March 26, 2011
- Happy hour practice for the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway is over, the top five and some notes:
#6-Ragan 180.973
#14-Stewart 180.800
#99-Edwards 180.691
#5-Martin 180.659
#24-Gordon 180.320
slowest: #60-Bodine 174.613 & #37-Raines 173.369
See fastest speeds, average speeds, laps run on the Auto Club Practice Speeds Page.(3-26-2011) - First Saturday practice for the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway is over, the top five and some notes:
#29-Harvick 181.146
#11-Hamlin 180.841
#99-Edwards 180.591
#18-Busch 180.307
#24-Gordon 180.212
slowest: #34-Gilliland 174.723 & #37-Raines 171.940.
See fastest speeds, average speeds, laps run on the Auto Club Practice Speeds Page.(3-25-2011) - Paint Schemes added: Twenty-Four haulers from Bristol; and from Auto Club, added: #00 Aaron’s 2010 Partner of the Year – HP; #09-Thank a Teacher Today, #22-Auto Club of California, #29-Jimmy John’s, #33-Reagan Presidential Foundation’s Centennial Celebration, #36 Accell Construction, #38 Long John Silver’s, #39-U.S. Army’s Partnership for Youth Success, #60-Big Red Soda and #71-Ecofuel Saver to the Paint Scheme Gallery.
- Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway have been made.
Pole sitter #42-Montoya chose pit stall 1 [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #11-Hamlin took pit stall 12A, the next stall with an opening in front of it.
#20-Logano, who starts 3rd took the 26th pit stall, the next stall with an opening in front of it.
The 43rd and final pit stall was taken by #17-Kenseth, who starts 11th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on the Pit Stall Selection chart.(3-26-2011) - The numbers for the Auto Club 400 at Fontana:
2 -races won from the front row at Auto Club Speedway; one from the pole
4 -number of drivers that have competed in all 21 races at ACS (Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Joe Nemechek)
4 -fewest cautions for a Sprint Cup race at (6/22/97)
8 -number of jet dryers available for track drying during race weekend
9 -most wins by a car owner in previous 21 races (Rick Hendrick)
12 -most cautions (2/24/08)
13 -different winners in previous 21 races
14 -different pole winners
18 -fewest lead changes (twice, most recent 2/26/06)
22 -fewest caution laps (twice, most recent 4/30/00)
33 -most lead changes (2/24/08)
51 -most caution laps (9/5/04)
120 -minutes, the amount of time it takes to dry the .533-mile track after a significant rainfall
188.245 -mph, track qualifying record (Kyle Busch, 1/25/05)
1995 -year track construction began on site of the former Kaiser Steel Mill and completed in 1996
1997 -year first Sprint Cup race held at the track (6/22/97)
2008 -year facility name changed from California Speedway to Auto Club Speedway
BONUS: Although only two tracks currently host NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, 15 California tracks have hosted a total of 129 Sprint Cup races over the years. Riverside International Raceway had the most – 48 – with the last event in 1988. Only Riverside, Ontario Motor Speedway (nine) and the two tracks currently on the Sprint Cup schedule – Auto Club Speedway (21) and Infineon Raceway (22) – have hosted more than six Cup races.
(Darnell Communications/Dodge)(3-26-2011) - Roush Fenway has no plans to put Bayne in All-Star Race: [Roush Fenway President Steve ] Newmark is optimistic regarding the promise of his Nationwide Series racers Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse. He’s watched both youngsters mature over the past year. Despite Bayne’s uncertainty regarding a sponsored ride in the All-Star race, Newmark says there are no current plans to provide their driver with a car. “It’s not anything we’ve had discussions about,” Newmark said. “We’re focused on having Trevor run in Nationwide and try to compete with he and Ricky to win the championship. We’re hopeful that the Wood Brothers will figure out a way to get Trevor in the All-Star race, but we haven’t had any discussions about putting him in any of our vehicles.”(Fox Sports), see earlier infomation about Wood Brothers not running the All-Star Race on my #21 team page.(3-26-2011)
- TRG switching manufacturers? UPDATES: Hearing that the #71 TRG Motorsports team will be switching manufacturers from Chevy to Ford. The team will make the switch starting at Texas after running Chevy at Auto Club Speedway with Andy Lally, then with Hermie Sadler at Martinsville.(3-22-2011)
UPDATE: Team owner Kevin Buckler confirmed that a deal has been in the works for more than a month to acquire new cars from Roush-Fenway Racing and engines from Roush Yates Racing Engines, beginning at Texas Motor Speedway April 9. “When we first came to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, we were faced with the daunting task of competing at the highest level of NASCAR, and doing it on a budget,” explained Buckler in an exclusive Sirius Speedway interview. “At first, our goal was to survive and qualify for races. In time, we were able to raise our sights and shoot for a spot in the Top 35. But ultimately, we are here because we want to win. We don’t want to spend our time racing against the bottom 15 teams every week,” he said. “We’ve been winners in every form of racing we have ever tackled, and we want to be a winner in NASCAR. To do that, we need new, state-of-the-art cars and engines; equipment as good as anyone else out there has.” Buckler said TRG will campaign new cars as part of a “light technological support program” with Roush Fenway Racing and new Ford FR9 powerplants from Roush Yates Engines. “My partners and I are going to have to shoulder a heavier financial load to do this, and we could not have done this without the support of our sponsor, Super Eco Fuel Saver. But it’s time for us to take a big step up and see if we can compete at this level.(Sirius Speedway)(3-23-2011)
UPDATE 2: Team owner Kevin Buckler confirmed that starting at Texas Motor Speedway his TRG Motorsports Sprint Cup Team will run Ford Fusions supplied by Roush Fenway Racing with engines provided by Roush/Yates Engines. “We are excited to be partnering with Roush Fenway and getting some new equipment in the TRG Motorsports stable,” said Kevin Buckler, team owner. “It has been a long few years in figuring out our best options to succeed in NASCAR and we have a golden opportunity to really improve our performance with some shiny new equipment and some technical support. The Fords are on a roll right now and Roush Fenway does it right. A partnership with them and with Roush/Yates Engines will be an outstanding package for our team. We are confident that fielding Ford Fusions will add to the success of our organization and the competitiveness of our performance on the race track.” TRG Motorsport’s move to Ford follows a three-year campaign in which the team fielded Chevy. “Chevy, RCR and ECR have been great partners for our team and on behalf of TRG Motorsports, I’d like to thank everyone at GM Racing for their dedication and support,” Buckler said.(TRG)(3-26-2011) - Johnson to appear on Fox’s “Breaking In!”: Don’t expect five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson to quit his day job any time soon. But Johnson’s return to Southern California on Wednesday presented the perfect opportunity to test his acting chops for an upcoming episode of FOX’s “Breaking In!” The 35-year-old El Cajon native played himself in the storyline, which will air on April 20. “There’s a situation that we have as a race team and the show is based on this,” Johnson said. “Christian Slater runs and owns this investigative service company and we have some issues on our team and we need their help. I go in and talk to his group and go through some things, get some help and they help us solve our problem.”(Fox Sports)(3-26-2011)
- Jeff Gordon appears on Ellen DeGeneres show and talks about his daughter becoming a race car driver:
Ellen: I heard that Ella told you she wants to be a racecar driver?
Jeff: I get asked this all the time. Do you want your daughter to be a racecar driver? I just want to approach it the same way that my parents approached it with me and my sister. Whatever opportunities or passions you see as a parent your kids interested in, pursue that and see where that takes them. That’s what happened with me. We found racing at a young age. My parents introduced me to it and it just took off. I hadn’t thought about it a whole lot, certainly with my daughter, and we were driving down the road the other day and out of nowhere, she said, “Papa, I want to be a racecar driver.” And I said, “You do? Why do you want to be a racecar driver?” [She said] “Because I love you.” It just crushed me and at the same time, I thought, “Oh, now I’m going to have to get a racecar.” Laughs.(Ellen DeGeneres Show PR)(3-26-2011) - Stewart Gets ‘Wild’ at the Oakland Zoo: #14-Tony Stewart traded his race suit for a zoo-keeper’s uniform during a behind-the-scenes experience at the Oakland Zoo on Thursday.
Stewart, who was in the Bay Area in advance of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway (June 24-26), had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get up-close and personal with Osh, an 11,000 pound, 16-year-old male elephant. Working alongside Elephant Manager Jeff Kinzley, Stewart helped complete some of the daily care for Osh, including a “pedicure,” mouth check and feeding him lunch. Osh even kicked off the countdown to race weekend by passing Stewart the official green flag.
“That’s a pretty incredible animal, and this is like nothing I’ve ever done,” said Stewart. “It didn’t take long to realize how much respect you have to have for that animal.” Elephant Manager Jeff Kinzley said of Stewart, “Tony was a true star with Osh, just like he is on the track.” Stewart also had the chance to interact with some of the zoo’s other popular attractions, including a skink, tortoise and a 48-pound Columbian red-tail boa, before participating in a Q&A with media members and fans.
More than 100 fans came out to see Stewart, who also unveiled the new Trackside with Tony ticket package for race weekend. This package includes Saturday and Sunday race tickets for the Toyota/Save Mart 350, plus a Q&A with Stewart in the Club 7 hospitality area, for just $114. Plus, a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Tony
Stewart Foundation. Stewart, who has posted two wins in Sonoma (2002, ’05), returns to Northern California in June for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway. Tickets, including the Trackside with Tony package, are available by calling 800-870-RACE or at www.infineonraceway.com.(Infineon
Raceway)(3-26-2011) - Molly Ringwald named Honorary Starter of California Nationwide Race: Actress Molly Ringwald will serve as Honorary Starter for the Royal Purple 300 NNS race at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday, March 26. As Honorary Starter, Ringwald will wave the green flag to get the Royal Purple 300 underway. Race fans can also watch Ringwald on the breakout hit “The Secret Life of the American Teenager”, which airs on Mondays at 8/7c on ABC Family. In addition to being an actress and author, Ringwald recently finished recording her first album with her jazz band which they hope to release in 2011.(ACS)(3-26-2011)
- Trace Adkins to perform National Anthem at Martinsville: Multi-platinum and multi-talented recording artist Trace Adkins will perform the national anthem prior to the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway on April 3. Adkins is a fervent race fan, who not only is a regular at tracks, but has sponsored cars and actually sponsored a 300-lap Nationwide Series race at Nashville Superspeedway in 2003.(Martinsville Speedway)(3-26-2011)
- Metro Ministries to sponsor the # 52 at California: Metro Ministries is currently the world’s largest Sunday School serving more than 42,000 children with Sunday School services, child sponsorship, special programs and personal home visits on a weekly basis. The organization was established in 1980 and has been serving low-income, inner city children and their families for more than a quarter of a century.(Means Motorsports PR)(3-26-2011)
- Starr to make Sprint Cup debut at TMS: Thirteen years ago, Houston native David Starr stood in the Winner’s Circle at the former San Antonio Speedway and was thanking his lucky stars. Starr, who was only 29 then, had just outlasted a grueling 100-lap race that was filled with wrecks and high drama. His Chevrolet Monte Carlo was badly damaged, but somehow he managed to outrace a 19-car field to win the Super Late Model race. Shortly after winning that night at SAS, Starr’s racing career took off and he has never looked back. Starr, who is now 43 and a resident of Irving, is about to make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut when NASCAR returns to Texas in two weeks for the Samsung Mobile 500 race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. He will drive the No. 95, a car on the Texas-founded team of Leavine Fenton Racing of Tyler, and will compete in six Sprint Cup Series races this season. Wally Rogers will serve as his crew chief. Since the win at SAS back in 1998, Starr has spent the past 14 years competing in the NASCAR Truck Series. In 268 starts, Starr has four wins, five poles, and his best points season finish was fourth in 2006. He also has 16 career starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.(MySanAntonio.com) [For past news on the new Leavine Fenton Racing team, visit the January News Archives page or the Cup #95 Team News and Links page.](3-26-2011)
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