Goodyear will conduct a tire test in 2 weeks at the Homestead Motor Speedway. Drivers expected to participate are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and A.J. Allmendinger. John 'Captain Thunder' Nevins - www.CaptainThunderRacing.com

In their effort to be as prepared as possible for the upcoming Sept. 19 return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the other "flat-track" races remaining during the 2010 season, Kurt Busch and his Steve Addington-led #2 Miller Lite Dodge Team spent Aug. 23-24 testing at the Milwaukee Mile.

"We had all three drivers and teams there and brought up our R & D guys, too," said crew chief Addington. "It was time well spent and will hopefully help us quite a bit on down the line. One of the unique things we did was to put Kurt, Sam and Brad in and out of the same car for 30-lap runs. We got some great feedback from all of them and it will certainly be useful in deciding what direction we head in determining what cars that we bring to the races when the Chase kicks in, when all the marbles are on the line. One of the biggest bonuses came after hours, though. Our friends at MillerCoors were kind enough to set us up with a special hard-hat tour of the brewery there in Milwaukee." - tom roberts pr

Jacques Villeneuve has decided to take a different road back into the top echelon of motor sports.

Rather than look for a seat with an existing team, the 1997 Formula One champion wants to be a driver/owner beginning in the 2011 season.

Villeneuve is preparing a bid to start a new F1 team in conjunction with Italy’s Durango racing. The group hopes to secure a spot in the grid in time for the 2011 season, although plans for the team are still in their infancy.

“I really hope together we will find a place,” Durango team owner Ivone Pinton told racing website 422race.com. “We still don’t know where the car would be built, but the team’s base will definitely be ours (in the Veneto region of Italy).”

Villeneuve, who is busy this weekend trying to qualify for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Indianapolis released a statement on his website confirming he’s part of the group trying to become the 13th team in the sport.

“The team will be a joint venture with Durango, and based out of Italy,” he said. “To be clear, right now all the money comes from corporate sponsorship and not from personal investors.”

The native of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., has not raced in the top open-wheel circuit since 2006, but had been hoping to return this season with Stefan GP, but the Serbian team was not given the green light by F1’s governing body, the FIA.

This season Villeneuve has been racing stock cars part-time for Braun Racing. He was running in second place in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Road America in June before a mechanical problem on the last lap dropped him to 25th.

He hasn’t raced in the Sprint Cup series since 2007, but his hoping to qualify for Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — the site of Villeneuve’s Indy 500 win in 1995. If he’s successful he will have raced at Indianapolis in all three major series, IndyCar, F1 and NASCAR.

“I have a lot of good memories at the Brickyard,” Villeneuve said last week. “Winning the Indy 500 was a very big highlight in my career. This will be my first venture in a stock car there, but I am confident that we will do well.”

Villeneuve won 11 Grand Prix races over his 11-year career in Formula One and reached the podium 23 times, but he hasn’t won a race since his championship season in ’97.

Pinton believes Villeneuve will be an asset for the fledgling team on and off the track if the FIA gives Durango the open spot on the grid next season.

“As well as being the driver, I’m sure he will make a useful contribution to the company,” he said. “I think he’s preparing a job to do after he hangs up his helmet.” - www.canada.com

by Martin Manley  - www.uponfurtherreview.kansascity.com

Atlanta is best known for its Southern hospitality, Coca-Cola and of course, the heat.

When NASCAR drivers get behind the wheel Sunday for the Emory Healthcare 500 they will likely get a warm welcome from the fans, perhaps get a swig of Coke - it's an official sponsor of course - but they shouldn't have to deal with the heat. For the second year in a row the second of NASCAR's two trips to Atlanta Motor Speedway is under the lights.

“Night races are just a whole different feel,” David Reutimann, driver of the No. 00 Aaron's Outdoors Mossy Oak Toyota, told reporters this week. “They're just a whole different vibe. It almost takes you back to when you started out racing.”

The night races may be a rare treat for the drivers, but they do present different challenges for the teams. Atlanta is notoriously tough on tires and although the cooler track temperature at night should help prevent quick tire wear, it's difficult for teams to get a feel for the set-up since the practice and qualifying sessions take place during the day under the late-summer sun.

Add to that the last time NASCAR visited Atlanta - back on March 7 in a race won by Kurt Busch - the cars still had a rear wing, now they're equipped with a spoiler. That new dynamic adds another twist to the tire-wear game.

Fortunately for crew chiefs, they can refer to last year's night race data to get a sense of what might work and what won't.

“It's valuable having that one year of notes to go back and look at because the track temp during practice is going to be drastically different than what it is going to be during the race,” said Lance McGrew, crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet. “The fact that you have those notes and go back and look at the changes we made for different conditions - that's pretty valuable information. There are a lot of times that we don't have that and you have to guess if the track is going to get tighter or looser when it cools off.”

Drivers will have to play it by ear this week, which can make for some interesting racing. With only two races to go before the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins, the stakes are getting higher for those on the bubble.

“Atlanta is a track where you not only race your competitors, but you race the track,” Matt Kenseth said. “It's really high-banked and fast. You start off fast and the track gets slick, so you're always looking for a different groove and for more grip.”

Kenseth is one of six drivers who have a decent shot at clinching a spot in the Chase Sunday. The driver of the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford comes into the race in eighth place in the points standings and needs to finish in the top 15 at Atlanta secure his spot, if he doesn't get any bonus points. He could finish as low as 19th and still qualify, but only if he maxes out on bonus points by leading the most laps.

Points leader Kevin Harvick and second-place Jeff Gordon have secured their spots. Clint Bowyer holds down the 12th and final playoff spot and with 2,920 points, he has a 100-point edge over Jamie McMurray.

Although Atlanta can cause headaches for crew chiefs, it's great for drivers who like to experiment on the different lines available to them.

“I like having the flexibility to be able to move around,” Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevy explained. “I know that if my car isn't driving all that well in a particular spot that I have the flexibility as a driver to move around on the racetrack. You can make a difference.” - By Peter James, Postmedia News www.canada.com

"Changing Lanes'' debuted Wednesday night on the BET network, detailing the sport's Drive for Diversity program. Yet it is just part of a change NASCAR is undergoing in marketing the sport to those who might not be fans.

 A documentary on Wendell Scott, the only African-American to win a race in what is now the Sprint Cup Series is scheduled for February 2011 to coincide with Black History Month. Also, NASCAR is working on a program with Versus Network on a five-part series called "Next Generation.'' That show will look at who the up-and-coming stars of the sport are. The plan is to tap into the younger crowd, one NASCAR has struggled to maintain recently. More such programs are expected to be on the way.

 "We will be creating more and more content (with) the diversity initiative and the next thing, really for us, is the youth area,'' said Jay Abraham, NASCAR Media Group's chief operating officer. The NASCAR Media Group produces various shows seen on numerous networks about NASCAR.

 "This ("Changing Lanes'') is really about a major strategic industry initiative to expose our sport to a whole new group of fans, a diverse audience,'' Abraham said at a party for the show's premiere in Charlotte, N.C. on Wednesday night.

 "Changing Lanes'' is a racing reality show. It features minority drivers (from African-American and Latinos to females) that are a part of Revolution Racing, which runs the sport's Drive for Diversity program.

 Wednesday's first episode followed some of the 30 drivers who competed in the combine last fall that determined the 10 drivers for the program. It told the stories of some of those individuals so fans could better know them and, possibly, connect with and care about to see how they perform in the combine and (if they make the cut) in the eight-episode series.

 Max Siegel, who used to be an executive at Dale Earnhardt Inc., is the CEO of Revolution Racing and has made it an acdaemy-style training facility. The drivers relocated to the Charlotte, N.C. They spend about 20 hours a week working on their cars in the shop. They do physical training and they race. The goal is to have the drivers, some still in high school, for about two years, giving them the chance to move up the ranks in the NASCAR world.

 Wednesday's first episode began by discussing Wendell Scott. The rapper Ludacris provides the program's voice over and speaks words Siegel said in a short version of the show played at Daytona in February. In the February version, Siegel noted how Scott had been the only African-American to win a Cup race. But also in that version shown to a group was a clip from Scott's daughter, who said: "Racial barriers were a sign of the times. There were people who did not accept him. I feared for my Dad's life, but the man was an inspiration and he still inspires today.''  That clip was not in Wednesday's first episode. Instead, it was replaced by some of the driving candidates talking about what Scott meant to them. Of course, the comments from Scott's daughter could be included in a later episode (the drivers were taken to see members of Scott's family to get a better appreciation for the man).

 Siegel, who is African-American, said the show would not shy away from the historical context or even present-day situations his drivers experience at tracks.

 "When people deal with cultural differences, oftentimes we view them from our own perspective and if you haven't experienced some of the things that other people haven't, it's hard to be empathetic even if you can be sympathetic,'' Siegel said. "I think one important moment is Blair Addis (who is white and oversees the Late Model drivers in the driver diversity program) talks about what he and (African-American driver) Michael Cherry experienced at Greenville-Pickens. Blair, being as much Michael's big brother as he is his competition direction, finally got an understanding of how hurtful some of this stuff is that people deal with, and I think it gave him an appreciation for some of the added pressures and challenges that women and people of color face on a daily basis.''

 How will this show do? It will depend on if the audience connects with the drivers and want to follow them for the next couple of months to see them progress. Certainly, some of the drivers who make the cut have had success, winning poles and races this season. Maybe one or some will make up NASCAR's ladder to the Cup Series. 

 "Once  a few of us make it to (Cup),'' said African-American driver Ryan Gifford, who is in the show, "the next generation of kids are going to be able to look up to us and say, "Hey, we can do it.'' - by dustin long - www.hamptonroads.com

After taking the checkers for the first time last week in Montreal, Carlsbad, CA native Boris Said was named 'Star of the Month' by the 'Hall of Champions' in San Diego. Said won on the famed road course in dramatic fashion, crossing the finish line in a photo finish in one of NASCAR's closest finishes ever.  - John 'Captain Thunder' Nevins www.CaptainThunderRacing.com

PHILADELPHIA – Ryan Newman is about out of time to make the Chase field.

Newman is 15th in the standings, 118 points behind Clint Bowyer for the final spot with two races left to qualify for the 12-driver, 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Jamie McMurray is 13th — 100 points behind Bowyer — and Mark Martin is 14th — 101 points back — heading into the race Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The field well be set after the Sept. 11 race at Richmond.

"It's a legit shot," Newman said, "But it's not the shot we would have preferred."

Newman won in April at Phoenix International Raceway to snap a 77-race Cup winless streak, but has had only five other top-five finish since, putting the Stewart-Haas Racing driver in the precarious position.

He finished sixth in the last race at Bristol Motor Speedway and will likely need at least that type of finish — along with some misfortune from the drivers ahead of him — to get to 12th. He won't use previous success as a guide the next two weeks. Newman has one career win and six top fives in 34 career races at Atlanta and Richmond.

If the pressure is building inside the No. 39, Newman won't show it on the outside.

"I don't change the way I race because of it. I don't change my approach," Newman said.

He sure won't change his car, although it was tempting to pluck one of the more than 60 racing sports cars Wednesday on his tour at a Philadelphia museum. Newman, a classic car collector, showed great appreciation and knowledge at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum. The museum boasts it has the "rarest and most significant racing sports cars ever built."

"You've got the sickness, too," a smiling Newman said to collector, retired neurosurgeon Frederick Simeone.

Simeone led Newman on a tour of cars that range from a 1909 American Underslung to a 2002 NASCAR Dyno Mule. A curious Newman took a closer peek at the tire on one of the cars. Yup, that was a Penske Alltel Dodge marking on the rear passenger tire — one Newman identified on his own, likely from the 2000 or 2001 season with Roger Penske Racing.

He perked up when he saw a Triumph TR5 — a 1974 Triumph TR6 was his first car.

"Anyone can have a '57 Chevy," Newman said.

Newman rattled off a list of antique cars he keeps at his personal garage, like a 1928 Ford Roadster. Not exactly the kind of car that can win Daytona, which Newman has done, these days.

Newman would love to add his 2008 Daytona 500 winning car to his collection.

"I think R.P. is going to have controlling interest in that one for a while," Newman said. "Hopefully at some point in my career, I can acquire it."

The site of his biggest career win may have derailed his Chase chances this season. He was 34th and 26th at Daytona this season and 35th at Talladega. Newman says throw out the three restrictor-plate races and he's jostling down the stretch for a high seed in the Chase and not a long shot at making the field.

Newman also said he hasn't spoken to Joey Logano since the two drivers tangled on the track at Michigan International Speedway.

Logano's car got loose and tapped the left rear fender of Newman's car, causing Newman to spin out with 53 laps remaining. Newman confronted Logano after the race, but NASCAR officials stepped in before the situation escalated.

"When somebody crashes you and tells you you're to blame, that's the end of the story," Newman said. "What else do you say? ... When somebody crashes you, you just say, 'Hey man I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get into you.' He never said that." - By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer  - AP