Helio Castroneves will be back on track less than 24 hours after the Brazilian driver was acquitted of tax evasion charges.
Penske Racing president Tim Cindric said on Friday the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner will return to his No. 3 IndyCar in time for practice and qualifying Saturday for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Cindric said team owner Roger Penske has dispatched a private plane from his headquarters in Detroit to pick up Castroneves in Miami, where the trial was held. Castroneves, who was the series runner-up last year, was expected to arrive in Long Beach on Friday night…Â Details
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American Monster has agreed to a deal with TRG Motorsports to become the primary sponsor on the No. 71 Chevrolet car driven by David Gilliland in the Cup Series. The car will debut this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway.
American Monster is a television concept that will showcase successful, homegrown talent from a variety of competitive arenas. To be an American Monster is to defy the odds and compete at the highest levels relying on little more than your natural talent, innate abilities and pure determination. In 2009, each series will focus on athletes and talent from the Mixed Martial Arts, Monster Trucks, and NASCAR expanding to other sports in the near future. The show will give viewers a behind the scenes view on what it takes to compete against the world’s most sophisticated competition without any of the luxuries of huge budgets, or traditional means of support. The American Monster TV concept will be revealed on FOX Sports Net by the fourth quarter of 2009…Â Details
Brazilian race car driver and “Dancing With The Stars†champ Helio Castroneves was acquitted Friday of most charges that he worked with his sister and lawyer to evade more than $2.3 million in U.S. income taxes.
A federal jury acquitted Castroneves on six counts of tax evasion but hung on one count of conspiracy. The jury also acquitted Katiucia Castroneves, 35, who is her 33-year-old brother’s business manager, on the tax evasion counts but also hung on the conspiracy. Michigan motorsports attorney Alan Miller, 71, was acquitted on all three counts of tax evasion and one count of conspiracy. The jury deliberated six days after a six-week trial.
Castroneves, speaking in his native Portuguese, expressed profound relief.
“I just want to thank God, and my fans, and all of the people who prayed for me,†he said outside the courtroom, still fingering a rosary… Details
 A.J. Allmendinger will race for Richard Petty Motorsports in the 2010 Sprint Cup season, the team announced Friday.
“This was an easy decision for Richard Petty Motorsports,” said Tom Reddin, the team’s chief executive officer. “A.J. has done a superb job, both on and off the track in 2009. We want to let everyone know that he’s going to be a vital part of Richard Petty Motorsports for what we believe will be a long-term, winning relationship.”
The Petty team signed Allmendinger before …Â Details