NASCAR Names Directors for Modified Tours
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – NASCAR announced today the appointment of Jimmy Wilson to the position of NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour director and Juston Ellis to the same position for the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour.
Wilson, originally from Orlando, Fla., has served the two previous years as director of the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour. He’ll now lead the northeast-based NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, which traces its roots back to the first NASCAR-sanctioned event in 1948.
Notes and Quotes #4: NASCAR Sprint Media Tour Hosted By Charlotte Motor Speedway
David Ragan and Michael Annett Head Home for Pre-Daytona Competition
What do Cup and Nationwide drivers David Ragan and Michael Annett have in common as they prepare to start the NASCAR racing season at Daytona next month?
Both Ragan and Annett will head straight their local short tracks for some preparatory competition prior to the start of their top tier series competition. And both of them are competing at tracks not only close to their hearts but close to home as well.
Ragan will hit his local short track this weekend in the season opener of the CRA (Champion Racing Association) Super Series. The newly-married Sprint Cup driver will star at SpeedFest 2013 this weekend at Watermelon Capital Speedway just a hop, skip and a jump from his hometown of Unadilla, Georgia.
Ragan competed last year in this same event pre-Daytona, finishing third after starting on the pole. He is hoping to top finish that this year, racing in his own No. 77 David Ragan Inc. Ford.
“It’s always a lot of fun to go run a race in January when we have some free time,” Ragan said. “This race always draws a lot of guys from all over, especially up north where it’s still too cold and snowy to go racing.”
“We just have a lot of fun,” Ragan continued. “And running a race that close to home, I get a lot of friends and family in the stands cheering me on.”
While Ragan’s primary job is behind the wheel of the No. 34 Ford Fusion Motorsports, he also loves returning to his short track roots, racing a handful of late-model competitions with his own two car team based in his new home in Concord, North Carolina.
“It’s a chance for me to go race four or five times a year at the short tracks and just have some fun,” Ragan said. “My late model program is two cars.”
“I’ve got one full-time employee who works on them,” Ragan continued. “Other than that, it’s me and my cousin and some volunteer help.”
“Some of the guys from Front Row Motorsports go with us on the weekends to help.”
While Ragan thoroughly enjoys the local competition, he also acknowledges that even when he is having fun, he still wants to claim that checkered flag.
“Sometimes I have to remind myself that it’s just for fun,” Ragan said. “I’m a competitor and I admit I can get caught up in the moment of trying to be competitive.”
“I want to spend more money than we should on the cars to make improvements here and there,” Ragan continued. “Then I remember to dial it down a bit and remember why I do it.”
In addition to enjoy the big Cup tracks, Ragan is also very fond of his home track, Watermelon Capital Speedway.
“Watermelon Capital Speedway is a very fun race track,” Ragan said. “It’s D-shaped, where the back straightaway curves a little.”
“It’s not your typical short track,” Ragan continued. “It’s challenging.”
“Last year we sat on the pole and finished third,” Ragan said. “Two years ago we finished fifth or sixth, so we usually run pretty well and have had some changes to win.”
“This weekend, our goal is to go down there, lead the most laps and win the race.”
Fellow Nationwide competitor Michael Annett is right there with Ragan as far as wanting to win in his local short track event. He will compete at the Iowa State Fairgrounds Battle at the Barn, an indoor carting event this weekend that also includes another fellow racer Kenny Wallace.
Annett, Nationwide driver for Richard Petty Motorsports, will compete locally in the 360 and 390 clone classes, as well as the 20-lap feature. This is the fifth year for the Battle at the Barn, which attracts the Midwest’s best kart racers.
“This is a really cool event happening right in my back yard,” Annett said. “I’m happy Toby Kruse (the event’s promoter) invited me.”
“I have a deep appreciation for these racers working hard to fulfill their dreams,” Annett continued. “They’re good racers too.”
“I’m looking forward to competing with them and interacting with all the fans that come out.”
Annett, who will be warming up to take his seat in his Richard Petty Motorsports Nationwide car, will participate in an autograph session in the Jacobson building prior to his local short track race.
Sprint Media Tour – Day Three – CMS and Hendrick Motorsports
Day Three of the Sprint Media Tour continued with a trip back to Charlotte Motor Speedway and Hendrick Motorsports on Wednesday. The day will end with a trip to Penske Racing, the home of reigning Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski.
Officials, including Marcus Smith, Charlotte Motor Speedway CEO and Scott Cooper, CMS Director of Communications promoted the 2013 Sprint All-Star race, which is being advertised as an old west shootout. It was announced that two fans will take parts in the commercials to be aired later this year. Unfinished clips of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Clint Bowyer were shown without the two fans taking part. One fan has already been chose for a part and one more will be picked later.
The format for the race is yet to be determined, but it will be somewhat different than the 2012 event. “We’ve got to keep the fans interested,” Smith said.
Next on the agenda was the short trip to Hendrick Motorsports where media representatives were greeted by what is a stable group of drivers for 2013, including Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Team owner Rick Hendrick took the stage with his four drivers.
After the usual reciting of the past accomplishments of the team, each driver spoke on the outlook for the coming season. Each expressed disappointment that Hendrick Motorsports didn’t win the 2012 Sprint Cup Championship, but were confident that 2013 would be a successful year.
All teams except the no. 88 of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. are fully funded for 2013. Earnhardt’s car is unfunded in 11 races with Pepsico leaving major sponsorship at the end of the 2012 season. Hendrick was not worried about the situation.
“We have enough sponsorship to get us into summer,” Hendrick said. “I’m not worried about it. We’re close to some deals and it’s a long way to summer.”
Earnhardt expressed little concern and said he was really looking forward to the new car and the season. When the Daytona testing session was mentioned, he was honest and forthcoming.
Tonight the Tour continues with a dinner visit to Penske Racing in Mooresville, NC. A full report follows later on tonight.
“I messed up,” Earnhardt said. “I thought a long time about that and it was probably the most embarrassed I’ve ever been about anything on the racetrack. The bumpers don’t exactly match up like they used to.”
“I’m a big fan of this race car,” Gordon said. “I love it. I like the body style and I think the teams and crew chiefs do too. That’s one fine looking race car.”
Kasey Kahne says he is the underdog on the Hendrick Motorsports team. “I have to compare myself to two guys who have won multiple championships (Johnson and Gordon),” Kahne said. “My best shot is in my second year, which is now, but we’ll continue to try to run well and have that as a goal.”
Also present was developmental driver Chase Elliott, son of superstar Bill Elliott. The schedule for Elliott is fairly busy. Elliott will run five ARCA and nine Camping World Truck Series races in 2013 in the No. 94
Chevy. His truck schedule includes both races at Martinsville, both Iowa races, Rockingham, Dover, MoSport in Canada, Bristol, and Phoenix.
Rick Hendrick: We’re excited about the new car
“I think after we left homestead, I think Jimmie, Jeff and I had this conversation – we wished we had a race the next week,” Rick Hendrick said. “We had a lot of momentum there.”
Coming off the final race of 2012, Rick Hendrick found one of his drivers in victory lane – Jeff Gordon – while Jimmie Johnson had lost the championship. However, momentum was on their side as they were all running strong. It’s no doubt after having a season with all four drivers in the Chase and ending off strong that Hendrick is ready for this year’s Daytona 500.
“We are excited about this,” he continued. “Excited about the new car. There’s a lot of anticipation to get this season started, and I think I can speak for all four drivers when I say they’re ready to get to Daytona.”
With the success and momentum that they had last year, as well as off-season preparation with the car, Hendrick is more confident going into this year than he was last year.
“We had the momentum at the end of the year,” Hendrick said. “We came up short in the Chase, but I am excited about this year and having a shot to win the championship with four drivers.”
A key point he brought up was this marks Kasey Kahne’s second season at Hendrick Motorsports with crew chief Kenny Francis. Last year, Kahne got off to a rocky start, though found his groove mid-season and was able to make the Chase, finishing fourth in points. Hendrick noted that having Kahne and Francis there helped the organization with the input they offered last season.
“They helped us a lot with the changes that we’ve made to the cars,” Hendrick commented.
Combining that with Johnson’s strong year to finishing third in points, Gordon winning the final race and Earnhardt Jr. getting stronger with crew chief Steve LeTarte, it is no surprise that the confidence is high.
Though even though the confidence is high, some people thought it may be dampened with the new car. However, Hendrick feels confident as each of his drivers said they were more comfortable in the cars out of the box and feels that they are prepared as they can be.
“We worked on the pit crews,” Hendrick said. “We looked at everything that could make our teams better and worked at it. We’re prepared as we can be and we just got to go out and race the competition and see where we end up.”
Just like every team, there is no way to tell till we get to Daytona and everybody gets on track. At that point, it will be about making the adjustments that they can make and making the right tweaks.
2013 Sprint Cup Team Preview: Hendrick Motorsports
Today, our 2013 Sprint Cup team previews move on to Hendrick Motorsports, one of the powerhouses of the sport that is always a threat to win races and compete for championships. The 2013 lineup for Hendrick Motorsports will be the same as 2012, with Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Kasey Kahne returning.
Dale Earnhardt Jr
The 2012 season was yet another season in which Earnhardt and crew chief Steve Letarte performed well, especially through the midpoint of the year when Earnhardt won at Michigan and took over the points lead. If not for the concussions that Earnhardt suffered at the Kansas test and in the last lap wreck at Talladega, this team could have possibly won another race or two and finished in the top half of the points standings. Both Earnhardt and Letarte return to the No.88 team in 2013. Diet Mountain Dew announced last year that they would be scaling back their sponsorship of this team in 2013 and an announcement regarding who will replace them and join the National Guard as sponsors has not yet been made, but look for one to be made soon.
After a test of the new Gen6 car in December, Earnhardt said: “I think the car has really awesome potential, and I like it already leaps and bounds beyond the COT. This car really gives me a lot of sensations that are similar to the old car that we ran 10 years ago.” That should make Earnhardt fans happy, as Earnhardt’s best performances of his career were with the old car. Look for this team to contend for race wins and the championship in 2013 and if everything falls into place, this could be the year we see an Earnhardt as champion once again.
Jeff Gordon
The old saying of “If I didn’t have bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.” fits perfectly with the year Jeff Gordon had in 2012. Gordon struggled throughout the year, picking up five DNF’s along with two wins, in the rain shortened event at Pocono and the season finale at Homestead, and barely making the Chase for the Sprint Cup and finishing tenth in the final standings. Gordon and crew chief Alan Gustafson team up once again in 2013 with sponsorship from AARP Drive to End Hunger and Dupont. Look for the No.24 team to rebound from the struggles of 2012 and be back in the Chase and a threat for the title in 2013.
Jimmie Johnson
As has been the case in recent years, Jimmie Johnson and the No.48 team were once again a championship contender in 2012, but came up short of claiming a sixth title. Despite five wins, struggles in the final two races of the year, a wreck at Phoenix and mechanical problems at Homestead, relegated Johnson to a third place points finish. Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus head into 2013 with the disappointment of the 2012 season still fresh on their minds and as always will be threats for both race wins weekly and for the title as well. After falling short in 2011 and 2012, it’s very possible that Johnson could claim his sixth title in 2013 and move one step closer to tying Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty with their seven Cup championships.
Kasey Kahne
The debut season for Kasey Kahne at Hendrick Motorsports got off to a rocky start without a finish higher than 14th in the first six races, but Kahne then reeled off top ten after top ten and won his first race of the season in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May and followed up with another win at Loudon in July and a fourth place finish in the final 2012 standings. Look for Kahne and crew chief Kenny Francis to do more of the same in 2013, with wins and a Chase berth sure to come. If Kahne and Francis can avoid the bad luck early in the year, they could join the other three Hendrick drivers as championship contenders.
