UPDATE:
When Dale Earnhardt Jr. cracked the tab on that first AMP Energy drink Wednesday in Dallas, traditional retail stores such as Wal-Mart and K-Mart gobbled up 160,000 t-shirts.
Gold mine.

POS, CAR, DRIVER, MAKE, SPONSOR, SPEED, TIME BEHIND
1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 154.766 23.261 Leader
2 42 Juan Montoya* Dodge Texaco / Havoline 153.833 23.402 -0.141
3 11 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet FedEx Ground 153.570 23.442 -0.181
4 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 153.518 23.450 -0.189
5 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 153.211 23.497 -0.236

Defending Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson has apparently stepped up his qualifying effort, capturing the pole for Sunday’s Dodge Dealer 400, the second race in the “Chase for the Nextel Cup.” The pole victory was just Johnson’s second of the season, but it was the second in the last three weeks and 11th of his [...]

JR Motorsports development driver Jeremy McGrath has left the team and has joined a Late Model team on the West Coast, closer to his home. JR Motorsports Vice President of Competition Steve Crisp confirmed Friday the departure of the motorcycle supercross star.
“He’s got a little girl, and he’s got another on the way,” Crisp [...]

UPDATE:
Team Red Bull Vice President of Competition Guenther Steiner reiterated today that his organization is not leaving Toyota for Chevrolet next season. Steiner dispelled the rumor that resurfaced again after a recent report in the Toronto Sun.
“It’s not true,” he said. “We are staying with Toyota for the future. It’s sometimes quite annoying because [...]

Local officials believe the shooting incident that occurred at Delaware State University early this morning is isolated and poses no threat to patrons or activities at Dover International Speedway. All events at the Speedway are on schedule for this weekend and are currently operating according to plan.

UPDATE:
M&M’s would replace Interstate Batteries, which has sponsored Gibbs’ flagship #18 since its 1992 inception. J.D. Gibbs, president of the race team, didn’t respond to a request for comment. But two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that Mars was working on a deal to sponsor Busch that will be officially announced [...]

The expected and heretofore not denied jump of freshly crowned IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti to NASCAR is more than just one of them deals. The shocker raises several pertinent questions.
Among them:
Does the Scotsman’s departure signal the beginning of the end for the Indy Racing League and its elite IndyCar Series?

NASCAR pioneer G.C. Spencer won so many short track races in the 1940s and ’50s he literally caused some Midwest racetracks to close down because fellow competitors would stop showing up. But the Jonesborough resident fell short of reaching victory lane in his 20-year NASCAR career, which included 415 starts in what is now known [...]

UPDATE:
Rick Hendrick said he might try to get Earnhardt into a Hendrick Car of Tomorrow during testing at Atlanta Motor Speedway next month, a week before the Nextel Cup series returns to Texas Motor Speedway. Hendrick said he’s considering talking to other car owners to see if they’d be willing to swap some drivers so [...]