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NASCAR XFINITY Series news and information

  • BRANDT Welcomes the National FFA to the No. 31

    BRANDT Welcomes the National FFA to the No. 31

    The No. 31 BRANDT Chevrolet to represent agriculture in the NASCAR Nationwide Series

    SPRINGFIELD, IL (March 1, 2012)-BRANDT announced today the National FFA Organization is joining the No. 31BRANDT Chevrolet Ag car, driven by championship contender Justin Allgaier. The National FFA Organization is the third to join the No. 31 Ag car, building awareness of the critical contributions of agriculture to the world’s economy through the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

    In 2012, BRANDT is leading an initiative to put an “all agriculture” car on the track, helping to spotlight the hard work and dedication that powers agriculture into a crucial global industry. FFA, an organization which develops premier leaders and prepares students for career success in agriculture, joins Trademark Nitrogen and Precision Tank & Equipment on the No. 31 Ag car.

    BRANDT President and CEO, Rick C. Brandt, is excited to have FFA as part of the team.

    “At Brandt, we are deeply committed to the future of agriculture. And, I am thrilled to have such an iconic, like-minded organization join our team for the 2012 season,” said Brandt. “Simply put, through its long history the FFA has shaped the future of agriculture: They transform students into industry leaders.”

    “Agriculture feeds and fuels the world,” continued Brandt. “But unless you’re in the industry, you don’t know how critical agriculture is to the world economy and you don’t know how important it is to all of us that our Ag businesses continue to grow. We hope to change that through the Ag car and terrific partners like FFA.”

    In addition to supporting students, part of the FFA Organization’s mission is to reconnect with past student members who may want to be involved again through the National FFA Foundation’s FFA CONNECT program.

    “As a former FFA member, I understand the issue of reinvigorating past members,” said Brandt. “If we can raise awareness of the contributions that FFA makes to agriculture and re-engage even one past member, we’ll have done good work with the Ag car.”

    National FFA Organization COO Bill Fleet said, “The National FFA Organization is excited to partner with Brandt, Trademark Nitrogen and Precision Tank & Equipment on behalf of the No. 31 Ag car. It is our hope that this combined effort will raise awareness of the vital role the industry of agriculture has in the global economy. We support the Brandt racing alliance’s goal of helping America maintain the economic viability of farm operations to ensure people have access to nutritional food and clean drinking water.”

    ###

    About Brandt Consolidated, Inc.: BRANDTwas founded in 1953 to help farmers adopt new and profitable technologies for their operations.The company has experienced aggressive growth under the leadership of President and CEO Rick Brandt. Innovation, technology and strong customer service are a few of the core beliefs that have made BRANDTa leader in today’s agriculture industry. Brandt’s focus is providing the products and services that give growers the best opportunity for maximum return on their investment and build a stronger, healthier and more abundant food supply. Visit BRANDT on the web at: www.brandt.co

    About the FFA Organization:

    The National FFA Organization, formerly known as the Future Farmers of America, is a national youth organization of 540,379 student members as part of 7,489 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. The National FFA Organization operates under a federal charter granted by the 81st United States Congress and it is an integral part of public instruction in agriculture. The U.S. Department of Education provides leadership and helps set direction for FFA as a service to state and local agricultural education programs. For more, visit the National FFA Organization online, on Facebook, on Twitter and FFA Nation.

  • Hunt Brothers Pizza rolls out contests, giveaways for NASCAR season

    Hunt Brothers Pizza rolls out contests, giveaways for NASCAR season

    [media-credit name=”www.facebook.com/hbpRacing ” align=”alignright” width=”97″][/media-credit]Flat Kevin Photo Contest launches today

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 1, 2012) –Hunt Brothers® Pizza, the sponsor of two of Richard Childress Racing’s NASCAR Nationwide Series teams and the No. 29 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team with Kevin Harvick, is racing into the 2012 NASCAR season with exciting contests and giveaways for fans.

    Today through May 15, fans can enter the Flat Kevin Photo Contest on the Hunt Brothers Pizza Racing Facebook page at facebook.com/hbpRacing for a grand prize of two tickets, two garage passes, Hunt Brothers Pizza Racing gear, and a meet and greet with Kevin Harvick at the June 29 race in Sparta, Ky.

    To enter, fans must “Like” the Hunt Brothers Pizza Racing Facebook page, download and print the posted Kevin Harvick image, clip it out, photograph it at any NASCAR race, fan event or NASCAR-themed scene, and enter the photo on the contest page. Hunt Brothers Pizza will select the photo finalists and let racing fans vote for the winning photo.

    “NASCAR fans are some of Hunt Brothers Pizza’s most vocal and loyal fans, so we really wanted to make the 2012 NASCAR season all about building that fan excitement,” said Keith Solsvig, vice president of marketing for Hunt Brothers Pizza. “We see the Flat Kevin Photo Contest, as well as all of our other planned contests and giveaways this year, as a great way to have some fun, get the fans involved, and reward their loyalty.”

    Fans are encouraged to visit the Hunt Brothers Pizza Racing Facebook page to learn about other photo contests planned throughout the season, as well as behind-the-scenes pass giveaways, free racing gear, events and driver appearances.

    Hunt Brothers Pizza is the primary sponsor for four 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series races—three on the No. 33 Chevrolet Impala with driver Kevin Harvick and one on the No. 2 Chevrolet Impala with driver Elliott Sadler—and an associate sponsor for Richard Childress Racing’s No. 2 and No. 33 Chevrolet teams.The company is also a season-long associate sponsor of Harvick and RCR’s No. 29 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team.

    For more information about Hunt Brothers Pizza or to locate a store near you, visit huntbrotherspizza.com.

    About Hunt Brothers Pizza:

    With more than 6,500 locations in 28 states, Hunt Brothers® Pizza is the nation’s largest brand of made-to-order pizza in the convenience store industry. Perfect for today’s on-the-go lifestyle, Hunt Brothers Pizza offers original and thin crust pizzas with All Toppings No Extra Charge®, breakfast pizzas, plus Hunt Brothers® Wings and WingBites®. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Hunt Brothers Pizza is family owned and operated with 50 years of experience in offering all of the food products, marketing programs, equipment and training for convenience stores to operate their own turnkey pizza program.

    For more information, visit huntbrotherspizza.com.

    About Richard Childress Racing:

    Richard Childress Racing (www.rcrracing.com) has earned more than 200 victories and 14 championships, including six in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. Its current Sprint Cup Series lineup includes Paul Menard (No. 27 Menards Chevrolet), Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Budweiser/Rheem/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet) and Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar/Wheaties Chevrolet). Its Nationwide Series program includes Elliott Sadler (No. 2 One Main Financial Chevrolet), 2011 Camping World Truck Series champion Austin Dillon (No. 3 Advocare/Bass Pro Shops/American Ethanol Chevrolet) and Kevin Harvick/Brendan Gaughan/Paul Menard/Max Papis/Tony Stewart (No. 33 South Point Hotel & Casino/Menards/Hunt Brothers Pizza/Armour/Fast Fixin’/OneMain Financial/Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet). Tim George Jr./Brendan Gaughan/Kevin Harvick (No. 2 Potomac Family Dining Group/South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet), Joey Coulter (No. 22 RCR/Armour Chevrolet) and 2011 ARCA Racing Series champion Ty Dillon (No.3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) compete in the Camping World Truck Series season.

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE SPORTS GUY CALLED DANICA THE “B” WORD?

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE SPORTS GUY CALLED DANICA THE “B” WORD?

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”199″][/media-credit]A San Diego-California television sports anchor recently found himself in the embarrassing position of having to make an on air apology to NASCAR driver Danica Patrick for inferring that she’s a b***h. Ross Shimabuku never actually said the “B” word on live television but there was no question in any one’s mind, including station management, what he meant.

    The sports anchor, from KSWB-Channel 5 a Fox Network affiliate, was doing a live story regarding Danica Patrick’s official NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in the Daytona 500. He started the story by saying: “all right, Danica Patrick is such a pretty girl. She makes a lot of money in sponsorships because of it. But what’s not attractive is that she’s sexy and she knows it.”

    At this point a sound on tape video overlay came on the screen featuring Patrick from the NASCAR media day held back on February 16th. On the bottom of the screen was a chyron that read: “Danica Patrick, I’m sexy and I know it.” From that clip, Patrick said: “I don’t quite understand why, when you’re referring to a girl-a female athlete, in particular-that you have to use the word sexy. Is there any other word you can use to describe me?”

    At the conclusion of the clip, Shimabuku came back on the television screen and said: “oh I’ve got a few words, starts with a “B”, and it’s not beautiful. She always has a chip on her shoulder, trying to prove something.”

    KSWB news anchorwoman Kathleen Bade was also on the set and, perhaps in an effort to difuse the situation, said: “well, she’s a woman trying to break in a man’s world, that can’t be easy.”

    KSWB news anchorman Loren Nancarrow weighed in on the issues and said: “if she’s trying to lose the sexy image, the Go Daddy commercials don’t exactly further that cause.” Shimabuku responded with: “what she says and what she does are two totally different things.”

    Faster than you can say “Danica at Daytona,” the clip of Shimabuku’s comments hit the social networks in a very big way. The sports anchor’s comments also made several Internet sites led by Sportsrantz.Com who went on record as saying that Shimabuku crossed the line.

    The public outcry didn’t take very long to land on the desks of KSWB’s management. This included the receipt of a petition presented to KSWB management by The Women’s Media Center who called for an official reprimand against Shimabuku.

    Approximately 24 hours later, Shimabuku was back on the air to deliver the obligatory apology. In a very brief statement, he said: “I truly apologize if I offended anyone by those comments. They were not meant to be an attack on Danica.”

    Unfortunately, the sports anchor had a rather smug expression on his face and his apology had all the sincerity and believability of a prominent politician conducting a press conference to apologize for accidentally crawling in the wrong bed with the wrong person. It’s fairly safe to assume that KSWB management forced Shimabuku to make that apology.

    Here in southern California, most local television sports anchors appear to be extremely clueless when it comes to reporting on any form of motorsports. They are often the product of the stick and ball syndrome. In other words: if it doesn’t have a stick and ball then it can’t possibly be a legitimate sport. Judging from the video of Shimabuku’s Danica Patrick story, it appears that he easily fits in this category.

    It’s not certain whether Danica Patrick is aware of this incident. If she is, then I’m willing to bet that she’s probably laughing at this guy for having to apologize for his arrogance.

    I can assure you that I’m laughing at this San Diego stick and ball boy.

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: DAYTONA WAS A REMINDER OF NASCAR SAFETY INNOVATIONS

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: DAYTONA WAS A REMINDER OF NASCAR SAFETY INNOVATIONS

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]NASCAR officially opened its 2012 racing season by presenting their annual Speedweeks. From the annual Budweiser Shootout to the Daytona 500, NASCAR presented its fans six races featuring its three national touring divisions: the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series.

    True to the nature of the racing, at this massive 2.5 mile steeply banked oval, the race vehicles ran in tight packs, perilously close to each other at all times, and the result was a lot of accidents. According to reports the three national series had a total of 122 entries. From that number at least 90 of them sustained crash damage ranging from light to moderate and, in some cases, completely totaled.

    Some of these accidents involved extremely hard hits. The type of crash that instantly made us express concern for the drivers inside of the vehicles. The following is an example of some of the harder hits during Speedweeks:

    During the final moments of the Budweiser Shootout, Jeff Gordon was collected in a multi-car incident. His Chevrolet barrel rolled and then came to a rest on its roof.

    During that same event, there was a multi-car crash that sent Kevin Harvick into the wall. The hit was so hard the car burst into flames.

    During the final lap of the first Gatorade Duel qualifying race, Danica Patrick was the victim of an errant bump draft that led to an extremely hard hit into the retaining wall and a totaled race car.

    During the NextEra Energy Resources 250-Camping World Truck Series race, Miguel Paludo spun out and hit the inside retaining wall so hard that his truck flew in the air and did a 360 degree circle while all four tires were still off of the track surface.

    During that same event, in the midst of a green-white-checker finish, Joey Coulter’s truck sustained major damage after he went up in the air, turned a complete mid-air somersault and then hit the safety catch fence that protects the spectators.

    During the Drive4copd 300-Nationwide Series race there was a multi-car, Daytona “big one,” that saw a whopping 19 cars sustain major crash damage. This incident was followed by a red flag so the track maintenance crew could remove a front splitter from one of the cars that was literally embedded in the retaining wall.

    The very first completed lap of the Daytona 500 was followed by another errant bump draft that saw Jimmie Johnson’s Chevrolet bounce off the wall and then slide into the path of oncoming race traffic. Johnson was hit hard, in the area of the driver’s door, by David Ragan who simply had to place to go.

    The most frightening moment of all, during the Daytona 500, was also one of the most bizarre accidents we’ve seen in quite a few years. With the field already under caution, Juan Pablo Montoya came to pit road due to a bad vibration in his Chevrolet. Montoya returned to the track and accelerated in an effort to rejoin the field. He later reported that he heard a loud noise as if something had broken in the rear of the car. That’s when the car went into a slide and stuck a jet dryer who was cleaning the track at the time. Montoya’s car caught fire and was totally demolished. The jet dryer’s fuel tank was ruptured and 200 gallons of jet fuel burst into flame. This was followed by a lengthy, two hours plus, red flag period to allow the track crews to clean and repair the racing surface.

    What do all of these major incidents have in common? Every one of the drivers involved in them walked away uninjured.

    That fact is an extreme testimony to the safety innovations NASCAR has implemented over the past several years. When they introduced the C.O.T, (Car Of Tomorrow), a few years ago, carefully designed improvements to enhance driver safety was their main motivation.

    There was also the implementation of some mandatory safety innovations such as the energy absorbing soft retaining walls, or SAFER Barriers, as well as the mandatory use of driver head and neck restraints along with improvements in driver seats and the seat belts attached to them. The truth be known, a NASCAR driver is a lot safer in a car turning 200 MPH around Daytona than we the fans are in our personal vehicles doing 65 MPH on a freeway.

    In the case of the multiple crashes, during the Daytona Speedweeks, we also need to express our appreciation to the speedway’s emergency teams who made extremely quick work of arriving at the accident scene to check the status and the needs of the drivers.

    Also, appreciation needs to be expressed to the speedway’s maintenance crews who were extremely busy during Speedweeks. During the course of those six races they found themselves repairing panels in the safety barriers, shoring up a damaged catch fence as well as extracting the aforementioned splitter from a crash wall.

    But the major contribution made by the maintenance team came in the aftermath of the jet dryer fire. The fact that they were able to clean a major portion of turn three, and then patch large ruts in the track surface, in approximately two hours is just amazing. The fact that we were able to watch the conclusion of the Daytona 500 is in direct proportion to their hard work.

  • SRT Motorsports — Dodge NNS Race Advance – Phoenix

    SRT Motorsports — Dodge NNS Race Advance – Phoenix

    [media-credit name=”www.phoenixraceway.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]SRT Motorsports – Dodge NNS Race Advance

    Bashas’ Supermarkets 200

    Phoenix International Raceway

    Saturday, March 3, 2012

    SAM HORNISH JR. – No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger Crew Chief: Chad Walter

    Career Stats:                     2012 Season Stats: Starts: 34              Starts:  1 Wins:   1               Wins:    0 Top Fives:      2               Top Fives:       0 Top 10s:        6               Top 10s:         0 Poles:  0               Poles:   0 Laps Led:       122             Laps Led:        7

    • Scored his first Nationwide Series win in Phoenix last fall, leading 61 laps en route to a .553-second victory over teammate Brad Keselowski. • Will be making his fourth NNS start at PIR.

    BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger Crew Chief: Jeremy Bullins

    Career Stats:                    2012 Season Stats: Starts: 169             Starts:   1 Wins:     17            Wins:     0 Top Fives:        74            Top Fives:        1 Top 10s:          104           Top 10s:          1 Poles:    12            Poles:    0 Laps Led:          2,754                Laps Led:         0

    • Gave Dodge a 1-2 finish at Phoenix last fall, finishing second behind teammate Sam Hornish Jr.

    • Has finished fifth or better in five his last six starts at PRI.

    • Has qualified 10th or better in 14 consecutive NNS races.

    • Has completed all but one lap in his last 17 NNS races (3,104 of 3,105) – 99.96 percent.

    DODGE QUOTES: “I love Phoenix and can’t wait to get back there.  The new track surface is great and our Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger was fast there last fall.  Last week was a bummer that we got caught up late in a mishap but we have to put that behind us. Phoenix is a new week, new race.” — Sam Hornish, Jr.

    “The exit of turn four is still the critical part of the track. If you get a good run and can get underneath someone, you can carry that speed down the front and out-break them getting into turn one.” — Brad Keselowski

    THE PHOENIX NUMBERS

    • Dodge has TWO Nationwide Series wins at Phoenix (Hornish in 2011 and Jamie McMurray in 2004).

    • Dodge has eight top-five and 17 top-10 finishes at PIR.

    • Dodge has one pole at Phoenix (Kasey Kahne, 2005 spring race).

    DODGE IN THE NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES

    • The Dodge Charger Pursuit pace car will make its debut at PIR this weekend, serving as the pace car for both NSCAR races.

    • Dodge is fielding two full-time entries in the series this year. Sam Hornish Jr. will compete for the series championship while Brad Keselowski and Parker Kligerman will share driving duties in the second Penske Racing entry.

    • Dodge claimed its first NASCAR championship in 2010 when Penske Racing’s Brad Keselowski captured the driver’s title.

    • Dodge has 41 wins in the series including seven in each of the last two seasons.  A Dodge has started from the pole 48 times.

  • Toyota NASCAR Notes & Quotes Phoenix March 2012

    Toyota NASCAR Notes & Quotes Phoenix March 2012

    TOYOTA NASCAR NOTES & QUOTES February 27 – March 4, 2012

    TOYOTA TIDBITS TRIO OF TOP-10S AT DAYTONA: Toyota driver Denny Hamlin earned a fourth-place finish in Monday night’s rain- delayed NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Daytona 500, leading a race-high 57 (of 202) laps. It was the driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Camry’s career best Daytona 500 result at the ‘World Center of Racing.’ Joey Logano (ninth) and Mark Martin (10th) also finished in the top-10 in the 500-mile season opener. Camry driver Kyle Busch was victorious in the Bud Shootout — his first triumph in the exhibition race.

    SIXTH STRAIGHT: Tundra driver John King earned his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) win in last Friday night’s 250-mile race at Daytona International Speedway. It marked the eighth series start and first time behind the wheel of a Red Horse Racing Tundra for the 23-year-old Fort Blackmore, Va., native. King led the final six laps and crossed the finish line ahead of teammate Timothy Peters (second). Toyota drivers have now won six consecutive NCWTS races at Daytona — Todd Bodine (2008 and 2009), Peters (2010), Michael Waltrip (2011) and King (2012).

    FAMILIAR WITH PHOENIX: Camry drivers Busch, Hamlin and Martin have had success at Phoenix International Raceway in the NSCS. Martin has the most NSCS career starts at Phoenix — 30 dating back to 1988. His Phoenix results include two wins (1993 and 2009), 12 top-five results, 19 top-10 finishes and one pole position. In 13 starts, Hamlin has one pole at Phoenix (2005) and six top-10 finishes, including four while driving a Camry at the one-mile race track. In 14 starts, Busch has one win (2005) and eight top-10 results, including a runner-up result last February. The three drivers have combined to lead a total of 1,345 laps at Phoenix — 833 by Martin, 292 by Hamlin and 220 by Busch.

    DESERT DANCE: Last November, Kasey Kahne drove a Camry to its first NSCS triumph at Phoenix International Raceway. He led 14 laps to give the Red Bull Racing Team the victory in the season’s penultimate event. After last year’s Phoenix win, Camry drivers have now been victorious at 20 of 23 NSCS race tracks on the current schedule — and are still looking to register wins at California’s Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway.

    SUN DEVIL STORY: Former Arizona State University football player Wes Evans brings his athletic ability, dedication and teamwork to his role as the gas man on the pit crew of Michael Waltrip Racing’s (MWR) No. 56 NAPA Toyota Camry driven by Martin Truex Jr. The 25-year-old Evans played defense end and tight end during his collegiate career with the Sun Devils (2005-2008). The Reno, Nev., native graduated with a degree in marketing communications, and is in his first season with MWR after previously working with Red Bull Racing Team since 2009.

    PHOENIX REWIND: Camry drivers have combined for three NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) victories at Phoenix International Raceway. Busch has visited victory lane in a Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) No. 18 Camry in 2008 (April), 2010 (April) and 2011 (Feb.). A Toyota has also started from the pole position in five of the last eight races at the one-mile oval with Busch (April 2008 and Feb. 2011), Hamlin (Nov. 2008 and Nov. 2009) and Logano (Nov. 2010) sharing the honors in the JGR No. 18 and 20 Camry entries.

    SOCIAL MEDIA & WEBSITE: Follow Toyota Racing on Twitter (@ToyotaRacing) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/toyotaracing). Background and images about the Toyota NASCAR program are available atwww.toyotaracingmedia.com.

    NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS): In the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) season-opening Daytona 500, Toyota drivers combined for one top-five result, three top-10 finishes and 68 laps led … Joey Logano earned his career-best Daytona 500 finish with a ninth-place on Monday … Camry drivers have earned 13 top-10 NSCS finishes at Phoenix … Toyota driver Denny Hamlin spent the majority of the off-season in the Phoenix-area … Camry driver Martin Truex Jr. has one pole (Nov. 2009) at Phoenix.

    DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What did you like about spending your off-season in Phoenix? “What I liked the most about it in the winter was the weather. It’s 75 (degrees) there every day. For me, it was kind of like a vacation spot, but I stayed out there an extended period of time. They have some great golf courses, great shopping and dining. For me, of all the places I would want to go on vacation I would pick there. I just spent my off-season there because of that.” DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing (continued) Would you consider Phoenix another ‘home’ track? “Thinking about it — now I do have a little bit of a different outlook. I’ll have more people and friends that I normally wouldn’t have at that race track coming out to visit. There’s a lot of baseball players that I met that are in spring training that are going to come down and watch. It will have a little bit of a home track feel.”

    Will the race this week be similar to the November event? “I think it will be a little bit better than November. I thought that the surface raced better actually than we thought it was going to race right off the bat. During testing, I was very worried about how the race was going to be. I think the time we got on it and the rubber that laid down — it raced better than expected. It will still be two to three years before we see really good side-by-side racing, but they had to make changes. The track was just coming apart.”

    KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Brown Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing How will the spring race at Phoenix compare to the November event? “November was a little bit different than what we all expected. The way the race played out and the way the groove kind of widened out a little bit, it made it a bit racy. We expect some of that here this time, but hopefully the conditions are a little cooler so we can lay more rubber down and we can spread the groove out more and make for a good race. It seemed like you could run guys down, but it was a little hard to pass, where on the old surface you could at least get guys to get a little loose or start losing grip in their tires and start fading. Now you run the same time all the time.”

    BOBBY LABONTE, No. 47 Kingsford Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing Will the rain delay at Daytona affect your team for Phoenix? “While in Daytona, there were still several employees back at the shop getting the Phoenix car ready. It was fairly close to being done last week (before Daytona). The spare was already done. It’s basically waiting for the transporter to get back and make a changeover. There might be a few things that we’ll have to do to it. But, I’d say that Todd Berrier (crew chief) probably already has that handled. It’s going to make a tough trip for the truck drivers more than anything else, leaving Daytona to go home and make a swap. How many hours will that take? You have to make sure that you’ve planned well enough that your truck drivers can get there in the amount of time that’s out there. It’s a long ways.”

    NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS): Toyota drivers earned one top-10 finish and led 18 laps in the first NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race of the season … Camry driver Tayler Malsam finished sixth at Daytona to earn his first career top-10 result in 12 series starts … Camry drivers have earned 20 top-10 NNS finishes at Phoenix.

    BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Do you enjoy Phoenix? “Phoenix is one of my favorite tracks on the circuit because it’s as close to a home race as I get coming from Idaho. I always have a lot of family and friends that come into town for that race and I think it’s a great race track, too. What I like about Phoenix is that it’s good short track racing with a lot of speed and race-ability. Since they repaved the track, you were able to see two-wide racing. The second groove made for even better racing.”

    Is Phoenix a track where you like racing? “I’m really looking forward to getting back to Phoenix, especially since we did so well there last year. We were strong in the first Phoenix race last season, and we had a really fast car for the fall race, but we unfortunately got taken out on the first lap. This weekend will be a chance at redemption at a place I enjoy and a place where I’ve always had good speed. I’m ready to put Daytona behind us and give the fans a good show in Phoenix.”

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS): Tundra drivers registered one win, three top-five results and five top- 10 finishes at Daytona to start the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) season … The NCWTS will take four weeks off before returning to action at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway on March 31.

    JOHN KING, No. 7 Red Horse Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing Did you ever dream your first series victory would come this quickly and at Daytona? “I came off of dirt Late Models, and went to Late Model stocks after that. We’ve run a few truck races. This is feature win number three for me in my whole career. I’ve won one dirt Late Model race and one Late Model race. It’s unbelievable. I couldn’t imagine being here. We got together with Tom (DeLoach, Red Horse Racing co-owner) in the off-season. I don’t really know how it worked out. We just kind of ran into each other. It just evolved from there.” TOYOTA 2012 NASCAR STATISTICS

    Series Races Starts Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Times Led Laps Led (Drivers)

    NSCS 1 11 (11) 0 1 3 0 7 68

    NNS 1 12 (12) 0 0 1 0 10 18

    NCWTS 1 10 (10) 1 3 5 0 2 10

    TOYOTA DRIVER ROSTER – Phoenix International Raceway NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Camry J.J. Yeley, No. 49 America Israel Racing Camry Clint Bowyer, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Camry Mark Martin, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Camry Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M’s Brown Camry Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Camry Joey Logano, No. 20 Home Depot Camry Landon Cassill, No. 83 Burger King Camry David Stremme, No. 30 Camry Joe Nemechek, No. 87 AM/FM Energy Stoves Camry Bobby Labonte, No. 47 Kingsford Camry Travis Kvapil, No. 93 Burger King Camry

    NASCAR Nationwide Series Kenny Wallace, No. 09 RAB Racing Camry Joey Logano, No. 20 Dollar General Camry Jeff Green, No. 10 Camry Benny Gordon, No. 24 SR2 Motorsports Camry Brian Scott, No. 11 Dollar General Camry Mike Bliss, No. 44 TriStar Motorsports Camry Eric McClure, No. 14 Hefty/Reynolds Wrap Camry Kyle Busch, No. 54 Monster Energy Camry Denny Hamlin, No. 18 GameStop Camry Joe Nemechek, No. 87 AM/FM Energy Stoves Camry Tayler Malsam, No. 19 G-Oil Camry

    WEEKEND RACE SCHEDULE

    Sat., March 3 — NNS @ Phoenix International Raceway — 2:30 PM (MT), ESPN2 — Race 2 of 33

    Sun., March 4 — NSCS @ Phoenix International Raceway — 1 PM (MT), FOX — Race 2 of 36

  • Trevor Bayne Phoenix NNS Advance

    Trevor Bayne Phoenix NNS Advance

    [media-credit name=”www.phoenixraceway.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]TREVOR BAYNE

    Race:  Bashas Supermarkets 200 (200 laps 200 miles)

    Team: No. 60 Ford EcoBoost Ford Mustang

    Crew Chief: Chad Norris

    Chassis: RK-667-Last ran at Phoenix, November 2011, Finished sixth

    Broadcast Information: Saturday, March 3, 2012- 4:00 p.m. (ET) ESPN2 and 4:00 p.m. on MRN radio affiliates and Sirius channel 90

    FAST FACTS

    TREVOR BAYNE will make his fifth start in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Phoenix International Raceway TREVOR BAYNE at Phoenix International Raceway… Bayne has one top-10 finish in Nationwide Series competition

    QUOTES

    Trevor Bayne on racing at Phoenix: “I am ready to put in a workman like effort this weekend at Phoenix. We had a solid start to the season at Daytona, so we are trying to expand on that momentum.  We are trying to make it hard for people to discount us as a team. Currently, we are only scheduled to run the first three races, but if we stay in contention in the points and get a win or two, maybe we will be able to drum up some sponsorship opportunities.  I am confident we are going to put ourselves in position to win this weekend.”

    Crew chief Chad Norris on racing at Phoenix: “Trevor has grown leaps and bounds since last year.  If he continues to progress as a driver I think he is destined for great things. I think he needs an opportunity to showcase what he can do on a full-time basis. In the interim we will go to Phoenix and try to wear out the competition. We had a great run at Phoenix in the fall, finishing sixth, so I expect nothing less than a top-five run on Saturday afternoon.”

  • Mike Wallace and team stay focused heading to Phoenix

    Mike Wallace and team stay focused heading to Phoenix

    [media-credit name=”www.phoenixraceway.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]GAFFNEY, S.C. (February 28, 2012) – Mike Wallace and the No. 01 G&K Services Chevrolet team of JD Motorsports aren’t letting their early-ending race knockout at Daytona International Speedway last week deter their spirits heading to Phoenix International Speedway this weekend.

    Wallace and crew chief Newt Moore know they had a great car, which was proved by their top-five and top-10 runs throughout the day, and are bringing that same determination and focus out West for their NASCAR Nationwide Series race at PIR on Saturday.

    The one-mile oval is a far cry from the high banks of Daytona, but it still rewards the same amount of points. With the positive “can do” attitude this JD Motorsports team has going on right now, they’ll be looking for every one of those rewarding points they can earn.

    Mike Wallace Notes for Phoenix

    This will be his 418th NNS start and second of the season. The St. Louis native heads to PIR 17th in the Driver’s Standings In his 16 previous starts at PIR, the four-time NNS race winner has earned one top-10 and eight top-20 finishes He’s finished 3,117 of 3,201 laps for a 97.4% completion rate leading three circuits Wallace has an average finish of 21.5 at the one-mile oval The last time the NNS visited PIR in November of last year, Wallace left with a 16th place finish to his credit

    Tune in for the Win: There will be two practice sessions on Friday. The first is 1 p.m. ET and second is 4 p.m.; both air on SPEED TV as they happen. Qualifying takes place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, also on SPEED, before ESPN2 picks up all 200 laps of the racing action at 4 p.m. The race can also be heard on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90

    Mike Wallace Quotes: “Well, the good news is this team’s enthusiasm hasn’t been dampened or slowed one bit because of how we ended up finishing last Saturday at Daytona. They put a lot of work into that car, and did just as much work on this one for Phoenix.

    “Phoenix is one of those tracks where you have to be really good coming off the corners to get all the straightway speed you can get because it’s so flat. They did a great job when they redid the track and the improvements really made for better racing.

    “Our success is going to come through remaining on the lead lap and getting good pit stops throughout the race. If we can do better than we did last we were here, then we’re heading in the right direction.”

  • Turner Motorsports NASCAR Nationwide Series News & Notes — Phoenix International Raceway

    Turner Motorsports NASCAR Nationwide Series News & Notes — Phoenix International Raceway

    [media-credit name=”www.phoenixraceway.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]KASEY KAHNE QUICK FACTS

    No. 38 Great Clips Chevrolet

    Phoenix International Raceway

    Bashas’ Supermarkets 200

    March 3, 2012

    No. 38 Great Clips Chevrolet News and Notes

    Kasey Kahne Phoenix International Raceway NNS Stats

    Starts       Poles       Wins        Top-Fives        Top-10’s DNFs   Avg. Start    Avg. Fin

    5                  0                     0 0                             1                   0 12.0                   18.0

    No. 38 Great Clips Chevrolet News and Notes

    Kahne at Phoenix International Raceway: By the numbers… In five NNS starts at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR), Kahne’s best performance is a sixth-place finish back in 2007, which was his last NNS start at the one-mile track. Additionally, he has one pole (2005) and 45 laps led to his credit.

    In NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) competition, Kahne visited victory lane in his last stop at PIR last November. He also owns two top-five and five top-10 finishes.

    Great Clips Announcement at PIR… Great Clips will hold a press conference on Saturday at 10:20am in the media center at PIR to make a special announcement.

    Who’s on the pit box? Turner Motorsports welcomes Mike Shiplett to the team in 2012. Shiplett will have a unique role in 2012 as he calls the shots for both a veteran (Kahne) and a rookie (Brad Sweet). It is a reunion of sorts for Kahne and Shiplett, who were paired together in the NNS during the 2007 season and put down impressive results including two victories (Charlotte Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway, spring events).

    This Week’s Impala… The No. 38 team will unload chassis #319 this weekend at PIR. This is a brand new chassis in the Turner Motorsports stable.

    First of Many in 2012… Turner Motorsports teammate James Buescher secured his first NASCAR victory last Saturday in the DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway.  This is the fourth NNS victory for the second-year team, with the others coming last season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Road America and Chicagoland Speedway.

    Kahne and Sweet: a unique combination… Not only are Kahne and Sweet good friends off the track, but the veteran is serving as mentor to Sweet as he makes the transition from open-wheel competition to stock cars. Sweet was handpicked by Kahne in 2008 to drive for Kasey Kahne Racing (KKR) where he has since experienced tremendous success in the World of Outlaws Series. Sweet will continue to compete on a limited basis for KKR when he is not behind the wheel of the No. 38 Great Clips machine in the NNS. You can expect Kahne to be very involved and present in the NNS garage when Sweet is behind the wheel of the No. 38 as he will closely monitor his progress and offer encouragement.

    Kahne brought Great Clips their first win! From 2003-2005, Kahne and his sponsor, Great Clips, Inc., reached momentous milestones, including capturing Kahne’s first Nationwide Series victory in 2003 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was also Great Clips’ first win as a primary sponsor. In 2005, Kahne captured his second career win at Texas Motor Speedway before leaving the Nationwide Series to allow more time for his Sprint Cup Series efforts.

    Great Clips goes racing with the World of Outlaws in 2012! Great Clips will serve as sponsor for KKR driver Joey Saldana for the 2012 World of Outlaws season. The Minneapolis-based company has been a sponsor of KKR for the past two seasons. This year, they will be featured on all three KKR entries – as a primary sponsor on the #9 with Saldana as well as associate sponsor placement on Brad Sweet’s #49 and Cody Darrah’s #5 World of Outlaws cars.

    12 Years and Counting… Great Clips, Inc. is currently the longest-running sponsor in the NNS and has used the Nationwide Series as their primary marketing platform for the last 11 years. Their sponsorship began in 2000 with Akins Motorsports as they climbed on board to sponsor the team’s No. 38 entry with driver, Christian Elder. Mark Green piloted the No. 38 for one season before general manager, Doug Stringer, hired up-and-coming talent, Kasey Kahne, thereby solidifying Great Clips commitment to their NASCAR sponsorship.

    Kahne on heading west to PIR

    “I can’t wait to get out to Phoenix and get on the track with this Great Clips team! Last weekend at Daytona, we had such an awesome car. It was fast and the handling balance was pretty close to perfect. I think we had a good shot at the win but that’s just Daytona for you. It’s when you leave Daytona and get to a place like Phoenix where teams can really see what they’ve got.”

    Follow the No. 38 team on Twitter! Twitter.com/No38TurnerNNS

    Follow Kasey Kahne on Twitter! Twitter.com/KaseyKahne

    Follow Brad Sweet on Twitter! Twitter.com/KBradSweet49

    Follow Turner Motorsports on Facebook! Facebook.com/TurnerMotorsports

    JUSTIN ALLGAIER QUICK FACTS

    No. 31 BRANDT Chevrolet

    Phoenix International Raceway

    Bashas’ Supermarkets 200

    March 3, 2012

    Media Contact:

    Martha McGrath | 704-299-0368

    martha.mcgrath@turnermotorsportsllc.com

    No. 31 BRANDT Chevrolet News and Notes

    Justin Allgaier Phoenix International Raceway NNS Stats

    Starts     Poles        Wins         Top-Fives        Top-10’s DNFs   Avg. Start    Avg. Fin

    7                  0                    0 0                             4                   0 15.1                   10.4

    Weekend Rewind: Daytona – Justin Allgaier and the No. 31 BRANDT team made an unfortunate early exit in the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway last weekend. After starting 12th, Allgaier was caught up in a multi-car accident on lap 103 and relegated to a 33rd-place finish. He is ranked 21st in the driver point standings, with hopes of improving upon that mark this weekend in Phoenix.

    Allgaier at Phoenix International Raceway – Allgaier will make his eighth career NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) start at the one-mile Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) this weekend. In seven previous attempts, Allgaier has scored four top-10 finishes with an average start of 15.1 and average finish of 10.4. He scored his career-best finish of eighth on three occasions: spring 2009, fall 2010 and spring 2011.

    Allgaier Makes Stop Before Heading to Phoenix – Before getting on track at PIR on Friday, Allgaier will be stopping at the Golf Industry Show (GIS) on behalf of team sponsor, BRANDT on Wednesday afternoon. At the event, held in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Allgaier will spend time in the BRANDT booth and sign autographs for GIS attendees.

    Celebrating Their Anniversary – Allgaier and wife Ashley will celebrate their six-year wedding anniversary on March 4, 2012. Married in Allgaier’s hometown of Riverton, Illinois, the couple plans to stop at the Grand Canyon to celebrate the day while en route to Las Vegas, NV for the NNS race the following weekend.

    First of Many in 2012 – Turner Motorsports teammate James Buescher secured his first NASCAR victory last Saturday in the DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway. This is the fourth NNS victory for the second-year team, with the others coming last season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Road America and Chicagoland Speedway.

    This Week’s Impala – This weekend, Allgaier will pilot TMS-320 in the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Like last weekend’s car, this is a brand new chassis for the Jimmy Elledge-led No. 31 team.

    Allgaier on heading out west to Phoenix:

    “This BRANDT team is definitely ready to get out west and put Daytona in the rear-view mirror. Even though I love racing there, it is always kind of a crap shoot, and we just fell victim to circumstances for sure. My guys continue to work hard on making sure our car is fast right off the hauler and I want to make sure I’m holding up my end of the bargain by getting us a positive result. I’ve been fortunate to have some solid and consistent finishes at Phoenix and I’m hopeful we can repeat that this weekend. I really enjoy racing there and so I don’t see why we can’t.”

    Follow the No. 31 team on Twitter! @No31TurnerNNS

    Follow BRANDT on Twitter! @BRANDTRacing

    Follow Turner Motorsports on Facebook! Facebook.com/TurnerMotorsports

    JAMES BUESCHER QUICK FACTS

    No. 30 ABF Chevrolet

    Phoenix International Raceway

    Bashas’ Supermarkets 200

    March 3, 2012

  • Danica Patrick Suffers Crashes During Speedweeks, But Continues to Learn

    Danica Patrick Suffers Crashes During Speedweeks, But Continues to Learn

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignnone” width=”270″][/media-credit]Coming into Speedweeks 2012, things were looking up for Danica Patrick as it was supposed to be a weekend of learning and a weekend where she could do well. Instead, the weekend became one that ended in a headach as in each of the three races she ran, she was involved in a wreck.

    The crashes began on last Thursday afternoon with the Gatorade Duel. For the majority of the race, Patrick had stayed out of trouble, testing the waters and running as high as sixth at one point.

    However, she wouldn’t make it to the finish. On the last lap, she hit the inside wall hard after contact from Aric Almirola on the final lap.

    “I got valuable practice time,” she said afterwards. “But it is never a good feeling for me to not be able to drive the car back to the pits and something about me feels guilty when I see that Go Daddy is all broken up along the side.”

    Patrick didn’t let that bring her down for long as the next day, she won the pole for the Nationwide Series DRIVE4COPD 300. She wanted to win the pole for crew chief Tony Eury Jr., as it meant the first Nationwide Series Daytona pole for him despite all the success he had with cousin Dale Earnhardt Jr. in that series.

    “Tony builds really good cars and the guys that helped him do that, did a really good job,” she says “I’m really thrilled for Tony Jr.; this is something that he wanted. So for me to push the pedal and give that to him, it feels really good.”

    The race wouldn’t go as planned as despite leading laps early, she would be taken out on lap 49 after contact from her teammate Cole Whitt.

    “I don’t think it’s ever great when teammates come together,” Patrick said. “We’ll have to figure out what happened and move forward.”

    Patrick quickly displayed her displeasure with Whitt over the radio, which Whitt responded by saying, “I wouldn’t expect her to be happy about it. I wouldn’t be happy about it either. I don’t know why anyone would expect her to be like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s great.’ ”

    After her wreck in the Gatorade Duel, she would have to start at the back of the Daytona 500. Her race wouldn’t last long as she would be collected in a second lap incident that started when Elliot Sadler got into Jimmie Johnson. Her team would get the car fixed and she would go back out to run some laps.

    “Any lap that I turn is progression,” she said. “That’s why I was proud of them for getting me on the track. Was there much to gain for me to get back on track? No. But there was experience as I got back up in pack.”

    Patrick would finish in 38th in her cup debut, but picked up valuable knowledge.

    “I honestly I think I picked up a lot of tips and honestly, I wish the race would’ve been a single file line at the beginning like it was when I got back up there,” she said.

    As the weekend went, Patrick learned more about the draft and that was most evident in the Nationwide Series. Before the incident with Whitt, she had led a portion of the race, first with help from Earnhardt Jr., and then with help from Tony Stewart.

    The success she did have within the wrecks shows that she has picked up lessons since beginning in NASCAR in 2010. When she first started, she was barely running at a competitive pace.

    “I’m pleased with some of the stuff that’s gotten better over the year – I can think of the first race here where I was struggling to keep up,” she said. “Then now you can drop the green flag in a Cup race and I’m just hanging out. I know the rules are different, but the level of comfort and proximity of cars next to each other and front and back, and obviously has been improved.”

    Her improvement had Elliott Sadler call her the most improved driver in NASCAR’s top three divisions from the beginning of 2011 till now.

    “That’s appreciated and I have worked really hard and I’m lucky I drive for a good team that has good resources,” she said when told that. “Tony Jr. is a really, good accomplished crew chief. On the Cup side, we haven’t seen a lot of the great people around me there too, and some really good experience teammates.

    “That’s a nice pat on the back; I appreciated that. I still recognize that I have a lot to learn, but I’ve been able to do this in a nice way. I’ve had the backing from the beginning from Go Daddy and it’s been nice because instead of having to go out and show what I’m made of every week, got the most amount spots possible and be desperate. I’ve never had to feel like that. I’ve been able to sit back and observe, not step outside of my comfort zone, because I’ve had a plan since the beginning and so few drivers get that ability to plan long-term and have someone that’s there for them who will follow them wherever they go.”

    One of the keys to Patrick being able to pick up as many as lessons as she has is that she doesn’t rest on her laurels. She knows that there is lots that she is going to have to learn.

    Going into the Nationwide race, despite winning the pole, she knew it was going to be a challenge.

    “It’s going to come down to bump drafting, and being good at that,” she says. “Good at swapping, good at keeping the engine cool, good at keeping in a pack, good at keeping connected, good at strategy so when you pit, you pit with your partner and you don’t get left alone at any point. There’s a lot of stuff that’s going to happen during the race that we’re going to have to manage, so it doesn’t change our strategy.”

    Next week at Phoenix International Raceway marks her next challenge. She won’t be running the Sprint Cup race, but the Nationwide race will have its own challenges. Patrick has made three starts at Phoenix, with her best finish being 17th, which she scored last spring.

    This year is all about learning and getting ready for the full Sprint Cup schedule in 2013. Certainly the tricky oval in the dessert will teach her some more.