A few more NASCAR nuggets...

UPDATE: Staying within 400 points of the lead no longer will be a factor to get in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. A source close to NASCAR said the governing body is finalizing a plan that will allow the top 12 in points in the 10-race playoff with no provision for how many points a driver is from the lead. The top 10 and anybody within 400 points after 26 races qualified for the playoff during the first three years of the Chase. But because the 400-point margin hasn't been a factor -- seven or fewer drivers were within that range from 2004-06 -- NASCAR decided to set a hard number. Barring a last-minute change, that number will be 12. NASCAR also will award 10 more points to the winner after running several models that showed after 10 the system created more runaway scenarios. An official announcement will come later this month at the media tour in Charlotte. NASCAR officials considered putting in a provision that would allow a driver with the most wins outside the Chase in the playoff, but decided against it. They also decided against expanding the 400-point margin to another figure such as 500.(ESPN.com)(1-8-2007)

Gilmore Expects Dale Jr to sign with DEI soon AND Dale Jr comments, quarrel slowing deal?: Dale Earnhardt Jr. likely isn't going anywhere. Negotiations to re-sign the signature driver of Dale Earnhardt Inc. are on the fast track and likely will be finalized by May if not sooner, DEI director of motorsports Richie Gilmore said on Monday. "Before we come back here in February [for the Daytona 500] would be my wish [to have a deal done] so we wouldn't have the distraction of that every week," Gilmore said during the first day of preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway. "I would say, realistically, probably May." Gilmore said losing the most popular driver on the Nextel Cup Series and the son of seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt never has been a consideration for anybody at DEI, including owner Teresa Earnhardt. Gilmore discounted comments in the Dec. 14 edition of The Wall Street Journal in which Teresa said: "Right now the ball's in [Earnhardt's] court to decide on whether he wants to be a NASCAR driver or whether he wants to be a public personality. I'm around Teresa pretty much every day and I've never heard her comment that way," Gilmore said. "Teresa doesn't get out there a lot to the media, but when I talk to her, it's never negative against Junior that way." Gilmore said every conversation he's had with Teresa involved re-signing her stepson. Gilmore said Teresa has tried to remove herself from negotiations as much as possible "because she thinks it will happen faster maybe if she takes the personal side out of it." Gilmore doesn't find it unusual that Teresa and Earnhardt haven't discussed the comments to the WSJ, noting the two sometimes go two or three months without talking. But he wouldn't describe their relationship as tumultuous as it often is made to sound. "A lot of stuff does get blown out of proportion that makes for good stories," Gilmore said. Gilmore said Earnhardt has become DEI and he can't imagine the company without him, although Earnhardt does talk of driving his father's black #3 for Richard Childress Racing late in his career. "I've never even thought that far down the road," Gilmore said. "Being in the circle with [Earnhardt] and Teresa I don't believe any of us have thought that way."AND Dale Earnhardt Jr. made it clear on Monday that the tumultuous relationship with his stepmother would be a factor in negotiations to return to the Nextel Cup organization his father built after the 2007 season. He also made it clear he wants to return. Ownership appears to be the biggest stumbling block. "That's the obvious," Earnhardt said during the first day of preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway. "I want to be very involved in the company. Aside from [DEI], I have no interest in ownership." To own a part of DEI, Teresa Earnhardt would have to relinquish at least partial control of an organization she has run since Dale Earnhardt was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. That means comments such as the one she made in the Dec. 14 Wall Street Journal about how Earnhardt needs to decide whether he wants to be a driver or a celebrity will make negotiations more emotional than most. "My relationship with the car owner is definitely going to be a factor in my decision to drive there," Earnhardt said. "I haven't talked to Teresa about what she said in [the Journal]. I figured if anything needed to be said she'd call me up and say it. But you know, my and her relationship definitely factor into my decision." Earnhardt became increasingly pointed in remarks about the contract and his stepmother during a break between practices, at one point saying the relationship with Teresa "ain't a bed [of] roses." He took several shots at her, indirectly referring to her absence from the track. He admitted the uncertainty of having the contract issue settled is the most frustrating part about approaching this season. He also said it is the goal of him and his sister, JR Motorsports executive Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, to get a deal done.(much more at ESPN.com)(1-8-2007)

Hey guys - hope you had a great weekend. Here are a couple of newsworthy items of interest that I found over the weekend:



Bobby Hamilton dies at age 49: former Nextel Cup driver and 2004 Truck Series Champion Bobby Hamilton passed away today at age 49, according to his son, Bobby Hamilton, Jr. Hamilton, a former Fairgrounds [Nashville] Speedway champion, missed most of the 2006 season after being diagnosed with cancer.(Tennessean...more details Monday)(1-7-2007)MORE: Bobby Hamilton Racing is saddened to announce that its owner Bobby Hamilton Sr. passed away this afternoon at his home in Nashville, TN from complications of Cancer. “He will be greatly missed as a husband, a father, a grandfather, an owner and a friend,” said the Hamilton Family. “We want to thank everyone for their love and support of our racing operation and the outpouring of care and concern during his cancer battle. One of Bobby’s greatest loves in life was racing and we will continue on in his honor.” Hamilton won four Nextel Cup Races and the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion. Funeral arrangements are pending.(BHR PR)Articles/News: see more articles about the passing of Hamilton at:ESPN.comNASCAR.comUSA TodayMotorsports Soapboxand more on my Articles Links page.(1-8-2007)

NASCAR to expand Chase field and more points for wins in 2007: The Nextel Cup 2007 season will feature more points for victories and more drivers in the Chase for the Cup, NASCAR vice president of corporate communications Jim Hunter said this afternoon. How many points and how many drivers are being determined, Hunter said during a visit to USA TODAY's newsroom in McLean, Va. "We're still running the models," Hunter said, adding that an official announcement will be made during NASCAR's media tour Jan. 22-26 in Charlotte.NASCAR added the Chase for the Cup in 2004 with the top 10 drivers in the points standings and anyone within 400 points of the leader, competing in the final 10 races for the Cup championship.(USA Today)(1-6-2007)

Hey guys - hope you got a chance to catch that Boise St-Oklahoma game. Incredible...at least as good as last year's Rose Bowl. Love to see the underdog represent like they did - excellent playcalling by 1st yr. coach Peterson. Anyway, I found this great blog on ESPN by David Newton - check it out:

Youth movement? Not right now

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Ricky Rudd, 50, is headed to Robert Yates Racing to replace Dale Jarrett. Ward Burton, 45, has signed to drive for Morgan-McClure.
Burton's 39-year-old brother, Jeff, arguably was the Nextel Cup comeback driver of this past season with a victory and berth in the championship chase.
The organization formerly known as MB2 Motorsports, or "MB2 Old" as it has been called, will feature 47-year-old Mark Martin, 43-year-old Joe Nemechek and 49-year-old Sterling Marlin next season.
Jarrett will turn 51 before his first season with the new Toyota team of Michael Waltrip Racing is over. Kenny Schrader will be 52 in May.
Richard Petty, 69, is considering a comeback.
OK, Petty isn't coming back. Regardless, there will be almost as much gray hair circling the track next season as there is in a retirement home.
Even four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon, 35, is showing a bit of gray around the ears.
So what happened to the so-called young guns movement that was so prominent a few years ago? Where are all the so-called next Kasey Kahnes?
"I don't know," Ward Burton said from his home in Virginia. "To me, it doesn't matter much difference what age you are. I just haven't been that conscious or aware of what some guy calls a kid and another calls an adult.
"There's kids out there who are 50 years old and adults that are 25, and vice versa."
Perhaps sponsors and owners are starting to realize that experience is worth almost as much as a pretty face, that their products get more exposure when the car is on the track than when parked behind the wall in a crumpled mess.
Seven of the 10 Chase drivers this season were over 30, with 21-year-old Kyle Busch and 26-year-olds Kahne and Denny Hamlin the lone exceptions.
Only 11 of 36 races were won by drivers under 30, with six of those by Kahne. Only two were won by drivers younger than Kahne -- Brian Vickers, 23, at Talladega and Busch at New Hampshire.
"Everybody is looking for a quick fix and there are not that many quick fixes in this sport," Burton said. "It takes a lot of work and a lot of smart activities going on around the race team to make the race team look good."
That older drivers remain in vogue speaks volumes to the shortage of drivers ready for Cup. It's so bad that Chip Ganassi made Formula One star Juan Pablo Montoya a 31-year-old rookie in 2007 rather than take a chance on a younger driver with experience in stock cars.
"I don't think there is a driver shortage," Ganassi said. "There is a good-driver shortage. There's a helluva lot of mediocre drivers. But there's a shortage of good drivers.
"It's like that in every sport. There's never a lack of players. There's just a lack of good ones. I think it's here to stay."
That doesn't mean the sport is hurting for good young drivers. This past year's rookie class was one of the best ever with Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Reed Sorenson and J.J. Yeley.
Paul Menard, who will drive a third car for DEI in '07, showed promise in the Busch Series, finishing sixth in points. David Gilliland showed enough with his Busch Series win at Kentucky that Yates gave him a ride in the No. 38.
But there aren't so many up-and-coming stars that there isn't room for the Rudds and Burtons. Burton takes offense when older drivers are called "recycled" because that's an insinuation they can't do the job anymore.
He reminds that having the right equipment and financial support around a team is as important as or more important than the driver.
It's no different than Brett Favre trying to win football games with a bad offensive line and no defense.
"The car is easier to drive than ever when it's right," Burton said. "It's just a question of getting them right. It really doesn't matter what age you are."