01.01.12: In an ongoing effort to provide fans with the most exciting and enjoyable race experience in NASCAR, Dover International Speedway is pleased to announce a seat-widening plan for the track's grandstands beginning in 2012. The multi-year process, which will take place throughout the entire outdoor grandstands, will begin in all seating sections located in Turns 2 and 3. Additional widening of seats toward Turns 1 and 4 and the frontstretch will begin after the conclusion of the 2012 season. When the process is complete, all seats will have increased from 18" to 22" in size throughout the venue.

12.29.11: NASCAR has confirmed that data theft involving Aegis Science Corporation included information on members of the NASCAR community. Although Aegis provides NASCAR with laboratory drug testing services, absolutely no drug or medical records pertaining to NASCAR were on the laptop or drives. Among material on the laptop and external drive was a 2009 file that primarily listed names and social security numbers of individuals involved in the sport. While there appears to be no identity theft to date, NASCAR is taking every precaution possible to address this situation including contacting all individuals whose names appear on the file. Aegis also is providing outreach and consultation. NASCAR has apologized to the affected individuals for this unfortunate incident involving one of its vendors, and is pressing Aegis to do everything necessary to mitigate this situation.

12.27.11: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates has announced that long-time NASCAR veteran Max Jones has been named team manager of the organization's NASCAR operation. Jones takes over the role effective immediately in preparation for the 2012 season. Most recently Jones was president and general manager at Richard Petty Motorsports for two years from 2009 through 2010 where he oversaw the transition and successful partnership between Richard Petty Enterprises and Yates Racing which would ultimately become Richard Petty Motorsports.

12.26.11: Next Tuesday's Sugar Bowl will pit two legendary programs against one another – Martinsville Speedway and Michigan International Speedway. The top dogs for the two NASCAR racetracks will square off head-to-head, each backing his state's marquee football team. MIS boss Roger Curtis will cheer for the legendary University of Michigan, while Martinsville boss Clay Campbell has picked Virginia Tech to win. Here's the bet: If the No. 11 Hokies win, Curtis will travel to Martinsville, Va., in April for that track's NASCAR event and serve the half-mile track's Famous Martinsville Speedway Hotdog® to media. Curtis will wear something in Chicago maroon and burnt orange, likely emblazoned with the Hokie Bird or the famous "VT." If the No. 13 Wolverines win, Campbell will visit MIS in June during MIS' NASCAR event and serve MIS' signature Coney Dogs to the press. Coney dogs were invented in Jackson., Mich., just 15 miles north of MIS. Oh, and Campbell will also be outfitted in something special should the University of Michigan win.

12.21.11: Best Buy has moved their NASCAR dollars from Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) to Roush Fenway Racing. The electronics retailer will be primary sponsor for Carl Edwards in two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events and for Matt Kenseth in nine events. Additionally, Best Buy will be an associate sponsor on both cars.

12.20.11: Tim Terry, announcer for the Parts for Truck Pro Stock Tour and Scotia Speedworld - and an avid iRacing contributor - has been nominated for iRacing's inaugural Member of the Year award. Help Tim bring the award home - vote [here]...

12.18.11: Jason Ratcliff has been named crew chief for its No. 20 Sprint Cup Series team, replacing Greg Zipadelli who is leaving the organization to pursue an opportunity with Stewart-Haas Racing. Ratcliff spent the previous seven years as crew chief for JGR's No. 18 Nationwide Series team. No team has been better over the past three seasons as the team won two consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series Owner's Championships in 2009 and 2010. They narrowly missed out on a third consecutive title this past season finishing just a few points off the pace in second. Over the past three seasons JGR's No. 18 Nationwide Series team has won an incredible 30 races, with 68 top-five, and 85 top-ten finishes. In addition, they have led an astonishing 6,124 laps over that time.

12.17.11: Ten months after its No. 15 car qualified on the front row for the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway, Venturini Motorsports rose to the top of the speed charts again on Friday at the "World Center of Racing." Ryan Reed drove the No. 15 Toyota to a best lap of 48.857 seconds (184.211 mph) in the second session of ARCA Racing Series open testing at the 2.5-mile oval, edging Brennan Poole, John Stancill, and Mark Thompson for the day's best times. T.J. Duke finished the day fifth. Reed has never competed in the ARCA Racing Series, but is a track champion and super late model Rookie of the Year and race winner at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in California. The ARCA tetst session continues Saturday and Sunday at Daytona.

12.16.11: In an effort to reduce superspeedway two-car-tandem-racing NASCAR has announced a new rules package for the season opener Daytona 500 (Feb 26) with the following changes: smaller radiator - maximum of 2 gallon capacity; smaller overflow tank - maximum capacity of ½ gallon; radiator inlet is moved up closer into the front center bumper area; rate reduction in the springs – softer springs; smaller rear spoiler; and, base line restrictor plate of 29/32 inch (1/64 inch larger than plate size for the 2011 Daytona 500). Teams will test the new package at the annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Preseason Thunder event set for January 2-14.

12.16.11: A quick heads up for anyone planning their time around the season opener at Petty Int'l Raceway in May; the date may need to be changed - and so has changed from "26" to "?" on their schedule. Stay tuned...

12.16.11: CONGRATS to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver David Ragan who recently became engaged to longtime girlfriend Jacquelyn Ann Butler; the two will marry December 15, 2012 at a Charlotte-area church. They met on the UNC campus in 2006 and have been together ever since. Ragan just completed his fifth full year in the Sprint Cup Series and is currently in negotiations with teams in regard to his 2012 season.

12.16.11: NASCAR driver Greg Biffle will help Natural Balance Pet Foods make a "splash" in the upcoming 123rd Rose Parade on January 2nd, 2012. In 2010 the Natural Balance float rolled into the Guinness Book of World records as the world's longest float and in 2011, took the record for the world's heaviest float. This year the Natural Balance float will be 116 feet long and feature a tropical floral setting. After extensive training, the dogs on the float will actually surf on 65-foot long waves in over 6,600 gallons of water on a float weighing more than 100,000 pounds. A specially designed "wave" machine is incorporated into the design of the float and creates a wave every minute. The Rose Bowl Parade will air live from Pasadena, Calif. on ABC at 11:00 a.m. EST.

12.15.11: Are you still looking for that perfect gift for the racer on your Xmas list? GRIP Seminars is now offering gift cards, payable with a credit card (via PayPal), cash, check or money order. More info [here].

12.14.11: The 6th Annual Canadian Motorsports Expo (CME) is set for February 10-12 at the International Centre, adjacent to Toronto's Pearson International Airport. Responding to exhibitor and attendee feedback, the show has been moved back in the calendar by several weeks to be closer to the start of the racing season. The Canadian Motorsports Expo will once again take place at the International Centre, but it's moving to a bigger hall, which means the CME will be better able to accommodate more exhibitors, tracks, series, vendors and racing vehicles.

12.13.11: Telestream®, a leading provider of video transcoding and workflow automation systems, announced Monday that it has created a new High Definition (HD) instant replay system for NASCAR race control officials. Developed for the start of 2012 racing season, Telestream's new Replay™ multichannel video player combines with its Pipeline™ HD video capture system to provide instant capture and display of 18 high definition 720p camera feeds. This allows race officials to instantly see detailed information to make rapid decisions about on-track aspects of the race.

12.12.11: MARK THESE DATES on your 2012 calendar if you are in racing withdrawl - these are NASCAR "off=season" dates... Jan. 12-14: Preseason Thunder NASCAR test and FanFest; Jan. 20-21: NASCAR Acceleration Weekend (1/20 NHOF Induction; 1/21 Preview Party); Jan. 23-26: 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour in Charlotte; and, Feb. 16: NASCAR Preseason Preview Day at Daytona. The 2012 season kicks off on track February 18 with the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.

12.12.11: A recent baby names survey resulted in the Top 100 Baby Names of 2011 with NASCAR driver names racing to the top! Matt (Kenseth) picked up serious speed, gaining 50 spots this year (an increase of 24 percent), while the popularity of Ryan (Newman) surged by 13 percent, Kyle (Busch) by 4 percent, and Kevin (Harvick) by 3 percent. While Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards battled it out for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship, they were not in the lead pack of baby names. Tony and Carl were off the pace – both were down 15 percent this year. See the Topp 100 Baby Names [here]...

12.11.11: Robert Weaver, the 83-year old Talladega, Ala.-native, who won the inaugural Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award, took possession of his 2012 Ford Edge prize today. Pictured with Weaver are Talladega Superspeedway Chairman Grant Lynch (L) and Ford dealership owner Jim Preuitt (R). Weaver also won an expense-paid trip to the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion's Week in Las Vegas and $100,000 from The NASCAR Foundation for the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind Foundation – his children's charity of choice.

12.10.11: Officials from ARCA and SPEED jointly announced the 2012 SPEED television schedule for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, comprised of 10 events to be televised live or same-day delayed on the popular network. SPEED in-race analyst Phil Parsons, host for the ARCA banquet, was on hand for the announcement. SPEED will kick off its live flag-to-flag ARCA coverage at Daytona International Speedway with the 49th running of the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at 4 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, February 18.

12.08.11: We've got confirmation that Bill & Lynne Vasill will return to run the Riverside-based Sprotsman Series in 2012; the couple had announced their retirement at the end of the 2011 season but have since been convinced to reconsider. Current plans are for a six or seven race schedule next year with four at Riverside and the rest tba. Stay tuned for notice of a drivers meeting, which is planned in the near future.

12.08.11: Joe Denette Motorsports (JDM)is pleased to announce that Max Gresham, the 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) champion, will join the team's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) line-up for 2012. Gresham will pilot the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado and contend for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honours. The 2012 season will mark the rookie driver's first full-time stint in the NCWTS; Gresham had three starts in the series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2011. A sponsorship announcement for Max Gresham and the No. 24 JDM entry will be forthcoming.

12.06.11: The Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour has opened its 2012 driver registration. The form can be found online at [MaritimeProStockTour.com]...

12.05.11: Unconfirmed reports are circulating that Kurt Busch has been fired as driver of Penske Racing's No. 22 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car. Busch has been involved in behavior-related incidents this year, most recently at the series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway a couple weeks ago. If the reports are true it is the second time in his career that Kurt Busch has been fired for such behaviour; he and Roush-Fenway Racing parted company in 2006 less than one month after Busch was cited for criminal recklessness behind the wheel of a street car. Neither Busch nor Penske Racing are not commenting at this time; speculation is rampant that if Busch is out, David Ragan is the leading contender for the job. KURT BUSCH CONFIRMS DEPARTURE FROM PENSKE - click here

12.05.11: Scotia Speedworld will hots its 2012 drivers meetings this coming Sunday (Dec 11) at the Holiday Inn Express on 180 Pratt & Whitney Drive at the airport. The Lumbermart Lightning division meeting will kick off at 12:00 p.m., the Lumbermart Thunder division meeting begins at 1:00 p.m., the Truck division meeting starts at 2:00 p.m. and the Dartmouth Dodge Sportsman division meeting is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. The Hydraulic Plus Bandolero division and the Coco Beach Legends division will be held on Monday, December 12th at the Hilton Garden Inn at 200 Pratt & Whitney Drive at the airport. The Hydraulic Plus Bandolero division meeting will start at 6:30 p.m., while the Coco Beach division meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m.

12.03.11: The Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Toru has launched a new mobile phone app; it is currently available for the iPhone and soon to be available for the rest of the mobile platforms. The app is a scaled down version of the series website and shows fans the schedule, latest news, point standings, and driver bios.

12.01.11: On Wednesday United States President Barack Obama called Tony Stewart to congratulate him and the entire Stewart-Haas Racing team on winning the 2011 Sprint Cup Series Championship and on the incredible season they had. The President said he was impressed that Mr. Stewart was able to come from the back of the pack to edge out Carl Edwards for the win. The President said that the First Lady and Dr. Biden enjoyed being at Homestead for the Ford 400 and how grateful they were to have NASCAR honor military families. The President commended Mr. Stewart and the other drivers for being such positive role models and great ambassadors for NASCAR, and said that he looks forward to congratulating Mr. Stewart in person at the White House next year.