Backstretch Motorsports

CONCORD, N.C. (May 28, 2009) – Hendrick Motorsports today named Lance McGrew as interim crew chief of the No. 88 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team of driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. beginning with the June 7 event at Pocono Raceway. Team manager Brian Whitesell will lead the team this weekend at Dover, Del.

“Our performance hasn’t been where it should be,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “It’s impossible to pin that on any one factor, but a change is the right decision at this point. We have a plan in place, and we’re going to move forward with it.”
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The Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway has been postponed until Monday at 12 pm ET due to inclement weather. The race will air on FOX starting at 12.

“As for the race, everyone was set up for racing at night,” says Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch. “This will really have everyone scratching their heads, that’s for sure. We were hoping to have an adjustable setup here tonight. Running here tomorrow will definitely put a bigger premium on the adjustability factor. I know everyone will be really loose at the start of the race because all the rubber got washed off the track. It’ll get tighter as the race goes on and that’s where the adjustability comes in.

Three drivers were involved in incidents during yesterday’s practice and qualifiying session at the Indianapolis Motor SPeedway. Mike Conway, Alex Tagliani and John Andretti all encountered trouble in Turn 1. Tagliani and Andretti were uninjured while Conway was admitted to Methodist Hospital in good condition with bruised lungs.

Conway has been released from Methodist Hospital. He had been admitted in good condition following the crash. [read more...]

POMONA, Calif. – Rain continued to soak the grounds of Auto Club Raceway at Pomona Monday, forcing NHRA officials to postpone the continuation of eliminations for the Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals until Tuesday. It is the fifth straight day where a series of winter storms off the Pacific have brought heavy rain to the Southern California region and continued to delay the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season-opener.

The second round of Top Fuel and Funny Car eliminations will open Tuesday’s racing, starting at 11:30 a.m., and will be followed by the continuation of the first round of Pro Stock.

Tickets will be available for Tuesday’s racing for $26. Fans holding tickets for any of the rain-delayed days (Thurs., Fri., Sun. or Mon.) may redeem those tickets on Tuesday for entry.

ESPN2 coverage for the race now will be televised in a 30-minute show tonight at 9:30 p.m. (ET) and another 30-minute highlight show on Sunday, Feb. 15 in a yet to be determined time slot.

This statement for Rahal Letterman Racing is in response to a published newswire story that stated that the longtime race team had pulled out of the Indy Racing League for 2009.

Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Racing:

“As I said in the quote from the story, as of this time we do not have any sponsorship that will allow us to compete in the IRL in 2009, but by no means does that mean that we are giving up. We are continuing to search for sponsorship to run the 2009 season and to run in the Indianapolis 500 and we feel that there is still time for us to put something together that will allow that to happen.”

In addition to its IndyCar efforts, Rahal Letterman Racing remains committed to its programs in the Firestone Indy Lights Series as a partner with Andersen Racing, its American Le Mans Series program with BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team as well as its new partnership with Formula BMW Americas.

Johnson moves into top starting position for Sunday

Jimmie Johnson will start from the pole in Sunday’s Camping World RV 400 at Kansas Speedway after Montoya’s qualifying speed was disallowed.

Montoya turned a lap in 31.368 seconds (172.150 mph) Friday to knock Jimmie Johnson (172.007 mph) out of the top starting spot for Sunday’s race — only to see his time disallowed because the nitrogen gas pressure in the rear shock absorbers of his No. 42 Dodge exceeded the 75 pounds per square inch allowed under NASCAR rules.

As a consequence, Montoya will start 42nd Sunday on an owner points provisional. The pole is the 18th of Johnson’s career, his fifth of the season and his third at the 1.5-mile speedway.

Roush Fenway Racing and UPS announced today that David Ragan will be behind the wheel of the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion in 2009. The official press conference was held at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway infield media center.

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(cont) HOW ARE YOU FEELING NOW RON AND DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE THIS ALL UNDER CONTROL?
HORNADAY: “I when I came here with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in ’94 and ’95, I weighed 200-205 pounds and that is where I sit right now. My belly might show it. I feel fine. I felt fine before. I started losing weight and I got the shakes real bad. I felt fine then, other than just losing weight and getting the shakes. A little tiredness and stuff like that, but I mean, heck I am 50, I am going to be tired now, so it don’t matter.”

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RON HORNADAY, NO. 33 CAMPING WORLD SILVERADO; KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL-PENNZOIL IMPALA SS AND CO-OWNER OF KEVIN HARVICK, INC. (KHI), HORNADAY’S RACE TEAM AND JIM HUNTER, NASCAR VICE PRESIDENT CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS met with members of the media at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to discuss recent media story concerning possible substance abuse:

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NASCAR announced that this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide races are being postponed until Sunday due to weather. The Sprint Cup race is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. with the Nationwide event set for 7 p.m.

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