LOS ANGELES — A NASCAR team owner accused of defrauding the government of more than $20 million in taxes was released on $10 million bail Friday.
Gene Haas, the 54-year-old owner of Oxnard-based Haas Automation and NASCAR's Haas CNC Racing, was arrested Monday for investigation of conspiracy, filing false tax returns and witness intimidation.
Charges filed by the U.S. attorney's office accuse him of orchestrating a plan to list $50 million in bogus expenses that could be written off as business costs and save the company $20 million in taxes.
Haas was ordered to turn in his passport at a hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Patrick J. Walsh.
The judge said Haas can travel to NASCAR races and to his business in North Carolina with the court's prior permission. Walsh overruled the government's objections to the bail conditions.
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NASCAR Nextel Cup
SONOMA, Calif — Kurt Busch looked a lot like the driver he replaced in the No. 2 Penske South Racing Dodge on Friday when he took his first road course pole.
Busch moved from Roush Racing to the Penske team over the winter, taking over the seat left vacant by retired Rusty Wallace, one of the best road racers in NASCAR.
"There's a little bit of Rusty in there, but there's a lot of Roy," said Busch, referring to crew chief Roy McCauley.
Busch, who has now qualified among the top six in five of six trips to Infineon Raceway, turned a lap of 93.055 mph to earn his second pole of the season and the fifth of his career.
NASCAR Trucks
WEST ALLIS, Wis. — After winning his first career NASCAR Craftsman Trucks series race last week, Johnny Benson made it two in a row with a victory in the Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200 on Friday night.
Benson, who won at Michigan International Speedway last Saturday, passed Ron Hornaday Jr. with 41 laps to go, then held him off on a restart with 25 laps to go for the victory.
IRL
RICHMOND, Va. — A thunderstorm washed out qualifying for the Indy Racing League's SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway on Friday night, and series points leader Helio Castroneves was awarded the pole position.
Castroneves got the pole based on combined practice speeds from earlier in the day.
Champ Car
CLEVELAND — Sebastien Bourdais won the provisional pole Friday at the Grand Prix of Cleveland on his final lap, leapfrogging A.J. Allmendinger and Paul Tracy, who were the fastest for most of the Champ Car qualifying session.
Today
● IndyCar, SunTrust Challenge, 5 p.m., ESPN2
● NASCAR Busch Series. AT&T 250, 6 p.m., FX