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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Weekly NASCAR News And Notes
A roundup of the week's news items from around NASCAR's Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series...
Jared Turner  |  Posted October 20, 2011   Charlotte, NC
NASCAR To Honor Wheldon: NASCAR will provide all Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series teams at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend with a B-post decal in honor of Dan Wheldon, who died from injuries suffered in last Sunday's IndyCar season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Lionheart Knight image captured on the decal was included on the back of all of Wheldon's helmets. NASCAR also is producing helmet decals for any of the drivers who want to run a version of the decal on their helmets. The decals will be delivered trackside on Friday and be provided to the teams during inspection. As part of prerace ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday, the track will hold a moment of silence in memory of Wheldon.

Road To Be Named After Gordon?: It appears that Jeff Gordon will soon join the list of NASCAR legends with a stretch of road named in their honor. Mecklenburg County, North Carolina commissioners have approved a plan to name a 1.6-mile section of Interstate 85 the "Jeff Gordon Expressway." The North Carolina Department of Transportation is expected to render a final decision on the designation in early November. Gordon, a four-time Sprint Cup champion who ranks third on the all-time Cup win list with 85 victories, would join seven-time champions Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty, six-time champion team owner Richard Childress and Charlotte Motor Speedway owner/founder Bruton Smith among others with their name attached to a North Carolina road. Gordon, 40, grew up in Indiana but lives in Mecklenburg County (N.C.) with his wife Ingrid and their two children. "That's very exciting," Gordon said Tuesday when asked about the expressway proposal. "I just found out about that. I thank NASCAR for sort of getting that ball rolling. ... Getting my 85th win this season, being third on the all-time list is an incredible accomplishment for me, something I'm so honored to be on that list behind Petty and (David) Pearson. I drive up and down 85 all the time going to Hendrick Motorsports and to my house, my parents that also live in North Carolina. That would be a tremendous honor to be recognized in that way on Interstate 85."

Hendrick, Childress Chasing Milestones: Team owners Rick Hendrick and Richard Childress, winners of a combined 16 Sprint Cup titles, each boast 11 victories at Talladega Superspeedway — most all-time among team owners. As the Sprint Cup Series returns to Talladega this weekend, the two NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees are both chasing a major milestone. Hendrick Motorsports’ next win will be its 200th, while Richard Childress Racing’s next victory will be No. 100. Given that the two powerhouse organizations have combined to win each of the last three Talladega races, one of those milestones could be reached on Sunday.

Junior To End Drought At 'Dega?: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has now failed to win in 124 Sprint Cup races, but Sunday's Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega Superspeedway offers a good opportunity for the Hendrick Motorsports driver to end his lengthy drought. Earnhardt has five wins at Talladega — all from 2001-2004 with Dale Earnhardt Inc. — and has led laps in each of the last 11 Talladega races (and 21 of his 23 Talladega starts). Earnhardt finished fourth at Talladega in April, pushing teammate Jimmie Johnson to the win.

Rule Changes To Watch: As announced last month, the size of the restrictor plate that teams will use this weekend at Talladega will increase by 1/64 inch, and now measures at 57/64-inch diameter. The change is expected to provide teams with an additional 7-10 horsepower, and possibly decrease the prevalence of two-car tandem drafts seen in recent restrictor-plate races. Additionally, the pressure relief valve on the cars' cooling system will be re-calibrated to reduce the pressure by approximately eight pounds per square inch from April's race at Talladega.

Cup Pit Stops: After a record-tying 88 lead changes in April’s Talladega race, the track has instituted a bonus plan this weekend: If there are 100 lead changes in Sunday’s race, the driver who takes the lead the most times will win an extra $100,000. … Bobby Labonte will attempt to make his 650th series start – he is 16th on the all-time Cup starts list. Juan Pablo Montoya will attempt to post his 200th NASCAR national series start and his 50th series top-10 finish, Ryan Newman will attempt to post his 50th series pole, Kurt Busch will be going for his 25th series win, AJ Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose will attempt to post their 25th top-10 series finish each. … Two-time Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip owns 50 Sprint Cup starts at Talladega, and this weekend he’ll be celebrating the induction of his brother Darrell Waltrip into the NASCAR Hall of Fame by racing a special brown-and-gold paint scheme similar to the Terminal Transport car Darrell drove in his first Sprint Cup race at Talladega on May 7, 1972.

It has been a tough season for reigning Truck Series champion Todd Bodine. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Bodine Still Seeking Win: Reigning Camping World Truck Series champion Todd Bodine is in serious jeopardy of being shut out of victory lane this season. With four races left on the schedule, Bodine’s Truck Series winning streak – at least two victories a year beginning in 2004 – is very much at risk. Saturday's race at Talladega is the first of several good upcoming chances for Bodine to end his drought, however. The 47-year-old won consecutive Talladega races in 2007 and 2008, and has a combined 10 wins at Talladega, Texas and Homestead-Miami Speedway – three of the four remaining tracks. His last win came Sept. 3, 2010, at Kentucky Speedway.

Truck Series Tidbits: James Buescher will travel to Daytona International Speedway on Sunday to participate in the North American Road Racing Association's (NARRA) Finals Weekend with Marsh Racing. Following Saturday's Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, Buescher will head to Daytona to jump behind the wheel of the Whelen Engineering Corvette for the final day of the series' championship weekend. He will take part in one practice and qualifying session before the 30-minute race on the Florida speedway's famed road course. ... Cole Whitt is a single point up on previous Sunoco Rookie of the Year leader Joey Coulter after finishing eighth in Las Vegas. Nelson Piquet Jr., sixth in the race, is four points behind Whitt. … Last year’s Talladega race, in which Kyle Busch edged Aric Almirola by 0.002 seconds, is the series’ closest finish as determined by electronic timing and scoring. … Busch also won the race in 2009 and seeks a third consecutive victory in his 100th series start. … Kevin Harvick Inc.’s No. 2 Chevrolet holds a healthy 73-point lead over Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota in the battle for 2011 owner title. ... Chevrolet, which leads the series' manufacturer standings by 11 points over Toyota, continues to be the only manufacturer without a victory at Talladega or Daytona.

Wallace On Cusp Of Record: The Nationwide Series is off the next two weekends but Kenny Wallace officially will become the series' all-time starts leader when he takes the green flag on Nov. 5 at Texas Motor Speedway. Wallace tied good friend Jason Keller's record of 519 starts last Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Over his 22-year series career, Wallace has posted nine wins, 10 poles, 65 top fives and 170 top 10s. He’s currently seventh in the driver standings and is aiming for his first top-10 points finish since he also was seventh in 2005.

Nationwide Nuggets: Mike Wallace will compete in Saturday's Truck Series race at Talladega, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet normally occupied by four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday, who will drive the No. 2 Kevin Harvick Inc. truck. Wallace spent three full seasons in trucks, collecting three wins and four poles . … With Carl Edwards’ win last weekend at Charlotte, the Roush Fenway Racing driver tied Kevin Harvick for third on the all-time series win list with 37. He is only 12 wins behind second-place Mark Martin and 14 wins behind all-time series wins leader Kyle Busch.

Jared Turner is an Associate Editor for SPEED.com, covering NASCAR and Formula One, and is an Editor for TruckSeries.com. His professional motorsports writing career began in 2005.
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