by Chris Tutor

Not that there was a lot of speculation about Dodge possibly dropping out, but Dodge’s senior manager for motorsports, Mike Deahanty, says the brands presence in NASCAR will remain under Chrysler’s new ownership by Cerberus Capital Management. Petty Enterprises and Evernham Motorsports have both renewed their contracts with Dodge.

Top Speed, however, says sponsorship for the Evernham team, which currently includes Dodge dealers and the United Auto Workers, could change, with Budweiser rumored to be interested in paying Kasey Kahne to wear its red livery.

So rest easy, NASCAR Dodge fans. You’ll still be able to see Dodge Chargers (or at least machines with Charger written across the nose) roaring around in circles.

[Source: Top Speed]

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by Alex Nunez

Excessive on-screen graphics and sports telecasts seem to go hand-in-hand. While some truly are innovative, there will always be crap that we can all do without. Some examples are more hideous than others — the relentlessly annoying “FoxTrack” puck that made its debut in NHL telecasts back in ‘96 immediately leaps to mind. This week, ESPN introduced something that could become irritating in a hurry if overused. It’s called Draft Track, and it’s a graphical representation of the airflow over the race cars in the net’s NASCAR Nextel Cup telecasts. Nice idea, but it happens to make the cars look like they’re on fire in some kind of videogame. Sigh. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should, you know? Since we’re talking TV graphics, we’ll conclude by taking this opportunity to state that the inventor of the yellow first-down stripe used in football ‘casts should have had a new Nobel Prize category created for him.

If you want to see what the Draft Track looks like in motion, head over to Jalopnik by clicking the image above or the “Read” link below. They captured some of the action and have video hosted at their place.

[Source: Jalopnik]

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by Jonathon Ramsey

The boffins have broken down the data from BMW Sauber F1 driver Robert Kubica’s crash at the Montreal Grand Prix. If the shunt itself wasn’t eye-popping enough, it turns out that Kubica hit the wall nearly head on at 142.6 mph and endured a 75 G impact. And he made it out with nothing more than a slight concussion and a sprained ankle. That’s what a survival cell, crash box, HANS system, helmet, and 1,000 pieces of carbon fiber, Kevlar, metal, and honeycomb can do for you when they work perfectly. In a burst of German understatement, the BMW Sauber technical director said they were “very content about the behavior of the chassis as survival cell.” Throttle-by-wire is great, but we need a whole lot more of that kind of tech to trickle down ASAP.

[Source: Autosport]

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by John Neff

Dale Earnhardt Jr. became the most coveted free agent in sports when he announced last month his departure from Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Today Junior announced at a press conference that he has signed a 5-year deal with Hendrick Motorsports, the current team to beat in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series with 10 wins in the last 14 races. Hendrick, however, was very fortunate that one of its four current drivers, Kyle Busch, asked to be released from his contract with the team, which opened up a spot to sign Junior. The young Earnhardt will get his wish to continue driving Chevys, though his sponsorship, paint scheme and number are yet to be determined.

Follow the link to SpeedTV for a full report on Junior’s move, and check out our gallery of the press conference below

[Source: SpeedTV, Photos – Grant Halverson/Getty]

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by Damon Lavrinc

The man that moved NASCAR into the 21st century and into the lives of more fans than his father ever could have imagined, lost his eight-year battle with cancer yesterday at the age of 74. Bill France Jr. took the reigns from Bill Sr. in 1976, and in the ensuing three decades transformed the once beleaguered sport into one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the U.S.

Several automotive news outlets have penned some compelling obits for the “ultimate general manager,” who will be sorely missed by his family and friends. They’ve done a far better job than we can, so we’d ask you to check their stories out here, here and here.

Source:Nascar

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by Jonathon Ramsey

Perhaps there are some of you who haven’t found the music, dancing, passion, heartache, drama, and redemption that manage to find their way into every Bollywood film exciting enough. If so, and the addition of NASCAR-style trading paint and Turn Three excitement is what you’re looking for, then the new Bollywood film Ta Ra Rum Pum is just the ticket.

According to the storyline, it looks to be a cross between Days of Thunder, The Truman Show, and every Andrew Lloyd Weber production. But as any Bollywood fan knows, no mere words or comparisons could begin to describe the movie is actually about. It is equally difficult to describe why the movie’s creators chose to have the hero drive a NASCAR-ready Chevy Aveo (race on Sunday, sell on Monday . . . in India?). Go here to check it out for yourself, and to get songs, videos, and downloads (note: adjust your volume first). And if you want to sing along, it goes a little something like this: “Jab bhi ho gham, zyada ya kam, muskuraayenge, gaayenge hum, ta ra rum pum, ta ra rum pum. . . .”

[Source: Hemmings Auto Blogs]

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