DPR Sports & Racing News

Sprint Cup Drivers Conduct First Test With New Spoiler During Goodyear Tire Test At Texas Motor Speedway

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Stewart, Kurt Busch, Biffle, Vickers Use Current Wing And New Spoiler Packages On Opening Day Of Two-Day Goodyear Tire Test

New Spoiler Package To Be Evaluated And May Be Implemented For April’s Samsung Mobile 500 At TMS

Drivers A Big Hit At “Gear Up For The Green Flag” Fan Event

FORT WORTH, Texas (January 19, 2010) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle and Brian Vickers became the first drivers to conduct an on-track test with a new aluminum spoiler package that could be implemented for the 2010 season during Tuesday’s Goodyear Tire test at Texas Motor Speedway.

Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala) was the first of the group to test the spoiler in the morning session, which was delayed nearly two hours from its 9 a.m. CT start time due to moisture on the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval from heavy morning dew.

The session kicked off at approximately 10:53 a.m. with temperatures in the 60s as Stewart rolled out with the wing and less than 40 minutes later was utilizing the spoiler. Vickers (No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry) also got an opportunity to run the spoiler in the abbreviated morning session.

“It (the spoiler) was on a bunch. It didn’t seem to be a big balance change which was good,” Stewart said. “That means you won’t have to invent the wheel necessarily. It was a balance shift, but it wasn’t a big balance shift. You’ve got two kinds of grip – you’ve got aero grip and you’ve got mechanical grip. The spoiler is the aero grip and the tires are mechanical. The mechanical grip is real important because it doesn’t know if you are running first in line or 10^th in line. I’m more of a mechanical guy.”

 “I thought it (spoiler) was good,” Vickers said. “I thought it added a little bit of front downforce, which is a good thing. I think it’s going to be more accepted to the fans. It looks cooler – a little more retro back to the older car.

“We haven’t been in a lot of traffic yet, so the big question is how it’s going to handle in traffic. Theoretically, from what I’ve been told, the difference between the two is that the spoiler is better in traffic. The spoiler is going to be more efficient in dirty air and a wing will be more efficient in clean air. Once you get in a lot of turbulence, the spoiler’s not going to lose a lot of efficiency while a wing really will.”

NASCAR has not determined the specific dimensions as yet for the spoiler, but the one that was being used as a baseline at Tuesday’s session was 64.5 inches wide and four inches in height with no contour in the design. Also, the rear quarter panels were extended four inches toward the ground.

NASCAR phased out the traditional spoiler on the rear deck lid of the Sprint Cup Series cars and went to a rear wing when the “Car of Tomorrow” project was unveiled in 2007. The return to the traditional look provides fans with the ability to differentiate between the four manufacturers more easily and hopefully enhance the passing ability of the cars and overall race action. Tuesday’s tire test was the first opportunity for drivers to test the package and provide feedback on its effects on the car.

“We’ve got one of the biggest spectator sports in America and they want to keep it interesting,” Biffle said. They want to keep our fans interested and they listen to the fans. They wanted double-file restarts and they did it, and a lot of fans don’t like the wing because they say it’s not traditional NASCAR. NASCAR asked us about it (the change) and we thought it would be good to put a spoiler back on the car or at least try it. I think it will be good.”

“I guess there was a part of me that was surprised (about the change), but then there was a part of me that wasn’t. I’m really proud of them (NASCAR),” Vickers said. “Last year this started with that big meeting where they (NASCAR) got everybody together and started saying ‘Hey guys, you know what, we’ve got a job to do here and that’s to provide the best racing possible and right now we feel like we can improve in some areas, so let’s all get together and put our heads together instead of bickering over what we’re going to do in the media. Let’s get together and do this right.’

“That started that meeting last year and this year talking about the spoiler they had. I was down there for the NASCAR meeting and it went really well. Last year they did the double-file restarts. You can definitely see they’re headed in the right direction. They’re headed back more toward some traditional stuff and really giving the fans what they want. That’s something the fans have seemed to want. Is it going to be a major difference for us on the track? Probably not, maybe a little better, but I think the most important part is what the fans want. That’s why they do it.”

Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford Fusion) and Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) had to wait until the afternoon session to test out the spoiler, with Busch not getting an opportunity until nearly the culmination of the session.

“I liked the way the car drove,” Biffle said. “It drove a little bit different on corner exit than the wing did. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but it may have had a little feel like the old car in some scenarios. You can tell it has some more drag because they made it a little bit bigger and wider. I’m anxious to get side-by-side with some guys and around other cars and see how it drives.”

“With the spoiler on, the car had a looser feel to it,” Busch said. “The car was turning better and it felt like the car was sliding a bit more. When you ‘A-B’ the sets of tires – like last year’s tires that we won on with the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge – and the tire that Goodyear wants to head in the general direction of, it tightened the car back up for a nice comfortable feel. And that’s what we have to do is ultimately, but together a better package for drivers to drive on the track which would create more side-by-side excitement for our fans to enjoy.”

Stewart, Busch, Biffle and Vickers will conclude the Goodyear test Wednesday, where they are scheduled to test the spoiler package once again. NASCAR will conduct another test with the spoiler March 23-24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway – another 1.5-mile oval and sister track to TMS – that will be open to all Sprint Cup teams.

“(Team owner) Jack (Roush) is all about competition,” Biffle said. “One thing for us is that it could possibly be a disruption to Hendrick’s dominance. They may not miss a beat, but when there is a change in the rules you’re going to have to find out what works. There may be a little bit in there where we can narrow that gap.”

“I think we’re stirring up the pot (with the change), but it’s in a positive direction,” Busch said. “A lot of times NASCAR throws changes our way and the drivers and owners grumble about it. With the spoiler, it seems like a positive reaction has been made already and just driving in it today, I don’t see any problem with it at all.

“I hope it creates the aesthetic view that the fans want to see with the spoiler back on the deck lid of these cars. The wings were a change for more of the four-cylinder cars that you see driving around on the streets; they weren’t our hardcore fans that drive V-8s.”

If NASCAR is pleased with the progress and performance of the spoiler, the new package could be implemented for the Samsung Mobile 500 scheduled for April 15-18 at Texas Motor Speedway.

“If you do that math, that’s a very good guesstimate on what’s going to happen, because if we test Charlotte at the end of March, the next mile-and-a-half is here at Texas in April,” Busch said.

“I think six to eight races into the season they can implement the spoiler easily,” Biffle said. “The only thing they have left to do is restrictor plates. For all theintermediate tracks(likeTexas), this car will respond fine to this spoiler or if they adjust it some.”
 

Following Tuesday’s test session, Stewart, Busch, Biffle and Vickers graciously volunteered their time to participate in the “Gear Up For The Green Flag” fan event in the Grand Ballroom of The Speedway Club. A full house of more than 500 season ticket holders and special guests were on hand for a dinner, giveaways and a question-and-answer session with the drivers to officially kick off the upcoming racing season.

“This was truly a special treat for our fans and the thanks goes to Tony, Kurt, Greg and Brian for making the time to be part of this event,” Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage said. “We had a ton of laughs and shared some entertaining stories to make for a great evening.”

Tickets for the Samsung Mobile 500/O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 NASCAR doubleheader weekend are available by calling (817) 215-8500 or by visiting the speedway’s website at www.texasmotorspeedway.com.

Long Live The King... Petty announces new partnership for 2009.

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series legend Richard Petty speaks with the media, unveiling the Richard Petty Motorsports logo, during the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Lowe's Motor Speedway at the Embassy Suites in Concord, N.C.

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owners Richard Petty (4L) and Foster Gillette (4R) unveil the logo for the merged teams during the media during the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour.

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Reed Sorenson talks about taking over the No. 43 ride at Richard Petty Motorsports during the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour

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Kasey Kahne (center) talks to the media about Richard Petty Motorsports during the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour.

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On Wednesday, the third day NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Lowe's Motor Speedway, media went to Stewart-Haas Racing in Kannapolis, N.C., and spoke with team owner and driver Tony Stewart. It was announced on Wednesday that Burger King had signed a multiyear sponsorship with Stewart-Haas Racing.

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Stewart-Haas Racing's owner and driver Tony Stewart (center) speaks with the media as team members (left to right) Director of Competition Bobby Hutchens, crew chief Darian Grubb, driver Ryan Newman, and crew chief Tony Gibson, on the third day of the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Lowe's Motor Speedway at Stewart-Haas Racing in Kannapolis, N.C.

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Stewart-Haas Racing driver and last year's winner of the Daytona 500 Ryan Newman speaks with the media during the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour.

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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 2009 Logo Unveiled

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 14, 2008) – The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) and Camping World today unveiled the logo for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

The new look was revealed as the latest step for the series’ transition to Camping World as the new title sponsor beginning in 2009, after 14 years of sponsorship by Craftsman. NASCAR and Camping World announced a seven-year partnership agreement on Oct. 23.

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“We are excited to debut this logo and give the fans a glimpse of what the series will look like for 2009,” said Steve Phelps, NASCAR’s chief marketing officer. “While the logo and the sponsor will be new, the highly competitive nature of this series will continue as it has every year since 1995.”

“This sponsorship is coming on the cusp of many good years partnering with NASCAR and the auto manufacturers and we are very excited at the opportunity to be the new title sponsor,” said Marcus Lemonis, Camping World chairman and CEO. “The new logo is just a start of great things to come in 2009.”

The inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season will kick off Feb. 13, 2009 at Daytona International Speedway. The series, which features 25 races at 23 tracks located across North America, is exclusively broadcast on SPEED and FOX.

About Camping World
Founded in 1966, Camping World is America’s largest direct marketer and specialty retailer of recreational vehicles and outdoor camping accessories and services. The company grew from a single point location in Bowling Green, Ky., to operating successful nationwide Supercenters.

Over the last five years, Camping World has progressively expanded its products and services offering customers with a vast selection, convenience and value. Camping World now operates under the department store model as a one stop shopping destination providing services to enhance and protect the RV lifestyle including: Recreational Vehicle Sales; RV Rentals; RV Service & Collision; over 8,000 RV & outdoor accessories, Performance & Tow centers; Details & Refurbishment centers known as RV Spa; President’s Club customer loyalty program; Campground reservations & directories; RV Finance and Insurance; RV Tours & Travel and a nationally distributed magazine called RV View.

The dynamic Camping World retail network headquartered in Lincolnshire, Ill., currently operates in 33 states and serves over four million RV enthusiasts.

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(L-R:) Bobby Labonte, Rex White, Bobby Allison, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jarrett, Carl Edwards, Ned Jarrett, Darrell Waltrip, Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace and Kurt Busch pose with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series trophy during the 2008 Championship Contenders Press Conference.

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Company Secures Position as Official Automotive Parts Retailer of NASCAR

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Nov. 5, 2008) – O’Reilly Auto Parts and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced today an exclusive multi-year agreement for O’Reilly to become the Official Auto Parts Retailer of NASCAR. The agreement allows for O’Reilly Auto Parts to be an exclusive NASCAR partner and utilize NASCAR marks and marketing programs in store and in related media.

As part of this agreement, O’Reilly will become a contingency sponsor for the competitors as well as provide season-ending awards in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The O’Reilly Auto Parts “People, Service and Performance” Award recognizes the team effort made both on the track and in the pits.

O’Reilly has been a longtime NASCAR industry participant. The auto parts chain is currently the title sponsor of six NASCAR events in 2008, including the O’Reilly 300 and O’Reilly Challenge Nationwide Series races both held at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Tex. Additionally the company sponsors the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway on November 9.

“We are excited to grow our relationship with NASCAR to this new level,” said Greg Henslee, O’Reilly Auto Parts CEO and Co-President. “Becoming the Official Auto Parts Retailer of NASCAR is a unique opportunity to deepen our connection with loyal race fans, build the O’Reilly brand and continue our support of motorsports from local grassroots up to the national stage.”

NASCAR is one of the few professional sports leagues that have created an automotive-specific marketing program for its family of automotive sponsors. The platform, branded as NASCAR Performance, includes exclusive marketing rights, the ability to co-brand products and product packaging as well as involvement in a long list of integrated media programs.

"Bringing on O’Reilly as an exclusive partner will serve our fans well with their automotive needs. O’Reilly is a familiar name with our fans and has been associated with NASCAR on both the local track and race sponsorship level,” said Odis Lloyd, NASCAR managing director, automotive aftermarket. “That relationship and value was a key factor in O’Reilly expanding its presence in the sport and joining our automotive program. We are proud to welcome this high quality brand to the NASCAR family of exclusive sponsors.”
O’Reilly and the NASCAR automotive marketing team will begin developing creative marketing platforms to promote their products and accelerate this partnership immediately.

About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR), celebrating 60 years in 2008, is the sanctioning body for one of North America's premier sports. NASCAR is the No. 1 spectator sport – holding 17 of the top 20 highest attended sporting events in the U.S., and is the No. 2 rated regular-season sport on television. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 150 countries and in more than 30 languages. NASCAR fans are the most brand loyal in all of sports, and as a result more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport.
 
NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series), four regional series, and one local grassroots series, as well as two international series. NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races at 100 tracks in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico. Based in Daytona Beach (Fla.), NASCAR has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Charlotte (N.C.), Concord (N.C.), Conover (N.C.), Bentonville (Ark.), Mexico City, and Toronto.

About NASCAR Automotive
The NASCAR Performance Automotive Program builds brand awareness and affinity for a select group of automotive companies while educating NASCAR fans about various automotive-related topics. The program consists of 35 exclusive marketing partners and rights holders; a technical training facility called the NASCAR Technical Institute – a branch of Universal Technical Institute Inc. (UTI); the NASCAR Performance Network – a nationwide network of quality automotive repair shops and parts stores; and integrated marketing programs including print campaigns in BABCOX and NASCAR Scene, a radio show called “NASCAR Performance Live” on MRN and SIRIUS, TV shows “NASCAR Performance” on SPEED and NASCAR Angels, a reality based show which airs on 200 TV stations nationwide plus the Hallmark Channel.

About O’Reilly Auto Parts
O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. is one of the largest specialty retailers of automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment and accessories in the United States, serving both the do-it-yourself and professional installer markets. Founded in 1957 by the O’Reilly family, the Company operated 3,277 stores in 38 states as of September 30, 2008.

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Scott Speed (Above)  improved from 32nd-quickest in the first practice session to 19-quickest in the final practice. Speed will be making his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut Sunday in the TUMS QuikPak 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. NASCAR fans and community members came out en masse on Sept. 11 to participate in The NASCAR Foundation’s third annual Blood and Marrow Drive Presented by Nationwide Insurance at 30 locations across the country.

A total of 4,147 pints of blood were collected and approximately 4,584 new members joined the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP) Registry. There were 1,239 individuals who joined the NMDP Registry at participating locations around the country and an additional 3,345 members joined by ordering a “Do It Yourself” kit online. Funding for the online drive was made possible from a generous donation by the Nationwide Foundation and Hendrick Marrow Program.

A partnership between The NASCAR Foundation, Jimmie Johnson Foundation, Hendrick Marrow Program and Nationwide Foundation, the third annual Blood and Marrow Drive Presented by Nationwide Insurance has the potential to save more than 17,000 lives through blood donations and will give hope to the thousands of patients searching the NMDP Registry for an unrelated marrow donor.

“We are extremely excited with the amazing participation for the event this year, from both fans and our employees here at Nationwide,” said John Aman, associate vice president of strategic sponsorship at Nationwide Insurance. “This is yet another example of how NASCAR fans have such a tremendous amount of loyalty and support for not only the sport they love but for its charitable causes as well. We truly appreciate being involved in such a worthy event.”

The NASCAR Foundation Blood and Marrow Drive Presented by Nationwide Insurance helps serve a desperate need for blood donations and marrow matches – more than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day and over 6,000 people are searching for an unrelated donor on any given day.

Since the drive began in 2006, two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson has served as its spokesperson.

“It has been amazing to watch the blood and marrow drive grow over the past three years. The addition of over four thousand new members to the NMDP Registry this year is phenomenal," said Johnson, co-founder of the Jimmie Johnson Foundation. "We are proud to support the cause and we are thrilled that so many people are involved with the drive. It's such a simple and easy way to help save a life."

Rounding out the national effort, New Hampshire Motor Speedway will hold its NASCAR Foundation Blood and Marrow Drive on Dec. 2. For more information or to learn more, please visit WWW.NASCAR.COM/foundation.

About The NASCAR Foundation
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc., (NASCAR) launched The NASCAR Foundation in January 2006. The Foundation is a 501(c) (3) non-profit entity that embodies the compassion of the NASCAR Family and its commitment to serving communities. The Foundation supports a wide range of charitable initiatives that reflect the core values of the entire NASCAR Family. The NASCAR Foundation
will use strength of the sport and its people to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most. For more information on The NASCAR Foundation, please visit the website: www.nascar.com/foundation.

About Nationwide Insurance/Nationwide Foundation
The Nationwide Foundation is an independent corporation funded by contributions from Nationwide companies. Founded in 1959, the Nationwide Foundation has committed more than $190 million since 2000 to help nonprofit organizations in communities where Nationwide associates and their families live and work.

Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the world, with more than $161 billion in assets. Nationwide ranks #108 on the Fortune 500 list. For more information, please visit www.nationwide.com.

About Jimmie Johnson Foundation
Chandra and Jimmie Johnson launched the Jimmie Johnson Foundation in February 2006. Johnson, the two-time reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, drives the No. 48 Lowe’s Impala SS in NASCAR’s top series. The mission of the foundation is to assist children, families, and communities in need throughout the United States. The foundation has committed more than $1.7 million to various charities. For additional information on the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, please visit www.jimmiejohnsonfoundation.org.

About Hendrick Marrow Program
Rick Hendrick established the Hendrick Marrow Program as a fund of The Marrow Foundation in 1997 following his diagnosis with leukemia. Although Mr. Hendrick never required a marrow transplant, he is committed to supporting the thousands of Americans who search the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry every day in hope of finding a lifesaving marrow donor. The Hendrick Marrow Program’s goals are to raise funds to support donor recruitment drives across the country and to assist patients with uninsured transplant-related expenses

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BRIAN LOFTIN HONORED AS 2008 NASCAR WHELEN SOUTHERN MODIFIED TOUR CHAMPION ON FRIDAY NIGHT

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– It was a night where dreams finally came true for 31 year-old driver Brian Loftin as the Lexington, N.C. native was honored as the 2008 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour champion.

Loftin, the driver of the No. 23 L&R Transmissions/QMF Solutions Chevrolet as well as his family-owned team was recognized on Friday night at Benton Convention Center in downtown Winston-Salem, N.C.

Loftin won this year’s Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship by a mere 30 points over Tim Brown. In doing so he joins Junior Miller (2005-2006) and L.W. Miller (2007) as only the third driver to win a Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship in only the fourth year under the NASCAR banner.

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“Every year all the teams get together like we are now to celebrate the end of the season,” Loftin said. “Some teams, just like mine, are celebrating a year of success while some teams are celebrating the fact that the year is over with. At the start of the season, my team and I sat down and decided we’d run for the Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship. I’m glad we made that decision and know we have the championship in our hands. There are not a lot of people that can say they won a NASCAR championship and that’s something nobody can ever take away from me. I’m just looking forward to get next season underway and see if we can make it a repeat.”

Bobby Loftin, Brian’s father, was on hand to receive the 2008 championship car owner award while Mike Adams earned the championship crew chief award.

The Top-20 drivers in the final point standings were called onto the stage on Friday night to be recognized for their efforts throughout the course of the 2008 season.

Several special NASCAR awards were handed out during the banquet. Veteran driver Bobby Hutchens received the 2008 Whelen Southern Modified Tour’s Most Popular Driver award. Andy Seuss was awarded the season’s Featherlite Most Improved Driver award as well as the Driver Achievement award. John Smith earned the POWERade Power Move of the Race.

Tim Brown won the season’s Coors Light Pole Award while George Brunnhoelzl Jr. picked up top honors for the Sportsmanship award. The Hoosier Tire award was presented to Brian Loftin.

In one of the biggest NASCAR awards of the evening, 19 year-old Rich Kuiken Jr. was officially named as the 2008 Whelen Southern Modified Tour Rookie-of-the-Year.

There were also several special awards that were presented by the Southern Modified Ladies Racing Auxiliary. Two longtime Whelen Southern Modified Tour officials were recognized for their efforts as Lynn Miller received the Bud Hutchens Excellence in Motorsports Award while Boyce Lineberger was called to the stage to accept the Kenny Minter Memorial Determination award. Scott Rigney received the Bubba Beck Perserverance award while Jody Utt was named the Mechanic of the Year.

FOX Sports commentator and legendary journalist Dick Berggren was Friday night’s Master of Ceremonies, bringing in a wealth of past racing experience dating back to his early days as a modified driver in the northeast.

Other special dignitaries on hand on Friday were Phil Kurze, the Vice-President of Motorsports for Whelen Engineering. Hank Thomas with Sunoco was in attendance to hand out the 2008 Sunoco Rookie-of-the-Year award.

Special guests from NASCAR headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla. included: George Silbermann, the Managing Director of Racing Operations; Ed Cox, the Whelen Southern Modified Tour Director; and Meghan Miley, Touring Series Marketing Manager.

Representing NASCAR from the Concord, N.C.-based Research and Development Center were: Richard Buck, Director of Touring Series; and Jerry Cook, Competition Administrator.

In one of the biggest announcements of the night, it was revealed that the Whelen Southern Modified Tour will make its inaugural visit to South Boston (Va. ) Speedway in 2009.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Oct. 10, 2008) – Despite the rainy weather, hundreds of fans showed up and helped collect $100,000 in donations and pledges at The First Official Jail and Bail charity event benefitting the Brienne Davis Scholarship Fund Oct. 8 at the Brickhouse Tavern in Davidson, N.C.

The excitement could be felt throughout the crowd as fans watched and cheered as their NASCAR drivers and other celebrities were put behind bars with all of the “bail money” going to support the scholarship fund. Inmates included NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Chase Miller, David Stremme, Ron Hornaday, Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell. Others locked up were Wendy Venturini, Tony Eury Jr., Shannon Wiseman, Jimmy Spencer, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby and NASCAR Vice President of Corporate Communications Jim Hunter.

The Brienne Davis Scholarship Fund is intended to provide an opportunity for a qualified female student who wishes to attend the NASCAR Technical Automotive Program at the UTI’s NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C.

Davis, a Universal Technical Institute (UTI) graduate and NASCAR Sprint Cup official, died tragically earlier this year at age 28, and is honored by this scholarship created to encourage women to seek a career in the automotive industry.

An online auction featuring autographed NASCAR memorabilia that also benefits the Brienne Davis Scholarship Fund went live Oct. 1 at 5 pm ET and will continue through Oct. 15. For more information visit WWW.NASCAR.COM/foundation.

About the Brienne Davis Scholarship Fund
The Brienne Davis Scholarship Fund is intended to provide an opportunity for a qualified female student who wishes to attend the NASCAR Technical Automotive Program at the UTI’s NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C. Each year a $10,000 scholarship will be presented to one student to attend NASCAR Tech Criteria and application information for this scholarship is available on the UTI Foundation website at www.utifoundation.net.

About UTI Foundation
The UTI Foundation, a 501(c)(3) Arizona nonprofit, is the umbrella organization for all Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE: UTI) not-for-profit initiatives and is dedicated to raising funds to further its mission and strategic goals. The UTI Foundation supports technical education for the automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle, marine and NASCAR industries through scholarships, grants, career development and other special programs. For more information, visit www.utifoundation.net.

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Dodge Challenger to make its debut in NASCAR Nationwide Series

Will the next battle in the Muscle Car Wars play out on the oval tracks of NASCAR's Nationwide Series? Dodge certainly thinks so. The Jury is still out on the other three manufacturers.

Testing of the Nationwide Series 2009 Car of Tomorrow began yesterday at Richmond International Raceway. Dodge showed up at the test with their new Dodge Challenger, with more than a mere sticker set for the headlights and grille.

Thanks to NASCAR's decision to relax a-pillar and-forward "manufacturer identity" modifications there's actually a Challenger inset grille and what appears to be raised hood areas — just like the real car! It's the closest thing seen to a realistic-looking stock car out of a NASCAR garage in decades.

Unfortunately, they're looking to be the only muscle car on the track as Ford is rumored to be running a Taurus rather than a Mustang, Chevy will be running a yet to be determined Body (we're told it's not going to be the All-New 2010 Camaro) and Toyota will have themselves another Camry with fake headlight sticker.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 27, 2008) – NASCAR announced today that it has placed Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards on probation for the next six races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as a result of their on-track incident last Saturday at the conclusion of the race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Busch, driver of the No. 18 car and Edwards, driver of the No. 99 car, both violated Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing; hitting another competitor’s car after the race had concluded) of the 2008 NASCAR rule book.

The probation takes effect beginning with this weekend’s event at Auto Club Speedway.

Richard Childress (center) announces that Casey Mears (right) will join RCR in 2009 and drive the No. 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet. Clint Bowyer (left) will move to a new fourth RCR team, the No. 33 Cheerios Chevrolet.

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2009 Budweiser Shootout At Daytona To Have New Format

Race To Feature Top 6 Teams From Each Manufacturer, Based On 2008 Owner Points

The 2009 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona will have a new format that puts more emphasis on the series’ four manufacturers – and the same star-power appeal that has become a season-opening tradition for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and its fans.

The 31st annual season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway will be held on Saturday night, Feb. 7, with a field of 24 cars representing the top teams from Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and

that will showcase the close competition in NASCAR’s premier series. That lineup will consist of the top six teams from each manufacturer, based on the final 2008 car owner points. 

The race distance will be increased from 70 laps to 75 (187.5 miles) on the 2.5-mile tri-oval. The race will have two segments, of 25 and 50 laps. Both green- and yellow-flag laps will count.

Between segments, there will be a 10-minute pit stop at which time teams will pit and may elect to change tires, add fuel and make normal chassis adjustments. Crews will be permitted to work on cars and will be allowed to perform functions they would do on a normal pit stop in a regular NASCAR Sprint Cup event. All work must be performed on pit road or in the garage. Changing of springs, shock absorbers or rear-ends will not be permitted.

Starting positions will again be determined by a blind draw, at the annual Budweiser Shootout Draw Party on Thursday night, Feb. 5, on the SPEED stage in the Midway, outside Turn 4.

The Budweiser Shootout – a “non-points” event for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitors – was first held in 1979, and originally known as the Busch Clash. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won this year’s shootout.

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Photo By Joe Paolella

NASCAR apologizes for Indianapolis tire fiasco

NASCAR apologized Tuesday for the tire fiasco that ruined its prestigious race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and vowed to avoid a repeat.

A durability issue with the tires Goodyear brought to Indy forced NASCAR to call cautions every 10 to 12 laps on Sunday to slow the action and force teams to change their tires before they failed. The longest run under the green flag was 13 laps, and Jimmie Johnson claimed the victory at the end of a seven-lap sprint to the finish in the second-slowest race in the 15 years NASCAR has competed at the Brickyard.

The drivers were disgusted, fans were frustrated and NASCAR is still trying to figure out why things went so wrong.

"I can't say enough how sorry we are and it's our responsibility being NASCAR that we don't go through this situation again,'' said Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition.

"The race didn't come off like we had hoped, the fans didn't get what they exactly wanted and we'll do everything in our power - it won't happen again, I can tell you that much.''

NASCAR must first figure out why Goodyear's tires struggled so mightily at Indianapolis. The only thing that is certain is that the tire compound Goodyear selected was not strong enough when combined with NASCAR's current car.

The new car is a heavier model that puts significantly more stress on right-side tires, and Goodyear's inventory last weekend couldn't hold up to the pressure.

"It's obvious that we didn't go there with the right car-slash-tire combination,'' Pemberton conceded.

The problem was exposed in a Saturday afternoon practice session, when some cars couldn't make it three laps without the tire wearing down to the cords. A second practice session was only slightly better, when the runs stretched to about 10 laps before tires began to falter.

Goodyear shipped in an emergency batch of 800 tires it had earmarked for this weekend's race at Pocono, and NASCAR pulled all the crew chiefs together hours before Sunday's start to discuss a strategy for staging a safe race.

Officials decided to throw a "competition caution'' 10 laps into the race to examine the tire wear, and promised to continuously monitor throughout the race. With Pemberton patrolling pit road, it became clear the tires wouldn't last much past the 10-lap window unless the abrasive Indy surface began to pick up rubber that would help the tires' traction and extend their wear.

It never happened, as the surface became the equivalent of a cheese grater and the rubber turned into a black dust that made the track even slicker - forcing NASCAR to take control of the race.

"We have to run the race and we have to run the safest race possible, and when we're in situations where we have to take control under adverse circumstances, that's what we do,'' Pemberton said. ``To get ahead of it and have the safest race possible, we had to take control and that's what we did - run 10 to 11 laps at a time and let the cautions fly.''

Goodyear plans to return to Indianapolis later this year to conduct another tire test. The first was held in April when Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brian Vickers participated in a controlled test session for the manufacturer.

NASCAR did not have an open test at Indy this year - something it has done in previous years - because the crew chiefs did not select it when polled late last season on where they wanted to test.

NASCAR is currently working on a new testing policy that would give teams more testing dates and freedom to choose the tracks.

NASCAR officials spoke Tuesday morning with both Goodyear officials and Indianapolis president Joie Chitwood, as all parties tried to move forward. Track chairman Tony George was adamant in an interview with The Indianapolis Star that the surface was not a factor in Sunday's debacle.

"The problem is solely (NASCAR's), and by that I mean it's theirs to figure out,'' George told The Star. ``It's not going to come with anything we do to the track. Figuring it out will only come with getting the car and tire combination right, and that requires actually spending the time and effort to do something about it.

"The track won't change next year, so if they want to come back, they better figure it out because I don't think the fans want to come back and see that.''

Pemberton agreed there is nothing wrong with the track, and in admitting NASCAR is deeply affected by the fiasco, vowed the issue will be corrected before next year's return.

"It hurts us whenever we have a weekend like we had,'' Pemberton said. ``There's nothing worse than coming away from a race and knowing the result was ... it wasn't even close. It wasn't even in the 25th percentile of what we're capable of doing and what we do week in and week out.

"When we go back to Indianapolis next year, we'll probably have the best Brickyard we've ever had.''

Safety First at Lowe's Motor Speedway...

As Lowe's Motor Speedway President and General Manager Humpy Wheeler looks on, Jeff Burton kicks off the track's installation of 340 feet of additional SAFER barriers along the track's inside backstretch retaining wall prior to the May 17 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and the May 25 Coca-Cola 600

"A race track can never provide more than enough tools to make racing safe," said Burton. "With cars reaching over 200 mph down the backstretch at Charlotte, installing extra SAFER barriers on the inside retaining wall is just another step 'Humpy' has taken to improve the safety of our sport. I'm excited the folks at Lowe's asked me to be part of this important project."

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader and safety advocate Jeff Burton was at the 1.5-mile superspeedway today to assist Wheeler in placing the first new section of the steel and foam energy-reducing barriers.

Jeff Burton meets the media after installing SAFER Barrier along the backstretch of Lowe's Motor Speedway

Lowe's Motor Speedway President and General Manager Humpy Wheeler and Jeff Burton prepare a feast for Coca-Cola 600 weekend at the track

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Jan. 21, 2008) – The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced today that starting this season, all money collected from fines issued to drivers will go to the NASCAR Foundation for its charitable initiatives.

“Now that the NASCAR Foundation is well established and supporting dozens of charitable organizations it is the logical place for fine money to be distributed,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France.

“We are excited to be able to work with our charities and help them develop a program that will maximize the impact they can have with their organizations,” said Sandy Marshall, executive director of the NASCAR Foundation.

About The NASCAR Foundation
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc., (NASCAR) launched the NASCAR Foundation in January 2006. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity that embodies the compassion of the NASCAR Family and its commitment to serving communities. The Foundation supports a wide range of charitable initiatives that reflect the core values of the entire NASCAR Family. The NASCAR Foundation will use strength of the sport and its people to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most.  For more information on the NASCAR Foundation, please visit the website:  www.nascar.com/foundation.

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Tony Stewart tests his new "TOYOTA" At Daytona

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A pack of cars draft during practice for the 31st running of the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway.

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Cars line up to take to the track during Budweiser Shootout practice at Daytona International Speedway.

Darian Grubb, crew chief for Tony Stewart, stands on top of the hauler during Budweiser Shootout practice at Daytona International Speedway.

NASCAR Photo

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SMI completes purchase of Kentucky Speedway….A Cup date in the near future?

Speedway Motorsports Inc. purchased Kentucky Speedway, clearing the way for SMI owner Bruton Smith to try and bring a NASCAR Sprint Cup race to the 1.5-mile tri-oval in northern Kentucky.

The deal was finalized Wednesday, December 31, more than seven months after SMI agreed to buy the track from the speedway ownership group led by Jerry Carroll. According to papers filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Smith agreed to pay $78.3 million for the speedway that cost $152 million to build.

The track joins a growing portfolio for SMI, which owns seven other NASCAR-sanctioned facilities, including Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

The former ownership group filed an antitrust lawsuit in 2005 against NASCAR and International Speedway, alleging they worked together to create an unfair monopoly and prevent Kentucky from securing a Cup race. The lawsuit was dismissed earlier this year but the case is on appeal.

Smith can not be part of the appeal under a settlement in a Texas-related antitrust lawsuit previously filed by an SMI shareholder against NASCAR and ISC.

The track regularly hosts NASCAR’s feeder Nationwide Series, Indy Racing League and ARCA events. With crowds of more than 70,000, the speedway is currently the largest venue that hosts a Nationwide event but doesn’t have a Cup race. The track is expected to add 50,000 seats to become more Cup-friendly.

“We are extremely excited about the new opportunities this market is going to bring the company,” said Smith. “Since we announced this acquisition in May, we have been overwhelmed with the response of fans expressing their support and desire for a Sprint Cup event at Kentucky Speedway. We will continue to work with NASCAR to bring a Sprint Cup race to this fine facility as soon as possible.”

NASCAR, however, left Kentucky off its 2009 schedule and likely won’t consider giving the track a date until the lawsuit is resolved.

“NASCAR has a great fanbase in Kentucky and the surrounding area, which is why we always look forward to racing there,” NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said. “However, as we have said consistently there will be no consideration for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series date until the pending lawsuit against NASCAR, ISC and SMI is resolved.”

Smith has the option of moving a date at one of his other tracks to Kentucky, but said that would not be his preference.

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Edwards Wins At Homestead; Bowyer Takes NASCAR Nationwide Title

NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion Clint Bowyer smiles as he holds his trophy in Victory Lane.

For Full Race Coverage, See the NASCAR Nationwide Series Page.

NASCAR Photos

Driver Joey Logano, right, helps team owner J.D. Gibbs hoist his NASCAR Nationwide Series Team Owner trophy as they celebrate Saturday

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DEI and Ganassi Racing to merge teams in 2009

Teresa Earnhardt and Chip Ganassi will combine their struggling race teams next season, an effort to stabilize their organizations in a tough economic time.

The combined team will be called Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

Both organizations have struggled to secure sponsorship this season, forcing the teams to pool resources.

"In this ultra-competitive era of NASCAR, it is necessary to build and sustain the strongest team possible and our combining with the people and equipment at Dale Earnhardt Inc. will help create a strong four-car program for years to come," Chip Ganassi said in a statement released by the team. "This is a win-win for both organizations as well as all of our partners."

Truex and Almirola will come from Dale Earnhardt Inc.; only Truex's car has full sponsorship for next season.

Montoya has half a season of sponsorship, and Ganassi's flagship No. 41 car has full sponsorship.

DEI fields Chevrolets, and Ganassi has a Dodge contract. Details of a manufacturer switch still are being worked out as the team is expected to use General Motors. If that happens, engine supply details must be ironed out. Ganassi has his own engine shop, but DEI has an engine partnership with Richard Childress Racing.

"Having a partner like Chip, who is heavily involved on the competition side of the business, is an ideal situation for DEI," Teresa Earnhardt said. "He has a long history of managing championship teams in the IndyCar and Rolex Grand-Am Series and I share his passion and goals of winning races and ultimately championships in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. I think this is a case where we are stronger together than we are apart."

DEI is losing the Menard's sponsorship on its No. 15 Chevrolet. Driver Paul Menard leaving and taking sponsorship from his father's hardware store with him to Yates Racing.

Ganassi shuttled the No. 40 Dodge of Dario Franchitti earlier this year, and longtime driver Reed Sorenson is leaving the No. 41 to drive for Gillett Evernham Racing next year.

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NASCAR President Mike Helton speaks with the media about the 2009 testing policy.

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Move Will Provide Significant Cost Savings For Teams

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 14, 2008) – In an effort to help teams manage costs, NASCAR is suspending testing for its three national and two regional racing series for the 2009 season.

Testing for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the NASCAR Nationwide Series, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, as well as the NASCAR Camping World East and West Regional Touring Series at tracks hosting any of those events are included in the 2009 policy.

NASCAR reached this decision following several months of discussion with the teams regarding testing, coupled with the current economic conditions. The suspension of testing should save the industry millions of dollars.

"This is a significant move during an unusual time for all of us," said NASCAR President Mike Helton in making the announcement. “NASCAR has routinely adjusted its test policy over the years to reflect current conditions. This is another example of that.”

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 14, 2008) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers voiced support of today’s announcement at Homestead-Miami Speedway that testing will be suspended in 2009 for all three national series and two regional series.

Crew chiefs and owners also spoke positively of the ban, which will help teams manage costs.

Testing for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and two regional series – the NASCAR Camping World East and West Regional Touring Series – will be banned at tracks hosting events in those series.

“Good decision, good for NASCAR,” said driver Clint Bowyer, currently sixth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. “We have to save our team owners and sponsors some money and that is a good way to do it.”

“I think it’s a great move by NASCAR,” said driver Carl Edwards, currently second in the Chase. “I think that gives a little bit of relief to the teams, as far as expenses, and the team owners. That’s a good thing. It’ll make it a little easier on all the guys.”

Ray Evernham, co-owner of Gillett Evernham Racing, said the ban would help ease teams’ operating costs during challenging economic times.

“I think it’s good,” Evernham said. “NASCAR is making an attempt. At a time where costs need to be reduced, they’re taking action. I’m sure with any other changes, there are going to be some adjustments made, but they’re taking some action to help reduce the cost and I know for a fact that one of the biggest costs is testing.”

“I think the testing thing will be all right,” said driver Matt Kenseth, the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion who’s currently eighth in the Chase. “I think either way it might even make the racing better.”

“I think it’s the right thing for NASCAR right now,” said Rodney Childers, crew chief for driver Elliott Sadler. "There are a lot of teams and people struggling with the economy the way it is and sponsors not wanting to spend the money like they did. It’s going to be the right thing to keep the sport healthy.”

“This is an unprecedented time in NASCAR,” said Bobby Labonte, the 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion. “It makes sense that NASCAR had to do something different to try and help the teams. They can’t control the cost of the teams and what they spend, but I hope NASCAR can help control a major chunk until the storm is over – hopefully this rule will accomplish that.”

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Legends throughout NASCAR’s 60-year history will help crown the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion during Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

A group of past champions will be guests of honor during the Championship Contenders’ Press Conference at the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables on Nov. 13. They will be introduced during the luncheon and be available for media interviews and photos following the formal part of the program.  On Nov. 16, the past champions will also be honored at Homestead-Miami Speedway as part of Ford Championship Weekend pre-race ceremonies prior to the season-finale Ford 400.

Below is a list of the past champions scheduled to appear at the Nov. 13 Contenders’ Press Conference. Other past champions, including those competing in the Ford 400, will also be honored during the pre-race ceremony.

Bobby Allison – A hometown hero returns to Miami. Though part of the famous Alabama Gang, Allison grew up in nearby Hialeah, Fla. His NASCAR career was one of the most prolific in history, winning 84 races and a NASCAR Sprint Cup title in 1983.

Kurt Busch – In 2004, Busch became the first driver to win the championship under the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format. His title was the closest in NASCAR Sprint Cup history – only eight points separated Busch and runner-up Jimmie Johnson. Busch has won 18 races in his nine-year career, which is ninth among active drivers.

Ned Jarrett – A two-time champion, Jarrett is one of 15 drivers to win multiple NASCAR Sprint Cup titles. Jarrett’s came in 1961 and 1965. In 1965, he won 13 races and had 45 top-10 finishes in 54 events. That year, he set a record in dominance – and one that will likely never be broken. At the Southern 500 at Darlington, he won by 14 laps (17.5 miles), the widest margin of victory in NASCAR history.

Bobby Labonte – Labonte won the 2000 championship, notching four wins, 19 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes in the 34-race season. His 21 career wins ranks sixth among active drivers.

Richard Petty – Known forever as “The King,” Petty re-wrote the NASCAR record book during his 35-year career. He holds the NASCAR record for wins (200), poles (123) and starts (1,185). Petty’s seven NASCAR Sprint Cup championships is tied with Dale Earnhardt for most ever. Petty won his championships in 1964, '67,'71, '72, '74, '75 and '79.

Rusty Wallace – Now an analyst for ESPN and a NASCAR Nationwide Series owner, Wallace was known as one of the most colorful members of the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage during his 25-year career. Wallace won 55 races (eighth all-time) and the championship in 1989.

Darrell Waltrip – A NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion in 1981, ’82 and ’85, Waltrip is one of seven drivers to win three or more titles. Waltrip, now an analyst on Fox’s NASCAR broadcasts, won 84 NASCAR Sprint Cup races, which is tied for third-most all-time.

Rex White – The 1960 champion, White won six races and had an amazing 35 top-10 finishes in the 40 races he ran. A rarity, White is one of only six driver/owners to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

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Tony Stewart (center) is introduced as the Grand Marshall of the upcoming Fiesta Bowl by Chairman of the Board Dave Tilson (left) and Executive Director John Junker (right).

 

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Raybestos Rookie of the Year contenders Sam Hornish Jr. (left) and Regan Smith address the media prior to the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

 

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Movin’ On Up: NASCAR Nationwide Series Progresses To Intermediate Track

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 13, 2008) – The progression has begun for the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ new car.

Last month, the car made its test debut on the .75-mile track at Richmond International Raceway.

Monday, it made its move to Lowe’s Motor Speedway, one of eight 1.5-mile tracks that plays host to the series.

“Things have progressed quite nicely,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR’s vice president of competition. “All of the manufacturers are out there today with, I think for the most part, the cars the teams used at the test at Richmond last month. It’s early yet, but everything’s quite favorable. The car turns well in the middle of the corner and they just continue to work on it.

“The teams are fairly happy right now with the way the test has gone for the first half of the first day.”

Seven teams representing the series’ four manufacturers were on track for Monday’s test – Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates; JD Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress Racing; Roush Fenway Racing (two teams) and Michael Waltrip Racing. All but JGR were at Richmond for the inaugural test.

Pemberton said the number of participating teams was on par with previous tests for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series new car. Where six or seven cars may seem to be a low number, numerous drivers have moved between the cars in order to get track time in the new car. At the height of new car testing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Michigan International Speedway in 2006, Pemberton noted 12 cars were involved.

Monday’s drivers included Bryan Clauson for CGRFS; Joey Logano and Kyle Busch for JGR; Mark Green and Morgan Shepherd for JDM, Stephen Leicht for RCR; Colin Braun, Carl Edwards and David Ragan for RFR, while David Reutimann and Josh Wise were on hand for MWR.

“This car feels pretty good. It’s a lot faster than I thought it was going to be,” said Edwards, the reigning series champion. “It’s a little different than the other cars we ran (at Richmond). They’re two different tracks but the car felt good at both of them.

“It seems like it has a little more front downforce which makes it turn real well. That’s good at a place like this where it seems like you can’t ever get them to turn. It’s nice to have a car that turns like that.

"The body styles are kinda cool on them,” Logano said. “I think they're different, (they) look a lot like the street car which is pretty neat."

Pemberton likes the look of the car as well, but stressed that the manufacturers are far from finished with their work.

“What you see out there is there are some that are fairly generic; none of the manufacturers have submitted their absolute final piece yet. I will have to say that the Dodge looks really nice – it’s got a nice pony car look to it. But even that’s not their final submission piece.”

The Richmond test was the first time the new car performed on the track. This week’s test may be the first time cars run together in traffic. The next step in the progression will come sometime in 2009 as the series works toward a full roll-out by the first race of the season at Daytona International Speedway in 2010.

“It’s not necessarily the new car, but having the opportunity to bring all of the safety initiatives – 100% of them – over to the Nationwide Series after a full year in the Cup Series is really the most important thing,” Pemberton said. 

Tuesday is the final day of testing this season for the NASCAR Nationwide Series new car – and also is the final official test for each of NASCAR’s three national series in 2008. The garage at LMS opens at 7 a.m. with the morning session taking place from 9 a.m. – noon and the afternoon session from 1 – 5 p.m. The garage closes at 5:30 p.m.

This also is the final open week of 2008 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Racing resumes Oct. 25 at Memphis Motorsports Park, the final stand-alone event of the season. 

NASCAR Nationwide Series New Car Debuts At Richmond Test

New Car Gets Positive Reviews From Manufacturers, Teams And Drivers
Second Day Of Testing On Tuesday Shortened To Morning-Only Session

 

Chevrolet Nationwide Test Car NASCAR Photo

Walking through the garage at Richmond International Raceway Monday morning prior to the start of the first official test session for the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ new car, Joe Balash, the series’ director, was told he looked like a “proud papa.”

Balash was overseeing another moment in series history that has taken place in 2008. The season kicked off with new sponsor Nationwide Insurance on board. Last month in Montreal, the series competed on rain tires for the first time in NASCAR national series history. And Monday, the new car made its official debut.

 
Ford Nationwide Test Car NASCAR Photo

“This is a new project for the Nationwide Series so there’s an unknown until you get (the car) to the racetrack,” Balash said. “Now we have it at the track and it’s been very well-received.”

The four series manufacturers – Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Toyota – were represented by five teams. Bryan Clauson was the first driver to take a lap for Dodge and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

David Ragan and reigning series champion Carl Edwards for Ford and Roush Fenway Racing; David Reutimann for Toyota; Scott Wimmer for Chevrolet and Richard Childress Racing, the defending series owner champion; and Morgan Shepherd for Davis Motorsports also turned laps throughout the day.

“Going through the garage area and speaking to some of the drivers, the input I got was the car was very good,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR’s vice president of competition. “A couple actually said they wished they could race this new car tomorrow.”

 

Toyota Nationwide Test Car NASCAR Photo

 

Differentiation and uniqueness are the name of the game going forward with the introduction of the new car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The main difference between the current NASCAR Nationwide car and the new car will be the chassis and the body. The current chassis has a 105” wheel base.  The new car will be a 110” NASCAR certified chassis, which is the same as the current NASCAR Sprint Cup car. This will also allow current NASCAR Nationwide Series components to be brought forward in an effort to contain costs.

The new car will provide the same safety enhancements that are in place on the current NASCAR Sprint Cup car and will also make more bolt-on parts interchangeable (for example, rear end housing), creating cost savings for the teams. Additionally, the new car will continue to use the rear spoiler whereas the NASCAR Sprint Cup car has a wing.

“We’re still walking down the path of certifying the bodies for the cars in the Nationwide Series,” Balash said. “The manufacturers haven’t made their official announcements yet on what body styles they’ll have once we get to the race track.”

Cost containment and competitive balance are also keys for the introduction of the new car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. “As we build cars, we want to make sure we don’t draw something up on the drawing board that’s hard to manufacture,” said Brett Bodine, NASCAR’s director of cost research. “If that’s the case, the cost goes up to produce these cars. As they build these cars – these are the first ones built – we’re listening to what they’ve got to say from their fab shops. This is the kind of interaction from a small group of people like we have here today that helps makes the process a lot more efficient.”

“So far we’ve been pleased,” said team owner Johnny Davis. “With more testing, we can be pretty close (to the multi-car teams). I think a smaller, single-car team under these circumstances can be a better top-10 car than what we have today with our current cars.”

The drivers at the test also gave the new car a thumbs-up.

“I’m excited about the car,” Wimmer said. “(There are) a lot of real positive things right now. We’ve been running through the normal things we do at a test and it’s responding well.

“I think they’ve got a real good mix here,” he said of the climb through NASCAR’s national series ladder system of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. “It’s going to be a good middle series car to get you ready to get in the Cup cars.”

“The car’s been good and it looks pretty cool, too,” Edwards said. “I was impressed. I hadn’t seen the car before it was sitting on the ground. It drives really well; it feels a lot like the cars we’re driving right now. Compared to when we first ran the new car in the Cup Series this is a lot smaller change for us. I’m happy with it.”

Tuesday’s second day of testing has been re-scheduled for a morning-only session since the data gathered Monday by the manufacturers and teams was sufficient. The threat of rain in the afternoon was also a factor.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series new car is also set to test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway Oct. 13-14.

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USAC fines Tony Stewart $10,000 for midget race

Tony Stewart was fined $10,000 Monday for what the U.S. Auto Club deemed unsportsmanlike conduct during a midget race last week at O'Reilly Raceway Park.

Tony Stewart Racing also was placed on probation for the remainder of the USAC season.

Stewart reportedly knocked a radio headset off the head of one USAC official and shoved another following a ruling Thursday involving Stewart's car, driven by Tracy Hines.

Hines scraped the wall and pitted for a tire change, but his car was not deemed ready to re-enter the race in time to rejoin the field for the restart.

"While we respect the passion of our teams in the spirit of competition, we regret this incident occurred and are dedicated to averting a recurrence in the future,'' Jason Smith, vice president of racing operations for USAC, said in a statement.

The statement also included an apology by Stewart.

"Obviously, I handled this particular situation the wrong way, and if I had to do it over again, it never would've happened,'' he said.

Stewart also volunteered to pay for new radios and uniforms for USAC officials.

"While what took place at ORP last week was unfortunate, we applaud Tony's commitment to bettering USAC and for providing additional equipment officials use week in and week out,'' said Kevin Miller, chief executive and president of USAC.

NATIONAL STOCK CAR RACING COMMISSION STATEMENT

On July 21, 2008, the National Stock Car Racing Commission heard and considered the appeal of Dale Earnhardt Inc. regarding the #1 car.  The appeal concerned four penalties issued by NASCAR stemming from opening day inspection on July 3, 2008 at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Daytona International Speedway. 

The penalties concern Section 12-4-A of the NASCAR Rule Book “Actions detrimental to stock car racing”; Section 12-4-Q:  “Any determination by NASCAR Officials that the car, car parts, components, and/or equipment used in the Event do not conform to NASCAR rules” and Section 20-3.8A: “Roof of the car does not conform to the specifications of the NASCAR Rule Book.”

The penalties assessed were:

• Loss of 150 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Car Owner Points for car owner Teresa Earnhardt.

• Loss of 150 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Driver Points for driver Martin Truex, Jr.

• $100,000.00 fine; suspension from NASCAR for the next six (6) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Events; suspension from NASCAR until August 27, 2008, and probation until December 31, 2008 for crew chief Kevin Manion.

• Suspension from NASCAR for the next six (6) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Events; suspension from NASCAR until August 27, 2008, and probation until December 31, 2008 for team member Gary Putnam.

The Appellants had requested and were granted a deferral of the suspension and fine penalties until this hearing could be convened.

The Appellants did not contest the rules violations, but argued that the penalties were too severe for the infractions.  The Appellants explained that rigorous checks and balances in the fabrication process were in place at DEI and could offer no explanation as to why the roof failed to meet the inspection templates.  They argued that the infractions were minor in nature, not deliberate, and that the resulting lowered roof was a disadvantage according to their wind tunnel findings. 

The Commission found that the infractions were clear-cut. The roof was low across a broad area. Accordingly, the penalties that were issued are warranted.

Therefore, it is the unanimous decision of the National Stock Car Racing Commission to uphold the original penalties assessed by NASCAR.  The periods of the suspensions are to be adjusted from the date of this hearing.

The Appellants have the right under Section 15 of the Rule Book to appeal this decision to the National Stock Car Racing Commissioner.

 

 

You never know who will show up at the track...

 

 

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About Jimmie Johnson Foundation
Chandra and Jimmie Johnson created the Jimmie Johnson Foundation in February 2006.  The mission of the foundation is to assist children, families and communities in need throughout the United States.  Jimmie Johnson drives the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet in NASCAR’s top series, the NEXTEL Cup.  He is  the reigning NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Champion.  For more information on the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, please visit www.jimmiejohnsonfoundation.org.

About Hendrick Marrow Program
Rick Hendrick established the Hendrick Marrow Program as a fund of The Marrow Foundation in 1997 following his diagnosis with leukemia.  Although Mr. Hendrick never required a marrow transplant, he is committed to supporting the thousands of Americans who search the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry every day in hope of finding a lifesaving marrow donor.  The Hendrick Marrow Program’s goals are to raise funds to support donor recruitment drives across the country and to assist patients with uninsured transplant-related expenses.

For additional information, contact:
Sarah Newman, The NASCAR Foundation, 704/348-9656 or snewman@nascarfoundation.com. 

Remembering our fallen fire fighters

Nascar Action From The Milwaukee Mile.