In auto racing, drivers try to hit their apexes, meaning they try to drive their cars with such precision that they can hit the exact spot -- within inches -- on the racetrack each lap.

By consistently hitting their apexes, drivers are able to achieve their fastest possible lap times, and being able to turn the fastest lap times puts the driver in the best position to win.

Today, the premier racing company in the country, International Speedway Corp. (NASDAQ: ISCA), hit its Q2 earnings apex.

On the surface, the news didn't look good. The company posted a $31.7 million loss for the second quarter. But it was not just falling revenue that affected International Speedway, which is to be expected from an entertainment company in a soft economy.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Walgreen, Crown Castle and Brunswick were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Thomas Weisel started shares of Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) with an Overweight rating and $43 target. The firm is positive on WAG's steady cash flow and solid growth profile.
  
• Merriman believes Crown Castle (NYSE: CCI) is a core wireless holding given its high-margin, predictable recurring revenue model. They believe shares can trade to the $49-$51 range assuming management continues to execute on its free cash flow growth target. Shares were assumed with a Buy rating.
  
• KeyBanc initiated Brunswick (NYSE: BC) with a Hold rating and expects the recreational marine market to be challenging given weakening consumer spending trends.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Citigroup initiated Gerdau AmeriSteel (NYSE: GNA) with a Buy rating and $21 target.
  
• Piper assumed Teradyne (NYSE: TER) with a Neutral rating and $14 target.
  
• International Speedway (NASDAQ: ISCA) was initiated at Stephens with an Overweight rating and $50 target.

Starting next year, the International Speedway Corp (NASDAQ: ISCA, ISCB) will end its 50-year relationship with Pepsi, a division of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), and launch a new, 10 year contract with its arch-rival, Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO).

The deal is estimated to earn Coke $50M a year over the next 10 years, with all of Coca-Cola's North American brands exclusively on sale in ISC's 10 racetracks. More importantly, Coca-Cola will gain thousands of hours of face time in front of millions of loyal sports fans. Coke will also take over the historic Pepsi 400 at Daytona, which had ties to Daytona's first event back in 1959.

The move to Coke comes as NASCAR was starting to gain popularity outside the boundaries of the Mason-Dixon line.

Coca-Cola isn't new to NASCAR. The soft-drink giant already has a contract with the six Speedway Motorsports (NYSE: TRK) tracks and continues to sponsor several drivers, including Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick. Taking the ISC contract from Pepsi now gives Coke majority control of non-alcoholic beverages at most of NASCAR's tracks.

Pepsi's not completely out of the race though. The soft-drink maker will still have an affiliation with NASCAR, maintaining a link to ISC through its parent company PepsiCo, whose Gatorade name will remain the title sponsor for victory lane at all ISC tracks. Pepsi will also continue to sponsor Hendrick Motorsports and driver Jeff Gordon.