March 29 – Today in Jayski’s NASCAR history

March 29, 2012

• • • Final Auto Club 400 TV Ratings: Hampered by rain, airing directly against the NCAA Tournament on CBS and a Tiger Woods fueled PGA event on NBC, NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing on FOX posted a 3.8/9 (6.2 million viewers) on Sunday for the Auto Club 400 from Auto Club Speedway. That’s down -17% from last year’s 4.6/10 (8.1 million), and ranks as the lowest-rated race this season on FOX. Season-to-date, NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing on FOX is averaging a 5.8/12 (9.7 million viewers), off -6% from last year’s 6.2/14 (10.8 million viewers). See fast TV Ratings, previous 2012 races and 4 year comparison chart at the 2012 TV Ratings page.(3-29-2012)
    • Hermie Sadler in the #33 at Martinsville: UPDATE: During SPEED’s NASCAR Live on Saturday, John Roberts and Hermie Sadler mentioned that Sadler would run the #33 Richard Childress Racing Chevy in the Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway next weekend, April 1.(3-24-2012)
      UPDATE: Hermie Sadler has landed a one-race deal to drive Richard Childress Racing’s #33 Chevy this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, a team spokesman confirmed Wednesday. Hermie Sadler has brought sponsorship from Anderson’s Maple Syrup and Am Fm-Energy to RCR for this weekend’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500. The car is 35th in the owner standings and has a guaranteed spot in the field at Martinsville. Gil Martin, a former crew chief for Kevin Harvick who directs the RCR Nationwide program, has served as crew chief of the #33 car the first five weeks but a crew chief for this weekend is still to be determined.(Scene Daily)(3-29-2012)
    • Accell Construction sponsoring Reutimann in 3 races: Accell Construction made a three-race commitment with Tommy Baldwin Racing adding to the Oklahoma-based company’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series program. David Reutimann will pilot the # 10 Accell Construction Chevy at Martinsville Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. Accell Construction, an Oklahoma-based company, sponsored the # 10 Chevy at Phoenix International Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway. Continuing to see an increase in interest of the company, Accell Construction decided to extend their relationship with the NSCS team. The 20-year-old company also sponsored the TBR #36 Chevy for six primary events, as well as associate races, last season. Accell Construction, a full-service site civil contractor for the pipeline terminal and bulk storage industries, specializes in tank farm construction, tank foundations and other related site civil construction.(Tommy Baldwin Racing)(3-29-2012)
    • RK Motors sponsoring Vickers at Martinsville: Brian Vickers makes his second 2012 Sprint Cup start Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. He’ll drive Michael Waltrip Racing’s #55 RK Motors Toyota on the Virginia half-mile track. The 28-year-old Thomasville, N.C. native finished fifth in his first race of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway. RK Motors Charlotte is the country’s leading retailer of investment-grade classic and collector cars, selling hundreds of vehicles each year. RK Motors Charlotte’s 80,000 sq./ft. facility features a 200-vehicle, state-of-the-art showroom complete with digital media studio, full restoration / customization shop and a full service area.(MWR)(3-29-2012)
    • Bush’s Bean on the #47 at Martinsville: Five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races are in the books and approaching Martinsville Speedway Bobby Labonte will have a fifth different primary sponsor on his #47 Toyota Camry hood with BUSH’S Beans. Kroger kicked off the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, Kingsford Charcoal followed suit at Phoenix International Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. At Bristol Motor Speedway, Clorox was front and center and Charter graced Labonte’s machine for the first time at Auto Club Speedway. Now, it’s BUSH’S Beans turn for the next two events before Reese Towpower takes the helm at Kansas Speedway while SCOTT Brand and BUBBA burger are in line.(JTG Daugherty Racing)(3-29-2012)
    • MyLowe’s on the #48 at Martinsville: Jimmie Johnson will drive the #48 MyLowe’s Chevyt this weekend at Martinsville. The paint scheme debuted last year at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. MyLowe’s is an integrated online tool at Lowes.com that helps keep track of everything in your home. Users will never have to remember paint colors, warranty information or room dimensions again. When using the MyLowe’s card, purchases will automatically upload to the user’s MyLowe’s site and can be customized from there.(Hendrick Motorsports)(3-29-2012)
    • The Numbers for the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500, Caution Recap:
      1 – fewest cautions (three times, most recent 4/25/71)
      1 – fewest cars on lead lap at finish (27 times, most recent 4/27/86)
      1 – fewest lead changes (three times, most recent 4/9/61)
      2 – fewest leaders (11 times, most recent 9/26/76)
      3 – fewest caution laps (4/25/71)
      4 – fewest laps led by race winner (John Andretti, 4/18/99)
      4 – fewest running at the finish (5/6/51); 35 cars started the 200-lap race on .500-mile dirt track
      4 – number of jet dryers available for track drying this weekend
      11 – cautions in last year’s spring race
      14 – most leaders (10/15/01)
      15 – most wins by driver (Richard Petty)
      19 – races won from the pole
      21 – most cautions for a race (10/21/07)
      26 – most cars on the lead lap at finish (twice, most recent 10/22/06)
      29 – cautions for two races last year: 11 for the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 and 18 for TUMS Fast Relief 500
      42 – most running at finish (two times, most recent 4/1/07)
      46 – different race winners
      56 – different pole winners
      90 – minutes, amount of time it takes to dry the .526-mile track after a significant rainfall.
      126 – Sprint Cup races at Martinsville Speedway since 1949
      127 – most caution laps (10/21/07)
      493 – most laps led by race winner (Fred Lorenzen, 9/27/64)
      2012 Caution Update
      31 – cautions in the first five Sprint Cup races; 45 after five races last year
      16 of 31 – cautions have been for accidents; 25 of 45 for accidents last year
      166 of 1,410 laps completed have been under caution; 211 of 1,487 in 2011
      227.617 of 1,742.000 miles completed have been under caution; 307.881 of 1,899.000 in 2011
      BONUS: Nine Virginia tracks have hosted 274 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races (does not include convertible events) through the years dating back to the early 1950s. Two tracks remain on the schedule – Martinsville (126) and Richmond (111). Of the seven tracks that are no longer on the Sprint Cup calendar, Boston Speedway hosted 10 events, Langley Field Speedway nine and Old Dominion Speedway seven. The other four tracks had a total of 11 races.(Darnell Communications for SRT Motorsports & Dodge)(3-29-2012)
    • Martinsville Goodyear Tire Notes: Teams in both NASCAR series will run the same tire codes at Martinsville this weekend, though the Sprint Cup tires will be branded “Goodyear Eagle,” while the Camping World Truck tires will be branded “Goodyear Wrangler” . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that teams in both of these series ran at Martinsville last October . . . this right-side tire code (D-4468) is the same one Sprint Cup teams ran on all four tire positions at Watkins Glen in 2011 and will run at Infineon and Watkins Glen in 2012 . . . as on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Martinsville. See full notes with tire pressures, codes and more on the Martinsville Race Info page – Goodyear section.(3-29-2012)
    • Jesse Jones Becomes Official Martinsville Partner: Sixty-five years after the first Jesse Jones wiener was served at Martinsville Speedway it has become an official partner with the historic Virginia track. Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell announced that the track and Jesse Jones, LLC had partnered to bring official status to the wiener just in time for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 weekend. “We have obviously been partners for many years, ever since my grandfather H. Clay Earles made the first Famous Martinsville Speedway Hot Dog”, but this makes it official,” said Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell. “Our hot dog is the most iconic concession item in all of racing, and the key reason for that is the Jesse Jones wiener. We have our special, secret way of dressing it, but the dog is at the heart of it all.” If stretched end-to-end, the hot dogs sold during this weekend’s events at Martinsville Speedway would wrap around the half-mile track more than nine times.(Martinsville Speedway)(3-29-2012)
    • Koch loses sponsor: UPDATE: Many Nationwide Series drivers will do almost anything to get their sponsors more publicity. #41-Blake Koch and his sponsor were even willing to pay ESPN for exposure. But ESPN rejected the advertisement from Koch’s sponsor, the Rise Up and Register Campaign, which is designed to educate people about the importance of registering to vote in upcoming elections. Koch said the network rejected the advertisement, in part, because of his religious activism. A devout Christian, the 26-year-old driver often speaks at churches on race weekends, at numerous religious outreach events and on television shows. “Their whole campaign was to run that commercial on ESPN, and they wanted to get in front of the NASCAR fans,” Koch said about his sponsor in a phone interview Thursday. “They didn’t care about any other network. We found out Friday at Daytona (in February) that they weren’t going to air the commercials due to political and religious overtones, and they said particularly on (my) BlakeKoch.com website.” While the campaign’s website does not promote specific religions, it does include links to Koch’s site, which promotes his ministry and other religious programs. ESPN issued a statement Thursday, saying, “The spot did not meet our guidelines in regard to advocacy messaging. Blake Koch’s personal religious beliefs played no role in our evaluation.” The campaign, which Koch said is nonpartisan and not religion-based, has now decided to stop sponsoring the Rick Ware Racing car. Koch, who is 20th in the Nationwide Series standings, said he plans to continue to race.(Sporting News)(3-29-2012)
    • Goodyear Tire Notes – Martinsville: Teams in both NASCAR series will run the same tire codes at Martinsville this weekend, though the Sprint Cup tires will be branded “Goodyear Eagle,” while the Camping World Truck tires will be branded “Goodyear Wrangler” . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that teams in both of these series ran at Martinsville last October . . . this right-side tire code (D-4468) is the same one Sprint Cup teams ran on all four tire positions at Watkins Glen in 2011 and will run at Infineon and Watkins Glen in 2012 . . . as on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Martinsville.(Goodyear PR) [Complete tire specs are posted on the Martinsville Race Info page.](3-29-2012)

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