March 24, 2010
- NASCAR Teams Conclude Two-Day Spoiler Test at Charlotte, all speeds posted: The final day of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series spoiler testing and preparation for the May 30 Coca-Cola 600 concluded at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Jeff Burton, driver of the #31 Richard Childress Racing Chevy, posting the fastest time of the day. Burton’s speed of 189.215 paced the 49 cars from 40 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams who came to Charlotte Motor Speedway for a two-day test session devoted to spoiler work. Spoilers will replace the wings currently on the backs of NASCAR Sprint Cup cars beginning this weekend at Martinsville. Feedback from drivers on the second day of testing echoed the comments from the Tuesday session: the true test of the new spoiler will take place under race conditions.“Personally I would like to find out more about my car in traffic from someone close to me and how it may affect the car,” said four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “It’s not going to be huge, but the first race or two there might be an opportunity at some of the bigger tracks. If you understand the car before anyone else does, you can put someone in a horrible spot and take advantage of them.”
“We’ve had a very productive test and all of the RCR teams have learned a great deal of information,” said Burton. “The cars drive a little different and the reality is that the conditions and the tire combination are different than what it was last year. So we’re learning new things that we can apply to every race from here out and hoping that our test data will translate well over to race conditions.”
“I noticed I didn’t have to use as much brake as I normally did, so maybe there’s a little more drag in the corner,” said David Reutimann, driver of the #00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota. “It wasn’t like you went out there and said ‘Man, this thing is completely different.’ It wasn’t a night and day deal.”
“This is a pretty good place to test,” Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, said of Charlotte Motor Speedway. “It’s nice and smooth and gives you a good idea of what your mile-and-a-half package is like.”
“I really like the spoiler,” Edwards continued. “I think it’s a great move. The fans are gonna like it and it doesn’t seem to make the car feel much different.”
The only incident of the day on track took place when the #22 Penske Racing Dodge driven by Justin Allgaier hit the wall, sustaining significant right front damage. Allgaier was unscathed but his car did not continue in the test session.
The top three speeds of the day belonged to Chevrolets, with Burton follwed by Kevin Harvick in the #29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (28.741, 187.885) and Juan Pablo Montoya in the #42 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet (28.952, 186.516). The top Toyota of the day and fourth fastest overall belonged to Red Bull Racing driver Brian Vickers in the No. 83 with a time of 29.059 and a speed of 185.829. Richard Petty Motorsports’ #43 entry, driven by A.J. Allmendinger, was the fastest Ford of the day and fifth quickest overall with a time of 29.107 and a speed of 185.522.
During the test session, fans were given an opportunity to watch their favorite Sprint Cup drivers from the grandstands, which were open for free. Ticket holders to any Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway were granted special access to watch testing from a VIP area in the infield. Over the lunch break, more than 250 ticket holders also got the chance to participate in a Q&A session with NASCAR drivers Kurt Busch and Marcos Ambrose, and seven-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher. Tickets and interest-free payment plans are available by calling the speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS or online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com.(CMS)(3-24-2010) - News – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Spoiler Test At Charlotte Motor Speedway – Day 2: Wednesday’s second day of a two-day NASCAR Sprint Cup Series test session at Charlotte Motor Speedway ended with resounding validation as teams prepare to transition from the wing on the rear of their cars to a spoiler.
This Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Martinsville Speedway marks the first with spoilers on NASCAR’s new car. The wing-to-spoiler switch was one of several rule changes announced earlier this year.
“I really like the spoiler,” said Carl Edwards, one of several drivers who visited Charlotte’s infield media center on Wednesday. “I think it looks great. I think it’s a great move. The fans are gonna like it and it doesn’t seem to make the car feel much different.”
The spoiler to be used at all tracks except Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway will be 64.5 inches in length and four inches tall in the center. It will be affixed at a 70- degree angle and is non-adjustable. Beginning with the April 16-18 race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, a 3.5-inch-tall rear-deck fin will be added to the left side of the car. This fin can either be the full length of the deck-lid or a maximum of eight inches short of the spoiler. With the deck lid fin and its length options, the teams will have some flexibility in adjusting rear side force.
“Overall, this was a very good test for us,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “I think the spoiler, plus the rear deck, are going to make the cars ‘racier.’ ”
The wing replaced the traditional stock-car spoiler on NASCAR’s new car, now in its third fulltime season. NASCAR Sprint Cup teams ran the wing for 93 races, beginning in March 2007 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Last week’s spring race at Bristol was the wing’s final event.
“I think the good thing is that there’s nothing large or big jumping out at us saying the spoiler is a lot different,” said Jimmie Johnson, the reigning and four-time series champion who visited the media center Wednesday as part of NASCAR’s weekly teleconference (full transcript and audio available at www.nascarmedia.com). “We’ve just been kind of working on our race car and working as if this was just a normal test and there was no change at the back of the car with a wing versus a spoiler.”
Normalcy, in fact, was one of the many positive reactions emerging from the two-day test. Opportunity is another.“I feel like this is a new opportunity to maybe gain some ground, where before some other teams had an advantage on you,” said David Reutimann. “Now, you got something that’s completely new and it’s kind of a clean sheet of paper for almost everybody. It’s just going to see who can adapt the quickest.”
Crew chief Jimmy Elledge, who oversees driver Scott Speed’s team, concurred.
“I look at things like this as a new challenge and a clean sheet of paper for everybody,” Elledge said. “No one really has any experience with this and the quicker you adapt and learn it, maybe you can get the jump on everyone.”
“Teams will adjust accordingly,” Pemberton said. “It won’t be the same for everybody, and it’ll definitely be something that they’ll have to work towards to get their handling packages correct around other cars during the race, but the drivers like the spoiler and are more comfortable with it and the fans seem to like it, too.”
“Aesthetically, it makes the cars look better,” said Kurt Busch. “There is some fine-tuning available with the rear-deck fin and that’s pretty cool. We’ll have a couple of races with the spoiler under our belts before we get to Texas and that will be our first big test with it.”
This week’s Charlotte test follows last week’s one-day session at Talladega Superspeedway, where approximately 24 teams worked spoilers along with mechanical issues for the April 25 event at Talladega. The Charlotte test addressed only the spoiler. Both the Charlotte and Talladega tests are exceptions to the current testing policy. For the second consecutive season, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams may not test at facilities that host national-series events. This year, teams may test at tracks that host regional touring series events, but not national series events. (NASCAR)(3-24-2010) - NASCAR Teams Conclude Two-Day Spoiler Test at Charlotte, all speeds posted: The final day of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series spoiler testing and preparation for the May 30 Coca-Cola 600 concluded at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Jeff Burton, driver of the #31 Richard Childress Racing Chevy, posting the fastest time of the day. Burton’s speed of 189.215 paced the 49 cars from 40 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams who came to Charlotte Motor Speedway for a two-day test session devoted to spoiler work. Spoilers will replace the wings currently on the backs of NASCAR Sprint Cup cars beginning this weekend at Martinsville. Feedback from drivers on the second day of testing echoed the comments from the Tuesday session: the true test of the new spoiler will take place under race conditions.
The only incident of the day on track took place when the #22 Penske Racing Dodge driven by Justin Allgaier hit the wall, sustaining significant right front damage. Allgaier was unscathed but his car did not continue in the test session. During the test session, fans were given an opportunity to watch their favorite Sprint Cup drivers from the grandstands, which were open for free. Ticket holders to any Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway were granted special access to watch testing from a VIP area in the infield. Over the lunch break, more than 250 ticket holders also got the chance to participate in a Q&A session with NASCAR drivers Kurt Busch and Marcos Ambrose, and seven-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher. Tickets and interest-free payment plans are available by calling the speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS or online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com.(CMS),IMAGES and SPEEDS: see many photo’s and images fo the cars testing with the spoiler at the Motor Racing Network site or Charlotte Motor Speedway site. See speeds from all four sessions and quotes and notes on my 2010 Testing page.(3-24-2010) - Wilson wins Scotts EZ Seed Showdown at BMS UPDATE 4: For Rick Wilson, it was de ja vu during Saturday’s Scotts EZ Seed Showdown at Bristol Motor Speedway. Wilson said the finish of the race played out just like his win in 1989 when he spun the wheels on a late race restart and saw drivers stream by him. “This was identical to the 1989 race,” said Wilson of Bartow, Fla. “The car was great and the key was getting out ahead early. I was just riding at one point, because I knew I had a great car. “It was just like 1989. Phil (Parsons) got around me on the restart, but I just waited and got back around. I wish we could have gone 200 laps.” Several other drivers echoed Wilson’s thoughts. Cale Yarborough was excited to behind the wheel again, but disappointed that it didn’t last longer. “It was fun,” he said, “just not long enough to do what I wanted to do. Something happened to the car.” Dave Marcis’ day also was cut short, but he was glad to lace up his famous wingtips once more. “I was having fun, the car was good, but I ran over something and it cut one of the belts,” he explained. “I think I got it shut off before I caused a lot of damage. It was fun and I enjoyed it. I’m glad to be back.” Jimmy Hensley was glad just to be on the track. “I wish I could have been more competitive,” he said. “I didn’t hit anything, so that was good.”(BMS)AND Rick Wilson passed Phil Parsons with two laps to go to outlast 11 other retired NASCAR drivers Saturday in an exhibition race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Wilson, best known as the driver who took over the #43 following Richard Petty’s 1992 retirement, dominated the race but lost the lead late to Parsons. Wilson passed Parsons shortly after a restart following a lengthy red-flag for a frightening accident between Charlie Glotzbach and Larry Pearson. Pearson, the son of three-time NASCAR champion David Pearson, spun into the outside wall with five laps remaining. As his car slid down the banking, Glotzbach rounded Turn 2 and ran directly into Pearson’s driver-side door. Glotzbach gingerly walked from his car, but the roof had to be cut off Pearson’s car. He was placed onto a stretcher, but was moving his arms as he was loaded into an ambulance. Pearson, the winner of consecutive titles in what’s now called the Nationwide Series in 1986 and 1987, was immediately transported to Wellmont Regional Medical Center for further evaluation. Glotzbach, who won a caution-free Cup race at Bristol in 1971, was seen first in the infield care center before leaving for the same hospital. David Pearson did not continue the race after his son’s accident. He drove his car off the track and stopped racing after the ambulance left so that he could travel to the hospital.(ESPN/Associated Press)(3-20-2010)
UPDATE: Hours later, Jim Wozniak, a Welmont Health System spokesman, said Pearson would undergo surgery on a compound fracture of the left ankle, and that he suffered a fractured pelvis and fractured right hand. “He is awake and alert, and in good spirits,” Wozniak said of Pearson, who was listed in fair condition late Saturday night. Wozniak also said that Glotzbach was in good condition, but provided no further details regarding his injuries.(Bristol Herakd Courier)(3-21-2010)
UPDATE 2: Larry Pearson and Charlie Glotzbach, injured in the Showdown charity race at Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday, remain hospitalized Monday at Bristol Regional Medical Center. Their conditions are unchanged. Pearson is in fair condition and Glotzbach is in good condition.(BMS)(3-22-2010)
UPDATE3: Larry Pearson has been released from Bristol Regional Medical Center as of late Monday afternoon, March 22. Pearson was transported and will be admitted into Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC, according to his family. Charlie Glotzbach remains hospitalized Monday at Bristol Regional Medical Center. Glotzbach remains in good condition. The two drivers were injured last Saturday in the Showdown charity race at Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday.(BMS)(3-22-2010)
UPDATE 4: Driver Charlie Glotzbach was discharged from Bristol Regional Medical Center Wednesday to return home to Indiana. Driver Larry Pearson was released Tuesday and transported to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC. Both were injured in a wreck during the Showdown charity race at Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday, March 20.(BMS)(3-24-2010) - No decision on future by Kahne yet: #9-Kasey Kahne is in the final year of his driving contracts and as such are considered a prize free agents in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Silly Season class. Kahne has said that how Richard Petty Motorsports performs in the early races this season will go a long way towards determining whether he re-signs with the team or moves elsewhere in 2011. Asked by SPEEDtv.com Tuesday if he had come to a decision about whether to stay at RPM or move on, Kahne said, “Not yet. … I feel like we’ve had a pretty good five races – seven if you count the other two (Budweiser Shootout and Gatorade Duel) to start the year – so I feel pretty good about where we’re at and where we can still go this year.” And despite being 23rd in points, Kahne said he was optimistic that his team could rebound and he could qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. “We’ve had just a few things go on, but that’s racing and things happen,” said Kahne. “I think we can recover from that and gain some of those points back pretty quick, and get in the top 12 and win races.”(SPEEDtv)(3-24-2010)
- Different primary colors for Allmendinger: Insignia, a Best Buy exclusive brand will be the primary sponsor/colors for the #43 Richard Petty Racing Ford of A.J. Allmendinger in the 19 remaining scheduled races Best Buy is sponsor the car/team. Insignia was the sponsor at Atlanta and Bristol and Best Buy blue was on the car at Daytona.(DingerWorld), Valvoline was the sponsor at Las Vegas and Charter Communications is the scheduled sponsor for the #43 at Martinsville. See images if the Insignia and Best Buy colors on my #43 Team Scehemes page.(3-24-2010)
- Keselowski’s Crew Claims Tissot Pit Road Award in Bristol: Brad Keselowski’s over-the-wall crew captured the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award in Sunday’s Food City 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol. The #12 over-the-wall crew, which became the fourth winner of the weekly competition, helped Keselowski reach a 13th-place finish–his best of the 2010 season. Keselowski’s Penske Dodge Charger spent the least amount of time on pit road – 259.305 seconds – during the first short-track race of the season. Matt Kenseth’s #17 Ford was second (294.979) and Greg Biffle’s #16 Ford was third (295.830). Keselowski’s over-the-wall crew consists of: Ben Brown (front-tire changer), Scott Reineger (front-tire carrier), David Mayo (rear-tire changer), Trent Cherry (rear-tire carrier), Bryan White (jackman), George Whitley (gasman) and Britt Goodrich (catch can). The team’s crew chief is Jay Guy. The winning pit crew in each Sprint Cup race will earn $5,000 and a Tissot V8 Quartz Chronograph watch. The team with the most Tissot Pit Road Precision Award wins at the completion of the 36-race schedule will receive a $105,000 bonus plus Tissot watches for the over-the-wall crew members and driver. The #56 crew for Martin Truex Jr. leads the Tissot standings with two wins after the first five races of the season.(Tissot)(3-24-2010)
- Soldier namesd ‘ExtenZe Local Hero’ and Honorary Crew Chief: While under intense attack, Army National Guard SSG. Brian Harrison, a Purple Heart recipient, kept his cool and provided essential cover fire so his team could exit a disabled Humvee and find safety while in Iraq. Because of this heroic feat, 26-year-old Harrison has been named an ‘ExtenZe Local Hero’ and will be the ExtenZe Racing Honorary Crew Chief during the NASCAR Sprint Cup weekend at Martinsville Speedway. More info see www.ExtenZeRacing.com or to nominate their own local heroes or review who has been previously chosen.(ExtenZe Racing/Breaking Limits)(3-24-2010)
- Said, Roush Fenway to test at Road America: UPDATE 2: It might be tough for the race fans in Elkhart Lake, Wis., to imagine right now, but June — and the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Road America — isn’t that far off. And in two weeks, a car on the track will make that event seem even closer. Similar to the one-car/one-team tests at Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal prior to the series’ first races there in 2005 and 2007, respectively, NASCAR will conduct a test at Road America on Wednesday, March 24 to gather data to share among teams that will compete there this summer. Road America replaces the former event at the Milwaukee Mile on the 2010 schedule. NASCAR has turned to Roush Fenway Racing and crew chief Mike Kelly to conduct the test while road-course ace BorisSaid will be the driver. Said has 20 NASCAR Nationwide Series starts to his credit and 14 of those have come on road courses. He’s collected two poles and six top-five finishes in those races. His best result was a second-place finish in the 2006 event in Mexico City from the pole. He’s run in each of the three races in Mexico City and Montreal, however, he won’t compete in the June 19 event at Road America. That factor is a must for the test driver. Jeff Burton and Richard Childress Racing handled the Mexico City test while RCR and Terry Labonte were on point for the test in Montreal. Neither driver participated in the inaugural races at those tracks.(NASCAR PR)(3-9-2010)
UPDATE: NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers who’ve never seen Road America owe big thanks to Boris Said. The NASCAR part-timer and Trans-Am champion not only did the initial testing and data acquisition Wednesday for the inaugural 200-mile race June 19 at the 4-mile road course, he also drove and narrated a video of a lap to help them learn the track. Said lapped in about 2 minute 21 second, hitting top speeds in the high 170 mph range in the morning while blowing off a winter’s worth of dust. He said he expected to see 1:19s on a clean track. For perspective, the Trans-Am track record, set last September, is 2:05.981 for an average of 115.675 mph. The ALMS P1 pole lap was 1:48.216 and the GT2 class pole was 2:06.950 (114.792).(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)(3-24-2010)
UPDATE 2: Said, a road-course ace who has competed in each of NASCAR’s three national series, drove a car provided by Roush Fenway Racing today at the 4.048-mile, 14-turn track in Elkhart Lake, Wis., site of the Bucyrus 200 presented by Menard’s. Data compiled from the test will be available to teams in advance of the June 19 event. Said and the Roush Fenway Racing crew collected information that included gear selections, shock travel, braking, RPM and acceleration. Said, who has competed on the Road America course more than 20 times over the last two decades in various series, also narrated a video of laps around the track that will be shared with the teams. NASCAR officials also were able to gather logistical information for the teams. Said noted that the track is a very technical course and that “managing brakes will be a key. I hit about 170 mph on the straightaway; 43 of these things in Turn 5 is going to be fantastic. The afternoon session included longer runs on fresh tires and a full fuel cell, followed by a few short runs to complete the test.(NASCAR PR)(3-24-2010)
- Road America race gets sponsor: Track President George Bruggenthies announced that the mining equipment manufacturer Bucyrus International would be the event’s title sponsor and that Harley-Davidson would be the trophy sponsor. It’s officially the Bucyrus 200 presented by Menards.(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)(3-24-2010)
- Kile to make Nationwide debut at Nashville: Braun Racing announced that ARCA Racing Series driver, Mikey Kile, will make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut next weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, driving the #10 Toyota Camry. The #10 will carry AccuDoc Solutions as its primary sponsor. Kile made his NASCAR debut last season driving a partial schedule in the Camping World Series for Brad Keselowski Racing. In six starts, the 27 year-old accumulated three top-15 finishes. Additionally he competed in eight ARCA Racing Series events for Venturini Motorsports, posting an impressive four top-10 finishes. This season, Kile has returned to Venturini Motorsports for his first full season of competition in the ARCA Racing Series.(Braun Racing PR)(3-24-2010)
- Herd Racing gets Nashville sponsor: Brentwood-based DuVita, LLC, has been named primary sponsor of Herd Racing’s NASCAR Nationwide Series team for the Nashville 300 on April 3 at Nashville Superspeedway. The DuVita car, #75 Chevy driven by racing veteran Brett Rowe, will feature DuVita’s corporate logo, among other sponsors. DuVita provides home-based business opportunities in direct marketing of all-natural dietary supplements that promote a healthy lifestyle. The company launched in January 2010 and is growing rapidly across the United States. DuVita will remain an associate sponsor of the team for the entire 2010 Nationwide Series season and invites fans to learn more about their products and racing sponsorship, which includes a full line of racing apparel.(Herd Racing PR), see an image of the car on the #75 team paint schemes page.(3-24-2010)
- Crawford making 325th series start UPDATE Images added: Rick Crawford will be making his 325 series start extending a Series record this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Crawford’s impressive string of race starts began at the Walt Disney World Speedway on January 19, 1997. Crawford scored his third career Camping World Truck Series victory at Martinsville Speedway in the spring of 2004, winning from the third starting position (82 laps led). Besides a victory, Crawford also has two poles at Martinsville. He scored his fourth career Camping World Truck Series pole at Martinsville in the fall of 2005 and his sixth – and most recent – pole at Martinsville last spring. In the last seven truck series races at Martinsville, Crawford has accrued the most points of any driver (1066), more than 50 points to his nearest competitor. Circle Bar Truck Corral returns as primary sponsor of the #14 Ford this weekend at Martinsville while the team works to secure full-time sponsorship. Painted blue and black, the Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford will sport retro decals, including the Strategic Air Command emblem that adorned the truck in 2003.(Circle Bar Racing PR)(3-24-2010)
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