TRAGEDY: Eight spectators were killed and at least a dozen injured when an off-road racing truck plowed into a crowd during a Mojave Desert Racing event in the Soggy Dry Lake Bed near Lucerne Valley, California, Saturday night.
THIS BUD’S FOR YOU: Budweiser will sponsor Richard Childress Racing and Kevin Harvick for 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point races in each of the next three seasons.
GOLDEN GO: Tim Shaffer topped four-time and defending race winner Donny Schatz to win the 50th running of the Goodyear Knoxville Nationals sprint-car race at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway Saturday, earning $150,000 in the process.
IN CHARGE: Tony Cotman has been hired by the IZOD IndyCar Series to serve as the project manager for the development of its 2012 technical program.
NEW BOSS: Joie Chitwood III has been named the president of Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, replacing former president Robin Braig effective immediately.
HISTORIC FIRST: Brothers Tanner and Kody Swanson became the first brothers in the 40-year history of the USAC Silver Crown Series to finish one-two when Tanner Swanson beat Kody Swanson at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan, August 12.
LABOR DAY FUN: The inaugural IZOD IndyCar Series Baltimore Grand Prix will be held over the Labor Day weekend (September 2–4) next season.
NEW TEAM: Paul Menard will leave Richard Petty Motorsports to join Richard Childress Racing next season, bringing sponsorship from Menards, the home improvement company owned by his father John Menard, with him.
BUSTED: Tommy Ellis, a former NASCAR Nationwide Series champion, has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for defrauding the Internal Revenue Service of more than $133,000.
CHEAPER HORSEPOWER: Officials from the Northeastern Midget Association and United States Speed Association are independently working with engine manufacturers to create cheaper, cost-effective midget racing engines, ranging from $17,000–$22,000, which should be available in 2011.
WELCOME TO THE TEAM: Marcos Ambrose will drive the No. 9 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports next year with sponsorship from Stanley Black & Decker.
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