Dale Junior talks about losing the National Guard as sponsor

   Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke briefly Friday morning before Sprint Cup Series practice at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International about the news this week that the Army National Guard will not return next season as a sponsor on his No. 88 Chevrolet.

   In a statement, Hendrick Motorsports said it had an agreement in place for the 2015 season which it planned to honor.

   “I really don’t have any details on anything,’’ Earnhardt said. "That’s between the Guard and HMS to sort all that out. Really enjoyed working with them over the last seven years and hope to be able to continue to represent them. It’s a huge honor.’’

   Asked if he had any indication this decision was imminent, Earnhardt said: "There's been the debate in Washington and I've been watching it for several years. Hopefully, we'll be able to continue to represent them. I really have enjoyed it. It's been a great partnership. I think it's been very effective and hopefully we'll continue to do that."

Army National Guard to end sponsorship of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

   The Army National Guard issued a news release Wednesday in which it stated it was discontinuing its sponsorship of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and driver Graham Rahal in the IndyCar Series.

   "Significantly constrained resources and the likelihood of further reductions in the future call for more innovative and cost-effective ways of doing business," said Maj. Gen. Judd H. Lyons, acting director of the Army National Guard, said in a statement.

   The Guard said it spent $32 million on its NASCAR sponsorship and $12 million on its IndyCar sponsorship for 2014. Future programs will rely on much smaller budgets, the Guard said. 

   "As part of a broad recruitment marketing strategy, motorsports partnerships — including NASCAR — played an important role in helping the National Guard build strong brand awareness and in turn helped us achieve extraordinary recruiting and end-strength objectives over the past decade," said Lt. Col. Christian Johnson, who heads Army Guard marketing.

   "Our NASCAR sponsorship was principally a marketing program, intended primarily to build awareness of the National Guard as a career option" said Johnson. "The NASCAR sponsorship allowed the National Guard to leverage a 77 million fan base and the sport's most popular driver."

   In a statement, Hendrick Motorsports said in had a contract in place with the Guard for the 2015, which it planned to honor.

 “Our team has a contract in place to continue the National Guard program at its current level in 2015. We have not been approached by the Guard about potential changes and plan to honor our current agreement," the statement said.

   To read the entire Army National Guard release, go here.

Kyle Busch wins again ... this time in Canada

   NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Kyle Busch dominated Tuesday night's Pro All-Star Series (PASS) Super Late Model Budweiser 150 at Autodrome Chaudiere in Valle-Junction, Quebec, Canada. 

   Busch, who picked up his second Super Late Model win over the last two weeks, started from the fourth spot, was in second after one lap and then on Lap 22 put his No. 51 Toyota out front where he remained the rest of the way. Busch held serve on a couple of mid-race restarts and crossed the finish line two seconds ahead of second-place finisher Alex Labbe.

   "It was a great crowd out here tonight the guys at KBM gave me a really fast (car)," Busch said. "These Super Late Models are a lot of fun to drive and I always enjoy being able to travel around to some cool tracks around the United States and Canada to compete against the guys that race these cars on a regular basis."

NASCAR on ESPN's Nicole Briscoe is headed to SportsCenter

   Nicole Briscoe, who has hosted NASCAR on ESPN's "NASCAR Countdown" pre-race show since 2011, has agreed to a new contract with the network and will become an anchor on the network's flagship "SportsCenter" show once ESPN's contract airing NASCAR races concludes.

   Briscoe, who is in the process of relocating with her family from the Charlotte area to Bristol, Conn., expects to begin her new role on SportsCenter by the end of January.

   "I consider ESPN my home and I'm confident this is the best option for me because it's a great company and I have a lot of great friends there but then to have the opportunity to do SportsCenter? Show me a sports fan who doesn't know or watch SportsCenter," Briscoe told the Observer.

   "The whole idea of getting to do this is really exciting for me. To me it feels like I'm going back to my roots. As much as I love motorsports and I love NASCAR and I love racing in general, my first love was football. It's getting back to the whole reason I became a sports journalist and the chance to do a little bit of everything again."

   Briscoe said race fans can be reassured the network doesn't plan to ignore the sport simply because it's not airing NASCAR races in the future. 

   "I highly doubt ESPN is going to forget about one of the most popular sports in the country," Briscoe said. "And if I can push it - then, absolutely, I want to see the people I know on SportsCenter."

   In addition to the SportsCenter role, Bricoe will also take part in a variety of other ESPN studio shows.  

   Briscoe joined ESPN in 2009 after stints as a sports reporter in Indianapolis and on the former Speed Channel. She and her husband, IndyCar Series driver Ryan Briscoe, have an eight-month old daughter, Finley.

Carl Edwards: 'We're not competitive enough to win the championship'

   Carl Edwards believes Roush Fenway Racing has made improvement in recent weeks and that optimism was echoed by his teammate Greg Biffle on Friday at Pocono Raceway. 

   But Edwards believes the organization still has work to do if he or any of his teammates are going to be a threat to win the Sprint Cup Series championship this season when the Chase gets underway in September.

   “Other people’s opinions don’t really mean much in this sport as far as performance is concerned. Right now, we’re not competitive enough to win the championship, so talking about whether or not we are doesn’t really matter," Edwards said. 

   "It’s simple to see every weekend from the results, so we have to do better and we know that. The good thing is that we have time and we have good, hard-working people. So, if we can be better and continue to move forward, then we have nowhere to go but up.”

   RFR announced last weekend that Edwards was leaving the organization at the end of the season. 

Why Jeff Gordon says his back may never be the same

   Earlier this season, Jeff Gordon developed severe back spasms on the day before the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and missed much of practice. He did compete in the race and finished seventh. 

   On Friday at Pocono Raceway, Gordon, who has had a history of back problems, was asked whether the issue has flared up again. His answer was somewhat surprising.

   "I don’t think my back is ever going to be the same after what happened at Charlotte. I don’t know what exactly transpired there, but it’s not the same. And I have to be much more careful," Gordon said.

"I’m just having to treat it more with ice and stem and be more careful and do more stretching. Is it going to flare-up again? It could. But I’m just trying to be more cautious with the things that I do that I feel like contribute to that. But, yeah, it’s not great, that’s for sure."

Denny Hamlin statement on his NASCAR penalty

  

   Denny Hamlin issued the following statement on Friday regarding the penalties NASCAR handed down earlier this week on his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota team:

   "I'm obviously disappointed in the penalties, but I respect NASCAR and the appeal process," Hamlin said. "I’m confident that regardless of the outcome, our No. 11 team will continue to fight each week to try to win races, secure a spot in the Chase and compete for the championship."

   NASCAR docked Hamlin 75 points, suspended crew chief Darian Grubb six races and fined him $125,000 and suspended car chief Wesley Sherrill for six races. Grubb and Sherrill were also placed on probation for the remainder of the season. NASCAR found problems with several rear firewall plates on Hamlin's car following last Sunday's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.