Clint Bowyer Gets First Victory
28 year-old Clint Bowyer, from Emporia, Kansas, picked up his first Nextel Cup victory in the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Speedway on Sunday. Bowyer has confidence in his ability but was continually asked when he was going to get his first win. Bowyer isn't in Kansas anymore and the doubt from others is over. Bowyer led more laps on Sunday (221 of 300) than he had in his 64 NASCAR career races. It was total domination. His previous best finish was third and he did that twice. Bowyer moved from 12th to fourth in the point standings and he became the fourth different driver to win his first race this year. “I knew we could do it,” Bowyer said. “This was an unbelievable day. Hopefully, this proves we’ve earned a spot. I won’t kid you, I was about to throw up those last 30 laps, you hear every rattle and squeak in it and I was praying that no caution would come.”

Jeff Gordon fought handling woes but the team kept adjusting and got it nearly right near the end, he finished second and Tony Stewart brought his Chevrolet home in the third spot. Kyle Busch, who crashed early in this race last year, digging himself an early hole to start the Chase, drove a cautious race on Sunday and finished fifth. Busch was followed by Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Casey Mears, Ryan Newman and J.J. Yeley to round out the top ten.

Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon are tied in points at 5210 -- with Tony Stewart at 5200 -- and Bowyer has a total of 5195. Kurt Busch was the biggest loser on the day, dropping down to 12th in points after experiencing engine troubles. David Ragan finished 19th and took Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the 12th time this season. He claimed top rookie honors for the third consecutive race. The Nextel Cup Series moves to Dover International Speedway next Sunday, Sept, 23rd, for the Dodge Dealers 400.
To read the full article...     (Insider Racing News)
For full final race results...     (Insider Racing News)
For top-40 Nextel Cup drivers points...     (Insider Racing News)

Hornaday Wins Truck Race
Ron Hornaday didn't just win the New Hampshire 200 Craftsman Truck race at New Hampshire International Speedway, he literally blew away the competition. The class of the field, Hornaday started on the pole for Saturday's race because he was the Series points leader and the qualifying session was rained out. That forced NASCAR to lineup the drivers on the starting grid based on owner's points. Mike Skinner started on the outside pole and everyone expected to see a battle between Hornaday and Skinner going into the first turn. But it didn't happen, Hornaday got a great start and was pulling away from the field on the very first turn of the race. That set the tone for the event and even though Hornaday was mired in the middle of the pack after a green flag pit stop, he quickly passed the nine cars in front of him to get back into the lead. "He put a wipping on us today," said Mike Skinner. "Ronnie put on a clinic. It was a good race, a little boring. That No. 33 led too much. But we've got some good races coming up. I don't think I'd start fitting the crown yet."

Hornaday won Saturday’s race, his fourth victory of the 2007 season by leading 174 of the 200 laps. In 18 races this season, he has racked up 10 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes. It was Hornaday's 33rd career victory in the Truck Series in 193 starts. We've got to do it," Hornaday said. "If we don't, Skinner will. This is the same truck we finished second with three times and we finally got a win, It was just unbelievable."

Erik Darnell finished second to Hornaday and Skinner was third over Todd Bodine. A hard charging Mike Bliss, driving for Bobby Hamilton Racing brought his Dodge home in fifth followed by Rick Crawford, Ted Musgrave, Johnny Benson, Jon Wood and Shane Sieg. The Craftsman Truck Series moves to Las Vegas Motor Speedway next week in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007.

Eury Jr. To Leave DEI After Talladega
Tony Eury Jr. will leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. for Hendrick Motorsports earlier than expected, team officials confirmed on Thursday. Eury, who has been Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car or crew chief for all but one season since the two broke into the Nextel Cup Series in 2000, will step down after the Oct. 7 race at Talladega Superspeedway. He will be allowed to take four members of Earnhardt's No. 8 team with him under a deal made by DEI when it agreed to free him contractually to join Earnhardt at HMS in 2008.

Dale Jr. No. 88 / Pepsi and National Guard

Dale Earnhardt Jr. * HMS Photos

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolets in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, giving him a storied car number for his transition to Hendrick Motorsports. Some history behind the No. 88 in NASCAR's top series:

FAMILY TIES: Ralph Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s grandfather, drove a No. 88 Petty Enterprises "Oldsmobile 88" in the 1957 Virginia 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The elder Earnhardt started ninth and finished 13th in the May 19 Grand National division race won by Buck Baker. Ralph Earnhardt also piloted the No. 188 entries for Petty in seven events that season, posting three top-10 results and six top-15s.

'88' DEBUTS: On Sept. 11, 1949 at Langhorne (Pa.) Speedway, driver Pepper Cunningham started 15th and drove his No. 88 car, a 1949 Lincoln, to a 33rd-place finish in the Strictly Stock event. Won by Curtis Turner, the race marked the first time a No. 88 was entered in NASCAR competition.

ALL-STAR ROSTER: The list of drivers who have piloted a No. 88 car in NASCAR Cup-level competition reads like an all-star race roster. Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Buck Baker, Buddy Baker, Geoffrey Bodine, Ernie Irvan, Dale Jarrett, Benny Parsons, Jim Paschal, Fireball Roberts, Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace, Darrell Waltrip and Joe Weatherly have all taken turns wheeling it.

65 WINS... AND COUNTING: The No. 88 has been to Victory Lane 65 times since its first race in 1949, ranking it ninth among car numbers on the all-time win list. It is also 10th in all-time starts (1,264) and 12th in all-time pole positions (52).

WHAT'S IN A NUMBER: Along with its 65 Cup-level wins, the No. 88 has recorded 52 poles, 315 top-five finishes and 526 top-10s. It has led 18,398 laps and logged nearly 350,000 miles.

PAIR OF 88s: Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports operation also uses the No. 88 on its Chevrolets in NASCAR Busch Series competition. In fact, the current driver of the No. 88 Busch Series entries, Brad Keselowski, also has family ties to the number. His uncle, Ron Keselowski, ran a No. 88 car on 43 occasions in 1971, 1972 and 1973 combined, recording a best finish of fifth at Michigan International Speedway on June 11, 1972.

Atwood Back At Dover
Casey Atwood will be making his first start of the 2007 season for Brewco Motorsports this weekend at Dover International Speedway, the sight of Atwood’s last win, also in a Brewco Motorsports entry. Atwood’s last win was in the Fall Dover Race in 1999; he started 5th and led 38 laps in route to victory. Atwood has 3 Top-5 starts and 4 Top-20 finishes in the NASCAR Busch Series at Dover International Speedway.

Official: Budweiser To Kahne
Today, Budweiser announced Gillett Evernham Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne will become the next world-class racer to take the wheel of the iconic red Budweiser car when the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season kicks off in February. Kahne adds his name to the Budweiser Racing legacy forged in NASCAR by popular drivers like Terry Labonte, Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kahne was NASCAR's Rookie of the Year in 2004 and picked up his first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series victory in 2005. In 2006 he won six races and six Budweiser Pole Awards - more wins and poles than any other driver - and qualified for the Chase for the Nextel Cup in just his third year in NASCAR's premiere series.

Driver Milestones

Waltrip Hires Dr. Eric Warren
Michael Waltrip hired Dr. Eric Warren as technical director, the first of many moves he hopes will strengthen his three-car team. Warren, who has a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from North Carolina State University, spent the last five years as technical director at Evernham Motorsports. He was replaced midway through this season as team owner Ray Evernham refocused his energy on building cars to help his slumping team. Warren's hiring fills a role that has been vacant at Michael Waltrip Racing since he began hiring late last season.

"It was a job we wanted to fill when we first started, but we didn't feel like the right person was available to choose from," Waltrip told The Associated Press on Monday. "Eric is a special dude. He'll help us out immensely."

Brewco Sells To Baker
Former track owner Gary Baker has purchased controlling interest in Brewco Motorsports and intends to move the team to Nashville, Tenn., possibly by the end of the year.

The team announced Friday that Baker had joined the team's ownership group, but a source said Baker would have control of the team. Clarence Brewer started the team in 1995 and has won 10 races. Brewco currently fields two cars, No. 27 and No. 37, for various drivers. It is based in Central City, Ky. Team president Todd Wilkerson, who said he will remain with the team as a consultant, said the deal was necessitated by the increased cost and competition in the Busch Series.

"It's very difficult, especially in today's environment with all the Cup teams running Busch," Wilkerson said. "Being in Central City, we had kind of maxed it out. We were just kind of stale and just not going anywhere. We felt like we needed new blood and new money."

"Moving the team is a big part of that," Wilkerson said. "That's where Gary is form, that's where his business are. That's where he plans on moving it. I don't know exactly when. The first thing he's got to do is find a building. I'd say by the end of the year, probably November, December, they'd probably look at moving the team to Nashville."(scenedaily.com)

"Paint My Ride" Contest
Think you can do a better job designing the No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford F-150 than their professional designer did? Here's your chance. Northern Tool + Equipment has launched the "Paint My Ride" promotion that allows race fans to design their own paint scheme for Erik Darnell's No. 99 truck.

Now through October 5, 2007, fans will be able to download a template of the No. 99 Ford via Northern Tool + Equipment's website, NorthernTool.com to create their own paint scheme. All designs submitted will be placed on their website for popular voting. The winning paint scheme will be chosen by the official judges and will adorn the No. 99 on November 9 at Phoenix International Raceway. The winning contestant and a guest will be flown to the race, where they will receive hotel accommodations, two race day tickets, pit passes, $250 in spending cash and a meet-and-greet with Erik Darnell and the No. 99 team. The winning design and contestant will also be featured on the Northern Tool website.

"I'm pretty excited to see what the fans can come up with for a paint scheme," said Darnell. "The scheme on the truck looks pretty cool now so it'll be a challenge to top it, but I am sure that someone will do it. The No. 99 team had a strong run in Phoenix last year. It would be great to put the winning scheme in Victory Lane when we're out there later this year, so we'll work hard to do just that."

For more information and complete contest rules, log on to NorthernTool.com and click on the "Paint My Ride" link.

Race and Commercial Breakdown For The Sylvania 300

Hendrick Lawsuit Settled
Tracy Lathram, whose husband Scott Lathram died in the Hendrick Motorsports plane crash in October 2004 near Martinsville, Va., has settled her lawsuit against Hendrick Motorsports and the government. All sides had agreed to a settlement in June, and it was approved Tuesday in U.S. District Court in North Carolina.

The confidential agreement ends all of Lathram's claims against both Hendrick and the air-traffic controllers. It doesn't end Hendrick's request that the government be held at least partially responsible and contribute to any judgments, according to court documents.

Lathram, whose husband was a pilot for Tony Stewart and a passenger on the plane, will share the confidential settlement with her three children, all of whom are 16 or older.

She is the second of the three widows who have filed suit to settle with Hendrick. Linda Turner (widow of Hendrick general manager Jeff Turner) still has a claim against the government. Dianne Dorton (widow of Hendrick engine builder Randy Dorton) still has claims against Hendrick and the government.(scenedaily.com)