May 8, 2012
- Overnight Talladega TV Ratings: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing from Talladega Superspeedway drew a 4.7/11 for NASCAR on FOX coverage of the Aaron’s 499. Sunday’s 4.7/11 is +34% better than the 3.5/7 FOX earned for racing from Darlington Raceway on the comparable 2011 weekend, and it’s +2% better than the 4.6/11 the Talladega race delivered last year when it fell two weeks earlier. For the entire season, NASCAR On FOX trails last year’s pace by -4% (4.4/9 vs. 4.6/9). See past race TV Ratings, 4-year comparison chart and more on the 2012 TV Ratings page.(5-8-2012)
- Fallen police officers to be honored by Ragan at Darlington There will be a lot of decals on #34-David Ragan’s Ford May 11 for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at the Darlington Raceway, but none more important than ones honoring fallen Aiken Public Safety officers Scotty Richardson and Sandy Rogers. Ragan’s team, Front Row Motorsports, will pay tribute to the officers who were gunned down in a span of 39 days. Ragan lived in Aiken as a child before moving to Unadilla, Ga. The team decided more than a month ago to honor the fallen officers. [It has] picked up sponsorship from Effingham, S.C.’s, McCall Farms, but it won’t change how Ragan and Front Row Motorsports plan to bring attention to Richardson and Rogers. With a weekly cost of nearly $400,000 to operate a race team, every inch on Ragan’s No. 34 Ford is valuable. The team didn’t announce how much McCall Farms will spend to promote its canned boil peanuts, but it probably won’t cover all the costs. Even if more money becomes available, the team said the space reserved for Richardson and Rogers isn’t for sale. Richardson was killed Dec. 20 when he and partner Travis Griffin stopped a car suspected to be involved in a drive-by shooting. Both officers were shot during the stop. Richardson died and the partner was saved by his bulletproof vest. Aiken’s Stephon M. Carter, 19, has been charged with murder and attempted murder. Rogers was approaching a car on Jan. 28 following a shooting that left another woman dead when she was gunned down. She is the first woman in South Carolina state history to be killed in the line of duty. Joshua Tremaine Jones of Augusta has been charged with killing Rogers and 21-year-old Cayce Vice of Augusta.(Augusta Chronicle)(5-8-2012)
- Stewart won’t be penalized for Talladega post race comments: Sarcasm, when used correctly, can be a clever tool for making a point. It also can be harmful when overused. #14-Tony Stewart’s news conference following Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway was full of both. It bordered from brilliant to a violation of Section 12-4-A of the NASCAR rulebook, which covers everything “detrimental to the sport.” In one of the most bizarre postrace transcripts you’ll ever read, the three-time Cup champion made a mockery of one of the sport’s biggest races. He did it in such a sarcastic way that you may want to read twice just to catch the surgeon-like precision in which he ripped the race and governing body apart. The note accompanying the transcript says the interview was “tongue-and-cheek.” According to several reporters there, Stewart never let on that he was joking and some left confused by what they heard. But Stewart’s point was well made: NASCAR needs to change a few things before the sport returns to the 2.66-mile track for the Chase. To Stewart’s point, as great as #2-Brad Keselowski’s move to escape #18-Kyle Busch on the final lap of the green-white-checkered finish was for the win, several issues must be addressed. The overheating that ended the day early for #48-Jimmie Johnson and Stewart teammate #39-Ryan Newman with blown engines has to be fixed even if it means the return of tandem racing. So does the issues that caused cars to run out of fuel early. Catastrophe can’t be avoided when that happens while running three-wide in packs at 200 mph.(ESPN)
According to Jenna Fryer of the Associate Press, no penalty will be given to Stewart. NASCAR said, “In NASCAR’s opinion, these comments were made by a driver who clearly was not pleased with how his day finished. They were not disparaging given the context in which he delivered them nor were they a direct shot at the sport.”
See video of a portion of Stewart’s interview as broacasted on ESPN’s NASCAR now, here, see the full transcript here.(5-8-2012) - Patrick to be 3rd woman to run Cup at Darlington: With David Reutimann’s 22nd-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway, Danica Patrick and the #10 car have officially made the field for Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. The #10 car, which sits 33rd in owner points after Talladega, secures Patrick in the field based on NASCAR automatically giving the top 35 cars a spot in the starting field without having to race their way in on qualifying time. Patrick will be just the third woman to ever compete in a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Darlington Raceway, joining Shawna Robinson in 2002 and Janet Guthrie in 1977. Robinson and Guthrie finished 42nd and 16th in those races, respectively. Patrick will also make her debut at Darlington on Friday in the NASCAR Nationwide Series VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200.(Darlington Raceway)(5-8-2012)
- At Darlington Raceway…numbers and stats:
• Built as a 1.25-mile paved superspeedway in 1949-50, Darlington Raceway hosted the first 500-mile race in NASCAR history and the first on asphalt on Sept. 4, 1950.
• The track was re-measured to 1.375 miles in 1953.
• The track was re-configured to 1.366 miles following the spring race in 1970.
• The track was repaved in 1995.
• The 2005 race was the first Saturday night race at Darlington.
• The track was repaved again prior to the 2008 season.
• There have been 108 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Darlington Raceway since the track opened in 1950.
• There was one race per year in 1950, 1951, from 1953-1959, and again every year since 2005. Darlington held two races a season in all other years.
• Curtis Turner won the first pole, in 1950.
• Johnny Mantz won the first race, in 1950.
• 47 drivers have posted poles at Darlington.
• David Pearson leads all drivers with 12 poles at Darlington.
• 45 drivers have won races at Darlington; 25 drivers have won more than once there.
• David Pearson leads all drivers with 10 victories, followed by Dale Earnhardt with nine.
• Jeff Gordon is third overall and leads all active drivers with seven victories.
• Hendrick Motorsports has won 13 races at Darlington, more than any other organization.
• 19 races at Darlington have been won from the pole, the most productive starting position. Dale Jarrett was the last driver to win from the pole in 1997.
• The deepest in the field that a race winner has started was 43rd, in the track’s inaugural race in 1950 by Johnny Mantz. That race had a 75-car field.
• Darlington is the site of one of the closest race finishes in NASCAR history. Ricky Craven edged Kurt Busch by 0.002 seconds on March 16, 2003 – which is tied with Talladega (April 17, 2011) as the two smallest margins of victory since NASCAR instituted electronic timing in 1993.
• Youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Darlington Raceway winner: Kyle Busch (05/10/2008 – 23 years, 0 months, 8 days).
• Oldest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Darlington Raceway winner: Harry Gant (05/06/1991 – 51 years, 7 months, 22 days)(NASCAR)(5-8-2012) - Sunoco Helps Drive Out Hunger at Dover Speedway: Sunoco, Inc. is holding a major food drive for Philabundance and the Food Bank of Delaware at the Dover International Speedway from June 1 to June 3 during the upcoming NASCAR race weekend. Sunoco’s food drive comes during a time when hunger relief organizations are seeing a record number of people coming to them for food. Throughout the weekend, NASCAR fans are encouraged to donate food and monetary donations to volunteers located at various locations on Speedway grounds. Each day of the race weekend, Sunoco is raffling off a $100 gas gift card for those who donate. Donations will be equally split between Philabundance and the Food Bank of Delaware. “We are excited to partner with Philabundance and the Food Bank of Delaware in this major effort to collect food and raise awareness for hunger relief in the Delaware valley,” said Ruth Clauser, president of the Sunoco Foundation. “With tens of thousands of fans expected to visit Dover International Speedway for three separate race days June 1 through June 3, we hope to raise a significant amount of food supplies.”(Dover PR)(5-8-2012)
- Kurt Busch will run both Iowa races: Kurt Busch says he’s planning to run both Nationwide series races at Iowa Speedway this season. Busch says he’s slated to run both the May 20 and August 4 races in Iowa this season in the #54 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Kurt Busch, the 2004 Cup champion, has tested at Iowa but hasn’t raced there. Busch says that Iowa’s short oval reminds him of similar setups in Richmond and Phoenix. Kyle Busch won a Nationwide race at the Iowa Speedway in 2010. Kurt says his brother has told him the key to success at Iowa is to maneuver the car through bumps in the track’s first two turns.(Associated Press/ESPN)(5-8-2012)
- Darrell Wallace Set For Iowa Debut: Many – in fact, most – drivers make their debuts in the Nationwide Series without much fanfare. Decidedly, that will not be the case May 20 when Darrell Wallace Jr. is scheduled to race in NASCAR’s #2 series for the first time. He’s scheduled to debut in the Joe Gibbs Racing #20 Toyota at Iowa Speedway. Wallace’s name has carried a certain degree of prominence for the past two seasons as he has been the standout driver in NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, a much-ballyhooed but to date largely unsuccessful attempt to put a minority driver in a potentially winning situation in one of NASCAR’s three national series. Wallace, an African-American, appears to have the talent and standing to make it work. He has scored wins in the past three years in NASCAR’s K&N; Pro Series East competition and was the series runnerup last year, when he finished in the top 10 in 11 of 12 races. A developmental driver for the Gibbs’ team, the 18-year-old from Concord, N.C., has the connections and the cars to make a name for himself.(SPEED)(5-8-2012)
- Penske teams have to change bumper covers: Penske Racing’s Nationwide teams spent Thursday afternoon replacing the upper front bumper covers of the cars of #22-Brad Keselowski and #12-Sam Hornish Jr. at Talladega Superspeedway. Bumper covers appear to have been a point of emphasis for NASCAR officials at the last two races. Last week at Richmond, NASCAR confiscated the bumper covers of all three Richard Childress Racing cars and all three Turner Motorsports cars. The Penske teams will be allowed to participate in all track activities – practice is scheduled for Thursday afternoon but heavy rains are putting those sessions in jeopardy. Any penalties will be announced next week.(Sporting News)(5-3-2012)
UPDATE: NASCAR announced that two NASCAR Nationwide Series crew chiefs had been fined and placed on probation for violations during this past weekend’s event at Talladega Superspeedway. In addition, the teams’ respective car chiefs have also been placed on probation for the remainder of the year. Crew chiefs Jeremy Bullins (#22 team) and Chad Walter (#12 team) have each been fined $10,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. Additionally, the teams’ respective car chiefs – Thomas Clavette (#22) and Raymond Fox (#12) – have been placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. The rules violations referred to Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules detailed in Section 20-A of the rule book); 20A-2.1E (streamlining of the contours of the car, beyond what is approved by the series director will not be permitted. Installation of air directional devices, underpans, baffles, shields or the like beneath the car or the car’s hood and fender area, front firewall, floor, rear firewall area, rear deck and quarter panel will not be permitted. If, in the judgment of NASCAR officials, any part or component of the car not previously approved by NASCAR has been installed or modified to enhance aerodynamic performance, will not be permitted. All cars must remain standard in appearance); 20A-3.10A (front upper bumper cover must be from the respective OEM manufacturer and must be approved by NASCAR. The front lower bumper cover and rear bumper cover must be from an approved manufacturer and must be approved by NASCAR. Once approved, the front lower bumper covers may be used on all approved models. NASCAR officials may use bumper covers provided by the respective manufacturer as a guide in determining whether a competitor’s bumper cover conforms to the specifications of the NASCAR rule book. Unless otherwise authorized by the series director, cutting and reshaping of bumper covers will not be permitted.)(NASCAR)(5-8-2012) - Talladega TV Ratings: ABC’s live telecast of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Saturday, May 5, drew the network’s third-largest audience ever for a Nationwide Series race. An average of 3,501,477 people watched the race, earning a 2.3 rating, according to the Nielsen Company. The only audiences larger for a Nationwide Series race on ABC were the 2008 Talladega race (4,061,007 average) and 2007 at Las Vegas (3,650,562). Last year’s race aired on ESPN2 with a 1.8 U.S. rating, averaging 2,938,308 viewers. The last time the race aired on ABC was in 2009, with that telecast earning a 1.9 rating and averaging 2,675,244 viewers. Across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, NASCAR Nationwide Series races are averaging a 1.7 U.S. rating this season, up six percent from a 1.6 at this time last year.(ESPN)(5-8-2012)
- Dick returns to the #23: Jamie Dick returns to the Nationwide series at “the lady in black” this weekend in the R3/Viva Motorsports/Corrie Stott Racing #23 Chevy. Jamie has one race under his belt at Darlington in the Camping world truck series event in 2011 with a 23rd place finish. Vivaautogroup.comVivapowersports.comBestwayautos.com will be primary sponsors for this great event. After finishes of 23rd in Phoenix and 22nd in the Bristol NW races this year, Jamie and the team had a good test at Nashville in mid April and feel good about the upcoming Darlington race.(CSR PR)(5-8-2012)
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