Morning Times:
Pos, Car#, Driver, Manu, Time (seconds), Speed (mph)
1 15A Paul Menard Chevy 49.957 191.685
2 5A Kyle Busch Chevy 50.025 191.424
3 27B Jacques Villeneuve Toyota 50.102 191.130
4 24A Jeff Gordon Chevy 50.251 190.563
5 20 Tony Stewart Chevy 50.287 190.427

UPDATE 2:
Bobby Ginn said Tuesday he’s surprised by a lawsuit that claims he hasn’t honored the contracts for Sterling Marlin, Joe Nemechek and two crew chiefs.
All four lost their jobs when Ginn Racing merged with Dale Earnhardt Inc. in late July. The four filed separate lawsuits against both teams last week in Cabarrus County, claiming [...]

UPDATE 2:
Kenny Wallace will drive the Yates No 88 Snickers Ford Fusion again this weekend at Loudon, New Hampshire in place of injured Ricky Rudd. Rudd informed Yates that he would sit out the second week in a row due to a shoulder injury he sustained at the California race.

Reports are surfacing that NASCAR Toyota Red Bull Nextel Cup driver A.J. Allmendinger is trying to get out of his NASCAR contract with Toyota and move to the Indy Racing League in 2008.

UPDATE 5:
Dario Franchitti is publicly saying he hasn’t made up his mind whether he will go to Chip Ganassi’s NASCAR operation in 2008.
“There’s a lot of factors, and at the appropriate time I’ll think about it, but right now I don’t see it being the appropriate time,” he said Tuesday. “We just won the championship [...]

Penske Racing officials say Sam Hornish Jr. will drive the team’s No. 06 Nextel Cup Dodge this weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway, the first of several Cup races he’ll attempt this season.
Hornish, 28, is a veteran open-wheel competitor, having won three IndyCar championships and the 2006 Indianapolis 500.

What did you think of your first drafting experience? “It was great fun and really enjoyable. The car is great to drive and you can see that every driver has their own specialty when they are in the draft. I was trying to learn what to do and how to react to various drivers in [...]

The first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race televised on ABC since July 2000 delivered an increase in ratings and viewership for the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway. The telecast by ESPN on ABC delivered a 4.2 fast national rating with more than 4,731,000 households and more than 6,750,000 viewers.

Below is a look at the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 12, going into the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway on Sept. 16. This weekend marks the first race in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.