After six months of research and a year of development, Rob Brush believes he has a better alternative to help dry race tracks. The project manager for a steel fabrication company in Canada has designed a track dryer that travels about twice the speed as the current jet dryers used at NASCAR tracks. Rather than just blow hot air on the track as the jet driers do, Brush's vehicle also uses a vacuum to suck up water akin to a Shop-Vac. "With eight of these units at Daytona International Speedway, we could dry the track in under an hour," Brush said, estimating he could cut the current drying time in half.

Brush has built a prototype that was given a successful trial run by NASCAR when a shower followed Sprint Cup qualifying at New Hampshire Motor Speedway two months ago. Brush is expecting to meet with NASCAR officials in Daytona Beach, Fla., in two weeks before bringing the prototype dryer to the season finale at Homestead, Fla. The invention could be a boon for NASCAR, which has been plagued by rain this year (three Cup races were delayed a day and three were shortened by bad weather). The dryer also would fit with NASCAR's green initiatives because it runs on propane. Brush estimates it would burn less than 500 gallons to dry Daytona vs. 3,000 gallons of jet fuel. Brush has attended several races over the past two seasons, taking nearly 4,000 photos in researching the dryer.(USA Today)

Lee White, president of Toyota Racing Development, said Toyota's departure from Formula One has no bearing on its NASCAR program, but he also said NASCAR should learn from F1's mistakes. "Leaving Formula One was not an easy decision to make," White said Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway. "Obviously, it affects a lot of people, and a lot of those people are friends of ours, so we feel for them. But it should have no effect whatsoever on our NASCAR program, our NASCAR plans and our NASCAR future. We remain completely committed to NASCAR and NASCAR is completely committed to us."

White's biggest concern at the moment is finding a way to compete with Hendrick Motorsports and its Chevrolets. Jimmie Johnson probably is headed for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Sprint Cup title and Hendrick drivers hold down the top three spots in the standings. "The Hendrick organization is a tier higher than everyone, including other teams from that manufacturer [Chevrolet]," White said. "So give Hendrick credit. They've done a fantastic job. We don't begrudge them that. We just want to work hard and find ways to beat them."

White understands the Hendrick domination has left a perception of a lack of competition, but he doesn't blame NASCAR. "It's very hard to legislate competition," White said. "How can you legislate against Hendrick other than making their life miserable by checking their cars every week and taking them apart? Oh, wait. They did that and it didn't work. I give NASCAR credit for trying. They are doing the best they can. Some of these things just take time until someone figures out how to get as good as they are."(ESPN)

Ryan Newman met with media at Texas on Friday and dicussed some issues:

Question: Obviously a lot of frustration and concern for you last weekend. I believe you mentioned thinking about things from an engineering standpoint. Looking at it from an engineering standpoint, could you talk about what your frustrations were last week, what you see? I've had a lot of people email me and say did the wing cause the car to lift as opposed to a spoiler. Talk about everything from your helmet getting wedged in the roll cage, to the car lifting up. From an engineering standpoint, are there things you see that could be done differently that would have prevented some or all of that?

RYAN NEWMAN: Always, because every crash is different and every situation is different, whether your car gets spun around by another car or it just takes air by itself. Ultimately, yeah, there's things that I feel can and should be done. I sat down with [NASCAR's] John Darby and Robin Pemberton Wednesday morning. We talked about two different things, the extra indication of myself from the accident scene and secondly the reason why we're in that position in the first place, which is to me more important. From an aerodynamic standpoint, ultimately our biggest thing is to keep the racecars on the ground. Crashes have always been a part of racing. There are fans that like that. Sometimes that adds to extra excitement, don't get me wrong. When we can bounce off each other, get the car fixed, go back out and try to win a race, I understand that part of it. Keeping the racecars on the ground is how we keep the drivers and especially the fans safe. So that's the one thing. From an ironic standpoint, that's why I was probably the most frustrated after the race last weekend, was I was in the media center talking about the very same thing on the last lap of the spring race. To live out what my frustrations were from six months before was difficult, as well.

From an engineering standpoint, whatever we can do speed-wise and aerodynamically to keep the cars on the ground, in particular things in the back of the car, when it sees the air first for downforce, keep the lift out of the back of the cars is what we need to focus on. There has been testing done. I learned some of that stuff on Wednesday morning talking to Mr. Darby and Mr. Pemberton, that they have tested. But I don't know that they have tested everything. I don't know that you can test everything. But obviously more testing needs to be done in order to make it safer for everybody. Speed is a part of it. The faster you go, the more likely you are to take lift. We were talking before, an airplane takes off at 160 miles an hour. We're 40 miles an hour above that at times. There's plenty of potential for a car to take lift, whether it's going forwards, backwards or sideways. We have to take everything into consideration, as drivers, as teams, as a sanctioning body, to control that situation.

Question: Specifically, do you think a spoiler on the back would not have caused the lift? Are there specific things you recommended to NASCAR?

RYAN NEWMAN: That's kind of my point from our conversation, is 'Do you think' is not the answer. We have to do testing so that we know. Yeah, I think there might be potential for a spoiler to react differently than a wing for sure. I don't know that it's the answer. As we've seen before, I believe it was Matt Kenseth's Nationwide crash, his car got airborne with a spoiler on the back of it. That's not the answer, that's not the fix. I've been parts of crashes with spoilers on the back of them and a wing on the back of them unfortunately. That's not the fix. Can it be a part of the fix? Yeah, potentially. Is it a better alternative in conjunction with other things you can do to the car? Maybe. Those are the things that NASCAR and the teams have to test collectively so that we can make it safer and better for the drivers and, like I said, more importantly, the fans.(in part from a Chevy Racing transcript)

Four months after exiting a U.S.-funded bankruptcy reorganization, Chrysler Group is about to unveil a product roadmap that relies heavily on vehicles from Italian partner Fiat while abandoning many of the U.S. carmaker's own models. The plan, due to be unveiled Nov. 4, involves the reintroduction of Fiat's premium, sporty Alfa Romeo brand to the U.S. starting in 2012, The Wall Street Journal reported. Chrysler also will introduce the 500, Fiat's tiny car that is popular in Europe, to Americans. It won't, however, attach the Fiat name to it. Chrysler meantime is preparing to phase out many of its current models, particularly Dodge cars, the Journal said.(MSN Money), doesn't mentioned which Dodge models will be part of the phase out or how this move will affect the teams in NASCAR that run the Dodge Charger.

UPDATE: According to the Wall Street Journal, which claims access to people who have seen Fiat's plan for Chrysler, many of the recent rumors regarding current models are incorrect, and Chrysler will incorporate more Fiat Group products than expected. Vehicles planned for the US, according to the Journal article, include a replacement for the Chrysler Sebring, based on a Fiat design. The PT Cruiser, Sebring, Avenger, Compass, Caliber, and Patriot will all have their final year in 2012, with even the popular Dodge Caravan ducking out; the Chrysler Town & Country will be Chrysler's sole minivan, according to the article, though historically the Caravan has sold better. The Nitro will also be dropped. To be kept are the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger.(allpar.com)

Hearing that Jamie McMurray is close to signing a deal to drive the #1 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevy in 2010, announcement could come the week following Martinsville.

UPDATE: It's not etched in stone, but the speculation surrounding Jamie McMurray-to-Earnhardt Ganassi Racing isn't exactly written in chalk, either. Neither McMurray nor anyone at EGR has confirmed the move, but garage-insiders say there's a strong likelihood the driver of the Roush Fenway Racing #26 Fusion will replace Martin Truex Jr. in the #1 Chevy next year. The wild-card in the scenario is the sponsor. Bass Pro Shops would like to have an "outdoorsman" type of driver, one who'll appeal to their customer base. To some degree, Truex Jr. fulfilled that role; less so McMurray, who's not exactly the world's most passionate hunter, fisherman or camper.(Ford Racing)

After months of anticipation, Ford Racing announced that the FR9 engine will make its debut under the hood of Matt Kenseth's #17 DeWalt Ford Fusion and David Ragan's #6 UPS Ford Fusion in next week's Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. "I'm very excited about the debut of the FR9," said Brian Wolfe, director, Ford North America Motorsports. "All of us are anxious to see it in competition for the first time. Those of us who have been involved in this project agree that one of the biggest hurdles we've faced in making this transition to the FR9 this year has been the fact the current Ford engine is still so competitive, along with the economics of obsoleting the inventory of the current engine and parts. This has been a tough year for us and our teams on the track, especially since we had such a strong 2008, and the priority for everyone this year has been solving the on-track performance, which has slowed down the rollout of the FR9."

Code-named FR9, this new piece is the first purpose-built NASCAR racing engine to ever come out of Ford Motor Company. Its design has been spearheaded and developed by famed engine builder Doug Yates and Ford Racing engineer David Simon. "This puts us on a level playing field with the rest of the competition and it's something we're excited about working on," said Yates, who has been involved with the project since it began three years ago. "Right out of the box the engine is really impressive power-wise. We feel like it's going to give us some advantages aerodynamically where, perhaps, we can tape the cars up more and run the engines hotter. The oiling system is designed for a racing engine and, to this day, the current engine has done a great job for many years, but we've got to remember when I started 20 years ago the block was already in existence. So a lot of things have changed," continued Yates. "The demands have changed. The RPM and the power levels have changed tremendously, and to have an opportunity to have something new and move forward makes this an exciting time to be part of Ford."

Some of those crucial decisions included an all-new platform for FR9 with no carry over components or dimensions from the current production-based 351 engine. Elements such as the induction exhaust, valvetrain, cooling, lubrication and sealing systems have all been improved for greater efficiency and performance. While the restricted version of the engine will debut next week, it has yet to be determined when FR9 will hit the track at an unrestricted venue.(Ford Racing)

Richard Childress Racing continues to retool team leadership with its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series teams. Following this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, Todd Berrier will take over the crew chief duties of the #31 Caterpillar team with driver Jeff Burton while Doug Randolph assumes Berrier's duties on the #07 Jack Daniel's team with driver Casey Mears. Starting this week at Memphis Motorsports Park, Dan Deeringhoff will replace Randolph in his return to the #29 Holiday Inn team with drivers Burton, Clint Bowyer and Stephen Leicht in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Scott Miller, who has led the #31 team since 2005, will move fulltime to the director of competition position he was named to in September.

Minimal changes will also be made among crew members for the #07 and #31 teams. The crew chief position for RCR's development program will be named later. "I said previously that RCR would continue to adjust our team lineups in order to have the right personnel in place and this is the next step in that process," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. "Todd, Doug and Dan are all proven winners so the goal of these moves is to put them in the best situations to continue that success. I'm confident that making these changes now will be a benefit to the teams for the rest of this season as well as in preparing for 2010."(RCR)

If #2-Kurt Busch isn't a factor in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship entering the season finale in Homestead next month, don't be surprised to see crew chief Pat Tryson make an early exit from the #2 Dodge team. "If we find ourselves out of championship contention, that's when we'll make a big change and maybe get the new (crew chief) in there and get a couple races under our belt before we show up back in Daytona," said Busch, who is currently sixth and 121 points behind Johnson in the Chase standings. Tryson announced last month that he'll leave the Penske organization at season's end and become Martin Truex Jr.'s crew chief at Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010.(Racin' Today)

UPDATE: Kurt Busch told Sirius NASCAR Radio's Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody Monday that the search is narrowing for a 2010 crewchief for the Miller Lite Dodge. "We've got a guy internally that we're extremely interested in," said Busch. "I'm also going to sit down with our team president, Tim Cindric, tomorrow to talk about some of the other people that he has spoken to about the job. I have a long list of emails and messages from guys who have contacted me and are interested in the job, and that's a good thing. Old guys, young guys, experienced guys, and not-so-experienced guys; we've heard from them all." Busch repeated his earlier assertion that if he falls out of championship contention, outgoing crewchief Pat Tryson could be cleared to leave the team before the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Sirius NASCAR Radio)

Team owner Richard Childress, speaking on Saturday at Lowe's Motor Speedway, addressed the struggles of Richard Childress Racing and the possible departure of Kevin Harvick when the driver's contract expires at the end of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. "All I've got to say is we are making a lot of changes," said Childress. "We'll probably be announcing more changes next week coming. We're using these last races to get prepared for 2010. We know we have to be better. We've seen some improvements. I think if you look, we've been up front with the different [RCR] cars in the last few weeks. This [new] car is very touchy and right now Hendrick [Motorsports] is right up on top of it. They've got it figured out for the most part. Kevin's going to be with us next year and [sponsor] Shell's going to be with us. "We'll just see how everything plays out in the future. I didn't see his interview [at California]. I've heard some comments on it but whatever happens, happens. We just move forward."

Moving forward may not be an option with #07 entry of RCR's Casey Mears without sponsorship for 2010. The departure of Jack Daniel's, which has revealed its intentions to leave the company at the end of the season, leaves Mears without a sponsor. Without sponsorship in place by the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the #07 team will likely go away next season. "Right now we're meeting with companies. We've had several meetings," Childress said. "As you know, the economic times are tough right now for sponsorship. We've got interest in it. We're wanting to run it. We can't turn it into a park and start. I don't want to do that. We've got some sponsorship for a few races next year but to be competitive that isn't the way to do it, so we're kind of weighing our options to see what we're going to do."

Childress seemed pleased with the progress of Mears, who joined the organization this season. Despite being 19th in the standings, Mears has notched three top-15s in his last four starts. "We're working hard," Childress said. "We're doing a lot of capital investments moving into next year on some new stuff. We're making changes in our personnel, we're going to be making more changes in the next weeks to come."(SceneDaily)(Jayski)

After what looked to be a walk away win for EARNHARDT88FAN by leading 71 of the last 82 laps, a mistake was made in the pits leaving him short on fuel to finish the race. He also was black flagged for speeding in the pits. That did not stop him though. He managed to get a few cautions in his favor and battled back to finish second. That series of events put the race in the hands of Justin. He was in the right position at the right time and managed to steal his second straight SpeedAffair Truck Series win! Congrats Justin!

"I would like to thank my sponsor and give a shout-out to 88 fan" added Justin after the race.

The race at times was a little aggressive but overall pretty good. We had an amazing green flag run in which we cycled through and entire pit stop as well as a few black flags. Very impressive driving guys! Keep it up! Next up on the schedule is the New Hampshire 200 in which we will be looking at 200 laps of racing. Please practice up! I hope to see you there!

SA - Quote Of The Day:
"To achieve anything in this game you must be prepare to dabble in the boundary of disaster." - Sterling Moss

We are now a part of the Twitter network! Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers. This wil allow us to have yet another way to keep SpeedAffair drivers, friends and family to stay updated on any SpeedAffair news and information.

You may follow us by clicking or visiting http://twitter.com/SpeedAffair and by clicking the "+Follow" button under the SpeedAffair logo. Again, I hope this helps everyone stay updated on all things SpeedAffair as well as any other tips and promos that may come along. Please let me know if you have problems along the way. Thank you!

It is official! SpeedAffair is now the proud owner of SpeedAffair.com! After weeks of negotiations, we finally reached an agreement to acquire the last domain on our list and now own all the immediate domains resembling the SpeedAffair name. Our list of current domains that you may now use to access the SpeedAffair website are:

-http://www.speedaffair.com
-http://www.speedaffair.net
-http://www.speedaffair.org
-http://www.speedaffair.info
-http://www.speedaffairs.com
-http://www.speedaffairs.net
-http://www.speedaffairs.org
-http://www.speedaffairs.info

Thank your for your patience during the next few months as we slowly but surely move into our new dot com home! You should not have any issues accessing the site as you normally would. If you run into any problems during the move, please contact and administrator.

NASCAR has tweaked its rule on wave-around cars under caution. The new rule now dictates that cars under penalty at the time of the caution are ineligible for the wave around. The change began last week with the Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway after a situation came up in the Nationwide Series race that was new to the double-file restart system instituted in June.

In the Nationwide race, Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards was penalized for speeding under green, and then the caution came out. He stayed out and didn't pit and then was among those cars on the end of the lead lap. He then got the "wave around" the caution car (along with the rest of the cars that had stayed out and were on the end of the lead lap) to get to the rear of the line of lead-lap cars. Edwards then went to the end of the line to serve his penalty. That move would not be allowed anymore. The driver would not get the wave around and would start a lap down at the rear of the field on the restart, the penalty for a driver who had a speeding penalty under green but never served it before the caution came out. The new rule in general is any driver under penalty is no longer eligible for the wave around.(SceneDaily)

NASCAR will reduce the size of the restrictor plate and allow teams an optional change as a way to slow the cars and try to keep them from getting airborne at Talladega. Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby [said] Friday at Auto Club Speedway that the restrictor plate will be reduced 1/64 of an inch. The new size will be 59/64 of an inch. Darby estimates it will shave 12 horsepower off the engines.

Teams also have been given an option on side wickers, something they hadn't been allowed to use before at Talladega. Darby said that teams "will be able to add the same little side wicker to the end plate (on the rear wing) much like they do at the downforce tracks. If you look at all the cars in the garage right now on that end plate, all the way out on the back edge they've got a little half by half piece of aluminum. That's eight inches long. It helps in yaw or when the cars are turned. It kind of settles the back of the car down a little bit."(Virginian Pilot)

After a very much needed two week vacation from racing in which I was unable to get very little of the "vacationing" part done, I was able to do most of the necessary things needed to get SpeedAffair ready for season five of the Cup Series and the inaugural season one of the Truck Series. As of now, the temporary results for the qualifying session and duels scheduled for this Wednesday have now been deleted (Therefor the "No Results Yet" on the right side). You may now begin entering your drivers into that session along with any and all races you can afford to enter them into. That leads to my next topic...

As of right now, there are over 40 drivers signed up to race in either series with only 7 drivers entered into the Daytona 500. Over the next couple days in preparation for the 500, the admins will be available to help anyone get setup team wise. Remember: You must sign to a team or run on an independent team in order to qualify and race this season in the Cup Series! To create a team, click on "team registration" on the left side of the website. To run independent, contact and administrator and let them know. They will send you a contract that you must login to your driver page to accept. There is no other way around this. In order to receive points, you must be on a team. For the Truck Series, you only have to specify your number on your driver page under "Series" > "Join Truck Series" > "Click here to edit details!" Again, if you have trouble, contact and admin or fellow driver. Thanks.

I hope to see you all throughout the week getting some practice in. I know most of us are all very comfortable with Daytona, but I recommend getting some practice around each other to get familiar with new drivers and friends. Thanks again for signing up to race with us! This season should be a blast! Please visit here for daily news, league info and promos(coming soon)! Also, I will be putting together shortly the Prizes for this season so stay tuned!

An advertisement on ESPN's NASCAR page details a sweepstakes: The ESPN/Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Sweepstakes, to promote the release of the Transformers II DVD in which it mentions that #24-Jeff Gordon (Megatron) and #39-Ryan Newman (Optimus Prime), are scheduled to run Tranformers II paint schemes in the Sprint Cup race at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Oct 11th.

With Newman in a specially designed Optimus Prime car and Gordon in his custom Megatron car, the Transformers adventure will be taken to a new level as the two battle on track in order to promote the release of the latest movie. The two cars can be viewed at Jayski.com. Should be interesting!

Goodyear's Stu Grant, the veteran racing boss, says this week's first on-track test of the proposed new 17-inch NASCAR racing tire-and-wheel, at Richmond International Raceway, was a success, and he is planning a second test in later this fall, probably at Phoenix International Raceway (where the Sprint Cup tour races Nov. 15, providing a good baseline).

"We got it on the ground for the first time, and we plan to put it on a short track, like Phoenix, sometime later this year, before January 1st," Grant said. "And then we will sit down with NASCAR and say 'Okay, here we are looking at 2010&.and how aggressive do we want to be with this thing?'" Grant said "We don't have a firm timetable for implementation" of the new tire in NASCAR racing. "And obviously NASCAR is in step with us in this whole process." But Grant made very clear the 17-inch tire concept was a decided plus for Goodyear.

Paul Menard and Travis Kvapil tested the new, larger tires in Jack Roush Fords, against baseline runs on Goodyear's current 15-inch NASCAR tires. "Travis said the 17-inch was very similar to the 15-inch from a handling standpoint," Grant said. "Paul thought it was more forgiving and easier to drive; that you could get back in the throttle quicker. "The nice thing is it ran cooler. So with a bigger footprint on the ground, more rubber, that's nice, because that gives us some room to play with, from a compound standpoint." Another issue here is the larger tire requires some chassis changes to make the tire fit under the fenders -- and keeping those changes to a minimum economically as well as technically may be the biggest challenge. Still, the key so far is that the test confirmed the theory that a larger tire would run cooler and offer more grip.(MikeMulhern.net)

UPDATE: Listen to Roush's own reaction to the prospect of racing a new, larger tire: "There is no 17-inch tire coming and you can quote me on that. It would be too expensive & it's unnecessary. There is maybe only one tire company in the world that could do that, as seen by me. And based on my conversations with NASCAR, I don't think there is any 17-inch tire coming. The things that Goodyear is learning through the 17-inch-tire excusion, or experiment, is intended to benefit the tires we have today." Yes, Roush confirms he is Goodyear's lead in this program. "But there is no 17-inch tire in our future," Roush insists.(Mike Mulhern.net)

From a Chevy Racing transcript, #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. was asked: Q) ON WORKING WITH LANCE MCGREW, HAVE ANY DECISION BEEN MADE ABOUT HIS COMING BACK NEXT YEAR AS CREW CHIEF?

A) "Well, I just want to make it clear, I guess, that the decision is Rick's (Hendrick) and his management team. I like working with Lance. I get along great with Lance. We have had some great runs and I feel like I can build on that type of success and it happened more often, more consistently with Lance. And I hope that we're successful the rest of the year and that we go into next season with the same group of guys. But the decision isn't mine, and never will be mine. So, I hope that we'll have more success and continue to give Rick and the people that do make those types of decisions good reason to keep us as a team and keep us working together because I really do enjoy working with him. I feel like I'm a different race car driver than I've been over the last several years; just my temperament and my disposition throughout the races and the weekend. I still have to check myself every once in a while; I get a little angry, but just during practice and stuff when something you do to these cars can frustrate you. But for the most part, Lance is really great at controlling the situation and controlling our team and directing our team throughout the weekend and the races themselves. I've enjoyed the experience working with him."

"Stay tuned for an announcement from THQ!..."

That is what what the website reads. THQ with the help of Big Ant have been supposedly working for a while now on the planning of the first XBOX 360 Sprint Car racing game! We have been talking about this game for a while and have been super excited for the release. I guess we will have to wait and see what comes from it. Stay tuned...

After another amazing season, we begin the off-season and start preparing for Season V of The Chase For The SpeedAffair Cup! This two week off-season will provide us a much needed break as well as allow us to open the doors to new and experienced drivers.

If you are interested in joining SpeedAffair for Season V of the Cup series or Season I of the Truck Series, please register by clicking "Register" on the menu up on the right. Please use your XBOX 360 gamertag as your driver name. I will contact you over the course of the off-season and get you approved and setup to race. If you have any other questions please message one of the administrators found on the contacts page.

I will also be going through the drivers changing numbers or leaving the league and provide an accurate list of numbers to race next season. To those who are signing up this off-season, message N17R0 with your top three numbers and I will do my best to put you in one of those cars. Thanks for your help and I look forward to driving with you in Season V!

Danica Patrick is now, officially, staying in the IndyCar Series. Patrick signed a three-year contract to remain with Andretti Green Racing during last weekend's event at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan. She will continue to drive the #7 car with a Motorola-based sponsorship. Patrick could not be reached for comment Thursday night, but it is believed she has not resolved her options for driving a stock car in the future. Tony Stewart told reporters during last week's Sprint Cup Series race in Loudon, N.H., that he has "not made an offer" to Patrick.(Indianapolis Star)

More: Danica Patrick refused Wednesday to confirm widespread reports that she's agreed to a three-year extension of her IndyCar contract with Andretti Green Racing. Asked specifically about the extension, Patrick simply shook her head, not saying a word. Patrick is considered the biggest draw in the IRL, and her interest in moving to NASCAR has been speculated on numerous times in recent years. She has a close relationship with Tony Stewart, and he has said Patrick will eventually make the jump he did - from IndyCar to stock cars. IRL officials have not commented about Patrick's future. Patrick was at Homestead-Miami Speedway with several other drivers Wednesday to test for the IndyCar finale Oct. 10. Earlier this season, Patrick insisted she wouldn't announce anything about her future until after this IRL season concludes.(in part from the Associated Press)

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Patrice Brisebois retired Thursday, ending his 18-year NHL career with plans to drive on NASCAR's Canadian series. The 38-year-old Brisebois spent 16 seasons with the Canadiens, retiring in third place on the franchise list for games by a defenseman (896), fourth for goals by a defenseman (87) and fifth in points by a defenseman (371). On March 14, he became the 11th player to play 1,000 games for the Canadiens.

Brisebois said he's seeking sponsors to fund the next phase of his career, as a driver in NASCAR's Canadian Tire Series. "It's a great team sport, like hockey," Brisebois said of auto racing. "Your mechanic is kind of like your coach, and there's a game plan, race strategy, so it's a bit like a hockey team. I'm going to try and go as far as I can in auto racing. I'd love to be able to move on to the Nationwide or Sprint Series, but it's going to be very tough. Another dream of mine would be to do the 24 hours of Le Mans."(Associated Press/ESPN.com)

Team owner Todd Braun said his Braun Racing team will attempt five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races next year, including the season-opening Daytona 500. Braun, which fields three teams in the Nationwide Series [#10-, #32, & #38], entered a Cup car for two races in 2005. The team plans to run a Toyota in 2010 while determining plans for 2011.

"We're going to run some Cup races next year," Braun said. "What it holds on our future, we don't know. If I want to long-term survive in this sport, I'm going to have to go Cup racing at some point. I don't think I can maintain forever being a Nationwide-only guy unless something happens in the series that I don't see right now. I wish I could."

Braun said he was happy with his team in the Nationwide Series but could need to move to Cup to survive financially. The driver will be determined, though Braun said his current Nationwide driver, Jason Leffler, is a candidate. Other candidates, he said, could be Reed Sorenson, Bobby Labonte or Jamie McMurray, depending on available Cup rides next year. Braun said he has a sponsor for the five Cup races, though he didn't name the company. He also prefers to hire a crew chief with experience working with the new model Cup car.(SceneDaily)

The folks at Dale Earnhardt Inc. are working at bringing the #8 car to both the Nationwide and Cup Series next year. The plan would be for Jeffrey Earnhardt, grandson of Dale, to drive the #8 car in the Nationwide Series and have that team based out of the DEI shops in Mooresville, N.C. If sponsorship can be found, the #8 car would return to Cup and be based out of the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing shop in Cocord, N.C.

"We do have plans to bring the #8 car back for next season," Jeff Steiner executive VP and general manager at DEI, told me [Dustin Long] Wednesday afternoon. "We are working with a number of sponsors. It's not a for sure deal. We haven't announced that we are officially bringing it back. .. I don't think we would see anything with the #8 car at the Sprint Cup level in 2009. I think based where we're at with sponsor discussions, I don't foresee that happening this year, but it is one of our aspirations to get that car back on the track together with the #1 and the #42."

So, would the #8 come back full-time or would it be acceptable to bring it back part time in 2010?"I think we would consider something part time,'' Steiner told me. "In today's economy and today's NASCAR, we need to look at all potential opportunities to get either young developmental drivers or other people out on the track and if we have an opportunity to do that and get the #8 back on the track in 2010, I think we would certainly consider that.

As for Jeffrey Earnhardt: "That would be something we would be looking at running him in an #8 full-time in the Nationwide level,'' Steiner said. "We're still working on sponsorships. Our intention ... having him in a family number. I think we're hopeful (of a full-time schedule for Jeffrey). We're pretty bullish on that potential for 2010."(Roanoke Times)

Hearing that Jim Beam, sponsor for #7-Robby Gordon in 13-15 races a year, will not return to sponsor Gordon or any other team in 2010 and will concentrate on sponsoring Kid Rock's world tour.

UPDATE: Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc., maker of Jim Beam Bourbon, the world's number one-selling Bourbon, announced that its marketing plans for 2010 will not include a return to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. As a result, the company will not extend its current partnership with Robby Gordon Motorsports in 2010. The company plans to focus its marketing resources for Jim Beam into other platforms that directly impact the end consumer. "It was a difficult decision to transition away from being a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team sponsor," said Bill Newlands, president Beam Global Spirits & Wine U.S. "We always take a hard look at our marketing resources and how we can best interact with legal purchase age consumers. After an extensive review of our marketing strategy, we have come up with new alternatives to fuel growth for Jim Beam in 2010." Jim Beam will continue its support of #7-Robby Gordon Motorsports for the remainder of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule." Jim Beam has been a great partner for the past five years," said Robby Gordon. "I would like to thank them for their support through the years. They have been with me since we started the team in 2005, helping build our Cup team and aiding in its success. Great relationships have been formed, and I expect those to continue well into the future."(RGM PR)

Brown-Forman will conclude its Jack Daniel's NASCAR program and will not extend its sponsorship with Richard Childress Racing's #07 team. A change in Brown-Forman's spending priorities led to the decision to conclude the sponsorship that began in 2005. The Brown-Forman/Jack Daniel's partnership with RCR will continue for the remainder of the 2009 racing season and the entire team is committed to being competitive on the track each and every race.

"Jack Daniel's has enjoyed a good five-year run with Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and NASCAR, and we are pleased with the overall performance of our sponsorship program," said Tim Rutledge, vice president and brand director for Jack Daniel's. "We have enjoyed building strong relationships with the people in Richard's organization and throughout NASCAR. While it is difficult for us to end our formal relationship with RCR, the current economic environment has compelled us to revaluate our spending and we've concluded that other areas in the marketing mix require additional investment. We want to thank the many friends and fans of the Jack Daniel's 07 Racing Team, and we can't say enough about your incredible support over the last five years. And, as we have since 1866, we will continue to find ways to thank you and keep your loyalty of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey."

Brown-Forman, Jack Daniel's, and RCR are particularly pleased to have taken a leadership role in communicating a responsible drinking message throughout its NASCAR sponsorship through its core message of Pace Yourself, Drink Responsibly, featured in all NASCAR promotional materials, including on the race car itself.

"Brown-Forman has been a great partner of RCR for the past five years through its Jack Daniel's brand," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. "They quickly became a NASCAR-industry leader in the promotion of the Jack Daniel's brand through the Pace Yourself, Drink Responsibly messaging, which our fans have embraced. We understand the shift in their spending priorities during these tough economic times and the #07 Jack Daniel's Racing program will continue to provide that successful platform for the rest of the 2009 season. We have built many valuable relationships with the loyal Brown-Forman employees and their distributors during our partnership and look forward to maintaining those relationships in the future."(RCR)

GoDaddy.com has signed an agreement to be the primary sponsor of Hendrick Motorsports' #5 Chevys in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The world's leading registrar of Internet domain names will adorn the hood for 20 races annually, including the season-opening Daytona 500, beginning in 2010. Terms will remain private.

Driving the #5 GoDaddy.com Chevys will be current Sprint Cup Series championship points leader Mark Martin, who has agreed to a contract extension that will keep him with Hendrick Motorsports fulltime through the 2011 NASCAR season. "Mark Martin is the consummate professional and a very exciting driver, to say the least," said GoDaddy.com CEO and founder Bob Parsons. "He's the sentimental favorite for this year's Sprint Cup championship, and we're stoked to have him driving for Go Daddy next year." Additional sponsorship for the #5 Chevys will be announced at a later date.(HMS)

A great article was written in the USA Today(Click here to read) about the recent negative showings in sports or life for that matter and how it shows a decline in civility over the years. Now this is strictly opinion, but, I have to wholeheartedly believe in the general idea behind this. I will explain a bit about the article and then give you my reasons for agreeing with this philosophy.

The article starts out...When South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson interrupted President Obama's address to Congress by shouting "You lie!" last week, at least one man was elated. "I thought, 'Great, now the notion of civility may be back on the national agenda,' " says P.M. Forni, who heads The Civility Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, an effort that promotes etiquette. After last weekend, Forni might want to hire extra staff. It looks like incivility is storming the gates.

First came tennis star Serena Williams, who lost her U.S. Open semifinal to Kim Clijsters on Saturday not with an errant shot on the last point, but because of a blistering salvo at a line judge who had called a foot fault on Williams. Williams' expletive-laced tirade threatened the woman with bodily harm. The tennis player, who was fined $10,500 and went on to win the tournament's doubles championship Monday with her sister Venus, initially issued a lukewarm apology. Then, in a statement Monday, she apologized more directly and said her behavior was "inappropriate."

On Sunday night came rapper Kanye West, who bum-rushed the stage at Radio City Music Hall during the MTV Video Music Awards to interrupt Taylor Swift as she accepted the statuette for best female video. West snatched her microphone and ranted that Beyoncé should have won. West subsequently apologized to Swift via his blog, saying, "That was Taylor's moment and I had no right … to take it away." But, he said, "I'm just real." On the premiere of The Jay Leno Show Monday night, the rapper added, "It was rude, period," and told Leno he wants to take time off to analyze "how I'm going to make it through the rest of this life."

"I don't think society is coming off the rails," says Lizzie Post, great-great-granddaughter of Emily Post and a principal at the Emily Post Institute, which monitors the nation's P's and Q's.

Some people disagree. "Two things are happening: One is a mad desire to be the center of news, and the other is a sense among these people that they can get away with anything," "Something will have to happen to make us stop and examine our behavior." says Letitia Baldrige. "American society is among the most informal in the world, and often that informality crosses over into incivility," Forni added. "Now, you add the informality of the Internet to this culture, and all bets are off. It's an age of total disclosure and total expression, with very little concern for the feelings of others." The ability to comment about others from a distance and with anonymity is the Web's hallmark and its poison, says Jerry Bowles, co-founder of SocialMediaToday.com, which keeps tabs on the impact of social media on society. "The Web seems to turn most people into adversaries, and in doing so, we tend to lose the ability to really talk to each other," he says. "This is particularly true for politics on the Web, where the comments tend to run to the extremes and sometimes can be downright seditious. I find it scary." (USA Today)

Back to my opinion of this and why I feel so strongly about the topic. It has become ever so popular to brash instead of boring, cocky instead of classy and smug instead of smart. It has become cool to be stupid and out right disrespectful not only in sports, but in everyday life. Back in the day there were morals and ideals we held high and dry to keep this country in line and even though we had situations back then(like the famous picture up top left), they were handled with class and had genuine motives. Today we are motivated by the wrong things. Instead of shaking hands and walking off the court, we are punching each other out over nothing or breaking valuable equipment that should be appreciated and not taken for granted. Instead of respecting the game we are mocking it. Instead of respecting the fans who are paying the salary's, we are climbing up in the stands to punch them out and instead of respecting our opponents, we are trash-talking, fighting and destroying property. How embarrassing! Our previous generations would be disgusted over how we treat each other, our favorite activities and our institutions. Hopefully things start to change. We have to start caring more. It is not that hard to be nice. "Kill em' with kindness" as my father always told me.

I make such a big deal of this not only because it has been sickening to hear about on T.V and news but because it has been happening in the league itself. The lack of respect for each other, the rules and the game itself has been disturbing to say the least. I understand the fact that this is a competition and everyone gets upset from time to time, but this is also friendly competition and everyone is old enough to understand the pros and cons that go with it. We all have seen the rules, have constant access to them and have agreed to race accordingly. There should be no reason for the nastiness that has been going around(yes, I have heard most of it) and even if there are problems, we should be mature enough to talk them out without cussing and throwing insults at each other. I have always told everyone that I am willing to talk about things in a calm and cool manner and things will never change if done otherwise. So from now on, I hope to see some change in that. I will have no tolerance. Please understand that I enjoy running this league and racing with all of you but I will not be putting up with that kind of attitude in the future. If you would like to respond to this or talk to me about anything, bad or good, please do so promptly so we can talk it over. Thanks.

NASCAR announced today the 2010 schedules for its three national series, which will open their seasons at Daytona International Speedway on the weekend of Feb. 12-14, and conclude at Homestead-Miami Speedway on the weekend of Nov. 19-21. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will again have a 36-race schedule starting with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 14, plus two "non-point" events the Feb. 6 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona and the May 22 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Other key dates for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series include:

June 27 and Sept. 19 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the respective openers in the "Race to the Chase" and the "Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup"; the Coca-Cola 600 on May 30 at Lowe's Motor Speedway; the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 25; and the annual "Chase cut-off race" at Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 11.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series will again race 35 times, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will again have 25 events, including one of the most intriguing additions to the schedule in the series' 15-year history: a new event at Pocono Raceway's 2.5-mile triangle-shaped track on July 31, as a companion to one of the two traditional NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekends there. The Pocono truck race will be the only new event on any of the three series' schedules. It replaces the truck series' previous February event at Auto Club Speedway.(NASCAR) for more see Jayski's 2010 Sprint Cup Schedule page/chart, 2010 Sprint Cup Schedule, 2010 Nationwide Schedule, and 2010 Camping World Truck Series Schedule.

Ford plans to debut its new engine next month at Charlotte. It will be used by at least one Ford team not in the Chase. Whether all the Ford teams will be using the new engine at the start of next season, though, is a question.

"This is more a team decision than a manufacturer's because the budgets are in their hands on how they do it,'' said Brian Wolfe, Ford Director of North American Motorsports. "We always kid internally that the biggest problem the new engine has is the old engine is so good.''(Roanoke Times)

I think this might be a good thing. It seemed to me that Ford lost a lot in the way of horsepower to the other manufacturers gain. This just might even up the competition next season if more than one team decides to go with the new engine. I have to say, It looks pretty nice! We will have to see how it performs.

Well guys, after our discussions on the future of NASCAR in the EA Sports franchise, we got our first public taste of rejection today. Here is what Jayski had to say about it:

The future of EA Sports' NASCAR franchise of racing games has been in doubt since February, when The Sporting News reported the publisher wouldn't be making a new installment of the series this year. Speaking with GameSpot for a Dreamcast retrospective on next week's episode of the HotSpot podcast, EA Sports president Peter Moore has removed all uncertainty from the equation. "There are no plans right now for NASCAR from EA," Moore said. "We had a great relationship over the years that I thoroughly enjoyed when I first got here. Unfortunately we had to make some tough trade-offs. We've had to redeploy some of those folks. A number of the NASCAR team has moved over now to EA Sports MMA, which will be shipping next year. [We're] still a huge fan of NASCAR, but no plans right now to develop any further games for NASCAR from EA Sports."(Gamespot)(9-3-09)

Wow. I guess its kinda like when you split up after being in a serious relationship. Its never over until you get that bit of news and it just rips you apart. Kinda how I feel today. I mean, I understood that it might happen but just wanted to believe otherwise. I do not like their reasoning though. Moving team members to help produce what? Another fighting game? I understand the popularity of MMA but do not approve of the reasoning behind it. I guess we will have to stay positive and hope for the best. We will do our best at SpeedAffair to keep racing as long as we are able to and will pass the torch to whatever falls next in line. Stay Tuned!

Penske Racing announced that Brad Keselowski will compete for the team full-time, beginning with the 2010 NASCAR season. Keselowski, a 25-year-old native of Rochester Hills, Mich., will drive the #12 Penske Dodge in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series next season. He will also run a full-season schedule in the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series, where he will compete for a championship with the team. "We are very excited to welcome Brad to the Penske Racing family," said Roger Penske. "Brad has shown terrific success on track the past several years and has quickly established himself as one of the top young stars in racing. He comes from an impressive family background in motorsports. He is a proven winner and a welcome addition to our team."

A third-generation driver, Keselowski has won at every level in which he has competed. He is currently ranked third in the Nationwide Series standings with three wins to his credit in 2009, including a dramatic victory in August at his home track at Michigan International Speedway. Keselowski also scored his first Cup Series win earlier this year at Talladega Superspeedway and he has produced three top-10 finishes in just eight Cup Series starts this season.

"Penske Racing is one of the top teams in all of motorsports and I am honored to join Roger Penske's organization and compete for wins with his Cup and Nationwide Series teams," said Keselowski. "This is a great opportunity for me to continue competing in the Nationwide Series and to run my first full season in the Cup Series with a strong and experienced team."(Penske Racing)

Kevin Harvick will drive Richard Childress Racing's #29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevy in 2010 for his 10th season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series despite rumors to the contrary. "Rumors about Kevin not driving for RCR next season have been flying around the garage area and in the media," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing.

"We want to put the rumors behind us by stating together that Kevin will drive RCR's #29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevy for the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. RCR continues to work on the overall performance of the No. 29 team, like we are with all of our teams, and the plan is to end the season on a high note. Kevin and the No. 29 team are also preparing for next season with the goal of making a run at the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship."(RCR PR)

NASCAR Nationwide Series teams will run the new car in four events in 2010, beginning with the July race at Daytona International Speedway and then race it about once a month in a slow debut for the model. Nationwide Series Director Joe Balash says that series officials handed teams the rule book for building the new car following a recent series of meetings with owners and fabricators. Balash said those meetings helped the sanctioning body finalize some steps of the process, while others are still in the works.

The series will use tapered spacers at all events, abandoning the usage of restrictor plates to harness horsepower at superspeedways. A tapered spacer serves the same purpose as a restrictor plate, but it is a thicker device. "We still have to finalize a couple of things on the overall schedule before we can announce what tracks we'll be on, but our goal is to have the teams race the new car once a month for four months and then we'll stay away from that last month with the last three races leading into the championship for the Nationwide Series," he said. Balash added that the four events will all be on ovals, but that it will be a diverse group to help the teams.(SceneDaily)

Changes are coming at Richard Childress Racing. "We're getting ready to make a lot of changes to hopefully change [the performance]," Team owner Richard Childress said last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. He wouldn't get any more specific, but those close to the situation said there will be some major restructuring announced early this week that hopefully will improve performance.

The organization already has made some changes within the teams to put the best at-the-track personnel with Clint Bowyer, the only one of RCR's four drivers with a shot at the Chase. Bowyer is 15th in points, 112 points out with two races remaining before the field is set. Jeff Burton is 18th, Casey Mears is 20th and Kevin Harvick is 24th. Childress has already switched the crew chiefs of Harvick and Mears in an attempt to improve performance, so any further changes likely will come in a shakeup of managerial or engineering structure.(ESPN)

The most exciting ride in Kings Dominion's 35-year history will debut in the spring of 2010, as the amusement park introduces a mammoth 5,100-foot long steel Giga-coaster. Intimidator 305 takes it name from one of stock car racing's most beloved and tenacious drivers, Dale Earnhardt, "the Intimidator" along with the height of the coaster's lift hill, 305 feet. Intimidator 305, only the second Giga-coaster ever built in North America, will be the tallest and fastest roller coaster of its type on the East Coast. The lift hill will stand a towering 305 feet at its highest peak; descend 300 feet at an 85 degree-angle and thunder along the track at speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour during its three minute race to the finish.

The trains, fashioned after Dale Earnhardt's signature black car, will roar through six airtime humps plus three high-speed turns and the experience will have guests screaming for another lap around the track. Intimidator 305 will be located in the park's Congo section and becomes Kings Dominion's 15th World-class roller coaster. Those who cannot wait until 2010 may take a virtual ride on Intimidator 305, access exclusive updates, features, virtual renderings, ride statistics, and more at www.intimidator305.com. Intamin AG of Wollerau, Switzerland, a recognized industry leader in roller coaster development, designed Intimidator 305. The ride is scheduled to open in the spring of 2010.(Victory Management Group)

Red Bull Racing Team announced that Brian Vickers has signed a multi- year extension to his contract. Vickers will continue to drive the #83 Toyota under the leadership of crew chief Ryan Pemberton. "The team is continuing to prove that it is a consistent force week in and week out," said Jay Frye, Vice President and General Manager of RBRT. "Brian has been here from the beginning and he continues to be a vital piece of the puzzle with regards to our ultimate goal of building Red Bull Racing into a consistent contender."

Since joining RBRT at the beginning of the 2007 season, Vickers has racked up a win, eight top-five and 22 top-10 finishes, along with seven poles. "I'm thrilled," said Vickers. "This has been a long time coming, and there is no where else I would rather be. I am looking forward to building on what we have started the last couple of years. It is an interesting experience being with a team from the ground up going through the growing pains, then successes, together. I am so proud to have been able to bring this team their first win." The #83 currently sits 13th in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver points, 12 points out of the top-12.(Red Bull Racing)

When NASCAR Sprint Cup director John Darby, a few weeks ago, raised the issue of 'fuel injected' racing engines in NASCAR, it raised eyebrows. NASCAR Cup engines are some of the most technically advanced engines in racing, except for the antique carburetors. Every other major form of racing, even ASA, uses fuel injected engines. NASCAR has long shied away from things electronically complicated like electronic fuel injection, for fear with goodly reason that the mechanical wizards on these racing teams might figure out a way to put some tricks in that electronic box.

However NASCAR officials are raising the issue to team owners of fuel injected engines possibly in the Truck series as soon as next season, according to one scenario and asking how owners think NASCAR ought to police it. "We think fuel injection is just the right way to go in NASCAR," Pat Suhy, Chevrolet's NASCAR field director, says. "And it wouldn't be that difficult. Every other top racing series uses fuel injection. We could put something together in about a week depending on how simple or complex you wanted to do it and then test it for two months or so, and be ready to go."(MikeMulhern.net)

UPDATE: NASCAR is researching the possibility of moving from engines with carburetors to fuel injection. Officials met with top engine builders from organizations earlier this month to discuss the move of that technology and others that would make cars more fuel efficient and more like cars on the manufacturer showroom floor. Manufacturers switched fully from carburetors to fuel injection in the 1980s. No timetable has been set for when fuel injection could be used, but Toyota's Lee White said his company could be ready to go by the 2010 opener at Daytona if NASCAR gave the go-ahead. "I would vote for it," White said on Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. "No question, because everyone right now is spending an absolute fortune on [carburetor technology] that has absolute zero application in real life." White said all manufacturers need to be more conscious about the environment to survive, and he believes NASCAR needs to move more in that direction. "Sit in the grandstands and watch these cars go into Turns 1 and Turns 3 and watch all the fuel belching out the tailpipe," he said. "Thats wasted fuel thats going right into the grandstands in terms of lead poison." White said the transition could be made easily and without great expense. "Its something that could be implemented along with a few other things that could be discussed that could potentially reduce costs and increase the potential audience for the sport," he said.(ESPN)

UPDATE 2: Speaking on condition of anonymity, a NASCAR official told SPEEDtv.com Friday that researchers for the sanctioning body met recently with team owners, engine builders and other constituents, but that discussions are purely in the research phase for the moment. Asked if one or more of NASCAR's top divisions might convert to fuel injection as early as next year, the NASCAR official said, "I don't see it happening."(SPEEDtv)

AND - Ford: Brian Wolfe, director, Ford North American Motorsports, was recently on The Race Reporters show. Wolfe said he's in favor of fuel injection for NASCAR engines, that Ford will debut its new Cup engine before this season is finished, and that technical assistance is available to teams which might want to change manufacturers for the 2010 season.(SpinDoctor500blog)

UPDATE 3: Sources have told FOXSports.com that Hendrick Motorsports is working on the fuel injection project for NASCAR. If NASCAR opts for fuel injection engines in the near future, it will likely increase production costs by $15,000 to $20,000. One engineer also quipped, "It will be more fuel efficient, but also provide teams with an easier platform to cheat."(FoxSports)(8/23)

UPDATE 4:Car owner Richard Childress predicts that NASCAR will go to fuel injection in 2011. Childress has a share company that builds Chevrolet motors [Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines]. He says "we're constantly working on it right now." Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition for NASCAR, said that series officials met with teams about it last week. "It wasn't about ideas, it was about laying out the groundwork ... with fuel injection,'' Pemberton said. "We're right in the very, very early stages of all of that."(Roanoke Times)

Some drivers would like a speedometer added to their cars, or have NASCAR's electronic timing system that records the pit row speeds refined to cut down on possible error. "I have wondered why we don't have speedometers," veteran driver Mark Martin said Friday. "The tachs are not quite as accurate as a speedometer might be. But the system works. It's just really devastating when you have one of the races of your life slip through your fingers."

Could NASCAR make the switch from RPM to mph on the dash? Not so fast. Sprint Cup Series director John Darby said the tachometer was the most reliable factor in determining pit row speeds. "They get multiple usages out of a tachometer as an engine meter as well, without having to bother with the expense and the troubles of adding another piece of equipment to the car," Darby said at Pocono Raceway. "The tachometers today are so sophisticated that teams can actually program their pit road speed into the tachometer." Most teams have even added a lighting system to the tachometer. A green light means a driver's speed is in the clear, yellow signifies he is pushing the limit and red means the speed is over the limit.

"In NASCAR's defense, the system that they have, you can't dispute it," four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon said. "I would dispute the person that feels like they're in the wrong, because their system is very accurate." There have been 75 speeding violations in 20 Cup races this season, Darby said. NASCAR does not warn teams when they're on the edge of speeding or give them a chance to plead their case. Speed once coming in or out of the pits, and a penalty is instantly assessed.

"The teams know exactly where they're supposed to be," Darby said. "They know where the threshold is." Darby also said there are no plans to reveal pit road speeds to fans or the rest of the field during a race. "If you have put your combination together and you're real confident in your driver and you've got him set to where you think he can run 3½ miles over all day long without getting caught, that's their business," he said. "We shouldn't display that to the other 42 competitors to let them figure out how they did it." NASCAR switched from a stopwatch system to electric timing in 2005 to provide a more legitimate way of assessing pit road speeders.(Associated Press)

It appears the Nationwide Series version of the Car of Tomorrow will not make its debut until next July at Daytona. NASCAR had hoped to roll out the new car for the series next February, however after meeting Tuesday with Nationwide Series owners at NASCAR's Technical Center in Concord, North Carolina, team owner Rusty Wallace said it was a timing issue. The former Sprint Cup Series champion said, "Most of the teams were concerned about how soon the car would come out and how much would it cost. As the meeting went on it became apparent it won't come out in Daytona (February) as thought...it's just too soon." Wallace felt the majority of the owners thought the car should roll out next July at Daytona and probably no road courses will be involved in 2010. The delay is all about money.

"The economy is really killing us right now," said Wallace. "A lot of it is about cash flow too....it's all about bringing this thing out at the right time where the teams can afford it and we've got time to be prepared." Wallace suspects the new car could be raced on speedways like Phoenix or Charlotte, however NASCAR has yet to decide where testing will take place. Meanwhile, team owner Kevin Harvick came away from the meeting with a positive feeling. Harvick said, "I think they were open and listened to everyone's opinion. Obviously NASCAR is in a spot where they have to make a decision for a multitude of scenarios and situations and try to make the best decision for the sport. Obviously from a safety standpoint I think the new cars are good and listening to some of the cup owners talk about what the car has done for them, once they zeroed in on where they needed to be with chassis and things like that, it sounds like the production process is a little bit better, a little more streamlined than it was before. It's going to take some time to put that process in place but it looks like they've thought it through and we'll see where it goes.

Pemberton added that NASCAR hopes to have a roll-out schedule finalized before the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races Aug. 8-9 at Watkins Glen. "We're still in the process of melting all that down, but that seems to be the general consensus from talking with the teams [Tuesday]," he said. A meeting with approximately 125 fabricators and crew chiefs followed the meeting with team owners at NASCAR's research-and-development center in Concord, N.C. Pemberton said car builders can expect to start receiving templates for the new cars in approximately two weeks. Not all manufacturers have announced the models for the new Nationwide cars, but the lineup is expected to be as follows: Chevrolet Impala SS, Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger and Toyota Camry.

"We're excited about Mustang coming to NASCAR," said Brian Wolfe, director of Ford North America Motorsports. "It's the most successful product nameplate in racing history, and it seems only right that it should be coming to the most popular form of racing in North America. "We had been talking with NASCAR for some time about Mustang as part of its vision for a 'muscle car' roll-out for the Nationwide Series. We both saw it as a way of differentiating the series from Sprint Cup. ... I think race fans and Mustang loyalists will be very pleased when we publicly roll out the first car later this fall."

When it is introduced, the new Nationwide Series car will look and drive differently from the Cup Series' COT. The Nationwide car will feature a more traditional spoiler instead of a rear wing and a spring front suspension instead of bump stops. "We're fairly wrapped up on what the look of the car is," Pemberton said. "Though our testing and all of the wind-tunnel numbers, everybody's pretty much in line, regardless of what platform they decide to market on. The numbers are very good and in close range to be competitive, down-force-wise and drag, things like that."

NASCAR introduced a new race car for the Cup Series in 2007, using the "Car of Tomorrow" in 16 races before making the car mandatory in '08. The primary design considerations were safety innovations, performance and competition, and cost efficiency for teams. On Monday night, NASCAR chairman Brian France addressed the Nationwide Series' new car on Sirius Speedway. "With the new car, potentially, we are certainly talking to the manufacturers but we're zeroed in also on how do we make sure, from a timing standpoint, that we don't burden the team owners with an enormous amount of cost," he said. "The teams are going through, as everybody in this economy is, lots of difficulties trying to figure out a new business model in some cases. So we're having to balance all this along with trying to make some progress. But we'll get there. We've got really, really smart people working on it."

Roush Fenway Racing has informed #26-Jamie McMurray he is free to talk to other organizations about next season, team president Geoff Smith said on Sunday. But Smith said that is not an indication Roush doesn't want the driver of the #26 Ford associated with the organization in 2010. Smith said Roush is willing to move any of its five drivers with sponsorship to partner Yates Racing next season if that would maintain the current Ford stable. He said most of the drivers are willing to do that, understanding they will be in same equipment with the same technology. The problem is convincing sponsors to move to what is perceived as the "B'' team. UPS, for example, is committed to keeping David Ragan at Roush. "It's not moving apples to apples," Smith said from the garage at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

NASCAR has mandated that Roush be at the four-car cap by 2010. Roush currently has five drivers, McMurray, Ragan, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth. Although Edwards, Kenseth and Biffle signed extensions last season, Smith is not opposed to moving one if that keeps all within the Roush/Yates umbrella. "We would be open to any combination to keep them," he said. McMurray is considered the most likely to be moved because his contract expires after this season. Smith said it did not make sense in this economic climate to re-sign him to a long-term deal without sponsorship commitment.

Crown Royal, which sponsors a portion of races on McMurray's car, has two years left on its contract. Smith didn't rule out that could be moved to Kenseth's car if necessary. Roush announced earlier this week that DeWalt, Kenseth's long-term sponsor, will not return in 2010. Smith said sponsorship for that car would be cleared up soon. McMurray avoided conversations with the media on Friday and Saturday. He reportedly has been contacted by Earnhardt Ganassi Racing as a candidate to fill the spot being vacated by Martin Truex Jr. in the #1 Chevy.(ESPN)

Martin Truex Jr. was named on Tuesday the newest addition to Michael Waltrip Racing, multiple sources confirmed at Daytona. A press conference including sponsor NAPA is scheduled for noon at the team's Cornelius, N.C., shop. Truex is in the final year of his contract with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. NAPA, the long-time sponsor of team owner Michael Waltrip, will be become his primary sponsor. Waltrip will move from a full-time to part-time schedule that will include the Daytona 500 in February. He could remain in his familiar #55 with Truex taking another number, possibly the #56.(ESPN.com)

UPDATE 1: A driving career that has spanned a quarter of a century, defined by two emotional winning performances on NASCAR's biggest stage, will be celebrated during the 2010 Daytona 500. Michael Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 champion, announced that he will drive a limited schedule beginning next season as he begins to focus on being one of the youngest multi-team owners in the history of NASCAR.(MWR PR)

UPDATE 2: Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) announced that NAPA Auto Parts has signed a multi-year contract to continue its primary sponsorship with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series organization, and has named two-time Nationwide Series champion and 2007 Chase participant Martin Truex, Jr. as its driver. Starting in 2010, the car number on the NAPA Auto Parts Toyota will be the #56, a number that has been in the Truex racing family for three generations. MWR co-owner Michael Waltrip, the only full-time driver NAPA has had since joining the Sprint Cup division in 2001, will drive a limited schedule, to include the 2010 Daytona 500 driving the #55 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota - an event in which Waltrip and NAPA have shared two memorable victories. Waltrip will retain the number 55. The owner points earned during the 2009 Sprint Cup campaign will be transferred to Truex's full-time effort.(MWR PR)

ALSO: Some notes from the press conference: Truex says he is committed to Earnhart Ganassi for the rest of the 2009 season; NAPA's contract extension is only described as "multi-year"; Waltrip will run a minimum of 4-5 races and as many as 10-12; Waltrip could run some races in the #66 PRISM Motorsports car, owned by Phil Parsons (who gets some assistance this year from Michael Waltrip Racing); no decisions have been made on crew swaps or crew chiefs.

NASCAR continues to have contact with foreign-based carmakers who are not yet involved in stock car racing but have manufacturing plants in the United States and may want to market through NASCAR, sanctioning body chairman Brian France said Sunday.

"Clearly there are some companies that are going to look at opportunities that may not have been there in the past," France said.

Of NASCAR's four current manufacturers, Chrysler and General Motors are in bankruptcy and Ford has reduced its expenditures on racing. Toyota, though its worldwide passenger car sales have been lagging, stands now as the strongest supporter of NASCAR among manufacturers. But other brands could help fill the void if the traditional American carmakers should weaken further and reduce if not eliminate their NASCAR participation.

"We have companies that are interested in particular in developing the North American market as robustly as they can," France said. "And we're all aware that there are lots of foreign manufacturers producing cars here in America."

That was part of the rationale that Toyota used to get involved in NASCAR. Other such companies with U.S. plants include Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

But, "I'm not going to name names," France said. "We have been talking to people off and on for a long time. These are decisions, in terms of new manufacturers joining the sport, that will take a long time to evaluate and actually enter. So this isn't something that if we turn the light switch on tomorrow morning it would happen. But of course, we're the preeminent place in America for car manufacturers to build their businesses with an auto racing group. We remain that."(ESPN.com)

I have been getting some questions about the registration process. First off, we are using this points management system for your benefit. It is the leading points management software out and will minimize error and maximize accuracy and fun! Some of you might not need this but here are some tips and recommendations to help smooth the process over:

When you first click register up above, you will be taken to the registration page. The following info is needed:

1.Driver Name or XBOX Live Handle. (This is what you would like to be called in race rooms.)

2.Password.(Please come up with a safe and secure password to later log in to the driver page.)

3.Password Confirmation. (Enter the exact same password as above to confirm.)

4.First name. (Self Explanatory. Your first name is?)

5.Last name. (PLEASE PUT YOUR FIRST INITIAL OF YOUR LAST NAME FOLLOWED BY A PERIOD AND YOUR XBOX GAMERTAG. ex. C.N17R0, O.CHAOS88jr. This allows us better organization and accuracy)

6.Location (Where are you? ex. Denver, CO...."The swamps of Florida" etc.)

7.Email. (Your current email address to stay in contact with the league if needed.)

8.Connection. (For now. Please put in your internet connection followed by the person who recruited you.

From there you check the Speed Affair Cup Box and enter the code below. Click Sign up! You are now registered to join SPEEDAFFAIR! Your application will be reviewed and then if everything is good you will then be approved. After your approval you may log in to the site and further edit your profile. For help with your driver profile please continue below. Once logged in to your driver profile you have the ability to customize some things:

1.Under Driver Profile you get the ability to edit most of the information you previously used to register but you also can enter your Birthday, Favorite Driver, edit your bio and upload your own driver picture for your driver page! (We ask that you fill it out as much as possible. Humor us!)

2.Click on Series on the left and you will be shown a link to the Speed Affair Cup Series. Click the link to edit your Team info, Sponsor info, Driver Make and Number as well as a place to upload a picture of your car to your driver page! (Again fill out what you can. I wil be posting a list of currently taken numbers below.

3.If you need to change your password, you may also do that here.


Currently Taken Driver Numbers

00,1,14,144,16,17,19,187,24,25,26,29,3,34,36,37,38,39,43, 44,45,48,5,55,66,7,77,8,83,84,87,88,9,96

Welcome to the new home of SPEEDAFFAIR!! Thanks to a longtime friend, Peerless helped turn this pipe dream into reality. We now have a site that will serve as a base for all league news and information.

The site also comes partnered up with a new points management system, RPM. RPM has been the leading points management system for over 7 years and is the trusted friend of the sim racing community for its features, stability and accuracy. We will also be implementing a new team system that will take advantage of RPM's Virtual Money System in hopes of adding a bit more excitement to the league. I am very excited to have RPM on board and am very thankful for their services.

To both NEW and CURRENT SPEEDAFFAIR drivers, please sign up for the RPM system using the "REGISTER" menu button above so that we can add you as a driver. If you need to edit you driver profile you may do that by using the "LOGIN" menu button above.(We encourage you to fill out your bio as much as possible. Yes, we do actually want to know a little about you. haha)Also, Please vote BELOW on which days are the best for you.(You may select more than one choice to vote on.)

Thank you very much for you patience this past season while the website was in the works. We have stood out among many SIM leagues and it is about time we stand out on the web as well. I am proud to have such a good group of guys around me and I am looking forward to meeting the next group. The sky is the limit here guys, but its up to all of us to keep it going. I am looking forward to another successful season and hopefully another championship! Haha j/k! Thanks again Peerless for all of your hard work making this site exactly how I wanted it and also making it so easy to edit. You are truly first class!

I designed this website to work well with RPM's pages which in turn means no current menu on the drivers, standings and schedule page. If you need to return to the main page at anytime, click the top banner and you will be redirected to the homepage.

If there is anything else I can do to help you navigate this website or if there is any questions I can answer for you, please contact me by using the "CONTACTS" menu button above or send me a msg on XBL. Till then, have fun, take care and be safe!

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