Hamlin released from hospital day after hard wreck

By John Bazemore (AP)

Tony Stewart ended his frustrating winless season Sunday by earning his first Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway when NASCAR ruled Regan Smith's last-lap pass was illegal.

Smith was in second and trailed Stewart for the final three laps around Talladega, and the rookie made one desperate attempt to grab his first career victory by ducking inside of the two-time champion to attempt a pass.

Stewart blocked, Smith dove below the yellow out-of-bounds line at the bottom of the track to make the pass, and beat Stewart to the finish line. NASCAR reviewed the move _ a...

By Dave Martin (AP)

Tony Stewart ended his frustrating winless season Sunday by earning his first Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway when NASCAR ruled Regan Smith's last-lap pass was illegal.

Smith was in second and trailed Stewart for the final three laps around Talladega, and the rookie made one desperate attempt to grab his first career victory by ducking inside of the two-time champion to attempt a pass.

Stewart blocked, Smith dove below the yellow out-of-bounds line at the bottom of the track to make the pass, and beat Stewart to the finish line. NASCAR reviewed the move _ a...

By Dave Martin (AP)

Tony Stewart snapped his 43-race winless streak on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, getting the victory when NASCAR ruled Regan Smith drove below the yellow out-of-bounds line to get by Stewart on the final lap.

NASCAR decided Smith's move was illegal, and Stewart earned his first win of what's been a frustrating final season at Joe Gibbs Racing.

In making his first Sprint Cup Series trip to Victory Lane, Stewart crossed Talladega off the list of four active tracks where he'd failed to win a race. Stewart finished second a maddening six times before this win.

By Dave Martin (AP)

Tony Stewart snapped his 43-race winless streak on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, getting the victory when NASCAR ruled Regan Smith drove below the yellow out-of-bounds line to get by Stewart on the final lap.

NASCAR decided Smith's move was illegal, and Stewart earned his first win of what's been a frustrating final season at Joe Gibbs Racing.

In making his first Sprint Cup Series trip to Victory Lane, Stewart crossed Talladega off the list of four active tracks where he'd failed to win a race. Stewart finished second a maddening six times before this win.

By Dave Martin (AP)

Denny Hamlin was taken to a Birmingham hospital Sunday after a tire failure led to a hard crash at Talladega Superspeedway.

NASCAR said Hamlin was alert and awake, but was transported for futher observation. Hamlin was complaining of a headache and was favoring his right foot after his slow exit from his crumpled car.

"The tire went down and it was quite a shot," Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs said. "He's got a little headache, so they're just going to watch him. It was a scary deal, but it's at least nice that he's alert and with it."

Hamlin, one of 12 driv...

By Greg McWilliams (AP)

Denny Hamlin was taken to a hospital Sunday after an accident at Talladega Superspeedway.

NASCAR said he was alert and awake, but was transported for futher observation.

Hamlin, one of 12 drivers racing for the Sprint Cup title, was leading midway through the race when his right front tire failed and his Toyota shot into the outside wall. He said very little over his in-car radio after the hit, was slow to get out of the car and seemed to be favoring his right foot.

Hamlin's tire failure was the fourth one in the race and fifth of the weekend. Earlier, Brian Vickers'...

By Dave Martin (AP)

A pair of once-mighty teams returned to the top of the Talladega Superspeedway leaderboard with very different things to prove.

Travis Kvapil won the pole Saturday to show Yates Racing is on an upswing after several lean years, and Dale Earnhardt Inc. had a strong qualifying day to counter rumblings that the team is in trouble.

Kvapil turned a lap at 187.364 mph in his Yates Racing Ford to edge Casey Mears' lap of 187.295 in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

It was the first pole of Kvapil's career and came in his 100th start. And it was the eighth Talladega pole for a...

By Rainier Ehrhardt (AP)

Helio Castroneves was back behind the wheel Saturday, a day after the two-time Indy 500 winner pleaded not guilty on tax evasion charges.

Out on $10 million bail after he was indicted on charges of conspiracy and six counts of tax evasion for purportedly failing to report to the IRS about $5.5 million in income between 1999 and 2004, the "Dancing with the Stars" champion was in suburban Atlanta for the American Le Mans Series Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

Not only was he back on track, but he was back in the winner's circle, as well.

Castroneves and teammate Ryan Brisc...

By Rainier Ehrhardt (AP)

Helio Castroneves was back behind the wheel Saturday, a day after the two-time Indy 500 winner pleaded not guilty on tax evasion charges.

Out on $10 million bail after he was indicted on charges of conspiracy and six counts of tax evasion for purportedly failing to report to the IRS about $5.5 million in income between 1999 and 2004, the "Dancing with the Stars" champion was in suburban Atlanta for the American Le Mans Series Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

Not only was he back on track, but he was back in the winner's circle, as well.

Castroneves and teammate Ryan Brisc...

By John Bazemore (AP)

Todd Bodine figured on the last lap he'd simply push Kyle Busch to the finish line, one Toyota driver helping another. That little nudge, though, was enough to turn Busch sideways and leave Bodine celebrating again at Talladega.

Bodine took the lead on the final turn off the last lap and nipped Ron Hornaday Jr. and Busch on Saturday in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

"I knocked him sideways and went on to pass," Bodine said. "I didn't mean to do it. Good thing he's a good driver and saved it."

Bodine raced to his second victory of ...

By John Bazemore (AP)

Todd Bodine took the lead on the last lap and held off Ron Hornaday Jr. and Kyle Busch on Saturday in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Bodine raced to his second victory of the season and won for the second straight year in the 250-mile race on NASCAR's largest track.

The trucks raced as many as three- and four-wide over the thrilling final laps, and Busch appeared as if he might hang on for his 20th overall victory this season in NASCAR's top three series.

Hornaday finished second and Busch was third in the third trucks series race...

By John Bazemore (AP)

A pair of once-mighty teams returned to the top of the Talladega Superspeedway leaderboard with very different things to prove.

Travis Kvapil won the pole Saturday to show Yates Racing is on an upswing after several lean years, and Dale Earnhardt Inc. had a strong qualifying day to counter rumblings that the team is in trouble.

Kvapil turned a lap at 187.364 mph in his Yates Racing Ford to edge Casey Mears' lap of 187.295 in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

It was the first pole of Kvapil's career and came in his 100th start. And it was the eighth Talladega pole for a...

By John Bazemore (AP)

Travis Kvapil won the first pole of his Sprint Cup career Saturday when he took the top qualifying spot at Talladega Superspeedway.

Kvapil turned a lap at 187.364 mph in his Yates Racing Ford to win a pole in his 100th career start. Casey Mears qualified second with a lap of 187.295 in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

The surprise of the qualifying session was Dale Earnhardt Inc., which placed all four of its cars in the top 10 amid questions about the long-term stability of the organization. But Aric Almirola qualified third, Regan Smith was fourth, Paul Menard was fifth...

By Tom Strattman (AP)

Race car driver and "Dancing With The Stars" winner Helio Castroneves pleaded not guilty Friday to federal tax evasion charges and declared outside the courtroom that he would treat the case like a race against the Internal Revenue Service.

"I'm a race car driver," the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner told reporters. "This is a very difficult situation. I'll be strong and I'll win this race."

Castroneves, 33, spoke after his release on $10 million bail following a court appearance in which he was shackled in handcuffs and leg chains and was visibly weeping into a wad of...

By Glenn Smith (AP)

Dale Earnhardt passed his love of Talladega Superspeedway to his race team, which took a must-win mentality into every event at NASCAR's biggest track.

But no one talks about Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s one-time domination of Talladega anymore, making the organization's run of six wins in seven races a mere memory. Instead, Friday's return to the place of pride for DEI was the backdrop for a once-mighty team facing serious questions about its long-term stability.

"What's killing me is the perception that's out there right now, and we've got to do something to overcome it," DE...

By CHRIS GARDNER (AP)

Rusty Wallace denied Wednesday a report by his brother that claims he is considering a return to NASCAR's top level.

Kenny Wallace wrote in his SpeedTv.com blog that the 52-year-old former Cup champion is pondering a return to the Sprint Cup Series, and said it was rumored he'd fill a seat at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Rusty Wallace retired after the 2005 season and is currently an analyst for ABC and ESPN.

"I love Kenny to death _ he's been trying to get me back in a car ever since I retired after 2005," Rusty Wallace said in a statement issued through his son, Greg. "Whil...

By Wade Payne (AP)

Paul Menard is heading to Yates Racing at the end of the season in a switch certain to hurt Dale Earnhardt Inc. DEI is losing both a driver and a sponsor at a time when a bleak economic outlook has made funding difficult.

The decision was reported by The Associated Press on Monday night and was announced Tuesday.

Menard is winless through two Sprint Cup seasons driving the No. 15 for DEI. He's 28th in the standings with one pole and a season-best finish of 11th at Michigan in June.

He called it a "great opportunity" at Yates, where his sponsorship will come from his fat...

By Wade Payne (AP)

Paul Menard is heading to Yates Racing at the end of the season in a switch certain to hurt Dale Earnhardt Inc. DEI is losing both a driver and a sponsor at a time when a bleak economic outlook has made funding difficult.

The decision was reported by The Associated Press on Monday night and was announced Tuesday.

Menard is winless through two Sprint Cup seasons driving the No. 15 for DEI. He's 28th in the standings with one pole and a season-best finish of 11th at Michigan in June.

He called it a "great opportunity" at Yates, where his sponsorship will come from his fat...

By (AP)

The Canadian Grand Prix was dropped from the 2009 calendar on Tuesday, leaving North America without a Formula One race.

Governing body FIA ratified its calendar for the coming season and omitted the Canadian GP, which was first held in 1967. It's the first time since 1987 that the Canadian GP won't be on the F1 schedule.

The inaugural Abu Dhabi GP replaces the Canadian race for 2009, which will feature 18 races, the same as this year.

Contractual problems between Circuit Gilles Villeneuve officials, and commercial rights holder F1 management are believed to have...

By (AP)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had better days at Talladega.

Earnhardt's No. 88 Chevrolet blew an engine in the first practice Friday and blew a tire in the second and it cost him any shot of starting in the front of the field.

When the right tire exploded in the afternoon practice, it triggered a multicar wreck that affected Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, David Reutimann and a few others. Earnhardt spun and hit the wall, debris flying all over the track and collecting other drivers up in the mess as well. His car was towed off NASCAR's biggest track

Stewart and Kahne connected and...

By (AP)

Rusty Wallace reportedly is considering ending his three-year retirement to drive again _ possibly for former rival Dale Earnhardt's race team.

Wallace's younger brother, Kenny, wrote in his SpeedTv.com blog that the 52-year-old former Cup champion is pondering a return to NASCAR's top series. Rusty Wallace retired after the 2005 season.

"He's considering this huge move because he watched Brett Favre come out of retirement in the NFL and his good friend Mark Martin is giving it another shot next year at Hendrick," Kenny Wallace wrote in the Tuesday night post.

By (AP)

AJ Allmendinger will not finish the season with Red Bull Racing, giving up his seat to Mike Skinner and Scott Speed for the final seven races of the year.

Allmendinger is not returning to the No. 84 Toyota next year, and the team is letting him go early to pursue another job. He finished a career-high ninth in his Red Bull finale Sunday at Kansas Speedway.

Skinner, who drove the car for five races earlier this season, will drive the car the next two weeks at Talladega and Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Speed, who is making the transition from Formula One to NASCAR under Red...

By (AP)

Paul Menard will leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of the season to drive for Yates Racing, The Associated Press has learned.

Menard is expected to announce Tuesday that both he and his sponsorship will move to Yates, a person familiar with Menard's decision told The AP. The person requested anonymity because Menard had yet to make his announcement.

The loss could ultimately cripple DEI because Menard's sponsor is his father's midwest-based hardware chain. The loss of driver and sponsor leaves DEI with just one full-time sponsor and three drivers signed for next season.