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ARCA RE/MAX Series officials confirmed today that the series has adopted a more stringent substance abuse policy, effective immediately.

Among the components of the revised policy is a requirement that all drivers in the ARCA RE/MAX Series undergo a nine-panel drug screen prior to driving in 2009. This testing, to be conducted by a certified lab, is in addition to the standard physical examination which has been a long standing prerequisite for drivers in the series.

“Given the nature of the sport and the driver’s crucial role, we felt it was appropriate to require testing prior to participating in the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 2009,” said ARCA President Ron Drager.

The ARCA Substance Abuse Policy closely aligns with those of other motorsports sanctioning bodies, and provides for random testing of drivers, crew members and series officials. The policy prohibits the misuse or abuse of any drug and ARCA members found to be in violation are subject to disciplinary action up to and including immediate suspension.

GO FIGURE, Kyle Bush Jr. - AKA Joey Logano - is getting lots of pre-season and pre-Daytona press… who’d have thunk? After seeing Logano’s actions and racing style in-person at Irwindale last week when he put Peyton Sellers into the wall in the last lap of the Toyota All-Star Showdown, I am running out of patience with NASCAR’s latest “boy wonder” before the season even begins. And I’m not alone…

Someone fed this poor boy’s ego to the point of overload so it’s not 100% his fault - monsters are usually created (not born) in this sport. But by hanging out with Baby Bush and getting his “pearls of wisdom” as he embarks on his new ride with Joe Gibbs Racing for 2009, J-Lo’s attitude and ego can only get worse. This season the car with the yellow stripe should serve as a true warning to all others on the track: just ask Peyton Sellers.

When Joey Logano climbs into the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for the 51st running of the “Great American Race,” on Sunday, Feb. 15, he will make history as the youngest driver to start a Daytona 500 – NASCAR’s biggest, richest and most prestigious race.

If Logano, who will be 18 years, 8 months and 22 days old on the date of this year’s Daytona 500, can get the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota and his Joe Gibbs Racing team into Gatorade Victory Lane in his first Daytona 500 start, he will surpass Jeff Gordon as the youngest driver to win “The Great American Race.” Gordon won his first Daytona 500 back in 1997 at the age of 25.
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2008 Cobra Jet Drag Racing - John Force and Bob Tasca Jr. try out the 2008 Cobra Jet Mustang at Pomona.

The American Le Mans Series wasn’t going to let the veterans from Indy have the final word, so they’ve decided to weigh in and offer their advice for the BIG GAME on Sunday…

Johnny O’Connell, Corvette Racing
Corvette C6.R (GT1)
“I’m going with Arizona. I lived there six years working for the Bondurant School. You have to like (Kurt) Warner at quarterback. That’s a great good-guy story. Plus it’d be nice to see someone new win it.”

Chris McMurry, Autocon Motorsports
Lola B06/10-AER (LMP1)
(A business owner in the Phoenix area) “I’m pulling for the Cardinals. They’ve been in town here for 20 years, and anything that has been in your life for 20 years grows on you. It’s a universal thing here…the way people reacted to how they have been doing lately and how people were reacting to them previously. A lot of people were indifferent. You’ve been let down so many times. It really looked like at the end of the season that they would do what they do every year - let you down. Then all of a sudden great things start to happen, then again, then a third time and then ‘We have something here!’
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After a successful Inaugural event, the Darlington Historic Racing Festival is set to return in 2009, announced Darlington Raceway President, Chris Browning. The event will once again be run on a Saturday and Sunday, September 26-27. The event was moved from its original Labor Day weekend date to help accommodate more entries in 2009.

“The Inaugural Darlington Historic Racing Festival was a special event that allowed us to showcase the history of Darlington Raceway and oval-track racing,” said Browning. “We are looking forward to hosting the event again in 2009 and hope to have an even bigger turnout of car entries.”

The 2008 festival was highlighted with appearances by some of NASCAR’s all-time greats including: David Pearson, Junior Johnson, Darrell Waltrip, Buddy Baker, Bobby and Donnie Allison, Marvin Panch and many more.

In addition to legendary drivers several legendary cars were also on display, including four former Indianapolis 500 winning machines. A.J. Foyt’s first Indy 500 winning car – a 1961 Bowes Seal Fast Special No. 1 – was on-hand along with the car he won the 1977 Indy 500 in – his final Indy 500 win of his career. The 1951 winning car of Lee Wallard and the 1962 winning car of Roger Ward were also on-hand.

There was plenty for fans to see and do at the festival throughout the weekend. In addition to question and answer and autograph sessions with the NASCAR legends, over 125 cars were on display at the event with nearly 100 of the cars turning laps on the historic 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval. The 2009 event will again showcase a wide variety of race cars including: stock cars, Indy roadsters, modifieds, sprint cars and midgets. Several NASCAR legends will once again be in attendance to swap stories and interact with fans.

The two-day festival is slated to take place on September 26 and 27 with single day tickets available for $15 or two-day tickets for $25. Children 12 and under will once again be admitted for free.

Be a part of history when Darlington Raceway celebrates 60 years of racing in 2009. Tickets to the 2009 Southern 500®, as well as the NASCAR Nationwide Series Diamond Hill Plywood 200 are on-sale now. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Darlington Raceway ticket office at 866-459-RACE or online at http://www.darlingtonraceway.com/tickets/. For more information contact: Jake Harris, Darlington Raceway Public Relations, 843-395-8823.

OK - I’ve seen some crazy stuff, but this one is over the top - literally! The guy on top steers and the guy on the bottom accelerates… Have you ever tried holding the wheel on the freeway while your friend is driving? Yeah… it’s kind of like that - but a whole lot scarier!

OK - I get it, performing with millions and millions of fans watching you center stage is a lot tougher than racing on a local track in your teen years or playing football at your local community college. So the IndyCar Series veterans of the world-renowned Indy 500 decided to give some advice to the rookies that will be playing this Sunday in the NFL Super Bowl. Here’s some excerpts:

Marco Andretti - 2006 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, finishing second: “I think walking into your first Super Bowl is like walking into your first Indy 500. There’s nothing like it. You work every day for your chance to get there. It’s enough to put your stomach in knots, for sure. You can’t help but feel pressure sometimes, you just have to try and block it out. Just do your job and don’t hold back.”

Danica Patrick - 2005 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, finishing fourth after leading 19 laps late in the race, becoming the only woman to lead laps in the 92-year history of the race: “The best advice that I have ever been given about being a rookie at the Indianapolis 500, is to respect the track. I would have to tell the rookies of the Super Bowl, ‘Don’t take your first experience here for granted, respect it for what it is and enjoy the moment.’”
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…but will that be enough to pull in the race fans?

I saw a press statement on NASCAR’s Media Site today that Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, host of NASCAR’s 2nd Cup Race of the year will be featuring tons of talent from Hollywood in the form of their musical entertainment act - a band called “Band From TV” (cute, isn’t it?) - which includes: Greg Grunberg (drums) and Adrian Pasdar (guitar) both from the NBC hit “Heroes”; James Denton (guitar), currently starring in the ABC hit “Desperate Housewives”; Bob Guiney (vocals), who appeared on “The Bachelor” and is currently seen on TLC’s “Date My House” and Jesse Spencer (violin) currently starring in the FOX hit “House.”

I have definitely made MY feelings about the “Disneyfication” of California’s Fontana speedway known - my family has been season ticket holders since the first race, but we cancelled our packages for 2009 following one dismal race event after another in recent years. In fact, several families in our section all cancelled their ticket packages this year in favor of attending race events at other locations - Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway are just a couple hours away. However my family has decided to spread out and search for a new “home track.” We attend the Daytona 500 every February (last 5 years’ running) and have added new tracks to our list. Last year we hit Texas and Phoenix (loved it… hated it) and this year we hope to hit Talladega in the fall and maybe check out Bristol.

Another new thing we’ve been doing is to check out local tracks and home-town racing events here in Southern California - there’s a lot more going on than we ever realized. We hit Irwindale last week for the Toyota All-Star Showdown event, and will be going back for more local West Series events in March. We also purchased tickets to head out to Perris to see some USAC sprints and other dirt track events when their season begins. I will definitely be posting pics and details so stay tuned… and if you head out to Auto Club Speedway post some comments here and let us know if 2009 is any improvement over the last couple of years.

GAS Pro Late Model 100 & CRA Super Late Model 200 At Lanier National Speedway.

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I’ve been really getting into rally racing. It’s not something that you find a lot of coverage on here in the U.S., but I have to confess - I’m captivated. Saw this press announcement today about the Rally America series drivers who have been asked to compete in one of my other fave sporting events - the X Games:

Rally America announces the first wave of athletes who have been invited to compete at X Games 15, to be held in Los Angeles August 2, 2009. The event will air live on ESPN and ABC. At least ten drivers from the Rally America National Championship will battle in head to head competition for X Games glory.

Conditional invitations have been extended to eight drivers, including X Games 14 Rally Car Racing medalists. If any of the eight currently named drivers is unable to accept their invitation, their position will be filled in June as part of the anticipated twelve-car field.

Invited drivers as of January 22, 2009:
1. Travis Pastrana – Davidson, MD
2. Tanner Foust – Steamboat Springs, CO
3. Ken Block – Rancho Santa Fe, CA
4. Dave Mirra – Greenville, NC
5. Kyle Sarasin – Marquette, MI
6. Andrew Pinker – Perth, WA Australia
7. Andrew Comrie-Picard – Toronto, ON Canada
8. Matthew Johnson – Apex, NC

The top two Rally America Championship contenders after the Susquehanna Trail Rally June 6, who are not in the list of eight above, will be invited to X Games 15.

For more on Rally America racing, visit www.rally-america.com.