Franchitti Headed To NASCAR
Chip Ganassi has pulled off another stunning move as the team owner appears to have lured Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti to the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. Franchitti has an offer for a five-year deal. Franchitti would not confirm the move and neither would Ganassi, but sources close to the two sides have indicated Canadian Club is ready to replace Coors Light as the sponsor for Ganassi's No. 40 Dodge in NASCAR. David Stremme currently drives that car in Nextel Cup, but will leave the team at the end of this season.

Franchitti has a strong relationship with Canadian Club, which sponsors his car at Andretti Green Racing and was the sponsor's choice for the Ganassi NASCAR ride. Once the details are finalized and the contract is signed, Franchitti is expected to compete in some lower division stock car races, such as ARCA and the Busch series as he prepares to be a Nextel Cup rookie in 2008.

Franchitti will join three-time IndyCar champion and 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr. as Nextel Cup rookies. Although Hornish and team owner Roger Penske have not made an announcement, that move also appears certain according to team sources.

The decision appears to have earned the blessing of Franchitti's wife, actress Ashley Judd. The couple lives outside of Nashville, Tennessee.

"When the appropriate time comes, we'll make an announcement," Judd said after Saturday's qualifications.

Franchitti refused to discuss the move after his qualification attempt at the 1-1/2-mile Chicagoland Speedway. "I'm just focused on trying to win this weekend and win the championship," said Franchitti on pit lane after his pole-winning qualification run. "I'm not thinking about, nor am I going to talk about, my decision for next year. I'm going to focus on this right now before talking about next year."

Danica Patrick is one of Franchitti's teammates at AGR and is stunned by the decision.

"I am shocked, knowing Dario and his style I'm surprised," Patrick said. "Good luck to him. He's a great driver and great drivers do great so he'll do fine. He's been doing pretty good all season and I don't think a little pressure hurt anybody.(sports.yahoo.com)

Marlin-Nemechek Sue Ginn Racing and DEI
Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek have sued Ginn Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. for alleged breaches of their contracts, which included a base salary of $1.2 million apiece. The separate suits, filed Sept. 7 in Cabarrus County, N.C., do not specify how much they have been paid or what they exactly are owed. Also suing Ginn and DEI are crew chiefs Richard "Slugger" Labbe and Peter Sospenzo.

Ginn and DEI merged prior to the Indianapolis race in July, and Marlin and Nemechek found themselves without a place in the organization. The points of the No. 14 of Marlin ended up moving to the No. 15 of DEI with Paul Menard as the driver, while the No. 13 Nemechek team was eliminated.

"Demand for payment has been made ..., but [Ginn and DEI] have failed and/or refused to pay all or any part," the complaints state. J. Merritt White, an attorney representing the former Ginn employees, and a DEI publicist did not return a phone message left Sept. 10 for comment. The contracts of both drivers and both crew chiefs were filed as part of the complaints and give an insight to what the current rate is for drivers.

Both drivers joined the organization when it was MB2 Motorsports. Marlin began in 2006 with a base salary of $1.1 million, and that increased to $1.2 million for 2007. Nemechek started with MB2 in 2004 and received $900,000 for 2004, $1 million for 2005, $1.1 million for 2006 and $1.2 million for 2007.

Both drivers got to keep 45 percent of their race winnings (Nemechek, who was 27th in points in 2006, had $4,099,914 million total in race winnings last year, while Marlin, 34th in points, had $3,248,034 million) and 33 percent of souvenir sales. Their bonus schedules were $50,000 per win, $25,000 for a top-five, $10,000 for a top-10 and $5,000 per pole. Winning a Cup title was worth a $500,000 bonus, while second through fifth in the final standings were worth $250,000; sixth through 10th were $150,000; 11th through 15th were $100,000 and 16th through 20th were $50,000.

Each received a $500 per race travel allowance, a seat on the team plane and a hotel room for each race. They also got a personal car. They agreed to 50 hours of personal appearances for a sponsor plus two days for commercials or media events as well as unlimited track hospitality visits not to exceed 30 minutes in length.

They were both responsible for their own insurance. There is a morals clause in each contract stating they "shall not associate with gamblers or other notorious characters; shall not use illegal drugs; and shall not consume alcoholic beverages except in moderation but in no event within eight hours prior to driving in a race or practice." ...MORE... (scenedaily.com)