces and banking, said Gregg.  Goodyear provides 200 Gatorback Poly-V belt sizes to NASCAR engine builders, varying the length and number of ribs for use on alternators, cam and power steering drives, and water and oil pumps. "We provide countless combinations and configurations to meet their individual engineering demands," said Gregg.  "Engine setups at Texas will include belt-and-pulley ratios designed to overcome sustained high revolutions-per-minute," he said. "For much of the race, engines will be turning more than 9,000 rpm."  He added that high-power steering pump loads also will occur at the Texas track. (Goodyear PR) For more information, visit http://www.goodyearbeltsandhose.com

Crew Chief Changes: Charles "Cully" Barraclough, who had been the crew chief on Kenseth's part-time Busch Series team, has joined Joe Gibbs Racing to guide the full-time effort for rookie Denny Hamlin.  Robbie Reiser, who leads Kenseth's Cup team, is pulling double duty this weekend and expects to do so for the rest of the season. Chad Norris, former car chief for Ryan Newman's Penske South Nextel Cup team, has joined Roush Racing and is the heir apparent, Reiser said Thursday at Texas Motor Speedway. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

April 14, 2005

Jourdain Moves Closer: Jourdain will move to North Carolina in the next few weeks to be closer to the team headquarters and to help lessen his travel time to races. The Mexico City native tried to continue living in his home country but quickly realized the distances were too great. The moves also means Jourdain, who became a father in February, can spend more time with his family instead of on the road.  Whereas NASCAR offered a huge career move, leaving Champ Car was not an easy decision, especially as he looked poised to challenge for the championship.  "It took me years to become an established driver and I ran for many years with teams that didn't have money or equipment. I finally got a team behind me and I started winning races -- I probably could have been there for many years," he says. "It is a series that I love and I gave up an opportunity in the IRL because of that. But I got a good offer from Ford and they gave me the potential to end my career at a top level and that's where I am."  (TheGlobeandmail)

Proposed Charlotte HOF to cost 50 - 100 million: Now that the city of Charlotte has pinpointed a preferred site for a NASCAR hall of fame, it is trying to piece together a financial package.  Luther Cochrane, the chairman of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, said the museum would cost between $50 million and $100 million, depending on the building’s design.  “You can expect that the financial package will be based upon some historic models; it’ll feature some degree of public and private contribution,” Cochrane said Wednesday. “We think the state would like to be involved in this, in some form or fashion.” (New14Charlotte)

Burton TV Responsibility: Jeff Burton told "Sirius Speedway" (Sirius Satelite Radio) Wednesday that while TV networks bear some share of responsibility for televising incidents like the one that caused NASCAR to fine driver Shane Hmiel last week, the ultimate responsibility still lies with the drivers themselves. "This stuff happens on the spot, without you knowing you're on TV," he said. I have an in-car camera every week, and if some driver rolls by and gives me the finger n national TV, is that his fault? Is he going to get penalized? We have to hold ourselves to a high standard, and I support NASCAR in its efforts to clean things up. But where does it stop? The networks are the backup, backup, backup plan. They need to help keep things off TV that they don't want their viewers to see. But it's our responsibility as drivers not to put them in that position. We'd like them to help us out, but it's still our responsibility." (Sirius Satelite Radio)

No Schedule Conflicts in TEXAS in Nov.: Texas Motor Speedway won't have to battle the Cowboys for fans this fall. The Cowboys have an open date Nov. 6, the date of TMS' long-awaited second Nextel Cup race, the Dickies 500. Cowboys officials said the scheduling is a coincidence. Regardless of the reason, TMS officials were overjoyed after the NFL schedule was released Wednesday. The absence of a Cowboys game probably ensures at least a near-capacity crowd.(Dallas Morning News) Note: Arizona Cardinals travel to Detroit for November 13, while NASCAR is in Phoenix. Also, Homestead-Miami Speedway will not have to compete against Miami Dolphins November 20.  Dolphins travel to Cleveland, while NASCAR season finale is held in Homestead.

Fittipaldi back in Racing: Christian Fittipaldi's hopes of finding a full-time ride in NASCAR are over for the time being.  Instead, he is going back to his native country to compete in the 12-race Brazilian Stock Car Championship in 2005. The first race of the season is set for May 1 at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo.  The 34-year-old driver tested last fall in one of the Brazilian cars owned by his father, former Formula One driver and broadcaster Wilson Fittipaldi. He signed with the Terra Avallone team, where he will drive a 450-horsepower Mitsubishi Lancer. (Theledger)

Darlington here to stay, Browning Says: One year ago last week, Browning, then the head cheese at Rockingham, submitted a proposal to the ISC board requesting upgrades to the facility. And when even the most minimal requests were declined, he knew the Nextel Cup Series had graced The Rock for the final time "We had submitted several capital projects, down to just small things, and it went before the board and nothing got approved," Browning recalled Wednesday from his office at the racetrack. "When I got that back, I knew something was going on." Word is something's going on with Darlington right now. Speculation of late says Bruton Smith is soon to purchase Darlington from ISC, then take its date and ship it to the strip.  And while Browning's superiors have assured him that such rumors are baseless -- that ISC hasn't so much as spoken with Smith about Darlington -- he knew the board's response to his most recent proposal would provide the proverbial proof in the pudding. (NASCAR.com's Marty Smith)

Craven in the #6? There indeed will be opportunities with Roush at the Cup level, as Mark Martin is retiring at the end of this season. Craven delicately sidesteps rumors that he may replace Martin in the Roush-owned No. 6 Ford or take over for Carl Edwards in the No. 99 if Edwards is tabbed to replace Martin next year. "Jack and I have had conversations, but our primary conversation and objective is to battle for the championship in the 99 truck," Craven said. "I still think there's an opportunity for me [to go back to Cup], but that's all predicated on us meeting our goals this year. ... If [that] happens, then I'll have made a pretty good argument for a year in a Roush Cup car. That's really only as far as it goes."  Thus far, Craven is ahead of schedule on meeting those goals. But he doesn't want to get too far ahead of himself. (Yahoo! Sports)

New Marketing Sales Director at Infineon: Lindsey Murillo has been named to the sales and marketing department at Infineon Raceway, raceway officials announced. Murillo has been named Sales and Marketing Coordinator.  Murillo will assist both the sales and marketing departments, as well as oversee track signage for all major events, including the Dodge/Save Mart 350 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup in June.  Murillo, 21, worked for EdVenture Partners, an educational marketing company, as a management assistant for various accounts, including People magazine. She graduated from Arizona State University in 2004 with a degree in marketing and resides in Novato in the North Bay. (Infineon PR)

April 13, 2005

Stremme Over Sorenson in #40? Speaking of Ganassi, one of his drivers, Sterling Marlin, says the team owner won't call him back about the status of Marlin's No. 40 car next season. "My contract is up after this year," Marlin says. "I guess you've got to make a change sometimes, but I'd like to know something soon so I can start looking."  Marlin says a team was willing to buy out his contract last year, but he remained loyal to Ganassi. Multiple sources at Ganassi say Busch Series regular David Stremme will get the ride over Reed Sorenson because Sorenson is under 21 and the car's sponsor is Coors Light (FoxSports)

Dick Thompson Named H.Clay Earles Award Winner: Dick Thompson, one of the first public relations representatives in NASCAR, was awarded the H. Clay Earles Award in ceremonies prior to the Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville Speedway Sunday. Thompson was hired by Martinsville Speedway founder Earles in 1966 as the track's first public relations director. At the time he was only the second fulltime public relations person in the sport.  "My grandfather was looking for someone to help spread the name of Martinsville Speedway from coast to coast," said Clay Campbell, Martinsville Speedway president. "He certainly succeeded. It wasn't long before Martinsville Speedway was known internationally. Dick set the standard for public relations in our sport. PR people in this sport all owe Dick Thompson a great debt of gratitude." (ThatsRacin)

Former Hendrick Chassis Director to DEI? Former Hendrick Motorsports chassis director Eddie Dickerson will interview with Dale Earnhardt Inc. this week. DEI is starting an in-house chassis program, and Dickerson could use his magic to develop better-handling cars for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who complains about the drivability of his cars. (FoxSports)

Very Limited TEXAS Frontstretch Tickets on Sale: Texas Motor Speedway corporate sponsors have gone to bat for the fans one more time, making 218 more prime frontstretch tickets available for Sunday's Samsung/RadioShack 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race.  The tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. (CDT).  More Information at texasmotorspeedway.com (TMS PR)

Kansas Speedway Featured in Life:  1945 LIFE magazine photograph of a sailor stamping a masterly kiss on a nurse in Times Square on V-J Day is one of the world's most recognized images. On Friday, photographs of NASCAR families at Kansas Speedway could be the next American treasures.  Kansas Speedway is featured in the most recent issue of LIFE magazine, which arrives in more than 70 leading newspaper nationwide Friday. All the shots for "While Daddy's Driving," a photo essay by renowned photographer Harry Benson, depict special moments between some of NASCAR's drivers and their families. All of the photographs were taken at "The Track That Will Blow You Away!" prior to October's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Banquet 400. (WhoWon)

Darlington Day: Darlington Day looks back on the legacy of racing in South Carolina and supports its future.  Drivers like Jeremy Mayfield and Tony Stewart spent the afternoon at the Governors Mansion Tuesday. It's an effort to rev up ticket sales for the upcoming race and to look back on the tradition of racing in South Sarolina.  The Southern 500 left South Carolina and it was devastating for many race fans in the Palmetto State. Stock car racing's original superspeedway will once more serve as a groundbreaker for NASCAR, inaugurating an entirely new race weekend in May. The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series' 104th visit to Darlington Raceway will take place on Mother's Day weekend, and will be Darlington's first-ever full weekend of night racing. (WISTV)
 

April 12, 2005

Stewart In College: Tony Stewart's gotten many lectures during his time in Nextel Cup. Giving them? Now, that's something new for the NASCAR champion. "All right everybody, straighten up," Stewart, a grin on his face, told the 30 students as he began his guest professorship Tuesday in NASCAR Marketing at the University of South Carolina.  Stewart's time in NASCAR has been marked by his skilled driving and his hair-trigger temper. It's hard to say where the 2002 Nextel Cup champion has been to more - Victory Lane or the NASCAR trailer for a post-race talking to.  And Stewart shared all sides of his insider's experience - at times perhaps a little too inside - with the prospective motorsports marketers. (Myrtle Beach Online)

NASCAR Fines R. Gordon's Crew Chief: NASCAR announced Tuesday that Robert Temple, crew chief for the No. 7 Chevrolet driven by Robby Gordon in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, has been fined $5,000 for a rule violation that occurred last week at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va.  During opening day inspection on April 8, the No. 7 was found to have an unapproved deck lid, a violation of Section 12-4-Q of the Nextel Cup Series rule book. That also violated Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing). (NASCAR PR)

Tax Break For IOWA Track: The Iowa House today approved tax incentives for the proposed Newton Speedway, a NASCAR-style track to be built along Interstate 80 in Newton. Under the measure, the first $12.5 million in sales taxes collected by the track would be rebated.  Rep. Danny Carroll, R-Grinnell, said the track could bring Iowa a new tourism destination, with as many as 40 percent of those attending the races coming from outside the state.  ‘‘I don’t think it would come as a surprise to anyone that auto racing is one of the fastest growing sports in this country,’’ Carroll said.  Backers said Newton badly needs an economic development boost because of job losses at the Maytag Corp. plants. (Des Moines Register)

NASCAR Gets Award, well sort of: NASCAR has been named one of 12 recipients of the annual "Jefferson Muzzle" awards, given by The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression to call attention to those who disregard the Founding Father's admonition that freedom of speech "cannot be limited without being lost."  NASCAR was cited for its $10,000 fine and 25 driver point penalty assessed to Dale Earnhardt Jr. for using an expletive in a nationally televised TV interview following his Nextel Cup Series victory last season at Talladega, Ala.  In responding to a reporter's question about the significance of his win, Earnhardt Jr. replied, "It don't mean shit right now. Daddy's won here 10 times."  The Center issued the following explanation for its selection of NASCAR: "As a private corporation, NASCAR may establish rules by which its drivers must abide. Since there is no state actor in play here, there is clearly no First Amendment violation. But it is important to recognize the power imbalance inherent in the contractual relationship between NASCAR and the drivers. (ThatsRacin)

CT Dome Track Suit: Two Plainfield residents have sued to block a decision by the town Planning and Zoning Commission last month allowing developers to build an indoor NASCAR racetrack and convention center.  The appeal, filed by Shelly Ann Hopkins and Scott Murphy, asks a Superior Court judge to declare null and void the commission's March 22 decision on the application of New England Raceway LLC and Connecticut Yankee Greyhound Racing Inc.  The commission approved an amendment to its zoning regulations to establish a resort/recreation district incorporating the project. (Turnto10)

Charlotte HOF Adds Architect:  Leaders of a campaign to bring the NASCAR Hall of Fame to Charlotte have selected renowned architect I.M. Pei's firm to design the proposed museum, which they're targeting for a city-owned site in Second Ward.  Bids for the project, to be awarded by NASCAR, are due May 31, with a city to be chosen some time after the motorsports organization's annual awards banquet in December but before the Daytona 500 in February 2006.  Charlotte is vying against five cities -- including Atlanta, Kansas City, Mo., and Daytona, Fla. -- to become the hall of fame's home. Local bidders anticipate the project will cost $75 million to $100 million to build. (BizJournal)

Homestead Finale under the lights: In an announcement that just about everyone in NASCAR knew was inevitable, Homestead-Miami Speedway made it official Tuesday by saying it would install lights in time for this year's Ford Championship Weekend.  The track plays host to the season-ending races in the Truck, Busch and Nextel Cup series in November, culminating with the final races in the Chase for the Nextel Cup Championship on Nov. 20.  With the lights in place, the Cup finale will be scheduled for a 4 p.m. start, allowing the Ford 400 to end under the lights. (ThatsRacin)

Martinsville Ratings: Fox's broadcast of Sunday's Advance Auto Parts 500 from Martinsville Speedway earned an overnight rating of 4.6 and an 11 share from Nielsen Media Research. The 2004 spring race at Martinsville, which was run a week later and was not aired against CBS's coverage of the 2004 Masters golf tournament, drew overnight figures of 4.4/11 for the first portion from 1:30 to 3:45 p.m. before the race was red-flagged after the track surface broke up. It earned a 5.4/11 for the portion from 5 to 6:45 after repairs were made. (Street & Smith's)

Unhappy Beer Drinkers in Martinsville:  Martinsville Speedway's new beer policy meant some grumbling about the $3 beers sold inside -- and caused some race fans to ditch their coolers outside the gates.  For years, NASCAR fans carried their own beer into the track in coolers as large as 14 by 14 by 14 inches. Under the rules enforced by International Speedway Corp., which last year added Martinsville to its group of 12 tracks, coolers could be no larger than 6 by 6 by 12 inches -- about enough room for a six-pack. (News-Recorded)

April 11, 2005

Loomis Wins Wypall Award: #24-Jeff Gordon recorded one of the most stellar comebacks in NASCAR history this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Along with crew chief Robbie Loomis, Gordon turned a three-lap deficit into a win for the Rainbow Warriors. For leading his team to victory lane, Loomis won Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race honors. Most people counted Gordon out after a wheel vibration forced Gordon to make an unscheduled green flag pit stop on lap 46. The #24 Chevrolet was scored three laps down to the leaders, but through solid pit stops, the right chassis adjustments and an amazing driving display, Gordon collected his second win of the season. "When we ran into trouble, my first thought was that we had 450 laps to get into victory lane," said Loomis following the race. "I knew we had a great car. We all believed in each other and I knew that Jeff (Gordon) could get the job done." The panel of voters selecting the Crew Chief of the Race; including Mike Mulhern of the Winston-Salem Journal, a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser; all agreed that Loomis' come from behind victory earned him top accolades. Loomis won $1,000 for winning the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. He joins Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Alan Gustafson, Pete Rondeau and Doug Richert in a tie for the Crew Chief of the Year award. (PR)

Melted Plug Wired Cost Riggs:  "The Valvoline Chevrolet wasn't where it needed to be at the beginning of the race and we fell back pretty quickly. We couldn't quite get the handling right and ended up losing a lap.  "Then, to make matters worse, a piece of tire rubber from the track got under the hood and melted a plug wire and we were racing on seven cylinders for a while. There was a long green-flag run and we ended up losing another lap and that really hurt us. Once we were two laps down there wasn't much we could do."  It took numerous caution periods to replace the melted wire, but the Valvoline team rallied and brought home a 21st-place finish. (NASCAR)

McMurray Best Dyno Numbers: Dodge's Jamie McMurray has surprised everyone by winning NASCAR's post-race chassis dyno testing at Atlanta two weeks ago. The test is designed to compare engine power at the rear wheels, using cars fresh from the track. Among the highlights: McMurray's car topped the charts, Elliott Sadler's Ford was better than winner Carl Edwards' Ford, and Jimmie Johnson's Chevrolet was noticeably off from last year's dyno testing at Michigan. (Winston Salem)

Busch not pleased: Kurt Busch both had a strong car but saw his chances to win end late. Busch wrecked as he raced Jeff Gordon for fourth. Gordon got under Busch in turn 3 and they made contact with 53 laps to go. Busch's car backed into the wall. Later in the race, Busch swerved in front of Gordon when Gordon attempted to lap him. They made contact. Gordon eventually got by without suffering any damage.  "I'm disappointed," said Busch, who finished 19th. "We just ran out of patience again with another Hendrick car."  Asked about the contact with Gordon when he was being lapped, Busch said: "That was just showing my displeasure." (NewsRecord)

DuPont looking for extension: DuPont is close to extending its sponsorship of Jeff Gordon's team. DuPont's contract expires after this season. ... Gordon's victory was his sixth at Martinsville. (NewsRecord)

Kahne and Mayfield to share duties:  Unilever Foods and Evernham Motorsports announced today that Kasey Kahne and Jeremy Mayfield will share driving duties of the No. 6 Hungry DriversDodge Charger for the next three events on the NASCAR Busch Series schedule including Texas, Phoenix and Talladega. Mayfield will drive the No. 6 Dodge in Texas while Kahne will take over for Phoenix and Talladega.  After evaluating the No. 6 Hungry Drivers team's performance after the first four races of the NASCAR Busch Series season, Ray Evernham, President and CEO of Evernham Motorsports, felt it was necessary to make a driver change in order to bolster the team's performance.  "We have made significant gains with our Busch program over the last couple of weeks and we owe a lot of that to Kasey and Jeremy," said Evernham. "Their driving experience and abilities have been instrumental in helping us pinpoint areas that needed to be improved. This is a new team and I feel confident that having them in the seat for a few more races will help get this team to the level of competitiveness that it needs to be performing at each weekend." (Evernham Racing PR)

Darlington Confident about keeping date: Darlington Raceway's Chris Browning said he's confident the France family's International Speedway Corp. will keep the legendary Sandhills speedway up and running after this May's Mother's Day weekend race. Many people in the sport fear that ISC is poised to close Darlington at the end of the season, just as it closed the Rockingham track last year (by selling it to promoter Bruton Smith), and possibly sell the Nextel Cup tour date to Smith for a second Cup event at Las Vegas. Browning points to last Wednesday's board meeting that tentatively approved a major capital improvements program: "Additional rest rooms, rebuilding the tunnels, repaving the track - a lot of things are on the drawing board, and they've given me the go-ahead to lay out a five-year plan from a capital standpoint," Browning said. (Winston Salem)

April 10, 2005

Gordon Rallies From 3 Laps Down, Wins Martinsville: Jeff Gordon showed that he might be the new king of short-track racing Sunday, coming from four laps down early on to win his sixth NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Martinsville Speedway. Fourth on a restart with 46 laps to go, Gordon wasted no time. He followed Mark Martin past Ryan Newman on the 461st lap, went underneath Martin to move into second place three laps later and passed Sterling Marlin for the lead with 34 laps remaining. From then on, it was smooth sailing to his 71st career victory and second in six races this year. It was his sixth victory at 0.526-mile Martinsville, the shortest and trickiest track in the premier series. Only Rusty Wallace, with seven, has more among active drivers. ABC NEWS (Results - Points)

Hendrick Attends Race: Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick is leaning toward attending today's Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville Speedway.  It's the first event at the track since a Hendrick plane crashed on the way to Martinsville last October. Engine builder Randy Dorton, General Manager Jeff Turner, President John Hendrick and Vice President Ricky Hendrick were among the 10 killed in the crash. Besides his brother and son, Rick Hendrick also lost two nieces.  Jeff Gordon said being at Martinsville "definitely brings up the memories of that weekend and makes us think about it." Robbie Loomis, Gordon's crew chief, is bringing his father from Florida for today's race. (TimesDispatch)

Villenueve and NASCAR? Formula One star Jacques Villeneuve has expressed an interest in driving in NASCAR, according to some who have talked with him, and that could be a good sign for NASCAR's proposed Canadian racing project.  Last spring, when Villeneuve's F1 career seemed all but over, and he was searching for a ride, Villeneuve inquired about NASCAR opportunities. But last fall he managed to land another F1 ride, though it wasn't a great one. At 34, Villeneuve may well be nearing the end of his career on the international circuit.  Some say that Villeneuve may not have the attitude for NASCAR's "got-to-get-along" world, or the gumption for the grinding 38-week-a-year tour. (Winston Salem Journal)

Edwards Surprises Crowd and Races: Racing fans thought Carl Edwards would only be there to sign autographs.  As it turned out, the NASCAR star did more.  Edwards, a 25-year-old Columbia native, drove on the same track as his younger brother, Kenny, in the Hornet car race at 24 Raceway in Moberly Saturday night.  Driving in his first race, Kenny Edwards, 22, won the first heat. Carl Edwards finished in fifth place. Kenny Edwards again finished ahead of his brother in the feature race. He was third; Carl Edwards was seventh.  Carl Edwards announced his plans to be on hand to watch his brother on Thursday. (Columbian Missourian)

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