Racing News: Philip Morris Ends Lengthy Sponsorship of Penske IndyCar Teams

POST-MARLBORO: Philip Morris has ended its long-standing sponsorship agreement with Roger Penske and the Penske Racing IZOD IndyCar Series teams. The three Penske teams were the fastest during the test session at Alabama’s Barber Motorsports Park last week.

WET AND WILD: For the first time in series history, ARCA Racing Series teams raced in the rain thanks to specially designed Hoosier Racing tires at Palm Beach International Raceway in Jupiter, Florida, during a dreary event Saturday. The race was won by Justin Marks.

SPEED DEMON: Damion Gardner continued his hot streak in AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series competition this year by collecting victories at The Dirt Track @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Perris (California) Auto Speedway last week. He’s won four out of the five events run so far this year.

GETTING SAFER: Bristol (Tennessee) Motor Speedway has begun adding 160 feet of SAFER barriers at the exits of turns two and four. The project will be complete before NASCAR teams arrive for Food City 500 weekend March 19–21.

SOLD: Racing book publisher Coastal 181 has acquired the inventory of Witness Productions, which has published a number of racing-related books over the years.

CASH MONEY: Tim Shaffer dominated the ASCS Rebel Region events at East Bay Raceway Park Thursday and Friday, but a broken engine handed Saturday’s $14,500 paycheck to Wayne Johnson.

DEFER TO 2011: US F1 has asked the FIA to defer its Formula One World Championship entry until the 2011 racing season. US F1 has also offered to post a seven-figure bond as a guarantee that it will race next year.

SAYING GOODBYE: Gene Angelillo, a legendary New England midget-car owner with 14 Northeastern Midget Association owner titles to his credit, died Monday at the age of 74.

PURCHASED: Oregon native Greg Biffle has purchased a stake in Sunset Speedway, a three-eighths-mile dirt track located in Banks, Oregon.

NEW LADY IN TOWN: Simona De Silvestro will join Danica Patrick as the second full-time female competitor in the IZOD IndyCar Series this year thanks to a partnership between HVM Racing and Team Stargate Worlds.

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