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.