March 23, 2010
- Charlotte Motor Speedway Opens Sprint Cup Series Test to Fans UPDATES & SPEEDS: Fans will have the opportunity to see their favorite drivers in action at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the first time in 2010 during Sprint Cup Series testing March 23-24. The test will be held for the new spoiler that will soon replace the rear wing on the current Sprint Cup Series car. Ticket holders to any 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway including the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on May 22, the Coca-Cola 600 on May 30 and the NASCAR Banking 500 on Oct. 16, will be granted special access to watch testing from the infield. The VIP seating area located behind pit road near Victory Circle will be open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday and 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Ticket holders will also have the opportunity to take part in a question and answer forum with available drivers; meet Miss Sprint Cup during an autograph session in Victory Circle; and take their picture with the Charlotte Motor Speedway show car. Concessions and souvenirs will be available in the infield. More info at charlottemotorspeedway.com.(CMS PR)(3-16/22-2010)UPDATE: Justin Allgaier in the #22 Penske Racing Dodge, there are two teams at the test today that aren’t running full time in Sprint Cup – #21-Wood Brothers Racing with driver Bill Elliott and #32 Braun Racing with Reed Sorenson. There are 41 cars with 42 drivers participating in the test. David Gilliland and Kevin Conway are sharing the #38 Front Row Motorsports Ford. Six teams that have run every race thus far in 2010 are NOT at the test today – #36 Tommy Baldwin Racing (Mike Bliss), #87 Nemco Motorsports (Joe Nemechek), 355 & #66 Prism Motorsports (two cars – Michael McDowell/Michael Waltrip and Dave Blaney), #26 Latitude 43 Motorsports (Boris Said/David Stremme) and #90 Keyed-Up Motorsports (Casey Mears). The test session is designed to give teams the opportunity to test the spoiler, which replaces the rear wing beginning this weekend at Martinsville.(SceneDaily), see images fo the cars testing with the spoiler at the Motor Racing Network site or Charlotte Motor Speedway site.Test Speeds: #42-Montoya was fastest in the morning session at 185.976mph followed by #77-Hornish Jr., #00-Reutimann, #83-Vickers and #1-McMurray. See all the speeds run below:Afternoon Speeds: #98-Paul Menard was the fastest in the afternoon session with a speed of 185.312 followed by #42-Montoya, #39-Newman, #1-McMurray and #48-Johnson. See all the speeds run on my 2010 Testing page.(3-23-2010)
- Allgaier testing for Penske at Charlotte: Penske Racing’s Nationwide Series driver, Justin Allgaier, is testing the #22 Dodge at Charlotte Motor Speedway Tuesday. Team are testing the spolier, which replaces the wing startign at Martinsville this coming weekend. SPEED’s Bob Dillner reported on Sunday’s SPEED Report that Allgaier would test for Penske, but no word if/when he will make his Sprint Cup debut.AND Justin Allgaier participated in his first official Sprint Cup Series test and hoped Tuesday’s session will lead to an upcoming race at NASCAR’s top level.
Penske Racing brought four cars to the two-day test at Charlotte Motor Speedway to give Allgaier seat time. The 23-year-old is coming off his first NASCAR victory, a win in the Nationwide Series last weekend at Bristol. Drivers are permitted to participate in two NASCAR-approved test sessions before committing to entering a Cup race.”Obviously when I started at Penske Racing my goal was to reach the Cup level, so for me, this is a good way to come out and get some laps and see what these cars drive like,” said the second-year Penske driver. “Hopefully we can help out the other guys. I think that’s the biggest thing — how do we benefit all three of our Cup teams and get me some experience at the same time? This is the easiest way to do it.”.(Associated Press)(3-23-2010) - DW says Dale Jr. should run some truck races: in a Q&A, 3-time Cup Champ and FOX broadcaster Darrell Waltrip said of Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “Expectations are so high with him that if he’s not winning, then the world is not right and so I think they’re making baby steps to get him back to where he needs to be. I told (car owner) Rick (Hendrick) and I really, honestly believe this, I’d run him in some truck races. He needs to get somehwere where he can win, and I’d get him in a truck. Not a Nationwide car, a truck. They’re fun to drive, have a good time in the truck series. If I was Junior, I’d go talk to (Kevin) Harvick and ask him if I could drive that 2 truck. I’d go out, and I’d win me a couple of races and I think that’s what he needs, it would really help his confidence, and I think his fans would enjoy seeing him do that. I think it would be a win-win.”(Virginian Pilot)(3-23-2010)
- McGrew and Dale Jr. on the radio at Bristol UPDATE: Crew chief Lance McGrew didn’t hold back the tough love with driver #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Sunday.
The first snipe came after Junior complained about a loose car following pit stops during the fifth caution on Lap 205. McGrew replied, “Yes, but you’re eight positions better than you were.” When the seventh caution was called on Lap 324, the #88 was up to sixth and was busted by NASCAR for “excessive speed entering the pits” and was forced to drop back to 26th. McGrew coached his driver with a “lots of laps man, we can get this back.” But Earnhardt sounded dejected on the radio. He was furious at the sanctioning body and its pit-road scoring system. “Well, anyhow. To get busted at Bristol for (expletive) speeding by what-the-(expletive)-ever it was and when I didn’t (expletive) gain nothing on nobody, it’s not the way it should be,” exlaimed Earnhardt. “There should be a different way of doing it. You bust your (expletive) to get up there. Now they can’t be (expletive) (expletive) about every (expletive) little nitpickin’ (expletive) thing. We’re out here racing our (expletive) off.” And with Earnhardt deep in traffic, he radioed the car was “pushing like a truck.” That’s when McGrew let loose.“Don’t lay down on me, bud,” McGrew screamed. “I can’t lay down here,” Earnhardt replied. “This is Bristol. I don’t ever (freakin’) lay down. Don’t ever say that again on the radio. Don’t need the whole world hearing that.” While little was said between driver and crew chief following the heated exchange, Earnhardt collected himself and salvaged a seventh-place finish that enabled him to jump five positions to eighth in the point standings. Although Earnhardt was not available for comment after the race, team owner Rick Hendrick seemed pleased with the #88 team’s improvement. “They’ve worked really hard,” Hendrick said. “Lance and Dale have great chemistry. I think if you listen to them on the radio, they’re working well together. Dale had a great car. He would have been in the top five or had a real shot at it himself had he been able not to have that speeding penalty.”(FoxSports)(3-22-2010)UPDATE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. says his profanity-laced rant at Bristol Motor Speedway stemmed from frustration from a speeding penalty. Earnhardt had just cracked the top five in Sunday’s race when NASCAR flagged him for speeding on pit road. He vented over his radio for several minutes, and snapped at crew chief Lance McGrew’s attempt to calm him down. The penalty dropped Earnhardt to 26th, but he rallied to finish seventh. He moved up five spots in the standings to eighth. Earnhardt says the speeding penalty infuriated him because he had worked so hard to crack the top five.(Associated Press)(3-23-2010) - NASCAR Hall of Fame Kicks off Final 50 Days: The checkered flag is in sight for the NASCAR Hall of Fame grand opening. To mark the final days before the 150,000-square-foot interactive entertainment attraction opens May 11, fans are invited to participate in a 50-day countdown on Twitter and watch www.NASCARHall.com for 50 days of news about the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Beginning Monday, March 22nd and running through May 11, a trivia question will be posted each morning on the NASCAR Hall of Fame Twitter page (@NASCARHall). The lucky fan who posts the first correct response to @NASCARHall will win a NASCAR Hall of Fame prize pack. In conjunction with the contest, the NASCAR Hall of Fame team will reveal one feature of the facility daily at www.NASCARHall.com/50days.The first item announced in the 50-day countdown was revealed Monday in a news conference at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. NASCAR legend Darrell Waltrip unveiled his championship-winning #11 Mountain Dew Buick. Waltrip drove the iconic, green-and-white stock car to back-to-back NASCAR Winston Cup championships in 1981 and 1982, the first two of three championships in his famed career. In 1981 and 1982 alone, Waltrip had 61 starts and earned 24 wins, 29 top-5 finishes and more than $1.6 million in winnings. The car denotes a significant occurrence in NASCAR history when the sanctioning body mandated a downsizing of cars to coincide with changes taking place in Detroit during that period. The car was built and owned by NASCAR Hall of Fame Inaugural Inductee Junior Johnson. Waltrip’s two championships in this car marked Johnson’s fourth and fifth titles as an owner. Waltrip and Johnson captured a third championship together in 1985.The #11 Mountain Dew Buick will be one of 18 stock cars featured on Glory Road inside the main entrance of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. A banked ramp simulating various racetracks, Glory Road also highlights 40 current and historic tracks and mimics various degrees of banking at racetracks including the impressive 33-degree incline found at Talladega Superspeedway. The car is on loan from Darrell Watlrip Motorsports to the NASCAR Hall of Fame for two years.The NASCAR Hall of Fame opens to the public May 11, 2010 at 10:00am/et. The opening ceremony for the high-tech, interactive attraction begins at 9:00am/et. The one-hour ceremony will culminate with NASCAR celebrities, elected officials and other dignitaries officially opening the venue. The opening ceremony will be followed by free outdoor activities from 10:am/et through the late evening. More news and info on my NASCAR Hall of Fame News page and NASCAR Hall of Fame 2010 Class.(3-23-2010)
- F-18s To Provide Flyover for Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500: One of the Navy’s oldest and most decorated squadrons will provide the flyover for Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Strike Fighter Squadron Three One will supply the flyover support with F-18 Super Hornets after the Virginia Military Institute’s Glee Club performs the national anthem prior to the start of the race. Based at Oceana Naval Air Station near Norfolk, the VFA-31 recently spent an eight-month deployment aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The Tomcatters dominated the skies above Afghanistan during the deployment, flying over 6,000 hours and 2,000 sorties in direct support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Strike Fighter Squadron Three One has a long and distinguished history. The squadron has served in every major conflict since its inception. The squadron was aboard the USS Enterprise during the bombing of Pearl Harbor as well as the Battles of Wake Island, Marcus Island, Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal and the Eastern Solomons. The squadron has seen aerial combat over the Philippines, Formosa, Okinawa and China. Tickets for the races are on sale and can be purchased by calling 1.877.RACE.TIX or going to martinsvillespeedway.com.(Martinsville Speedway)(3-23-2010)
- Kids Zone Returns at Martinsville: One section of Martinsville Speedway’s display area has again been declared a “Kids Zone” for the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 weekend with games, souvenirs and food aimed at the younger crowd. There will be two inflatable games for the youngsters to play on, The Moon Walk and The Slide. The concession items in the Kids Zone will not only be kid favorites, but kid priced. There will be chicken nuggets, hot dogs, cotton candy, chips, fruit cups and Capri Sun juice boxes. Nothing will be over $2. There will also be plenty of youth oriented souvenirs … three trailers full. Digger, FOX TV’s racing cartoon star, will have a trailer, along with the Kid’s Stop trailer and the Kidz Rock trailer. There are some great ticket prices for kids during the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 weekend. Children’s tickets in the Clay Earles Tower are only $10 when purchased with an adult ticket. Children 12 and under will be admitted free to the Kroger 250 on Saturday, March 27 and Duracell Battery Kroger Pole Day on Friday, March 26. Tickets for the races are on sale and can be purchased by calling 1.877.RACE.TIX or going to martinsvillespeedway.com.(Martinsville Speedway)(3-23-2010)
- No sellout for Bristol, first since 1982: According to figures provided by NASCAR, an estimated total of 138,000 attended Sunday’s Food City 500 Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Unofficial estimates placed the figure closer to 120,000 on the overcast and chilly afternoon. Entering the weekend, the 160,000-seat facility had been sold out for 55 straight Sprint Cup events. The NASCAR attendance estimate for Saturday’s Scotts Turf Builder 300 Nationwide Series race was 85,000. Crowds of over 100,000 have attended the Nationwide races at BMS in recent years. Many fans have complained that the excitement level of BMS events has been diminished since the .533-concrete oval underwent an extensive 2007 resurfacing project which gave competitors more room to maneuver. That sentiment remerged Monday morning on various NASCAR message boards and talk shows, even though Sunday’s Food City 500 featured 29 lead changes, 10 caution periods and a 10-lap dash to the finish. According to BMS Vice President of Public Affairs Kevin Triplett, the biggest hurdle facing BMS the past two years has been the slumping national economy. Triplett feels that the thousands of empty seats this past weekend were emblematic of the financial challenges in NASCAR hotbeds around the Midwest and Northeast. “As far as winning back fans, more than 60% of the ones we surveyed who did not renew their tickets said it was for economic reasons,” Triplett said. The August Sprint Cup race at BMS remains one of the most popular events in motorsports. Speedway officials have attempted to generate renewed interest for their March race program by holding the Food City Race Night program on track property and by introducing a 35-lap charity event for retired NASCAR drivers on Saturday night. “There are other things – lodging costs, people out of work – that are factors that are out of our hands,” Triplett said. (Bristol Herald Courier), The speedway’s record streak of 55 sellouts began back in August 1982 – when the track could accommodate a mere 30,000 fans.(Bristol Herald Courier)(3-23-2010)
- Some Nationwide drivers testing: Boris Said and Roush Fenway Racing aren’t the only driver and team using this open week to test. [Said is testing for NASCAR at Road America – see note above]. Bristol race winner #12-Justin Allgaier is at Charlotte Motor Speedway this week participating in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series two-day test there where the new spoiler is featured. #24-Eric McClure traveled across the country to Infineon Raceway to take part in a two-day roadcourse school where he’ll be coached by ace and part-time NASCAR road-course driver Chris Cook. McClure’s crew chief, Chris Wright, joined his driver for instruction. This is the second school McClure has attended to prepare for the series’ three road-course events at Road America, Watkins Glen International at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. #21-John Wes Townley will be at Talladega Superspeedway where he’ll test with the ARCA RE/MAX Series. He’ll enter the April 23 ARCA event at Talladega as a warm-up for the April 24 NASCAR Nationwide Series Aaron’s 312.(NASCAR PR)(3-23-2010)
- Dillon makes first stop at Martinsville: Austin Dillon has four previous NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts but this weekend marks his first appearance at the .526-mile Martinsville short track in the #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Silverado. In his four career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts, Dillon has never started outside of the top 10. He earned his best career finish of 10th in his most recent series’ appearance at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 6.(Richard Childress Racing PR)(3-23-2010)
- Fenton & Greenfield make series debut with TGR: Rookies Lance Fenton and Clay Greenfield will make their NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debuts this week at Martinsville. Fenton, from Tyler, Texas, will be driving the #95 Dodge Ram. Greenfield, from Clarksville, TN, will drive the #46 for Team Gill Racing. Dennis Setzer is due to return at Nashville in the #46 on April 2nd.(Team Gill Racing PR)(3-23-2010)
- Peters picks up sponsor at home track: There is no other track on the Camping World Truck Series schedule where Timothy Peters has more experience than Martinsville Speedway. The Kroger 250 will mark Peters’ ninth start on the .526-mile oval. Strutmasters.com adorned the hood last fall when Peters took the #17 to Victory Lane at Martinsville Speedway and they are back on board for the Kroger 250 this weekend. Strutmasters provides consumers an affordable alternative to expensive and problematic air ride suspension systems found on luxury vehicles. Heading into Martinsville, Peters sits second in the Camping World Truck Series point standings.(Red Horse Racing PR)(3-23-2010)
- White third in points heading to home state: Jason White and the SS Green Light Racing team had very high expectations coming into the 2010 season, White and the GunBroker.com #23 team merged with the SS Green Light Racing team to take advantage of the combined resources of the two teams. After finishing fourth at Daytona and eleventh at Atlanta, the team’s goal of a top-five finish in the points looks to have merit; the Virginia native sits third in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings as the trucks head back to White’s home state of Virginia for the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway. “I’m excited about the start we’ve had this year, I won’t be satisfied with a good run and another top-fifteen finish at Martinsville,” he added. “Right now it’s all about momentum and carrying forward what we have done to start the year and to keep this team at the top of the point standings.”(SS Green Light Racing PR)(3-23-2010)
- Eggleston to make NASCAR debut at Martinsville: 2009 ASA Late Model North Division Series Champion Chris Eggleston will make his NASCAR racing debut this weekend in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Kroger 250 at the Martinsville Speedway. Eggleston will be behind the wheel of the H2O Fire Protection #21 Chevy Silverado while veteran Butch Miller will guide the Colorado native from atop the SS Green Light Racing pit box. H2O Fire Protection will back Eggleston’s initial efforts in the NCWTS. Following his debut at Martinsville, plans are for Chris to run at the concrete mile and a quarter at Nashville and then race close to his Colorado home at Kansas Speedway pending NASCAR approvals. Eggleston’s 2010 schedule could be expanded if additional sponsorship can be secured.(SS Green Light Racing PR)(3-23-2010)
- Lofton makes first trip to Martinsville: This week will mark Lofton’s first race on the .526-mile paperclip-shaped Martinsville Speedway, Lofton is a proven, successful short track racer. Of his six race wins last season within the ARCA Racing Series, three were on short tracks. Lofton took the checkered flag at Toledo Speedway, Salem Speedway, and Berlin Raceway. All three tracks measure approximately a half-mile in length. Last week Lofton tested at the .416-mile Motor Mile Speedway in preparation for this weekend’s running of the Kroger 250 at Martinsville. “It went very well. I was very pleased,” [Mark] Rette said of the test. “The truck was good right off of the truck. We played with a few different things and ended up right back where we were. I believe between us and Timothy (Peters, teammate), we were one of the best trucks there.”(Justin Lofton/RHR PR)(3-23-2010)
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