Motorsports News

KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY RPM READING PROGRAM TO MAKE NORTHERN KENTUCKY STOPS FEB. 15

Kentucky Speedway’s RPM Reading Program will make Feb. 15 stops at Gallatin Co. Upper Elementary School and Dry Ridge Elementary School. Official speedway mascot “Horsepower” plays host during program visits and helps energize reading efforts by furnishing individual RPMs (Reading Program Manuals) to help track books students read throughout the school year. Other program materials include a classroom “Winner’s Circle” poster, color-in bookmarks and personalized cutout racecars that display readers’ names. Once schools enroll in the program, teachers work with students to
set a reading goal from a list of available, approved texts. When students complete a text, they enter the title in their RPM and complete a short test related to the subject matter. Students receive their bookmark when they cross the midway point to their goal and will have a racecar bearing their name posted on the classroom “Winner’s Circle” poster upon reaching their goal. Schools also will receive surprise visits from Horsepower throughout the program. Readers’ ultimate reward will be an end-of-the-year field trip to Kentucky Speedway. Students will pack a lunch, tour the speedway and be treated to several laps around the racetrack in their school busses or vans. Participating school principals also will be rewarded with a free driving school session from the Richard Petty Driving Experience. Students will root principals on as they race around the
1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway tri-oval track in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup style cars at speeds up to 170 mph.
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INDIANAPOLIS, Monday, Feb. 12, 2007  Longtime Indianapolis Motor Speedway executive Buddy McAtee died Feb. 12 in Indianapolis. He was 53.

McAtee passed away at Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis with his family at his side.

An employee of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and its affiliated companies since 1987, McAtee was promoted to the position of president, chief operating officer and executive producer of IMS Productions on Jan. 15, 2007 after serving as vice president and executive producer since 2002, and leading the company to new heights of creative programming, broadcasting and profitability.
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CONCORD, N.C. (Feb. 12, 2007) - The cultures of 16th century William Shakespeare and 21st century NASCAR NEXTEL Cup stock car racing came together Monday when members of the London-based Royal Shakespeare Company visited Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
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NNCS Notes (Gatorade Duels):

  a.. Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge, will make his sixth appearance in the Gatorade Duels at Daytona International Speedway. The Duels help determine the lineup for Sunday’s Daytona 500. Newman will start 13th in the second Duel.
  b.. Starting in the 13th position gives Newman his best start in the
Gatorade Duels since he began racing full-time in the Cup Series in 2002.
His average start in the race is 17.2.
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NASCAR Truck Series Race 1 of 25 -Daytona International Speedway

RON HORNADAY RETURNS TO THE NO 33:

Ron Hornaday returns in 2007 to drive the No. 33 AES HR Solutions Chevrolet in the NASCAR Truck Series for Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI). In 2006, veteran driver, Ron Hornaday drove the No. 33 to a seventh-place finish in the championship point standings, and extended his record of most wins for a driver in the Truck Series to 29 victories. The 2006 season also marked Hornaday’s seventh time in seven full Truck seasons finishing in the championship top-10, making the KHI team the highest-finishing Chevrolet in the 2006 Series point standings. Hornaday has a victory in eight of nine seasons in the Truck Series, and has also earned the prestigious honor of Most Popular Driver (MPD) five times in four of motorsports premier racing
divisions over the past 14 years of his racing career.
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Cale Gale
No. 2 Camping World Chevrolet
Team Report
NASCAR Truck Series Race 1 of 13 - Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway

CALE GALE FAST FACTS:
Birthdate: March 5, 1985
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama
Residence: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Hobbies: RC cars, computer video games, building shocks
Marital Status: Single
CALE GALE, DRIVER OF THE NO. 2 CHEVROLET SILVERADO:

Mobile, Ala., native Cale Gale showed promise from the start, earning
championships in both super-stock and late model racing at the Mobile International Speedway. In 2006, Gale competed in four Busch Series and three Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) races, winning at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., in just his second ARCA start July 28, 2006. Gale got his first taste of KHI in 2006 when he competed in a Busch Series race at Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park.  He qualified a respectable 15th for the start and finished the day in the 25th position.
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STEWART RETURNS TO THE No. 33:  Tony Stewart will once again be
behind the wheel of the No. 33 Old Spice Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in the NASCAR Busch Series for Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI).  Stewart will compete in eight races during the 2007 season. Stewart’s last race for KHI in a Busch car was at Kansas Speedway in September of 2006, where he finished fourth.  In all last season, Stewart drove in 10 races for KHI, picking up one win (Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway) and four top-10 finishes. Stewart helped get the KHI Busch program off the ground with two starts in 2004, and then in 2005 picking up the first win for KHI at the season-opener in
Daytona.  Much like last season Stewart will share driving duties in the
No. 33.  Team owner and fellow Cup competitor Kevin Harvick, Tony Raines, Ron Fellows and newcomer Cale Gale will all be behind the wheel this season. The star-studded cast of drivers should make for a thrilling season.  Primary sponsors in addition to Old Spice will be RoadLoans.com for 14 races and Camping World for 11 races with the remaining two races going to Bounty and Dollar General.
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JR MOTORSPORTS HIRES DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (February 12, 2007) – Mike Davis will join the JR
Motorsports team as Director of Communications effective February 19. In addition to overseeing the company-wide media requests and public relations efforts, Davis will handle scheduling for team owner and Nextel Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., as well as communications for the organization’s NASCAR Busch Series, USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series and late model stock car programs.
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DAYTONA 500 UPSET NO. 1: DERRIKE COPE IN 1990

Earnhardt’s Tire Went Down And Relative Unknown Went Around, On 500’s Last Lap

(Note: This is the fourth installment in a five-part series, “The Top 5
Greatest Daytona 500 Upsets.” Previously listed: At No. 5, Pete Hamilton’s victory in 1970; at No. 4, Mario Andretti’s victory in 1967; at No. 3, Ward Burton’s victory in 2002; at No. 2, Tiny Lund’s victory in 1963.)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 12, 2007) - Seventeen years later, it still seems hard to believe what transpired on Feb. 18, 1990 in the 32nd annual Daytona 500.

DAYTONA EVENT TO KICK OFF ESPN’S RETURN TO LIVE NASCAR COVERAGE

Live NASCAR racing returns to ESPN for the first time in six years Saturday with coverage of the NASCAR Busch Series season opener from Daytona International Speedway on ESPN2. The telecast begins at noon ET with the NASCAR Busch Series Countdown pre-race show, followed at 1:15 p.m. by flag-to-flag coverage of the 300-mile race.
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