UPDATE:
Joe Lax, crew chief for the #36 Toyota driven by Jeremy Mayfield in the Nextel Cup Series, has been fined $25,000, suspended from NASCAR competition until Sept. 19 [2 races] and placed on probation until Dec. 31 due to rule violations last week at California Speedway. Prior to qualifying, Lax was found to have violated [...]

Steve Lane, crew chief for the #40 Dodge driven by David Stremme, has been fined $2,500 because the team’s scorer, Joel Charpentier, left the scoring area prior to the completion of this past Sunday’s event at California Speedway.
Lane was in violation of Sections 12-4A and 9-4A (crew chief assumes responsibility for actions of team members).
[NASCAR]

NASCAR officials say that Michael Waltrip chose to take his time getting out of his car after a fiery crash at California Speedway last Sunday and denied that the safety worker was moving slowly.
Fans have questioned the safety response after television footage showed the safety crew arrive at the car and approach it without fire [...]

Edsel Ford II, great-grandson of pioneer automaker Henry Ford, is becoming a director of International Speedway Corp., owner of Daytona International Speedway. Ford, 58, due to be formally elected in November, will take over the board seat of Chairman William C. France, who died in June.

Jacques Villeneuve continued his preparation for his NASCAR debut by testing Wednesday at Kentucky Speedway. He turned laps for Bill Davis Racing in the new Car of Tomorrow [#27 Toyota]. “Feels great! I’m just getting up to speed and getting used to driving the car,” said Villeneuve during a lunch break.

Terry Mayfield, father of Bill Davis Racing driver Jeremy Mayfield, passed away last night at the age of 56. A native of Owensboro, Ky., Mayfield made his home in Mooresville, North Carolina. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time.

Furniture Row Racing will have Joe Nemechek run at least five more races starting this weekend in Richmond’s Nextel Cup race. He will also drive the following races at New Hampshire and Dover. No word on the other races he will run.

Although Kevin Harvick is closer to him in points, Earnhardt just might want to think about training his sights on 11th-place Busch.
The reason: Harvick is a Richmond master.

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Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, Inc. (CGR), and Energizer Holdings, Inc. announced a multi-year extension to their long-lasting relationship that dates back over a decade. Energizer will continue to showcase its brand as a major associate sponsor on the #41 Target Dodge driven by Reed Sorenson in the Nextel Cup Series and both Target Chip Ganassi [...]