McSwain Burned Out
According to a report on NASCAR.com, Michael "Fatback" McSwain will step down from his Crew Chief position at Wood Brothers/JTG racing at the end of the 2007 season. McSwain stressed that his decision is in no part due to any kind of dissatisfaction with the Wood Brothers/JTG operation in and of itself. Instead, he simply wants to concentrate on his family, friends and faith. The Report goes on to say that at the end of the season, McSwain will step down as crew chief for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing and current driver Bill Elliott. He doesn't yet know where he'll land or what he'll be doing, but in McSwain's very countenance, there is nevertheless a most definite sense of relief.

"It's just a normality of life that I've been searching for," McSwain said. "I spent the first half of my life trying to get somewhere and now it's like the second half of my life, I'm trying to get back. I don't know where the road leads next, but I'm enjoying taking my little girl to school and putting her to bed at night. ... I'm just tired of being gone."

When McSwain left Joe Gibbs Racing midway through the 2004 season, he and his wife started making plans in earnest for a curtailing of his schedule. Stepping down as a Nextel Cup crew chief and the pay scale that goes with it will mean at least a 50-75 percent drop in pay, but it's a sacrifice that the McSwains are willing to make.(In part from..(nascar.com))

Hot Weekend In California
The extended forecast for Fontana, Calif., currently calls for sunny and hot conditions throughout the race weekend. Friday’s high is projected to reach 104 degrees with a low Friday night of 72 degrees. Saturday’s high is 102 degrees and low of 71 degrees. Sunday’s race day forecast calls for a high of 101 degrees and a low of 71 degrees. There is only a 10 percent chance of any precipitation during the three-day period. The race is expected to get under way at 5:00 p.m. PDT under sunny skies, with the temperature around 95 degrees. The sun will set at 7:15 p.m. local time on Sunday.(TRPR)

Dick Berggren to Receive Bobby Isaac Memorial Award
Longtime magazine editor and auto racing broadcaster Dick Berggren will receive the Bobby Isaac Memorial Award during pre-race ceremonies for the Dollar General 300 NASCAR Busch Series race Friday night, Oct. 12, at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

The Bobby Isaac Memorial Award is presented annually by Lowe's Motor Speedway to an individual or group in recognition of outstanding contribution to short-track racing. Isaac, one of the sport's outstanding racers, was well known for his short-track exploits and commitment, and it is in his honor the award is named.

After earning a doctorate in psychology, Berggren was working as a professor at Emmanuel College in Boston and driving race cars on weekends when he accepted an offer to become editor of Stock Car Racing magazine. With an emphasis on short-track coverage, the magazine quickly became an industry leader and circulation grew rapidly as the sport rode a wave of increasing popularity throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

In 1999, Berggren decided to launch a new motorsports magazine and started Dick Berggren's Speedway Illustrated. With a reported circulation of 140,000, the monthly magazine now has the largest readership of any publication in its category.

In addition to his magazine work, Berggren has enjoyed a 26-year motorsports television career. He became a pit reporter for ESPN's fledgling NASCAR coverage in 1981, beginning one of the longest-running careers in NASCAR television. In addition to ESPN, he's worked with CBS, TBS and TNN and is currently part of the FOX and SPEED broadcast teams.

"For more than 30 years, Dick Berggren has dedicated his life to telling the amazing stories of the men and women who make short-track racing a truly American sport," said H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway. "Dick's work has played a major role in increasing the popularity of short-track racing and he is a most deserving recipient of this award."

Previous winners of the Bobby Isaac Memorial Award include journalists Chris Economaki and Tom Higgins; promoters Hugh Deery, Henry Furr and John Moose; drivers Jack Ingram, Harry Gant and Dick Trickle; motorsports equipment manufacturer Brian Butler; and American Sprint Car Series founder Emmett Hahn.

Jacques Villeneuve Completes Test
Former Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve made his debut behind the wheel of a Bill Davis Racing Toyota Tundra machine Monday and Tuesday at Chicagoland Speedway. Villeneuve, who has not raced on an oval track since 1995, when he won both the Indianapolis 500 and the CART Indy Car Championship, spent Monday acclimating himself to the No. 27 truck.

After watching teammate Mike Skinner run a few laps, Villeneuve hit the track in his Tundra. By his 12th lap, Villeneuve’s lap time was 31.67 seconds around the 1.5-mile tri-oval and within six tenths of a second of Skinner’s times. Villeneuve finished the day only two tenths of a second slower than the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship leader. The team made a number of changes to the truck throughout the two-day test session, but Villeneuve never slowed. His lap of 31.00 seconds Tuesday proved to the other Craftsman Truck Series teams attending the test just how talented he really is.

“It was a great test,” Villeneuve said. “I missed racing on ovals, so it has been a lot of fun the last few days. I definitely learned a lot. The truck has a lot more grip then I thought it was going to have. It turns very well. It took a little getting used to at first, but I am very comfortable in it now.”

“Jacques did very well,” said BDR Truck Team Manager Mark Chambers. “He gives incredible feedback and adapted to the truck extremely well. Overall, I would have to say that he was very impressive on and off the track. He will be a great asset to BDR.”