NASCAR notes: Earnhardt Jr. still in market for sponsor

INDIANAPOLIS - Dale Earnhardt Jr. is not only looking for his first win of the season, he's still hunting for a big-bucks sponsor for 12 Sprint Cup races this season.

"It is important to try to fill out what we have this season and we will," Earnhardt said Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "I don't have any doubt at all that we will get that done. I think we almost have to look forward beyond that to try to find out who is going to be the partner that we can put a long term deal together that matches up with what we want to do in the future."

Hendrick Motorsports and Earnhardt would love to find a primary sponsor that would fund what's left on this season's slate as well as 2014, and possibly beyond.

"It's just all the dollars and cents are accounted for at this point in the year," Earnhardt said. "That doesn't mean we can't put some things together and do some creative stuff with some people and some partners that we already have."

NASCAR buzzing after Eldora dirt race

INDIANAPOLIS - The NASCAR Truck Series stop at Eldora Speedway this week created a lot of buzz that still hasn't died down.

The race on Wednesday was NASCAR's first stop on a dirt track since Sept. 30, 1970. Jeff Gordon said he would like to see a Cup race there but doesn't think it will happen during his career in racing. Dale Earnhardt Jr. would rather see an exhibition rather than a race for points.

The race at Eldora was sold-out, and Speed TV said they received a 1.2 share for the race and reached 1.4 million viewers.

Dalziel, Popow take Indy Grand-Am title

INDIANAPOLIS - Ryan Dalziel inherited the lead when Brazil's Rubens Barrichello was forced to make a late pit stop and held off hard-charging Scott Pruett by 3.438 seconds Friday night in the Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis.

Alex Gurney, the son of former IndyCar and Formula One driver Dan Gurney, was third in the Grand-Am Daytona prototype race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2.534-mile, 13-turn road circuit.

Dalziel's co-driver, Alex Popow, celebrated his second straight win at Indy.

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