Home Blog Page 2166

Indianapolis 500-Winning Team Owner Kalkhoven Dies at 77

By
Official Release
-

INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022) – Indianapolis 500-winning team owner Kevin Kalkhoven, who also played a major role in the reunification of North American open-wheel racing among other racing-related ventures, died Jan. 4. He was 77.

Kalkhoven was co-owner, with CART champion Jimmy Vasser, of the No. 11 Hydroxycut KV Racing Technology-SH Racing Chevrolet that Tony Kanaan drove to an emotional victory in the 2013 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

Kanaan’s first Indy 500 win was the highlight of more than a decade of team ownership for Kalkhoven, who fielded teams in the Champ Car World Series and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for many champions and stars of the sport, including Kanaan, Vasser, Will Power, Cristiano da Matta, Paul Tracy and Sebastien Bourdais. Kalkhoven’s teams – known as PK Racing, PKV Racing and KV Racing Technology – earned seven victories between 2003-16 in major North American open-wheel competition.

Ownership of various racing teams was only part of Kalkhoven’s deep involvement in motorsports that started after a very successful career as a business executive in fiber-optic telecommunications networks and as a venture capitalist.

Kalkhoven, a native of Adelaide, Australia, joined Gerald Forsythe and Paul Gentilozzi to purchase the assets of CART in late 2003 and formed the Champ Car World Series. In November 2004, Kalkhoven and Forsythe bought iconic racing powertrain company Cosworth Engineering from the Ford Motor Company.

In February 2008, Kalkhoven and then-INDYCAR SERIES and Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Tony George completed extensive negotiations that reunified North American open-wheel racing after 12 years of two competing series. The final Champ Car race took place in April 2008 at Long Beach, California, an event co-owned at the time by Kalkhoven and won by Power in a KV Racing Technology entry.

Kalkhoven was a noted philanthropist. He served on the board of directors of the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, which benefits children with serious illness. He also was an avid aviator, with a commercial pilot’s license and experience in a variety of aircraft, including Gulfstream intercontinental jets.

Statements from Roger Penske, Mark Miles about Passing of Kevin Kalkhoven

INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022) – Statements from Roger Penske and Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles about the passing of Indianapolis 500-winning team owner and motorsports executive Kevin Kalkhoven, who died Jan. 4 at age 77:

“Motorsports has lost one of its true leaders. Kevin Kalkhoven had a great passion for open-wheel racing, and his vision and support helped guide the sport through some turbulent times. As a leader of the Champ Car World Series, Cosworth Engineering and the KV Racing Technology team, Kevin had an incredible impact on INDYCAR. Our thoughts are with the Kalkhoven family and Kevin’s many friends and colleagues that are coping with his loss.” – Roger Penske

“I met Kevin in 2013, and we quickly developed a personal friendship and a lot of common ground in racing. In many ways, winning that year’s Indianapolis 500 with Tony Kanaan must have been the highlight of his racing life. I’m sure he didn’t come back down to earth for many months. Kevin was a colorful, forceful personality who constantly brought new ideas to the table in an effort to grow the sport. I will miss him.” – Mark Miles, President and CEO, Penske Entertainment Corp.

Luke Lambert Named Crew Chief for Gragson, No. 9 Team at JRM

By
Official Release
-

2022 Driver, Crew Chief Lineup Solidified for JR Motorsports

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Jan. 4, 2021) – JR Motorsports has named veteran NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series crew chief Luke Lambert to lead its No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber®/Black Rifle Coffee team with driver Noah Gragson for the 2022 season. Lambert takes over JRM’s highest-finishing team from 2021, as Gragson finished third in the 2021 NXS point standings.

Lambert, 39, comes to JRM after spending eight seasons in the Cup Series and has been a top-flight NXS crew chief as well, leading former JRM driver Elliott Sadler to a runner-up finish in 2012 while at Richard Childress Racing. The North Carolina native spent the past two seasons with Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing calling the shots for drivers Chris Buescher and Ryan Newman.

“I’m really excited to have the opportunity with JR Motorsports,” Lambert said. “I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of really good opportunities and experiences in the sport, and looking at JR Motorsports and what I think we are capable of accomplishing, it felt like a really good fit. That’s what was exciting for me, because I feel like we have the opportunity to be really competitive and make a run at the NASCAR Xfinity Series title. That’s what I wanted to be part of here.”

While Lambert and Gragson are in the early part of building a relationship, the new crew chief sees much potential in the 23-year-old Las Vegas native, who capped the 2021 season with three wins, 13 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes.

“I can’t wait to start working with Luke and to see what his experience and knowledge can bring to this No. 9 team,” said Gragson. “After how close we came to winning the championship last season, there’s a ton of momentum on this No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber®/Black Rifle Coffee team, and I think Luke will bring a fresh perspective to what we already have at JR Motorsports.”
Lambert, a native of Mount Airy, N.C., graduated from North Carolina State University’s Wolfpack Motorsports program and joined RCR as an engineer in 2005. In 2011, Lambert took over as crew chief for Jeff Burton in the Cup Series, leading the team to two top-five and five top-10 finishes in 17 races, including a runner-up result at Talladega Superspeedway.

As a Cup Series crew chief, Lambert has one victory (in 2017 at Phoenix Raceway with Newman), 26 top-five and 86 top-10 finishes. In 2012, Lambert headed RCR’s No. 2 team with driver Sadler in the NXS, earning four victories, 15 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes on the way to a second-place finish in the series point standings.

The announcement sets JRM’s driver and crew chief lineup for 2022. Jason Burdett will return to the No. 7 Chevrolet with driver Justin Allgaier for a seventh season, while Mike Bumgarner will have Josh Berry for the full season in the No. 8 Chevrolet and Taylor Moyer will pair with Sam Mayer in the No. 1 Camaro full time.

ABOUT JR MOTORSPORTS:
JR Motorsports is the racing operation co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Fame member and 15-time Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller and NASCAR Hall of Famer Rick Hendrick. Now in its 21st year of overall competition, JR Motorsports competes in multiple divisions, including the NASCAR Xfinity Series where it currently fields four full-time teams and earned championships in 2014, 2017 and 2018. The company also races in Late Model competition and owns four championships in regional Late Model divisions and added a prized national title in 2020. To learn more about the organization, its drivers and its sponsorship opportunities, visit www.jrmracing.com.

Stewart-Haas Racing Bolsters Competition Leadership with Key Promotion and New Addition

By
Official Release
-

Mike Bugarewicz Promoted to Performance Director;
Drew Blickensderfer Named Crew Chief for Aric Almirola and No. 10 Team

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (Jan. 4, 2022) – Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has bolstered its competition leadership by promoting Mike “Buga” Bugarewicz to the newly formed role of performance director and by adding Drew Blickensderfer to its crew chief lineup.

Bugarewicz is an eight-year SHR veteran who has spent the past six seasons as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief, most recently with driver Aric Almirola and the No. 10 team. Bugarewicz has won with every driver he has been paired with, including SHR co-owner Tony Stewart. His promotion to performance director merges Bugarewicz’s hands-on experience as a crew chief with his engineering mindset, as the 39-year-old from Lehighton, Pennsylvania, holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State University.

“With the NextGen car being brand new, there will be continuous development on it every time it turns a wheel. Going into it, we knew we needed to shore up our resources and really bolster our competitive approach. Buga is the right guy to tackle all the newness that’s coming at us pretty fast,” said Greg Zipadelli, vice president of competition, SHR. “He’s an engineer and he’s also a racer. He will be that glue between simulation, at-track reality, engineering and our race teams, and his laser-like focus in this new role of performance director will be a huge asset to our team.”

With Bugarewicz’s promotion, Blickensderfer takes over as crew chief for Almirola and the No. 10 team. Blickensderfer is a NASCAR veteran who already has a history with Almirola. He served as his crew chief while together at Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) for the last few races of 2016 and then all of 2017 before Almirola departed RPM for SHR in 2018. Blickensderfer comes to SHR from Front Row Motorsports where the 45-year-old from Decatur, Illinois, won the 2021 Daytona 500 with driver Michael McDowell. It was Blickensderfer’s fourth NASCAR Cup Series victory as a crew chief. He previously guided David Ragan to a win and Matt Kenseth to two victories.

“Drew has been in the sport a long time and knows how to get the best out of the people around him, and that’s really what the job of crew chief has become,” Zipadelli said. “We have the same parts and pieces, but what we do with those parts and pieces will make the difference. Drew has worked with a lot of drivers and managed a lot of people. He already has a rapport with Aric, and that will make the learning curve in a season full of learning a little less steep.”

The rest of SHR’s crew chief lineup remains intact across both its NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series teams.

Rodney Childers, crew chief for the No. 4 team, will begin his ninth year atop the pit box for driver Kevin Harvick. The Harvick/Childers duo is the longest-tenured active driver-crew chief pairing in the NASCAR Cup Series garage, a partnership that has netted 35 points-paying wins and the 2014 championship.

John Klausmeier remains the crew chief for the No. 14 team and driver Chase Briscoe. Klausmeier helped Briscoe secure the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series rookie-of-the-year title. The 2022 season will mark Klausmeier’s fifth season as a crew chief.

Similarly, Mike Shiplett remains the crew chief for the No. 41 team and driver Cole Custer. The 2022 season will be the fourth straight year Custer and Shiplett have been paired together. The duo first joined in the Xfinity Series in 2019 where Shiplett oversaw a seven-win season and a runner-up finish in the championship standings. Custer and Shiplett moved to Cup as one in 2020, with Custer handily securing the rookie-of-the-year award via his win at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.

Richard Boswell has been the main steward of SHR’s Xfinity Series program since its inception in 2017 and he will continue in that capacity in 2022. He will again serve as crew chief for driver Riley Herbst and the No. 98 team. Boswell has been the crew chief for nine of SHR’s 21 Xfinity Series wins.

About Stewart-Haas Racing:

Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR team co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America. The Kannapolis, North Carolina-based organization has won two NASCAR Cup Series titles, one NASCAR Xfinity Series championship and more than 90 NASCAR races, including such crown-jewel events as the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500. For more information, please visit us online at StewartHaasRacing.com and on social at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Leidos Joins 23XI Racing as Primary Partner in 2022

By
Official Release
-

Mooresville, NC (January 4, 2022) – Today 23XI Racing announced Leidos will join the team as a primary partner beginning with the 2022 season. Leidos, a Fortune 500® technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader, with a focus in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets, will partner with Bubba Wallace and the No. 23 Toyota Camry TRD.

“We are thrilled with our decision to once again team up with Bubba Wallace and now with 23XI Racing,” said Leidos Chairman and CEO Roger Krone. “Bubba’s efforts have paved the way for real change, pushing for a culture of inclusion and diversity not only in NASCAR, but throughout the world. We see this as much more than a sponsorship – we see an opportunity to fight for our shared values. We are proud to have Bubba Wallace representing Leidos both on and off the track.”

The new partnership will reunite Wallace and Leidos, who previously had an affiliation from 2016-2017 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

“I’m pumped to partner with Leidos again,” said Bubba Wallace. “We had a great partnership when I was running Xfinity and to now have them on board our No. 23 Camry TRD and continue supporting my career and what we are doing both on and off the racetrack at 23XI is really a cool thing for me. I’m excited to have them on board for the ride.”

“Bringing Leidos back to NASCAR and building upon the relationship they previously had with Bubba is another step forward for us as we move 23XI into our second year,” said 23XI Racing President Steve Lauletta. “To add a technology brand like Leidos to our lineup gives us a new platform to reach a wider audience, allowing us to continue growing both the 23XI brand and the affiliation with Leidos.”

Leidos will appear on the No. 23 Toyota Camry TRD for its first race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on March 27, 2022.

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500® technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world’s toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. The company’s 43,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $12.30 billion for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2021. For more information, visit www.leidos.com.

About 23XI Racing

23XI Racing – pronounced twenty-three eleven – was founded by NBA legend Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin in 2020. With rising NASCAR star Bubba Wallace selected to drive the No. 23 Toyota Camry TRD, the team made its NASCAR Cup Series debut in the 2021 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Wallace made history on October 4, 2021, when he captured his first career Cup Series win, becoming just the second African American to win in the Cup Series, and earning 23XI Racing its first-ever victory. 23XI Racing will expand to a two-car organization in 2022 with Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD.

How to find competitive prices to insure a Chevy Malibu

By
SM
-
Photo by Zane Lindsay from Pexels

If you own a Chevrolet Malibu or if you are considering the purchase of this vehicle, you will want to find the best automobile insurance coverage at a competitive price. With so many different insurers available to choose from, it can sometimes be difficult to know just where to begin. Let’s start by taking a look at all of the different factors that can influence the cost of insuring a Chevy Malibu.

Full insurance coverage for your Malibu will normally include liability insurance, collision insurance, and comprehensive insurance coverage and will usually come with a monthly average payment that will be approximately $115.

Liability insurance is required in most states and includes coverage for bodily injury and property damage that you may cause to another vehicle while collision insurance will cover the cost to repair or replace your car due to damage from an accident. Comprehensive insurance will cover the expense to replace your car if it is stolen and will cover the repair costs due to damage from things such as hail or vandalism.

You can expect to pay around $46 per month if you only want basic, or liability, insurance coverage which is substantially less than many other vehicles.

However, there are several different factors that will have an impact on the price you will pay. The age of the driver or drivers, the age of the Chevy Malibu, your driving record, and where you live, will all contribute to and influence the insurance rate that will be available to you.

For example, someone who is a new driver or who has only been licensed for a few years will pay substantially more than an experienced driver who has a clean driving history with no violations. Drivers who are under 20-years-old can expect to pay $1,500 – $1,700 more per year than an experienced driver who is 30-years-old. This is especially true if the driver has traffic violations on their record. With a clean driving history, you can save between $550 -$600 per year.

Those who live in a large city, particularly one that has congested traffic, will also be charged higher insurance rates.

If you are insuring a new Chevy Malibu versus one that is several years old, you can expect to pay a higher insurance rate. The newer the vehicle the more it will cost to make repairs or to replace the vehicle, if necessary.

But, on the plus side, another item that influences your insurance rate is based on the safety rating of the car. Newer cars will generally come with features that raise their safety rating. These include but are not limited to, airbags, anti-lock brake systems, traction control, and daytime running lights.

One of the best ways to obtain affordable insurance is by getting quotes from different insurance companies. Determine which companies offer the most competitive rates but also offer discounts for safe driving records and take into consideration the safety rating of the Chevy Malibu. State Farm, GEICO, Progressive, Liberty Mutual, and Allstate are currently the top five insurance companies that offer competitive rates and discounts for the Chevy Malibu.

What Does F1 Having Two US Races Mean for NASCAR and IndyCar?

By
SM
-
Photo by Bill Stephan on Unsplash

Formula 1 is, by far, the biggest and most-watched motorsport series in the world. Yet, you may not think that to be the case if you live in the United States. Here in America, motor racing is dominated by two categories—NASCAR and IndyCar. Of course, there are other competitions, including several directly sanctioned by the FIA, but they don’t garner the same attention as the two dominant competitions. 

That’s not for the want of trying by Formula 1. Since the start of the World Championship in 1950, the sport has tried different ways of cracking the American market. For the first three years, the Indy 500 was run to Grand Prix regulations to provide a US Grand Prix and a way for European and American motorsport to come together. 

Even after 1953, the Indy 500 remained on the F1 calendar until 1960. In the years since, F1 drivers past and present have regularly made appearances in the famous race, including two-time winner Takuma Sato. 

There have been over 70 different Grands Prix held in the United States, with as many as three taking place per year at one point. Yet, few have lasted very long. No country has hosted its F1 race in as many different venues as the USA.

That said, Formula 1 appears to have found a permanent home at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas with 2022 marking a decade since the first US Grand Prix was held there. 

2022 will also be the first year in decades that more than one race will take place in the USA when the F1 circus rolls into Florida for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix. But what does this mean for America’s domestic motorsport competitions? Is there room for F1 in the space already taken up by NASCAR and IndyCar?

Is F1 a Threat?

In most parts of the world, people get into motorsport by discovering Formula 1 and then spend time looking at the other series and championships that are available. In the United States, fans of Formula 1 generally took their first steps into car racing through either NASCAR or IndyCar. 

For that reason, F1 hasn’t, at least so far, taken fans away from domestic championships, but rather provided them with another channel to enjoy their high-octane passion. That is beginning to change though, as Formula 1’s new owners, Liberty Media, are beginning to go after new audiences using techniques like inviting influencers and celebrities to attend races and through its Netflix series Drive to Survive.

In fact, the TV show is credited with encouraging more than 400,000 people to attend the 2021 US Grand Prix and for boosting television viewing figures by 40% by focusing on the personalities behind the sport rather than the technologies that make it happen. 

While those in charge of NASCAR and IndyCar are unlikely to be fearing the rise of Formula 1 too much, they are likely to be looking at the strategies they can deploy to piggyback off the popularity of F1 and also keep fans interested in their own competitions. For them, it’s like playing a game of poker, when players must make careful decisions about what moves to make after the big blind. They can’t move too aggressively but they also need can’t sit on their hands and do nothing. 

Photo by Andrew Roberts on Unsplash

They could choose to do nothing, confident in the assumption that NASCAR and IndyCar are firm American favorites. However, it is a well-established fact that NASCAR has endured a decline in popularity in recent years, so it should take the threat of F1 seriously. 

In the case of IndyCar, this is a very reasonable approach as the sport is incredibly popular with overseas petrol heads already, it is widely praised for having close racing, and the Indy 500 is one of the most famous and prestigious events in motorsport. 

Alternatively, they might choose to piggyback off F1’s growing popularity, especially since American fans will only have two opportunities to see a Grand Prix live, but dozens of chances to watch a NASCAR or IndyCar race in person. 

There have been attempts at this in the past, such as McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo driving Dale Earnhardt’s 1984 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Lewis Hamilton swapping cars with Tony Stewart at Watkins Glen, and Jeff Gordon getting behind the wheel of a 2003-spec Williams F1 car. 

Since F1 is a single-seater series and NASCAR is stock car racing, there are more opportunities for this kind of collaboration without the risk of drawing any negative comparisons between the two. This is less possible with F1 and IndyCar as fans are going to directly compare the speed, acceleration, and quality of racing that each has. 

Overall, F1’s rise in the USA could be both positive and negative for the country’s homegrown motorsport competitions. In a nation as big as this, there is definitely room for all three, but the bosses behind each one may need to get a bit more creative to drum up interest from fans.

FactoryONE Sherco Racing Announce Cooper Abbott as Newest Member of FactoryONE Sherco

By
Official Release
-

San Antonio, TX – FactoryONE Sherco announced today that Cooper Abbott has joined the team. The 23 year old Arizona native is a rising star in multiple disciplines of off-road racing. He most recently finished P2 in the 2021 AMA EnduroCross Championship, which is his best result of his young professional career.

“I am extremely excited to be joining the FactoryONE Sherco team alongside Cody Webb and the rest of the very talented team,” Said Abbott. “It’s always been a dream of mine to race for a factory team and I am ready to get the year going. I am super happy to be with a team that is striving for so much and has shown they can win races and championships. I’m thankful to Ron and everybody on the team for giving me this opportunity to go win races and championships on the best equipment the team has to give.”

Cooper will be racing the AMA Hard Enduro series as well as the AMA EnduroCross season. He will also be lining up against the worlds best in the FIM SuperEnduro World Championships in 2022, a first for him. Abbott has had great results in his short professional career including being the 2014 Amateur EnduroCross Champion. In 2019 he finished as the WORCS Sprint Enduro Pro 2 Champ. He has numerous EnduroCross podium finishes as a professional.

“We are super excited to be bringing in such a talented young rider in Cooper,” said FactoryONE Sherco’s President Ron Sallman. “His growth over the last few years is evident. He is coming off of a very strong EnduroCross season with a 2nd place in the championship. With that, our EX (EnduroCross) and SuperEnduro programs just received a huge shot in the arm. It is going to be awesome to watch Cooper and Cody lineup as teammates.”

About FactoryONE Sherco: FactoryONE Sherco is a multi-time United States AMA championship observed trials team and multi-discipline Championship enduro team led by some of the top riders in the business. The Trials team is led by 12x AMA Champion Pat Smage (Smah-gee) on the men’s side; and 6x AMA Champion Louise Forsley (fours-lee) on the Women’s side. The trials team consists of four professional riders and five development riders. The Enduro team is led By Cody Webb who is a multi-time champion that competes in Extreme Off-Road, EnduroCross and FIM SuperEnduro. He is also the 2010 AMA Mototrials Champion.

Amber Balcaen and ICON Direct join Rette Jones Racing for ARCA Championship Journey

By
Official Release
-

MOORESVILLE, N.C.: Rette Jones Racing (RJR) announced today that professional race car driver Amber Balcaen has joined the organization to campaign a full season ARCA Menards Series championship effort beginning at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on Feb. 19, 2022.

Canadian-based ICON Direct will continue its support of Balcaen and join her at Rette Jones Racing for the 20-race schedule from February to October 2022.

Balcaen, also a Canadian native is a third-generation race car driver who made history in 2016 when she became the first Canadian female to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race in the United States of America.

The Winnipeger’s new endeavor at Rette Jones Racing will also be supported by Glenn McLeod and Sons – cementing a full Canadian roster of partners for her ARCA Menards Series rookie season.

“It is really special for me as a Canadian competing in the United States to be representing all Canadian companies on my car with Rette Jones Racing,” said Balcaen. “To have the hometown support is amazing. I couldn’t do this without them.”

ICON Direct is a manufacturer of high-quality plastic component parts for the RV industry, located in Manitoba, Canada. ICON aftermarket replacement parts are available through RV Dealers and Distributors across North America and directly through their website IconDirect.com.

“We are excited to be a returning sponsor of Amber Balcaen in NASCAR’s ARCA Menards Series,” added John Loewen, CEO of ICON Technologies Limited. “I resonate with Amber’s underdog story. She has a really bright future as a professional race car driver and is a great brand ambassador for ICON.”

Balcaen expands her ARCA Menards Series footprint after competing in a limited ARCA Menards Series West schedule last season upon her successful and impressive participation in Bill McAnally Racing’s Drivers Academy, a driver development program.

She earned a career-best 11th place finish at Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, Calif.

This season, Balcaen with the leadership of former ARCA championship crew chief and co-owner Mark Rette has huge ambitions to not only continue the team’s winning ways in 2022 but captative the series with her determination to contend for the series championship.

“Racing in NASCAR’s national ARCA Menards Series has always been my dream,” she said. “To compete at historic tracks like Daytona and Talladega is something I have visualized for years. I have dedicated the last eight years, working hard to make this dream become reality and I cannot be more excited to live it.”

Rette is looking forward to having another female competitor under the Rette Jones Racing umbrella. From 2016 to 2020, Canadian Dominique Van Wieringen piloted a Rette Jones Racing entry in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East, including a championship East season in 2016.

“Everyone at Rette Jones Racing is excited about the 2022 ARCA Menards Series season,” he said. “As a company, we are thrilled to return to the premier ARCA Menards Series on a full-time basis and we look forward to the opportunity to strengthen Amber’s craft as a driver in a series that has always provided a lot of diversity.

“Our goals for the season are obtainable and we look forward to producing the results we know that we are capable of and giving Amber a shot at the ARCA Menards Series championship.”

Longtime RJR partners Ford Performance, Goodridge Fluid Transfer Systems, Jones Group Demolition and Abatement and JRi Shocks will continue their relationship with the team in 2022 and serve as associate partners on Balcaen’s No. 30 ICON Direct Ford Fusion.

Balcaen, 29, will make her Rette Jones Racing debut by participating in the ARCA Menards Series annual pre-season test at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway from January 14 – 15, 2022.

RJR is co-owned by Canadian entrepreneur and former race car driver Terry Jones.

Additional details on Rette Jones Racing’s 2022 season, including an announcement for development driver and ARCA Menards Series East winner Max Gutiérrez, is forthcoming.

For more on Amber Balcaen, please visit amberbalcaenracing.com, like her on Facebook (AmberBalcaenRacing) and follow her on Instagram (@amberbalcaen10) and Twitter (@amberbalcaen10).

For more on Rette Jones Racing, please visit RetteJonesRacing.com, like them on Facebook (Rette Jones Racing) or follow them on Twitter (@RetteJones30).

About Rette Jones Racing:

Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, Rette Jones Racing (RJR) was founded in 2015 with the intent of building a successful racing operation built around the fundamentals of hard work and a never-give-up attitude.

Owned by racers Terry Jones and Mark Rette, RJR plan to field a full-time entry in 2022 in the ARCA Menards Series, while also planning to field vehicles in the ARCA Menards Series East and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) respectively.

The winning ARCA team also offers technical and setup intel as part of its technical alliance partnership program.

PIONEER WILL BE SHOWING OFF THE DRIVERS AND CARS THAT CARRY THEIR SPONSORSHIP

By
Official Release
-

OAKS, PA January 3, 2022. . . What do Billy Pauch Sr. and Jr., Freddie and Brandon Rahmer, Craig Von Dohren, Kevin and Brian Hirthler along with Kevin’s kids Jesse and Kayla, Trevor Kobylarz, Jonathan and David Swanson plus Davey Sammons all have in common? The answer is that they all carry sponsorship from Bob Greene’s Pioneer Pole Buildings.

Pioneer Pole Buildings has also been the sponsor of the Motorsports Trade and Race Car Show at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA since 2014. When the 36th edition of the show is held on Friday, January 21st and Saturday 22nd Pioneer will showcase its sponsored racers and drivers in a huge featured exhibit at the front entrance area of the show.

There will be several cars on display at their impressive display including two out of the same shop in Frenchtown, N.J. A brand new Billy “The Kid” Pauch No. 1 will be on display along with another dirt Modified, the No. 15 driven by his son Billy Pauch Jr.

Lincoln Speedway track champion Freddie Rahmer will have his Pioneer sponsored No. 51 410 winged Sprint Car on display. Jonathan Swanson will have his USAC East Coast No. 17J wingless Sprint Car as part of the exhibit among others.

Davey Sammons’ new No. 79 Pioneer sponsored Dirt Modified will be on display across the aisleway from their display at the Bob Hilbert Sportswear exhibit.

Pioneer sponsored drivers will also be available for autographs and photos at the show on Saturday broken into three one-hour sessions.

At noon on Saturday it will be the Pauch family, with Billy Sr. and Jr. signing. They will be followed at 1 PM by the Rahmers, Hall of Famer Fred Sr. and his two sons Freddie and Brandon. At 2 PM the Hirthler family will take over the autograph table. 

Brothers Kevin and Brian Hirthler, both top runners at the Grandview Speedway are on the schedule to meet fans along with Kevin’s children Jesse and Kayla who are just beginning their racing careers.

The final group at 3 PM is led by Grandview Modified and NASCAR Northeast Region Weekly Champion Craig Von Dohren. He’ll be joined by fellow Modified racer Davey Sammons and Sprint Car drivers Trevor Kobylarz, Jonathan and brother David Swanson.

Pioneer Pole Buildings, Inc. takes great pride in constructing the highest quality, most structurally sound buildings in the industry. All buildings are designed for a 90 MPH minimum wind load. Every Pioneer building is individually designed by their expert engineering department and is built on site. Company representatives will be on hand during the two-day show to answer any questions regarding their services.

The Pioneer sponsored cars will be part of nearly 200 race cars of all kinds on display. Many speedways and organizations will use the show to announce their plans for the new season. 

A special Penn National Speedway reunion will be held with cars that raced there over the years on display and winning drivers signing autographs on Saturday afternoon.

Aqua-Duck Water Transport is returning as sponsor of the always popular Ms. Motorsports Pageant which will be held on Friday evening this year in the larger D-Hall. Cash prizes will again go to the top three with the winner receiving $1500 and a poster deal. Applications are currently available on-line at the event web-site.

Show hours will run 2-9 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are available at the door beginning one hour before the show opens.

A limited amount of exhibit space remains. This information is available on line at motorsportstradeshow.com, by sending an email to Danny Sammons at danny@aarn.com or by calling the show office at 609-888-3618.

The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks continues to be a great location in the center of the northeast motorsports world right in the suburbs of Philadelphia,” said Sammons. It’s easy in and easy out with plenty of Free parking surrounding the Expo Center.

Show information is available at motorsportstradeshow.com.

Brandonbilt Motorsports Statement on Sponsor Approval

By
Official Release
-

We are very aware and appreciative of the process required to approve sponsors and paint schemes and would not attempt to circumvent that process.

Brandonbilt Motorsports submitted our most recent sponsors and paint scheme to NASCAR, following the standard approval process that we have undertaken many times before without issue. We received written approval on the sponsors from a NASCAR Racing Operations official on December 26, 2021. The team subsequently moved forward with an announcement only after being provided with this approval.

The sponsor approval was unambiguous–the first four words of the email from NASCAR state, ‘The sponsors are approved…’ The only feedback offered was related to minor graphic design changes to ensure legibility on the track at 170mph.

We will continue to work with NASCAR and look forward to resolving this matter and clearing the air as soon as possible.

About Brandonbilt Motorsports

Brandonbilt Motorsports (BMS) is a race-winning organization that competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and fields the No. 68 Chevrolet Camaro piloted by Brandon Brown. Headquartered in Mooresville, N.C., BMS is owned and operated by successful entrepreneurs, Jerry Brown, David Clarke and Alex Mascioli.

1...2,1652,1662,167...6,667Page 2,166 of 6,667