People Places & Racing News

RACING NEWS: A1 WORLD CUP OF MOTORSPORT HEADS TO AUSTRALIA FOR 2009

BIG DEAL: The A1 World Cup of Motorsports has signed a five-year contract to race at Surfers Paradise, Australia, beginning in 2009. The race comes after 18 Indy car races at the successful street circuit in Queensland.

SPONSOR HUNT: The World Racing Group is once again searching for a sponsor for its World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series after the announcement late last week that Advance Auto Parts was withdrawing after the first year of a three-year contract as title sponsor for the series.

THE NOD: Nick Craw, president of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States has been elected as the new FIA Deputy President for Sport.

RETIRING: After 29 years and 10 USAC national championships, midget car team owner Steve Lewis is retiring from racing following the Turkey Night Grand Prix. Lewis’s Nine Racing cars have won more than 130 feature events.

ONE YEAR: Lowe’s Home Improvement Stores signed a one-year extension to its contract as naming-rights sponsor at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The contract now runs through 2009.

POWER RANKINGS: NHRA Top Fuel point leader Tony Schumacher remains at the top of the National Speed Sport News Power Rankings after clinching his sixth (fifth-straight) NHRA Top Fuel championship. The season concludes this weekend at Pomona, California. The National Speed Sport News Power Rankings are published weekly in the 74-year-old motorsports publication.

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