April 26, 2016
- Bayne’s Darlington Throwback scheme released: Roush Fenway Racing and Trevor Bayne unveiled the paint scheme the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Fusion will run this September at Darlington Raceway for the second season of the track’s The Tradition Continues throwback celebration. The #6 AdvoCare Ford will carry the same red, white and blue design as Mark Martin’s #6 Ford did during the 1996 and 1997 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series seasons. “It’s an honor any time you are mentioned alongside Mark Martin,” said Bayne. “He obviously contributed a lot to Roush Fenway and this organization, so to carry a paint scheme that he ran for the second year in a row is really cool. Our team has been working really hard and running well this season, so I’m hopeful that we can make Mark proud.” Last season Bayne paid homage to another successful Martin paint scheme, sporting the colors Martin donned in 1998, on his way to seven wins.
“It’s going to be really cool to see that car on the track again at Darlington,” said Martin. “It’s always been one of my favorite paint schemes and we had a lot of good times taking that car to victory lane and leading a lot of laps during that time. I look at it as a tribute to all the guys that put the hard work in on those cars and gave us the opportunity to go out and compete each week.”(Roush Fenway Racing). See an image of the car on the #6 team paint schemes page.(4-26-2016) - France explains why Stewart was fined: Tony Stewart said Sunday that he wasn’t sure why he was fined $35,000 last week by NASCAR after comments he made about officials not requiring teams to tighten all five lug nuts on each wheel. NASCAR Chairman Brian France told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Monday that Stewart’s fine was based on what he said and how he said it. “Tony has been very aware of how we approach from a criticism standpoint of the sport and the product of the racing itself and safety is paramount,” France told host Dave Moody. “Tony is very aware of how we look at that.”
France explained on “SiriusXM Speedway” how Stewart crossed the line. “I think we have to make judgment calls and how we look at the tone of what someone says, how they’re saying it,” France said. “They have ample opportunities, particularly with safety, to deal with us directly on that. But to insinuate that we’re taking the sport down a road that doesn’t care about safety or we’re trying to hurt people, those kind of comments, that goes to the integrity of the sport and we’ll have to deal with that. We go way beyond what any other league would allow in terms of how far people can go in voicing their view. There’s just a little line out there that is a bright line and everybody is aware of. Every once in a while we’ll have a driver or somebody else that gets over that line and we’ll just have to deal with it. It’s not a big thing. We deal with it. They understand it and we move on. That’s how it goes.”(NBC Sports)(4-26-2016) - NASCAR will require teams to tighten all lugnuts UPDATE: NASCAR sent a memo to teams on Monday updating the NASCAR rulebook that all 5 lug nuts are now required to be installed:
.a All tires, wheels, and all five lugnuts must be installed in a safe and secure manner at all times during the event.
.b NASCAR reserves the right at any time to require any Competitor to report to pit road to inspect for any noncompliance.
.c Any loss of a wheel(s) beyond the exit of pit road may result in a penalty…
Violation of the section, resulting in the loss of a wheel, could result in a mandatory minimum four race suspention of the crew chief and tire changer and tire carrier.(4-25-2016)
UPDATE: NASCAR’s updated rule states that if any missing lug nuts are found on a wheel before the race it must be corrected immediately and is listed as an unapproved adjustment, forcing the competitor to start at the rear. Any tire intended for race use without all five lug nuts glued to the wheel must be fixed immediately. If the issue is found after a Sprint Cup race, the crew chief will be suspended for one race, placed on probation and fined $20,000 on the first offense. Multiple events will result in escalated penalties. The penalty in the Xfinity Series is a one-race suspension for the crew chief, probation and a $10,000 fine. In the Camping World Truck Series, the penalty is a one-race suspension, probation and a $5,000 fine.(NBC Sports)
AND: “Our job is whenever there’s a safety improvement to make or a policy to enhance things, we will just do that,” NASCAR CEO Brian France said Monday during an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “It’s as simple as that. There’s not a controversial thing. Our whole system is based on safe and competitive racing. If we can make an adjustment to make things safer, we just simply will.” (Associated Press)(4-26-2016) - Schluter-Systems to sponsor Ragan at Talladega: BK Racing announced that Schluter-Systemswill be the primary sponsor of David Ragan’s #23 Toyota Camry at Talladega Superspeedway. In addition, Schluter-Systems also joins BK Racing as an associate sponsor for the remainder of the 2016 season. “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us at Schluter-Systems,” said Marco Ludwig, President and CEO of Schluter-Systems North America. “We’ve come to get to know David Ragan and the whole team at BK Racing, and our relationship evolved to where sponsorship was the next natural step for us. It began where many Schluter relationships begin– talking tile– and today, we are very proud to stand behind #23 at the Talladega race. We’ll be cheering for David, and wishing him a safe race.”(BK Racing), see an image of the car on the #23 team paint schemes page.(4-26-2016)
- Richmond TV Ratings: NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Richmond earned a 2.9 overnight rating on FOX Sunday afternoon, down a tick from 2014, when it aired on a Saturday night (3.0). Overnights also dropped 6% from last year, when the race was postponed from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon (3.1). The 2.9 overnight is the lowest ever for a Sunday Sprint Cup race on FOX, falling below the previous mark of 3.2 for Bristol one week prior. Regardless of day, it is tied as the second-lowest for a Sprint Cup race on FOX – matching Texas last year and ahead of Texas this year (2.5). Head-to-head, the race edged ABC’s competing Spurs/Grizzlies NBA playoff game (2.7) but was no match for Warriors/Rockets later in the day (5.4).(Sports Media Watch) see race-by-race TV Ratings for 2016 and a comparison chart on the 2016 TV Ratings page.(4-25-2016)
- “Amelia” returning for Earnhardt, Jr at Talladega: It’s official: one of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s favorite cars will make its return this weekend. “Amelia” is back. In 2015, Amelia earned three wins — a Duel at Daytona International Speedway, the May race at Talladega Superspeedway and the July race at Daytona – in addition to a third-place finish in the Daytona 500 and a second-place result in the second Talladega race. Earnhardt’s average finish of 1.75 while driving Amelia in the four superspeedway points races last season led all competitors. So it was no surprise that the chassis would make its return this season for the Daytona 500 this season. It looked like another successful run was in the works, but as Earnhardt looked to jump back into the top five with 30 laps remaining, the #88 Chevy SS was caught up in an incident that sent him to a 36th-place finish. Last month, Earnhardt hinted that it was posible Amelia could make a comeback for Talladega Superspeedway, but it was up to #88 crew chief Greg Ives and the team whether the car would be the backup or the primary. Ives answered that question Monday morning.(Hendrick Motorsports)(4-26-2016)
- Top 10 Driver Ratings at Talladega:
#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr 93.8
#48-Jimmie Johnson 89.5
#20-Matt Kenseth 88.5
#41-Kurt Busch 88.0
#2-Brad Keselowski 84.4
Brian Vickers 84.0
#11-Denny Hamlin 82.9
#42-Kyle Larson 81.9
#22-Joey Logano 81.5
#4-Kevin Harvick 80.6
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2015 races (22 total) among active drivers at Talladega Superspeedway.
Formula combining the following categories: Win, Finish, Top-15 Finish, Average Running Position while on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
See an explanation how the Driver Rating is calculated at NASCAR.com.(NASCAR) - SDD partners with Jeremy Clements at Talladega: SDD (Signs & Displays Direct), the industry leader in turnkey display programs has partnered with Jeremy Clements Racing for Talladega. Launched in 2006, SDD provides “quality products with knowledgeable customer service and value pricing,” according to SDD’s Kaz Rossetto. “SDD creates turnkey, no inventory, in-store display and graphics programs for manufacturers and retailers. We work with a client to decide which types of displays and graphics work best for retail areas in their network. Once the decision has been made, the client no longer has to dedicate time to the process. Their retailers or franchisees then order directly from SDD and we handle everything from that point on. We can even brand each item with the individual retailers name and logo.” In addition to its industry leading turnkey display programs, SDD also develops private label branding programs, imaging services and consulting services as well. The SDD logo will be featured as an associate sponsor on the JCR #51 Chevy Camaro for the Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega.(Jeremy Clements Racing)(4-26-2016)
- John Jackson in the #13 at Talladega: MBM Motorsports is teaming up with flwaterfront.com and IcardMerrell Attorney David Levin for this weekend’s race at Talladega. Both companies, based out of Sarasota, Florida, will be on the number 13 car driven by John Jackson. FLWATERFRONT.COM consists of a series of pages intended to provide useful information concerning all aspects of waterfront property ownership. Attorney David Levin can handle all of your water front property needs in the sunshine state.(MBM), see an image of the car on the #13 team paint schemes page.(4-26-2016)
- Gas Buddy partners with MAKE: GasBuddy, the world’s leading gas mobile app, joins MAKE Motorsports as the primary sponsor of the #50 Chevy Silverado driven by Travis Kvapil for multiple races in the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, beginning with Kansas Speedway on Friday, May 6. With more than 56 million downloads and 15 million monthly active users, GasBuddy is home to the world’s largest network of people working together daily to save money at the pump.(MAKE Motorsports)(4-26-2016)
- Kennedy joins GMS UPDATE: Team officials announced that Ben Kennedy will join the GMS Racing stable for a multi-race deal with 10 races already confirmed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) races, beginning May 6 at Kansas Speedway. Kennedy will pilot the #33 Chevy Silverado alongside teammates Johnny Sauter and Spencer Gallagher. Kennedy has 53 NCWTS starts under his belt and looks to claim his first victory in the series with GMS Racing. Jacob Companies, a first-year partner of Kennedy, plans to continue their support under the GMS Racing banner. Additional details on new partners and schedule will be released in the coming weeks.(GMS Racing)(4-25-2016)
UPDATE: With Kennedy taking over the #33, Grant Enfinger, who earned the 2015 ARCA championship for the team and began the season with a pole in the #33 entry, posted on his Facebook page that he would remain with the team for multiple truck starts.”A lot of people have been asking about my racing plans lately so I am going to give an update as best I can. The only confirmed truck races that I will be in the seat of a GMS Racing truck as of now are Kentucky, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Talladega. There is still hope to add to that schedule, and everyone here at GMS Racing is working hard for that. I am still working here at GMS Racing everyday and the relationship continues to be great. I can’t wait to get back in the truck, but when I’m not I will continue to help all of my teammates here at GMS Racing. I am proud of what we have accomplished to this point, and I’m grateful for the past, present, and future at GMS Racing.” (4-26-2016) - Chicago race will be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400: Nickelodeon announced that it is the entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, Sept. 18, dubbed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Danica Patrick has signed on to drive a special car for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, which will feature a weekend of action, activities and fun for the entire family with the iconic Heroes in a Half Shell. NASCAR star Danica Patrick, a Roscoe, Illinois native, helped kick off the partnership in true Turtles style. She unveiled her #10 April O’Neil/Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS at an event at Wrigley Square in Millennium Park with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, then took her car for a spin down Michigan Ave. She will join a number of other drivers with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles paint schemes for the Sept. 18 race. This Sept. 15-18 marks the sixth consecutive year that Chicagoland Speedway will kick off the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The Nickelodeon partnership will include sponsorship of the 2017 kick off race, as well. Patrick’s unique car was designed by Chicago artist Hebru Brantley, who will also design the race trophy, additional Turtles-branded paint schemes and other visual elements. Brantley breaks down the walls of cultural boundaries through his art and inspired by his 1980s Chicago upbringing, Brantley’s work touches on tough subjects in a way that may be easily digestible to the viewer, by telling his stories through youthful characters and their adventures. Brantley’s work can be described as pop infused contemporary art inspired by Japanese anime and the bold aesthetics of street art pioneers Jean Michel Basquiat, KAWS and Keith Haring.(Chicagoland Speedway), see an image of Patrick’s car on the #10 team paint schemes page.(4-26-2016)
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