This Week In NASCAR: Red Bull Signs New GM and Crew Chief

Morgan-McClure Motorsports was a force to be reckoned with in the 90’s when they won three coveted Daytona 500’s, two of them back-to-back. MMM completes 25 years of history that includes 14 wins, 63 top-5’s, 146 top-10’s and 13 poles.

New Crew Chief For Vickers

Our Hamlin’s past crew chief roles include his most recent stint with Dave Blaney’s No. 22 Toyota, preceded by nine years of crew chief duties with RCR drivers including Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, and the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. To date, Hamlin has amassed nine Cup wins; five of those with Earnhardt Sr. Despite Hamlin’s “nine” theme, there are no plans to change the No. 83 to No. 89.

“Finding the right crew chief for the 83 team was a pivotal decision in an effort to restructure the foundation on that team. We need a crew chief with not only the right experience and background to work effectively with our driver and crew, but someone who also shares the same vision for success. We found that package with Kevin Hamlin. Our focus between now and Daytona is not only getting our cars up to speed for the season opener, but also getting Kevin up to speed working with Red Bull, Brian (Vickers) and the 83 team.”

NASCAR Issues New Pit Rules

“Cars may not be pushed past the flag person at the end of the pit road. Unless otherwise authorized, once the race is underway, cars may be started by hand pushing in the pit area only, but under no circumstances is any car to be hand pushed more than three pit boxes away from their assigned pit box or into the acceleration zone or onto the race track from the pit area. Cars may not receive any assistance after the white flag has been displayed, except those cars making pit stops …”.

“A team member must be in contact with the outside tire(s) until the outside tire(s) reach the inside half of the pit box before the car leaves its assigned pit box. Any tires let in the outside half of the assigned pit box, or beyond, will result in a time or other penalty.“

These changes came about as a way to promote a safer pit road after several incidents occurred during the 2007 season where tires were being knocked around like projectiles by cars on pit road because they were not under the control of crew members. NASCAR felt like they had to take control of these tires better and this policy is something that teams will have to follow as the 2008 season starts.(Fox Sports)

Circle Bar Racing Signs Brendan Gaughan

“I really want to thank the Mitchells for giving me this opportunity, and Rick Crawford for helping to get it in place. I appreciate the fact that Circle Bar Racing found value, not only in me, but my crew as well, and now it’s time to go win races in the No. 10 International MaxxForce Diesel Ford.” said Gaughan. “I wore No. 10 when I played high school football and now I’m looking forward to driving it into victory lane.”

With eight career Craftsman Truck Series victories to his credit – including a stretch of four consecutive wins at Texas Motor Speedway between 2002 and 2003 – Gaughan will look to improve on his 11th-place points finish in 2007.

AMP Will Back Talladega Race

Mountain Dew AMP Energy drink is blasting onto the NASCAR scene in 2008 with several high profile sponsorships. In addition to the race at Talladega Superspeedway, Pepsi-Cola North America announced last year that Mountain Dew AMP Energy will be a lead sponsor of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s No. 88 Mountain Dew AMP/National Guard Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Mountain Dew is no stranger to the NASCAR scene, having found a winning formula as lead sponsor of Darrell Waltrip’s championship-winning Cup entries in 1981 and 1982 and most recently, having sponsored the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

“Talladega Superspeedway and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. are a winning combination,” said Talladega Superspeedway President Rick Humphrey. “I believe AMP Energy has made a brilliant move sponsoring both NASCAR’s most popular driver and the track that he and his father are famous for dominating. I can’t wait to welcome fans back for the AMP Energy 500 event weekend and display this great product to the thousands of loyal Talladega fans.”

“Talladega Superspeedway is a popular, historic track that attracts some of the most devoted NASCAR fans in the country and it was our only choice for AMP Energy's first race entitlement,” said Ralph Santana, VP of sports, media and interactive marketing, Pepsi-Cola North America. “We’re looking forward to a big year for AMP Energy in racing and we plan to make the AMP Energy 500 a fun and exciting experience that will be an event the fans will not want to miss.”

The 2008 AMP Energy 500 event weekend featuring the ARCA RE/MAX Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be Oct. 3 - 5, 2008. Guests will experience an action-packed day on Friday, Oct. 3, including two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practices, qualifying for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the ARCA RE/MAX Series 250. Then on Saturday, Oct. 4, fans will watch as NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams set the field during qualifying for the AMP Energy 500, in addition to the return of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for the Mountain Dew 250. The AMP Energy 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, race four in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, is set for Sunday, Oct. 5.

Fans Lineup For Earnhardt

"It'd have to be Elvis or somebody like that," he said. In NASCAR, Earnhardt equals Elvis.

No driver and few athletes anywhere have such a devoted fan base. Even at that, he admitted, "I'll underestimate them at least once a year. They surprise you." He used to have the assumption that a goof on the track automatically lost some fans. He once wrecked at Bristol and, leaving the track, saw a young boy remove his Dale Earnhardt Jr. T-shirt and replace it with a shirt of another driver.

Now Earnhardt has replaced his old driver's suit and driver's seat for that of another team, famously leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. and the No. 8 Budweiser Chevy for Rick Hendrick's team and the still-takes-some-getting-used-to No. 88 National Guard Chevy. Junior said Saturday that the move was critical to his career and that "I never thought, 'Man, what if the fans all get ticked off.' I knew there might be repercussions but I was going to deal with it and let it all roll off my shoulders."

Instead, he said, "It almost seems like it's gained fans."

No question that he was the star of the show Saturday, in this event that brings together stars of country music - Alan Jackson, Taylor Swift and others - with stars of NASCAR, past and present - Earnhardt Jr., Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Ryan Newman and others - to sign autographs, hold a concert and raise funds for the Victory Junction Gang Camp, the camp for seriously ill youngsters built by Kyle Petty and his wife Pattie in honor of their late son.(al.com)

Wood Bros. and JTG Split Operations

Third generation racer Jon Wood, 26, was driving the Woods' No. 21 Ford, which was garaged next to JTG Racing's No. 20 Ford piloted by Scott Lagasse Jr., who will drive the truck for the full schedule. Crew chiefs John Monsam and Gary Cogswell worked on the 21 and 20 trucks, respectively, just as they had in 2007 as teammates. Eddie Wood, Jon's father and co-owner of Wood Brothers Racing, arrived at the track on Saturday, as did Tad Geschickter, the "T" in "JTG" along with wife Jodi.

"We just had different philosophies about where we wanted to go with our race teams and personnel, so we felt like it was better to file away the good experiences from the past two seasons and move on," Eddie Wood said. "We're excited to be here at Daytona, testing our truck with Jon behind the wheel and we're really looking forward to having our Sprint Cup car down here next week with Bill Elliott."

Geschickter said changes in NASCAR led to the divergence. "Obviously, the competition part of it has changed, with the Car of Tomorrow in Cup and the old car in [Nationwide]; and truck with different rule packages," Geschickter said. "Originally the idea was to have one big competition department to share data, and that became less and less effective and really made us pretty slow to make decisions. So what we've done is just change our business structure, tighten the spans of control in the competition department by series and other than that, we're still all working together."

In addition to its truck, which will be driven by team co-owner Len Wood's son Keven, 23, Wood Brothers Racing will field the family's legendary No. 21 Ford Fusion in the Sprint Cup Series, tuned by crew chief Gene Nead with 1988 Cup champion Elliott behind the wheel during Speedweeks 2008 at Daytona.(nascar.com)

NASCAR Settles With Plane Crash Victims

In the home next door four year old Gabreila DeChat died and her brother 10 year old Daniel Happy is still recovering in the Shriners’ Burn Center in Cincinnati. The plane was piloted by Dr. Bruce Kennedy the husband of Lesa France Kennedy president of International Speedway Corporation. NASCAR pilot Michael Klemm was also killed. DeChat’s parents were also burned but have since recovered from their injuries. Woodward’s attorney wouldn’t discuss the terms of the settlement.(Fox News Orlando)

Musgrave Still Looking For Ride

Musgrave announced plans to leave Germain Racing late last season and appeared to have a 2008 ride lined up. But he hasn't signed a contract with anyone yet and says he still needs a little more sponsorship before he'll be ready to drive full time.

He received a call from team owner Jim Harris a couple of days ago about driving the truck. Musgrave said that the team wanted a veteran to shake down the new truck and provide some insight. "I was going to come down anyway, not drive anything, not bring anything, sometimes you come down and waste your time and money. [I] didn't want to do that," Musgrave said Friday. "But Jim called me up and asked me to come, and I'm willing to help out, no problem at all." (scenedaily.com)

AAA Will Leave NASCAR

AAA's exit at ISC could open the door for Nationwide Insurance, the new title sponsor of NASCAR's No. 2 circuit, formerly known as the Busch Series. ISC tracks are the site for 19 of NASCAR's 36 Sprint Cup events. Sources say that ISC has reached out to Nationwide and possibly other insurance companies in an effort to fill that category beginning in 2009. Nationwide owns status as the official insurance company at Speedway Motorsports Inc. tracks.

AAA's status as the official auto club and auto insurance of the Indianapolis 500 also will end after this season. AAA made its decision this early in the year based on deadlines that were in its agreements. The sponsorships, which began in 2006, were generated out of AAA's national office in Orlando and represented the first time that all of its 60 regional clubs had come together for a sports marketing effort. They'd operated on a club-by-club basis in the past and will return to that method after this year, AAA officials said. (scenedaily.com)

Joe Gibbs Retires From Football

Gibbs, 67, had a 31-36 record since returning to Washington in 2004 and he will likely remain with the franchise he is so closely associated with as a special adviser to owner Daniel Snyder, who lured the legendary coach from retirement four seasons ago. Gibbs won three Super Bowls — with three different quarterbacks — during his first run with the Redskins from 1981 to 1992. Although the Redskins did not reach those heights during the years since he returned, his coaching job this season — which ended with the Redskins’s loss in the N.F.C. wild card game to the Seattle Seahawks Saturday — may have been among his finest.

Gibbs wavered on Monday when asked if he would return for the final year of his five-year, $27.5 million contract. Now, it is clear his priorities will take Gibbs elsewhere.(nytimes.com)

Kentucky Lawsuit Dismissed

In November, NASCAR and ISC attorneys asked Bertelsman for a summary judgment, arguing the speedway has insufficient evidence to prove NASCAR and ISC worked together with other tracks to keep the Kentucky track from acquiring a Cup Series race. Bertelsman said he would rule on the motion sometime in January at the earliest, and a March 4 trial date was set.

On Monday, Bertelsman sided with NASCAR and ISC.

"NASCAR is very pleased by the U.S. District Court's ruling to dismiss this case," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said in a statement. "It puts an end to any question about which locations and dates NASCAR can operate its races. Like other sports such as the NFL, MLB and the NBA, NASCAR can host its events where it decides is best for the sport and its fans."

Kentucky Speedway has the right to appeal the decision.(nascar.com)

Kentucky Speedway Will Appeal Judge's Ruling

U.S. District Court Judge William Bertelsman on Monday ruled in favor of NASCAR and ISC by dismissing the lawsuit filed by the Kentucky Speedway more than two years ago. NASCAR and ISC filed a joint motion for summary judgment last summer and on Nov. 19 the opposing sides presented arguments before Bertelsman in U.S. District Court in Covington.