March 22, 2016
- Hillman suing Circle Sport over charter: A Sprint Cup team owner’s lawsuit seeks the charter NASCAR granted his former partner. Hillman Racing, team owner Mike Hillman and partners Doug Fuller and Matt Miller filed suit Friday in North Carolina Superior Court in Iredell County against former partner Joe Falk, Circle Sport, Leavine Family Racing and Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing. Hillman Racing and its partners seek a judgment in excess of $25,000, punitive damages, rights to ownership of the #33 team, its charter and all the profits and benefits that Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing’s #95 car enjoys. Falk aligned with Leavine Family Racing before this season to form Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing. As part of the merger, the No. 95 was maintained but inherited the #33 team’s points and performance, making it eligible for one of the 36 Sprint Cup charters NASCAR granted before the season. Hillman Racing’s #40 was not granted a charter because it had not competed full-time the past three seasons. The complaint by Hillman Racing states that Falk improperly entered into an agreement with Leavine Family Racing.
Court documents state that for the 2015 season, the partnership [between Hillman and Falk] agreed to divert more resources to the #40 car, making it the flagship car. The partners agreed to allow Richard Childress Racing to operate the #33 car for multiple races in return for a payment of $25,000 for all races except the Daytona 500 (in addition to other details regarding the payment of purse and plan money, etc.). RCR would pay $75,000 for the Daytona 500. The complaint alleges that before the Daytona 500 Hillman “discovered that Falk directed a sponsor for the 40 car to write the sponsorship check (for funds due from the 2014 season) payable to Circle Sport and not Hillman Racing. Of course, the parties had all previously agreed and understood that sponsorship funds were to be utilized to fund racing operations, for which Hillman Racing incurred substantial debt.” After the Daytona 500, according to the complaint, Hillman and Falk agreed to terminate their partnership after the 2015 season.
Among the agreements the complaint states is that following the 2015 season, Circle Sport and Falk would “transfer all of their right, title and interest in and to the 33 points, and to all other property acquired by the Partnership to the remaining partners or an entity to be designated by them.” In March 2015, then-counsel for Hillman Racing drafted a written “Purchase Agreement” for the termination of the partnership and transfer of assets, including the No. 33 car’s points. The complaint states that Falk initially did not respond with any objection but later failed and refused to sign the agreement.
The complaint states that in Oct. 2015 Hillman was informed by NASCAR personnel that material terms of the charter system had been agreed upon. Court documents state that NASCAR informed Hillman that the field would be reduced from 43 to 40 cars and that 36 would receive charters. Hillman was informed that the #33 would receive a charter but not the #40.
In late January 2016, Circle Sport announced its merger with Leavine Family Racing. The complaint states that Hillman and his partners were not included in the discussions with Leavine and that the announcement came as a “surprise.” The complaint states: “As a results of the circumstances described … the 40 points are of negligible value, the Partnership is unable to race full-time during the 2016 race season, Hillman and Hillman Racing have no ability to pay for the significant debt incurred in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 race seasons, and the remaining partners have been forced to liquidate many of the Partnership’s remaining assets.”
See much more at NBC Sports.(3-23-2016)
- Congrats to #23-David Ragan and wife Jacquelyn on the birth of their second daughter, Meredith on Tuesday morning. The news was posted on the David’s Facebook page.(3-22-2016)
- Penalties coming for Danica, Kyle Busch, Kahne, Pearn? Does NASCAR’s competition brass fine Danica Patrick for walking on a hot race track during the Auto Club 400? Do they believe Kasey Kahne’s explanation of what happened in the wreck with Patrick? Do they fine Kyle Busch for an in-car radio rant (XFINITY race)? Patrick walked up toward Kahne’s car under caution and held out her hands in a “what was that?” fashion as Kahne drove around under caution after turning her and sending her hard into the Auto Club Speedway wall. NASCAR instituted a rule in 2014 after the Kevin Ward Jr. tragedy — Ward, in a non-NASCAR sprint-car event, walked on to a track and was struck and killed by Tony Stewart, who has said he did not see Ward until the last moment — and has fined drivers for leaving the area of their cars to motion at drivers as they pedal under caution. Last year, Jennifer Jo Cobb was fined $5,000 for walking up the track during a Camping World Truck Series race at Dover. Sprint Cup fines are typically larger than truck fines, although whether Patrick walked far enough up the track for NASCAR to consider fining her will likely be discussed this week.
Fines and penalties typically now are announced Wednesday afternoon instead of Tuesday afternoon as in previous years. It is unlikely Kahne will face any additional penalties but it is so rare that a driver gets hooked like that, NASCAR probably wanted at least to talk to him.
As far as Busch, he tweeted that he expects a fine this week. That fine most likely will stem from an in-car radio rant after the Xfinity Series race where he thanked NASCAR for fixing the race by not throwing a caution for his flat tire on the final lap. Busch declined to talk to the media after the race Saturday and tweeted Sunday night in response to a fan comment that “By not doing interview, I’ll b getting a discount on my fine on Tuesday.”
NASCAR executive vice president Steve O’Donnell also told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Monday that NASCAR will look into #78-Martin Truex Jr. crew chief Cole Pearn’s tweet following the race. He tweeted Logano can’t see through his “squinty … eyes.”(ESPN)(3-22-2016)
- 2016 Top-5’s, Top-10’s:
#18-Busch leads all drivers in 2016 with 4 top-fives after 5 races followed by #4-Harvick, #19-Edwards, #48-Johnson, #11-Hamlin with 3.
#4-Harvick and leads all drivers in 2016 with 5 top-Ten finishes, followed by #18-Busch, #19-Edwards & #41-Busch with 4.
See the Official Auto Club Race & Points Report(pdf) for the standings.(3-22-2016)
- Josh Wise feels team is progressing: Riverside (CA) native Josh Wise was again behind the wheel of a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car on Sunday, making his fifth career start at Auto Club Speedway [in the #30 TMG Chevy]. Wise completed 195 of 205 laps to finish 36th and match his career-best finish in the Auto Club 400. “I feel the performances have improved every weekend, and we’re looking to continue that trend,” Wise said. It was the 131st Sprint Cup race in six seasons for Wise, 33, a former USAC Sprint Car Series champion. New season-long sponsorships with The Motorsports Group, SBC Contractors and Curtis Key Plumbing are a vast improvement over last season when Wise scrambled to find a number of part-time deals that saw him complete just 24 of 36 races and finish 37th in points in 2015. “Our cars are better and getting our engines better and just finding setup packages that work for us at certain styles of race tracks,” Wise said. “We’re up against teams that have been doing it for 20-plus years. It’s been a process up to this point in the season. We have our car driving pretty good. The guys have worked really hard on it. We’ve gone through a lot of changes and found some trends, so we’ve been in a building process with the team.”(Press-Enterprise)(3-22-2016)
- Auto Club Overnight TV Ratings: NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Auto Club Speedway earned a 3.5 overnight rating on FOX Sunday afternoon, down 13% from last year and 2014 (4.0 both years) and the lowest overnight for the race since rain-shortened coverage drew a 3.4 in 2012. Outside of 2012, no edition of the race has had a lower overnight since at least 1998 (Does not include the fall race that was run from 2004-2010). The race faced lighter competition from the NCAA Tournament, which had double-digit declines for all four of its telecast windows on Sunday. Excluding the tournament, it ranked second for the weekend among sporting events behind ABC’s Warriors/Spurs NBA game Saturday night (3.7).(Sports Media Watch / Sports Business Daily) see race-by-race TV Ratings for 2016 and a comparison chart on the 2016 TV Ratings page.(3-22-2016)
- Ed Iskendarian receives Shav Glick award: A tradition that is nearly as old as the Auto Club Speedway is the pre-race awarding of the Justice Brothers-Shav Glick Award, which recognizes a motorsports personality from the state (California) who have made valuable or distinguished contributions to the sport. It was named for nationally acclaimed writer Shav Glick, who worked for the Los Angles Times and a member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. The newest winner of the award, as voted upon by a distinguished panel, is Ed Iskendarian. Born in the Central Valley, Iskendarian’s family moved to the Los Angeles area before the war. While in high school, he built his first hot rod and became associated with legendary Ed Winfield, considered to be the father of hot rodding. His products were utilized in record setting runs throughout all forms of motorsport. He also became a one of the SEMA founders. Other finalists for the award Bill Pollack, Joe Huffaker, and Ricky Johnson.(Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)(3-22-2016)
- Darlington Raceway’s Turn 3 Theater returns: Darlington Raceway is bringing back its family fun Turn 3 Theater Presented by Raceway Ford Chevrolet. This year’s free movie lineup will feature Disney’s Aladdin on April 8 and Frozen on May 13. The events will once again be FREE and take place in the track’s hospitality village. For more information, visit DarlingtonRaceway.com. Pace car rides for a $10 per person donation and concessions will be available with all proceeds benefiting the track’s 501(c)3 non-profit arm Darlington Shares. For the showing of Frozen on May 13, the track is encouraging moviegoers to dress up as their favorite Frozen character. Prior to the start of the movie, the Darlington Raceway staff will select the best costume, with the winner receiving tickets to the Sept. 3 NASCAR XFINITY Series VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200.(Darlington Raceway)(3-22-2016)
- Dream Water sponsoring Chastain at Charlotte: The makers of Dream Water, a natural sleep and relaxation shot designed to promote relaxation and support restful sleep, will sponsor the #4 Chevy of driver Ross Chastain and the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller team in the May 28, 2016 Hisense 300 Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. As part of its entry into the racing arena, Dream Water is presenting its own NASCAR VIP Experience, a sweepstakes that will provide two fans with a dream experience at one of auto racing’s biggest and most famous tracks – Charlotte Motor Speedway. The winners will be named honorary Dream Water pit crew members for the race and will watch the event from atop the team’s pit box. They will also join Chastain and team members for a dinner the evening before the race and will be in the driver’s vehicle at pre-race introductions. Fans can enter the sweepstakes at drinkdreamwater.com/NASCAR. Dream Water is a natural, zero calorie, 2.5oz liquid sleep enhancer. It consists of three key natural ingredients – GABA (helps one relax), Melatonin (helps induce sleep) and 5-HTP (helps improve the quality of sleep). This SleepStat Natural blend helps people fall asleep naturally and wake refreshed.(Johnny Davis Motorsports)(3-22-2016)
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