NASCAR Community Says Goodbye To France
NASCAR stars paid respects to former chairman Bill France Jr. on Thursday in a short, simple funeral service that was far more fuss than he would have wanted. About 2,000 people filled the Performing Arts Center at Bethune-Cookman University to say goodbye to France in a send-off for a man who loved hot dogs, fishing and, more than anything else, NASCAR.

"That's enough -- let's go. You're burning daylight," Daytona Mayor Glenn Ritchey said as he wrapped up his remarks in a service that ran less than an hour. "That's what he would probably say to us."

France, who spent 31 years running NASCAR, died Monday at his home after nearly a decade of declining health. "He was our mentor," NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick said. "He was our leader. He was a great friend, and we're all going to miss him. He was a bear of a man, but he really had a teddy bear of a heart."

Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Ned Jarrett, and Bobby and Donnie Allison were among the retired drivers on hand, while active stars Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jarrett, Michael Waltrip, Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards and Bill Elliott joined the gathering.

A video montage shown twice during the ceremony -- at the opening and a second time as singer Edwin McCain performed his song "I'll Be" -- captured both France's softer side and the rewards of his work.

There were scenes of France as a young man helping with the construction of Daytona International Speedway, and standing at the finish line at an old beach race. He was shown entertaining at the track with Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and toasting Earnhardt after one of his championships.

And there were photos of him as a frail, older man -- a heart attack in 1997 and a battle with cancer in 1999 had ravaged his body and often made it difficult for him to breathe -- smiling as he stepped aside and handed control of the company to his son, Brian, in 2003.

Team owner Felix Sabates, a close friend and an honorary pallbearer, said France's true legacy was in supporting his son through Brian's wild early years.

"When Brian was a young man, Brian was Brian and a lot of people would have given up on him," Sabates said. "Bill never did." (espn.go.com)

Allmendinger Tests Infineon
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver and Los Gatos native AJ Allmendinger completed a two-day test session at Infineon Raceway on Wednesday in preparation for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series weekend, June 22-24. It was Allmendinger’s first chance to drive a stock car on the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course, where he hopes to make his first start later this month. Allmendinger’s only previous experience at Infineon Raceway came when he raced a go-kart on the road course many years ago.

Allmendinger, who drives the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota, completed more than 100 laps over the two days behind the wheel of a late-model stock car supplied by ShiftIntoGear, Inc. He was coached by road-course specialist Chris Cook and Tim Fedewa, his full-time spotter on the NASCAR circuit.

“Just learning the track will put me much farther ahead of where I would’ve been,” said Allmendinger. “Having only 90 minutes to practice before qualifying on Friday, I never would have made the show. Now, I feel like I’ve got a pretty good chance.” For ticket information on the Toyota/Save Mart 350, June 22-24, call 800-870-RACE or visit (www.infineonraceway.com).

Carl Edwards Wins At Eldora
Carl Edwards outran Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and a field of NASCAR stars Wednesday to win a charity race on a small dirt track owned by driver Tony Stewart. Edwards won the third annual NEXTEL Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway, a 53-year-old track carved out of farmland in western Ohio. About 20,000 people jammed the small grandstand, surrounding stands and grassy hillsides to watch the spectacle.

Edwards started in the No. 2 position, quickly overtook Ken Schrader and held off a surging Gordon, and then Busch. The all-star event on the oval, high-bank track featured 26 drivers, each driving a 2,300-pound late-model stock car packing more than 800 horsepower. Gordon, who finished third, raced at Eldora as a youth but last raced on dirt in 1991.

"Eldora is one of those places you're always in awe of - the first time you come here, no matter how many times you come here. There is no other track like it," Gordon said. "It's high-banked. It's fast. It's the Talladega of dirt. I take a lot of pride in the fact that I raced here as a kid growing up and the things I learned here."

Thousands of fans clogged the rural roadways around the small track and choked the entrances to see the race, which was broadcast live on HBO Pay-Per-View. Eldora, known as The Big E, is about 40 miles north of Dayton. Stewart bought the speedway in 2004 from Earl Baltes, who built it in 1954.

Proceeds from the race go to the Tony Stewart Foundation and the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C., which serves children ages 7 to 15 with life-threatening health issues. The camp was formed by NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver Kyle Petty and wife, Pattie, to honor the life of their late son, Adam.(ohio.com)

Carl Edwards won the NEXTEL Prelude to the Dream presented by Old Spice dirt late model race June 6 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Edwards won the 30-lap race on the half-mile oval by .305 of a second over Kyle Busch. Jeff Gordon finished third. Edwards led all but two laps en route to victory, but had to contend with Gordon and Busch throughout much of the event. Gordon, who made his first appearance at Eldora since 1991, led lap 11 and challenged Edwards throughout most of the event.

“That’s just unreal,” Edwards said. “To win this race in front of so many folks is unreal. Everyone I know is watching it at home on HBO Pay-Per-View. They have people who bought it and they are all going over to their house. I’m sure everyone enjoyed it. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be able to support the Victory Junction Gang Camp and doing something this fun. It’s awesome. I’ve sweated out a lot of finishes in a dirt car when you can’t see behind you,” Edwards said. “The guy from Barry Wright race cars was giving me hand signals down there and he finally quit giving me signals. I knew they were right there on my tail.”

There were three cautions during the event, although the laps conducted under caution did not count. The only major accident occurred on lap 17 when Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte and Kasey Kahne crashed in turn two. Labonte and Stewart, who finished 21st and 22nd, respectively, were done for the night. Kahne was able to continue and finished sixth.