Racing News: NASCAR Drops Second Southern California Race on 2011 Schedule

SCHEDULE UPDATE: The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule is slowly coming together. What is known so far is that Atlanta Motor Speedway has lost one of its races in favor of a race at Kentucky Speedway, Kansas Speedway has gained a second race and Auto Club Speedway in California will host only one race.

CHIP CASHES IN: Team owner Chip Ganassi had another stellar weekend, with victories in NASCAR Sprint Cup (Juan Pablo Montoya), IZOD IndyCar (Dario Franchitti) and Grand Am (Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas) competition.

BIG WINS: Shane Stewart (ASCS Knoxville Nationals), Scott Bloomquist (USA Nationals) and Bryan Clauson (Belleville Nationals) earned victories during three prestigious dirt-track events last weekend.

TEAMING WITH LOLA: Roush Yates Engines will partner with Lola to offer a variety of Roush Yates-powered engines in Lola LMP designs next year in the American Le Mans Series.

NEW BULL: Kasey Kahne will drive for a Red Bull Racing Team Toyota next season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The deal is only for one year as Kahne already has a contract in place to drive for Rick Hendrick in 2012.

NOT LEAVING: Honda Performance Development has confirmed that it will build engines under the new IZOD IndyCar Series engine platform beginning in 2012.

SHAFFER SIZZLES: Tim Shaffer was the hottest driver in the country last week, winning five straight races in a seven-day span, including the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri, August 6.

NOMINATED: Chip Ganassi, Michael Shank, Bob Stallings and Wayne Taylor have been nominated for the inaugural Rolex Bob Snodgrass Award, which recognizes a Grand Am Rolex Series owner or manager that shows integrity, passion and love of cars similar to that of the late Bob Snodgrass.

INJURED: American Le Mans Series driver Greg Pickett will miss the rest of the season after suffering rib and back injuries during a crash while testing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, August 5.

DIED: Jack Richard Miller, a popular short-track announcer and voice of sprint-car racing around the country, died August 6 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 74.

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