April 27, 2014
- NASCAR will look at Ambrose, Mears incident: NASCAR will investigate a post-race incident that resulted in both #9-Marcos Ambrose and #13-Casey Mears being punched, but Robin Pemberton, NASCAR’s vice president of competition, said “we don’t think it was anything too severe.” FOX caught the incident after Saturday night’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway. The network’s video shows Ambrose and Mears talking to each other when Mears shoves Ambrose. Ambrose responds with a right cross to the left side of Mears’ head. Ambrose is pulled away while Mears pursues. Then Ambrose is sucker-punched by someone else. Pemberton said that series officials did not meet with either driver after the race. Series officials met with Ambrose’s crew chief, Drew Blickensderfer, and Sammy Johns, director of competition at Richard Petty Motorsports. Pemberton said officials watched footage of the incident. Pemberton said they would continue to investigate the situation. He was unaware of anything on the track that would have precipitated the confrontation. “We’ll get all the footage that we can and look at it and see what happens from there,” Pemberton said. “We’ve got to take our time and do everything. Sometimes there’s things for us to look at that we don’t have available right now, so to make any kind of statement or call on it (at this point), we’d be wasting everybody’s time.”(Motor Racing Network)(4-27-2014)
- Several teams have tire issues at Richmond: Several Sprint Cup drivers battled tire issues Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway, causing some cars to catch fire from the burning rubber. Among the drivers who had problems were #48-Jimmie Johnson, #99-Carl Edwards, #15-Clint Bowyer, #41- Busch, #17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr and #36-Reed Sorenson. Goodyear brought a new tire combination to Richmond, with its new multi-zone tire on the right side. The outward 10 inches of the right-side tire had the same compound as last year but the inside two inches of tread surface was designed for more endurance, with a tougher, more heat-resistant compound. It appeared the inside few inches of the tires were unraveling, causing the areas around the brakes and wheels to catch fire when rubber became entangled with wheel and suspension parts.
“There are a number of cars that don’t have any issues at all and they have got a good balanced car and everything is fine,” Goodyear Racing executive Stu Grant told Motor Racing Network during its race broadcast. “But what we’re seeing is the inside shoulder of the right front is wearing through the tread and through the overlay. It’s important to have a good balanced car, it’s important to not have a lot of camber, and it’s important to try to stay off that right front. But having said that, it looks like the operating window is pretty narrow for these guys. If they miss it by a little bit, you’re going to get into that right front and we’re going to have to work on that.” Goodyear most likely will conduct a tire test and bring a new tire for the Richmond race next September, a pivotal event as the final race before the Chase for the Sprint Cup field is set.
“The tire was adjusted properly on many of the cars, and I think some of them took it overboard,” NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said. “Goodyear being a good partner, they’ll get together and if it’s something we need to re-do before we get back in here in the fall, I’m sure Goodyear is more than happy to test and build another tire.”(Sporting News)(4-27-2014) - Goodyear announces return of “Support our Troops” tires: With the calendar set to dig deeper into the heart of spring, certain annual racing traditions associated with the month of May take hold. Goodyear started one of the newest institutions as a simple expression of gratitude and awareness five years ago. Now it’s accredited as a nearly seven-figure fundraiser for America’s military. The Ohio-based tiremaker announced Saturday at Richmond International Raceway that the logo for the Support Our Troops Foundation will adorn its racing tires for the fifth straight year in all three of NASCAR’s national series. The program will roll out in conjunction with the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 race weekends at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Goodyear’s involvement is part of an annual NASCAR industry-wide movement that often reaches its height around memorial Memorial Day and July 4 weekend. In the coming weeks, patriotic paint schemes, military salutes and more details will emerge to raise awareness and support.(NASCAR.com)(4-27-2014)
- Tennessee’s Pride of the Southland Band to Return to Bristol: One of East Tennessee’s favorite tunes once again reverberates through The Last Great Colosseum this August as the University of Tennessee’s Pride of the Southland Band returns for the IRWIN Tools Night Race. Set to ignite the crowd before one of the most popular races on the NASCAR circuit, 100 performers from the prestigious 330-member band treat guests to their well-known rendition of “Rocky Top” as part of Bristol’s pre-race show. Excited to enhance fan experience through the band’s inclusion in pre-race, Bristol Motor Speedway officials look forward to the group’s repeat performance.(BMS)(4-27-2014)
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