Home Blog Page 6561

Kyle Fowler Holds Best Time of ARCA Test Single Car Runs for Venturini Motorsports

By
SM Staff
-

Teammate Hal Martin made of had the quickest time for Thursday morning’s session, however Kyle Fowler holds serve of being the quickest car on the property for single car runs.

Martin drove the No. 55 Toyota to a best lap of 48.815 seconds (184.37 mph) to lead the Thursday morning session. That lap ranks fifth-best over the single-car runs only for the entire test session. Overall, the lap ranks 16th-best of the test week as Benny Gordon’s 48.414-second effort holds the top from the drafting session.  

“It’s windier today, that’s for sure,” Martin told the ARCA Racing Network. “We had a little bit of a headwind going down the backstretch, which slowed us down a little bit. Other than that, our cars are quick. The Venturini guys put in a heck of a lot of work coming in and leading into this week and this test session, and the cars are all fast. The cars are performing like they should be.”

Fowler ranked second on Thursday’s board with a lap of 48.943 seconds (183.887 mph), though holds first on the board for the entire test in single-car runs with a time of 48.668-seconds in the No. 15 Chevrolet.

For Thursday’s board, teammates Steve Arpin and Mark Thomspon followed behind Martin and Fowler in third and forth.  Arpin drove the No. 25 Toyota to a lap of 48.978 seconds (183.756 mph), and Thompson drove his best lap in 49.208 seconds (182.897 mph). 

Venturini Motorsports officials said that they have elected not to run the afternoon session as they’ve accomplished their goals. 

“We had a game plan coming into this test session,” Martin said. “We were able to run through our list of things we wanted to try and see what benefited the car and what hampered our performance. We got our checklist done and completed, so we’re done.”

Finishing out the top 10 for Day three was Brian Rose, Bobby Gerhart, Randy Renfrow, Patrick Sheltra, Grant Enfinger, and Jason Bowles. A number of teams, including Richard Childress Racing, Kimmel Racing, and Enfinger Motorsports, chose not to participate in the final day of testing.

ARCA Racing Series testing at Daytona will conclude this afternoon with a drafting session, scheduled for 1-5 p.m.

Gordon, who led yesterday’s drafting session, does not plan on running this afternoon.

“I think we’re done,” Gordon said. “We were only planning on two days. (The team) has some stuff they want to do back at the shop, so I think we’re going to get out of here and pack it up, let them do their work, and see if they can’t make it better for when it comes back.”

Meanwhile, Bobby Dale Earnhardt, son of Kerrry Earnhardt, is looking to use these three days as a learning experience.

“It means a lot coming here,” the 23-year old said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for this track. With everything that’s happened here, it’s really awesome being here.

“I’m just hoping to learn a lot. They say this track is pretty much in my DNA, but I guess we’ll find that out.” 

Single-Car Run Speeds Combined From The Test

  1. #15 Kyle Fowler – 48.668 seconds – Wednesday Morning
  2. #55 Hal Martin – 48.697 seconds – Wednesday Morning
  3. #25 Steve Arpin – 48.796 seconds – Tuesday Afternoon
  4. #31 Tim George Jr. – 48.985 seconds – Wednesday Morning
  5. #66 Mark Thomson – 49.208 seconds – Thursday Morning
  6. #4 Brian Rose – 49.290 seconds – Thursday Morning
  7. #17a Chris Buescher – 49.315 seconds – Tuesday Morning
  8. #63a Milka Duno – 49.371 seconds – Tuesday Afternoon
  9. #41a Ty Dillon – 49.383 seconds – Tuesday Afternoon
  10. #22 Dakoda Armstrong – 49.438 – Wednesday Morning
  11. #42a Scott Stenzil – 49.457 – Wednesday Morning
  12. #36 Grant Enfinger – 49.486 – Tuesday Afternoon
  13. #16a Joey Coulter – 49.543 – Tuesday Afternoon
  14. #77 Joey Licata, Jr. – 49.549 – Wednesday Morning
  15. #14b John Ferrier – 49.562 – Tuesday Afternoon
  16. #18a Ryan Glenski – 49.578 – Wednesday Morning
  17. #5a Bobby Gerhart – 49.624 seconds – Thursday Morning
  18. #16 Randy Renfrow – 49.659 seconds – Thursday Morning
  19. #63 Patrick Sheltra – 49.660 seconds – Thursday Morning
  20. #75b Benny Chastain – 49.680 seconds – Tuesday Morning
  21. #10a Ed Pompa – 49.686 seconds – Wednesday Morning
  22. #6 Jason Bowles – 49.709 seconds – Wednesday Morning
  23. #18c Jeremy Frankoski – 49.714 seconds – Wednesday Morning
  24. #09 Benny Gordon – 49.743 seconds – Wednesday Morning
  25. #36b Brett Hudson – 49.804 seconds – Thursday Morning
  26. #12b Maryeve Dufault – 49.853 seconds – Tuesday Afternoon
  27. #12c Chase Austin – 49.925 seconds – Tuesday Afternoon 
  28. #5c Damon Lusk – 49.945 seconds – Tuesday Afternoon
  29. #97 Matt Lofton – 49.946 seconds – Tuesday Afternoon
  30. #2 Kevin Swindell – 49.949 seconds – Thursday Morning
  31. #11 Bryan Silas – 49.977 seconds – Thursday Morning
  32. #1 Chad McCumbee – 49.978 seconds – Wednesday Morning
  33. #54 Will Vaught – 50.007 seconds – Wednesday Morning
  34. #42b Joey Gaze – 50.048 seconds – Tuesday Afternoon
  35. #95 Tommy Joe Martins – 50.049 seconds – Tuesday Afternoon
  36. #68 Steve Blackburn – 50.059 seconds – Tuesday Afternoon
  37. #75a Hannah Baker – 50.075 seconds – Tuesday Afternoon
  38. #42c Ryan Lynch – 50.080 seconds – Tuesday Afternoon
  39. #23a Jake Crum – 50.113 seconds – Tuesday Afternoon
  40. #14a John Graham – 50.145 seconds – Thursday Morning
  41. #10b Rick Clifton – 50.355 seconds – Wednesday Morning
  42. #3a Bobby Dale Earnhardt – 50.477 – Thursday Morning
  43. #3 Brent Brevak – 50.540 – Thursday Morning 
  44. #18e Lelani Munter – 50.544 – Thursday Morning
  45. #44 Frank Kimmel – 50.596 seconds – Tuesday Afternoon
  46. #82 Sean Corr – 50.607 seconds – Thursday Morning 
  47. #08 James Hylton – 50.694 seconds – Thursday Morning 
  48. #80b Richard Herriman - 50.773 seconds – Thursday Morning
  49. #18d Sloan Henderson – 50.790 seconds – Thursday Morning
  50. #62 Drew Charleson – 50.821 seconds – Thursday Morning
  51. #23 Levi Youster – 50.939 seconds – Wednesday Morning
  52. #18b Tyler Speer – 50.949 seconds – Thursday Morning
  53. #58 Chad Hackenbracht – 51.244 seconds – Tuesday Morning 

Budweiser Shootout Eligibility Criteria Expands For What Purpose?

By
SM Staff
-

NASCAR announced that the eligibility criteria for the 2011 Budweiser Shootout would be expanded.

Last year it included the previous year’s 12 Chase for the Championship drivers and drivers who have competed in the past two seasons who are past Cup champions, past Budweiser Shootout winners and past Daytona Cup points race winners.

This year it includes the criteria, along with including Rookie of the Year winners from the past 10 years.

“When you take a look at the field for this year’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, it’s loaded with all-star caliber drivers,” said Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition, in the press release. “From former series champions and Chase drivers, to the past 10 rookie of the year performers, to drivers who have had success at Daytona, we believe the fans are in store for a terrific and highly competitive event on a brand new racing surface.”

The new format allows Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Kevin Conway, Juan Montoya and Regan Smith to be qualified in to the field.

The old format of the Budweiser Shootout included only pole winners and past winners of the race. The idea was to give those who had worked hard to win a pole throughout the year a bonus – just like the Sprint All-Star Race gives race winners a bonus.

Though when Coors Light took over the rights of the Pole Award, it was demanded that the format get changed from Budweiser.

So what is the bonus now for pole winners? Besides starting first and getting first pit selection with some extra cash, pretty much nothing. With the way the races are, on most tracks it doesn’t matter where you start as you can always work your way to the front to win one way or another. The pole isn’t as big as it was before.

Therefore qualifying day is off of people’s radars a lot as they don’t count that towards if their driver will run well. They just care how their driver is in practice. With that being said, the views on qualifying are down, making things look bad there.

How can this be fixed? Either go back to the old format or give bonus points for qualifying. 15 for the pole, 10 for second and five for third sounds right – that is what the ARCA Racing Series does and in the end, that could seperate first and second.

Now NASCAR just comes up with something that looks like an interesting format that has some “criteria” to get as many big faces as they can in. If they want to do that, they might as well just say, “Okay, look – everybody is allowed in. It’s just a non-points race with a big cash bonus.” That is the way it is going as the only drivers in the top 35 not locked in are David Reutimann, A.J. Allmendinger, Martin Truex Jr., Paul Menard, David Ragan, Brad Keselowski, Marcos Ambrose, Elliott Sadler, Sam Hornish Jr., Scott Speed, David Gilliiland, Travis Kvapil and Robby Gordon.

Kyle Fowler Leads Venturini Motorsports 1-2 in ARCA Wednesday Morning Speed Chart

By
SM Staff
-

Kyle Fowler led the speed charts following day one and after the morning session day two, Fowler was still on top of the standings.

Fowler completed 12 laps in the morning session on Wednesday with a best lap of 48.668 seconds (184.926 mph). This lap stands as the best of the two days, also.

“I’m really pleased with (Kyle) Fowler in the 15,” general manager Billy Venturini said. “That’s been a real pleasant surprise. That car has been awfully good, and was really good in the wind tunnel. It’s good to see a kid that’s never been here before run that well.”

His teammate Hal Martin ran 15 laps to end up second on the charts with a lap of 48.697 seconds (184.816 mph).

“Wow, we have fast cars! The PME engine we’re using, that’s a lot of horses under the hood,” Martin told the ARCA Racing Network. “The car is driving really well; we’re hugging the yellow line and slamming the nose to the ground into the corners. It’s driving really fast and flat into the turns. We’re going to continue with single-car lines this afternoon. I’m looking forward to it. It’s been a really solid day so far.”

The 25-year old Louisiana native will race five races for Venturini Motorsports in 2011 – Daytona, Talladega, Chicagoland, Pocono and Michigan.

“I’m really looking forward to hitting the track again at Daytona,” Martin said. “I had a bit of a head start on the field by being able to participate in the Hoosier Tire test here in December for Venturini Motorsports – so I feel I had a good chance to get somewhat acclimated to the track with some laps logged.”

Martin has made six career ARCA Racing Series starts, including one with Venturini. He finished 10th at Talladega last season.

“We’ve got strong talent among all of our drivers, and our reputation stands behind the equipment and support we’re able to provide each and every one of them,” Tom Venturini, a team representative said. “Hal has proven his talent for our organization in the past, as well as on the Gulf Coast Late Model tracks. We’re really excited to see how he’ll perform this season. He has tremendous talent. We’re hopeful he will not only add more top-10s to that resume, but also top-fives and maybe even a trip to Victory Lane.”

Along with Martin, Venturini Motorsports will run rookies Alastair Jackson, Max Gresham, and Darren Hagen in the 2011 season.

Richard Childress Racing development driver Tim George Jr. drove 11 laps to end up third on the charts with a lap of 48.985 seconds (183.73 mph).

“That’s the car we ran at Talladega, and it was really fast at Talladega,” George said after yesterday’s test. “I was comfortable with the car right out of the box; it’s not like getting used to a new car. I’ve been running the banking for the past four days here in the Rolex Series, and we were third on the board there, so it feels good to be back on top of the board with a different tire and a different car.”

Venturini Motorsports driver Steve Arpin finished the morning fourth with a lap of 49.222 seconds (182.845 mph) while Cunningham Motorsports’ driver Dakoda Armstrong ended up fifth with a lap of 49.438 seconds (182.046 mph).

Armstrong, the 2010 ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year, plans to run both the February 12th Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway and the April 15th Talladega ARCA 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, as according to Cunningham Motorsports. Armstrong won two races – Talladega Superspeedway and Salem Speedway – last year for them driving the No. 22.  

Scott Stenzel, Ty Dillon, Joey Licata Jr., Grant Enfinger, and Ryan Glenski rounded out the top 10 for the morning.

For Dillon, it marked his first laps ever on a Superspeedway as he looks to run his first full ARCA racing season.

“It’s awesome,” Dillon said of the experience yesterday. “It’s really exciting. You go really fast. The track’s really smooth, so it’s fairly easy to get up to speed. We have a good car and there’s still some speed to gain. We’re just going to keep working on it. I just want to learn. I’ve got to learn to make our car better, and I’ve got to learn a lot, especially in the draft. We’ll just get as many laps as we can get and hopefully keep it up.”  

Dillon’s teammate George Jr. said he looks forward to working with Dillon after having some years of ARCA experience under his belt.

“He’s been racing cars way longer than I have,” George said. “You know, he’s much younger than I am. I’m going to lean on him for some stuff and he’ll probably lean on me for some stuff on the road courses and maybe the superspeedways. There’s a lot that he’s done in his racing career that I’m looking forward to doing, including winning in the ARCA Racing Series. It’ll be good to have support between him and I, and I’m looking forward to it.”

IndyCar star Milka Duno was 16th on the speed charts today after being in the top 10 throughout the day yesterday.Other notables include six-time Daytona ARCA winner Bobby Gerhart ended the three-hour session tied for 21st, at 50.007 seconds (179.975 mph), and nine-time ARCA Racing Series champion Frank Kimmel finished 36th, at 50.733 seconds (177.399 mph).

“Well, we wanted to go out and make sure the thing runs real fast,” Kimmel said. “Unfortunately, it’s not running real fast right now. We’ve got some work to do. This is the car we tore up here last year in the race. We qualified 13th, and we expect to be there or in the top 10 by the time we’re done. We have some work to do right now.” 

Drafting testing will take place this afternoon, beginning at 1 p.m. and lasting for four hours. A maximum of six cars per pack will be allowed to test.

DAYTONA INT’L SPEEDWAY TEST – 1/11-13/11  
ARCA RACING SERIES PRESENTED BY MENARDS  
JANUARY 12, 2011, MORNING SESSION    
           
  CAR # DRIVER MAKE TIME SPEED
1 15 Kyle Fowler Chevy 48.668 184.926
2 55 Hal Martin Toyota 48.697 184.816
3 31 Tim George Chevy 48.985 183.730
4 25 Steve Arpin Toyota 49.222 182.845
5 22 Dakoda Armstrong Dodge 49.438 182.046
6 42a Scott Stenzil Ford 49.457 181.976
7 41a Ty Dillon Chevy 49.517 181.756
8 77 Joey Licata, Jr. Dodge 49.549 181.638
9 36 Grant Enfinger Dodge 49.559 181.602
10 18a Ryan Glenski Ford 49.578 181.532
11 14b John Ferrier Ford 49.621 181.375
12 66 Mark Thompson Toyota 49.679 181.163
13 10a Ed Pompa Chevy 49.686 181.138
14 63a Milka Duno Dodge 49.708 181.057
15 6 Jason Bowles Toyota 49.709 181.054
16 18c Jeremy Frankoski Ford 49.714 181.036
17 09 Benny Gordon Ford 49.743 180.930
18 16 Randy Renfrow Chevy 49.763 180.857
19 36b Brett Hudson Dodge 49.849 180.545
20 1 Chad McCumbee Ford 49.978 180.079
21 5 Bobby Gerhart Chevy 50.007 179.975
22 54 Will Vaught Chevy 50.007 179.975
23 12b Maryeve Dufault Dodge 50.021 179.924
24 5c Damon Lusk Chevy 50.054 179.806
25 75b Benny Chastain Chevy 50.065 179.766
26 5a Bobby Gerhart Chevy 50.070 179.748
27 17a Chris Buescher Ford 50.106 179.619
28 11 Bryan Silas Ford 50.139 179.501
29 14a John Graham Ford 50.145 179.480
30 68 Steve Blackburn Dodge 50.213 179.236
31 2 Kevin Swindell Toyota 50.280 178.998
32 95 Tommy Joe Martins Dodge 50.281 178.994
33 75a Hannah Baker Chevy 50.339 178.788
34 10b Rick Clifton Chevy 50.355 178.731
35 82 Sean Corr Ford 50.729 177.413
36 44 Frank Kimmel Ford 50.733 177.399
37 3 Brent Brevak Dodge 50.811 177.127
38 23 Levi Youster Chevy 50.939 176.682
39 08 James Hylton Ford 51.070 176.229
40 58 Chad Hackenbracht Chevy 51.443 174.951
41 17b Chris Buescher Ford 52.126 172.659
42 62 Drew Charleson Chevy 54.853 164.075
43 4 Brian Rose Dodge    
44 16 Brian Smith Chevy    
45 12 Jared Marks Dodge    
46 18 Tyler Speer Ford    
47 25 Hal Martin Toyota    
48 48 James Hylton Ford    
49 97 Matt Lofton Chevy    
50 12c Chase Austin Dodge    
51 16a Joey Coulter Chevy    
52 23a Jake Crum Chevy    
53 42b Joey Gase Ford    
54 42c Ryan Lynch Ford    

 

Chris Buescher, Tim George Jr and Ty Dillion Top Morning ARCA Daytona Test

By
SM Staff
-

Eighteen-year old rookie Chris Buescher drove the Roulo Brothers Racing Ford, marked with an orange No. 17, to a lap of 49.315 seconds (182.5 mph) in the opening session to top the charts.

[media-credit name=”arcaracing.com” align=”alignleft” width=”287″][/media-credit]”It was a little unexpected, for sure, being the first session out on a speedway for me,” said Buescher, who has two wins in 15 ARCA Racing Series starts over two seasons. “To be honest, I’m not at all comfortable yet. I was a little bit all over the place, but that means I’ve got a good piece under me. We did a good job preparing.”

Buescher has experience in the ARCA Racing Series as he won both races at Toledo last year, however this marks his first full-season now that he has become of age.

Buescher was followed by Richard Childress Racing Development driver teammates Tim George Jr. (49.368 seconds) and Ty Dillon (49.497 seconds). The 2011 season marks George’s third full season in ARCA while Dillon, grandson of Richard Childress and brother of Camping World Truck Series driver Austin Dillon, enters his first full year of ARCA Racing.

Benny Chastain and Dakoda Armstrong rounded out the top five and Matt Lofton was sixth.

IndyCar driver Milka Duno, who recently announced she had joined forces with Sheltra Motorsports, ended the morning seventh. Scott Stenzel, Mark Thompson, and 2010 ARCA Racing Series champion Patrick Sheltra completed the top 10.

DAYTONA INT’L SPEEDWAY TEST – 1/11-13/11  
ARCA RACING SERIES PRESENTED BY MENARDS  
JANUARY 11, 2011, MORNING SESSION    
           
  CAR # DRIVER MAKE TIME SPEED
1 17a Chris Buescher Ford 49.315 182.500
2 31 Tim George Chevy 49.368 182.304
3 41a Ty Dillon Chevy 49.497 181.829
4 75b Benny Chastain Chevy 49.680 181.159
5 22 Dakoda Armstrong Dodge 49.755 180.886
6 97 Matt Lofton Chevy 50.059 179.788
7 63a Milka Duno Dodge 50.066 179.763
8 42a Scott Stenzil Ford 50.149 179.465
9 66 Mark Thompson Toyota 50.151 179.458
10 63 Patrick Sheltra Dodge 50.180 179.354
11 5a Bobby Gerhart Chevy 50.204 179.269
12 36b Brett Hudson   50.227 179.186
13 5c Damon Lusk Chevy 50.244 179.126
14 77 Joey Licata, Jr. Dodge 50.262 179.062
15 16b Joey Coulter Chevy 50.290 178.962
16 68 Steve Blackburn Dodge 50.317 178.866
17 14b John Ferrier Ford 50.318 178.862
18 5 Bobby Gerhart Chevy 50.337 178.795
19 54 Will Vaught Chevy 50.356 178.727
20 1 Chad McCumbee Ford 50.383 178.632
21 82 Sean Corr Ford 50.744 177.361
22 44 Frank Kimmel Ford 50.877 176.897
23 12c Chase Austin Dodge 50.897 176.828
24 36 Grant Enfinger Dodge 51.089 176.163
25 11 Bryan Silas   51.140 175.987
26 10a Ed Pompa   51.233 175.668
27 58 Chad Hackenbracht Chevy 51.244 175.630
28 14 John Graham Ford 51.685 174.132
29 2 Kevin Swindell Toyota    
30 3 Brent Brevak Dodge    
31 4 Brian Rose Dodge    
32 5 Brian Smith Chevy    
33 6 Jason Bowles Toyota    
34 10 Rick Clifton      
35 12 Jared Marks Dodge    
36 12 Maryeve Dufault Dodge    
37 15 Kyle Fowler Chevy    
38 16 Randy Renfrow Chevy    
39 18 Ryan Glenski      
40 18 Tyler Speer      
41 18 Jeremy Frankoski      
42 23 Rob Jones Chevy    
43 25   Toyota    
44 42 Joey Gase Ford    
45 42 Ryan Lynch Ford    
46 48 James Hylton Ford    
47 49 Jimmie Nowell      
48 55 Steve Arpin Toyota    
49 62 Drew Charleson Chevy    
50 73 John Sendo      
51 75 Hannah Baler Chevy    
52 95 Tommy Joe Martins      
53 08 James Hylton Ford    
54 09 Benny Gordon Ford    
55   Russell Henderson      
56   Ricky Byers      
57   Hal Martin Toyota    
58   Jake Crum Chevy    
59   Bobby D Earnhardt      
60   Chris Davis    

Drivers Must Choose To Run For One Championship in 2011

By
SM Staff
-

Last week, Brad Keselowski tweeted, “Needed a good laugh tonight after being ruled ineligible for both shootout and NW championship in one loooong week. Thanks for the support.” This began speculation that drivers would have to choose the series that they wanted to compete in for 2011.

Since then, this has been confirmed to be true as reported on NASCAR.com.

Kenny Wallace said that there is a box you have to check on the new entry form that he picked up while testing at Daytona for the upcoming 24 hours of Daytona race.

“The brand-new license forms that are out, there’s a box and in it, it states that you have to mark — put an X — what championship you’re running for,” Wallace told NASCAR.com, quoting his application. “A driver will only be permitted to earn driver championship points in one (1) of the following three series: NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide or NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Please select the series in which you would like to accumulate driver championship points. Choose one.”

NASCAR refused to comment on the issue as they said it would be addressed during the Competition Update held during Preseason Thunder later this month.

“I’m sure we can answer all your questions at our competition update.” NASCAR spokesperson Kerry Tharp said.

From whether owner’s points will be addressed to how giving out the points will be done, that is all suppose to addressed come January 21st during Preseason Thunder.

This is something that has been rumored to be happening for the 2011 season since last October. It was a move that was being discussed then to help with driver development, small teams attracting sponsors and bringing the series back to its roots as a developmental series. The last non-Sprint Cup driver to win a Nationwide Series championship was Martin Truex Jr. in 2005. Since then, it has been Sprint Cup regulars dominating the Nationwide Series, taking most of the wins and all the championships.

NASCAR President Brian France also announced that in the next coming weeks, they will be meeting with drivers and owners from each organization to discuss other issues currently facing NASCAR. They will be doing the discussed by organization instead of as a big town hall meeting to hopefully open up the lines of communication more.

“The old theory was that when you’re at the races with them all the time, we had the communication lines wide open,” France said about the team forums last January to Sporting News. “That’s true, but it’s too busy now to assume that we can have all the communications and get all the issues they want to get resolved with us at the track.

“So we just changed it around where we’re having these meetings. … In the town hall meetings, a lot of people didn’t want to speak up when there were 12 other drivers or something like that and they didn’t feel comfortable.”

As Good as New: Looking Ahead to the 2011 Nationwide Series

By
SM Staff
-

The 2011 Nationwide Series will be one of uncharted territory.

It’s hard to try and promise fans that they need to watch this season because it’s going to be bigger and better than years past. It would be unfair to try and say that things are going to be different in the best way possible and the season is going to blow the history books away.

That has yet to be determined. We’re not in the business of false advertising. That’ll be save for the McDonald’s commercials which always seem to have a burger that looks more appetizing and pretty than what arrives in the bag.

For the most part however, the upcoming NNS season is one that has begun to paint a very interesting picture. Here are five new things fans should be looking for in the 2011 season.

New Faces Competing for the Nationwide Series Championship

Elliott Sadler feels like a kid again.

After winning his first race in NASCAR’s top three series since 2004 in a Kevin Harvick Incorporated truck, Sadler was given the keys to a full-time NNS ride for KHI. Considering that Sadler is no long a Sprint Cup Series driver, he should be eligible to run for the title in 2011.

His success in 2010, including a pole and third place finish at Bristol in August, makes him a contender to watch. Sadler has always been a lovable character in the NASCAR garage, who hasn’t had the success that many feel he’s capable of.

This season it might be hard to wipe a smile off his face.

At Texas last November after the announcement was made, Sadler said he was looking forward to having fun again. And it also doesn’t hurt that he knows he’s going to be competitive.

It felt like the first day of the rest of his life. Could Sadler become the next Jamie McMurray comeback story?

KHI has established themselves as a premiere NNS team, one that will again be looking to take up residence in victory lane. But another returnee to the NNS is going to give Sadler a run for his money.

If Aric Almirola’s career to be summed up it would take just one race: Milwaukee in June of 2007. At the time Almirola was a developmental driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, the expectant next big star of the sport.

That’s the race he was yanked out of the car while dominating in favor of Denny Hamlin. Almirola got credit for the victory but he wasn’t in the winner’s circle and doesn’t have the trophy.

In 2011 JR Motorsports is giving him a chance for redemption. Almirola gets the seat of the No. 88 which in 2008-2009 finished third in the NNS points with Brad Keselowski.

Veteran crew chief Tony Eury Sr. is back atop the box, a man that has the experience to create another championship driver. When Almirola finished third at OPR last August in his first race with the team, Eury was instantly impressed and knew their driver search was over. Almirola will leave behind the CWTS where he won two races and finished second in points.

Along with Sadler, Almirola will give NASCAR fans two new Nationwide only drivers to get behind in the title fight.

And speaking of title fight …

New Rules for Sprint Cup Series Drivers

It hasn’t been formally announced yet, but NASCAR has stated they have sent letters to each and every team about the upcoming season. The letter states a driver much declare which of the three series they want to receive championship points in.

What’s that mean? Drivers such as Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Paul Menard and others who attempt to compete for both the NNS and NSCS championship cannot. It’s one or the other.

That would bring an end to five years of Cup drivers taking home the Nationwide trophy and ensure that a new face gets his chance.

Cup drivers may still be allowed to run in the series, such as Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick to name a few but they won’t be allowed to rain on the NNS regular drivers parade.

There have been words of praise for NASCAR. There have been those of criticism. The 2010 NNS champion, Keselowski, had already let the cat out of the bag last week on his Twitter page.

Keselowski has become a sort of Twitter-holic over the last month. He’s updates numerous times throughout the day and interacts with his fans.

Keselowski updated on January 7, “Needed a good laugh tonight after being ruled ineligible for both shootout and NW championship in one loooong week. Thanks for the support!”

A day later Keselowski took back his comment and said he has not been informed of any rule changes. NASCAR has said they will address the issue and many more later this month during the media tour.

But, it appears that for the first time since Martin Truex Jr. did so back in 2004-2005, the Nationwide Series will have one of their own taking home the championship.

New Faces in New Places

NASCAR is once again being invaded, except this time it’s not by an open wheel driver. Travis Pastrana is the newest owner/driver as it was announced that Pastrana-Waltrip Racing will make their debut in 2011 with Pastrana behind the wheel.

He comes from a sport that is nothing like NASCAR and where if he tries to pull off one of his signature moves, it won’t end well. Trying to double-back flip a stock car might sound exciting and would certainly put on a show, but it won’t help him end up in victory lane or learn very much.

Pastrana is an X Games hero who will now become the student to some of the best racers in the world. He does have experience on four wheels however, competing in the American Rally racing.

Fans love fresh faces to root for and Pastrana is a very likable guy with a great fan base. A fan base that is also very diverse, something NASCAR will be excited about as well.

New Car Creating a New Kind of Racing

It was run on four occasions last season in preparation of his first full season. In four races there were three winners and none of them came from the Joe Gibbs Racing stable.

Significant because of the praise drivers gave the car in creating an equal playing field. JGR, specifically Kyle Busch, has made the series his own personal playground the last few seasons.

In an era when fans have become sick of seeing the same teams and drivers dominate, the new car is bringing hope that 2011 will open up doors for a successful season for many different faces.

Another compliment handed down was about the car handled and the racing it produced. Some even compared it to driving like a truck, which can be a good thing because many say the CWTS puts on some of the best racing during the weekend.

Keselowski, who won in the car at Charlotte, said that race was one of the best races he’s ever been apart of and hoped the fans agreed. An official judgment of the cars successful will most likely come after the season has concluded.

Something to watch though is that now the Cup drivers can’t win the championship, they have nothing to lose when running in the NNS. It’s victory lane or bust for them and that can only lead to some exciting races.

Oh and don’t forget, the cars look good too.

New Girl on the Block Gets a Returning Neighbor

It’s Danicamania part two but this time she has some competition. Patrick will be back for her second season in a stock car as she also returns to tracks for the second time.

Last season it appeared that she was learning when she ran inside the top 15 at California in October before being wrecked. It was a turnaround from where she was in the beginning of the season.

The first five races of the 2011 season will again be filled with Patrick’s face and name. Sorry for all the haters. Except, don’t get too upset because another female will be looking to take the spotlight.

She’s not new to NASCAR but Jennifer Jo Cobb will also be running in the first five races of the season. She has joined 2nd Chance Motorsports where she’ll drive the No. 79 2nd Chance Motorsports Ford.

Cobb has run NNS races in the past, her last was Kansas last September where she finished 34th. The Kansas City native competes full time in the CWTS and last season she became the highest finished female in NASCAR history.

Patrick vs. Cobb.

It’s just one of the new things to watch as the season gets under way next month.

Brad Keselowski Joins Darrell Waltrip and Denny Hamlin, As The Latest to Get Ensnared by Twitter

By
SM Staff
-

In today’s modern high tech era, the internet has made it easy for any fan to get up to date information which at one time was hard to come by.

Facebook and MySpace were two avenues the drivers and teams utilized to communicate with their fans, along with the many NASCAR websites such as Jayski, Scenedaily, and the independent websites which make up NASCAR’s Journalist Media Corps.

This past season, NASCAR took on a whole different look when Twitter joined the already sprawling social networking community.

Twitter became the backbone for many different reasons, and one of the biggest was to give the fans a glimpse of what goes on during a typical day in the life of their favorite driver.

The fans that flocked to Twitter were also given some good inside information on how each driver responds to different situations, which included members of the media who probably never realized just how many fans were actually tuned in.

The Twitter craze also gave members of the media and the fans a chance to interact with one another, because it was set-up as an instant messaging system allowing the participants the opportunity to chat with one another.

With any form of open messaging that is broadcast over the internet, there will always the downfalls which can quickly turn an average conversation into a costly mistake if the wrong information is broadcast.

Darrell Waltrip was one of those media members who learned the hard way, that social networking was a lot bigger than what he probably anticipated, when he leaked a story on his twitter page that drew National attention.

Waltrip posted on his twitter page, the details of Foxsports.com writer Lee Spencer’s article about Dale Earnhardt Jr. driving a No. 3 Wrangler Nationwide Series car at Daytona in July.

[media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Denny Hamlin was another who made the same mistake, when he criticized NASCAR for throwing late caution flags to help make the June 13 race at Michigan more competitive on his twitter page.

Hamlin took it a step further when he tweeted about some late caution flags, which were thrown during the Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland Speedway July 9.

“Truthfully, I don’t think it matters to the fans who win the race as long as it’s a good ‘show,’ even if it comes as the expense of competition.”

Unlike Waltrip whose tweets came under attack from Earnhardt, “It’s unfortunate DW uncovered, and blew the lid off of it on Twitter no less. That kind of ruined our announcement that we had planned,” said an upset Earnhardt after Waltrip broke the story on Twitter.

Hamlin faced NASCAR who hit the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, with a reported $50,000 fine.

“Other people before me, not to name names – Tony Stewart – have said way worse than what I have, way worse direct hits at somebody and got away with it.”

“I’ve always been raised to speak my mind and be, maybe, too over-opinionated at times,” said Hamlin after hearing about the penalty.

After these two unpleasant incidents, and these words of advice from Waltrip, “Lesson learned be careful what you tweet, because you never know who is reading. Oh by the way, I did learn one thing, Twitter is a great way to get the word out, even people that don’t have it know what’s on it.”

Brad Keselowski, became the next driver to inadvertently use Twitter as an avenue to talk about one of NASCAR’s rule changes for the 2011 Nationwide Series, and beyond.

Even though NASCAR hasn’t made any formal announcement, thanks to Keselowski displeasure at not being eligible for the Bud shootout, we now know that cup drivers will not be allowed to race for the NNS championship, which was one of the rule changes a lot of the fans were hoping for.

Keselowski said on his Twitter account Friday that, “Needed a good laugh tonight after being ruled ineligible for both shootout and NW championship in one loooong week. Thanks for the support.”

If there was one question that was answered through Keselowski’s blunder and that is the teams, and drivers know beforehand of any rule changes to the series before the fans and media are informed.

Whether or not Keselowski is telling the truth with this tweet on Saturday, remains to be known until NASCAR makes an official announcement.

“To clarify last nights remarks about NW championship No I have not been notified by anyone at NASCAR about the 2011 rules for eligibility.”

The only question remaining is, will Keselowski be willing to post on his twitter page if NASCAR decides to fine him for leaking the rule change?

A.J. Allmendinger and Richard Petty Motorsports Renew With Best Buy

By
SM Staff
-

Best Buy announced earlier this week that they were renewing their partnership with Richard Petty Motorsports and AJ Allmendinger.

“Best Buy is proud to renew our relationship with Richard Petty Motorsports and driver AJ Allmendinger for the 2011 season,” said Drew Panayiotou, senior vice president of marketing for Best Buy in a press release.

[media-credit name=”FMCM” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]“Richard Petty is a motorsports icon and is well respected within the sport of NASCAR. Being a part of a team with his leadership is a privilege. We will be doing some innovative work with Richard Petty Motorsports surrounding our sponsorship, creating new and fun ways to engage the fans. We look forward to continuing our support of AJ and the No. 43 team as they strive to make their way to Victory Lane.”

“It’s great to have Best Buy back onboard our No. 43 Ford,” said Allmendinger. “They have been a great partner and I’m really excited about the opportunity to work with an organization that is as passionate about its racing program as I am. I think this is going to be a great year for this Richard Petty Motorsports team and I can’t wait to get the Best Buy Ford into Victory Lane.”

Best Buy announced that they would be the primary sponsor for 26 of the 36 races on the schedule.

AJ Allmendinger displayed a solid performance during the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with two top-5 and eight top-10 finishes.

In addition, he scored his first-career pole at Phoenix International Raceway. Allmendinger closed the season 19th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, a career-best.

This marks a key step in rebuilding Richard Petty Motorsports following a year filled with turnmoil.

The team ran into financial trouble that saw them almost miss the final three races of the year after George Gillett, former part owner, made some bad financial decisions outside of the racing business.

Sporting News reported that Gillett, who owned as much as 70 percent of the team, defaulted on it’s roughly $90 million loan last February. Sirius Speedway reports that he still owes $70 million to Wachovia Bank, while still making payments to Ray Evernham for the purchase from him. Evernham told Sirius Speedway that Gillett is up to date in his payments.

The sale of Liverpool FC was suppose to help Gillett restructure it, however, it sold for a amount far less than expected causing some of these strains.

To try to put some of the pieces together, Gillett sold his stock in the companies that operate the Northstar-At-Tahoe Ski Resort in Vail Resorts on Tuesday, which is worth $63 million as according to Sirius Speedway.

Gillett’s moves did not help the team in restructuring, though.

At the end of the season, Petty announced a partnership with Medallion Financial and DBG Investments, who as a group purchased the assets from Gillett. They also have made the choice to downsize to two cars instead of running a full fleet of four.  

Allmendinger will remain behind the wheel of the famous No. 43 Ford and Marcos Ambrose will drive the No. 9 machine with sponsorship from Stanley and DEWALT.

Considering everybody’s thoughts of worry and feelings that RPM would be shut down, they look to have everything under control going into 2011.

The only question is: How will they do on track and will things continue on a good path?

The Brian France Era of NASCAR

By
SM Staff
-

Brian France has stood stalwart against the verbal stones and arrows aimed in his direction because his approach to the operation of NASCAR is so different from that of his father and grandfather.

He is not the hands on, dictatorial leader of stock car racing that NASCAR’s founder, Bill France and his son, Bill France Jr. were.

Since the time of NASCAR’s inception, the leaders were at the track every race.  They ran the show from the ground, face to face with owners, drivers and crews.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Brian France was appointed leader of the NASCAR world in 2003 and maintains a corporate style that fans feel distance him from the reality of the sport.

This France may show up at 15 or so races a year and usually just to make a statement of some sort.

It is NASCAR President, Mike Helton’s job to interact with the teams at the track along with a plethora of people whose job it is to keep NASCAR rules and policies enforced on the competition level.

Though France grew up around racing, serving in most every capacity, his interests are in marketing.

His college education at the University of Central Florida was marketing based.  Before being named Chairman and CEO of NASCAR, he managed the marketing department and touring divisions.

France brought the Craftsman Truck Series (Camping World Truck Series) into  NASCAR’s top series during 1996.

There have been many changes with NASCAR since France took the helm in 2003.  Some fans of the sport have failed to forgive him for implementing the Chase in 2004.

Under his reign, the sport became globally recognized.  He negotiated massive television deals and the five year deal with Sirius/XM Satellite radio for exclusive NASCAR coverage.

NASCAR and the mother-ship of the France owned tracks, International Speedway Corporation, is operated out of their headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fl. 

Bill France Sr. and Bill France Jr. worked autonomously, but Brian reports to a board that includes his sister Lesa France Kennedy and his uncle, Jim France, who both maintain significant stakes in NASCAR.

France’s time is spent on the business side of the sport.  NASCAR is a massive entity with numerous operating divisions.  The NASCAR leader spends most of his time behind the scenes with policy development and business negotiations.

When France took over as the head of NASCAR, the sport was still expanding.  There were new tracks built in the late 90’s, the economy was growing and fans spent freely at racing venues.

All was going relatively well until the economy tanked in 2008 and 2009. The sport experienced loss of revenue from sponsors, attendance and television ratings dropped and a myriad of cascading events took it’s toll on all phases of the economy  and the general population.

Reportedly, an ESPN Sports poll showed a drop in the average viewing age of males younger than 45.  The fastest growing age group was 45-54 and 65 and older.  The Nielsen Co. indicated 51.6 as the median viewing age.

Clearly such a continuing pattern long term would not bode well for NASCAR, though much of the spending power lies with the baby boomers. 

As a result, digital media, diversity programs, the greening of the sport and licensing issues have taken on greater importance in an effort to attract new fans in varying ways.

France faced criticism for dumping smaller tracks like Rockingham and North Wilkesboro in favor of the intermediate size, cookie-cutter tracks.

Some fans believe France turned NASCAR into a brand as opposed to the sport it once was.  Many people believe he has abandoned the southern roots of NASCAR with the expansion into larger markets throughout the country.

The NASCAR CEO does not operate in a bubble, making decisions on a whim.  Change is made by many working together with a great interest in the good of NASCAR, though that does not guarantee success with all of their decisions. 

In the past decade we have seen more exciting racing, better competition, safer drivers in the COT and better access to races by fans in other parts of the country. 

There are still those who will tell you that the races are boring until the final 25 laps, complain of starting times, want shorter races and on it goes.  The commercials overwhelming the race during television coverage is also an issue to be addressed.

Changes including “Boy’s, have at it,” green-white-checkers, double-file restarts, the redesign of the NASCAR Nationwide cars and much more were implemented under France’s oversight.

The 2010 Chase was the best we have seen following the culmination of 26 weeks that included some of the most competitive racing we have seen in years.

The head of NASCAR is working to regain any ground the sport has lost.  He is open to a great deal of feedback via the town hall meetings, Fan council, social media and of course directly from team owners and drivers.

NASCAR television contracts come up for renewal in a few years.  France knows he has got to get the fans back in the stands and in front of the televisions.

His methods of attracting a new fan base may seem disheartening to diehard race fans.  NASCAR must continue to evolve if it is to remain strong against other major sports. 

Certainly tough decisions will need to be made and some changes won’t fare well with all fans.  In an age of instant gratification it is harder to keep fans focused with so many options.

Shortly France will announce changes to the Chase and decisions impacting Cup drivers in the Nationwide series.  There may be other announcements as well.

France and those who play a major role in the operation of NASCAR will continue to implement changes.  It is just the way it works.

It remains to be seen how this third generation NASCAR leader will be perceived in the history books.  The fact remains, NASCAR is a great sport and France will hopefully do whatever needs to be done to see that it continues as such under his watch.

HOORAHS AND WAZZUPS: So, It Begins Again

By
SM Staff
-
Photo Credit: Simon Scoggins

While the NASCAR focus should be squarely aimed at the upcoming test session at Daytona, there seems to be some other very interesting story lines this week. Michael Waltrip is on the verge of publishing a book and then plans on hitting the road as a stand up comedian. Also this week some very deserving drivers and teams received some good news regarding their 2011 plans. Then there was the matter of a bizarre lawsuit against World Wrestling Entertainment that actually has a stock car racing connection. With those thoughts in mind let’s begin this week with:

[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]HOORAH to Michael Waltrip for expanding his horizons in some very unique ways. One would think Waltrip would be plenty busy overseeing his two NASCAR Sprint Cup teams with the start of a new racing season so close at hand. But he’s found time in his schedule to undertake some new adventures.

Just this past weekend he was in Dubai where he joined Michael Waltrip Racing co owner Rob Kauffman and competed in a sports car road race. Waltrip got to race a high powered Ferrari which he referred to as “a dream.”

Waltrip also announced plans to drive one of his own Toyotas in the February 20th Daytona 500. It will mark his 25th consecutive appearance in the great American race. There are also plans for him to compete in Daytona’s annual Bud Shootout as well.

Michael Waltrip the author will make his debut on February 1st with the release of “In the Blink Of An Eye: Dale, Daytona And The Day That Changed Everything.” This book tells the poignant story of Waltrip winning the 2001 Daytona 500 only to have that special moment completely overshadowed by the tragic accident in this race that claimed the life of Dale Earnhardt Sr. It’s anticipated that the book is going to hit the best seller’s list.

Then there’s Michael Waltrip’s Comedy Garage. Headlined by premiere stand up comedians Henry Cho and John Reep, the comedy tour will be hosted by Waltrip who will also perform a stand up comedy routine. The tour makes its official debut January 21st at the Ameristar Hotel and Casino in Kansas City and then it’s on to Ontario-Canada the following day. There is also a scheduled stop at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.

***********

Speaking of the Waltrip family, WAZZUP with NASCAR champion, turned broadcaster, Darrell Waltrip and a recent concern regarding age issues? In a recent “Twitter” message “DW” wrote: “I’m really upset about my age. I just realized I missed my mid life crisis. (I) think I’ll go out and buy a sports car, a convertible no less.”

Hang in there ‘DW”. It won’t be much longer before you’ll be returning to the Fox Sports broadcast booth to cover the Daytona 500. That experience will make anyone feel young again.

***********

Here’s some HOORAHS for drivers and teams who made quick work of answering the door when opportunity came knocking.

The first one goes to Sprint Cup driver A J Allmendinger, and his Richard Petty Motorsports. team, who recently found out that Best Buy Stores will be returning as a primary sponsor this year. The national store chain will be on the hood of Allmendinger’s #43 Ford for 24 races plus the two non points events: the Gatorade Duels and the All Star race. Best buy will also be an associate sponsor on RPM’s second team driven by Marcus Ambrose.

HOORAH to Justin Lofton who recently announced that he will be driving a Toyota Tundra for Germain Racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this year. After winning the ARCA Series championship in 2009, the talented driver from southern California spent his rookie season in the truck series impressing a lot of observers. His 2010 stats included four top fives finishes, eight top tens and 12th in the final points standings.

HOORAH to Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing who recently announced plans to collaborate with Second Chance Motorsports for the first five races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The plan calls for Cobb to drive the #79 Ford Mustang with Roush Yates supplying the engines. More races will be added to their schedule if additional sponsorship can be found. Cobb will be rather busy this year with plans to continue campaigning her self owned Ford team in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

************

On the opposite end of this extreme, WAZZUP with Roush Fenway Racing’s struggles finding sponsors for their three NASCAR Nationwide Series? Carl Edwards, who will again be racing the full Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series schedules, only has enough sponsorship from Fastenal to cover half of the 34 Nationwide event after Copart announced they would not be returning this year.

Meanwhile RFR’s other two Nationwide Series teams, driven by Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Trevor Bayne, may find themselves starting the new season with no sponsor logos at all on the hoods of their cars.

************

The final HOORAH of the week goes to the SPEED Channel for their planned comprehensive coverage of the upcoming pre season Sprint Cup test at Daytona set for January 20th through the 22nd. Check www.speed.com for air times. Hang in there racing fans, the withdrawals are almost over.

***********

The final WAZZUP of the week belongs to Kentucky resident Ronald Basham and a lawsuit he recently initiated against World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE. It seems that approximately 11 years ago the then seven year old Basham was attending a WWE event that featured wrestling superstars “The Rock” and “Triple H.” The intensity of this match eventually wound up in the grandstands where a female fan was accidentally hit causing her to land on Basham’s right leg and knee. After filing the lawsuit 11 years later Basham said that “at age seven he was too young to sue for himself.” His attorney said his client “suffered severe and painful injuries that will continue to bother him.” This is despite the young man’s stint playing high school football.

So, what does any of this have to do with auto racing? It seems that Basham went on to become a stock car driver at his local race track despite the intense pain in his leg. His personal “Facebook” page is loaded with photos and video streams of his racing career including some hard crashes into concrete retaining walls. Don’t bother looking up Basham on “Facebook.” It seems that his attorney, in recent days, had him remove everything connected to racing from the page. Imagine that.  

I just thought you might find this change of pace story interesting but that’s assuming that you can “smell what the Rock is cooking.”

1...6,5606,5616,562...6,607Page 6,561 of 6,607