May 4, 2015
- Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief almost missed the race: Greg Ives, the crew chief for #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., won his first race in Sprint Cup, but he nearly missed the race. On Saturday, his eight-year-old daughter Payton broke her arm in a playground accident, requiring surgery. Earnhardt offered to fly Ives back to Charlotte to be with his daughter, but Payton talked her father into remaining at Talladega. “I wanted to give him that obligation to choose,” Earnhardt said. “She’s tough as nails and she told him not to come home. She was mad at him for the call he (made) in Richmond.” Earnhardt related encountering a downcast Ives after that race, only to learn that “he’s worried about what she’s going to tell him when he got home. It’s good she keeps him honest.”(NASCAR Wire Service)(5-4-2015)
- Kyle Busch tests late model UPDATE: Following a 10-week absence from a race car, Kyle Busch got behind the wheel of a Late Model last week. Busch, the driver of the #18 M&Ms Toyota, has been sidelined since he sustained injuries to his foot and right leg during an accident in the XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 21. “We have a program for him and we’re moving forward with everything – and that was part of it,” team owner Joe Gibbs said of Busch’s test, prior to the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. Gibbs did not recall where Busch tested his Kyle Busch Motorsports car, however, the team was expected to run at nearby Caraway Speedway, a .455-mile track in Asheboro, N.C. or Hickory Speedway. Busch is expected to return to Hickory this week in a KBM Late Model. NASCAR spokesman David Higdon said he had not heard whether Busch had been medically cleared to return to competition. Busch met with the media on April 15. At the time, Busch said his doctors had not offered a timetable for his return. Erik Jones is scheduled to drive the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota next week at Kansas Speedway, but speculation is that Busch will be in the car for the All Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 16th. During his media availability, Busch said he hoped to be eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Last month, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France told a group of sports editors that depending on when Busch returned “it was more likely than not,” that the sanctioning body would attempt to “accommodate” the driver.(Motorsport)(5-4-2015)
UPDATE: Kyle Busch tweeted Monday morning that he will not compete in a Late Model race this weekend despite reports that he was expected to compete in an event at Hickory Motor Speedway. Busch tested a Late Model car Friday as part of his return to racing after being injured in the season-opening NASCAR Xfinity race at Daytona.(NBC Sports)(5-4-2015) - Pit crew member ejected at Talladega for not wearing protective gear: A crew member from #51-Justin Allgaier’s team was ejected from the GEICO 500 on Sunday when he was found handling a fuel can behind pit wall without wearing a helmet or head sock. Mark O’Donnell was removed from Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, the 2.66-mile trioval. Pit road fire safety has become a bigger issue recently after a blaze in an XFINITY Series race at Richmond injured three crewman from two different teams. A minor fire also erupted from a gas can during a #31-Ryan Newman pit stop on Sunday.(USA Today)(5-4-2015)
- Talladega Race and Commercial Breakdown of the 2015 Geico 500: For those of you NASCAR fans that like stats and love to hate commercials, here is the breakdown for Sunday’s race. Began recording the times at the Invocation of the race at 1:00 PM, and stopped at the waving of the checkered flag at 4:41 PM (all times are EST). FOX was the broadcast team for this event.
Total number of commercials: 134
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 69
Number of traditional commercials (not split-screen): 129
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 66
Number of ‘Side-by-Side’ commercials during race broadcast (split-screen): 5
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 5
Number of times Fox utilized ‘Side-by-Side’ commercials during this broadcast: 1
Total number of brief promos of products/services during the race broadcast (including company logos ‘floating’ in corners of the screen): 77
Total amount of time these brief promos take during broadcast: app. 5 min. 20 sec.
Start time to record race/commercial periods: 1:00 PM
End time to record race/commercial periods: 4:41 PM
Total minutes of complete race broadcast: 221
Minutes of race broadcast: 165
Minutes of traditional commercials (not split-screen): 56
Minutes of ‘Side-by-Side’ commercials (split-screen): 2
Number of missed restarts: 0
Number of ‘mystery cautions’ (debris not shown): 1
Total race brdcst time 165 Total comm. brdcst time 56
See full reports, sponsor links, much more details at CawsnJaws.com.(5-4-2015) - Jones says Kansas one race deal in the #18…for now: from a Toyota Racing transcript, Erik Jones, who will run the #18 Toyota at Kansas in the Sprint Cup Series race, was asked a few questions about his first Cup start:
Q) What will your expectations be for the NSCS race at Kansas in the #18 Camry?
Jones: “For me, it’s really all seat time and experience. I think keeping our expectations realistic is a pretty big thing for us. If we can go run top-15, I’d feel like that would be a pretty big win for us. It’s a big step. We’ve talked a lot about it. I’ve talked with Adam Stevens (18 crew chief) a lot about it and kind of what the jump is and talked to Kyle (Busch) about it. It’s not going to be an easy step for anybody, but I really believe we can go run top-15 and if we can do that, I think that would be a good day.”
Q) Have you had any discussion of the conflict weekends in June with the NCWTS schedule?
Jones: “No, I haven’t. For right now, Kansas is the only race I’ve got in the 18 so beyond that I honestly don’t know. Sure, I’d love to run it again. I think it would be fun, but we’ll really just have to see how things go. I’m just going to run Kansas, do my deal there, do the best I can and see what happens.”
Q) Is Joe Gibbs Racing only telling you about racing Kansas and not beyond?
Jones: “Honestly, just Kansas at this point, that’s all I heard. I’ve seen it too and I saw it 20 minutes ago where it says, ‘Until he (Kyle Busch) returns.’ Honestly, Kansas is the only one I know of right now.”(Toyota Racing)(5-4-2015) - Edwards upset with NASCAR drivers not slowing for spin: As #19-Carl Edwards spun on the final lap Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR didn’t throw the caution, and maybe the only person he knows who lifted off the throttle was his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate #20-Matt Kenseth. While Kenseth said he was “dumbfounded” there was no caution, Edwards was more upset at his competitors following the Geico 500, which #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. won for his sixth career victory at Talladega. The decision to throw the caution on the last lap has been a judgment call for NASCAR, which wants races to finish under green but, as it did in the Daytona 500, it will throw the caution on the final lap if it feels the need to dispatch emergency vehicles immediately. “Because there was a wreck at the end of the Daytona 500, I slowed down, and it cost us a bunch of positions,” Edwards said. “I guess some people would say, ‘Well, hell, your job is to stay on the throttle and go race,’ but, man, we’re all out here and we’re all human beings. You’ve got a guy wrecking, you can’t just lay into his door. That’s pretty dangerous.” No one actually hit Edwards in the door, but he obviously felt the potential was there for him to suffer a serious injury. He said he believes #51-Justin Allgaier went by him at 160 or 180 mph. “We make every effort to try to finish under green flag conditions,” NASCAR Sprint Cup Series director Richard Buck said in a statement. “We believe the circumstances that occurred allowed us to do that today.” Some drivers will keep the throttle to the floor until told there is a caution and also won’t lift in the hopes that a spinning car in front of them will spin away before they make contact.
“Generally, if someone is spinning in front of you, you slow down a little bit, so if you do hit him, you don’t break their legs or hurt them,” said Edwards, who saw a potential top-10 finish turn into a 32nd-place day. “I don’t want to rant too much about it, but I was frustrated with that.” Kenseth, who lost some spots and finished 25th, also left frustrated. “I had to lift so I didn’t send Carl to the hospital,” Kenseth said. “I’m just dumbfounded that NASCAR didn’t throw a caution. We were driving past wrecked cars for half a lap at 180 mph. It was a crazy ending.”(ESPN)(5-4-2015) - Richmond spring race could be moved to Sunday: International Speedway Corp., is exploring the possibility of moving the start of the spring Richmond race from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon, an ISC official told NBC Sports. “I’m not going to say seriously, but we are exploring it,” said Clay Campbell, president of Martinsville Speedway, who also oversees Richmond International Raceway and Darlington Raceway for International Speedway Corp. “We’re always entertaining whatever can make our events better for the broadcasters, for the fans and for the competitors and that’s part of it.” There are other considerations. ISC, as part of its typical post-event critique, is examining how far Richmond’s ticket holders travel to attend that race. “If we run Saturday night, there are so many fans that are not staying there or not staying on property or not staying in the region and they drive back home in the middle of the night,” Campbell said. “How many that is versus if we did it Sunday and they could leave right after the race and drive home – that’s things we need to look at and do some questioning with our fanbase.”(NBC Sports)(5-4-2015)
- Faison joins Premium: 21 year old CJ Faison from Seaford, Del., received a phone call this morning that opened a whole new door of opportunities for him. Premium Motorsports racing team owner Jay Robinson told CJ to get his driving suit and helmet ready because ‘Dover is a go.’ – CJ will be racing for NASCAR this year. CJ will be driving in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with Premium Motorsports racing team. He said he feels comfortable with the truck series and has a lot of experience with this series. For CJ, this means endless opportunities and that doors will start opening. You may be having déjà vu when you read about CJ signing with NASCAR. You’re right – It’s not the first time. CJ actually signed with NASCAR in 2010 to race in select NASCAR Wheelen All American Series events. In 2012, CJ signed to compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. That same year, he set the fastest time ever in NASCAR K&N Pro Series history. In 2013, there was an opportunity for CJ to take over the family business. So, he left NASCAR and went home. He helped out with the business and did some dirt races here and there. CJ said that life is going how he wants it to now and that this opportunity is just an added bonus to his life. He said he doesn’t have to stress about making a living in NASCAR, he can actually enjoy it. CJ’s first race with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is the Lucas Oil Truck Race on May 29 at Dover International Speedway.(DelmarvaLife.com)(5-4-2015)
- Local sponsors support Cobb’s homecoming: This Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota Tundra 250 at the Kansas Speedway will mark the 96th race start for Kansas City native, Jennifer Jo Cobb. The team owner and driver is celebrating the coming of her 100th start in the series with her fans sharing #JJC100 on various social media outlets. She comes into Friday’s race 17th in points with primary and returning sponsor Mark One Electric on the hood. This race marks the 11th time Mark One Electric has sponsored her at the Kansas Speedway. Mark One has been a fixture in Kansas City for more than 40 years. Kansas City-based Arrow Truck Sales is celebrating its 65th Anniversary this year and its 4th year as a JJCR sponsor. The company provides high-quality, pre-owned tractor trucks with locations throughout the United States and Canada. A new sponsor will debut on Cobb’s #10 Mark One Electric Chevy Silverado this week. Abbacore is a mobile app solution development company specializing in helping businesses re-imagine the way they collect, share and process mobile data. The company’s flagship platform inBound allows businesses to create their own custom, cloud-based mobile app solution of process forms and polls.(Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing)(5-4-2015)
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