NASCAR: Sponsorship boost puts Sam Hornish Jr. on track for full Nationwide …
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Article source: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120127/NASCAR/120129819
NASCAR-NS: Mike Wallace looking forward to 2012 season
JD Motorsports and Mike Wallace determined about Daytona and 2012 season
Newt Moore brought on as crew chief
GAFFNEY, S.C. (January 27, 2012) – JD Motorsports has been a whir and blur of activity the last few weeks at their South Carolina shop.
Johnny Davis, team owner, has hired on some key personnel to build on the achievements from the team’s 2011 season. Mike Wallace, entering his fourth season driving for the team, has been a solid competitor during his tenure. The new addition to the team is veteran crew chief Newt Moore.
Davis has 411 NASCAR Nationwide Series starts as an owner. Wallace has 416 NNS starts as a driver. Moore has 408 combined NASCAR starts atop a pit box. That makes for a good combination of experience between the three. They, and their refurbished team, are all hoping their merged know-how leads them to more success in the 2012 season.
“I have to tell you, this team has been working hard as can be to get ready for the season opener at Daytona and the rest of the year,” Davis said. “We added Newt (Moore) as our crew chief and that’s been going pretty good. We also added two crew members of the team that won the Daytona 500 last year and I’ve been pretty happy with their work, too.
“You combine all of that with Mike’s talent at the big tracks, and we’re all feeling pretty good for the start of the season. And, just like other teams, we are looking to add some partners to complete our season to be even more successful. We have a room on the car; trust me.
“We’re a single-car team with no Sprint Cup team affiliation. So, when we have a good day like we did many times last year, we’re that much happier and prouder of our efforts. We finished 13th in points last year, and that was over some teams with a much bigger budget and affiliation ties to big teams. There’s a sense of optimism in the shop right now that is stronger than ever…I like it.”
Wallace, who has four NNS wins to his credit, earned one of those wins at Daytona in July 2004. In addition to making his 400th NNS start last year, he won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in October. So, the ability to win for Wallace never went away.
“No, the desire and ability to win has never faded after 22 years in Nationwide competition,” Wallace said. “We come to the track each week to compete to the best of our ability and represent ourselves and marketing partners the best way possible.
“Johnny has made some changes in the off-season everyone has been very pleased with since it happened. I have to give our owner a lot of credit – he manages to give us what we need to be competitive every week.”
Wallace was very competitive in the Talladega NNS race last spring. He worked his way to the front and was leading on the second green/white/checkers restart for the win. However, after the white flag flew, Wallace was pushed from behind, spun and hit sideways causing the car to do a single barrel roll before driving it to an 18th-place finish.
“I still wish we had that one back again,” Wallace said. “But, that’s the nature of the beast in restrictor-plate racing. I know we can do what did last year by running up front and leading laps at both Daytona and Talladega. I just have a funny feeling this JD Motorsports team is on to something for the Daytona race and we’re doing all we can to make it a great race; which would lead to a great season.
“Somebody has to win the race at Daytona – why not us? That’s the way I see it for starting off our 2012 season.”
Article source: http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-ns/news/mike-wallace-looking-forward-to-2012-season/
NASCAR notes: CEO Brian France says criticism is fine . . . up to a point
LAT PHOTOGRAPHY
NASCAR CEO Brian France says he doesn’t mind objective criticism from owners, drivers or crewmen.
NASCAR CEO Brian France says he doesn’t mind objective criticism from owners, drivers or crewmen, but he draws the line at questioning the integrity of stock-car racing.
“If you challenge the integrity of the sport, we’re going to deal with that,” he said recently. “We have to deal with that. And I think what’s really interesting is that I can’t tell you how many owners or drivers come up to me and say, ‘Thank you for doing that’ because some of these comments were irresponsible and unhelpful to growing the sport.
“We’re not talking about who’s critical of NASCAR. You can be critical of things you don’t think we’re doing well, in particular a race call. You can say, ‘I don’t think I was speeding; I disagree with that.’ We understand that. It’s when you go after the integrity of the sport is where we will step in, and they [fines or other disciplinary actions] will be public.”
Burtons go Truck Series racing
Former Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton and his 19-year-old son, Jeb, will share a part-time Camping World Truck Series ride this year. The elder Burton, who won the 2002 Daytona 500 but hasn’t raced since fall 2007, will drive the Mike Hillman Sr.-owned, State Water Heater-sponsored No. 27 Chevrolet Silverado in the upcoming NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway. His son likely will debut in the March 31 race at Martinsville Speedway.
RCR will be busy this season
Chevrolet-based Richard Childress Racing attracted a lot of late-season attention for trimming its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable from four cars to three. Overall, though, RCR this year will field move vehicles in more races in more series and with more drivers than at any time in its history.
Kevin Harvick, Paul Menard and Jeff Burton will continue to run the full 36-race Cup schedule. Elliott Sadler and Brendan Gaughan will share another RCR car in up to five more early-season Cup races.
In addition, Sadler and rookie Austin Dillon will run the full 33-race Nationwide Series schedule, with a variety of drivers–Harvick, Gaughan, Menard, Tony Stewart and Max Papis–sharing a third car for the full Nationwide schedule. And Ty Dillon and Joey Coulter will run the full 22-race Truck Series schedule, with Harvick, Gaughan and Tim George Jr. sharing a third ride for the trucks schedule.
Extended, but for how long?
NASCAR, MillerCoors and Penske Racing have confirmed multiyear extensions of their relationships, but nobody seems willing to say how long “multiyear” means.
Coors Light is extending its deal as the Official Beer of NASCAR, including the Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series pole awards. Miller Lite is extending its long relationship with Penske Racing and, for the second consecutive year, with driver Brad Keselowski. Miller Lite has been with Penske since 1981 and with his flagship No. 2 car since 1991.
Penske Racing also confirmed that Keselowski has extended his contract with the team for two more years, with an option for 2015. Keselowski is into his third year of a three-year deal with Penske, which also extended its relationship with crew chief Paul Wolfe through 2015.
Penske’s 2013 lineup includes Keselowski and A. J. Allmendinger for the full Cup schedule and Parker Kligerman and Sam Hornish Jr. for the full Nationwide schedule.
New-car testing scheduled
They won’t meet in competition for more than a year, but prototypes of the 2013 Sprint Cup cars will undergo their first on-track testing early next month at Homestead-Miami Speedway. NASCAR has said that the Feb. 1-2 test will be closed to the public and the media. Ford has unveiled its 2013 Fusion, but Chevrolet, Dodge and Toyota have not revealed their 2013 cars. According to NASCAR, public and media-friendly testing is scheduled for the summer.
High expectations at Hendrick Motorsports
Fourteen NASCAR championship banners hang in the auditorium at Hendrick Motorsports. Ten are from Cup, three from the Truck Series and one from the Nationwide Series. So it should come as no surprise that team owner Rick Hendrick doesn’t shy away from predicting great things from his four Cup teams this year.
“I’m not going to hedge on anything,” he said recently. “I expect all four teams to make the Chase and one of them to win the championship. I’ll be disappointed if Jimmie [Johnson], Jeff [Gordon], Dale [Earnhardt] Jr. and Kasey [Kahne] don’t make the Chase and make a run at the Cup. And I expect them to all win a lot of races. I don’t remember ever having four teams this strong and this prepared. I’ll be disappointed if we don’t win another championship.”
Notes and quotes from the 30th-annual NASCAR Media Tour
Bill Elliott will run the July 7 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona Beach in a one-race deal with Walmart. He’ll drive the No. 50 Chevrolet prepared by Turner Motorsports in recognition of Walmart’s 50th anniversary. . . . This from owner Barney Visser on whether he expected his single-car, self-sponsored Furniture Row team would win as quickly as it did: “It didn’t seem very quick [137 starts] to me.” . . . Kasey Kahne missed the Media Tour’s visit to Hendrick Motorsports because he was on jury duty. Most members of the tour figured he was happier there (getting $30 a day and a free lunch) than having to face the media. . . . This from driver-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Danica Patrick, who’ll run the full Nationwide schedule and a handful of Cup races this year: “She’s good for the sport because she attracts a lot of attention. We need some rebound, and she provides that spark. I’m glad she’s here.”
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Article source: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120127/NASCAR/120129812
Pocono Raceway founder Mattioli dies at 86
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Joseph Mattioli, the founder and chairman of Pocono Raceway, has died following a lengthy illness, NASCAR officials announced Thursday during a preseason press conference at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He was 86.
Bob Pleban, the vice president of administration at Pocono Raceway, confirmed the news to The Associated Press, saying family members informed him Mattioli passed away around 1 p.m Thursday at Lehigh Valley Hospital Center in Allentown, Pa. He said Mattioli’s family members were gathered at his side at the time of his death.
Mattioli, a dentist known as “Doc” to friends and associates, founded Pocono Raceway in the early 1960’s and ran the speedway for more than four decades with his wife Rose. Under his leadership, the track grew in stature and has hosted 68 very successful NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events.
Mattioli and his wife, Rose, retired last year, handing over control of Pocono Raceway to their eldest three grandchildren.
His passing leaves a void in the NASCAR community, according to NASCAR CEO and Chairman Brian France.
“He was a friend from the very beginning with my grandfather and I’m sad to hear the news,” France said. “I’m very close with the Mattioli family. Obviously our hearts go out to them. He was a great man and cared a lot about this sport.”
Added NASCAR president Mike Helton: “Doc was symbolic of the passion of our sport. When you say Pocono everybody has their own different interpretation. But it’s certainly shows the character and passion and impact that Doc and Rose made on our sport, and that is one that will be forever engrained in that track. I’m sad to hear of his passing.”
Pocono Raceway is the only remaining family owned and run track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule.
A release by Pocono Speedway said Mattioli “kept his fingers on the pulse of stock car racing and read everything printed concerning the sport. He was in the office daily, until last fall, and oversaw all aspects of the Pocono Raceway operations.”
At age 83, Mattioli spearheaded an ambitious solar energy project. He built a three megawatt photovoltaic solar energy system on 25 acres at Pocono Raceway. It is the world’s largest solar-powered sports facility, making Pocono Raceway a leader in the renewable energy and environmental fields.
In 2009, he received the Philanthropic Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals for his generous and continuous contributions to local civic organizations, hospitals, schools and charities.
Mattioli served in the Pacific during World War Two as a Navy medic.
Using the G.I. bill, he enrolled in the dentistry program at Temple University, where he met his soon to be wife, Rose.
Upon graduation, he developed his dental practice into a very lucrative business by working extensive hours. He began investing in and developing properties in Philadelphia and Northeastern Pennsylvania where he became involved in the startup process of what would become Pocono Raceway.
Mattioli is survived by his wife of 63 years, Dr. Rose, daughters Louie and Michele and son Joseph Mattioli III, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Article source: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/01/26/pocono-raceway-founder-mattioli-dies-at-86/
Harvick (dad-to-be), Burton (new crew chief) embrace changes
“If you have a race team, you know this is the busiest time of the year,” Harvick said. “This is when you’ve to to make all the new paint schemes. This is when you have to hunt for sponsors. With Richard taking that burden, DeLana was just bound and determined that we were not racing and having kids.”
“I conquered boredom for sure,” he added. “Having a pregnant wife at home will conquer that boredom pretty fast. We got to enjoy a lot of things this winter, going on vacation two or three times and doing things that you enjoy with friends. We really just learned how to be normal.”
Harvick, 36, was hoping to build on consecutive third-place finishes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with a “clearer frame of mind,” without the “burdens and distractions” of team ownership. He’ll still drive part time in the Camping World Truck and Nationwide series.
“So far, it’s just been drive that car or that truck as fast as it will go and come back with some reasonable information that will help us next week to go faster,” he said.
Burton gets his man:Jeff Burton, 44 and winless in his last 113 Cup starts, thinks crew chief Drew Blickensderfer, who previously worked with Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and David Ragan at Roush Fenway Racing, can help facilitate his turnaround this season.
“I wanted him, and he wanted me,” Burton said. “He’s driven. We have the same goals in mind. We both work really hard. I’ve never worked with him, but I paid close attention to Drew in the garage. His son and my son have done some racing against each other. You find out a lot about a man when your kids are racing (each other).”
Burton has 21 career wins but was limited to five top-10 finishes last season, his lowest total since his 1994 rookie season.
“I’m not here just to extend my career,” he said. “I’m here to win a championship. To do that, with all things considered, I felt Drew was the right guy. He’s already been a great recruiter. He’s gone out and got guys from other teams I didn’t think we could get them from. So, I think our whole company is feeling good and me, in particular, in the (No.) 31.”
His new crew chief likes that Burton has demonstrated ability to win on all tracks.
“With a guy like that, you can take your bad days, still finish eighth or ninth and win a championship,” said Blickensderfer, who thinks a new all-for-one attitude at RCR will also help. “We’re embracing a commonality between cars. We want to have similar bodies, similar chassis. We want to be able, on a Saturday afternoon, to plug in somebody else’s setup if we need to.”
Walmart enters NASCAR: Bill Elliott, a four-time winner in 59 Cup starts at Daytona International Speedway, will drive Walmart’s first Cup entry in the July 7 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 50 car — coinciding with Walmart’s 50th anniversary — will be prepared by Turner Motorsports. Walmart is expanding its visibility in the sport by adding NASCAR merchandise lines and offering a $99 family four-pack of tickets and refreshments for 17 events this season.
Gaughan gets the call: RCR announced that it will run a fourth car for the first five races of the season with Elliott Sadler driving the No. 33 in the Daytona 500 and Brendan Gaughan teaming with crew chief Gil Martin for the next four Cup races.
Ward Burton returns: Former Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton has signed with Hillman Racing and planned to drive in next month’s Camping World Truck Series opener at Daytona. Burton’s 19-year-old son, Jeb, also will run a driver development program with Hillman. Ward Burton hasn’t competed in a Cup race since 2007.
Jeb Burton has been racing in NASCAR’s Whelen All-American Series and eventually will drive Hillman’s No. 27 Chevrolet in the Truck Series.
Annett gets a ride: Pilot Flying J will sponsor a new Richard Petty Motorsports team that will use Michael Annett as its driver. and will run for the Nationwide championship. Annett was ninth in the Nationwide points race last season with Rusty Wallace, Inc., which halted its operations.
Pocono founder dies: Joseph Mattioli, Pocono Raceway’s founder and chairman, died Thursday at 86 after a long illness.
Article source: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/story/2012-01-26/Kevin-Harvick-Jeff-Burton-embrace-changes/52809490/1
Bruce Martin: Confident NASCAR stands pat on the Chase, but builds for the future
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Given the dramatic success of the 2011 season, NASCAR officials are confident that the sport will carry momentum into 2012.
So rather than tinker with a successful formula, NASCAR CEO Brian France and president Mike Helton have largely taken an “If it ain’t broke; don’t fix it” attitude this season.
“We enter this season with optimism,” France said Thursday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on the final day of the Sprint Cup Series Media Tour. “The championship was perhaps the best ever, so we want to keep the momentum going. Our focus in 2012 is to continue that momentum. The sport is in a very good place right now.”
Much of the success can be attributed to an epic Chase that saw Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart wage a neck-and-neck battle for the title. France believes that initiatives announced a year ago made that battle possible.
“Last year at this event we announced a number of changes that we believed would build interest and help make it easier for fans to understand the championship race,” France said. “We’re very pleased with how all of those changes played out. Adding a wild card brought significant drama in the summer. It put a premium on winning … and put all of the drivers in the top 20 in points relevant to the championship. Simplifying the points system was also a good move to our partners and our fans.
“The championship battle will be talked about for a long, long time. No question about it, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards gave us an incredible show that was exciting all the way to the last lap. In the end, it came down to victories and that is exactly how it should be.”
NASCAR standing pat on the playoff is fairly notable. Fans of the sport will note that the Chase has been tweaked nearly every year since its inception, in 2004. NASCAR expanded the field from 10 to 12 in 2007 and last year simplified the Chase scoring and added two wild-card entries.
Despite the continuity, NASCAR isn’t sitting in neutral. Far from it actually, as the upcoming year includes the implementation of electronic fuel injection for the first time in series history and rule changes to minimize the use of two-car tandem racing at Daytona and Talladega. And in 2013, NASCAR will move to re-styled Sprint Cup Cars, which will more closely resemble consumer models.
The move to electronic fuel injection, a technology common in passenger cars since 1990, will phase out the highly inefficient carburetor and create additional technological and business possibilities.
“EFI is an important step to make the cars on the track more like the production cars fans drive today and [it] allows us to use smart technology,” France said. “Fuel injection is no small thing to introduce. Fuel injection excites the manufacturers. It excites technology companies, and between that … and the various things we’re doing with the 2013 [Sprint Cup cars], our expectation is the car manufacturers are going to increase their support for the teams, increase their activation, which is great for all of us, and they’re excited to do that because they feel good about it.”
Changes at Daytona will allow a return to pack racing, breaking up the two-car tandem format that was used last year. It will be the first Daytona 500 where electronic fuel injection (EFI) will be utilized. A restrictor plate measuring 29/32 inch will be used to control speeds. A larger spoiler and softer springs will be used and the rear bumper will be two inches lower.
“I think we have some confidence that the tandem racing that we saw 2011 conclude with won’t be a part of the Daytona 500,” Helton said. “But we’re not going to write a rules package that prevents the drivers from racing close to each other. That’s NASCAR racing that fans expect. So we think the Daytona 500 will be more in line with the fans’ expectations, and you’ll see more than likely cars push each other, but that was happening in 1959 and 1979.”
In 2007, NASCAR introduced the “Car of Tomorrow”. The model eliminated any degree of manufacturer identity, leaving race fans unable to tell the difference between a Ford, a Chevrolet, a Toyota or a Dodge. Helton assured fans that would not be a problem with the 2013 model.
“The optics of the 2013 car will be significantly recognized and very popular,” he said.
Earlier this week Ford unveiled its 2013 prototype at Charlotte, showing a Ford Fusion that looks nearly identical to the passenger car.
NASCAR announced private testing with the 2013 car will begin next month as Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge and Toyota have a chance to refine the new product.
After a spectacular season in 2011, NASCAR officials are finally confident they have found the right balance for the near term, but as the 2013 model shows, they aren’t neglecting the future either.
Article source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/bruce_martin/01/26/nascar.brian.france/index.html
2012 NASCAR Media Tour Wrap-Up: What We Learned
When a driver’s wife getting pregnant is the biggest revelation of a four-day press event, you know there wasn’t much news.
Kevin Harvick’s surprise announcement Wednesday night that he and wife DeLana are expecting their first child in July was the top news on the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour, which concluded Thursday afternoon.
Other stories included Danica Patrick’s announcement she would not be participating in this year’s Indianapolis 500 and Elliott Sadler’s entry into the Daytona 500 with Richard Childress Racing.
Aside from that, there wasn’t much to report. In this case, though, no news is good news for NASCAR.
At NASCAR’s Thursday tour stop, there were no announcements made about rules changes or new programs. After what was perhaps stock car racing’s greatest season ever, there was no need to change anything.
The points system will stay the same. The Chase will stay the same. The on-track rules will remain the same.
Honestly, that’s the right call. Making any adjustments after such a fantastic season would risk jeopardizing NASCAR’s current momentum, which is finally headed in a positive direction again after several disappointing seasons.
There were no “Be more positive!” lectures to the media this year – perhaps for the first time since the sport’s bubble burst in 2006. And several key figures – from Brian France to Brad Keselowski – actually thanked reporters for covering the sport.
Clearly, this is a kinder, gentler NASCAR. Mike Helton said officials are more open-minded than ever now, listening to fan and team suggestions and implementing many of them.
For example: NASCAR’s Fan Council told officials they didn’t like the two-car drafts at restrictor-plate tracks. So instead of trying to spin the tandem racing as a positive and shoving it down everyone’s throat, NASCAR shrugged and said, “OK, fine. We’ll fix it.”
The overall spin declined in general. I got the sense at many tour stops that teams were actually excited – instead of just going through the motions – and multiple team owners reported an improvement in the economic and sponsorship climate for their teams.
That said, NASCAR still lost several race teams and major companies – so it remains to be seen whether the sport is really getting financially healthy again.
Reporters didn’t quite get a complete picture of the upcoming season, though, as two of the biggest potential stories of the 2012 season were no-shows.
Preseason favorite Carl Edwards had a miscommunication of some sort and took a vacation during the Media Tour, missing the Roush Fenway Racing stop. And jury duty kept Kasey Kahne away from his media duties on Wednesday, denying reporters the chance to ask about his move to Hendrick Motorsports.
Matt Kenseth (family emergency) and Richard Childress (fishing trip) were also missing, marking a rare string of absences.
Nevertheless, there was still much to talk about. After all, the 2012 NASCAR season has potential to be even better than 2011.
The Daytona 500 may be the most-hyped “Great American Race” yet – since it also marks Danica Patrick’s Sprint Cup Series debut – Dale Earnhardt Jr. looks poised to end his long winless drought, and the championship battle seems wide open.
How will Kurt Busch fare at Phoenix Racing – and in teaming up with his brother in the Nationwide Series? Can Jimmie Johnson shake off a disappointing season (by his standards) and win Cup No. 6? Will Stewart be able to defend his title with new crew chief Steve Addington, or will his performance slip? How will the variety of new driver/team/crew chief combinations work out?
There’s tons to talk about and anticipate this season. But the hype has to build for a few more weeks first, like a teapot coming to a slow boil.
We’re not done yet! Keep checking back here for more updates from the Media Tour (there’s a lot of tape to transcribe).
Article source: http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2012/1/26/2740839/nascar-media-tour-2012-recap-sprint-cup-series-daytona-500
For NASCAR, it’s back to the future
Jared C. Tilton/Getty ImagesDanica Patrick was at home at a Nationwide Series dinner, so much so she gave Feuding Families game show host Kenny Wallace a peck on the cheek.
CONCORD, N.C. — The final day of the 30th annual NASCAR media tour began Thursday morning with the unveiling of a brand-new race car. Bill Elliott pulled the cover off of the blue No. 50 Wal-Mart machine he will drive in July at the Coke Zero 400, built by Turner Motorsports and powered by Hendrick Motorsports engines.
A more fitting exclamation point to this year’s preseason sentence might have been the unveiling of Doc Brown’s DeLorean.
Each edition of the media tour develops its own unique theme. Three years ago it was economic gloom and doom. Two years ago the tour was plastered by what felt like overly positive NASCAR-mandated talking points, clearly aimed at blowing away those dark clouds. Last year brought sweeping change, from shop floors to the points system.
This week it was all about riding into the future on the wave of momentum from 2011, one of the most competitive seasons in NASCAR history, but still keeping one foot planted squarely in the past to push off with. For example, the world’s largest retailer hiring a 56-year-old former Cup champion to help its first ride make the field for its first race.
In other words, back to the future.
“It has been kind of an old-school, new-school kind of week, hasn’t it?” said Elliott, about to embark on his 37th season and the owner of a past champion’s provisional. “Y’all have been talking to old guys like me, young guys like [16-year-old son] Chase, and just, well, just a lot of old and new stuff all at once.”
The past-is-prologue experience started with the NASCAR Hall of Fame induction in Charlotte on Friday, when the Hall’s Crown Ballroom was packed with a beautiful blend of current and past stock car racing stars. The news conferences of this week were dominated by young blood, the largest group of fresh-faced drivers to come along in quite some time, and new blood, putting old faces in new places to try to create a spark.
At the Roush Fenway Racing stop, 21-year-old Trevor Bayne and 24-year-old Ricky Stenhouse Jr. acted as de facto emcees of a trivia contest. Danica Patrick, finally a full-time NASCAR racer, moved with ease between tables at a Nationwide Series dinner. And at Richard Childress Racing’s sushi dinner, Austin Dillon threw down wasabi-eating challenges.
“It seems like it’s been a while since a lot of new young guys all showed up at once,” Dillon said on Tuesday, motioning to the Chevy he will race in the Nationwide Series, the first black No. 3 stock car since the death of Dale Earnhardt. “Among all of us there seems to be a real appreciation for the history of the sport. We know what these numbers mean and we respect them. We want to write the next chapter for them, whether it’s me in this car, Trevor Bayne with the Wood Brothers, [Aric] Almirola with Richard Petty, or Brad Keselowski in the Blue Deuce.”
On Thursday morning, Keselowski was clearly at ease with his new unofficial role as Penske Racing’s No. 1 driver, practically running the team’s news conference from his center stage chair. That promotion came via team owner Roger Penske’s decision to replace the controversial Kurt Busch. He did that by digging back into his roots, hiring a racer who first made his name as an open-wheel road-racing ace, AJ Allmendinger. If that sounds like Mark Donohue, who came over with Penske from Formula One and Indy Car and earned the pair its first NASCAR win in 1973, The Captain says that’s not an accident, even if he didn’t realize it at first.
“I wouldn’t say that was a conscious decision, but when you say it out loud like that, it sure makes a lot of sense. And there’s no doubt that when you talk to AJ there’s a real Donohue kind of mindset there. I don’t think a race team can have enough of that. Working with guys like that makes an old guy like me feel young again.”
The week peaked Wednesday with the unveiling of the 2013 Ford Fusion, the first of NASCAR’s overhauled fleet of race cars that will contain new technology but look and feel more like, in the words of NASCAR president Mike Helton, “a real, genuine stock car that looks like what they sell in the showroom.”
That reveal also marked the official beginning of the funeral march for the much-maligned Car of Tomorrow.
“There’s things about the current car that will be in the new car,” team owner Richard Petty admitted at the Ford announcement. “But I think you can say this is pretty much the day that the Car of Tomorrow became the Car of Yesterday.”
Jeff Gordon talked about celebrating later this fall when he hits the 20th anniversary of his first Cup series start, while potential future teammate Chase Elliott, a Hendrick Motorsports development driver, worked the crowd. Kurt Busch said he was looking forward to “going old-school and rediscovering fun” with underfunded Phoenix Racing.
Tony Stewart looked over his overhauled team, smiled, and said, “This is just a bunch of short-track racers that live and breathe racing 24 hours a day. When we have a meeting it honestly feels like just a bunch of dirty racing guys talking. And by guys I’m including Danica.”
Fostering these new youthful feelings is NASCAR itself. As recently as four years ago the marketing and promotional efforts of the sanctioning body were deliberately designed to disconnect with its so-called redneck past, with mandates such as no country music or mention of the word moonshine. In addition, no drivers were featured unless they were: (A) Sprint Cup competitors; (B) in the top four or five of souvenir sales.
“
There’s things about the current car that will be in the new car. But I think you can say this is pretty much the day that the Car of Tomorrow became the Car of Yesterday.
”
– Richard Petty
Now all of that has changed, as evidenced by the “Fast Forward” theme splashed all over Thursday’s “state of the union” news conference, complete with a slideshow of young drivers, the introduction of the new Drive for Diversity class, and, yes, country music. All held on the main floor of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, surrounded by the cars of stock car racing’s past.
“I think Trevor Bayne was a huge wake-up call for us,” admitted Steve Phelps, NASCAR chief marketing officer. “He won our biggest race last year and fans knew nothing about him. Neither did sponsors. Candidly, neither did we. Luckily we had a media blitz that week that showcased Trevor, but it made us realize that we need to start planting the seeds and educating people about these young drivers early.”
NASCAR now has a department dedicated to — in Phelps’ words — star-making. According to Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR VP of racing operations, that group has created an extensive list of drivers who represent every tier of the NASCAR ladder, no matter how far down. “If they make a fan early, then they have a fan for life. That’s how the drivers in this Hall of Fame became Hall of Famers. When today’s young racers do start moving up that ladder, we need to give them the kind of stage and fan base they deserve.”
It’s about time. And if this year’s Fountain of Youth edition of the NASCAR media tour is any indication, it’s starting to work.
Ryan McGee, a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine, is the author of “ESPN Ultimate NASCAR: 100 Defining Moments in Stock Car Racing History.” He can be reached at mcgeespn@yahoo.com.
Article source: http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/7507061/nascar-nascar-back-future
Confident NASCAR stands pat on the Chase, but builds for the future
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Given the dramatic success of the 2011 season, NASCAR officials are confident that the sport will carry momentum into 2012.
So rather than tinker with a successful formula, NASCAR CEO Brian France and president Mike Helton have largely taken an “If it ain’t broke; don’t fix it” attitude this season.
“We enter this season with optimism,” France said Thursday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on the final day of the Sprint Cup Series Media Tour. “The championship was perhaps the best ever, so we want to keep the momentum going. Our focus in 2012 is to continue that momentum. The sport is in a very good place right now.”
Much of the success can be attributed to an epic Chase that saw Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart wage a neck-and-neck battle for the title. France believes that initiatives announced a year ago made that battle possible.
“Last year at this event we announced a number of changes that we believed would build interest and help make it easier for fans to understand the championship race,” France said. “We’re very pleased with how all of those changes played out. Adding a wild card brought significant drama in the summer. It put a premium on winning … and put all of the drivers in the top 20 in points relevant to the championship. Simplifying the points system was also a good move to our partners and our fans.
“The championship battle will be talked about for a long, long time. No question about it, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards gave us an incredible show that was exciting all the way to the last lap. In the end, it came down to victories and that is exactly how it should be.”
NASCAR standing pat on the playoff is fairly notable. Fans of the sport will note that the Chase has been tweaked nearly every year since its inception, in 2004. NASCAR expanded the field from 10 to 12 in 2007 and last year simplified the Chase scoring and added two wild-card entries.
Despite the continuity, NASCAR isn’t sitting in neutral. Far from it actually, as the upcoming year includes the implementation of electronic fuel injection for the first time in series history and rule changes to minimize the use of two-car tandem racing at Daytona and Talladega. And in 2013, NASCAR will move to re-styled Sprint Cup Cars, which will more closely resemble consumer models.
The move to electronic fuel injection, a technology common in passenger cars since 1990, will phase out the highly inefficient carburetor and create additional technological and business possibilities.
“EFI is an important step to make the cars on the track more like the production cars fans drive today and [it] allows us to use smart technology,” France said. “Fuel injection is no small thing to introduce. Fuel injection excites the manufacturers. It excites technology companies, and between that … and the various things we’re doing with the 2013 [Sprint Cup cars], our expectation is the car manufacturers are going to increase their support for the teams, increase their activation, which is great for all of us, and they’re excited to do that because they feel good about it.”
Changes at Daytona will allow a return to pack racing, breaking up the two-car tandem format that was used last year. It will be the first Daytona 500 where electronic fuel injection (EFI) will be utilized. A restrictor plate measuring 29/32 inch will be used to control speeds. A larger spoiler and softer springs will be used and the rear bumper will be two inches lower.
“I think we have some confidence that the tandem racing that we saw 2011 conclude with won’t be a part of the Daytona 500,” Helton said. “But we’re not going to write a rules package that prevents the drivers from racing close to each other. That’s NASCAR racing that fans expect. So we think the Daytona 500 will be more in line with the fans’ expectations, and you’ll see more than likely cars push each other, but that was happening in 1959 and 1979.”
In 2007, NASCAR introduced the “Car of Tomorrow”. The model eliminated any degree of manufacturer identity, leaving race fans unable to tell the difference between a Ford, a Chevrolet, a Toyota or a Dodge. Helton assured fans that would not be a problem with the 2013 model.
“The optics of the 2013 car will be significantly recognized and very popular,” he said.
Earlier this week Ford unveiled its 2013 prototype at Charlotte, showing a Ford Fusion that looks nearly identical to the passenger car.
NASCAR announced private testing with the 2013 car will begin next month as Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge and Toyota have a chance to refine the new product.
After a spectacular season in 2011, NASCAR officials are finally confident they have found the right balance for the near term, but as the 2013 model shows, they aren’t neglecting the future either.
Article source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/bruce_martin/01/26/nascar.brian.france/index.html
Bringing structure to NASCAR superstardom
One of the most important in that category is his crew chief, Steve Letarte, whom Earnhardt gives a lot of the credit for a 2011 season in which he finished seventh his first top-20 end-of-year finish since 2008.
Earnhardt said Letarte was really strict with him and that he likes it. Earnhardts daily schedule changed immediately in 2011 when Letarte became his crew chief for the first time.
He wanted me there early, Earnhardt said Wednesday. I was grumbling about it at first and he was like, Man, thats the deal. Thats just the way it is.
Said Letarte: I ask him to be a part of the team and treat him no differently than I would treat a tire changer. We all know hes a superstar. We know hes Dale Earnhardt Jr. But he has responsibilities to the team just like everyone else.
Letarte requires detailed written reports from Earnhardt after each race. He has the driver showing up earlier than he ever has and staying later. I like to see him before practice, Letarte said. I want him to engage with us. Come see us. Be a part of things.
Said Earnhardt: I never really had anybody ask much of me as far as a crew chief goes just be there with your helmet and be ready to drive when its time to drive.
Earnhardt said the additional structure has helped him. When Earnhardts car isnt behaving on the track, he has had a tendency to give what he admits is broad and generic criticism on the radio. Saying the car is awful doesnt help anybody other drivers sometimes are better at pinpointing the problem so it can be fixed. Earnhardt said hes now getting there.
For all that, Earnhardt didnt win a race in 2011. He remains stuck on 18 wins in NASCARs Sprint Cup series and hasnt won a race in the top series since 2008. At age 37, he may have already reached his peak as a driver.
But at least Earnhardt feels he has a chance with Letarte a former crew chief for Gordon calling the shots. And keeping Earnhardt confident is a significant part of the battle.
Earnhardt seems to do best under a demanding crew chief. Tony (Pops) Eury Sr. shepherded most of Earnhardts big wins, although he wanted different things out of Earnhardt than Letarte does.
Pops was really hard, Earnhardt said. Strict, tough. But he doesnt want detailed reports or written feedback. He doesnt want you there early to talk to him. … But when you messed up, you were in trouble and you got your tail chewed on.
“Steve doesnt do that. Pops was just as effective, but a totally different approach. … Pops is a little more like a drill sergeant and Steves a lot more like a cheerleader.
Said Earnhardts team owner, Rick Hendrick: Steve is exactly what Dale needed. He knows when to give him some tough love. Hes not afraid to grab him by the collar. And Dale respects that.
Earnhardt has told Letarte to stay on him this season that he needs it.
Letarte said not to worry. He will.
And all of that should give Juniors legions of fans a bit of hope as the 2012 season begins.
Scott Fowler: 704-358-5140; Article source: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/01/25/1806880/pushing-nascars-most-popular-driver.html
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