SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - On Tuesday, Danica Patrick announced that she would be racing part time for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with GoDaddy.com as the primary sponsor.
After winning his legal battle last month, Helio Castroneves was able to to continue his return to stardom, winning his third Indianapolis 500. After starting from the pole, Castroneves became only the 6th driver to win the Indy 500 three times. In a tearful celebration, the only words that Castroneves could muster up was "this is incredible." He continued, "you [fans] are what kept me strong".
| Date | Track | Layout |
| Sun 5-Apr | Streets of St. Petersburg | 1.8-mile street course |
| Sun 19-Apr | Streets of Long Beach | 1.968-mile street course |
| Sun 26-Apr | Kansas Speedway | 1.5-mile oval |
| Sun 24-May | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | 2.5-mile oval |
| Sun 31-May | The Milwaukee Mile | 1.0-mile oval |
| Sat 6-Jun * | Texas Motor Speedway | 1.5-mile oval |
| Sun 21-Jun | Iowa Speedway | .875-mile oval |
| Sat 27-Jun * | Richmond International Raceway | .75-mile oval |
| Sun 5-Jul | Watkins Glen International | 3.4-mile road course |
| Sun 12-Jul | Streets of Toronto | 1.721-mile street course |
| Sun 26-Jul | Edmonton City Centre Airport | 1.973-mile airport course |
| Sat 1-Aug * | Kentucky Speedway | 1.5-mile oval |
| Sun 9-Aug | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | 2.258-mile road course |
| Sun 23-Aug | Infineon Raceway | 2.303-mile road course |
| Sat 29-Aug * | Chicagoland Speedway | 1.5-mile oval |
| Sat 19-Sep | Twin Ring Motegi | 1.5-mile oval |
| Sat 10-Oct | Homestead-Miami Speedway | 1.5-mil oval |
DETROIT, Mich. (December 19, 2008) - Officials for the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix announced today that the 2009 event will be postponed due to the difficult economic conditions prevalent in southeast Michigan and across the nation.
“The economic environment that our region, state and country faces, both today and in 2009, is difficult,” said Roger Penske, Chairman of the Downtown Detroit Partnership. “It is unfortunate that we must postpone the 2009 Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix as sponsorship opportunities and support has proven to be very challenging for the event in the near term.”
On Tuesday, Chip Ganassi Racing announced that Dario Franchitti will be returning to the open wheel ranks in 2009, replacing Dan Wheldon in the #10 Target car in the unified Indy Racing League. The move by Chip Ganassi Racing effectively ends, for now, Franchitti's career in stock car racing. The decision by Franchitti to return to open wheel racing comes as a surprise to many, considering that Franchitti had been very adamant about continuing his stock car racing career. His decision also leaves fans, the media, and other teams wondering, what made Dario Franchitti agree to return to the Indy Racing League?
On Sunday, an obviously upset Danica Patrick made her way to Ryan Briscoe's pit after he put her car into the wall on pit lane, breaking her suspension and ending her day in the Indy 500. Patrick, who was stopped by the head of security a the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, appeared hellbent on letting Briscoe and his team know what she thought about the move that knocked her out of the race. The question arises: Does Danica Patrick feel entitled to special treatment because she is a woman or is she simply becoming the "bad girl" on the track, similar to NASCAR's current "bad boy", Kyle Busch?
After a month of grueling preparation, Scott Dixon dominated the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, capturing the win from the pole and taking is Chip Ganassi Target Car to victory lane. From the beginning of the race, he and teammate Dan Wheldon were running conservatively, first and second. Dixon had the right pit strategy and luck in the end as he was able to hold off a late race run by Vitor Meira and Marco Andretti. This win would mark Dixon's twelfth career win. Unfortunately for teammate Dan Wheldon, he would not be so lucky, finishing 19th, after running up front most of the day.
