INDIANAPOLIS - The Tony Stewart Foundation (TSF) is proud to announce a partnership with iSold It® – the leading eBay drop-off store and No. 1 eBay seller – for a one-of-a-kind fundraiser.

Beginning May 1 and continuing through July 31, 2008, “Smoke’s Pit Stop for Charity” event will allow race fans to donate a wide range of exclusive items to help generate support for TSF, the philanthropic institution founded by two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart.

TSF raises funds and distributes grants to IRS-qualified charitable organizations that provide for the physical well-being of children, and specifically, children who are critically ill or severely injured.  TSF also supports animal welfare and conservation while also providing support to drivers seriously injured in the sport of auto racing.

Items submitted to “Smoke’s Pit Stop for Charity” must have a market value of $50 or more to qualify.  Program donors will receive recognition for the proceeds of their sold items through the iSold It/TSF partnership.  Fan can bring their special items to their nearest iSold It store. 

Race fans that assist in generating the highest total contributions during “Smoke’s Pit Stop for Charity” program will be eligible for several prize packages, such as a 2009 Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway VIP package, two 2009 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard packages, an autographed leather jacket, and several VIP ticket packages for weekend events at Eldora Speedway during the 2008-2009 racing seasons.  All prize winners will be announced by TSF after Sept. 1, 2008.

Program guidelines, iSold It store locations and a complete list of prizes can be found at the official TSF website, www.TonyStewartFoundation.org.  For information regarding iSold It, please visit www.i-soldit.com.

“A true competitor on the race track, Tony Stewart also pushes the limits to help others through his foundation,” said Joni Thompson, TSF Executive Director.  “We are pleased to announce our partnership with iSold It, and we’re especially looking forward to working with Tony’s fans via this unique opportunity.  It allows the Foundation to continue supporting causes that Tony is so passionate about, namely children with serious or life threatening illness, the protection of various animal species, and helping drivers injured in motorsports activities.” SCR

CONCORD, NC - Yates Racing announced today that LaFayette Ford, who sponsored the No. 28 with driver Fred Lorenzen from 1962-1967, will again sponsor the No. 28 entry but this time with driver Travis Kvapil for the Sprint Cup series race at Darlington Raceway on May 10th.  Kvapil’s No. 28 will sport a paint scheme reminiscent to that of Fred Lorenzen’s during the 60’s when LaFayette Ford sponsored Lorenzen’s No. 28 machine. 

“It’s really a neat idea that LaFayette Ford wanted to sponsor our No. 28 Ford for the race at Darlington,” commented Kvapil.  “The No. 28 has so much history associated with it that I’m honored to be a part of that legacy.  Our paint scheme is a vintage scheme similar to the one Fred (Lorenzen) used to race and I think the car’s going to look great out on the track.  I’m flattered that LaFayette Ford chose to sponsor our team at Darlington and I’m looking forward to the weekend.”  

“I came to work at Lafayette Ford in 1965, and shortly after I started we had a promotion with Fred Lorenzen which was the first time I met Fred,” recalls LaFayette Ford’s President and Owner, Don Price.  “Now our company had a relationship with Fred since 1962 and the story goes that Fred was passing through Fayetteville, North Carolina and the vehicle he was in broke down.  He hooked up with the owner of LaFayette Ford at the time, George Purvis, and they struck up a deal for LaFayette Ford to be a sponsor on Fred’s race car.  As simple as the relationship was back then, that sponsorship lasted until 1967.  All the media coverage that our dealership received over the years through our sponsorship really put LaFayette Ford on the forefront with fans and clients in this region of North Carolina.”

“Although we haven’t been a primary sponsor on a Cup series car for years,” continued Price, “when I saw the No. 28 Yates Racing team searching for sponsors, I decided that it would be interesting to see if we could place LaFayette Ford on the car for the Darlington race to carry some nostalgia for that race weekend.  The opportunity for us to sponsor Travis and the No. 28 team just lined up perfectly and we’re thrilled to be able to put the old LaFayette Ford back in the limelight.”

“I’m thrilled to have this partnership with LaFayette Ford,” commented car owner Doug Yates.  “The No. 28 has a long history with great drivers such as Fred Lorenzen and now we’re carrying that tradition to Travis Kvapil.  It’s great to see the retro paint scheme for the No. 28 Ford Fusion and it’s been wonderful to have the support of Ford dealers across the country, especially Don Price and LaFayette Ford.  The fact that LaFayette Ford has such a storied history with NASCAR makes us extremely honored to be able to bring them back as a sponsor at Darlington, and it’s an effort that our whole organization is proud to be a part of.”

The Darlington 500 will mark the first time LaFayette Ford has served as a primary sponsor in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series since the dealership was associated with Lorenzen.    The race will be broadcast on FOX Saturday, May 10th with coverage beginning at 7:00 pm EST.

LaFayette Ford is proud to be Fayetteville, North Carolina’s only family-owned and operated Ford dealer.  They have been serving the Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, and surrounding areas since 1949. SCR

Richmond, VA - Guests at Richmond International Raceway this weekend will have a multitude of opportunities to see some of their favorite NASCAR personalities up close and personal in fan hospitality areas at America’s Premier Short Track, Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3.

The Virginia Lottery Green Flag Zone fan hospitality area on Saturday, May 3, will be open prior to the Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.  The Virginia Lottery Green Flag Zone will feature question and answer sessions with NASCAR drivers Denny Hamlin, Jamie McMurray, David Gilliland and Travis Kvapil; FOX race commentator Larry McReynolds; former NASCAR driver and SPEED-TV analyst Hermie Sadler; track president Doug Fritz; Crown Royal “Your Name Here” contest winner and Grand Marshal Dan Lowry; members of the Blue Angels flight demonstration team and NASCAR Nationwide Series Director Joe Balash.

The Party Zone fan hospitality area on Friday, May 2, will be open prior to the Lipton Tea 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race.  The Party Zone will feature question and answer sessions with NASCAR drivers Kurt Busch, Kenny Wallace, Scott Wimmer and Mike Wallace; track president Doug Fritz and members of the Blue Angels flight demonstration team.           

Both options include pre-race pit passes for that day’s activities (time and weather permitting), appetizers, an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet, beer tickets for fans 21 years of age and older (with valid identification), unlimited sodas and water, live musical entertainment, prizes and games.

Guests who wish to purchase tickets to the fan hospitality areas must have a ticket for that day’s race.  Tickets for the Saturday, May 3, Virginia Lottery Green Flag Zone, are $90 and tickets for the Friday, May 2, Party Zone, are $65.  Pre-race pit access on Friday is limited to fans 18 years of age and older.  Dress code for Friday is as follows: no open-toed shoes, long pants must be worn, no sleeveless shirts allowed. SCR

Mooresville, NC - Two time USAR Hooter’s Pro Cup Champion, Clay Rogers has teamed up with Bob Schacht Motorsports for the ARCA RE/MAX Series Carolina 500 at Rockingham Speedway on Sunday May 4.

The inaugural event will mark Rogers third appearance in the ARCA Series. Rogers has two previous ARCA RE/MAX Series events to his credit both coming at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 2003. However, he is no stranger to Rockingham Speedway. Clay had his first NASCAR Nationwide Series run at Rockingham in 2001 and just recently tested with the ARCA cars turning in some impressive lap times.

“I’m really excited about this Rockingham race.” said Rogers, “I like running at “The Rock” it’s always good racing and I’m looking forward to getting back there.” Rogers added, “I want to thank Bob Schacht for the opportunity to drive his car for this race and also thanks to Killingsworth Environmental and Rusty Wallace Ford for coming on board for the Carolina 500, we couldn‘t do it without them.”

Bob Schacht said of teaming with Clay Rogers, “We’re looking forward to a strong run at Rockingham, Clay is a racer just like I am and I’m confident that together we can get the job done.” SCR

Huntersville, North Carolina - Fresh off a record breaking NFL season, New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss announced today the formation of Moss Motorsports, LLC  with its intended participation to begin in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Moss anticipates that the team will debut at some point in the second half of the 2008 season and run selected races through the conclusion of the year. The partial schedule is a prelude to a full-time campaign in 2009. Sponsors and manufacturer alignments will be announced at a later date.

“We don’t have all of the details in place just yet, but I am very excited about Moss Motorsports becoming a part of NASCAR,” Moss said. “I am by nature a very competitive person and this is an outlet for me to compete at another level. There are some pretty awesome challenges in building a program like this from the ground up, but I am looking forward to it. That’s just another aspect of the competition – you want to find the best people available and you’re competing with all the other teams out there. We’re starting to look at who the best people are and working on getting them to be a part of our team.”

Moss is a ten year veteran in the National Football League and was a first-round draft pick in the 1998 draft out of Marshall University.  He has been a NASCAR fan for several years including sponsorship of a local dirt track program and recently made the decision to get involved with the ownership of a NASCAR team.  He is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the Urban Youth Racing School and furthers his youth advocacy while holding the same honor with American Youth Football. A major component of the Moss Motorsports program will be the continued involvement and support of youth programs.

“There are a lot of NASCAR fans in the locker room,” Moss said. “We’ve seen a lot of football players get involved – guys like Dan Marino and Troy Aikman to name a couple. I think it’s a good fit and gives some of the companies I am already working with an additional outlet. It’s a smart move on the marketing side of things but on the personal side of things I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Randy has kick started his efforts by contracting with Integrity Sports Marketing, LLC – a leading motorsports marketing company in NASCAR.   “We know it takes time to build a team from the ground up, and we have some good people working with us to get that process started,” Moss said. “We are talking to the manufacturers, and we’re already evaluating some drivers. Eventually I’d like to be able to have our team work with some of the young guys that are working hard to make it up the ladder, but right now it might make more sense to find a driver with a lot of experience to get us started. But we really don’t have anyone in mind. We’ll look at who is available and find someone that can help us compete and win as quickly as we can.”

Moss believes Moss Motorsports will give his current marketing partners another avenue to gain exposure and will open doors for new companies that want to work with him.

“The companies I already work with now have a chance to get some exposure to another group of dedicated sports fans,” Moss said. “And we’ll have an opportunity to build some relationships with an entirely new group of companies as well. We’ll have a chance to do some pretty cool things between the football side and the racing side. That’s a part of the equation that most of the other teams don’t have, so we already have a competitive advantage over them. Once we get everything in place we look forward to competing on the race track too.” SCR

ESPN NASCAR analyst Marty Smith lost his father Friday, April 25, 2008. Leo Harvey Smith of Pearisburg, VA was 60 years old. Leo is survived by his mother Eunice Martin Smith, 93, of Christiansburg; his daughter, Stacy Smith Moyer and her husband, Chris, of Suffolk, Va.; his son, Marty and his wife, Lainie, of Huntersville, N.C.; and one grandson, Cambron Reed Smith.

From all of us at SCR we send our condolences to Marty and his family. SCR

Matthew Blaylock

Photo: James S. Langley

Kevin Lepage issued a statement Sunday apologizing for the crash he caused Saturday during the Nationwide Series race at Talladega.

Lepage who was coming out of the pits with less than 50 laps to go as he was trying to blend into traffic at half the speed Carl Edwards ran over the back of Lepage and in turn took out 15 other cars.

"After reviewing the tapes of the accident I realize I need to apologize to NASCAR, the car owners, my fellow competitors and, most importantly, the fans," Lepage said in a statement. "I made a huge driver error by blending onto the race track in the wrong area. This caused a multicar accident and changed the outcome of the race for many teams.

"I'm so thankful that no one was hurt considering the number of cars involved."

Lepage who did not initially accept blame for the accident said it made him look like a heel.

"There is not a single person to blame for this huge mistake except myself," he said. "I have worked very hard over the years to gain the respect of NASCAR, the owners, competitors and the fans, and it will take a long time to gain it back after what happened." SCR

Matthew Blaylock

Photo: James S. Langley

Fox's broadcast of Sunday's Aaron's 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway earned a 5.2 overnight Nielsen Media Research rating and an 11 share in the nation's largest television markets, Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Daily reports.

The rating is 2.0 percent higher than the 5.1 Fox earned overnight for the race in 2007.

ABC's broadcast of Saturday's Aaron's 312 Nationwide Series race earned a 2.3 overnight rating, the Daily said, up 9.5 percent from the 2.1 the race earned in 2007.

POCONO, PA - So you’re a NASCAR fan living in New York City or Northern New Jersey and planned on attending a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway but are concerned about the high cost of gasoline. Or you fight city traffic on a daily basis and don’t relish driving the 90 miles from mid town Manhattan to Pocono Raceway on a race weekend. Well, Pocono Raceway has partnered with Pocono Adventure Center and Martz Trailways to offer you an exciting option for your transportation to the June 8, 2008 Pocono 500 or the August 3, 2008 Pennsylvania 500, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.

Buses will be departing the Port Authority Bus Terminal the mornings of each race and fans boarding the buses will experience a relaxing alternative to driving. They will also receive a special tailgate lunch upon arrival at the Raceway and after a day of cheering for their favorite drivers, ride in care free comfort back to New York City. SCR

J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has said that ownership for Tony Stewart within the JGR organization is not an option.

"Our [ownership] deal is set the way it is," Gibbs told ESPN. "But we could do some stuff to help him get started with his own team if that's what he really wanted."

Gibbs did add when asked that Stewart could possibly own with another team and drive for JGR, as the late Dale Earnhardt did when he drove for Richard Childress Racing but was owner of Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Gibbs does hope that a deal can be worked out to keep Stewart with JGR and extend a partnership that has been together for 10 years. SCR

Matthew Blaylock

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – ESPN’s “NASCAR Now” will broadcast a special one-hour show live from Dale Earnhardt Inc. on Tuesday, April 29 from 6-7 p.m. (EST). The show will highlight Tuesday’s annual Dale Earnhardt Day event that honors the birthday of the seven-time NASCAR Champion and serves as a major benefit for the Dale Earnhardt Foundation.

The show will be on hand for the event, which runs from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. and will feature a variety of activities and displays for the entire family, and will originate live from the location at 6 p.m.

There will be an official ceremony at 3 p.m. with ESPN’s Dr. Jerry Punch serving as the event’s official emcee. In addition, Dale Earnhardt drivers will be on hand to sign autographs at different times during the event.

In addition to ESPN, Tanner in the Morning of Charlotte, N.C.’s WSOC-FM 103.7 will host a live radio broadcast from 6-10 a.m., Sirius Satellite Radio will be on hand in the afternoon and Primetime with the Packman from Charlotte’s WFNZ-AM 610 will broadcast live from the event from 3-7 p.m. SCR

Talladega, AL - Kyle Busch took the checkered flag under caution at Talladega Sunday as a multi-car wreck happened after the white flag had come out. Busch battled back from a lap down after missing his pit and held off Juan Pablo Montoya in the closing laps to take the checkered flag.

Montoya had his strongest run at a plate track with his second place finish. He was followed by Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin in third. Finishing fourth was David Ragan and he was followed Brian Vickers in fifth.

Travis Kvapil had a strong run for Yates Racing coming home sixth. Casey Mears, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top 10. SCR

Matthew Blaylock