BRASELTON, Ga. — The American Le Mans Series and Speed have agreed to a contract extension that will keep the sports-car series on the cable network through 2010.
Speed reaches more than 72 million households in the U.S.
Speed President Hunter Nickell said he was happy to see the protracted negotiations with the ALMS bear fruit with the extension.
“ALMS is a very important series for Speed,” said Nickell, whose network has presented the series for the past eight years. “We’re essentially a lifestyle network — it’s just that those lifestyles are built around tires and engines and all that goes with it.”

• An automotive icon will return to the track in 2008.
The Ford GT (nee GT-40) will be reintroduced to endurance racing with the American Le Mans Series. Kevin Doran, principal and founder of Doran Racing, plans to compete with the new Ford GT in the 2008 ALMS GT2 division.

• Mooresville, N.C.-based Riley Technologies has introduced a Corvette C6 for competition in the American Le Mans Series GT2 class.
ALMS Chief Executive Officer Scott Atherton confirmed the arrival of the LGM Motorsports at his annual “State of the Series” speech at Road Atlanta on Friday.
The new Riley-built Corvette, which will be powered by a CRD-built V8, is expected to debut at the 2008 12 Hours of Sebring. At least one two-car team will race the Corvettes there when the ALMS kicks off its schedule on March 15.
With the Riley Corvettes and the debut of the Ford GT, ALMS may have solved one of its biggest issues —the sparse fields in the GT2 division.

• MSR Houston has signed a mult-year agreement to be the presenting sponsor of the American Le Mans Series’ Lone Star Grand Prix, beginning in 2008.
The event, which is waged at the 2.38-mile, 17-turn road course at JAGFlo Speedway at Reliant Park on the outskirts of Houston, is to be called the Lone Star Grand Prix Presented by MSR Houston. The ALMS race is slated for Saturday, April 26. The Champ Car World Series event is scheduled for April 27.

• IndyCar driver Vitor Meira joined Team Andretti Green drivers Bryan Herta and Tony Kanaan behind the wheel of the No. 26 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-01a for Petit Le Mans.
Meria, who made his second ALMS start and second-straight Petit Le Mans appearance, replaced Dario Franchitti, who was released from Andretti Green to pursue NASCAR Nextel Cup interests with Chip Ganassi Racing.

• Lucas Luhr joined the lineup for the No. 2 Audi R10 TD1 at Petit Le Mans. Luhr was forced into action after Emanuele Pirro suffered a concussion during an accident that occurred in Thursday’s first practice session. IMSA medical staff members pulled Pirro from the race due to the concussion and Luhr was teamed with overall fast-qualifier Marco Wener.

• Insiders said that Roger Penske will again field a pair of Porsche RS Spyders in the ALMS’ LMP2 division, seeking a third straight championship. Less certain is Penske’s driver lineup with rumors that Ryan Briscoe, Sascha Maassen’s partner this past year, said to be in line for a possible IRL ride in ’08. If that happens, Porsche factory driver Patrick Long, who ran with Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas in the long distance shows in 2007, might be in line to replace him. Less clear is what Audi will do in 2008, with some saying it might abandon the ALMS. However, those close to the Audi scene note that at present the Audi North America program is scheduled to continue in 2008.