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Category: NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series

  • NAPA Racing/Martin Truex Jr. Bristol Race Preview

    CORNELIUS, N.C. — Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS team admitted to mixed feelings about the off weekend. They enjoyed a chance to rest and relax, but after moving to seventh in points after Las Vegas, the Michael Waltrip Racing team didn’t want a weekend away from the track to disrupt any momentum. With the off weekend behind them, Truex and teammates are eager to continue their early season success.

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup season resumes this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway where Truex scored his first Nationwide Series victory in 2004. Truex believes the 20 laps he’s led and the time spent in the top five during the season’s first three races indicates his team is closing in on its first victory together. Truex isn’t the only person that can win at Bristol. Fans can participate in NAPA’s “KNOW HOW TO WIN” sweepstakes to win weekly prizes like NASCAR race tickets, Truex diecasts, hats and t-shirts. Fans can register at the NAPA Know How Facebook page until April 15.

    TRUEX QUOTES

    Martin Truex Jr. on NAPA Team’s Performance: “The potential is there for us all to have a great season and so we’re excited about that. My engineer Chad Johnson and my crew chief Pat Tryson — everyone is just really doing a great job right now and we know some areas that we need to improve and everybody is working hard on those areas. We just need to go out there and do all of the little things right and not make any mistakes. If we can do that, we’ll just keep stacking up points and knocking on the door to victory lane. I’m pretty excited about how our season has gone so far. It has been a great start and everybody is doing so well. The sky is the limit for this team. It’s great that we’re getting to show it early in the season. The last time I started this strong, I made the Chase.”

    Truex on Bristol: “Bristol is a different kind of racetrack. We had a decent run in both of those races last year. I feel like with the way the communication is going between me and my team and the way they can really give me what I’ve been asking for this season, I feel like we’ll be able to go to Bristol and have another great race with a shot to win there.”

    ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

    · Truex selected “Homeboy” by Eric Church to be played during his portion of Bristol driver introductions.

    · Sunday’s race marks the 193rd NASCAR Sprint Cup start for Truex.

    · This will be his 11th race at the .533 mile-oval. His average start is 18th and his average finish is 23rd. He has completed 4,806 of 5,013 laps (95.9%).

    · On Sunday, NAPA Racing will host Honorary Pit Crew Member Ray Fisher of Knoxville, Tenn. He will be honored in NAPA pre-race festivities and have his name decaled on the No. 56 NAPA Toyota.

    · Check out NAPA Reserve Online. Visit www.napaonline.com to make shopping for an auto part easier. Order online and pick up at your favorite NAPA AUTO PARTS store.

  • Goody’s and BC Powders Give Fans a Voice for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500

    Goody’s and BC Powders Give Fans a Voice for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500

    Fans Can Select Favorite Wounded Warrior Project- and Victory Junction-Designed Paint Schemes

    MEMPHIS, Tenn. (March 11, 2011) – For nearly a week beginning March 11, fans of Goody’s and BC Powders can help choose a race car paint scheme designed by wounded hero from Wounded Warrior Project, Cory Collins, and Victory Junction camper, Eleanor Bolton, with the assistance of renowned motorsports artist Sam Bass. The designs will be showcased on a race car during pre-race ceremonies on April 3 at the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.

    [media-credit name=”Goody” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]As part of the Pick A Powder campaign (www.pickapowder.com), country music superstar Trace Adkins and racing legend Richard Petty have a friendly rivalry to see which pain relief powder – BC or Goody’s – is toughest on pain. One thing the stars do agree on is giving back to causes near to their heart – Wounded Warrior Project for Adkins and Victory Junction for Petty. Goody’s and BC are making both philanthropic organizations a pivotal aspect of the Goody’s Fast Relief 500.

    “Connecting with our customers and engaging the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 fans is important to us,” said Traci Plate, brand manager at GlaxoSmithKline, the marketers of Goody’s and BC. “Giving them a voice in selecting this special paint scheme is a meaningful way of involving our fans. Through our efforts with the Pick A Powder campaign and partnership with Trace Adkins and Richard Petty, we are thrilled to highlight both worthy charities leading up to and during the race on April 3.”

    Beginning March 11 and concluding March 17 at midnight ET, each day fans can “choose” their favorite paint scheme designs for BC and Goody’s by visiting either Goody’s Powder Facebook page or BC Powder Facebook page. Simply visit the “Pick a Paint Scheme” tab and “choose” your favorite design. The design with the most “likes” from each charity will be wrapped on a full-size race car. In addition, Bolton and Collins will ride in their designed cars as they circle the track during pre-race ceremonies. The winning designs will be unveiled at Martinsville.

    On his first tour in Iraq in 2005, Collins was injured 27 days after arriving. While clearing a safe path for his Sergeant Major south of Baghdad, he ran over a 500-pound IED and was the only surviving member of his truck. After trying to mend 30 broken or shattered bones, he kept his leg for five years and recently had it amputated. Amazingly, within 34 days, Collins was walking again with the assistance of a prosthetic leg.

    A second grader from Davidson Elementary School in Davidson, N.C., Bolton is eight years of age and has a medical condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a motor neuron disease that affects the voluntary muscles that are used for activities such as crawling, walking, head and neck control, and swallowing. Bolton and her family first attended a family weekend at Victory Junction in February 2010.

    In addition to all of this, fans have yet another way to support both charities. Adkins and Wounded Warrior Project are currently featured on specially-marked boxes of BC, and Petty and Victory Junction on select boxes of Goody’s. With each purchase made until March 31 of the BC and Goody’s specially-marked boxes, fans will help to give back to the organization affiliated with each brand.

    Adkins and Petty have recorded messages in support of the charities that can be found on www.pickapowder.com. During the Goody’s Fast Relief 500, both charities will be presented a check from BC and Goody’s to continue their missions.

    Tickets for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 weekend are on sale and may be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or by visiting www.martinsvillespeedway.com. Tickets start at just $25.

    ABOUT GLAXOSMITHKLINE
    GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare is one of the world’s largest over-the-counter consumer healthcare products companies. Its more than 30 well-known brands include the leading smoking cessation products, Nicorette® and NicoDerm®CQ® as well as many medicine cabinet staples — alli®, Aquafresh®, Sensodyne®, and TUMS® — which are trademarks owned by and/or licensed to GlaxoSmithKline Group of Companies.

    ABOUT VICTORY JUNCTION
    Victory Junction is a year-round camping environment for children ages six to 16 with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses. Founded by Kyle and Pattie Petty in honor of their son Adam, the camp is located in Randleman, NC, with a second location opening soon in Kansas City, KS. Victory Junction offers programs for a range of disease groups and maintains strong relationships with more than 30 partner hospitals. Victory Junction’s mission is to provide life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering, in a safe and medically-sound environment. As a not-for-profit organization, the camp operates solely through the support of generous individuals, groups and corporations to provide this experience at no charge to children and their families. For more information or to donate, visit www.victoryjunction.org.

    ABOUT WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT
    The mission of the Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) is to honor and empower wounded warriors. WWP’s purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, FL. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org.

    ABOUT SAM BASS
    Sam Bass is the most accomplished artist and graphic designer in NASCAR. Since 1987, he has created race team graphics for corporate America’s leading sponsors, NASCAR team owners and drivers. He is also known for his fine-art original paintings and a distinctive style when it comes to his design of track program covers, racing-themed ad campaigns, posters, apparel and custom shop guitars. His personal studio and motorsports art gallery in Concord, N.C., are adjacent to Charlotte Motor Speedway. He is the first officially licensed artist of NASCAR. For more information please call 704-455-6915, or log on to www.sambass.com.

  • Good Seats At Great Prices For Amazing Martinsville Speedway Racing

    Good Seats At Great Prices For Amazing Martinsville Speedway Racing

    The Goody’s Fast Relief 500 is less than a month away, but plenty of good tickets remain for the greatest short-track show on earth. 

    A ticket to the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 on April 3 is a ticket to NASCAR Sprint Cup racing at its best, with beating, banging, pushing, shoving and door-to-door racing all day long.

    Last spring’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 is the perfect example of Martinsville Speedway at its best: Denny Hamlin charging back from 10th with just a handful of laps left to win. The race was so good it was rated in the top five of most every poll of top races of the 2010 season.

    Check out some of Martinsville Speedway’s great ticket prices for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500:     

    • Backstretch seats are $25 along with the first five rows of seats in the Sprint Tower, the Clay Earles Tower and the South Annex.
    • Seats in the Clay Earles Tower overlooking the second turn are $55.
    • Children’s tickets, ages 18 and under, in the Clay Earles Tower are only $10 when purchased with an adult ticket, rows 15-52.
    • All seats in Bill France Tower are $40.
    • Seats in the Sprint Tower are $65.
    • Family 4 Pack, includes 2 adult tickets, 2 children tickets, 18 and under, vouchers for 4 hot dogs and 4 Pepsi products, all for just $99.
    • Grub-N-Rub includes a ticket for the Kroger 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on April 2, a ticket for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 on April 3 and admission to a breakfast that will include appearances by NASCAR Camping World Truck series drivers along with SPEED personalities. The price for the event that begins at 8:30 a.m. on April 2
    • is $85 for adults, $30 for children.

    Tickets for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 and the Kroger 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race may be purchased by calling 877.722.3849 (877.RACE.TIX) or by visiting www.martinsvillespeedway.com online.

  • Steel Frame Taking Shape on the World’s Largest HD Video Board

    CONCORD, N.C. (March 11, 2011) – The steel frame that will support the world’s largest high-definition video board is more than 50 percent complete, as construction continues on the massive screen created by Panasonic, that will debut during Charlotte Motor Speedway’s 2011 May race events.

    The 500,000-pound steel frame that will hold the 165,000-pound HD video board is scheduled to be completed by the end of March. Crews from Granite Contracting, of Concord, N.C., Mid-Atlantic Construction of Charlotte, N.C. and Eastern Sign Tech of Burlington, N.J. have erected six, 30-foot tall steel columns galvanized by Galvan Industries of Harrisburg, N.C. Each column weighs 18,500 pounds and is attached to a concrete footing.

    The approximately 200-foot-wide, 80-foot-tall screen will eventually rise 110 feet above the track on the steel support structure.

    During the next phase of construction on the world’s largest HD video board, Duke Energy, headquartered in Charlotte, will install the largest transformer in their product line, the Duke Power 1000 KW, 208 V, 3-phase transformer, which will be centered under the board’s steel frame.

    Also, the installation of 158 panels that will make up the screen of the world’s largest HD video board will start the first week of April. Thirteen sub-electric panels will also be installed, each of which will power a “panel riser,” or a column of panels. Once construction is completed, more than nine million LED lamps will illuminate the Panasonic video board during each NASCAR race event at Charlotte Motor Speedway this spring, including the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on May 21 and the Coca-Cola 600 on May 29.

    The screen will be centered along the backstretch between Turns 2 and 3, across from the start/finish line. Fans seated throughout the frontstretch from Turn 4 to Turn 1 will have clear viewing angles of instant replays, leaderboard updates and interactive entertainment displayed in 720P high-definition visuals.

    For continuous updates on the Panasonic HD video board, watch the construction webcam on www.charlottemotorspeedway.com.

    Media interested in covering the Panasonic HD video board construction should call the Charlotte Motor Speedway communications department at (704) 455-3209 for assistance.

    Frontstretch tickets with the best views of the new HD video board and pit road start at just $49 for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. Fans can also purchase two frontstretch tickets for just $99 to the Coca-Cola 600 by calling the speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS (3267) or online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com.

  • Bobby Dale Earnhardt to address youth coalition on life choices.

    For Immediate Release from TeamEarnhardt.
    3/10/2011

    Bobby Dale Earnhardt to address youth coalition on life choices.

    On March 23, 2011, Bobby Dale Earnhardt will be addressing the Marinette and Menominee Healthy Youth Coalition (HYC) at the University of Wisconsin Marinette Center on life choices such as drug use and it’s effect on future life choices.

    The HYC mission statement offers the following description of their purpose and goals.

    The mission of the Healthy Youth Coalition of Marinette & Menominee Counties is a commitment to promote healthy Lifestyles and choices throughout our communities to benefit our youth and their families. We do this by increasing community awareness and knowledge of risk and protective factors, reducing youth and community risk factors and building protective factors which impact risky behaviors such as problem alcohol use, illicit drug use, and violence, promoting healthy youth activities, and by empowering our youth to identify and develop their own responses to barriers in our communities which impede the building of protective factors.

    Bobby will join Chris Brown and Ryan Moran in bringing his story and information to the Coalition. Bobby will participate in 3 break out sessions with 30 – 40 teens in each session, as well as addressing the monthly meeting the following day.

    Bobby Dale Earnhardt is the oldest grandson of seven time Nascar Champion Dale Earnhardt. He will offer his story of recovery from a dangerous addiction. Bobby Dale stated, “I want to do this to show other teens that even celebrities and their families have these problems and that they are not the only ones… I want to share what I went through and what I’ve done to get over it and what I’ve missed or would have accomplished if I hadn’t done it and what I’ve done (such as my racing) since I’ve decided to get away from that”.

    Bobby is now seeking to make his way in the sport of auto racing on his own terms. Bobby is currently in negotiations to secure a full time Nascar K&N East Series ride, hopes to shine a light on life’s roads for today’s youth to help them avoid the same pit falls and dangers he faced.

  • Jack Roush Pleased with Strong Start to 2011 Season

    Jack Roush Pleased with Strong Start to 2011 Season

    “Our Fords have never run better.”Jack Roush after Sunday’s win in Las Vegas

    CONCORD, N.C. (March 10, 2011) – As the NASCAR Series heads into the off weekend, Roush Fenway owner Jack Roush is more than pleased with the performance of his multi-car race team during the first three events of the season. Dating back to last season, Roush Fenway has finished first or second in five of the last six events.

    “The team worked especially hard over the winter on things that they knew were strengths and made them stronger and they worked extra hard to fix things that were lacking.

    “Right now as I look at our program, except for the judgments we made and running over things on the race track, our Fords have never run better,” added Roush. “I can’t wait to see how things unfold. I am really excited about what we have in front of us.”

    Edwards finished second at the Daytona 500, had the car to beat –winning the pole at Phoenix and took the checkered flag last week in Las Vegas.

    Along the way, Roush Fenway dominated the practice board at Vegas, with Matt Kenseth setting a track record en route to winning the pole at LVMS. All four Roush Fenway Fords were legitimate contenders for the checkered flag that Edwards ultimately took home.

    Despite the early success, Roush knows that it’s a long road to November and the final race in Homestead.

    “It is way too early to be thinking championship,” cautioned Roush. “One of the two races before Homestead in the fall I encouraged everyone to be as conservative as we might be if it were in our grasp. We can’t make a misstep and we have to keep our eye on the ball.

    “We can’t squander the opportunity we have now that we are running better than we did last year. It certainly feels more like 2008, even better.”

    Roush Fenway will take the track again next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, where the organization has 14 total NASCAR wins, including 10 in the Sprint Cup Series. All four of the organization’s Cup drivers have won in NASCAR competition at the .533 mile track known for intense racing.

    Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating seven motorsports teams. Four in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with drivers Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; and three in the Nationwide Series with Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Trevor Bayne. For more information on any of the Roush Fenway Racing teams, log onto http://www.roushfenway.com/ www.RoushFenway.com.

    Become a fan of Roush Fenway Racing on Facebook by going to http://www.facebook.com/roushfenway http://www.facebook.com/roushfenway and follow us on Twitter @roushfenway.

    For sponsorship inquiries please contact Robin Johnson at 704.720.4645.

  • Burton, No. 31 Team See Rebound on the Horizon

    If you would have asked Jeff Burton, driver of Richard Childress Racing’s No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, at the beginning of the 2011 season if he thought the first three races would bring him bad luck, his answer would have been ‘No.’ Same with crew chief Todd Berrier, director of competition Scott Miller and the entire Cat Racing team.

    Unfortunately, it did. And, with those three races now in the record books, Burton heads to Bristol Motor Speedway, the site of the fourth race on the 2011 Sprint Cup Series schedule, 32nd in the championship point standings and with one thing on his mind – redemption.

    The South Boston, Va., native started off the year with a win in the Duel 150 qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway that secured him and the No. 31 Caterpillar team the fourth starting spot for the 53rd running of the Daytona 500. But, that high soon led to the first of three lows.

    After showcasing a strong and fast No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet during the first half of the Great American Race and leading a total of five laps on two separate occasions, the engine expired on the RCR entry, forcing the team to call it a day and leave the historic speedway with a 36th-place finish.

    The Berrier-led squad, again, produced a fast black and yellow Chevrolet for the 312-lap at Phoenix International Raceway the following weekend, but a wrong place, wrong time circumstance accumulated the veteran driver in a multi-car incident just 60 circuits in. Speedy work by the crew to repair the damaged machine to the best of their abilities sent Burton back on track in order to gain as many valuable positions as he could before the checkered flag waved and, because of that, he was able to salvage a 26th-place result.

    Most recently, handling woes and ever-changing track conditions at Las Vegas Motor Speedway got the best of the Cat Racing team that left them leaving Sin City with a 21st-place finish.

    Alas, the off weekend – a few days for the driver, crew chief and gang to clear their heads and erase the misfortunes that plagued them early in the season.

    “It’s very disappointing to have the finishes that we had in these first three races,” commented Berrier. “Obviously, this isn’t how we pictured our season to start out, but it’s the situation we’re in and we’ll do everything we can to dig ourselves out from underneath it. Our team is strong and we’ll recover. I don’t like losing, so you can believe that we’re doing everything we can to turn this ship around.”

    The next four races on the schedule – Bristol Motor Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway – couldn’t have come at a better time for the 21-time Sprint Cup Series winner. After all, he has found Victory Lane at three of those four tracks in his career.

    In 2008, Burton beat his RCR teammates to the line, claiming his first victory at the Bristol bullring. A third-place finish last year at Auto Club Speedway has the Cat Racing team wanting more when they return to the West Coast and numerous laps led at both Martinsville Speedway events last year has Burton hungry for a win at his home track. And, how can you forget Texas – not only the site of Burton’s first Sprint Cup Series victory, but the Fort Worth facility’s first repeat winner.

    “It’s, obviously, disappointing to be where we are in the point standings,” stated Burton. “With as much preparation that we, as a company, did over the off season, it’s something that we couldn’t have done any different. Some of the situations we were involved in were out of our control while some were in our control. I’ve said all along that the new points structure will hurt those with poor finishes and we’re a classic example of that. Yes, we have a hole to dig out of, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do it. I believe in this team, wholeheartedly, and I really believe that over these next few races, you’ll see us have a complete turnaround.”

    The boys in black and yellow will head to the World’s Fastest Half Mile next Thursday, looking for that turnaround. An hour-and-a-half practice session commences all Sprint Cup Series activity on Friday followed by qualifying. Then, the Cat Racing team will have two more chances on Saturday to fine tune their No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet for Sunday’s 500-lap showdown.

    Live coverage of the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City from Bristol Motor Speedway will be televised on FOX Sunday, March 20, beginning at 12 noon Eastern Daylight Time and will also be broadcast worldwide on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the fifth of 36 points-paying races will be televised on SPEED Friday, March 18, beginning at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

  • BAYNE EVENT BRINGS MIS FANS TOGETHER TO SALUTE NASCAR’S NEWEST STAR

    Hundreds of fans attend Michigan International Speedway’s free fan event honoring Daytona 500 winner  

    BROOKLYN, Mich. (March 10, 2011) ­— Nearly three weeks have passed since Trevor Bayne’s historic Daytona 500 victory, but his popular win hasn’t left the minds of Michigan International Speedway race fans.  

    With nearly 300 race fans eagerly awaiting his arrival, the Bayne train made another scheduled stop on his celebration tour at MIS’ FREE FAN EVENT, which was hosted by the Irish Hills track at Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. on March 9.  

    Bayne, along with car owners Eddie and Len Wood, Director of Ford North America Motorsports Jamie Allison and MIS President Roger Curtis, participated in a question and answer session for fans, which included Curtis asking questions that were submitted by race fans in the audience. Bayne also signed autographs for fans that were in attendance.  

    “I’m happy to be here and can’t tell you enough how much I enjoy doing these fan events,” Bayne said. “Since winning the Daytona 500, it’s been a crazy last few weeks. It’s been a life-changing experience and to see all this support for me, the Wood Brothers and Ford Racing is amazing. I really wish I could shake every hand and sign every autograph for the fans. Doing these types of events for them is what this sport is all about and I’m happy to just be a part of it.”  

    Some fans waited in line for over four hours to see Bayne up close and personal. Longtime MIS ticketholders Charlene Skonieczny and Sherry Caudill of Farmington, Mich., along with Robin Niemiec of nearby Garden City, were the first in line for the event.  

    “What a great opportunity to see Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne and get his autograph,” Skonieczny said. “We’re our big fans of MIS and NASCAR and always enjoy attending these events when we can. We got here four hours before the event started just to make sure we would get in!”  

    Bayne won the Daytona 500 last month, becoming the youngest driver to do so at 20, driving the famed No. 21 Ford for the Wood Brothers in just his second career Sprint Cup Series start. It was the first career victory in any NASCAR series for the Knoxville, Tenn., native.  

    The Wood Brothers are tied with Jack Roush as the all-time winningest owners at MIS with 11 career victories. The Wood Brothers, who were honored by MIS in August 2010 for their 60 years in racing, won many races at the Irish Hills speedway with the No. 21 car and driver David Pearson.  

    “The Daytona 500 victory and everything that has followed since then has been tremendous for our organization,” Eddie Wood said. “To be at this event and receive great support from Ford, MIS and our fans is very special to all of us at Wood Brothers Racing.”  

    Bayne is tentatively scheduled to race in three events at MIS this summer, the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide races on June 18-19 and the Sprint Cup race on August 21.  

    “I hope to see everyone out at MIS this summer,” Bayne said. “I’m planning on racing a few events out there this season and I hope the fans will buy tickets and come out and see us.”  

    Nestled in the lush Irish Hills of Southeastern Michigan, Michigan International Speedway is the Great Escape, a venerable NASCAR national park where fans can get away and enjoy the very best in racing and camaraderie. It’s the love of racing and the thrill of a great time for race fans and drivers alike.  

    Keep up with Michigan International Speedway via Twitter @MISpeedway or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MISpeedway. Join our Mobile Fan Club by texting MISCLUB to 69050 on a Sprint Smartphone or other mobile device. Standard text message rates may apply.  

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tickets for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 on June 19 and NSCS 400 on August 21 are now on sale and as low as $30. Visit MISpeedway.com or call the MIS ticket hotline at 800-354-1010 today to take advantage of great pricing for 2011 events at MIS.  

    Michigan International Speedway’s 2011 Schedule   Saturday, May 21       Great Lakes Wine Fest

    Friday, June 17           ARCA Racing Series RainEater Wiper Blades 200

    Saturday, June 18      NASCAR Nationwide Series

    Sunday, June 19         NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400  

    Friday, Aug. 19           Meijer Pole Day Saturday, Aug. 20       NASCAR Camping World Truck Series VFW 200

    Sunday, Aug. 21         NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

  • Bob Osborne Named The WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race After hitting the Jackpot in Vegas

    Bob Osborne Named The WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race After hitting the Jackpot in Vegas

    Roswell, GA (March 9, 2011) – Bob Osborne, crew chief for the No. 99 Scotts/Kelloggs’ Ford driven by Carl Edwards, has been named the WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race following Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

    With just 26 laps remaining, Osborne brought his driver to pit road for two tires only and fuel during the final round of green flag pit stops. This important call for two instead of four tires put Edwards out front after the field cycled through pit stops. Edwards was atop the leader board for the final 23 circuits, cruising to the win by 1.246 seconds over Tony Stewart. Once the victory was secure, Edwards showcased the triumph with his trademark back flip for the fans.

    “The key to winning today was my team, Bob, and these guys at Roush Fenway,” said Edwards, who led 66 laps of the 267-lap event. “It means a lot coming off of Phoenix (where Edwards thought he had the winning car only to be involved in an on-track accident). You don’t get a good racecar like that often and we got another one here today. This was just a great day.”

    “What a great recovery coming out of Phoenix,” said WYPALL Wipers crew chief representative and FOX/Speed analyst Jeff Hammond. “They just started off the weekend right and then made no mistakes in the pits all day. That two-tire call at the end was a crucial move by Osborne and proved to be the right one.”

    WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Results

    Steve Addington led Kurt Busch’s No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil team to an impressive ninth place finish, his third top-10 of the season. Starting from the 22nd position, the Addington-led team made the right calls to keep Busch, who is atop the championship point standings, in contention all day.

    “We just have to keep working on getting our cars turning better,” Addington said.  “Kurt never gave up and drove his guts out all day.  We probably had a 12th-place car there at the end of the race, but Kurt was able to get us a solid top-10 finish out of it.”

    Paul Wolfe and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge of Brad Keselowski finished a disappointing 26th after fighting an ill-handling car all day.

    “We missed something all day. I’m not sure what,” said Keselowski. “Kurt (Busch) was a little bit better, but neither of our Dodges were where we wanted them to be. We’ll go back to the drawing board. We tried a lot of different things and just never hit on anything.”

    WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Voting Team

    Addington and Wolfe, along with Hammond and Sirius NASCAR Radio’s Claire B. Lang, serve as the panel for the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge and vote for the weekly crew chief winners.

    Each weekly WYPALL Crew Chief Challenge winner will be a guest on Lang’s “Dialed In” program on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 at 8 p.m. EST on Wednesdays throughout the season.

    The crew chief with the most weekly top wins will be honored as the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $10,000 check during the weekend of the WYPALL 200 Presented by Kimberly-Clark Professional Nationwide Series race at Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday, November 12, 2011. 

    About WYPALL Wipers:

    Since 2004, Kimberly-Clark Professional’s WYPALL Wipers brand has been affiliated with some of racing’s top teams.  Offering heavy-duty to versatile light-duty towels, WYPALL Wipers provides race teams with a number of products providing strength and durability.  Defeating the toughest of challenges, from absorbing tough grease and oil to wiping down windshields without leaving residue behind, WYPALL Wipers continue to offer performance and versatility. 

    The WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge will continue throughout the remainder of the 2011 season and spotlight the men behind the machines.  For more information, log onto www.wypall.com.

    About Penske Racing

    Penske Racing is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Competing in a variety of disciplines, cars owned and prepared by Penske Racing have produced 332 major race wins, 396 pole positions and 23 National Championships. The team has also earned 15 Indianapolis 500 victories. For more information about Penske Racing, please visit www.penskeracing.com.

  • Amanda Speed Is Keeping It All In Perspective

    Amanda Speed Is Keeping It All In Perspective

    [media-credit name=”ScottSpeed.com” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]In spite of the trauma of husband Scott losing his Cup ride with Red Bull Racing last season, Amanda Speed is keeping the couple’s spirits up, preparing to have their child, and coping with her mother-in-law’s cancer.

    And even with those major highs and lows in their lives, Amanda Speed is working hard to keep it all in perspective.

    “Well the day he got the fax from Red Bull was the same day we found out his mother had cancer,” Speed said. “So that put things into perspective real quick.”

    “Scott and I have always been the type that love to enjoy life no matter what we are doing,” Speed continued. “So spending time with our family and friends is what is helping this process.”

    Speed may have perspective but she is still understandably shaken by the seemingly abrupt firing of her husband in November 2010. The fact that the news was delivered to them via the fax machine was especially distressing.

    “I was sick to my stomach honestly,” Speed said. “Especially with the way it was handled, I mean, a fax… Come on seriously.”

    “You renew his contract halfway through the year, fit him for his 2011 firesuit in October and then a week after the last race of the year, you fire him through a fax,” Speed continued. “Just unbelievable.”

    In response to being released from Red Bull Racing, the couple decided they needed to take action. Scott Speed filed a $6.5 million lawsuit against the race team, alleging breach of contract.

    Amanda Speed admits that the filing of a lawsuit has not been easy for her husband or for her. She also noted that the experience has changed how they relate to people, particularly in the racing world.

    “It is difficult that’s for sure, and I will be glad when it is over,” Speed said of the lawsuit. “But Scott would have never filed the suit if he was not 100% sure of it.”

    “You can only take so much of being run over,” Speed continued. “In the long run I think it has made us both stronger, but also both very conscious of the people that we are around.”

    “We have always been people who trust everyone until they break that trust,” Speed said. “However, now it is the opposite. You will now have to gain our trust. It is just really hard.”

    Although the experience of the firing, the breaking of trust, and the lawsuit have been most difficult, the Speeds have some good news recently.

    Scott Speed reached an agreement with Kevin Harvick, Inc. to run two Nationwide Series races, one at Iowa Speedway on August 6th and the other on the road course in Montreal on August 20th.

    Amanda Speed is thankful for the new ride coming Scott’s way, especially since it will return the couple to the race track.

    “It is so hard not being at the track each weekend,” Speed said. ” Before I met Scott I was working at the track, and I grew up at the drag races, so to not be at a racetrack at all is wearing on us both.”

    “I hate watching the races on television,” Speed continued. “It is very hard.”

    “The thing I miss most about being at the track is just the racing,” Speed said. “I live for that competiveness, heck we both do.”

    The couple did take in the Daytona 500 this year and also plan to get to a few more races this season before Scott Speed gets behind the wheel of the KHI Nationwide car.

    “We both went to Daytona,” Speed said. “It was very different, very emotional being at a racetrack and not racing, but we talked with a lot of people, so it was good to be there.”

    The Speeds also recently announced their most special news, that they were expecting a baby together, due in September. The newest Speed will join big brother Rex, Amanda Speed’s child from a previous relationship.

    “The pregnancy was actually a BIG surprise,” Speed said. “I mean, we had been trying, but we thought it wasn’t possible, so it was definitely a surprise.”

    “We don’t know yet what we are having, but we will find out soon,” Speed continued. “Rex is very excited. He wants a girl and Scott wants a boy.”

    “I just want it to be healthy, so it is going to be very entertaining when he/she gets here.”

    Speed has also been very busy during this time with her marketing efforts, taking every opportunity to keep her husband’s name and his brand present in the racing marketplace.  She and Scott have also been active in the social media world, keeping up with fans via Facebook and Twitter.

    “I do as much as I can on contacting media reps and people from different areas of racing,” Speed said. “I try to do what I can to keep him out there.”

    “We have also got a guy redesigning his website, and other people that are out seeking sponsorship,” Speed continued. “We are all working very hard.”

    “The fan support has been overwhelmingly good,” Speed said. “Scott is so grateful for that.”

    “He has a great following on Twitter, and he is very glad to see his fans stick by him through this crazy period in his life,” Speed continued. “For all the haters, he will be glad to get back out on the track and say, “I told you so.”

    In spite of it all, Amanda Speed acknowledged that there have been many life lessons in this whole process, some positive and some more difficult.

    “I think there is always a life lesson in any step you go through in life,” Speed said. “The darkest moment through all of this was finding out Scott’s mom had cancer,” Speed said. “One minute she is as healthy as a horse, and the next minute, she is getting chemo and radiation.”

    “It was just very devastating to us all,” Speed said. “It’s like, how did this happen so quickly?”

    “Obviously finding out that I am expecting is very exciting and rewarding,” Speed said. “But I would have to say that the most triumphant moment has not come yet, but it will soon and we both can’t wait for that moment.”