Kasey Kahne has agreed to a contract with Hendrick Motorsports beginning in 2011, sources told SceneDaily.com.

Richard Petty Motorsports, which has Kahne under contract for this season, confirmed that Kahne is leaving the organization. Continue reading ‘Report: Kasey Kahne to leave Richard Petty Motorsports for Hendrick in 2011′

Ryan Newman took the lead after a late caution at Phoenix International Raceway and held off Jeff Gordon (FSY) in a two-lap shootout Saturday night to get his first victory since the 2008 Daytona 500, and first since joining Stewart’s new team last season. Continue reading ‘Ryan Newman grabs first win in 2 years at Phoenix’

There have been numerous calls for Bristol Motor Speedway to end its experiment with old-timer “legends” racing since the track’s March 20 event resulted in a savage late-race accident. Larry Pearson, the driver seriously injured in that wreck, isn’t one of the naysayers. Pearson, 56, had six surgeries in the 12 days following the crash, which happened after his car blew a tire, hit the wall and was slammed in the drivers door at full speed by Charlie Glotzbach. Glotzbach was hospitalized for a few days but was not seriously injured. Continue reading ‘The Latest on Larry Pearson’

Jeremy Mayfield’s lawsuit against NASCAR will remain in federal court, U.S. District Judge Graham Mullen ruled Tuesday. The case, stemming from a drug test last May that NASCAR says was a positive for methamphetamine but Mayfield says was a mix of over-the-counter and prescription medication, has been at a virtual standstill since January in order to resolve jurisdictional issues. Continue reading ‘Jeremy Mayfield’s lawsuit against NASCAR to remain in federal court’

Gentlemen, start your … political campaigns? Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s re-election campaign said Tuesday that he’s sponsoring Bobby Labonte’s car for the April 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the Texas Motor Speedway. Perry and Labonte were on hand Tuesday as the car was unveiled. Continue reading ‘Texas governor Rick Perry sponsors Bobby Labonte for Texas race’

Throughout its history, the NASCAR series now known as Sprint Cup has parked its cars on Easter Sunday. But back in the day they did run at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Mondays, including the day after Easter, and it was on one of those post-Easter Monday races that Glen Wood scored his first Cup win.

That April 18, 1960, triumph was just a part of an amazing string of success that Wood enjoyed that year in his 1958 Ford Fairlane. Wood proved then, as his team has shown over and over through the years, that it’s possible to achieve great results while running a limited schedule. But Wood’s success in 1960 would be hard to top. Continue reading ‘Remembering Glen Wood’s first win’

DuPont’s once robust NASCAR hospitality program suffered enormous cuts last year, but the longtime #24- Jeff Gordon sponsor is back in 2010 with more guests and events at each track. Just a few years ago, DuPont had the largest hospitality program in NASCAR, hosting guests at every race on the Sprint Cup circuit, a number that reached 20,000 people a year. Their guests ranged from body-shop owners who used DuPont paint to building contractors who bought the Tyvek brand of house wrap. The company would bring as many as 1,000 people to a race, and virtually the entire focus of the sponsorship was based on creating business-to-business activity. DuPont entertained customers with meals, question-and-answer sessions with Gordon and bags of swag, all the while making new relationships or deepening existing ones. But DuPont hospitality was largely a casualty of the recession in 2009. Continue reading ‘DuPont increases hospitality program after big cutbacks in 2009′

Former NASCAR driver Shane Hmiel won a USAC Midget race last week at Hickory Motor Speedway. He returned to race again the next night, turning the fastest speed in qualifying and hoping for another $3,000 winner’s payday, only to see rain wash away those hopes. A handful of people milled around the pits and maybe a few hundred people sat in the grandstands as Hmiel and his one crewman worked on his car. It was a long way from pit road at Bristol Motor Speedway, the site of his last Sprint Cup race five years ago. It was a long way from victory lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he won a NASCAR Truck Series race in 2004. If all had gone right in Shane Hmiel’s world, he’d be making more than $3,000 a race just for waking up in the morning. But things didn’t go right for Hmiel, who is bipolar and has a drug habit. Continue reading ‘Shane Hmiel back racing Midgets’

Kevin Harvick took advantage of a late caution to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, the Sprint Cup driver’s second victory in four series starts this season. Continue reading ‘Harvick wins Nationwide race in Nashville’

A $100,000 offer from Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage to a radio personality to change his name to promote the track was a hoax, Gossage said Wednesday.

Gossage and TMS officials sent out an official release Wednesday on speedway letterhead saying Dallas DJ Terry Dorsey had accepted Gossage’s offer of $100,000 to legally change his name to TexasMotorSpeedway.com. Continue reading ‘TMS’ Gossage admits name change offer an April Fools gag’

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announced Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, had successful surgery to repair the ACL in his left knee this morning. The surgery was performed by Dr. Patrick Connor with OrthoCarolina. Hamlin injured the knee in January prior to the start of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. He is expected to make a full recovery and will be in Phoenix as scheduled for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on April 10. JGR will have driver Casey Mears on standby should Hamlin experience any complications while driving in the race and need to be replaced in the car. Continue reading ‘Hamlin has successful knee surgery’

Denny Hamlin, slated to undergo surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) Wednesday morning in Charlotte, will only need clearance from his doctor to resume competing in NASCAR, according to officials with the sanctioning body. Continue reading ‘Hamlin will need clearance from doctor to compete’