March 16, 2009
- Nexxus Lighting Set to Sponsor TBR at Bristol: Nexxus Lighting announced that it will sponsor Tommy Baldwin Racing’s #36 Toyota and driver Scott Riggs in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway as the kick off to TBR’s small business initiative. Nexxus Lighting is a Charlotte-based company that is bringing its new patent pending LED lighting technology into the NASCAR world. Array Lighting is a new brand of commercial grade LED replacement lamps that utilize patent pending technology to offer a truly green alternative to conventional incandescent, halogen and compact fluorescent light bulbs. Array lamps are light weight, dimmable, reduce CO2 emissions and, unlike compact fluorescent light bulbs, do not contain mercury or create a hazardous waste disposal issue. Additionally, Array lamps offer tremendous cost and energy saving which can amount to over 80% energy savings versus incandescent bulbs. More savings can be gained in avoiding lamp replacement costs due to the bulb’s 50,000 hour lamp life, as compared to only 1000-2000 hours for typical incandescent bulbs. Array bulbs can last over 10 years while being burned 12 hours a day.
AND MarkMartin.com has become the first sponsor to jump on board Tommy Baldwin’s Support Small Businesses of America program. The www.MarkMartin.com logo will adorn the c-post of the #36 machine this weekend during the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Additionally, NASCAR fans can visit tommybaldwinracing.net and receive Mark Martin’s 5th Annual Fan appreciation t-shirt for $7.50 which is half price for a limited time, only available on the TBR site. The 27-year Sprint Cup Series veteran will hold his 5th Annual Fan Appreciation Day April 9-10 at Mark Martin Ford Mercury dealership in Batesville, Ark. Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and championship car owner Rick Hendrick will be on hand during the event to sign autographs and to participate in a Q&A session. Additionally, Sirius Satellite Radio and ESPN’s NASCAR Now will do live hits from the event.(Everest-Marketing Group/TBR PR), see image of the car on my #36 Team Schemes page.(3-16-2009) - Reporter Roundtable on Monday’s NASCAR Now: NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion airing Monday, March 16, at 5pm/et on ESPN2 will include three members of the media who cover NASCAR racing in a “Reporter Roundtable.” Host Nicole Manske will be joined by Nate Ryan of USA Today, Michael Vega of the Boston Globe and ESPN NASCAR Insider Angelique Chengelis of the Detroit News as they discuss the latest NASCAR news.
NASCAR Now Nation: Have something to say about a story on this week’s ESPN2’s NASCAR Now? Get out your videocam and tell ESPN what you think. Your video may be seen on an upcoming NASCAR Now. Choose a video file on your hard drive, then click the upload button. More info at ESPN.com. - Furniture Row Racing Announces Revised Cup Schedule: #78-Furniture Row Racing announced today a revision of its 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. The Colorado-based team has added one race to its original 12-race Cup schedule and has revised three of its upcoming race locations. The April 5th race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth is the recent addition, bringing the current team’s schedule to 13 events. The team is dropping the two road races — at Sonoma, Calif (June 21) and Watkins Glen (Aug. 9) plus the May 31st race at Dover. Those three races are being replaced with Darlington (May 9), Pocono (June 7) and Indianapolis (July 26). The #78 Furniture Row team with driver Regan Smith entered two of the first four Cup races with Smith finishing 21st in the Daytona 500 and 20th in Las Vegas. The team’s next race will be at Texas. “We all sat down and re-evaluated our schedule to see what suits our racing program the best,” said Joe Garone, Furniture Row Racing’s general manager. “Since we’re a sponsor-owned team we have the flexibility to move in and move out of race markets. We will most likely make additional changes as the season progresses. We’re happy about adding the race in Texas and hope that we will continue to make more additions, but that is dependent on the economic climate and attaining additional sponsorship. We’re looking for a partner and feel that we have plenty to offer a company from a marketing standpoint with Furniture Row’s more than 330 store locations in 31 states.” To prepare for the Texas race next month, the #78 team has scheduled a two-day test session on Wednesday and Thursday of this week at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, CO.(DMF/Furniture Row Racing PR)(3-16-2009)
- Sad News – Hal Marchman: “Shalom and amen.” With that trademark ending to prayers he offered before every Daytona 500 for 46 years, the Rev. Hal Marchman endeared himself to race car drivers and hundreds of thousands of their fans. It was the Baptist preacher’s way of being inclusive, the same way he lived his life, whether he was counseling an alcoholic or persuading community leaders to take on some civic project. Marchman, 89, the retired pastor of Central Baptist Church, died unexpectedly at Indigo Palms Memory Care Facility on Sunday. After years of fighting dementia and memory loss, a sudden bout of illness ended his life, said his daughter Anne Marchman-Jones. “We feel like we got our fair share of time with him, but it’s hard because we didn’t expect (his death) to be so sudden,” Marchman-Jones said Sunday. Not only did Marchman pray with the drivers and fans before the race, he spent the rest of the day in the hospital area at the track to be available for drivers’ families if anyone was hurt. “Hal was a servant and a shepherd,” said NASCAR driver Darrell Waltrip, adding that Marchman always “took good care of his flock.”(Daytona Beach News Journal)(3-16-2009)
- Sorenson to run PVA.org scheme at Bristol: #43-Reed Sorenson is scheduled to be run a Paralyzed Veterans of American scheme in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. A PVA PR had the scheme being run at Daytona in July and Texas in November. Sorenson commented: “You know everyone wants to do well out here. But I can’t think of a sponsor I have ever had where you felt like you wanted to do something extra special on the track. PVA helps a group of people who’ve probably given as much for this country as anyone has given.” Richard Petty said, “You know, I want to tell anyone serving in our military thank you. Thank you for doing what you are doing over there so all of us can do what we are doing over here. This country needs a strong defense and everyone serving in our military deserves our thanks. We’ve had a chance to hang out with the Air Force people who’ve come to the races this season and we really mean it when we say we are honored that they think enough of us to support us like they have and do what they are doing for this country.”(RPM PR), see an image of the scheme on my #43 Team Schemes page.(3-16-2009)
- Special Hall of Fame TV Show: SPEED will air a special edition of This Week in NASCAR on Monday at 8:00pm/et. The one-hour special, hosted by Steve Byrnes, will focus on the upcoming opening of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Joining Byrnes will be NASCAR Hall of Fame Executive Director Winston Kelly, who will give viewers a construction update and talk about exhibits, artifacts and interactive displays going into the Hall of Fame. In addition, Kelly will provide an update on the NASCAR Plaza/office tower, the NASCAR Hall of Fame brick program, as well as explaining the criteria for gaining induction to the Hall and introducing the panel members who will choose the class each year. SPEED personalities Dave Despain and Mike Joy, as well as longtime Associated Press motor sports writer Mike Harris are set to participate and debate the possible candidates for the inaugural class.(SPEED)(3-16-2009)
- JR Motorsports announces additional plans for #5: JR Motorsports today announced additional plans for its #5 Nationwide Series team for 2009, with veteran drivers Ryan Newman, Scott Wimmer and Tony Stewart joining team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and all-time series wins leader Mark Martin for the 21-race schedule. Wimmer will compete in six events in the #5 Chevy and Newman in four, with America’s largest fastener distributor, Fastenal, as the primary sponsor. Stewart’s one race for JR Motorsports will be in a Delphi-sponsored Chevy at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Oct. 16. The driver additions leave only two races on the No. 5 team’s 21-race schedule unfulfilled – the road-course events at Watkins Glen on Aug. 8 and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Aug. 30. Driver plans for those races will be announced at a later date.(JR Motorsports PR)(3-16-2009)
- Benny Gordon attempting series debut at Bristol: USAR Pro Cup driver Benny Gordon will attempt to make his Nationwide Series debut this weekend in Bristol. The team is owned by Benny Gordon and Frank Varischetti and will operate out of Dubois, PA. The team will continue to run some of the USAR Pro Cup races. They plan to run a limited schedule of 10 races at minimum, including Bristol, Richmond, Iowa, Dover, Texas, New Hampshirem, and possibly Nashville. They will use engines from Roush-Yates. Primary sponsors will be Verischetti & Sons and Samuel & Sons Metals.(Benny Gordon PR)(3-16-2009)
- Nationwide Series from Bristol on ABC : The NASCAR Nationwide Series makes its first appearance of the 2009 season on ABC this weekend when ESPN on ABC has live, high definition coverage of the Scotts Turf Builder 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 21, beginning at 2 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC. The race re-airs Sunday, March 22, at 8 a.m. on ESPN Classic. Dr. Jerry Punch will be the lap-by-lap announcer, joined in the booth for analysis by Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. Dave Burns, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch will report from the pits, while Tim Brewer will be in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage. Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown with analysis by Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty in the ESPN pit studio.(ESPN PR)(3-16-2009)
- Food City on the #24 at Bristol: The #24 Hefty Odor Block Ford will be sporting the Food City logo on the lower rear quarter-panels and C-post in Saturday’s event at Bristol.(McClure PR)(3-16-2009)
- Armour Meats on the #33 at Bristol: This week the #33 KHI Chevy will sport the colors of Armour canned meats, a brand of Pinnacle Foods Group, LLC. This will be the only race for Armour canned meats, but Vlasic pickles and Hungry-Man frozen dinners and entrees, also brands of Pinnacle Foods Group, LLC, will run on the #33 Chevy later in the 2009 season at O’Reilly Raceway Park and Homestead-Miami Speedway. (KHI PR)(3-16-2009)
- Raybestos Rookie Notes for Bristol:
…Michael McDowell was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas. McDowell scored a sixth-place finish, his first top-10 and best effort in eight Nationwide Series starts. He has taken Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors twice in the first three races this season.
…At least one Raybestos Rookie has now scored top-10 finishes in two of the first three races this season.
…Four Raybestos Rookies finished inside the top-10 in the Sam’s Town 300: McDowell, Brendan Gaughan (seventh), Justin Allgaier (eighth) and Scott Lagasse Jr. (ninth), a record for a Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas race.
…Gaughan, Allgaier and Lagasse Jr. each scored their best Nationwide Series career finish at Las Vegas.
…At least one Raybestos Rookie has scored top-10 finishes in two of the first three Nationwide Series races this season.
…Brendan Gaughan leads Michael McDowell by five points (37-32) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the Scott’s Turf Builder 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
…Two Raybestos Rookies are in the top-10 in the Nationwide Series standings: Gaughan (fourth) and McDowell (10th).
…Dario Franchitti was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the 2008 Scott’s Turf Builder 300, scoring a 22nd-place finish.
(Raybestos/Camp & Assoc. PR)(3-16-2009) - Benson to compete in Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race: A star-studded field of Hollywood’s elite will attempt to outpace and out-maneuver each other Saturday, April 18 in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, part of the 35th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.. The field of 20 drivers will compete in brand new race-ready Scion tCs in what has become the world’s longest-running, most successful celebrity racing event. Jamie Little, ESPN/ABC pit reporter for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, who was the celebrity and overall winner of the 2008 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, returns to compete in the “Pro” category this year against Al Unser, Jr., the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, two-time CART Series Champion and overall winner of the 1985 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, Johnny Benson, 2008 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and Coy Gibbs, owner of the JGRMX Supercross/Motocross Team.[For more information on the event, see the Jayski Charities Page.](Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race PR)(3-16-2009)
- Hernandez looking to race in top series: One of NASCAR’s most successful Drive for Diversity participants and graduates Jesus Hernandez continues to look for opportunities to race in 2009. The 27-year-old developmental driver for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing is currently speaking to potential sponsors to help make him the only Mexican-American driver to race in one of NASCAR’s top touring series in 2009. Hernandez has already has proven success in multiple series in which he has competed. Starting at the grassroots level of NASCAR racing, he won back-to-back track championship titles, two rookie-of-the-year honors, and broke a track record while running at the Madera Speedway and Irwindale Speedway in California. “For me, now is the time to make it at the next level,” said Hernandez. “We have potential to reach the Hispanic market unlike most other drivers. A sponsor can really target that demographic through our team. We’ve got great people and support from a top-level Sprint Cup team. We’ve proven ourselves on the track and can get the job done. We’re talking to a lot of potential sponsors, but nothing is solidified today.” Hernandez is exploring a partial schedule in the Camping World Truck, Nationwide or a possible return to the Camping World East Series in 2009.(Breaking Limits PR)(3-16-2009)
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997