World Driving Champion Jacques Villeneuve will attempt to make his first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series start

DIED: Wally Parks, the man who founded the National Hot Rod Association and helped build drag racing into the sport it is today, died September 28. He was 94 years old…Dirt racing promoter Mike Swims lost his battle with cancer. He was 42.

NEW PLAN: The Indy Racing League IndyCar Series announced October 2 a new purse format for the series. The program, called IndyCar TEAM: Team Enhancement and Allocation Matrix, will award a minimum of $1.2 million to each car entered to compete the entire season. As a result the IRL will dissolve its existing purse structure.

RECOVERING: Injured Funny Car driver John Force continues his recovery from injuries suffered in a September 23 crash at the Texas Motorplex. Force is undergoing physical therapy and hopes to attend this weekend’s NHRA event at Virginia Motorsports Park to lend moral support to his team.

A DEBUT: Former Indy 500 and World Driving Champion Jacques Villeneuve will attempt to make his first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series start this weekend at Talladega (Alabama) Superspeedway. Villeneuve has only one NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start to his credit, but did participate in last month’s test session at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.

TEST TIME: The Indy Racing League announced a pair of upcoming off-season test sessions. The first will be October 3–4 at Iowa Speedway and the second October 12 on the road course at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.

NUMBER ONE: With his 17th World of Outlaws triumph of the season, which came in the $50,000-to-win National Open at Williams Grove Speedway, Donny Schatz returned to the top of the NSSN Power Rankings.

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