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Author: SM Staff

  • Carl Edwards Fastest In First Practice; Looks Determined To Win

    Carl Edwards Fastest In First Practice; Looks Determined To Win

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”255″][/media-credit]Carl Edwards was the quickest in the first morning session of practice here at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Edwards is carrying the #99 Cheez-It Ford this weekend. Edwards is a two-time winner here at Bristol in the Sprint Cup Series and he also has one runner-up finish which he got in this race one year ago to Kyle Busch. Edwards is looking forward to trying to grab his third career Bristol pole during qualifying later today.

    A.J. Allmendinger was a surprising second quickest. Allmendinger has had a rough start to the 2012 season. He rear-ended Denny Hamlin on pit road at Daytona, wrecked at Phoenix, and ran into more trouble at Las Vegas when he finished 37th. Allmendinger should just focus on finishing the race this weekend. His best finish here at Bristol is 12th.

    Marcos Ambrose was third quickest and he finished third here in the fall of 2009 when Kyle Busch held off Mark Martin. Expect Ambrose to be near the front towards the end of the race. Do not underestimate him.

    Joey Logano’s best finish here at this track is only 13th, but Logano has had a big turnaround in performance from his past three seasons. He was fourth quickest in practice and I expect him to win maybe a couple races in 2012.

    5-time Bristol winner Jeff Gordon rounded out the Top 5. Gordon dominated the fall event last year, but Brad Keselowski was able to speed through the pit lane to gain the track position needed to win.

    Ryan Newman, Regan Smith, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and favorite to win the race Kyle Busch rounded out the rest of the Top 10.

    Who is going to get the pole for the Food City 500!? Watch on Speed!

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THUNDER VALLEY CAN TURN INTO BLUNDER VALLEY REAL QUICK

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THUNDER VALLEY CAN TURN INTO BLUNDER VALLEY REAL QUICK

    [media-credit name=”speedwaymedia.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be rolling into Thunder Valley this weekend: the Tennessee based home of the Bristol Motor Speedway. This half mile concrete oval is the home of some of the finest short track racing you’ll ever want to see. The track is a true test of a race driver’s skill and it’s also the ultimate test of a driver’s patience. When you put 43 cars on a half mile track, Thunder Valley can turn into Blunder Valley real quick.

    THE STORY BREAKDOWN

    One of the major story lines, that will bear a lot of scrutiny during the Bristol weekend, will be the mood of Mother Nature. According to preliminary forecasts, from the National Weather Service, the prospect of the entire weekend schedule not being disrupted by rain is unlikely. That forecast calls for a 60% chance of rain and thunder storms on Friday and Saturday along with a 30% chance of rain on Saturday night and Sunday race day. The speedway has four jet dryers available that takes approximately one hour to dry the surface.

    The major story you will hear a lot about this weekend is the final appeals process regarding the penalties levied against Jimmie Johnson’s #48 team from Daytona. Last Tuesday, the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel upheld those penalties levied against the team which includes a six race suspension for crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec. The final appeal hearing will now go before the panel’s arbitrator. A final decision could come as early as next Tuesday afternoon. This story has been ripe with speculation since Daytona and you can expect more this weekend as it heads towards the final conclusion.

    Yet another story, involving a lot of speculation, involves Dodge Motorsports and the recent unveiling of that beautiful Charger race car. However, with Roger Penske Racing’s recent announcement of plans to switch from Dodge to Ford, the big question remains: exactly who is going to drive the new Dodge cars in 2012? More importantly is the question regarding who is going to build the engines for these cars?

    Brian Vickers will be making his first start of 2012 this Sunday. The Bristol race will be the first of six events with Vickers in the seat of Michael Waltrip Racing’s #55 Toyota normally driven by Mark Martin. Vickers has been seeking a full time ride in Sprint Cup racing since late last year following the demise of Red Bull Racing.

    THE LAS VEGAS BREAKDOWN

    So, who’s going to make some thunder and who’s going to commit a blunder at the Bristol Motor Speedway? To determine the answer to that question we once again turn to the number crunching professionals from the Las Vegas based World Sports Exchange, (WSE).

    The WSE’s Bristol rankings begins with the obvious: Kyle Busch ranked at 5 to 1 odds to win the Food City 500. He many be ranked 12th in the current NASCAR Sprint Cup championship standings, but he’s absolutely ranked first at Bristol because of his amazing stats there. That includes five wins, seven top five finishes and ten top ten finishes along with an extremely good average finish ratio, (AFR), of 9.1. By the way, these impressive numbers have been created in only 14 starts. This driver seems to shine on short tracks and has the stats to prove it from all three of the short tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule: Bristol, Martinsville and Richmond. Those stats include eight wins and a 10.2 AFR. Also bear in mind that this is the driver who swept Bristol in 2010 by winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide and Sprint Cup events during the same weekend.

    At 7 to 1 you will find the duo of Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart. Johnson is a former winner at Bristol and has six top fives along with a 14.9 AFR. He does have some impressive stats from the NASCAR short tracks, including ten wins, but only one of them have been at Bristol. Between the aforementioned penalty against his team, which claimed 25 championship points, and a lap two wreck at Daytona, Johnson began the season 44th in the championship standings. However strong runs at Phoenix and Las Vegas has moved the team to 23d. While the team is awaiting the final word on their appeal, it appears that they do not bow down to adversity. Johnson is also a rock solid wager.

    So is Stewart even though his Bristol numbers aren’t that strong. He’s a former winner there, but it was way back in 2001. He does have six top fives and a 17.4 AFR as well as six wins on NASCAR’s other two short tracks. He will be bringing the strong momentum of last Sunday’s win at Las Vegas. By the way, Stewart is a little ahead of his normal schedule this year. Normally he doesn’t catch fire until the hot weather of summer arrives.

    Standing in his own separate category is Carl Edwards at 8 to 1 odds. Edwards is a two time winner at Bristol with the last trip to victory lane there being in 2008. He also has four top fives, seven top tens and a healthy 12.3 AFR. He also seems to shine on concrete covered race tracks, such as Bristol, and is often referred to as “Concrete Carl.”

    The WSE has drivers Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick ranked at 10 to 1 odds for Bristol. Gordon has some strong Bristol numbers that includes five wins, 15 top fives, 21 top tens and a healthy AFR of 11.5. Despite the fact that it’s been awhile since his last Bristol win, Gordon is still a strong driver on short tracks, with 15 wins, and is considered to be a strong wager consideration.

    Harvick has a previous win at Bristol, from the 2005 race, along with nine top fives, 12 top tens and a 12.5 AFR. He’s been a very consistent finisher so far in 2012 and is ranked second in the points. He also should be regarded as a serious wager consideration.

    At 12 to 1 odds you will find the trio of Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth. Hamlin is still looking for his first Bristol win. He has three top fives, six top tens and a 15.5 AFR. But there is an aspect to Hamlin that can’t be overlooked: he’s very good at short track racing and has six combined wins at Martinsville and Richmond.

    Kasey Kahne, in his new ride with Hendrick Motorsports, is off to a surprisingly sluggish start and is ranked 26th in the points. His Bristol numbers aren’t that good: zero wins, three top fives and a 18.7 AFR. But the law of averages says this highly potent team is going to turn their situation around and soon. That’s why they’re rated at 12 to 1.

    Never make the mistake of overlooking Matt Kenseth and his Roush Fenway Racing Ford. He’s a two time Bristol winner with nine top fives and a 12.0 AFR. At 12 to 1 odds, this is a worthy long shot wager.

    Turning to the WSE’s middle tier, you will find drivers Brad Keselowski and Greg Biffle ranked at 15 to 1. Keselowski is a former Bristol winner but seems to be a little bogged down in the early going of the 2012 season. He’s currently 21st in the points standings and the possibility of another strong run at Bristol could turn this situation around.

    Meanwhile Biffle, and his Roush Fenway Racing Ford, is on fire and currently leads the points standings. He’s still seeking his first win on a NASCAR short track but he does have six top fives at Bristol and a healthy 11.8 AFR. Biffle, like his RFR team mates Edwards and Kenseth, is also a solid long shot consideration.

    Here’s another interesting long shot. That would be Dale Earnhardt Jr at 20 to 1. Despite that long winless streak, the #88 Hendrick team is off to a strong start and are currently fourth in the points. Earnhardt likes racing at Bristol. He’s a previous winner there and has compiled seven top fives, 12 top tens and a healthy 11.7 AFR.

    Looking at the WSE’s lower tier for the Bristol race, Martin Truex Jr is ranked at 23 to 1 while team mate Clint Bowyer, along with Ryan Newman, is listed at 25 to 1. Jamie McMurray comes in at 30 to 1.

    Kurt Busch is also rated at 30 to 1 and might be an interesting wager for those of you who don’t mind throwing a little caution to the wind. Busch is a five time winner at Bristol with six top fives and a 12.9 AFR. However, those numbers came during his tenure with Roush Fenway and Penske Racing. Pull off a sixth Bristol win in his current ride may turn out to be a little more difficult. But the bottom line is: this driver is really good on short tracks and may be worthy of an extremely long shot wager.

    Concluding the WSE Bristol rankings, former race winner Jeff Burton comes in at 35 to 1, A J Allmendinger is rated at 40 to 1 while Juan Pablo Montoya closes the list at 45 to 1. If you do not see the name of your favorite driver on the WSE list then he is automatically rated under “all others” at 10 to 1 odds.

    Now for the disclaimer: NASCAR wants us to remind you that these numbers are for informational and entertainment purposes only. They neither encourage or condone the placing of wagers on their races.

    But if you’re going to do it anyway, and many of you will, then you’re going to need the quality professionals from the World Sports Exchange.

    THE RACE BREAKDOWN

    Sunday’s Food City 500 is 500 laps/266.5 miles around the Bristol Motor Speedway’s concrete covered 0.533 mile oval.

    The race has 46 entries vying for the 43 starting positions. Ten of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning they are not automatically guaranteed a starting berth in the race because they are currently outside of the top 35 in NASCAR owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speeds to start Sunday’s race.

    The defending race winner is Kyle Busch from March of last year. Brad Keselowski won the August 2011 race at Bristol.

    The Bristol Motor Speedway opened in 1960. In 1961, NASCAR pioneer Jack Smith won the first Sprint Cup race there with some major help from relief driver Johnny Allen. Since that time there has been 102 Sprint Cup races that has sent 39 different winners to victory lane. Darrell Waltrip tops the all time list with 12 Bristol wins. In the modern era, drivers Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon has five wins each. The legendary Junior Johnson leads the team owner’s win list with 16 trips to the Bristol victory lane.

    Track position is always important in a NASCAR Sprint Cup race and that especially applies to a short track like Bristol. From the 102 races there, 22 has been won from the pole position.  34 races have been won from the front row, 52 has been won from the top four while 81 races have been won from the top ten starting positions. The last six Bristol races in a row have been won by a margin of victory of less than one second.

    The track qualifying record, 128.709 MPH/14.908 seconds, was set by Ryan Newman back in March of 2003. Drivers Cale Yarborough and Mark Martin share the lead for most poles with nine each.

    The Bristol Motor Speedway’s surface was converted from asphalt to concrete in 1992. In 2007, the track was reconfigured to provide two distinct racing lines for improved passing. Progressive banking, 24 to 30 degrees, were placed in all four turns. The two straightaways are 650 feet long each and banked four to nine degrees. The concrete racing surface is 43 feet wide. The speedway presently has seating for 160,000 fans which is regarded as being unprecedented for a half mile race track.

    The speedway’s pit road configuration is also unique because there are two pit roads: one on the front stretch, with 22 pit stalls, and one on the backstretch with 21 stalls. Those pit stalls are tight and measure 25.5 feet long by 15.5 feet wide. Teams pitting on the front stretch use the traditional approach to the pits by entering on turn four and exiting adjacent to turn one. Teams pitting on the backstretch will have to enter from turn two and then drive all the way around through the front stretch pit road to re-enter the track. Sometimes the Bristol pit road can get a little precarious and that’s why the pit road speed is only 30 MPH.

    The Food City 500 will be broadcast live by the Fox Network with the pre race showing beginning at 1230 pm eastern time. The race re-air will be on Wednesday, March 21st, on SPEED beginning at 12 pm et. Live radio coverage will be on PRN, Performance Radio Network, and Sirius XM Satellite’s NASCAR Channel 90.

  • Ryan Reed: Inspiring People Through Journey, One Lap at a Time

    Ryan Reed: Inspiring People Through Journey, One Lap at a Time

    [media-credit name=”Ryan Reed Racing” align=”alignleft” width=”133″][/media-credit]When Ryan Reed was 17 years old, everything was going great in his life.

    “I was pretty full of myself, was doing well and winning races, on cloud-nine,” he says.

    Then in February of 2011, Reed was diagnosed with type one diabetes (T1D).

    “When I was diagnosed, I was really humbled, especially when they told me I wasn’t going to be able to race again,” he says. “I was devastated and really just, I thought I was invincible and then to learn that my dream was going to be taken away.”

    Reed says it was heartbreaking at the time and caused him to grow up quickly.

    “I thought I could sit there, pout and throw a tantrum till I got my way,” he continues. “Then I realized that’s not going to beat this. I need to – I got to take a step back and think about it. I just decided that if there was anything I could do to put myself back behind the wheel of a race car, then that’s what I was going to do.”

    He started learning more about the disease, finding other athletes who continued in their sport after being diagnosed.

    “I learned how common it was so I knew there’s got to be a race car driver with this,” he says. “The only driver I could find was Charlie Kimball and he’s an IndyCar driver, so I was like, ‘Well, there’s no reason I can’t do it’ so I found out more about him.”

    He then learned of Kimball’s doctor Ann Peters and got in contact with her.

    “I had a doctor at the time, but I just wanted to talk to Ann to see what she had to say,” she says. “So I went in there, not expecting anything and she wanted to have me as her patient.”

    Through a conversation with Peters, he discovered that if he worked at it, he would have a future in racing.

    “She just said you need to do what I tell you and be diligent with it and this isn’t ever going to quick, get easier – you may learn how to control it, but that’s just about it,” he says. “It’s never going to go away and I was like okay.”

    Since then, Reed has learned how to handle the disease and has a continued to move up the racing ladder.

    Earlier this year at Daytona International Speedway, the 18-year-old competed in his first ARCA Racing Series event with Venturini Motorsports.

    [media-credit name=”Ryan Reed Racing” align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]“It’s been really fun,” he says of the season so far. “Daytona, we had a really good run going, ran second most of the day, then just ran out of fuel with just under 10 to go. I mean, what do you do then? Daytona kind of the gamble anyways.”

    Last week, he finished 12th after being spun late in the race and now sits sixth in points, 55 points behind leader Cale Gale.

    “Seemed like we had a good strategy and with 30 to go, we had new tires,” he says. “We were working our way to top 10, passing someone for 11th or 12th and had a really good car, and got spun out. That kind of ruined our day. We were able to battle our way back up to 12th, but that didn’t show our effort from the whole day and the whole weekend. We qualified fifth and felt like we had one of the cars to beat.”

    The deal came together with Venturini Motorsports after he raced a late model race at Martinsville Speedway.

    “When I was 15, I started racing super late models on the west coast and had a really successful year,” the Bakersfield, California native says. “We decided we wanted to go try to race late models on the east coast because if you can go to the east coast and make a name in late model racing, then you’ve really done something. So we packed up, I moved out there.

    “I was racing a late model at Martinsville and I qualified 10th my first time there, which 80 plus cars show up every year to try and qualify for 43 spots. Billy Venturini was there, saw it and came over and said, ‘I wanna talk to you about driving one of my cars next year’ and the rest is history.”

    So far the experience at Venturini Motorsports has been wonderful.

    “Bill and Billy were drivers themselves behind the wheel and it’s really cool to be with a group rich in history behind the wheel,” he says. “It feels like family to me. They’re so welcoming. Anytime I have a problem on and off the track, their open arms and ready to listen. They’ve just been great to work with and I really feel like this year is going to be a really positive experience with them.”

    The 2012 season marks an important year for Venturini Motorsports as it’s their 30th anniversary. Reed says that for this year, he would like to win a championship for them, well winning some races and scoring top-five finishes.

    “They’ve had a lot of history and great drivers come through their program,” he adds.

    Five years down the road, he hopes to be competing at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series level.

    “I mean, there’s no question in my mind,” he comments. “That’s where I wanna be and I’m not going to settle for anything less. It’s not an easy road and I definitely didn’t pick an easy sport to break into and be successful at so I know all the challenges. NASCAR has been supportive, especially of the disease. They’ve already cleared me medical wise to race in the Sprint Cup Series so I feel like if I have no restrictions. If I want this, I can go out and get this.”

    Reed got started in racing at a young age through his father.

    “I come from a racing family,” he says. “My dad raced forever, since he was a little kid. He got me into go-karts when I was four and been there ever since.”

    Due to the influence of his father on the racing side, he says that his racing hero is his father.

    “I’ve watched my dad and just his style of racing and his approach to the sport,” he says. “It’s just always meant a lot to me and helped me through the years.

    “There’s a lot of guys that I look up to – Kyle Busch, on the track, he’s so impressive. We watched him at Daytona do what no one else has ever done in the Budweiser Shootout. There’s quite a few guys I look up to and just try and learn the positives.”

    In 2009, Reed won the Legends Division Track Championship at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. The following season, he became the Super Late Model Division Rookie of the Year while becoming the youngest winner in the division when he scored one win.

    In 2011, Reed raced a variety of cars, including the Pro Allstars Series, NASCAR Whelen All American and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East

    As Reed has continued his career, he has turned the disease into a positive.

    “I’ve really been fortunate to be an advocate for JDRF and having my own foundation to really turn it into a positive,” he says.

    JDRF is the world’s largest funding provider for research towards curing, treating and preventing T1D and its complications.

    Reed formed Ryan’s Mission, a non-profit organization to help build awareness, become a role model and positively touch the lives of others.

    If given the chance, Reed says that he wouldn’t change anything that has happened.

    “It’s not really something that I’d think about changing now,” he says. “I’ve been able to do a lot of positive with it and really positively touch so many lives that it’s hard to say that if I had to chance to undo this, I would.”

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: CAN KURT BUSCH LEAVE THAT BLACK CLOUD BEHIND IN THUNDER VALLEY?

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: CAN KURT BUSCH LEAVE THAT BLACK CLOUD BEHIND IN THUNDER VALLEY?

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”238″][/media-credit]Kurt Busch was not a happy man last Sunday, following the conclusion of the Kobalt Tools 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Las Vegas native was hoping for a win, or at least a strong finish, in front of the home town fans. Instead he wound up with a disappointing 35th place finish due to a late race accident. In an unusual in car radio comment, during this race, he said he “had a black cloud hanging over his head.”

    This driver’s trials and tribulations, from the 2011 racing season, was well documented. Frequent tirades, fueled by a lack of anger management, often made the NASCAR news and eventually led to team owner Roger Penske announcing that he and Busch “had mutually agreed to part ways.”

    In the aftermath, Busch signed a one year contract to drive for team owner James Finch and his Phoenix Racing Chevrolet. While this team has always had a certain level of potential, it was a far cry from the resources Busch enjoyed during this tenure at Penske Racing. Prior to the start of the 2012 season Busch said it was a time for him to step back and take stock of his career: “racing needs to be fun again,” he said.

    He also admitted that it was time to deal with his personal anger issues. In all fairness and honesty, he needs to be congratulated for that move. There’s an old, and wise, saying that goes: “in order to solve a problem, one must first admit that the problem exists.”

    That “racing needs to be fun” concept has been somewhat slow in the making for this team. The frustration was clearly evident, during the Las Vegas race, when we heard a few “old Kurt” radio transmissions during the race. When told that the yellow caution flag was out, due to debris, Busch again made a reference to that black cloud hanging over his head and said: “They don’t miss the f*****g black cloud above my head, that’s what gives it away.”

    In another instance, again under yellow flag conditions, Busch was told by crew chief Nick Harrison: “don’t pit-don’t pit-don’t pit !” An angry driver responded with: “Jesus H Christ I’m already on pit road right at the commitment cone.”

    (By the way, exactly what does that letter “H” stand for? Henry? Horatio? Dare I say it: Hebrew?)

    Also, during a pit road visit, an air hose got hung on the rear bumper of the car. That’s when it was Harrison’s turn to lose it. He screamed and cussed at this crew to remove the hose. The hit in track position was huge. One can only imagine the level of frustration the driver was feeling.

    But the end of the long day for this team came on lap 256 with a late race accident. Busch came over his radio and yelled: “You’re not going to believe it. I ran over a piece of debris, blew the left rear out, and now we have a wrecked race car. I called it-I called it-I called it.”

    The first few weeks of the 2012 season has been filled with disappointment and frustration for Phoenix Racing and is exemplified by the following bullet points:

    In the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona the team finished 17th, nine laps down, following an accident. In their Gatorade Duel qualifying race, they finished 14th while completing all 60 laps. Problems during the Daytona resulted in a 39th place finish, 89 laps down. The bright spot so far has been a 15th place finish at Phoenix where they completed all 312 laps. Then there was the aforementioned accident at Las Vegas that led to a 35th place finish, 16 laps down. The team is still seeking their first top ten finish and are presently ranked 29th in the championship points.

    The next potential obstacle this team will need to keep tabs on is their “golden ticket” owner points status. Teams within the top 35 in owner’s points are guaranteed a start in the next race on the schedule. To allow time for teams to accumulate owner’s points in 2012, the guaranteed starts are being based on 2011 owner’s points for the first five races. Phoenix Racing finished 30th in the 2011 owner’s rankings. That means Busch is guaranteed a start in the upcoming fourth and fifth races at Bristol and the Auto Club Speedway.

    The concern here lies in the fact that, with three races complete, the Finch team is currently ranked 32nd in the owner’s points. In a sheer note of extreme irony, they are tied in the standings with the #22 Roger Penske Dodge Busch drove last year. They are also only five points ahead of the team ranked at 36th. In other words: they can’t afford any more bad finishes during the next two events.

    Can Kurt Busch turn around his early season numbers and find the “fun” in racing again? Can he leave that proverbial black cloud, hanging over his head, behind at the Thunder Valley-Tennessee based Bristol Motor Speedway?

    Actually, the answer is Yes: he can. That’s because this driver has some amazing numbers at this track that includes five wins, six top five finishes, 13 top tens and a very healthy average finish ratio of 12.9. Of course, naysayers will make quick work in pointing out that these numbers were compiled when Busch was driving for team owners Jack Roush and Roger Penske and that is true. However, there has been plenty of examples, from the recent past, that clearly indicates that the Phoenix Racing Chevrolet is very capable of creating some strong runs.

    When the green flag falls on the Food City 500 at Bristol this Sunday, keep an eye on Kurt Busch and the #51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet. They could turn out to be a lot of “fun” to watch.

  • IZOD IndyCar Drivers Continue to Prepare For 2012 Race Season

    IZOD IndyCar Drivers Continue to Prepare For 2012 Race Season

    [media-credit name=”indycar.com” align=”alignright” width=”258″][/media-credit]In an effort to try to figure out the new IndyCar chassis the quickest, many drivers are chose to take part in the test session on March 13th and 14th at Barber Motorsports Park. The test at Barber was a private test, so therefore data will not be available for viewing.

    It is hard to tell which team has an advantage this early in the season looking at test, as some are working on aerodynamics while others are working on race set-ups.

    “Any track time that we get is so valuable,” Ryan Briscoe says. “As we get closer to St. Pete, every bit of mileage gets more and more important. From getting used to all the new features on the car like the brakes or the clutch and other things like that, those are things that we will have to have mastered before the first race. I did a fair bit of testing during the winter and I feel quite acclimatized to the car, but you can never have too much running time.”

    Despite this being in consideration, drivers do pay attention to how their fellows competitors are running.

    “It’s super important to do tests days like these where there are other cars out because you do have to get a feel for how quickly other people are figuring things out,” JR Hilderband says. “At the same time, when (Sebring) gets gripped up, it’s like no place else. It’s rough like a street course and super grippy like a road course. We try to take it for what it is, but it’s great to do this much running this close to the season.”

    So far, it looks like two-time IndyCar Series Champion Scott Dixon has the advantage as he led the Open Test at Sebring International Raceway.

    The Chevrolet teams testing at Barber test were all three Team Penske drivers (Briscoe, Helio Castroneves and Will Power), Panther Racing’s Hilderbrand, all three cars from KV Racing Technology (E.J. Viso, Rubens Barrichello and Tony Kanaan), Ed Carpenter Racing’s entry driven by Ed Carpenter and all three cars for Andretti Autosport (Andretti, James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay).

    The Honda teams testing at Barber were both entries from Dale Coyne Racing (Justin Wilson and James Jakes), Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing’s Graham Rahal, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing’s Josef Newgarden and Nova Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing’s Charlie Kimball.

    Elsewhere, Dario Franchitti and Dixon were testing at Homestead-Miami on March 14th.

  • ARCA: Josh Williams Makes Best of Mechanical Woes at Mobile

    ARCA: Josh Williams Makes Best of Mechanical Woes at Mobile

    [media-credit name=”Chris Knight Motorsports Management” align=”alignleft” width=”133″][/media-credit]After starting off strong in the Mobile ARCA 200, Josh Williams would not get the finish he desired due to a mechanical malfunction.

    “Man, we had such a super race car,” Williams says. “I’m glad we were able to keep it in one piece, but I’m dejected because I think our problem could have been prevented. We’re still a young team and we’re learning, so we’re going to have some hiccups along the way.”

    Starting behind the eight ball due to missing the test and practice being shortened by mother nature, Williams qualified the No. 02 Southwest Florida Calbe Construction Ford Fusion in the 25th position.

    Williams drove to the top 12 by lap 68. Williams held his own in the top 12 till 85, before falling through the field after a restart.

    Under the next caution on lap 168, the crew diagnosed a problem with the rear end of the car, telling their driver to finish the race while staying alert on the problem. Once at the shop after the race, the team found that a shock had become disengaged from the rear-end of the car.

    Williams would bring the car home in the 20th position, two laps behind race winner Cale Gale.

    “The strong point of the weekend was knowing that we had a car capable of running in the top-10 and were still able to salvage a decent finish all things considered,” he comments. “Salem’s next and that’s one of my favorite race tracks, so we’ll look for a little redemption there.”

    Last year at Salem Speedway, Williams started 11th and finished sixth in just his first start there.

    Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is the third of 20 races on the 2012 tour at the historic Salem (Ind.) Speedway for the running of the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 on Sunday, April 29.

    For more information on Josh Williams, his Josh Williams Motorsports team and sponsorship opportunities for the 2012 season please connect to the team’s official website at Joshwracing.com.

  • Dillon and Stenhouse Lead the ‘Young Gun’ Movement Return to NASCAR Nationwide Series

    Dillon and Stenhouse Lead the ‘Young Gun’ Movement Return to NASCAR Nationwide Series

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]Through the past five years, there were many concerned NASCAR fans with regards to how they saw the second-tier divisions going. Concerned fans were questioning both series as they saw a lack of young drivers competing in the divisions.

    So far this year, the Nationwide Series looks to have defied the concept as seven drivers in the top 10 in points are considered ‘young guns’.

    For drivers coming into the divisions like Ty Dillon, it gives them hope for the future.

    “They kind of got away from having individual names that led that series,” Dillon says. “Now we’ve got young guys in each series that are developing their way from the trucks to the Nationwide and now to Sprint Cup. It’s really cool to see that and gives you hope as a driver making your way up the rankings. I’m glad to see more individuality in each series, so it’s really nice.”

    Currently, veteran Elliott Sadler leads the standing with a win that came at Phoenix International Raceway. However beyond his position, a group of hungry young drivers follow.

    21-year-old Austin Dillon currently sits second in points, 15 points behind Sadler. So far in the first three races of the season, he has finished fifth, fourth and seventh. This marks Dillon’s first season in the Nationwide Series after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship in 2011. Dillon got his start in racing at the age of 15 racing Banderos after seeing them run at Charlotte Motor Speedway with his brother.

    24-year-old Ricky Stenhouse Jr. currently sits third in points, 17 points behind Sadler. In the first two races of the season, he finished 19th and third while winning last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This marks Stenhouse’s third full-time season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series after winning the championship last year. He chose to stay in the Nationwide Series an extra year to therefore learn more.

    “Knowing what I want in a race car on the stock car side of it and knowing what these races take to be better throughout the whole race, and the right adjustments and just learning more about the race cars in itself,” Stenhouse says. “I can tell you everything about a sprint car, but there are so many parts on these stock cars that I’m still not 100 percent familiar with so I think to learn last year and so far in my stock car career I’ve been learning what I need for the race car to go fast. Now I want to learn the set-ups and things like being able to come into the pits and say, ‘Hey I need this’ and help the crew chief out instead of just telling him, ‘Hey I need to be tighter, fix it.’ So there are a lot of things I just want to get better at.”

    21-year-old Trevor Bayne currently sits fourth in points, 19 points behind Sadler. In the first three races of the season, he has finished 11th, seventh and fourth. This marks Bayne’s third season in the Nationwide Series after winning the Daytona 500 last season. Bayne is looking to run the full schedule to continue to gain experience, however it will depend if Roush-Fenway Racing can secure sponsorship.

    20-year-old Cole Whitt currently sits fifth in points, 22 points behind Sadler. In the first three races of the season, he has finished fourth, 13th and sixth. This mark’s Whitt’s first season in the Nationwide Series after turning heads last year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Whitt moved into the truck series last season after shocking fans by becoming the youngest USAC National Midget Champion in 2008.

    The average age of these four drivers is 21.5, so it is definitely showing proof that ‘young gun’ phase is back.

    One reason that you’re seeing the young gun phase come back is big teams are going back to taking a chance on younger drivers, rather than trying to reel in the money from big companies. Dillon drives for Richard Childress Racing, Whitt drives for JR Motorsports while both Stenhouse Jr. and Bayne drive for Roush Racing.

    Going after inexperienced, unknown drivers can present problems in finding sponsorship. Dillon was able to find sponsorship, as he has made a name for himself by being the grandson of Richard Childress. Whitt has been able to find sponsorship via having NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. as his car owner. Stenhouse has just found sponsorship for the year, while Bayne is not as lucky. Sponsors aren’t as willing to chance on a young driver as they do not have a proven background. With drivers running for big teams, it can sometimes be enough to per sway a sponsor.

    As the season goes forward, it will be interesting to watch how the young drivers do in comparison to the veterans and Sprint Cup Series drivers who dip in the series. So far the Nationwide Series-only have the upper hand as they have won the first three races of the season.

  • Wallace earns his job on and off the track

    Wallace earns his job on and off the track

    [media-credit name=”theautochannel.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Kenny Wallace has had a roller coaster of a career, highlighted by pushing Dale Earhardt Sr. to his final victory at Talladega over a decade ago. The 48 year old from St. Louis, Missouri, is in a fight to keep himself behind the wheel for one final season in the Nationwide Series.

    It is well documented that Wallace doesn’t get paid. He drives for the underfunded RAB Racing with Brack Maggard in the No. 09 Toyota Camry.

    Throughout his time at RAB Racing, Wallace has done it all.

    Performing on the track gave the veteran driver a chance to do it all over again in 2012. Unfortunately, the sponsorship he originally obtained, backed out the last second just before the Nationwide Series race at Phoenix.

    Rumors swirled around as his job was and still is in jeopardy. Reports across numerous media panels believed Wallace had finished his career. But, he did not give up.
    With the use of his widely spread Twitter and Facebook pages, Wallace was on a mission.

    As the past two weeks progressed, so did Wallace’s on-track performance. He qualified third at Phoenix, the best qualifying effort in RAB Racing’s history. Though he was unable to finish the race due to an accident, Wallace raised many eyebrows.

    This past weekend at Las Vegas, Wallace contended for a top ten position throughout the day. Ultimately, he finished 11th, an impressive bounce back for Wallace as he continued to search for a sponsor.

    How does this help Wallace’s case though? Sponsors didn’t want him when he was running in the top ten every week, why would they want him now?
    I’ll tell you why.

    Kenny Wallace is a man like no other. His beyond extraordinary personality is thrilling for races fans. If one was to go onto Twitter and see what Kenny Wallace was up to, you wouldn’t just see what he’s doing, you would see him respond to numerous fans on a daily basis.

    Over the past few seasons, Wallace has become more interactive with the fans. Well, at least more than he already was.

    A fan favorite for years, Wallace can spread the word of a company to thousands of people in the matter of seconds. One company has already taken a pledge to help out Wallace as well as expand their branding.

    MAC Tools, an often used tool supplier throughout the NASCAR garage area, will sponsor Wallace for the Nationwide Series race this weekend at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
    Wallace and team owner Robby Benton collaborated to break the news to fans as they posted it on their respective Twitter accounts.

    “@Mac_Tools:……I am SO Thankful….. @Mac_Tools is proud to be teaming with @Kenny_Wallace and @RobbyBenton at Bristol on Saturday!” tweeted Wallace in an enthusiastic way.

    Wallace got fans involved as well. In a matter of several hours of the announcement, fans across the nation wrote about MAC Tools and how great it is for them to sponsor a driver that doesn’t even get paid.

    Few drivers can be compared to Wallace. His determination to find a sponsor via social media propelled him to achieve his goal.

    A race car driver that advertises himself on Twitter could seem crazy to numerous people, but for Kenny Wallace, a man hunting for victory in his possible final year as a NASCAR driver, it is one more opportunity to show his great talents.

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: RACING AND LAS VEGAS BELONGS IN THE SAME SENTENCE

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: RACING AND LAS VEGAS BELONGS IN THE SAME SENTENCE

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The recently completed NASCAR weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway was clearly evident that this race track, along with the city of Las Vegas, clearly understands how to cater to every need and want a racing fan could ever have. It was also absolute proof that the words racing and Las Vegas belongs in the same sentence.

    The following are just a few major “bullet Points” to support the theory:

    An estimated 150,000 were on hand to watch the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series run the Kobalt Tools 400. In this day and age, there aren’t many tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule that can make that claim.

    An estimated 70,000 were on hand to watch the very exciting Sams Town 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

    The Las Vegas Motor Speedway offered its fans a special package that combined reserved seating with the special amenities of visiting their Neon Garage, a spectacular opportunity to see the cars, drivers and race team members up close. One of these packages even allowed fans to sit in on the Sprint Cup driver’s meeting, a first time ever experience. Commenting on that rare fan access was Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Senior vice President of Racing Operations, who said: “the entire NASCAR community has always worked closely to ensure that we are the most fan friendly sport. This is another terrific example of a race track providing fans with access that is unprecedented in sports.”

    The racing at Las Vegas was not just limited to the speedway’s 1.5 mile oval. Fans who arrived earlier in the week were treated to some Wednesday and Thursday night action at the facility’s famed one half mile dirt track. The two days of dirt tracking featured red hot action from the West Coast Late Model Shootout, the IMCA Modifieds, the West Coast 360 Sprint Car Showdown as well as a special appearance by the famed World Of Outlaw Sprint Car Series.

    There was plenty of fan friendly activity off of the race track in Las Vegas as well. That included an unusually high amount of NASCAR driver personal appearances. Three solid days of scheduled appearances gave fans the opportunity to meet their favorite drivers while collecting autographs and photos.

    The Las Vegas hotels and casino did their typical outstanding job of catering to the needs of the racing fans that visited their city. There were plenty of special accommodation packages loaded with special amenities. There was also a full schedule of special shows and concerts scheduled during the NASCAR week to keep the fans well entertained when they were not at the track.

    This city’s willingness to use an over the top, what can we do for you, approach towards the racing fans who visit was a major factor that led to NASCAR’s decision to move their annual awards banquet from New York to Las Vegas.

    Now that the action of NASCAR in Las Vegas has concluded, what’s next for Las Vegas racing fans? The Las Vegas Motor Speedway has already made that move by offering fans free admission to two days of legend car racing at the Bullring, a three eighths of a mile oval located within the racing complex. The March 17th and 18th action features the U.S. Legend Cars International’s Spring Sizzler Series. Yes, you read that right: admission is free.

    Over the years the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and the city they call home, has clearly proven they know how to promote racing and how to take care of their fans. There’s only one question remaining: when is this race track going to receive the second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series date they so richly deserve?

  • Appeal Denied As Expected

    Appeal Denied As Expected

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”222″][/media-credit]It must have been a full moon. I didn’t go because it’s a long way from West Virginia to the R&D Center and mostly because I knew what the verdict was before they announced it. Rarely does the NASCAR Appeal Board, or whatever they call it these days, overturn anything, especially when the defendants are caught red-handed. The circus continued regardless.

    Reports I heard said reporters arrived at the designated place as early as 7:00 AM. When it got past noon, people bought food for the reporters, with Landon Cassill bringing Burger King (his sponsor) bringing treats to the faithful. Later on Lugnut, the Charlotte Motor Speedway mascot showed up to entertain. Never in the history of a hearing was so much done for so many. In the end, the penalty to Chad Knaus and the No. 48 team stayed the same, just as I expected. Rick Hendrick declared his disbelief at the verdict and vowed to take it to the next level. In the meantime, if the hearing with the head man is taken next week, it means Knaus would miss Fontana through Talladega, but the big issue is whether or not it would make a difference in the team.

    Knaus would be able to set up the car, discuss changes to the car through cellular phone conversations, and everyone knows the team is so talented, it really won’t make a difference—not much anyway. The big issue is the points penalty. There is not a chance in hades that that will go away, so you have to wonder what in the world Rick Hendrick is thinking. The best that can happen, if history is any indication (and many think that the fact that the head officer is a former GM employee think this is probably what will happen), is a reduction of the suspensions of Knaus and the car chief. Why drag this out? Only Rick, the top owner in the series, knows. The penalty could be reduced, but it’s not likely, and it probably doesn’t matter anyway. The No. 48 team will make up the deficit, land in the top 10 and do its usual thing in the Chase. And yet, it was made into a circus maybe because it was Rick Hendrick and the five-time champ. Or maybe it was because it was an event and NASCAR has never avoided an event. We will know soon what the verdict is, but why all the drama?

    Finally, Chevrolet kind of announced today that they won’t show their stock car for 2013 until later. Ford and Dodge, even though Dodge doesn’t know who will be campaigning the car, have already shown their car. Toyota and Chevrolet have not. Chevrolet said it will be a new nameplate—many think it will be the new Chevelle, built in Australia by Holden. I have to wonder how red-blooded American fans will react to their favorite, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and other Chevy drivers driving a foreign car. It probably won’t make any difference. Fusions are made in Mexico and many Chargers are made in Canada. If they indeed run the Chevelle, people will accept the foreign car just like they did the Camry.

    So, we’re not even at midweek and everyone’s all excited. In a couple of days, we head to Bristol, once the highlight of March. The change in the track configuration has lessened that some, but still a great to watch a race. Chad will be on the pit box for now and Trevor Bayne will not be there at his home track, but I have to hope that the circus over one team will not take away from the others and we see a great race. It’s going to be a tough act to follow, you know. I mean, Lugnut and a horde of reporters are hard to beat. But, for now, we have a race to win and the lawyers and protests are in the background. Until next week.