NASCAR FINDS WATER IN THE RACING FUEL

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — NASCAR conceded Monday that water got into the fuel supply of more than two cars during the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, apparently leading to a crash that took out several top contenders in the closing laps.

Denny Hamlin was leading the Pep Boys Auto 500 with three laps to go when his car stalled while taking the green flag after a caution period. Martin Truex, who led the most laps Sunday, smashed into the back of Hamlin’s car and finished 31st. Hamlin slipped to 24th.

NASCAR MEMORABILIA

“There are multiple teams that are showing positive for some level of water contamination level in their fuel,” said John Darby, NASCAR’s Nextel Cup director. “I can’t tell you the exact number. It’s more than two and less than 43 at the moment.”

Darby dismissed sabotage as a possible explanation, saying too many teams were affected for anyone to have been singled out.

“For those who have their evil, twisted conspiracy hats on, we want to put that to rest,” Darby said. “If it was sabotage, it would have to be the kind of thing where someone hates NASCAR racing across the board.”

He said extensive testing done by Sunoco, NASCAR’s official fuel supplier, showed no signs of problems in the underground storage tanks at the suburban Atlanta speedway. The problem likely occurred in the piping that runs from the tanks to the pumps, or in the pumps themselves.

“It’s a brownish-colored water,” Darby said. “If it was just water, it would be more clear. That should help us understand if it came from a failed pipe or a failed pump or some other source that allowed it to enter the fuel.”

In a “huge majority” of cars that tested positive for water in their fuel systems, the amount was so small that it didn’t affect performance. For example, winner Jimmie Johnson had some water in his carburetor during the post-race inspection.

But the amount of water was enough to affect at least two drivers: Hamlin and Dave Blaney, who had performance issues all day and finished 38th, 66 laps behind Johnson.

Hamlin down to 12 in NASCAR NEXTEL Chase

AP Sports Ticker

Denny Hamlin’s weekend got off to a great start when he won Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series RoadLoans.com 200 at Dover International Speedway.

However, when Sunday night rolled around, his hopes for winning the Nextel Cup championship were all but dashed.

NASCAR MEMORABILIA ATNY SPORTS GEAR.com

Hamlin entered the second race for the “Chase for the Championship” ninth in the standings, but dropped three spots to 12th and last among contenders after a disappointing 38th in the Dodge Dealers 400. He sits 158 points behind leader Jeff Gordon with eight races to go.

Even more frustrating for Hamlin was the way things went wrong in the Nextel Cup race. He was enjoying a solid run until he ran into the back of Kyle Petty’s Dodge on lap 204.

“I was battling for position and I think Kyle was several seconds off the pace and trying to do his best to get out of the way and I think by doing that, the two cars made contact,” Hamlin said. “I ran into the back of him, absolutely. But he came off the corner 10 miles per hour slower than he had in laps before and I wasn’t counting on that happening. He’s trying to battle those few cars for a top 35. We’re trying to battle for a championship.”

Hamlin drove to his garage and sat in his car while his crew repaired the damage. The usually reserved Petty approached Hamlin, pulled down his window net, then slapped Hamlin’s face shield close before stomping away yelling.

Despite suffering from flu-like conditions that nearly forced him to use a backup driver in the Busch race, Hamlin jumped out of his car and made a move towards Petty before crew members separated them.

“Don’t smack me on the helmet. You smack me on the helmet and I’m going to punch you in the face, bottom line,” Hamlin said. “You don’t come to my car; you don’t come to my pit. You meet me somewhere else and we’ll settle it. I have the utmost respect for Kyle, but don’t lay your hands on my head.”

“I did not say one word to him. I asked him to come over and talk to me. He chose to slap my helmet. I have a short fuse. Don’t do that.”

Petty, in his own race to remain among the top-35 in the standings which ensures a starting spot in each race, sarcastically took the blame for the incident.

“We were a little bit loose. I guess it’s my fault,” Petty said. “I watched the Busch race yesterday and I knew Denny was sick – I just didn’t know he was hallucinating and needed three lanes to get up off the corner because he ran all over us.

“I guess he is in a race by himself.”

NASCAR MEMORABILIA ATNY SPORTS GEAR.com

Not A Big Fan Of Either Of These 2

PA SportsTicker Auto Racing Editor

Kurt Busch can look at little brother Kyle’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson for some solace after Sunday’s disappointing finish at New Hampshire International Speedway.

The elder Busch brother plummeted seven places in the standings – from fifth to 12th – after engine problems that began on lap 120 relegated him to 25th in the first race of the “Chase for the Championship.”

NY SPORTS GEAR.com

The 2004 Nextel Cup Series champion, Kurt Busch entered Loudon 40 points behind Johnson but now sits 102 back, falling to the bottom seed in the Chase.

But he needs to look no farther than Johnson’s 39th-place finish a year ago on the “Magic Mile” in September as reason for optimism. Johnson proved that a poor start to the Chase need not be devastating, as he rebounded to win the title rather handily.

“We survived – it could have been a lot worse,” Busch said. “It’s a bummer what happened (Sunday), but 25th isn’t bad. We had something break in the carburetor that wouldn’t let us get to full throttle.”

Busch’s troubles at New Hampshire snapped a strong stretch leading up to the Chase where finished outside the top 10 just twice – a pair of 11th-places at the Brickyard and Watkins Glen – over the previous nine races.

“It’s kind of a bummer, but we worked hard to get in this Chase and we’ll still work hard,” he said. “This one is a big lump, but it didn’t hurt us so we’ll see what happens.”

On the other hand, Kyle Busch got his Chase off to a solid start by finishing fourth in New Hampshire. That jumped him four spots to fifth place, where he sits just 35 points behind teammates Johnson and Jeff Gordon – who share the lead.

Johnson holds the tiebreaker edge over Gordon by virtue of his six race wins this season.

“It was a good day,” Kyle Busch said. “This bunch of guys did an awesome job for me and gave me an awesome race car to keep up front with these guys.

“We got back a little bit there in the beginning part of the race, which just wasn’t the best thing, but we kept getting better and better and making more and more adjustments to where we could get up front.”

Only race-winner Clint Bowyer, who improved from 12th to fourth, made a bigger upwards move in the standings than the younger Busch.

That’s hardly the look of a supposed lame-duck driver who is leaving Hendrick to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Toyotas, beginning in the 2008 Sprint Cup season.

“To come out of here with a fourth-place effort definitely means a lot to these guys and this team and myself,” Busch said. “Hopefully we’ll go to Dover next week and have another good run, and go on to Kansas and then to Talladega and see what it brings us.”

Perhaps a nice parting gift – another Nextel Cup title for Rick Hendrick.

NY SPORTS GEAR.com

Whacky NASCAR fans

This past weekend a crazy fan walked up to Matt Kenseth’s car while they were under Red at Watkins Glen. It reminded me of this race back in 1986.

Check it out.

NASCAR’s Gordon and Johnson Fined

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were docked 100 points each Tuesday, and their crew chiefs were both fined $100,000 and suspended for six races for violations at Infineon Raceway.

The two Hendrick Motorsports cars failed an initial inspection Friday in Sonoma, Calif., when NASCAR officials found unapproved modifications to the fenders on their Chevrolets. NASCAR refused to let either driver on the track the entire day, and neither was allowed to qualify.

NY SPORTS GEAR.com

But the fenders were fixed, the cars passed inspection Saturday and were allowed to race Sunday. Gordon, the four-time series champion, finished seventh while defending Nextel Cup champion Johnson was 17th.

Gordon remains the Nextel Cup points leader after the deduction, but his margin was cut to 171 points over Denny Hamlin. Johnson dropped from third to fifth.

But both will have to race through the summer without their crew chiefs. Chad Knaus and Steve Letarte are not eligible to return to the track until Aug. 15. The crew chiefs also were placed on probation through the end of the year.

Car owner Rick Hendrick said he was disappointed and called the penalties “excessive.”

“Right now, all of our options are being evaluated, including our personnel situation and a possible appeal to the National Stock Car Racing Commission,” Hendrick said in a statement. “We’ll take some time to decide on a direction and make an announcement regarding our plans for New Hampshire later in the week.”

Gordon and Johnson are the most dominant drivers in NASCAR this season — they’ve won four races each — and Hendrick Motorsports has 10 victories this year.

Hendrick traveled to California after the failed inspection, and argued his crew chiefs were operating in a “gray area” of the NASCAR rule book as it pertains to the new Car of Tomorrow.

“I don’t necessarily say they bent the rules — I think they thought they were working inside an area in which they could,” Hendrick said. “It’s going to be tough, as we go forward, on what’s intentional and what’s accidental and how they handle it, so you’re definitely going to have to show up with these things measured up.”

But NASCAR has insisted this season that there no longer are any questionable parts of the rule book, particularly when it comes to the COT. Teams were warned in March that any infractions dealing with the car were subjected to a loss of 100 points, a $100,000 fine and a six-race suspension.

NASCAR adhered to those guidelines last month when it penalized Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., for modifications found on the wing of their COT at Darlington Raceway.

Now the Hendrick teams have been hit with the same penalties, although many believed Knaus — a repeat offender — should have received a stiffer punishment.

This is at least the 15th time Knaus has been penalized for something during his crew chief career, and this was his fourth suspension since 2001. He sat out four races last season when NASCAR found illegal modifications following Johnson’s qualifying run for the Daytona 500.

Johnson went on to win the 500, and again at Las Vegas, without Knaus. The two reunited in March and went on to win their first championship.

NY SPORTS GEAR.com

Montoya Wins Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) — Juan Pablo Montoya might be a NASCAR rookie, but he is a road-course master.

Not known for his patience, the Colombian driver showed plenty of it Sunday. He used his well-honed road-racing skill to save his tires, stretch his fuel to the limit, and win the Toyota/Save Mart 350 for his first NASCAR Nextel Cup victory.

Team owner Chip Ganassi, who lured Montoya back to America from Formula One, was as impressed as anyone by the win and the way Montoya did it.

“One of the nice things, working with him again, is he’s matured in a way as a race driver that you could not write in a movie,” said Ganassi, for whom Montoya won the 1999 CART championship and the 2000 Indianapolis 500.

“He’s a lot calmer, if you can imagine that. He actually came on the radio today and said, ‘It’s a little too early to race these guys.’ I was looking at (crew chief Donnie) Wingo and he was looking at me. Juan’s a changed man, all in a positive way.”

Visit NY SPORTS GEAR.com for authentic sports memorabilia

Montoya, who qualified a disappointing 32nd in the 43-car field, was the first driver to win on the Northern California road circuit starting further back than 13th.

Montoya, who jumped from Formula One to the stock car circuit late last season, got his first Cup win in his 17th start and gave Ganassi his first win in NASCAR’s top series since Jamie McMurray won in October 2002.

“It’s huge,” Montoya said. “I would say right now it’s the biggest thing I’ve done. In open-wheel, that’s what I was meant to be winning in. In stock cars, I wasn’t.

“To get our first win in our first year is huge. We know we’re a little bit behind on some of the ovals, but I think this is a big boost for everybody working in the shop.”

Series points leader Jeff Gordon overcame a 41st-place start to finish just behind Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart in seventh with a strategic effort in the first road race for NASCAR’s new Car of Tomorrow.

Gordon, who became a father for the first time Wednesday when his daughter, Ella Sofia, was born, and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson, the reigning Cup champion, were both banned from practice and qualifying on Friday and had to start from the rear of the field after NASCAR inspectors found their cars had illegally modified front fenders.

Both drivers and their crew chiefs face more penalties from NASCAR in the next few days, but they ran hard to overcome their handicapped start Sunday. Johnson’s fuel strategy didn’t work as well as Gordon’s and, after getting into the top 10 for a while, he finished 17th.

Montoya, whose only other NASCAR victory came earlier this year in a Busch Series race on the road course in Mexico City, passed McMurray, who now drives for Roush Fenway Racing, eight laps from the end. He easily stayed in front of runner-up Kevin Harvick in the 110-lap event on the 1.99-mile, 12-turn course.

“I was very surprised by the level of the drivers here on the road course,” Montoya said. “In Mexico, we had a really good car and the top five cars were really strong. But, behind that, it was really easy.”

Montoya was running third, trailing leader McMurray and Harvick and desperately conserving fuel with 18 laps to go. But he passed Harvick on lap 92 and began to track down McMurray.

“The top 20 was really like, phew. You had to work for your money,” he said. “What really paid off at the end was I was just running behind Kevin, saving the tires and trying to keep up with him. I did that for 10, 15 laps and I started pushing, I started making up ground on them and that’s when everything fell into place.”

The winner got past McMurray for a moment on lap 102, driving his Dodge past McMurray’s Ford in the slow hairpin near the end of the circuit. But Montoya got too wide and McMurray was able to squeeze by.

The pass that counted came in turn two on lap 104, with Montoya getting under McMurray’s car and passing easily. This time, he stayed out front.

“I saw he was always hugging that corner and I thought, ‘This is it.’ I knew I could pass him there,” Montoya said.

Wingo said his calculations told him Montoya would run out about a lap short of the end.

Visit NY SPORTS GEAR.com for authentic sports memorabilia

“We had to play a little bit of catch-up, so we had to take a gamble there at the end,” Wingo said. “He did a great job on saving fuel, everybody did a good job on the stops, and the motor shop did a great job. Without the fuel mileage we’d have never made it.”

McMurray ran out of gas at the start of lap 109 and finished 37th while Montoya saved enough fuel to run a cool-down lap and do a victory burnout before his fuel light came on.

Harvick inherited second place when McMurray slowed. He was followed across the finish line by his Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer, who also got great fuel mileage.

Harvick, who appeared to be getting the best mileage of all, thought he might have the race won when McMurray slowed and Montoya was short-shifting to save gas late in the race.

“They came on the radio and told me you’ve got 20 laps to make up one lap of fuel and the two cars in front of you are both three laps short,” Harvick said. “That’s how we played it and (Montoya) didn’t run out of gas.”

Harvick wasn’t surprised that he was chasing Montoya at the end.

“I’ve been a big fan of Montoya’s since he came over,” Harvick said. “He’s a great road racer, but he wasn’t the fastest. The strategy won it for him today.”

Robby Gordon, who started alongside pole-winner McMurray, also was a victim of failed strategy after leading a race-high 48 laps. He finished 16th.

Reed Sorenson spun out on lap 67, bringing out the last of full-course caution flags. While Robby Gordon and several other leaders gambled and stayed on track, opting to pit later under green, Montoya and other contenders made their final stops under the yellow flag on lap 68.

Montoya came out of that stop 12th but moved steadily forward as the drivers ahead of him began to make their gas stops. He was third by lap 78, setting up the dramatic finish.

Visit NY SPORTS GEAR.com for authentic sports memorabilia

Johnson and Gordon Both Fail Inspection

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) — Jimmie Johnson and teammate Jeff Gordon had an unexpected and unwanted day off Friday.

The cars of defending NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Johnson and series points leader Gordon failed inspection and were barred from all activity for the day at Infineon Raceway, including qualifying.

NASCAR said the No. 24 and No. 48 Chevrolets, both owned by Hendrick Motorsports, had modifications to the front fenders that were deemed illegal during morning inspection.

The Hendrick crews were allowed to repair them and they can race in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350, although starting from the rear of the 43-car field. Gordon, the four-time series champion, is the defending race winner.

“The cars have been repaired and I’m under the impression they will not receive an inspection sticker until tomorrow morning, which will allow the cars onto the racetrack,” said Chad Knaus, Johnson’s crew chief. “The guys on both teams have done a good job getting the cars repaired. They are race-ready now.”

NY SPORTS GEAR.com

But the damage was already done.

Doug Duchardt, vice president of development for Hendrick, called the modifications an honest mistake.

“We’ve been evolving and this was just the latest evolution of what we’ve been doing,” he said. “Our understanding is that our cars fit the templates but that they were outside of what they would like to see within the templates.”

Gordon came to Sonoma after his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child, a daughter, on Wednesday.

“Well, obviously, nothing’s going to ruin my day or weekend,” Gordon said. “I’m on cloud nine. This has obviously been pretty devastating news at the race track. … This definitely puts us in a box and we’re going to have to work our way out of it.”

The five-time Sonoma winner said pit strategy is going to be “extremely important.”

“We’re one of the best teams out there,” he said. “I love the road courses and I know these guys have brought a great race car and I’m looking forward to getting out there, hopefully sometime tomorrow, and seeing what we’ve got for them on Sunday.

Johnson echoed his teammate and the co-owner of his car.

“We’re going to start at the back and work our way forward,” he said. “A lot of road course racing really falls into the strategy of the race and we’ll just have to make the most of our poor track position to find the strategy and work our way up for a solid finish.”

This is the first road race for NASCAR’s new Car of Tomorrow, a bigger, bulkier and reputedly safer car that’s been in development for seven years. It has run in six races this season, all on ovals.

“It’s important to know that this is a Car of Tomorrow penalty,” NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said. “The inspection process and NASCAR’s reaction to the Car of Tomorrow violations are going to be more severe. We’re going to keep this car in check.

“It’s important to know that all cars in the field are starting out equal and all have the same opportunity to win as the other.”

NY SPORTS GEAR.com

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was docked 100 points and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. was fined $100,000 and suspended six races after NASCAR discovered illegal brackets on the rear wing of the No. 8 COT Chevrolet last month at Darlington Raceway.

Last year, Knaus, was suspended for four races when he was caught cheating in qualifying before the Daytona 500. Johnson won the race without Knaus, who rejoined the team in March and helped Johnson win the Nextel Cup title.

Asked why the cars could still be allowed to pass inspection and race this weekend, Poston said: “That’s been our practice in the past that we’ve given teams an opportunity to repair cars that have failed inspection, and we’ll do the same here.”

Poston said NASCAR would determine any further penalties assessed to the two Hendrick cars after officials return to their Daytona Beach, Fla., headquarters following the race.

Kurt Busch, who drives for Penske Racing, said he understands what NASCAR is trying to accomplish with the COT.

“If NASCAR’s intentions are to create an equal playing field for everybody with the COT and you step out of line like this, you need to have your hands smacked, I guess,” Busch said. “DEI did it with their rear spoiler and now you’ve got two Hendrick cars that are out of code.”

But Busch said he doesn’t expect missing a day of on-track action to slow down the Hendrick cars.

“You lose a little bit of practice time, but it’s only an hour and a half today,” he said. “It’s not much. It’s going to be bad though with those two cars starting in the back because guys up front aren’t going to get any TV time.”

Duchardt noted his team has won five of the first six COT races and each of those winning cars was sent to NASCAR’s Research and Development Center and encountered no problems.

Hendrick has won 10 of 15 races overall this season, with both Gordon and Johnson winning four times. Their teammates, Kyle Busch and Casey Mears, whose cars passed the initial inspection Friday, have each won once.

NY SPORTS GEAR.com

Jeff Gordon Is a Father of a Baby Girl

Congratulations Jeff!

Earlier today, Jeff Gordon and Ingrid Vandebosch welcomed a new daughter into the world. Ella Sofia Gordon was born at 9:09 a.m., weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce and was 20 inches long.

NY SPORTS GEAR.com

See comments on AOL

Dale Earnhardt Jr. News

From Yahoo! Sports

The day that Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans never thought possible arrived Wednesday.

That’s right, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson haters, Junior went over to the other side: Hendrick Motorsports.

After all the years Junior Nation has spent casting verbal and oftentimes profane aspersions on the drivers of the No. 24 and 48 – not to mention all the beer cans and other trash that have littered race tracks each time the duo crossed the finish line ahead of their heartthrob in the No. 8 Chevrolet – their driver has done the worst thing possible.

He joined the enemy.

And he’ll stay there for at least the next five years.

But it gets even worse: Junior fans also can forget about their long-held dreams of Junior following in his father’s footsteps by racing for Richard Childress in No. 3 Chevrolet – at least for the time being.

Even if it wasn’t Richard Childress Racing, any team other than Hendrick probably would have been OK by Junior’s fans. But no, the son of NASCAR’s Elvis had to become a rebel with a cause by going and joining The Beatles, thinking he’ll make much more beautiful music there in the long run.

Earnhardt’s decision to join Hendrick Motorsports, however, wasn’t a well-crafted plot to tick off his fans or cast aside all their years of loyalty. Really, Junior’s decision had nothing to do with the fans; it was all about performance. After seeing HMS drivers pass him en route to victory lane so many times during his own Cup career, Junior’s decision all came down to one simple thing:

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

Earnhardt just wants to win.

He feels he can greatly add to his current total of 17 Cup wins – all with DEI – with superior Hendrick engine power under the hood and 560 employees at his back. It’s all about support, technology and know-how, and Junior will have more of that at HMS than he ever had at DEI.

While stepmother and DEI owner Teresa Earnhardt may have held him back both on and off the race track, new boss Rick Hendrick is sure to capitalize on Junior’s popularity and his intense hunger to prove he can win a Cup championship.

But there’s a significant flip side to consider in Junior’s quest for that elusive title.

He goes from being the unquestioned No. 1 at DEI to No. 3, at best, at HMS. Until Gordon retires, he’ll likely be the biggest of the big dogs there, followed by his heir apparent, Johnson.

That leaves Earnhardt and Casey Mears to fill in the voids.

Sure, on the surface, Wednesday’s announcement looks like sheer brilliance for Earnhardt. He’s going from a Triple-A team to the New York Yankees of NASCAR. He’s going to the organization that is the biggest, the best and the most successful in the sport.

But will NASCAR’s most popular driver be content not just to play second-fiddle, but third-fiddle? Can he go from being the face of DEI to being just one of a cast of characters at Hendrick?

Kyle Busch has known his place at HMS. Will Earnhardt, who is Busch’s de facto replacement, be willing to be equally subservient?

Let’s hypothesize about his debut race with his new organization, the 2008 Daytona 500 next February. Not only will it be that legendary event’s 50th anniversary, its meaning takes on a whole new focus with Junior driving for HMS.

What if Junior’s new teammates, particularly Gordon and Johnson, are locked with him in a last-lap battle for the checkered flag? Does he think – or even expect – his new best buddies to simply let him go by just because his name is Earnhardt?

Yeah, right.

Instead, we’d likely see something that would make Brian Vickers taking out then-teammate Johnson and Earnhardt at Talladega last fall look like touch football compared to the battle royale that might take place at Daytona – or, for that matter, at any other place if the situation presents itself.

Wednesday morning, Hendrick and Earnhardt were all smiles as they announced their new partnership. They talked about the strong family atmosphere at HMS, the kind of familial relationship that Junior apparently never had at DEI. They also talked about how easy it will be to co-exist with his new stepbrothers at HMS given that the marriage now is final.

That may exist in a perfect world, but not in our world, and particularly not in the NASCAR world, where it’s truly every man for himself, teammate or not.

All families have had squabbles between brothers. Heck, even the Brady Bunch didn’t always share the love with one another.

If anything, while they likely will also smile and welcome Junior to the family, don’t be surprised if Gordon and Johnson take things up a notch themselves just to show their new teammate who the real top dogs are at Hendrick.

While Rick Hendrick said Wednesday that he always has considered Dale Jr. as a son, make no mistake about it that Gordon and Johnson are the true prodigal sons at HMS.

And if Junior thinks he’s going to be happy being just one of the boys rather than the boy he has been at DEI, it may be one big happy family at HMS for everyone except the newest addition.

NASCAR MEMORABILIA FROM NY SPORTS GEAR.com

KURT BUSCH FINED BY NASCAR

Daytona Beach, FL (AHN) – Kurt Busch might be a former NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion, but that doesn’t mean that the folks at NASCAR are any kindlier or gentler to the former champion.

On Friday NASCAR penalized Busch 100 championship driver points, fined him $100,000 and placed him on NASCAR probation the rest of the year.

It is the third $100,000 fine passed out by NASCAR this season.

Tony Eury Jr. received that type of fine and his driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., was penalized 100 points for a bracket infraction at Darlington and former Michael Waltrip crew chief Dave Hyder got a $100,000 fine while Waltrip was penalized 100 points at Daytona for and illegal substance found in the engine.

Busch received his penalty following a pit road incident with Tony Stewart at Dover last week. Busch and Stewart tangled on the track, which ended up crashing Busch, who promptly retaliated by bumping Stewart’s car on pit road.

NASCAR found Busch in violation of Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing – reckless driving; endangering a crew member on pit road) of the 2007 NASCAR rule book.

Busch’s car owner Roger Penske was also penalized 100 championship owner points due to Busch’s actions.

NY SPORTS GEAR.com

Bill France Jr Dies At Age 74

NASCAR.com

His father may have been the architect of NASCAR, but throughout his life, Bill France Jr. proved to be the ultimate general manager.

His plaque at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame may put it best: “Other than the founding of NASCAR itself, Bill Jr.’s appointment to leadership is probably the most significant event in the history of the sanctioning body.”

France Jr.’s ability to transform his father’s original vision into something greater than the sum of its parts was his greatest accomplishment. Under his three decades of leadership, NASCAR evolved from a regional sport to one with a world-wide fan base. He was a trailblazer in the field of corporate sponsorships and the guiding force behind a television contract worth billions of dollars.

“In life you’ve got rules you have to live by, and you have to have people to enforce those rules,” France Jr. once said. “If you don’t have rules, you have chaos. Basically we are the government in the little country of motorsports.

“Our rules are the statutes and the laws of this little country. To gain and keep the confidence of everyone involved with NASCAR, those participating need to know, as evidenced by our behavior, that the rules are applicable to everyone and are enforced fairly.”

France Jr. suffered a mild heart attack in 1997 while in Japan for a NASCAR exhibition race, and was diagnosed with cancer in 1999. He has never revealed what type of cancer he had.

Although his cancer was in remission, he handed off day-to-day duties of running NASCAR to his son, Brian, in late 2003.

In March, France Jr. was admitted to Halifax Medical Center under the care of his personal physicians but was released to his doctor’s care.

William C. France, chairman of the board of directors for International Speedway Corporation, died Monday at home. He celebrated his 74th birthday in April.

Born in Washington, D.C., in 1933 but raised in Daytona Beach, Bill Jr. was immersed in the sport of auto racing from the time he could talk. Being the boss’ son, that also meant a measure of responsibility.

After attending the University of Florida and a two-year stint in the U.S. Navy, France Jr. returned to make racing promotion his full-time occupation. He parked cars and sold concessions at the old beach and road course, then took a hands-on approach to his father’s dream of building a superspeedway in the swampland west of Daytona Beach.

“We went seven days a week for 13 months to build the speedway,” France Jr. recalled. “We went from 7 in the morning to 7 at night, and worked in the winter until it got dark.”

In many cases, that meant operating the equipment himself.

“I ran a motor grader some and a bulldozer, but mostly I was on a compactor,” France Jr. said. “I did a little of this, that and the other. I even had a mule out there one time pulling trees out of the swamp.

“Everything that was motorized back then got stuck in the swamp. I said, let’s try a mule. That didn’t work either.”

With miles of strip malls and restaurants along International Speedway Blvd. today, it may be difficult to imagine how wild that tract of land would have been 50 years ago.

“We’d have big piles of stumps that we had to burn,” France Jr. said. “I remember seeing a big rattlesnake out here one day. They asked me, ‘Where did you find him at?’ I pointed to where I found it.

“This one man had an ax and he swung it into a stump and we heard rattles buzzing all over the place. The area was full of snakes. We cleared out of there pretty fast.”

France Jr. had an uncanny ability to recognize potential growth and take advantage of those opportunities. While in the service, he developed a relationship with Californian Bob Barkheimer, a move which strengthened NASCAR’s ties to the west coast.

He loved motorcycles and competed in the Baja 1000, which led to the addition of a motocross race at Daytona International Speedway. The Daytona Supercross is now one of the highest-attended events at the track and correlated with the growth of Daytona’s Bike Week.

France Jr. served as vice president of NASCAR for six years before his father retired in 1972. France Jr. negotiated a deal with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. to sponsor NASCAR’s top-tier series, then went after television partners to expose his product to potential fans.

Following successful ratings for flag-to-flag coverage of the Daytona 500 by CBS in 1979, France Jr. was able to leverage the broadcast rights to the point where he negotiated a $2.4 billion contact with FOX, NBC and Turner Sports for the 2001 season.

Jim Hunter, former president of Darlington Raceway, said France Jr. was open to suggestions but only to a point.

“Bill always let you speak your peace,” Hunter said. “And if you disagreed with him that was OK, if he thought you had a good reason. But he had a way of looking at you over his glasses after a while, and when he did that you knew he’d had about enough of you. Bill France didn’t lose many arguments.”

Still, France Jr. never lost sight of what made NASCAR popular in the first place: its drivers.

“If you go back and look and think about it, NASCAR started off in 1948 with a group of racecar drivers who were in their 20s and 30s and started racing,” France Jr. said. “They all came up together, and then they went out together. Then you had the Fireball Robertses of the world … but then came David Pearson and Richard Petty. Then came Darrell Waltrip.

“I remember when Waltrip put out a statement that said the old guys better watch out because there are some new kids in town. Then came the time when he had to step back. So this is another cycle we’re going through now, that’s all.”

Michael Waltrip Qualifies At Dover

DOVER, Del. – Michael Waltrip is finally back on track. After missing 12 straight races, the two-time Daytona 500 champion qualified 23rd Friday for Sunday’s race at Dover International Speedway.

NY SPORTS GEAR.com

Embarrassed by an off-track incident where he fell asleep at the wheel and was charged with reckless driving and failing to report an accident, a cheating scandal that cost him his crew chief and the string of DNQs, this has been a miserable season for Waltrip and his No. 55 NAPA Toyota team.

“There’s been too many times when we showed up with a car that was out in left field and we had to try and get it competitive,” Waltrip said. “Today we unloaded and we were competitive. That’s the difference.”

Waltrip, who hasn’t raced in Nextel Cup competition since the season-opening Daytona 500, hugged teammate Dale Jarrett, the former series champion in his first season with Michael Waltrip Racing, after qualifying and they shared a few words. Jarrett qualified 22nd.

Waltrip was caught cheating during Daytona 500 preparations when NASCAR found a fuel additive in his engine, and was docked a record 100 driver points. He eventually parted ways with crew chief David Hyder.

“I think we’ll continually get better,” Waltrip said. “It’s quite a position to be in, knowing you’ve been close so many times and rolling out there. When your heart and soul is into something, and it is so hard to get it heading in the right direction, it’s really tough to take.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who qualified second, said he knows how much of a struggle this season has been on Waltrip.

“I know he’s been in a rough spot,” Earnhardt said. “This is good for him. I’m sure he’s going to try and make the best of it this weekend.”