March 17, 2015
- NASCAR examines tires from Harvick, Logano: NASCAR confirmed it found nothing out of the ordinary with the tires used by Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick in Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway. The tires were seized during Sunday’s CampingWorld.com 500 in what was described as a “regularly scheduled audit” by NASCAR executive vice president chief racing development officer Steve O’Donnell. “We’ve done it in the past,” O’Donnell told SiriusXM’s “The Morning Drive” during a Monday interview. “It’s something we check working with Goodyear, making sure the tires supplied are where we want them to be. It’s just another area of the car. We don’t expect to find anything; it’s just something we like to do every once in a while.” NASCAR normally examines tires at its R&D Center in Concord, N.C., but those from Logano and Harvick were checked at a remote site with NASCAR haulers on the road in the midst of a three-race swing through Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Phoenix and Auto Club Speedway. The decision to confiscate the tires for examination was made independent of Goodyear and unrelated to durability. The tire supplier occasionally keeps tires for further examination (such as with tire failures on the cars of Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. last October at Kansas Speedway).(NBC Sports)(3-17-2015)
- Family court will not reopen Kurt Busch case: Kurt Busch’s request to have his protective order hearing reopened by a Kent County Family Court commissioner was denied Tuesday. The decision by Commissioner David Jones, while not in Busch’s favor, now allows Busch to proceed with his planned appeal of the decision to a family court judge. Busch’s legal team filed the motion to reopen the hearing Feb. 19, four days after Jones granted the protective order and one day before Jones released his findings and conclusions on why he had determined that Busch had likely committed an act of domestic violence on ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll. In the motion to reopen the hearing, Busch’s legal team said it had three witnesses — including Beverly Young, whom Driscoll has referred to as her mother although they are not biologically related — who had come forward willing to testify to place doubt on Driscoll’s testimony and show that Driscoll was out to ruin Busch. Jones denied the motion Tuesday, ruling that the witnesses could have been compelled to give depositions in December or January and that their testimony would not have changed his opinion. “The newly discovered evidence, when considered in the context of the evidence presented at trial, would not establish that [Driscoll] was motivated by desire to ruin [Busch] when she first reported the allegations of abuse,” Jones wrote. Driscoll issued a statement Tuesday stating she was pleased with the decision.(ESPN.com)(3-17-2015)
- Phoenix TV Ratings: For the first time all season, NASCAR had a year-over-year decline in overnights. NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Phoenix drew a 3.8 overnight rating on FOX Sunday afternoon, down 21% from last year (4.8) and down 28% from 2013 (5.1), when it was the second race of the season. The 3.8 is the lowest overnight for the race since 2010, the year before it moved to the post-Daytona slot. Compared to last year’s fourth race of the season, a rain-plagued outing at Bristol, the 3.8 overnight declined by 7% from a 4.1. It also declined 14% from the 2013 Bristol race, which was run as scheduled. Sunday’s race was the first NASCAR telecast on FOX this season to have a decline in overnights, including the Sprint Unlimited and Daytona 500 Pole Qualifying. Despite the lower numbers, the race trailed only the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on CBS (3.9) as the highest rated sporting event of the weekend in the metered markets. It topped every college basketball game, including the Big Ten championship head-to-head (2.6).(Sports Media Watch / Sports Business Daily)(3-17-2015)
- Ambrose to temporarily step out of V8 Supercars: DJR Team Penske announced that Marcos Ambrose has requested to be temporarily relieved as driver of the #17 DJR Team Penske Ford, beginning with the Tasmania race. Experienced driver Scott Pye will take over the driving duties for the #17 Ford Falcon FG X. “I appreciate the effort that Marcos and DJR Team Penske have provided over the first two events of the season”, said Roger Penske. “Following the Australian Grand Prix, Marcos came to the team, requesting to be replaced from his upcoming driving responsibilities, while he continues the transition back into V8 Supercars competition. Entering the season, Marcos understood that the competition in this series is at a very high level and now realizes that more time is required for this transition. This was a difficult decision for Marcos but I appreciate him thinking about the greater good of the team. Marcos will continue to support the team and our partners including competing in the Endurance Series Races.”
“I want to thank DJR Team Penske for the opportunity and support through the process of transitioning back into V8 Supercars. I would like to make it clear that I am fully committed to this team, ” said Ambrose, who won 28 races over five seasons and captured back-to-back V8 Supercars titles in 2003 and 2004. “Although this is a decision which has been hard to make, it has become clear to me over the first two events of the season that I need more experience in these cars to do what is required of the lead driver and to be competitive for the team and our partners. Scott is a great driver, has already worked with the team and has more experience in these cars, which will give the team the best chance to be successful right now. This decision to step aside from the lead driver role at DJR Team Penske is completely my decision. Although this decision may disappoint fans of whom I apologize to, I will continue be a great teammate and will be at the track to support the team in Tasmania. I look forward to getting back on the track later this season and will be ready to do my best for DJR Team Penske.”
(DJR Team Penske)(3-17-2015) - Cars will now be backed in to start qualifying UPDATE: NASCAR continues to tweak its qualifying program, this time turning things around 180 degrees — literally. Starting next week at Auto Club Speedway, cars will be reversed along pit road, so they don’t have to back out to pull onto pit road at the start of qualifying. NASCAR officials confirmed the change Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, saying it came at the request of the drivers. By lining the cars up with their backs to the wall and not their noses, it should reduce the possibility of pit road collisions and contact, as well as make it easier for drivers to pull out at the beginning of each qualifying session. An official bulletin will be issued to the teams next week.(FoxSports)(3-16-2015)
UPDATE: NASCAR will implement a change in procedure to qualifying beginning this weekend at Auto Club Speedway. Drivers will no longer back out of their pit stalls when qualifying begins. The new rule will be in place for all three of NASCAR’s top divisions and both the XFINITY Series and Sprint Cup Series will employ the change this weekend at ACS. The change came at the request of the drivers who were concerned about the congestion on pit road when cars were backed out of pit stalls at the start of qualifying. Cars will be parked in their pit stall with the nose pointing toward the track at the start of this weekend’s qualifying sessions. When a driver returns to pit road they will then back into each stall. One exception is at Martinsville Speedway where Sprint Cup cars will leave from their garage stall for qualifying since Camping World Truck teams use pit road as the work area.(Motor Racing Network:)(3-17-2015) - NASCAR signs extension with FOX Sports Latin America: NASCAR announced it has signed a seven-year media broadcast extension with FOX Sports Latin America, ensuring that sports fans in Latin America can continue to enjoy NASCAR events and news on FOX Sports through 2021. Through this extension, FOX Sports Latin America will continue to be the home of live races for all three of NASCAR’s national series – the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – across Latin America, including Brazil. Additional NASCAR programming on FOX Sports Latin America includes the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. All NASCAR content will air exclusively on FOX Sports 3 in Spanish speaking countries in Latin America and on FOX Sports 2 in Brazil. In addition, FOX Sports’ original production “Central FOX Nitro,” – a daily motorsports news show – will feature NASCAR news and highlights.(NASCAR)(3-17-2015)
- Team Penske named finalist for Sports Team of the Year: The Sports Business Journal (SBJ) announced that Team Penske has been named a finalist in the Sports Team of the Year category for the eighth annual Sports Business Awards. Team Penske is the only motorsports program to be nominated this year for the prestigious award. Other Team of the Year finalists include: the Charlotte Hornets (NBA), the Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS), the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), the Seattle Seahawks (NFL) and the St. Louis Cardinals (MLB). The winner will be announced on May 20, 2015 at the awards ceremony to be held at the New York Marriott Marquis at Times Square. Launched in 2008, the Sports Business Awards were established by the Sports Business Journal and Sports Business Daily to celebrate and recognize the leaders, visionaries and day-to-day practitioners who personify excellence in the business of sports. The 2015 nominees and winners are recognized for excellence and outstanding achievement in sports business for the period spanning March 1, 2014 through February 28, 2015. The 2014 season was a landmark year for Team Penske, as it included unprecedented championships in both the Verizon IndyCar Series with Will Power – the 13th open-wheel title for Team Penske – and the NASCAR XFINITY Series, where the #22 team took home it’s second-straight owners’ title. In addition, both Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano finished inside the top five in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship standings, with Logano in contention for the title heading into the final race of the season. Across INDYCAR and NASCAR, all six of Team Penske’s full-time drivers and cars finished in the top five in series points with 22 wins equating to a winning percentage of 25 percent of the total races run.(Team Penske)(3-17-2015)
- Top 10 Driver Ratings at Auto Club Speedway:
#48-Jimmie Johnson……………………….120.1
#18-Kyle Busch……………………….110.0
#20-Matt Kenseth……………………….106.2
#14-Tony Stewart……………………….100.7
#99-Carl Edwards……………………….97.8
#24-Jeff Gordon……………………….97.3
#4-Kevin Harvick……………………….94.7
#16-Greg Biffle……………………….93.7
#15-Clint Bowyer……………………….92.1
#5-Kasey Kahne……………………….91.5
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (16 total) among active drivers at Auto Club Speedway. Formula combining the following categories: Win, Finish, Top-15 Finish, Average Running Position while on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
See an explanation how the Driver Rating is calculated at NASCAR.com.(NASCAR)
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