Man killed in in Caldwell County shootout once was NASCAR driver

 

   John Settlemyre, 67, who died in the shootout with Caldwell County (N.C.) sheriff's deputies, was a former race car driver with some notable achievements to his name.

    Settlemyre was a five-time winner of Late Model Sportsman races at Hickory Motor Speedway, from 1977-81. In 1982, that race series became NASCAR's Nationwide Series, and Settlemyre won the Winston 200 at Hickory; he ran just six Nationwide races that year (five at Hickory) but had four top-10 finishes.
   Read the rest of the story from the Lenoir (N.C.) News-Topic here.

Austin Dillon can set a NASCAR record at Michigan

   What do Sam Ard, Trevor Bayne, Austin Dillon, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip have in common?

All six drivers have won three consecutive poles in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, a record in the series. 

Only one of them, however, has an opportunity to break the six-way tie with a fourth consecutive pole this Saturday for the Alliance Truck Parts 250 at Michigan International Speedway. 

Dillon, who is fourth in the standings behind leader Regan Smith, arrives in Michigan with a streak of three consecutive poles (Charlotte, Dover, Iowa). Unfortunately, the strong starts have not resulted in trips to Victory Lane. He did although turn his pole at Iowa last Sunday into a runner-up finish. 

His three poles in 2013 already match Dillon’s career high from a year ago. His first pole in the series came last year at Michigan. He went on to finish the race fifth. Dillon was able to capitalize on his other two poles last season by posting a win in both races at Kentucky.

Hendrick 'very close' on sponsorship deal for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

   NASCAR’s most popular driver should have his car fully adorned with sponsorship decals the rest of the year.

   In January, Hendrick Motorsports said there remained 13 unsold races on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Chevrolet for the 2013 season. The races lacking sponsorship were pushed to the second half of the season.

   Team owner Rick Hendrick on Monday said HMS was “very close” to a new multi-year sponsorship deal for Earnhardt’s ride in the Sprint Cup Series.

   “I’ve not been worried about it because we could sell it if we wanted to piecemeal it. We’ve been looking for the future,” Hendrick told the Charlotte Observer.

   “We don’t want to get into (sponsor relationships) where you see somebody one time and you don’t seem them anymore after that.

   “I am very confident that in the next couple of weeks we should have not only this year (covered) but we should have a lot done for next year, too.”

   Hendrick said in January he has had companies interested in sponsoring Earnhardt for the entire season but that would conflict with the organization’s current sponsor contracts.

   The majority of the No. 88's season is currently sponsored by the National Guard, Diet Mountain Dew and AMP Energy.

You can buy cheap gas Tuesday from this NASCAR driver

   Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, will make a special pit stop at the Shell station at 223 Medical Park Rd in Mooresville on Tuesday, June 11 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. to celebrate the Shell WINsdays promotion leading up to the Michigan race on Sunday.

 

   With WINsdays, Shell Saver Cardholders can save 22 cents per gallon every time Logano wins a points race this season when they purchase high quality Shell Nitrogen Enriched Gasoline or Shell Diesel.

 

   During Logano’s appearance, Shell is extending the WINsday savings of 22 cents per gallon to all Mooresville area fans who attend the event, as well as providing an opportunity for attendees to take pictures with Logano and receive an autograph.

   For more information on the Shell Saver Card and the WINsday program, visit www.shell.us/winsday.

Your chance to Dash for Cash with NASCAR Nationwide drivers

 

  How the "Dash 4 Cash" program works:

   - The top-four finishers in the Kentucky race who are eligible to receive Nationwide Series championship driver points will qualify for the first Dash 4 Cash race, at Daytona International Speedway on July 5.

   - The highest finisher among those four drivers at Daytona (which does not have to win the race) will collect the first $100,000 award and automatically qualify for the next round in New Hampshire. In addition, the three other top-finishing points-eligible drivers at Daytona will qualify for the program in New Hampshire.

   - Those rules will apply for the remaining vents. If one driver wins the first three Dash 4 Cash awards and also wins the Indianapolis race outright, Nationwide Insurance will award that driver an additional $600,000 bonus, bringing the total payout to $1 million.

   Fans can be a part of the action by entering the NASCAR Nationwide Series $100,000 Sweepstakes at www.nascar.com/Dash4Cash. Four lucky individuals and their guests will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the final Dash 4 Cash event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July. The four fans will be randomly paired with the four eligible drivers for that race and the fan whose driver wins the award at Indy will also go home with a check for $100,000.

   The Dash 4 Cash races are Daytona International Speedway on July 5; New Hampshire Motor Speedway July 13; Chicagoland Speedway July 21; and Indianapolis Motor Speedway July 27.

Qualifying rained out at Pocono

LONG POND, Pa. -- Persistent rain all day Friday has canceled qualifying for Sunday's Party In The Poconos 400 at Pocono Raceway.

That means the starting lineup for the race will be by points, with Jimmie Johnson starting on the pole alongside Carl Edwards.

There was also no practice Friday. Practice Saturday is set for 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

There was also no ARCA qualifying Friday. There's an early ARCA practice at 9 a.m., with the race scheduled to start at 1 p.m. -- David Scott

NASCAR docks Keselowski 6 points

NASCAR has penalized driver Brad Keselowski six points for having an illegally low front end during Sunday's race at Dover.

Keselowski's Ford failed post-race inspection after his No. 2 Penske Racing team said a spring broke, causing the problem.

Crew chief Paul Wolfe was also fined $25,000 for the infraction. He will remain on probation until Dec. 31 for a violation the team was found guilty of in Texas earlier this season. Team owner Roger Penske will also be docked six car owner points.

Penske Racing said in a statement that the penalties will not be appealed:

"The Penske Racing No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion experienced a part failure during Sunday's Dover Spring Cup Series Race which resulted in the car's front end being too low when presented for post-race inspection. The problem is being addressed internally to ensure it does not occur again and the team is not planning to appeal the penalty."


NASCAR found Keselowski's car to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing), 12-4J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules) and 20-12.8.1B (car failed to meet minimum front car heights during post-race inspection).

Losing the six points drops Keselowski from eighth to 10th in the Sprint Cup points standings. -- David Scott