March 24, 2016
- Auto Club Speedway penalties announced: NASCAR has announced penalties following the race weekend at Auto Club Speedway.
#10-Danica Patrick has been fined $20,000 and placed on NASCAR probation through the completion of the next four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Points Races. She violated section 10.4.2.1.a “At no time should a driver or crew member(s) approach any portion of the racing surface or apron. At no time should a driver or crew member(s) approach another moving vehicle.”
Kyle Busch was fined $10,000 and placed on NASCAR probation for the next four NASCAR Championship Points Races through April 27 for his actions following the XFINITY race. He violated section 10.4.2.i -“The second and third place drivers must report to the media center for post-race interviews upon the conclusion of the Race unless otherwise authorized by NASCAR”
In addition, the following warnings were issued:
#19-Carl Edwards: Failed laser inspection twice in pre-race;
#95-Michael McDowell: Trailing arm did not meet specifications;
#20-Matt Kenseth: Failed template inspection twice in pre-qualifying;
#3-Austin Dillon, #20-Matt Kenseth, #21-Ryan Blaney, #27-Paul Menard: Failed laser inspection twice in pre-qualifying.
See the Auto Club Post-Event Penalty & Warning Report (pdf) for more.(3-24-2016)
- F1’s Kimi Raikkonen to NASCAR in 2017?: If rumors hold any weight, the sun is setting on Kimi Raikkonen’s Formula One career, and he may look to land in NASCAR. He started racing again with the Ferrari team in 2014 (after racing with them from 2007 to 2009) and has just three podium finishes in 39 races. For the last year, many have speculated that Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo has his eye on Raikkonen’s seat for 2017. In the past, he raced in the World Rally Championship and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series. It’s his NASCAR experience — one race in each the trucks series and Xfinity series in 2011 — that is fueling the latest rumors. According to Tanja Bauer of Sky Sport News, Raikkonen could end up in a seat with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2017. It’s all conjecture at this point. Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner and three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup winner Tony Stewart is retiring at the end of the season and giving up his seat to Clint Bowyer. The team also employs drivers Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick and Kurt Busch. Right now there doesn’t seem to be room for Raikkonen [as the team is at the max of four cars/drivers]. So if he were to join SHR, it would mean a current driver would leave. The best scenarios for that would be either Harvick or Patrick taking a hike [but Harvick says he is staying and Patrcik is signed thru 2018].(full post at AutoWeek)(3-24-2016)
- Poll gives good grade to this year’s racing: The Century Poll, a monthly survey of 100 members of the NASCAR community, has given the racing with the new low-downforce package in the Sprint Cup Series an average grade of an A- after four races. The poll, which asks 50 media members and 50 members of the NASCAR garage one question every month, found an average grade of 90.81 among the votes. That number combines from combining the total averages of the media and garage votes.
This month’s question: After running three distinct track lengths this season – 1-mile (Phoenix), 1.5-mile (Atlanta and Las Vegas) and 2-mile (Fontana) – what early season grade would you give the 2016 Sprint Cup low downforce rules package?
The garage voters gave six more A votes than the media, while also giving the four lowest grades out of the 100 taken – two Bs, one C and one C-. Media voters made up most of the difference by awarding eight more Bs, with no grade out of their 50 being below a B. Compared to a similar vote after the first five races of 2015, this year’s poll gave the racing seven more points (90.81 with 58 As vs. 83.42 with six As).(NBC Sports)(3-24-2016)
- SunEnergy1 scheme posted: And image of #24-Chase Elliott’s SunEnergy1 Chevy has been posted. SunEnergy1 will debut Daytona and run three other races, see an image of the scheme on the #24 Team Schemes page (3-24-2016)
- JTG Daugherty Racing partners with MacroPoint: MacroPoint, creators of patented freight tracking software designed to give third party visibility into load status by tracking the location of a driver’s mobile phone, including flip phones, or existing in-cab ELD/GPS devices, announced it will be the Official Logistics Track & Trace Provider of the #47 JTG Daugherty Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team, tracking the trucks that haul for the Harrisburg, N.C. racing organization all over the country weekly until the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. For the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, drivers of the JTG Daugherty Racing trucks will be partnering with MacroPoint to MacroPoint Enable every trucker on the road. To follow the JTG Daugherty Racing team as it is tracked by MacroPoint, visit www.MacroPointRacing.com as they compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with an ECR Engines powered Chevrolet driven by AJ Allmendinger.(JTG Daugherty Racing)(3-24-2016)
- Dover to “Light It Up Blue” for Autism Awareness Month: Dover Downs Hotel & Casino and Dover International Speedway will continue their support for autism awareness by participating in the global “Light It Up Blue” campaign, organized by Autism Speaks, the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization, in April. Two of Delaware’s most famous landmarks, the Monster Monument at Victory Plaza, as well as the Dover Downs Hotel, will be illuminated in blue light throughout April, coinciding with Autism Awareness Month. Autism is a summary term for a group of brain development disorders, characterized by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest statistics show that 1 in 68 U.S. children have autism. Dover International Speedway has had a long relationship with autism awareness. The “AAA 400 Drive for Autism” NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, May 15, will mark the 10th consecutive year the Monster Mile’s spring NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race will have an autism awareness element within the entitlement sponsorship. Also on May 15, the track will host an Autism Awareness Day at the Races program for families and children on the autism spectrum for the fifth straight year. The package provides a sensory-friendly environment to watch the race, and also features pre-race appearances by NASCAR drivers and personalities, seating in air-conditioned grandstands, presentations by educational speakers, food and beverage options, as well as a quiet zone, with muted lighting and sound, allowing attendees to take a break from the race and crowds when necessary.(Dover Speedway)(3-24-2015)
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