April 5, 2012
- Max Q Motorsports looking for deal to keep team running: Larry Gunselman, owner of the Max Q Motorsports #37 Sprint Cup team is seeking new opportunities to keep his #37 team operational. The RWR plans to purchase Max Q and run for Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year fell through when negotiations to purchase a top 35 team after race 5 failed. “Rick Ware and I have been good friends for many years and I wish RWR the best of luck and we may put another program together in the future,” stated Gunselman. “The #37 team is back-up for sale and having made every attempt in 2012 the team would be in the next 2 races in case of a rain out. Our goal is to put a new program together in the next couple of weeks or I will be forced to liquidate company assets.” The team is in the process of moving from the RWR shop in Thomasville back to their fully operational shop in Mooresville and has a fleet of seven Sprint Cup racecars, transportation equipment including a truck, transporter and pit equipment, as well as, all of the equipment necessary to run a small and efficient Sprint Cup operation.(Max Q PR)(4-5-2012)
- Tire testing at Michigan: UPDATES: Goodyear Tire Testing is scheduled at Michigan International Speedway on Tuesday April 3rd and Wednesday April 4, 2012. Drivers scheduled to test: #2-Brad Keselowski (Dodge), #17-Matt Kenseth (Ford), #42-Juan Pablo Montoya (Chevy) and #24-Jeff Gordon (Chevy). The Turn 1 grandstand seats will be open for fans free of charge on April 3-4.(MIS/Goodyear)(3-28-2012)
UPDATE: #2-Brad Keselowski made history at Michigan International Speedway on Tuesday. The Rochester Hills native took the first laps on the newly paved surface at the racetrack during a Goodyear Tire test. “I feel the decision to pave in October, giving it some time to set was very beneficial,” Keselowski said. “The track should be ready to go in record time for a repave. It should be in great shape when we come back here for the race.” Keselowski was the first car out at 1:23 p.m., shortly following a rain delay. He was joined at the test by fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers #24-Jeff Gordon, #17-Matt Kenseth and #42-Juan Pablo Montoya. Keselowski tweeted throughout the test, saying the track would reach top speeds on Day 2 of the test on Wednesday. But that didn’t keep him from reaching 212, enough to break the 194.232 mph track qualifying record set by Ryan Newman in 2005. Gordon topped off at nearly 215 mph, he said. But a Goodyear Tire test isn’t necessarily about how fast the NASCAR stock cars can go, but rather collecting data the tire company can use to build a good race tire for the track’s NASCAR events. The two-day test concludes 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday. The Turn 1 grandstands will be open for fans free of charge throughout the day. Fans may park in Lot 10, off US 12.(MIS)(4-4-2012)
UPDATE 2: After a successful two-day GoodyearTire Test at Michigan International Speedway, some NASCAR drivers say they are happy with the repave. Oh, and the track is fast. They all said that, too. “This place is fast. I mean fast, fast,” NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Juan Pablo Montoya said. “Our minimum speed this morning was over 180 mph through the corner when you think about it. We are doing easily over 210 mph at the end of the straight. Official speeds were not available. But participating drivers said and tweeted they unofficially topped speeds of about 215 mph. All the drivers added they believe Ryan Newman’s track qualifying record of 194.232 mph set back in 2005 is in jeopardy.(MIS)(4-5-2012)
- Hamiln caddies for Bubba Watson at Masters Par 3 contest: Even though it was just the annual Par 3 Contest at the Masters, big-hitting Bubba Watson brought a driver. His caddie Wednesday was his NASCAR racing pal and fellow left-hander, Denny Hamlin. Hamlin, the 2010 Sprint Cup Series runner-up, met Watson that year when they played golf together with their agents in Arizona. “My agent said Bubba is a lefty, too, so you’ll have to go out there and play,” Hamlin said. “So I was like, ‘Of course, I’d love to do that.’ So we went out there and played. Our personalities are kind of the exact same, so it was a very easy friendship right from the get go.” Hamlin also loves golf. He plays at least a couple of times a week despite hectic races and promotional appearances. Hamlin said a good score for him for 18 holes is in the low 80s. On the last hole, Watson hit into tee shot over water to within about 20 feet of the hole on the fringe of the green. Hamlin took the birdie putt. He missed it just right, about a foot past the hole. Turning his back to the hole for the next putt, he tapped the ball backwards between his legs with one hand and into the cup as the crowd cheered.(USA Today)(4-5-2012)
- Numbers Game after Martinsville: Some stats from Martinsville and through the first 6 races of the year:
2nd – AJ Allmendinger finally got his first top 10 driving for Roger Penske, finishing second at Martinsville. The runner-up result beats his previous career-best finish, a third in the 2009 Daytona 500.
3 – There wasn’t a single caution flag for debris Sunday, marking the third straight week race control did not throw what has become known as a somewhat controversial caution over the years.
7.8 – Bad fast on Friday, just plain bad on Sunday. That has been the theme for Kasey Kahne in 2012. Even though he is off to a disastrous start to the season, Kahne is tied with Kevin Harvick for highest average starting position after six races with a 7.8. He has already qualified on the pole for two races; however, the newest driver at Hendrick Motorsports has still yet to lead a single lap all year.
8 – There are eight full-time drivers with one DNF or less that have not yet scored a top-10 for the year. The list includes 2000 Cup champ Bobby Labonte and three first-time winners from last year: Regan Smith, David Ragan, and Marcos Ambrose.
16 – By picking up his first Sprint Cup victory at Martinsville this past week, Ryan Newman now has 16 career wins, moving him into a tie with active competitor Greg Biffle for 48th-most all-time.
184 – The top two drivers in points, Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr., have a combined winless streak of 184 races. Biffle’s last victory came at Kansas in 2010, 49 races ago, while Earnhardt’s last trip to victory circle dates back to the June Michigan race in 2008. Junior’s winless streak has now reached 135 races.
328 – Jeff Gordon led 328 laps at Martinsville, the most he has led in a single race since 2001 when he paced the field for 381 circuits at Dover. This is the eighth time in his career Gordon has led more than 300 laps in a race, but the first time he failed to finish in the top 3 when doing so.
1,925 – There have been a total of 1,925 laps completed at the 1/6th mark of the season. Only three drivers have completed every single one – Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Matt Kenseth, and Martin Truex, Jr.(Frontstretch)(4-5-2012)
- Bruton Smith talks to Tennessee Governor about aid for track: Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and the owner of Bristol Motor Speedway discussed potential state assistance for the NASCAR venue Friday, two days after plans were announced to renovate the struggling track. Haslam and Bruton Smith, the North Carolina-based owner of Speedway Motorsports Inc., met in Nashville to hold “preliminary discussions” about potential aid. Speedway Motorsports plans to resurface Bristol before its next race in August in response to declining attendance and fan complaints about the quality of racing at the state’s only Sprint Cup track. Restoring the track to its original configuration will cost about $1 million, according to The Associated Press. Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, said he had spoken with Haslam about potential aid to Bristol, which lies within Ramsey’s Senate district. “Attendance was down over 50,000 people, and just the lost sales taxes for two races would be $1 million in revenue,” he said. “We have done things in the past – for tracks, for minor league ball clubs – and Bristol has never asked for anything before.”(Tennessean)(4-5-2012)
- Darlington adds Tailgate Area: Tailgating is a big part of the culture that race fans enjoy each and every time they visit Darlington Raceway. To accommodate the ever-growing demand for tailgating prior to the track’s events, the raceway is offering a new area outside turn two, the Too Tough to Tailgate Zone, specific for fans who are tailgating prior to the Bojangles’ Southern 500 on Saturday, May 12. For $50 per spot, fans will receive a 20×20 space in the Tailgate Zone, big enough to accommodate one passenger vehicle, a pop-up tent, tables, chairs and a grill. There are no limitations to how many guests can tailgate at the space. Admission to the Bojangles’ Southern 500 is not included in the price. Tickets to the race must be purchased when you order your tailgating spot in order to obtain admission. The Too Tough to Tailgate Zone will open at 9 a.m. on race day (Saturday only) and close when the race begins at approximately 7 p.m. The Tailgate Zone, located outside of turn two, can be accessed through Gate 1 off of Harry Byrd Highway (US 151). Additionally, the Darlington Raceway ticket office hours are changing to accommodate race fans that might not be able to purchase their tickets during normal business hours. From now until the race weekend, the ticket office will be open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.(Darlington Raceway)(4-5-2012)
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