NASCAR Daily News Headlines * October 30, 2009

Memphis Motorsports Park To Close

As previously announced, the Memphis facility had been under an agreement of sale to Gulf Coast Entertainment but Gulf Coast was unable to secure financing.

“This was a difficult decision for us, but one that ultimately was dictated by economics,” said Denis McGlynn, President and CEO of Dover Motorsports. “We greatly appreciate the many years of dedication shown by our Memphis employees and their efforts to make Memphis such a great destination for the racing community – from racing fans and drivers to sponsors, team owners and sanctioning bodies. For all concerned, including the Memphis community, it is truly sad to see Memphis Motorsports Park taken off the racing schedule. NASCAR has approved the realignment of our NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series events from Memphis Motorsports Park to our Nashville and Gateway facilities.”

The realigned events and dates are as follows:

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Nashville Superspeedway
April 2, 2010
(together with NASCAR Nationwide Series event on April 3, 2010)

NASCAR Nationwide Series
Gateway International Raceway
October 23, 2010

An ASA race scheduled for next weekend at Memphis Motorsports Park will still be held at the track. Ticket refunds for 2010 events will be mailed out to fans in the next few weeks.

The Company is expected to release its earnings for the third quarter on Monday, November 2 and will disclose additional financial details relative to the closure of its Memphis facility shortly.

Lance McGrew Returns In 2010

"I have total faith in Lance and what he's capable of accomplishing with Dale Jr.," Hendrick said. "There was a lot of pressure with how he came into this deal, and the way he's handled it has been extremely impressive. Lance is confident in himself and in his decisions, and all the outside distractions aren't going to faze him. He's a strong-willed guy who will keep his eye on the ball and not settle."

McGrew will complete the final four races of the 2009 schedule, beginning with this weekend's AMP Energy 500 at Talladega, Ala., and return in 2010, which will mark the 11th full-time Sprint Cup season for Earnhardt.

"Lance has been part of the solution, not the problem," said Earnhardt, an 18-time winner in the Sprint Cup Series. "He's tough, which is what I need, and we've really clicked in a short period of time. The communication has gotten better every practice and every race, and I know that's going to keep improving. Having this decision behind us is really important, and now we can focus on the future instead of the past."

As a crew chief, McGrew earned the 2003 Nationwide Series championship with driver Brian Vickers and has posted victories in all three of NASCAR's national touring series. In addition to Vickers, he has won races with drivers Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Ricky Hendrick, Mark Martin and Tony Stewart.

"The communication between Dale Jr. and I continues to improve every single week," said McGrew, a native of Baton Rouge, La. "Both of us are 110-percent committed to the success of this team, and we're going to do everything necessary to get the job done for Hendrick Motorsports, our sponsors and Dale's fans."

Talladega Goodyear Tire Notes

Truck Series Rule Changes

• Double-file restarts “shootout style” will be implemented to further enhance the close competition and offer additional excitement for the fans. The format will be the same as in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series.
• The addition of fuel and changing of tire(s) will be permitted on the same pit stop.
• During any pit stop, under yellow- or green-flag conditions, six pit crew members will be permitted in the truck servicing area. This is an increase from five pit crew members in 2009.
• A new self-venting fuel-can will be introduced as an option for teams to use in addition to the conventional fuel can.
• The tire lease program will remain the same with these new options available to teams.

• A team will run no more than two consecutive races without using an engine previously sealed by NASCAR officials. This excludes events at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The current rule allows teams to run no more than three consecutive races without using a sealed engine.
• A SPEC engine will be introduced as an option for teams at tracks less than 1.25-miles in length. This will help to reduce costs for current teams and encourage participation from the regional series.
• NASCAR has also made a schedule change for the 2010 schedule. Easter weekend becomes a double-header in Nashville. The scheduled Memphis NCWTS race will be run at Nashville Superspeedway on Friday, April 2, preceding the NASCAR Nationwide Series race Saturday night. Meanwhile, Gateway International Raceway will have a second NASCAR Nationwide Series race which will be held October 23.

“I am excited about the continued progression of NASCAR’s efforts to contain the costs in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series,” said Kevin Harvick, co-owner, Kevin Harvick, Inc. “The truck counts have been great this year and I hope with all these changes they will continue to grow and I believe the competition will be as tough as it’s ever been.”