Mears On Chicagoland Pole
Casey Mears, driver of the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, picked up his third Nextel Cup pole in 156 career races, the last one coming at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2004. Mears toured the 1.5-mile track in 29.580 seconds for a speed of 182.556 mph. Martin Truex Jr. held the top spot for most of the qualifying session but gave way to Mears and will start second for Sunday's USG Sheetrock 400. Ryan Newman starts third with Mark Martin in fourth place. Dale Earnhardt Jr. rolls off in the fifth position followed by Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, John Andretti and Matt Kenseth. Sunday's race is the final TNT telecast, the race is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

Robby Gordon Penalized
NASCAR has issued penalties and fines to the No. 7 team that competes in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, as a result of rule infractions found last week at Daytona International Speedway.

The No. 7 Ford, driven by Robby Gordon, was found to be in violation of Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used do not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-6.7C (8) (unapproved camera shell) of the 2007 NASCAR rule book. The violations were found during opening day inspection on July 5.

Gordon has been penalized 25 championship driver and 25 championship owner points. Crew chief Gene Nead has been fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.

Earnhardt Will Have New Sponsor in 2008
Hendrick Motorsports today announced that long-term contractual commitments to existing sponsors will preclude Budweiser from continuing as primary sponsor of the car driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. when he joins the organization next season.

"We have agreements in place with sponsors for the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, which prevent us from having a relationship with Budweiser," said team owner Rick Hendrick. "Honoring our commitments is important to us. The trade-off is missing an opportunity to bring Budweiser, a marquee brand synonymous with NASCAR and its fans, into the fold."

On June 13, Earnhardt Jr. signed on to race for Hendrick Motorsports beginning in 2008, but primary sponsorship of his team remains undecided. No timetable has been established for an announcement.

"Budweiser has sponsored Dale Jr. for nearly a decade, and we wish him the very best," said Tony Ponturo, vice president of global media and sports marketing for Anheuser-Busch Inc. "Budweiser will remain an active sponsor of NASCAR, and we look forward to building upon the legacy of the iconic Budweiser red car in 2008 and beyond."

"To climb into that red Budweiser car each weekend has always been a privilege," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Although Budweiser and I will be unable to continue our partnership beyond this season, I remain committed to driving for Bud the rest of this year, and will continue to make it my beer of choice. I'm a race car driver. All I can do is drive as hard as I can for my fans and sponsorship partners, and give my best effort each weekend."

Founded by Rick Hendrick in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 10 championships in NASCAR's top three divisions and 159 victories in the sanctioning body's premier series, the NEXTEL Cup. Headquartered in Concord, N.C., the company employs 500 people and proudly services the sponsorships of more than 30 of the world's most respected brands.

Reutimann's Future Clouded
David Reutimann is in Joliet, Ill., for this weekend's Nextel Cup and Busch Series combination event at Chicagoland Speedway. In this week's edition of his rookie diary, he addresses his future with Michael Waltrip Racing and recaps last Sunday's turnout of more than 1,000 fans for his hometown autograph session.

OK, so here's the deal about my status for next year: My contracts with Michael Waltrip Racing for the Nextel Cup and Busch rides were for one year. Nobody from the organization has talked to me about next year yet. They're trying to make sure all the sponsorship stuff is (in)line before they talk to me.

My team owner, Michael Waltrip, was quoted last week saying he's 99 percent sure he'll be able to bring me back in the No. 00 Cup car. I'd feel better if he was 100 percent sure, but I'll take 99 percent. Everybody knows the kind of money it takes to run one of these teams, and you aren't going to do it without a sponsor. At this point, I don't have a plan B if this situation doesn't work out.

The way the contracts are written, you're not allowed to talk to anybody else until a certain time. Some time later in the season, if the team you're with doesn't have a place for you the following year, you can talk to other people. Hopefully, things will work out. I feel like I have a ton of unfinished business in the Cup series and in Busch as well. I want to win some races, run better, and do all the things I came here to do. It would be a huge letdown if I didn't get the opportunity. (tbo.com)

Goodyear Tire Notes
Teams in both the NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch Series will run the same tire codes at Chicagoland this weekend -- this is the same specific combination of left- and right-side tires that Nextel Cup and Busch Series teams ran at Texas earlier this season -- in addition, teams in these two series have run this left-side code (D-4078) with a different right-side code at several other tracks this season, including California, Dover and Michigan -- Busch teams have also run this left-side code at Kansas and Kentucky in 2007 -- as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one-mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Chicagoland -- air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.

Huge Profits For ISC
International Speedway Corporation ("ISC") today reported results for the fiscal second quarter and six months ended May 31, 2007. In addition, the Company announced a $100 million increase in the amount authorized under its share repurchase program.

"We hosted several successful event weekends during the second quarter, highlighted by solid corporate and consumer demand," said ISC President Lesa France Kennedy. "As a result, we recorded higher total revenues on a comparable event basis, excluding the impact of lower television broadcast rights revenue. This growth was driven by increased sponsorship, admissions, advertising and hospitality revenues, and our outlook remains positive for the future."

Second Quarter Comparison

Total revenues for the second quarter increased to $181.5 million, compared to revenues of $172.1 million in the prior-year period. Operating income was $35.0 million during the period compared to $52.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2006.

Year-over-year comparability was impacted by lower television broadcast rights fees from NASCAR's consolidated contracts that began in 2007; the acquisition of the remaining interest in Raceway Associates LLC (owner and operator of Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66 Raceway) in February 2007; and the timing of certain events, including Kansas Speedway's NASCAR Craftsman Truck/IRL weekend. In addition, results for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 include accelerated depreciation of $4.6 million, or $0.05 per diluted share after tax, associated with certain existing offices and buildings that are expected to be razed during the next six to 24 months as part of the Company's previously announced Daytona Live! project. Second quarter results also include impairment charges of $9.1 million, or $0.11 per diluted share after- tax, primarily attributable to ISC's decision to discontinue speedway development efforts in Kitsap County, Washington. To a lesser extent, the impairment charge includes estimated costs for fill removal on the Company's Staten Island property.

Net income for the second quarter of 2007 was $18.4 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, compared to net income of $30.7 million, or $0.58 per diluted share, in the prior year. Excluding the accelerated depreciation and impairment charges, non-GAAP (defined below) net income for the 2007 second quarter was $27.1 million, or $0.51 per diluted share.

Year-to-Date Comparison

For the six months ended May 31, 2007, total revenues were $366.7 million, compared to $366.0 million in 2006. Operating income for the six-month period was $100.8 million compared to $130.6 million in the prior year.

Year-over-year comparability was impacted by the aforementioned decrease in NASCAR television rights fees, the acquisition of Raceway Associates LLC and the timing of certain events. In addition, year-to-date results for 2007 include $7.2 million in accelerated depreciation for certain office and related buildings in Daytona and the previously discussed 2007 second quarter impairment charges.

Net income for the six months ended May 31, 2007, was $54.2 million, or $1.02 per diluted share. In the first six months of 2006, net income was $74.7 million, or $1.40 per diluted share. Excluding the accelerated depreciation and impairment charges, non-GAAP (defined below) net income for the first six months of 2007 was $64.6 million, or $1.21 per diluted share...MORE AT...(money.cnn.com)

WCNC TV Prints Retraction
From WCNC TV: We have a retraction on a story we first reported Wednesday. Wildlife officers cited a boater on Lake Norman on the Fourth of July for boating while impaired and speeding. Ryan Young is facing those charges. During our report, we stated that NASCAR race driver Kyle Busch was the owner of that boat. We have since received documentation that Ryan Young is the boat’s owner. We also reported Kyle Busch was on board the boat, based on Young’s statements to the arresting officer. We learned Thursday from Hendrick Motorsports that Kyle Busch was not on board the boat. We regret this error.(wcnc.com)