April 15, 2015
- Kyle Busch meets with media UPDATE: #18-Kyle Busch, injured in an accident during the Daytona XFINITY Series race, met with members of the media at Joe Gibbs Racing on Wednesday afternoon. Some notes:
• Busch says the accident was the hardest hit of his career.
• He left the racing surface at 176mph and impacted the wall at 90mph.
• The crash was so hard that his helmet and chest hit the steering wheel.
• He says he knew instantly that both legs were broken.
• Busch took the blame for the accident, saying that he was being too greedy trying to win the race.
• Doctors have not given him a timeline to return to racing. They are pleased with his progress and believe he is ahead of schedule.
• He would like to be able to return to racing by Daytona in July, but is not sure that will be possible;
• Busch would like to be Chase eligible upon his return, but believes it could be hard to get to the top 30 in points.
• Busch will need additional surgery. He has one scheduled for December to remove screws and plates in his left foot.
(4-15-2015)
UPDATE: #18-Kyle Busch said he does not know when he will get back into a race car but hopes he can return by July as he continues to recover from a broken right leg and a broken left foot suffered in a crash Feb. 21 at Daytona International Speedway. Busch, speaking about his injuries at a news conference Wednesday at Joe Gibbs Racing, said he hit the DIS concrete wall at 90 mph and the g-forces were 90 g’s. He said he is healing well and still has a small crack in his right leg as well as a walking boot on his left foot. Kyle Busch suffered a broken right leg and a broken left foot in a Feb. 21 crash at Daytona International Speedway. Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images “First and foremost, I have to please my doctors. … They say my recovery is going faster [than expected],” Busch said about his possible return. “I don’t even ask. They won’t release me a timetable.” Busch said the wreck was his fault, being greedy trying to win the race. He was trying to push teammate Erik Jones, who ended up spinning. While Jones was spinning, he took the air off the rear of Busch’s car, sending him into the skid into the wall. NASCAR has made no decision on whether it will waive the rule that a driver must compete each race weekend in order to be eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR also could waive the rule that requires a driver to be eligible with a win and a top-30 placement in the regular-season standings, although it has not waived that rule when issuing past waivers.(ESPN.com)(4-15-2015) - Gordon unveils special scheme for Pocono: NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon will drive a blue and white Penn State car for a June race at Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway. The four-time Sprint Cup Series winner unveiled the design Tuesday at Penn State. He drove a replica of the repainted Chevy SS around campus and attended a rally with the marching band and cheerleaders. Gordon says the special paint scheme is part of a partnership between the university and one of his sponsors, Philadelphia-based paint producer Axalta Coating Systems. They’re pushing science, technology, engineering, math and education and giving 100 Penn State students a chance to tour Pocono’s garages, learn car technology from Gordon’s crew chief and have dinner with the driver.(Associated Press), see an image of the car on the #24 team paint scheme page.(4-15-2015)
- Tweaker Energy Shot joins Whitt for two races: Cole Whitt and Front Row Motorsports’ #35 team will have a jolt of new support for the race at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend. Tweaker Energy Shot joins the team as primary sponsor for Sunday’s Food City 500. The company will also be the primary sponsor of Whitt’s #35 for the Aug. 9 road-course race at Watkins Glen International. Dallas-based Tweaker Energy Shot offers a line of value-priced energy shots sold at convenience and grocery stores, with a distribution network that is expanding across the country. Its five flavors of two-ounce shots combine herbal supplements with caffeine and vitamins to give consumers a new option in energy shots at a value price. The Front Row Motorsports sponsorship is the growing company’s first in the Sprint Cup Series. The product has been on the market since 2008 and now boasts a network of more than 450 distributors. It is sold at retail chains including RaceTrac, Casey’s, Circle K, Jewel-Osco, Fiesta Marts, Super Value and Hy-Vee.(Front Row Motorsports), see an image of the car on the #35 team paint schemes page.(4-15-2015)
- Ford selling Richard Petty limited-edition Mustang: When Ford launches a new Mustang, expect it to take over the SEMA show. Last year’s edition of the aftermarket bacchanal in Vegas was rife with varying takes on Ford’s latest iteration of its venerable pony car, not the least of which was a certain GT built by Petty’s Garage. Buoyed by popular opinion, Ford teamed up with the King’s operation and decided to churn out a limited series of the cars, available for order at your local Ford dealer on a first-come, first-serve basis. Limited to a total of 143 cars for 2015-100 Stage 1 examples and 43 Stage 2 cars-the Petty’s Garage Mustang GTs churn out 627 horsepower courtesy of a Ford Racing/Roush blower bolted to the Coyote V-8. That, if you’re counting, is within loogie-hocking distance of the recent 662-horse Shelby GT500. A center-exit exhaust system from Magnaflow takes care of noxious evacuation, while up front, a custom fascia suggests to the world that you roll with NASCAR royalty. Inside, you get Richard Petty’s John Hancock on the dash, custom floor mats, and embroidered headrests. Twenty-inch HRE wheels shod with Continental tires round out the package. The run of 100 is available in any Mustang color. The Stage 2 builds on the Stage 1 cars with big Wilwood stoppers under three-piece HRE wheels. Stage 2s are also finished with a custom two-tone paint job; it features pearlized Ford Tuxedo Black over Petty Blue blended with crushed and tumbled glass. King Richard’s omnipresent #43 is ghosted onto the hood and C-pillar. Example number one was purchased by a singing Englishman who joined a little Australian rock ‘n’ roll band 35 years ago and cut a few records. Yep, noted hat-wearer and car nut Brian Johnson of AC/DC has already splashed out for the first Stage 2 car, leaving a mere 42 up for grabs. The price? $62,210 for the Stage 1, roughly in line with the old GT500. If, however, you can’t live without the three-piece wheels and fancy paint, be prepared to lay down $30,000 more.(Car and Driver)(4-15-2015)
- NASCAR Productions upgrades internet speeds at tracks: APXnet, a communications company specializing in complex, multilocation high-speed networks, has helped NASCAR Productions throttle up its ability to send information and provide Internet services at-track to gigabit speeds by designing and managing a fiber optic-based network at race tracks nationwide. The new network is being rolled out for NASCAR Productions to support the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The implementation of the new technology represents a significant commitment by NASCAR Productions to improve its communications infrastructure for its clients, including the broadcast partners and race teams at-track. APXnet is installing new fiber optics at the race tracks. APXnet will provide NASCAR Productions with Internet access and private MPLS wide area connectivity nationwide. With the upgrade, NASCAR Productions now has the bandwidth to transmit and receive terabytes of information, increasing and improving the speed of communication at-track.(APXnet PR)(4-15-2015)
- Bristol Goodyear Tire Notes: Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series will run the same Goodyear tire codes at Bristol this week . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires these teams ran at this track last August . . . Bristol is the only track at which NASCAR teams are scheduled to run either of these two tire codes . . . unlike on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, on which teams generally do not run inner liners in their tires, teams are required to run liners in their right-side tires only at Bristol . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.(Goodyear). See tire codes, pressures and more on the Bristol Race Info – Goodyear section.
- New team to debut at Talladega: Deese Racing Enterprises has been issued the #35 in the Xfinity Series by NASCAR and have begun operations in Mooresville, NC. The team will debut the #35 Chevy Camaro at Talladega on May 2nd with plans to compete in the full remaining schedule. Sponsorship agreements are being finalized at this time and announcements regarding sponsors and driver lineup are coming soon.(Deese Racing Enterprises)(4-15-2015)
- Earnhardt, Jr. would like to have Rhodes full-time in 2016: Ben Rhodes won’t make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut until next month, but the 18-year-old’s already attended a number of races this season, hovering over the #88 team with which he’ll work with 10 times this year. Rhodes’ team owner – and NASCAR’s most popular driver – has come away plenty impressed. Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Wednesday at a Kentucky Speedway test session he’d like to bring on Rhodes for a full season next year in the second-tier circuit – “in a perfect world,” of course. “He’s an exceptional young man – very well-mannered and well-spoken and has a great opportunity to be successful as a driver but also represent his partners well,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “He seems to really understand the importance of being the whole package. He’s really doing a lot when it comes to being accountable at the races, standing around and trying to be a sponge for the information that’s available to him while we’re practicing.” JR Motorsports’ 2015 Xfinity Series lineup consists of mainstay Regan Smith in the #7, defending champion Chase Elliott in the #9 and Rhodes, along with Sprint Cup Series drivers Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne splitting time in the #88. Next year, Elliott will succeed retiring Jeff Gordon in the Cup Series’ No. 24. If sponsorship is there for Rhodes, the opportunity to go full time could be, too.(Louisville Courier Journal)(4-15-2015)
- Jeffrey Earnhardt returns to the #55 at Bristol: Jeffrey Earnhardt will once again fill in for sidelined driver, Jamie Dick, at the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series race in Bristol, Tennessee. Dick has yet to be medically cleared after being diagnosed with new onset diabetes on March 14th following the Xfinity Series race in Phoenix. In his stead, Earnhardt will drive the #55 Viva Auto Group Camaro. Earnhardt has made three previous starts in this NASCAR Xfinity Series season for Viva Motorsports. He kicked off the season with a strong 16th place finish at Daytona and followed that up with two more promising runs. This weekend’s Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway would have been a fitting return to the racetrack for Dick, the 26 year old driver and owner of Viva Motorsports. Unfortunately, Dick’s comeback will be delayed a little longer. “I have been anxious to get back in the racecar. I feel great and ready to go, but in this type of scenario, I have to listen to my doctors and not risk my health,” explains Dick. “We are getting close to being medically cleared. I am sure that the next time my turn to drive the #55 car comes around, I will be good to go.”(Viva Motorsports)(4-15-2015)
- Crafton to run off-road race: Two-time champion and current Camping World Truck point leader Matt Crafton is not sitting idle waiting for the tour to return to action next month at Kansas Speedway. Crafton will carry the Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit livery in the TORC: The Off-Road Championship presented by AMSOIL season opener at Texas Motor Speedway April 24-25. The Guardian For Heroes Foundation is working with TORC to promote the Second Annual Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit & Auction the following weekend in Fort Worth. The late Navy SEAL founded established The Guardian For Heroes Foundation to provide life coaching to veterans with disabilities and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders. Chris’ father, Wayne Kyle, will serve as the Grand Marshall for the “Roundup in Texas” at TMS. There will also be a Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit information booth at the track where fans can show their support. Crafton’s first experience in TORC came at the urging of Travis Pastrana three years ago. In his TORC debut in the PRO 2WD division at Chicagoland Speedway, Crafton finished third. Crafton said racing on the TORC tour was “a bucket list deal”.(Motorsport.com)(4-15-2015)
- Tours of Michigan International Speedway available: Take a behind the scenes tour of the fastest track in NASCAR – Michigan International Speedway. It is the perfect opportunity to learn how a track prepares for a race and operates all year long. MIS is offering tours to all guests to get a behind the scenes view of the racing facility on four select Thursdays throughout the year. The tours are scheduled for April 23, May 21, Sept. 17 and Oct. 15 beginning at 1:30pm. The tour ($10 per person) will last approximately an hour and a half and will be guided by a knowledgeable MIS staff member. The day is limited to 50 people and you can reserve your spot now by calling (800) 354-1010. Your ticket will be mailed to you. All proceeds benefit MIS Cares, MIS’ official charitable fund. Now is your chance to experience the slope of the 18 degrees of banking in the corners. The tour will take fans on one trip around the oval before moving onto the road course depending on track activity. Guests will be taken to the interior of the track through the infield tunnel entrance before stopping off at the media center. While in the infield you will see the Pit Road Suites and then go to the roof to get a view of the entire track. The tour will stop at the Tower behind the grandstands as the guests ride the elevator to a spot high above the track. You will visit the Champions Club presented by CP Federal Credit Union where you not only see the entire racing surface, but the expanse of the facility.(MIS)(4-15-2015)
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