Ford Sprint Cup Drivers To Parade 2013 NASCAR Fusions Through Uptown Charlotte
2013 Sprint Cup Team Preview: Stewart-Haas Racing
Our 2013 Sprint Cup team previews continue today as we profile Stewart-Haas Racing, which will field three full time teams in 2013 for drivers Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, and Danica Patrick.
Tony Stewart
After winning the championship in 2011, Tony Stewart came out of the gate on fire in 2012, winning two of the first five races of the season at Las Vegas and Auto Club Speedway, but only found Victory Lane once more at Daytona in July. The 2012 season would be considered a disappointment for Stewart as the first year teaming with crew chief Steve Addington was a roller-coaster of a year.
Stewart will team up with Addington once again in 2013 and his #14 Chevrolet will be sponsored by Mobil 1 and Bass Pro Shops, who moves over to SHR from Jamie McMurray and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. Look for Stewart to find Victory Lane and qualify for the Chase once again in 2013.
Ryan Newman
In 2012, Ryan Newman was able to take his #39 Chevrolet to Victory Lane just once, winning at Martinsville in the spring. Besides that highlight, Newman was able to finish in the top 10 in less than half of the remaining races. Tony Gibson was the crew chief for Newman for the majority of the season before giving way to Matt Borland, who will be crew chief for Newman in 2013 as well. If you will remember, Borland was crew chief for Newman during his days at Penske Racing and the two won many races together. The hope is that they can restore the previous magic they had and get back in winning form. Newman will have a change on the sponsorship side of things for 2013, with the US Army stepping down and Quicken Loans picking up more races to go along with Outback Steakhouse and Haas Automation.
Danica Patrick
After a part time Sprint Cup campaign in 2012, Danica Patrick will race full time in 2013 in the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet. After crew chiefing for Patrick in the last 5 races of the 2012 season, Tony Gibson will once again be crew chief for Patrick in 2013. Patrick will be in the running for Rookie of the Year honors in 2013, but this year will be a learning year as she gets accustomed to the intricacies of the new Gen6 Sprint Cup car.
Two-time Daytona 500 Champion Michael Waltrip to appear at the Canadian Motorsports Expo
The Canadian Motorsports Expo Powered by Inside Track Motorsports News is known for being the place that Canadian fans truly begin their racing season, connecting with drivers, tracks and different companies. For 2013, the fans will be in for a treat as two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip will appear at the event on Saturday February 9th to sign autographs and participate in an on-stage Q&A session.
“In addition to being a two-time winner of the Daytona 500, Michael Waltrip is one of the most popular and recognizable personalities in all of racing, Canadian Motorsports Expo Show co-promoter Rob Morton said. “He’s involved in all aspects of the sport, which gives him a unique perspective. We’re very excited that he’s coming to the CME.”
Waltrip, a veteran behind the wheel, has taken part in 770 Sprint Cup Series events during his 28 years of racing as a driver. He has now moved up to an ownership role, having both drivers Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup last year.
Beyond that, he has become a well known television personality for helping in SPEED’s Camping World Truck Series broadcast. He published a book called In The Blink of an Eye, which talks about how things changed with the death of Dale Earnhardt.
The three day event takes place from February 8-10 at Toronto’s International Centre. For the past six years, drivers have been able to connect with track representatives and companies while fans have connected with tracks, drivers and special celebrities.
At the event, Waltrip will be there to talk about these things, among other things.
“With the racing season less than a month away, it’s a very busy and exciting time,” Waltrip said. “MWR had its most successful season ever, in 2012, and we’re really looking forward to 2013. Add into the mix that I’ll be racing in the Rolex 24 and the Daytona 500, and I suspect I’ll have plenty to talk about with the fans at the Canadian Motorsports Expo. I look forward to meeting as many of them as possible and signing a lot of autographs.”
Just a week prior to the CME, he will compete in the Rolex 24 hour road race at Daytona International Speedway. After making his debut in the event last year, Waltrip will return to the race, once again driving a Ferrari 458 Italia. Waltrip will be joined by co-team owner Rob Kauffman, MWR NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer and Portuguese Endurance veteran Rui Aguas.
Then a week after the CME, he will be back in Daytona in the hunt for his third Daytona 500 victory. Waltrip recently announced he will drive for Brandon Davis’ Swan Racing team with Tony Eury Jr. as the crew chief and Steve Hmiel as competition director. Eury Jr. was Waltrip’s crew chief during the 2005 Sprint Cup Series, while Steve Hmiel crew chiefed for Waltrip in 2001 when he won the Daytona 500 for the first time.
“We’re looking forward to Daytona,” Waltrip said. “It’s my favorite time of the year every year, to come down here and get to participate in the greatest race in the world, in my opinion. To have won it before just makes coming back that much more special.”
Waltrip has secured an engine for Daytona from Toyota Racing Development (TRD) through MWR’s alliance with the manufacture.
Details surrounding Michael Waltrip’s appearance on Saturday, February 9 at the CME will be announced in the coming weeks. For updates on this and other CME news, visit the website at www.CanadianMotorsportsExpo.com.
Michael Waltrip to compete in Rolex 24 of Daytona for second straight year
The Rolex 24 at Daytona always bring out the stars as NASCAR and Indy Car drivers alike try to tackle sport car’s toughest race. After making his debut last year, two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip will return to the race, once again driving a Ferrari 458 Italia.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Waltrip said. “Last year was a lot of fun to get to race in that historic famed event. I always grew up admiring the guys that got to run in that race, and it was quite an honor to be part of it.”
The draw to the event is the experience, doing something that you never thought you’d do.
“That’s been the most fun thing about getting to race the Ferrari all around the world is just to get to experience different venues and different parts of the world racing cars,” Waltrip commented.
The event also is a special opportunity for different drivers to connect at different times, and Waltrip brought up having breakfast in Le Mans with Allan McNish.
“The guy had so much success in road racing,” Waltrip said. “You just are sort of in awe of what some of those guys have been able to do.
“Tom Kristensen who sat right beside me one morning, he’s won Le Mans like a hundred times, I think. But just to be able to rub shoulders with guys you’ve seen have success in road racing, and it’s really cool to get to know them a little bit.”
Other experiences that stand out for Waltrip including hanging out with Brian Johnson from AC/DC and seeing Harley Haywood make some laps.
“When I was a kid, he was one of my favorite racers,” Waltrip said of Haywood. “So, yes, it’s unique and it’s fun, and you actually sort of get used to it, and you’re able to battle side beside with them. It’s really rewarding to be able to match skills.”
Waltrip will be joined by co-team owner Rob Kauffman, Michael Waltrip Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer and Portuguese Endurance veteran Rui Aguas.
While it may seem like an easy switch from one car to the other for a driver, there is drastic differences in the performance as Waltrip referenced the amount of horsepower the Cup cars have compared to the sports cars, as well as the braking.
“The Cup cars have so much horsepower,” he said. “That’s their main commodity is all the power that it has. They don’t stop real well, and honestly they don’t handle too well. And the Ferrari is the opposite.
“It has a significant amount of power, but nothing like a Cup car. But when you go to hop on the brakes, that baby comes to a stop, and you can really whip it through the infield. So that’s what’s so fun about getting to drive the Ferrari.”
That difference between the two is what makes it fun and that’s why Waltrip brought forth Bowyer to join him at the event. At first when Waltrip asked Bowyer, he declined the offer. However, over time, Bowyer changed his mind and decided he wanted to be apart of it.
“It was just him thinking about how cool it would be to be in Daytona, racing the road course, something that he had never done before, and driving the Ferrari for 24 Hours,” Waltrip said. “It just was more than a dirt racer from Kansas could pass up.”
Waltrip added that Bowyer did good during the test and began to pick up things quite quickly. However, that wasn’t a surprise as Waltrip knew Bowyer would do good after winning the race at Sonoma last year.
“The best in the world run NASCAR, and he was able to win the race,” Waltrip continued. “So I knew he would do pretty good, and he did just that.”
On the flip side, when Bowyer did originally decline, Waltrip had asked Denny Hamlin to join them and Hamlin had accepted. Now Waltrip had the job of telling Hamlin things had changed.
“Denny understood though,” Waltrip said. “He’s kind of having a busy off-season himself with the new baby coming, so he understood.”
The race will present its challenges, including the unique infield road course that they run at Daytona, as well as the disparity between the DP class and the GRAND-AM class.
“You always have to be on your toes,” Waltrip commented. “You rarely get a free lap or a full lap without having one of those guys closing on you. So you really have to watch your mirrors.”
Beyond the disparity in speed, you also have to watch the talent level of some guys as some will be really good, while others not so much.
“What’s most important, in my opinion, is to remember that you’re there to take care of the car the best you can, and make it for 24 Hours and see if that gives you a shot to get a podium finish,” Waltrip commented. “We were able, fortunately enough, back in 2011, we got a third place podium finish in the 24 Hours of Spa, so that was pretty cool to have success in NASCAR, win the Daytona 500, and be in Europe, standing there on the podium, getting champagne sprayed on you because you’ve got a top finish in a Ferrari. That was something that was probably my favorite moment so far in my road racing.”
2013 Sprint Cup Team Preview: Richard Childress Racing
Today our 2013 Sprint Cup team preview will cover the 2013 season outlook for Richard Childress Racing, which fields the #27 Chevrolet for Paul Menard, No.29 for Kevin Harvick, No.31 for Jeff Burton, and the No.33 in a part time capacity for Austin Dillon.
The 2012 season was a season to forget for RCR. After the departure of competition director Scott Miller, who moved over to Michael Waltrip Racing for the 2012 season, the team never got its feet under it and struggled throughout the year. The only win by an RCR driver came at Phoenix in November, with Harvick taking the win there. Harvick was also the only RCR driver to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The other two full-time RCR drivers, Paul Menard and Jeff Burton finished the year 17th and 19th, respectively.
With the dismal 2012 season behind them, the team is looking ahead to 2013 season and made a key hire in competition director Eric Warren, who comes over to RCR from Richard Petty Motorsports. While all of the RCR drivers are hoping to improve their fortunes for 2013, the 2013 season will also be a lame duck year for Harvick, who announced that he will not be returning to the organization after the season. Reports are that Harvick will be headed for Stewart Haas Racing in 2014. Only time will tell how much of a distraction Harvick’s departure after 2013 will be for the organization.
With the majority of the key personnel returning in 2013 and with the new Gen6 car, this could be a rebound year for RCR. However, if the organization is not able to produce better results than they were able to in 2012, look for some changes to be made after this year.
