NASCAR NEWS

Carl Edwards Wins Atlanta

"Will Carl Edwards Catch Jimmie Johnson?

Carl Edwards knows the only way to catch, and pass Jimmie Johnson, in the Sprint Cup Championship Chase is to win races.

And he did just that on Sunday, he took his first checkered flag in the Sprint Cup Chase in Sunday's Sprint Cup Series "Pep Boys Auto 500" at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Even with the win, Edwards moved up two spots in the standings, but he was only able to pick up 15 points on Jimmie Johnson, who wound up finishing second.

Edwards said, "Man, Jimmie's magic, We've got to win those next three and hope for the best."

This was Edwards' third at Atlanta, and now his best track on the circuit based on wins. It was his seventh of the season.

The process has begun for the NASCAR Nationwide Series' new car.

The new car made its first test debut on the 3/4 mile track at Richmond International Raceway, Richmond Virginia.

It moved to Lowe's Motor Speedway, to test on one of eight 1.5-mile tracks that plays host to the series.

Robin Pemberton said, "Things have progressed quite nicely, NASCAR's vice president of competition. All of the manufacturers are out there today with the teams used at the test at Richmond last month. It's early yet, but everything's quite favorable. The car turns well in the middle of the corner and they just continue to work on it."

"The teams are fairly happy right now with the way the test has gone for the first half of the first day."

A total of seven teams representing the series four manufacturers were on track for Monday’s test, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates; JD Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress Racing; Roush Fenway Racing (two teams) and Michael Waltrip Racing. All but JGR were at Richmond for the inaugural test.

Pemberton said the number of participating teams was on par with previous tests for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series new car. While six or seven cars may seem to be a low number, several drivers have moved between the cars in order to get track time in the new car.

The new car testing for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Michigan International Speedway in 2006, Pemberton said there were 12 cars involved in the tests.

NASCAR announced that Camping World will sponsor the NASCAR Truck Series beginning in 2009. Camping World will replace the long time Truck Series sponsor Craftsman, which had been the only title sponsor since the The NASCAR Truck Series began in 1995.

A seven-year agreement gives Camping World the exclusive rights to sponsor the series. The Truck series has built its reputation on being very competitive with good tough racing.

Camping World will enjoy the support of the most brand-loyal fans in all of sports, including the millions of fans who attend races races every year.

The series features 25 points events at 23 tracks across North America. All NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races will be broadcast live on SPEED or FOX which will result in over one hundred million dollars worth of exposure for the new sponsor.

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said,“Camping World has a unique connection to the sport and to the NASCAR fans, Camping and tailgating is an essential part of the NASCAR race experience.

Thousands of RVs and campers pack the campgrounds at every NASCAR event, often for three or four days at a time. This makes Camping World the perfect match for the NASCAR Truck Series.”