Therefore it is the unanimous decision of the National Stock Car Racing Commission to uphold the original penalties assessed by NASCAR. The Appellants have the right under Section 15 of the Rule Book to appeal this decision to the National Stock Car Racing Commissioner.

"Benny Parsons Highway"
A portion of U.S. Highway 421 in North Carolina will be renamed "Benny Parsons Highway" in honor of the 1973 NASCAR champion who died Jan. 16 after a battle with cancer. The five-mile stretch of U.S. 421 runs from the Maple Springs community in Wilkes County to the Watauga County line. A dedication ceremony will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. EDT at the Benny Parsons Rendezvous Ridge Wine Tasting Room and Racing Museum in North Wilkesboro. Parsons was born in Wilkes County and lived there before moving to Detroit after high school.

"Benny loved his hometown, and moving back here meant everything to him. He would be overjoyed by this," said Terri Parsons, Benny's wife.

North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley is schedule to attend the dedication ceremony.(scenedaily.com)

No. 41 Team Penalized 25/25
NASCAR has issued penalties and fines to the No. 41 team that competes in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, as a result of rule violations found last Sunday in post-race inspection at Talladega Superspeedway.

The No. 41 Dodge, driven by Reed Sorenson, 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 20-12.8.1C (failed to meet minimum front car heights) of NASCAR Car of Tomorrow Technical Bulletin #3 dated April 10, 2007.

Sorenson has been penalized 25 championship driver points, while car owner Chip Ganassi has been penalized 25 championship car owner points. In addition, crew chief Jimmy Elledge has been fined $25,000 and placed on probation until Dec. 31.

Letarte Wins Crew Chief Award
Patience was the word of the day for crew chief Stave Letarte and the No. 24 Pepsi/DuPont Chevrolet team during the running of the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. While most of the field jostled at the front, providing 42 lead changes during the 188 lap race, Letarte kept his driver, Jeff Gordon, at the back of the pack turning the laps as the race ran down. Throughout the race, Gordon and Letarte kept to their strategy, only hindered by a penalty on lap 140. Gordon was requested by NASCAR to make a pit road pass through after an equipment violation during a circulation of yellow flag pit stops. The penalty was served and Letarte kept Gordon and his crew calm, knowing there was still plenty of time remaining. As the final laps were run Gordon shuffled to the front. It was not until the white flag that Gordon lead his first lap of the day keeping up front to take the checkered flag. For his patient strategy and cool head, Letarte was awarded the WYPALL* Wipers crew chief of the race.

At the conclusion of the race, Letarte commented on the team’s sixth win of the season. “I am so proud of this Dupont/Pepsi team,” said Letarte. “They never gave up, they never panicked and we pulled it out. Jeff [Gordon] drove a patient, smart race and this was a team effort for us.”

A panel of judges including a member of the local media, Robbie Reiser, Kenny Francis and a WYPALL* Wipers spokesmen, all agreed Letarte was a deserving crew chief of the race winner. “When you are racing in Talladega it is always a tough decision to either stay up front to avoid any crashes or keep at the back and be patient,” said Francis. “Steve really planned and executed everything well. Nobody saw or heard from that team until the end when it really counted.”

As the WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race, Letarte received $1,000. Mike Ford and Bob Osborne are currently tied for first in the overall standings with fours wins. Robbie Reiser and Knaus are second with three wins each, while Steve Letarte, Tony Eury Jr., Larry Carter and Donnie Wingo are all tied for third, with two wins apiece. Pat Tryson, Jimmy Elledge, Tony Gibson, Mike Nelson, Darian Grubb, Alan Gustafson, Chip Bolin and Ryan Pemberton each have one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most wins will receive $20,000 and be crowned WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Year. ()

Sterling Marlin And Son To Race In Nashville Race
Three generations of Marlins have raced at Music City Motorplex. Two of them will be back on the track Sunday in the Southern 300. Sterling Marlin has entered the field for the 200-lap late model race, along with his son, Steadman. It will mark the first time since Oct. 12, 2004, in Charlotte that the two have raced together.

"We had an extra car," Sterling said. "I thought we'd get it ready and go out and have some fun. This is one of the best short tracks in the country."

The late model race is the final of three races set to begin at 2 p.m. A 75-lap sportsman race and a 100-lap super trucks race also are planned. Sterling said it's been about seven years since he and his son raced together at the Fairgrounds. Prior to being released by Ginn Racing this summer, Marlin said, he rarely had time to race a non-Cup event.

"It's been a long time since I ran a late-model race here, probably since 1999 and 2000," Sterling said. "We used to have a lot of off-weekends. We would come in and run these 200 lappers."

Steadman said he's happy his father is in the field, but hopes he can finish the race with his father.

"The last two times I've ran here I haven't finished," Steadman said. "The first time he had me beat, but I ended up getting T-boned. The second time I thought I had something for him, but I still got tore up. I just want to finish the race with him here."

Sterling Marlin said his plans for next year's schedule have yet to be finalized.

"If I had my choice, I'd like to run about 15 Busch (will become Nationwide) races," he said. "I've been talking to (car owner) James Finch a little, and I think he wants to run about 10 Cup races. But right now they've got the qualifying format so screwed up, it's hard to get in a race. We qualified 20th at Talladega last week and had to go home."

Ray Cooper Spirit Award Winner
Award-winning sportswriter and longtime manufacturer’s representative Ray Cooper has been named the third quarter recipient of the National Motorsports Press Association’s Pocono Spirit Award. Cooper, diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, remains active in the sport despite curtailing his work with Dodge as a manufacturer’s rep in NASCAR’s Nextel Cup Series this year while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments. A former recipient of the Joe Littlejohn Award, he was also the 1986 winner of the George Cunningham Award for excellence in writing. Cooper received 46 votes cast by the membership.

Jimmie Johnson, the defending NASCAR Nextel Cup champion and driver of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet, received 9 votes. Johnson recently raised nearly $500,000 for the Jimmie Johnson Foundation through an inaugural golf tournament, dinner and auction. The foundation is dedicated to assisting children, families and communities in need, and contributes to several charitable organizations.

The NMPA/Pocono Spirit Award, which has been presented annually since 1992, recognizes character and achievement in the face of adversity, as well as sportsmanship and contributions to motorsports. Four quarterly winners are selected, with one overall Spirit award winner chosen by a vote of the NMPA membership at year’s end. The award will be presented during the group’s annual dinner and awards ceremony in January, 2008.

James Hylton was named the first-quarter winner of the award while Bill France Jr. was the recipient of the award for the second quarter.

MIS Improvements Planned
With Michigan International Speedway celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2008, the Irish Hills track has begun construction on several capital improvement projects that will strengthen the speedway’s on-going commitment to its race fans. Michigan International Speedway will spend about $10 million in the coming months to continue enhancing the speedway based on feedback from the fans. The latest round of improvements will be completed by the start of the track’s 40th season of racing in June.

“It is an exciting time at MIS,” track president Roger Curtis said. “We have incredible momentum from the success of our improved traffic patterns following our June events, and are looking forward to further implementing some of the fan feedback that our guests continue to give us. All of these ongoing projects to elevate and enhance the fan experience are a result of the fans taking ownership of Michigan International Speedway and telling us what they want.”

Projects include:

A new, state-of-the-art 142-foot, three-sided LED leaderboard. The scoreboard, higher than the 130-foot Scoring Tower, will replace three scoreboards at MIS, two in the turns and one in the center and be visible from all grandstand seats, as well as several of the infield camping sites. The old center scoreboard only showed the top-five positions, a far cry from the new leaderboard display which can track all 43 drivers in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. The scoreboard can also be programmed to show video and graphics displays, setting the industry standard for motorsports venues.

The first phase of a signage project throughout MIS property will also begin. The branded signage will help pedestrians, motorists and campers find their way in, out and around the 1,400-acre racetrack property. Some 300 new campsites sites with electric hookups will be added to the Graves Campground, bringing the total number of campsites at MIS to nearly 9,000.

A permanent restroom/shower building will be built in the Graves Campground.

Michigan International Speedway is moving forward with additional improved seating. Two additional grandstands in Turn One have been torn down and will soon be replaced with a grandstand that has wider seats, seatbacks and more leg room. The project began last year when one of the old “silver” grandstands was torn down and replaced with seats that are four inches wider than seats in the old grandstands. The project does not add seats, but merely replaces old seats.

Lastly, as part of the grandstand replacement project, MIS will be acquiring more than 32,000 grandstand seats from the former Pikes Peak International Raceway for future “silver” grandstand replacement.

“These are just a few of the ongoing projects we are continuing in an effort to enhance and elevate the fan experience at MIS for many seasons to come,” Curtis said. “I would also like to thank the State of Michigan for their support in making these investments possible. These new improvements will help us continue are commitment to the race fan, which in turn will help drive tourism to the state during the popular summer months.”

“It’s YOUR Speed!” at Michigan International Speedway. Deposits for the 40th race season are being accepted until Friday, Nov. 2 by calling the MIS ticket office. Deposits can be redeemed on December 10th or 11th. Placing a deposit allows customers to purchase tickets after the renewal process but before they go on sale to the public. Tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007. For additional information, call the MIS Ticket Hotline at 1-800-354-1010.

Franchitti In Truck Race
On the heels of Dario Franchitti’s successful stock car debut in the ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) announced on Tuesday the reigning Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series Champion will continue his development program in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Franchitti will qualify the No. 41 Target Dodge Ram next Saturday at Martinsville Speedway.

The Cunningham Motorsports-owned truck will be led by Ganassi Crew Chief Brian Pattie and his CGRFS team, who guided Franchitti through his ARCA debut last weekend. The 0.526-mile oval will mark Franchitti’s first run behind the wheel of a NASCAR Truck, and his first ever appearance at the Virginia short track.