Recapping ‘Monday Madness’ in NASCAR
Daytona must be getting closer as Monday was filled with news concerning the quickly approaching NASCAR season. From a deadly duo ready to battle for the Nationwide Series’ Owner’s Championship to a retired driver set to take some laps at Daytona, the day in news never let up.
Sam Hornish Jr. to Compete in 7 Races for JGR’s No.54 Nationwide Series Entry
Sam Hornish Jr. announced today that he will compete in seven NASCAR Nationwide Series races for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2014. He will be behind the wheel of the No.54 car in the events Kyle Busch does not compete in. Hornish Jr.’s first race will be at Talladega in May.
After finishing runner-up to Austin Dillon in the Nationwide Series standings last season, Hornish Jr. was left without a ride for 2014 due to lack of sponsorship. Hornish Jr. will not have a chance at redemption for the driver’s championship but he will play a crucial role in the No.54 car’s owner’s championship bid. The No.54 car came up short on the owner’s title last season but a revamped effort for 2014 makes them an early favorite to capture the crown.
Chase Elliott Partners with NAPA, JR Motorsports for Full-time Nationwide Series Ride in 2014
Chase Elliott was able to announce his plans for the future today. After losing Aaron’s as a sponsor following the 2013 season, Elliott went sponsor hunting in order to continue his racing career. Rick Hendrick and Elliott met with NAPA towards the end of 2013 and now NAPA will sponsor him full-time in his first Nationwide Series season. Elliott will get behind the wheel of the No.9 NAPA Chevrolet in 2014. The deal with NAPA is a multi-year agreement.
Elliott initially broke the record for being the youngest winner in NASCAR history last season until Erik Jones broke the record again in the penultimate race of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) season. Elliott competed in a select number of NCWTS events last season, but no Nationwide Series races due to the age limit. The now 18 year-old will be able to compete for the Nationwide Series title in 2014 as he continues building his racing career.
David Reutimann Out at BK Racing, Bowman, Truex Considered Favorites for Ride
BK Racing announced today that they have mutually split ways with David Reutimann. Reutimann had competed for the team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the previous two seasons.
With Reutimann gone, a ride has opened at BK Racing. It is unknown whether BK Racing will terminate the ride or if they will sign a new driver. Alex Bowman tested the No.83 car at Charlotte last month. Bowman will also test the car later this week at Daytona. He is currently without a ride for 2014 and appears as the favorite for the No.83 car.
Ryan Truex’s name has also come up as he will test BK Racing’s No.93 car at Daytona. Truex is currently under contract with Richard Petty Motorsports.
Bill Elliott to Test No.5 for JR Motorsports at Daytona
On the heels of the Chase Elliott announcement, JR Motorsports laid out their testing plans for Daytona International Speedway. With Dale Earnhardt Jr. unavailable, Bill Elliott will be behind the wheel of the car Earnhardt Jr. will pilot at the Nationwide Series season opener in February. Elliott’s last NASCAR venture came in 2012 when he raced a Turner-Scott Motorsports entry in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. According to JR Motorsports, this is a one-time deal.
NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: Jeremy Mayfield dodges a legal bullet
There was an old homespun proverb that my North Carolina Grandfather used to say a lot that went something like this:
“He’s the only guy I know who can fall in a bucket of s**t and walk away from it smelling like a rose.”
That old saying certainly applies to embattled race driver Jeremy Mayfield. We’re all aware that Mayfield was indefinitely suspended by NASCAR back in 2009 after failing a company drug test. That test indicated that Mayfield was using methamphetamine at the time. He remains under suspension to this day after declining to employ the use of NASCAR’s rehabilitation program. Mayfield chose to challenge the ruling in the courts claiming a mixture of a prescribed medicine with an over the counter allergy medication created a false positive in his test. After a lengthy court battle against NASCAR, that was turning into a futile effort, Mayfield eventually withdrew his lawsuit.
However, in the middle of all this, Mayfield was arrested for possession of methamphetamine as well as possession of a substantial amount of stolen property found by authorities at his North Carolina home. The charges, filed by three different North Carolina counties, were serious and Mayfield’s future appeared to be, at best, extremely bleak.
Again, Mayfield declared his innocence and began the lengthy and expensive process of defending himself. During the course of the legal proceedings, he said he would consider a plea bargain as long as it didn’t involve any jail time.
Okay, let’s be honest here, we all had a good laugh when we read that quote. With all of those serious charges stacked against him, of course Mayfield was going to jail.
Guess what happened on Monday, January 6th?
A report filed by WBTV, a Charlotte-North Carolina based television station said, “former NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield has pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor possession of stolen goods and one count of misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.”
“Mayfield will serve NO jail time, but will have to pay $88,124.41 in restitution to the victims. $60,000 of that was paid Monday, (December 30th), with the rest being paid Tuesday, (December 31st), officials told WBTV.”
“He will serve a 45-day suspended sentence and 18 months of unsupervised probation. Mayfield’s home in Catawba County was searched in 2011 and items alleged to be stolen were taken by law enforcement as evidence.”
Talk about walking away smelling like a rose.
Jacob Engle to run full ARCA schedule for Empire Racing
Empire Racing announced recently that late model drier Jacob Engle will be moving up to the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards in 2014, running a full-time schedule.
“I’m really looking forward to working with Empire Racing,” the 21-year-old said. “They had great results last year and I’m confident that with the relationship between Roush-Yates Engines and Empire we are going to have a very successful program.”
Engle got his start racing g0-karts in the San Diego Karting Association, US Karting Champinship, International Karting Federation (IKF), Stars of Tomorrow, and the World Karting Association (WKA). The young driver won 159 of his 286 races, while picking up an SDKA Championship and three WKA Championships.
He then moved to full-bodied stock cars in 2008, moving into the ASA Late Model Series in 2009. A move from El Cajon, California to Mooresvile, North Carolina, competing in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series at Myrtle Beach Speedway.
As part of the deal, Empire Racing added that Engle may potentially make some starts for them in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. It will all depend on how well he does in ARCA.
“We were introduced to Jake this past summer at a charity military event at Myrtle Beach Speedway,” John Bellesfield of Empire Racing said. “He is a talented driver with a great relationship with his marketing partners which is something that is hard to find today in racing so we are looking forward to a successful 2014.”
Engle was on hand for the pre-season test at Daytona International Speedway last month.
