Martin Truex Jr. Leads Happy Hour
Martin Truex Jr. led the final Nextel Cup "Happy Hour" practice session at Phoenix International Raceway in preparation for Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500K. Truex turned a lap of 27.880 around the one-mile track, translating to a speed of 129.125. Listed below are the top ten times and speeds.

2008 ARCA Schedule Released
The ARCA RE/MAX Series, long recognized as the most versatile touring series in motorsports, has released its 2008 schedule to include 21 events in 13 states and Canada. A diverse combination of superspeedways, short tracks, dirt tracks and a return to road course racing for the first time since 2001 will help steer the tour into its 56th consecutive season of competition.

“The 2008 schedule maintains our balance of superspeedway, short track and mile dirt state fairgrounds events, all of which are very important to the identity and industry position of the ARCA RE/MAX Series,” said ARCA President Ron Drager. “Adding the road course event certainly adds to our diversity. The number of scheduled events remains stable at a level we’ve found to be appropriate for everyone associated with the series, and we’re pleased with the geographic coverage represented by the markets we’ll be racing in.”

The season, as it has since 1964, will open at Daytona Int’l Speedway with the 45th annual Daytona ARCA 200 on February 9th. The event will serve as a preamble for the same-day NASCAR Nextel Cup Bud Shootout. Fittingly, the season will conclude at Toledo Speedway, the birthplace of ARCA, as part of the annual championship weekend coinciding with the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series.

In between, the series will appear in a wide variety of venues including new stops at Rockingham Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina on May 4th, Cayuga Speedway Park in Nelles Corners, Ontario on June 29th and the brand new New Jersey Motorsports Park 2.3-mile road course in Millville, New Jersey on September 28th.

The “Carolina 500” at Rockingham will be the inaugural event at the historic one-mile, high-banked oval since Speedway President Andy Hillenburg took ownership of the property. The ARCA RE/MAX Series raced at Rockingham once on June 10, 1973 where Charlie Glotzbach won the 300-mile event from the pole.

The event at the 5/8ths-mile Cayuga Speedway Park marks the series’ eighth appearance in Canada since 1967. The last time the series raced in Canada was at Delaware Speedway in July of 1992.

The event at New Jersey Motorsports Park will mark the 10th appearance of the RE/MAX Series on a road course dating back to 1958 when the series made its road course debut at the now defunct Meadowdale Raceway in Carpentersville, Illinois. The list of road course winners over the years is impressive and includes Fred Lorenzen, Nelson Stacy, Elmer Musgrave, Jack Bowsher, Bob Schacht, Ken Schrader, Darrell Waltrip, Scott Lagasse and John Finger, who won at Watkins Glen in 2001, the last time the series raced on a road course.

Superspeedways returning for events in 2008 include Kentucky Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Daytona, Kansas Speedway, Michigan Int’l Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, Chicagoland Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The event at Talladega marks the 47th RE/MAX Series appearance at the renowned 2.66-mile Alabama speedplant since 1969.

Short-tracks hosting events include Salem Speedway in Indiana, Toledo, Berlin Raceway in Michigan, Iowa Speedway, and the annual state fair mile-dirt races at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds.

Companion events in 2008 include races with the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series as well as with the Indy Racing League and the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series.

SPEED will return in 2008 with coverage of ARCA RE/MAX Series races as established in its multi-year agreement. The televised event schedule is traditionally released at the Series’ championship awards banquet in December.
For full 2007 ARCA schedule...     (Insider Racing News)

NASCAR Wants Phoenix Wall Fixed
NASCAR has asked International Speedway Corporation to come up with a plan to improve the inside retaining wall on the frontstretch after an accident Friday night during the Casino Arizona 150 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Andy Lally's truck smashed into the wall, virtually breaking it in half, leaving concrete pieces on the track but the rebar remained in tact. The race was stopped for 16 minutes as NASCAR put a temporary barrier behind the wall for the rest of the race. Track workers then welded steel plates into the back of the wall before Nextel Cup practice today.

"We've talked to ISC about the wall and about looking into improving or replacing it if necessary," said NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston, who did not put a timetable on the possible improvements. "We don't like to see walls break."(scenedaily.com)

Meendering Considers Move To Petty Enterprises
The car chief for Jeff Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet says he will wait until after the season to decide whether he will leave Hendrick Motorsports to pursue opportunities as a crew chief.

Jeff Meendering, who joined Hendrick in 1994 and has been part of the No. 24 team since 2000, said several teams are interested in acquiring his services, but he said he hasn't decided whether he will accept one of those positions. One of those teams is Petty Enterprises and its No. 43 car, which has an opening after crew chief Doug Randolph was hired by Dale Earnhardt Inc. An Internet rumor said Meendering had already decided to join Petty as a crew chief next season.

"I've talked to them," Meendering said Friday at Phoenix International Raceway. "That's one of the options that's out there. I'm just trying to get through the season. I'm not committing to anything yet. I'm just looking at my options. I'm not saying I'm going to be doing anything different than [working at Hendrick] this year." (scenedaily.com)

Best Buy Moves To No. 19 Car
Best Buy, Inc., announced on Friday it has entered a new affiliation with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. The nation's leading electronics retailer will serve as the primary sponsor of driver Elliott Sadler and the No. 19 Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge Avenger in 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events in 2008, including the 50th running of the "Great American Race," the Daytona 500.

"At Best Buy, we're all about bringing consumers the complete product and service experiences, and that's what we feel we've found with Gillett Evernham Motorsports," said Barry Judge, senior vice president marketing, Best Buy. "With Gillett Evernham Motorsports, not only do we have the focus on performance, but we also have a charismatic fan favorite and proven winner in our driver, Elliott Sadler. We're confident this new relationship will generate excitement and enthusiasm among our employees, as well as our customers." "This sponsorship is a natural fit," said Gillett Evernham Motorsports co-owner, Ray Evernham. "Gillett Evernham Motorsports is known for bringing technology and innovation to its race program, just as Best Buy is recognized for bringing the newest technology in entertainment to its customers."

"At Gillett Evernham Motorsports, we always look to align ourselves with companies at the forefront of their respective industries," said George N. Gillett, Jr., co-owner of Gillett Evernham Motorsports. "We're honored to have such a prominent brand supporting our racing program, along with our other outstanding partners."

Since 2000, Gillett Evernham Motorsports has posted 13 wins, 24 poles, 67 top-five and 130 top-10 finishes in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. Driver Elliott Sadler is also no stranger to Victory Lane, with three Sprint Cup wins, 55 top-10 finishes and seven pole positions to his credit.

"Best Buy is a brand I've believed in and supported for years, so to represent them is honestly a dream come true," said Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 19 Dodge Avenger. "I love all kinds of music and movies, and I've always been a 'gadget guy.' My house, car, boat and even my motor home are all tricked out with stereos, speakers, gaming systems, GPS, flat screens, DVD players, you name it. The employees at the Mooresville (N.C.) Best Buy store already know me by name, but they'll be seeing even more of me now."

Kyle Busch Wins Phoenix Busch Race
Kyle Busch has the opportunity to sweep the entire weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. He won the Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday night in a green-white-checkers finish and it was a repeat performance on Saturday afternoon, winning the Arizona Travel 200 Busch Series race -- also in a green-white-checkers finish. Busch held off a hard charging Matt Kenseth for his fourth victory of 2007. Busch led three times for 132 laps and it was his tenth career victory in 108 races. It was Busch's third win in a green-white-checkers finish. It was the last time that Busch drove for car owner Rick Hendrick in the Busch Series, so the win was a special one. "It means a lot," said Busch. "When I first started with Hendrick Motorsports, I finished second in the first one and to go out winning a race, that's pretty special."

"Kenseth was closing on Busch in the final laps but couldn't complete the pass. His power steering quit working half-way through the race and he was man-handling the car just to finish. Kenseth has to be getting tired of finishing second, it was the seventh time this year he has been the runner up in a Busch Series race. "It wasn't really that hard to turn," Kenseth said. "It was just harder than normal and you couldn't feel the front tires very good. I feel bad we got beat again, we came up a little bit short. Kyle (Busch) is a real smart driver, he put his car where I needed to go and I couldn't do anything with him.