Reutimann will drive the No. 00 car for the final three races of the season before being replaced by Martin, who will be sponsored by Aaron’s, whose deal with the team runs through 2012. Sources confirmed Thursday that Martin will join the team next year and run a majority of the races but not all of them.

MWR has a news conference scheduled for Friday morning at Texas Motor Speedway.

He announced his intentions on Twitter and the response from the motor sports community was immediate and overwhelming. It didn't take Rahal long to realize he alone couldn't handle the outpouring of support for Wheldon, the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner killed in the Oct. 16 race at Las Vegas.

More than $200,000 had been raised by Wednesday, the ninth day of the auction, with many big-ticket items yet to be posted. All proceeds go to a trust fund established by IndyCar for Wheldon's wife and two young sons.

Chris Lencheski

He has joined the Comcast-Spectacor family of companies as President of Front Row Marketing Services (FRMS and its' sister group Front Row Analytics - FRA). FRMS is one of the Comcast-Spectacor operating companies and part of the $4 billion USD Comcast-Spectacor revenue base. 

Comcast-Spectacor is part of the Comcast Corporation, which has many "oars" in the sports and entertainment water, from the NBC Network, the many national cable channels from "E" Entertainment Network, Versus (rebranding as NBC Sports Network on January 1, 2012), The Golf Network to "G4" and many regional sports networks (CSN's) in most every major city in the USA.  Comcast is a dynamic cog in how and why the consumer engages with sports and entertainment these days, with the best yet to come.

About FRMS and FRA;  The COI (Contractually Obligated Income) Rights Company and serve many Fortune 500 companies, advising and developing sports and entertainment strategies that allow for quantifiable ROI on their respective spend-amounts and related decisions.  We specifically develop spend strategies within the Global-Spectrum managed Stadia, Arenas, and other Public  Assembly Venues worldwide.  We deliver industry accredited analytics, but more importantly we can sell against this research to unprecedented levels.  FRMS and FRA is the only such global research company that uses "Analytics" to not only support selling, but also offer selling as an option for customer engagements.  In short - corporate clients, sports and entertainment properties, team owners, brand managers, movie studios, etc., can see around the proverbial corner by using FRMS and FRA and this allows for better and more proactive decision making.

Rheem has completed a multi-year agreement with Richard Childress Racing (RCR) to be the primary sponsor of the No. 29 Chevrolet driven by Kevin Harvick for 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series® points races as well as being the co-primary sponsor with Budweiser for NASCAR's annual mid-season All-Star race over the term of the agreement. Rheem will also be a major associate sponsor of the No. 29 Chevrolet for the remaining 26 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in which Budweiser or Jimmy John's are the primary sponsor. Rheem will continue its co-sponsorship with Menards® of RCR's No. 33 Chevrolet driven by Paul Menard and others in the NASCAR Nationwide Series® for 12 races in the 2012 season.

Under terms of the agreement, HPD will provide its new, turbocharged 2.2-liter Honda Indy V-6 engines to all Rahal Letterman Lanigan entries in the IZOD IndyCar Series and at the 2012 Indianapolis 500.

"Many fans already know that the roots of Honda's relationship with Bobby Rahal and his team extend to our initial entry into American open-wheel racing in the early 1990s," said Erik Berkman, president of Honda Performance Development and vice president, corporate planning and logistics for American Honda. 

Looking to move quickly past that transition stage is 2011 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear champion Tristan Vautier.

Vautier got to spend some time in a Firestone Indy Lights car on Oct. 28-29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and exceeded expectations when he set the fastest lap of the two-day session by more than a half-second while driving for Andretti Autosport.

RLL is pleased to announce Tom Anderson as its President of Racing Operations today, bringing the veteran of more than 40 years in the racing world onto the Ohio-based team. Anderson began his career in 1969, but is more well-known for his successes as the Managing Director at Chip Ganassi Racing beginning in 1990 where he helped guide the team to four consecutive Indy Car championships in the CART series.

Fabien Giroix heads the team's efforts with partners Jean-Pierre Valentini and Frederic Fatien. Fatien was announced as one of the team's drivers.

Gulf has bases both in the UAE at the Dubai Autodrome, while it will also run its WEC program from its existing base in Magny-Cours, France.

Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe and Will Power will all return to Team Penske next season, keeping in place the same driver lineup that the team has fielded since 2009. Next season will mark the third consecutive year that Team Penske will compete with three full-season IndyCar entries. Since 2009, Team Penske has generated an impressive 21 wins and 28 poles in IZOD IndyCar Series competition between the three drivers.

The suit, the first to be filed after the Sept. 16 crash, claims the Reno Air Racing Association’s conduct was “motivated out of a drive for profit and a disregard for safety” making it guilty of negligence.

The suit was filed in the Collin County, Texas, District Court by Houston-based lawyer Anthony Buzbee on behalf of Dr. Sezen Altug, wife of Craig Salerno, who was killed instantly in the Sept. 16 crash.

“It’s pretty obvious that the promoters of this event realized it was dangerous and even though they were involved in inspecting the aircraft, they did not take adequate precautions to protect spectators, or let the spectators know what the real risks were,” Buzbee said.

In a media statement, it was confirmed that the Colin Kolles-led team has extended its technical tie-up with Williams, which in 2011 featured the supply of the gearbox.

"Williams F1 will also supply the team with KERS and its related technology for the first time", said HRT.

The team said the 2012 car, F112, is being designed in Munich.

"We are working on thoroughly improving the performance of our cars and our target is still to finish in the top ten in 2012," said Kolles.  "This deal brings us one step closer to that objective."

Since the economy is not showing the signs of recovery that many corporations would like, they are scaling back on what might be considered frivolous spending. And with the rates demanded by Sprint Cup teams, sponsorship is one of those expenses easily written off.

In just the most recent days, Roush Fenway Racing has stated their intention to scale back from four cars to three in 2012. Package deliverer UPS, sponsor of RFR’s #6 Ford, will become an associate backer of Carl Edwards’ #99 rather than a primary sponsor.

Two premier road courses will host the tripleheader rounds. Dates have been secured at the historic 3.7-mile, 17-turn Sebring International Raceway circuit in Sebring, Fla., on February 6 and 7 alongside the IMSA Development Series Winter Test featuring the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship Powered by Mazda and IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge classes. The event is a prelude to the American Le Mans Series Winter Test on February 8 and 9.

No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge in 2011... After 33 points-paying events, Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team are ranked fourth in the 2011 Chase for the Championship standings. Keselowski sits 27 points behind leader Carl Edwards following a 17th-place finish in the Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway last Sunday afternoon.

Japanese Yamaha test rider and All Japan Superbike competitor Katsuyuki Nakasuga will make his second appearance in the MotoGP premier class on behalf of 2010 World Champion Lorenzo.

Yamaha Factory Racing’s rider line up for the 1000cc test next week will be confirmed on Monday 7th November.

“We never ended the discussion with the government from last summer, and now it’s a different group that will have the discussion,” Dumontier said Wednesday. “When we announced that the event would be maintained, the levels of government welcomed it as a good thing.

“We signed the agreement (with NASCAR) to continue the race knowing we didn’t have any public funding,” Dumontier added. “But the event is important for Montreal and Quebec, and for sure in the next few weeks I will have those discussions.”

The annual Industry Roundtable is one of a variety of events open to attendees of the 24th Annual PRI Trade Show, which will run from Dec. 1-3 in Orlando.  There is no cost for credentialed attendees.

FOX and SPEED television commentator and former NASCAR crew chief great Jeff Hammond returns as the event moderator again this year.

Ed Carpenter Racing to run full IndyCar season in 2012

“I am extremely excited about the opportunities that lie ahead with Ed Carpenter Racing,” stated Carpenter. “Team ownership is something that I have thought about for quite a long time, and is now becoming a reality as a result of a great relationship with Fuzzy and Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka. I don’t know that I ever thought that I would have the opportunity to be an owner/driver, but when an opportunity like this comes along, you can’t pass it up. I can’t wait to get to work and begin building this team for not only 2012, but beyond.”

"The negotiations began during the NAPA 200 in August," said the 27-year race car driving veteran. "When Ray "Junior" Courtemanche., a driver himself with the NASCAR Canadian Tire series, came to me with this amazing offer, we talked about all the possibilities and quickly came to an agreement.

"It was a great opportunity for Anick, our two kids and I to return to Québec and to my hometown," added Carpentier. "I decided to team up with Construction Danam Bonzaï because of their industry expertise and their solid reputation, as evidenced by the Maitre batisseur awards and distinctions they've earned in the Luxury Home and Condominium categories. The Joliette project is off to a good start and we're developing another project in the Montreal area: inter-generational homes in an exclusive area with a one-of-a-kind cachet.

“It’s a great honor if we are able to achieve 300 wins in NASCAR,” said Roush Fenway co-owner Jack Roush. “Certainly we had hoped when we started the race team in 1988 that we would win our share of the races. I had hoped to be able to survive in a business that I recognized to be very hostile and very competitive.”

The WTCC, one of the four World Championships ruled by the Federation International de l’Automobile, features the best in touring car racing with models such as BMW, Chevrolet, SEAT and Volvo. There were 12 events on the 2011 calendar across Europe, South America and Asia.

But the WTCC has never visited the United States. That will change in 2012 as Infineon Raceway hosts the WTCC, Sept. 21-23, on its 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course. The WTCC has a three-year agreement with the Sonoma Valley facility (2012-2014). Support races for the 2012 race weekend will be announced at a later date.

Michele LaRosa

The team's ambition will be supported by a top-notch technical staff led by Franco Sighinolfi, a technical director with broad experience in both single-seaters and Sportscars. The team first official commitment will happen as early as tomorrow, as the outfit will take part in the Magione testing sessions with two cars and four drivers. One car will be driven by La Rosa himself and by Giacomo Ricci, who was called to provide a good technical feedback thanks to his GP2 experience.

Sam Michael

The Australian left Williams at the end of September after a lengthy spell as its technical director, having agreed a deal to join McLaren as its sporting director.

At the time it was unclear how long Michael would have to spend on 'gardening leave', while he served out the terms of his old contract.

Subaru BZR

Subaru has been teasing us with its BRZ coupe for ages. A couple of teaser pictures here and there and spy shots are all we’ve had, but now the Japanese firm has released the first official pictures of the car.

Sibling to the Toyota FT-86, more and more information about which is being leaked every day, the Subaru BRZ boasts an incredibly low centre of gravity and that should make it a handling gem. This is in part thanks to its rear-wheel-drive layout, which allows for lower mounting of the two-liter boxer mill than Subaru’s usual all-wheel-drive systems can accommodate.

Does everyone remember how the IRL constantly touted their close finishes? They would send out PR stuff all the time comparing how much closer their finishes were compared to those in ChampCar, F1, and NASCAR. They would push it like crazy to try and attract the casual fan to this “exciting” form of racing that always yielded such close finishes. Keeping track and promoting their top 5 closest finishes was never left out of any IRL broadcast.

The Martinsville race marked the sixth year-to-year ratings increase in the past seven Truck Series races.  The event also saw an increase of 58-percent among M35-54 (0.71 vs. 0.45) and 40-percent among M18-49 (0.42 vs. 0.30). 

Coughlin, along with engine builders Nick Ferri and Roy Simmons, have been working closely with motorsports experts at Chrysler Technology Center (CTC) for the past several months to prepare for a full-scale assault on the Full Throttle Championship.

F1 does not yet resonate with India companies

The teams are mostly happy with F1’s newest hosts and believe they have chanced upon a huge untapped market in one of the world’s fastest growing economies.

“We wanted to also attract Indian companies and it is surprising that there are not many, as yet, in F1, although from the financial potential they are very much capable of doing it,” Sauber chief executive Monisha Kaltenborn said.

Timo Glock in the Virgin car in Korea

F1 team sources said on Tuesday that the request would be put to a meeting of the governing FIA's Formula One commission in Geneva on Thursday along with others already made by Renault and Team Lotus.

Renault, no longer owned by the French carmaker, want to be renamed Lotus while Team Lotus plan to take the name of niche sportscar maker Caterham.

The Russian joins a star-studded field that includes three F1 world champions for ROC 2011 at Düsseldorf’s ESPRIT arena on December 3-4

The 2011 Race Of Champions will feature the event’s first ever driver from Eastern Europe as Russian Formula 1 star Vitaly Petrov will compete at Düsseldorf’s ESPRIT arena in December.

The first Bridgestone Karting Classic is being run in conjunction with the third annual International Motorsports Industry Show held at the Indiana Convention Center Dec. 8-10.

NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart, Austin Dillon and A.J. Allmendinger along with IndyCar racers Scott Dixon and Alex Tagliani will headline the field, said IMIS co-founder Chris Paulsen. IMIS officials expect about six drivers from NASCAR and six from IndyCar to line up for the indoor go-kart race billed as a duel between the two series.

Hendrick and his wife, Linda, and the two pilots were all released from Lower Keys Medical Center on Tuesday morning. They have returned to North Carolina, according to a team statement. Linda suffered minor cuts and bruises in the incident, which occurred at about 7:45 p.m. Monday. The team statement said the pilots did not have any injuries.

The Gulfstream G150 jet, operated and maintained by Hendrick Motorsports as part of a joint ownership agreement between the team owner and five-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, seats eight to nine people and typically is the plane that Johnson takes to-and-from the race, Johnson said in a teleconference Tuesday.

"There's a lot for race fans to be excited about heading into the 2012 season," said Brad Scott, general manager of New Jersey Motorsports Park. "Next season will mark the fifth anniversary of GRAND-AM Road Racing at NJMP, and we hope the new mid-May race date will give us a great weather forecast.

Quicken Loans will be the primary sponsor of SHR's No. 39 team and driver Ryan Newman for nine races in 2012, and when not serving as a primary sponsor, will be an associate sponsor. Additionally, Quicken Loans will be an associate sponsor on the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala of Stewart throughout the 2012 Sprint Cup season.

After the squad claimed both world titles as Brawn GP in 2009, Nico Rosberg racked up three podium finishes in 2010 although neither he nor team-mate Michael Schumacher have been able to reach the rostrum this year.

“A strong result for our team, considering the possibilities that our technical package currently has,” Haug, Mercedes’ Vice President for Motorsport, said of Sunday’s Indian Grand Prix. “It is satisfying for everybody to extract the maximum and to achieve the best possible result. Our lap times looked consistent throughout the race, which shows that we handled the tires well and found a setup which suited the track.”

Vickers spins on Sunday and was more than happy to retaliate against Kenseth at end of race.

Vickers is not all that concerned that his retaliation against Kenseth impacted the finish of the race. He just wishes Kenseth had not already been running 30th when he chose to take him out.

Beyond that, Vickers believes that four of the five incidents he was involved in weren’t his fault. He left Martinsville frustrated but happy that he drove his heavily damaged car to eighth place before his initial wreck with Kenseth on lap 458 of the Tums Fast Relief 500.

Wallace, a determined auto racer, scored over 400 feature race victories on Midwestern short tracks in the 1960s and 1970s, making him one of the region's most feared drivers of the time.  He eventually spawned what has become one of racing's most well-known families, including three winners in NASCAR's National Series: Rusty, Mike and Kenny Wallace.

In February, 2011, Russ Wallace's family became the first in NASCAR history to have produced four Daytona 500 competitors.  When grandson Steve Wallace qualified for the February event, he broke a longtime tie with the Petty, Allison, Earnhardt and Bodine families.

Now that he is a team owner he does not believe in retaliation on the race track, which would cost him money.  He prefers to bloody a lip or two back in the garage area

Stewart, who intentionally wrecked Brian Vickers earlier this year at Sonoma, has said all season that drivers are showing less and less respect on the track.

Stewart says drivers don’t confront each other personally after an on-track incident because they are afraid of negative media exposure and NASCAR penalties, and that just causes hard feelings to brew and eventually leads to retaliation.

Coupled with NASCAR’s “boys have at it” policy, and Stewart is confused about what is acceptable and what is not.

Whether you agree or disagree with his analysis, you will find it an interesting read, and rather credible.

The Super Weekend (July 26-29) will welcome the NASCAR Nationwide and GRAND-AM Road Racing Series for the first time ever at IMS as they join the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for an unforgettable four days of on-track activity featuring four races in three days.

Ticket prices have been reduced from $165 to $150 in the E & B Penthouse for the 2012 Crown Royal Presents "You're Hero's Name Here" 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday, July 29. Seats in the A Penthouse, Northwest Vista Deck, Northeast Vista Deck, Southeast Vista Deck, South Vista Deck (sections 1-4) and Southwest Vista Deck will be reduced from $160 to $150.

One of the main purposes of the Regional Growth Fund is to support growth within the UK manufacturing sector. Lotus recognized that the Government was seeking applications which would enable private sector organizations to invest in projects that would create jobs and secure long-term growth. Lotus’ growth plans are completely aligned with the Fund’s objectives and will go some way towards rebalancing employment between the public and private sector in the South Norfolk region.

The grant will be put to good use supporting the industrial research element of the production of Lotus’ future product range. This significant development will go towards ensuring that the manufacturing of future Lotus products remains in the UK for the foreseeable future and in the process create a considerable number of new jobs over the next five to six years.

The 2007 world champion, having driven mainly in world rally but also Nascar-style racing since leaving Ferrari two years ago, is being strongly linked with a comeback with the Williams team.

New reports, including in the major Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, claim the 32-year-old has been training hard for the past four months to get back into shape for F1.

"It would be nice to see him do it," F1 chief executive Ecclestone told Finnish broadcaster MTV3.  "I am not sure if he is serious about it."

Throughout the Indian grand prix weekend, Williams chairman Adam Parr batted away the Raikkonen speculation.

Lola LMP designs took another 1-2-3 podium clean-sweep of the podium that weekend, as Dyson Racing's Chris Dyson, Guy Smith and Jay Cochran celebrated winning the teams’ title with the #16 Dyson Racing Lola-Mazda, finishing in second place to the Aston Martin powered Lola driven by Stefan Mucke, Harold Primat and Adrian Fernandez. The Oryx Dyson entered Lola-Mazda of Steven Kane, Hamed Al Massoad and Butch Leitzinger took a richly merited third place. Chris Dyson and Guy Smith made it a triple title celebration by also taking the drivers’ championship with a round to spare.

The 36-year-old has been drafted in by the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad because Edwards is unable to participate in Valencia while he recovers from injuries sustained during the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang on October 23.

Why will the rule only be in effect the remainder of this year, why not forever?  Only in NASCAR!

Irvan, a native of Monterey, Calif., suffered a concussion, a neck strain and a medial collateral ligament strain in his right knee.  He suffered the neck and knee injuries and lost consciousness as a result of being hit by the No. 5 car of Mark Martin on pit road during a pit stop early in the race. Irvan was transported by ambulance to the hospital after an initial evaluation in the infield care center. X-rays and a CT scan performed at the hospital were negative for more severe injuries.

Timo Glock

“I just came down into Turn 1 on the outside and, all of a sudden, I saw bits flying around,” Glock recalled. “I braked a bit earlier than normal and, when I turned, Kamui Kobayashi suddenly drove straight into me and I couldn’t avoid the crash.

Bortolotti swept the weekend

Spaniard Ramon Pinero finished just behind the Italian during the final race of the season but narrowly missed out on second place in the championship by just four points to Swiss driver Christopher Zanella who finished seventh.

Romanian Mihai Marinescu secured his fourth podium from the last six races with third spot, just ahead of local driver Miki Monras who ended his debut F2 season fourth overall.

Narain Karthikeyan

The Indian lost his seat to the Red Bull-backed Daniel Ricciardo earlier this season, but was back at the wheel in Delhi for a one-off return at his home race.

His teammate for the Delhi weekend was Ricciardo, and despite not driving since June Karthikeyan came within a hair's breadth of outqualifying the Australian.

And in the race, Karthikeyan beat Ricciardo to the checkered flag.

David Ragan

"With a competitive team," he said.

"I'm not going to be in a back-marker car just to say I'm driving a Sprint Cup car," Ragan, who won his first Cup race at Daytona in July, said.

"I'm not too proud to go back to the Nationwide Series and contend for a championship. Ragan, 25, is under contract to Roush Fenway for 2012, meaning Roush could "loan" the driver to another Ford organization next season. But he said it's not a given that he would end up with a Ford team. Scene Daily

Bortolotti

Meanwhile Miki Monras secured third during the closely fought dry qualifying session at the 4.655km Circuit de Catalunya - venue for the final race of the season at 14:00 (local time) today.

As the session got underway it was 19-year-old Monras setting the pace lapping in the 1min 39s while Bortolotti and Pineiro remained in the pits.

• Jean Todt

  F1 must accept move to new markets - Todt
• Battle for millions is further down India grid
• Force India trio to learn 2012 fate by Abu Dhabi
• 'Delhi belly' strikes McLaren team members
• Red Bull lost front wing before Ferrari 'flutter'
• Brawn puts job on line for Mercedes success
• Hamilton accepts the risks of racing
• Schumacher also accepts risk of racing

F1 must accept move to new markets - Todt
(GMM)  Jean Todt says he supports formula one's push out of Europe into new markets.

The FIA president was speaking at India's new Buddh circuit, amid some observers' fears that the sport is steadily walking away from its traditional hosts and venues.