April 23, 2015
- France says NASCAR open to Chase spot for Busch: NASCAR chairman Brian France isn’t sure if Kyle Busch will be granted a waiver to be part of the championship chase when he returns from injury, but said Thursday the sanctioning body would like to “accommodate” him. He’ll miss his ninth race this weekend at Richmond International Raceway, but has indicated he’ll return to racing this season. The only way he’d be eligible to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship is if NASCAR grants him a waiver, and he wins a race that would qualify him for the 16-driver field. He’d also have to be inside the top 30 in points. Those are the rules under a Chase system France altered last year. It gives him more flexibility to grant exemptions to drivers who miss races. “Depends on when he comes back of course, but it’ll be more likely than not that we’re going to try to figure out how to accommodate him, which is the beauty of our playoff system,” France said Thursday during a meeting of The Associated Press Sports Editors at the NASCAR offices in Manhattan. “What happened to him was on us,” he said. “We’ll balance a lot of things at that point when we have to make a decision, but we’re inclined to want to figure that out for sure.”(Associated Press)(4-23-2015)
- Michael Waltrip in the #55 at Talladega: Two-time Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip will drive the #55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway on May 3. Waltrip, founder and co-owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, replaces 22-year-old Brett Moffitt who has driven MWR’s #55 since the March 22nd race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. “Talladega is a place where I know we will be very competitive,” said Waltrip who owns four restrictor plate victories including a Talladega win in the fall of 2003. “This will be my 58th Sprint Cup start at Talladega so believe me when I tell you Talladega is some of the best racing in the world and I’m glad I’ll get to be part of it again in the Aaron’s Dream Machine.” The May 3 and Oct. 25 Talladega races are the only remaining races Waltrip is scheduled to drive this season.(Michael Waltrip Racing)(4-23-2015)
- Still no date set for RCR appeal: No date has been set for Richard Childress Racing’s final appeal of penalties levied against the #31 team of Ryan Newman, NASCAR spokesman Kurt Culbert told USA TODAY Sports. RCR succeeded in convincing a three-person appeals board to reduce some penalties stemming from a tire-manipulation allegation at Fontana, Calif., but a six-week suspension for crew chief Luke Lambert, engineer Philip Surgen and tire specialist James Bender was upheld. Lambert returned to the pit box at Bristol Motor Speedway this past weekend as allowed by terms of the appeals process. Final Appeals Officer Bryan Moss will hear the case.(USA Today)(4-23-2015)
- NASCAR issues some rules changes: NASCAR issued a bulletin to Sprint Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck teams with changes to the rule book Wednesday. Among the changes is a rule the requires a driver, crew chief and spotter to have radio communication, a new single rear-end differential assembly rule and a single transmission rule. Previously, teams could change as many gears as they wanted but they had to be the right ratio. Now, a single rear end differential assembly rule will be enforced at all events except at Martinsville Speedway, road course events, the Daytona 500, the Sprint Showdown and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race. Martinsville and road courses are hard on gears. Because of the number of events leading up to the Daytona 500, teams can make a change. It’s also easy to break a gear in All-Star qualifying. This rule should eliminate qualifying gears. NASCAR formalized that a driver, crew chief and spotter must be able to communicate on the radio during an event. NASCAR stated that effective Jan. 1, 2016 teams will be permitted only one transmission change after qualifying and before the race for events at Pocono Raceway and road course events. Other changes included adding the new qualifying format for super speedways previously announced and other technical updates.(NBC Sports)(4-23-2015)
- Special scheme for McMurray at Richmond: When the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Richmond International Raceway (RIR) this week, #1-Jamie McMurray will sport the new colors of Energizer EcoAdvanced Batteries. As an extension of the long-standing partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing Teams and in support of the NASCAR industry-wide Green and Sustainability initiative “Race to Green”, Energizer will feature the recently introduced, Energizer EcoAdvanced batteries, on the #1 Chevty SS. Energizer EcoAdvanced is a first-of-its-kind battery made with four percent recycled battery material that delivers long-lasting power while creating less impact on the planet. Just like NASCAR teams are always looking for innovative ways to increase performance, Energizer is dedicated to creating a long-lasting battery made of recycled materials, including the continued focus to ultimately deliver a battery made of 40% recycled materials by 2025.(Chip Ganassi Racing), see an image of the car on the #1 team paint schemes page.(4-23-2015)
- DOC 360 sponsoring Bowman: Tommy Baldwin Racing welcomes DOC 360 aboard the #7 Chevy this weekend at Richmond International Raceway. DOC 360, as a growing brand, aligns perfectly with up-and-coming athletes as they carve their own name in the sports world. DOC 360 encourages individual creativity and innovation in athletes and those consumers that pride themselves on taking on new challenges. DOC 360, known for its distinctive taste, is available in a variety of regular and diet package sizes.(Tommy Baldwin Racing), see an image of the car on the #7 team paint schemes page.(4-23-2015)
- The Pete Store returns to Front Row: The Pete Store will go racing once again with David Gilliland’s #38 Ford in 2015. The largest privately owned Peterbilt dealer by sales in the country reached a multi-race agreement with Front Row Motorsports for the current season, starting with Saturday night’s race at Richmond International Raceway. The agreement marks the third straight season The Pete Store has partnered with Front Row. The truck dealer has a network of 12 locations in six states and is the provider of the team’s race haulers.(Front Row Motorsports), see an image of the car on the #38 team paint schemes page.(4-23-2015)
- Richmond International Raceway Notes & Facts – Thursday – poles:
· Buck Baker won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Richmond in 1953 with a speed of 48.465 mph.
· 53 drivers have Coors Light poles at Richmond, led by Richard Petty and Bobby Allison with eight each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six.
· Seven drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Richmond. Bobby Allison holds the record for most consecutive Coors Light poles at Richmond with five (1972 – 1974).
· 23 of the 117 (19.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from the Coors Light pole. Only four active drivers have been able to accomplish the feat: Kasey Kahne (2005), Jimmie Johnson (2007), Kyle Busch (2010) and Brad Keselowski (2014).
· The pole starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners than any other starting position at Richmond (23). · 36 of the 117 (30.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond have been won from the front row: 23 from the pole and 13 from second-place.
· 91 of the 117 (77.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from a top-10 starting position.
· 13 of the 117 (11.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
· Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Richmond International Raceway seven times; most recently the fall of 2014.
· Bobby Labonte (09/11/1993) and Brian Vickers (05/15/2004) posted their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at Richmond.
(NASCAR)(4-23-2015) - Richmond Goodyear Tire Notes: Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series will run the same tire set-up at Richmond this weekend . . . while these teams ran this left-side tire code (D-4632) at Richmond last September, this is the first time they have run this right-side code (D-4644) . . . this right-side is a Goodyear multi-zone tread tire, which incorporates two distinct compounds on the same tire . . . the inboard two inches of the tread (Endurance Zone) features the same compound that was run at Richmond last fall, while the outboard 10 inches of the tread (Traction Zone) features a compound run at this track prior to that and will provide teams with more grip . . . this tire set-up came out of a Goodyear test at Richmond on April 7 . . . drivers participating in that test were A.J. Allmendinger, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart . . . as on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Richmond.(Goodyear). See tire codes, pressures and more on the Richmond Race Info – Goodyear section.
- Chassis selections for this week’s race: see the list of many teams [that report or post them] and what chassis were selected by the team to run in the Toyota Owners 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway on the Richmond Race Info page – Chassis selection area.
- Jones keeps busy during Truck Series off weeks: Four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race winner and Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Erik Jones has stated his goal this season is to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship. Currently sitting third in the NCWTS standings (six points behind leader Matt Crafton), the 18-year-old Michigan native added some impressive accomplishments to his résumé during the six-week break in his Truck Series calendar. Jones won his first NASCAR XFINITY Series race in just his ninth career start at Texas. Additionally, the NASCAR Next member turned his first laps in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car, subbing for Denny Hamlin in the #11 FedEx Toyota 22 laps into the rain-delayed Bristol race. Jones made it back to Bristol from Cornelius, North Carolina, 20 minutes prior to the restart of the race to fill-in for an injured Hamlin, who was suffering from back and neck spasms. He brought the #11 home in 26th after finishing fourth in the XFINITY Series event the day before.(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(4-23-2015)
- Kansas Speedway to make safety improvements: Driver safety is always an issue for NASCAR, but it vaulted back into the headlines when Kyle Busch suffered a compound fracture in his right leg and a broken left foot in late February at Daytona International Speedway. Many drivers, including Sprint Cup points leader Kevin Harvick, who crashed into the same wall at Daytona a year earlier, went public with pleas for safer track conditions after Busch’s wreck. Apparently, Kansas Speedway – which installed SAFER barriers, or Steel and Foam Energy Reduction barriers, along its track walls in 2004 – was listening, as it announced several safety improvement Wednesday ahead of next month’s NASCAR races. After an internal review by Kansas Speedway’s owner, the International Speedway Corp., in conjunction with NASCAR, two sand barrels will be installed at the leading edge of the pit-road exit, an additional tire pack will be installed at the pit-road entrance, and interior walls along turns two and three will be extended. More safety enhancements are planned before the season’s second race weekend in October. “The safety of our guests and the competitors is, and always has been, our No. 1 priority,” Kansas Speedway president Pat Warren said in a statement. “Ongoing facility evaluations will continue and we will provide updates as circumstances warrant.”(Kansas City Star)(4-23-2015)
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