ARCA: Carter-2-Motorsports Sets It Sights on Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona
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[/media-credit]Carter-2-Motorsports (C2M) has set up their line-up for the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway next Saturday. The race marks the opening race for the 60th season of racing for the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA).
Donnie Neuenberger will lead the team into Daytona, driving the No. 40 Ron Paul for President/El Caribe Dodge Charger. Across NASCAR’s top three divisions, Neuenberger has a total of 60 starts, but this will be his first ARCA start.
Veteran Late Model racer Larry Barford Jr. will drive the second entry, sponsored by Mariner Bank and Trauma Doc. This will mark the first ARCA start for the Denton, Maryland native.
The last car will be driven by Michael Bockler. The Charlotte, North Carolina native will be driving the No. 67 Ambucs Dodge Charger after retiring from a successful career as a pilot.
“Obviously, we’ve made some major gains since Michigan last year,” team owner Roger Carter says. “We could not be more proud of the three drivers we’re bringing to the track. Everyone knows Donnie; he’s a racecar driver whose passion speaks for itself. Larry and Michael are newcomers to the ARCA scene but they will fit in nicely.
“With our team and the help of Del and Rich Markle, we’re antsy to get to Daytona and see what we can accomplish. It looks like there’s going to be a strong field of cars, but I feel we’re going to be able to comfortably get all of our Dodge Chargers into the show. That’s how hard we’ve worked.”
Under the leadership of avid racecar driver Nick Tucker, the team tested at Daytona in December with a variety of drivers to determine the drivers to run at Daytona with.
C2M made their return to the ARCA Series last year after taking a break. Carter drove the No. 40 Dodge Charger in three races – Michigan, Iowa and Madison. On a low budget, they were limited, they only had one car, one motor and a small volunteer crew in comparison to some of the bigger teams. Despite this, they were able to hit high strides as Carter got his best finish with a 16th at Madison.
“We love being a part of the ARCA Series,” Carter adds. “We’ve faced some turmoil along the way, but it only gives you the motivation to get back on your feet and make everyone take you seriously. That’s our goal this season. We’ll have our regulars and we’ll have some new faces too, but that is what C2M strives on; giving chances and trying to do a lot with the resources we have to work with. I think when we unload our cars in Daytona; everyone will see just how devoted this team really is for 2012.”
Down the road, Danny Esposito will be driving for C2M at Salem Speedway in April and Talladega Superspeedway in May.
The Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona (80 laps / 200 miles) is the first of 20 events on the 2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The event will take the green flag on February 18th shortly after 4:30 p.m. The race will be televised live on SPEED with additional race coverage including live timing and scoring and radio broadcast through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online atarcaracing.com. All times are local.
NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: YES, THERE IS A NASCAR-SUPER BOWL CONNECTION
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[/media-credit]Last February 5th, the National Football League concluded its season with one of the all time great spectacles in sports: Super Bowl 46. On February 26th NASCAR will officially begin its new season with another great spectacle in sports: the Daytona 500, aka “The Great American Race.”
That contrast has always been in effect for decades. However, this year there was a rather interesting connection between the Super Bowl and NASCAR. Surprisingly, it involved the game plan of the defensive team from the Super Bowl champions; the New York Giants.
Explaining in greater detail was New York defensive end Justin Tuck, who scored two very important sacks against New England quarterback Tom Brady in the game. During an interview with “ESPN”, Tuck pointed out that the Giant’s defensive game plan for the Super Bowl was named “NASCAR.”
“We came up with NASCAR; we call it our speed package,” Tuck said adding “why do we call it that? All of us compete about who’s the fastest and who gets to the quarterback the fastest. So NASCAR is just something that felt right.” That NASCAR defense certainly looked right during Super Bowl 46.
By the way, a tip of the racing hat goes out to NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications who, in a press release issued the morning after the game, dubbed Super Bowl 46 “the Daytona 500 of football.”
That statement is just further evidence that “The Beach Boys” really do have a sense of humor. A note of clarity here: Beach Boys refers to NASCAR executives in Daytona Beach-Florida and not the famous rock n roll band from southern California.
Some of NASCAR’s best were in attendance, at the Lucas Oil Stadium, to watch Super Bowl 46. That list included Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne along with Austin and Ty Dillon. By the way, the Dillon brothers appearance at the game was reported to be a Christmas gift from “Pop-Pop.” We know him better as famed NASCAR team owner Richard Childress, aka the Dillon’s grandfather.
The NASCAR phenomenon known as “Danica Mania” was also present during the Super Bowl’s marketing campaigns. Patrick was featured in two Super Bowls ads on behalf of her long time sponsor Go Daddy.Com. She now has, what has been termed, an unofficial record of appearing in ten Super Bowl ad campaigns; more than any other celebrity.
On the topic of Super Bowl marketing, NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Brian Vickers found a way to use his social network accounts to promote a potent beverage in the days preceding the game. Using his “Twitter” and “Facebook” accounts, Vickers informed us that we could order a four bottle sample pack of TY KU Premium Asian Sake for $65 which could be delivered to your front door just in time for the Super Bowl.
If you watched Super Bowl 46 then you’re already aware that, during the opening minutes of the game, New England quarterback Tom Brady was penalized for intentional grounding. The result was a two point safety being awarded to the Giants.
Does NASCAR have an intentional grounding rule? Why sure they do. However, NASCAR officials chose to give their version of this rule a more clever, and less intrusive, name. They call their intentional grounding rule “Have At It Boys.”
The Super Bowl’s traditional lavish half time concert featured Madonna who many felt did a good job despite having to perform those dance routines with a reported leg injury. Unfortunately, pop singer M.I.A., one of Madonna’s guests, decided to display her middle finger to literally hundreds of millions of viewers watching the game. I suppose it’s possible that the young singer was momentarily confused over the difference between her index and middle fingers, but I doubt it.
Has NASCAR ever dealt with improper digits on national television? Oh yeah, and you all know where I’m going with this. To avoid future confusion, all singer M.I.A. has to do is visit a NASCAR garage and check in with either one of the Busch brothers. They will be able to explain to her which finger is the good and which finger is bad.
All in all the”Daytona of Football”, Super Bowl 46, was a very exciting event. But I’ve got a feeling it will pale in comparison to NASCAR’s Super Bowl once the green flag falls on the Daytona 500.
Racing is all about babes in firesuits, anger management, wrestlers, and even racing
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[/media-credit]Well, the football season is over and the baseball season is still a few weeks away. What to do, what to do? Even the Aussie footy season does not start full bore until March. There is something about watching lads playing full contact football in basketball gear. No wonder most are retired by the age of 30.
Not so in NASCAR, where the average age of the drivers is about 35. Even though the Daytona 500 is still a few weeks away, I’m starting to smell the fuel and hear the roar of the engines somewhere in the recesses of my mind. Okay, Danica Patrick will be back in her firesuit soon, and maybe that is on my mind, too. I see where she compares her fight for respect on par with that of Tim Tebow. I, for one, never understood the criticism of the football player who won a pair of NCAA titles with Florida, won the Heisman, and who came of age this past season in Denver. Danica looks great and drives okay, but looks don’t win races. If she looked less like a Kim Kardashian and more like a Ken Schrader, we wouldn’t be talking much about her.
We talk a lot about the Busch boys, and sometimes we do so for the right reasons. One has won a Cup title while the other has claimed 104 of the 580 races he has run in NASCAR’s top three touring series. Yet, the duo still come across as spoiled entitled jerks who probably needed a few more swats to the bottom during their childhood. Kurt managed to drive off his crew chief and eventually himself from Penske, while Kyle decided to determine the truck title in a smash-up tantrum. Both promise to be good boys, changed men as it were, in 2012. I promise to watch to see if they actually mean it this time, but I’m not holding my breath.
The honorary starter for the Daytona 500 will be John Cena, who is actually paid to toss folks around and get under people’s skin. I’m not too sure what pro wrestling has to do with NASCAR, though. Hey, I loved the era that featured the Rock, Stone Cold, Mick Foley, and Mr. McMahon. They made me laugh and while it might be a jacked up version of theatre sports, Foley showed you can’t exactly fake a 16 foot drop through a table. Still, Cena as the honorary starter makes about as much sense as having Susan Boyle calling the drivers to start ‘em up. I guess former winners like Dale Jarrett, Sterling Marlin, Bill Elliott, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, and Buddy Baker must have been tied up. If they want someone from the ring, how about Michael Buffer? “For the thousands in attendance and the millions watching from around the world, let’s get ready to ruuuuuuumble!!!” Yah, that would work.
Here is hoping that NASCAR’s attempt to reduce two-car tandem racing at Daytona will work. My wife hates it, I don’t overly mind it, but it pales in comparison to the racing we once witnessed where a car could jump out of the pack and attempt to sling shot to victory. With the rules set so that tandem racing will equate into an over heating situation more quickly, I’m guessing we’ll see more drafting until the end, but the leaders will again come across the line in pairs. One difference this year is that the race will be won by a car with a fuel injection engine, not that we’ll notice the difference.
Jayski’s counter tells us we have just over two weeks to go before the engines come to life for the Daytona 500. Less than that for the Nationwide race, the Craftsman trucks, the Gatorade Duels, the Bud Shootout, and in just over a week we have the season opener for the ARCA series at Daytona. No, Danica won’t be there, but Leilani Munter and Milka Duno could look mighty fine in their firesuits. I guess if we’ve learned anything here is that sometimes racing can be about more than just racing. Enjoy the week.
IndyCar Star James Hinchcliffe To Appear at Canadian Motorsports Expo
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[/media-credit]The Mayor of Hinchtown is making an appearance at this year’s Canadian Motorsports Expo.
Canadian Motorsports Expo staff announced that IZOD IndyCar Series driver James Hinchcliffe will be at this year’s Canadian Motorsports Expo on Sunday February 12th. The 25-year-old from Oakville, Ontario won the Rookie of the Year award last season driving for Newman/Haas Racing.
In January, Andretti Autosport made the announcement that Hinchcliffe would drive the GoDaddy.com IndyCar, replacing Danica Patrick.
“I’m looking forward to coming back to the Canadian Motorsport Expo,” Hinchcliffe said. “It’s been a couple of years since my last visit and I know it’s grown in stature since then, which is fantastic to see. Canadian fans are truly passionate about their motorsports and it’s always a great experience to hang out with them. It’s been both an exciting and busy winter for me and the new season’s fast approaching. I think everyone’s raring to go and the CME’s a great way to kick-start Canada’s racing calendar.”
Hinchcliffe has continiuly been moving up through the ranks as he’s raced Formula BMW, Star Mazda, ChampCar Atlanta, A1GP, Firestone Indy Lights and is headed into his second year of IndyCar racing. Lots of fans like Hinchcliffe as a result of his personality and how he engages his fans through social media and his website.
“Through our work at Inside Track Motorsport News, we’ve followed James’ career since his karting days,” CME’s Rob Morton said. “So it’s very exciting for all of us to see how far he’s come and how far he can go. We’re happy to welcome him back to the CME to connect with his Canadian racing fans and sign a bunch of autographs.”
Hinchcliffe will be on the Mazda Stage for a Q&A session on Sunday February 12th from 12:45 till 1:30pm. After, he will sign autographs at the Inside Track Motorsports News booth.
The Canadian Motorsports Expo runs February 10th to the 12th at the International Centre in Toronto, Ontario. The event schedule for the three days is full of star apperances including Ron Fellows, Carl Edwards, Randy LaJoie, Robert Yates and more. For more information, check out http://www.canadianmotorsportsexpo.com.
