Panther Racing sues IndyCar and Rahal Letterman over sponsorship deal

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March 3, 2014

While teams prepare for the new year ahead, Panther Racing has a dispute to settle over a sponsorship deal. Panther Racing has filed a lawsuit against Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, IndyCar and other parties with regards to the National Guard sponsorship. Panther has stated that they lost the $17.2 million sponsorship with the Army National Guard because of bid-rigging and other improprieties.

The lawsuit was filed on February 19th in Marion County Court in Indianapolis following a ruling by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Panther made an appeal to the GAO about the National Guard sponsorship, however it was denied.

Panther Racing has since released a statement since news of the lawsuit has broke.

“Panther Racing is a proud member of the IndyCar series and looks forward to a successful 2014 season,” Panther Racing released in a statement. “As a company policy, we do not comment on pending litigation. However, as we have for more than 15 years, Panther Racing is committed to always acting with integrity and conducting business in an ethical and legal manner. Our singular focus remains on fielding a strong IndyCar race team on the track and being a responsible corporate citizen off of it. We remain active members of the Indianapolis community and will continue to support U.S. servicemen and women through our work with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, the White House’s Joining Forces initiative, Fisher House and the USO, among others.”

The National Guard has been with Panther Racing since 2008, seeing drivers like J.R. Hildebrand and Ryan Briscoe behind the wheel. For 2014, the plan is to go the full schedule with Graham Rahal and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

The lawsuit, which seeks for an amount pertaining to economic and punitive damages, accuses IndyCar of breach of contract with regards to which team had exclusive rights to provide Fan Village access rights and benefits to the Army National Guard. Panther Racing was supposed to have this right, however IndyCar CEO Mark Miles wrote a letter last November saying Rahal had the right to provide that access. Panther Racing states that IndyCar is liable for all economic damages to Panther as a result of the breach. The lawsuit also states that RLL was aware of the contract and falsely claimed ownership of the contractual right.

Document Packaging Brokers, known as Docupak, is named in the lawsuit as well. Panther Racing says they performed services to administer the National Guard sponsorship agreements, and someone in the National Guard contracting office of conspiring with Rahal racing to influence the bid process.

RLL has released a statement since the release of this information, stating that Panther Racing is only suing due to being unhappy with losing the sponsorship. RLL also stated that the new agreement will save the government and tax payers almost $5 million dollars per year with the smaller budget.

“The facts and issues Panther raises in the lawsuit are many of the same it raised before the GAO, which issued a 9-page decision noting that RLL was rated higher than Panther in three out of four categories,” RLL states. “The GAO also noted that there was no evidence supporting many of Panther’s allegations, and that the National Guard’s decision probably was driven by the basic fact that Panther’s base per year price was approximately $5 million more than RLL’s base price.

“RLL believes it is unfortunate and disappointing that Panther has filed a lawsuit making serious allegations against the National Guard’s decision process. RLL also believes that Panther’s lawsuit has no merit as a matter of fact and law. RLL’s lawyers will vigorously defend RLL so it can focus on what matters most — representing the courageous men and woman of the National Guard and winning races.”

Kraig Kinser Heads to Las Vegas & Tucson to Open West Coast Swing

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SM Archive

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March 3, 2014

Jimmy Weller seeking more success after stellar Daytona performance

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SM Staff

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March 3, 2014

jimmyweller_ssgreenlightracing — Photo Credit: SS Green Light Racing

The draft can be the great equalizer and sometimes leads to producing some special results for some drivers that fans do not normally hear about finishing up front. That happened last month with the NextEra Energy Resources 250 as Jimmy Weller brought his No. 08 Geneva Liberty Steel/Engine Parts Plus Chevrolet home in the ninth position.

“It turned out a lot better than I thought it would,” Weller commented. “I trusted my guys with it being my first trip there.”

Weller added that working with veteran spotter Rocky Ryan, who also spots for Marcos Ambrose, helped the learning curve. Weller was also surrounded by veterans on track, including Sprint Cup Series regular Kyle Busch.

On the topic of Cup regulars running the lower tier divisions, Weller is fully open to the idea.

“I think it’s cool when they come down,” he said. “It teaches you as you see what Kyle did at Daytona and pick up on that. It also gets more people watching the race because of them, and brings more notoriety to the series.”

Before his performance at Daytona, a lot of people didn’t know Weller, however he has been around the NASCAR ranks for awhile, with experience in the NASCAR K&N Series. The Youngstown, Ohio native has made 20 starts there over the past three years, scoring three top 10s along the way.

Weller got his start in racing on dirt racing in the big dirt modifieds, following in his dad’s footsteps.

“Dave Blaney, his dad Lou – he was the greatest around here,” Weller said. “My dad got his start from him. I started off in modifieds and then ran sprint cars for a year.”

Weller had success on dirt, scoring a BBRP Tour win at Wayne County Speedway at the age of 18, while scoring a championship at Sharon in Sprint Cars a year later. As a result, he was named one of the Top 25 Under 25 in Sprint & Midget Car News’ list at year end. Missing the following season due to injury, Weller returned to Big Blocks for the first half of 2006 – before switching to asphalt Late Models in 2006.

“Dave Blaney lived only 15 minutes from my house so he’s the one that moved me down to Charlotte and I worked out of his shop,” Weller said. “He’s been the one that has really helped me with this.”

Weller said going from dirt to asphalt was a challenge – but it was a fun challenge to tackle.

“First time we got out on the track with the late model and it got loose, I thought I did a good job saving it – ended up in the wall,” he said. “It’s just completely different. It was a lot of fun – it was a big challenge. I think that was the fun part in having to learn something all over again.”

Weller had had success in the late model ranks, recording a pair of wins at New Smyrna Speedway during their World Speedweeks while finishing seventh in the PASS Late Model Series in 2011.

Weller is scheduled to run at least 12 races this year with SS Green Light Racing and the goal is simple – to keep getting better.

“We’re going to a lot of these places for the first time,” he commented. “Just want to keep learning and getting better.”

Weller isn’t scheduled to run Martinsville Speedway, which is the next stop for the truck series.

“It may change now that we’re up in points after Daytona so we might do it,” he commented. “But we’re probably going to stick to our schedule. (Crew Chief) Jason Miller is excited for that race as he’s won some races there before. He’s really looking forward to going back and hopefully he can keep the momentum going.”

Looking ahead five years, Weller says that he wants to keep moving up the ranks, but added that right now he’s focused on his truck deal.

“I’ve always wanted to race so anything that I get to do racing wise would be good enough for me,” he continued.

The Final Word – Harvick wins at Phoenix, Junior remains hot, but as for Danica…

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Ron Thornton

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March 3, 2014

phoenix_harvick3_yeazell — Photo Credit: David Yeazell

Daytona was great. Phoenix was not bad, once you got used to the differences. One week we had a 2.5-mile superspeedway, the next we got was a single mile circuit. It rained in Florida, yet despite the forecast the only rain came to prematurely end the Nationwide race on Saturday. They ran in big packs in the southeast, not so much in the southwest. Rather than the huge grandstands, the feature of the PIR was Lonely Mountain and its band of hobbits just beyond the track. There was one similarity of note, however.

Dale Earnhardt Jr did run out front all day, just like at Daytona. He was almost the most dominant car on the day. Almost. The only difference was that Kevin Harvick remained ahead of him. All day. In the end, he had the horses to record his first victory as part of the Stewart-Haas team and an all but certain berth in the Chase, barring injury or alien abduction. Happy’s fender stated that it was Freaky Fast, and that was no lie.

If this was a wedding party, we had the happy couple at the alter, and the best men just behind them. Team mates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano started on the front row and never seemed to fade beyond the top four. You need ushers, and Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were visible for the first half of the race, disappearing for much of the second half before returning at the end to round out the top half dozen. No one else really mattered from start to finish on Sunday in what was a great day for Hendrick, Penske, and Stewart-Haas.

The Hendrick weak sister was not all that delicate, with Kasey Kahne 11th. Not everyone at SHR was as stout. Tony Stewart was 16th, Danica Patrick 36th, and Kurt Busch 39th. Busch ran out the string with an ailing auto until it finally blew up with 20 laps left.

As for Patrick, she has still yet to show she can race, as the new qualifying rules left her starting closer to the rear. While a Top 20 might be a victory for her, she never got a chance to even get that far. Already a lap down, in 25th, she tangled with Justin Allgaier, which left her rear left quarter-panel buckled in. While the broadcast crew saw the tire rub, her crew did not, so they were probably the only folks surprised when the tire finally blew.

With wins pretty much equaling a Chase challenge, the only folks of note in trouble early are Patrick and Martin Truex Jr, both outside the top thirty in the standings. Truex was 22nd last Sunday after finishing dead last at Daytona, with Patrick still unable to crack the top 35 on race day. Still, it is early and you would think any fully funded driver surely would have to be able to crack the Top 30. Right?

So, off we go via FOX to Las Vegas this Sunday for a 400 miler on a 1.5-mile layout. Johnson has four wins there, while Gordon was best once back during his last championship season. Matt Kenseth has three, including the one last year. Carl Edwards has a pair, with Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch each with one.

Talking about Busch, does anyone give a damn that he won his all-time series best 64th Nationwide race in Phoenix on Saturday? NASCAR sees what we see, they are concerned that the big leaguers stomp all over the up and comers, but are not sure exactly what to do about it just yet. The tracks want the stars to bring out the fans, the team owners want them as they bring in sponsorship dollars, but they are for sure killing this series.

Regan Smith won at Daytona, but series regulars have just three of ten Top Five finishes, and 11 of a possible twenty Top Tens. What I wonder about is why bother wasting my time gushing over Kyle kicking minor league ass, when the most relevant finishers at Phoenix were Elliott Sadler (6th), Trevor Bayne (7th), and Smith (8th)? You know, the top three in the Nationwide standings, the boys who are truly relevant. I think the problem is not that the Cup drivers are allowed to race, but that the media focuses in on those who do not matter at the expense of those who do.

Winning is good, but at least one needs to strive to be relevant. Win a Cup race, stay in the Top 30, and one becomes relevant. Go winless, and one better be in the Top 16 in points to stay relevant. With a career average finish of 27.0, I think I can already identify one who is not. I believe Richard Petty might even agree with me.

Here are the sweet 16 as we head to Las Vegas.

Pos.	Drivers	Wins	Points
1	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	1	90
2	Kevin Harvick	1	79
3	Brad Keselowski	0	84
4	Jeff Gordon	0	80
5	Jimmie Johnson	0	78
6	Joey Logano	0	75
7	Matt Kenseth	0	70
8	Denny Hamlin	0	68
9	Carl Edwards	0	65
10	Jamie McMurray	0	64
11	Greg Biffle	0	64
12	Casey Mears	0	64
13	Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.	0	63
14	Kyle Busch	0	61
15	Ryan Newman	0	60
16	Austin Dillon	0	56

Statistical Advance: Analyzing the KOBALT 400

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SM Archive

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March 3, 2014

Brian Vickers Aaron’s Dream Machine Las Vegas Preview

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SM Archive

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March 3, 2014

Kyle Busch says success starts with Adam Stevens and Joe Gibbs Racing

By

SM Staff

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March 3, 2014

phoenix_kybusch_Jeff ZelevanskyGettyImages — Photo Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

For the third straight Nationwide Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, it was Kyle Busch taking home the victory as he dominated the event, leading the most laps before the race was ended prematurely due to rain.

In the media center after the race, Kyle Busch attributed the success that he’s been able to have to crew chief Adam Stevens and the entire Joe Gibbs Racing.

“It starts right here with Adam Stevens and Joe Gibbs Racing,” he said. “They did a great job here for me today, once again, and proved why they’re the best in the series. Can’t say enough about what we unloaded here and were able to drive here this weekend.

“Overall, one of the most dominant races that I’ve had at Phoenix. Certainly days like this don’t happen a lot, but when they do come around, you take advantage of them.”

While the race came relatively easy to Busch, there were some tough moments in battling fellow Cup stars Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth on restarts. However, Busch has always been strong in the desert and felt confident going into the day and with how he’d be able to tackle the race.

“I’v always run well here and I love coming here,” he commented.

While Busch was quick to credit Stevens for the success, Stevens credited Busch for their success, saying the wins speak to the quality of driver that Busch is.

“Kyle (Busch) obviously is in a league of his own pretty much any time he gets behind the wheel and he’s got something special here,” Steven said. “He knows how to get around this place, I feel like probably better than anybody. He knows what he’s looking for, so it’s easy to tell when you’ve given it to him.”

Steve Desouza, vice presidents of Nationwide Series operations for Joe Gibbs Racing, says the success is attributed to the combination of Stevens and Busch working together as they have a unique chemistry together.

“Obviously anytime they get to the race track they are a threat and that’s a lot of fun,” he commented.

Busch runs multiple Nationwide Series races throughout the season and does it for the simple reason that he loves to race. He also likes doing it as he hopes that they can take some of the things they learned and translate that to success in the Sprint Cup Series. This weekend didn’t work out as well as Busch had hoped as he struggled with a loose racecar, coming home a solid ninth place finish.

People have continuously critiqued Busch and others for running a bunch of Nationwide Series races while being Sprint Cup Series regulars. Busch addressed these concerns after his Camping World Truck Series victory at Daytona, saying that people shouldn’t be quick to judge as having him in the series allows the younger drivers to grow racing tougher competition. Busch added that it helps keep people in employed with those who work around him, while sponsors are willing to allow a young driver to come in and run a couple races because of his connection.

For Joe Gibbs Racing, it probably helps them in having Busch and Kenseth run races as their feedback helps increase the Nationwide Series organization to help Elliott Sadler become stronger in his run towards the champioship. That same reason does with why JR Motorsports is probably bringing Kevin Harvick in this year, as well, to help Regan Smith and Chase Elliott.

NASCAR has also addressed the topic, saying that they are looking into possibly changing the rules in the future.