April 15, 2011
- Happy Hour practice: for the Aaron’s 499 Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway is over. Rain started just minutes after the session started. Only 8 drivers made it on track:
#24-Gordon 190.412
#5-Martin 190.412
#38-Kvapil 175.012
#11-Hamlin 158.344
#20-Logano 156.786
#66-McDowell 156.215
#2-Keselowski 153.649
#17-Kenseth 126.201
See practice speeds, average speeds, laps run on the Talladega Practice Speeds Page.
(4-15-2011) - First Friday practice: for the Aaron’s 499 Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway is over after 55 minutes, the top 5, slowest and notes:
#14-Stewart 194.239
#39-Newman 194.235
#48-Johnson 193.713<>BR
#18-Busch 193.713
#43-Allmendinger 193.080
slowest: #71-Lally 174.490 & #37-Raines 173.027. no speed: #66-McDowell.
notes: There was a brief caution 15 minutes in because of some rain showers. The session was been extended for 10 minutes becuase of the threat of rain in the area.
See practice speeds, average speeds, laps run on the Talladega Practice Speeds Page.
(4-15-2011) - Practice rank for the non top-35 drivers:
if things stay the same, these eight drivers would make the race:
#46-Bill Elliott, 32nd
#15-Michael Waltrip, 35th
#35-Steve Park, 37th
#97-Kevin Conway, 39th
#87-Joe Nemechek, 40th
#60-Mike Skinner, 41st
#36-Dave Blaney, 42nd
#38-Travis Kvapil, 43rd
these drivers would miss the race if the order stayed the same:
#71-Andy Lally, 44th
#37-Tony Raines, 45th
#66-Michael McDowell, 46th
[PC] = [past champion and order, 1 is more recent champ] - Biffle signs contract extension: UPDATE: #16-Greg Biffle has agreed to a contract extension with Roush Fenway Racing. An official announcement of Biffle’s extension could come as early as this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, sources said. As recently as April 1, Biffle said he was “90 percent sure” he would re-sign with Roush and hoped to have a new deal completed by midseason. A team spokesperson on Wednesday said she could not confirm Biffle had agreed to an extension.(Charlotte Observer)(4-13-2011)
UPDATE: 3M is set to extend its relationship with Roush Fenway Racing and driver Greg Biffle for another three years. 3M has backed Biffle’s Ford since 2005, and is currently in the final year of its existing contract. There has been no official announcement from either the company or the team, but sources speaking ont he condition of anaonymity say the deal will be announced in the near future. A cryptic message on the hood of Biffle’s #16 Sprint Cup Ford today at Talladega Superspeedway reads, “3 For Three More Years.”(Sirius Speedway)(4-15-2011) - Burton expects more teams to communicate at Talladega: UPDATE: From Tuesday’s NASCAR Teleconference:
Q. At Daytona there was quite a bit of communication, starters, drivers, teams blending and that sort of thing. More of that at Talladega? Did we set a precedent for that at Daytona or will it be about the same?
JEFF BURTON: I think it’s going to be more of it. I think that it’s really an interesting dynamic to be quite honest. We had a meeting this week talking about, you know, who you want to try to get on your radio, and it’s pretty odd. I mean, typically it’s teams that try to communicate within the team. But for a Childress car to be talking to a Hendrick car, or a Hendrick car to be talking to a Roush car, and a Roush car to be talking to a Gibbs car, we’ve never seen that. It’s pretty interesting how that all is going down and who is going to who and talking and saying, can I put you in my radio. And with the etiquette: When do you go to a competitor’s radio frequency? All of that’s a moving target. I don’t know, I’m a fan of it because I think honestly it’s safer doing it with one spotter and two cars. I think it’s actually safer. However, I’m not a fan of it because it’s supposed to be us against them, you know. We are not supposed to be working together. (Laughing). (Chevy PR)(4-13-2011)
UPDATE: The radio inside the four-time Sprint Cup champion’s #24 Chevy can accommodate 16 team channels in Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. But Gordon says it’s been programmed only for Hendrick Motorsports teammates #48Jimmie Johnson, #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. and #5-Mark Martin and the Stewart-Haas Racing Chevys of #14-Tony Stewart and #39-Ryan Newman (whose chassis and engines are supplied by Hendrick). A prevalence of two-car trains made for strange bedfellows at the Daytona 500 as many rival NASCAR teams shared radio transmissions with one spotter calling the action for two drivers drafting nose to tail. It’s expected many will employ the same strategy at Talladega. “We had people coming to us last week wanting our radio approval, and we’re like, ‘No,’” Gordon said Thursday. “We’re not ready to do that. Having somebody be able to get on your channel is more complicated than some people are making it out to be. I’m not for that. We want to stay in control of what’s said and be able to talk to the crew chief. I have one of the best spotters, so I want my spotter to be leading the way as much as possible. So we’re very hesitant when it comes to that.”(USA Today)(4-15-2011) - 2012 Hall of Fame nominees to be named Tuesday: The 25 nominees for the 2012 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame will be announced Tuesday, April 19 on NASCAR Race Hub on SPEED. Host Steve Byrnes will reveal the list of those chosen for consideration to the third class beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Voting for the five inductees to the 2012 class will be held in October, and the inductees will be enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in January 2012 on SPEED. The network also will carry the 2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, honoring Lee Petty, Bud Moore, Ned Jarrett, David Pearson and Bobby Allison, May 23, 2011, at 8 p.m. ET, preceded by live pre-event coverage on NASCAR Race Hub at 7 p.m. ET.(SPEED)(4-15-2011)
- Expect 197-198 mph speeds at Talladega: The day of the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway in February was one of anxiety for NASCAR officials. They watched as Sprint Cup drivers, hooked up in the new Daytona version of the two-car draft, shot speeds into a relative stratosphere, spinning gauges to 206 miles per hour. That was very fast. That also was not acceptable. So NASCAR stepped into its occasional role as speed police, eventually changing the engine restrictor plate that helps control speeds at Daytona and Talladega and toying with the cooling systems that teams use to feed air to the engine compartment, with the aim of occasionally disrupting the two-car tandems. The plan worked, and a modification of it will be in use this weekend during practice and qualifying for the Aaron’s 499 and the race itself at Talladega Superspeedway. After Daytona Speedweeks, NASCAR dropped the size of the restrictor plate by 1/64 of an inch to 7/8 for this weekend. A minor impact on speed is expected. John Darby, Sprint Cup Series director, said he expects speeds this weekend to be in the 197-198 mph neighborhood “with an occasional lap at 200 to 201.”(SPEED)(4-15-2011)
- CARQUEST on the #5 at Talladega: CARQUEST Auto Parts, a major partner on the #5 team since 2005, will adorn the hood of the #5 Chevy this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. The red, white and blue paint scheme will be featured in a total of eight races this season.(CARQUEST), see an image of the scheme on the #5 Team Schemes page(4-15-2011)
- Numbers for Talladega Superspeedway:
0 – fewest cautions for a Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway (three times, most recent 10/6/02)
1 – fewest laps led by race winner (twice, most recent 4/26/09)
1 – fewest cars on the lead lap at finish (twice, most recent 5/6/79)
2 – laps led by race winner Kevin Harvick last spring
8 – cautions in last year’s spring race
10 – most wins (Dale Earnhardt Sr.)
11 – number of jet dryers available for track drying this weekend
13 – wins from the pole; 32 from the front row
29 – most leaders (5/25/11)
40 – most cars running at finish (4/22/01)
41 – drivers have posted wins in the 83 races
62 – most caution laps (5/7/72)
88 – most lead changes (5/25/10)
153 – most laps led by race winner (Pete Hamilton, 8/23/70)
BONUS: In addition to Talladega Superspeedway (83 races), six other Alabama tracks hosted 19 Sprint Cup events from 1951 to 1969. New Mobile Speedway was the first Alabama track hosting the series with two races in 1951. No other Sprint Cup races were held at the .750-mile dirt track. The final race at Montgomery Speedway was run on December 8, 1968, but was recorded as the second race of the 1969 season behind a race at Middle Georgia Raceway (Macon) on November 17, 1968. The first race actually held in 1969 was at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway on February 1, 1969 before the series converged on Daytona where the two qualifying races as well as the Daytona 500 were counted as part of the 54-race 1969 season.(Dodge Motorsports)
(4-15-2011) - Talladega Unveils New Shower and Restroom Facilities: Talladega Superspeedway unveiled a new shower and restroom facility outside of Turn 1 that will service the Family and FREE South campgrounds. “The shower house that previously served this area was built in 1988 when Mike Helton was President of Talladega Superspeedway,” said Talladega Superspeedway Chairman Grant Lynch. “While it served us well for many years, it was quite small with only four showers (2 men’s and 2 women’s). The new shower house has 18 showers on each side and more than 30 restroom facilities on each side. It’s a substantial improvement. We’ve also converted the old shower house into a Security and Guest Services building that will service the South side of the track.” The new shower facility measures approximately 6400 square-feet compared to approximately 800 square-feet for the old facility. An array of Rheem tank-less hot water heaters provide instant hot water throughout shower house. Additionally, Geico and Camping World will have displays near the new shower house to provide camping services for race fans. To purchase or for more information on tickets to Talladega Superspeedway or this event, please visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com or call 1-877-Go2-DEGA.(Talladega Superspeedway)(4-15-2011)
- Bayne, Patrana headline Party Zone fan hospitality at Richmond: If you want to watch NASCAR practice and pole qualifying from pit road and the opportunity to get up close and personal with NASCAR celebrities on Friday of race weekend, Richmond’s Party Zone fan hospitality option is the ticket. The Party Zone fan hospitality on Friday, April 29 delivers a pre-race pit pass, full dinner buffet and question-and-answer sessions with NASCAR celebrities, including 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne, motocross superstar Travis Pastrana and more. The Party Zone fan hospitality, available on Friday, April 29, prior to the BUBBA Burger 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race is $65 per adult and includes an exclusive pre-race pit pass (2:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.), as well as admission to the Party Zone. Kids pricing (12 years of age and younger) is available for $10. The Party Zone does not include a race ticket.(RIR)(4-15-2011)
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