News from April 30, 2015
- Chassis selections for this weeks race: see the list of many teams [that report or post them] and what chassis were selected by the team to run in the GEICO 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on the Talladega Race Info page – Chassis selection area.
- Kroger steps up program with JTG Daugherty Racing: JTG Daugherty Racing announced that they are expanding their relationship with The Kroger Co. After six years of sponsoring the #47 Chevy in the Daytona 500, Kroger will have primary real estate for at least 24 races for multiple years. AJ Allmendinger, who has one victory, two pole awards, seven top-five finishes, 37 top-10 finishes and competed in The Chase last season, eagerly welcomes the new Kroger relationship. “I know that the folks at Kroger are so pumped up about being a part of this race team and they are just as excited as I am,” Allmendinger said. “Tad and Jodi (Geschickter) and Brad (Daugherty) have a longstanding relationship with Kroger through their Daytona 500 partnership and it is cool to see it grow into something so big. To get personal text messages from their executives, I know they are overjoyed about it. It’s neat to see firsthand how involved all of our sponsors want to be. Tying everything together will really help us take our race team to the next level. Kroger is really passionate about this sport and about our team. We look forward to making them a bigger part of the JTG Daugherty Racing family.”
“Kroger has a fully integrated ‘Race to Savings’ activation plan that will be world class,” JTG Daugherty Racing team owner Tad Geschickter said. “Obviously, expanding our relationship with the largest grocery retailer in America is huge for our team and our sponsors; but, is equally significant for the NASCAR industry. We are humbled that they chose us to fly their colors over the coming race seasons.”(JTG Daugherty Racing), see images of the car on the #47 Team Schemes page.(4-30-2015) - Golden Corral Returns to Talladega with Tommy Baldwin Racing: Golden Corral is continuing their sponsorship with Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) as it was announced they will be back for 2015. The three-race deal as primary sponsor on the #7 Chevy will cover both races at Talladega Superspeedway and the July race at Daytona. Also returning will be the ‘Top 10 Kids Eat Free’ promotion. Each time the #7 Golden Corral team finishes in the top-10 this season, Golden Corral will offer a one day “Kids Eat Free” promotion on the Monday immediately following the top-10 race finish. “We are proud to welcome back Golden Corral for another season with TBR,” said team owner Tommy Baldwin Jr. “Their top-10 kids eat free promotion always is a fan favorite”
“Talladega is always exciting and we’re thrilled to be back with the #7 team. We’re pulling for some top-10 finishes this season so that we can share our ‘Top 10 Kids Eat Free’ promotion with race fans across the country,” said Shelley Wolford, Vice President of National Marketing at Golden Corral.(TBR/140Buzz), see an image of the scheme on the #7 Team Schemes page.(4-30-2015) - Erik Jones to drive the #18 JGR car starting at Kansas: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announced that Erik Jones will fill in for Kyle Busch in the #18 M&M’S Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) starting at Kansas Speedway on May 9, 2015. This will mark the 18-year-old Byron, Michigan native’s first official NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start. “I’m pretty excited and grateful for the opportunity to drive the #18 M&M’S Toyota Camry in the Sprint Cup Series and make my debut for Joe Gibbs Racing. This is a really good opportunity for me. We are going to try to manage our expectations and if we can go out and get a top-15 run and gain some experience, that would be a great day for us. I’m also excited about representing M&M’S, a great longtime partner at JGR and such a well-known brand. I am looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the M&M’S Toyota at Kansas.” At Kansas, Jones will be running a special paint scheme highlighting M&M’S support of Red Nose Day on the #18 M&M’s Toyota. Mars is proud to be a partner of Red Nose Day, a major charitable event that will be held on May 21, 2015. The M&M’S Brand is one of the world’s most beloved chocolate candies and a leader in colorful fun, so it’s a natural fit to leverage the M&M’S brand and humor to help raise money through this partnership. M&M’S is bringing Red Nose Day to NASCAR for the first time at Kansas and May 15 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Jones currently runs full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) for Kyle Busch Motorsports and a partial schedule for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS). Kansas will mark Jones first official Cup Series start, but earlier this season he was able to make laps in the #11 Toyota Camry at Bristol Motor Speedway after Denny Hamlin was unable to continue the race following an extended rain delay. Jones finished the race in the 26th position (which was credited to Hamlin).(JGR)(4-30-2015)
- Talladega Goodyear Tire Notes:Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series will run the same tire set-up at Talladega this weekend . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that Sprint Cup teams ran at this track last October . . . for Xfinity teams, they ran this left-side tire code their last race at Talladega last May, but with a different right-side code . . . compared with what Xfinity teams ran a year ago, this right-side code features a compound change for better wear . . . earlier this season, teams in both of these series ran this left-side code at Daytona in February and this right-side code at Las Vegas in March . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Talladega . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.(Goodyear), see tire pressures, limites, sets and codes on the Talladega Race Info page – Tire Facts section.(4-30-2015)
- Gibson undergoes surgery to remove kidney stone: Two weeks ago, Tony Gibson, the crew chief to Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kurt Busch, thought he had successfully passed his second kidney stone in 33 days, an ailment that kept him from working the #41’s pit box during the rain-delayed race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Not so fast. Upon further review, the stone hadn’t been passed. Three days after he successfully directed Busch to his first win of 2015 at Richmond, Gibson tweeted Wednesday he was undergoing “little surgery” to have the stones officially removed.(NBC Sports)(4-30-2015)
- Busch-Gibson Combo Morphing Into Championship Contenders: Many predicted this. Dating all the way back to his championship season of 2004, Richmond winner Kurt Busch had excelled with a crew chief who could be defined as “old school” – one who made decisions with a healthy mix of modern engineering smarts and plain old gut. Busch won his title with a professor in old school ideals – Jimmy Fennig – calling the shots. Now, 11 years later, Tony Gibson — himself a ‘racer’s crew chief’ – takes his perch atop Busch’s pit box. And the resulting success is astounding. Since Gibson joined the #41 Stewart-Haas Racing team with three races remaining in the 2014 season, Busch has rattled off some of the best numbers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Here are a few, and their relation to the competition (Note: Due to his suspension to open the 2015 season, Busch’s stats span nine races, compared to 12 for other drivers)…
– His average finish with Gibson is 8.7, which ranks second only to Kevin Harvick’s 5.2
– Busch’s driver rating with Gibson is 111.8, second to Harvick’s 130.6.
– His average running position is 7.0, second to Harvick’s 4.5
– Despite three fewer races, he ranks fourth in fastest laps run (217) and second in laps led (536)(NASCAR)(4-30-2015) - Pedigree featured on the #18 at Talladega; start 300 for Ragan: Sunday’s race at Talladega will be the first of two this season with Pedigree as primary sponsor of the #18 Toyota, the other coming in September at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. David Ragan, an avid animal lover and dog owner, would like nothing more than to bring the dogs riding along on the Pedigree Toyota back to victory lane at Talladega, a place he’s quite familiar with. The Talladega race will coincide with the launch of a new tastier and meatier PEDIGREE Dry Dog Food recipe that delivers the variety that pet parents are looking for. The new recipe is loaded with whole grains and protein accented with vegetables, providing a nutritious and delicious difference that pet parents will see and their dogs will taste. On top of his solid track record and Talladega race win, Ragan will be celebrating a career milestone Sunday regardless of the outcome. He’ll be making his 300th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 17th Sprint Cup start at Talladega. Ragan will be filling in for the ninth and final race in the #18 Pedigree Toyota for regular driver Kyle Busch. After Talladega, Ragan will move over to the #55 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing (JGR), see images of the car/scheme on the #18 Team Schemes page.(4-30-2015)
- Talladega Superspeedway Notes & Facts – Thursday – history:
· Construction began on what was then known as the Alabama International Motor Speedway on May 23, 1968.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on Sept. 14, 1969 – won by Richard Brickhouse.
· The name changed to Talladega Superspeedway in 1989.
· Fourth repaving completed on Sept. 19, 2006.
(NASCAR)(4-30-2015 - Tracks could lose more seats: Executives from Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns eight tracks that host NASCAR Sprint Cup races, suggested Wednesday that they might reduce seating capacity at some of their facilities. SMI reduced seating capacity last year by 41,000 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and 17,000 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. When asked during a conference call with investor analysts about any further reductions, SMI hinted more could be made. “In my thoughts, we probably have two or three or maybe even four of our speedways where we have some extra seats, and we are working on some plans to adjust that excess capacity,” said William Brooks, vice chairman and chief financial officer and treasurer for SMI.(NBC Sports)(4-30-2015)
- Honorary Officials, National Anthem Performers Named for GEICO 500: Talladega Superspeedway announced the Honorary Officials for the GEICO 500 on Sunday, May 3, the 10th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of the 2015 schedule.
Senior Airman James A. Sottile, a Biomedical Equipment Technician, from Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, AL, will serve as the Grand Marshal by giving the most famous command in motorsports – “Drivers, Start Your Engines.”
Waving the green flag and serving as the Honorary Starter will be Technical Sergeant Jason D. Floyd, also of Maxwell Air Force Base.
The 313th United States Army Band will perform the National Anthem.
As previously announced, Ole Miss Head Football Coach Hugh Freeze will serve as the race’s Honorary Pace Car Driver, and lead the field during warm-up laps prior to the start of the GEICO 500.
The invocation will be given by Allen Singley, volunteer for Alabama Raceway Ministries and Student Pastor at Grandview Baptist Church in Dothan, AL.
For ticket information, call 1-877-Go2-DEGA or visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com.
All seating along the fronstretch grandstands and towers are equipped with roomy and comfortable 21- and 22-inch wide chair back seats. Large High Definition Sprint Vision video boards that were implemented in 2014 will be back – three are permanent – and placed along the frontstretch to provide views of the whole track to every seat in the house. The video boards, three of which that are now permanent, are an initiative that is planned to be implemented at all International Speedway Corporation (ISC) tracks in the coming years.(TSS)(4-30-2015) - Ford Championship Weekend Tickets on sale Friday: Since 2002, Homestead-Miami Speedway has been the place where championship dreams have been made. Once again, Homestead-Miami Speedway will be home to the championship races for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series during Ford Championship Weekend, November 20-22. Tickets to Ford Championship Weekend will officially go on sale to the public on Friday, May 1. Ford Championship Weekend. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.HomesteadMiamiSpeedway.com or by calling (866) 409-RACE (7223) or locally at (305) 230-5255.(HMS)(4-30-2015)
News from April 29, 2015
“We love Danica and all she does to empower and inspire people, especially women, which is why we are working to keep her in the GoDaddy family,” said GoDaddy Chief Marketing Officer Phil Bienert. “We have the utmost respect for Stewart-Haas Racing, and they’ve been phenomenal partners. In fact, NASCAR has been a tremendous domestic platform to help us achieve an 81 percent aided brand awareness domestically, but at this stage, we need a range of marketing assets that reach a more globally-diverse set of customers. The fact Danica is having a record-setting season makes it tough to leave this motorsports sponsorship, without a doubt.”
“GoDaddy has been an incredible partner for a very long time, almost nine years, and as I’ve said before, our brands have really grown up together,” Patrick said. “It’s pretty cool, from a marketing perspective, that we helped GoDaddy build such strong brand awareness here in the U.S. I’m excited to work with GoDaddy on a personal level moving forward, but will miss having their bright green color on my racecar next year.”
“Danica is a superstar. She’s making history in a male-dominated sport and that takes massive commitment, tenacity and passion,” said GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving. “The way Danica approaches racing is remarkably similar to how our small business customers approach their work … they’re both chasing dreams in spite of huge obstacles. She’s an inspiration to go getters everywhere. She’s also helped inspire women around the world to dream big and keep working to make their dreams real. I would be thrilled if Danica stayed on as GoDaddy’s spokeswoman and I want to personally thank Stewart-Haas Racing and NASCAR for their help in building the GoDaddy brand domestically.”
In recent years, Patrick has worked to promote GoDaddy’s online services for small business owners and helped with campaigns to fight breast cancer and attract more young women to study science, technology, engineering and math, also known as “STEM.” “GoDaddy has been a great partner for us and for the sport overall,” said Tony Stewart, SHR co-owner and teammate to Patrick. “There’s a lot of season left on the calendar and it would be great to go out with a win … that would really put the exclamation point on what has been a hugely successful relationship.”(PR Newswire)(4-29-2015)
The 5 winners are:
9 Dots in Los Angeles
BackPack Beginnings in Greensboro, North Carolina
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Siouxland in Sioux City, Iowa
Carolina Raptor Center in Charlotte, North Carolina
The Be Kind People Project in Phoenix
In addition to a $25,000 grant, each of the five winners will receive a Blue Bunny ice cream party and special recognition on Johnson’s race helmet during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on June 7, 2015 at Pocono Raceway. To date, the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope program has contributed more than $685,000 to 76 different charities.(JJF)(4-29-2015)
UPDATE: Conyers, Georgia native Chris Cockrum returns to the track with a new team for both himself and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The 28-year-old will run the #35 Advanced Communications Group/Remembering Captain Herb Emory Chevy Camaro in Saturday’s Winn Dixie 300 at Talladega Superspeedway. Cockrum and his sponsor Advanced Communications Group are partnering with Xfinity series team owner Duane Deese. Cockrum’s crew chief and mentor of sorts, Jeff Spraker, has been tasked with the complete preparation and set up of this car and will oversee all track activities.(WSB Radio Race Blog), see an image of the car on the #35 team paint schemes page.(4-27-2015)
UPDATE 2: This weekend, Deese Racing Enterprises will bring some California beach to the high banks of Talladega as Southern California-based Old Guys Rule partners with the team. The lifestyle clothing and accessories company that celebrates the lifestyles and passions for Old Guys everywhere will make its first appearance in NASCAR in this weekend’s Xfinity Series Winn-Dixie 300. While the roots of Old Guys Rule lies in the surfing lifestyle of Southern California, many of the designs and graphics speak directly to the racing enthusiast.
AND Deese Racing Enterprises welcomes Nature Blast as the newest addition to the teams sponsor lineup. Nature Blast has an assortment of environmentally friendly cleaning products for both the home and professional use. Nature Blast’s products are made in America and have been given the ECO logo as a certified green product which focuses on safety and health issues in the home and professional fields. Nature Blast products and company are cutting edge offering low toxicity and VOC’s in their bio-degradable formulas.(Deese Racing Enterprises)(4-29-2015)
When fans make their journey to the GEICO 500 and Winn-Dixie 300 this weekend during their trip to the state of Alabama, they will find that “Sweet Home Alabama” has lots more to offer in addition to NASCAR’s Most Competitive Track, one of our country’s top sporting venues. From delicious food delicacies to incredible road-trip destinations, Alabama has it all. Fans are encouraged to slow down, enjoy the trip, explore the cities and towns, experience the culinary side of the state and stay a little longer or come back sooner.
Alabama is rich in tradition, especially when it comes to our barbecue, so much in fact the Alabama Tourism Department has deemed 2015 as “The Year of Alabama BBQ.” The tourism campaign focuses on Alabama’s barbecue heritage, award-winning restaurants and talented pit masters. Highlights of the campaign include the launching of their website alabamabbq.com, a new smart phone app that alerts users when they are getting close to one of the state’s top barbecue restaurants, a photo exhibit of legendary pit masters, a new documentary film about the state’s barbecue culture and the announcement of the first inductees into the Alabama Barbecue Hall of Fame.
The website www.alabamabbq.com helps travelers discover some of the state’s best places for ribs, pulled pork and chicken barbecue. The site features a barbecue themed road trip and has a calendar listing of top barbecue events across the state. Links can also be found on the website to the new smart phone app “Alabama BBQ Trail” which can be downloaded for free and has information on more than 75 barbecue restaurants in 52 cities across the state. The app has background information on each of the restaurants and their best dishes. It will also allow users to set an alert so their phone will notify them when they are within 20 miles or less of one of their chosen barbecue spots.
Rest assured, however, there are other impeccable mouth-watering dishes that Alabama has to offer, and one can find those easily with the “100 Dishes To Eat In Alabama Before You Die” smart phone app. Discover the food scene like a local, whether you’re an Alabama native or a visitor to the Sweet Home State, plan dozen of road trips to any of Alabama’s signature cities and get the authentic experience. The app allows users to browse by city, cuisine or restaurant and you can bookmark their selection of favorite dishes to track travels, as well as submit photos and reviews of the famous dishes. No matter what part of the state someone is in, there are opportunities to take in the diverse culinary adventure. Learn more by visiting: www.ilovealabamafood.com. The official “Alabama Road Trips” smart phone app is an easy, interactive guide which makes it simple to plan an unforgettable road trip with friends and family to discover Alabama’s countless destinations, from the sugar-white beaches and world class golf to some of the most historic civil rights landmarks. It helps users live like a local by giving search options for road trips catered to specific interests such as dining, shopping, history, arts, outdoor activities and much more. So, the message for fans attending this weekend’s exciting events at Talladega Superspeedway is simple. Enjoy the races, and take in all of what Alabama has to offer. For additional travel information, visit www.alabama.travel. For ticket information, call 1-877-Go2-DEGA or visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com.(TSS)(4-29-2015)
News from April 28, 2015
“Nexium 24HR has helped my wife Judy and me improve our heartburn routines,” said Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “The NASCAR schedule requires long days at the race track and Nexium 24HR gives me complete heartburn protection all-day and all-night so I can stay focused on our race team.”
“This will be a great partnership to help drive sales of Nexium 24HR to win at Walmart,” said Nathan Spang, Chief Marketing Officer of Charlotte, N.C-based agency, Retail Sports Marketing. “In the case of NASCAR, events on and off the track can lead to frequent heartburn. Nexium 24HR allows fans to enjoy the foods they love while witnessing the intensity racing generates.”
In conjunction with its primary sponsorship of the #33 Chevy, Nexium 24HR will feature racing-themed displays, exclusively at Walmart, with a unique opportunity for shoppers to win a chance to be an honorary crew member and to meet Richard Childress. Shoppers will also be able to get a free, one-year subscription to NASCAR Illustrated with any Nexium 24HR purchase at Walmart. Other prizes include a Victory Lane hat or a NASCAR Illustrated Collector’s book. This exclusive program will kick-off June 1 and run through June 30, 2015. “NASCAR fans have an opportunity to participate in a promotion to win a VIP experience to join me at the track and meet Richard Childress,” said Dillon.(RCR), see images of the car/scheme on the #33 Team Schemes page.(4-28-2015)
“Justin has been a great representative of the Eagles for years now and we’re excited to see what he can do behind the wheel of the F.O.E. car in Kansas,” said Fraternal Order of Eagles Grand Worthy President Bud Haigh. “The HScott Motorsports team has put together some really strong runs lately and we look forward to continuing that success on May 9.”
“I am proud to have Fraternal Order of Eagles as part of our family at HScott Motorsports,” said Harry Scott Jr., owner of HScott Motorsports. “Their commitment to our team shows the growth we continue to experience as a company. The Eagles focus on giving back to others in communities, and that’s something we support as a team. Fraternal Order of Eagles has enjoyed their relationship with Justin, and I know they are very excited to continue their association.”
“I’m glad to partner with the Fraternal Order of Eagles at HScott Motorsports,” said Justin Allgaier. “I’ve enjoyed working with them and they’ve been a big supporter of racing. They’re a great organization with involvement in local communities, and I’m happy to be associated with them on and off of the track.”(HScott Motorsports), see images of the car/scheme on the #51 Team Schemes page.(4-28-2015)
“Life has thrown a lot at MWR the first part of this racing season, but our team has stood tall and worked through it,” said Michael Waltrip. “Our original plans for the #55 team have been challenged since December and we felt it was important for our employees and our sponsors to solidify the remainder of the 2015 season. The opportunity to bring David Ragan into the team is incredible for a number of reasons. He will bring experience, consistency and a lot of confidence based on how he has been running with our Toyota teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing. He also puts the #55 team and Aaron’s right back into the Chase for the Sprint Cup contention, which is a very positive turn of events for that team. There is absolutely no question about Brian Vickers’ ability, but there remains a question of his availability. We are going to remain very close with Brian while he works on his plan to return. We have told him that MWR is here when he has a clear picture about what the future holds, but we don’t need to add any timeline pressures. He is working with a lot of medical advisors and once he has established his plan, we will sit down and discuss next steps. I’m really proud of the incredible job Brett Moffitt has done for us in the 55. He has been a big part of this organization for the last couple of years and he will continue in that role. With the limited number of starts Brett has in this industry, he has proven that he has the talent to be a full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup driver and we are still committed to helping him get that opportunity.”(MWR)
Front Row Statement: “We are grateful to David Ragan for his contributions to the growth of Front Row Motorsports and his commitment to our partners over the past three years. He led us on our first trip to Victory Lane, and that’s a moment we’ll never forget. We wish him the best with his new team. As previously announced, Chris Buescher will be the driver of the #34 at Talladega this weekend. We are working on finalizing the driver line-up for races to follow and will announce those plans soon.”(Front Row Motorsports)(4-28-2015)
#42-Kyle Larson 95.6
#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 90.7
#20-Matt Kenseth 89.9
#41-Kurt Busch 88.3
#48-Jimmie Johnson 87.5
#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 85.0
#55-Brian Vickers 84.0
#2-Brad Keselowski 82.9
#22-Joey Logano 82.2
#11-Denny Hamlin 82.0
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (20 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)
News from April 27, 2015
Total number of commercials: 109
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 57
Number of traditional commercials (not split-screen): 99
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 56
Number of ‘Side-by-Side’ commercials during race broadcast (split-screen): 10
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 8
Number of times Fox utilized ‘Side-by-Side’ commercials during this broadcast: 2
Total number of brief promos of products/services during the race broadcast (including company logos ‘floating’ in corners of the screen): 80
Total amount of time these brief promos take during broadcast: app. 4 min. 5 sec.
Start time to record race/commercial periods: 1:01 PM
End time to record race/commercial periods: 4:24 PM
Total minutes of complete race broadcast: 203
Minutes of race broadcast: 156
Minutes of traditional commercials (not split-screen): 47
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 156 Total comm. brdcst time 47
See full reports, sponsor links, much more details at CawsnJaws.com.(4-27-2015)
UPDATE: McClure’s crew member was treated and released Friday night. As of Saturday evening, both RCR crew members remained in the hospital.(4-25-2015)
UPDATE 2: “Following last night’s pit road incident at Richmond International Raceway, Richard Childress Racing pit crew member (gas man) Josh Wittman of the #62 XFINITY Series team has been released from a Richmond, VA-based hospital after overnight observation. Thanks to quick action that was taken by the Richmond International Raceway fire crew and NASCAR medical staff. Rear tire changer Anthony O’Brien remains under the care of physicians at the local hospital for further evaluation and is in good condition. The Sparco safety equipment, including the crew members’ firesuits, did its job in protecting them. We thank the NASCAR community for their continued support.”(Richard Childress Racing)(4-25-2015)
UPDATE 3: #62 XFINITY Series rear tire changer Anthony O’Brien has been treated and released from a Richmond, VA hospital.(RCR)(4-27-2015)
UPDATE: Conyers, Georgia native Chris Cockrum returns to the track with a new team for both himself and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The 28-year-old will run the #35 Advanced Communications Group/Remembering Captain Herb Emory Chevy Camaro in Saturday’s Winn Dixie 300 at Talladega Superspeedway. Cockrum and his sponsor Advanced Communications Group are partnering with Xfinity series team owner Duane Deese. Cockrum’s crew chief and mentor of sorts, Jeff Spraker, has been tasked with the complete preparation and set up of this car and will oversee all track activities.(WSB Radio Race Blog), see an image of the car on the #35 team paint schemes page.(4-27-2015)
News from April 26, 2015
Drivers who need to be in the top-36 in speed and have no provisional available to them (lowest in owners points): #62-Gaughan (46th in points), #21-Blaney (45th)
Drivers who would miss the race if qualifying is canceled (least race attempts): #95-McDowell (5 attempts), #21-Blaney (3).
See the full entry list on Jayski.com’s Talladega Entry List
#4-Harvick finished second, the rest of the top 10: #48-Johnson, #1-McMurray, #22-Logano, #5-Kahne, #20-Kenseth, #24-Gordon, #15-Bowyer, and #78-Truex, Jr.
#25-Chase Elliott, making his second Sprint Cup start, finished 16th.
Harvick continues to hold the Chase points lead. He and Johnson each have 2 wins on the season but Harvick has 357 points to Johnson’s 299.
There were 12 lead changes among 5 drivers. There were 8 cautions for 53 yellow flag laps.
The average speed was 97.157mph.
See unofficial race results, awards, money won, laps led, cautions and more on the Unofficial Race Results page (pdf) and check out the Penalty Report (pdf) and Lap Summary Report (pdf).
See OFFICIAL race results & points standings on the Official Race & Points Report (pdf).(4-26-2015)
Kurt Busch won the 61st Annual Toyota Owners 400, his 26th victory in 513 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in 2015.
This is his second victory and 11th top-10 finish in 29 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Kevin Harvick (second) posted his 18th top-10 finish in 29 races at Richmond International Raceway. It is his eighth top-10 finish in 2015.
Jimmie Johnson (third) posted his 10th top-10 finish in 27 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Brett Moffitt (29th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Kevin Harvick leads the point standings by 33 points over Joey Logano.
(NASCAR Integrated Sports Marketing)(4-26-2015)
[after Richmond, race 9 of 36]
(by wins, then by points)
1) #4-Kevin Harvick [2 wins], 357
2) #48-Jimmie Johnson [2 wins], 299, -58
3) #22-Joey Logano [1 win], 324, -33
4) #2-Brad Keselowski [1 win], 283, -74
5) #20-Matt Kenseth [1 win], 273, -84
6) #11-Denny Hamlin [1 win], 245, -112
7) #41-Kurt Busch [1 win], 222, -135
8) #78-Martin Truex Jr., 315, -42
9) #5-Kasey Kahne, 275, -82
10) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., 271, -86
11) #1-Jamie McMurray, 264, -93
12) #24-Jeff Gordon, 263, -94
13) #43-Aric Almirola, 250, -107
14) #27-Paul Menard, 239, -118
15) #15-Clint Bowyer, 234, -122
16) #31-Ryan Newman, 234, -123
(ties are broken by wins, 2nds, 3rds, etc)
See the Unofficial Drivers Points Standings page (pdf) and Unofficial Owners Points Standings page (pdf).(4-26-2015)
The #13 is TBA;
Erik Jones is in the #20 for JGR;
Kenny Wallace will drive the #26;
Chris Cockrum is entered in the #35 for Deese Racing Enterprises;
Boris Said will drive the #54 for JGR;
Jeffrey Earnhardt will drive the #55;
Chad Boat and the #84 team are entered;
Bobby Gerhart will drive his #85;
Kasey Kahne will drive the JR Motorsports #88.(4-26-2015)
See the complete list on the Talladega entry list page.
News from April 25, 2015
For more weather links, check out the Richmond Race Page – Weather Links.
UPDATE: The team is believed to be trying to sign David Ragan to drive the #55 beginning next month at Kansas. Ragan is currently the replacement driver for Kyle Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing, but JGR is leaning toward putting 18-year-old development driver Erik Jones in the car until Busch returns. That would free Ragan, who has subbed for Busch since the second week of the season. Waltrip wasn’t prepared Thursday to discuss anything beyond next week at Talladega. “We’re making plans now and we wanted a more long-term solution for the situation by this point, but we just haven’t been able to put all the pieces together yet,” he said. He also said it’s unclear when – or if – Vickers will be back. “I can’t answer that,” Waltrip said of Vickers, who is in a contract year with the team. “He certainly wants to be back, but he’s on thinners. Until he comes up with a long-term solution to that, that challenges us in answering if he’ll be back.”(Associated Press)(4-24-2015)
UPDATE 2: David Ragan, who entered the season planning to run with Front Row Motorsports, is expected to move to Michael Waltrip Racing’s #55 Toyota beginning with the May 9 race at Kansas Speedway, multiple sources confirmed to the Observer on Friday. He would replace rookie Brett Moffitt in the #55, who has been filling in most of the team’s races since the team’s regular driver, Brian Vickers, was sidelined once again with blood clots. Ragan would remain with the team for the rest of the 2015 season, sources said. Saturday’s race is expected to be the last for Moffitt with MWR in the Cup series, but the organization remains committed to obtaining sponsorship in order to run him in a third team and he remains under contract with MWR. An official announcement is expected sometime next week, sources said. Ragan’s move will require another fill-in driver for JGR in the #18 as Busch is not yet set to return to competition. Sources said JGR will move Xfinity and Truck series driver Erik Jones into the #18 beginning with the Kansas race. An official with Joe Gibbs Racing said “nothing has been confirmed” thus far about any changes to their driver lineup. With Ragan moving to the #55 for the remainder of the season, Front Row Motorsports will need to find a more permanent replacement for Ragan in its #34 Ford. Roush Fenway Racing has been loaning Xfinity driver Chris Buescher to the team when the schedule doesn’t disrupt his run for Xfinity Series championship. That arrangement could well continue, with other drivers used when Buscher’s schedule doesn’t allow double-duty, sources said. A FRM spokesman said at this time, the organization was still expecting Ragan to return to the team whenever his tenure at JGR is completed.(Charlotte Observer)(4-24-2015)
UPDATE 3: If the deal is finalized, Vickers, who announced in March that he would have to miss at least three months while he takes blood thinners to treat blood clots that had developed in his lungs, would be left to find another ride if he is able to return this season, [a] source said. That could include the possibility of MWR fielding a third car, pending sponsorship, after Vickers is ready to return.(ESPN.com)
AND Asked about reports that he would be moving to MWR: “I know I’m going to be in the 18 car for a little while,” Ragan said. “This week and Talladega are obviously two very important weeks we’re looking forward to. I’m focused on that and I just don’t really have any comment.”)USA Today)(4-25-2015)
· There have been 117 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International Raceway, one NSCS event from 1953 – 1958 and two races per year since 1959.
· Petty Enterprises has the most wins at Richmond in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 15; followed by Hendrick Motorsports with 10, Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing each have nine.
· Nine different manufacturers have won at Richmond. Chevrolet leads the series in wins at Richmond with 36 victories; followed by Ford with 31 and Toyota with seven.
· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Richmond International Raceway was 31st, by Clint Bowyer in the spring of 2008.
· There have been two NSCS races resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Richmond International Raceway: spring of 2008 (400/410) and spring of 2013 (400/406).
· Only four of the 115 races at Richmond International Raceway have been shortened due to weather conditions: spring of 1962, spring of 1977, spring of 1982 and spring of 2003.
· Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Richmond International Raceway was the (09/12/1998) race won by Jeff Burton with a MOV of 0.051 second.
(NASCAR)(4-25-2015)
UPDATE: McClure’s crew member was treated and released Friday night. As of Saturday evening, both RCR crew members remained in the hospital.(4-25-2015)
UPDATE 2: “Following last night’s pit road incident at Richmond International Raceway, Richard Childress Racing pit crew member (gas man) Josh Wittman of the #62 XFINITY Series team has been released from a Richmond, VA-based hospital after overnight observation. Thanks to quick action that was taken by the Richmond International Raceway fire crew and NASCAR medical staff. Rear tire changer Anthony O’Brien remains under the care of physicians at the local hospital for further evaluation and is in good condition. The Sparco safety equipment, including the crew members’ firesuits, did its job in protecting them. We thank the NASCAR community for their continued support.”(Richard Childress Racing)(4-25-2015)
News from April 24, 2015
Pole sitter #22-Logano chose pit stall 1 [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #11-Hamlin took pit stall 17, the first pit stall with an opening in front of it.
#41-Busch, who starts 3rd took the 30th pit stall, also with an opening in front of it.
The 43rd and final pit stall was taken by #48-Johnson, who starts 36th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on Jayski.com’s Pit Stall Selection chart.(4-24-2015)
#11-Hamlin is on the outside pole followed by #41-Busch, #47-Allmendinger, #4-Harvick, #78-Truex, Jr., #2-Keselowski, #20-Kenseth, #1-McMurray, and #18-Ragan.
Missing the race were: #26-Burton, #62-Gaughan.
See the starting lineup, round-by-round qualifying results and more on Jayski.com’s Richmond Qualifying Page.(4-24-2015)
Joey Logano won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 61st Annual Toyota Owners 400 with a lap of 21.248 seconds, 127.071 mph.
This is his 11th pole in 228 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his series-high third pole and eighth top-10 start in 2015.
This is his first pole in 13 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Denny Hamlin (second) posted his fourth top-10 start of 2015 and his 11th in 18 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Kurt Busch (third) posted his sixth top-10 start at Richmond International Raceway. It is his fifth in six races this season.
Brett Moffitt (14th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Statistics)(4-24-2015)
#11-Hamlin 128.083
#4-Harvick 127.648
#20-Kenseth 127.292
#2-Keselowski 127.238
#78-Truex, Jr. 127.143
the rest of the top 12: 1 24 47 41 22 18 42;
out of the top 12 and not advancing to round 3: 14 55 27 25 15 19 40 3 10 51 31 17
(4-24-2015)
#4-Harvick 129.559
#2-Keselowski 129.224
#41-Busch 128.651
#18-Ragan 128.498
#78-Truex, Jr. 128.309
the rest of the top 24: 24 42 55 19 22 27 31 20 40 25 11 47 51 3 1 17 10 14 15;
out of the top 24 and not advancing to round 2: 13 88 43 98 9 38 35 16 30 6 32 48 83 46 23 5 26 7 62 34
Drivers who will miss the race: #26-Burton, #62-Gaughan.
(4-24-2015)
#5-Kahne 126.357
#16-Biffle 126.162
#19-Edwards 126.027
#1-McMurray 125.851
#11-Hamlin 125.839
Most laps run: #88-Earnhardt, Jr 95, #31-Newman 68
slowest: #23-Yeley 121.578 & #30-Green 120.005.
notes: Qualifying is scheduled for 5:45pm/et this afternoon on FoxSports 1 and PRN.
See fastest speeds, laps run, best 10 Consecutive Lap Average on the Richmond practice 2 speeds page (pdf).(4-24-2015)
UPDATE: The team is believed to be trying to sign David Ragan to drive the #55 beginning next month at Kansas. Ragan is currently the replacement driver for Kyle Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing, but JGR is leaning toward putting 18-year-old development driver Erik Jones in the car until Busch returns. That would free Ragan, who has subbed for Busch since the second week of the season. Waltrip wasn’t prepared Thursday to discuss anything beyond next week at Talladega. “We’re making plans now and we wanted a more long-term solution for the situation by this point, but we just haven’t been able to put all the pieces together yet,” he said. He also said it’s unclear when – or if – Vickers will be back. “I can’t answer that,” Waltrip said of Vickers, who is in a contract year with the team. “He certainly wants to be back, but he’s on thinners. Until he comes up with a long-term solution to that, that challenges us in answering if he’ll be back.”(Associated Press)(4-24-2015)
UPDATE 2: David Ragan, who entered the season planning to run with Front Row Motorsports, is expected to move to Michael Waltrip Racing’s #55 Toyota beginning with the May 9 race at Kansas Speedway, multiple sources confirmed to the Observer on Friday. He would replace rookie Brett Moffitt in the #55, who has been filling in most of the team’s races since the team’s regular driver, Brian Vickers, was sidelined once again with blood clots. Ragan would remain with the team for the rest of the 2015 season, sources said. Saturday’s race is expected to be the last for Moffitt with MWR in the Cup series, but the organization remains committed to obtaining sponsorship in order to run him in a third team and he remains under contract with MWR. An official announcement is expected sometime next week, sources said. Ragan’s move will require another fill-in driver for JGR in the #18 as Busch is not yet set to return to competition. Sources said JGR will move Xfinity and Truck series driver Erik Jones into the #18 beginning with the Kansas race. An official with Joe Gibbs Racing said “nothing has been confirmed” thus far about any changes to their driver lineup. With Ragan moving to the #55 for the remainder of the season, Front Row Motorsports will need to find a more permanent replacement for Ragan in its #34 Ford. Roush Fenway Racing has been loaning Xfinity driver Chris Buescher to the team when the schedule doesn’t disrupt his run for Xfinity Series championship. That arrangement could well continue, with other drivers used when Buscher’s schedule doesn’t allow double-duty, sources said. A FRM spokesman said at this time, the organization was still expecting Ragan to return to the team whenever his tenure at JGR is completed.(Charlotte Observer)(4-24-2015)
#2-Keselowski 126.086
#88-Earnhardt, Jr. 125.593
#4-Harvick 125.517
#48-Johnson 125.203
#15-Bowyer 125.174
Most laps run: #48-Johnson 94, #22-Logano 75
slowest: #33-Kennedy 120.968 & #23-Yeley 120.643.
notes: Qualifying is scheduled for 5:45pm/et this afternoon on FoxSports 1 and PRN.
#46-Annett spun early in turn 4 but didn’t hit anything. #15-Bowyer slip up into the outside wall during the session but didn’t hurt the car.
See fastest speeds, laps run, best 10 Consecutive Lap Average on the Richmond practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(4-24-2015)
The first of the drivers scheduled to go out is #11-Hamlin.
The final driver scheduled to go out is #24-Gordon.
Qualifying order is set by a random draw, held about an hour before the first practice.
See the full qualifying order on Jayski.com’s Richmond Qualifying Page.(4-24-2015)
UPDATE: NASCAR announced Friday morning that the final appeal will be heard Wednesday, May 6 at the NASCAR R&D Center.(4-24-2015)
· 477 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond; 313 in more than one.
· NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Richmond with 63. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 44 starts.
· 50 different drivers have won at Richmond International Raceway, led by Richard Petty with 13. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart lead all active drivers in wins at RIR with three each (*Kyle Busch who is inactive has four).
· Bobby Allison and Richard Petty are tied for the lead in runner-up finishes at Richmond with nine each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with eight.
· Richard Petty leads the series in top-five finishes at Richmond with 34; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 18.
· Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Richmond with 41. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 28.
· Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Richmond International Raceway with a 7.909.
· Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Richmond International Raceway with a 10.412.
· Tony Stewart (09/11/1999) and Kasey Kahne (05/14/2005) posted their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at Richmond.
· Eight drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series have posted consecutive wins at Richmond International Raceway. Richard Petty leads the series in consecutive wins at Richmond after posting seven consecutive wins from the fall of 1970 – 1973. Jimmie Johnson (2007 sweep) is the only active driver with consecutive wins at Richmond.
· All of the 15 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Richmond International Raceway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart won at Richmond in their second appearance.
· Joe Nemechek competed at Richmond International Raceway 18 times before winning in 1994; the longest span of any the 15 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.
· Greg Biffle leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Richmond without visiting Victory Lane at 25.
· Two female drivers have competed at Richmond in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Danica Patrick and Janet Guthrie.
(NASCAR)(4-24-2015)
There were 3 cautions for 24 laps and 4 lead changes among 3 leaders. Complete results are on the Richmond race results page (pdf).
(4-24-2015)
Denny Hamlin(i) won the 28th Annual ToyotaCare 250, his 12th victory in 147 NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in 2015.
This is his third victory and 10th top-10 finish in 14 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Hamlin’s victory was the 100th win for Toyota in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.
Joey Logano(i) (second) posted his fourth top-10 finish in five races at Richmond International Raceway. It is his fourth top-10 finish in 2015.
Regan Smith (third) posted his fifth top-10 finish in 11 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Daniel Suarez (sixth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Ty Dillon leads the point standings by 8 points over Chase Elliott.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(4-24-2015)
1) #3-Ty Dillon, 293
2) #9-Chase Elliott, 285, -8
3) #60-Chris Buescher, 282, -11
4) #6-Darrell Wallace Jr., 268, -25
5) #7-Regan Smith, 252, -41
6) #62-Brendan Gaughan, 244, -49
7) #1-Elliott Sadler, 244, -49
8) #2-Brian Scott, 243, -50
9) #16-Ryan Reed, 243, -50
10) #18-Daniel Suarez, 240, -53
See complete owner and driver standings on the driver standings(pdf) and owner standings page (pdf).(4-24-2015)
Denny Hamlin(i) won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 28th Annual ToyotaCare 250 with a lap of 21.762 seconds, 124.069 mph.
This is his 17th pole in 147 NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
This is his first pole and third top-10 start in 2015.
This is his third pole in 14 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Joey Logano(i) (second) posted his fourth top-10 start of 2015 and his fourth in five races at Richmond International Raceway.
Erik Jones(i) (third) posted his first top-10 start at Richmond International Raceway. It is his seventh in eight races this season.
Daniel Suarez (ninth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(4-24-2015)
News from April 23, 2015
· Buck Baker won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Richmond in 1953 with a speed of 48.465 mph.
· 53 drivers have Coors Light poles at Richmond, led by Richard Petty and Bobby Allison with eight each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six.
· Seven drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Richmond. Bobby Allison holds the record for most consecutive Coors Light poles at Richmond with five (1972 – 1974).
· 23 of the 117 (19.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from the Coors Light pole. Only four active drivers have been able to accomplish the feat: Kasey Kahne (2005), Jimmie Johnson (2007), Kyle Busch (2010) and Brad Keselowski (2014).
· The pole starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners than any other starting position at Richmond (23). · 36 of the 117 (30.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond have been won from the front row: 23 from the pole and 13 from second-place.
· 91 of the 117 (77.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from a top-10 starting position.
· 13 of the 117 (11.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
· Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Richmond International Raceway seven times; most recently the fall of 2014.
· Bobby Labonte (09/11/1993) and Brian Vickers (05/15/2004) posted their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at Richmond.
(NASCAR)(4-23-2015)
News from April 22, 2015
All cars must pass initial inspection and receive a final sticker to be eligible to practice.
Cars that fail qualifying inspection twice will receive a written warning.
Cars that fail qualifying inspection three times also will be penalized 15 minutes of practice time at the next event.
Cars that fail pre-race inspection twice will receive a written warning.
Cars that fail pre-race inspection three times also will be penalized 15 minutes of practice time at the next event.
Buck wrote in the memo: “Based on the above, there WOULD HAVE BEEN 9 written warnings issued at Bristol and an additional 3 competitors that would have received time penalties.” NASCAR’s rule book states that multiple warnings to the same member or team can lead to a P1 penalty.(NBC Sports)(4-23-2015)
UPDATE: John Darby won’t spend a lot of time talking about the details of his departure from NASCAR. Yes, he’s leaving. But the hows and the whys are not something to be talked about as much as his three decades in the sport. Darby had served as the Sprint Cup Series director for 12 years before being replaced by Richard Buck prior to the 2014 season. A former racer before becoming a track official in Rockford, Illinois, Darby spent more than 25 years working for NASCAR and was the director of what is now the Xfinity Series from 1999-2001 prior to his promotion to run the sport’s top series. Calling himself a “blessed individual,” Darby is in his final days at NASCAR with no job on the horizon. “I think I’m going to take a month and sit on a beach and figure out what I really want to do next,” the 59-year-old said in a phone interview Wednesday. So was he fired? Was it one of those mutual “parting of the ways” or what? NASCAR officials would only confirm that he’s leaving. “I’ll be honest with you, the importance of that part, to me, is nothing,” Darby said when asked whether his leaving was a mutual decision. “What’s more important is where I’ve been, what I’ve been involved in and what I hope to see grow in the future. At the end of the day, as I do leave the company, I will never leave the sport,” Darby said. “It’s in my heart and my veins and it will always be there. At the same time, I think that I’m leaving it in a better spot than what it was when I got here. That’s all that matters to me. … Everything is good. I’m still a stronghold and an ally for NASCAR and the sport of NASCAR. That is something that will never go away.”(ESPN.com)(4-22-2015)
· Originally known as the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds, Richmond International Raceway held its first race in 1946 as a half-mile dirt track.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was April 19, 1953 won by Lee Petty.
· The spring 1964 race was run on a Tuesday night under temporary lighting.
· The track name changed to Virginia State Fairgrounds in 1967.
· The track surface was changed from dirt to asphalt between races in 1968.
· The track name changed to Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in 1969.
· The track was re-measured to .542-mile for 1970.
· The track was rebuilt as a three-quarters-mile D-shaped oval following the Feb. 21, 1988 race.
· The first race under permanent lights was Sept. 7, 1991.
· The first season with both races as night races was 1999.
(NASCAR)(4-22-2015)
He was an avid NASCAR fan and racing participant, having started racing in 1966 and periodically owned and drove race cars for over 30 years, driving his last race in Savannah in 2010.; He owned a NASCAR Winston Cup team for over 10 years in the 1980’s and early 1990’s and was a partner in the Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele for the past 10 years.
Service info and full obituary at the Brannen-NeSmith Funeral Home website.
His son Brett Ragan currently works for Roush Fenway Racing. His brother Ken Ragan, drove in 50 Sprint Cup Series races, mostly for his brother Marvin. And his nephew, David Ragan, currently drives for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, subbing for Kyle Busch in the #18 Toyota.(4-22-2015)
News from April 21, 2015
UPDATE: The #4 Chevy took up residence on the South Lawn of the White House Tuesday as Kevin Harvick was honored by President Obama for his 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. Obama welcomed Harvick, his wife DeLana, crew chief Rodney Childers and co-owner/teammate Tony Stewart for an afternoon ceremony under sunny skies and pleasant conditions in Washington. The only one missing – Harvick’s two-year old son Keelan, a fixture at many NASCAR races. “My son stayed home this time,” Harvick said. “We didn’t figure he was quite ready to terrorize the White House yet, with running around and everything he likes to do. Hopefully somewhere down the line, he gets to come back.” Harvick said just being at the White House was an honor but he was most happy for his crew, who got to experience the pomp and ceremony for the first time.(USA Today)(4-21-2015)
Surviving are his wife of 22 years, Karen Byrnes; son Bryson, 12, a sixth grader at Charlotte Christian School; parents Jerry and Claire Byrnes of Charlotte; sister Betsy Byrnes of Charlotte; brother Dan Byrnes and wife Tammy of Charlotte; nephews Tyler, 21, and Dylan Byrnes, 17; and niece Samantha Byrnes, 13, of Charlotte.
Steve was born April 14, 1959, in Chicago, and was raised in New Carrollton, Md. He attended Church of Christ at Gold Hill Road, was a 1981 graduate of the University of Maryland with a degree in Radio, Television and Film, and played football for one year at James Madison University before transferring to the University of Maryland.
Steve enjoyed a successful and highly respected television broadcasting career for 30 years. He joined the FOX Sports family in 2001, hosting and reporting for multiple NASCAR programs and serving as a pit road reporter for NASCAR on FOX’s broadcast of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races from 2001-2014. Most recently, he was the play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports 1 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and was co-host of NASCAR Race Hub for the network.
Prior to joining FOX, Steve also hosted Darrell Waltrip’s Racers on TNN, worked as a pit road reporter for CBS, WTBS and TNN, and hosted a variety of NASCAR programs for The History Channel and TNN, for which he moved to Charlotte in 1985 and remained in the area ever since. His first on-air job was at WCIV-TV in Charleston, S.C., in 1982, after commencing his television career as weekend sports producer at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., immediately following graduation from college. Steve also called play-by-play for a Carolina Panthers/Minnesota Vikings NFL game on FOX and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races for DirecTV Hot Pass.
Despite all his career accolades, Steve’s greatest accomplishment was his son, Bryson, who is growing into a more Godly, compassionate and respectable young man every day. Steve’s passion was spending every moment possible with Bryson, especially watching him play football and basketball and helping prepare him to play for the Charlotte Christian School football team as a seventh grader in the 2015-’16 school year. The other light of his life was Karen, with whom his relationship extended well beyond that of a spouse. The two were inseparable since meeting in 1988 while she was the public relations representative for Benny Parsons in his last season as a NASCAR driver.
Attending Appalachian State University football games was one of the family’s favorite activities, in addition to cheering for the University of Maryland’s football and basketball teams; the Washington Redskins; the Carolina Panthers; following NASCAR; and watching nephews Tyler and Dylan play baseball. Steve also delighted in gardening, travel with his family, photographing sports, nature and sunsets.
In addition to being a wonderful, loving and Godly husband, father, son and brother, Steve was an excellent friend, colleague and mentor to all who knew and loved him. His indelible impact extended even to the millions of television viewers who watched him every week over the years, as evidenced by the outpouring of public support he received following his cancer diagnosis in August 2013. Steve became a tangible example of strength, courage and fortitude to all who witnessed his battle with cancer and his personal crusade to spend as many days as possible with Karen and Bryson. He was honored to be designated as the keynote speaker at the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life on June 7, 2014, in Charlotte, where he shared the inspiring story of his battle with hundreds of cancer survivors, caregivers and families during the Luminaria Ceremony that evening.
A public figure who always made time for others and made strangers feel like longtime and valued friends, Steve took particular solace in his private life with his family. He was always smiling, supportive, selfless and loving. Upon his original diagnosis, Steve quickly found the positive in the situation and put his entire focus into his treatments, simultaneously vowing not to miss a single moment with his son. His motto and daily inspiration became “Be present” in every moment of his family’s lives. Now Steve is present with the Lord, and until we see him again, he is present in our hearts and memories forever.
Steve, we give you back to the Lord with eternal love and great appreciation for His gift of you to us. We love you.
Funeral services are pending.(Fox Sports)
Memorials: In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Steve’s honor to any of the following:
Church of Christ at Gold Hill Road, 1055 Gold Hill Road, Fort Mill, SC 29708
Charlotte Christian School, 7301 Sardis Road, Charlotte, NC 28270
NASCAR Foundation, One Daytona Blvd., 6th Floor, Daytona Beach, FL 32114
Charlotte Christian School – Byrnes Fund
Attn: Barry Giller
7301 Sardis Road, Charlotte, NC 28270(4-21-2015)
Total number of commercials: 89
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 53
Number of traditional commercials (not split-screen): 85
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 52
Number of ‘Side-by-Side’ commercials during race broadcast (split-screen): 4
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 4
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): 86
Total amount of time these brief promos take during broadcast: app. 4 min. 45 sec.
Start time to record race/commercial periods: 2:20 PM
Stop time for rain delay: 2:43 PM
Restart time to record race/commercial periods: 6:48 PM
End time to record race/commercial periods: 10:28 PM
Total minutes of complete race broadcast: 243
Minutes of race broadcast: 202
Minutes of traditional commercials (not split-screen): 41
Minutes of ‘Side-by-Side’ commercials (split-screen): 2
Number of missed restarts: 0
Number of ‘mystery cautions’ (debris not shown): 0
Total race brdcst time 202 Total comm. brdcst time 41
See full reports, sponsor links, much more details at CawsnJaws.com.(4-21-2015)
#11-Denny Hamlin 110.7
#4-Kevin Harvick 110.3
#18-Kyle Busch 109.8
#15-Clint Bowyer 99.6
#24-Jeff Gordon 99.3
#14-Tony Stewart 94.0
#31-Ryan Newman 92.5
#2-Brad Keselowski 91.6
#41-Kurt Busch 91.5
#99-Carl Edwards 89.1
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (20 total) among active drivers at Richmond International Raceway. 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)
Timmy Hill is entered in the #13 again;
Carlos Contreras remains in the #15;
Denny Hamlin will drive the #20 for Joe Gibbs;
Dylan Lupton will be in the #25 for Athenian Motorsports;
Derek White will drive the #40;
Brennan Poole remains in the #42;
Erik Jones moves to the JGR #54;
Brandon Gdovic returns to the #55;
Jimmy Weller is back in the #90.(4-21-2015)
See the complete list on the Richmond entry list page.
News from April 20, 2015
Drivers who need to be in the top-36 in speed and have no provisional available to them (lowest in owners points): #30-Hornaday (49th in owner pts), #25-Elliott (48th)
Drivers who would miss the race if qualifying is canceled (least race attempts): #30-Hornaday (4 attempts), #25-Elliott (1)
See the full entry list on Jayski.com’s Richmond Entry List
What did you feel? Did the rain drops have anything to do with it?
Keselowski: “It’s been raining since we started the race. It was just a really light sprinkle and the track was just barely dry. I don’t know. The rain was coming in and out and the car just took off on me. I would like to blame the rain, but I honestly don’t know. Usually when a car gets that far sideways and it’s kind of out of nowhere there’s a reason behind it. I just really hate that I tore up my teammate in the process. That’s really a bummer. I felt like I had a pretty normal line and it just flew crazy sideways on me. It’s a bummer for everybody at Team Penske to tear up both cars that way. I hate racing in the rain, but I understand the position that NASCAR is in. They want to get the race going and this is one of those days where it’s gonna just keep raining off and on and we’re trying to get as many laps in at a time as we can to give the fans the best race possible, but we’re racing in the rain to do it and that’s what happens.”
(Ford Racing)(4-20-2015)
News from April 19, 2015
#48-Johnson finished second, the rest of the top 10: #24-Gordon, #17-Stenhouse, Jr., #31-Newman, #14-Stewart, #42-Larson, #51-Allgaier, #10-Patrick, and #3-Dillon.
After starting an hour late, there were 3 red flags during the race – all for rain. The first was on lap 23 and lastest 3 hours and 58 minutes, the second was 13 minutes long on lap 273 and the final one was just before the green-white-checker restart.
Harvick, Logano, and Truex, Jr all came into the race with top-10 finishes in every race this season, but all three rain into trouble during the race. Harvick finished 39th, Logano 40th, and Truex, Jr 29th.
#11-Denny Hamlin started suffering neck spasms early in the race and was replaced by Erik Jones when the race restarted after the first red flag. Jones finished 26th.
Harvick continues to hold the Chase points lead. He and Johnson each have 2 wins on the season but Harvick has 314 points to Johnson’s 258.
There were 21 lead changes among 6 drivers. There were 11 cautions for 117 yellow flag laps.
The average speed was 74.997mph.
See unofficial race results, awards, money won, laps led, cautions and more on the Unofficial Race Results page (pdf) and check out the Penalty Report (pdf) and Lap Summary Report (pdf).
(4-19-2015)
Matt Kenseth won the 55th Annual Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes, his 32nd victory in 552 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and fourth top-10 finish in 2015.
This is his fourth victory and 20th top-10 finish in 31 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Jimmie Johnson (second) posted his 15th top-10 finish in 27 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his fifth top-10 finish in 2015.
Jeff Gordon (third) posted his 25th top-10 finish in 45 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Brett Moffitt (17th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Kevin Harvick leads the point standings by 30 points over Joey Logano.
(NASCAR Integrated Sports Marketing)(4-19-2015)
[after Bristol, race 8 of 36]
(by wins, then by points)
1) #4-Kevin Harvick [2 wins], 314
2) #48-Jimmie Johnson [2 wins], 258, -56
3) #22-Joey Logano [1 win], 284, -30
4) #2-Brad Keselowski [1 win], 255, -59
5) #11-Denny Hamlin [1 win], 223, -91
6) #20-Matt Kenseth [1 win], 263, -78
7) #78-Truex Jr., 281, -33
8) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., 241, -73
9) #5-Kasey Kahne, 237, -77
10) #24-Jeff Gordon, 227, -87
11) #43-Aric Almirola, 226, -88
12) #1-Jamie McMurray, 223, -91
13) #10-Danica Patrick, 211, -103
14) #27-Paul Menard, 210, -104
15) #19-Carl Edwards, 203, -111
16) #31-Ryan Newman, 201, -113
(ties are broken by wins, 2nds, 3rds, etc)
See the Unofficial Drivers Points Standings page (pdf) and Unofficial Owners Points Standings page (pdf).(4-19-2015)
| Jamie McMurray | “Country Must Be Country Wide” | Brantley Gilbert |
| Brad Keselowski | “Tom Sawyer” | Rush |
| Austin Dillon | “Bones” | Gary Allan |
| Kevin Harvick | “Pass A Beer” | Jake Owen |
| Kasey Kahne | “Give the People What They Want” | O’Jay’s |
| Trevor Bayne | “Rocky Top” | Osborne Brothers |
| Alex Bowman | “Hope” | We Came as Romans |
| Sam Hornish Jr. | “Let’s Roll” | Yelawolf ft. Kid Rock |
| Danica Patrick | “This Girl is on Fire” | Alicia Keys |
| Denny Hamlin | “Trophies” | Drake |
| Casey Mears | “Better Man” | Pearl Jam |
| Tony Stewart | “Bawitdaba” | Kid Rock |
| Clint Bowyer | “Boys ‘Round Here” | Blake Shelton |
| Greg Biffle | “Fishin’ in the Dark” | The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | “Comeback” | Redlight King |
| David Ragan | “Life in the Fast Lane” | Eagles |
| Carl Edwards | “Nineteen” | Phil Lynott |
| Matt Kenseth | “Symphony of Destruction” | Megadeth |
| Joey Logano | “Good ol’ Boys” – Dukes of Hazzard Song | Waylon Jennings |
| JJ Yeley | “Devil in Disguise” | Elvis Presley |
| Jeff Gordon | “Uptown Funk” | Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars |
| Jeb Burton | “A Tale of 2 Cities” | J Cole |
| Paul Menard | “Stranglehold” | Ted Nugent |
| Ron Hornaday Jr. | “Small Town Throwdown” | Brantley Gilbert Featuring Justin Moore and Thomas Rhett |
| Ryan Newman | “Good ol’ Boys” – Dukes of Hazzard Song | Waylon Jennings |
| Mike Bliss | “Welcome to the Jungle” | Guns N’ Roses |
| Alex Kennedy | “Here Comes the Boom” | Nelly |
| Chris Buescher | “Four On The Floor” | Lee Brice |
| Cole Whitt | “Tell the World” | Lecrae |
| David Gilliland | “Rock You Like A Hurricane” | Scorpions |
| Landon Cassill | “Introducing the Icon” | Riff Raff |
| Kurt Busch | “Going Down For Real- GDFR” | Flo Rida |
| Kyle Larson | “Stroker Ace” | Charlie Daniels Band |
| Aric Almirola | “Time Of Our Lives” | Pitbull |
| Michael Annett | “The Rock Return Entrance Video” | Electrifying |
| AJ Allmendinger | “I Wish” | Skee-Lo |
| Jimmie Johnson | “Drink in My Hand” | Eric Church |
| Justin Allgaier | “Courageous” | Casting Crowns |
| Brett Moffitt | “Weekend Warriors” | Change of Pace |
| Brendan Gaughan | “Viva Las Vegas” | Elvis Presley |
| Martin Truex Jr. | “For Those About to Rock” | AC/DC |
| Matt DiBenedetto | “Smells Like Teen Spirit” | Nirvana |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | “Mannish Boy” | Muddy Waters |
| Michael McDowell | “Say I Won’t” | Lecrae |
| Josh Wise | “The Distance” | Cake |
· There have been 108 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway since the first race in 1961, two races each season.
· All races have been scheduled for 500 laps, except for both races in 1976 and the second in 1977, which were 400 laps.
· Junior Johnson leads the series in car owner wins at Bristol with 16; Roger Penske and Jack Roush are tied among active car owners for the most wins at Bristol with 11 each.
· Eight different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Bristol; led by Chevrolet with 43 victories; followed by Ford with 35. Toyota is ranked fifth among manufacturers with six wins at Bristol.
· 35 of the 108 (32.4%) races at Bristol have been won from the front row: Pole position (22 wins); second-place (13 wins).
· 86 of the 108 (79.6%) races have been won from a top-10 starting position; including 53 from the first four spots.
· Five of the 108 (4.6%) races have been won from a starting position outside the top 20; most recent was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2004 – he started 30th.
· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started is 38th, by Elliott Sadler; in 2001.
· Eight of the last 10 races have ended with a Margin of Victory of less than a second at BMS.
· There has been four green-white-checkered finishes at Bristol – all four were the spring race: 2007 (500/504); 2008 (500/506); 2009 (500/503); 2014 (500/503).
· Two of the 107 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions; the most recent was the event on 3/31/1996.
· Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Bristol was the 3/25/2007 race won by Kyle Busch with a MOV of 0.064 second.
(NASCAR)(4-19-2015)
News from April 18, 2015
#41-Busch 127.554
#5-Kahne 126.537
#18-Ragan 126.503
#24-Gordon 126.420
#2-Keselowski 126.378
Most laps run: #46-Annett 126, #88-Earnhardt, Jr. 109
slowest: #23-Yeley 122.733 & #33-Kennedy 121.305
See fastest speeds, laps run, best 10 Consecutive Lap Average on the Bristol practice 3 speeds page (pdf).(4-18-2015)
UPDATE: Richard Childress Racing has requested an appeal to the Final Appeals Officer in regard to the P5 penalty upheld by the National Motorsports Appeals Panel earlier this week. The suspensions of crew chief Luke Lambert, tire technician James Bender and race engineer Philip Surgen have been lifted until Final Appeals Officer Bryan Moss has made a final ruling on the penalties. RCR tapped the team’s current XFINITY Series competition director Todd Parrott as the substitute crew chief on the #31 team starting with this weekend’s race. But with the case now going to the Final Appeals Officer, Lambert and the other suspended crew members returned to work at Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday morning. The time and date of the final appeal has yet to be determined. (FoxSports)(4-18-2015)
#5-Kahne 126.829
#4-Harvick 126.395
#22-Logano 126.137
#41-Busch 126.088
#11-Hamlin 125.996
Most laps run: #1-McMurray 106, #48-Johnson 88
slowest: #23-Yeley 122.693 & #33-Kennedy 122.217.
notes: #14-Stewart slid up into the wall early in the session, suffering rear end damage. The team will repair the car. #17-Stenhouse, Jr got into the back of #19-Edwards, but only minor damage for each. #48-Johnson made contact with the wall. The team will fix the car. Also, slight damage to #98-Wise after hitting the outside wall.
See fastest speeds, laps run, best 10 Consecutive Lap Average on the Bristol practice 2 speeds page (pdf).(4-18-2015)
“The main objective of the Kentucky test was to bring the right-side tire there in line with several of the other high-speed mile-and-a-half speedways. What we tested incorporated a different mold shape and construction from what we raced there in the past,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “Additionally, with the lower downforce of the 2015 rules package, we felt a left-side compound adjustment to increase grip was justified. Both those goals were met, and all drivers involved in the test felt like the new combination was a nice improvement over the package raced in 2014 and prior.”
Next up on the calendar is a trip to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway on April 27-28. The organizations scheduled to take part are BK Racing, Furniture Row Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Petty Motorsports.
“The ground track surface at Indy makes it very sensitive to tire set-up,” said Stucker. “The focus of the Indy test will be to make sure we have the correct tire combination to match the new characteristics of the low downforce, low horsepower 2015 rules package. The surface of the track is very abrasive, so getting the correct compounds and constructions to generate the desired wear characteristics, while maintaining the level of grip for competitive racing, is critical.”
This season has brought a host of changes to the Sprint Cup set-up, and Goodyear has reacted to that with changes to race recommendations for three of the first eight points races. “To date, we’re happy with the way the 2015 season has gone,” said Stucker. “We feel like those adjustments we have made to tire recommendations from 2014 have been nice improvements, adding back some of the grip in a mechanical fashion to compensate for some of the grip lost through the aerodynamic downforce reduction. That will continue to be our focus in 2015 testing.”
Upcoming Goodyear test sessions include Iowa Speedway on May 5 (Xfinity Series only), Dover International Speedway on May 11-12 and Darlington Raceway on June 9-10.(Goodyear Racing)(4-18-2015)
· 432 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol; 302 in more than one.
· NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Bristol with 60. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 44 starts.
· 42 different drivers have won at Bristol, led by Darrell Waltrip (12). Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch each have five wins, the most among active drivers.
· 12 drivers have won consecutive races at Bristol led by Darrell Waltrip with seven consecutive victories from 1981-1984. The other 11 are Fred Lorenzen (1963-1964 sweep), David Pearson (1968 sweep), Bobby Allison (1972 sweep), Cale Yarborough did it twice (1974 sweep and four straight from 1976-1977), Richard Petty (1975 sweep), Dale Earnhardt also did twice (1985 sweep and 1987 sweep), Alan Kulwicki (1992 sweep), Rusty Wallace (2000 sweep), Kurt Busch (2003 sweep and 2004 spring race), Kyle Busch (2009 sweep), and Brad Keselowski (2011 fall-2012 spring).
· Richard Petty leads the series in runner-up finishes at Bristol with 10; Kevin Harvick leads all active drivers with four.
· Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty lead the series in top-five finishes at Bristol with 26 each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 16; followed by Matt Kenseth (12) and Kevin Harvick (nine).
· Richard Petty has 37 top-10 finishes at Bristol, more than any other driver. Jeff Gordon leads the series among active drivers in top-10 finishes with 24; followed by Matt Kenseth (19) and Kurt Busch (15).
· Greg Biffle leads the series (active drivers) in average finishing position at Bristol with an 11.917.
· Kurt Busch posted his first series career win at Bristol (2002), and Joey Logano won his first pole at Bristol (2010).
· Ryan Newman leads the series (active drivers) with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Bristol without visiting Victory Lane at 26.
· Two female drivers have made NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Bristol: Janet Guthrie and Danica Patrick.
(NASCAR)(4-18-2015)
There were 8 cautions for 48 laps and only 1 lead change (Logano passed pole sitter Jones on the first lap). Complete results are on the Bristol race results page (pdf).
(4-18-2015)
Joey Logano(i) won the 33rd Annual Drive To Stop Diabetes 300, his 23rd victory in 138 NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
This is his second victory and third top-10 finish in 2015.
This is his second victory and seventh top-10 finish in nine races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
He led all 300 laps – a Bristol Motor Speedway NASCAR XFINITY Series race record.
It was also an XFINITY Series record for most laps led in a race.
Logano’s win was the second straight victory for the No. 22 Ford at Bristol Motor Speedway (Ryan Blaney, 8/22/14).
Daniel Suarez posted a second-place finish in his first Bristol Motor Speedway start. It is his best career finish and second top-10 finish in 2015.
Suarez was the highest-finishing rookie.
Chris Buescher and Ty Dillon are tied for the points standings lead.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(4-18-2015)
1) #60-Chris Buescher, 258
2) #3-Ty Dillon, 258
3) #9-Chase Elliott, 246, -12
4) #6-Darrell Wallace Jr. #, 236, -22
5) #16-Ryan Reed, 220, -38
6) #1-Elliott Sadler, 215, -43
7) #62-Brendan Gaughan, 211, -47
8) #7-Regan Smith, 211, -47
9) #2-Brian Scott, 205, -53
10) #18-Daniel Suarez #, 202, -56
See complete owner and driver standings on the driver standings(pdf) and owner standings page (pdf).(4-18-2015)
News from April 17, 2015
Pole sitter #20-Kenseth chose pit stall 1 [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #2-Keselowski took pit stall 23, the last pit stall on the backstretch.
#19-Edwards, who starts 3rd took the 22nd pit stall, the last pit stall on the frontstretch.
The 43rd pit stall, the first on the backstretch, was taken by #4-Harvick.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on the Pit Stall Selection chart.(4-17-2015)
#2-Keselowski is on the outside pole followed by #19-Edwards, #4-Harvick, #11-Hamlin, #22-Logano, #41-Busch, #5-Kahne, #27-Menard, #1-McMurray, #18-Ragan, and #3-Dillon.
Missing the race were: #62-Gaughan, #30-Hornaday.
See the starting lineup, round-by-round qualifying results and more on Jayski.com’s Bristol Qualifying Page.(4-17-2015)
Matt Kenseth won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 55th Annual Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes with a lap of 14.917 seconds, 128.632 mph.
This is his 14th pole in 552 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and fifth top-10 start in 2015.
This is his second pole in 31 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Brad Keselowski (second) posted his fourth top-10 start of 2015 and his seventh in 11 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Carl Edwards (third) posted his 12th top-10 start at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his fourth in eight races this season.
Brett Moffitt (24th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Statistics)(4-17-2015)
#22-Logano 128.451
#20-Kenseth 128.322
#4-Harvick 128.108
#41-Busch 127.988
#2-Keselowski 127.869
the rest of the top 12: 19 27 5 11 3 1 18;
out of the top 12 and not advancing to round 3: 88 42 51 78 40 31 95 47 14 83 24 55.
(4-17-2015)
#22-Logano 129.290
#18-Ragan 128.623
#2-Keselowski 128.554
#20-Kenseth 128.537
#5-Kahne 128.451
the rest of the top 24: 3 24 4 19 88 55 51 27 14 31 83 11 42 47 41 95 40 78 1;
out of the top 24 and not advancing to round 2: 17 10 13 48 23 43 6 38 16 26 98 46 15 34 9 7 32 35 62 30 33
Drivers who will miss the race: #62-Gaughan, #30-Hornaday.
(4-17-2015)
#5-Kahne 128.168
#88-Earnhardt, Jr 128.159
#2-Keselowski 127.971
#19-Edwards 127.554
#18-Ragan 127.546
Most laps run: #14-Stewart 65, #46-Annett 60
slowest: #33-Kennedy 123.650 & #62-Gaughan 122.835
notes: Qualifying is scheduled for 4:45pm/et this afternoon.
See fastest speeds, laps run, best 10 Consecutive Lap Average on the Bristol practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(4-17-2015)
The first of the drivers scheduled to go out is #38-Gilliland.
The final driver scheduled to go out is #13-Mears.
Qualifying order is set by a random draw, held about an hour before the first practice.
See the full qualifying order on Jayski.com’s Bristol Qualifying Page.(4-17-2015)
· Fred Lorenzen won the inaugural Coors Light pole with a speed of 79.225 mph.
· 47 different drivers have poles at Bristol, led by Mark Martin and Cale Yarborough with nine each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with five.
· The race winner has started from the pole 22 times, the most productive starting position. The last driver to win from the pole was Carl Edwards, in the night race of 2008.
· Four drivers have won from the pole position multiple times: Bobby Allison (1972 twice), Cale Yarborough (1973, 1977 twice, 1980), Darrell Waltrip (1981 twice, 1982) and Rusty Wallace (1991, 1993, 1999, 2000).
· 10 different drivers have posted consecutive poles at Bristol Motor Speedway; Mark Martin is the only of the 10 to win four consecutive poles at Bristol: Fireball Roberts (swept 1962), Fred Lorenzen (swept 1963), Richard Petty (1967-’68), Bobby Allison (swept 1972), Cale Yarborough (swept 1973; swept 1977; swept 1980), Darrell Waltrip (swept 1981), Geoff Bodine (swept 1986), Mark Martin (swept 1995-1996- all four races; and swept 2009); Rusty Wallace (swept 1998), Jeff Gordon (swept 2002) and Denny Hamlin (fall 2013, spring 2014).
· Jeff Gordon leads (active drivers) the series in average starting position at Bristol with a 7.318.
· Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway three times; most recently August 25, 2012.
(NASCAR)(4-17-2015)
News from April 16, 2015
UPDATE: Statement from Richard Childress, “Our appeal is scheduled for Thursday, April 16. We feel confident we have a very compelling case to present to the appeals panel. We strongly believe in the intent of the rules and the integrity of our own teams while following those same rules. Out of respect for the appeal process, we will have no further comments until after the hearing.”(RCR)(4-9/16-2015)
#31 RCR Team Appeal heard, points & fine penalties reduced: National Motorsports Appeals Panel Statement: The National Motorsports Appeals Panel today heard and considered the appeal of a P5 penalty issued on March 31, 2015 to Richard Childress (owner), Ryan Newman (driver), Lucas Lambert (crew chief), James Bender (tire technician) and Philip Surgen (race engineer) relative to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series vehicle #31 at Auto Club Speedway. The penalty concerns the following sections in the 2015 NASCAR rule book:
12.1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing
20.16: Wheels and tires
A. Any device, modification, or procedure to the tire or wheel, including the valve stem hardware, that is used to release pressure, beyond normal pressure adjustments, from the tire and/or inner shield, will not be permitted.
20.16.2: Tires
F. Modifications to the tires, by treatment or any other means, will not be permitted.
12.5.3.5.2: Minimum P5 Penalty Options (includes all four points below):
A. Loss of 50 championship driver and owner points, regardless of whether the violation occurred during a Championship race or not
B. $75,000-$125,000 fine
C. Suspension for the next six series Championship Races, plus any non-championship races or special events which might occur during that time period, for the crew chief and any other team members as determined by NASCAR
D. Probation through the end of the calendar year for all suspended members, or for a six-month period following the issuance of the penalty notice if that period spans across two consecutive seasons
12.5.3.5.3: P5 Level infractions detected during post-race inspection:
If the infraction is detected during post-race inspection, then the following penalty elements will be added to those listed previously in this section:
A. Loss of an additional 25 Championship driver and owner points; regardless of whether it was a Championship Race or not
B. Loss of an additional $50,000
The original penalty assessed included a $125,000 ($75,000 plus $50,000) fine, six-race suspension and probation through Dec. 31 to Lambert; six-race suspension and probation through Dec. 31 to both Bender and Surgen; and the loss of 75 (50 plus 25) championship car owner and 75 (50 plus 25) championship driver points to both Childress and Newman.
Upon hearing the testimony, the decisions of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel are:
1. The Appellants violated the Rule or Rules set forth in the Penalty Notice and it is a P5 level violation.
2. The Panel amends the original Penalty levied by NASCAR because there is no written explanation of what constitutes a post-race inspection. Therefore the Penalty elements added under Section 12.5.3.5.3. are removed and the Penalty adjusted to:
-Loss of 50 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Car Owner points for Richard Childress.
-Loss of 50 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Driver points for Ryan Newman.
-$75,000 fine. Suspended for the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Races, plus any non-Championship Races or Special Events which might occur during that time period. Placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31 for crew chief Lucas Lambert.
– Suspended for the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Races, plus any non-Championship Races or Special Events which might occur during that time period. Placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31 for Tire Technician James Bender.
-Suspended for the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Races, plus any non-Championship Races or Special Events which might occur during that time period. Placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31 for Race Engineer Philip Surgen.
The panel consisted of the following three individuals:
Mr. John Capels, Mr. Hunter Nickell, Mr. Dale Pinilis.
The Appellants have the right to appeal the decision of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel to the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer in accordance with Section 15 of the NASCAR rule book.(NASCAR)(4-16-2015)
POINTS #31-Ryan Newman regains 25 drivers points and moved from 24th in the points standings to 20th. The #31 team regains 25 owners points and moves from 26th in owners points to 22nd.(4-16-2015)
Statement from Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of RCR: “I’d like to thank the Appeals Panel for taking the time to hear our appeal today. While they decided to reduce the penalties to the minimum penalties for a P5 violation, I am disappointed that the entire penalty was not overturned given the facts we presented. In order for the team to move forward, and focus our efforts on the upcoming races, Luke (Lambert), Phil (Surgen) and James (Bender) will begin serving their suspensions this weekend at Bristol. Veteran crew chief Todd Parrott will fill in as crew chief for this weekend’s race. We are still discussing our options and have not yet determined whether to appeal the penalties to the Final Appeals Officer.”(RCR)(4-16-2015)
UPDATE: For the first time in 14 years televising NASCAR, FOX slipped under a 3.0 rating for a Sprint Cup race. NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Texas drew a 2.9 final rating and 4.8 million viewers on FOX Saturday night, down 24% in ratings and 23% in viewership from 2013 (3.8, 6.3M) and down 28% in both measures from 2012 (4.0, 6.8M). Last year’s race was postponed due to rain, earning a 2.4 and 3.8 million in its scheduled Sunday afternoon window. Excluding rainouts, the 2.9 rating is easily the lowest ever for a NASCAR Sprint Cup telecast on FOX (dates back to 2001). The previous low was a 3.3 for last year’s Richmond race. Of the 18 lowest rated NASCAR telecasts on FOX, 13 have taken place on a Saturday night. Again excluding rainouts, the 2.9 is also the lowest rating in the history of the spring Texas race (dates back to 1997). The previous low was the previously noted 3.8 in 2013. Prior to moving from Sunday to Saturday in 2011, the race had never dipped below a 4.7 rating.(Sports Media Watch)(4-16-2015)
UPDATE: #16-Greg Biffle, #1-Jamie McMurray, #55-Brett Moffitt and #31-Ryan Newman are taking part in a Goodyear tire test Monday and Tuesday at Kentucky Speedway. There will be an open test there Wednesday. Each Sprint Cup organization can have one car test there. This is the second of three Goodyear tire tests this month. Teams were at Richmond International Raceway last week. The month’s third tire test is scheduled for April 27-29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Teams that will have one car at that tire test will be Hendrick Motorsports, Furniture Row Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports and BK Racing.(NBC Sports)
AND Jamie McMurray provided a glimpse of NASCAR’s new high tech dashboard during a test at Kentucky Speedway. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver sent out a series of Tweets on Monday while taking part in a Goodyear tire test that gave a couple views of what the new dashboard might look like when it’s implemented. The dashboard has the ability to monitor a variety of data including lap times and tire pressure as well as keeping drivers informed on other items during pit stops. NASCAR has stated at some point the information gathered through the new system would be available to fans and offer an interactive way to monitor a car’s performance. In fact NASCAR rule book states the a digital dash display “may be used at all Events after August 5, 2015. Digital dash display use will not be permitted before August 5, 1015. Effective January 1, 2016, a digital dash display must be used at all Events.”(Motor Racing Network)(4-14-2015)
UPDATE 2: Brad Keselowski was testing with the #22 team of teammate Joey Logano instead of his own #2 squad at Kentucky. Logano was originally scheduled to participate but was unable to attend. Also taking part in the open test were #16-Greg Biffle (Roush Fenway Racing), #31-Ryan Newman (Richard Childress Racing), #1-Jamie McMurray (Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates), #55-Brett Moffitt (Michael Waltrip Racing), #21-Ryan Blaney (Wood Brothers Racing), #20-Matt Kenseth (Joe Gibbs Racing), #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Hendrick Motorsports), #10-Danica Patrick (Stewart-Haas Racing) and #9-Sam Hornish Jr. (Richard Petty Motorsports). Wednesday’s test was the fourth for teams in 2015 under the NASCAR National Series Unified Test Schedule. Open tests have been held at Atlanta, Charlotte and Richmond. The next scheduled test is set for April 29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In the day’s only mishap, Moffitt sustained damage to his #55 Toyota during the morning session after contact with the wall, requiring the team to bring out a backup entry for the remainder of the day.(NASCAR.com)(4-16-2015)
· Groundbreaking for Bristol International Speedway, as Bristol Motor Speedway was originally known, took place in 1960. The track was an exact half-mile.
· First NASCAR Sprint Cup race was July 30, 1961; Jack Smith won the event (with relief from Johnny Allen).
· In the fall of 1969, the track was reshaped and re-measured to .533-miles.
· The name changed to Bristol International Raceway in 1978.
· The first night race was held in the fall of 1978.
· The surface was changed from asphalt to concrete in 1992.
· The name changed to Bristol Motor Speedway in May 1996.
· The track was resurfaced between races in 2007, and the turns were ground down in 2012 to eliminate part of the progressive banking.
(NASCAR)(4-16-2015)
News from April 15, 2015
• Busch says the accident was the hardest hit of his career.
• He left the racing surface at 176mph and impacted the wall at 90mph.
• The crash was so hard that his helmet and chest hit the steering wheel.
• He says he knew instantly that both legs were broken.
• Busch took the blame for the accident, saying that he was being too greedy trying to win the race.
• Doctors have not given him a timeline to return to racing. They are pleased with his progress and believe he is ahead of schedule.
• He would like to be able to return to racing by Daytona in July, but is not sure that will be possible;
• Busch would like to be Chase eligible upon his return, but believes it could be hard to get to the top 30 in points.
• Busch will need additional surgery. He has one scheduled for December to remove screws and plates in his left foot.
(4-15-2015)
UPDATE: #18-Kyle Busch said he does not know when he will get back into a race car but hopes he can return by July as he continues to recover from a broken right leg and a broken left foot suffered in a crash Feb. 21 at Daytona International Speedway. Busch, speaking about his injuries at a news conference Wednesday at Joe Gibbs Racing, said he hit the DIS concrete wall at 90 mph and the g-forces were 90 g’s. He said he is healing well and still has a small crack in his right leg as well as a walking boot on his left foot. Kyle Busch suffered a broken right leg and a broken left foot in a Feb. 21 crash at Daytona International Speedway. Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images “First and foremost, I have to please my doctors. … They say my recovery is going faster [than expected],” Busch said about his possible return. “I don’t even ask. They won’t release me a timetable.” Busch said the wreck was his fault, being greedy trying to win the race. He was trying to push teammate Erik Jones, who ended up spinning. While Jones was spinning, he took the air off the rear of Busch’s car, sending him into the skid into the wall. NASCAR has made no decision on whether it will waive the rule that a driver must compete each race weekend in order to be eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR also could waive the rule that requires a driver to be eligible with a win and a top-30 placement in the regular-season standings, although it has not waived that rule when issuing past waivers.(ESPN.com)(4-15-2015)
News from April 14, 2015
12.1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing;
20.14.2: Rear Suspension: Truck Trailing Arm
E. The left and right side truck trailing arms must be mounted to the truck trailing arm mounting brackets using a one-piece, minimum ¾ inch diameter magnetic steel bolt.
F. The horizontal centerline of the highest truck trailing arm mounting bolt must not be higher than the top surface of the truck trailing arm crossmember, at the respective truck trailing arm mounting bracket, when the vehicle is at inspection orientation.
INFRACTION: The ¾ inch diameter magnetic steel truck trailing arm mounting bolt was not installed horizontally.
J.Truck trailing arm must conform to the following drawing as specified in the NASCAR rule book: Rear Suspension-Truck Trailing Arm: A-008-00183-14 Rev.C
INFRACTION: Truck trailing arm monoball sleeve does not meet the drawing specifications. Sleeve is required to be minimum .125 inch minimum thick x two inches wide sleeve machined for press fit of .750 I.D. or .875 I.D. monoball assembly.
20.3.3.2.1: Truck Trailing Arm Crossmember Assembly:Truck Trailing Arm Mounting Brackets
B. Truck trailing arm mounting brackets must be constructed of magnetic steel flat plate with a minimum thickness of 0.169 inch.
INFRACTION: Truck trailing arm mounting bracket adapter was machined from Aluminum solid.
20.20: Assembled Vehicle Overall Rules
A. Except in cases explicitly permitted in the NASCAR rules, installation of additional components and/or modifications of existing components to affect the aerodynamic properties of the vehicle will not be permitted, including but not limited to, safety systems, chassis and roll cage, suspension, steering systems, brake systems, heat shields, body fillers, body sealers, filler panels, drivetrain components and exhaust components.
The original penalty assessed included a $50,000 fine, three-race suspension and probation through Dec. 31 to Labbe and the loss of 25 championship car owner points to Falk. The Appellants (Joseph Falk and Richard Labbe) appealed both penalties. Upon hearing the testimony, the decisions of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel are:
· The Appellants violated one of the rules set forth in the penalty notice, specifically with regards to the aluminum component, but that the other infractions are subject to interpretation.
· The panel amends the original penalty levied by NASCAR to a P2 penalty as follows:
o Loss of 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship car owner points for Joseph Falk
o $20,000 fine, three-race suspension (two of which have already been served) plus any non-championship races or special events which might occur during that time period, and probation through Dec. 31 for crew chief Richard Labbe.
The panel consisted of the following three individuals: Mr. Russell Hackett, Mr. Lake Speed, Mr. John White.
(NASCAR)(4-14-2015)
UPDATE: #16-Greg Biffle, #1-Jamie McMurray, #55-Brett Moffitt and #31-Ryan Newman are taking part in a Goodyear tire test Monday and Tuesday at Kentucky Speedway. There will be an open test there Wednesday. Each Sprint Cup organization can have one car test there. This is the second of three Goodyear tire tests this month. Teams were at Richmond International Raceway last week. The month’s third tire test is scheduled for April 27-29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Teams that will have one car at that tire test will be Hendrick Motorsports, Furniture Row Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports and BK Racing.(NBC Sports)
AND Jamie McMurray provided a glimpse of NASCAR’s new high tech dashboard during a test at Kentucky Speedway. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver sent out a series of Tweets on Monday while taking part in a Goodyear tire test that gave a couple views of what the new dashboard might look like when it’s implemented. The dashboard has the ability to monitor a variety of data including lap times and tire pressure as well as keeping drivers informed on other items during pit stops. NASCAR has stated at some point the information gathered through the new system would be available to fans and offer an interactive way to monitor a car’s performance. In fact NASCAR rule book states the a digital dash display “may be used at all Events after August 5, 2015. Digital dash display use will not be permitted before August 5, 1015. Effective January 1, 2016, a digital dash display must be used at all Events.”(Motor Racing Network)(4-14-2015)
Jeff Gordon: “I think the camera system speaks for itself. It’s black & white if you want to put it that way. When things roll out of the box or guys leave over the wall too soon or you drive through too many boxes, it’s going to bust you. And so it’s made all of us have to be that much cleaner and do our jobs that much better and pay more attention to more things than we used to. That didn’t have anything to do with what I did last week [when he got caught for speeding late in the race at Martinsville]. That was just us trying to take advantage of speed lines. I think that’s the next step. We’ve got to get rid of these speed lines. It doesn’t make any sense. The speed limit is the speed limit. You should never be able to break the speed limit. You should carry the speed limit all the way down pit road. What we do is find pit stalls to try to get around that. So we’re ramping up and slowing down and that’s what got us in Martinsville. We were just too aggressive with it.”(Team Chevy Racing)(4-11-2015)
UPDATE: Jeff Gordon’s suggestion for changing the way NASCAR officials police speeds on pit road has merit, according to at least one NASCAR official, but it’s unlikely a new system will be adopted anytime soon. “The timing loops really play into our current timing and scoring system, so we believe it’s the most fair system to have today,” Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief racing development officer, said Monday. “But as we look forward … and as we integrate our timing and scoring system potentially with the Pro System and a lot of the new technology at the race track, I think you could see us evolve to that potentially in the future … But (Gordon’s) right in terms of something we want to work together on in the future and continue to improve upon.”(NASCAR.com)(4-14-2015)
#20-Matt Kenseth 103.4
#18-Kyle Busch 100.0
#24-Jeff Gordon 99.9
#2-Brad Keselowski 98.6
#16-Greg Biffle 93.5
#48-Jimmie Johnson 91.9
#4-Kevin Harvick 91.6
#41-Kurt Busch 91.6
#42-Kyle Larson 91.6
#11-Denny Hamlin 90.1
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (20 total) among active drivers at Bristol Motor Speedway. 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)
News from April 13, 2015
Drivers who need to be in the top-36 in speed and have no provisional available to them (lowest in owners points): #62-Gaughan (45th in owner points), #30-Hornaday (49th)
Drivers who would miss the race if qualifying is canceled (least race attempts): #95-McDowell (4 attempts) #30-Hornaday (3 attempts)
See the full entry list at my Jayski.com’s Bristol Entry List
UPDATE: the record is actually held by Morgan Shepherd, who opened the 1990 season with 11 consecutive top-10 finishes in the #15 Motorcraft Ford owned by Hall of Famer Bud Moore. Shepherd finished with 16 top-10 finishes in 29 races during the 1990 season, finishing 5th in the Championship.(3-31-2015)
UPDATE 2: #4-Kevin Harvick, #22-Joey Logano, and #78-Martin Truex, Jr. all continued their top-10 streaks Saturday night at Texas. The streaks are the longest in each driver’s career.
Logano has 2 previous streaks of 6 races — Indianapolis to Atlanta in 2013 and Richmond to Charlotte in the fall of 2014.
Truex, Jr’s previous streak is 5 races — Bristol to Kansas in the spring of 2012.
Harvick has now finished in the top-10 in the last 10 races, starting at Texas last November. Previously he had top-10 streaks of 9 races — Pocono to Kansas in 2008 and Darlington to New Hampshire in 2013.(4-13-2015)
AND The Florida Highway Patrol said that Tavon Watson, 24, of Kissimmee, failed to maneuver the sports car through one of the road course’s curves. The car’s right side struck a guardrail. His passenger, Gary Terry, was pronounced dead at the scene. Terry was the operations manager for the track. Terry competed in NASCAR’s Southeast, Southwest and Midwest Series from 1999-2002. In 36 starts he scored two top-5 finishes. He was the head driving instructor for the RPDE at the Walt Disney World Speedway from 2001 to 2013 when he became the operations manager.(Examiner)(4-13-2015)
UPDATE Comments from Richard Petty, “The entire Petty family, and everyone associated with Petty, is deeply saddened by the passing of Gary Terry yesterday. Our prayers go out to his family and everyone affected by this tragedy. We are all thinking about the family and friends of Gary and all the employees of the Exotic Driving Experience.”(Richard Petty Motorsports)(4-13-2015)
Jeff Green is back in the #10 for TriStar;
Derek White will drive the #13;
The Rick Ware #15 is TBA;
Ryan Blaney will drive the #22 for Penske;
Carl Long will be back in the #40;
Brenna Poole remains in the #42 for HScott Motorsports.(4-13-2015)
See the complete list on the Bristol entry list page.
News from April 12, 2015
“The tire is a structure and it’s kind of a membrane, it requires the air pressure to give it rigidity and to give it the load-carrying capacity that we need,” he said. “It’s not just the tire itself; it’s a combination of the tire and the inflation pressure that’s in the tire, the air that you put in the tire that enables it to carry that load. We make a pressure recommendations knowing what the loads are at a place like Texas, knowing what the construction of the tire is, so those two work together to carry the loads that the car is going to see,” said Stucker. “If you try to manipulate that you could be operating outside the envelope where the tire is meant to operate. The other thing is … you run the risk of damaging the structural members of the tire itself,” he said. “The tire has cords; it has fabric that creates its structure. If you damage one of those cords, then you lower the integrity of that component. You certainly have a high risk that the tire could fail because you’ve damaged one of the components.”
So while NASCAR made it clear with the penalties to Newman and the No. 31 RCR team that altering tires isa major offense, there is much more to the reasons behind the rule. According to Stucker, altering tires is not a concern for Goodyear in terms of competitive advantage; it is really all about maintaining the integrity of the tires on each car on the track.(FoxSports)(4-12-2015)
AND If Joe Gibbs Racing cannot find a Sprint Cup ride for Erik Jones, fellow Toyota team owner Rob Kauffman says Michael Waltrip Racing might have a Camry for the 18-year-old phenom. “There are a lot of moving parts, but we would love to figure something out,” Kauffman told Motorsports.com prior to Saturday’s Duck Commander 500. Kauffman acknowledged he went to Victory Lane last night during Jones’ celebration to congratulate Coach Gibbs and Dave Wilson, President and General Manager, Toyota Racing Development. “We have some open seats, potentially. We’d love to expand when it makes sense.” Currently MWR runs two teams – the #15 with veteran Clint Bowyer, who is in the first year of the three-year contract and the #55 with Moffitt, who is filling in for Brian Vickers while he recovers from blood clots. “I think Brian’s doing better,” Kauffman added. “I haven’t talked to him in a bit…but right now the important thing is his health.”(Motorsport)(4-12-2015)
Total number of commercials: 129
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 64
Number of traditional commercials (not split-screen): 123
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 63
Number of ‘Side-by-Side’ commercials during race broadcast (split-screen): 6
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): 23
Total amount of time these brief promos take during broadcast: app. 4 min. 20 sec.
Start time to record race/commercial periods: 7:30 PM
End time to record race/commercial periods: 11:22 PM
Total minutes of complete race broadcast: 232
Minutes of race broadcast: 181
Minutes of traditional commercials (not split-screen): 51
Minutes of ‘Side-by-Side’ commercials (split-screen): 2
Number of missed restarts: 0
Number of ‘mystery cautions’ (debris not shown): 3
Total race brdcst time 181 Total comm. brdcst time 51
See full reports, sponsor links, much more details at CawsnJaws.com.(4-12-2015)
News from April 11, 2015
#4-Harvick finished second, the rest of the top 10: #88-Earnhardt, Jr., #22-Logano, #2-Keselowski, #1-McMurray, #24-Gordon, #5-Kahne, #78-Truex, Jr. and #19-Edwards.
Harvick, Logano, and Truex, Jr have all finished in the top-10 every race this season.
Pole sitter #41-Kurt Busch led 46 laps on the night, but finished 14th.
Harvick continues to hold the Chase points lead. He and Johnson each have 2 wins on the season but Harvick has 306 points to #48-Johnson’s 216.
There were 29 lead changes among 9 drivers. There were 8 cautions for 40 yellow flag laps.
The average speed was 140.500mph.
See unofficial race results, awards, money won, laps led, cautions and more on the Unofficial Race Results page (pdf) and check out the Penalty Report (pdf) and Lap Summary Report (pdf).
(4-11-2015)
Jimmie Johnson won the 19th Annual Duck Commander 500, his 72nd victory in 478 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his second victory and fourth top-10 finish in 2015. His first win of 2015 came at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
This is his fifth victory and 18th top-10 finish in 24 races at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his first win in the spring race.
Kevin Harvick (second) posted his 13th top-10 finish in 25 races at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his seventh top-10 finish in 2015.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (third) posted his 15th top-10 finish in 26 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Kevin Harvick leads the point standings by 26 points over Joey Logano.
(NASCAR Integrated Sports Marketing)(4-11-2015)
[after Texas, race 7 of 36]
(by wins, then by points)
1) #4-Kevin Harvick [2 wins], 306
2) #48-Jimmie Johnson [2 wins], 216, -90
3) #22-Joey Logano [1 win], 280, -26
4) #2-Brad Keselowski [1 win], 246, -60
5) #11-Denny Hamlin [1 win], 205, -101
6) #78-Truex Jr., 266, -40
7) #5-Kasey Kahne, 230, -76
8) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., 213, -93
9) #43-Aric Almirola, 195, -111
10) #18-David Ragan, 194, -112
11) #1-Jamie McMurray, 193, -113
12) #20-Matt Kenseth, 189, -117
13) #24-Jeff Gordon, 186, -120
14) #19-Carl Edwards, 182, -124
15) #13-Casey Mears, 178, -128
16) #27-Paul Menard, 177, -129
(ties are broken by wins, 2nds, 3rds, etc)
See the Unofficial Drivers Points Standings page (pdf) and Unofficial Owners Points Standings page (pdf).(4-11-2015)
6:50pm: NSCS Drivers Introductions/ NASCAR Special Awards presented backstage. Jase Robertson to Intro Top 10.
7:29pm: Pledge of Allegiance led by Boy Scouts
7:30pm: Presentation of Colors by: US Army Reserve 1st Battalion 354th Regiment 95th Division Grand Prairie, Texas
7:30pm: Invocation by: Sadie Robertson
7:31pm: National Anthem: Reed Robertson
7:32pm: Fly-By TOT: Cavanaugh Flight Museum
7:38pm: “Drivers, Start Your Engines” by: Duck Commander; Si Robertson
7:46:30pm: Start of the Duck Commander 500
eastern time (NASCAR.com)
“In regard to the tire bleeders, we work our partner Goodyear and with our teams and at this point, I personally don’t know if there are any bleeders out there at the level that these cars would require,” Buck told Popular Speed on Friday afternoon. “I know there are other forms of motorsports like dirt car racing and sprint car racing that I’ve seen before and (those valves) were very touchy and non-repeatable. If they fail, it was a catastrophic failure of the system, so I don’t think there is a system that is out there today.” Furthermore, Buck is content without having bleeder valves because it’s the same and fair for everyone in the garage. “It allows teams to adjust on the tires,” Buck continued. “It allows for drivers to provide feedback on the tires. A driver can change the handling based on how he changes the load of the tire pressure. “So there still a lot of human interaction in working with the tires.”(Popular Speed)(4-11-2015)
Jeff Gordon: “I think the camera system speaks for itself. It’s black & white if you want to put it that way. When things roll out of the box or guys leave over the wall too soon or you drive through too many boxes, it’s going to bust you. And so it’s made all of us have to be that much cleaner and do our jobs that much better and pay more attention to more things than we used to. That didn’t have anything to do with what I did last week [when he got caught for speeding late in the race at Martinsville]. That was just us trying to take advantage of speed lines. I think that’s the next step. We’ve got to get rid of these speed lines. It doesn’t make any sense. The speed limit is the speed limit. You should never be able to break the speed limit. You should carry the speed limit all the way down pit road. What we do is find pit stalls to try to get around that. So we’re ramping up and slowing down and that’s what got us in Martinsville. We were just too aggressive with it.”(Team Chevy Racing)(4-11-2015)
· 22 of the 28 (78.5%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position.
· Four of the 28 (14.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Texas Motor Speedway is 31st, by Matt Kenseth in 2002.
· There have been five NSCS green-white-checker finishes at Texas Motor Speedway: fall 2006 (334/339), spring 2008 (334/339), fall 2012 (334/335), spring 2014 (334/340) and fall 2014 (334/341).
· Roush Fenway Racing leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in wins at Texas Motor Speedway with nine; followed by Hendrick Motorsports with six and Joe Gibbs Racing with four.
· Three of the 28 (11.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway have been won from the Coors Light pole; Kasey Kahne (2006), Jimmie Johnson (2012) and Kyle Busch (2013).
· Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Texas Motor Speedway was the (4/4/2004) race won by Elliott Sadler with a MOV of 0.028 second ahead of Kasey Kahne.
(NASCAR)(4-11-2015)
News from April 10, 2015
Pole sitter #41-Busch chose pit stall 1 [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #4-Harvick took pit stall 14, the first pit stall with an opening in front of it.
#2-Keselowski, who starts 3rd took the 43rd and final pit stall.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on the Pit Stall Selection chart.(4-10-2015)
#4-Harvick is on the outside pole followed by #2-Keselowski, #5-Kahne, #48-Johnson, #22-Logano, #31-Newman, #27-Menard, #42-Larson, and #1-McMurray.
Missing the race were: #62-Gaughan and #26-Burton.
See the starting lineup, round-by-round qualifying results and more on Jayski.com’s Texas Qualifying Page.(4-10-2015)
#4-Harvick 194.021
#41-Busch 193.653
#42-Larson 193.653
#27-Menard 193.112
#2-Keselowski 193.036
the rest of the top 12: 1 31 22 5 24 48 14;
out of the top 12 and not advancing to round 3: 21 3 78 19 20 11 16 13 10 17 6 51
(4-10-2015)
#24-Gordon 194.981
#4-Harvick 194.581
#42-Larson 193.986
#41-Busch 193.694
#14-Stewart 193.507
the rest of the top 24: 7 13 16 5 6 11 21 1 22 78 10 2 17 19 31 51 48 3 20;
out of the top 24 and not advancing to round 2: 88 47 15 46 9 18 35 43 40 7 98 55 32 38 95 62 26 34 83
Drivers who will miss the race: #62-Gaughan, #26-Burton.
(4-10-2015)
#5-Kahne 190.975
#48-Johnson 190.523
#1-McMurray 189.653
#11-Hamlin 189.560
#13-Mears 189.062
Most laps run: #4-Harvick 62, #1-McMurray 56
slowest: #33-Kennedy 181.014 & #32-Bliss 180.126.
notes: Qualifying is scheduled for 6:45pm/et tonight and will be shown on FS1.
See fastest speeds, laps run, best 10 Consecutive Lap Average on the Texas practice 2 speeds page (pdf).(4-10-2015)
#78-Truex, Jr. 191.096
#5-Kahne 190.463
#4-Harvick 189.773
#13-Meards 189.182
#18-Ragan 189.129
Most laps run: #33-Kennedy 65, #88-Earnhardt, Jr. 62
slowest: #32-Bliss 182.235 & #33-Kennedy 179.134.
notes: Sprint Cup teams will have a second (and final) practice today at 2:00pm/et. Qualifying is scheduled for 6:45pm/et tonight.
See fastest speeds, laps run, best 10 Consecutive Lap Average on the Texas practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(4-10-2015)
The first of the drivers scheduled to go out is #83-DiBenedetto.
The final driver scheduled to go out is #62-Gaughan.
Qualifying order is set by a random draw, held about an hour before the first practice.
See the full qualifying order on Jayski.com’s Texas Qualifying Page.(4-10-2015)
· 140 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas; 115 in more than one.
· Jeff Gordon is the only driver to have made all 28 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway.
· 18 different drivers have won at Texas Motor Speedway, led by Jimmie Johnson with four victories.
· Seven drivers have multiple wins at Texas Motor Speedway: Jimmie Johnson (four), Carl Edwards (three), Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart each have two.
· Jimmie Johnson leads the series in runner-up finishes at Texas Motor Speedway with five; followed by Matt Kenseth with four and Jeff Gordon with three.
· Matt Kenseth leads the series in top-five finishes at Texas Motor Speedway with 13; followed by Jimmie Johnson with 11, Jeff Gordon with nine and Greg Biffle with eight.
· Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson lead the series in top-10 finishes at Texas Motor Speedway with 17 each; followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. with 14.
· Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Texas Motor Speedway with an 8.5. Johnson is the only active driver with an average starting position at Texas in the top 10.
· Two active drivers have a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series average finish in the top 10 at Texas: Matt Kenseth (8.9) and Jimmie Johnson (9.0).
· Casey Mears has participated in the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway without posting a DNF (21).
· Jeff Burton (4/06/1997) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (4/02/2000) won their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career race at Texas Motor Speedway.
· 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski (11/02/2008) and Trevor Bayne (11/07/2010) made their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career starts at Texas Motor Speedway.
· Two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have posted consecutive wins at Texas Motor Speedway: Carl Edwards (2008 sweep) and Denny Hamlin (2010 sweep). Jimmie Johnson has won the last three consecutive Chase races at Texas Motor Speedway (2012, 2013 and 2014).
· 11 of the 12 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers who have won at Texas Motor Speedway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Texas in his first appearance; Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman won in their second appearance at TMS.
· Jeff Gordon competed at Texas Motor Speedway 16 times before winning in the spring of 2009; the longest span of any the 12 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.
· Only three of the 12 winning drivers have made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Texas Motor Speedway: Jeff Gordon (16) Kyle Busch (15) and Kurt Busch (13).
· Kevin Harvick leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway without visiting Victory Lane at 23.
· Two female drivers have made NSCS starts at Texas Motor Speedway: Shawna Robinson and Danica Patrick.
· Jimmie Johnson leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in Laps Led at Texas Motor Speedway with 889 laps led in 23 starts.
· Jeff Gordon leads all active NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers in Laps Completed at Texas Motor Speedway with 8,330 laps.
· One NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver has won at Texas Motor Speedway in two different manufacturers: Jeff Burton (1997 – Ford; 2007 – Chevrolet) (NASCAR)(4-10-2015)
There were 6 cautions for 30 laps and 15 lead changes among 8 leaders. Complete results are on the Texas race results page (pdf).
(4-10-2015)
Erik Jones won the 19th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts 300, his first victory in nine NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
At 18 years, 10 months, 11 days, Jones is the second youngest winner at Texas (Chase Elliott).
A NASCAR Next graduate, this is Jones’ fifth NASCAR national series win. He also has four wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Brad Keselowski (second) posted his 11th top-10 finish in 15 races at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his third top-10 finish in 2015.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (third) posted his sixth top-10 finish in eight races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Darrell Wallace Jr. (sixth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Ty Dillon leads the point standings by 2 points over Chris Buescher.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(4-10-2015)
1) #3-Ty Dillon 219
2) #60-Chris Buescher 217, -2
3) #9-Chase Elliott 208, -11
4) #6-Darrell Wallace Jr. 204, -15
5) #16-Ryan Reed 197, -22
6) #7-Regan Smith 197, -22
7) #1-Elliott Sadler 181, -38
8) #62-Brendan Gaughan 176, -43
9) #2-Brian Scott 169, -50
10) #18-Daniel Suarez 160, -59
See complete owner and driver standings on the driver standings(pdf) and owner standings page (pdf).(4-10-2015)
Erik Jones won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 19th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 with a lap of 29.163 seconds, 185.166 mph.
This is his second pole in nine NASCAR XFINITY Series races. He also won the pole at Auto Club Speedway.
This is his second pole and fifth top-10 start in 2015.
This is his first pole in one races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Brad Keselowski (second) posted his second top-10 start of 2015 and his eighth in 15 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Austin Dillon (third) posted his sixth top-10 start at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his fifth in five races this season.
Daniel Suarez (fourth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(4-10-2015)
News from April 9, 2015
UPDATE: Statement from Richard Childress, “Our appeal is scheduled for Thursday, April 16. We feel confident we have a very compelling case to present to the appeals panel. We strongly believe in the intent of the rules and the integrity of our own teams while following those same rules. Out of respect for the appeal process, we will have no further comments until after the hearing.”(RCR)(4-9-2015)
UPDATE: The engineers and mechanics who hunched over an array of computers plied their trade with typical high-tech flair during Wednesday’s open NASCAR test at Richmond International Raceway, analyzing data feeds and crunching numbers while their drivers made the rounds. The seven-hour session, which started 2 1/2 hours late because of early morning rain, came on the heels of Tuesday’s rain-delayed Goodyear tire test here, where teams confirmed the rubber that will be used in the springtime 400-lapper. But in addition to making tires work, teams used the extra time to try different setups that may pay dividends in a little over two weeks. Thirteen drivers added the Richmond detour before heading to this weekend’s racing at Texas Motor Speedway, driving cars equipped with ride-height sensors and pitot tubes to measure wind velocity. Additionally, three “wheel-force” cars — one for each manufacturer and marked with a “W” beside their number on the scoring sheet — also made the trip, each outfitted with a complex sensor attached to each wheel to measure load on the tires. The information from those three cars — with Team Penske representing Ford, JTG-Daugherty Racing for Chevrolet, and Joe Gibbs Racing for Toyota — would be shared within each manufacturer network. Tuesday at Richmond, teams tested tires for nearly four hours after steady showers pushed back the on-track schedule. Goodyear will employ zone-tread technology — using two different rubber compounds, one for improved endurance and one for enhanced traction, in a single tread — on its right-side tires. The left-side tire compound will remain the same as the one teams raced on last September.(NASCAR.com)(4-9-2015)
· Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions twice in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Texas Motor Speedway; the inaugural event in 1997 and the spring race of 2007. The actual race has never been rain shortened, but was postponed to Monday last season due to weather.
· The third-place starting position is the most proficient starting spot in the field at Texas Motor Speedway, producing more wins than any other starting position (six) – most recent: Jimmie Johnson (fall of 2014).
· Six of the 28 (21.4%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway have been won from the front row: three from the pole and three from second-place.
· David Ragan (4/09/2011) and Martin Truex Jr. (11/04/2007) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light poles at Texas Motor Speedway.
· Jeremy Mayfield was the first Coors Light pole winner, in 1998 with a speed of 185.906 mph. The inaugural Coors Light pole at Texas Motor Speedway in 1997 was cancelled due to weather conditions.
· Twenty drivers have Coors Light poles at Texas, led by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte and Martin Truex Jr. with two each.
· Two drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Texas Motor Speedway: Bobby Labonte (2003 and 2004) and Ryan Newman (2005 sweep).
(NASCAR)(4-9-2015)
News from April 8, 2015
UPDATE: The wife of famed NASCAR engine builder Ernie Elliott remained in custody Tuesday, nearly a week after she was arrested for reportedly trying to run him over. Magistrate Judge Tony Tarnacki set Sheila G. Elliott’s bond at $10,000 during her first appearance hearing on April 1. The 63-year-old Dawsonville woman may have no contact with her husband, according to the conditions of bond. Court records show that she also is required to stay away from business property on Elliott Family Parkway, where the alleged incident occurred.A preliminary hearing in Magistrate Court is set for April 29.(Dawson News)(4-8-2015)
In addition, the five-segment race will increase by a total of 20 laps, with the first four segments each scheduled for 25 laps as compared to 20 in recent years. With the final 10-lap shootout, the race now totals 110 laps.
The 2015 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race will have a minimum field of 20 drivers. There are currently 17 drivers eligible, with three additional spots available. Two of those are reserved for the segment winners from the two 20-lap Sprint Showdown segments beginning at 7:00pm/et, Friday, May 15 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The final spot belongs to the Sprint Fan Vote winner; voting at www.NASCAR.com/sprintfanvote and the NASCAR MOBILE application closes at 7:00pm/et on May 15. The winner of the Sprint Fan Vote will be announced in Victory Lane following the conclusion of the Sprint Showdown.
Drivers in the 2015 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race will compete in cars that conform to all 2015 rules. The race format will consist of a total of five segments: four 25-lap segments, with the average finish of the first four segments determining the order cars will enter pit road for a mandatory four-tire pit stop following the fourth segment. Running order ties will be broken by the finish of the fourth segment. The order of the cars returning to the track following the mandatory pit stop determines the starting order for a final winner-take-all 10-lap segment.
All laps will count in segments one through four. In the fifth and final segment, only green flag laps will be counted. There will be optional pit stops during the breaks following each of the first three segments, with the field set by the pit stop/stay out positioning during the five caution laps.
The following drivers are eligible to compete in the 2015 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race: #47-AJ Allmendinger, #43-Aric Almirola, #41-Kurt Busch, #18-Kyle Busch, #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., #19-Carl Edwards, #24-Jeff Gordon, #11-Denny Hamlin, #4-Kevin Harvick, #48-Jimmie Johnson, #5-Kasey Kahne, #20-Matt Kenseth (2004 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winner), #2-Brad Keselowski, #22-Joey Logano, #1-Jamie McMurray (2014 winner), #31-Ryan Newman (2002 winner), #14-Tony Stewart (2009 winner).(NASCAR)(4-8-2015)
#20-Matt Kenseth 105.9
#48-Jimmie Johnson 105.7
#18-Kyle Busch 101.3
#16-Greg Biffle 100.9
#14-Tony Stewart 98.3
#99-Carl Edwards 95.9
#11-Denny Hamlin 93.5
#24-Jeff Gordon 93.2
#15-Clint Bowyer 91.4
#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 91.1
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (20 total) among active drivers at Texas Motor Speedway. 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)
· Construction on Texas Motor Speedway began in 1995.
· The first NASCAR national series race at TMS was a NASCAR Nationwide Series event on April 5, 1997 – won by Mark Martin.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was on April 6, 1997 – won by Jeff Burton.
· The track underwent a repave between the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
· In 2011, the spring NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was moved from Sunday to Saturday night under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway.
· Texas Motor Speedway hosted its first Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on November 6, 2005 – won by Carl Edwards.
· There have been 28 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway, one NSCS event from 1997 – 2004 and two races per year since 2005.
(NASCAR)(4-8-2015)
News from April 7, 2015
News from April 6, 2015
1. #4-Kevin Harvick, 670 (has run all 1,816 laps) (2 wins)
2. #22-Joey Logano, 305 (has run all 1,816 laps) (1 win)
3. #48-Jimmie Johnson, 176 (1 win)
4. #11-Denny Hamlin, 165 (1 win)
5. #24-Jeff Gordon, 111
6. #41-Kurt Busch, 86 (in 3 races)
7. #2-Brad Keselowski, 82 (1 win)
8. #20-Matt Kenseth, 65
9. #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., 36
10. #78-Martin Truex Jr., 32 (has run all 1,816 laps)
Fans have three quick, convenient methods to buy tickets:
” Online: Visit www.ims.com/tickets. Tickets are available 24 hours per day, seven days per week. ” Phone: Call 800-822-INDY or 317-492-6700 between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday. ” In Person: Visit the IMS Ticket Office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday.(IMS)(4-6-2015)
News from April 5, 2015
AND An independent feature film on the life story of NASCAR legend, Bobby Allison, developed by Bobby Allison Production LLC. (“The Company”) is scheduled to commence pre-production in late 2014 and filming in early 2015. Theatrical release is planned for fall 2015.(allisonfilm.com)(4-5-2015)
TWENTY drivers have ran all the races in 2015 and not had an DNF:
Greg Biffle holds the modern day (1972-present) record at 89 (ended at Daytona in July 2014), then Clint Bowyer at 83, Kevin Harvick at 81, Harvick at 58, Jeff Gordon at 56 and Dale Earnhardt at 53.
The old all-time record for the longest streak of not having an DNF ‘was’ 84 races held by Herman Beam from April 30, 1961 thru March 10, 1963 [Beam didn’t run all the races, but did not have a DNF in 84 straight consecutive races that he ran].
The Most DNF’s in 2015: #40-Cassill and #14-Stewart has 2 DNF’s in 6 races.(3-29-2015)
Only current BMS season ticket holders are able to place a guaranteed deposit for Battle at Bristol tickets through the Speedway and are encouraged to do so before summer. Beginning July 1, BMS NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Combo ticket holders are able to make nonguaranteed deposits for remaining Battle at Bristol tickets. Any unfulfilled ticket requests secured with a deposit will be refunded. Deposits will be processed in the order of customer’s Priority Points total. The deadline to place a deposit on Battle at Bristol tickets is Sept. 10, 2015.
Customers who purchased BMS tickets in 2014 – ’15 will receive a customized mailer within a few weeks containing an example of their Priority Point’s calculation and detailed brochure. The brochure is also available online by visiting BattleAtBristolTix.com or by calling 844-367-6175.
To increase an account’s Priority Points total, purchase tickets for the upcoming NASCAR race weekend April 17 – 19. Food City 500 tickets start at just $64, or to experience a summer of fun with the best value, BMS season tickets begin at $149. Prices increase by $5 race week beginning at 12:01 a.m., Sunday, April 12. For more information visit BristolTix.com or to purchase tickets call 423-BRISTOL.(BMS)(4-5-2015)
News from April 4, 2015
Bobby Labonte, the 2000 Sprint Cup Series Champion, will make his first appearance at the festival and pilot the #3 DOW Chevrolet for the hillclimb circuit competition. This Chevrolet is regularly driven in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series by two-time NASCAR Champion Austin Dillon. Both cars participating in the Goodwood festivities will be prepared by and cared for at the festival by Danny Lawrence, an award-winning engine builder and long-time employee of RCR and ECR Engines. In 2014, Lawrence was honored at the closing ceremonies by Lord March himself for his continuous support of the festival and for playing an integral role with NASCAR’s participation year after year at the Festival of Speed.(RCR)(4-4-2015)
Speede Sport officials will present the “My Favorite Tracks” award later this year.
2015 My Favorite Track Top 10
1. Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio
2. Virginia International Raceway – Alton, Va.
3. Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, Iowa
4. Oswego Speedway – Oswego, N.Y.
5. Road America – Elkhart Lake, Wis.
6. Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Ind.
7. (TIE) Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Indianapolis, Ind.
7. (TIE) Williams Grove Speedway – Mechanicsburg, Pa.
9. Lucas Oil Speedway – Wheatland, Mo.
10. New Jersey Motorsports Park – Millville, N.J.
(Eldora Speedway:)(4-4-2015)
News from April 3, 2015
Drivers who need to be in the top-36 in speed and have no provisional available to them (lowest in owners points): #62-Gaughan(44th owners points), #21-Blaney (45th), #39-Kvapil (none)
Drivers who would miss the race if qualifying is canceled (least race attempts): #39-Kvapil (no race attempts), #21-Blaney (2), #95-McDowell(3)
See the full entry list at my Jayski.com’s Texas Entry List
Jeff Green is in the #10 for Tri-Star;
Timmy Hill will drive the #13;
Stanton Barrett is back in the #15 for Rick Ware;
Carl Long will drive the #40;
Brennan Poole returns to the #42 for Chip Ganassi;
Denny Hamlin will drive the #54 for Joe Gibbs;
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. returns to the #88;
Sam Hornish will drive the #98 for Biagi.(4-3-2015)
UPDATE: The #55 team have been added with driver Brandon Gdovic.(4-3-2015)
See the complete list on the Texas entry list page.
His combined determination, hard work and decades of experience have achieved an unparalleled roster of victories, boasting 92 career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories and third on the all-time wins and pole award lists. Gordon is a three-time Daytona 500 winner, five-time Brickyard 400 winner, three-time champion of The Sprint All-Star Challenge and four-time Food City 500 winner – and the list goes on and on.
Food City is Bristol Motor Speedway’s longest running sponsor and the second longest in NASCAR motorsports. The Food City 500 gets under way at 1:00pm/et on Sunday, April 19, 2015. Qualifying for the event takes place on Friday, April 17 at 4:45pm/et. Tickets are still available and may be purchased at www.BristolTix.com or by calling the BMS ticket office at 423-BRISTOL (274-7865).(BMS)(4-3-2015)
News from April 2, 2015
12.1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing
20.16: Wheels and tires
A. Any device, modification, or procedure to the tire or wheel, including the valve stem hardware, that is used to release pressure, beyond normal pressure adjustments, from the tire and/or inner shield, will not be permitted.
20.16.2: Tires
F. Modifications to the tires, by treatment or any other means, will not be permitted.
Section 12.5.3.5.1 lists P5 Penalty Violation examples that could include but are not limited to:
A. Effecting, modifying and/or altering the standard tires in any way, other than through authorized means such as tire pressure adjustments within the recommended range, permitted tire cooling when mounted on the race vehicle; or heat-cycling on the race vehicle on the race track earlier in the event.
12.5.3.5.2: Minimum P5 Penalty Options (includes all four points below):
A. Loss of 50 championship driver and owner points, regardless of whether the violation occurred during a Championship race or not
B. $75,000-$125,000 fine
C. Suspension for the next six series Championship Races, plus any non-championship races or special events which might occur during that time period, for the crew chief and any other team members as determined by NASCAR
D. Probation through the end of the calendar year for all suspended members, or for a six-month period following the issuance of the penalty notice if that period spans across two consecutive seasons
12.5.3.5.3: P5 Level infractions detected during post-race inspection:
If the infraction is detected during post-race inspection, then the following penalty elements will be added to those listed previously in this section:
A. Loss of an additional 25 Championship driver and owner points; regardless of whether it was a Championship Race or not
B. Loss of an additional $50,000
As a result of these violations, crew chief Luke Lambert has been fined a total of $125,000 ($75,000 plus $50,000), suspended from the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship races, plus any non-championship races or special events which might occur during that time period, and been placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31. James Bender, team tire technician, and Philip Surgen, team engineer, have been suspended from the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship races, plus any non-championship races or special events which might occur during that time period, and been placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31.
Driver Ryan Newman and car owner Richard Childress each have been penalized with the loss of 75 (50 plus 25) championship driver and championship car owner points.
“NASCAR takes very seriously its responsibility to govern and regulate the rules of the sport in order to ensure competitive balance,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. “We’ve been very clear that any modifications to race vehicle tires is an unacceptable practice and will not be tolerated.”(NASCAR)
See the Revised Sprint Cup Series Points page after #31 Penalty(pdf).(3-31-2015)
UPDATE – RCR appeals #31 penalties: Richard Childress Racing has appealed the penalties NASCAR levied against Ryan Newman’s #31 team for allegedly manipulating tires. NASCAR this week said tires taken from Newman after the March 22 race in California failed an independent inspection and had been altered to intentionally release air pressure during the race. No date for the appeal was set Thursday.(Associated Press)
AND: RCR requested deferral of penalties w/appeal. NASCAR granted for suspension & fines, but not for points. If they prevail, points reinstated.(Tweet from David Higdon, VP Integrated Marketing Communications of NASCAR)(4-2-2015)
UPDATE Larson still in hospital: As of 6:00pm/et Monday [March 30th], #42-Kyle Larson remains in a Charlotte hospital, where tests are ongoing to determine why he fainted during an autograph session Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. A spokesperson for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates told FOX Sports 1 reporter Alan Cavana that the team hoped Larson would be released sometime Monday night. The team spokesman said so far all of the tests have come back negative and that Larson is feeling well and in good spirits. Larson missed Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway, where his seat was filled by Regan Smith, who finished 16th. With six races complete on the season, Larson is 24th in points.(FoxSports)(3-30-2015)
UPDATE2: Statement from Target Chop Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates regarding Kyle Larson: “After extensive testing and observation over the last few days, Kyle Larson was released from the hospital last night and has finished up final tests today. He is currently waiting for final doctor recommendations in order to clear him to return to all NASCAR related activities.”(CGR)(3-31-2015)
UPDATE3: Kyle Larson has been cleared to race after last weekend’s fainting spell and will return to the track next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Chip Ganassi Racing made the announcement Thursday, three days after Larson was released from a Charlotte hospital where he underwent extensive testing. “I feel great right now, and I felt perfectly fine shortly after I fainted the other day,” Larson said in a NASCAR teleconference Tuesday. “But yeah, I just had to get a lot of tests run on me to make sure nothing serious was wrong with me, and all the tests came back negative. Yeah, the whole time I felt fine, and hated it that I couldn’t race this weekend in the Target Chevy, but Regan (Smith) did a really good job, and just got to thank all the doctors and nurses for how thorough they were with me.”
Larson, the 2014 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year, was hospitalized Saturday after fainting during an autograph session at Martinsville. “Well, I felt fine before we went to the autograph session,” Larson said. “I got through to the end of it, and I was just talking to one more fan, the last person there really, and just started getting light-headed and tried to lean forward and maybe see if that fixed it, and then I passed out. “I don’t know, it was just kind of a weird morning just because I was almost late to practice, so I just rushed myself that morning and didn’t take very good care of myself throughout the day and just ended up dehydrating myself. Just got to do a better job of taking care of myself, and that should never happen again.”.(CGR)(4-2-2015)
July 11 at Kentucky; July 26 at Indy; August 9 at Watkins Glen; August 16 at Michigan; and November 1 at Martinsville.
“We’re bringing back this program for a seventh year because it’s such an important cause. Every time we display the 811 logo on the decklid of the #22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion in a race the Common Ground Alliance sees an increase in 811 calls,” said Greg Smith, President of SPLC. “When somebody starts a digging project without calling 811, they run the risk of damaging pipelines, or knocking out power or gas to an entire neighborhood, for which they can be held financially responsible. It’s critical that everyone remember to call before digging, even for small projects like planting trees or shrubs.”
“We are proud to continue to support Shell in the longstanding work they do to further awareness of safe digging practices,” said Roger Penske. “Just like Joey has a spotter to let him know whether or not it is clear before he makes a move on the track, 811 helps you make sure you are clear to break ground.”
For more information about safe digging practices and what you can do to avoid causing injury or damaging infrastructure, visit www.call811.com.(SPLC/Common Ground Alliance), see an image of the scheme on the #22 Team Schemes page.(4-2-2015)
UPDATE: Wauters Motorsports and three-time NASCAR Mexico Champion German Quiroga are excited to introduce “Nation Rising”. Nation Rising is a hybrid digital series that will follow Quiroga as he competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in this 24/7-access, no-filter series. NASCAR fans are some of the most dedicated and loyal sports fans in the world. Now, these fans have the ability to experience the racing world like they never have before. The Nation Rising’s goal is to have a 10 minute episode air the Monday after each race, starting May 11th for a total of 22 episodes. Combined with the excitement of NASCAR, this 24/7 in-depth series will show people across the world what it takes to race in one of the biggest sporting leagues as Nation Rising follows German Quiroga all season. Through Kickstarter, Nation Rising has launched this campaign where the fans have the opportunity to have their name, their face, on the No. 5 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota Tundra each week. These fans will be the sponsors. The Nation Rising Kickstarter campaigns goal is to raise three million dollars so Quiroga and Wauters can launch the first web based series May 11, 2015 after competing in the Kansas Speedway NCWTS event Friday, May 8, 2015. Jose Jimenez who is an experienced cinematographer will produce and edit the Nation Rising video vignettes. Quiroga has five top-five, 17 top-10 finishes and one pole starting position in just 50 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts. The Mexico native posted his best points finish of sixth place in the 2014 NCWTS driver points. Team owner, Richie Wauters has 17 wins in his tenure with Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola and Shane Hmiel.(Wauters Motorsports)(4-2-2015)
UPDATE: Texas Motor Speedway, following the recommendations and guidance of NASCAR officials, completed a two-day installation project Wednesday to add 250 feet of tire barriers in preparation for next week’s Duck Commander 500 NASCAR doubleheader weekend. The tire bundles were added to five inner wall areas of the 1.5-mile oval per the instruction of NASCAR as to the specific locations, length of runs and general construction of the safety addition. The inner wall at the exit of pit lane was the most wide-ranging area with 115 feet of tire bundles while areas near pit lane entry, the jet truck staging area in Turn 1 and emergency vehicle cut-out areas in turns 1 and 4 varied between 30 and 35 feet each. Approximately 450 tires were used in constructing the barriers, which will complement the existing, extensive SAFER Barrier system that encompasses the majority of the walls.
The tire bundles, which consist of a combination of racing and street tires, are bolted together using heavy-duty nuts, bolts and washers. The tires are secured to the wall with a 3/8-inch cable that runs through the top row of tires of each tire bundle as well as cable clamps that are also used on the speedway’s wheel fence. The purpose of the cable is to minimize the tires becoming dislodged should they be heavily impacted.(TMS)(4-2-2015)
News from April 1, 2015
Following are the 20 nominees for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, listed alphabetically:
Buddy Baker, Red Byron, Richard Childress, Jerry Cook, Ray Evernham, Ray Fox, Rick Hendrick, Harry Hyde, Bobby Isaac, Alan Kulwicki, Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, Hershel McGriff, Raymond Parks, Benny Parsons, Larry Phillips, O. Bruton Smith, Mike Stefanik, Curtis Turner, Robert Yates. The NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2016 will be voted on and announced at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Wednesday, May 20.(NASCAR)(4-1-2015)
“Engineering is an integral part of the racing industry, as it translates into practical applications we use every day,” said Charlie Shaver, Axalta Chairman and CEO. “We are proud of our 23-year motorsports partnership with Hendrick Motorsports and Jeff Gordon and are honored to have the opportunity to support Penn State University’s curricula with this special program. It is crucial to many industries, including Axalta’s, to have access to skilled engineers and business leaders, and Penn State is providing the specialized programs needed to prepare them for the future.”
The April 14 on-campus event will include a visit by Gordon, a student pep-rally and an unveiling of the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy paint scheme that Gordon will drive at Pocono Raceway in the June 7 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race named the “Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400.” “The relationship between Penn State and Axalta offers our students the opportunity to learn about careers in business and engineering fields from the leaders of a global player based right here in Pennsylvania,” said Penn State President Eric J. Barron. “Helping students toward career success is of critical importance to the Penn State experience, and partnerships such as this are another way of giving our students special, hands-on opportunities to learn about their fields of study and the job market.”
“Supporting STEM education and future business leaders is vital to our future,” said Gordon. “I depend on the mechanical engineers on my team to make sure that my racecar is in top form for every race. Linking STEM education to the technology behind successful racing is important. I’m proud to partner with Axalta and Penn State on this exciting program.”(psu.edu)(4-1-2015)
“Our E6000 Converged Edge Router provides the fastest, most advanced broadband services. And now, NASCAR Productions is relying on it to deliver its at-track Internet service,” added Coppock.
“At NASCAR, we are driven by technology. We use innovation to generate close racing; foster safety; and create compelling experiences for fans watching at home, in-person and on the go,” said Steve Stum, Vice President, Operations and Technical Production, NASCAR Productions.(ARRIS)(4-1-2015)
UPDATE: On Sunday (3/29), FOX Sports televised its first ever regularly scheduled NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points race on FOX Sports 1, and the audience from Martinsville Speedway was record-setting. Overcoming intense competition, the race attracted 4,061,000 viewers making it the most-watched motorsports event in network history, the fourth most-watched telecast ever on the network and the only non-MLB postseason event among the network’s top five. According to Nielsen, the race propelled FOX Sports 1 to its most-watched Sunday from 6:00 AM-3:00 AM since launch, averaging 1,068,000 viewers over that span. Moreover, FOX Sports 1 was the most-watched ad supported cable network from 1:00-5:15 PM ET on Sunday (4,089,000 viewers), posting a +170% advantage over the next closest network (Nickelodeon, 1,511,000 viewers). The audience for the race peaked at 5,450,000 from 5:00-5:11 PM ET as Denny Hamlin held off a final-lap charge from Brad Keselowski to cop his first win of the season.
The audience for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race supplanted the previous FOX Sports 1 motorsports record of 3,526,000 set Feb. 15, 2014 for the Sprint Unlimited. The only other Sprint Cup points event on FOX Sports 1 was last season’s Bristol race on March 16 which was moved from FOX to FOX Sports 1 due to rain. That race averaged 3,227,000 viewers.
Preceding the race, NASCAR Raceday posted 1,008,000 viewers, +52% above last year’s edition from Martinsville (661,000). Immediately following the race, a special airing of FOX SPORTS LIVE posted 1,904,000 viewers marking the show’s seventh most-watched edition ever. On Saturday (3/28) the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race from Martinsville scored 1,100,000 viewers, +22% from the 2013 race on SPEED (902,000). Last year’s race was rained out and moved to Sunday at 5:30pm and delivered 532,000 viewers.(Fox)(4-1-2015)
Recognized every year on April 2, World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) was originally implemented by the United Nations in 2007 to help educate society about autism and how this worldwide health issue is rising over time. WAAD helps spread knowledge across the globe of the effects of autism and distribute appropriate information regarding topics such as early diagnosis and intervention. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors.
On a local level, Dover International Speedway and Dover Downs Hotel & Casino are proud to partner with Autism Delaware’s Productive Opportunities for Work and Recreation Program (POW&R program) to provide employment opportunities for adults with autism spectrum disorders. A total of nine individuals on the autism spectrum are currently employed by Dover Downs Hotel & Casino and Dover International Speedway in a variety of capacities. Both companies have gained highly productive, reliable employees. To help support this vibrant partnership, Dover Downs Hotel & Casino donated office space to Autism Delaware in 2013. The office supports the POW&R program at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino and Dover International Speedway as well as provides for a Kent County office for Autism Delaware. The office provides adult services, clinical services and family support. For more information about Light It Up Blue, visit liub.autismspeaks.org.(DIS)(4-1-2015)