More Hendrick Crash Lawsuits
A trial concerning the October 2004 Hendrick Motorsports plane crash is scheduled to begin in January in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, N.C. The trial involved lawsuits brought by three widows of men killed in the crash, Dianne Dorton, Linda Turner and Tracy Lathram.

At issue is who bears fault for the accident. According to the National Transportation Safety Board and court documents, the crash happened when the pilots overshot the runway and then didn't perform the proper missed-approach procedure. Government officials blame the pilots, while Hendrick and the widows blame, at least in part, the actions of the air-traffic controllers that were also cited in the NTSB report.

Ten people, including team owner Rick Hendrick's brother, son and two nieces, were killed in the plane crash on the way to a Nextel Cup race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

Dorton's and Lathram's suits are against Hendrick Motorsports, while the Turner suit is against the U.S. government over the actions of the air-traffic controllers. Dorton has sued the government in a separate suit not currently on the trial calendar.

Turner already has settled a claim against Hendrick Motorsports. Lathram has settled with Hendrick and the government, but Hendrick claims that the government should contribute to its settlement with Lathram.

Dorton is the widow of former Hendrick engine builder Randy Dorton, Turner is the widow of former Hendrick general manager Jeff Turner and Lathram is the widow of Tony Stewart pilot Scott Lathram, who was a passenger on the plane.

The trial for all three suits will begin Jan. 7 or later, depending on the status of other trials on the court calendar. It is estimated a trial will last eight to 14 days.(scenedaily.com)

Petty Will Move Shop
The winningest organization in NASCAR announces its first move since its inception in 1949. Richard and Kyle Petty, in efforts to garner continued wins and championships, have agreed to move Petty Enterprises closer to the center of NASCAR activities in the greater Charlotte, North Carolina area. They have reached a multi-year lease agreement for shop space located in the city of Mooresville. The space was formerly occupied by Robert Yates Racing and its two-car Nextel Cup operation.

Petty Enterprises, founded by Richard’s father, Lee, in 1949 as Lee Petty Engineering, is currently headquartered in Level Cross, North Carolina. At that location, the 60,000-square foot sprawling facility has become one of the most successful in motorsports’ history. The organization has won 268 NASCAR Nextel Cup races, 10 NASCAR Nextel Cup titles and nine Daytona 500 championships from inside the hallowed ground.

“Level Cross will always be the home of the wins and championships that the Petty family built,” said team owner Richard Petty. “It is where Petty Enterprises was founded and where the team has won and built a legacy in NASCAR. Petty Enterprises and Level Cross are the same as Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers, Yankee Stadium and the New York Yankees and Boston Garden and the Boston Celtics. ”

“At the same time this is a very exciting time for Petty Enterprises and our partners,” continued Petty. “We are going to continue the heart and soul that is in Level Cross to what now has become the center of the NASCAR world. This was a tough and emotional decision for our family. We care deeply about our roots and this community. We will always call Level Cross our home as we never forget where we came from. We are looking forward to continuing our legacy at this new location.”

The move, to begin in December and be completed by end of the year, includes the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge driven by Bobby Labonte and the #45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil/Wells Fargo/Tire Kingdom Dodge driven by Kyle Petty. It’s another move in the forward direction since 2006 when Robbie Loomis was named Vice President of Race Operations and 2000 Nextel Cup champion Bobby Labonte was announced as driver of the famed 43 Dodge.

It has not yet been determined how the current location of Petty Enterprises will be used in 2008.

NASCAR Fines Busch Crew Chiefs
NASCAR announced today that Chad Walter, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet driven by Casey Mears and Tony Eury Sr., crew chief of the No. 88 Chevrolet driven by Brad Keselowski in the NASCAR Busch Series, have been fined and penalized due to rule violations at Texas Motor Speedway.

Both crew chiefs were fined $10,000 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 – 10.7F: (lug nuts were not fully threaded; threads had been removed) of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series Rule Book.

The infraction was discovered during pre-race inspection on November 3.

Franchitti To Run Last Two Busch Races
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) announced today driver Dario Franchitti will make his third and fourth appearances in the NASCAR Busch Series on Nov. 10 at Phoenix International Raceway and Nov. 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The next step in Franchitti’s stock car learning curve will take place this weekend in the No. 42 Target Dodge Charger on the 1-mile oval in Phoenix after previously contesting the ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway and the last two NBS races at Memphis and Texas. Franchitti will again race under the guidance of CGRFS Crew Chief Brian Pattie.