Mike Wallace In No. 88
Fifty-one cars are on the preliminary entry list for Sunday's UAW-Ford 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Mike Wallace is on the entry list replacing Ricky Rudd in the No. 88 Robert Yates Racing Ford that had been driven in recent weeks by Wallace's brother Kenny.

As expected, former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve is entered in the No. 27 Bill Davis Racing Toyota. Among other entries in addition to Villeneuve to the list of regular full-time drivers/teams are Sam Hornish in the No. 06 Penske Racing Dodge, Sterling Marlin in the No. 09 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet, Kevin Lepage in the No. 37 Front Row Motorsports Dodge and Boris Said in the No. 60 No Fear Racing Ford.(scenedaily.com)

"Nationwide" Series?
Nationwide is moving into the final stages of negotiations to replace Anheuser-Busch's Busch beer as title sponsor of NASCAR's No. 2 series, sources are telling Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Daily. Michael Smith of Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal this morning reported in the Daily that Nationwide submitted an offer last Thursday, as did Subway, the sandwich franchise operation that had been considered the frontrunner.

Nationwide's talks with NASCAR progressed over the weekend, the story said, and a contract proposal is believed to be in the legal pipeline at Nationwide. Officials at NASCAR say that it does not have a deal with a new sponsor, but sources say an agreement with Nationwide could be finalized in the coming days.

Nationwide is the official insurance of Speedway Motorsports Inc. tracks.(scenedaily.com)

Kansas Ratings Off
ESPN officials say ABC's portion of Sunday's rain-interrupted LifeLock 400 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Kansas Speedway earned a fast national rating of 3.1 from Nielsen Media Research. That portion of the broadcast drew 3.5 million households and 4.8 million viewers, ESPN says.

While the fast national rating is higher than the 2.8 overnight figure reported Monday, it is 22.5 percent lower than the 4.0 final rating NBC earned when it aired the race in 2006.(scenedaily.com)

Hall Of Fame Honors Baker and Hyde
Former driver Buddy Baker and ex-crew chief Harry Hyde will be honored by the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame at its induction ceremonies Oct. 10. Baker, winner of 19 races and 40 poles on NASCAR's Cup series, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Hyde, crew chief for 1970 NASCAR champion Bobby Isaacs, will be awarded the Snap-On Golden Wrench Award for his outstanding contributions to the sport.

"Both of these men brought something different to the sport," said Don Miller, co-founder and chairman of the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame. "Buddy was a second-generation driver who excelled on the superspeedways when the sport was making its transition from the bullrings to the high speed ovals. He was a master of Talladega's high speeds, and his congenial nature made him a fan favorite.(scenedaily.com)