NASCAR Drivers to Perform Top Ten List Wed on Letterman: The 10 NASCAR drivers competing in the Chase for the Nextel Cup -- Jeff Burton, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin -- will present a special Top Ten List on The Late Show with David Letterman, Wednesday, Sept 13th, the show is broadcast weeknights (11:35pm-12:37am/et/pt) on the CBS Television Network.(NASCAR PR)(9-12-2006)
NASCAR buying CASCAR UPDATE Official: [after years of rumors...] NASCAR today will unveil a Canadian-based stock car series that will feature a season-long points battle among the country's best drivers and end with the awarding of the Canadian Tire Cup. The Toronto Sun has learned that a deal to sell CASCAR -- Canada's top stock car racing series -- to the France family business that is NASCAR will be made official at a news conference today in Toronto and that Canadian Tire has signed on as the title sponsor. The deal, which has been two years in the making, will see NASCAR sanction a national stock car racing series in Canada on the foundation that has been laid by Tony Novotny and his wife, Linda, over the past 20 years. "It's finally going to happen," Linda Novotny said yesterday. At the Champ Car Grand Prix of Montreal last month CASCAR also became the first stock car series to race on an active Formula One track at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. It is the same track where the NASCAR Busch Series will hold its first-ever Canadian race in 2007. Robbie Weiss, NASCAR's international director, is flying in from his Los Angles office to make the proclamation about his company's future in the Great White North and while his office would not reveal why he is visiting Toronto, it's not likely just another glad-handing affair where Brian France gets his hands on some of that Canadian Tire money. Speaking of CASCAR, all of a sudden it seems to be the place to be for two of Quebec's top open wheel racing drivers. A week ago Patrick Carpentier, a veteran of both Champ Car and the Indy Racing League, drew high praise for his sixth-place finish after he climbed into the Dave Jacombs Racing #88 Ford for CASCAR's Labour Day Classic at Cayuga Speedway. And this past Saturday at Montreal's Autodrome Ste. Eustache, 19-year-old Andrew Ranger, driver of the #27 MiJack Conquest Racing Lola in Champ Car, drove the same car to a 13th-place finish in his first try in the big sedans. Both Carpentier and Ranger have been paying attention to the NASCAR talk in their home province and both are likely to make bids to be part of the show there next season.(Toronto Sun) UPDATE: In support of its initiatives across Canada, NASCAR announced the creation of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. Scheduled to launch in May 2007, the series includes a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Canadian Tire – an iconic Canadian brand with strong national presence. The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will operate nationally in Canada with a schedule of 10-12 races (May-October). The series will provide new racing opportunities for teams and drivers from the former CASCAR series. The official NASCAR Canadian Tire Series schedule, point fund and tracks will be announced at a later date. The series will receive support from NASCAR’s extensive resources, including competition, research and development, marketing, licensing and communications. A dedicated staff will operate the series, with NASCAR Canada providing additional support in sponsorship, licensing, marketing and media initiatives. In addition to becoming title sponsor of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Canadian Tire, the most-shopped general merchandiser in the country, will become the official automotive retailer of NASCAR in Canada. Canadian Tire will offer exclusive customer promotions, seasonal marketing programs and national advertising and in-store programs in partnership with NASCAR Canada. As part of the partnership agreement and its continued focus on being first-to-market with new and exciting products, Canadian Tire will explore licensing opportunities, including developing a new line of NASCAR products for the automotive aftermarket. TSN, a NASCAR broadcast partner for more than 20 years, will help market the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and draw new fans to NASCAR and stock car racing in Canada. Among these efforts, TSN is developing a monthly magazine-style show that will showcase the many aspects of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. The program will spotlight the stars of the series, race news, updates and highlights.(NASCAR PR)(9-12-2006)
Alabama Track Complex Bears Name of Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Gulf Coast Entertainment announced plans to construct a major motorsports and entertainment park in southern Alabama. The investor group has narrowed its site choices to a location in Mobile County in the area across from the University of Mobile and two potential sites in adjacent Baldwin County--one on the Foley Beach Express and the other in central Baldwin County. The project - which is to include an asphalt speedway, a road course, a drag strip and a dirt track - will be named "Alabama Motorsports Park, A Dale Earnhardt Jr. Speedway." Joining the motorsports star and a diverse group of investors from various southern states in participation in the project are Kelley Earnhardt Elledge and Kerry Earnhardt, marking the siblings' first professional collaboration. "Our family business is racing and it's been our business for three generations," said Dale Earnhardt Jr. "Kelley, Kerry and I want to continue the family business with hopes that the next generation of Earnhardts will want to be involved in the sport. This new venture with the Alabama Motorsports Park provides yet another avenue in which the Earnhardt family can participate. The site plan developed by HOK Sport of Kansas City includes parking, a significant RV resort, multiple music theaters and an arena and reserves land for commercial, residential and light industrial activities. The schedule calls for the project to be completed in the fall of 2009. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has provided input on the lighted, 75,000-seat, 7/10-mile oval. Features will include pedestrian/vehicle tunnels and banking and multiple grooves to promote close racing with extensive passing opportunities. Kerry Earnhardt has provided input on both the track and on a freshwater lake that investors believe will attract national fishing events. The 3.5-mile road course will feature two distinct but connected segments to enhance testing on the track. The 1/4-mile drag strip and 3/8-mile dirt track will be designed to attract national events. The park's website, alabamamotorsportspark.com, will provide future project and construction updates.(PSE-3 PR)(9-12-2006)