NASCAR Daily News Headlines * January 14, 2009

Labonte To Drive For Yates-Hall of Fame Racing

Yates Racing will operate the No. 96 of Hall of Fame Racing for the entire 2009 Sprint Cup schedule out of the Yates Racing complex in Concord, N.C. Doug Yates and Max Jones will continue as co-owners of Yates Racing, while Tom Garfinkel and Jeff Moorad will continue as co-owners of Hall of Fame Racing.

Ask.com is new to NASCAR and will be the primary sponsor on the car for 18 races with an option to sign for more.

The advantage of signing Labonte for the newly formed team will be the use of Labonte’s past champion’s provisionals. Labonte who was a champion in 2000 can use up to 6 a year to make the field should the car not make it on speed or owners points.

No word yet on exactly what will happen with the Yates Racing numbers 28, 38 and 98. Travis Kvapil ran the 28 last year and Paul Menard was signed to drive another entry as well. According to some, Menard will run the No. 38 which is inside the top 35 in owners points guaranteeing a spot in the first five races of the year.(examiner.com)

NASCAR Hires Max Siegel

Siegel, 44, will manage NASCAR's diversity program through his new sports and entertainment marketing company, The 909 Group, LLC. He also will continue to work with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and other sports and entertainment clients through his affiliation with the law firm Baker & Daniels, LLP.

Drive for Diversity was established in 2004 to provide opportunities for minorities and females to compete in NASCAR. NASCAR has enlisted Siegel, the top-ranking black executive in NASCAR, to expand the program's reach, increasing the involvement of everyone in the sport, especially top-tier teams and sponsors.

For the past two years, Siegel has served as President of Global Operations for DEI. He was the catalyst for and oversaw the merger with Chip Ganassi's team late last season. Siegel also initiated an engine-development joint venture with Richard Childress Racing to form Earnhardt-Childress Racing. That partnership cut costs and improved reliability. Before the formation of ECR, DEI's No. 1, 8 and 15 teams experienced 10 engine failures in 2007. In 2008, that number was reduced to a mere two failures for those three teams.(foxsports.com)