April 16, 2014
- Tire Testing at Kansas: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams converged on Kansas Speedway for a Goodyear tire test Tuesday in preparation for the track’s first night race next month. Goodyear allowed one car per organization to the single-day test, held in advance of the May 10 event at the 1.5-mile track. The teams took part on a cool spring day that portended potential track record speeds at a facility where #20-Matt Kenseth set the existing mark of 191.864mph in qualifying last April. Although the track hosted its first Sprint Cup weekend in 2001, temperature extremes in the region led officials to surface the facility in 2012. Speeds jumped as a result, and last fall Goodyear brought to Kansas its multi-zone tread tire, which combines one compound designed for traction and another toughened for durability. Different multi-zone combinations have also been used for races at Texas and Atlanta, and another is planned for next week’s event at Richmond.(NASCAR.com)
Teams that were scheduled to test were: #2-Keselowski, #3-Dillon, #4-Harvick, #5-Kahne, #7-Annett, #11-Hamlin, #13-Mears, #17-Stenhouse Jr.,#42-Larson, #43-Almirola, #51-Allgaier, #55-Vickers, #78-Truex Jr., #83-Bowman / Truex.(MRN’s Dustin Long)(4-16-2014) - FOX moves Talladega qualifying to FOX: NASCAR ramped up its pre-race excitement level for the 2014 season, making qualifying more relevant and much more entertaining by introducing a highly competitive “knockout” system, beginning with 43-plus race cars on the track at the same time at tracks 1.25 miles or longer. NASCAR on FOX, which covers the first 13 NASCAR Sprint Cups Series of the season, is showing its enthusiasm for the new system, moving the (Saturday) May 3 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying at unpredictable Talladega Superspeedway from FOX Sports 2 to FOX, marking the first time a non-Daytona qualifying session has aired on FOX. “This move is a direct result of the double-digit ratings gains NASCAR’s new knockout qualifying format is delivering every weekend,” said Bill Wanger, EVP of Programming, Research & Content Strategy. “We are thrilled to be able to highlight this new format on FOX, and what more exciting place to do that than Talladega Superspeedway.” The new qualifying system, which moves away from single-car qualifying and is supported by double-digit, year-to-year ratings growth, allows for all cars to qualify collectively for up to 25 minutes, with the top 24 based on fastest laps advancing for a subsequent 10-minute session. The top 12 from that group advance to the final, five-minute round. The 90-minute Talladega qualifying session begins on FOX on Saturday, May 3 at 1:30 pm/et(FOX).
NOTE so far FoxSports has aired qualifying time delayed, 5-10 minutes behind live. Results will be posted LIVE on Jayski.com, and Jayski’s Twitter & Facebook…so spoiler alert….(4-16-2014) - Don’t expect to see Stewart-Haas drivers in F1 car: Now that her car owner has a Formula One team, could Danica Patrick ever race in the worldwide racing series? Gene Haas doesn’t think so. Nothing against Patrick, he just doesn’t think any of his NASCAR drivers could jump in a car for Haas Formula, a new F1 team that will begin fielding two cars in 2015 or 2016, and succeed. Haas actually has three drivers with IndyCar experience in his NASCAR stable. Tony Stewart was the 1997 IndyCar championship, Patrick spent seven years on the circuit and Kurt Busch is competing in the Indianapolis 500 this year after completing rookie orientation last year. But Haas isn’t looking from within for a future F1 driver. “I’d certainly never expect any of our current lineup of drivers to want to be able to do that,” Haas said during a news conference Monday. “It would be really impossible to accomplish that and survive. … Just the thought of jumping into a Formula One car from a Cup car would be very, very difficult.”(Sporting News)(4-16-2014)
- Michael Schumacher ‘showing small signs of progress’: Michael Schumacher is said to be “showing small signs of progress” in his recovery from a serious brain trauma as the seven-time Formula 1 world champion continues to be treated for injuries sustained in a skiing accident last December. The 45-year-old’s manager Sabine Kehm confirmed earlier this month that Schumacher was showing signs of consciousness and being awake, and she has now elaborated on her latest revelation that gives hope of the F1 great making a recovery. “There are short moments of consciousness and he is showing small signs of progress,” Kehm told German broadcaster ARD. “There are moments when he is awake and moments when he is conscious. See full story at theIndependent.(4-16-2014)
- Sad News – Tim Leslie: Tim Leslie, 50, brother of Ben Leslie (technical consultant for #32 Go Fas Racing Sprint Cup team), passed away April 10, 2014. After a long battle with cancer he passed peacefully in the company of his family at their home in New Baltimore, MI. He is survived by his wife Tina Leslie & daughter Lauren Leslie & Renee Hall. Tim was the owner of “Tim Leslie Tire”, Mount Clemens for 20 years. He was a member of the Detroit Yacht Club, and enjoyed bowling, boating, driving his Lamborghini and Ford Lightning, he also had a passion for working on boats and Corvettes, and traveling to NASCAR races with his brother, Ben and other friends.(Macomb Daily)(4-16-2014)
- Kentucky names June Nationwide race sponsor: The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety announced its return to Kentucky Speedway as the title sponsor for the June 27 NASCAR Nationwide Series 300-mile event. The John R. Elliott HERO Campaign 300 presented by Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over will be part of a NASCAR tripleheader weekend June 26-28. Kentucky HERO is part of The HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers, a national campaign established by the family of Navy Ensign John R. Elliott of New Jersey. Elliott, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, was killed in a head-on collision by a drunken driver in July 2000 as he was traveling home from Annapolis, Md. A key component of Kentucky Speedway’s involvement with Kentucky’s HERO program is to raise awareness about the importance of having a designated driver.(Kentucky Speedway)(4-16-2014)
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