April 26, 2011
- New sponsor for Allmendinger at Richmond: Nautica, a part of VF Corporation and a leader in branded quality apparel, will serve as primary sponsor of Richard Petty Motorsports’ #43 Ford for Saturday evening’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Richmond International Raceway. “We feel good that an organization as well known as Nautica has decided to showcase its brand on the #43 Ford,” said team owner Richard Petty. “We welcome them to the RPM family and look forward to showing them everything the sport has to offer this weekend in Richmond. The #43 team has shown great promise this season and AJ is a force to be reckoned with every week. We’re excited to have Nautica here this weekend and we think NASCAR’s legions of fans will be enthusiastic as well.” The #43 Ford will carry the familiar Nautica logo all weekend at the three-quarter-mile track. Allmendinger has made eight starts at the track and posted his career best finish of eighth at the venue last fall after starting from the third position. Founded in 1983, Nautica is a leading global lifestyle brand ranging from men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and accessories to a complete home collection.(RPM Facebook)(4-26-2011)
- Newman’s Car to Pay Tribute to U.S. Army Medical Personnel: Ryan Newman’s U.S. Army Chevrolet for Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway will pay tribute to the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD) and the men and women who comprise the specialized Army Health Care Team. Newman’s #39 Chevy will display Army Medicine on the hood and rear-quarter panels during the Crown Royal Presents Matthew & Daniel Hansen 400 short track event. The AMEDD logo will also be included on the hood. “Showcasing Army Medicine on U.S. Army Chevrolet presents an excellent opportunity to not only recognize and honor the dedicated men and women of the Army Health Care Team but to raise awareness of the more than 80 medical career specialties available in the U.S. Army,” said Col. Derik Crotts, Director of Strategic Marketing, Communications and Outreach, U.S. Army Accessions Command.
The U.S. Army Health Care Team is made up of six corps, each with a specific function.
* Dental Corps — oral surgery, prosthodontics, endodontics, periodontics and orthodontics
* Medical Corps — more than 40 specialties, including internal medicine, neurosurgery, pathology and psychiatry
* Medical Service Corps — behavioral psychology, entomology, hospital administration and nuclear engineering
* Medical Specialist Corps — patient care, wellness education, injury prevention
* Nurse Corps — critical care nursing, medical surgical nursing and community nursing
* Veterinary Corps — animal medicine, veterinary public health, food inspection and research
As an incentive for medical-career students to join the Army Health Care Team, the U.S. Army offers a range of financial assistance and educational benefits.
“Before I get to Richmond I plan on visiting our brave Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center,” noted Newman. “I am so impressed with the professional care and medical services that are provided to our heroes. It’s a moving and inspiring experience each time I visit Walter Reed and it will be an honor to drive a car that will pay tribute to all the personnel of the U.S. Army Medical Department.”(US Army Racing), see an image on my #39 Team Schemes page.(4-26-2011) - Fire destroys Smokey Yunick’s former garage: The last remaining portion of legendary race car builder Smokey Yunick’s former garage complex was destroyed Monday night as smoke and flames poured from the building onto North Beach Street Daytona Beach FL]. “It’s a shame to see it go,” said Carrol Smith, who lives nearby. “That corner will be really empty.” The relic of the innovative mechanic burst into flames about 7 pm, according to fire officials, and by 8:30 pm little of the building remained with the exception of portions of the block walls. Smoke was so thick at times the fire trucks battling the blaze couldn’t be seen through the plumes. “I think this is it,” Smith said to a friend sitting with her on the back of a pickup at the Riverside Trailer Park. “There was Smokey’s, the Streamline Motel where NASCAR was really born, and their was a garage in Ormond Beach that’s just marked with a sign that it used to be there.” The age of the building and its former use as a garage made the blaze hazardous for firefighters. “We’re not sending any of our guys in there,” said Daytona Beach Fire Department spokesman Lt. Larry Stoney. “We’re fighting this from outside. It’s going to be difficult to figure out the cause of the fire.” Yunick, who died in 2001 at age 77, wasn’t shy about his mechanical skills, calling his business the “Best Damn Garage in Town.” There were two sides to the shop. He worked on trucks on one side and race cars on the other. Inside the gray walls of his sprawling facility, Yunick made several significant gains for the automotive industry. Some of his inventions included variable-ratio power steering and the extended tip spark plug, a design utilized in most automobiles today. When Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959, Yunick’s machines made an immediate impact. He built the cars that carried Marvin Panch and Fireball Roberts to Daytona 500 victories in 1961 and ’63, respectively.(see full story at the Daytona Beach News Journal, some interesting info there)(4-26-2011)
- Waltrip to compete in Triathlon: Michael Waltrip will compete in the Monticelloman Olympic Triathlon in Lake Monticello, Va. on Sunday just hours after watching his two NASCAR Sprint Cup teams race Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. The two-time Daytona 500 winner enters his first triathlon after competing in several marathons including the 2000 Boston Marathon. Sunday’s triathlon includes a .9-mile swim course, a 24-mile bike course and 6.2-mile running course around Lake Monticello. The competition comes a week after Waltrip tested a Ferrari in France for the 78th running of June’s 24 Hours of Le Mans – the world’s most famous endurance race. He and MWR co-owner Rob Kauffman will join Rui Aguas as the three drivers in the #78 AF Corse Ferrari in the GTE class. Waltrip will also race in Thursday’s Short Track Showdown late model race at Richmond to benefit the Denny Hamlin Foundation and in July’s inaugural Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway. In 2011, Waltrip won the truck race at Daytona and he’s raced in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races at Daytona and Talladega.(Michael Waltrip Racing)(4-26-2011)
- NASCAR appeal claims Mayfield trying to avoid responsibility: NASCAR says Jeremy Mayfield’s legal appeal to his suspension for a failed drug test is an “attempt to entirely avoid any responsibility for, or consequence from, testing positive for methamphetamine,” according to its response filed Monday in federal appeals court. Mayfield, who claims in court documents that his May 2009 drug test was a false positive from a mixture of over-the-counter allergy medication Claritin-D and the prescription medication Adderall for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, is suing NASCAR for breach of contract, unfair trade practices and defamation. U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen ruled in NASCAR’s favor in May 2010, and after having requests for Mullen to reconsider the ruling denied, Mayfield filed his appeal last month.(full article at SceneDaily)(4-26-2011)
- Lepage to drive for Means Motorsports: Veteran Driver Kevin Lepage, who started the season with Rensi Motorsports a team that ceased operations after Texas, announced that he will be behind the wheel of the #52 TRX Alliance Chevy this week at Richmond. Kevin started 4 races for Jimmy Means last year to finish out the season. He will work with www.racedaysponsor.com and the team to procure additional funding for the remainder of the year. Along with TRX Alliance as the title sponsor, the #52 will carry the Hyatt Place Richmond as a co-associate sponsor for this week’s Nationwide Bubba Burger 250.(Means Motorsports)(4-26-2011)
- Nashville TV Ratings: ESPN’s live telecast of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, April 23, earned a 1.5 final national household coverage rating, averaging 1,990,000 viewers, according to the Nielsen Company. The rating was the highest for the Spring race at Nashville since ESPN began televising the event in 2007. Last year’s race earned a 1.1 rating while the 2009 race earned a 1.3 rating. Across all ESPN networks so far this season, the NASCAR Nationwide Series is averaging a 1.6 U.S. rating, up from a 1.4 average at this point last year. (ESPN)(4-26-2011)
- Richardson will continue focus on Nationwide: UPDATE: Although he ran this year’s Daytona 500 for a second year in a row with Bob Jenkins’ FRM, #23-Robert Richardson has no plans to run anymore Cup races this season. “Right now we are going to put most of our focus on R3 Motorsports in the Nationwide Series with the 23 car. We are working on finalizing sponsorship efforts and trying to make our team better then what it has been in the past,” said a hopeful Robert Richardson. In the past, R3 Motorsports has had limited funding with blank quarter panels. This season, however, Richardson will show up to the track with a full time company sponsoring his efforts. “As of now, the Wildlife Conservation Society sponsorship is through the rest of the season. Also, we are re-negotiating for next season,” said an optimistic Richardson. “It’s neat since I am an outdoorsman and that I like to hunt and fish to have the Wildlife Conservation Society on board.”(Racing Experts)(4-25-2011)
UPDATE: Am told that the Wildlife Conservation Society sponsorship is not for the full season and the #23 Dodge will have North Texas Pipe on the car at Richmond this weekend as they continue to look for additional sponsorship.(4-26-2011) - Iowa Speedway picks up race sponsor: John Deere is partnering with 10 of its Iowa dealers to sponsor the Iowa John Deere Dealers 250 presented by Pioneer NASCAR Nationwide Series Race. The race is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. on May 22nd at Iowa Speedway in Newton , Iowa. John Deere and the participating Iowa dealers will host more than 3,000 customers during the race. The Iowa John Deere Dealers 250 Presented by Pioneer NASCAR Nationwide Series race creates a national stage to spread positive messages about agriculture — especially the benefits of alternative fuels. John Deere is also using their sponsorship to highlight a cause they are passionate about — Make-A-Wish Foundation of Iowa.(Iowa Speedway PR)(4-26-2011)
- Buescher headed to Richmond for NNS event: James Buescher, will jump behind the wheel of the No. 30 ABF Chevrolet Impala this weekend for the Bubba Burgers 250 at Richmond International Raceway. The 21-year-old, who is running for the NCWTS driver championship with Turner Motorsports, will make two more starts in the ABF Chevy in 2011 at Dover International Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. Buescher has one NNS start at RIR, finishing 12th after starting 18th in April 2010. For his limited Nationwide Series schedule, Buescher will work with veteran crew chief Stewart Cooper.(Turner Motorsports PR)(4-26-2011)
Main Page | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997