BACK IN THE SADDLE: Paul Tracy will return to the IZOD IndyCar Series to drive the No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara Honda at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, September 4 and Twin Ring Motegi in Japan September 19.
WRAPPED UP: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas clinched their second-straight Grand Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype championship Saturday with their Grand Am single-season record eighth victory at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.
GRANTED: Martinsville (Virginia) Speedway has received a $1.5 million grant from the Virginia Tobacco Commission, which the track will match, making the total grant $3 million. The money will be used to improve track infrastructure. The International Speedway Corp., the track’s parent company, also pledged to do everything possible to keep two races at the track for the next five years.
STICKING AROUND: Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year Regan Smith has signed a two-year contract extension to stay with Furniture Row Racing through the 2012 season.
WELCOME BACK: Two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Randy LaJoie was reinstated by NASCAR after completing a NASCAR-approved treatment program after testing positive for marijuana earlier this year.
FINALLY: After years of trying, Boris Said earned his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory Sunday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, beating fellow road-racing veteran Max Papis in a photo finish.
LOOKING FORWARD: Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois, will not return to the now 22-race National Hot Rod Association Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule next season. In addition, Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona, will move from its traditional February slot to October 14–16 as part of the Countdown to One.
DEATH: Thirteen-year-old Peter Lenz was killed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday during the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP motorcycle race when he fell from his bike during a warm-up lap and was run over by another competitor. It is the first death at the track since 2003.
SUBSCRIBE: National Speed Sport News has been published weekly since 1934. To subscribe to National Speed Sport News, visit www.nationalspeedsportnews.com.