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	COLLEGE	GOLF	NASCAR

The Dale Earnhardt Jr./DEI contract negotiations continue and the influence of ace negotiator Max Siegel may be bearing success. One contact said on the down-low that the 51 percent of majority ownership that Dale Jr. requires to stay with DEI has essentially been agreed to by Teresa Earnhardt. But she is requesting that an independent, impartial review board be set up within DEI that would review any major operational changes that Dale Jr. would want. So far, this has been balked at.
-- MaxChevy.com

Kurt Busch says that a postrace talk with team owner Roger Penske helped him put Sunday's performance at Texas Motor Speedway into perspective. Penske pointed out the positive points in the season, including how much the team has improved on intermediate tracks this season. The more Busch thought about it, the more he realized Penske was right.
-- SceneDaily.com

NASCAR has received permission from Virginia Tech to display the school's logo on race cars for the next three weeks, in a tribute to the victims of this week's shootings at the university's Blacksburg, Va. campus. The logo will be displayed against a black background on the "B-post" -- the area just to the right of the driver's side window net -- of cars competing in Nextel Cup Series and Busch Series events at Phoenix, Talladega and Richmond.
-- NASCAR.com

Buddy Sisco takes over as crew chief for Michael Waltrip's embattled No. 55 Toyota team effective with this weekend's Nextel Cup race at Phoenix. Sisco has been car chief on David Reutimann's No. 00 team at Michael Waltrip Racing. Derrick Finley also will take over as lead engineer on the No. 55. The team also has restructured its competition department.
-- Charlotte Observer

Sterling Marlin feels the numbers listed under his team's finish category are not indicative of the performances the Ginn Racing team has turned in during the first seven races of the 2007 season. What Marlin is referring to are the times that he has watched good runs go bad due to wrecks or mechanical issues, such as last weekend in Texas when the team experienced problems with the driveshaft in the first half of the race.
-- ThatsRacin.com

NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow is expected to reveal its true colors Saturday as the Nextel Cup Series arrives in the desert for its first night race of the season. The track just west of downtown Phoenix "will give us a better idea of where we are with the Car of Tomorrow," Jeff Gordon said. "It's a lot faster track where aerodynamics are much more of a factor," he added.
-- Los Angeles Times

Joe Ruttman will return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on April 28 at Kansas Speedway. Ruttman will drive the same truck in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 that the late Bobby Hamilton, a longtime friend and Ruttman's former employer, took to the 2004 trucks title.
-- Charlotte Observer

It is a step from the big leagues, but NASCAR's Grand National Division West Series serves as both a training and proving ground. This season, it is getting some additional spotlight time with three races on Nextel Cup weekends. Last year's series winner, Eric Holmes, has his sights set on bigger things. He is running a limited schedule this season, including the race at PIR, and will compete full time in Busch East events.
-- Arizona Republic

Music City Motorplex President Joe Mattioli said Daniel Pope will get an opportunity to drive a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series truck owned by Kevin Harvick Racing, but will "find some way to make up our mistake to Nicholas Formosa." Formosa initially was announced as the winner of "Operation Big Chance" but then it was discovered that Pope was in line for the ride.
-- The Tennessean

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