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KASEY KAHNE TO DRIVE FOR RED BULL RACING TEAM IN 2011 MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Kasey Kahne will drive a Red Bull Racing Team Toyota in 2011, the team announced Tuesday. “We were fortunate to have the opportunity to hire a very talented driver for the 2011 season and we took it,” said Jay Frye, Red Bull Racing Team Vice President and General Manager. “This is a unique situation that doesn’t happen every day. Kasey is a perfect fit for our company, team and Red Bull.”

Kahne, 30, owns an impressive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series résumé. He has 11 wins, 17 poles, 47 top-five and 84 top-10 finishes and twice was a Chase participant in 2006 and 2009.

“This opportunity places me with an established, competitive team that has proven they can win races and make the Chase,” Kahne said. “I have great respect for Red Bull, so to have the opportunity to drive for Red Bull Racing Team in 2011 is a great fit for me, both personally and professionally. It feels good to be able to finally put this to rest and focus my energy on finishing the season strong for the 9 team and our sponsors.”

“This obviously all happened very quickly,” Frye added. “Over the next month, we will finalize the specific team details.” Red Bull Racing Team’s final driver lineup for 2011 will be confirmed later this year.

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RICK HENDRICK STATEMENT REGARDING KASEY KAHNE

CONCORD, N.C. (Aug. 10, 2010) – Below is a statement from Rick Hendrick regarding today’s announcement of where Kasey Kahne will drive next season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series before joining Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 Chevrolet team in 2012.

“Kasey is going to a competitive organization that made the Chase last season and has great leadership and resources,” said Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “Of everything we looked at, he and I agree it’s the best opportunity for him to be successful in 2011, which was always our number-one priority.

“The process went on longer than any of us anticipated, but I’m glad that we took our time to make sure it was right. And although I’m not looking forward to racing against him next year, I’m comfortable knowing this is the best situation for Kasey.”

As announced in April, veteran Mark Martin will continue to drive Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 Chevrolets in 2011.

“We’re looking forward to another year with Mark Martin, one of the true class acts in racing, driving for Hendrick Motorsports,” Hendrick said. “There aren’t many things in this world I’d rather do than win a championship with him, and that will be our goal with the No. 5 team for the rest of this year and in 2011.”

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(Joliet, Ill. – Aug. 9, 2010) – Chicagoland Speedway will celebrate its 10th year of operation in undisputed style – square in the national media spotlight as the first race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Chicagoland Speedway’s NASCAR weekend, historically held in early July, will now take place in the fall – Sept. 16-18, 2011. The move places Chicago front and center as the world’s best drivers compete for the most coveted championship in professional motorsports.

“We could not be more excited,” said Craig Rust, president of Chicagoland Speedway. “I don’t think there’s a better location to kick off the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup than in Chicago. It’s the best sports town in the country. Every race in the Chase plays a key role in determining the championship and we’re thrilled that our fans can be part of the excitement.”

Next year also marks the return of Pole Day, the qualifying day popular among families with young children. Qualifying is scheduled for Friday of race weekend. The Nationwide Series will compete on Saturday, with the first race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup during the day scheduled on Sunday.

Chicagoland Speedway President Craig Rust and Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Steve O’Donnell, of NASCAR, were joined by NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who have special connections to Chicagoland – Kevin Harvick and David Reutimann – at the official announcement in downtown Chicago.

Harvick won the first two NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Chicagoland, while Reutimann cruised to Gatorade Victory Lane in July.

“At the end of the day, we think Chicagoland Speedway being the first race of the chase is a tremendous opportunity for the sport and the fans in the Midwest,” O’Donnell said. “It’s a fast track that’ll give us more diversity in the Chase. We’re excited about working with the staff at Chicagoland.”

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SON OF GORDON AND VANDEBOSCH BORN (August 9, 2010) – Earlier today, Jeff Gordon and Ingrid Vandebosch welcomed a new son into the world. Leo Benjamin Gordon was born at 8:53 a.m., weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces and was 19 inches long according to a post on www.jeffgordon.com.“He’s happy and healthy, and Mom is doing great,” said Gordon.        The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion will travel to Michigan later this week and is scheduled to participate in all on-track activities at Michigan InternationalSpeedway, site of this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

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By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photo

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (Aug. 8, 2010) Welcome, Juan Pablo Montoya, to the Chip Ganassi party.

Saving his best for the end of Sunday’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen, Montoya pulled away from Marcos Ambrose and Kurt Busch over the final 16 laps at Watkins Glen International and notched the second NASCAR Sprint Cup victory of his career.

Winless in 113 races since his first Cup victory at Sonoma in June 2007, Montoya added another success to the already magical year his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team owner has enjoyed. Jamie McMurray, who finished sixth Sunday, won the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 this year, and Dario Franchitti added an Indianapolis 500 victory with Ganassi’s IndyCar organization.

Busch passed Ambrose at the start/finish line on Lap 89 of 90 to steal second place from Ambrose, who came home third. AJ Allmendinger, fresh from a contract extension with Richard Petty Motorsports, ran fourth, followed by polesitter Carl Edwards, who collected his sixth straight top-10 finish.

Montoya, however, had the field covered when it counted, leading 74 laps and crossing the stripe 4.735 seconds ahead of Busch.

After a disappointing run at Pocono a week earlier—during which Montoya chastised crew chief Brian Pattie and the team when the No. 42 Chevrolet lost positions on a late pit stop—Montoya, Pattie and Ganassi met Saturday at Watkins Glen to make sure they were headed in the same direction.

“I think yesterday we had a good talk with Chip,” Montoya said. “Last few weeks have been really frustrating for the whole team because we’ve been so close to victory. Seemed to keep slipping away.

“To come out here today and get the job done the way we did today, it was big. I feel more relieved than happy right now. It’s been a really hard road in a way. It’s been a lot of fun; it’s been frustrating.

“(Saturday) it was all about making sure everybody is on the same page, everybody has to do their job, and we came out today and everybody executed. It’s something Brian keeps saying, ‘Keep saving the car, keep saving the car, keep saving the car.’ And it paid off.”

Ambrose, who had won Saturday’s Nationwide Series race and had realistic hopes for an unprecedented weekend double at The Glen, was Montoya’s equal until the final pit stop for both drivers under green on Lap 59.

“Something went wrong on the last pit stop,” lamented Ambrose, who had out-braked Montoya for the lead in Turn 1 on Lap 41 and held the top spot for five laps thereafter. “We lost the handle on the race car—maybe a different set of tires, slightly different spring rate in the tires.

“I had nothing for Montoya there towards the end. Congratulations to him—he drove a heck of a race. Just a lot of fun racing a guy with that much talent. He was swinging around the corners, jumping curbs, locking tires. It was just a really good battle, something I’ll take away from this weekend as a memory I’ll never forget.”

Montoya and Ambrose may have dominated the action at the front of the field, but what happened at the back tightened the race for the final spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Clint Bowyer broke a trailing-arm mount and spent three laps in the garage for repairs, a calamity that knocked him out of the top 12.

Bowyer finished 32nd and swapped positions in the standings with Mark Martin, who came home 19th. Now 12th, Martin is 10 points ahead of Bowyer with four races left before the Chase field is set Sept. 11 at Richmond.