Month: June 2011

[media-credit name=”nascarhall.com” align=”alignright” width=”170″][/media-credit]WELCOME, N.C. (June 14, 2011) – The following is a statement by Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing, regarding the announcement of the 2012 inductees to the NASCAR Hall of Fame:

“Congratulations to Glen Wood, Cale Yarborough, Dale Inman, Richie Evans and Darrell Waltrip — the 2012 inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Each new member played a significant role in establishing the strong and successful foundation that NASCAR enjoys today. It was an honor for me to be nominated with them and I look forward to being at the Hall next January for their induction.”

About Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing has earned more than 190 victories and 12 NASCAR championships, including six in the Sprint Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. Its 2011 Sprint Cup Series lineup includes Paul Menard (No. 27 Menard’s Chevrolet), Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet), Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet) and Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet). Its Camping World Truck Series program includes 2010 Rookie of the Year Austin Dillon (No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) and Joey Coulter, Jr. (No. 22 RCR Development Chevrolet). Tim George Jr. (No 31 RCR Development Chevrolet) and Ty Dillon (No. 41 Chevrolet) will compete in the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.

 

About ECR Engines

ECR Engines is a high performance engine production and research and development company. ECR provides engines for NASCAR teams like Richard Childress Racing, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Kevin Harvick Incorporated and others. ECR also produces engines used in the ARCA Racing Series, SCCA, dirt and asphalt short track, and sprint car racing. ECR Engines earned 50 victories in 2010, including the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and all four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series restrictor-plate races. Based in Welcome, N.C., ECR Engines earned the 2010 Race Engine of the Year award by Race Engine Technology magazine.

MICHAEL WALTRIP ON DW’S HALL OF FAME ELECTION

Michael Waltrip: “I know Darrell, and I know his story. I know how he started. He was about 10 years old driving by a go-kart race in a parking lot in Owensboro, Kentucky . He was just mesmerized. It was all he could think about. He somehow talked my dad into buying a go-kart. He said he would mow yards to pay for the go-kart. My dad bought that story and then bought Darrell the go-kart. I don’t think many yards got mowed, but that was the start to the road that led Darrell to where he is today, the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

“I guess this means more to me than maybe it does to a lot of people, because I know the road that he traveled to get to the Hall of Fame. I’m so happy for him. We all have role models especially as kids, and sometimes those role models let us down. Darrell has always been my role model and my hero ever since I was a little boy, and he’s never let me down. To me, he has been in the Hall of Fame for a long time.

“I told him that being a future Hall of Famer makes him sound younger, now it’s official he is a Hall of Famer. At least he is still young at heart.”

Kevin Harvick

No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet

Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan International Speedway

Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest

. Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet travel to the Irish Hills of Michigan this weekend to compete in Sunday’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

. Harvick will be available to members of the media outside the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet hauler in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, June 17.

. The No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team will race chassis No. 299 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. The team utilized this race car twice in 2010 and twice this year. Last season Harvick recorded finishes of second at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2/28) and 19th at Michigan International Speedway (6/13) in this car. So far this year he’s driven chassis No. 299 to a win at Auto Club Speedway (3/28) and a 10th-place finish at Dover International Speedway (5/15).

. In 20 starts at Michigan International Speedway, Harvick has earned one win, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes. He’s led a total of 148 laps and has an average starting position of 18.4 and an average finishing position of 14.7. Harvick has also completed 98.9 percent (3,856 of 3,897) of the laps run at Michigan in the Sprint Cup Series since 2001.

* Harvick and RCR’s No. 29 team started 31st and finished 19th in last year’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400. In the team’s return trip to the track last August, Harvick started eighth and led 60 laps en route to scoring Richard Childress Racing’s first win at the two-mile track in 20 years. * As the No. 29 Budweiser team enters the 15th race of the season, Harvick has already amassed three wins, six top-five and eight top-10 finishes. He’s currently ranked fourth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings and is just 11 points out of first place. * This week in Budweiser Racing history: On Aug. 12, 1984, Darrell Waltrip drove the No. 11 Budweiser Chevrolet to Victory Lane at Michigan International Speedway, scoring his fourth win of the season. Waltrip started the race from the seventh position and led 46 laps before taking the checkered flag ahead of Terry Labonte. * For the online version of the Budweiser Racing media guide, please visit . * Follow along each weekend with Harvick and the team on Twitter. Check out @KevinHarvick for behind-the-scenes information straight from the driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet. Get live updates from the track each weekend from @Black29Car, the PR team for Harvick. Also, follow @RCRracing and @RCR29KHarvick for additional information about the Richard Childress Racing organization.

Kevin Harvick discusses Michigan International Speedway:

What is the team focusing on as the Chase approaches? “Well we’ve already been down the experiment road and have cleaned up some things that needed to be cleaned up as far as packages at different race tracks. We’ve already been going down that road. As far as winning races, that’s really what it’s all about for us right now. We’re trying to put ourselves in position to capitalize on that and hopefully capitalize on a few more before the Chase starts.”

What is the hardest aspect of running 400 miles at Michigan? “It all just depends on how your day is going. It really does. If you’re having a good day, it’s not really hard to tell your guys what you need and everyone is in a good mood. If you’re having a bad day, you can get behind at Michigan really fast. Usually, when you’re hooked up at Michigan, the leaders have clean air and move through traffic pretty well, but if you’re in the middle of the pack, you find yourself getting behind and going a lap down pretty quick. You’re going to end up with a green flag pit stop and a whole bunch of green flag laps. You just have to be going the time the green flag drops and keep yourself in position.”

What will it take to be successful at Michigan? “It all just depends on how your car is working and how it’s handling. We were fortunate to win the last race that we ran there. The tires wear out a lot. You have a lot of options as a driver to move from the bottom to the top of the race track. I think that’s why everyone likes going there. It’s a fun race track to race on. You have to have good fuel mileage. You have to have a good handling car. You have to have the whole package.”

Are you surprised the No. 29 team has won three races already this season? “We’ve won some races that we shouldn’t have won. We’ve lost some races we should have won. I think last year, we should have won more races. We were able to capitalize on some races that we should have been able to capitalize on last year. The performance has been good for the last couple of years. The capability of the team has been there for a couple of years, and we’ve just been able to get off on a good start and make it happen. So it doesn’t surprise me.”

Michigan International Speedway Track Facts

Track Length: 2-miles

Grandstand Seating Capacity: 119,500

First Race: June 15, 1969

Banking in Corners: 18 degrees

Banking on Frontstretch: 12 degrees

Banking on Backstretch: 5 degrees

Frontstretch: 3,600 feet

Backstretch: 2,242 feet

TV: TNT, noon EDT

Radio: MRN Radio, SIRIUSXM NASCAR Radio

Team 48 Michigan International Speedway

JIMMIE JOHNSON 2011

STARTS: 14    

WINS: 1    

TOP 5: 5    

TOP 10: 9

CURRENT DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: 2nd    

POINTS BEHIND 1st: 6 FINISH IN POCONO: 4th    

2010 FINISH AT MICHIGAN: 6th  

TEAM ROSTERS WILL BE POSTED ON MEDIA.LOWESRACING.COM WHEN AVAILABLE

NEWS

FANS AND MEDIA CAN NOMINATE CHARITY FOR JIMMIE JOHNSON FOUNDATION HELMET OF HOPE The Jimmie Johnson Foundation launched the 2011 Helmet of Hope program in Kansas on June 3 and announced the American Red Cross would be the first charity to be featured on the helmet and to receive a grant of $10,000. The American Red Cross was selected by the Johnsons to help raise awareness of disaster relief efforts in the wake of the recent tornados across the country.

Last week in Pocono, Johnson drew to more charities to adorn the Helmet of Hope: Flagler County Education Foundation, nominated by the Daytona Beach News Journal’s Godwin Kelly and 24 Hours of Booty, nominated by Terry Hennessee of Mooresville, N.C.

The Helmet of Hope allows fans and media members across the country the opportunity to nominate their charity of choice to be featured on Jimmie Johnson’s race helmet for the Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway in Sept. In addition, each selected charity will receive a $10,000 grant.

A total of 12 charities will be selected to be featured on the one-of-a-kind helmet – six chosen from fan and six by media submissions.

Visit www.HelmetOfHope.org to nominate a charity. Jimmie will select two charities each week concluding with the New Hampshire Motor Speedway event in July.

RACE NOTES Michigan International Speedway

• Johnson has made 18 Sprint Cup Series starts at Michigan International Speedway, where he has two top-five and seven top-10 finishes.

• Michigan is one of only five tracks on which the Sprint Cup Series competes that Johnson hasn’t collected a win. The others are Chicago, Kentucky, Watkins Glen and Homestead.

• Johnson has completed 96.5% (3412 of 3535) of competition laps at the two-mile track and has led 524.

• He has an average start and finish of 7.8 and 15.2. Chassis • Johnson finished 28th in primary chassis No. 659 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.

• Backup chassis No. 623 crossed the finish line 16th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

 Primary Car History – Chassis No. 659 Date Event Start Finish 05/07/2011 Darlington 19 15 05/29/2011 Charlotte 6 28 Backup Car History – Chassis No. 623 Date Event Start Finish 10/16/2010 Charlotte 10 3 11/07/2010 Texas 17 9 03/06/2011 Las Vegas 14 16

JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTE WHAT CAN YOU DO TO WIN AT MICHIGAN? “We’ve been close and our fuel mileage has been kind of our nemesis with two or three things that have taken place there. We’ve led a fair amount of laps over the years and just kind of haven’t had the luck or the mileage or whatever it is at the end of the race. Looking forward to going back. We’re always looking forward to going racing in the area where the manufacturers are based and I want to put on a good show for all the Chevrolet fans and do my part to represent the bowtie. Looking forward to it. We’ve been making a lot of progress on our intermediate setups and race cars. I think this could be a win for the 48 this weekend.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL PLANS FOR YOUR FIRST FATHER’S DAY?: “Really just hanging with the girls. That’s all I’m after just spending time with my family. Will be exciting to say the least. Don’t know what to expect – I haven’t been through it before so I don’t know what to think from an emotional side, but very proud of my family and looking forward to that day.”

SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES Career Wins

• Johnson has 54 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Talladega Superspeedway on April 17, 2011.  

• The El Cajon, Calif.-native is currently tied with Lee Petty for ninth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list, one victory behind Rusty Wallace.

• He is second in total wins among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (82).

• Johnson needed only 296 starts to hit the 50 mark. Only three drivers have reached 50 victories quicker – Gordon (232), Darrell Waltrip (278) and David Pearson (293).

• Johnson has won at least three Cup races a season since he posted his first victory in 2002. He is the only driver in the modern era to win at least three races in each of his first eight full-time seasons.

• Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but four (Michigan, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Homestead) of the 22 tracks on which the series competes.

• Johnson’s 10 wins in 2007 was the highest number recorded in a single season since Jeff Gordon posted 13 victories in 1998.

• The four-consecutive wins scored by the No. 48 team in the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ties a modern-era NASCAR record. Career Poles

• Johnson has collected 25 poles in his Sprint Cup career.

• The championship driver has earned at least one pole a year since his first full-time season in 2002. • He had a career-high six poles in 2008.

• Johnson’s most recent pole position was at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 24, 2010. Career Starts

• Johnson has finished in the top five in the Sprint Cup Series point standings each year since his first full season in 2002.

• Johnson is the only driver to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup every year since the format was adopted in 2004.

• In 341 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 139 top-five and 212 top-10 finishes.

• He has a top-five finish at every track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit.

• Johnson has led a total of 11,470 laps (of 98,750) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 132,071 miles.

• He has finished on the lead lap 265 times. Career Recognition

• Johnson was named by Forbes as the Most Influential Athlete in 2011.

• In 2009, Johnson became the first race car driver to be named Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in its 78-year history.

• Voted Driver of the Year four times in his career (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010), Johnson joins Jeff Gordon as four-time winners of the prestigious award.

• Johnson has won an ESPY for Best Driver three times, in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Biffle on Michigan: “I love Michigan.  It is my favorite track on the circuit and I’m really looking forward to going there.  I like Michigan because I’ve had success there with wins in the Sprint Cup Series and the Truck Series.  I also like that you can race three and four wide at a down force track.  As a driver, you have so many options. You can run the bottom, middle or top.  It is a strategy race and fuel mileage often comes into play –  sometimes in your favor and sometimes not. I just like the way the track is laid out and I think you see good racing there.”

Erwin on Michigan:  “We are at a point now that we know we need to win both to move up in the points and secure a spot in the Chase.  Michigan is a good track for us.  The Ford teams in general run well there so we have high expectations for this weekend. This is a race where pit strategy is important and fuel mileage is usually a factor.  You also have to watch for overheating because there can be a lot of trash blowing around at this track.  We need a good finish this weekend and I feel like we can get it done in Michigan.”

Michigan Notes  

Biffle is currently 14th in the Sprint Cup point standings following his 27th-place finish in Pocono.  He is 23 points out of the 10th position with 12 races remaining until the Chase.  

Biffle’s average finish at Michigan is 12.2 from an average starting position of 15.1.  

The No. 16 Ford Fusion will feature a special American Red Cross “Give Blood” paint scheme this weekend to remind fans to donate blood throughout the summer when donations typically decline. Visit to make an appointment to donate today.

Carl Edwards– NSCS MICHIGAN ADVANCE

Team:           No. 99 Aflac’s Now Hiring Ford Fusion

Crew Chief:   Bob Osborne

Chassis:       RK-739   Last outing: Dover in May – finished 7th

QUOTES Carl Edwards on racing at Michigan International Speedway : “I feel like MIS takes every part of your team and taxes you.  You have to have really good strategy, you have to have a great car and a big engine.  The aero package has got to be spot on, and I feel like at Roush Fenway we’ve done a good job of having that whole package a lot of times.  There’s extra incentive to win here.  It’s right up the road from Ford for us, so we work really hard at this race and I think that’s why we run well here.  We are bringing a car that we have huge confidence in and we are going for wins in both Cup and Nationwide.”

Crew chief Bob Osborne on racing at Michigan International Speedway : “Roush Fenway Racing has a very good track record at MIS, and so does Carl.  It would be great to get another win at MIS, especially since we lost so many points last week at Pocono.  We only have a six-point lead now, so the bonus points for winning will become a big factor when the Chase begins in September.”

FAST FACTS     

* CARL EDWARDSenters Michigan leading NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings by six points over Jimmie Johnson. This season Edwards has achieved one win, seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.     

* FOR THE RECORD…Edwards will make his 14th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Michigan International Speedway Sunday. In his previous 13 starts, Edwards has two wins, eight top-fives and 11 top-10 finishes.     

* Edwards’ average start at Michigan is 20.7, his average finish is 6.3. He has completed 100 percent of the laps he has attempted at the two-mile track.  Only twice in his previous 13 starts has Edwards finished outside the top 10.     

* IN THE LOOP … According to NASCAR’s Loop Statistics compiled over the last 13 races at MIS, Edwards has turned 146 of the track’s fastest laps which is third highest, spent 2,086 laps (89.3%) in the top 15 (best of all active drivers) and led a total of 244 laps (second highest). Edwards’ driver rating (110.5) is the best among active drivers.      

* SO YOU KNOW… Edwards made his Cup series debut at Michigan in August 2004.  He started that race 23rd and finished 10th. Edwards also made his 100th Cup start at MIS in June of 2007. He went on to win that race.     

* ON THE TRACK…The No. 99 Aflac crew will be unloading chassis 739.  Edwards last raced this car at Dover last month where he finished seventh.  This will be the second race for this car.     

* REWIND, MICHIGAN – June 2010…Edwards was in seventh place after a late-race caution, but was shuffled back on the restart with 14 laps to go and eventually passed by a few cars with newer tires to finish the race in 12th place.

BROOKLYN, Mich.(June 14, 2011) – He now has 84 career NASCAR Sprint Cup victories, but Jeff Gordon constantly thinks about one win. The next one. Last Sunday at Pocono, Gordon led 37 of the final 41 laps en route to his second win of the 2011 season.

That win also moved the Drive To End Hunger pilot into a tie for third all-time in career victories with NASCAR greats Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison. One more win and he becomes only the third driver in the series 62-year history to reach 85, trailing only NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105). “I never thought I would reach that number,” said Gordon.  

“When I started, I wondered if I would ever get one win. Back then, I never thought of 84 as a number that was reachable. “Forget about the number. Just matching something that Darrell and Bobby – two legends in this sport – have done is incredible.  

“But ever since I won my first race as a kid, it was always about getting to the checkered flag first, and then going out and doing it again and again. Our goal every week is to win.” Matching Allison and Waltrip may have been a feat, but 39-year old Gordon’s first chance to surpass them will be Sunday in the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan International Speedway.    

“I love Michigan — it’s one of my favorite tracks,” said Gordon, who has two wins (1998 and 2001), five poles, 18 top-fives (50 percent) and 23 top-10’s (63.9 percent) in 36 starts at the two-mile track. “Horsepower is important here because the straightaways are so long. You are on the throttle a long time.

“But handling well here through the corners – so you can carry speed off the corners and onto the long straights – is very important, too.”  

After last Sunday’s victory, Gordon is now 11th in the standings, six behind 10th and only eight points behind eighth. And while Michigan — with its four high-banked corners – and Pocono – with its three distinct corners – may not appear to be similar, the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion believes there are some similarities between the two events.  

“It takes a lot of power and you have to get through the corners well at both places,” said Gordon.   “To me, Pocono and Michigan take the same sort of package.” But can the two tracks yield the same result for the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger team?