The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 38

MOTORSPORTS THE CHARI OTTE OBSFRVFR I wwwcharlottecom 8C FRIDAY JANUARY 2 2008 '4 4 A Dragstripmmjc sports Mecca of the United Grading work is under way and construction will begin in February have all been waiting for funny car driver Ron Capps said of the best tracks on the NI IRA circuit are going to be The NI1RA runs at Speedway Motorsports Inc-owned facilities in Las Vegas Bristol Tenn and Sonoma Calif think we will be able to help build this Smith said growing and growing and becoming a bigger part of that I like that I like to grow The road toward announcement was not without bumps Shortly after intentions to build a track for drag racing became public last year the city of Concord changed a zoning ordinance to halt grading work that had already started Residents nearby homes had expressed concerns about noise the new facility would bring Smith threatened to move the 15-mile oval track The day before Thanksgiving however Smith and officials from Concord and Cabarrus it i 3 JP Sf i ivf it yf tnl 4 rt Speedway Motorsports Inc Chairman Bruton Smith unveils plans Wednesday for a drag strip adjacent to TERRY RENNA ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Lowe's Motor Speedway Construction will begin in February i-f Tfc r- 4- '-rfi speedway who know there was a speedway he said been wanting to ask that for a long Wes Harris who will lead the project for SMI said the company is working with consultants to address the noise issue NOTEBOOK Roush: We played fair fell behind on new car We appreciate our literacy partners for supporting newspapers for schools Thanks to partners listed here classrooms get an ideal tool for real-life lessons free Charlotte Observers Join this growing family of businesses and organizations Contact Casey Wimmer Newspaper in Education Manager at 7043586055 or email cwimmercharlotteobservercom PLATINUM County reached a deal to keep the oval track where it is and allow the new project to go forward Roush Allmendinger races At that point Roush said Ford began an aggressive testing program wound up going with the Roush said if I had been at the front of that line I think it would have worked out that NASCAR said it had no comment but one source said a check with several officials inside the sanctioning body knew nothing of such forms ESPN to chronicle Earnhardt Jr move Dale Earnhardt move from Dale Earnhardt Inc to Flendrick Motorsports will be explored in a five-part scries on family of networks The premiere of Jr Shifting is to air Feb 8 at 7 pm on ESPN2 It is produced by Hammerhead Entertainment a division of JR Motorsports and is part of a multi-media agreement between Hammerhead and ESPN The second episode will debut on Feb 15 and the third will air the following night both on ESPN2 The final shows will air in prime time July 24 and July 25 on ESPN during the week of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Allmendinger 2nd in Rolex field AJ Allmendinger who drives the No 84 Toyotas for Red Bull Racing in Sprint Cup competition will start on the outside of Row 1 when the Rolex 24 at Daytona rolls off at 1:30 pm Saturday WVCHOVIA CHAMPIONSHIP i i GOLD utt SPEEDWAY ri? kc A il I -A jr'V' -i 'j 1 ji 5 you live around here and used to the drone of our race cars all going to Harris said Miller Street Dance Academy Monroe Road Animal Hospital New Concepts in Marketing Inc NNR Global Logistics USA Inc Architectural Barber Styling Paris Projects Ltd Peebles Phoenix Metals Company Providence Veterinary Associates Provident Development Group Inc Randy Hopkins Appraisal Group Residence Inn by Marriott Uptown Robert Billington Rogers Benefit Group Rudolph Moore Properties LLC Scharf Pera Co PLLC Sharonview Federal Credit Union Southern Park Music School Stand Up Stuff Superior Automatic Fire Equipment Inc Tippens Zurosky Tyler 2 Construction Wanda Smith Associates Wilkerson Associates Inc Winnelson Co Charlotte office Woodie Enterprises i 1 fa Smith resist alluding to that controversy any of you have friends who built a house close to the Fie averaged 127140 tnph around the 356-mile course Thursday in qualifying the Michael Shank Racing Ford-powered Daytona prototype Only Oswaldo Negri driving the other car for that team went faster at 127152 mph Scott Pruett will start sixth in a Chip Ganassi-owned car with a team that includes Ganassi Cup drivers Dario Franchitti and Juan Pablo Montoya Two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson is part of a team that will start 11th and the team that includes Kurt Busch and IndyCar star Helio Castro-neves will start 13th Briefly Jamie McMurray had an excused absence when the media tour came to Roush Fenway Racing on Thursday Instead of talking to reporters as driver of the No 26 Fords McMurray was serving as juror No 7 at the Iredell County Courthouse after being selected for jury duty this week Chad Chaffin will drive the No 40 Chevrolcts for Key Motorsports in the Truck Series at Daytona California Atlanta and Martinsville A decision on future races will be made after that Jack Bailey will drive a Toyota owned by NASCAR veteran Eddie in the Automobile Racing Club of America race Feb 9 in Daytona The Mooresville-based team plans a limited ARCA schedule Bailey also is scheduled to race at Pocono Michigan and Talladega Online Extras For more on what some of the top people in racing efforts said read the Life in the Turn Lane blog at WWWTHATSRACINCOM mood is so sweet you want to cheek your blood sugar count There also is drama A rope is pulled lights flash and a 20-foot rendering of the drag strip is dramatically unveiled At racing news conferences you can always count on two things: a dramatic unveiling and free food The local officials who were run over by Bruton smile Thursday The last time I saw them their smiles looked frozen But by Thursday they had begun to thaw Cabarrus County officials estimate that four-day National Hot Rod Association event will generate almost $10 million The Godfather's drag strip will be dazzling When has he built something that was not? If you impressed you might want to keep it to yourself A King Construction Co Apartment Arrangements LLC Carolina Renaissance Festival Carolinas Specialty Hospital Scenic Homes WTVI Owner says NASCAR never punished testing violators as promised By David Poole dpoolecharlotteobserver com Jack Roush said Thursday that his Ford teams in Sprint Cup racing fell behind on the car of tomorrow last year because he expected a crackdown on teams using non-Goodyear tires to test in a manner Roush fclt violated NASCAR policies thought that they were Roush said of NASCAR thought that they were going to stop testing They said they were going to control the testing and we were all going to test at the same place I figured it was a matter of time until the guillotine fell on the people who were testing the cars going to create a scenario where they said doing Everybody doing it We doing it I thought it was going to be real bad for the people who were I was wrong I misread Roush said unnamed NASCAR told him forms had been prepared to be sent out with entry blanks for Cup races asking team owners to affirm they were not testing except at NASCAR-sanctioned sessions send that out and changed their Roush said on the final stop of the four-day NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Motor Speedway Hendrick Motorsports-owned Chevrolcts won the first five races with the new car and Fords had no finishes better than fifth and led only 78 total laps in those Smith basks Sorensenmmic A third calls the drag strip crown of drag racing Bruton does not call the track the crown jewel a little more modest He calls it the of drag racing" Bcllagio is the luxurious Las Vegas hotel and casino known for its spectacular fountains The drag strip is scheduled to open Sept 11 for the Carolinas Nationals Smith summons the lead architect to the front of the room Thursday to remind him that opening day is less than eight months away Imagine having to call Bruton to say: good news is I love the sungUsses The bad news is that I made a mistake and i ho SILVER Dula Construction Co Inc Harry Bryant Funeral Home Lyle A Baker Trust John Hairston Enterprises Primecare Medical Center Thermo King United Rental Urban Sports Entertainment Group Verbatim Corp Drug Store AIRWAYS Assembly Technologies Inc Austin Company Aziz Law Firm Barwick Associates LLC Restaurant Beacon Investment Management Canteen Vending Services Capital Textiles Carmel Family Pharmacy Cates Mechanical Corporation Cavalier Management Co Pensions Services Stampley Enterprises Inc Center City Realty Centralina Development Corporation Chun Group Inc Cin-Cargo Logistics Network City Builders Inc Comer Industries Inc Communications Workers of America Concrete Supply Company Creative Sewing Vacuums Cunnane Group Inc Curtin Trucking Drainage Inc Custom Hardwood Floors Dermatology Practice of the Carolinas Diversified Printing Techniques in role as Godfather BRONZE DJG Investigative Services EC Griffith Company The Echo Foundation FCR Inc FR Owen Associates Inc First Charlotte Properties Frontier Capital LLC Gerdau Ameristeel Half Moon Trading Company Hawthorne Management Co Hendrick Construction Inc Homes Land: Estates Homes of Metro Charlotte Hospice Palliative Care Charlotte Region In Sync Salon Jordan Driving School Karro Sellers Langson Leatherman Golf Learning Center LLC Lil Associates II Inc Madison Homebuilders Matthews Animal Clinic McGee Lumber Co The McIntosh Law Firm RC Medical Claims Management Corp Ml Homes Midland Industrial Park track be finished until In the corner of the speedway garage not far from chair is the Top Fuel car that belongs to longtime Lincolnton drag racer Doug Herbert The tires are the size of the Panther statues outside Bank of America Stadium What would happen to the architect if he fails to make deadline? What happened to the Concord and Cabirrus County officials who fought him on the drag strip? Some of the tire marks have yet to be removed from their foreheads But Thursday is not a time to talk about corttroversy Bruton wain Why would there be controversy? Instead there are kind w'ords compliments and praise The 2l)c (Djarlottc (Observer wwwcharlottecom.