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April 3 – Today in Jayski’s NASCAR history

April 3, 2020 at 5:53 AM

April 3, 2014

  • SMS Audio to Sponsor Kligerman’s #30 at Texas: Swan Racing announced that the #30 Toyota will feature an SMS Audio and Klarbrunn Vita Ice paint scheme for this weekend’s Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. SMS Audio, which signed an exclusive two-year deal with Swan Racing as a team associate sponsor, is an American consumer electronics manufacturer of headphones and audio products, founded by entertainer and entrepreneur Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. “Riding with 50 Cent might be just the thing the #30 needs to have a break out race at Texas Motor Speedway,” said Kligerman. “I’m excited that both SMS Audio and Vita Ice will be prominently displayed on the car – it looks great.” Klarbrunn Vita ICE is a zero calorie sparkling water with added antioxidants and vitamins, perfect for refueling on the track. SMS is participating in a weekly product give away on Swan Racing’s Facebook account at www.facebook.com/SwanRacingCompany. Fans just need to “Like” the page and correctly answer a trivia question. Winners will be selected randomly among those who correctly answer the questions.(Swan Racing), see images of the scheme on the #30 Team Schemes page.(4-3-2014)
  • Haas’s US team to be given green light into F1 by next year: Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that a new team run by an American businessman is on track to join Formula One next year. It will become the sport’s 12th team and the first from America since the 1980s. Formula One has not had an American driver since 2007. The team is run by Gene Haas, the joint owner of the championship-winning Stewart-Haas Racing team [#4, #10, #14, #41], which competes in America’s NASCAR stock car series. “I think Haas will be accepted,” said Ecclestone, the sport’s chief executive. “They have got the money but it’s a question of whether they are going to spend it.” In addition to his stake in the NASCAR team, Haas is also the founder of leading American engineering firm Haas Automation, which has annual revenues of around $1bn (£600m). It gives him the resources to fuel his bid and he is already using it to attract top names, as Günther Steiner, a former technical director of the four-time Formula One champions Red Bull Racing, is understood to be involved.(The Independent)(4-3-2014)
  • Six different winners in first six races: #41-Kurt Busch set a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup era record the moment he hit the finish line to close last Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway – six different winners in the first six races. And incredibly, #20-Matt Kenseth and #48-Jimmie Johnson – the top two winners from the 2013 season – aren’t among that group. The last time there were seven different winners in the first seven races was 2003. The record for different winners to start the season is 10, in 2000. In neither of those seasons were there more than 16 winners after 26 races. There were 13 different winners after 26 races in 2000, and 16 different winners after 26 races in 2003 (and the points leader at the time, Matt Kenseth, was indeed one of them). So, historically speaking, it’s a very safe assumption that the six different winners thus far will be safely in the Chase after Richmond.(NASCAR)(4-3-2014)
  • “Aggie Brilliance” paint scheme for Gordon at Texas: To celebrate a new partnership between Axalta Engineering and Texas A&M College of Engineering, Jeff Gordon’s #24 Chevy will feature a special “Aggie Brilliance” paint scheme during this weekend’s event at Texas Motor Speedway (HMS), see images of the scheme on the #24 Team Schemes page.(4-3-2014)
  • Johnson to appear on The Queen Latifah Show: While #48-Jimmie Johnson was in Los Angeles two weeks ago he stopped by “The Queen Latifah Show” for a guest appearance. The show is scheduled to air Friday, April 4. Check local listings for air times.(HMS)(4-3-2014)
  • Texas Goodyear Tire Notes: Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series will run the same Goodyear tire codes at Texas this weekend . . . this is the first time teams will run this right-side tire code . . . this right-side tire employs Goodyear’s multi-zone tread technology, which combines two distinct tread compounds on the same tire . . . the outside 10 inches of the tread features a compound that is designed for grip, while the inside two inches of the tread is toughened to enhance durability on the part of the tire sees the most heat and takes the most abuse . . . these teams have run this left-side tire code at Texas since 2011 . . . this left-side code was also run by these teams at Chicagoland, Darlington and Homestead in 2013 . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Texas . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire (Goodyear PR), see full notes, tire codes, trie pressures and set limits on the Texas Race Info page – Goodyear section.(4-3-2014)
  • ESPE Dental Give Kids A Smile featured on the #16 at Texas: Greg Biffle is ready to return to victory lane. The last time he took home the checkered flag, it was in the #16 3M ESPE Dental Give Kids A Smile Ford Fusion. And when he brings that car to Texas in April, he will have his sights set on taking home the trophy – and bringing smiles to a lot of fans around the country. Biffle likes the 1.5 mile ovals such as Texas, and won the spring races there in 2005 and 2012. In 20 starts at the track, he has eight top five and 12 top-10 finishes, and has led some 733 laps at the track. This is the fourth year that Greg Biffle has helped put good dental health for kids on the fast track and driven a special Give Kids A Smile car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. When Biffle drove the #16 Give Kids A Smile car in 2013, he took it to victory lane at Michigan. As part of the Texas race weekend, Biffle and the No. 16 3M race team will host a special dental education program at the racetrack on Friday, April 4. Nearly 125 students and teachers from Our Lady of Perpetual Help elementary and middle school will visit the track for a fun, educational day that includes:
    Education program on good dental health and cavity prevention
    Visit to the 3M Mobile Innovation Center
    Chance to meet the #16 3M race team
    Photos with the 3M DeeBo mascot
    Lunch
    Special dental health gift bag
    “The No. 16 3M ESPE Dental Give Kids A Smile car is very special to me, and so is the Give Kids A Smile program,” said Biffle, a father of a toddler. “Not only were we able to take home the victory at Michigan in it, we were able to reach so many people with the message about good dental health for children. I’m excited to have Give Kids A Smile back on the car, and look forward to seeing it back in victory lane.”(RFR), see an image of the scheme on the #16 Team Schemes page.(4-3-2014)
  • RPM to Display Decals for Autism Awareness in Support of Gray Owens: Richard Petty Motorsports Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series teams will adorn a decal for Autism Awareness for the month of April to support Gray, son of #43 Crew Chief Trent Owens. With April being Autism Awareness month and April 2 Global Autism Awareness Day, the team, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, will join the campaign to raise awareness for autism. Gray, who is now six years old, was diagnosed early and now goes through therapies to cope with the disease. His dad, Owens, knows the importance of bringing awareness to autism to help find prevention and a cure. “It’s a very important month personally with having a son with autism,” Owens explained. “My son was diagnosed when he was a year and a half, and he’s six years old now. There’s not a cure for it. It’s a disease that’s hard to understand, and it’s very difficult from the side of getting therapies and getting help. Every autistic child is completely different, so just to have that awareness to the general public in the past few years for the month of April has been good. Through campaigns like Autism Awareness month, there is more awareness than there was ten years ago. My hope is they find a way of prevention. I would love for them to find a cure – that would be awesome, but I think the more we make people aware just how present the autistic kids are in society now, the better. A new report just came out that one in 68 kids are diagnosed with some form of autism, which is pretty staggering when you think about it.” Showing that RPM is truly a family-run operation, Owens is humbled by the support from his team and acknowledges everything the NASCAR Industry has done over the years to raise awareness. “It’s very cool that the whole organization will run the decal in support. That means a tremendous amount to me, personally. Just see all the things that not only this race team is doing but also the things NASCAR has done over the years with Autism Speaks. I won a race in the trucks in Rockingham last year running an Autism Speaks paint scheme. That was a real highlight to my career to this date. I enjoy speaking about my son’s autism. We don’t try to hide it. We enjoy trying to let the world know, so everybody can kind of get behind it and be supportive and try to find a cure.”(RPM)(4-3-2014)
  • Sad News – Sandy Grossman: FOX Sports President & COO Eric Shanks on the passing of legendary sports television director Sandy Grossman: “Sandy was part of the original heart and soul of FOX Sports. He was a brilliant director and a thoughtful colleague. He mentored many of us here and throughout the sports TV industry, and we learned more from him than he could imagine. On behalf of everyone at FOX Sports, we extend our deepest condolences to Sandy’s family who are in our thoughts and prayers. He’ll be greatly missed.”(FoxSports)(4-3-2014)
  • Dillon fastest in Nationwide happy hour: #3-Ty Dillon was quickest during the rain-shortened happy hour for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 with a speed of 180.361 mph. He was followed by: #7-Regan Smith, #60-Chris Buescher, #9-Chase Elliott, #54-Kyle Busch, #22-Ryan Blaney, #20-Matt Kenseth, #5-Kevin Harvick, #62-Brendan Gaughan, and #16-Ryan Reed. 39 drivers participated in the session. See complete results on the Texas practice 2 speeds page (pdf).(4-3-2014)
  • Dillon fastest in first Nationwide practice: #3-Ty Dillon was fastest during opening practice at Texas Motor Speedway with a speed of 180.505 mph. #54-Kyle Busch was second, followed by: #6-Trevor Bayne, #22-Ryan Blaney, #60-Chris Buescher, #7-Regan Smith, #9-Chase Elliott, #5-Kevn Harvick, and #19-Mike Bliss, and #11-Elliott Sadler. 40 drivers practiced during the session. See complete results on the Texas practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(4-3-2014)
  • Viva Motorsports forms partnership with SS Green Light Racing: Viva Motorsports announced a partnership with SS Green Light Racing for the remainder of the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series season, starting April 11th at Darlington International Raceway. The partnership between the two teams will enable multiple drivers to get behind the wheel of the #55 Chevy Camaro throughout the full 2014 NNS season. The driver lineup will include current driver Jamie Dick, while additional drivers will be announced at a later date. This is not the first time Viva Motorsports and SS Green Light Racing have teamed up together; in 2009 Jamie Dick made his debut in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) driving for team owner Bobby Dotter and SS Green Light Racing. Viva Auto Group will continue to support the efforts, with additional sponsorship being announced in the near future.(Viva Motorsports)(4-3-2014)
  • Cowboys Witten to drive Duck Commander 500 pace car: Dallas Cowboys perennial All-Pro tight end Jason Witten will be honored by Texas Motor Speedway by receiving the opportunity to drive the official pace car to start Sunday’s Duck Commander 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Witten, with the guidance of NASCAR pace car driver Brett Bodine, will be behind the wheel of the Chevrolet SS Official Pace Car that will lead the 43-car field to the green flag for the Duck Commander 500. “I’m honored to be asked to drive the pace car on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway,” Witten said. “I’ll be in town to cheer on Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx team and raise awareness for their special March of Dimes paint scheme, and it will be a cool experience to get behind the wheel before the drop of the green flag.” NASCAR has granted Texas Motor Speedway special permission to allow Witten to drive the car pending a mandatory on-track orientation prior to the Duck Commander 500. Tickets for the Duck Commander 500 NASCAR doubleheader weekend, which also includes Friday evening’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 Nationwide Series race, are available by visiting www.texasmotorspeedway.com or by call the TMS ticket office at (817) 215-8500.(TMS)(4-3-2014)

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