3" Collector's Edition DVD First And Only Movie About Racing Legend Dale Earnhardt

Charter NASCAR Sponsorship to Include Nextel Cup and Busch Series
January 11

National Guard Partnership in Nextel Cup Series and Full Busch Series Aimed at Boosting Charter Charter Communications, Inc. Monday announced an expansion of its NASCAR profile for the 2005 season with sponsorships in both the Nextel Cup Series and the Busch Series. Charter will once again sponsor a full Busch Series slate with the No. 60 Charter Ford Taurus. The Company will also serve as an associate sponsor for the No.16 National Guard car in Nextel Cup Series races. Both sponsorships are in affiliation with Roush Racing, the team that's been home to the Nextel Cup Series Champion for the last two seasons.

"We're excited about renewing our partnership with Roush and once again being a part of NASCAR," said Carl Vogel, Charter President and Chief Executive Officer. "In so many of the markets Charter serves, NASCAR is the premier sporting event. It provides a vehicle that appeals to our customers and potential customers, fits well with our business partners and is fun for our employees."

As an associate sponsor for the No.16 National Guard Ford, to be driven again by Greg Biffle, Charter will have its logo prominently featured on the car and on driver and crew uniforms throughout the season. For a handful of races in key Charter markets, the No. 16 will feature a dedicated Charter paint scheme as Biffle looks to build on a successful 2004 campaign, in which he won two Nextel Cup Series races and became the first NASCAR driver to ever race full seasons in both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series in the same year. "We plan on maximizing our NASCAR investment," said Vogel. "NASCAR was a winner for us last year and with what we've learned, we plan on our sponsorship paying even bigger dividends in 2005."

With Biffle cutting back on his Busch Series schedule in 2005, relative newcomer Carl Edwards will drive the No. 60 Charter Ford Taurus. In 2004 Edwards finished fourth in the Craftsman Truck Series point standings and took home five top-10 finishes in his 13 Nextel Cup starts, including a third-place effort at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

A native of Columbia, Mo., Edwards joined Roush racing in 2003. He wasted little time in making his mark on the Truck Series Circuit by winning three races and securing the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award with an eighth-place finish in the point standings. Recognizing his talent, Jack Roush quickly promoted him to the Nextel Cup Series late in the 2004 season and he is scheduled to follow in teammate Biffle's footsteps as he sets out to compete full-time in both series in 2005.

"Carl Edwards is definitely one of NASCAR's rising stars," said Roush Racing Chairman Jack Roush. "Charter is getting a driver with the skills and determination to have a big impact in both Busch and Nextel Cup racing."

LaJoie to drive No. 98 Nextel Cup ride
January 11

MACH 1 has signed NASCAR veteran and two-time Busch Series champion Randy LaJoie to drive the No. 98 car for the 2005 Nextel Cup season.

"I am extremely pleased to have Randy officially join our team. He ran the last three races of 2004 with us. Randy and I continued to talk during the offseason concerning the direction of MACH 1 and his goals as a driver," team owner Chris Edwards said. "He expressed interest in a full time Cup ride and I was searching for a quality driver to put in the seat. I'm glad it worked out for both of us. This is our second year in the Cup series, Randy's experience in our sport will add immediate value to our entire organization."

LaJoie has three top-10 finishes in 41 Cup races. His best finish was a fifth-place showing at Martinsville in April 1998.

He won the Busch championship in 1996 and '97, when he tallied 10 of his 15 career Busch victories.

LaJoie also has competed in seven Truck Series races during the past two years.

"I'm looking forward to getting into the No. 98. I've been in this business for some time now and one thing is for sure, you never stop learning. The rule changes are constant so you have to stay on top of your game to be competitive," LaJoie said.

"I'm excited that this comes only two weeks after my full-time Busch Series ride announcement was made. I hope that what I learn in the Busch car will transfer over to my Cup ride. Any additional time on the track does nothing but help me as a driver. I'm focused on becoming a better driver and helping MACH 1 become competitive and succeed in the Nextel Cup Series."

LaJoie will be at Daytona this week as part of the first of two test sessions for Cup cars as MACH 1 continues to search for sponsorship both from a primary and associate level.

Spoiler change factored into Charger design, but won't give Dodge an advantage
By Larry MCReynolds
CrewChiefClub.com, January 11

After four years, the Dodge teams felt they had milked the Intrepid for all it was worth in terms of reducing the drag at Daytona and Talladega and finding the right balance at the downforce tracks.

Dieter Zetsche (L), Chrysler Group President, and Chief Executive Officer, NASCAR racing legend Richard Petty (C) and Kasey Kahne, NASCAR's 2004 rookie of the year, pose at the 2005 North American International Auto show in Detroit, Michigan, January 10, 2005. Kahne will be driving the new Dodge Charger race car when it debuts at the Daytona 500 in February. The Chargers history in NASCAR REUTERS/Gregory Shamus

All manufacturers create new cars with lower drag than the last car so they will be a little better on qualifying day at Daytona. At the same time, they try to create the best balance between front and rear downforce at the downforce tracks.

The Charger probably first appeared on the drawing board a year and a half to two years ago, and Dodge probably started building the car well over a year ago. Developing a new car has gotten tougher as NASCAR puts teams in a tight box with rules and templates. The nose, tail and quarter-window shape may look different, but the car probably won't be significantly different because 18 to 20 of NASCAR's 30-something templates are the same from make to make. The 18 to 20 templates that fit the Intrepid will fit the Charger, too.

Last fall, one of the Dodge crew chiefs told me NASCAR's spoiler change was factored into the Charger as it was built. I was surprised that NASCAR announced the 2005 spoiler change as early as it did in the 2004 season (Aug. 18), and I'm proud of them. As a crew chief, I jumped up and down for 18 years, asking NASCAR to establish a deadline for announcing changes that would be similar to Major League Baseball, NBA and NFL trading deadlines. Just draw a line in the sand whether it's August 1 or September 1. By a certain date, all rules will be in place for the coming year. They must have heard my plea.

But I'm still quite confident that the pendulum won't swing very far from the middle, and none of the manufacturers will have a huge advantage by any Dodge, Chevrolet or Ford.

ORIGINAL STORY-Fox Sports

Atwood contract terms were pretty favorable
by Larry Woody
the Tennessean,January 11

Nashville's Casey Atwood received an annual salary of $240,000 and other lucrative benefits as a NASCAR Busch Series driver, according to a lawsuit filed against his former team.

In addition to his salary from FitzBradshaw Racing, Atwood also received 40% of the team's winnings, which last season totaled $629,070 for the 29 races in which Atwood competed.

Other benefits Atwood received under the contract:

• A one-third share of all net revenues from the team's souvenir sales.

• $3,500 for each personal appearance.

• A rental car for each race weekend.

• Air travel and lodging expenses.

• Unspecified ''competition incentives.''

NASCAR teams keep their financial arrangements secret. Only during lawsuits in which a team's finances are made public record is such information disclosed.

Atwood, 24, was dismissed with five races left in the season and now claims he has not received the compensation he was due under terms of the contact. He filed suit last week in a Nashville court against the Mooresville, N.C.–based team owned by Pro Football Hall of Fame member Terry Bradshaw and former Vanderbilt football player Armando Fitz.

Atwood is seeking an unspecified dollar amount, but is not claiming any potential lost future earnings or damage to his reputation that could affect his racing career, according to his attorney, John Reynolds.

Reynolds said the suit could take as long as nine months to settle. Atwood, who has yet to land a ride for this season, can negotiate with other teams while the suit is being heard.

Atwood has been unavailable for comment but his father Terry said, ''All we want is the money that Casey was promised and has never received.''

Fitz acknowledged that Atwood is owed money. He said he is prepared to pay him ''everything he is entitled to'' if Atwood will sign a release relieving the team of any further obligation.

The legal battle will center around the definition of ''entitled.'' Since Atwood's job was terminated before the season was completed, what is he due?

The team is sponsored by the U.S. Navy. The value of the sponsorship is not disclosed in the Atwood suit since the deal is with the team owners and does not involve the driver.

Such sponsorships in the Busch Series reportedly run as high as $5 million a year.

Fitz, pointing out that the team was winless last season, said the sponsor had become dissatisfied with the performance.

''We were about to lose our sponsor,'' Fitz said. ''It (releasing Atwood) was never personal.

''Casey is a great kid and I think the world of him, but we got to the point where we had to make a change for the sake of the team.''

Atwood began racing in NASCAR's top divisions as a teenager and has won approximately $5 million.

At one time he was on pace to become one of the sport's next young superstars, but three years ago he lost his ride in the Winston Cup Series (now Nextel Cup) then was released from his Busch Series team last fall.

ORIGINAL STORY-The Tennessean

Robby Gordon finishes fourth in latest Dakar stage
January 11

Jutta Kleinschmidt maintained her third place in the Dakar Rally by finishing third on the stage around Atar on Monday.

On a tricky stage containing countless dune crossings, as well as passes, camel grass and a dry lake, Kleinschmidt and co-driver Fabrizia Pons again finished third on the day, just as they had on the fifth and seventh stages, although she saw the gap to the leading Mitsubishi of stage winner Stephane Peterhansel increase when she was forced to stop in the dunes.

"I survived the loop well and am satisfied to be third still,” Kleinschmidt said. “Thanks to Robby's assistance we lost around five minutes less than we would have normally needed to dig ourselves out of the sand. At the same time I let the tyre pressure down a little, which was an advantage in the soft dunes later. Towards the end we lost our bearings briefly and lost the way and ended up driving for about 20 kilometres off the normal track.”

Robby Gordon came home again in the leading group in fourth place with his German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz in another Race-Touareg, the NASCAR star an impressive fourth on the stage to sit in eleventh place overall on his first Dakar.

"Finishing fourth is a good result – particularly as we stopped repeatedly today,” the American said. “We spent about five minutes at the scene of Grégoire de Mevius' accident, later we helped Jutta after she had got bogged down. Dirk's navigation was again excellent, although there were several tough calls in the first third of the roadbook.”

Team colleague Bruno Saby, previously ninth overall, lost some time due to a small problem with the gear shift mechanism at the beginning of the 483 kilometre stage, but due to problems for others he ended the day in sixth place overall. Juha Kankkunen, the fourth Volkswagen works driver, sits in 40th place having lost major amounts of time earlier in the event.

With Kleinschmidt maintaining her place near the front, and all four Touaregs still in the race, VW motorsport director Kris Nissen was a happy man.

"Jutta drove well and maintained her excellent overall position on yet another punishing stage,” he said. “Our strategy paid off completely: Robby follows Jutta, to be in a position to offer support immediately. So he helped her today when she got bogged down. At the same time Juha is Bruno's wingman – this also paid off today when there was a small problem with the gear shift.”