Magnussen tests for Hendrick

Sportscar racer Jan Magnussen drove a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car this week for Hendrick Motorsports in a private session at Kershaw, South Carolina.

The former Formula 1 driver completed a test run for NASCAR's top team at the Carolina Motorsports Park road course facility last Tuesday, as part of Hendrick's research and development programme.

The test came via Magnussen's ties with General Motors through the American Le Mans Series, where he drives a Corvette C6.R in the GT class. The former 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner had already tested privately for the team before, and was called up again to assist with its road course preparations.

"I can't even explain how great it is for me to have the opportunity to test for Hendrick Motorsports" said Magnussen. "NASCAR is the biggest series in the US and when you get a call from the absolute top team, it's hard to hide my enthusiasm.

"I was just invited for a single test with no development work last year, but this led to another one, which of course I'm really pleased and proud about.

"Driving a NASCAR is a wild experience. Having 900hp available and no traction control, you get wheelspin no matter what gear you are in, so it's really a car you have to work with, which I love.

"I have never made a secret of the fact that I wanted to try NASCAR, which is just as difficult as reaching Formula 1, so just to test for Hendrick Motorsports is fantastic."

A team spokesman for Hendrick Motorsports said the door is open for Magnussen to do further tests with them.

Hendrick has a record of using single-seater and sportscar drivers to develop its cars, most recently running Italian Max Papis, who went on to make the switch from testing for Hendrick to being a full-time Sprint Cup racer, now driving a Toyota Camry for Germain Racing in NASCAR's top series.

Besides his American Le Mans commitments, Magnussen is lined up again for this year's Le Mans 24 Hours with Corvette, while he is also competing in the Danish and Scandinavian Touring Car championship. He has also raced in Grand-Am, most recently at Barber Motorsports Park in the GT class at the wheel of a Chevy Camaro.

Stewart open to adding third carXavi’s Barca joy

Rain postpones NASCAR to Monday

Rain around the Fort Worth area has forced NASCAR officials to postpone Sunday's NASCAR races at Texas Motor Speedway until Monday.

For the second time this year, the Sprint Cup Series will race on a Monday, as the eighth round of the year has been rescheduled to start at 12 noon Eastern Time in the US tomorrow.

The Nationwide Series event had already been postponed from Saturday for the same reasons, and was set to start once the Cup race was finished on Sunday.

Now it has been set to start at 5pm Eastern Time on Monday, which means a total of 15 drivers are set to race for at least 801 miles on the same day, as more than a third of the Cup field is on double-duty this weekend.

Drivers will face a green track, relaying only on the information gathered during the first practice session of the weekend on Friday, as Saturday's sessions were cancelled due to rain as well.

Weather forecasts show a maximum 20 per cent chance of rain for Monday.

Fabregas snr - No Real meetingRain postpones NASCAR to Monday

Montoya eager for change of luck

Juan Pablo Montoya is hoping for an end to his run of bad results, as he languishes in 25th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings after the first six races.

The Earnhardt Ganassi racer has shown speed through the start of his fourth season in NASCAR, but technical issues and incidents have cost him points.

Montoya was among the title contenders last year when he was one of 12 drivers in contention for the title during the series' play-off. He admits his poor results have hit him hard in the points.

"For us, at this point, we want to start finishing some races," said Montoya at Phoenix today. "We have been having such bad luck that it is hard. Out of six races we have had four pretty much DNF - 30-something place finishes. It makes it hard for points. We have fast race cars every week and we should be good here."

Montoya has led four of the first six races of the year, and finished third at Atlanta, but an engine failure at California, contact with his team-mate Jaime McMurray at Las Vegas, a multi-car pile-up at Bristol and a tyre failure at Marstinville have left him already 171 points away from 12th place in the standings.

He expects his string of bad results could finally come to an end this weekend at Phoenix, where he will be starting from seventh place on the grid, as he believes his team's performance has shown it deserves much better.

"We are a top-five team, easily," Montoya said. "We run in the top five every week. We're there. Always one of the fastest cars in practice, qualifying even at race pace. But, we had blown tyres last week, the week before, something else happened, they wrecked in front of us. The week before we had a good week.

"There is always something. Blown motors. Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong so far. Hopefully it will change a little in the next few weeks."

The former Formula 1 race-winner believes neither his team nor he have made any costly mistakes and reckons that issues out of their control are to blame for their misfortunes thus far. Although he says it is still early to panic about being left out of this year's Chase for the title, he admits he cannot afford any more bad races.

"I think it is going to get to a point you either know you are in it or you are out of it," said Montoya. "You take it race by race, score as many points as you can and see what happens. It is completely out of our control. We come here and they wreck and we have nowhere to go.

"We haven't really made a mistake ourselves to say, 'this one is on us' yet. I don't feel we have. It can happen and that would really set us even further back."

Montoya's team-mate McMurray won the season-opening Daytona 500 but similar results to Montoya subsequently have already dropped him to 19th place in the standings.

Montoya eager for change of luckRonaldo harbours title hope

Rain hands Piquet ARCA pole

Nelson Piquet Jr will start his second ARCA event from pole position after qualifying was cancelled due to rain at Texas Motor Speedway.

As in NASCAR, grids are set based on the owner standings from the previous year for the first few races, which means the No. 6 Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota of Piquet, which won the title in 2009 with Justin Lofton, will see the green flag wave from pole.

"We're just lucky to be in the championship-winning car," said Piquet. "Hopefully, starting up front will allow us to lead some laps and run in the clean air."

Piquet had ran well in practice, setting the ninth fastest time of the session among the 38-car field, in what is being his first experience of an intermediate mile and a half oval.

Truck Series regular Chad McCumbee will start beside Piquet on the front row, while nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel will share the second row of the grid with Justin Marks.

The Rattlesnake 150 takes place on Friday night.

Pellegrini - Kaka not faking itRain hands Piquet ARCA pole

Hamlin expects to go the distance

Denny Hamlin hopes to be able to complete the full 500 miles at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, after surprisingly running the full distance last week at Phoenix while recovering from his knee-surgery.

The 29-year-old was expected to be replaced by stand-by driver Casey Mears at some point during last week's Sprint Cup race as Hamlin had been feeling some pain on his left knee, which had undergone surgery to repair a torn ligament only ten days before.

Against all odds, Hamlin went on to finish the event despite falling a couple of laps down early in the race due to electrical issues with his car.

He was in a lot of pain after the 600 Kilometers of racing, but he says he is feeling a lot better this weekend at Texas, where he is set to put less stress on his left knee, due to the lighter braking relative to Phoenix.

"It's feeling much better really," said Hamlin about his knee. "It's still sore and I have a long way to go but I am definitely making progress...

"Unlike Phoenix where we had to use a ton of brake, Texas is much different so I will be in the car and expect to go the full distance just as I did at Phoenix last weekend."

Hamlin admitted he considered jumping out of his car last weekend at some point but he felt he would have let down his team by doing so and decided to run all the way to the checkered flag.

"I definitely thought about it, especially when we went down a couple of laps and we knew it would be hard to get them back, but I never want to give up on anything and I wasn't going to give up on the team," said Hamlin.

"They worked hard to get that car ready for me, they were patient with me and I owe to it to them to give it my best effort. That's as true when you are running up front as it is when you are struggling. It was actually an easy decision from the seat."

After finishing 30th last weekend at Phoenix, Hamlin currently ranks 18th in the points with one win to his name. He is set to start from 29th on the grid at Texas this weekend.

Hamlin expects to go the distanceRamos backs Pellegrini

Kahne set for Hendrick move

Kasey Kahne has signed a multi-year deal to drive for Hendrick Motorsports from 2011, parting ways with Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of this season.

According to multiple sources, the 30-year-old has inked a contract to drive for NASCAR's top team, where he is expected to become the long-term replacement for veteran Mark Martin, who is set to leave the team at the end of next season.

However, with all seats filled at Hendrick for next year as the team's drivers are signed at least until 2012, it is still unclear which car Kahne will be driving in 2011.

Stewart-Haas Racing currently runs Hendrick engines and chassis for Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, and driver and team owner Stewart has not denied the possibility of running a third car in the future in the right circumstances.

Richard Petty Motorsports officials confirmed that Kahne, whose contract with the outfit was up this year, will leave the team at the end of the season.

"Kasey is a very talented driver and I have enjoyed watching him race," said the team's co-owner and seven time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Richard Petty. "We all wish him nothing but the best and hope he succeeds in anything he chooses to do."

Kahne entered the Cup series in 2004 with Evernham Motorsports, which then bacame Gillet Evernham in 2007. Before the 2009 season started and with Ray Evernham already out of the outfit, the team was renamed Richard Petty Motorsports.

The team switched from its long-time partner Dodge to race under the Ford banner this year, but Kahne currently languishes down in 26th place in the drivers' standings.

Kahne has been a Chase contender twice, the last time in 2009, when he finished 10th in the points. His best season came in 2006, when he won six races and finished eighth in the championship.

Budweiser, current sponsor for Kahne at RPM, backed Hendrick Motorsports' #25 and #50 cars between 1994 and 1999. It is still unknown whether the company will move with Kahne to his new team.

Diarra welcomes United linkKahne set for Hendrick move

Hendrick crew chiefs sign new deals

Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs Chad Knaus and Alan Gustafson have signed new multi-year deals with the NASCAR Sprint Cup team.

Knaus, who worked on the #24 car of Jeff Gordon in his early days at Hendrick, has been alongside Jimmie Johnson since his debut at Cup level in 2002.

He has been instrumental to the team's success, helping the Californian on his way to an unprecedented four consecutive titles in NASCAR's top series.

His new contract ties him with Johnson through the 2015 season, as Johnson signed a new deal with the team last year for the same term.

"I'm pretty pleased obviously," said Knaus. "I've spent the majority of my life at Hendrick since 1993 and I'd have a hard time thinking I'd ever go somewhere else. This #48 team and the #24 team are very important to me, I'm glad to be a part of that and I want to stay here for a long time to come."

Meanwhile Alan Gustafson, current crew chief for the #5 car driver by Mark Martin, has also signed a new multi-year deal. Gustafson has worked with Kyle Busch and Casey Mears in the past, before finishing runner-up for the title last year with Martin.

Hendrick announced two weeks ago that it has signed Kasey Kahne as Martin's replacement from 2012, but it is unclear yet if Gustafson will end up as Kahne's crew chief. Gustafson admitted he might be changing from the #5 team to another Hendrick car in the future.

"My new contract is for Hendrick Motorsports," said Gustafson. "I am going to work at Hendrick. As far I am concerned, I am going to retire there. Whatever it takes for us to be successful, that is what I want to do.

"Beyond that, no matter what it is, where I need to fill, what role I need to fill to help make this team the most successful, that is what I will do."

Johnson currently leads the Cup standings with three wins in the first nine races, while Martin is sixth in the points but has yet to win this year.

Pep seeks new deals for duoMartin not planning to retire in 2011

Drivers give thumbs-up to new spoiler

Many Sprint Cup series drivers have given the thumbs-up to the new rear spoiler, following the first speedway race with the device last Monday at Texas.

Since the Martinsville round the cars from NASCAR's top series replaced the rear wing with a spoiler, but only this week at Texas the device was raced at one of NASCAR's fastest tracks, where aerodynamics come more into play.

Denny Hamlin, who claimed his second victory of the season at the event, was obviously one to praise the spoiler for giving him a better feel with the car. He actually reckons the racing improved in traffic relative to when the wing was used.

"The car seemed to be planted to the racetrack quite a bit more," said Hamlin. "You could race around guys without the air being taken off of you as much as it did. So I think it made for better racing. It was a step in the right direction for our sport. Obviously for the looks and for the competition side.

"I thought as far as the grip level, it just added some grip to the racetrack. When you do that, you add some comfortability to the race car drivers, and that's what's going to make for a great finish at the end."

Kyle Busch, who finished third, echoed his team-mate's view, saying the car felt more drivable than with the wing, helping create some of the chaos that unfolded in the closing stages of the race as drivers took more chances in traffic.

"I mean, it was a different race, for sure," said Busch. "The car seemed to be a lot more consistent and a lot more drivable. So you know on restarts it seems like there's a lot more chaos going on. A lot of guys are really comfortable and can run side by side and really, you know, push each other a little bit down the straightaways and what not."

Reigning champion Jimmie Johnson, who finished second last Monday, had a different opinion to the Joe Gibbs Racing's duo.

He believes the spoiler affected the cars' handling in traffic in a negative way, but expects to improve the balance when running behind other cars with some set-up changes in coming races.

"I think in general we were trying to get accustomed to the spoiler," Johnson said. "It seemed to be tougher to pass in some situations. I think the wake of air was larger and more turbulent.

"You really had to take a lot of risks to get close to someone. But I think another couple races on these big tracks, we'll work on the set-ups some more and improve the balance of the car in traffic."

Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Dale Earnhardt Jr believes the spoiler to be a step in the right direction, but he hopes there's a way to get more front downforce on the cars soon.

"The spoiler is better," Earnhardt said. "We just need to get a little more downforce on these cars. It would be pretty awesome if we could get a little more nose downforce and stuff like that. It'll happen. It will just take a while."

Penske's Kurt Busch reckons his team still has to get the most out of the new device in terms of set-up, but he liked the feel of the car, which he compared to how Nationwide machines handle.

"I felt like it was stable and it seemed to provide a better comfort zone versus the rear wing," said the older of the Busch brothers. "Where it seems to have a slight difference that I can't figure out yet is the drag. I feel like I'm going so slow down the straightaways, but then the speeds seemed to be up in the center of the corners. I don't run many Nationwide races, but I think that our car drove like a Nationwide car."

Roush Fenway's Greg Biffle also liked the handling of the car and pointed out that when running in traffic his Ford lost grip on the rear end, which made him driver the car harder than before while battling for position.

"I like the spoiler better because it drives a lot better," said Biffle. "I like the feel of the car. The car turns a little bit better on corner exit and gets a little looser racing around guys, so you've got to drive her a little harder and pay attention."

Next weekend at Talladega teams will race with a modified version of the spoiler, which will be narrower than the one used at Texas last weekend. Cars will also be fitted with the mandated restrictor plate with 30/32-inch holes.

Drivers give thumbs-up to new spoilerCallejon race hots up

Hamlin not ready for race distance

Denny Hamlin remains unsure about being able to race the full distance at Phoenix, following his left-knee surgery last week.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who claimed victory at Martinsville two weeks ago before having surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament, topped the first practice session of the weekend at Phoenix, but he doesn't feel he is ready to complete the 375 scheduled laps on Saturday afternoon.

Hamlin is set to get some treatment in the morning ahead of the race in order to be in the best shape possible to start the race, but he is not sure about that being enough for him to be able to finish the race.

"There's so much different stuff that we're going to do tomorrow morning to help this thing, that I don't know how much better I will feel tomorrow," Hamlin said. "But I know as of today, there is no way I could do it."

Hamlin will have Casey Mears on standby as his relief driver in case he feels unable to continue to race all the way to the chequered flag. The Californian drove some laps in the opening practice of the day and actually tested a driver change.

According to NASCAR rules, if a driver starts a race, even if he is not the one behind the wheel when crossing the finish-line, he still gets credited with the points given to his position.

"I don't know how far I'll go," Hamlin admitted. "It definitely aches quite a bit. And the problem is range of motion - I can't get my knee bent far enough to put it on top of the [brake] pedal."

Hamlin will start the race from 26th place on the grid following a disappointing qualifying effort, although he seems most frustrated by not having recovered as much as he had expected.

"It's frustrating because your mind wants your leg to do one thing, but your body won't do it," said Hamlin. "It's a delayed reaction every time I want to do something. I don't feel that I'm doing my best out there, and that's frustrating from my standpoint.

"I'll do whatever I can. That's all I can do. I've done everything I was supposed to do and then some. If it's not enough time, then it's not enough time."

Hamlin not ready for race distanceCallejon race hots up

Drivers give thumbs-up to new spoiler

Many Sprint Cup series drivers have given the thumbs-up to the new rear spoiler, following the first speedway race with the device last Monday at Texas.

Since the Martinsville round the cars from NASCAR's top series replaced the rear wing with a spoiler, but only this week at Texas the device was raced at one of NASCAR's fastest tracks, where aerodynamics come more into play.

Denny Hamlin, who claimed his second victory of the season at the event, was obviously one to praise the spoiler for giving him a better feel with the car. He actually reckons the racing improved in traffic relative to when the wing was used.

"The car seemed to be planted to the racetrack quite a bit more," said Hamlin. "You could race around guys without the air being taken off of you as much as it did. So I think it made for better racing. It was a step in the right direction for our sport. Obviously for the looks and for the competition side.

"I thought as far as the grip level, it just added some grip to the racetrack. When you do that, you add some comfortability to the race car drivers, and that's what's going to make for a great finish at the end."

Kyle Busch, who finished third, echoed his team-mate's view, saying the car felt more drivable than with the wing, helping create some of the chaos that unfolded in the closing stages of the race as drivers took more chances in traffic.

"I mean, it was a different race, for sure," said Busch. "The car seemed to be a lot more consistent and a lot more drivable. So you know on restarts it seems like there's a lot more chaos going on. A lot of guys are really comfortable and can run side by side and really, you know, push each other a little bit down the straightaways and what not."

Reigning champion Jimmie Johnson, who finished second last Monday, had a different opinion to the Joe Gibbs Racing's duo.

He believes the spoiler affected the cars' handling in traffic in a negative way, but expects to improve the balance when running behind other cars with some set-up changes in coming races.

"I think in general we were trying to get accustomed to the spoiler," Johnson said. "It seemed to be tougher to pass in some situations. I think the wake of air was larger and more turbulent.

"You really had to take a lot of risks to get close to someone. But I think another couple races on these big tracks, we'll work on the set-ups some more and improve the balance of the car in traffic."

Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Dale Earnhardt Jr believes the spoiler to be a step in the right direction, but he hopes there's a way to get more front downforce on the cars soon.

"The spoiler is better," Earnhardt said. "We just need to get a little more downforce on these cars. It would be pretty awesome if we could get a little more nose downforce and stuff like that. It'll happen. It will just take a while."

Penske's Kurt Busch reckons his team still has to get the most out of the new device in terms of set-up, but he liked the feel of the car, which he compared to how Nationwide machines handle.

"I felt like it was stable and it seemed to provide a better comfort zone versus the rear wing," said the older of the Busch brothers. "Where it seems to have a slight difference that I can't figure out yet is the drag. I feel like I'm going so slow down the straightaways, but then the speeds seemed to be up in the center of the corners. I don't run many Nationwide races, but I think that our car drove like a Nationwide car."

Roush Fenway's Greg Biffle also liked the handling of the car and pointed out that when running in traffic his Ford lost grip on the rear end, which made him driver the car harder than before while battling for position.

"I like the spoiler better because it drives a lot better," said Biffle. "I like the feel of the car. The car turns a little bit better on corner exit and gets a little looser racing around guys, so you've got to drive her a little harder and pay attention."

Next weekend at Talladega teams will race with a modified version of the spoiler, which will be narrower than the one used at Texas last weekend. Cars will also be fitted with the mandated restrictor plate with 30/32-inch holes.

Drivers give thumbs-up to new spoilerCallejon race hots up

Kahne set for Hendrick move

Kasey Kahne has signed a multi-year deal to drive for Hendrick Motorsports from 2011, parting ways with Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of this season.

According to multiple sources, the 30-year-old has inked a contract to drive for NASCAR's top team, where he is expected to become the long-term replacement for veteran Mark Martin, who is set to leave the team at the end of next season.

However, with all seats filled at Hendrick for next year as the team's drivers are signed at least until 2012, it is still unclear which car Kahne will be driving in 2011.

Stewart-Haas Racing currently runs Hendrick engines and chassis for Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, and driver and team owner Stewart has not denied the possibility of running a third car in the future in the right circumstances.

Richard Petty Motorsports officials confirmed that Kahne, whose contract with the outfit was up this year, will leave the team at the end of the season.

"Kasey is a very talented driver and I have enjoyed watching him race," said the team's co-owner and seven time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Richard Petty. "We all wish him nothing but the best and hope he succeeds in anything he chooses to do."

Kahne entered the Cup series in 2004 with Evernham Motorsports, which then bacame Gillet Evernham in 2007. Before the 2009 season started and with Ray Evernham already out of the outfit, the team was renamed Richard Petty Motorsports.

The team switched from its long-time partner Dodge to race under the Ford banner this year, but Kahne currently languishes down in 26th place in the drivers' standings.

Kahne has been a Chase contender twice, the last time in 2009, when he finished 10th in the points. His best season came in 2006, when he won six races and finished eighth in the championship.

Budweiser, current sponsor for Kahne at RPM, backed Hendrick Motorsports' #25 and #50 cars between 1994 and 1999. It is still unknown whether the company will move with Kahne to his new team.

Kahne set for Hendrick moveRaul not retiring yet

Hamlin not ready for race distance

Denny Hamlin remains unsure about being able to race the full distance at Phoenix, following his left-knee surgery last week.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who claimed victory at Martinsville two weeks ago before having surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament, topped the first practice session of the weekend at Phoenix, but he doesn't feel he is ready to complete the 375 scheduled laps on Saturday afternoon.

Hamlin is set to get some treatment in the morning ahead of the race in order to be in the best shape possible to start the race, but he is not sure about that being enough for him to be able to finish the race.

"There's so much different stuff that we're going to do tomorrow morning to help this thing, that I don't know how much better I will feel tomorrow," Hamlin said. "But I know as of today, there is no way I could do it."

Hamlin will have Casey Mears on standby as his relief driver in case he feels unable to continue to race all the way to the chequered flag. The Californian drove some laps in the opening practice of the day and actually tested a driver change.

According to NASCAR rules, if a driver starts a race, even if he is not the one behind the wheel when crossing the finish-line, he still gets credited with the points given to his position.

"I don't know how far I'll go," Hamlin admitted. "It definitely aches quite a bit. And the problem is range of motion - I can't get my knee bent far enough to put it on top of the [brake] pedal."

Hamlin will start the race from 26th place on the grid following a disappointing qualifying effort, although he seems most frustrated by not having recovered as much as he had expected.

"It's frustrating because your mind wants your leg to do one thing, but your body won't do it," said Hamlin. "It's a delayed reaction every time I want to do something. I don't feel that I'm doing my best out there, and that's frustrating from my standpoint.

"I'll do whatever I can. That's all I can do. I've done everything I was supposed to do and then some. If it's not enough time, then it's not enough time."

Callejon race hots upHamlin not ready for race distance

Piquet to enter trio of Truck races

Nelson Piquet Jr will race three times in the NASCAR Truck Series in the coming weeks.

The former grand prix driver will contest the Charlotte (May 21), Texas (June 4) and Michigan (June 12) rounds of the series with Billy Ballew Motorsports.

Piquet raced in the truck event at Daytona, as well as the ARCA feeder series at Daytona and Texas.

"I can't wait to get behind the wheel of a truck again," said Piquet. "I really enjoyed racing at Daytona and learned a lot. I gain a better understanding of how these trucks handle with each lap I take.

"These upcoming races will be exactly what I need to continue growing as a driver. The team have great people and I'm excited to be working with them."

Team boss Billy Ballew added: "Everyone is very excited to have Nelson racing with us. He's obviously an incredibly talented driver. I think these three races will give him some valuable seat time, which is just what he needs to continue developing his abilities.

"He did very well at Daytona earlier this year and showed that he has a good feel for stock car racing. The more time he has to get acclimated to these vehicles, the better he's going to do. I think this will be a great opportunity for him."

Piquet is expected to be on double-duty at Michigan, racing in ARCA again for series champions Eddie Sharp Racing.

Ballew's #15 Toyota Tundra, which Piquet will drive in trucks, is being shared by a number of drivers this year, including former Truck Series champion Johnny Benson and Steven Wallace.

Piquet finished sixth in his maiden truck race at Daytona this year, and was ninth after starting from pole in his second ARCA outing last weekend at Texas.

Primera Liga Round-upPiquet to enter trio of Truck races

Hamlin expects to go the distance

Denny Hamlin hopes to be able to complete the full 500 miles at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, after surprisingly running the full distance last week at Phoenix while recovering from his knee-surgery.

The 29-year-old was expected to be replaced by stand-by driver Casey Mears at some point during last week's Sprint Cup race as Hamlin had been feeling some pain on his left knee, which had undergone surgery to repair a torn ligament only ten days before.

Against all odds, Hamlin went on to finish the event despite falling a couple of laps down early in the race due to electrical issues with his car.

He was in a lot of pain after the 600 Kilometers of racing, but he says he is feeling a lot better this weekend at Texas, where he is set to put less stress on his left knee, due to the lighter braking relative to Phoenix.

"It's feeling much better really," said Hamlin about his knee. "It's still sore and I have a long way to go but I am definitely making progress...

"Unlike Phoenix where we had to use a ton of brake, Texas is much different so I will be in the car and expect to go the full distance just as I did at Phoenix last weekend."

Hamlin admitted he considered jumping out of his car last weekend at some point but he felt he would have let down his team by doing so and decided to run all the way to the checkered flag.

"I definitely thought about it, especially when we went down a couple of laps and we knew it would be hard to get them back, but I never want to give up on anything and I wasn't going to give up on the team," said Hamlin.

"They worked hard to get that car ready for me, they were patient with me and I owe to it to them to give it my best effort. That's as true when you are running up front as it is when you are struggling. It was actually an easy decision from the seat."

After finishing 30th last weekend at Phoenix, Hamlin currently ranks 18th in the points with one win to his name. He is set to start from 29th on the grid at Texas this weekend.

Hamlin expects to go the distanceRamos backs Pellegrini

Hendrick announces Kahne for 2012

Hendrick Motorsports has confirmed that Kasey Kahne will drive the team's #5 car from 2012, but his ride for next year is still to be determined.

The 30-year old will join Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr in NASCAR's top squad when Mark Martin leaves the four-car outfit at the end of next year.

Kahne's contract ties him to the team until the 2015 season, leaving all seats at the team filled at least through the end of 2012.

"In Kasey, we saw an opportunity to cement a big piece of our future," said team owner Rick Hendrick. "He possesses incredible talent and a tremendous dedication to his craft, and we know he'll be a great fit within our company.

"Kasey has earned the respect of his future team-mates by the way he's handled himself on and off the racetrack, and we know he'll be a contributor to the success of Hendrick Motorsports for many years to come. To have someone of his calibre join our team is an unbelievable opportunity for us."

Having won 11 Sprint Cup Series races in just over six seasons since he joined NASCAR's top level, Kahne has only twice been part of the championship play-off. He believes his move to Hendrick will allow him to make the next step and contend for the series title.

"I have a comfort level with Mr Hendrick, my future team-mates and the culture of the organisation," said Kahne. "For me, it's the right fit on every level, and I think it gives me a great chance to win races and compete for championships.

"Determining the next step in my career has been an important process, and I'm excited and relieved to have the decision made and announced. Now it's my responsibility to put all of my energy into winning races and having a successful 2010 with my current team and our sponsors."

Kahne says that there is still some uncertainty about what car and for which team he will be driving next year, although it is clear that he intends to compete through the whole season. Given NASCAR's four-car limit, Hendrick Motorsports cannot put him in a fifth car.

Stewart Haas Racing, which uses Hendrick chassis and engines, remains favourite to run Kahne in 2011 by adding a third car alongside those of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman.

"If this opportunity was going to happen, I knew having some unanswered questions would be part of the scenario at this stage," Kahne added. "Hendrick Motorsports has a commitment to Mark Martin that they want to fulfill, and that's important. It's part of what attracts me to the team."

Kahne is set to be the youngest driver at Hendrick Motorsports when he joins it in 2012 at 31 years of age, in what will be his ninth year of Sprint Cup competition.

Xavi’s Barca joyHendrick announces Kahne for 2012

Montoya eager for change of luck

Juan Pablo Montoya is hoping for an end to his run of bad results, as he languishes in 25th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings after the first six races.

The Earnhardt Ganassi racer has shown speed through the start of his fourth season in NASCAR, but technical issues and incidents have cost him points.

Montoya was among the title contenders last year when he was one of 12 drivers in contention for the title during the series' play-off. He admits his poor results have hit him hard in the points.

"For us, at this point, we want to start finishing some races," said Montoya at Phoenix today. "We have been having such bad luck that it is hard. Out of six races we have had four pretty much DNF - 30-something place finishes. It makes it hard for points. We have fast race cars every week and we should be good here."

Montoya has led four of the first six races of the year, and finished third at Atlanta, but an engine failure at California, contact with his team-mate Jaime McMurray at Las Vegas, a multi-car pile-up at Bristol and a tyre failure at Marstinville have left him already 171 points away from 12th place in the standings.

He expects his string of bad results could finally come to an end this weekend at Phoenix, where he will be starting from seventh place on the grid, as he believes his team's performance has shown it deserves much better.

"We are a top-five team, easily," Montoya said. "We run in the top five every week. We're there. Always one of the fastest cars in practice, qualifying even at race pace. But, we had blown tyres last week, the week before, something else happened, they wrecked in front of us. The week before we had a good week.

"There is always something. Blown motors. Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong so far. Hopefully it will change a little in the next few weeks."

The former Formula 1 race-winner believes neither his team nor he have made any costly mistakes and reckons that issues out of their control are to blame for their misfortunes thus far. Although he says it is still early to panic about being left out of this year's Chase for the title, he admits he cannot afford any more bad races.

"I think it is going to get to a point you either know you are in it or you are out of it," said Montoya. "You take it race by race, score as many points as you can and see what happens. It is completely out of our control. We come here and they wreck and we have nowhere to go.

"We haven't really made a mistake ourselves to say, 'this one is on us' yet. I don't feel we have. It can happen and that would really set us even further back."

Montoya's team-mate McMurray won the season-opening Daytona 500 but similar results to Montoya subsequently have already dropped him to 19th place in the standings.

Ronaldo harbours title hopeMontoya eager for change of luck

Rain postpones NASCAR to Monday

Rain around the Fort Worth area has forced NASCAR officials to postpone Sunday's NASCAR races at Texas Motor Speedway until Monday.

For the second time this year, the Sprint Cup Series will race on a Monday, as the eighth round of the year has been rescheduled to start at 12 noon Eastern Time in the US tomorrow.

The Nationwide Series event had already been postponed from Saturday for the same reasons, and was set to start once the Cup race was finished on Sunday.

Now it has been set to start at 5pm Eastern Time on Monday, which means a total of 15 drivers are set to race for at least 801 miles on the same day, as more than a third of the Cup field is on double-duty this weekend.

Drivers will face a green track, relaying only on the information gathered during the first practice session of the weekend on Friday, as Saturday's sessions were cancelled due to rain as well.

Weather forecasts show a maximum 20 per cent chance of rain for Monday.

Rain postpones NASCAR to MondayFabregas snr - No Real meeting

Rain hands Piquet ARCA pole

Nelson Piquet Jr will start his second ARCA event from pole position after qualifying was cancelled due to rain at Texas Motor Speedway.

As in NASCAR, grids are set based on the owner standings from the previous year for the first few races, which means the No. 6 Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota of Piquet, which won the title in 2009 with Justin Lofton, will see the green flag wave from pole.

"We're just lucky to be in the championship-winning car," said Piquet. "Hopefully, starting up front will allow us to lead some laps and run in the clean air."

Piquet had ran well in practice, setting the ninth fastest time of the session among the 38-car field, in what is being his first experience of an intermediate mile and a half oval.

Truck Series regular Chad McCumbee will start beside Piquet on the front row, while nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel will share the second row of the grid with Justin Marks.

The Rattlesnake 150 takes place on Friday night.

Rain hands Piquet ARCA polePellegrini - Kaka not faking it

Gordon escalates Johnson feud

Jeff Gordon hit out at his Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Jimmie Johnson once again, following another on-track clash between the two at Talladega on Sunday.

Gordon was involved in a multi-car wreck moments after Johnson had closed the door on him while he was trying to make a pass on lap 183. The pair made contact, despite Gordon backing off from the move and moving below the double-yellow line, only to get caught up in the chain reaction.

Jeff Burton, who had led the most laps up to that point, lost control of his car after making contact with Mike Bliss and got sideways and into Gordon, with Scott Speed also involved.

"I got a huge push down the back straightaway, I don't know who it was, Ryan [Newman] maybe, but somebody gave me a big shove and I was coming 10mph faster than anybody," said Gordon.

"The #48 [Johnson] is testing my patience, I can tell you that," Gordon said. "It takes a lot to make me mad, and I'm pissed right now. When a car is going that much faster... I don't know what it is with me and him right now... whatever."

"You turn the wheel left like that when a car is coming and somebody's going to have a problem," Gordon added. "I did everything I could to keep from wrecking him. I did. I saw what he was doing and I know I couldn't go underneath the yellow line to pass him so I did everything I could to check up but somebody was still pushing me and turned me, and I actually got into him.

"But he's been testing my patience and it's about reached its boiling point."

Despite dropping a lap down, Gordon went on to finish 22nd and on the lead lap with a badly battered car.

Meanwhile Johnson was unable to make the checkered flag, following a crash after making contact with Greg Biffle, on the second of three attempts at a green-white-checkered finish.

Gordon critical of team-mate JohnsonLa Liga round-up

Kahne set for Hendrick move

Kasey Kahne has signed a multi-year deal to drive for Hendrick Motorsports from 2011, parting ways with Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of this season.

According to multiple sources, the 30-year-old has inked a contract to drive for NASCAR's top team, where he is expected to become the long-term replacement for veteran Mark Martin, who is set to leave the team at the end of next season.

However, with all seats filled at Hendrick for next year as the team's drivers are signed at least until 2012, it is still unclear which car Kahne will be driving in 2011.

Stewart-Haas Racing currently runs Hendrick engines and chassis for Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, and driver and team owner Stewart has not denied the possibility of running a third car in the future in the right circumstances.

Richard Petty Motorsports officials confirmed that Kahne, whose contract with the outfit was up this year, will leave the team at the end of the season.

"Kasey is a very talented driver and I have enjoyed watching him race," said the team's co-owner and seven time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Richard Petty. "We all wish him nothing but the best and hope he succeeds in anything he chooses to do."

Kahne entered the Cup series in 2004 with Evernham Motorsports, which then bacame Gillet Evernham in 2007. Before the 2009 season started and with Ray Evernham already out of the outfit, the team was renamed Richard Petty Motorsports.

The team switched from its long-time partner Dodge to race under the Ford banner this year, but Kahne currently languishes down in 26th place in the drivers' standings.

Kahne has been a Chase contender twice, the last time in 2009, when he finished 10th in the points. His best season came in 2006, when he won six races and finished eighth in the championship.

Budweiser, current sponsor for Kahne at RPM, backed Hendrick Motorsports' #25 and #50 cars between 1994 and 1999. It is still unknown whether the company will move with Kahne to his new team.

Raul not retiring yetKahne set for Hendrick move

Montoya eager for change of luck

Juan Pablo Montoya is hoping for an end to his run of bad results, as he languishes in 25th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings after the first six races.

The Earnhardt Ganassi racer has shown speed through the start of his fourth season in NASCAR, but technical issues and incidents have cost him points.

Montoya was among the title contenders last year when he was one of 12 drivers in contention for the title during the series' play-off. He admits his poor results have hit him hard in the points.

"For us, at this point, we want to start finishing some races," said Montoya at Phoenix today. "We have been having such bad luck that it is hard. Out of six races we have had four pretty much DNF - 30-something place finishes. It makes it hard for points. We have fast race cars every week and we should be good here."

Montoya has led four of the first six races of the year, and finished third at Atlanta, but an engine failure at California, contact with his team-mate Jaime McMurray at Las Vegas, a multi-car pile-up at Bristol and a tyre failure at Marstinville have left him already 171 points away from 12th place in the standings.

He expects his string of bad results could finally come to an end this weekend at Phoenix, where he will be starting from seventh place on the grid, as he believes his team's performance has shown it deserves much better.

"We are a top-five team, easily," Montoya said. "We run in the top five every week. We're there. Always one of the fastest cars in practice, qualifying even at race pace. But, we had blown tyres last week, the week before, something else happened, they wrecked in front of us. The week before we had a good week.

"There is always something. Blown motors. Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong so far. Hopefully it will change a little in the next few weeks."

The former Formula 1 race-winner believes neither his team nor he have made any costly mistakes and reckons that issues out of their control are to blame for their misfortunes thus far. Although he says it is still early to panic about being left out of this year's Chase for the title, he admits he cannot afford any more bad races.

"I think it is going to get to a point you either know you are in it or you are out of it," said Montoya. "You take it race by race, score as many points as you can and see what happens. It is completely out of our control. We come here and they wreck and we have nowhere to go.

"We haven't really made a mistake ourselves to say, 'this one is on us' yet. I don't feel we have. It can happen and that would really set us even further back."

Montoya's team-mate McMurray won the season-opening Daytona 500 but similar results to Montoya subsequently have already dropped him to 19th place in the standings.

Montoya eager for change of luckRonaldo harbours title hope

Hendrick announces Kahne for 2012

Hendrick Motorsports has confirmed that Kasey Kahne will drive the team's #5 car from 2012, but his ride for next year is still to be determined.

The 30-year old will join Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr in NASCAR's top squad when Mark Martin leaves the four-car outfit at the end of next year.

Kahne's contract ties him to the team until the 2015 season, leaving all seats at the team filled at least through the end of 2012.

"In Kasey, we saw an opportunity to cement a big piece of our future," said team owner Rick Hendrick. "He possesses incredible talent and a tremendous dedication to his craft, and we know he'll be a great fit within our company.

"Kasey has earned the respect of his future team-mates by the way he's handled himself on and off the racetrack, and we know he'll be a contributor to the success of Hendrick Motorsports for many years to come. To have someone of his calibre join our team is an unbelievable opportunity for us."

Having won 11 Sprint Cup Series races in just over six seasons since he joined NASCAR's top level, Kahne has only twice been part of the championship play-off. He believes his move to Hendrick will allow him to make the next step and contend for the series title.

"I have a comfort level with Mr Hendrick, my future team-mates and the culture of the organisation," said Kahne. "For me, it's the right fit on every level, and I think it gives me a great chance to win races and compete for championships.

"Determining the next step in my career has been an important process, and I'm excited and relieved to have the decision made and announced. Now it's my responsibility to put all of my energy into winning races and having a successful 2010 with my current team and our sponsors."

Kahne says that there is still some uncertainty about what car and for which team he will be driving next year, although it is clear that he intends to compete through the whole season. Given NASCAR's four-car limit, Hendrick Motorsports cannot put him in a fifth car.

Stewart Haas Racing, which uses Hendrick chassis and engines, remains favourite to run Kahne in 2011 by adding a third car alongside those of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman.

"If this opportunity was going to happen, I knew having some unanswered questions would be part of the scenario at this stage," Kahne added. "Hendrick Motorsports has a commitment to Mark Martin that they want to fulfill, and that's important. It's part of what attracts me to the team."

Kahne is set to be the youngest driver at Hendrick Motorsports when he joins it in 2012 at 31 years of age, in what will be his ninth year of Sprint Cup competition.

Hendrick announces Kahne for 2012Xavi’s Barca joy

Shell switches from RCR to Penske

Shell has signed a multi-year deal to sponsor Penske Racing both in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, as well as in the IndyCar Series.

The Shell and Pennzoil logos will adorn the #22 Sprint Cup machine of 2004 series champion Kurt Busch from next year as his main sponsor, switching over from Richard Childress Racing, where they currently feature on the #29 car of Kevin Harvick.

The announcement comes in line with a renewal for Busch, whose contract with the team was up at the end of the season. Miller Lite, his current sponsor, will stay in the #2 Penske Dodge, which will be driven by team-mate Brad Keselowski next year.

The oil company will be Penske's official fuel and motor oil supplier from 2011, becoming also an associate sponsor of the team's IndyCar effort with drivers Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe and Will Power. The Australian is currently leading the championship, ahead of his Brazilian team-mate.

Mobil had backed the team for many years, and is currently the main sponsor for former IndyCar champion Sam Hornish Jr, who drives the #77 Mobil 1 Dodge in the Sprint Cup series. Following today's announcement however, the company is expected to move on, having announced a technical partnership with Toyota Racing Development at the end of last year.

Hornish may still end up driving for Penske in 2011, moving to the #12 car with a different sponsor, but the team has yet to announce the line-up for its third car.

For the second year in succession RCR loses one of their main sponsors, having Jack Daniels departing last year. Harvick's contract with the team expires at the end of the season, and his continuity with the team is still up in the air.

Kurt Busch extends Penske dealRamos backs Pellegrini

Hamlin expects to go the distance

Denny Hamlin hopes to be able to complete the full 500 miles at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, after surprisingly running the full distance last week at Phoenix while recovering from his knee-surgery.

The 29-year-old was expected to be replaced by stand-by driver Casey Mears at some point during last week's Sprint Cup race as Hamlin had been feeling some pain on his left knee, which had undergone surgery to repair a torn ligament only ten days before.

Against all odds, Hamlin went on to finish the event despite falling a couple of laps down early in the race due to electrical issues with his car.

He was in a lot of pain after the 600 Kilometers of racing, but he says he is feeling a lot better this weekend at Texas, where he is set to put less stress on his left knee, due to the lighter braking relative to Phoenix.

"It's feeling much better really," said Hamlin about his knee. "It's still sore and I have a long way to go but I am definitely making progress...

"Unlike Phoenix where we had to use a ton of brake, Texas is much different so I will be in the car and expect to go the full distance just as I did at Phoenix last weekend."

Hamlin admitted he considered jumping out of his car last weekend at some point but he felt he would have let down his team by doing so and decided to run all the way to the checkered flag.

"I definitely thought about it, especially when we went down a couple of laps and we knew it would be hard to get them back, but I never want to give up on anything and I wasn't going to give up on the team," said Hamlin.

"They worked hard to get that car ready for me, they were patient with me and I owe to it to them to give it my best effort. That's as true when you are running up front as it is when you are struggling. It was actually an easy decision from the seat."

After finishing 30th last weekend at Phoenix, Hamlin currently ranks 18th in the points with one win to his name. He is set to start from 29th on the grid at Texas this weekend.

Ramos backs PellegriniHamlin expects to go the distance

Piquet to enter trio of Truck races

Nelson Piquet Jr will race three times in the NASCAR Truck Series in the coming weeks.

The former grand prix driver will contest the Charlotte (May 21), Texas (June 4) and Michigan (June 12) rounds of the series with Billy Ballew Motorsports.

Piquet raced in the truck event at Daytona, as well as the ARCA feeder series at Daytona and Texas.

"I can't wait to get behind the wheel of a truck again," said Piquet. "I really enjoyed racing at Daytona and learned a lot. I gain a better understanding of how these trucks handle with each lap I take.

"These upcoming races will be exactly what I need to continue growing as a driver. The team have great people and I'm excited to be working with them."

Team boss Billy Ballew added: "Everyone is very excited to have Nelson racing with us. He's obviously an incredibly talented driver. I think these three races will give him some valuable seat time, which is just what he needs to continue developing his abilities.

"He did very well at Daytona earlier this year and showed that he has a good feel for stock car racing. The more time he has to get acclimated to these vehicles, the better he's going to do. I think this will be a great opportunity for him."

Piquet is expected to be on double-duty at Michigan, racing in ARCA again for series champions Eddie Sharp Racing.

Ballew's #15 Toyota Tundra, which Piquet will drive in trucks, is being shared by a number of drivers this year, including former Truck Series champion Johnny Benson and Steven Wallace.

Piquet finished sixth in his maiden truck race at Daytona this year, and was ninth after starting from pole in his second ARCA outing last weekend at Texas.

Piquet to enter trio of Truck racesPrimera Liga Round-up

Ambrose, Papis docked points

Marcos Ambrose, Max Papis and their teams have been penalised following rules infringements found on their cars last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

Their cars were found to have radiator pans which were unapproved and heavier than normal, during the post-qualifying technical inspection last Friday.

As a consequence, both drivers have been docked 50 points in the championship, plus their car owners have also been deducted the same amount in the owners' ranking. Ambrose drops from 26th to 28th place in the standings, while Papis falls one spot from 37th to 38th.

Their crew chiefs Frank Kerr and Robert "Bootie" Barker have been fined $75,000 and placed on probation until the end of the year.

"While the penalty feels excessive for an apparent misunderstanding on submitting a part, we also understand NASCAR has to police the sport and rule strictly to keep a level playing field among the teams," said Tad Geschickter, owner of Ambrose's car.

"We will work diligently to ensure that there are no misunderstandings in the future. We are focusing our energy on turning our season around and winning races."

NASCAR has also announced penalties for both Michael Waltrip Racing teams, the #00 of David Reutimann and the #56 of Martin Truex Jr, for using unapproved parts.

Cal Wells, the team's executive vice president said their infringements are a consequence of a misunderstanding on whether the parts in question needed to be submitted to NASCAR for approval.

"NASCAR indicated we were running a part which had not been officially submitted for approval," Wells said. "We accept NASCAR's ruling and will not appeal because we cannot debate whether the part was submitted, only whether or not the part needed submission.

"This gives us a clear line of sight on how parts need to be submitted for approval. We will work diligently with NASCAR in the future on all new parts to ensure this does not happen to MWR again."

Rodney Childers, crew chief of the #00 team, and Pat Tryson, crew chief of the #56 team, have each been fined $25,000 and placed on probation until the end of the year.

Although Papis and Ambrose drive for Germain Racing and JTG Daugherty Racing respectively, their teams are technically affiliated to Michael Waltrip Racing.


Real play down Barca visitBurton leads second spoiler test

Rain postpones NASCAR to Monday

Rain around the Fort Worth area has forced NASCAR officials to postpone Sunday's NASCAR races at Texas Motor Speedway until Monday.

For the second time this year, the Sprint Cup Series will race on a Monday, as the eighth round of the year has been rescheduled to start at 12 noon Eastern Time in the US tomorrow.

The Nationwide Series event had already been postponed from Saturday for the same reasons, and was set to start once the Cup race was finished on Sunday.

Now it has been set to start at 5pm Eastern Time on Monday, which means a total of 15 drivers are set to race for at least 801 miles on the same day, as more than a third of the Cup field is on double-duty this weekend.

Drivers will face a green track, relaying only on the information gathered during the first practice session of the weekend on Friday, as Saturday's sessions were cancelled due to rain as well.

Weather forecasts show a maximum 20 per cent chance of rain for Monday.

Rain postpones NASCAR to MondayFabregas snr - No Real meeting

Rain hands Piquet ARCA pole

Nelson Piquet Jr will start his second ARCA event from pole position after qualifying was cancelled due to rain at Texas Motor Speedway.

As in NASCAR, grids are set based on the owner standings from the previous year for the first few races, which means the No. 6 Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota of Piquet, which won the title in 2009 with Justin Lofton, will see the green flag wave from pole.

"We're just lucky to be in the championship-winning car," said Piquet. "Hopefully, starting up front will allow us to lead some laps and run in the clean air."

Piquet had ran well in practice, setting the ninth fastest time of the session among the 38-car field, in what is being his first experience of an intermediate mile and a half oval.

Truck Series regular Chad McCumbee will start beside Piquet on the front row, while nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel will share the second row of the grid with Justin Marks.

The Rattlesnake 150 takes place on Friday night.

Pellegrini - Kaka not faking itRain hands Piquet ARCA pole

Drivers give thumbs-up to new spoiler

Many Sprint Cup series drivers have given the thumbs-up to the new rear spoiler, following the first speedway race with the device last Monday at Texas.

Since the Martinsville round the cars from NASCAR's top series replaced the rear wing with a spoiler, but only this week at Texas the device was raced at one of NASCAR's fastest tracks, where aerodynamics come more into play.

Denny Hamlin, who claimed his second victory of the season at the event, was obviously one to praise the spoiler for giving him a better feel with the car. He actually reckons the racing improved in traffic relative to when the wing was used.

"The car seemed to be planted to the racetrack quite a bit more," said Hamlin. "You could race around guys without the air being taken off of you as much as it did. So I think it made for better racing. It was a step in the right direction for our sport. Obviously for the looks and for the competition side.

"I thought as far as the grip level, it just added some grip to the racetrack. When you do that, you add some comfortability to the race car drivers, and that's what's going to make for a great finish at the end."

Kyle Busch, who finished third, echoed his team-mate's view, saying the car felt more drivable than with the wing, helping create some of the chaos that unfolded in the closing stages of the race as drivers took more chances in traffic.

"I mean, it was a different race, for sure," said Busch. "The car seemed to be a lot more consistent and a lot more drivable. So you know on restarts it seems like there's a lot more chaos going on. A lot of guys are really comfortable and can run side by side and really, you know, push each other a little bit down the straightaways and what not."

Reigning champion Jimmie Johnson, who finished second last Monday, had a different opinion to the Joe Gibbs Racing's duo.

He believes the spoiler affected the cars' handling in traffic in a negative way, but expects to improve the balance when running behind other cars with some set-up changes in coming races.

"I think in general we were trying to get accustomed to the spoiler," Johnson said. "It seemed to be tougher to pass in some situations. I think the wake of air was larger and more turbulent.

"You really had to take a lot of risks to get close to someone. But I think another couple races on these big tracks, we'll work on the set-ups some more and improve the balance of the car in traffic."

Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Dale Earnhardt Jr believes the spoiler to be a step in the right direction, but he hopes there's a way to get more front downforce on the cars soon.

"The spoiler is better," Earnhardt said. "We just need to get a little more downforce on these cars. It would be pretty awesome if we could get a little more nose downforce and stuff like that. It'll happen. It will just take a while."

Penske's Kurt Busch reckons his team still has to get the most out of the new device in terms of set-up, but he liked the feel of the car, which he compared to how Nationwide machines handle.

"I felt like it was stable and it seemed to provide a better comfort zone versus the rear wing," said the older of the Busch brothers. "Where it seems to have a slight difference that I can't figure out yet is the drag. I feel like I'm going so slow down the straightaways, but then the speeds seemed to be up in the center of the corners. I don't run many Nationwide races, but I think that our car drove like a Nationwide car."

Roush Fenway's Greg Biffle also liked the handling of the car and pointed out that when running in traffic his Ford lost grip on the rear end, which made him driver the car harder than before while battling for position.

"I like the spoiler better because it drives a lot better," said Biffle. "I like the feel of the car. The car turns a little bit better on corner exit and gets a little looser racing around guys, so you've got to drive her a little harder and pay attention."

Next weekend at Talladega teams will race with a modified version of the spoiler, which will be narrower than the one used at Texas last weekend. Cars will also be fitted with the mandated restrictor plate with 30/32-inch holes.

Callejon race hots upDrivers give thumbs-up to new spoiler

Hamlin not ready for race distance

Denny Hamlin remains unsure about being able to race the full distance at Phoenix, following his left-knee surgery last week.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who claimed victory at Martinsville two weeks ago before having surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament, topped the first practice session of the weekend at Phoenix, but he doesn't feel he is ready to complete the 375 scheduled laps on Saturday afternoon.

Hamlin is set to get some treatment in the morning ahead of the race in order to be in the best shape possible to start the race, but he is not sure about that being enough for him to be able to finish the race.

"There's so much different stuff that we're going to do tomorrow morning to help this thing, that I don't know how much better I will feel tomorrow," Hamlin said. "But I know as of today, there is no way I could do it."

Hamlin will have Casey Mears on standby as his relief driver in case he feels unable to continue to race all the way to the chequered flag. The Californian drove some laps in the opening practice of the day and actually tested a driver change.

According to NASCAR rules, if a driver starts a race, even if he is not the one behind the wheel when crossing the finish-line, he still gets credited with the points given to his position.

"I don't know how far I'll go," Hamlin admitted. "It definitely aches quite a bit. And the problem is range of motion - I can't get my knee bent far enough to put it on top of the [brake] pedal."

Hamlin will start the race from 26th place on the grid following a disappointing qualifying effort, although he seems most frustrated by not having recovered as much as he had expected.

"It's frustrating because your mind wants your leg to do one thing, but your body won't do it," said Hamlin. "It's a delayed reaction every time I want to do something. I don't feel that I'm doing my best out there, and that's frustrating from my standpoint.

"I'll do whatever I can. That's all I can do. I've done everything I was supposed to do and then some. If it's not enough time, then it's not enough time."

Hamlin not ready for race distanceCallejon race hots up

Kurt Busch extends Penske deal

Kurt Busch has confirmed he has a new multi-year deal with Penske Racing from 2011, while he expects San Hornish Jr to remain in the team's third car next year.

Earlier this week, Penske announced that Shell would be the new sponsor for Busch in the #22 Dodge in 2011, while his team-mate Brad Keselowski would move to the #2 Miller Lite-backed Dodge that Busch currently drives.

Speaking at Talladega Superspeedway on Friday, the former Sprint Cup champion said he had not considered racing for other teams and that since Roger Penske picked up his contract option for 2011 earlier this year, talks started towards making a new deal.

"I knew that I was committed through 2010 and 2011's option was picked up by Roger," said Busch. "So what that meant was a perfect opportunity to talk about what the future could bring; not just 2011, but 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and beyond.

"We started with just a light-hearted sit down at a dinner one night, almost like one of those napkin sketches of, 'Hey, this is what I'd like to see and this is what might happen.' Then this [Shell/Pennzoil] opportunity just came up a few weeks ago and it changed the whole landscape that we ended up with.

"I didn't talk to any other teams. When I weighed my options personally, with my wife Eva and my manager [John Caponigro], we looked at other teams, we tried to find scenarios that would fit for us, but none of them were as powerful as creating the longevity with Penske."

Busch said that Shell's wish was to have him as the driver and that there was no option for him to carry on with his current sponsor. After signing his new deal, he says he hopes to be able to end his career at Penske.

"I definitely look to have my career end here at Penske Racing," said Busch. "Hopefully that's 10-15 years down the road. Being only 31 years old, there's still so much potential, blue sky, and so much fun that we can have together. I look at the business-to-business relationship as being an important factor in signing with Roger."

The 2004 Cup champion also revealed that Penske will pick up its option on his team-mate Hornish for next year, despite his main sponsor Mobil 1 most likely leaving the outfit at the end of the season. Busch hopes Penske can secure a new long-term deal for Hornish, along with a new sponsor for his car.

"Sam is definitely part of our programme and will be a part of Penske Racing," Busch said. "I know that 2011 will be picked up for his [contract] option. He will be driving for Penske next year.

"What I hope happens in the upcoming months is that a secure sponsor comes to allow him to sign a multi-year deal and move forward. That way we can put all of that behind us in the summer months and be ready to rip in 2011."

Penske currently runs three cars in the Sprint Cup Series, plus two in the Nationwide Series for Justin Allgaier and Brad Keselowski.

New deal for Espanyol starletMontoya laments late caution

Hamlin expects to go the distance

Denny Hamlin hopes to be able to complete the full 500 miles at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, after surprisingly running the full distance last week at Phoenix while recovering from his knee-surgery.

The 29-year-old was expected to be replaced by stand-by driver Casey Mears at some point during last week's Sprint Cup race as Hamlin had been feeling some pain on his left knee, which had undergone surgery to repair a torn ligament only ten days before.

Against all odds, Hamlin went on to finish the event despite falling a couple of laps down early in the race due to electrical issues with his car.

He was in a lot of pain after the 600 Kilometers of racing, but he says he is feeling a lot better this weekend at Texas, where he is set to put less stress on his left knee, due to the lighter braking relative to Phoenix.

"It's feeling much better really," said Hamlin about his knee. "It's still sore and I have a long way to go but I am definitely making progress...

"Unlike Phoenix where we had to use a ton of brake, Texas is much different so I will be in the car and expect to go the full distance just as I did at Phoenix last weekend."

Hamlin admitted he considered jumping out of his car last weekend at some point but he felt he would have let down his team by doing so and decided to run all the way to the checkered flag.

"I definitely thought about it, especially when we went down a couple of laps and we knew it would be hard to get them back, but I never want to give up on anything and I wasn't going to give up on the team," said Hamlin.

"They worked hard to get that car ready for me, they were patient with me and I owe to it to them to give it my best effort. That's as true when you are running up front as it is when you are struggling. It was actually an easy decision from the seat."

After finishing 30th last weekend at Phoenix, Hamlin currently ranks 18th in the points with one win to his name. He is set to start from 29th on the grid at Texas this weekend.

Hamlin expects to go the distanceRamos backs Pellegrini

Hendrick announces Kahne for 2012

Hendrick Motorsports has confirmed that Kasey Kahne will drive the team's #5 car from 2012, but his ride for next year is still to be determined.

The 30-year old will join Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr in NASCAR's top squad when Mark Martin leaves the four-car outfit at the end of next year.

Kahne's contract ties him to the team until the 2015 season, leaving all seats at the team filled at least through the end of 2012.

"In Kasey, we saw an opportunity to cement a big piece of our future," said team owner Rick Hendrick. "He possesses incredible talent and a tremendous dedication to his craft, and we know he'll be a great fit within our company.

"Kasey has earned the respect of his future team-mates by the way he's handled himself on and off the racetrack, and we know he'll be a contributor to the success of Hendrick Motorsports for many years to come. To have someone of his calibre join our team is an unbelievable opportunity for us."

Having won 11 Sprint Cup Series races in just over six seasons since he joined NASCAR's top level, Kahne has only twice been part of the championship play-off. He believes his move to Hendrick will allow him to make the next step and contend for the series title.

"I have a comfort level with Mr Hendrick, my future team-mates and the culture of the organisation," said Kahne. "For me, it's the right fit on every level, and I think it gives me a great chance to win races and compete for championships.

"Determining the next step in my career has been an important process, and I'm excited and relieved to have the decision made and announced. Now it's my responsibility to put all of my energy into winning races and having a successful 2010 with my current team and our sponsors."

Kahne says that there is still some uncertainty about what car and for which team he will be driving next year, although it is clear that he intends to compete through the whole season. Given NASCAR's four-car limit, Hendrick Motorsports cannot put him in a fifth car.

Stewart Haas Racing, which uses Hendrick chassis and engines, remains favourite to run Kahne in 2011 by adding a third car alongside those of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman.

"If this opportunity was going to happen, I knew having some unanswered questions would be part of the scenario at this stage," Kahne added. "Hendrick Motorsports has a commitment to Mark Martin that they want to fulfill, and that's important. It's part of what attracts me to the team."

Kahne is set to be the youngest driver at Hendrick Motorsports when he joins it in 2012 at 31 years of age, in what will be his ninth year of Sprint Cup competition.

Hendrick announces Kahne for 2012Xavi’s Barca joy

Hamlin not ready for race distance

Denny Hamlin remains unsure about being able to race the full distance at Phoenix, following his left-knee surgery last week.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who claimed victory at Martinsville two weeks ago before having surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament, topped the first practice session of the weekend at Phoenix, but he doesn't feel he is ready to complete the 375 scheduled laps on Saturday afternoon.

Hamlin is set to get some treatment in the morning ahead of the race in order to be in the best shape possible to start the race, but he is not sure about that being enough for him to be able to finish the race.

"There's so much different stuff that we're going to do tomorrow morning to help this thing, that I don't know how much better I will feel tomorrow," Hamlin said. "But I know as of today, there is no way I could do it."

Hamlin will have Casey Mears on standby as his relief driver in case he feels unable to continue to race all the way to the chequered flag. The Californian drove some laps in the opening practice of the day and actually tested a driver change.

According to NASCAR rules, if a driver starts a race, even if he is not the one behind the wheel when crossing the finish-line, he still gets credited with the points given to his position.

"I don't know how far I'll go," Hamlin admitted. "It definitely aches quite a bit. And the problem is range of motion - I can't get my knee bent far enough to put it on top of the [brake] pedal."

Hamlin will start the race from 26th place on the grid following a disappointing qualifying effort, although he seems most frustrated by not having recovered as much as he had expected.

"It's frustrating because your mind wants your leg to do one thing, but your body won't do it," said Hamlin. "It's a delayed reaction every time I want to do something. I don't feel that I'm doing my best out there, and that's frustrating from my standpoint.

"I'll do whatever I can. That's all I can do. I've done everything I was supposed to do and then some. If it's not enough time, then it's not enough time."

Hamlin not ready for race distanceCallejon race hots up

Gordon, Johnson move on from clash

Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have settled their differences over their on-track incident at Texas last Monday, after both of them were critical of each other's aggressiveness in the aftermath.

Gordon said he was "disappointed" with his Hendrick Motorsports team-mate after Johnson seemed to retaliate for a manoeuvre he disliked, while the pair where battling at the front in the second half of the race.

When asked if he had talked to Gordon this week following their exchange, Johnson tried to play the incident down but then said they have had contact and everything is now fine between the two.

"Did you guys [the media] hear about the fight we got into? Man, we just got into a hell of a fight," Johnson joked. "I caught him good with the right hook and am glad he's wearing those shades...

"No, honestly, we are out there racing and it doesn't matter, team-mate or not, you're going to race really, really hard. And that's what we do. Jeff and I have been racing each other really hard because we've both have had really good race cars and race wins and of course there is a very intense rivalry through the Hendrick team-mates, especially in that #24/48 [cars] shop.

"But being that it's a rivalry, it's always been a very good one and it will continue to be that way. We push each other really hard and ask a lot and we're both greedy in ways and have probably put each other in positions on the race track that he hasn't liked and I haven't liked and found myself in that position in Texas and decided to express myself a little bit.

"We've talked, for sure. Everything is fine and in good shape and we'll just keep racing."

Gordon echoed Johnson's remarks and added that in some ways he was pleased to be involved in these issues with his team-mate, as it confirmed he is competing at the sharp end and against the best again.

"We communicated," said Gordon. "We played a lot of phone tag and sent texts and voicemails. He was testing at Indy, but we definitely communicated. We're fine; everything's good. It's just like what I said on Monday after the wreck, it was just two guys racing really hard, we both had great cars and great teams, and that's just competition. That stuff is going to happen.

"We've raced hard for years. I just never had a car that could keep up with him. We've got that this year. In a way, I hope we see more of it. We don't want to be bumping and banging, but I do want to be changing positions with him for the lead and swapping those [positions].

"I love racing with Jimmie and because you know when you're racing with Jimmie, you're running good. He set that standard here over the last several years, and that's one that we haven't lived up to. It's one that I feel like we're capable of living up to this year.

"That's why we're going to be more aggressive, and we're going to be racing hard, and that means that we're going to upset some guys along the way."

Gordon arrives at Talladega this weekend as the most successful of the active drivers at the venue with six victories to Johnson's sole one from 2006.

Gordon critical of team-mate JohnsonRonaldo harbours title hope

Cup practice cancelled at Texas

Rain has forced the cancellation of all Sprint Cup series on-track activity for Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway.

Drivers will now head into the race with only the information from Friday's practice session to rely on, as the track has remained wet all day and forecasts show little chance of the rain stopping any time soon.

Some teams had anticipated the conditions and ran in race-trim during yesterday's first practice, where they normally prepare for qualifying.

The Sprint Cup series cars are running with a new tyre specification at Texas this weekend. Moreover they are racing with the new spoiler for the first time at a mile-and-a-half track, which adds a few more questions marks than usual for race day.

"I was hoping for rain," said Juan Pablo Montoya, who is set to start the race form 21st on the grid. "To be 100 percent honest with you, 80 percent of the practice for us yesterday was race. All we did was race. We [then] moved the car to qualifying trim...

"It's good because we think we've got a decent race car. We actually started way off from where we needed to be. We made some good changes and seemed to gain on the car really fast and I was pretty happy about that."

Weather forecasts for tomorrow are not very encouraging though, as they show a steady 50 percent chance of rain through Sunday afternoon, with showers expected since the early morning.

The Nationwide Series race is scheduled for today, but NASCAR officials are still waiting on the weather to make a decision on possibly rescheduling the event for Sunday.

However the event could be run later today weather-permitting, as Texas Motor Speedway has artificial lighting to allow for a night race.

Callejon race hots upRain postpones NASCAR to Monday

Kahne set for Hendrick move

Kasey Kahne has signed a multi-year deal to drive for Hendrick Motorsports from 2011, parting ways with Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of this season.

According to multiple sources, the 30-year-old has inked a contract to drive for NASCAR's top team, where he is expected to become the long-term replacement for veteran Mark Martin, who is set to leave the team at the end of next season.

However, with all seats filled at Hendrick for next year as the team's drivers are signed at least until 2012, it is still unclear which car Kahne will be driving in 2011.

Stewart-Haas Racing currently runs Hendrick engines and chassis for Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, and driver and team owner Stewart has not denied the possibility of running a third car in the future in the right circumstances.

Richard Petty Motorsports officials confirmed that Kahne, whose contract with the outfit was up this year, will leave the team at the end of the season.

"Kasey is a very talented driver and I have enjoyed watching him race," said the team's co-owner and seven time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Richard Petty. "We all wish him nothing but the best and hope he succeeds in anything he chooses to do."

Kahne entered the Cup series in 2004 with Evernham Motorsports, which then bacame Gillet Evernham in 2007. Before the 2009 season started and with Ray Evernham already out of the outfit, the team was renamed Richard Petty Motorsports.

The team switched from its long-time partner Dodge to race under the Ford banner this year, but Kahne currently languishes down in 26th place in the drivers' standings.

Kahne has been a Chase contender twice, the last time in 2009, when he finished 10th in the points. His best season came in 2006, when he won six races and finished eighth in the championship.

Budweiser, current sponsor for Kahne at RPM, backed Hendrick Motorsports' #25 and #50 cars between 1994 and 1999. It is still unknown whether the company will move with Kahne to his new team.

Raul not retiring yetKahne set for Hendrick move

Montoya eager for change of luck

Juan Pablo Montoya is hoping for an end to his run of bad results, as he languishes in 25th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings after the first six races.

The Earnhardt Ganassi racer has shown speed through the start of his fourth season in NASCAR, but technical issues and incidents have cost him points.

Montoya was among the title contenders last year when he was one of 12 drivers in contention for the title during the series' play-off. He admits his poor results have hit him hard in the points.

"For us, at this point, we want to start finishing some races," said Montoya at Phoenix today. "We have been having such bad luck that it is hard. Out of six races we have had four pretty much DNF - 30-something place finishes. It makes it hard for points. We have fast race cars every week and we should be good here."

Montoya has led four of the first six races of the year, and finished third at Atlanta, but an engine failure at California, contact with his team-mate Jaime McMurray at Las Vegas, a multi-car pile-up at Bristol and a tyre failure at Marstinville have left him already 171 points away from 12th place in the standings.

He expects his string of bad results could finally come to an end this weekend at Phoenix, where he will be starting from seventh place on the grid, as he believes his team's performance has shown it deserves much better.

"We are a top-five team, easily," Montoya said. "We run in the top five every week. We're there. Always one of the fastest cars in practice, qualifying even at race pace. But, we had blown tyres last week, the week before, something else happened, they wrecked in front of us. The week before we had a good week.

"There is always something. Blown motors. Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong so far. Hopefully it will change a little in the next few weeks."

The former Formula 1 race-winner believes neither his team nor he have made any costly mistakes and reckons that issues out of their control are to blame for their misfortunes thus far. Although he says it is still early to panic about being left out of this year's Chase for the title, he admits he cannot afford any more bad races.

"I think it is going to get to a point you either know you are in it or you are out of it," said Montoya. "You take it race by race, score as many points as you can and see what happens. It is completely out of our control. We come here and they wreck and we have nowhere to go.

"We haven't really made a mistake ourselves to say, 'this one is on us' yet. I don't feel we have. It can happen and that would really set us even further back."

Montoya's team-mate McMurray won the season-opening Daytona 500 but similar results to Montoya subsequently have already dropped him to 19th place in the standings.

Ronaldo harbours title hopeMontoya eager for change of luck