Racing News: Ana Beatriz Becomes Fifth Female Driver to File Entry for Indy 500

WELCOME TO INDY: Ana Beatriz will attempt to start her first Indianapolis 500 this season in a fourth Dreyer & Reinbold Racing entry. She is the fifth (Sarah Fisher, Danica Patrick, Milka Duno, Simon de Silvestro) female driver to file an entry for the 94th Indianapolis 500.

LADY TAMED: Denny Hamlin completed a weekend sweep of the NASCAR events at Darlington (South Carolina) Raceway Saturday, becoming the first driver to win both NASCAR events at the 1.33-mile oval since Mark Martin in 1993.

GRAND OPENING: The NASCAR Hall of Fame, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, officially opened its doors Tuesday. The inaugural class of inductees—Bill France Jr., Bill France Sr., Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty and Junior Johnson—will be enshrined May 23.

STADIUM RACING: Emmett Hahn, co-promoter of the Chili Bowl in Oklahoma, is working with Tulsa city officials in an attempt to bring racing the stadium that was formally the home of the Tulsa Drillers minor league baseball team.

DADDY DEAREST: Graham Rahal will drive a Rahal Letterman Racing entry co-owned by his father Bobby Rahal and David Letterman during the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500.

WELCOME TO BALTIMORE: The Board of Estimates for Baltimore, Maryland, has signed off on a five-year contract with Baltimore Racing Development Co., which is working to bring an IZOD IndyCar Series race to the streets surrounding the city’s Inner Harbor.

NO TO NEW JERSEY: Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy has shot down the idea of a proposed Formula One race in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey.

SPONSOR SEARCH: Old Spice has announced that it is ending its 11-year relationship with driver Tony Stewart at the end of the season, meaning Stewart will need funding for at least half of the 2011 racing season for his No. 14 Chevrolet.

WELCOME BACK: Former Champ Car and Formula One driver Mark Blundell is coming out of a seven-year retirement to compete in the Spa 24 Hours sports-car race, July 31–August 1, at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the Ardennes.

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