NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR announced a new championship format today that will put greater emphasis on winning races all season long, expands the current Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field to 16 drivers, and implements a new round-by-round advancement format that ultimately will reward a battle-tested, worthy champion.

Day Three of the Sprint Media Tour concluded with visits by Front Row Motorsports, the Wood Brothers racing team and Team Penske. It was all a part of Ford Day at the four-day program.

Day three of the Sprint Media Tour concluded with Team Penske. Penske’s lineup is somewhat different this year. Returning members are 2012 Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney. Blaney will split his time between the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series in 2014.

Michael Waltrip Racing announced an expanded sponsorship roster for 2014 today during the annual Charlotte Motor Speedway media tour. The announcement included:

Wednesday was Ford Day at the 2014 Sprint Media Tour. We visited with Roush-Fenway Racing and the combination of Wood Brothers Racing and Front Row Racing to begin the day.

The final media session of the day at the Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway featured Team Penske. A full transcript of their remarks from the formal portion of their program follows:

Team Penske announced today that it has entered into a multi-year agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., manufacturer of the world’s most technologically advanced business aircraft.

Team Penske and EnerSys announced today a multi-year agreement that will call for EnerSys to become an Official Partner of Team Penske beginning in 2014. EnerSys will become an integral partner with Team Penske and will have its ODYSSEY Battery brand on the b-post of the No. 22 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) Ford Mustang beginning in Daytona.

Team Penske announced today that 20-year-old Ryan Blaney will expand his driving duties for its championship-winning program beginning in 2014.

The afternoon session of the Sprint Media Tour began with comments from Ford Racing Director Jamie Allison, Roush Yates CEO Doug Yates, and key members from Front Row Motorsports and Wood Brothers Racing. A transcript of their comments follows: