May 2007 Archives

In his first race of the year without crew chief Tony Eury Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished eighth at the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Earnhardt Jr. said he thought he finished second, only trailing Tony Stewart, at the end of the Coca-Cola 600. Turns out when the lead cars started pitting for fuel late in the race, some took a gamble and stayed out. It led to an unfamilar top five, with Casey Mears winning the first race of his NASCAR Nextel Cup career, followed by J.J. Yeley, Kyle Petty, Reed Sorenson and Brian Vickers.
Earnhardt Jr. posted a solid top 10 and credited his strong finish to interim crew cheif Tony Gibson. Eury Jr. is serving a six-race suspension because Earnhardt Jr.'s car had an illegal mount on its Car of Tomorrow wing for the race at Darlington Raceway.
"The 600 was a very positive weekend as a whole for the team," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "We miss having Tony Jr. there in the garage with us, but Tony Gibson and all of the guys all stepped up and picked up the slack. It gives us all confidence that we are going to keep running strong every week like we have been all season."
Dover International Speedway, site of Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race, has produced some memorable races for Earnhardt Jr. In particular, Earnhardt Jr. won the race at Dover in 2001, immediately following the Sept. 11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.
"We've been really fast, won and led a lot of laps and then we've had days where we've struggled, crashed or just missed it altogether," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It's such a fast track for a one-mile oval, and I've hit the wall there hard enough to never want to do it again, so we're going in there expecting to find a balance where we can be consistent and run up front for 400 miles."
The race at Dover is also a Car of Tomorrow race. No driver has yet to test NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow at Dover, so it should create the same set of variables for every team.
"Everyone is in the same position: coming into the race without a test session there with the Car of Tomorrow," Earnhardt Jr. said. "That's fine with me: I think we have been successful with CoT, and if it's the same for everyone, we should be right in the mix."

Hendrick Motorsports is perfect with NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow. Between Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch, Hendrick Motorsports has yet to lose a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race with the Car of Tomorrow.
Now that Casey Mears has joined the win club at Hendrick Motorsports by taking Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, even he has to be considered a contender to win the next Cup race.
But the next Cup race, at Dover International Speedway, presents a unique combination for drivers and teams. Dover has a concrete track surface. Just one more obstacle facing Hendrick Motorsports to remain perfect with the Car of Tomorrow.
“The track at Dover isn’t as sensitive to the heat pounding on it because of the concrete surface," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "The rubber takes to the track in a different manner than it takes to pavement tracks. The biggest difference is the surface and the way the track is laid down. When you think about concrete, it is laid in squares so you have multiple seams and it feels like driving on a washboard road at times because you are going over those seams where they poured the slab."
Because of the concrete surface, tire wear plays a major in the way races unfold.
"It really jars the car and it is a rough ride all the way around the track," said Johnson, who has won three races at Dover over his Cup career. "It is extremely hard on tires because of the steep banking and the speeds we carry. You have to have the setup under the car as perfect as you can get it to be able to manage your tires effectively throughout the race. If you get a long green flag run, you can’t be abusive to your car or your tires."

Los Angeles-born Tyler Walker was suspended indefinitely from competiton by NASCAR for violating the sanctioning body's substance abuse policy.
Walker, who was a rookie driver of the No. 36 Toyota for Bill Davis Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, made six starts this season.
He did not start the most recent race at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway on Saturday night. Ryan Matthews was in the No. 36 Toyota and finished 18th in his first Truck Series start.
Walker was in violation of NASCAR's substance abuse policy on May 18, according to a statement released Tuesday. It did not specify what substance was abused by Walker.

Surpisingly, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the highest qualifying Chevrolet car for the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He will start Sunday's race fourth.
It was surprising for a couple of reasons.
One, the Hendrick Motorsports cars have been winning poles at a blistering pace all year and have qualified high in almost every race.
Two, Earnhardt Jr. is without his crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., who was suspended for having an illegal rear wing attachment on his driver's car for the race at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. Tony Gibson is the team's interim crew chief. Eury Jr. can return to the team after July 4, a suspension that amounts to seven races, including the All Star Challenge.
"I am just concentrating on the race this weekend, concentrating on qualifying, trying to give Tony Gibson all the information I can and make this situation as comfortable for his as I possibly can," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "He is a great guy and going to do a good job for us this weekend. Tony, Jr. has given him all the information he can to make this as workable as possible. I am very confident that Tony (Gibson) is going to do a great job. It is child's play to him, he has been in this sport for a long time. I am really glad he is in a position he is to fill in a roll like this."
Even though Eury is suspended and can't be at the race track, he has been in contact with the team and Earnhardt Jr.
"I don't think the phone ever hung up with Tony, Jr. giving us as much help as he could to get us comfortable with what we needed for a setup and help Tony (Gibson)," Earnhardt Jr said. "But I have a lot of confidence in our team and how we are going to run this weekend. Everyone has really stepped up and is working hard to get us the finishes we need."

The Hendrick Motorsports juggernaut has dominated the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series thus far this season.
But the Penske Racing Dodges of Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch have the front row for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Newman has been steadily improving over the last four races. Busch has shown signs of challenging for wins and dropping off at the end of races.
But it looks like they are in position to give Hendrick Motorsports some competition, at least at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
“I think we’ve been performing well the last three, four or five weeks, but I think we haven’t had the greatest finishes the four or five weeks before that," said Newman, driver of the No. 12 Dodge for Penske Racing. "I think we’ve been running good and performing well. We just haven’t had the finishes with the exception of the last three or four weeks that we felt we deserved. It was just circumstances."
Some crazy things have happened to Newman's team over the past month, but he said every team goes through those kind of stints.
"We had a great car at Talladega. Got involved in that accident and knocked off the fender and came back to finish ninth," Newman said. "To be able to rebound and capitalize points wise is something we hadn’t been able to do in previous weeks."
As for Hendrick Motorsports, Newman said racing against Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon is going to be tough. Johnson has won three of the past four Coca-Cola 600s. Gordon has won three of the past four NASCAR Nextel CUp Series races.
"Between the 48 (Johnson) and even the 24 (Gordon) they’re going to definitely be tough," Newman said. "We look forward to the challenge. We’ve been in position before to win this race. I don’t think they have a strong grip on anything. A lot of teams have their fingertips on it. It’s just a matter of pulling away on Sunday.”

Matt Borland was introduced as the new director of competition for Haas CNC Racing at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Thursday.
Borland was working previously as a crew chief for Michael Waltrip Racing, one of the Toyota-powered teams that has been struggling to make races.
Borland was also the crew for Ryan Newman at Penske Racing South. With Newman, Borland won 12 races and 37 poles. He was the 2002 NASCAR Cup Series crew chief of the year in Newman's rookie season.
“Haas Racing was founded with a commitment to building the team with quality people,” Haas CNC Racing Gernal Manager Joe Custer said. “Bringing Matt Borland on board as our Director of Competition is a strengthening of that commitment. Matt’s knowledge and leadership ability are proven by his many successes,” he said. “We are extremely pleased to have someone of Matt’s caliber oversee our operation.”
Haas CNC Racing has two teams, one for driver Jeff Green and one for driver Johnny Sauter. Green drives the No. 66 Chevrolet and Sauter is in the No. 70 Chevrolet.

Apparently Toyota Racing Development didn't like what it saw from the horsepower their engines were producing after the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
As a result, Toyota has been working on making adjustments to increase the horspower in its teams' engines. The renovated engines will be ready for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.
“Horsepower is always great when you’re selling engines, but it’s not what wins races,” said Lee White, senior vice president of TRD, U.S.A. “What we found out when we got the power curves (after the Atlanta race) was that we did have equal horsepower on the chassis dyno, but at 7,500 and 8,000 rpm we were down by almost 40 horsepower to the teams that are winning all the races. So, we’ve gone back to work since then on the engine we have this weekend. It’s a little different tune which fills that in and the power curve has a much better shape.”
Dale Jarrett, driver of the No. 44 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, is hopeful the changes Toyota made will make a difference in races.
“All we can do is hope that what Toyota says they are going to give us will perform on the race track the way they’re telling us it should,” Jarrett said. “We applaud them for making the changes and listening to us to try to give us what we feel like we need. This is another step toward the continued improvement and hopefully it will help all the Toyota teams.”

The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, which incorporates the NASCAR short track programs across the nation, will have its annual banquet and awards ceremony at the Manadalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas on Nov. 10.
NASCAR will honor the Whelen All-American Series national champion along with U.S. state and Canadian province champions, track champions, and other award winners, including the mechanic of the year.
The drivers in the NASCAR Super Late Model division at Irwindale Speedway are eligible for the Whelen All-American Series national championship, as well and state and local honors. Simi Valley's Andrew Phipps is leading the Super Late Model standings at Irwindale Speedway.
“We received thumbs-up from promoters, drivers and industry personnel who attended last year’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet and are glad to be returning to Vegas again this November,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR managing director of racing operations. “It is the perfect setting to mix business and pleasure and to salute our champions from across North America.”
The annual banquet is one of the largest postseason events hosted annually by NASCAR. Connecticut-based Whelen Engineering and other participating sponsors will distribute prize money and awards. The NASCAR national championship for short track racing will be celebrating its 26th season and its inaugural year with series sponsor Whelen Engineering.

Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, will have new crew chief following Sunday's Coca-Cola 600.
Greg Erwin will become Biffle's crew chief starting on Tuesday. He will serve as an advisor on the pit box of Biffle's team, which is owned by Jack Roush, during the Coca-Cola 600 before officially taking over crew chief duties.
"We obviously weren't performing at a level at which Jack expected and a change was made," said Biffle.
Erwin was the crew chief for Robby Gordon's No. 7 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series team. Erwin has also worked as an engineer with Richard Childress Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing.
Gordon and Childress run Chevrolet engines. Ganassi runs Dodges. Roush Fenway Racing is a five-car Ford-powered team.
"I feel that this is one of the top crew chief opportunities in the Nextel Cup garage," said Erwin. "If you could paint a picture of where you would like to go as a crew chief to give it a shot to win and compete for a championship, this is it. I am also excited about the backing of the engineering department at Roush and the resources they offer."
Chris Andrews, current Engineering Manager at Roush Fenway Racing, will serve as interim crew chief for Biffle this weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
"The fact that Greg Biffle is the driver was a factor that weighed heavily on my decision," Erwin said. "He is a straight forward kind of guy and I look forward to working with him."

NASCAR announced that it will use the Car of Tomorrow exclusively in 2008, a year ahead of schedule to introduce the new stock car fully in the Nextel Cup Series.
The early reviews are in favor of the decision. However, those comments are coming from team owners and presidents, who have been maintaining two different cars, the old Cup cars and the Cars of Tomorrow, for races this year.
“From a cost and operations perspective, the move to the Car of Tomorrow in 2008 will benefit all the teams," said Roger Penske, who owns a two-car Dodge team for drivers Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch. "Initially, NASCAR took a conservative approach to the implementation of the Car of Tomorrow, but I think that one type of car in 2008 will be more efficient for team operations and should provide good, competitive racing for the fans.”
J.D. Gibbs, president of the three-car, Chevrolet powered Joe Gibbs Racing team, said it has been "very difficult for teams to run both the Car of Tomorrow and the current car simultaneously."
“Across the board, most everyone’s feeling in the sport is that we’ve come out of the box and have had some good experiences with it, so let’s just implement it full-time in 2008," said Gibbs, who manages the teams for drivers Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley. "We’re on board with that, and for us, it makes a lot of sense.
“Give NASCAR credit. We trust them to make good decisions. For the 16 years that we’ve been in the sport, we’ve seen amazing growth. A lot of that credit is due to NASCAR and the way they manage the sport and handle it. If we have problems or issues, we can go to them and address it the right way and they’ll listen. The encouraging thing for us with this project is that we’ve gone through a huge transformation within our industry and to be able to come out of it and advance the Car of Tomorrow’s timetable – that should make everyone feel good, because it means we’re going in the right direction.”
Let's see if the drivers are as enthusiastic about the decision as the owners are.

Doug Yates, co-owner of Robert Yates Racing, is donating a portion of his team's winnings from the Coca-Cola 600 to assist in the rebuilding of two parks in Charlotte, N.C., which are being dedicated in memory of two police officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department who died on duty.
The parks are being dedicated in memory of officers Jeff Shelton and Sean Clark. This isn't the first time Robert Yates Racing has raised money for fallen police officers.
"For me this is a personal project that really started with the loss of Officer John Burnette, who was a friend of mine, and killed in the line of duty in October 1993," Yates said. "My dad and I decided to donate a portion of our winnings from the Charlotte race in October of that year to the Police Benevolent Fund. Ernie Irvan was driving for us at the time and he ended up winning the race that night and it made the win even more special because of what we were doing."
Yates said this time he is donating a portion of the winnings from David Gilliland's No. 38 team.
"I am a native of Charlotte and it's very rewarding to give back to those who sacrifice so much for our community," Yates said.
Gilliland, who still has yet to complete a full NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, finished 28th in the Nextel Open race at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Saturday night and did not advance to the All Star Challenge race.
"Last weekend was obviously a huge disappointment for our team because we believed we had a car capable of finishing either first or second and transferring to the All-Star race," Gilliland said. "Looking at the big picture, at least it wasn't a points race. The toughest part is that it was a good car that we wanted to run in the future so the guys are busy back at the shop rebuilding."

Jeff Gordon hasn't won a 600-mile race at Lowe's Motor Speedway since 1998. But he has seen his driver and teammate Jimmie Johnson win three of the past four Coca-Cola 600s.
Gordon, who leads the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings, has won four races at Lowe's Motor Speedway in his career, his last coming in 1999.
“We definitely struggled here for a few years, but we started to see improvement last season,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. “We ran strong in this event last year but got caught up in an accident late in the race. In the fall event, we were running second or third when we had engine problems. And last Saturday night, I thought we had a shot at battling for the win until the flat tire.”
Gordon's team wasn't planning on racing the same car in the All Star Challenge and the Coca-Cola 600. Both races are at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
But Gordon's car was running so good in the All Star race, crew chief Steve Letarte decided to bring it back for the Coca-Cola 600.
“The guys in the shop – who never get enough credit – worked really hard to get this car turned around," Letarte said. “We had some crew members come into the shop Sunday to assess the damage. On Monday morning, we had a crew in here at 5 a.m. pulling the motor and suspension, and a little after lunch they were prepping it to be painted.”

There have been a number of NASCAR drivers who recorded their first Cup win at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Most recently, Matt Kenseth won the first race of his Cup career at Lowe's in 2000. Jeff Gordon won the first race of his Cup career at Lowe's in 1994.
While driving the No. 18 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing, Bobby Labonte won the first race of his Cup career in 1995.
J.J. Yeley, who now drives the No. 18 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing, would like to add his name to the list.
“There are just so many things that can happen since it’s an extra-long race," Yeley said. "The guys who generally win this race are guys who are very patient and smart race cars drivers. You need to make sure that you are there at the end, which is the most critical part. This race is longer than any other race we run and you’ve got to be there when it counts. There are some pretty impressive names on that list and those guys over their careers have proven to be smart race car drivers who save their cars to have a shot at the win.”

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series drvier Ryan Newman has three straight top-10 finishes and can make it four in a row for the first time since 2005.
His streak started with a ninth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. He followed with a sixth-place finish at Richmond International Raceway. At Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, Newman finished fourth.
"We've been running really well the last few weeks and it's showed at the end of the race," said Newman, driver of the No. 12 Dodge for Penske Racing. "We're bringing a good car with us to Charlotte this weekend."
For the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Newman's team is bringing the car it raced at Texas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway. He posted his first top-10 finish of the year with the car at Las Vegas and won his first pole of the year with it at Atlanta.
"We've improved our finishes each of the last three weeks and it's just a matter of time before we get this Alltel Dodge back into victory lane," Newman said. "We'd really like to do that this weekend in front of all of our family and friends."

Lowe's Motor Speedway in North Carolina holds some special memories for NASCAR driver Jamie McMurray.
It was the site of his first Cup win. It came in only his second Cup start when he was filling in for injured driver Sterling Marlin.
“There is no denying the fact that I really like racing at Lowe’s," said McMurray, driver of the No. 26 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "Obviously, I scored my first win at Charlotte, so it will always be special to me. Last weekend in the Nextel Open we learned a few things about our car for this weekend’s race. We ran a few different setups that I think in the long run at Charlotte this weekend, will play into our favor."
McMurray's team tested the car recently and it was having some handling difficulties. This is the same car the McMurray raced at Texas Motor Speedway in April. He finished fifth in that race.
"We tested the car we are taking to the Coca-Cola 600 a few weeks ago and felt pretty good with the test overall, but in the end, we continued to fight the same problem – tight in the center," McMurray said. "We made a few body changes to the car back at the shop and now, I feel we should be pretty good for this coming weekend. It’s a long race and a lot can happen, but if we take our time and adjust wisely on the car, we will be there at the end in our No. 26 IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford Fusion.”

Valencia's Bryan Herta will be blogging from Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week prior to Sunday's 91st running of the Indianapolis 500.
Herta, a Hart High graduate, started five Indy 500s, the past three for Andretti Green Racing.
He currently drives the Andretti Green Racing entry in the American Le Mans Series.
His blog is at http://xmindy500.blogspot.com/
Hear the Andretti Green Racing hour on XM Sports Nation, XM 144, Wednesdays at 4 p.m. Pacific.

There are only a select few people who know exactly what happened to the engine in Aaron Staudinger's car in the NASCAR Late Model division at Irwindale Speedway.
And none of them are talking. Don't really blame them either.
Track inscpectors found illegal parts on Staudinger's motor after the race on April 28 and disqualified him.
The track followed by removing M&R Engines, the company that supplied Staudinger's team with the engine, from its preferred list of engine providers.
Who did what to the engine is still a mystery. Even more of a mystery is why would anyone put illegal parts on an engine that was powering a seventh-place car?
Some drivers at the track Saturday had their own theories. The one that made the most sense was that the guys at M&R Engines figured the other two engine providers were putting together illegal engines. The guys at M&R probably decided they had to do the same to compete.
If the results of the inspections after the April 28 race are any indication, the motors from Watkins Engine Development and LIZ-ZARD Racing Engines are as legitimate as can be.
But not every engine in every car in the Late Model division has been inspected. At least one driver said it would be pretty naive to think none of the engines in the Late Model division have been altered in some way or another. He didn't suggest they were illegal to the extent of Staudinger's motor, but most have been changed in one way or another, despite being sealed and spec motors.
Winning a race with a Watkins motor was probably the best thing that could have happened to Staudinger. It's a shame his championship hopes have been ruined because of the illegal engine.

Mark Martin added to his legend by finishing third in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series All Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
It has him feeling good about the Coca-Cola 600. But he's been around long enough to know there are a bunch of other teams that are feeling good too.
"We feel great. We also know that there are 15 cars that can really get it done and showed a lot of speed," said Martin, driver of the No. 01 Chevrolet for Ginn Racing. "Then there is another four or five that will show speed next week that didn't this week. There is really a lot of good cars."
Kevin Harvick won the All Star Challenge. Jimmie Johnson was second. That probably means the cars for Richard Childress Racing and Hendrick Motorsports will all be strong for the Coca-Cola 600. Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth, both Cup race winners this year, had their problems and did not finish up front in the All Star Challenge.
"You look at the guys that finished up front here, they will be strong, but they aren't the only ones and if I were a writer they aren't the only ones I would be talking about," Martin said. "I would be talking about the awesome race we are going to see next Saturday night."

Hendrick Motorsports has been the dominant team in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, but Richard Childress Racing has come up with the big wins so far this year.
Kevin Harvick won the season-opening Daytona 500 for Childress, then followed it with a win in the All Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Don't think beating Rick Hendrick's drivers Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Casey Mears and Kyle Busch is lost on Childress.
"To win what was the Winston and now is the All Star is pretty huge wins for us," Childress said. "This is the fourth win for RCR and to watch Kevin win it there and beat Jimmie and the whole Hendrick crew, I just have so much respect for Rick and his whole organization. This is their home track. Just to see Kevin do such a great job of driving, one of the best I have ever seen, no pressure got to him. He just did a great job, this means a lot."
Harvick was reminded that he finished second to Johnson in last year's All Star Challenge. Harvick said all he remembers is that he did not win the race.
"It was only a check and a trophy on the line (Saturday) night so I was going to do all to make it happen," said Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "Last year he got track position on us if I remember right and I am not sure exactly what happened, to tell you the truth, I didn't even remember we finished second to tell you the truth so I guess that tells you how much emphasis it put on winning at the All-Star race, I had forgotten that we finished second."

Part of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series All Star Challenge is a race for crew chiefs at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Saturday night.
Jimmie Johnson, winner of the past two All Star Challenge races, said the crew chiefs for all the Hendrick Motorsports teams can't wait for their chance to race.
"All the stories I have heard about their practice last night from Chad, Steve (Letarte, No. 24 crew chief), Alan (Gustafson, No. 5 crew chief) and Darian (Grubb, No. 25, crew chief) all laughing and talking together about it were pretty funny," said Johnson, who qualified second for the All Star Challenge. "They really had fun. They never get a chance to interact like that without the pressure of the intense look in their eyes of trying to beat each other. They will have a lot of fun."
But Johnson said he is looking to exact a little revenge on his crew chief.
"I hope I can get a radio because for the last six years I have heard Chad Knaus yell at me 'Don't overdrive the entry', 'Don't get the brakes too hot', and on and on and on," Johnson said. "So if I can get a radio hooked up or find one that works somehow, I am just going to complain to him the whole time and wear him out. I hope I can get that done."

Jeff Burton said he is excited about the partnership Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. made Friday to combine their engine programs.
Burton, who drives the No. 31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, said his team needed to find a way to compete with some of the other teams in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series that have similar arrangements.
"I think that one of the things that it allows us to do is to put a lot more resources into our engine department," Burton said. "If you look at where Hendrick is, you look at where Roush, Yates are, they have a huge percentage of the field. They have a lot more money, a lot more resources to deal with. This puts us in that same ball park."
The first engines are expected to be produced for both teams for the July race at Daytona International Speedway.
"I think that certainly is a step in the right direction," Burton said. "I am excited about it. It's a whole lot of work ahead of them, it's a whole lot of stuff that has got to change in order to make all of this happen but I think that the concept is really good."

Ron Hornaday Jr. won his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race of the season and the first of his career at Lowe's Motor Speedway Friday night.
Hornaday, driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Inc., is the winningest driver in Truck Series history with 30.
It's taken Hornaday a while to get comfortable with Lowe's Motor Speedway and he was able to avoid some of the mistakes he made in the past.
"I am the type of driver that is just gung-ho and overdrives the track," said Hornaday, a former Saugus Speedway champ from Palmdale. "When I got hired by Kevin, he showed me how to drive it and I just got going well through the bumps in three and four, figured out how to do it and ran really well that night and they repaved it. We actually ran decent last year, but it is one of those tracks where you have to be right on and good."
Hornaday credited the experience of his crew chief Rick Ren for having the knowledge to set up the truck to run as well as it did.
"It took a while and Rick Ren has been around her enough times with different drivers and we hit the setup right on," Hornaday said. "When people ask me what is my favorite track, I always tell them it is the ones I win at, so right now this is one of my favorite tracks."

Jeff Gordon passed Dale Earnhardt for career Cup wins earlier this year. He can pass Earnhardt again in total number of All Star Challenge wins.
The two are tied with three wins apiece in the All Star Challenge, and its previous namesake, The Winston. The way Gordon's season is going, he has to be the favorite to win the All Star Challenge on Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Gordon has won three of the past four NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races and leads the Cup standings by 231 points.
Earnhardt won his all star races in 1987, 1990 and 1993. Gordon won his in 1995, 1997 and 2001.
It was the race in 1995 that stands out for Gordon.
“In 1995, we won every segment, but it still was crazy during the final one,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. “I remember Darrell Waltrip restarted on the outside of me and Dale was right behind me. Dale made a great move and took us three-wide down the back straightaway. I lifted heading into the corner because I didn’t think there was any way all three of us were going to make it through the corner."
Gordon was right, but he survived a crash that perhaps cost Earnhardt a win that night.
“Sure enough, those two got together and crashed, and I was able to take the win," Gordon said. "I’m sure it’ll be crazy again this Saturday night during the last segment, but 20 laps is a lot of laps. And so much can happen in 20 laps at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.”

J.J. Yeley is one of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series drivers who will have to race his way into the All Star Challenge through the Nextel Open or get voted in by the fans on Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway. But even if he doesn't, he will have a reason to hang around for the All Star Challenge.
If he doesn't qualify for the All Star Challenge, Yeley will get a chance to work as a pit reporter for SPEED for the race.
“If it happens, it’s going to be something different for me to do," said Yeley, driver of the No. 18 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "I’m sure I’ll be more nervous than I am in a race car, especially at the beginning. If I had my choice though, I would be in the race and someone else would be doing the TV duties, so we’ll see. I’m sure we’ll go chase down some crew chiefs and hopefully ask those guys some questions that they might not normally hear. Maybe we can get some top secret info that can help us in the Coca-Cola 600 the next week.”

David Gilliland, once a star at Irwindale Speedway and a winner of the Toyota All Star Showdown, will have to earn his way to being a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series All Star.
Gilliland will have to race his way into the All Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Saturday night through the Nextel Open. Either that or get voted in by the fans.
Gilliland said he has always wanted to race in the All Star Challenge.
"From watching it on TV as a driver, it has always looked like so much fun," said Gilliland, driver of the No. 38 Ford for Robert Yates Racing. "No one holds back at all and just puts it all out on the line for a shot at a $1 million. It's so different from what we do each weekend, in terms of the format of the race, that I think it makes very appealing to the drivers especially someone new to circuit such as me."
In many ways, Gilliland is still a rookie. He has yet to complete a full season of Cup racing and has had his best results at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway so far in his young career. The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series will be at Lowe's Motor Speedway for the next two weeks. The All Star Challenge is Saturday night and the Coca-Cola 600 is May 27.
"This car that we are running this weekend is not the same car that we plan on bringing for the 600 but I was very happy with the way it drove in testing," Gilliland said. "It's the same chassis we ran in Homestead last year but everything else on it brand new so I'd love to win the Open and get a shot at running in the All-Star race with this car to see where we stack up against everyone before next week."

It looks like the relationship between Richard Childress and Teresa Earnhardt is truly healthy.
Childress and Earnhardt announced plans on Friday to combine the engine departments of their two teams, Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. The new collaboration will be called Earnhardt-Childress Racing Technologies.
The two teams are planning to begin construction on a new building later in the summer and expect it to be complete in 2008. The six teams for Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. are expected to be using the same engines by the July race at Daytona International Speedway.
In addition to developing and producing engines for its own teams, Earnhardt-Childress Racing Technologies wants to have an engine lease program to other teams in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. The partnership also has long-term plans to diversify and expand beyond NASCAR by providing race engines to teams competing in series such as the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series, various off-road and stock car series and sports car series.
“With the direction this sport has taken over the last few years, Teresa and I began talking about ways we could partner together to gain a competitive advantage and, at the same time, expand our resources,” said Richard Childress, President and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “Both RCR and DEI have proven that a three-car team can build its own engines and compete at the top, and combining the resources of both companies gives us even greater efficiencies and the competitive advantages we’re looking for.”
Childress formed a similar partnership with Dale Earnhardt and Andy Petree to develop and improve their respective aerodynamic packages in the 1990s. It led to all three teams improving their programs on restrictor plate tracks and at speedways.
“It is a great day for us to be able to work closely again with Richard and RCR,” said Dale Earnhardt, Inc. CEO Teresa Earnhardt. “Both of us are in the middle of developing and building Chevrolet’s new R07 engine, so this is a perfect time to establish this company to combine resources and work together to get the most out of this package possible. Richard and I both have committed substantial resources to this new company and we share the No. 1 priority to win championships.”

NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Terry Labonte have all won the Nextel Cup Series All Star Challenge or The Winston for Hendrick Motorsports.
Kyle Busch wants to add his name to the list.
"It would be great if I could win the All-Star Challenge," said Busch, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "It's really prestigious and, more importantly, it's a preview for what's going to happen the following week in the '600.' I want to win it. Hendrick Motorsports has won it a few times with Jeff, Jimmie and Terry, so I think its time for the No. 5 team to take back the trophy."
Labonte was in the No. 5 Chevrolet when he won The Winston in 1999 for Hendrick Motorsports.
The Coca-Cola 600 follows the All Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 27.
Busch qualified for the All Star Challenge by winning the Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway earlier this year.
"It's a free-for-all, really," Busch said. "Everyone goes out there and drives like there's no tomorrow. There's no points and we usually don't take our '600' car, so if we wreck going for broke then we wreck. When there's a million dollars on the line, no one really wants to finish second."

Tony Stewart doesn't like the combination of the Goodyear tires on the track surface at Lowe's Motor Speedway, site of Saturday night's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series All Star Challenge.
But he likes the race and doesn't want to see NASCAR do anything to mess it up for the fans.
Stewart said getting good traction at Lowe's Motor Speedway is a problem with the Goodyear tire teams are using. But during recent tests at Lowe's, Stewart said he was able to move his car around the track a little better than in the past.
"During testing, we were moving up to the high side on both ends of the track," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "It does have the potential to be better. It’s just a matter of being able to try to work with the tires and do what you can to get in clean air.
"These cars are always hard to drive. If they were easy to drive, you and everybody could do it. When you’re in the car, it still feels loose or tight. Sometimes you’re in a four-wheel drift and you have to make adjustments based on that. That aspect of driving these cars really hasn’t changed. It doesn’t seem to me to have been a huge transition.”
As for the All Star Challenge, Stewart said he looks forward to a race in which he doesn't have to worry about points. He also said the fans appreciate a race in which the drivers take a few more chances.
“I think it’s nice to dedicate a weekend to the race fans," Stewart said. "We put on a race for them where we’re not worried about points. We’re all hanging it out every lap, instead of three-quarters of the way through the season, where some guys are hanging it out while others are points racing. It’s good to have one evening where we all just get up on the wheel and put on a good show for the fans.”

Two drivers for Toyota will be in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series All-Star Challenge on Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Brian Vickers qualified by winning the Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway last year for Hendrick Motorsports.
“The All-Star race is just a fun race, like the Bud Shootout” said Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Toyota for Team Red Bull. “It’s just a dash for cash with no points and you have to go as hard as you can go. I’m pretty excited to be one of the first Toyotas to get to compete in the All-Star race and I’m really looking forward to getting out there and mixing it up with everybody.”
Dale Jarrett is in because he has won a Cup championship in the past 10 years.
The rest of the Toyota drivers will either have to race in through the Nextel Open or get voted in. Two drivers will advance through the Open. One will get voted in.
Fans can vote with their Sprint and Nextel phones: Text “NASCAR” to 7777 and follow the received directions. Standard text messaging/data rates will apply. They can also vote online at www.nextel.com/speed or www.nascar.com.
Michael Waltrip, driver of the No. 55 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, has started 14 All-Star Challenges, including when it was called The Winston. He won the race in 1996.
But he has only qualified for one race, the Daytona 500, thus far this year with his new team.
Jeremy Mayfield, driver of the No. 36 Toyota for Bill Davis Racing, has made seven All Star Challenge starts in his career.
David Reutimann, who drives for Michael Waltrip Racing, and A.J. Allmendinger, a driver for Team Red Bull, are both Cup rookies. Neither has competed in an All Star Challenge race.
“I had a good test at Charlotte, so I think I have a pretty good chance of running up front when we all wreck,” said a chuckling Allmendinger, driver of the No. 84 Toyota for Team Red Bull. “The Open, from what I’ve seen, doesn’t wreck quite as much because there’s no money on the line -- they’re all just racing to get into the money race. Seriously, I really don’t know what to expect, but I’m excited to get the chance to be a part of it. If we could somehow get into the All Star race and win the Open or be one of the top-two guys -- that would be huge.”

It seems that when Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes one step forward, he takes two steps back this year.
The latest series of backpedaling started when he finished eighth in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway, then was hit with a penalty two days later.
Earnhardt Jr. was putting together a string of strong races, getting himself in Chase contention, then NASCAR found that the rear wing on his Car of Tomorrow was improperly mounted. NASCAR fined Tony Eury Jr., his crew chief $100,000 and suspended him for six races. His was also docked 100 points in the drivers standings and his team lost 100 points in the owners standings. It knocked Earnhardt Jr. from 12th in the Cup standings to 14th.
There is no points race this weekend. The NASCAR All-Star Challenge is Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway and it gives Junior a chance to race and not worry about points or penalties.
"It's something I look forward to every year. It's old-school. A short, frantic race where nobody is holding back, nobody is just out there riding around," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "You need to haul butt and do it for the full race."
Earnhardt Jr. has won the All-Star Challenge once. He was the first rookie to do it in 2000. He qualified for the All-Star Challenge by winning the Cup race at Richmond International Raceway in May of 2006.
"We have a car we've been working on that I think will be really good," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We've made a lot of changes to it because it only has to last 120 laps. You're not worried about it going 400 or 500 miles, so you can do things kind of like we used to do in the short track days. That's what makes this so much fun: It's like being back on the short tracks and letting it all hang out for the sprint rather than the marathon. Me and the whole team have always loved that kind of atmosphere and really relish that kind of attitude toward a race. The crew guys get recognized at the introductions and we get to go out near the fans right before the race. It's the way it should be. Under the lights. A lot of excitement. And a million bucks to win. Of course that's the topping on the cake. Anybody that tells you they don't have their eye on that million is lying to your face."

Jamie McMurray is not a NASCAR all-star. Not yet anyway.
He will have to be one of the three NASCAR Nextel Cup Series drivers who either race their way through the Nextel Open into the All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway Saturday night or gets voted in by the fans.
There are 21 Cup drivers already in the All-Star Challenge. Drivers were eligible by either winning a race or having their team win a race in the last calendar year. Past Cup champions, Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte in particular, were also eligible.
McMurray, a driver for Roush Fenway Racing, is bringing the same car to the All-Star Challenge that the team brought to California Speedway for the Cup race in February. It didn't make it very far in the race, but McMurray said it is a good car.
"We are taking the same car that we ran at Fontana, which was a really good car until we were wrecked only seven laps into the race," said McMurray, driver of the No. 26 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "The car didn't qualify very well, but raced extremely well. Hopefully, we can figure out the qualifying deal and start the race in a good position. Charlotte isn't as much about track position, but we have qualified so well in the last few weeks, it'd be nice to back it up again this weekend. With some good luck in the Open, we should be able to race our way into the All-Star race."
Fans can vote for drivers not already in the All-Star Challenge by go to www.nextel.com/speed or www.nascar.com.
Fans can also vote with their Sprint and Nextel phones: Text “NASCAR” to 7777 and follow the received directions. Standard text messaging data rates will apply.
They can also vote trackside at the Nextel Experience or at participating Sprint and Nextel retail locations.
Voting ends just prior to the start of the Nextel Open on Saturday.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished eighth in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway after announcing that he is leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of the year.
It was his second productive race with NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow and put him solidly in the top 12 and Chase contention.
Earnhardt Jr. was asked after the race if he thought his team was building any momentum.
"I think we can accomplish everything we want this year if we really try to stay positive," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "These guys are great guys. I expect them to surprise me on how focused they'll stay."
Earnhardt Jr. said he would like nothing better than to leave DEI with a championship.
"It would be a good feeling to win at DEI and that would make it easier for me probably to move on," Earnhardt Jr. said. "They deserve a championship. We've all worked hard, you know what I mean? It's not like they don't deserve it. Yeah, that would be great. That focus and that goal hasn't changed, wavered or anything. That's still what we're going to try to do."

Jimmie Johnson offered some insight to how Hendrick Motorsports has been able to win all five races with NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow.
Don't make mistakes.
Jeff Gordon, Johnson's teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, won the latest race with the Car of Tomorrow. Gordon's win at Darlington was his second. Johnson has two wins and Kyle Busch has one.
"I think we've been solid. I haven't had any speeding penalties. We had an issue at the beginning of the year when we had a couple of tires get away from us but we've been mistake-free for the most part and I think that's helpful," said Johnson, who was third in the Darlington race. "Especially when you have so many cars that are so competitive. (Sunday) I saw the No. 17, No. 11, No. 24; No. 99. the No. 20 was up there and had some problems. I guess he got a flat. There were six or seven cars that had a chance to win. I think at the end we just put ourselves in position by not really making any mistakes."
Staying out of trouble and not self-destructing play into winning races. But Johnson added that the teams at Hendrick have been putting together quality race cars for the drivers.
"On top of the fact that we had a good car," Johnson said. "But I feel our cars are equal to the rest of the guys out there. We've just been a little cleaner throughout the race weekend."

Another NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race and another week of frustration for Denny Hamlin.
He said he feels like another win slipped away from his team at Darlington Raceway on Sunday. And it was another win for Hendrick Motorsports, which has won all five of the races with NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow.
"If we lose about 20, 30 points when it comes down to the championship, we know exactly where we lost it and that's on pit road," said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "I gave away Phoenix, that's my fault. But there's two to three other races that we had the best car most all day and even at the end and just gave it away on pit road. Today was a prime example of that."
A bad pit stop cost him the Darlington race. Hamlin, who ended up second behind Jeff Gordon in the race, said he was not sure what happened to delay the stop, but he thinks it was a lug nut problem.
"I didn't see. I saw that it was on the right front," Hamlin said. "Whatever the problem was, I noticed our right side was jacked up when guys were taking off. I think we came in second on that pit stop. It was probably a lug nut issue or something like that. I really don't know it though. Two lug nuts fell off? It looked like a glue problem or I don't know. Who knows?"
It was just another frustrating day, which is becoming an all-too-familiar lament for Hamlin after races lately.
"Well, at Bristol I lost that lead with 10 to go because of a fuel pump issue," Hamlin said. "At Martinsville, lost it (because of) a loose lug nut and had to go to the back. It just goes on and on every week. It's just the same story. We're at a different race track and I'm here talking about the exact same things. It's all fine and dandy, I hope they talk about how good the Hendrick cars were so we're going to keep digging."

The NASCAR Day Telethon hosted by the NASCAR Foundation to support driver charities is Friday in Concord, N.C., near Lowe's Motor Speedway.
The telethon will be broadcast from 5:30 a.m. (EDT) until the end of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Speed Channel, NASCAR Sirius Radio and NASCAR.com.
Several drivers will make appearances on air or the Internet throughout the telethon.
Ryan Newman, a driver for Penske Racing, will be on air from 11:30 a.m. to noon (EDT). Newman is offering thank you gifts to fans who mention the Ryan Newman Foundation when making a donation through the NASCAR Day Telethon. The first 100 callers who make a $100 donation to the Ryan Newman Foundation through the NASCAR Day Telethon will receive an autographed 1:64 scale Alltel die-cast car from Alltel Wireless.
The first 10 callers who make a $1,000 donation to the Ryan Newman Foundation through the NASCAR Day Telethon will receive a pair of VIP Reception Tickets to the RNF's second annual Charity Fishing Tournament VIP Reception on Dec. 7, 2007 on Lake Norman, N.C., as well as a limited-edition 2006 Inaugural RNF Fishing Tournament T-shirt autographed by Ryan Newman, a Ranger Boats ball cap autographed by Ryan Newman, a "Pit Road Pets: NASCAR Stars and Their Pets" book autographed by Ryan and Krissie Newman and an autographed 2007 Ryan Newman hero card.
Fans are encouraged to make donations through the NASCAR Day Telethon by calling (888) MAY-18TH or (888) 629-1884 or by visiting www.nascar.com/foundation to make a donation online. Any fan who mentions his or her favorite driver or NASCAR charity will have 100 percent of that donation go directly to their designated charity.

Wherever Dale Earnhardt Jr. goes, Budweiser will follow. That could be a big snag in Earnhardt Jr. landing with Joe Gibbs Racing.
J.D. Gibbs, the president of Joe Gibbs Racing, has said it would be a hard deal for his team to make with Earnhardt Jr. because of his ties to Anheuser-Busch. Joe Gibbs, the team's owner, and Joe Gibbs Racing do not endorse making deals with companies that produce alcohol. Petty Enterprises employs a similar policy.
Even if Joe Gibbs Racing accepted Earnhardt Jr. and his Budweiser sponsorship, there is also the hurlde of adding a fourth team. J.D. Gibbs said it would be difficult.
"We've added cars twice. Each time we spent a year and a half working on it and they still were hard," Gibbs said. "That's a hard, hard deal setting up and putting a fourth car in in six months time. Real difficult. Wouldn't say we can't do it, I'm just saying we'd have to get sign off from everyone in our shop. All the crew chiefs, all the guys have to feel like we could do it and we haven't even had that conversation."
Joe Gibbs Racing is in the process of adding a fourth car. Presently, Joe Gibbs Racing has three drivers: Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley.
"For us, we'll do a fourth car eventually. We're in no hurry to do it," Gibbs said. "When the timing is right ... it's hard to add a team and car and all the personalities but for us when the time is right we'll do it. We're just not in any big mad rush to do it."

One of the teams Dale Earnhardt Jr. could end up racing for next year is Hendrick Motorsports. That would make him teammates with Jeff Gordon, a four-time Cup champion and rival of Junior's father, the late Dale Earnhardt.
Gordon was asked if he could envision Earnhardt Jr. as a teammate.
"I haven't really thought about it a whole lot," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "I think that he can go anywhere he wants to go. If I had to guess, and I haven't talked to Junior, this was not an easy decision for him. He struggled with it in many ways and I think that he wants to show his loyalty and I think his loyalty is to his fans and that has a lot to do with Chevrolet."
Chevrolet is a key. Earnhardt Jr. wants to continue racing Chevrolets and Hendrick Motorsports has the best of the Chevrolet teams.
"I guess there are some areas where he's going to draw the line," Gordon said. "It does sound like he wants to be with a Chevy team and that's a good thing right now. To me, the top three teams out there in this series right now are Chevy teams."
For Gordon, it doesn't matter what teams Earnhardt Jr. decidest to join. Gordon said he would treat him the same whether he is with Hendrick or some other team.
"I don't know what kind of a teammate he'd be until I was racing with him," Gordon said. "I'd be pretty surprised if he made that decision but he's in the driver's seat, man. He gets to do whatever he wants. I think that car owners are going to be willing to really do whatever they can to get them. He's a huge asset to an organization in a lot of ways."

A day after announcing he was leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of the season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has changed his tune on NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow.
Earnhardt Jr. was one of its loudest critics after the first four races the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series used it. But the Car of Tomorrow is quickly becoming Earnhardt Jr.'s favorite place to be at Darlington Raceway, site of Saturday night's Cup race. This will be the fifth race for the Car of Tomorrow.
Earnhardt Jr. was asked what it's like getting the Car of Tomorrow to work at Darlington in the wake of his announcement.
"Fun as hell," Earnhardt Jr. said with a laugh. "It is. It's a blast. I'm glad to be back in a race car today. Absolutely. That's where I hide from a lot of things."
Earnhardt Jr. said he was worried about the performance of the car before he arrived at the track.
"I didn't know what to expect when we got here and near the end of the practice on race trim I got my car driving to my satisfaction," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Our lap times were really good, I thought. Compared to guys on 15-lap tires I was in the 31.30s, .40s and low .50s. A lot of guys are in the 32s already so I was really happy with that. Can't find any speed in qualifying trim, though."
It looks like the Car of Tomorrow, at least this weekend, has turned into Earnhardt Jr.'s happy place.
"I suppose that's a good way to put it but I'm just glad to be in the car," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I'm glad to be driving. I love race car driving and that's all I want to do. After the last couple of days this is the best medicine."

It didn't take long before someone asked Richard Childress if he was interested in having Dale Earnhardt Jr. race for his NASCAR Nextel Cup Series team.
Of course Childress is interested. He also is a friend of the family and said he wants to give both sides, Earnhardt Jr. and Teresa Earnhardt, the space and time to make some very difficult decisions.
"Let me kind of tell you where I'm at on it. Dale Jr. just made a major decision in his career and in his life yesterday and out of the respect for Teresa, Dale Jr. and this situation, let's all give him some time to make the decisions that he needs to make and be fair," Childress said. "He's got a lot of tough decisions coming up with the direction he's going. I just think it's fair if we all let him have some space and some time to kind of think about what he wants to do in the future."
Childress is a likely option for Earnhardt Jr., who announced he is leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc., the race team his late father and Teresa Earnhardt started, at the end of the year. Dale Earnhardt drove for Childress and won six Cup championships together. Earnardt also died driving a car for Childress in the 2001 Daytona 500.
"You know I'm hoping he's considering us but I think right now we just give him some time and space to do his own due diligence on the race teams that he's looking at," Childress said.
It looks like Childress is willing to be patient with Earnhardt Jr. for a number of reasons. Childress, as a close friend of the family for many years, must know how much time it will take Earnhardt Jr. to evaluate his options and begin negotiating with teams.
"Well I've been friends of the family for many years and I'm sure the time will come we'll talk," Childress said. "Junior's going to be trying to win the race and I just think being fair to everybody, I think this is just something that has to be kind of settled. I know you're doing your job, everybody here is doing their job trying to talk about it. I just think right now let us concentrate on Darlington, give Junior a little time and a little space and he'll make the decision and he'll make the right decision and I want to see him go (with) what's best for Junior because I've known Junior since he was a very, very young man."

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s decision to leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. will create a free-agency market in NASCAR the likes it has never seen, said Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage.
With Earnhardt Jr. about to test the NASCAR market, and perhaps land the biggest contract in NASCAR history, Gossage said it's only a matter of time before the other stars of NASCAR try the same thing.
“A new paradigm has just been established in American motorsports. Just as Andy Messersmith ushered in the era of modern-day free agency in major league baseball, Dale Jr. is establishing modern-day free agency in NASCAR," Gossage said. "Dale Jr. will now determine his full value on the open market and have the opportunity to make his own choices to put himself in a position to win races and championships. The window to win championships is small and Dale Jr. needs to put himself in position to do win right now.”
Gossage compared Earnhardt Jr.'s free agency to that of Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens.
“Dale Jr.’s announcement is every bit as significant as A-Rod’s huge contract a few years back or Roger Clemens’ extraordinary contract signing last week with the New York Yankees," Gossage said. "You can expect him to make as much – if not more – than Clemens’ $28 million contract with the Yankees when you factor in his salary, sponsorships, personal services agreements and merchandising. This will impact future decisions by big-name drivers like Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and others down the road. You can expect all of them to dip their toes in the free-agency waters when their current contracts expire.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he was torn with his decision to leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. He and the team had been in contract negotiations since the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season started, probably even before that.
The two sides could not come to an agreement and on Thursday Earnhardt Jr. decided to leave DEI, the team his late father founded.
"I'm sort of split down the middle," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I've drove for DEI my entire career. It's been successful, been a lot of fun. We've done a lot of great things. And I believe the company will continue to do great things and continue to surprise people."
Eanrhardt Jr. said the people at DEI have his full support and he will continue to hope for their success. But he is looking forward to exploring his options with other teams.
"The other half of me is really excited about what my opportunities might be and what lays out there," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I've never been in this position before, so I don't know what to expect."
When he told the employees and his crew at DEI that he was going to leave the team, Earnhardt Jr. said it made him sad. He said it was hard to talk to the employees and the team and he didn't expect them to understand fully the reasons for his decision to leave the DEI.
"It's hard to say what's been the hardest part, the hardest thing to deal with in my life," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We've had a lot of great things happen, but we've also dealt with some tragedies."
Earnhardt Jr. expects to finish the season with DEI and he also expects to run as well as his team can run. That means challenging for wins and qualifying for the Chase.
"I feel very comortable with my decision," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I just don't expect everyone at DEI to fully understand how we came to this."

After a 41st-place finish at Richmond International Raceway, Jamie McMurray dropped to 13th in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings. The top-12 drivers qualify for the Chase, the 10-race playoff to determine the Nextel Cup Series champion.
But McMurray is one of those few drivers who looks forward to racing at Darlington, site of Saturday night's Cup race, and a place where many a talented Cup driver has had problems. It might give him a good chance to get back in Chase contention and move up in the standings.
"It's one of the tracks that always comes to mind when people ask what my favorite track is on the circuit," said McMurray, driver of the No. 26 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "Darlington is a track that you race side-by-side all night long. I think Darlington is a favorite among all the drivers - it's just one of those tracks were the racing is always good, you go through tires quickly and the history at the track goes back a long way.
In six Cup races at Darlington, McMurray has three top-10 and a pair of top-five finishes. But in last year's race at Darlington, he finished 42nd. This is the first time Cup teams will be using NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow at Darlington.
"I won at Darlington a couple years ago in the Busch Series when I was running for Rusty (Wallace) and know how tough the track can be," McMurray said. "It's going to be interesting to see how these new cars run at Darlington. The COT's are really tough to turn and now we are throwing in the slick track -- it will be an interesting night, that's for sure."

Jeff Gordon has a streak of four straight pole positions. He won poles at Texas, Phoenix, Talladega and Richmond. Next up is Saturday night's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway. Qualifying is scheduled for Friday.
“Starting first is going to be pretty important here because I think it’s going to be tough to pass,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. “I don't think you're going to want to run behind cars because it's hard enough to stay out of the wall by yourself, let alone when there's aerodynamics being taken away from you."
The Darlington race is the fifth race for NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow. Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won the previous four races in the Car of Tomorrow. Gordon won the Car of Tomorrow race at Phoenix and has three poles in the Car of Tomorrow. But he wasn't a fan of the Car of Tomorrow before its official introduction to the Cup series.
“I think a lot of people thought I was complaining about it because I wasn't going to run well in it, and that wasn't the case at all,” Gordon said. “It was quite the opposite. We ran well in some of the early tests, and we’ve been strong from the beginning. The aerodynamic package isn’t bad, but I’m not crazy about the high roll center of the car. And you’ll never sell me on the way it looks."
If anything, Gordon said the Car of Tomorrow might be better than the old Cup cars.
“Hendrick Motorsports has done their homework with this car, and I think this car fits my driving style a little bit better than the current car,” Gordon said.

In his past seven races at Darlington Raceway, site of Saturday night's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race, Tony Stewart has manged no better than a 10th place finish. He did it twice.
Darlington has never been a great track for Stewart. He has a couple of top-five finishes there, but those came early in his career.
The next race at Darlington is with the Car of Tomorrow and Stewart said it probably won't make much of a difference to how he finishes.
“I could probably run backward and run about the same as I do going forward," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "That’s how close I feel like I am to figuring out Darlington. We’ve run decent at Darlington. I mean, I’ve run in the top-five there before, but every time I think I have something figured out, I normally whack the wall and go, ‘Oh boy, I really did figure it out, didn’t I?’ I don’t know that I’ll ever feel like I’ve got Darlington totally figured out."
Stewart said he has never felt his team had a winning car or even a top-three car at Darlington. And it's something he would like to see improve.
"It’s one of those tracks where if you’re not having a good day, it makes you miserable," Stewart said. "But that’s what makes Darlington fun if you do get around there well. It’s hard to be good there, and the guys who are good – it’s a fun day for them. Hopefully we can get ourselves in a position where we can get our balance a little better there and keep working toward being a top-five car instead of just a top-10 car."
Even though his team has problems with Darlington, Stewart said it is a lot better than most teams at the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series level.
"It’s just one of those deals where the only way you’re going to find a way to make yourself better is to go there and just do your homework," Stewart said. "It takes a lot to get around that place consistently and fast all day. It’s just a tough place to get around well, and there’s a group of guys that get around there well every time we go there. It’s like we’re right on the verge of being one of those guys. We just need to find a little something that can help us get into that elite group.”

J.J. Yeley will be entered in the NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch series races at Darlington Raceway this weekend. In addition, he will be in the USAC SIlver Crown race at Darlington on Thursday night in a car owned by A.J. Foyt.
Yeley broke Foyt's USAC record for most wins in a season in 2003. Yeley won 24 races in USAC Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown cars that year, breaking Foyt's record of 19 set in 1961.
“I used to drive a USAC car for George Snider, who now takes care of A.J. Foyt’s new Silver Crown team," said Yeley, driver of the No. 18 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. "When Tracy Hines (driver of the No. 21 for Tony Stewart Racing in the USAC series) got injured last week, I called (George) just to check in to see how (Tracy) was doing. I told George we would see him at Darlington. I told him that if he hadn’t found anyone to run his car there, then I would like to try one of those new Silver Crown cars since I haven’t driven one yet. I think that Darlington would be an awesome race track to run. He called me back on Saturday and told me I had the ride, so we’ll head up there on Thursday and have a bit of fun.”

NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow was supposed to even the race track, so to speak, in the Nextel Cup Series. Instead, Hendrick Motorsports has used it to win all four races with the Car of Tomorrow.
In the most recent race with the Car of Tomorrow, Hendrick Motorsports drivers finished first, second and fourth.
Outside of Hendrick Motorsports, it doesn't seem so level.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is turning up his criticism of the Car of Tomorrow. He went so far as to say they don't drive worth a damn.
Other drivers aren't as critical, but Greg Biffle went so far as to say the Car of Tomorrow is "difficult."
"It is a difficult car, to get to what do you want it to do," said Biffle driver of the No. 16 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "It's hard to influence the car to do stuff, because it doesn't have – and it's hard because it's all technical stuff. It doesn't have a lot of travel before the front balance piece hits the ground. So you don't have a lot to work with there."
Making changes are frustrating, too, Biffle said. Not every adjustment his team makes to the Car of Tomorrow improves the car. Some adjustments have no effect on the car.
"You know, and we're trying to figure out ways to make it do what we want it to do," Biffle said. "It doesn't do anything like the old car does. And so we're working hard on trying to figure it out, but it seems like everything we do – and we go to test for a day, and everything we try doesn't change the car. So we're saying, what do we do with it now."
But Biffle said he is confident in the potential of the Car of Tomorrow. Eventually it will be a benefit to NASCAR and its teams.
"We've got the concept down. We've got a safer car. We've got an easier car to tech, eventually," Biffle said. "We're still having troubles getting through tech and time to make it to qualify. But eventually, you know, we're going to have a better piece, and it's going to be some adjustment to it. It's just that simple. Whether we give it another inch of travel or a splitter on the other side or something or whatever the scenario is to fix it."

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A.J. Allmendinger finished 32nd in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway.
Dave Blaney finished 11th in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway, the best finish for Toyota since Brian Vickers was 10th in the race at California Speedway.
Blaney said he thought his car could finish higher. It had fresh tires at the end of the race, but there wasn't enough laps at the end of the race to make up ground.
“We came back at least, at the end just ran out of time," said Blaney, driver of the No. 22 Toyota for Bill Davis Racing. "We had new tires with 20 to go and everybody else probably had 60 or 70 on theirs. So, we should have went for it pretty good right there, in fact we should have gone further. At least we finished one -- we’ve had some trouble doing that.”
Johnny Benson, driving a Toyota for Wyler Racing, gave the team its first Cup start. He finished the race 31st.
“Our race wasn’t what we wanted," said Benson. "We made the race and we ran -- and we were able to get plenty of feedback for the next time, if we get to run. That’s the first race for me in this car and the first race for the guys at Wyler Racing. I think there’s a bunch to learn."
A.J. Allmendinger, driver of the No. 84 Toyota for Team Red Bull, finished 32nd.
“We started the race doing okay and were able to get the ‘lucky dog’ and stay on the lead lap," Allmendinger said. "Then we got a couple of laps down on the long green flag run and were never able to get it back. We fought all day to gain grip. More than anything it was good for me to get lap time today. That is the best way for me to continue to learn these cars. I wish I hadn’t made the rookie mistakes I did today, but I guess that it’s all part of the leaning process. As always, I’m proud of my guys and all the hard work they put in today to get the car handling better.”

Kevin Harvick was convinced he had the best car in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway. But a pit road crash knocked him out of contention. He went from being one of the race leaders to a seventh-place finish.
"Our Reese's Chevrolet was pretty much the class of the field and we screwed it up," said Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.
Harvick looked like he was having his best race since winning the season-opening Daytona 500. Even after damaging the front end of his car, Harvick was able to race through the field and finish in the top 10.
"It wasn't bad," Harvick said. "That just goes to show you how good this Reese's Chevrolet was. We came back up through there and battled up to I think seventh and it's just unfortunate but that's the way it goes."
Harvick added that if he didn't crash in the pits, he would have been tough to beat.
"Yeah, it's a good thing that we crashed because it was going to be a no contest," Harvick said. "The Reese's Chevrolet was really good and it's just unfortunate."

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Denny Hamlin (11) finished third in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway, one spot ahead of Jeff Gordon (24).
NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin had another strong race for Joe Gibbs Racing. He was third in the race at Richmond International Raceway and said his car was as good, if not better, than the Hendrick Motorsports cars at the end of the race.
Hendrick Motorsport cars finished first, second and fourth at Richmond. Hamlin said his team lost the race midway through it. They got too far behind in the middle of the race and couldn't make up the gap.
"It's tough. I'm looking in my front windshield and I see all the Hendrick cars and me. And then there's some sprinkled behind me," said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "I'm happy that I'm the only other guy that's really being competitive week in and week out with them but at the same token I think we're as good as them."
Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Tony Stewart and J.J. Yeley, finished in the top 15 at Richmond. Stewart was eighth and Yeley was 14th.
"Our team is as good as Hendrick, it's just they seem to be in the right place at the right time," Hamlin said. "Today we got beat. We didn't lose the race on our own. We got beat because we got too far back mid-point or three-quarters of the way through the race; it just took too long to get back to the front three. We were turning lap times at the end as good as the No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson) and No. 5 (Kyle Busch). Better then them. But we can't get so far back mid race."

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Jimmie Johnson (48) and Kyle Busch (5) have combined to win three of the four NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races in the Car of Tomorrow.
Hendrick Motorsports has won seven of the past eight NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races and is perfect in the Car of Tomorrow races.
Jimmie Johnson won the Cup race at Richmond International Raceway, his second in the Car of Tomorrow and his fourth of the season.
Gordon won two races, one with the Car of Tomorrow at Phoenix International Raceway. Kyle Busch won the first Cup race with the Car of Tomorrow at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Johnson was asked after winning the race at Richmond why Hendrick Motorsports has been so strong lately.
"We're not exactly sure ourselves," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "I guess is one thing to say: We put a lot of hard work into everything and we're happy to see it working as it is right now. You think back to Roush and what they did a year or so ago and then times change and it's tough to stay on top."
Not staying on top is a motivating factor for the team right now, especially for owner Rick Hendrick.
"He has had this vision," Johnson said. "You may remember comments 'We don't want to unravel this thing. We've worked too hard to put it together to get to this point.' Rick really has been driving that and us working together and us doing all these things. I think that is a large part of it. You just can't wave a magic wand over it and get it working. All 560 employees have to buy into it and drivers and crew chiefs probably lead the brigade."
Five of the races in the Chase, the 10-race playoff to determine the Nextel Cup Series champion, are Car of Tomorrow races. Hendrick Motorsports has won all four of the Car of Tomorrow races thus far and that could benefit the team when the Chase starts.
"I know that the Car of Tomorrow is a big part of our sport now and it's something we need to stay on top of along with the current car," Johnson said. "I'm excited that we're going to have a good mix of those races but it's so far from now there's no telling what technology is going to come along, what the cars are going to be wanting, tires, there's a lot of variables that can change between now and then. We're doing the right things now. We just need to try to focus in for the next six, seven months to stay on top of things."

Dave Blaney had the top-qualifying Toyota for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway. He will start the race 10th.
“I thought we had a good car earlier (Friday) and I just didn’t make a very good lap with it," said Blaney, driver of the No. 22 Toyota for Bill Davis Racing. "I almost ruined it there, but it was good enough. I thought we could run and also qualify in the top-10. I kind of missed turns one and two and almost lost it, but that got us into the race and into the top-10, barely.”
A.J. Allmendinger wasn't too far behind Blaney. He will start the Richmond race in 13th. But he wasn't too happy about having to be one of the first drivers to qualify.
“Man, it stinks going early for two reasons -- they are going to get faster and I have to sit and watch," said Allmendinger, driver of the No. 84 Toyota for Team Red Bull. "I’m happy with lap and the whole Red Bull team. We tested this week and they’ve been working their butts off at the shop. Here at the track the car is better."
Allmendinger said he was nervous before qualifying. The car he drove in qualifying was the same car the team had at Phoenix International Raceway. And the team tested the car at Iowa Speedway last week.
“I think we learned a lot at the test," Allmendinger said. "In a lot of ways Iowa is like Richmond and in a lot of ways it is not. So, I think the car is a lot better than we’ve ever had it. We’ve learned a lot of things to improve. I felt comfortable, I really felt comfortable for the first time in the car and just the way it handled. I’m really happy about that. Hopefully that comes to Richmond and makes the same thing. I can guarantee that we won’t be as bad or the same as we were. We will improve, matter of how much to get us in the race, time will tell that.”

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Jeff Burton turned qualifed with the 43rd best time for the race at Richmond International Raceway.
He will start 39th in the race, being the first driver in with owner's points.
"We had a mechanical problem during the change over between practice and the race," said Burton, driver of the No. 31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "A part got loose and we had to go track it down. We had to tear the motor apart to get it out the engine. We got a lucky break. Our guys did a great job and had an inventory knowing the part was missing. Thankfully those guys got to work and found it but the engine had to get taken apart to find it so we're running a little bit late."

The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway was postponed Saturday. The race has been rescheduled to start at 10 a.m. PDT Sunday and will be televised on FOX.
After qualifying for the race on Thursday, driver Tony Stewart was asked why so many drivers and teams are excited about racing at Richmond. Clint Bowyer, who drives for Richard Childress Racing, said he expected it to be another boring Cup race at Richmond.
Stewart disagreed.
"The drivers were excited, the teams were excited; we just can't get people that build tracks to figure this out that this is the perfect size race track," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "Racing is always good here. It's always exciting. It always has good finishes so that's what so special about this place."
Stewart qualified 22nd for the Richmond race.
"I never really felt like we got heat in the tires," Stewart said. "We only got to do one simulated qualifying run and Johnny Benson got right in the middle of it. Qualifying is a big deal because of pit selection here and if you get a bad start because of qualifying, normally it will bite you."

Four Toyota drivers qualified for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway. One of them was Johnny Benson, driving for Wyler Racing.
It was Wyler Racing's first attempt to qualify for a Cup race in a Toyota. Benson, a regular on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, will start the Richmond race 31st.
“I really think our lap was good," said Benson, driver of the No. 46 Toyota for Wyler Racing. "I would have liked to have the opportunity to go out later instead of first because I think our lap could have been better. But, that’s how the cards were dealt to us and we were able to get in. I’m overwhelmed that going out first we were able to get in the race. There are a lot of good cars that tried to get in and didn’t. We out-qualified several top guys in general and I’m proud of these guys at Wyler Racing. To put a car into the field on the first attempt is a pretty good deal.”
David Wyler, president of Wyler Racing, said he decided to qualify for the Cup race after testing last month at Richmond.
"That was going to be a determining factor of whether we were going to come (Friday) and race," Wyler said. "During the test I felt we were going to be fairly competitive in the field. After today, I think it goes to show the hard that the guys at TRD and Wyler Racing work, and the great job that Johnny Benson has done. To go out first of the field and to make the race is a testament to our team and TRD and it shows everybody that we earned a spot in the Nextel Cup field.”

Before the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, Jeff Gordon brought up the subject of bump drafting. It's a common practice at Talladega, with the cars all bunched together because of restrictor plates.
Gordon asked the NASCAR officials during the drivers meeting to monitor the bump drafting a little closer during the Talladega race.
Gordon's concerns were heard and his fellow drivers appreciated his speaking up.
But Gordon does not consider himself the vocal leader of NASCAR.
"I'm not a leader there," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "I've been in the sport for a while. We've been very successful winning races and championships and I think I have more respect in the garage area than I have in the past but I don't think anybody looks to me as a leader. I certainly don't look at myself that way. I'm just a guy that has experience dealing with all the things that come along with this series whether it's dealing with NASCAR, dealing with the media, sponsors, fans, trying to win races, going along not winning races. I'm just doing my thing the best way I know how."
Dale Earnhardt used to be the strongest voice among the NASCAR drivers. When he died, it left a void. No driver commands the respect or is as vocal as Earnhardt once was. But Gordon may be the closest thing to what Earnhardt used to represent.
"That was something he actively took on," Gordon said. "It's different today. There's too many other things going on. I look back at how much time he spent up in that truck with NASCAR. Number one is the same people aren't up there as were back then. And you don't have the time like you did back then to be able to do some of those things. I just remember a lot more dead space in the schedule throughout the weekend to go sit up there and when he was sitting up there that would encourage me to go sit up there. I didn't want him to be the only guy up there. Nowadays you don't see guys up there because one, you feel like you're a one man show fighting an 100-foot wall and the other is the schedule just doesn't allow it. So I don't really want that role, to me that was a lot of weight and pressure on his shoulders but it was something that he was wanting to do, not something that everybody else voted him into that position."
Gordon said he is happy with the role he has now. He's not afraid to bring up a subject with NASCAR officials if he feels it is the right thing to do.
"Life is good. I'm very comfortable with the role I'm playing right now in the sport," Gordon said. "If I feel strongly about something, I'm going to speak up just like I did last week in the drivers meeting. But that wasn't like my first step to go and be the leader of the garage area."
But Gordon does know his voice carries a great deal of respect. And some of the other Cup drivers told him as much.
"From the few people that have come up to me there are a lot of guys thinking that and I think that some guys feel like if 'I said that, it wouldn't have any weight. Thank you for saying it because it did carry some weight,' " Gordon said. "So that made me feel good that they felt that way."

Clint Bowyer doesn't have many high expectations for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway -- at least in the excitement department.
A combination of using the Car of Tomorrow and a track that doesn't always allow great door-to-door racing will make for a boring race, Bowyer said.
"You just struggle," said Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "I think it's going to be a slower race. I think that grip is always an issue with this car. It's just hard. You're racing yourself. You're racing the race track. If someone comes up on you, just let him go. It slows you both down when you're racing door to door. It's almost impossible -- it just slows you down so much. I look forward to the Busch race and I think the Cup race will be another boring one."
In the previous three races with the Car of Tomorrow, drivers have complained on not being able to pass other cars on the race track. Poor handling has also been a point of contention with the new cars.
"That's kind of the nature of the beast and until we get things figured out I'm afraid it's going to be that way," Bowyer said.

Dale Jarrett's new team with Michael Waltrip Racing has struggled all year. Jarrett has used all his champion provisionals to start six NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races.
On Friday, Jarrett's team made a switch at crew chief.
Jason Burdett was named crew chief for Jarrett's No. 44 Toyota team at Michael Waltrip Racing.
Matt Borland, the former crew chief for Jarrett's team, was offered the position of technical director with the three-car team, but he refused the move.
“When I first talked to Matt last November, the position of technical director was discussed as an option,” said Ty Norris, general manager of Michael Waltrip Racing. “We thought we needed his skills immediately as Dale Jarrett’s crew chief. But a crew chief can only be as good as the products delivered to him, and in hindsight, we could have utilized his skills in the technical director role from the beginning. Matt has tremendous class, knowledge and work ethic. We’re disappointed, but we weren’t going to force him into a different role, so we all agreed to separate.”
Burdett has worked on the crews of teams at Robert Yates Racing and Hendrick Motorsports. He worked on Jarrett's teams when they were with Robert Yates Racing.
“Jason is a guy who brings a lot to our organization and more importantly he is someone that Dale has worked with for a number of years,” said car owner Michael Waltrip. “We said at the beginning of the season we have to continually review the talent that is out there and Jason is an individual that we believe brings an excellent work ethic, youth and new ideas.”
Burdett began his new job with the team Wednesday and will be the crew chief for Jarrett's team starting with Saturday night's Cup race at Richmond International Raceway, if it qualifies for the race.

Richmond International Raceway marks the fourth race of the year the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series teams will use the Car of Tomorrow.
In the previous three races with NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, Tony Stewart has posted a couple top 10s and a disappointing 35th-place finish.
In two of those races, he led the most laps.
At Bristol Motor Speedway, the first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race with the Car of Tomorrow, Stewart led the most laps, but finished 35th.
He led the most laps at Phoenix International Raceway and finished second on a last-lap pass to Jeff Gordon.
No doubt Stewart has been strong with the Car of Tomorrow. But he has no wins for his efforts.
“We don’t settle for anything less than winning races," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "When we know that we let one slip away, that’s something that we do let ourselves get down about, but that’s also what got us 29 wins and two championships. We have such a high standard of what we feel our performance should be on the race track. I think that shows the caliber team that we have.”
In the three Car of Tomorrow races so far, Stewart said not only in his team running well, but so others, Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley, in Joe Gibbs Racing.
“Obviously, Martinsville for the 20 car wasn’t that great, but the 11 car (Hamlin) has run good everywhere we’ve been," Stewart said. "He’s been the fastest car at two of the three tracks a lot of times so far. I feel like everywhere we’ve been we’ve had opportunities to win. I’ve either made mistakes or just circumstances have kept us from being there to close it out."
Despite his slow start, Stewart said once he gets his first win the others will come easier.
"If you think about it, if we would have hit half of the ones that we should have won, that would have been a start to the season we’ve never ever seen in eight years," Stewart said. "It seems like once we get that first one, then we get hot and get a pretty good string of runs right there in a row. It’s a matter of time. It’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of what weekend it’s going to be.”

Before NASCAR driver Carl Edwards races Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway, he will make an appearance on MADtv.
The driver of the No. 99 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series will be on Friday night's MADtv show on FOX.
“I like cutting up and joking around,” Edwards said. “A lot of times people don’t realize that about me, so when I was given the opportunity to have some fun on camera and show a different side of my personality, I was really excited about it. I think my fans will get a kick out of the show.”
In addition to racing in the Cup Series, Edwards leads the NASCAR Busch Series. He is 12th in points in the Cup standings.

Dale Jarrett, a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver for Michael Waltrip Racing, is out of champion provisionals. He used his six allotted champion provisionals to qualify for eight of the Cup races thus far.
That means he will have to qualify on time for the Cup race at Richmond International Raceway, site of Saturday night's race.
And that means none of the Toyota drivers are guaranteed a starting spot in the Cup race at Richmond.
The top-35 drivers in owners points get automatic starting spots in Cup races. None of the Toyota drivers are in the top 35.
Jarrett is the top Toyota driver in the Cup standings. He is 37th. Dave Blaney is next at 38th.
Brian Vickers, a driver for Team Red Bull, is 41st in points and has qualified for four Cup races. He tested NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow at Richmond in April. The Cup teams will be racing the Car of Tomorrow on Saturday.
“Our car was all right,” said Vickers after the test. “The team was working really hard and we definitely found some stuff, now when we get back to Richmond we just need to find some more speed. We were struggling a little with the car -- it was tight in the center and loose getting into the corner. The tight in the center feeling was probably the worst, and that’s what we worked on the hardest during the test.”
Jeremy Mayfield, the highest finishing Toyota driver in the Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway, is 48th in points. He also tested the Car of Tomorrow at Richmond in April.
“We threw a whole lot of stuff at the car over the two days of testing in April,” said Mayfield, driver of the No. 36 Toyota for Bill Davis Racing. “We were hoping that when we threw it all together, maybe we would end up with something we’d be happy with, but we were not real good. We were just struggling to get our car to perform on the track in the same way that the No. 22 CAT Camry (teammate Dave Blaney) was performing.”
A.J. Allmendinger, driver of the No. 84 Toyota for Team Red Bull, has qualified for two Cup races and is 50th in points.
“Last year, it was my first time at Richmond in a NASCAR vehicle when I tested a truck for Bill Davis Racing,” Allmendinger said. “But, I really like this place and I’ve always liked watching races here on TV. Hopefully, we get in the race and can have some fun with two or three-wide racing. I think it’s a cool place to race.”
Allmendinger qualified for two of the Car of Tomorrow races. He raced at Bristol Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway and tested at Richmond in April.
“Compared to Bristol and Martinsville, this place is just slippery,” Allmendinger said. “Everybody is just sliding around, even the good cars. The good ones look better than the rest, but it’s not like they’re stuck to the race track. Even when it gets faster on the board, it still feels like we’re going pretty slow.”

Kyle Busch had a rough weekend at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.
He survived a horrific crash in the NASCAR Busch Series race on Saturday only to have to return to the track on Sunday for the Cup race. With about 60 laps to go in the Cup race, Busch was involved in another accident.
Not a fun way to spend the weekend in Alabama.
"It's a little more challenging than I thought," said Busch, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "After the Busch Series wreck, I had to get back into the No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevy on Sunday and do it all over again. Our luck was just bad. The field was starting to get squirrelly with 60 to go and we had a good car. I was just minding my own business on the bottom of the track, just fading to the back of the pack being patient and waiting until it was time to make a move."
But that never happened. Busch got caught up in the wreck and plowed into the No. 13 Chevrolet of Joe Nemechek.
"I took three more really hard hits before it was all over," Busch said. "It was just a tough weekend for both the No. 5 Busch and Nextel Cup efforts."

Jeff Gordon has a little bit of winning streak in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. He won the past two races and will have a chance to make it three in a row at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night.
Gordon won the Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway in NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow two weeks ago. He followed with a win at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, one of two tracks that requires Cup teams to use restrictor-plate engines, on Sunday.
Gordon has two career Cup wins at Richmond, but this will be the first time any of the Cup teams will use the Car of Tomorrow in a race at Richmond.
“We tested here a couple weeks ago with the new Impala SS and I was pleased with the results,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. “But we need to be sure to carry that over to this weekend.”