Ryan Briscoe returns to a full-time seat in IndyCar Series with Ganassi

By

-

December 18, 2013

briscoe_garybuchanan — Photo Credit: Gary Buchanan

After running a partial schedule last year, Ryan Briscoe will be back full-time in 2014. The Australian will drive the No. 8 NTT Data Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing as a teammate to Scott Dixon, Charlie Kimball and Tony Kanaan.

Chip Ganassi said the decision was an easy decision to make with all parties based on Briscoe’s history with NTT Data. Briscoe was schedule to Ganassi’s NNT Data sponsored sports car last August at Indianapolis Speedway, though when Briscoe hurt his wrist in July, he was unable to run the event.

“We just felt with the history of NTT, it made a better fit with Ryan,” Ganassi added. “Ryan was the best fit possible. His experience was a little bit more than most out there. That goes a long way with the schedule we’re looking at next year.”

Briscoe will be entering his sixth full sesaon in the IndyCar Series and has seven wins and 27 podiums in 109 starts. He spent most of his career with Penske Racing, before being let go at the end of the 2012 season. Briscoe ran six races last season for Panther Racing with a best finish of 13th at Belle Isle. He also competed in the Indianapolis 500 for Chip Ganassi Racing, finishing 12th.

With a three-year contract now signed, Briscoe says he feels like one of the luckiest drivers in the sport right now.

“The first IndyCar I ever drove was one of Chip’s back at the end of the 2004. It’s been a rollercoaster ride since then,” he said. “Had a lot of great experiences all over the place. I’ve driven a lot of great racecars. But nothing beats being back here. Can’t wait to get integrated into the team again, being teammates with Tony, Scott and Charlie. I think it’s going to be an unbelievable year.

“Just really want to thank all the sponsors, NTT, Jeff here. We had a great time at Indy this year. It was an unbelievable experience. We talked back then about this plan of moving forward, having a future, and here we are.

“It’s just a great feeling. Just want to thank Chip and Mike for the support. Finally we’ve got this down, it’s out there, it’s going to be time to get to work.”

Jeffrey Womack, the senior vice president for CMO, NTT Data, says Briscoe is a talented driver and he is excited to have Briscoe representing his company. Tony Kanaan was originally supposed to be in the No. 8 NTT Data car, though will be driving the No. 10 Target car following Dario Franchitti’s retirement.

“We were over the moon working with Tony this year,” Womack commented. “This is a unique opportunity with this move for us to help honor the tradition and legacy of the No. 10 car, the special friendship that he had with the last two drivers. It’s good to be a part of that.”

Keeping Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on NASCAR schedule is a positive

By

SM Staff

-

December 18, 2013

Last year when NASCAR rolled out the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule, there were some new dates added – a dirt race at Eldora Speedway and a road course race in Canada at the famed Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

Both of those dates turned out to be a success and will remain for the 2014 season – no surprise to fans of the series.

Since the announcement of the schedule, Canadian NASCAR fans have discussing their plans in heading into CTMP once again in 2014 to witness another race. Those who didn’t attend the race are even talking of going this year, based on the success of those who attended.

While NASCAR is an American sport for the most part, there are many Canadians who follow the series, watching each of the races every week on TV and discuss them among the fans. There’s always been the fact that if you wanted to see a race, you had to cross the border. Though for some fans, there’s not enough money to pay for the tickets, the hotel and the fuel to get down there – along with other costs. That’s why having a race in their backyard is a welcome addition.

Also by doing it ‘Labour Day’ weekend, it allows fans to camp out for the weekend, enjoying all the practice sessions and the race, along with the Canadian Tire Series race – with having Monday off work to re-cooperate. For Canadian fans, it’s the perfect storm. The race drew in a crowd of well over 75,000 as fans lined the front stretch grass seating area, as well as some of the turns to witness the action only NASCAR can deliver. While a road course race with other divisions may be exciting, the trucks seemed to find a way to kick it up a notch. The entire course saw close, tight racing throughout the field – including some fireworks.

Last year’s race also included everything that a NASCAR fan wants in a show – close racing throughout, strategy and fireworks at the end. From the contact between eventual race winner Chase Elliott and Ty Dillon to the contact with Mike Skeen and Max Papis followed by the slap, the race was full of fireworks from top to bottom.

Though beyond all the positives that come with having the race, there is the simple fact – the trucks deserve to have a road course on their schedule. Both the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series run at least two road courses a year so why would the trucks be different?

When the truck race was added to the schedule last year, it was a welcome addition by many fans and drivers alike.

“I think it’s long over due for the truck series,” 2012 series champion James Buescher commented back in September. “You look at every NASCAR series – K&N, Cup, Nationwide, Canadian Tire Series, Mexico, Europe – every series was racing on the road courses except the trucks. I thought it was quite overdue.”

“I love it,” Coulter said of the diversity late summer. “When I was racing in the ARCA Series, one of my favourite parts was running all those different race tracks within a month basically. So when I heard where the trucks were going to race this weekend with dirt and road courses, I was pretty excited about it. I like having it mix-up and really adds another level of challenge to the drivers and show people what kind of drivers they are, whether they’re just short track drivers or have their hands on the whole spectrum.”

The long NASCAR schedule is supposed to test a driver’s ability to the full extent and the driver that can be the most consistent over the season is the one who is rewarded with the biggest prize at the end of the year. While it’s important to see who will run well at the plate tracks, the short tracks and the intermediate tracks – its also neat to see who will run well on the road courses and on dirt. The driver who masters the whole package is the driver who normally comes out on top, as Matt Crafton did this past season with his consistency throughout the whole year.

PRE-HOLIDAY INDYCAR SERIES TEST SERVES AS JUMP-START FOR 2014

By

SM Archive

-

December 18, 2013

Competition Efforts By NASCAR Are a Step in the Right Direction

By

SM Staff

-

December 18, 2013

2014 Rules Testing — Photo Credit: NASCAR via Getty Images

On Tuesday, NASCAR finally announced its 2014 rules package for the Sprint Cup Series Gen-6 racecar. While these changes may not have been significant or may not have been a step in the right direction in the eyes of many, the efforts of the sanctioning body cannot be denied.

In an effort to reenergize the sport, NASCAR has spent the recent years developing and carrying out ideas in a five-year industry action plan. The plan has focused on the restructuring of virtually every corner of the sport, from marketing and public relations to the competition itself. To most, the competition on the racetrack is what matters more than anything and rightly so – the racing is why we watch.

In the recent years, with aerodynamics becoming critical in the setup of every racecar, the racing product has not met the expectations of many fans, drivers, and media. Turbulent air that separates cars over the course of long green flag runs, especially at intermediate tracks, has left many followers of the sport unsatisfied. NASCAR has been searching for ways to improve the product.

In May of 2013, NASCAR brought in former GM executive Gene Stefanyshyn as the Vice President of Innovation and Racing Development. Since his hire, Stefanyshyn has worked closely with other NASCAR executives, drivers, manufacturers, and teams to evaluate and make improvements to the competition.

In the months of Stefanyshyn’s presence, there has been the promise of change moving forward. In July, the sanctioning body announced a complete restructuring of competition, which focuses on major changes to rules, appeal procedures, technology, officiating, and governance set to take place over the next few years. The focus of NASCAR has shifted. Officials will now focus strictly on enforcing the rules, while Stefanyshyn will be responsible for putting the rules into place.

In October, Stefanyshyn led his first major test, guiding six teams at Charlotte Motor Speedway in trying potential rule packages for 2014 and beyond. Just weeks later, he led a 30-car test at the speedway to finalize and confirm previous ideas tested in October. Even more promising was the way the second test was conducted – multiple heat races were ordered to provide the most accurate portrayal of race conditions.

Just days after the test, NASCAR delivered the rules package to race teams. It was made clear that data was a major part of the decision making process for Stefanyshyn and his R&D team – and will be moving forward beyond next season.

“It was important to get the final pieces of the rules package to teams as quickly as possible following the final tests last week,” Stefanyshyn said. “Throughout the process, we gained valuable data that informed many of the changes for 2014. This data will prove useful as we continue to evolve the racing product into the future.”

In a short time, Stefanyshyn has gone from a name that few would recognize – or could spell – to one that is becoming a major figure in the sport. Frequent media availabilities by Stefanyshyn throughout testing and rule announcements have made it clear that the industry is pulling together to reach a common goal: the most entertaining racing possible.

Stefanyshyn not only leads NASCAR in determining rules, but he also leads in innovation. As technology evolves, so must NASCAR. With recent developments like the Air Titan, to future developments like the digital dashboard, innovation has been the word of the year for NASCAR’s staff.

One common theme in the recent efforts of improving the competition is that the process is a continual one. Developments are already being considered for 2015 and beyond.

“I feel very proud to be part of the NASCAR organization,” Stefanyshyn said. “I think the Gen-6 car is a wonderful step forward. We’ve raced it for a year. Now we’re starting to collect a lot of data and beginning to take the car to the next level. So this is all about a journey of continuous improvement, and continuing to make it better year after year after year.”

The 2014 rules package could be a success or it could be a failure. It might not even be a noticeable change to race fans. The rules package did not seem to be a major shakeup like many had expected. Still, this initial phase in developing the competition is something that race fans should be excited about for the years ahead. In the long run, these efforts are likely to pay off.

Let’s hope these efforts pay off sooner rather than later.

2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Top Performances

By

SM Archive

-

December 18, 2013

Ryan Hunter-Reay looking for more success in 2014

By

SM Staff

-

December 18, 2013

Following a great championship season in 2012, Ryan Hunter-Reay came into 2013 as one of the guys to beat. However, a mix of mechanical issues and incidents on track took the American out of the championship picture, resulting in a seventh place finish in points with a win at Barber Motorsports Park.

Fresh off celebrating his birthday, Hunter-Reay will be one of the drivers in attendance at the test at Sebring Raceway on December 18th. Hunter-Reay is looking for a stronger 2014 season as the team switches from Chevrolet power to Honda power.

“It’s great to continue with the same group of guys and working again with my engineer Ray (Gosselin) and my teammates James (Hinchcliffe) and Marco (Andretti). We just need to keep pushing forward and keep evolving,” he said. “We barely let the Indy 500 get away from us and I think we had a pretty good season. We had three poles, two wins and we should have had another win or two in there. I think we can hopefully go out and do that again. We’re starting anew with Honda and we’ve got a chance to really take our game to a new level.”

Though like any other driver, Hunter-Reay has taken advantage of the off-season to spend time with family and take part in other events. The 2012 Series Champion took part in the Dolphins Cycling Challenge to raise money for cancer research.

“There are more than 2,000 riders and it raised almost $2 million (primarily for the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center),” he said. “Racing for Cancer is a small beneficiary of the Dolphins Cycling Challenge and my personal sponsor AutoNation is heavily involved. I rode with Team AutoNation.

We started in Boca Raton and rode to the Dolphins Stadium in Miami, which is about 45 miles. It was a lot of fun. It’s great to be out with everybody doing that. You really feel the energy behind it. Hopefully, that will be a regular on the off-season schedule.”

Hunter-Reay will spending Christmas with his family, including his wife Beccy and son Ryden. Ryden will be turning one on December 28th so Hunter-Reay says the holiday should be a lot of fun.

“He’s laughing a lot right now. The highlight of my day is waking up and seeing his face. It’s a lot of fun,” he added. “For his first birthday, he loves Mickey Mouse. That’s one thing that captures his attention. It’s amazing how that works. An (85-year old) cartoon mouse, that’s his hero. I think I come a close second when I’m in my race suit, but Mickey Mouse takes the cake. We’ll probably have some sort of Mickey Mouse-themed party for him.”

Joey Coulter reportedly to drive for Maurice Gallagher in 2014

By

SM Staff

-

December 17, 2013

BOWMANVILLE, ON - AUGUST 30: Joey Coulter, driver of the #18 Monster Energy Toyota, stands in the garage area prior to practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on August 30, 2013 in Bowmanville, Canada. (Photo by Geoff Burke/NASCAR via Getty Images) — Photo Credit: Goeff Burke/NASCAR via Getty Images

Last year, Joey Coulter made the move from Richard Childress Racing to Kyle Busch Motorsports, in hopes to win races and possibly a championship.

However, the year didn’t go as planned as the season was plagued by bad luck, resulting in Coulter finishing 15th in points with three top fives and five top 10 finishes.

“We’ve had a lot of speed,” he said earlier this year in September. “We’ve been pretty happy with how our Tundra has been running, just haven’t had the luck to go along with it. A lot of blown tires, just things that you get into those situations where you feel you can’t do anything right. The bright side is we have fast trucks when we don’t have bad luck.”

As a result of a lack of funding at KBM and Kyle Busch shrinking the team, Joey Coulter was let go at season’s end.

All is not lost for the Miami Springs, Florida native as he has landed a ride for 2014 and will drive for Maurice Gallagher in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

“It’s not a deal until its signed sealed and delivered,” Coulter told Dave Moody earlier this month, “but we’re getting close.”

Gallagher, who owns Allegiant Air, a low-cost airline just outside Las Vegas, fielded cars last year for son Spencer Gallagher in the ARCA Racing Series, is looking to step his game up for next season. He entered Gallagher into five Camping World Truck Series races last year, with Gallagher failing to qualifying for two and scoring a 20th finish at Texas for his highest finish of the season.

Per Moody’s “The Godfather’s Blog”, Gallagher will field the trucks out of the Coulter Motorsports shops in North Carolina. Coulter Motorsports has been fielding cars in the ARCA Serier. Coulter will run the full 2014 Truck Series schedule with Allegiant Air on the quarter panels of the truck while Maurice’s son Spencer will run the full ARCA schedule, as well as select truck races. Jeff Stankiewicz will reportedly serve as crew chief for Coulter.

It was also announced during Richard Childress Racing’s press conference about Austin Dillon’s 2014 plans that RCR has sold their truck series equipment to Gallagher Motorsports as they will not be running trucks in 2014. When Coulter was at Richard Childress Racing in their equipment with Harold Holly on the pit box, he scored a win at Pocono, 13 top fives and 28 top 10s in those 47 starts.