Auto Racing Sport

Carl Edwards passed Jason Leffler with 48 laps remaining Saturday night and cruised to victory at the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 on Saturday night. It was Edwards’ second win at Gateway International Raceway in three years and it came in front of a nearly hometown crowd. Edwards grew up in Columbia, Mo., about a 2-hour drive [...]

Heading into 2001, Kerry Earnhardt was on the precipice of breaking into NASCAR’s big leagues, having found success in a Dale Earnhardt Inc. ARCA program. Everybody knows what happened next. With [father Dale Earnhardt's death] in Daytona, everything changed around here,” Kerry Earnhardt said by phone Thursday from the DEI shop. “It’s just one of the things [...]

Jacques Villeneuve is expected to announce a one-off ride with the Braun Racing team for August’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Montreal in a press conference Thursday. The 1997 Formula One world champion will drive the No. 32 Toyota Camry that NASCAR star Kyle Busch piloted to victory in Charlotte earlier this season. Villeneuve will be [...]

Nothing at GM is off-limits-including its high-profile NASCAR program - company executives warned as the automaker went public Tuesday in Detroit with its latest round of cost-cutting measures. With the auto industry in North America taking a beating, GM racing director Mark Kent said that every level of motorsports that GM supports-from the giant stock-car [...]

Kobalt Tools, a Lowe’s brand, has emerged as the leading candidate to sponsor the truck series, industry sources say. Craftsman has been the title sponsor since the series was launched in 1995, but the Sears brand will not renew after its deal with NASCAR runs out this year. NASCAR is believed to be selling the truck [...]

NASCAR technical director Steve Peterson, 58, was found dead today at his home from what appear to be natural causes, sanctioning body officials announced. Peterson began his NASCAR career in 1995 and led many of NASCAR’s safety initiatives, including development and installation of SAFER Barriers, management and approval of head-and-neck restraints and improved seat belts and [...]

Penske has offered no hints as to who might replace Ryan Newman. Martin Truex Jr.’s name has been mentioned, but Truex’s current contract with DEI is still the subject of legal debate, and it is unclear if DEI will indeed force Truex to return for another season or give him his release. Truex has been [...]

Newman acknowledged on Saturday in Chicagoland that he has three serious options outside of Penske. A source close to the situation said Newman has been in discussions with Stewart Haas, Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing. The source added there is a firm offer from Stewart-Haas and that potential sponsors are set, but that [...]

Penske Racing and Ryan Newman have mutually agreed to move in new directions at the conclusion of the 2008 season. “We want to thank Ryan for his hard work and contributions to Penske Racing over the past nine years,” said team owner Roger Penske. “We wish Ryan all the best for the future and we’ll continue [...]

Max Siegel vehemently denied that Teresa Earnhardt is looking to sell Dale Earnhardt Inc. and added that he has no interest in pursuing purchase of the NASCAR team. “We are absolutely not for sale,” the DEI president said Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway. “Every team in this sport has had to look at change in the business [...]

NASCAR handed teams a draft of a new testing policy Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway. The sanctioning body will take more input from teams before finalizing it. The proposal gives each organization 24 test days at tracks where the Sprint Cup teams compete, with a maximum of two cars per test. All of the team’s drivers can [...]

Kyle Busch got stuck in the infield mud after his dramatic late-race pass edged Jimmie Johnson in Saturday night’s LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. The mud was about the only thing that could slow Busch all weekend as he completed his first Sprint Cup/Nationwide Series sweep of the season. In winning his seventh Sprint Cup race of [...]

Tony Stewart is looking to field a powerhouse Sprint Cup team immediately. On June 27th, I was the first to write that Stewart would leave Gibbs Racing for an ownership stake in HAAS CNC with Chevrolet buying Stewart out of his contract, his sponsor being Office Depot, and his new teammate being Ryan Newman in [...]

NASCAR confiscated the brake calipers from the Roush Fenway Racing car of Carl Edwards following the Nationwide Series Dollar General 300 Friday night at Chicagoland Speedway. The calipers were not on NASCAR’s list of approved parts, a NASCAR spokesman said late Friday night. Edwards finished 16th. Any penalties would be announced next week. SceneDaily.com

By Josh Stewart-Account managers for NASCAR teams are considering trading their business cards for .357 Magnums. Going the ‘Stick ‘em Up!’ route seems to be the only way to get someone to come off the hip. In a market this bearish it’s hard to find sponsorship, even with NASCAR’s proven track record of successfully pushing products. [...]