Notebook: Gassing up with summer winding down

The kids are back in school and as the Labor Day weekend fast approaches I'm left wondering, as is usually the case this time of year, where the heck did summer go?

It sure seems like Memorial Day was here just a minute ago and now suddenly we're steering right into the final break of the Sprint Cup calendar before a 12-race stretch that will first decide the Chase combatants and then finally the series champion.

Brad Keselowski seems to be a much sought-after driver on the Cup circuit. (Getty Images)

So while most of the NASCAR world licks their wounds from Bristol and heads to either the beach, the mountains or simply the couch, let's ponder a few of the more interesting topics jammed into the old reporter's notebook:

NASCAR Doubleheader weekend

Not everyone in the NASCAR world will be enjoying down time this weekend. The sanctioning body's number two and three circuits will be hard at work. Friday night the Camping World Truck Series makes its debut at Chicagoland Speedway. While the trucks haven't competed at the 1½-mile track in Joliet, Ill. before, the series has run in the Windy City in the past. Back in 2000 and 2001 the trucks raced at the now defunct Chicago Motor Speedway, a one-mile oval built around a horse racing track in the suburb of Cicero. Let's just say the crowd at either race won't ever be confused with the throng at Bristol.

There may be more than a few empty seats at Friday night's race as well. Chicagoland is one of several tracks that employ a "Track Pack" season ticket policy; meaning fans must purchase all events on the schedule with single race day admission not available. Only about 55,000 were on hand for this year's Chicagoland Cup race, which most likely means many less will show up Friday although there's a good possibility the trucks will outdraw Saturday night's IRL race, which has a ridiculous 9 p.m. local time green flag.

The good news is the track's new management team is reportedly looking at changing ticket procedures for next season.

Meanwhile the Nationwide Series will return north of the border with Sunday's running of the NAPA Auto Parts 200 in Montreal. Last year's inaugural event was deemed a great success despite the torrential rainstorm that turned the track into a quagmire. Although the experiment to bring the series to Mexico City ended after attendance steadily declined over the three years of the event, optimism abounds that Montreal will remain a healthy venue for NASCAR in years to come.

Penske still courting Keselowski

Reports surfaced last week in Bristol that Brad Keselowski was set to replace David Stremme in the three-car Penske Racing Sprint Cup stable next year. ESPN reported on its race telecast Stremme was informing people in the garage area he was out of the ride and looking for employment next season. However Stremme insists he never made those statements and that no one from the network bothered to ask him directly about his future. Stremme told Sirius NASCAR Radio's The Morning Drive he "feels good about his future and will discuss his plans when the time allows." Keselowski and his current Sprint Cup and Nationwide team owners Rick Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have also declined to comment on what lies ahead for the Michigan driver.

TV ratings rise

Speaking of ESPN, the network announced its last two Sprint Cup Series telecasts from Michigan and Bristol enjoyed increased ratings from a year ago. It marked only the third time this season television audiences were higher than 2008 figures. The double-dip rise comes after back-to-back weeks of rained out events -- at Pocono and Watkins Glen -- which were forced to run on Mondays, which brought ratings way down.

Big test for Atlanta

Atlanta Motor Speedway hosts the Sprint Cup Series' next race on Labor Day weekend. After several years in Fontana, Calif., NASCAR shifted the end-of-summer weekend race back to the Southeast in hopes of recapturing some of the interest lost when the traditional Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway ended. It's a critical move for Atlanta, which has suffered through lean attendance in recent years. There is much speculation parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc. will strip a Sprint Cup date from the track and move it to Kentucky Speedway or use it as a second date at Las Vegas Motor Speedway if the turnout next week in low.

IRL adjusts schedule

There were a few modifications announced to the previously released 2010 Indy Racing League schedule. Most notably was the move of Texas to the week immediately following the Indy 500. That traditional date was held by Milwaukee for decades and the IRL's decision to shift the weekend to TMS pretty much means the venerable Wisconsin Fairgrounds track's days are numbered. The previous promotional group owed both the IRL and NASCAR, which has held a Nationwide-Truck series doubleheader in Milwaukee for several years, sanction fees. While there is a small glimmer of hope a new management team will come forward, don't look for either Indy Cars or big league stock car racing to be on the 2010 schedule -- if ever.