April 3, 2012
- Timmy Hill returning to Nationwide Series: Timmy Hill, the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year, will return to the Nationwide Series with Rick Ware Racing for the remainder of the 2012 season, starting with the Friday, April 13th event at Texas Motor Speedway. Hill and the RWR team attempted the move to the Sprint Cup Series this year. “Rick Ware Racing has been awesome to me throughout my entire racing career,” said Hill. “We as a team took a chance to compete in the Sprint Cup Series and move this team to the next level. We learned a lot from this experience, but it’s time to take a step back and regroup on what we learned to apply that for the future. So we are temporarily putting the Cup program on hold. We are not out of racing and you will see myself and Rick Ware Racing at Texas ready to go in the Nationwide Series race.”(Hill PR)(4-3-2012)
- Joe Falk to take over #33 team: Hermie Sadler will race in Sunday’s “Goody’s Fast Relief 500” at Martinsville Speedway, driving a #33 Chevrolet fielded – officially – by Richard Childress Racing. The Virginia native has confirmed, however, that the #33 team will soon belong to former Sprint Cup Series owner Joe Falk, who will make his return to the sport in two weeks at Texas Motor Speedway. “I had been talking to Richard about driving the #33 at some point this year,” said Sadler on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio’s Sirius XM Speedway. “And in the last week to 10 days, Richard made a deal with Joe Falk& to purchase the team and its (owner) points. Joe is a big NASCAR fan who has done pretty well in the car business. A lot of people know him, he’s been around the sport forever.” Sadler called this week’s entry “a collaborative effort” between RCR and Falk, as part of a transition that will see Falk assume ownership of the car at Texas Motor Speedway on April 14. “This is technically an RCR effort this week,” he said. “It’s an older Richard Childress car with a Childress engine under the hood. Richard entered the car this weekend because of (NASCAR rules concerning) entry blanks and when they have to be submitted. After they filed the entry, conversations began between him and Joe about making the transition official in time for Texas.” Falk was listed as co-owner of the Hillman Racing #40 Toyota that Michael Waltrip attempted to qualify for this year’s Daytona 500, and sources say the #33 entry may be housed at the Hillman Racing shop in Mooresville, NC.(Godfather Motorsports)(3-30-2012)
UPDATE: Sprint Cup series car owner Joe Falk said on Monday that he expects Elliott Sadler, Austin Dillon and C.E. Falk to be among those who will drive the #33 Chevy for his team in upcoming races. Joe Falk is purchasing the #33 team from legendary Cup owner Richard Childress. Falk said that Hermie Sadler, who drove to a 31st-place finish in the team’s first race on Sunday at Martinsville, also figures to drive some more races. Falk added that he is not ready yet to announce who will drive the Cup car on April 14 in Texas, but that Emporia native Sadler is a possibility. He said his team will be housed in the same Mooresville, N.C., garage as his Camping World Truck Series team. While Falk partners with Hillman Racing in the trucks series, his Cup team will be independent. “We’re doing this as a development deal with Richard Childress Racing,” Falk said. So Childress’ grandson, Dillon – who won two Camping World Truck races last year and has three Nationwide Series top-fives in five starts this season – will get some Cup starts for Falk. And Falk’s nephew C.E., who tied a Langley Speedway track record with his third consecutive Late Model title in 2011, should get a start.(Newport News Daily Press)(4-3-2012)
- Mayfield faces foreclosure on property: In addition to his legal troubles, former NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield now faces losing his home and land because he owes nearly $3 million for the property. Mayfield, 42, was in Catawba County Superior Court Monday on five felony charges that stem from a search warrant that was executed at his Catawba home in November. He is facing one count of possession of methamphetamine for 1.5 grams officers found in his home, three counts of possession of stolen goods and one count of obtaining property by false pretenses. Mayfield’s next court appearance will be June 25. Mayfield and his wife, Shana, owe [money] on their 455 acres of property. The couple own five tracts of land, and took out two mortgages from Carolina Farm Credit on the combined acreage: one for $2.28 million and the other for $847,500, both on July 28, 2006. Although the Mayfields made some payments on the combined $3,127,500 debt, they were unable to keep up with the payments after Mayfield was suspended from NASCAR. As of Sept. 13, the Mayfields still owed about $2,387,130 on the principal for the two mortgages and an additional $334,700 in accrued interest. The mortgage company added daily interest of $392.40, as well as an additional fee of $1,000, according to court documents. Foreclosure proceedings began on Dec. 13, 2011. The property will be put up for auction on April 30 at 12 p.m. at the Catawba County courthouse in Newton. It will be given to the highest bidder. The Mayfields have 10 days to be out of their home after the auction, unless they have the money to pay off their debt on April 30, said Al Jean Bogle, clerk of superior court. That is not something Jeremy Mayfield is ruling out. “I’m working on something,” Mayfield said.(Hickory Daily Record)(4-3-2012)
- Kentucky Ford Fan Day on April 28: Kentucky Speedway’s Ford Fan Day will offer guests a multitude of activities, a behind-the-scenes view of all areas of the 107,000-capacity facility, U.S. Legends International quarter-mile track racing, chances to win prizes as well as previews of road and parking improvements on Saturday, April 28 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Guests will be able to tour the garages, media center, grandstands, press box, owner’s suite, spotters’ stand, campgrounds and a new tunnel that connects the original speedway property to expansive new parking fields. In addition to Legends racing, highlighted activities include the chance to take a Victory Lane photo with the speedway’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series “Quaker State 400” trophy, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series trophy and the Sprint Show Car courtesy of Walmart, a chat with speedway General Manager Mark Simendinger, a Racing Roundtable discussion with local media along with a Fire and Safety Team demonstration. Raceway Ministries will organize children’s activities such as face painting and youngsters also will have the chance to make announcements on the speedway’s public address system.(Kentucky Speedway)(4-3-2012)
- JR Motorsports swaps crew chiefs: JR Motorsports has implemented a crew chief swap to its #88 and #5 Nationwide Series teams. Crew chief Bruce Cook has taken over responsibilities for the #88 Chevys driven by Cole Whitt. Until now Cook has spearheaded the organization’s third team – a part-time entry primarily driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. – while lending assistance to the company’s two full-schedule teams. That role will now fall to Tony Eury Sr., who takes charge of the #5 team while continuing his role as JR Motorsports’ competition director. Tony Eury Jr.’s role as crew chief for Danica Patrick and the #7 GoDaddy.com team remains unchanged. The #5 car will race at Texas next weekend with Earnhardt Jr. and sponsor Degree Men. The crew chief change reunites Earnhardt Jr. with Eury Sr. The pair won 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races between 2000 and 2004 as well as Nationwide Series championships in 1998 and 1999.(JR Motorsports)(4-3-2012)
- Fan response to Nationwide Series positive so far: The numbers are in and the results show fans are “fired up” about the start of the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series season. Not since 1995, when NNS regulars won the first seven races, have the first four out of five races of the season been won by non-full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers. #30-James Buescher (earning driver championship points in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), #2-Elliott Sadler (two wins) and defending series champion #6-Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the first four races of the season. Joey Logano finally broke that string on March 24 at Auto Club Speedway.
Following the NNS at Auto Club, 3,932 Official NASCAR Fan Council members (avid NASCAR fans) responded to a question focusing on their feelings about series regulars winning against NASCAR Sprint Cup full-timers. Of those, over 70 percent “agreed” that the wins by Buescher, Sadler and Stenhouse:
• Makes me feel good about the NASCAR Nationwide Series
• I’d like to see more NASCAR Nationwide Series regulars win races
• I expect to see NASCAR Nationwide Series regulars win NASCAR Nationwide Series races
• I’m more interested in the NASCAR Nationwide Series because regulars are winning
NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers not dominating NASCAR Nationwide Series races this year also resonates with the Fan Council. Of the survey participants, over 80 percent “disagreed” with the following statements:
• I miss seeing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars winning in the NASCAR Nationwide Series
• I’m less interested in the NASCAR Nationwide Series because my favorite Cup driver isn’t racing
Methodology: Conducted among members of the Official NASCAR Fan Council. Members are avid NASCAR fans, 6 or 7 on a 7-point interest scale where 7 is extremely interested in NASCAR. 3,932 respondents completed the survey fielded March 26-27, 2012. (NASCAR)(4-3-2012)
- Efland returning to the #4 at Texas: Danny Efland has agreed to drive a Johnny Davis Motorsports Nationwide entry April 13th at Texas Motor Speedway. The race will be on Friday night under the lights. Danny and Johnny have been working to keep the #4 car locked in with Danny finishing a career high 13th place at Daytona and crew chiefing the car at several other events. Look for a sponsorship partner soon.(Efland PR)(4-3-2012)
- Timmy Hill returning to Nationwide Series: Timmy Hill, the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year, will return to the Nationwide Series with Rick Ware Racing for the remainder of the 2012 season, starting with the Friday, April 13th event at Texas Motor Speedway. Hill and the RWR team attempted the move to the Sprint Cup Series this year [in the #37]. “Rick Ware Racing has been awesome to me throughout my entire racing career,” said Hill. “We as a team took a chance to compete in the Sprint Cup Series and move this team to the next level. We learned a lot from this experience, but it’s time to take a step back and regroup on what we learned to apply that for the future. So we are temporarily putting the Cup program on hold. We are not out of racing and you will see myself and Rick Ware Racing at Texas ready to go in the Nationwide Series race.”(Hill PR)(4-3-2012)
- OneMain Financial returns as title sponsor of fall Nationwide race at Dover: OneMain Financial and Dover International Speedway have announced a renewed partnership for 2012 with OneMain Financial returning as the title sponsor of the fall NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the Monster Mile, the Sept. 29, 2012 “OneMain Financial 200.” This will be the second straight year OneMain Financial will sponsor the fall NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Dover. The company’s NASCAR presence continues to grow, as it is the primary sponsor of the Richard Childress Racing #2 OneMain Financial Chevy, driven by Elliott Sadler, in the Nationwide Series again this year. Sadler has already piloted the car to Victory Lane twice this season, winning at Phoenix International Raceway on March 3 and Bristol Motor Speedway on March 17. The Sept. 29 “OneMain Financial 200” NASCAR Nationwide Series race is part of another triple-header NASCAR weekend at the Monster Mile that also includes the Sept. 28 NASCAR K&N; Pro Series East race and the Sept. 30 “AAA 400” NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.(Dover Speedway)(4-3-2012)
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