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Author: Tucker White

  • Atlanta repave coming after next race

    Atlanta repave coming after next race

    One old surface will bid farewell when the checkered flag waves this upcoming season.

    Atlanta Motor Speedway announced today that the Hampton, Georgia racing facility will undergo a complete repave of its racing surface following the upcoming Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race weekend. Work will commence in late March and is expected to be completed in mid-April, according to a statement released by the speedway.

    The current surface has been in place since 1997 when it was reconfigured from a 1.5 mile oval to a 1.54 mile quad-oval, flipping the start/finish line from what’s now the backstretch to what’s now the frontstretch.

    Unlike the last repave, however, a new layer of asphalt will be the only substantial change to the racing surface. The quad-oval layout and 24-degree banking will remain the same.

  • In memoriam: 2016

    In memoriam: 2016

    As we await the arrival of a new year, let’s look back at those who perished this past one in the world of auto racing.

    From Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes launching into the stands resulting in the death of 84 people (including himself) in the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans at Circuit de la Sarthe, which remains the deadliest accident in auto racing history, to Wolfgang von Trips’s Ferrari sliding up an embankment and killing 15 spectators (including himself) in the 1961 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, we’ve come a long way from the days of racing when death was commonplace.

    Nevertheless, the advancements in technology and safety procedures won’t ever diminish death’s specter over the world’s most dangerous sport. The 2016 season was no exception.

    This list is limited to drivers who’ve died in racing competition. Any others who were killed during active competition, such as spectators, officials, photographers and etc, are excluded. Drivers and other notable personalities who died outside of racing competition will be noted separately.

    All information on these drivers comes from MotorsportMemorial.org., with some outside research done through other outlets.

    • On March 3, Kenny Michalak was killed in a high-speed wreck at a drag race facility in Texas. The 63-year old was testing at Houston Motorsports Park when the tail end of his vehicle started swaying back and forth, according to eyewitnesses. His car sped off the track and collided with a row of barrels. Deputies with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said Michalak was dead before paramedics arrived.
    • On March 20, Jason Lumpkin died in a wreck at Kansas International Dragway. The 34-year old Texas native was competing in the eighth round of the 2016 M&H Tires Import Face-Off National Race and Show Series when his car slid into a guardrail and flipped over multiple times. He was pronounced dead a few hours later (The Wichita Eagle).
    • On April 3, Steve Cabelo perished in a hard wreck in Southern France. The 45-year old French native was competing in the opening round of the 2016 French Hillclimb Championship when he lost control of his car before crossing the finish line, slammed a light pole and ended in a tree (whether the car crashed into the tree itself or landed on the tree’s branches, I couldn’t determine because the sources for his death are in French). He was pronounced dead at the scene. Cabelo’s death was only the second in the event’s 47 year history.
    • On April 10, Ronnie Davis succumbed to injuries sustained in an accident sustained the prior evening. The 66-year old Georgia native and three-time IHRA World Champion and reigning PDRA Champion just completed a qualifying run for the PDRA Spring Nationals at Rockingham Dragway when his car shot across the track, slammed into the guardrail and barrel-rolled down the track. He was taken to Moore County Regional Hospital in Pinehurst, North Carolina and then relocated to UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill (Racer.com).
    • On April 19, Charlie Floyd died from injuries sustained in a dirt late model crash four days earlier. The 26-year old Ohio native was racing for second in the AMRA Dirt Late Model A-main final at Southern Ohio Speedway in Wheelersburg, Ohio when he was caught up in a multi-car wreck on the frontstretch, leading to him barrel-rolling several times before coming to a stop. Spilt fuel caught fire with him inside. EMT’s put out the fire quickly, but Floyd was trapped in his burning car for several minutes. He was taken to a local hospital, followed by an airlift to Cabell Huntington Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia with burns on 80 percent of his body.
    • On May 8, Wong Teck King was killed in a drag race on an airport runway. Also known by the pseudonym “Ah Sing Spoon,” the 37-year old lost control of his vehicle on his final run at Miri Airport in Sarawak, Malaysia. It skidded off the track and flipped several times before coming to a rest in an orchard. He won the race but perished shortly after he was admitted to the hospital.
    • On May 21, Joe Haag died of injuries sustained in a Kansas Antique Car Association exhibition race. The 75-year old Lincoln, Nebraska native was a well-known car restorer and racing enthusiast who operated the Speedway Motors Museum in Lincoln. He was running warm up laps at Junction Motor Speedway when he collided with another car that had hit the wall. Eyewitness reports said Haag was traveling at a reduced rate of speed when he hit the other car. His car rolled over three times and he sustained serious injuries. He died shortly after admission to Bryan Medical Center West in Lincoln.
    • On August 7, Bryan Clauson perished from injuries sustained the night before in a dirt midget race. The 27-year old Northern California native was in the middle of what he called “The Chasing 200 Tour, Circular Insanity” (he was attempting to run 200 races in the 2016 season, including the 100th Indianapolis 500) and stop 116 was the USAC National Midget Championship’s 39th Annual Belleville Midget Nationals, of which he was the defending race winner, at Belleville High Banks in Kansas. Right after taking the lead, Clauson’s car climbed the guardrail in turns 3 and 4 and flipped “heavily,” before his car was struck by Ryan Greth’s car. He was airlifted in critical condition to Bryan Medical Center West in Lincoln where he passed away the following night (USA Today).
    • On August 24, Matt Schuh died following an accident at a Wisconsin speedway. The 27-year old resident of Manitowoc, Wisconsin was taking part in a heat race at Manitowoc County Expo Speedway when his car crashed into the infield guardrail. This stopped the race 45 minutes to facilitate repairs. A press release by the Manitowoc County Coroner’s Office said an autopsy performed on August 25 “revealed no significant injuries, and it was likely a medical issue which caused death prior to the car versus barrier impact.” It also stated that alcohol and drug use wasn’t suspected, although it would take another four to six weeks for toxicology results (The Herald Times Reporter & WBAY 2). We reached out to Curtis Green, department director of the Manitowoc County Coroner’s Office, for more information and he responded with the following, “The cause of death is undetermined. The manner of death is natural.”
    • On September 4, Wojciech Szumski was killed in a rally race in Poland. The 40-year old Polish native was taking part in the 2016 Rajd Tarmac Masters rally event in Southwestern Poland as a co-driver when the car left the road at high speed and crashed into a ditch. He was pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver, Paweł Goś, suffered only a fractured arm.
    • On September 10, Shane Unger died from injuries sustained in a dirt late model race at Eldora Speedway. The 35-year old Rossburg, Ohio resident was caught up in a multi-car wreck in turn 3 on the final restart of the second heat of the World 100 where his car hit the outside concrete wall drivers-side. EMT’s were quickly on the scene and he was taken to Mercer County Community Hospital in Coldwater, Ohio. He passed away shortly after admission.

    It’s also worth noting that seven spectators, a team member, an official and a photographer were all killed in racing-related accidents.

    We also lost a number of prominent individuals away from active racing competition, but still had a major influence on the world of racing.

    On January 25, Rex Robbins, founder of the American Speed Association, died following an extended illness. Founded in 1968 at Anderson Speedway, Robbins led the ASA and turned the asphalt late model series into a national touring series that spawned the careers of drivers such as Mark Martin, Alan Kulwicki, Jimmie Johnson, Rusty Wallace, Dick Trickle and many more.

    Barney Hall addresses the media in the deadline room at Daytona International Speedway, the track at which he called his last NASCAR race as the voice of the Motor Racing Network in July of 2014. Photo: Chris Graythen/NASCAR via Getty Images

    On January 26, Barney Hall, longtime radio broadcaster for the Motor Racing Network, died from surgery complications at the age of 83.

    Having called his first Daytona 500 in 1960, Hall was a fixture on radio dials for five decades and his voice became synonymous with NASCAR racing.

    “Barney’s (Hall) impeccable delivery and incredible storytelling skills left an indelible mark on the sport that he so clearly loved,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. “His legacy remains through an honor that rightly carries his name – the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence. It will remain a constant reminder of the skill and passion that Barney brought to his work.”

    Hall mentored a great number of radio and TV broadcasters in the racing industry today, such as Eli Gold (lead radio announcer of Alabama Crimson Tide football) Mike Joy (multiple outlets, most notably lead announcer of NASCAR on CBS and NASCAR on FOX), Allen Bestwick (longtime MRN announcer and NASCAR broadcaster, now general sports broadcaster for ESPN), Dave Moody (lead MRN turn announcer and host of SiriusXM Speedway) and so many more.

    If you want a taste of how great a broadcaster he was, look up a video called “Barney Hall: ‘The Voice of MRN’” on YouTube. It’s a tribute piece done by RacingOne.com that’s a few years old, but it still demonstrates just how incredible the man truly was.

    On February 10, Lennie Pond died of cancer at 75. The resident of Chester, Virginia started as a modified racer on dirt and asphalt in Virginia before moving to late models. Eventually, he found his way to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He had mild success beating out Darrell Waltrip for rookie of the year in 1973 and a career-best fifth-place points finish. On August 6, 1978, Pond set a new NASCAR record for the fastest 500-mile race (which was later broken by Mark Martin) and scored his first career victory in the Talladega 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

    On August 29, Betty Jane France, the matriarch of the France family, died at 78. She was an executive vice-president and assistant treasurer of NASCAR and chairperson of the NASCAR Foundation. Best known for her humanitarian work, the NASCAR Foundation awards the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award to a NASCAR fan(s) that “honors the unwavering commitment that Founder and Chairwoman Emeritus Betty Jane France demonstrated with philanthropic and community efforts throughout her life,” states the NASCAR Foundation on their website.

    On October 5, Brock Yates, renowned automotive journalist and creator of the Cannonball Run cross-country road race, died of complications related to Alzheimer’s at the age of 82. He was a pit reporter for a number of NASCAR races on CBS in the 1980’s, but it was his columns in Car and Driver, of which he was the longtime executive editor, that gained him notoriety. He went after the 55-mph speed limit on the U.S. Interstate Highway’s, the arrogance of safety advocate Ralph Nader and even the American automotive industry and its management.

    The bottom line is we must strive to advance safety, but not forget racing will always be a dangerous sport. However, that’s part of the draw of auto racing. We want to see drivers push the boundaries of speed and control for the sake of sport, so long as it doesn’t end with a driver in a body bag.

    To put it another way, we don’t want to see the lion tamer get eaten, but we want to see him stick his head inside the lion’s mouth.

  • The White Zone: Race names should have regional significance again

    The White Zone: Race names should have regional significance again

    “The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers,” and I’m here to say it’s time races need to return to race titles with relevance to the region.

    As a 22-year-old male from Tennessee, I’d be part of the millennial audience that NASCAR so desperately longs after. Or I would be if I wasn’t covering this sport as a journalist now. So you might think I would be all for the changes NASCAR has done to cater to the younger crowds such as the caution clock. Well anyone who follows me on Twitter knows that’s not the case.

    For as long as I’ve been involved in the sport, be it as a fan or a journalist, I’ve been stuck in the middle between the old school and new school way of running the sport. This past season, I’ve moved more towards the old way because of gimmicks like the caution clock.

    But I’m not here to complain about the gimmicks (that’s a discussion for another day). Those two paragraphs above were simply to provide context as to where I’m coming from on this topic.

    In August of 2014, NASCAR returned the Bojangles’ Southern 500 to its rightful place on Labor Day Sunday starting in 2015. This reversed a decision made by the sanctioning body a decade earlier moving it off Labor Day weekend in favor of Auto Club Speedway. To many longtime fans, including myself, this was a deadly sin that spat in the face of tradition (I go into much greater detail about it here). Only in returning Labor Day Sunday to Darlington Raceway was NASCAR forgiven of this sin.

    Just a week ago, NASCAR announced Monster Energy as the new title sponsor for the Cup Series. I don’t know much about the company or their exploits. I’m told they’ve got a great reach on millennials like myself. I’ll hold any judgement of them until I see results.

    I bring up these two examples to show there’s a way to build for the future while maintaining the bridge that keeps the past history and traditions of our sport alive. One way to maintain that bridge is for tracks to return to the practice of race name titles that have relevance to the city, region and/or state.

    The younger fans might not understand what I’m saying, but the older fans probably remember a time when race names were relevant to the locality itself. These are races such as the Southern 500, the Daytona 500, the Virginia 500, the Old Dominion 500, the Dixie 500, the Southeastern 500, the Volunteer 500, the Mason-Dixon 500, the Delaware 500, the Pocono 500 and the Pennsylvania 500. Now race titles such as the Southern 500 and the Daytona 500 are still in use, but a lot of tracks don’t do this anymore.

    It started to shift in the 1980s with an influx of corporate sponsorship of races. For a few years, the practice was “corporate sponsor,” “race title” and “race distance.” So instead of the Talladega 500, you’d get the Talladega DieHard 500.

    In the 90s, that practice went almost entirely to “corporate name” and “race distance.” So instead of the Talladega DieHard 500, you got the DieHard 500, Winston 500, EA Sports 500, UAW-Ford 500, AMP Energy 500, AMP Energy Juice 500, Good Sam Club 500, Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500, Camping World RV Sales 500, GEICO 500, CampingWorld.com 500 and Hellmann’s 500. That’s every name this race at Talladega Superspeedway has gone by since 1990.

    DieHard is a subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation, based in Chicago, Winston is a brand of cigarette owned by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts, based in Redwood City, California, the United Automobile Workers is an American labor union based in Detroit and Ford closed its only Alabama factory (which produced die-cast parts, pistons and transmission casings) in 1983, AMP Energy and AMP Energy Juice are brands owned by PepsiCo, based in Purchase, New York, Camping World and Good Sam Club are both subsidiaries of Good Sam Enterprises, based in Ventura, California and Hellmann’s is a brand name for mayonnaise that’s owned by Unilever, a multinational consumer goods company based in Rotterdam, Netherlands and London.

    You might have noticed that not one of those companies are based in the state of Alabama, nor do they produce any of their goods in the state of Alabama.

    Now I’m not disparaging the companies that have sponsored this race or any race. I’m not even disparaging Grant Lynch or the team at Talladega that brought these companies in. I have absolutely no problem with any company outside the locality sponsoring an event. What I’m getting at here is that Talladega could go a step further by adding the word “Talladega” or “Alabama” to the title of the race so that race title actually bears some relevance to the region.

    I also don’t mean to harp on Talladega either. Just about every track has done this. The difference is some of those races are sponsored by companies with ties to the region and even city. The Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway is a perfect example because, although not a company based in Tennessee, Food City is based in Abingdon, Virginia, which is part of the “Tri-Cities” metropolitan area of Bristol (Tenn. and Va.), Johnson City and Kingsport (don’t think too long on that). It’s a company that’s part of the local community.

    Another example, albeit obscure to those outside the locality, is the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Toyota, while a Japanese company, maintains the headquarters of its United States division in Torrence, California and Save Mart Supermarkets is based in Modesto, California, 92 miles east of San Francisco, of which Sonoma is a part.

    Michigan International Speedway has both races sponsored by entities in the state of Michigan. The FireKeepers Casino 400 is sponsored by FireKeepers Casino and Hotel in the Emmett Charter Township. The connection of the Pure Michigan 400 goes without saying.

    But these are few and far between. Most tracks go with the “corporate name” and “race distance” title. As I stated before, I’m not disparaging these companies for sponsoring races outside their localities, nor am I towards the tracks or track operators that bring these companies in. I’m not asking for tracks to only go after local companies or companies in the state. I’d just like to see more tracks return to using classic naming practices.

    I’ll even give you track presidents some free ones for this season: the Kobalt Las Vegas 400 or Kobalt Sin City 400, the Camping World Valley of the Sun 500 (Phoenix), the STP Virginia 500 (Martinsville), the O’Reilly Auto Parts LoneStar State 500, the Toyota Owners Richmond 400, the GEICO Talladega 500, the Go Bowling Kansas City 400, the Coke Zero Firecracker 400 (Daytona), the Quaker State Bluegrass State 400 (Kentucky), the Bass Pro Shops NRA Volunteer 500 (Bristol), the Federated Auto Parts Capitol City 400 (Richmond), the Goody’s Fast Relief Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville), the Can-Am Arizona 500 and the Ford EcoBoost Miami 400.

    To any track president that reads this, please consider adding these titles to your races this season. It’s a minor addition and it would go a bit of the way to bridging the past that made this sport so great to the future we all strive to create.

    Now I’m limited to what Wikipedia and my books on NASCAR history have to say on this subject. If you guys believe I missed any race titles or have any you’d like to suggest, leave your comments below.

    My flight is about to take off so I must get going.

  • Earnhardt Cleared for Return at Daytona

    Earnhardt Cleared for Return at Daytona

    NASCAR’s most popular driver will be back in the race car for the sport’s biggest race this coming season.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been medically cleared to return to Cup Series competition for the 2017 season, beginning with the 2017 Daytona 500. This follows a test session at Darlington Raceway and being cleared by Dr. Mickey Collins, medical director of the Sports Medicine Concussion Program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and Charlotte neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty, who was in attendance for the test session.

    “Dale is one of the hardest-working patients I’ve ever encountered,” Collins said. “He’s done everything we’ve asked, and we believe he is ready to compete at a professional level again and can withstand the normal forces of a race car driver. Dale has been very open with us, and we’ve had plenty of time for his treatment, so we feel very good about his long-term prospects and how this has been managed by everyone involved.”

    Earnhardt logged 185 laps over the course of five hours under the supervision of NASCAR.

    “I feel great, and I’m excited to officially be back,” Earnhardt said. “I expected things to go really well yesterday, and that’s exactly what happened. Actually getting in a race car was an important final step, and it gives me a ton of confidence going into 2017. Thanks to the staff at Darlington for hosting our team and to NASCAR for giving us the opportunity to put a car on the track. I’ll do more testing in January to help knock the rust off. When it’s time to go to Daytona, I’ll be ready.”

    Earnhardt is also eligible to run The Clash being a former winner of the event. But Alex Bowman, who won a pole last season driving in relief for Earnhardt, will drive the 88 car in The Clash.

    The driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet has been out of the car since July of 2016 following the Cup race at Kentucky Speedway. He was diagnosed with symptoms of a concussion that stemmed from a wreck involving himself and Chris Buescher at Michigan International Speedway a few weeks earlier. It was compounded after he was caught up in a multi-car wreck at Daytona International Speedway two weeks prior.

    He gave way the final 18 races of the season to Bowman, who drove the car for 10 races, and Jeff Gordon, who drove it for eight. Bowman drove the 88 car to a pole start and three top-10 finishes. His best run came at Phoenix International Raceway where he scored the aforementioned pole, led a race high 194 laps and finished a career-best sixth. Gordon wasn’t as spectacular, finishing in the top-10 only twice, best being sixth at Martinsville Speedway.

  • Dale Earmhardt Jr. Named Most Popular Driver for 14th Straight Year

    Dale Earmhardt Jr. Named Most Popular Driver for 14th Straight Year

    To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is still the most popular driver in NASCAR.

    The driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was awarded the NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award by the National Motorsports Press Association for the 14th consecutive season, extending the current record for longest streak by any driver in the sport. Only NASCAR Hall of Fame member Bill Elliott has more with 16.

    The winner of the award is entirely determined by a fan vote, and he said it was rather touching that he won the award given that he missed the final 18 races of the 2016 season after being diagnosed with symptoms of a concussion that stemmed from a wreck he suffered in June at Michigan International Speedway.

    “This year was a difficult year for us and our team,” Earnhardt said. “You think you know just how incredible the NASCAR fans are and how supportive they are. You see them support the drivers through victories and through defeat. But when you go through recovery from an injury or maybe the loss of a loved one or something like that, you really get to the core of what’s great about our fan base.

    “I want to thank the fans for all the support and all the well-wishes. It really motivated me to get healthy and it also motivated me to come back.

    “I’m looking forward to next year.”

  • Rosberg Retires from Formula 1

    Rosberg Retires from Formula 1

    Nico Rosberg is hanging up his helmet for good right after achieving ultimate glory in Formula 1.

    Only five days removed from winning the Formula 1 championship for the first time in his career, he released a statement on his Facebook page stating he was retiring from the sport.

    “Since 25 years in racing, it has been my dream, my ‘one thing’ to become Formula One World Champion. Through the hard work, the pain, the sacrifices, this has been my target,” Rosberg said. “And now I’ve made it. I have climbed my mountain, I am on the peak, so this feels right. My strongest emotion right now is deep gratitude to everybody who supported me to make that dream happen.

    He went on to say he started contemplating retirement after his victory in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka which put the course of the championship in his control.

    “On Sunday morning in Abu Dhabi, I knew that it could be my last race and that feeling cleared my head before the start,” he said. “I wanted to enjoy every part of the experience, knowing it might be the last time… and then the lights went out and I had the most intense 55 laps of my life.”

    Rosberg sat on the idea of retirement for a day before telling Vivian (his wife), Georg (Nolte, from Nico’s management team) and Mercedes AMG Petronas Executive Director Toto Wolff in that order, according to his Facebook statement.

    “The only thing that makes this decision in any way difficult for me is because I am putting my racing family into a tough situation,” he added. “But Toto understood. He knew straight away that I was completely convinced and that reassured me. My proudest achievement in racing will always be to have won the world championship with this incredible team of people, the Silver Arrows.”

    He concluded his post saying he’s “just here to enjoy the moment. There is time to savour the next weeks, to reflect on the season and to enjoy every experience that comes my way. After that, I will turn the next corner in my life and see what it has in store for me…”

    He made the retirement official in a press conference in Vienna.

    He began his career at Bahrain in 2006 driving for Williams. It was during his time with Mercedes that his career took off and he shed the status of journeyman.

    His tenure with the team was also notable for his at times rocky relationship with teammate Lewis Hamilton. The two drivers in four seasons together had many run-ins with each other that turned their relationship into a rivalry.

    Following the conclusion of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it appears their relationship is one of mutual respect. As of the publishing of this piece, Hamilton has not released a statement in regards to his teammate retiring.

    Rosberg retires with 23 wins, 57 podium finishes, 1594.5 career points, 30 pole starts, 20 fastest laps and one title in 206 starts.

     

  • Monster Energy New Sponsor of Cup Series

    Monster Energy New Sponsor of Cup Series

    The top level of racing in NASCAR has a new title sponsor and it’s an energy drink.

    Monster Energy was announced today as the new sponsor of the Cup Series beginning in 2017, culminating a two-year search by the sanctioning body for a company to take over naming rights of the series. They replace outing series sponsor Sprint who announced in December of 2014 they would not continue their affiliation with the sport at the conclusion of the 2016 season.

    While news about their sponsorship had already broken in the hours leading up to the announcement, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France made it official today during a press conference at the Wynn Las Vegas luxury hotel. Along with France was Mark Hall, chief marketing officer for Monster Energy.

    “Monster Energy is a brand built on excitement and enthusiasm, qualities that align with NASCAR,” France said. “This sponsorship position is the most unique in all of sports and entertainment, and we are thrilled to have a partner that will help us further elevate the series. Today’s announcement is the culmination of a thorough search, one that resulted in the right partner at this important time in our sport’s history.”

    Hall was asked, given Monster Energy’s reach with other properties, why they chose to go into business with NASCAR. He responded, “because we do market in a non-traditional way.”

    “One component that our primary competitor utilizes that we haven’t is media,” he said. “They routinely buy traditional television and traditional media, and we never have. We have never created a commercial or an ad. We’ve done different things that we’ve been successful getting a lot of eyeballs on, but I think looking at this opportunity and this close partnership to where our names are linked so synonymously, we’re thinking that this for us is a way to do traditional media. The reach of the connection and the partnership is going to be unique for us because our names will be closely associated, and every time you say NASCAR, we hope we’re going to say Monster Energy.”

    Few details about the agreement were released in the announcement. Among those were that the agreement was “a multiyear agreement with some options” and that Monster Energy would have the naming rights to the All-Star Race. Any more specific details about the agreement weren’t disclosed.

    “We never get into the specifics of contracts, but beyond contracts, our most important thing is to build a good partnership, and that transcends most partnerships,” France said. “Every partnership we’ve ever had in this category, which is only two, we always extended and always went on for a long time, and that’s our hope here.”

    Other items not finalized for today’s announcement was the logo for the series or the official name, given reports that NASCAR was considering dropping the word “Cup” from the series title, going forward.

    “We are working on the exact composite logo and otherwise, and we’ll be back shortly on that,” France added. “It won’t be long, but we’ve got some real good options on that. Not today.”

    Monster Energy is only the third entity to sponsor top level of NASCAR competition, following Sprint/Nextel from 2004 to 2016 and Winston from 1971 to 2003. Each entity has brought a different philosophy on sponsorship activation to grow the sport. Winston/RJ Reynolds focused on marketing NASCAR in places it hadn’t been able to reach prior and Sprint focused on growing the sport through technology.

    When asked what about Monster Energy made them a great fit for the sport, France said they’re an edgy and fun brand.

    “They get at a millennial audience in a different way clearly than we’ve ever been associated with, particularly at this level, and they know what they’re doing,” he said. “This is their DNA. This is not something they’re rolling into, and frankly even Sprint and Nextel before them, this is motorsports and the level of commitment, that was all new to them.”

     

  • Massa and Button have opposite race in final race

    Massa and Button have opposite race in final race

    Felipe Massa and Jenson Button had completely different outcomes in the final race for both Formula 1 veterans.

    Massa battled in the opening laps with teammate Valtteri Bottas, swapping ninth and 10th a few times. Bottas, however, retired from the race on the 11th lap with rear suspension issues and Massa was left to carry the banner for Williams.

    He didn’t make much noise in the race hanging out the back half of the top-10 all day. He brought his car home to a ninth-place finish in his final Formula 1 start.

    “To be honest, I feel really happy. I feel proud that I was fighting to the last lap in the same way I was fighting my first lap in my career. I’m really happy for the result for my race today and I am definitely emotional for this moment, but proud for everything I did.

    “I’m really happy and I thank all of you guys that was supporting me.”

    He also took time to congratulate Nico Rosberg on winning the championship.

    “I cannot forget Nico and that he won the championship. He’s a nice story. Looking at his father (Keke Rosberg), was a champion. He’s a champion now. He really deserves the championship.

    “I’m really happy for him.”

    The 15-year journeyman veteran retires with 11 wins, 41 podiums and 250 career starts.

    He reflected on his career and what he was proudest of achieving.

    “Well I’m proud of my career. I’m proud of everything I managed to achieve. Manage to get a lot of dreams, a lot of results, a lot of incredible things….But I am also proud that I always respected people and I feel a lot of respect, and I think that’s a really amazing feeling.”

    The team gave Massa the car he drove at Brazil, which was the same car he drove in today’s race, as a parting gift.

    It was the polar opposite race for one half of the McLaren-Honda stable.

    Driving over the curb at turn 9, the right-front tire of Button’s car caved in, damaging the steering and forcing an early retirement on the 13th lap in what was possibly his final race.

    In his post-race interview, Will Buxton of NBC said to him “it wasn’t supposed to end like this.”

    “Well it’s tricky [about how it’s supposed to end (a bit indiscernible)]. I should’ve won, but I don’t think that was in the cards so I thought I’d retire early,” Button said tongue in cheek and everyone laughed.

    “It doesn’t matter. I said before on social media that this result means nothing. It’s about having fun. It’s about enjoying all the emotions with friends and family and the team and Formula 1 as a whole and fans. I’ve done that. It’s just finished a little bit early, but I can celebrate with the fans when I get out of the car, which is awesome.

    “McLaren’s don’t fail. We don’t have failures. It’s the weirdest thing, but maybe it happened for a reason. I’m going to go enjoy the rest of this day, my last day as an F1 driver. Well, I’m not anymore actually (takes off McLaren hat), and have a jolly good time this evening with friends and family who I love very much.”

    The 2009 world champion, while still under contract with McLaren, steps away from active competition with 15 wins and 50 podiums to his credit.

    He was asked if he reflected on what he’s done in his career.

    “Yeah, last night was amazing with and the friends and family. I had a long day reminiscing and filmed it with a camera, which is a bit dangerous. I hope they lose that camera.

    “But yeah, lot’s of reminiscing and so many special moments, tough moments as well. But also great ones. Finishing early today is not a negative. I just take it for what it is. I get to see these guys sooner rather than later and I’m just celebrating what’s been a very long career.”

  • Hamilton wins the battle, but Rosberg wins the war

    Hamilton wins the battle, but Rosberg wins the war

    Lewis Hamilton did everything in his power he could to be champion with a win in Abu Dhabi, but it wasn’t meant to be as teammate Nico Rosberg finished right behind him to claim the bigger prize.

    Hamilton got a great start off the line and beat Rosberg going into turn 1. The race win was pretty much his from that point on. The Mercedes play their strategy very conservative with their drivers for most of the race to minimize the chances of a penalty and/or race incident, which included pitting their drivers much earlier than other teams.

    A late wrench was thrown into the mix when Sebastian Vettel of Scuderia Ferrari pitted off cycle of the Mercedes drivers. This put him in the lead coming to the last 20 laps of the race before he pitted onto faster super-soft tires.

    Vettel was posting the fastest laps of the race in the closing laps and it started to cause angst in the Mercedes garage. Hamilton used it to his advantage by backing his pace and forcing Rosberg to fight with Max Verstappen and Vettel for second and possibly lose the title.

    Vettel made the pass on Verstappen for third with five laps to go. This prompted Paddy Lowe, technical director at Mercedes, to tell Hamilton to pick up his pace and he responded as follows, “I’m actually in the lead and quite comfortable.”

    He also said he was “losing the world championship so right now I don’t really care whether I win or lose this race.”

    It made no difference in the end as Hamilton crossed the line first to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Rosberg crossed runner-up to secure the championship by a five-point margin.

    “Honestly, I feel great,” Hamilton said on the podium. “First off, I’d like to say a big thanks to everyone who came out to support us. I want to say thanks to my family for all their support and thanks to the team and especially to the team for doing such a great job. It’s been a real privilege being part of this team and achieving the success we had this year. I never would’ve thought when I joined this team that I’d have that many wins.

    “And a big congratulations to Nico (Rosberg) of course on his first world championship. Good job man.”

    It’s his 53rd career victory and 104th career podium finish.

    “I did everything I could these last four races and that’s all I could really ask of ourselves,” he said when asked his emotional state following losing the title. “So I leave here and have a lot of fun tonight celebrating with the team and everyone.

    “You can’t win them all. Obviously, we had a lot of problems this year. So that’s why I’m in this position. But I’m still grateful for all the success up and down we had as a team.”

    Rosberg’s 57th career podium finish was enough to win him the 2016 championship.

    “That was definitely not the most enjoyable race I’ve ever had, with Max (Verstappen) in the beginning and then with those guys coming up in the end,” Rosberg said when asked if this was “just another day in the office” on the podium. “Really not very enjoyable those last laps. Very very glad it’s over and unbelievably ecstatic. (Indiscernibly gives thanks to wife Vivian and daughter Alaia for their support)…and I’ll thank everybody else afterwards.”

    He and his father Keke Rosberg join Graham and Damon Hill as the only father/son pairs to have won drivers titles in Formula 1.

    “Very proud of course to have done the same feat as my dad achieved,” he added. “He’s going to be coming in half an hour I think. It’s going to be exciting to see him.”

    Vettel’s third place finish was his 86th career podium finish and only his second in 13 races.

    He started off by congratulating Rosberg on his championship victory before answering the question of why it took him so long to get back to a podium finish.

    “Well it’s tough all day,” Vettel said. “The last couple of laps, I didn’t want to be in his (Nico Rosberg) shoes. I was trying to get close and have another go. I was thinking ‘Why not pass both of them’ if Lewis (Hamilton) is going that slow in front. But yeah, it was difficult because my tires were dropping more towards the end.

    “A bit stuck at the beginning of the race, couldn’t really unfold my pace. I was starting to get a bit frustrated. But once I had clean air, I could really unleash the pace that we had today.”

    Verstappen finished fourth gambling on a one-stop strategy because of his lap 1 spin in the first turn following contact with Nico Hulkenburg.

    In his post-race interview, he said the race “was very enjoyable. Of course after the start, I was a bit like ‘Well, let’s see where we end up now after the spin.’ Good pace and managed to hold onto the super-softs for quite a long time. Basically just recused my race a little bit. Of course, it’s still not an ideal strategy to do with one stop because you’re always protecting the tires. But yeah, I enjoyed it a lot overtaking that many cars and finishing fourth in the end was a great result.”

    He was asked if one stopping was the plan the whole time.

    “It was not Plan A,” he added. “So yeah we had to change it, but it worked.”

    Teammate Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top-five.

    Kimi Raikkonen finished sixth, Hulkenburg finished seventh, Sergio Perez finished eighth, Felipe Massa finished ninth in his final F1 race and Fernando Alonso rounded out the top-10.

    The Haas F1 drivers finished 11th (Romain Grosjean) and 12th (Esteban Gutierrez).

    Jolyon Palmer was handed a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Carlos Sainz on lap 42.

    Five cars retired from the race, including Jenson Button who was making his final F1 start.

  • Late race multi-car wreck ruins title hopes for Edwards

    Late race multi-car wreck ruins title hopes for Edwards

    Carl Edwards’s championship hopes were dashed in a violent wreck that took out a number of cars in the closing laps of the season finale in South Florida.

    Restarting with 10 laps to go, the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota restarted ahead of the other Championship 4 drivers when Joey Logano dove to the bottom to try and pass him. Edwards mirrored his move with a block, but he came across the nose of Logano’s car and got hooked into the wall.

    The lifeless 19 car came back across the active race track into the oncoming path of Kasey Kahne who slammed into the back of his car and lifted it up into the air. Regan Smith was also collected in the chaos.

    “Joey (Logano) was so good on the short run that I knew I couldn’t give it to him. I couldn’t give him that lane,” Edwards said talking about the restart. “I went down there and blocked and he went down there as far as a guy could expect to go down and I just thought – I thought we were going to possibly hit. I just thought I’d have a little more time to correct it, but we were so far down there we couldn’t go any farther down and basically we ended up wrecked, so that’s the way things go sometimes.”

    Logano’s car continued on, but got loosened by Edwards’s car coming back towards the track. This sent him across the nose of his teammate Brad Keselowski, who gets hooked into the wall by Ryan Newman.

    “It’s a product of a format that’s based on putting everything and risking everything,” Keselowski said of his thoughts on the incident. “I don’t know. It’s not really all that surprising. It’s disappointing. I don’t think that’s great racing, but I understand why it happened on both ends.”

    Martin Truex Jr. slams into Keselowski, which sets the engine of his car on fire.

    “All I see is the 2 (Brad Keselowski) coming up the track and nowhere to go,” Truex said of what happened from his vantage point. “This is one of those wrong place, wrong time. We got put in the back a few times. Once was our mistake early and (Kevin) Harvick’s after that. It’s unfortunate. We had a really good race car tonight and nothing to show for it. It’s two weeks in a row. Frustrating, glad this year is over and we will go and regroup and get ready for next year.”

    Ty Dillon also sustained damage in that melee.

    He, Edwards, Kahne, Keselowski, Smith and Truex all retired from the race as a result.