Michigan tire test gets good reviews

   Twenty-eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams and two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams participated in a day-long tire confirmation at Michigan International Speedway on Monday.

   Michigan International Speedway became NASCAR’s fastest race track in June. Marcos Ambrose's speed of 203.241 mph for the Quicken Loans 400 was the 11th-fastest pole-winning speed in Cup series history and the first time the pole winning speed was faster than 200 mph at a track other than Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway.

   But NASCAR driver Greg Biffle thought the speeds, though slower, would lend themselves to exciting racing at NASCAR’s fastest racetrack.

   “Since the speed is down just a tiny bit I think you will see that groove continue to widen out. I have even floored it down lower on the race track and the car has some turn in it down there. I think we are going to see some good racing,” Biffle said. “We were all fearful that this tire would be really low on grip and the car would be hard to drive and it would chatter out from under us. That is certainly not the case.”

   Michigan son Brad Keselowski agreed.

   “Michigan is a lot different track with the repave, and we saw that here with the spring race. So we’re all still just trying to get a grip on that, literally, and trying to figure it out,” he said. “So Goodyear has us here to kind of reconfirm some things that we saw and hopefully improve the racing another notch here at Michigan International Speedway. So we’re just trying to help out here as we can and also make our cars better at the same time. So it’s a good process for all.”

NASCAR issues final approval for 2013 Cup cars

   NASCAR has issued final approval all four manufacturer's 2013 entries in the Sprint Cup Series - the Chevrolet SS, Dodge Charger, Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry. Manufacturers can begin making parts and pieces for the new models.

   The 2013 Cup car is the result of more than two years of collaborative efforts between the manufacturers and NASCAR. The cars more closely resemble their respective manufacturer models on the showroom floor.

   “We commend the manufacturers and our team at the R&D center on all the hard work they’ve put into this new car,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition. “With all the designs and surface areas of the car now approved, manufacturers can now move forward with building the components needed to outfit their cars.

   "The wind tunnel testing we’ve had with the manufacturers over the past several months has given us the timely and necessary data we needed to come to this confirmation. We believe the new car is going to be a milestone opportunity for our sport, one that our fans will embrace."

Humpy Wheeler's qualifying fix: Let 'em race!

   Humpy Wheeler, president of The Wheeler Company and former president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, offered his thoughts on NASCAR's recent announcement it was looking at changing its Top 35 rule in qualifying. He also offered his own idea to make qualifying relevant again.

   "It is interesting that NASCAR is looking at qualifying and they certainly should. Up until a decade ago qualifying at many tracks was a big deal. Years ago qualifying took place as early as Wednesday to bolster ticket sales. That was eliminated and most places it was shoved to Friday and sometimes Saturday. It has become a nonentity for a track as far as revenue is concerned," he said.

   "Just 15 years ago at the height we sold more than 30-40,000 tickets for the pole. We ran four laps and made a big deal out of it and then had a race afterwards. It gave a lot of less fortunate race fans a chance to go the speedway because ticket prices were low. There was also a lot of cheap betting on the pole. Indy 500 pole day drew in excess of 100,000. Last May there were probably less than a tenth of that. Track operators and the sanctioning bodies let the competitors talk them into late qualifying and one lap and guaranteed starting positions. This took all the drama out of it.

   "Can it become what it once was? Like many things in racing we have lost, it will take a lot of creativity and work…along with time to ever bring it back. What we should do is qualify  in four 15 minute sessions. Ten cars are given 15 minutes to hit the track. They can all go out together or by themselves. Fastest car wins the session. At the end of the four sessions let the four fastest either race each other four laps or qualify again to determine the pole. Let 'em race…that would bring it back!"

Keselowski's take on Sadler's NASCAR penalty

   Elliott Sadler grabbed the lead on a late-race restart in Saturday's inaugural Nationwide Series race at Indianapolis but NASCAR soon black-flagged him for jumping the restart. His chance at the win and another $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus disappeared. As did most of his lead in the series standings over teammate Austin Dillon.

   Brad Keselowski was the race leader on that restart. He spun his tires on the restart and was getting a push from behind by Penske Racing teammate Sam Hornish Jr. and Sadler crossed the line before he did.

   Keselowski's take on the incident:

   “It happened really fast and I don’t have a complete picture of what happened. So, it’s hard for me to make a statement about it. I can tell you my perception of it was I got a push from Sam and it was a little more than I could take. And certainly I wasn’t going full-throttle but I was not in the zone when Elliott (Sadler) took off. It appeared that Elliott got a push from behind as well and maybe he just couldn’t slow down, I don’t know. I don’t know how it all played out," he said. 

   "I think NASCAR has made it a point to say that they’re not going to measure down to a millimeter on who beats who to the restart line. They just want it to be close and fair. It was obvious that Elliott beat us by more than that. That’s NASCAR’s call as far as how it all worked out in the box and so forth. It’s very difficult to say from my view and I’d like to see a full replay to kind of verify some of the things that I saw. Obviously, NASCAR saw something they didn’t like and made a call accordingly. That’s their job.”   

Helio Castroneves to return to "Dancing with the Stars"

   Penske Racing on Friday announced three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves has been selected to participate in ABC’s upcoming season of “Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars.” The new season will begin in September and has been billed as an all-star season to include former season champions and fan favorites.

   Castroneves won Season Five of “Dancing with the Stars” in 2007 with professional dance partner Julianne Hough, as the Team Penske driver defeated former Spice Girls member Melanie Brown in the finale. Using a memorable yellow suit and Brazilian flair, Castroneves captured the surprising victory as he wowed the millions of fans of the popular show with both his moves and his infectious personality.
   
   In his 13^th year with Team Penske in 2012, Castroneves is enjoying one of his best seasons on the track as he battles for the IndyCar Series championship. Through 11 races, Castroneves is ranked second in the standings after earning a victory at Edmonton last weekend. In his IndyCar career, Castroneves has 27 victories, 37 poles and has led 4,729 laps.
 
   "I'm excited to return to ‘Dancing with the Stars,’” said Castroneves. “Winning the ‘Mirror Ball’ trophy was an unbelievable experience and I’m very honored that the show has asked me back to compete again this season. I know it’s going to be a lot of hard work, but also a lot of fun. I can’t wait to start dancing again!”

Johnson leads NASCAR media exposure this season

   No driver has been mentioned more often on television, interviewed more frequently, or collected more exposure value for their sponsors in the first half of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season than Jimmie Johnson.
  
   According to research conducted by Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc. — which has monitored every NASCAR race telecast over the last 28 seasons — Johnson's sponsors as a group appeared for 13 hours, 10 minutes, 46 seconds  during live and replayed telecasts of the season's first 18 points-paying races. When also factoring in verbal mentions (82) of his sponsors, $45.3 million of in-broadcast exposure value was amassed by the 43 brands monitored in association with Johnson.

   Joyce Julius calculates television exposure value by comparing the in-broadcast visual and verbal exposure to the estimated cost of a national commercial during the telecast and applying Joyce Julius Recognition Grading, which takes into account factors such as size and placement of the image on screen, as well as brand clutter and integration of the brand into the activity.

   Rounding out the top-five in media exposure value were Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle.

What's next for A.J. Allmendinger

   Now that Sprint Cup Series driver A.J. Allmendinger has been indefinitely suspended for failing a random drug test, what happens next?

   Well, it's really up to the driver.

   NASCAR spokesman David Higdon explains the next steps:

   "Under section 19-11F in our rule book, NASCAR facilitates assistance for anyone testing positive under our substance abuse program. When a license is suspended, NASCAR sends a letter for reinstatement. By agreeing to the terms of the letter, the member is allowed to participate in the Road to Recovery Program," he said.

   "The Program Administrator will work with the suspended member to arrange evaluation by a substance abuse professional. This evaluation helps the PA create a road map leading to a return to competition. This plan may include everything from counseling to in‐house treatment and rehabilitation. Additional testing is also required, and the Program Administrator will decide how often the member will be tested, for what and under what conditions.

   "Once the member successfully completes the plan, the PA will send a letter to NASCAR recommending reinstatement."

   One caveat. Allmendinger can be reinstated but there is no guarantee he can return to the ride he left, driving the No. 22 Dodge for Penske Racing. That would be up to the team.