Two major sponsors re-up with NASCAR teams

   Two major sponsors for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are extending their sponsorship deals this week.

   On Thursday, Caterpillar Inc. announced it had agreed to a multi-year contract extension with Richard Childress Racing to sponsor its No. 31 Chevrolet team and driver Ryan Newman. The partnership between RCR and Caterpillar began in 2009. Newman took over the driving duties for the team this season.

   "Cat dealers have been building relationships with customers at NASCAR events for more than 20 years.This contract renewal reaffirms our confidence in Richard Childress Racing and their commitment to excellence," said Pablo Koziner, Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for the Americas Distribution Services Division.

   On Saturday, Joe Gibbs Racing is expected to announce a contract extension with Dollar General, which sponsors the No. 20 Toyota team and driver Matt Kenseth. Sources said Dollar General has also agreed to a multi-year extension and will be expanding its sponsorship with the Cup team.

Global Rallycross returns next month to The Dirt Track at Charlotte

Global Rallycross racing - featuring 600-horsepower, all-wheel drive turbocharged compact cars - will return to The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway July 25-26. The series made its debut on the dirt track last season after running on a course on the speedway's infield 1/4-mile oval in 2012.

 "It's awesome to have Global Rallycross back for a third consecutive year," said speedway president Marcus Smith. "These guys put on an unbelievable show and the fans enjoyed every second of it."

Expected to enter the event is defending Charlotte champion and X Games gold medalist, Scott Speed, a former NASCAR and Formula One driver. Also entered is 2014 X Games gold medalist Mitchell DeJong.

Qualifying is Friday, July 25. On-track action begins on Saturday, July 26 at 11 a.m. Gates open at 4 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday. The main event on Saturday will be broadcast live on NBC at 2 p.m. ET.

High speeds contribute to Tony Stewart's Indy tire test accident

   Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing, said driver Tony Stewart was running speeds as much as a second faster than norm when he blew a tire during a test earlier this week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

   “Like a lot of race tracks we’ve been to this year with this new car package, it appears the race pace can be significantly faster than it’s been in the past,” he said.

   “It appears that increased, sustained speed over that run generated a significant amount of heat, which eventually caused the right-front to go down (on Stewart’s car). Those are the condition we have to consider in making the right decisions for the race.”

   Asked Friday afternoon about the cause of his accident, Stewart said he wasn't sure. "I’ve asked them what the cause of it was, but that’s part of tire testing," he said. "That’s why you go to the test. I’m sure they’ll learn something from it and go on.” 

   Goodyear will continue to talk to the Indianapolis test teams and review the data from the session to come up with its final recommendation in the next week. Goodyear also has tire tests planned at Richmond, Va. (July 8-9) and Homestead, Fla. (Aug. 26).

Helton: Idea limiting Cup drivers in other NASCAR series 'doesn't go very far'

  NASCAR President Mike Helton sat down with "NASCAR Race Hub" co-host Danielle Trotta on Wednesday on Fox Sports 1 for the first of a two-part interview.

   During the interview, Helton was asked about limiting Sprint Cup drivers in NASCAR's other series but his answer didn't seem very encouraging for those who support that idea.

   Q: Is NASCAR considering limiting the number of starts that Cup series drivers can make in the Nationwide or Camping World Truck series? 

   Helton: "It’s a conversation point that doesn’t so far go very far because NASCAR is open-minded. It’s open-field, too. We don’t believe it’s correct to tell someone they cannot compete somewhere.  We have NASCAR drivers who go compete in IndyCar or ARCA or a weekly track or a weekly show or open-wheel racing in different programs, and that’s the culture of NASCAR to be open-minded about who participates. No one is excluded from participating. You can earn your way in. We have, however, changed some of the rules and regulations around in hopes to encourage and get attention to the ones who are competing on a fulltime level in the Nationwide. It happened a couple of years ago. We had the drivers to select what series they would gather points in … We saw some signs of being successful there. We’re just not of the mindset to exclude somebody from participating. We’d rather encourage everyone who wants to participate to participate. So, if we said, ‘You can’t play over here,’ it’s kind of contrary to our culture.’ ”

   Part 2 of the interview will air Thursday at 5 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.

Humpy Wheeler on Ray Fox: 'He made a car go fast and last'

   Long before becoming president of Charlotte Motor Speedway and Speedway Motorsports Inc., H.A. 'Humpy' Wheeler worked in Firestone's racing division, and Ray Fox was one of his most prominent race car testers. In the ensuing years as president of CMS, Wheeler maintained a close relationship with him.
   
   Fox died over the weekend in Daytona Beach, Fla. He was 98.

   "Ray was one of the most accomplished men in the history of American racing right in there with Smokey Yunick, George Bignotti, A.J. Watson, Banjo Matthews and other mechanical geniuses. Ray and Smokey were quite the pair, both being from Daytona Beach and highly competitive with each other. Ray was also a hard nosed guy who liked to win. However, he could turn around and help a young driver find success like he did with David Pearson and Buddy Baker. David's first win came in Ray's car at the 1961 World 600 in Charlotte, a feat Baker later did in a Fox Dodge," Wheeler said. 
 
   "Ray was a true pioneer back in the days when the super speedway era had just begun. People just didn't know what was going to happen on those new big fast tracks that frankly scared more than a few people. His great legacy will be, like city rival Smokey, mastering horsepower in his day. Ray was one of the guys who helped figure out how to make a car go fast and last at the same time. His 1960 win at the Daytona 500 with Jr. Johnson proved that."

   Wheeler is currently chairman of Speedway Benefits, a firm specializing in North America's short tracks and drag strips.

   You can read Fox's obituary here.

Kyle Petty: 'We look at the Hendrick organization as a leader'

   Even before Jimmie Johnson won Sunday's Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway, former NASCAR driver and now TNT analyst offered a prophetic commentary on the Hendrick Motorsports organization and why it would be likely one of its drivers would win the race.
   

   Here was Petty's take on TNT's "Countdown to Green" prerace show: 

   "I think Hendrick has the upper hand from an engine and team perspective. We look at the Hendrick organization as a leader. Nobody ever seems to leave there - guys check in, but they never check out," Petty said.

   "They’ve got the cream of the crop when it comes to crew chiefs, and look at their drivers. They’ve got Kasey Kahne, multiple Daytona 500 winner Dale Jr., Jeff Gordon and 'Mr. Everything' Jimmie Johnson. Why wouldn’t you expect those guys to run up front and win every week?”

   And Hendrick drivers have now won five consecutive races.

 

Kasey Kahne has work to do to remain at Hendrick Motorsports

   Kasey Kahne wants to remain at Hendrick Motorsports beyond his current contract which ends after the 2015 season but he knows he has work to do to make that happen.

   HMS announced this weekend that sponsor Farmer’s Insurance had re-signed through 2017 but did not extend Kahne’s contract at the same time.

   “We still have a year-and-a-half before my deal’s up. We’ve struggled some this year for really no reason. We can’t have that,” Kahne said. 

   “If we can get rid of some of those struggles, I would hope that I would be at Hendrick Motorsports for a long time.”

   Kahne is the only HMS driver without a win this season and is 22^nd in the series standings with just one top-five finish.

   “I like being at HMS. It is just an unbelievable place,” he said. “Getting to work with the three teammates that I get to work with each week is better than anything I’ve ever done in racing as far as guys I’ve been able to work with.”