NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: PRE DAYTONA DEALS FOR WHEELS BY DAVE GRAYSON
As we move closer to green flag time for the February 26th Daytona 500, and the start of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, there are still deals being made during the final days. To no surprise, a lot of corporations wants to see their logo on the hood of a car during Daytona Speedweeks. The really bright spot here lies in the fact that some of these eleventh hour deals are for the entire season.
TERIYAKI SANDWICHES FOR ALL MY FRIENDS.
Seemingly convinced that Carl Edwards is going to be the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, the Subway Restaurant Chain recently announced that they have expanded their partnership with the driver and Roush Fenway Racing. They have expanded their primary sponsorship role from three races, in 2011, to six races this year. They have also signed on as an associate sponsor for an additional four events this year. The company’s logo will appear on the hood of Edwards’ #99 Ford for the first time on March 4th for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway.
There is already a new Subway advertising campaign, featuring Edwards, on the way with the first ad scheduled to appear during the Daytona 500 broadcast. Also, Subway franchises will be proclaimed as being “the official training restaurant of Carl Edwards and Roush Fenway Racing.
This announcement also means that Edwards will be eating a lot of sweet onion chicken teriyaki sandwiches this year which happens to be his favorite Subway menu item.
TWO SETS OF PIT CREWS MAY BE JUMPING OFF OF THE WALL A LITTLE FASTER
Front Row Motorsports announced a new sponsorship deal with Maximum Human Performance, (MHP), a New Jersey based firm who specializes in sports supplements. Making their first venture into NASCAR racing, MHP will be a primary sponsor fro FRM teams in both 2012 and 2013. The program begins with sponsorship for driver David Gilliland and his team during the upcoming Budweiser Shootout and Daytona 500.
In addition to being official sponsors of FRM’s #34 and #38 teams, MHP experts will work with the team’s pit crew coach and trainers to develop nutritional and fitness plans to improve and maximize the speed and performance of the team’s over the wall crews.
In still more good news for driver David Gilliland, FRM recently announced that veteran crew chief Pat Tryson will be overseeing the team this year. Tryson brings 15 years of experience to the top of the team’s pit box. The move also allows interim crew chief Derrick Finley to return to his duties as Director of Competition.
WHO NEEDS A RACE TRACK WHEN YOU’RE SO FAST OFF THE ROAD?
Over the years there has been a sense of bewilderment regarding driver Robby Gordon’s Sprint Cup efforts. It just seemed that his race team has been frequently hampered by the struggles that comes with bad luck. However, place Robby Gordon in no man’s land, behind the wheel of an off road vehicle. and it’s a completely different story.
Gordon started off his 2012 off road racing schedule with success in the rugged Dakar Rally. Then, recently, he scorched the competition in Parker-Arizona by easily winning the Best Of The Desert Parker 425. He finished the rugged event a full five minutes ahead of his nearest competitor and also finishes 14 minutes ahead of last year’s winning margin. Also of interest here was the vehicle Gordon was driving in the Parker event. It was his first venture in a “Truggy” which is hybrid between a full size trophy truck and a class one race buggy.
Gordon will be spending the weekend of February 10th taking on a new off road racing challenge: rock climbing. Gordon is entered in the 2012 King Of The Hammers Race to be held in Johnson Valley, CA.
Regarding NASCAR Sprint Cup activities, Robby Gordon Motorsports, and his SPEED Energy team, are entered in this year’s Daytona 500. However, there are no announced plans for the team beyond that point.
NOTEWORTHY ADDITIONS FROM THE ALL KNOWING, ALL POWERFUL, ONE EYED GOD IN YOUR LIVING ROOMS.
That, of course, would be your television sets. The ESPN2 Network recently announced that their popular program “NASCAR Now” will be returning for its sixth season beginning February 13th. The program will air Monday through Friday beginning at 3 pm eastern time. There will also be the weekend edition aired on the morning of each Sprint Cup event. Mike Masarro will be the primary host of “NASCAR Now” with ongoing hosts Allen Bestwick, Nicole Briscoe, Marty Reid and Shannon Spake.
In a surprising move, ESPN2 also announced that Sprint Cup driver A J Allmendinger will be joining the “NASCAR Now” weekend edition team hosting a segment titled “The Daily Dinger” featuring offbeat interviews with drivers, crew chiefs and fans.
The SPEED Channel recently announced that former NASCAR Sprint driver Ricky Rudd will join their “SPEED Center” program as an analyst. Rudd, with 23 Cup wins, is listed on NASCAR’s 50 All Time Greatest Drivers list. As both a former driver and a team owner he should be a lot of expertise to the “SPEED Center” table.
Also joining the “SPEED Center” team will be former Miss Sprint Cup Monica Palumbo who will present a social media report based on updates from “Facebook”, “Twitter,” and “You Tube.”
SPEAKING OF THE SOCIAL NETWORKS.
The “Twitter” message of the week belongs to SPEED Channel analyst Bob Dillner who apparently was feeling pressurized by a Las Vegas based real estate company. In a recent “Tweet”, Dillner wrote: “Dear everyone in Las Vegas. If I want a damn time share I will call you. Now, please leave me alone.”
BEST INTERVIEW ONE LINER OF THE WEEK.
That honor goes to the always fun DeLana Harvick. During an appearance on the NASCAR radio channel’s “Sirius Speedway”, hosted by Dave Moody, the conversation centered around the fact that DeLana and Kevin Harvick are currently expecting their first child. When asked the question regarding those who might be tempted to touch the baby bump, Harvick immediately replied “I’m prepared to ninja chop anyone who even looks like they’re going to try to touch my stomach.”
