April 6, 2016
- Martinsville post-race penalties & warnings: #18-Kyle Busch was given a written warning following the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway. The #18 team failed laser inspection twice during pre-race inspection.(4-6-2016)
- Cautions down sharply this season: Did You Notice? … No Sprint Cup race has had more than eight caution flags all season? The 51 laps we ran under yellow at Martinsville were the fewest for that track since 1996; overall, the number of slowdowns have dropped significantly for the first six events. Total caution flags for the first six races: 2007: 58, 2008: 66, 2009: 59, 2010: 56, 2011: 56, 2012: 38, 2013: 50, 2014: 54, 2015: 56, 2016: 34. It’s a 39 percent decline over 2015, green-flag momentum that began with this year’s relatively clean Daytona 500 and continued through Sunday’s Martinsville race that featured mostly one-car incidents. The drop is impressive considering the numbers through the years have been fairly consistent: six times over the past ten years we’ve had between 54 and 59 yellow flags during this opening stretch. What gives? It’s a small surprise considering NASCAR’s new rules package has made the handling package more challenging for the drivers over a long green-flag run; we’ve seen more people just “lose it,” like Denny Hamlin Sunday than we have in quite sometime. But for every self-induced incident, we’ve seen a sharp reduction in the number of DNFs and also a pretty strong track record by Goodyear (with the possible exception of Fontana). When your engine doesn’t break, your tires hold up and your speeds are controlled chances at running a clean race rise significantly.(Frontstretch)(4-6-2016)
- Kenseth surprises Steve Byrnes’ family: The wife and son of the late Steve Byrnes showed up at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday expecting to take a photo with Matt Kenseth. The one-year anniversary of Kenseth’s win at Bristol Motor Speedway – the “Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up To Cancer” – was approaching, so they didn’t have reason to suspect an ulterior motive. But Karen Byrnes and her seventh-grader son Bryson were surprised with a pair of gifts upon their arrival. Kenseth presented them with a replica sword given to the winner of the Bristol race along with a framed picture of the #20 team in victory lane holding up signs in support of Steve, a beloved FOX Sports announcer who died two days after the event.
Bryson, a well-spoken young man who seemed comfortable addressing reporters Tuesday, has dreams of becoming a college football announcer if his own football career doesn’t work out (last season he played both center and defensive end on his middle school team). He said all the outpouring of support for his father has been “overwhelming and kind of magical to see.”
Karen Byrnes said the last year has been “bittersweet.” She and Bryson have been supported in many ways by the NASCAR community, but they’ve also lived through many firsts – the first Father’s Day without Steve, the first Christmas, the first Easter. And this month, they’ll mark Steve’s birthday (April 14) and the anniversary of his death (April 21).
“Those are challenging times,” she said. “But we’ve tried to be purposeful in also living, too. (We’re) moving forward and experiencing life because I think we do a disservice to him by not going out and living life.”(USA Today)(4-6-2016)
- Pole sitters not faring well in 2016: Winning the pole for a Sprint Cup race isn’t all that great, at least in 2016. After six races, the average finishing spot of pole-sitters is 14.8. Other than the first spot on the starting grid, the biggest perk of winning a pole is the first pit choice. But none of this season’s five different pole-sitters – #24-Chase Elliott, #41-Kurt Busch, #18-Kyle Busch, #22-Joey Logano and #3-Austin Dillon – have translated that prime real estate into a race win. The last time a race was won from the pole? Matt Kenseth in last year’s spring race at Michigan International Speedway. That was 20 races ago. In all, only four pole winners claimed wins last season. That included Dale Earnhardt Jr’s pole for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, which was awarded on practice time when qualifying was rained out.(NBC Sports)(4-6-2016)
- Martinsville Overnight TV Ratings UPDATE: A downturn in ratings has followed NASCAR from big FOX to Fox Sports 1. NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Martinsville (VA) earned a 2.2 overnight rating on FS1 Sunday afternoon, down 12% from last year (2.5) and down 42% from 2014 on the FOX broadcast network (3.8). The double-digit drop is especially notable considering that last year’s race aired opposite the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. This year’s race had much lighter competition from the NBA on ABC (1.7) and Opening Day baseball on ESPN (1.4) and ESPN2 (0.7). Not surprisingly, the 2.2 is the lowest for the spring Martinsville race since at least 2002. All six NASCAR Sprint Cup races this season have had a decline in the overnights, with four of those six by double-digits.(Sports Media Watch)(4-5-2016)
UPDATE: The Sprint Cup Series race from Martinsville, the first of the 2016 season to air live on FS1, scored 4,232,000 viewers according to Nielsen Media Research, up 4% from last year’s 4,061,000, making it the most-watched racing event and daytime telecast ever on FS1. The race was the ninth most-watched telecast in FS1 history and the most-watched since Game 6 of last year’s ALCS between Toronto and Kansas City. Among Adults18-49, it was up 7% over last year’s race (1,198,000 vs. 1,121,000). On FOX Sports GO, the telecast delivered 46,930 streams, 25,322 unique streamers and 1,853,642 minutes streamed. On Saturday, FS1 scored viewership increases with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series from Martinsville (1,177,000; up 7%), Monster Energy Supercross from Santa Clara (239,000; up 42%) and the FIA Formula E Championship from Long Beach (189,000; up 73%). FS1 was No. 1 among all ad-supported cable sports networks during the Trucks race.(Fox Sports)(4-6-2016)
- ISC advanced ticket sales down: Jeff Gordon’s retirement and injured driver Tony Stewart’s absence are among factors International Speedway Corp. officials cited Tuesday for advance ticket sales being down about 10 percent from a year ago for some upcoming races. ISC officials also said the focus on the Chase for the Sprint Cup may be playing a role in fans purchasing tickets for those events instead of races earlier in the season. “Star power is very impactful in our sport as it is in any sport,” said John Saunders, president of International Speedway Corp. on a conference call with investor analysts. “We’ve got to be better going forward and think strategically about retiring drivers,” Saunders said, “and how you connect their retirement to the rising stars, the young stars, such as the Chase Elliotts and Ryan Blaney drivers.” There are a number of drivers in the NASCAR Xfinity Series who likely will be in Cup full-time soon, including Erik Jones, who turns 20 in May, 23-year-old Darrell Wallace Jr., 24-year-old Ty Dillon and 24-year-old Daniel Suarez. Those young drivers will compete for the championship in a Chase format this year with NASCAR adding that to the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series.
Also, discussed on the call with investor analysts:
– Saunders said on the digital platform they’ve seen consumption from the 18- to 34-year old demographic double year over year but didn’t provide details.
– Advanced ticket sales for the July Daytona race are pacing ahead of last year.
– ISC has one of their available Sprint Cup series race sponsorships either open or not announced and two for Xfinity events this season.
– Average ticket price for NASCAR Sprint Cup events at Daytona International Speedway was about $160.07, an increase of more than 19 percent from last year primarily related to new seats sold at higher prices with the Daytona Rising project that reduced capacity from 147,000 to 101,000.
(NBC Sports)(4-6-2016)
- Texas Goodyear Tire Notes: While teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series will run the same left-side tire code at Texas this week, they will run their own right-side codes . . . in Sprint Cup, both of these tire codes are being run for the first time . . . like last year at Texas, this right-side tire code employs Goodyear’s multi-zone tread technology, which combines two distinct tread compounds on the same tire — the outboard 10 inches of the tread (Traction Zone) features a compound that is designed for grip, while the inboard two inches of the tread (Endurance Zone) is toughened to enhance durability on the part of the tire sees the most heat and takes the most abuse . . . compared to what was run at Texas last season, this right-side tire (D-4686) features a construction change, and a compound change on the outboard 10 inches to give the cars more grip . . . this left-side tire (D-4684) features an updated construction and mold shape, as well as a compound change for more grip . . . this tire set-up came out of a test at Homestead last December 14; traditionally, Texas, Homestead and Chicagoland have all lined up with the same tire set-up . . . drivers participating in that Homestead test were Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Brian Scott and Martin Truex Jr. . . . teams 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), see more nots, tire codes, set limits and more on the Texas Race Info page.(4-6-2016)
- Texas Track Notes & History:
� Construction on Texas Motor Speedway began in 1995.
� The first NASCAR national series race at TMS was a NASCAR Nationwide Series event on April 5, 1997 – won by Mark Martin.
� The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was on April 6, 1997 – won by Jeff Burton.
� The track underwent a repave between the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
� In 2011, the spring NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was moved from Sunday to Saturday night under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway.
� Texas Motor Speedway hosted its first Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on November 6, 2005 – won by Carl Edwards.
(NASCAR)
- Earnhardt, Jr. in the #88 at Texas: Friday night’s race at Texas Motor Speedway marks the first of two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts this season for two-time series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. He’ll also compete at Richmond International Raceway on April 23. Earnhardt Jr. is riding a streak of three consecutive top-five NXS efforts at the 1.5-mile quad-oval. The 1998 Texas winner finished fourth, fifth and third, respectfully, in his past three NXS starts at the track. Overall, Earnhardt Jr. has one win (1998), four top-five and six top-10 efforts in eight NXS starts at Texas. The #88 Chevrolet will carry a purple and blue design at Texas featuring Goody’s Mixed Fruit Blast.(JR Motorsports), see an image of the car on the #88 team paint schemes page.(4-6-2016)
- Sieg gets Texas sponsor: RSS Racing welcomes Aries Well Service and RMS South as a co-primary sponsors for Ryan Sieg in Friday night’s NASCAR XFINITY race at Texas Motor Speedway. Aries Well Service, an established well servicing company will have their logo on the hood of the #39 Camaro. RMS South, owned by Randy Sieg, is an experienced concrete construction and general contracting company based in Georgia. Additionally, Jackson Brothers Meat Locker and Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse will join the team as a major associate sponsors. RSS Racing will again have two cars entered for the race, the #93 will be driven by Josh Wise.(RSS Racing)(4-6-2016)
- Martinsville post-race penalties & warnings: #22-Austin Wayne Self was given a written warning following the Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway. The #22 team truck trailing arms did not meet specifications. The infraction was caught in opening day inspection.(4-6-2016)
- Pocono Raceway sets JR Nation Camping Experience: In honor of the NASCAR XFINITY Series’ first race at Pocono Raceway on June 4, Pocono and JR Motorsports have paired up to create the inaugural JR Nation Camping Experience at the 2.5-mile Pennsylvania speedway. This exclusive partnership between Pocono Raceway and JR Motorsports allows a limited number of camping spots at the JR Nation Camping Experience in the infield. Fans can purchase an exclusive weekend camping spot at the branded JR Nation area inside ‘The Tricky Triangle’ by going to www.poconoraceway.com/jrnation. JR Nation Camping is part of the “JRM On Tour 2016,” a year-long marketing initiative that rewards fans with free merchandise throughout the season’s 33-race schedule. A camping spot as part of JR Nation Camping is $200 and includes infield access and all of the benefits associated with camping at Pocono Raceway. Those who purchase a spot for JR Nation Camping will be given a commemorative “JRM On Tour 2016” t-shirt and are eligible to be selected to participate in the inaugural JR Nation Campsite Decorating contest, which includes cash prizes and bragging rights. The JR Nation Campsite Decorating contest will reward creativity for Best Dale-Gate Party Campsite; Best Use of Lights; Best Patriotic Campsite and an overall winner for Best & Most Creative JR Nation Fan Campsite. All camping guests will have access to the JR Nation Camping Experience. As part of the festivities, JR Motorsports NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers – including Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier and Alex Bowman — will participate in an autograph session and Kelly Earnhardt Miller will participate in a question-and-answer session. JR Motorsports partners will be on hand throughout the weekend for giveaways and prizes.(Pocono Raceway)(4-6-2016)
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