Ryan Newman: "I don't think anybody lied to me"

   NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan Newman was asked Thursday night about the complaints many fans have had about how he was treated by Stewart-Haas Racing. 

   Newman's contract was not renewed while the organization is adding Kevin Harvick next season and then recently team co-owner Gene Haas announced he and his Haas CNC Racing company would foot the bill to run a fourth Cup car in 2014 with Kurt Busch.

   Newman was asked, "Do you feel like you were lied to?"

   Here was Newman's reponse:

    "I don't think Tony lied to me. I don't think anybody lied to me. I don't have any of that feeling or emotion. I don't think any of that matters because the plans they made are for 2014 and I'm not part of that. I knew that going in," he said.

    "I don't think there were any hidden agendas on Tony's behalf. I had a good relationship with him and been up front with him. My communication has been mostly with him in my whole relationship at Stewart‑Haas Racing. No surprise."

NASCAR issues penalty for the Max Papis slap

   NASCAR finally weighed in on the wild postrace incident following last Sunday's Camping World Truck Series race in Canada that featured the girlfriend of a driver slapping competitor Max Papis.

   On Wednesday, NASCAR fined Kelly Heaphy, girlfriend of driver Mike Skeen, $2,500 and denied her access to all NASCAR events indefinitely for striking Papis after the race.

   In addition, Bryan Berry, crew chief of Skeen's No. 6 Sharp-Gallaher Racing team, was fined $2,500 because the crew chief assumes responsibility for the actions of his team.

   SGR issued the following statement:

   "I'd like to apologize to our sponsors, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and especially the fans on behalf of everyone at Sharp-Gallaher Racing for the incident that occurred following Sunday's race," said team co-owner Eddie Sharp Jr. "Although Kelly Heaphy is not an employee of SGR, we absolutely do not condone actions such as these from anyone associated with our organization. It is a shame that this overshadowed the first class event that NASCAR delivered in Canada. We have nothing but respect for NASCAR, and will not appeal the penalty assessed to crew chief Bryan Berry."

Bobby Labonte will miss Richmond race; Allmendinger to fill in

  Team press release

   2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte will not race the No. 47 BUSH'S Beans Toyota Camry this weekend at Richmond International Raceway after suffering three broken ribs in a cycling accident near his Trinity, N.C. home on the morning of Wednesday, August 28.

   “I am feeling a lot better, but I don’t want to put the race team in any compromising position this weekend,” said Labonte.  “It just makes more sense to focus on my rehab one more week to ensure that I’m ready to go at Chicago (Chicagoland Speedway) with no issues.  I plan to be back with the team then and back behind the wheel.”

   AJ Allmendinger is filling in for Labonte during the Federated Auto Parts 400 in Richmond, Va.

   "Bobby means a lot to the JTG Daugherty Racing team and to our sport," Allmendinger said. "For me, it's a tough situation. I do not want to get more races with the team because someone is injured. Bobby is a guy that I believe is a Hall of Famer and he is a champion. It's tough to have that type of injury. Hopefully, he gets better as soon as possible to get back into the No. 47 BUSH'S Beans Toyota."

   "We are all wishing Bobby a speedy recovery and look forward to having him back," crew chief Brian Burns said.

Who's ready for a road trip to the Bank of America 500?

 

  This year, Charlotte Motor Speedway has taken a road trip to another level with a unique sweepstakes that puts fans’ NASCAR knowledge to the test in a race to find prize packages hidden throughout the Charlotte region.

   The Road Trip to the Races Sweepstakes features 10 suitcases packed with everything fans need for a great road trip – four frontstretch tickets to the Bank of America 500, pit passes, four NASCAR driver hats, four NASCAR driver shirts and four free Coca-Colas at Charlotte Motor Speedway – plus a key that could start a brand new 2013 Toyota Camry during pre-race ceremonies at the Bank of America 500.

   The sweepstakes is already underway. Clues will be posted on www.facebook.com/charlottemotorspeedway, on Twitter @CLTMotorSpdwy and www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/roadtrip in the morning. Then, the Charlotte Clear Channel radio stations – WRFX, WKKT, WEND, WLKO and WHQC – will announce the clues in morning and afternoon drive.

   The first person to determine the location and claim each suitcase will win all the prize elements and a chance to claim the Toyota Camry. Daily clues will be given every weekday through Oct. 4.

What NASCAR drivers control their own destiny at Richmond?

 

   Six drivers have clinched Top-10 spots in the Chase: Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth. Kasey Kahne, on the strength of two wins, has clinched at least a wild card spot.
 
   Four drivers control their top-10 clinching destiny in Saturday night's Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway regardless of the finishes of any other driver:

   Dale Earnhardt Jr., currently seventh in points, will clinch a Top-10 spot with a finish of 32nd or better, 33rd with at least one lap led or 34th with the most laps led. 

 

   Joey Logano, currently eighth in points, will clinch a Top-10 spot with a finish of 11th or better, 12th and at least one lap led or 13th and the most laps led.

   Greg Biffle, currently ninth in points, will clinch a Top-10 spot with a finish of ninth or better, 10th and at least one lap led or 11th and the most laps led.

   Kurt Busch, currently 10th in points, will clinch a Top-10 spot by winning, finishing second with at least one lap led or finishing third with the most laps led.
 

What Chase Elliott says about his controversial NASCAR win in Canada

  

   Here are some of Chase Elliott's comments following his win Sunday in the NASCAR Truck Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Canada:

    "Obviously happy to get to Victory Lane. Like I told everybody else, I hate to do it like that, but not very often do you have trucks as fast as what we had today and have the day go as good as it did for us today, have our strategy play out. We had a couple curve balls thrown with the cautions and trying to judge guys stopping on the race track and we were able to overcome and have that caution right there and we were able to put ourselves in position. Had a terrible restart there at the end and got myself in a hole and I messed up again on the last lap trying to pass a guy getting into a corner. That never works," he said.

    "Had two ideas that didn't work out for me, and had an opportunity there getting into (Turn) 10. I felt like the 3 was sputtering. I felt like he was really, really close or he was out of gas or something and got to his right rear quarterpanel and tried to move him out of the way and unfortunately ended up putting him in the fence. That's not how I race. I think anybody who's ever raced with me before can testify that's not how I like to do things, but just glad we got to Victory Lane."

What Mark Martin has to say about his 2014 plans

  

   NASCAR veteran Mark Martin met with members of the media at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday and was asked if he had made any progress on his 2014 plans. Martin is currently serving as a substitute driver for Tony Stewart for all but one of the season's final 12 races.

 

   Here is what Martin had to say about 2014: 

 

    “You know I was thinking about it and had some discussions before Tony’s (Stewart) injury. I will be real honest with you I could care less about 2014 right now because I am doing all I can to tread water. Making this change was pretty huge because not only is it different crew guys work on the car which really isn’t a huge thing, but it’s a whole different thought process, it’s a whole different bunch of guys that I didn’t have a chance to go to test in February and go hang out in the shop. Just jumping right in it added, I don’t know, about three races to my schedule what I had so I picked up three additional races. So I am really pushed and driven to try to get immersed in this team and figure out what I like in these cars so that we can start putting that in there week to week. We are still just throwing stuff at the car and me saying ‘nah, yeah that’s better, nah,’ " he said.

 

   "When you find something that really feels good to you there is a sense of continuity from track to track you can use that same logic. You might not use the same springs and all but you can use the same logic and you can simulate it out and shoot for those same kind of feels at other race tracks. We are not there yet obviously. This is not like making a change over the winter. It’s not like stepping out of a MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) Toyota into even a (Joe) Gibbs Toyota like I did at Martinsville. There is just a lot going on.

 

   "I think everybody in here heard what I said in February. I’m not a candidate for the No. 55 car for 2014. I did not want to drive that car. It was because I wanted to see those guys run for a championship, which is something I’m not going to do. So, I had really built a strong relationship with those guys and they’re championship material and I want to see them be able to go out there and go after that. So, for me, making a decision on what I do in 2014 is not important right now. I’m in no hurry because I’m not really worried about what I do. I do have a focus on what I can do in NASCAR. I want to do more in NASCAR than drive race cars. I want to do more than that."