Sam Hornish On ARCA Pole
Sam Hornish, Jr. earned his career first SIM Factory Pole Award Thursday afternoon at Michigan Int'l Speedway. The former Indy 500 winner and IRL Champion sits on the pole for Friday's ARCA RE/MAX 200, marking his career first stock car pole.

"Even before I won Indy and the Championship last year this is something we've talked about," said Hornish. "We haven't had that big sit down talk yet about the future and what kind of racing we'll do. And really, that isn't my decision. That's the whole team's decision. I think in racing in order to be successful you have to learn something. I learn a lot every time I'm in a stock car. It's a little bit difficult because I don't get to focus on it all the time. I don't get to make a lot of laps in these cars. Usually, I only get to drive them when I show up for a race."

Hornish circled the 2-mile paved oval in 38.667 seconds in his No. 27 Mobil 1 Dodge. Friday's ARCA 200 will mark the Penske Racing driver's career first ARCA RE/MAX Series start. Erin Crocker starts on the outside front row in the No. 98 Mac Tools-Mac Card Dodge. Erik Darnell, Tim Andrews and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top-five qualifiers.

Indianapolis, Indiana native Matt Hagans posted the quickest speed overall during a two-hour practice session earlier in the day but spun his No. 9 Eagle Creek Aviation-flyfwa.com Dodge before he was able to complete a qualifying lap. As a result, the veteran ARCA RE/MAX Series driver was unable to make Friday's starting field.

Friday's ARCA 200 marks the series' 26th appearance to Michigan Int'l Speedway since the inaugural race at the 2-mile oval in 1980. Former ARCA RE/MAX Series winners at Michigan include Jeff Purvis, Tim Steele, Chad Blount, Kerry Earnhardt, Casey Mears, Joe Ruttman, Reed Sorenson, David Stremme and Steve Wallace, among others. This year's edition of the race marks the 11th of 23 events on the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule and will be aired LIVE on SPEED beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern on Friday, June 15, 2007. Tickets are available by calling (800) 354-1010.(arcaracing.com)

ISC Looking For New Track Site
An executive for a NASCAR track developer confirmed Wednesday that the company is interested in the Meadowlands as a potential site.

“Following our decision last year to discontinue the speedway development on Staten Island, we resumed efforts to identify other potential locations in the metro New York area and have begun exploring a number of sites, including the Meadowlands,” said Wes Harris, the senior director of corporate and investor communications for International Speedway Corp.

The Record reported ISC’s preliminary interest in Wednesday's editions, including an interest in building a track the Meadowlands Racetrack horse racing facility.

“At this point, the process is purely exploratory,” Harris said. “No specific proposals have been offered or received, and we do not have a predetermined timetable for concluding our potential site evaluation efforts in the region.

“We know there is considerable interest and support for NASCAR racing in metro New York, the nation’s No. 1 media market. ISC has long expressed its commitment to pursue the development of a motorsports entertainment facility in the region.”(The Record)

Mark Martin In Sports Car Race
On July 13, Mark Martin will become another NASCAR driver, aged 50-plus to tackle the Daytona Beach-based Rolex Sports Car Series. For him, it's something he's familiar with and looks forward to. "When we cut back to a limited schedule this season, one of the great things about it was that it would give me time to do a lot of other things that I've wanted to do," Martin said. "I love to race all types of stuff and I think we'll have a blast up there in Iowa in July."

After all, Martin has a history with the series, notably at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. With former boss Jack Roush perched on the 24-hour race's pit box, Martin scored three Rolex 24 class victories over Daytona International Speedway's 3.56-mile road course. A number of notable motorsports names co-drove with Martin in his five races here, including wins with Robby Gordon in 1991 and Paul Newman in 1995. A Ford Mustang twice being his choice of winning ride, Martin won his first DIS race driving a Mercury Cougar in 1989.(news-journalonline.com)

Montoya-Sprint Team Up
Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) will debut its first TV commercial with celebrated driver Juan Pablo Montoya on June 18. As the premier sponsor of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, Sprint Nextel brings the sport of NASCAR closer to Hispanic consumers and uses the sport’s intensity to demonstrate the speed of Nextel’s products.

Titled “Gotera” (A Water Leak), the 30-second, Spanish-language commercial shows the Colombian-born driver making his pit stop during a race. While his pit crew works on refueling and changing worn tires in less than 15 seconds, Montoya is instantly connected to his wife via a Nextel Walkie-Talkie phone, and helps negotiate the cost for a plumber’s work. It’s the energy and adrenaline of the pit stop, coupled with the speed of the Nextel Walkie-Talkie service which demonstrates that Nextel service is immediate and reliable.

"We are thrilled to work with Juan Pablo Montoya on a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series commercial that captures the excitement of the pit stop," said Isaac Mizrahi, director of multicultural marketing for Sprint Nextel. "With the presence of a Hispanic icon like Montoya, we are able to leverage the speed of racing and show how Nextel’s instant-communications capabilities empower him to connect with his wife during a fast-paced work situation.”

Last year, Montoya became the first Formula One driver to join the NEXTEL Cup circuit on a full-time basis, making him the most high-profile Latino athlete in the sport. The Sprint Nextel TV spot is Montoya’s first Spanish-language commercial after entering the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series.

“It’s exciting to work with Sprint Nextel, which is inviting Hispanics to learn this style of racing,” said Montoya. “For the Hispanic community, I think what’s key is learning about the sport and experiencing a race. Once they do, they will see it’s family-oriented and filled with a lot of passion and excitement.”

The commercial is part of a larger, Hispanic integrated-marketing campaign Sprint Nextel launched earlier this year. Designed to capitalize on the excitement of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series racing, the second phase kicks off with the commercial’s debut, and includes radio advertising, a national “Viva la Copa Nextel de NASCAR” sweepstakes, in-store promotions, online, direct marketing, public relations, and leveraging NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series drivers such as Montoya.

Promoted in the TV commercial, the “Viva la Copa Nextel de NASCAR” National Sweepstakes invites consumers to sign up for a chance to meet Montoya. For one lucky winner and three of his/her friends, the grand prize will be an all-expense paid trip to attend the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in what will be the race that crowns the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Champion. To enter the sweepstakes, consumers can:

• Text the word “VELOCIDAD” to 4242 (standard text-messaging rates apply),
• Visit the Web site, www.nextel.com/velocidad, or,
• Visit participating Sprint Nextel retail locations.
• The entry deadline is Sept. 3.