NASCAR Daily News Headlines * January 2, 2009

NASCAR Drivers Test For Rolex 24

Sprint Cup drivers on the current test days entry list are AJ Allmendinger (Michael Shank Racing) and Jimmie Johnson. (Bob Stallings Racing). Johnson, the three-time defending NASCAR Cup champion, likely will only test Monday. Part-time Cup driver Max Papis also is on the testing entry list, driving a Ferrari for Costa Racing.

Camping World Truck Series driver Colin Braun will be driving for Michael Shank Racing in a separate entry from the one with Allmendinger.

Several teams have not listed their drivers for the test sessions and the race. Cup driver Juan Pablo Montoya is expected to drive one of the entries for Chip Ganassi Racing, and Kurt Busch already has tested a Penske car at a previous session. The Penske team has not entered a lineup yet for this weekend’s test.

Kyle Petty has already tested with Orbit Racing, which hasn’t announced its lineup for the race.

Childress-Howard Motorsports, co-owned by Richard Childress, will participate in the test. Danica Patrick told the Los Angeles Times that she plans on driving a Childress entry along with Cup driver Kevin Harvick for the race. Sports-car veterans Rob Finlay and Andy Wallace are entered in the Childress car for the test.(scenedaily.com)

Former ISC Employees Get Probation

Polakoff was sentenced to three years probation, while Kilgannon got two years of supervised release, according to court documents. They were sentenced Dec. 12 in U.S. District Court in New York.

Polakoff and Kilgannon were among 62 people indicted in February as part of a wide-ranging, 80-count federal indictment that targeted alleged Mafia members, including three high-ranking members of the Gambino crime family. Kilgannon and Polakoff were former employees of ISC subsidiary North American Testing Co., which handles design and construction for ISC.

Polakoff worked for NATC between November 2005 and December 2006 as a project manager on the Staten Island development project. Kilgannon worked as director of construction for NATC from May 2005 to December 2006 and was Polakoff's supervisor, according to ISC.

The proposed track site required large quantities of dirt fill, thus requiring trucking contracts that were controlled by the Gambino family, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release issued at the time of the indictment.

Both Polakoff and Kilgannon pleaded guilty to the count accusing them of accepting a $9,000 check from the owner of a trucking company. They already had repaid the money prior to sentencing. ...MORE AT...(scenedaily.com)