Earnhardt to join Gordon, Johnson at Hendrick

Earnhardt to join Gordon, Johnson at Hendrick Motorsports

Well, it looks like Dale Earnhardt Jr. will replace Kyle Busch in the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports!

In choosing Hendrick's, Earnhardt chose an organization that has won 10 of 14 races this season, including last week's rain-shortened victory by points leader Gordon at Pocono.

Earnhardt and Gordon as teammates will be an interesting mix. Although the two get along, Gordon has been the driver most Earnhardt fans love to hate going back to his rivalry with the late Dale Earnhardt.

It is unknown whether sponsor Budweiser will follow Earnhardt to Hendrick. Budweiser officials are expected to release a statement Wednesday saying the company wishes Earnhardt well and that it will begin exploring its relationship with Earnhardt after the announcement. Hendrick Motorsports does have a history with Budweiser as a sponsor in the 1990s with Ricky Craven and Wally Dallenbach Jr.

Busch Slapped Hard by NASCAR - Drops to 17th Place

Kurt Busch was docked 100 driver points Friday, fined $100,000 and placed on probation until the end of the year for reckless driving and endangering a crew member on pit road.

Car owner Roger Penske also was penalized 100 owner points because of Busch's infraction.

"We felt like we got everybody's attention," said Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition. "We felt like the 100-point penalty, the $100,000 was substantial."

NASCAR placed Busch on probation until Dec. 31. With the penalty, Busch fell from 11th to 17th in the Chase standings. The top 12 drivers are in the final 10 races for the title.

Busch apologized on Monday and said he regrets his behavior on the track.

"It's a bit surprising, but safety on pit road can't be compromised," Busch said outside his hauler. "I understand that. To me, it's a matter of making sure everyone is safe on pit road."

Busch and Tony Stewart were both running in the top 10 in Monday's race at Dover International Speedway when Busch clipped Stewart as he went to make a pass in lap 271. Busch nosed into the wall and Stewart was sent hard into the SAFER barrier on the outside retaining wall.

While Stewart's team checked out the damage to the No. 20 Chevrolet in the pit stall, Busch pulled next to Stewart's car, forcing jackman Jason Lee to jump back and onto the hood.

NASCAR parked Busch and he finished 42nd. Pemberton said there was some consideration to parking Busch for Sunday's Pocono 500, but that NASCAR was "fairly happy" with its decision.

"Safety is one of our big issues," Pemberton said. "Accidents do happen, and we don't want to put ourselves in a position to allow an accident to happen like that."

Busch said he didn't deserve to be parked for another race because his car never touched Lee.

"I had my car under control when I stopped next to Tony's car next to pit road," he said.

Busch reached out to Lee and Joe Gibbs racing team president J.D. Gibbs, though he had yet to talk to Stewart. Busch told Lee it was never his intention to put him in danger and that his beef was strictly with Stewart.

Stewart called Busch a "bad apple" after the Dover race.

"The incident between Tony and I still needs to be discussed," Busch said. "The guy thought I didn't race him with enough room and I felt like he didn't race me with enough room and it hurt us both in points, so that's the tough part."

"We each need to give each other a bit more room on the track," Busch said.

Earnhardt Docked 100 points, Crew Chief Fined, Suspended

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was docked 100 points Tuesday, and his crew chief was fined $100,000 and suspended for six races for an illegal part at Darlington Raceway.

The penalty, for illegal modifications to the rear wing on Earnhardt's Car of Tomorrow, is a significant setback in his team's bid to win a Cup title before racing's most popular driver leaves after the season.

Dale Earnhardt Inc. will appeal, team president Max Siegel said. Crew chief Tony Eury Jr., who is also Earnhardt's cousin, is expected to work Saturday night's All-Star race because suspensions do not begin until the appeals process is heard.

"We are not disputing the ruling," Siegel said. "But we are appealing the severity of the penalty because the penalty itself is not spelled out in the rule book."

NASCAR, however, sent a March 21 memo outlining penalties for specific infractions on the Car of Tomorrow and specifically listed fines of $100,000, points deductions and suspension.

NASCAR: Earnhardt Drives in Kyle Busch's Car?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn't seem to mind that Kyle Busch rear-ended him and essentially ruined his chance to win the Samsung 500 on Sunday.

Sitting around the garage after finally giving up on repair efforts, Earnhardt was asked by a friend on Busch's crew if he would drive Busch's car. Turns out the crew had Busch's car ready to go again, but couldn't find him.

NASCAR rules permit such moves, and Earnhardt agreed. The gesture allowed Busch to finish one spot ahead of Jimmie Johnson in 37th. Earnhardt finished 36th.

Busch earned three points thanks to Earnhardt, although he did drop two spots in the points standings to seventh with 856, 280 behind leader Jeff Gordon.

NASCAR Pleased With Car Debut

NASCAR was pleased with last weekend's debut of the Car of Tomorrow, and said Friday that several problems (including exhaust failures that exposed drivers to carbon monoxide) can be easily fixed.

Several drivers finished the race with a "carbon monoxidey feeling," some after their exhaust systems failed during the race, Nextel Cup director John Darby said.

Brian Vickers suffered second degree burns to his feet, and needed oxygen after Sunday's race because of his exposure to the carbon monoxide.

"The exhaust failure is the first thing we went to work on," Darby said before practice at Martinsville Speedway, where the Car Of Tomorrow (COT) will race again this weekend.

NASCAR determined teams used a thinner metal for their exhaust systems in the COT's than they typically use in the cars, and the heat generated during the race caused several of the pipes to break. Some also misapplied the padding designed to shield other components from the heat, and that caused other parts to fail, Darby said.

AT&T Sues Nascar Over Logo

Telecommunications giant AT&T filed a motion Monday, asking that its logo be added to Jeff Burton's car immediately.

The motion was filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, where the company also filed its lawsuit against NASCAR. A hearing on the motion has not yet been scheduled.

Burton is sponsored by cell phone service provider Cingular. AT&T recently took full ownership of Cingular as part of its recent merger with BellSouth and intends to eliminate the brand name.

AT&T sued NASCAR on March 16 after racing series officials refused to allow AT&T to put its logo on Burton's car because of NASCAR's deal with Nextel, which sponsors NASCAR's top series -- the Nextel Cup.

"We must bring this issue to resolution," John Burbank, vice president of marketing for AT&T, said in a statement. "The season is well under way and so are our rebranding efforts. This filing is a logical next step for us in the process, and one we must pursue so that we can simply move forward with our paint scheme -- something our agreement with NASCAR allows us to do."

NASCAR's Nextel deal forbids teams that race in the series from signing new sponsorship agreements with competing telecom companies. The deal does contain a provision that allows teams with existing telecom sponsorships -- such as Richard Childress Racing, the team Burton drives for -- to keep their sponsors.

NASCAR officials said that even with the restrictions, the Nextel sponsorship -- along with similar deals with fuel supplier Sunoco and tire supplier Goodyear -- benefits every team. Money from Nextel, for example, goes toward the drivers' year-end points fund.

"While it is unfortunate that there is a matter in litigation, it is important to know that NASCAR is defending every driver, team and track by protecting a sponsor that benefits everyone," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said.

Nascar: Martin Skewers His Own Hopes!

NASCAR at Statleader.com:

Mark Martin was bubbling with enthusiasm Sunday after his fourth straight top 10 finish since leaving longtime employer Jack Roush for Ginn Racing.

In past seasons, there would be considerable speculation about the four-time NASCAR Nextel Cup points runner-up finally winning that elusive championship.

Not this year.

Despite the best start of his long career and being in the points lead, Martin confirmed Sunday that he will sit out the races next week at Bristol and the following week at Martinsville, ending a string of 621 consecutive starts.

It's the reason he changed teams after 19 years with Roush, the opportunity to run a partial Cup schedule, race only when he wants to and to have more time with his family and for himself.