March 25 – Today in Jayski’s NASCAR history

March 25, 2014

• • • Sad News – Lynda Petty: Lynda Gayle Owens Petty, 72, one of the first women of NASCAR and its most beloved wife, mother and friend, passed away peacefully at her home in Level Cross, North Carolina today. She was surrounded by her family.
      Affectionately known as “Mrs. Lynda” to so many, Lynda Petty set a standard for being a loving, supportive and, when needed, an authoritative wife and mother. She also set the benchmark for being a leader in her local community while raising a family in the fast-growing sport of stock car racing.
      It was with strong will that Petty fought cancer over the past several years. It was the same determination that led her to make a difference as a Red Cross volunteer, a school volunteer, the president of the athletic booster club and a Girl and Boy Scout leader in her lifetime. She also served on the Randolph County School Board for 16 years and was on the board of the Randolph County Hospice.
      Lynda helped start the Racing Wives Auxiliary and will always be remembered as the wife to Richard Petty. Their steadfast love endured trials that only a marriage of over 50 years can. Through triumph and heartache, Lynda Petty was the castle that supported a king in private and public moments.
      Lynda is proceeded by grandson Adam K. Petty and is survived by her loving husband Richard; son, Kyle and daughters Sharon and husband Terry Farlow; Lisa and husband Charlie Luck; Rebecca and husband Brian Moffitt. In addition, she is survived by grandchildren Austin Petty and wife Sarah; Hannah and husband Brad Leonard; Montgomery and husband Randy Schlappi; Maggie and Kyle Farlow; Richard, Sarah and Margaret Luck; Helen, Thad and Harrison Moffitt, and great grandchildren Sullivan Mae Schlappi and Adam Christopher Stonewall Petty.
      A private memorial service for family and friends will be held at Reverie Place in Randleman, North Carolina which Pastor Kenny Crosswhite will officiate. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the following:Petty Family Foundation
      311 Branson Mill Road
      Randleman, N.C. 27317A public memorial service will not be held and the family asks for privacy at this time.
      The family offered the following statement to the public:
      “We wish to sincerely thank everyone who has supported us and our family throughout the years and at this time. We will forever love and miss a wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend.”
      (Petty PR)
      NASCAR Statement: “On behalf of the France Family and everyone at NASCAR, I want to offer sincere condolences to the Petty Family regarding the loss of their beloved matriarch, Lynda Petty,” said Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO. “Through the years, Lynda became an integral part of the NASCAR landscape. We have lost a true friend, who will be missed each and every day. Our thoughts and prayers will be with the Pettys throughout this difficult time.”(NASCAR)
      Austin Petty statement: Victory Junction’s COO, Austin Petty, makes a statement on the passing of his grandmother, Lynda Petty:
      “We have lost my grandmother, but my family and our Victory Junction family are grateful to have had her love and wisdom for so many years. It was no secret that she was the cornerstone of the Petty family; a woman of humility and extraordinary strength. While we mourn her death, we also celebrate her life and the profound impact she had on those who knew her. The pride she had in her children, her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren was shared with us through her unconditional love. Her strong example of leadership outside of her home was most recently acknowledged by the Association of Fundraising Professionals when she, along with my grandfather, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement in Philanthropy Award for her personal commitment to seriously ill children and to our American troops. We honor my grandmother’s legacy of inspiration and enduring love at Victory Junction today and always.”PR)(3-25-2014)
  • • Earnhardt, Jr, Graham Rahal interested in ride swap: Verizon IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal believes the timing and circumstances are just too perfect not to do the much-ballyhooed car swap with his National Guard NASCAR counterpart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Rahal attended the Auto Club 400 in Fontana on Sunday afternoon with girlfriend Courtney Force and her father, 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion, John and reached out to Earnhardt after the race, via Twitter, about the possibility of swapping rides somewhere down the line. For his part, Earnhardt seemed agreeable. Rahal says the Twitter exchange was calculated but “100 percent authentic” and something that the second-generation IndyCar ace has wanted to do for quite some time. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t want it to happen,” Rahal told Popular Speed. “Dale and I share a sponsor now (National Guard) and my dad (three-time champion, Bobby) and Rick (Hendrick) have always had a great relationship.” Rahal believes the shared National Guard sponsorship makes for a great marketing opportunity for both himself and Earnhardt, allowing for Rahal to knock a machine off his personal bucket list – the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car. Rahal, who is pushing for the car swap to take place on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is just looking forward to potentially hanging out with Earnhardt, believing that their similarities could establish a fast friendship.(Popular Speed)(3-25-2013)
  • • Taylor’s Discount Tire and Automotive joins Germain: Germain Racing announced that North Carolina’s Taylor’s Discount Tire & Automotive will be an associate sponsor on the #13 GEICO Chevy SS driven by Casey Mears for the Virginia 500 at Martinsville Speedway. The race track is located just up the road from Taylor’s Greensboro, NC, location. Taylor’s Discount Tire & Automotive is a leader in offering Castrol Oil Changes, name brand tires, auto repair and brake services for customers located in and around the Greensboro area.(Germain Racing)(3-25-2014)
  • • Overnight TV ratings for Fontana down: NASCAR continued to generate soft – but not terrible – ratings over the weekend. Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Auto Club 400 from Fontana (CA) earned a 4.0 overnight rating on FOX, down 11% from last year (4.5), but up 18% from the rain-shortened 2011 race (3.4). The 4.0 overnight is the second-lowest for the Fontana race since 2000 (3.7), ahead of only 2011. The 4.0 overnight is also the lowest of the season-to-date, trailing the previous mark of 4.1 set by the Bristol and Las Vegas races. Overnight ratings have now declined for all five NASCAR Sprint Cup races this season.(Sports Media Watch via Sports Business Daily)(3-25-2014)
  • • Penske to join Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame: No owner in the history of open-wheel racing has displayed such dominance over the sport than Roger Penske. Penske, the owner of Team Penske, has established himself as one of the premier owners in all of motorsports and his proficiency for finding Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway has earned him another accolade as he will become the 16th member inducted into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame. Penske will be honored Thursday, April 3, at the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame Gala benefiting Speedway Children’s Charities-Texas Chapter held in The Speedway Club’s Grand Ballroom at Texas Motor Speedway during the Duck Commander 500 NASCAR weekend. His induction is all part of an evening that recognizes some of the most outstanding individuals in motorsports. Along with Penske, other honorees include four-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti; 2014 Daytona 500 champion and NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.; defending Duck Commander 500 and O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 winner Kyle Busch; and 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion James Buescher from Plano, Texas. A winner of a combined 12 races at Texas Motor Speedway as a team owner – including a record seven in the Verizon IndyCar Series – Penske remains the only owner with victories in both NASCAR and INDYCAR at “The Great American Speedway!” His success at Texas Motor Speedway is all part of his illustrious 48-year career as team owner of Team Penske that has produced 23 motorsports national championships, including 12 in Indy-car racing.(TMS)(2-25-2014)
  • • Top 10 Driver Ratings at Martinsville:
      #48-Jimmie Johnson……….124.0
      #24-Jeff Gordon………….121.1
      #11-Denny Hamlin…………111.4
      #88-Dale Earnhardt………..98.9
      #14-Tony Stewart………….98.5
      #18-Kyle Busch……………97.0
      #15-Clint Bowyer………….93.8
      #29-Kevin Harvick…………92.9
      #2-Brad Keselowski………..89.2
      Jeff Burton………………87.4
      Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2013 races(18 total) among drivers at Martinsville Speedway. Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.(NASCAR)(3-25-2014)
  • • Martinsville Speedway News & Notes:
      • Opened in September 1947 by H. Clay Earles, Martinsville, originally a dirt track, is one of the oldest continuously-operating race tracks in the United States. • The first NASCAR-sanctioned race at Martinsville was on July 4, 1948.
      • The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was Sept. 25, 1949.
      • The track was paved in 1955.
      • The first 500-lap event at Martinsville was in 1956.
      • Concrete corners were added atop asphalt in 1976.
      • There have been 130 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, one in the inaugural year and two races per year since 1950.
      • 593 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville; 374 in more than one.
      • NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty has the all-time most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Martinsville with 67 starts; Jeff Gordon has the most among active drivers with 42.
      • Curtis Turner won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Martinsville Speedway in 1949.
      • 57 drivers have Coors Light poles at Martinsville, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip with eight; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with seven.
      • 12 drivers have won two or more consecutive Coors Light poles at Martinsville Speedway. Four of the 12 have won three consecutive poles at Martinsville: Glen Wood (Fall of 1959 and 1960 sweep); Darrell Waltrip (1979 sweep and spring 1980); Mark Martin (fall of 1990 and 1991 sweep); Jeff Gordon (2003 sweep and spring 2004).
      • 47 different drivers have won at Martinsville Speedway, led by Richard Petty with 15; Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon lead the series among active drivers with eight wins each.
      • 23 drivers have multiple wins at Martinsville Speedway only four active drivers have multiple wins: Jimmie Johnson (eight), Jeff Gordon (eight), Denny Hamlin (four) and Tony Stewart (three).
      • Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in wins at Martinsville Speedway with 21.
      • 21 of 130 races (16.1%) at Martinsville Speedway have been won from the Coors Light pole; seven of those 21 wins came from active drivers: Tony Stewart (2000), Jeff Gordon (2003 twice), Jimmie Johnson (2008, 2012, spring 2013) and Denny Hamlin (2010).
      • The Coors Light pole is the most proficient starting spot in the field at Martinsville producing more wins (21) than any other starting position.
      • 36 of the 130 (27.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from the front row: 21 from the pole and 15 from second-place.
      • 95 of the 130 (73%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position.
      • Five of the 130 (3.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
      • The deepest in the field that a race winner has started was 36th, by Kurt Busch in the fall of 2002.
      • NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the series in runner-up finishes at Martinsville Speedway with seven; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with four, followed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson with three.
      • Richard Petty leads the series in top-five finishes at Martinsville Speedway with 30; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 27, followed by Jimmie Johnson with 17.
      • Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Martinsville Speedway with 37; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 34, followed by Jimmie Johnson (21).
      • Jeff Gordon leads active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Martinsville Speedway with a 7.238. Ryan Newman is the only other active driver with an average starting position at Martinsville in the top-10 (9.417).
      • Three active drivers have a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series average finish in the top-10 at Martinsville: Jimmie Johnson (5.333), Jeff Gordon (6.833) and Denny Hamlin (8.125).
      • There have been five NSCS green-white-checkered finishes at Martinsville Speedway: fall 2007 (500/506), fall 2008 (500/504), fall 2009 (500/501), spring 2010 (500/508), and spring 2012 (500/515).
      • Jeff Gordon has participated in the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway without a DNF (42).
      • Tony Stewart (4/18/1999) and Scott Riggs (4/10/2005) won their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light poles at Martinsville Speedway.
      • Mike Bliss (09/27/1998), Travis Kvapil (10/24/2004), Michael McDowell (3/30/2008) and Scott Speed (10/19/2008) made their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career starts at Martinsville Speedway.
      • 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have posted consecutive wins at Martinsville Speedway. Fred Lorenzen won four NSCS races straight (the most) from the fall of 1963 through the spring of 1965.
      • All 10 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers who have won at Martinsville Speedway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Tony Stewart won at Martinsville with the fewest previous appearances (three).
      • Ryan Newman competed at Martinsville Speedway 20 times before winning in the spring of 2012; the longest span of any the 10 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.
      • Four drivers have made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Martinsville Speedway: Mark Martin (12); Bobby Labonte (18), Kevin Harvick (19) and Ryan Newman (20).
      • Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway is the 4/1/2007 race won by Jimmie Johnson with a MOV of 0.065 second.(NASCAR)(3-25-2014)
  • • RSS Racing penalized following California infraction: The #39 team that competes in the NASCAR Nationwide Series has been penalized as a result of a rules violation committed during last week’s event at Auto Club Speedway. During post-race inspection on March 22, the #39 car committed a P3 level penalty by violating Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 20A-12.8.1C (car exceeded maximum rear body height requirement during post-race inspection) of the 2014 NASCAR rule book. As a result, crew chief Kevin Starland has been fined $10,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. In addition, car chief Timothy Brown has also been placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.(NASCAR)(3-25-2014)
  • • Gaulding to debut in Martinsville: This weekend’s Kroger 250 will mark a special milestone, Gray Gaulding’s first start in one of NASCAR’s top-3 national touring series. Gaulding will make his mark at the bright young age of 16 years, 1 month, and 19 days. Jeff Hensley will serve as crew chief of the #20 Gemini Southern Chevy. Hensley has three wins at Martinsville Speedway (two in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and one in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.) Gaulding is competing full time in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series where he is currently 3rd in the points.(NTS)(3-25-2014)
  • • Iowa Senate OKs tax break for Speedway: The Iowa Speedway at Newton, which was purchased by NASCAR in November, would get a state sales tax break of up to $9 million under a bill approved 36-9 Monday by the Iowa Senate. Supporters said the legislation will help bolster Iowa entertainment and tourism, while a critic contended the bill violated principles of free enterprise. Senate File 2341, which was sent to the Iowa House, would continue a 5 percent state sales tax rebate that began in 2006 when the Newton track was opened. The rebate has provided $3.5 million for the track so far. The hitch for the new owners is that an existing state law requires that the Iowa Speedway have at least a 25 percent ownership stake, which isn’t the case with NASCAR, stock car racing’s sanctioning body. A law change is required to keep the tax-rebate money flowing. Supporters of the bill say it will help bolster Iowa tourism and spur the state’s economy.(Des Moines Register)(3-25-2014)
  • • Virginia Army National Guard’s 29th Army Band to perform National Anthem at Martinsville:The Virginia Army National Guard’s 29th Army Band, one of the oldest and most decorated military bands in the nation, will perform the National Anthem prior to the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway Sunday. “We believe our National Anthem should be played with great respect and pride, and having heard the 29th Army Band perform the anthem, we know we will get a that type of performance,” said Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell. “We are truly honored to have such a patriotic and historic band perform here. I’m looking forward to hearing their version Sunday.” The 29th Army Band has been in existence since 1922 and has served the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation with distinction. It was pressed into active duty during World War II and joined in the assault on Omaha Beach, duty for which its members received the French Croix de Guerre with Palm. The band saw action in four European campaigns during World War II: Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland and Central Europe.(Martinsville Speedway)(3-25-2014)

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