NASCAR Daily News Headlines * January 8, 2009

McCauley Stays With Penske

Stremme is in his first full season with Penske, joining the team after driving for Rusty Wallace Racing’s Nationwide Series team last year. Stremme replaces Ryan Newman, who moved to Stewart-Haas Racing. Stremme said the three-car Penske organization has made some internal changes, moving people around between his team, Kurt Busch’s No. 2 team and Sam Hornish Jr.’s No. 77 team. Stremme also said Tom German, an engineer from Penske Racing’s IndyCar team, will be part of the NASCAR side of things.(scenedaily.com)

$40.00 Talladega Tickets

“We recognize the difficult economic conditions our fans are facing, so to help we are thrilled to offer our fans a $40 ticket to a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race,” said Talladega Superspeedway President Rick Humphrey. “In 40 years of racing, no other racetrack has matched Talladega Superspeedway for sheer speed or thrilling competition.”

The Gadsden and Lincoln Grandstand tickets normally retail for $70 and $75 respectively, creating a savings of more than 40 percent for race fans.

“This is a great opportunity for us to thank our current fans and welcome new fans to an exciting year of racing at Talladega Superspeedway,” said Humphrey. “There’s no better bang for your buck than a $40 ticket to Talladega Superspeedway.”

In addition to a new lower ticket price, fans attending the April 24 - 26 Aaron’s Dream Weekend and the Oct. 30 - Nov. 1 AMP Energy 500 Weekend will find that some of the best things at Talladega are still FREE. With more than 15,000 free campsites in three overnight parks, free day parking on track property and a free Kid’s Zone in the display area, Talladega Superspeedway is making life easy for race fans during tough economic times.

In 2009, Talladega Superspeedway proudly celebrates forty years of the most competitive racing in NASCAR. While the track has seen changes made to the cars that circle its high-banks, the surface that they race on and the grandstands that thousands of fans fill twice a year, one constant remains; Talladega Superspeedway is authentic NASCAR racing at its finest.

Race fans should make plans now to experience part of Talladega’s history in 2009 during the triple-header, Aaron’s Dream Weekend, April 24-26, featuring the ARCA RE/MAX Series, the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. For tickets, visit (www.talladegasuperspeedway.com) or call 1-877-Go2-DEGA. For our hearing impaired guests, please call TDD 1-866-ISC-TRAK (1-866-472-8725). Tickets also are available in person by visiting the Talladega Superspeedway Ticket Office from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. CDT, Monday- Friday.

Gordon Climbs To Seventh In Dakar

Sprint Cup driver Robby Gordon finished third and moved to seventh overall, 41 minutes, 48 seconds behind Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah. Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who led the rally entering Stage 5, lost more than 15 minutes after steering problems hampered his driving. He dropped to third place overall. Al-Attiyah, who won Stages 1 and 3, now leads de Villiers by 2 minutes, 24 seconds in the overall standings.

Yvan Muller, competing in a single-seater SMG buggy, was forced out of the event after his car caught fire following a collision with the truck of Elisabete Jacinto. No one was injured. After 14 stages covering the 9,574-kilometer (5,950-mile) circuit, the race will finish on Jan. 18 in Buenos Aires. Thursday's route is a 395-kilometer drive from San Rafael to Mendoza.(nascar.com)

Larry McClure To Plead Guilty Of Tax Evasion

According to a plea agreement signed Monday by McClure and filed with the court, McClure will plead guilty to five counts, including the filing of false tax returns for 2002, 2003 and 2004, as well as making false statements to Internal Revenue Service investigators. According to the indictment, McClure did not report $325,000 of income obtained for the use of race cars in the Automobile Racing Club of America series.

By pleading guilty, he will have charges dismissed stemming from an alleged fraudulent invoice of $59,852 for the painting of show-car trailers.

According to the plea agreement, McClure states that he realizes “there is a substantial likelihood I will be incarcerated” and that the United States “will recommend I receive a substantial sentence.” He states that he understands he could be sentenced to a maximum prison term of 15 years (three years per count), but the U.S. district attorney will request reductions in the sentence. He will not be allowed to appeal his sentence. He also could be fined a maximum of $1.25 million.

McClure, who was scheduled for trial Jan. 20, has agreed to pay $25,000 to the IRS for investigative costs and $59,852 to Eastman Kodak for the show-car trailer invoices. He also agreed to pay $125,000 prior to entering his guilty plea to go toward any fines that will be imposed as part of the sentence.

In addition, he agreed to file amended tax returns for the three years in question. As part of the agreement, the U.S. district attorney in western Virginia agrees not to prosecute McClure or the race team for any crimes it has knowledge about prior to the guilty plea.(bizjournals.com)

Go Daddy Expands Sponsorship

Go Daddy will be the primary sponsor for 20 races in the 2009 Nationwide Series. Back for another season is NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who designed the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolets for the 2009 Nationwide Series season.

"I'm happy to be partnered with GoDaddy.com again, and I appreciate the much larger role they are playing in our organization this season," said Earnhardt Jr., who also owns JR Motorsports. "I look forward to seeing Brad drive the Go Daddy car this season in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series."

Keselowski, JR Motorsports' second-year driver, was recently announced the winner of the Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver Award. He will pilot the No. 88 GoDaddy.com Chevrolets in 18 Nationwide Series races. After finishing third in the point standings in the Nationwide Series, with two wins, the up-and-coming Keselowski is in a prime position to be a 2009 championship contender.

Go Daddy will also be the primary sponsor of the No. 25 GoDaddy.com Chevrolets for seven races in the Sprint Cup Series with Keselowski behind the wheel. In addition, Go Daddy will be an associate sponsor on Mark Martin's No. 5 Chevrolets in the Sprint Cup Series.

"Go Daddy has an all-star lineup of drivers including NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt Jr. and IndyCar's Danica Patrick," said Go Daddy CEO and Founder Bob Parsons. "What could be better than to expand our sponsorship of these powerhouse racers and return to Sprint Cup competition with Brad Keselowski."

Go Daddy is a world leader when it comes to helping individuals and businesses build their online presence. Go Daddy is the world's largest domain registrar, the number one provider for new SSL Certificates and is the largest hosting provider in North America.

Earnhardt Jr. was actually a Go Daddy customer before signing on as a spokesman and recently visited with Go Daddy employees. "I was fortunate enough to visit the Go Daddy headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona recently and was extremely impressed with what I saw - not only in the technology, but also the people," added Earnhardt Jr. "I consider myself quite knowledgeable when it comes to computers and the Web, and it's fun to be able to bounce ideas off each other in making this partnership really click."

To learn more about how to get online quickly and easily, visit (www.GoDaddy.com).

Chevrolet Will Back Daytona 500

The renewal ends speculation that GM's money woes, which have triggered a scaling back of corporate sponsorships, would force the automaker to terminate sponsorship of an event that was the top-rated motorsports telecast in North America last year. The multi-year deal expired Dec. 31. GM finalized the new deal Dec. 19, the same day President George W. Bush announced the Detroit automaker and Chrysler LLC would receive up to $17.4 billion in short-term loans.

"It was a coincidence that the agreement was signed the same day we got the bridge loan," Chevrolet spokesman Terry Rhadigan said. "It was in the works when we started discussions back in the fall. Let's just say it's a fraction of what it had been in previous years, dollar-wise."

GM has sponsored Daytona for more than 40 years, and motorsports in general provide a prime marketing opportunity for automakers to reach customers who buy domestic vehicles at a rate higher than the national average. The race, which last year drew 33.5 million television viewers, is Feb. 15.

But the automaker's financial troubles and slumping sales have forced cuts. GM has lost almost $73 billion in the past four years, and its U.S. sales fell 23 percent last year amid the worst industry-wide sales slump since 1992. It risked running out of money last month before Bush approved the loans.

GM has recently ended other marketing opportunities, such as an endorsement deal with PGA golfer Tiger Woods, and has pulled out of advertising during Super Bowl XLIII, the prime-time Emmy Awards and the 2009 Academy Awards, among other moves.

"We are able to draw a direct correlation to sales, and that's where we are going to put our money," Rhadigan said. "We need to be smart with the limited funds that we have and focus those funds where we are going to provide the highest return on our investment."

GM provides fire and safety vehicles, pace cars and other vehicles for the race, as well as a July race at the track. GM did not disclose how much it spends on the Daytona deal or NASCAR sponsorships.

"It works very well for us in reaching one of our fan constituencies that we market our cars and trucks to," said Jeff Chew, marketing manager of Chevy Racing.

GM essentially creates a showroom floor on the speedway grounds each year and next month will spotlight the Chevrolet Camaro, Malibu, Silverado hybrid pickup truck and Equinox crossover.(detnews.com)