NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION – PRE DAYTONA DEALS FOR WHEELS.
NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: PRE DAYTONA DEALS FOR WHEELS BY DAVE GRAYSON
As we move closer to green flag time for the February 26th Daytona 500, and the start of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, there are still deals being made during the final days. To no surprise, a lot of corporations wants to see their logo on the hood of a car during Daytona Speedweeks. The really bright spot here lies in the fact that some of these eleventh hour deals are for the entire season.
TERIYAKI SANDWICHES FOR ALL MY FRIENDS.
Seemingly convinced that Carl Edwards is going to be the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, the Subway Restaurant Chain recently announced that they have expanded their partnership with the driver and Roush Fenway Racing. They have expanded their primary sponsorship role from three races, in 2011, to six races this year. They have also signed on as an associate sponsor for an additional four events this year. The company’s logo will appear on the hood of Edwards’ #99 Ford for the first time on March 4th for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway.
There is already a new Subway advertising campaign, featuring Edwards, on the way with the first ad scheduled to appear during the Daytona 500 broadcast. Also, Subway franchises will be proclaimed as being “the official training restaurant of Carl Edwards and Roush Fenway Racing.
This announcement also means that Edwards will be eating a lot of sweet onion chicken teriyaki sandwiches this year which happens to be his favorite Subway menu item.
TWO SETS OF PIT CREWS MAY BE JUMPING OFF OF THE WALL A LITTLE FASTER
Front Row Motorsports announced a new sponsorship deal with Maximum Human Performance, (MHP), a New Jersey based firm who specializes in sports supplements. Making their first venture into NASCAR racing, MHP will be a primary sponsor fro FRM teams in both 2012 and 2013. The program begins with sponsorship for driver David Gilliland and his team during the upcoming Budweiser Shootout and Daytona 500.
In addition to being official sponsors of FRM’s #34 and #38 teams, MHP experts will work with the team’s pit crew coach and trainers to develop nutritional and fitness plans to improve and maximize the speed and performance of the team’s over the wall crews.
In still more good news for driver David Gilliland, FRM recently announced that veteran crew chief Pat Tryson will be overseeing the team this year. Tryson brings 15 years of experience to the top of the team’s pit box. The move also allows interim crew chief Derrick Finley to return to his duties as Director of Competition.
WHO NEEDS A RACE TRACK WHEN YOU’RE SO FAST OFF THE ROAD?
Over the years there has been a sense of bewilderment regarding driver Robby Gordon’s Sprint Cup efforts. It just seemed that his race team has been frequently hampered by the struggles that comes with bad luck. However, place Robby Gordon in no man’s land, behind the wheel of an off road vehicle. and it’s a completely different story.
Gordon started off his 2012 off road racing schedule with success in the rugged Dakar Rally. Then, recently, he scorched the competition in Parker-Arizona by easily winning the Best Of The Desert Parker 425. He finished the rugged event a full five minutes ahead of his nearest competitor and also finishes 14 minutes ahead of last year’s winning margin. Also of interest here was the vehicle Gordon was driving in the Parker event. It was his first venture in a “Truggy” which is hybrid between a full size trophy truck and a class one race buggy.
Gordon will be spending the weekend of February 10th taking on a new off road racing challenge: rock climbing. Gordon is entered in the 2012 King Of The Hammers Race to be held in Johnson Valley, CA.
Regarding NASCAR Sprint Cup activities, Robby Gordon Motorsports, and his SPEED Energy team, are entered in this year’s Daytona 500. However, there are no announced plans for the team beyond that point.
NOTEWORTHY ADDITIONS FROM THE ALL KNOWING, ALL POWERFUL, ONE EYED GOD IN YOUR LIVING ROOMS.
That, of course, would be your television sets. The ESPN2 Network recently announced that their popular program “NASCAR Now” will be returning for its sixth season beginning February 13th. The program will air Monday through Friday beginning at 3 pm eastern time. There will also be the weekend edition aired on the morning of each Sprint Cup event. Mike Masarro will be the primary host of “NASCAR Now” with ongoing hosts Allen Bestwick, Nicole Briscoe, Marty Reid and Shannon Spake.
In a surprising move, ESPN2 also announced that Sprint Cup driver A J Allmendinger will be joining the “NASCAR Now” weekend edition team hosting a segment titled “The Daily Dinger” featuring offbeat interviews with drivers, crew chiefs and fans.
The SPEED Channel recently announced that former NASCAR Sprint driver Ricky Rudd will join their “SPEED Center” program as an analyst. Rudd, with 23 Cup wins, is listed on NASCAR’s 50 All Time Greatest Drivers list. As both a former driver and a team owner he should be a lot of expertise to the “SPEED Center” table.
Also joining the “SPEED Center” team will be former Miss Sprint Cup Monica Palumbo who will present a social media report based on updates from “Facebook”, “Twitter,” and “You Tube.”
SPEAKING OF THE SOCIAL NETWORKS.
The “Twitter” message of the week belongs to SPEED Channel analyst Bob Dillner who apparently was feeling pressurized by a Las Vegas based real estate company. In a recent “Tweet”, Dillner wrote: “Dear everyone in Las Vegas. If I want a damn time share I will call you. Now, please leave me alone.”
BEST INTERVIEW ONE LINER OF THE WEEK.
That honor goes to the always fun DeLana Harvick. During an appearance on the NASCAR radio channel’s “Sirius Speedway”, hosted by Dave Moody, the conversation centered around the fact that DeLana and Kevin Harvick are currently expecting their first child. When asked the question regarding those who might be tempted to touch the baby bump, Harvick immediately replied “I’m prepared to ninja chop anyone who even looks like they’re going to try to touch my stomach.”
It’s a Whole New World for Kasey Kahne at Hendrick Motorsports
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[/media-credit]Not since he entered the Sprint Cup Series in 2004 with Ray Evernham has Kasey Kahne been as excited to head to the racetrack as he will come Daytona in just a few weeks.
“I think everywhere I go I’m going to be pretty darned excited,” Kahne said on Tuesday. “But definitely Daytona, as big as a race as the 500 is, and all of us want to win that race so bad. To come down there with Hendrick Motorsports, a team that’s won the race, it’s just awesome.
“I look forward to that. I’ve never been excited about qualifying. The 5 car had two poles last year on restrictor plate tracks – I’m usually somewhere in the 20s or 30s when it comes to qualifying on those tracks, so that’s exciting to know that, man, we might have a shot to get on the front row or something that we’ve never been able to do before – I’ve never been able to do before – because of how much effort they [HMS] put into the Daytona 500.
“So yeah, it’s a big week. It’s definitely something to be excited about and look forward to and I can’t wait to get there and practice a little bit and then qualifying on Sunday is going to be exciting.”
The Evernham days seem like a lifetime ago for the Washington native, who went from the next big star to almost flaming out permanently. From 2004 to 2008 Kahne earned Rookie of the Year honors (2004) and won races on a semi-regular basis. But then Evernham sold part of the team to George Gillett, who eventually merged with Richard Petty Motorsports and things quickly went downhill.
Happiness and winning couldn’t be found anywhere near Kahne. Wanting a change and out of his current situation he signed with Hendrick Motorsports for the 2012 season, two years away at the time and not an immediate solution to his problems.
Until things boiled over at Charlotte in 2010 and by that Tuesday Kahne was let out of his contract. He moved to Red Bull racing for 2011 in a one off deal and his smile started to return. He ran well enough to contend for wins and broke through for the first time in 81 races at Phoenix in November. While the team didn’t make the Chase, Kahne moved back on the radar and brought forth plenty of expectations for 2012.
So far Kahne’s been impressed by what he’s seen even though he hasn’t run a single competitive lap with the team. Testing early last month though went well and watching those back at the shop put so much time and effort into fine-tuning every little detail has him eager for the season to begin.
And why not, the rich history at HMS gives its drivers a sense of confidence they might not be used to. Kahne inherits a ride that’s a proven winner and number that is a past Cup champion. A little bit of pressure never hurt anyone and he’ll welcome it with open arms because it’s better than what he’s experienced the last few years.
“Oh, man, stability. That’s a great word,” Kahne said. “Good word to hear. I have four years here [at HMS] that I know it’s going to be stable and be competitive and have great people and a great team around me. To be able to be a part of all that is something that I haven’t had. It’s definitely nice to have it, makes you feel pretty good about where you’re at. It’s taken time. I’ve had some really good years in Cup and I’ve learned a lot from everything, and now I’m just in a really solid situation and need to take full advantage of it.”
Predictions have run wild before 2011 ended about what Kahne would accomplish with HMS. His season ending hot streak puts him in prime position to come out this season on a hot streak and visit victory lane early and often. Team owner Rick Hendrick expects Kahne to make the Chase with his three teammates who did so in 2011, finishing sixth, seventh and eighth in points. The time for talk is over though as Daytona looms closer in the windshield.
“I think that we’re going to have really good equipment and going to have a great team and I still have Kenny Francis, so that communication is going to be there,” Kahne said about whether 2012 could be the year he shows how good of a driver he is.
“We’ll just see how high we can rise, how well we can step up and see what we can do throughout the whole season. That’s my biggest deal this year is to be as consistent as I’ve ever been each week and to win races. If we can do that, we’re going to have a great year.”
ARCA: Fair Skinner To Make ARCA Debut at Daytona International Speedway
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[/media-credit]DGM Racing announced that Fair Skinner will attempt to make his ARCA Racing Series debut at Daytona International Speedway next Saturday in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200.
“I’m very excited about the race,” Skinner says. “We have a very competitive car and the very best horsepower under the hood. I know that we have a realistic shot at winning this race and I’m looking forward to putting on a good show for all the sponsors. I have always dreamed of racing at Daytona since I was a little kid sitting in the stands, and now thanks to everyone that came on board I’m able to live that dream.”
Skinner made four NASCAR Nationwide Series starts last year – Lucas Oil Raceway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. This will be Skinner’s first ever competitive race at Daytona.
Mario Gosselin is set to crew chief the effort with sponsorship from CarportEmpire.com.
Skinner joins the ever-growing entry list to the first event of the ARCA Racing Series season that includes past ARCA Champions and Daytona winners with some rookies mixed in as ARCA enters their 60th season.
