PracticeMode

The Associated Press

The Indy Racing League's IndyCar Series is expanding, and more growth could occur soon.

The IRL will make its debut in Long Beach and Toronto next season.

The Grand Prix of Long Beach will be run on April 19. The 35-year-old event has hosted F1, CART and Champ Car races. This season, Champ Car ran its final event there after its merger with the IRL, but awarded the drivers IRL points. Next year, it becomes a full-fledged IRL event. The agreement is for through 2015.

The IRL will hold the Streets of Toronto race on July 12. It will make up for the loss of the Nashville event, which was dropped after efforts to negotiate an agreement for a 2009 race there failed.

2 new venues added to 2009 IndyCar schedule....

Sporting News staff reports


NASCAR will not return to Mexico next season, The Charlotte Observer reports.

For four years, the Nationwide Series has run a race at the Hermanos Rodriguez Autodrome road course in Mexico City. Officials confirmed Sunday that the series will not be back there in 2009, but they have not announced where the replacement race will be. However, sources told the Observer the likely replacement venue is the new Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.

Several factors, including a growing and stable touring series in Mexico and lower attendance at the Nationwide event, contributed to the decision not to return to Mexico City in 2009, the Observer reports.

NASCAR won't visit Mexico City in 2009....

By JENNA FRYER

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Yes, the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a debacle. No point in denying it. But don't be so quick to castigate NASCAR, which was faced with the unenviable task of trying to salvage a race that was destined to look like stalled, rush-hour traffic.

When it became obvious in Saturday's practice sessions that the tires Goodyear brought to Indy had a serious durability issue, there was only one option for NASCAR a day ahead of the green flag: figure out how to stage a safe race. Option No. 2? There wasn't one.

Formula One and Michelin learned that at Indy in 2005, when three-fourths of the field refused to compete in the United States Grand Prix because of tire concerns. Indy took a hit, the race never recovered and F1 isn't currently racing in this country.

"The difference between NASCAR and Formula One is Formula One thinks of it as a business — they don't think about the fans, they don't think about the show," said Juan Pablo Montoya, the only driver to participate in both tire fiascos.

"Here they do. NASCAR will do whatever is possible to put the show on in the best way possible."

NASCAR not to blame for tire fiasco at Brickyard....

By JENNA FRYER

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jimmie Johnson celebrated his second victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a burnout.

Appropriately, one of his tires exploded.

Johnson survived horrendous tire troubles that made Sunday's race a caution-filled debacle because the Goodyear product was not durable enough to withstand the lack of downforce on NASCAR's new car and the speeds and surface of Indy.

"We came with the best tire we had for the conditions and we fell short. We'll try to get it right," said Greg Stucker, director of race tire sales for Goodyear.

"I don't think anybody likes to race like this, us included. We'll do what we can to make it better."

Johnson survives tire debacle at Indianapolis....

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Scott Dixon took another big step toward a second IndyCar championship Saturday, holding off Helio Castroneves, his closest pursuer, for a victory in the Rexall Edmonton Indy.

Castroneves, still looking for his first win of the season, kept the pressure on Dixon lap after lap on the temporary airport circuit. But Castroneves nearly slid off course on worn out tires six laps from the end, allowing the New Zealander to cruise to his fifth victory of the season.

Dixon gets fifth win....

By JOHN F. BURNS

LONDON — A High Court judge ruled on Thursday that a British tabloid newspaper breached the privacy of Max Mosley, the overseer of grand prix motor racing, when it published a story in March claiming he had participated in a sadomasochistic “orgy” with a Nazi theme.

The judge, Sir David Eady, sitting without a jury, awarded Mr. Mosley damages equivalent to about $120,000 as well as legal costs in his suit against The News of the World. His legal fees have been estimated at more than $1.7-million. But the judge did not award the “punitive damages” sought by Mr. Mosley, which could have run into millions of dollars, saying that this was not appropriate in a privacy case.

The judge upheld the central argument made by Mr. Mosley and his lawyers in court and in the battle to save his job as president of the Paris-based Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, or F.I.A. that there had been no Nazi theme to the five-hour sex session in a Chelsea flat that was secretly filmed by the newspaper, and no issue of public interest in its decision to splash the story on its front page and to run video footage of the session on its Web site.

Mosley Wins Suit Against Tabloid....

By JENNA FRYER

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — If Ryan Newman is indeed in line to join Tony Stewart's new team next season, neither driver is saying.

Stewart said Tuesday he's still trying to fill the two-car lineup at Stewart-Haas Racing, while Newman joked the only new offer he's received was to drive for one of Stewart's sprint car teams.

All kidding aside, Newman is believed to be the top candidate to drive for Stewart next year. The Daytona 500 winner announced last week he'll leave Penske Racing at the end of the season, a decision that makes him the top current free agent.

Newman, Stewart play coy on potential partnership....

CBSSports.com wire reports

LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Ryan Briscoe never doubted The Captain's call.

That's team Penske boss Roger Penske, who came up with a surprising strategy Sunday that Briscoe turned into his second IndyCar Series victory.

"Roger, with his experience, he always finds a way to pit at the right time and get you back up to the front," said Briscoe, who drove sports cars for Penske last year before moving to the IndyCar team this season. "Today was a perfect case of that. Once we got back up there, we had the pace to run fast and pull away. It was just perfect."

Penske, the winningest team owner in open-wheel history, made the call to put Briscoe out of sequence with the other contenders. In the end, the team wound up with a 1-2 sweep in the Honda Indy 200 as Helio Castroneves followed Briscoe across the finish line.

Briscoe, Castroneves give Penske 1-2 finish in Ohio....

Mercedes-Benz is interested in buying the remainder of McLaren, team chief executive Martin Whitmarsh has admitted at Hockenheim.

On the verge of the German manufacturer's home race, Whitmarsh confirmed the constant speculation about McLaren's long-time partner wanting to up its share from the current 40%.

McLaren teamed up with the Stuttgart manufacturer in 1995, and Mercedes-Benz is now the only carmaker on the grid that does not own its team outright.

"It's an interesting issue and a dilemma that faces the shareholders of this business - and to some extent the management," Whitmarsh told the International Herald Tribune newspaper.

Mercedes wants to buy McLaren....

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali has played down wild rumours suggesting that the Scuderia was about to swoop for a disgruntled Lewis Hamilton by claiming that current drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen both have 'long-term' deals at Maranello.

Domenicali was asked about the possibility of a revised line-up at Ferrari next season after reports surfaced claiming that Hamilton's father, Anthony, had been seen in deep - and evidently secret - discussions with the new Ferrari team chief at Hockenheim. Respected British newspaper The Times published a picture which it suggested was a clandestine conversation between the pair outside a Mercedes-Benz party at Hockenheim on the eve of this weekend's German Grand Prix, but Domenicali dismissed that it was anything more than a passing greeting.

"What was the story in the English newspaper? I do not know it," he questioned, "I was walking away from Norbert [Haug]'s party because I had other things to do with our sponsor. Anthony just came up behind me and said 'hello' and that's it, very easy. It's nice to see how these things can grow. Everyone has seen it, I think...."

Ferrari F1 boss denies secret Hamilton talks....

MONTEREY, Calif. (AP) — Valentino Rossi won the United States Grand Prix on Sunday, giving the Italian rider his first victory at Laguna Seca.

Rossi's 66th career victory stopped defending world champion Casey Stoner's winning streak at three races. Rossi finished the 32-lap race in 42 minutes, 4.311 seconds with a top speed of 97.72 mph to set an event record.

Italy's Rossi wins US Grand Prix....

HOCKENHEIM, Germany (AFP) — Briton Lewis Hamilton delivered another massive endorsement of his great potential Sunday when he opened a clear lead in this year's drivers' championship by winning the German Grand Prix in thrilling style.

The 23-year-old Englishman, in his McLaren Mercedes-Benz, dominated the early stages and then, after being upset by two Safety Car interventions and some cautious team strategy, proved he could overtake anyone with a dazzling display of passing moves in the final laps.

"Sorry about that," said his McLaren team chief Ron Dennis over the radio system later. "We made it much more difficult for you and we made you drive like that in such a great car."

Hamilton, smiling afterwards, said: "That's ok, Ron. Don't worry about it. We did good in the end, so it is ok."

Hamilton in charge of title race after German F1 win....

LEXINGTON, Ohio — That win earlier this year in Japan must seem like a long time ago to Danica Patrick.

Since her first IndyCar Series victory on April 20, Patrick has mostly struggled to be competitive. Her fifth-place finish last Saturday night at Nashville was her first top-five since Motegi. And Patrick was hoping it would be the catalyst for a big finish to the 2008 season.

"That is the kind of stuff that I would, should, could be doing every weekend," she said Friday before the first practice. "It has been a tough year for me, really. We just haven't really settled on good race cars and we have missed it in the races. We were a lot closer to it at the race at Nashville."

But, if Saturday is any indication, the Honda Indy 200 may be just more of the same struggles that she has faced so many times in the past three months.

Patrick's struggles continue with poor qualifying performance at Mid-Ohio....

By Motorsport.com staff writers

Ryan Newman visited the media at Chicagoland Speedway last Saturday, July 12, before he, along with the other 42 racers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, ran the first race under the lights on the Joliet, Ill. oval. After is comments, it appeared that indeed, the handwriting was on the wall and Newman would leaving Penske Racing.

His comments came two days after Tony Stewart confirmed the formation of Stewart-Haas Racing. The Joe Gibbs Racing long-time star and two-time Cup champion will be back in a Chevrolet next year as a driver and team co-owner. One of the drivers showing up in the rumor mill was Stewart's friend and rival, Newman.

Newman leaves Penske, looks for new opportunity....

MORRISON, Colo. — The trimming of the track did nothing to neutralize the nitro cars.

Racing on a 1,000-foot strip for the first time in NHRA history, Top Fuel dragster Tony Schumacher and Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson won their respective classes Sunday during the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.

Schumacher didn't need the extra 320 feet of track to get his dragster up to speed, reaching 304 m.p.h in his win over Antron Brown in the finals.

"I couldn't have asked for a better race car. It was flawless," said Schumacher, who picked up his sixth victory of the season.

Following the recent death of Scott Kalitta in a racing accident, the NHRA took an interim step, shortening the length of Top Fuel and Funny Car races from a quarter-mile to 1,000 feet. The change kicked in this weekend at Bandimere Speedway.

Schumacher wins Top Fuel, Wilkerson wins Funny Car at Nationals....

By RICK GANO – 5 hours ago

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — Kyle Busch passed Jimmie Johnson after a restart on the next-to-last lap Saturday night to win his seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of the season.

Johnson had gone by Busch with 17 laps remaining in the LifeLock.com 400. But on the restart after the ninth caution, Busch went high on the track at Chicagoland Speedway and got by Johnson and held on for yet another victory.

Busch has 14 victories this season, spanning NASCAR's three series. He won a Nationwide Series race on the same track Friday night.

And the 23-year-old Busch showed again why he leads the Sprint Cup points race with some great driving at the end.

Busch passes Johnson late to take Chicagoland race....

From Times Wire Rrports

Scott Dixon took the lead on Lap 149 and had enough fuel to stay there until rain ended the Indy Racing League Firestone Indy 200 with 29 laps left Saturday night, giving him his third consecutive victory at Nashville Superspeedway and his fourth this season.

The third caution of the race came on Lap 139 when the rain finally hit. The cars kept going even as fans were asked to evacuate the grandstand immediately because of the weather. They went back to green before the fourth and final caution came on lap 167.

IRL officials kept the cars rolling until the rain came harder, and the race was red-flagged on Lap 171.

Rain allows Scott Dixon to win third straight at Nashville....

By Associated Press

JOLIET, Ill. - NASCAR's BAM Racing team has presented Barack Obama's presidential campaign with a potential sponsorship deal in the Sprint Cup series, but an Obama car won't be burning rubber on the track.

BAM team spokesman Rhett Vandiver told the Associated Press yesterday that the team has made a sponsorship proposal to the Democratic presidential hopeful's campaign, and has made similar proposals to the campaign of Republican John McCain and at least one third-party candidate.

Late last night, the Obama campaign said there would be no sponsorship.

Team loses on bid for a presidential race....

By Reid Spencer

JOLIET, Ill. -- Tony Stewart answered the big question Thursday afternoon at Chicagoland Speedway, but at the same time, he ensured that the slow unveiling of his future plans will continue for at least a few more weeks.

Having made a deal Stewart described as a merger with Haas CNC Racing, the two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion has acquired 50-percent interest in what will be called Stewart-Haas Motorsports next year. Beginning in 2009, Stewart will drive one of the cars for what will remain a two-car team.

Still unanswered after the press conference, at which Stewart appeared with Haas CNC general manager Joe Custer, is the question of sponsorship. Office Depot, currently the primary sponsor of Carl Edwards' No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, reportedly will move to Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2009 season. Stewart's current sponsor, Home Depot, will remain with the team Stewart is leaving, Joe Gibbs Racing.

Stewart announces formation of Stewart-Haas Racing....

Dale Earnhardt Inc. is not for sale -- right now.



DEI president Max Siegel on Tuesday refuted an Internet report that company owner Teresa Earnhardt had commissioned investment banking firm Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. to locate a buyer or financial investment partner.



"We have not engaged Bear, Stearns or Goldman Sachs or anyone else," Siegel said. "We are contacted all the time by outside firms about getting involved in the sport.



"We are not for sale right now. Nothing is imminent."

DEI says it is not presently seeking buyer....

By JENNA FRYER

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — After 10 years and two championships, Tony Stewart appears set to end his relationship with Joe Gibbs Racing to pursue an opportunity to buy his own NASCAR team.

Stewart's contract with JGR runs through 2009, but the team was expected to announce Wednesday that it will release him from his contract at the end of the season. Team owner Joe Gibbs has been trying to sign Stewart to an extension for almost a year, but the popular driver was slow to commit and eventually decided to explore free agency.

Numerous options were presented to Stewart, including buying the fledgling two-car team of Haas-CNC Racing and driving for other organizations. It gave Stewart options Gibbs couldn't match, and likely forced the team to grant him his release despite an initial unwillingness to do so.

Mike Arning, a spokesman for Stewart, said an announcement concerning Stewart's future would be made Wednesday. ESPN.com reported late Tuesday night he would be released from his contract.

Tony Stewart set to be released from JGR....

By MIKE HARRIS

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) — Ryan Hunter-Reay figured the luck had to go his way eventually.

Turns out Sunday was the day.

Hunter-Reay got the opening he needed to earn his first IndyCar Series victory when Scott Dixon made an uncharacteristic mistake, ending his bid for a fourth straight victory on the road course at Watkins Glen International.

Preparing to make a run at leader Darren Manning after a long caution period, Dixon spun out under yellow and was hit from behind by contender Ryan Briscoe. That gave the runner-up spot to Hunter-Reay, who easily passed Manning on the ensuing restart and drove away with the fourth series win for Rahal Letterman Racing and first since 2004.

Dixon's mistake helps Hunter-Reay to victory....

The Associated Press

SILVERSTONE, England: Lewis Hamilton said the racing conditions were so bad at the rainsoaked British Grand Prix he couldn't see through his visor.

Thankfully for the winner of the Formula One race, he was so far ahead his rivals couldn't see him at all.

The McLaren driver who wasted a 12-point drivers championship lead with only two races to go in his rookie season last year restored faith in his ability to win it this time with a nearly flawless race Sunday in conditions that had his rivals slithering around the Silverstone circuit.

Hamilton wins in awful conditions at British GP....

By JENNA FRYER – 12 hours ago

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Busch fell a lap down at Talladega and came back to win. So when a steering problem dropped him to the back of the field at Daytona, he didn't panic. He simply settled in for the long drive back to the front. And back to Victory Lane.

Busch bested Carl Edwards in a door-to-door drag race Saturday night that ended under caution with Busch earning his Sprint Cup Series-best sixth victory of the season.

"That's him," crew chief Steve Addington shrugged.

Say what you want about Busch, the driver NASCAR fans love to hate. But the kid doesn't quit, not when a checkered flag is on the line.

Busch nips Edwards to win under caution at Daytona....

Following discussions with Formula One Management, the FIA has confirmed that the British Grand Prix will be retained on the Formula One World Championship calendar, moving from Silverstone to its new home of Donington Park from 2010.

FIA President Max Mosley said, “After many years of patient but fruitless negotiation with the BRDC, we are delighted that Bernie (Ecclestone) has nevertheless been able to ensure that the British Grand Prix will keep its place on the Formula One World Championship calendar.

“We understand that the development programme planned for Donington will achieve the very high standards we and FOM expect from a modern F1 circuit. Finally, British Formula One fans will get the Grand Prix venue they deserve.”

FOM President Bernie Ecclestone said, “Finally the uncertainty is over. A contract has been signed with Donington Park and the future of the British Grand prix is now secure.

British Grand Prix at Donington Park from 2010....

By David Newton
ESPN.com

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Tony Stewart has a few obstacles left before he officially can become a Sprint Cup team owner, but sponsorship isn't one of them.

The two-time Cup champion has reached an agreement that would make Office Depot a primary sponsor on his car if he finalizes a deal with Haas CNC Racing, a source close to the negotiations said on Thursday.

Sources said an announcement could be made as early as the weekend of the July 27 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is located about an hour from Stewart's hometown of Columbus.

But before anything can happen Stewart would have to be released from the final year of his contact with Joe Gibbs Racing. JGR president J.D. Gibbs said on Friday at Daytona International Speedway that he remained in negotiations to extend Stewart's deal past 2009.

Source: Stewart secures sponsor for potential Cup team....

ESPN.com news services

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-- Co-owner Chip Ganassi has shut down Dario Franchitti's race team because of a lack of sponsorship.

The 2007 Indy 500 winner and IRL Series champion has struggled in his first NASCAR season driving Ganassi's No. 40 Dodge.

Longtime sponsor Coors Light left at the end of last season, and Ganassi was unable to secure funding for Franchitti.

Franchitti ranks 41st in the points standings.

Lack of sponsorship forces Ganassi to shut down Franchitti's team....