ESPN The Magazine's Ryan McGee said STP's return to NASCAR is a "great sign for the sport economically." McGee: "This was a company that was essentially run out of the sport just a decade ago because it couldn't afford it. At a time where so many teams, particularly Richard Petty Motorsports, are looking for sponsorship dollars, it's encouraging that a company like STP is willing to put money back into the sport." He added, "It's huge for old-school race fans, the people who say they've been disconnected from the sport over the last decade or so. There's nothing more iconic than the 1972 STP Richard Petty car and now it's going to be on the racetrack this summer" ("NASCAR Now," ESPN2, 4/13).
PICTURE PERFECT: Red Bull Racing will incorporate pictures of fans into the paint scheme for the No. 4 Sprint Cup car driven by Kasey Kahne and the No. 83 driven by Brian Vickers for the Coca-Cola 600 on May 29. Fans who submit their photos online will receive a personalized code that says where on the car their photo will be (Red Bull). Kahne said, "Red Bull hasn't done that in the past. It's always just the Red Bull car" ("Inside NASCAR," Showtime, 4/13).
START YOUR ENGINES: In Indianapolis, Curt Cavin reported IndyCar driver Paul Tracy and Dragon Racing "will make their Izod IndyCar Series season debuts this weekend in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach." Tracy and Dragon Racing "plan to compete in next month's Indianapolis 500, too, although it won't be together." Tracy said that he "had to make a decision about driving for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the 500 while sponsorship deals with Dragon were unsettled." D&R "offered a funded program with Wix Filters as the primary sponsor" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 4/14).
FOR A GOOD CAUSE: Livestrong has added IndyCar driver Ryan Hunter-Reay to the cancer foundation's Global Envoy program. Hunter-Reay will wear a Livestrong-branded helmet in Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach that will be auctioned on eBay with a limited edition serigraph by motorsports artist Randy Owens, with 100% of the proceeds going to Livestrong (Livestrong).
