May 2, 2008
- DEI picks up option on Truex, good thru 2009 UPDATE not yet: When there’s been talk about potential free agents for 2009, #1-Martin Truex, Jr. has had his name passed around in more than one story or conversation. There’s one hitch. His current deal with Dale Earnhardt Inc is good through next season according to team president Max Siegel. “We have an option that we’ve picked up for 2009, so that’s always reported in a confusing way. We love Martin and we’re having discussions about extending it for a long-term deal, but we’re good through 2009. He’s important to our organization…we’re giving him everything we possibly can and what he needs to win and be happy here long term.” Siegel also thinks the on track performance of all four DEI cars is on the upswing. “I think we’re making significant progress. The #15 team’s performance on a weekly basis is indicative of how we’ve elevated the program. We’ve got to stay very patient and focused. If you look at the #1 team and the #8…we’re doing great…got some consistency with our engines and the energy is just fantastic.”(PRN’s Garage Pass Radio Show)(4-28-2008)
UPDATE: Dale Earnhardt Inc. holds an option on Truex that it wants to exercise, but Truex has to agree to the terms under the language of his existing deal.(ESPN.com/AP)(5-2-2008) - Biffle plans to re-sign with Roush, not talking to other teams: #16-Greg Biffle says he isn’t interested in entertaining offers from other Sprint Cup organizations outside of Roush Fenway Racing, much less signing with them. Biffle said on Friday at Richmond International Raceway that “my 100% intent” is to work an extension with Roush Fenway, adding he’s not curious to see what other opportunities might be out there. “There are a lot of great teams and great opportunities out there,” said Biffle, whose contract expires at the end of this season. “I am making my decision kind of how [Dale] Earnhardt Jr. did, and it’s about winning races and championships and contending for the title and having good equipment. There are a lot of teams that have that, but I feel comfortable where I’m at with Roush Fenway.”(ESPN.com)(5-2-2008)
- Childress talking to 3-4 drivers for 4th team: Richard Childress Racing owner Richard Childress said he’s talking to three or four drivers for the fourth team he will start next season with General Mills as the primary sponsor. Childress would not identify the drivers, but said all currently compete in the Sprint Cup Series. “We hope to have something to announce in the next three or four months,” he said.(ESPN.com)(5-2-2008)
- What is up with Jerry Nadeau? Pictures, posters and other keepsakes adorn a wall in Jerry Nadeau’s office. Helmets, diecast cars and T-shirts sit on shelves, untouched except by dust. Among this montage of memories, two framed items stand out. One is a photo of Nadeau’s car beside runner-up Dale Earnhardt’s black #3 moments after Nadeau had won the 2000 season finale at Atlanta. Earnhardt’s left hand juts out of his car, his index finger saluting Nadeau on his first and only NASCAR Winston Cup victory. “That is the ultimate picture,” Nadeau says with a widening grin. A head injury suffered five years ago today in a crash at Richmond International Raceway turned Nadeau’s ultra-focused life into tumult. Racing defined Nadeau, and even today, he still struggles to accept that he’ll never compete in NASCAR’s top series again.(5-2-2008)
- New Crew Chief for Robby: #7-Robby Gordon Motorsports and crew chief Frank Kerr have parted ways, Walter Giles is Gordon’s new crew chief.(RGM)(5-2-2008)
- Red, White & Blue M&M’s at Indy: #18-Kyle Busch is scheduled to run a special Red, White, and Blue Summer Fun M&M’s car in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27, 2008. See the image on my #18 Team Schemes page.(5-2-2008)
- Newman and the Mummy team up at Chicago: #12-Ryan Newman is scheduled to race aspecial paint-schemed car during the LifeLock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 12th. Kodak and Universal Pictures have teamed up and will run the special movie scheme: The Mummy – Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. See the image on my #12 Team Schemes page.(5-2-2008)
- Avis scheme for Newman at Pocono: #12-Ryan Newman is scheduled to be driving a special paint scheme in the Pennsylvania 500 at the Pocono Raceway August 3rd. This special red and white paint scheme features the AVIS logo on the hood, as well as the rear quarter panel. See the image on my #12 Team Schemes page.(5-2-2008)
- More on the Nationwide COT: “We are working very hard on the COT,” [Nationwide Series Director Joe] Balash explains. “We’ll utilize the NASCAR 110-inch wheelbase certified chassis, and it will be interchangeable between the Sprint Cup and Nationwide garages. [But] we’re going to do something unique with the bodies to give the Series its own look as opposed to the past.” The last point is a reminder of the dangers posed by creating a Nationwide car too much like their Sprint Cup cousins; and when you talk to Balash, you sense his focus at ensuring the next generation of Nationwide vehicles create a unique driving style all their own. “We want [the new car] to drive somewhere between a Truck and Cup car,” he says. “And we’ve been working with drag and downforce to be somewhere in between. We want the car to drive a little easier than a Sprint Cup car; [and while] there are some components of the body that are the same, we’ve relocated them. For example, we’ve moved the rear deck lid forward, and the same distance we moved it forward, we’ve moved the front of the body forward, helping the car turn just a little bit better in the corner. It’s been great to see from concept to the car in the wind tunnel.” When that concept becomes reality, the timeframe is still very much TBD. “My hope is to introduce the new car next year,” says the series director. “We’re looking at an August timeframe based on the conversations we’ve had with owners and others in the garage.”(Frontstretch.com)(5-2-2008) Comment here
- Hamlin on pole at Richmond: #11-Denny Hamlin won the Coors Light Pole for the Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Raceway with a speed of 126.198mph, for his 1st pole of 2008 and 6th of his career. Starting on the outside pole is #8-Mark Martin, followed by #1-Truex Jr., #10-Carpentier, #41-Sorenson, #42-Montoya, #18-Busch, #19-Sadler, #9-Kahne and #12-Newman. Points leader #31-Burton will start 33rd and #88-Earnhardt Jr will start 22nd. The eight go-or-go-homers [non top 35] to make the race are: #10-Carpentier [4th], #22-Blaney, #84-Allmendinger, #78-Nemechek, #70-Sauter, #09-Marlin, #45-Petty and #96-Yeley. The fastest 43 cars made the race. Four drivers did not make the race: #40-Schrader, #33-Wimmer, #34-Andretti and #21-Wood.
For pole preogeression, qualifying order and results and starting lineup, see my Richmond Qualifying Page.(5-2-2008) - IMPOUND: the Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Raceway will be the 2nd IMPOUND race of 2008, there are five impound races in 2008, both Talladega races, both Richmond races and Daytona in July. For more info, see my Impounding Info page.
- Stewart tests at New Smyrna: Joe Gibbs Racing development driver Joey Logano was down to test two days including Wednesday at New Smyrna Speedway [FL]. #20-Tony Stewart arrived Wednesday morning and spent most of the day in his ride testing various setups and parts as the team prepared for Saturday night’s 400-mile race at Richmond International Speedway. “Since they paved it we can come down and run 40, 50, 60 laps, and it doesn’t seem like the sun affects it that much,” said Greg Zipadelli, Stewart’s longtime crew chief. “We just come down to put new parts on the car, run them, trying to get some driver feedback and some data. You look for a place that doesn’t change a lot with the sun and the temperature. We’ve got a good short-track tire that we race at Richmond and with that it seems like it works pretty good on the surface here. We feel like we get decent data back.” Logano, who will drive in the ARCA Series race for Billy Venturini this weekend at Rockingham, turned 130 laps on Tuesday, but turned the ride over to Stewart on Wednesday. The 17-year-old Logano has been biding his time until he turns 18 on May 24, so he can make his first of 18 NASCAR Nationwide starts this year May 31 at Dover.(Daytona Beach News Journal)(5-2-2008)
- Richmond Goodyear Tire Notes: This is the same exact combination of left- and right-side tires that Goodyear brought for Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series teams to run at Phoenix three weeks ago . . . Nationwide teams also tested this set-up during an open test here in March . . . this is the first time teams have raced on this tire set-up at Richmond . . . in addition to Richmond and Phoenix, other NASCAR tracks at which this exact combination is scheduled to be run are New Hampshire, Milwaukee and Memphis . . . as on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Richmond. The estimated pit window is every 95-100 laps, based on fuel mileage.(Goodyear PR) See the full report, codes, pressures and more, see my Richmond Race Info page.(5-2-2008)
- Bobby Labonte Celebrity Golf Classic raises over $100,000: Bobby Labonte and wife Donna hosted the fifth annual Bobby Labonte Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic on Tuesday, April 29 with over 100 participants taking part at the Ballantyne Resort Golf Course. The Golf Classic was preceded the night before by a dinner, silent and live auctions and a concert by country music artist Eric Church at the Ballantyne Resort Lodge. The activities ended with an awards luncheon Tuesday afternoon. All proceeds raised for the Bobby Labonte Foundation during the two days benefitted charities including the Victory Junction Gang Camp. Over $100,000 was raised for the Bobby Labonte Foundation through the tournament and auctions. One of the highlights of the auction included Ms. Lynda Petty, the wife of Richard, who bid on an autographed Brett Favre Jersey. The item was won by Ms. Petty who will place the jersey in the Richard Petty Museum. The Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre have been favorites of the entire Petty family throughout the years.(Breaking Limits PR)(5-2-2008)
- Kennametal Back Onboard the #40: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced in late March an expansion of its current partnership with Kennametal to include primary sponsorship for multiple NSCS races this 2008 season. Kennametal made its primary sponsorship debut at Martinsville Speedway earlier this year and is going for its second run this weekend at RIR on the #40, to be driven by Ken Schrader. Kennametal, a longtime CGRFS partner, supplies tooling and machining technology to the team’s Charlotte and Indianapolis-based racing shops. In addition, Kennametal provides the team’s engineers and machinists with a myriad of opportunities to further refine their skills in order to gain optimum performance through Kennametal’s internal university program.(CGRFS) See images of the scheme on my #40 Team Schemes page.(5-2-2008)
- The ONLY practice for the Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Raceway is over, the top-5:
#88-Earnhardt Jr. 123.412
#8-Martin 122.895
#9-Kahne 122.733
#11-Hamlin 122.549
#19-Sadler 122.249
slowest: #43-Andretti only 1 lap at 84.874 and #21-Wood 119.607
most laps run: #8-Martin 91; #2-Busch & #77-Hornish Jr. 82
Average speed – all laps counted – nascar.com
#88-Earnhardt Jr. 119.863 [fastest lap]
#70-Sauter 119.633 [32nd]
#84-Allmendinger 119.607 [26th]
See speeds, laps run, average speed on my Richmond Practice Speeds page.(5-2-2008) - Where did the non top-35 drivers practice at Richmond
if things stay the same, these drivers would make the race:
#10-Patrick Carpentier, 12th fastest
#40-Ken Schrader, 24th
#22-Dave Blaney, 25th
#84-A.J. Allmendinger, 26th
#70-Johnny Sauter, 32nd
#45-Kyle Petty, 35th
#33-Scott Wimmer, 39th
#09-Sterling Marlin, 42nd
if things stay the same, these drivers would miss the race:
#78-Joe Nemechek, 43rd
#96-J.J. Yeley, 45th
#21-Jon Wood, 46th
#34-John Andretti, 47th/last
See speeds, laps run, average speed on my Richmond Practice Speeds page.(5-2-2008) - NASCAR drivers, Virginia officials encourage local teens to stop texting while driving: Nationwide Insurance teamed up with NASCAR drivers Clint Bowyer and Landon Cassill, DRIVE SMART Virginia, the Virginia State Police, Henrico County School officials and the Richmond International Raceway to raise awareness among Virginia teens about DWD –Driving While Distracted. To drive home the message that multitasking behind the wheel puts drivers and their fellow motorists at risk, Nationwide hosted an event at Hermitage High School. Students and community members were able to see firsthand the impact text messaging has on their driving abilities while racing in a NASCAR simulator. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says distracted drivers account for nearly four out of five crashes in the U.S. The problem is especially bad for young drivers. In a survey by Nationwide Mutual Insurance of 1,200 drivers, a third of Gen Y-ers admit to always multitasking while driving and 37 percent send text messages while driving. Distractions that take a driver’s eyes off the road even for just seconds put drivers and their passengers at great risk. Nationwide and the National Safety Council developed www.NationwideSmartRide.com, a Website to provide parents and teens free tools and resources to help develop safe drivers and reinforce smart behavior. It is available free to anyone regardless of whether they are a Nationwide customer.(Nationwide PR)(5-2-2008)
- Jim France Named Recipient of Pocono Raceway’s Bill France Award of Excellence: James C. (Jim) France, vice chairman/executive vice president of NASCAR and chairman/CEO of International Speedway Corporation (ISC) has been named the 2008 recipient of Pocono Raceway’s Bill France Award of Excellence. The Pocono Raceway Bill France Award of Excellence has been presented annually to the person, corporation or organization that has made outstanding contributions to the sport of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing. This prestigious award, first presented in 1977, is dedicated to the inspiration of William H.G. France, founder of NASCAR. Jim France is the son the late William H.G. (“Big Bill”) France and, brother of former president and chairman/CEO of NASCAR, the late William C. (“Bill Jr.”) France. He grew up in the early years of stock car racing, living and learning every aspect of the sport from his own experiences, and from his father and brother. Jim joined ISC in 1959 working in all phases of operations. He was elected to the ISC board in 1970 and has served as the company’s secretary, assistant treasurer, vice president, chief operating officer and executive vice president before being named the company’s president and chief operating officer in 1987.He was also named to the NASCAR Board of Directors in November 2000. The Pocono Raceway Bill France Award of Excellence, a beautifully sculptured and highly polished piece of anthracite coal mined in Pennsylvania, will be presented to Jim France at an award ceremony on Saturday, June 7, 2008. This ceremony is part of the festivities leading up to the June 8, 2008 Pocono 500 Sprint Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway.(Pocono Raceway), Jim France joins the prestigious list of Pocono Raceway’s Bill France Award of Excellence winners listed on my Awards page.(5-2-2008)
- Blue Angels on the #88 at Richmond: IMAGE In honor of the U.S. Navy’s elite flight demonstration team, Brad Keselowski will drive the #88 Navy Blue Angels Chevy in Saturday’s Lipton Tea 250 Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Speedway. Instead of the usual “Dress White” paint scheme the Navy Chevy has sported throughout the 2008 season, the #88 will be blue and gold, just like the Blue Angels’ F/A-18 Hornets.(JR Motorsports PR)(4-30-2008)
IMAGE: See an image of the car on my #88 Team Paint Scheme page.(5-2-2008)
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