NASCAR's Jim Hunter dies at 71

NASCAR executive Jim Hunter passed away on Friday night in Daytona, following a year-long battle with cancer.

Hunter, one of the sport's 'old guard', spent more than four decades involved with NASCAR at different levels, working as a journalist, sports editor and public relations representative during his career.

Some of his positions included being president of Darlington Raceway, corporate vice-president of International Speedway Corporation, and he also spent two stints at NASCAR, first in 1983 as vice-president of administration and then from 2001 in the public relations department, where he was named vice-president for corporate communications.

"Jim Hunter was one of NASCAR's giants," said NASCAR's Brian France. "For more than 40 years Jim was part of NASCAR and its history. He loved the sport, but loved the people even more. It seems as if everyone in the sport called him a friend. Jim will forever be missed by the NASCAR community. Our sympathies go out to his entire family."

While working in the public relations area he worked with some IndyCar drivers before getting fully involved in NASCAR, with his efforts recognised through numerous awards.

"Jim was a uniquely talented man that cannot be replaced," said NASCAR president Mike Helton. "He was a great friend and mentor to so many in the sport. His influence will remain with and be carried on by so many of the people he touched. This is a sad day for Jim's family and his extended, NASCAR family."

Hunter is survived by his wife of 48 years, Ann Hunter; his children, Scott Hunter and Amy McKernan and his grandchildren Dakota Hunter, and Hunter and Luke McKernan.

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Gordon gets new main sponsor

Jeff Gordon will campaign the "Drive To End Hunger" as his main sponsor from 2011, as DuPont scales back on its backing of the four-time Sprint Cup Series champion.

The AARP Foundation and Hendrick Motorsports announced a three-year deal to have Gordon and his team as ambassadors for an initiative to end hunger in America, specially among 60-plus seniors.

The agreement will cover 22 races per year, with DuPont and Pepsi expected to remain involved, featuring as main sponsors in a small number of events.

"This is a truly unique opportunity to help people, and it's a completely new, cause-driven approach to sponsorship," said Gordon. "Every single day, millions of older Americans are forced to make a choice between food, medicine and utilities.

"It's going to be a team effort, and it's not going to be easy, but we can solve this problem."

The AARP Foundation, a non-lucrative entity, expects to raise more awareness about the cause they campaign by being involved with one of NASCAR's most popular drivers.

They ultimately expect the sponsorship helps raise far more funding that they will actually spend, estimates about the foundation's investment being between US $10 and $15 million per season.

"We expect to raise far more money than we're investing in this [sponsorship] if we're going to solve this issue of hunger in America," said AARP Foundations President Jo Ann Jenkins.

"...NASCAR fans are among the most charitable, community-minded sports fans in the country, and they have a track record of commitment.

"With the help of Jeff and the Hendrick team, we will make the most of this unprecedented opportunity to end the struggle that so many older Americans have with hunger."


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DuPont extends Gordon's relationship

Despite scaling back on their sponsorship of Jeff Gordon and Hendrick Motorsports, DuPont announced on Thursday a new three-year deal with the four-time champion.

DuPont, one of the companies with the longest standing relationships with Hendrick Motorsports and also the longest association with a current Sprint Cup series driver, will feature as the main sponsor of the #24 Chevrolet in 14 races per season for the next three years.

On Wednesday the team announced a three-year deal with the AARP Foundation and its "Drive To End Hunger" campaign, which will feature as the main sponsor of Gordon's car in the majority of events starting next year. Pepsi will take the main role in two races from next year.

"I can't remember what it was like to race without DuPont on board," said Gordon. "We've had such an incredible ride together, and I've learned so much about how DuPont applies science and innovation to make a positive difference in the world. It means a lot to me to keep it going for at least another three seasons.

"DuPont has supported me throughout my Cup career, and I feel like we have more wins and championships ahead."

On November 2012 season DuPont and Gordon will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their first races together, which marked the debut for both at NASCAR's top level at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"They took a leap of faith by sponsoring Jeff and the No. 24 team back in 1992, and the relationship has been unbelievable ever since," said Rick Hendrick. "They are terrific people, and it's extremely gratifying to continue into our 19th full season together [in 2011]."

Gordon has won four championships carrying the company's logos, which will still feature on his car in every race for the next three years, even when AARP is the main sponsor.

DuPont, a science-based products and services company, has one of the most unique marketing strategies in the sport given its business-to-business model.

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Red Bull yet to confirm 2011 line-up

Red Bull Racing officials have yet to finalise the NASCAR team's driver line-up for next season, as they continue to monitor Brian Vickers' recovery from illness.

Following Kasey Kahne's early arrival at the team after being released by Richard Petty Motorsports this week, Red Bull Racing team general manager Jay Frye has stated that the outfit has yet to decide on who will partner Kahne next season.

Vickers, who has been with the team since its debut season in 2007, is currently recovering from treatment after being diagnosed with blood clots in May which forced him to stop racing immediately.

Although Vickers' condition has evolved positively and he expects to be ready to race in time for the start of the 2011 season, Frye says they are still keeping a close eye on his recovery.

"We're still monitoring Brian's health and his situation," said Frye. "So far everything seems really good. Our plan is to have two cars. Obviously in that situation, we have too many drivers. Then we have to figure out what to do.

"We continue to monitor Scott [Speed] and his performance, so we'll know more on that soon. A lot of it is dependent on Brian and his health."

Despite denying that any final decision has been made on Speed's future with the team, Frye said that there are performance clauses in the Californian's contract which could allow the team to release him at the end of the season.

Speed is currently 28th in the Sprint Cup standings, his best results being 10th places at Atlanta and Daytona.

"We've said this for some time now that there's performance clauses within his contract and again, we don't really get into contract discussions," Frye said. "We're going to end up having, at this point, two cars and possibly three drivers. At that point, decisions will have to be made. It's not necessarily the case that decisions have been made yet."

Frye also welcomed Kahne's early arrival, which he expects to help the team set a solid foundation for what will be its fifth full season at NASCAR's top level.

"Obviously, a lot of things happened this week and obviously we're very excited to get a head start on the 2011 season," said Frye. "This was something we obviously didn't anticipate happening but it did and we couldn't be more happy about it."

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Kahne: RPM exit by mutual consent

Kasey Kahne claims his sudden departure from Richard Petty Motorsports was a mutual agreement between the parties, and wished his former outfit well having moved to the Red Bull Racing Team for the remainder of the year.

The 30-year-old was released by RPM on Wednesday following friction between both sides at last weekend's race at Charlotte, where Kahne struggled with brake problems before crashing during the first half of the race.

Kahne was in his final races at the wheel of the #9 RPM Ford, as in August he announced he was switching to Red Bull in 2011, before entering a multi-year deal to drive for Hendrick Motorsports from '12.

His free agent status following Wednesday's announcement from RPM allowed him to make his move to Red Bull effective this weekend at Martinsville, where he is driving the #83 Toyota for the first time.

Speaking at the Virginia track, Kahne stated that the break up was by mutual consent, and believes it was positive for both him and RPM as they both can concentrate on getting a rolling start to 2011.

"It was a mutual release and for me, I think that's a good thing for both sides. They're happy about it and we're happy about it," said Kahne.

"Really, to me I was leaving. I was going on starting next year and it made sense for RPM to start working on their things for next year and for myself to get with the Red Bull guys at this point. It's kind of a jump-start on next year, is what I see it as. That's the biggest thing.

"It's been kind of a crazy week. There's been a lot of different things going on and maybe different opinions on what happened or what's going to happen and that kind of stuff. I'm looking forward to this weekend and I'm happy that I'm in the Red Bull car. Hopefully, I can work well with this group of guys and go pretty fast at times."

Kahne still lamented the technical issues that have hampered him this season with RPM, contributing to him not making the Chase after being a title contender last year. He is currently ranked 21st in the standings with no victories, this being his first winless season since 2007.

"Last weekend, Saturday night [at Charlotte], to have a problem like we had on lap 30, that just doesn't happen at a track that you don't use very much brake at," said Kahne. "And then to happen before. We'd had things go on throughout the season.

"At that point in time, it was difficult and I think the timing of all this made sense. It was nice for me when it happened and I think it's good for RPM when it happened."

Speculation has been mounting about RPM facing financial difficulties and that being a factor in Kahne's departure. Although he refused to comment on the team's finances, Kahne said the outfit has fulfilled its salary commitments with him to date.

Kahne also wished the team well for the remainder of the season and hopes the organisation sees out the year, amid reports that it faces an uphill struggle to complete 2010.

"For me, I certainly hope that RPM keeps rolling," said Kahne. "I hope that they finish out this season and put together another great season next year. That's what I want them to do. I want that team to keep going.

"There's a lot of good people there that deserve to have jobs and deserve to be working on these race teams. For me, I hope they keep rolling for sure."

Kahne also confirmed that his RPM crew chief Kenny Francis will finish the year with the #9 RPM team, before rejoining him at Red Bull next year.

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Ambrose concerned about RPM

Marcos Ambrose hopes Richard Petty Motorsports can get through its financial woes within the next few weeks as he fears for the team's future, having signed a deal to drive for the team in 2011.

Speculation continues to mount regarding RPM, following the early release of Kasey Kahne from the team this week and a growing uncertainty about its funding for the rest of the season and next year.

RPM announced earlier this year that Marcos Ambrose will drive the outfit's #9 Ford in 2011, while AJ Allmendinger is signed to race the #43 car next year.

The Australian, who will start second in Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville, revealed he has gone through a week of uncertainty regarding his future following the news from RPM.

"My new team for 2011 is going through a rough patch," said Ambrose. "I'm fully committed to it. I hope they can get their problems fixed in the next couple of weeks, and put it all behind.

"It's just been a week of uncertainty really. It's not nice for anybody and I've got a great opportunity for 2011. I just want to make sure I get to do it."

RPM's director of competition Robbie Loomis said the team continues to look forward to 2011 despite some reports raising doubts about them seeing the season out.

"I think it's our full intention to go forward," Loomis said. "There's been a lot of speculation about a lot of things, there always has been in this sport, but what gives me confidence is that we've always had the ability to move forward. We do our best today.

"I was thinking riding up the road this morning with Dale [Inman] and I said, 'You can't look too far out in the future because today is all that we really have,' and many of you know that from being around this sport."

Loomis denied there have been any management changes in the last few weeks and said George Gillett continues to be the squad's majority owner, with Richard Petty, Boston Ventures and Ray Evernham all being minority shareholders.

Gillett has been at the centre of controversy recently after reluctantly having to sell the Liverpool Football Club, a transaction that has reportedly left losses for him and his business partner Tom Hicks.

New England Sports Venture (NESV), the new owner of the football team, also owns a stake of Roush Fenway, which has a technical partnership with RPM for chassis and engines.

The dispute between Gillett and NESV over the sale of Liverpool led to doubts about the continuity of the technical support for RPM from Roush, which led to suggestions that the team did not have cars for next weekend's race at Talladega.

However, Loomis said that RPM's cars will be at the Alabama circuit next weekend.

"The Gilletts, they've been through a lot obviously - everyone knows that," Loomis said. "They've worked really hard to be a four-car team last year and continue it this year, and now we've got to look at what our teams are going to look like going into next year."

"We'll be at Talladega. I hope we're all in Talladega. It's our full intention to keep rolling right along."

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Kahne released early from RPM

Kasey Kahne has been released from driving duties by Richard Petty Motorsports, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series outfit announced on Wednesday night.

The 30-year-old will depart his current team sooner than expected after a fallout with his squad after last Saturday's race at Charlotte. His #9 Ford was driven to the chequered flag by JJ Yeley following mid-race repairs after Kahne crashed against the wall and into Sam Hornish's Penske Dodge.

Kahne was reportedly unhappy during the event after suffering brake issues, which had already hampered him in previous races. The malfunction caused him to struggle and eventually crash on lap 125 of 334, and Kahne then felt too unwell to get back in the car according to reports from team officials during the race.

However Kahne later revealed that there had been some friction between him and the outfit, following the incident Saturday.

"I was told that I needed to start doing my part, is what one guy told me last night after the race," Kahne told reporters at Charlotte last Sunday. "I told him he needed to start doing his part."

Red Bull Racing Team announced in August that it had agreed for Kahne to drive for the team in 2011 before he takes over from veteran Mark Martin at Hendrick.

Kahne announced last April that he was leaving RPM at the end of the season after signing a multi-year deal to drive for Hendrick Motorsports from 2012.

Aric Almirola had been entered as the driver for the #83 Red Bull Toyota for this weekend's Chase round at Martinsville, but he is now expected to take over the #9 car at RPM, while Kahne could probably accelerate his arrival at Red Bull.

Kahne has not enjoyed a good 2010 season with no wins to his name despite three pole positions. He currently ranks 21st in the Sprint Cup standings behind RPM team-mate AJ Allmendinger.

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