April 16, 2009
- NASCAR Day ‘Goes Pink’ for Susan G. Komen for the Cure: The NASCAR Foundation has announced that NASCAR Day will “Go Pink” through a joint partnership with FOX Sports Supports and Susan G. Komen for the Cure April 24-26. Celebrated on May 15, NASCAR Day is an opportunity for fans, corporations, schools and organizations across the country to donate to The NASCAR Foundation to raise funds to help thousands of children live better lives. Through the partnership between The NASCAR Foundation, FOX Sports Supports and Komen for the Cure, a portion of the net proceeds raised through the program will benefit Komen for the Cure, supporting its promise to save lives end breast cancer forever. Specifically, the money raised will support the Susan G. Komen Scholarship Fund – a fund specifically designed for children whose mothers have lost their battle against cancer.(NASCAR PR). More on my Racing Charities page.(4-16-2009)
- Chase Notes: #16-Greg Biffle shook off two Bottom 10 finishes in the first six races and carded a third place finish at Texas, lifting him eight spots all the way to 15th place, now only 60 points out. #42-Juan Pablo Montoya lurks in 13th place, 16 points out, but he was even closer at this juncture in 2007 in his rookie season, 12 points out. He’s improved six positions over this point in 08, and is leading the way for the Earnhardt/Ganassi stable. Engine problems have parked #5-Mark Martin twice. See more chase stats on my 2009 Chase Stats after Texas page.(4-16-2009)
- Lenox returns on the #31: #31-Jeff Burton is scheduled to once again run the Lenox colors at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the Lenox 301 on June 28, 2009. See an image of the scheme on the #31 Team Schemes page.(4-16-2009)
- Motor oil recycling featured on Harvick’s car: To help spread the word about the importance of used motor oil recycling, Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and Pennzoil are working together to raise awareness around the Pennzoil Clean Change Campaign in a special way. This Saturday, as Americans look forward to Earth Day, the deck lid of Kevin Harvick’s #29 Shell-Pennzoil car will feature the Pennzoil Clean Change Campaign logo and web site during the Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway. The Pennzoil Clean Change Campaign is a nationwide initiative that encourages Do-It-Yourself oil changers to recycle their used motor oil and help maintain a clean environment. Improper disposal of the used oil from just one oil change can potentially contaminate up to one million gallons of drinking water. It is estimated that 185 million gallons of used motor oil is improperly disposed of each year in the U.S. — dumped on the ground, tossed in the trash or poured down storm sewers and drains. Use of the deck lid during the April 18th NASCAR Sprint Cup race is just a part of the Pennzoil Clean Change efforts continuing throughout the year to help raise awareness of the importance of recycling used motor oil. Throughout the season, RCR and Pennzoil hope to gather more than 100,000 online pledges.(Pennzoil PR)(4-16-2009)
- NASCAR not policing start and park; full fields not required: When it comes to start-and-park, the bottom line appears to be that it’s not a major issue to NASCAR, which is usually keenly tuned to the public’s perception of the sport. “NASCAR doesn’t perceive this to be an issue,” a statement released this week by the sanctioning body said. “It doesn’t impact the quality of competition whatsoever. NASCAR has always been about teams having the opportunity to participate in our sport; some teams might not have the full complement of resources to compete at the same level as others, but it’s all about having an opportunity.” Virtually to a man, the owners who seem to be in the middle of the situation see it in the same way, as racers. And NASCAR said it has had no conversations with owners specific to what their intentions are once they qualify for races. Staying in line with its take that the situation is not one of concern, NASCAR said it would not monitor any closer the reasons teams give for the their cars’ dropping out of races, which range from a variety of mechanical reasons such as “engine,” “transmission” and “rear end” to more nebulous causes including “handling,” “vibration” or “electrical.”
AND One thing NASCAR did dispel is the misconception that there is language in the current TV contracts for the three national tours that demands 43-car fields in Cup and Nationwide, and a 36-truck field in the Truck Series, with penalties resulting if full fields aren’t provided. “It is NASCAR’s responsibility to have a reasonable field of cars for each of its events,” NASCAR said in a statement. “However, there is no language in the TV contracts that demands what the size of the fields must be.”(NASCAR.com)(4-16-2009) - What’s up with Patrick Carpentier? It’s not exactly resurrecting a stagnant racing career, but Patrick Carpentier will be back behind the wheel for NASCAR’s Nationwide Series NAPA Auto Parts 2000 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in August. The 37-year-old LaSalle native will drive the #99 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing Aug. 29-30 in what might be his only race action this year. Carpentier has been relocating from Las Vegas to a new home north of Montreal. He’s also involved in the business of building and selling homes and has returned to Quebec, with his wife Anick and the couple’s two children, to pursue studies to become a licensed contractor. “We’ve been buying and selling houses in the U.S., but to build houses and commercial properties here I need a license, so that’s why I’ve gone back to school,” he said. “People buy sports cars and things like that, but me I buy tools. I love tools (to build with). It’s another passion besides racing and it’s what I want to do after racing.”(Montreal Gazette)(4-16-2009)
- flipNbags.com to sponsor Cope at All-Star Showdown: Derrike Cope, Inc. and Cope/Keller Racing have found the “perfect demographic match” between the flipNbags.com products and NASCAR. flipNbags.com will sponsor Derrike Cope in five of his DCI Nationwide efforts and one Cup event. Cope and the team are eligible for the NASCAR All-Star race weekend to participate in the Showdown at Lowes Motor Speedway and flipNbags.com will be the primary sponsor. Entries into the Camping World Truck Series are also being considered.()(4-16-2009)
- PEAK on the #98 at Phoenix: PEAK will make its 2009 debut on the hood of the #98 PEAK / Menards Ford for this weekend’s Subway Fresh Fit 500.(Yates Racing PR)(4-16-2009)
- Ask.com employee on the #96: Ask.com will honor employee Eve Chaurand-Fraser in Phoenix this weekend by placing her name on the hood of the #96 Ask.com Ford. Chaurand-Fraser is Ask.com’s associate general counsel. She keeps the Ask legal engine finely tuned, revved up, and race-ready. Whether it’s focusing on syndication deals, privacy policies, or partner contracts, Chaurand-Fraser is always poised and focused on doing whatever she can to help grow the business.(Yates Racing PR)(4-16-2009)
- Sad News: Jack McCoy: Jack McCoy, a two-time champion and the winningest driver in the NASCAR Camping World Series West, died Tuesday at the age of 68. McCoy – who won series championships in 1966 and 1973 – registered a record 54 series wins, along with a record 57 career poles in the series. A native of California’s Central Valley, McCoy was well known for the Dodge he drove, which was usually purple in color. He was among the inaugural inductees into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2002 and was among a list of drivers named to the “NASCAR Camping World Series West All-Time Top-10,” compiled by NASCAR and NASCAR Insider in 2005. While McCoy’s overall racing career spanned from the late 1950s to the early 1990s, he focused primarily on the NASCAR Camping World Series West from 1962 to 1974. In addition to his two series championships, he finished as the runner-up in the final standings of the series on four occasions – 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1974. (NASCAR PR), McCoy ran in 20 Cup races from 1963-1974 with a top finish of 5th at Martinsville in Sept 1973.(4-16-2009)
- Phoenix Raceway on the #47 this weekend: UPDATE 2: Phoenix International Raceway will sponsor Nationwide Series driver and Phoenix native Michael McDowell for the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 on April 17 at PIR. The hometown driver’s #47 car will feature a number of items unique to PIR’s “Semifinal Week” in the Chase for the Sprint Cup – which is centered around the Nov. 15 Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 – on his paint scheme for the nationally-televised (ESPN2) race, which starts at 6:30 p.m.(PIR PR)(4-15-2009)
UPDATE: Pacific Packaging Group, sponsor of the #47 Nationwide entry with JTG Daugherty Racing, will be hitting the track at Phoenix this week with its new “Speed-Streak” paint scheme. Designed by Pacific Creative Group, the creative consultancy within the Pacific Group family, the new look is part of an overhaul of the entire Pacific Packaging Group brand and website.(JTG Daugherty Racing PR)(4-16-2009) - TRG Motorsports to run reduced schedule: TRG Motorsports officials have announced that its NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team will run a reduced schedule with driver J.R. Fitzpatrick the rest of the season. Fitzpatrick, of Cambridge, Canada, finished fourth in the Truck series season opener at Daytona and was 17th in points after the first four races. “The economy has hindered our program, and unless we can get funding to run the whole season, I will be doing a handful of races for the remainder of the year,” Fitzpatrick said. “We had an excellent start at Daytona and really opened some eyes in the series. We have a lot of great things in the works, and I will be back soon. We are just being more selective of which markets we race in. I am only 20 years old and plan on being in NASCAR for a very long time, so as much as I would like to be at the track every week, it has to make sense for everybody involved.” TRG Motorsports team principal Kevin Buckler said Fitzpatrick or another driver would return.(SceneDaily.com)(4-16-2009)
- Trail Motorsport & Austin returning at Kansas? UPDATE: Hearing that the Trail Motorsport #32 team is planning to be back on the entry list at Kansas with Chase Austin driving. Also hearing that the team is lacking equipment on hand, and along with financial constraints [resulting from the recent lease of the Petty shop], have this team in the midst of reevaluating how many races they’ll run.(3-25-2009)
UPDATE: Another Truck race, another absence for African-American prodigy-in-limbo Chase Austin, who was supposed to run the full season for African-American owned Trail Motorsport. What continues to be up – or down – as Austin’s name goes missing from the entry list for Saturday’s Truck race at Martinsville? “It’s because we’re still doing all the stuff we need to do to get our house in order,” Trail managing director Patrick Shelton said Tuesday in a telephone interview. Austin, 19, ran the first two races of the season, at Daytona and Fontana, and finished 13th and 23rd respectively. But that was in vehicles rented from other teams. “Everything that was originally laid out is still in place,” Shelton said Tuesday. “We had to modify, based on what’s transpired in the last month. But we still have Nationwide plans, Camping World East and then Camping World Truck series plans.” So now, with the regrouping, Austin is scheduled to run in the next Truck race, at Kansas City on April 25. Austin said he still doesn’t have a full-season contract, as had been planned, but that he has been paid for the Daytona and Fontana races. Shelton said a contract for Austin is “in the final stages,” as well as one for Johnson, and for a Nationwide driver still to be named.(ESPN Insider)(3-6-2009)
UPDATE 2: Trail Motorsport had hoped to field a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series entry for Austin for the 2009 season (as well as a Nationwide Series car for a to-be-named driver), but after two races in enlisting MRD Motorsports to field a truck for the team and Austin, the organization has missed the last two events while regrouping and getting its own trucks prepared. Austin said the Trail team believes it can get a truck ready for him to race at Kansas Speedway, the site of the Truck series’ next scheduled event. Clint Cram, whose experience includes working at Dale Earnhardt Inc., will be his crew chief. Austin admits that he doesn’t know how much momentum he will bring from the start of the season since his earlier trucks were prepared by MRD Motorsports. Trail just finalized plans to go to Kansas a couple of days ago and will have to spend several long days at the shop to get a truck ready, Austin said.(SceneDaily.com)(4-16-2009)
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