Yeley To No. 88?
J.J. Yeley, Nextel Cup's latest free agent, has said he is in conversation with four teams, which he would not disclose, but Robert Yates Racing president Doug Yates is happy to report his team is extremely interested in hiring Yeley. RYR will have a vacancy now that veteran Ricky Rudd has announced he is retiring from full-time Cup racing after this season. David Gilliland also drives for RYR.

"We're very interested in J.J.," Yates said Wednesday. "He'd be good for our company. He's very marketable, and he's a pretty good driver. We're talking to him. We are definitely interested."

Yates said there is no timetable to get a deal done.(espn.go.com)

Bill Davis Racing: Another Lawsuit
Team owner Bill Davis said last week that he doesn't expect 360 OTC pain relief products to return as a sponsor of his No. 36 Nextel Cup entry next year. There could be a possible reason: The company that distributes 360 OTC, Rockford-Montgomery Labs, is involved in its third lawsuit concerning motorsports sponsorships.

Dirt Motor Sports, which operates the World of Outlaws, is suing Rockford-Montgomery Labs for non-payment of its title sponsorship of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. The deal was worth $1.5 million in 2007, $1.6 million in 2008 and $1.7 million in 2009. According to the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Georgia, Rockford-Montgomery Labs never paid the bill. A check for $150,000 bounced in February, according to the court record. Just Marketing, which was under contract to develop and manage a motorsports marketing program for Rockford-Montgomery Labs, has sued the company for non-payment.

Morgan-McClure Motorsports also is suing the company over a $10.1 million sponsorship deal signed in June 2006 for 2007, which Rockford-Montgomery Labs later backed out of citing poor performance, the lack of a driver and the lack of time to prepare promotional materials. RML later announced its sponsorship of BDR.(scenedaily.com)

Hendrick Trademarks Five Numbers
The latest rumor about Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car number involves the No. 38, with at least two reports this week that Robert Yates Racing had been approached about giving up that number for Earnhardt Jr. and his 2008 team at Hendrick Motorsports. Indeed, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Electronic Search System, the No. 38 is one of five numbers for which Hendrick Motorsports recently has applied for trademarks for a wide array of products that could be used in marketing the Earnhardt Jr. team. Applications were filed Aug. 9 for the 38 and 51. Earlier applications were filed on July 5 for the No. 81 and on Aug. 2 for the 58 and the 82.(That's Racin')

Government Asks For Ruling
The U.S. government has asked a judge to rule in its favor over the actions of air-traffic controllers in connection with lawsuits from three widows of the 2004 Hendrick Motorsports plane crash in Martinsville, Va.

The government blames the Hendrick pilots, Richard Tracy and Elizabeth Morrison, for the accident, and asks that the judge rule before the case goes to trial. In its motion, the government alleges the pilots, when realizing they missed the airport, began to climb to find the airport instead of making a climbing right turn to avoid Bull Mountain, where the plane crashed, killing 10 people.

"In the final two minutes before the crash, after the aircraft was no longer in radio or radar contact with air traffic control, and after all alleged government negligence had occurred, the Hendrick pilots carelessly and recklessly violated applicably, mandatory Federal Aviation Regulations," the government motion states, "by doggedly persisting in flying toward rising terrain at low altitude, below a solid cloud deck, well after passing the point where the Federal Aviation Regulations mandate that a pilot terminate the approach and begin a climbing turn to avoid the rising terrain."

The widows of Hendrick general manager Jeff Turner, Hendrick head engine builder Randy Dorton and Tony Stewart's pilot, Scott Lathram (a passenger on the plane), filed suits as a result of the crash. Linda Turner and Tracy Lathram have settled with Hendrick Motorsports (Dianne Dorton's case with Hendrick is still pending), and all have claims against the U.S. government in U.S. District Court in North Carolina.

According to Dorton's complaint against the government, the air-traffic controllers failed to warn the pilots that they were too high to land using instruments rather than visual cues (because of the cloud cover). Dorton also alleges that the air-traffic controllers did not attempt to contact the pilots even though the plane was descending at 2,500 feet above the end of the runway and continued toward the mountain for more than four minutes until the crash...More at ....(scenedaily.com)

Joe Gibbs Racing Fall FanFest
The sixth annual Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) Fall FanFest will be held on Friday, Oct. 12, where from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. EDT, drivers from JGR’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series and driver development teams will be available for autographs at the team’s headquarters in Huntersville, N.C. Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley will be on hand, as will JGR development drivers Aric Almirola, Brad Coleman, Kevin Conway, Marc Davis and Joey Logano.

Funds raised from JGR Fall FanFest will be donated to the Cabarrus Victims Assistance Network (CVAN). The Concord, N.C.-based charity is a non-profit organization that provides safety, shelter and support for battered women and their children while also raising community awareness about domestic violence. The JGR Fall FanFest partnership with CVAN is a continuation of JGR’s support for the group. In May, Stewart, No. 20 team crew chief Greg Zipadelli and members of JGR joined volunteers from The Home Depot and the national non-profit KaBOOM! to help build a playground in a single day at CVAN.

In addition to supporting CVAN, JGR Fall FanFest will also benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina through a canned food drive. Donors can drop off canned items at the team’s headquarters in Huntersville from Tuesday, Sept. 4 to Friday, Nov. 2. Donation lines will open at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 12, where fans may request an autograph from Stewart, Hamlin or Yeley. The first 250 fans requesting a Stewart autograph will be given a bracelet and directed to the appropriate line. The same process will follow for Hamlin and Yeley.

In order to receive an autograph from Stewart, Hamlin or Yeley, one must bring at least one canned food item and also make a $20 cash donation. Fans wishing to receive an autograph from all three Nextel Cup drivers will be required to make three separate canned food donations and three $20 cash donations. Fans may only receive one wristband per person, per driver. No credit card or check payments will be accepted.

Each driver will be seated at different locations with staggered autograph session times, allowing fans making multiple donations the time to receive multiple autographs. Yeley’s session is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Hamlin’s will begin at 10:30 a.m. Stewart’s will start 11:30 a.m. No donation is required for the 9 a.m. autograph session featuring Almirola, Coleman, Conway, Davis and Logano. In the event of on-track rescheduling due to weather or other uncontrollable proceedings during the Bank of America 500 race weekend at Charlotte (N.C.), the JGR Fall FanFest is subject to change or cancellation.

Several activities will exist for younger race fans attending the JGR Fall FanFest. The Home Depot Kids Workshop will be open, along with a gaming station, a climbing wall and a moon bounce. Other activities include a silent auction from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. featuring special items donated by JGR and other NASCAR teams, while a day-long raffle with NASCAR-related items will run parallel to the silent auction. The NEXTEL Racing Experience race simulator will also be on hand. Hot dogs, chips and snacks will be available, along with plenty of ice-cold Coca-Cola.

The 2006 Fall FanFest brought out approximately 3,000 fans who generously donated over $28,000 to The Tony Stewart Foundation, The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

Goodyear Tire Notes
This is the same tire set-up that Goodyear brought to California in February -- this exact combination of left-and right-side tires has also been run by both Nextel Cup and Busch Series teams at Dover and Michigan in 2007 -- in addition, Busch teams ran this combination at Kentucky in June -- teams have also run this left-side code (D-4078) with a slightly different right side at Texas and Chicagoland earlier this season -- as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at California -- air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.

Busch Series Crew Chief Penalized
NASCAR announced today that Greg Tester, crew chief of the No. 71 Chevrolet driven by Ron Young in the NASCAR Busch Series, has been fined and penalized due to rule violations at Michigan International Speedway. Tester was fined $5,000 and placed on probation until December 31, 2007, for violating Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing), 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used that do not conform to NASCAR rules) and 20A - 5.9D (4) (unapproved intake manifold modifications to the plenum area) of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series Rule Book. The infraction was discovered during opening day inspection on August 17.

Allmendinger-Ganassi Team Up
Chip Ganassi Racing officials announced Wednesday that A.J. Allmendinger would drive the team's No. 42 Dodge in the next five Busch Series races. Allmendinger's first race in the car will be this weekend's Camping World 300 at California Speedway.

Allmendinger drives Team Red Bull's No. 84 Toyota in the Nextel Cup Series, and the agreement with Ganassi allows Allmendinger, a rookie in Cup, more seat time in a NASCAR stock car. The former open-wheel racer has failed to qualify for 15 of the 24 Nextel Cup races in his, Red Bull's and Toyota's first season in Cup.

Ganassi officials were going to stop running the No. 42, which was primarily driven by Ganassi Cup rookie Juan Pablo Montoya this year, after the Watkins Glen race but decided to keep it going. Brian Pattie is the crew chief.