By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In a surprise announcement, crew chief Steve Letarte, who has been leading Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team at Hendrick Motorsports, is leaving pit road to be a TV analyst for NBC, beginning with the 2015 season when the network returns to the sport.
”I’ve always been impressed with [...]

RacinToday.com
Spirit of Daytona Racing left the November TUDOR United SportsCar Championship open test at Daytona International Speedway with a torn-up race car.
The team returned to Daytona for the Roar Before the Rolex 24 with a brand-new race car and took the honors of running the fastest lap on Sunday, the final day of the [...]

RacinToday.com
A NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver and a Formula One test driver led the respective Prototype classes in the second day of Roar Before the Rolex 24 testing.
Jamie McMurray, winner of the 2010 Daytona 500 Cup race, paced the prototype drivers with a lap of 1:38.980 (129.481 mph) in the No. 01 Telcel/Target Ford EcoBoost/Riley. [...]

RacinToday.com
Christian Fittipaldi logged the fastest lap of the day Friday at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.
The “Roar”, which serves as practice for the upcoming 24, will continue through the weekend.
The 52nd Rolex 24 At Daytona will be held on Jan. 25-26, opening a new era in North American sports car racing [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Colleague/boss Jim Pedley, founder and managing editor of RacinToday.com, emailed me on the morning after the annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards telecast to note that he just cannot bear to watch the program anymore.
“Like fingernails on blackboard watching these guys try to be funny,” Jim said. And I bet [...]

By Jim Pedley | Managing Editor
RacinToday.com
The pain started for Dario Franchitti in his ankle. Then it moved to his head.  Not long after that, it had spread to his entire body. Perhaps the worst part came when it reached his psyche and the three-time Indy 500 winner suddenly realized that his competitive driving career was [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Takuma Sato will begin his second IndyCar Series season with A.J. Foyt Racing today with a test session at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway. The team confirmed Tuesday that Sato, 36, will continue to drive Foyt’s No. 14 ABC Supply Dallara/Honda in 2014, the native of Japan’s fifth season in the [...]

By Jim Pedley | Managing Editor
RacinToday.com
Richard Childress announced Wednesday that he will return the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to the Sprint Cup Series next season and that his grandson, Austin Dillon, will drive the car.
Dillon will be competing in his first full Cup season while the car returns full time to the series [...]

RacinToday.com
Tony Stewart’s reaction to being named recipient of the 2013 NMPA Myers Brothers Award was emotional and heartfelt.
“This is crazy,” said Stewart, a three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. “What an honor. It’s very humbling.”
Stewart was cited by the National Motor Sports Press Association (NMPA) during Thursday’s annual NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon at [...]

By Jim Pedley | Managing Editor
RacinToday.com
On Thursday in Las Vegas, site of this weekend’s annual post-season awards banquet, NASCAR officials Brett Jewkes and Brian France held a press conference.
A variety of topics were discussed. The topics ranged from the updates to the Hall of Fame voting procedures (see related story on this page) to the [...]