WELCOME BACK: A week after announcing it would leave the IZOD
IndyCar Series at the end of 2011, IndyCar has reached an agreement
with Firestone to keep the tire manufacturer involved with the series
through 2013.
SO LONG: National Speed Sport News, in business for 76 years, has ceased publication following its March 23 issue.
SO LONG: Firestone, which has supplied tires to the IZOD IndyCar
Series since its first race in 1996, will leave the series at the end of
the 2011 racing season.
BONUS MONEY: The IZOD IndyCar Series will offer a $5 million
bonus for a driver from outside the series who can come in and win the
season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway October 16. The event will be
known as the IZOD IndyCar World Championships.
HIGH SPEEDS: NASCAR officials have lowered the tolerance level
of the pressure-relief valve on the radiator, hopefully forcing drivers
to pull out of the draft to cool down their engines and eliminate the
excessive speeds seen during the Budweiser Shootout.