Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Category: XFINITY Series

NASCAR XFINITY Series news and information

  • Edwards – Feed the Children 300 Advance

    Edwards – Feed the Children 300 Advance

    Team: No. 60 Valvoline Ford Mustang

    Crew Chief: Mike Beam

    Chassis: RK-638 – last ran in Chicago – Finished 2nd.

    QUOTES

    Carl Edwards on racing at Kentucky Speedway:

    “Kentucky is a great track to race at, the energy level that the fans bring to the racetrack is awesome. My first NASCAR win came there in the Truck series. It’s a very special place for me. I have also won a Nationwide race there and when we go there in the Nationwide Series it is equivalent to Bristol with the amount of excitement and the passion that the fans have. This will be a big race and our goal is to put the Valvoline Ford Mustang in victory lane.”

    Crew chief Mike Beam on racing at Kentucky Speedway:

    “Kentucky is great track because there are so many different grooves to race. We are bringing a strong car that has finished first and second so far this year. Hopefully we can stay up front and get this Valvoline Ford back to Victory Lane.”

    FAST FACTS

    * Edwards will be piloting the No. 60 Valvoline Ford Mustang this weekend.

    * So far in 2011, Edwards has four wins, nine top-fives, and 11 top-10s.

    * Edwards’ captured his 33rd career NASCAR Nationwide win at Michigan International Speedway.

    * Edwards has captured four Coors Light pole awards so far in the 2011 Nationwide Series season.

  • ENGINE WOES ROB STEVE WALLACE OF VICTORY AT DAYTONA

    –5-Hour Energy Team Just a Half Lap Short of Checkered Flag–

    DAYTONA BEACH, FL (July 2, 2011)-For Rusty Wallace Racing’s Steve Wallace (No. 66 5-Hour Energy / Infinite Hero Foundation Toyota Camry), when it rains, it pours.  After a cut tire robbed him of a top-five effort two weeks ago at Road America, Friday’s Subway 250 at Daytona was shaping up to be a career defining moment for the 23-year old wheelman.

    After starting from the 19th position, Wallace paired with RWR teammate Michael Annett throughout the 250-mile event, pushing Annett’s No. 62 in a two-car draft for the majority of the race.

    Opting to keep their Toyotas out of Daytona’s notorious multi-car crashes, the RWR duo stayed out of the lead pack until the race’s penultimate caution period on lap 91 of 100.   Upon the drop of the green flag on lap 94 however, the two, shod with fresh Goodyear Eagles, rocketed through the pack with Wallace literally shoving Annett past the competition.  In what was shaping up to be the defining moment of Wallace’s young career to date, he pushed Annett past the Joe Gibbs Racing pairing of Kyle Busch and Joey Logano and the RWR duo claimed the lead of the race as the field took the white flag lap 100.

    As they exited turn two and headed down the backstretch for the final time, however, the Triad  powerplant in Wallace’s Toyota gave way, expiring at the worst possible moment for the No. 66 team.  With his engine in its final death throes, Wallace still appeared to be headed to at least a top-ten finish as he came off the final corner.   At the last moment, however, the No. 2 of Elliott Sadler dove beneath the out of bounds marker on the frontstretch in an attempt to make a last minute pass on Wallace.  Sadler’s move set off a violent chain reaction accident that saw the No. 66 slide across the finish line and make hard contact with the retaining wall.   Despite his accident, Wallace was credited with an 11th place finish, good enough for him to maintain eighth place in the Nationwide Series standings.   Said Wallace, “Man, I don’t think I’ve ever been so disappointed in my entire life.  I really thought we had that race won; our No. 66 team was in the perfect position to make it happen.  I came off turn two on the last lap and the engine just started to seize up; it was almost surreal.  I still can’t believe it.   “We had a little bit of a faster car than the 62 team tonight, so we did the pushing for most of the race.  It’s hard to keep the engine cool doing that, but we really didn’t have a choice.  We were just so much faster with us pushing the 62, rather than vice versa.   “We hit pit road on that last caution to put on tires and right then, I knew it was time to go.  I had the 62 guys in one ear wanting us to hang back and my spotter, Lorin Ranier in the other, telling me to push like crazy.  That’s what I did.  We weren’t going to have time to wait, so I just pushed the 62 car as hard as I could the last six laps.   “In the end, it was the right thing to do and it put us in the perfect position to win the race.  A lot of what I thought about the last couple of laps was how the last two corners and the run to the flag were going to happen.  As much as I love Michael Annett, these opportunities are just way too hard to come by to give one up.   “If we could have made it another half-lap, either our 5-Hour Energy car was going to win the race, or we were both going to end up in a big ball of flames trying.  Unfortunately, we just didn’t get the chance to give it a try.   “The finish was definitely disappointing, but when you’re involved with the Infinite Hero Foundation like our teams were this weekend, you see the tremendous courage those guys have shown and what they’ve experienced.  It really puts things in perspective.  I’m proud to have been able to drive the 5-Hour Energy Infinite Hero Foundation car this weekend.   “This is two weekends in a row that we had a chance to win the race, but had circumstances get in the way.  If we keep knocking on the door though, one of these days we’re finally going to knock it down.  That day’s coming sooner rather than later.”   # # #   About Rusty Wallace Racing, LLC   North Carolina-based Rusty Wallace Racing (RWR) is a professional auto racing team steeped in the legendary racing history of its founder, Rusty Wallace.  The team currently campaigns the No. 66 and No. 62 Toyota Camrys-driven by Steve Wallace and Michael Annett, respectively-in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.  RWR will also campaign the No. 64 Camry in select 2011 events.  RWR entries have finished among the top-ten in the Nationwide Series driver or owner standings in each of the last three seasons.  For more on Rusty Wallace Racing, please visit the award-winning rustywallace.com.   About Living Essentials, LLC   Farmington Hills, MI-based Living Essentials, LLC, is the maker of 5-Hour Energy, the category leader in 2 oz. liquid energy shots.  5-Hour Energy is available nationwide at major retailers in the Grocery, Drug Store, Mass Merchant, Warehouse and Convenience Store classes of trade.  Living Essentials sells over seven million bottles of 5-Hour Energy per week.  For more information, please visit 5hourenergy.com.

  • R3 Motorsports and Richardson set to take on Kentucky under the lights on Friday

    R3 Motorsports and Richardson set to take on Kentucky under the lights on Friday

    CHINA GROVE, N.C. (July 5, 2011) – Friday night will be alright for fast cars and fighting for position while racing around the 1.5-mile oval of Kentucky Speedway when the NASCAR Nationwide Series rolls into town.

    Robert Richardson, Jr. and the No. 23 North Texas Pipe Chevrolet team will be doing their best to join into the Friday night fray as it unfolds over the 200-lap race. For the first time, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be joining in the weekend’s schedule, thus moving the Truck race to Thursday night and the NNS to Friday.

    Richardson has two previous NNS starts to his credit at the Sparta, Kentucky facility with the first being in 2007, and the second was this event last year.

    Fast Facts: Richardson, 29, will be making his 84th-career NNS start and 15th of the 2011 season. His best career finish of 15th was at Lucas Oil Raceway Park in Indy last year. Last weekend at Daytona, he matched his best start of the season by qualifying 26th; which he also did at Talladega in April. His best finish this year is a 20th-place effort at Richmond.

    Track Facts: The native of McKinney, Texas finished 30th in this race last year and has completed 364 of 400 laps contested (91 percent) through his two previous Kentucky starts.

    Car Facts: Walter Giles and team are bringing a Chevrolet from last year’s stable to this race as it was one of their better cars on the 1.5-mile ovals like Kentucky.

    Tune in for the Win: This weekend will have a bit of a different schedule with all three NASCAR series in town. Richardson will take to the track for his first practice on Thursday from 6:10 p.m. to 7:25 p.m. (ET) before having his final practice from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Friday. Qualifying is later in the day at 3:45 p.m. on SPEED TV and race time is 7:30 p.m. on ESPN TV. You can listen to coverage on MRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90.

    Robert Richardson, Jr. Quotes: “If we keep racing on Friday nights like we’ve been lately, I could get used to this very quickly. There is just something about sporting events on a Friday night, under the lights and the excitement level drivers and teams bring to the track is more intense than a Saturday afternoon deal.

    “For the fans, it’s a great reason to get out of work all day, or even at lunchtime, and head to the track for a great day of fun NASCAR style. From the two times I’ve raced at Kentucky before, I know they are into their racing and we appreciate their enthusiasm, very much.

    “Kentucky is another 1.5-mile track, but it’s not what I would call a ‘cookie cutter’ like some of the others. Turns 1 and 2 are pretty good with two and three lanes of racing. If you get up in a third one, you better have a car that can stick – that’s all I’m going to say. Turns 3 and 4 are where you need to be really good to shoot through the frontstretch trioval and into Turn 1 again. I’m looking forward to our R3 Motorsports team racing this Friday night at Kentucky for their great fans.”

  • The Final Word – It is weird & different, but I like the Daytona-Talladega two car two-step

    The Final Word – It is weird & different, but I like the Daytona-Talladega two car two-step

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”255″][/media-credit]Have you ever noticed that what goes on in NASCAR has a lot of similarities to regular life? When I was a boy, sometimes my daddy would come up behind me and gave me a sharp tap.  It made me go faster, something like bump drafting did out on the track at Daytona. Today, the bump has become more of a massage, including the use of lubricants, and it involves a lot of sliding around. No question, it sure is different, it raises things to a certain level of excitement, and I like it. At least, I do when it comes to discussing the racing applications.

    The reason is simple. There is no way in God’s creation that you or I could pull it off. Saturday night, we saw Brad Keselowski send Trevor Bayne to the promised land when he got too far inside and spun his partner. I could have done the same thing at 30 mph. Driving up to 190, with only the car you are pushing in your sights, with only him and a spotter keeping you from disaster, takes a lot of skill and guts. There is very little room for error. Do it right, and the pair of you can go from the back to the front in a hurry. Do it wrong, and one of you ends up sitting with Trevor Bayne…or Carl Edwards. As they thunder to the line, we have two partners who may or may not stick it out together to the end racing against two or three other teams who are wondering the same thing. It is different, it might be what Dale Earnhardt Jr calls “weird racing”, it might even make you feel a tad uncomfortable, but you can’t say it is not pretty exciting.

    Thanks to a push from Matt Kenseth, David Ragan and UPS finally got to stick it to Denny Hamlin and Federal Express, who finished 13th. It marked the first Cup win for the 25-year old, lifting him into the Top 20, and even placed Ragan in the final wild card spot for the Chase with nine to go. All-in-all, a rather successful day. Not so for Ryan Newman (23rd) and Mark Martin (33rd), a pair of boys who have been sliding as of late and have yet to find some solid ground to rebound with.

    Maybe that will come on Saturday as the boys make their first Cup visit to the 11-year old facility in Sparta, Kentucky. It is about 3-hours away from the hometown of the Waltrip brothers, with Michael making a return to the track in a car with his Hall of Fame brother’s mug on the hood. As you can tell, there are a lot things in life that can make you feel uncomfortable than just lubricated bumpers being massaged by the guy behind. Enjoy the week!

  • Notes From The NASCAR Nation: Is Danica Patrick The Secret Sauce?

    Notes From The NASCAR Nation: Is Danica Patrick The Secret Sauce?

    Is Danica Patrick the “secret sauce” in a highly successful marketing concept. It recently became apparent that the answer is a resounding yes.

    Over the years it has been very well known that “Go Daddy.Com” has been the primary sponsor for Danica Patrick’s racing career both in the Indy Racing League and her proposed transition to NASCAR. Let’s face it, the fact that this very attractive race driver has been the face, and in all honesty the body, of the Internet domain company’s advertising campaign has become a marketing marriage made in heaven.

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”258″][/media-credit]However there was some brief speculation regarding the future of this marketing relationship, following a report initiated by “The Wall Street Journal”, that said “Go Daddy.Com” had been sold. The story confirmed the fact that the company’s founder and CEO, Bob Parsons, had indeed sold his company to a trio of investors that included KKT and Company, Silver Lake Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures. The sale price of the ultra successful company was a whopping $2.25 billion.

    It turns out that Danica Patrick fans have no reason for concern here. First off no has a stronger belief in her future in motorsports than Bob Parsons. While he will no longer be the “Go Daddy” owner, he has to agreed to stay on as the company’s CEO. He’s also made it crystal clear that the sale of the company he founded will not have any impact on “Go Daddy’s” relationship with his favorite race driver.

    In a comment made to “ESPN” following the announcement that “Go Daddy” had been sold, Elizabeth Driscoll, the company Vice President of Public Relations, said: ” I can tell you that Bob’s been very vocal about how well Danica Patrick has fit into “Go Daddy’s” marketing efforts. The new investors have specifically said they don’t want to mess with “Go Daddy’s” secret sauce.”

    If you’re like me then you probably found yourself wondering why Patrick was being referred to as “secret sauce?” Driscoll’s statement became just a little bit more clear when it was revealed that she meant Patrick was the magic ingredient in the company’s customer service and marketing and they were “very much looking forward to the future on the Internet and the race track.”

    At least we’re now sure that Danica Patrick is going to have full sponsorship for her future racing endeavors. We’re just not exactly sure at the moment where these endeavors will take place.

    But seriously, secret sauce? Isn’t that something they put on hamburgers at fast food restaurants?

  • Joey Logano / No. 20 GameStop Toyota Preview – Feed the Children 300 at Kentucky Speedway

    Joey Logano / No. 20 GameStop Toyota Preview – Feed the Children 300 at Kentucky Speedway

    Joey Logano / No. 20 GameStop Toyota Preview

    Feed the Children 300 at Kentucky Speedway

    No. 20 GameStop Toyota News, Notes & Paint Scheme:

    • THE KING OF KENTUCKY RETURNS… BATTING 1.000 : Joey will return to his most successful racetrack on the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule, Kentucky Speedway. In baseball terms, Logano is batting 1,000 at Kentucky Speedway in every single stat category. In three career starts at the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway, Logano has raced his way to three poles and three victories. In those three victories, Logano has led 202 total laps. The first victory back in 2008 put Logano on the map with both competitors and fans. Coming in just his third-career start, Logano became the youngest NASCAR Nationwide Series winner ever at the young age of 18 years and 21 days. Logano came back then and won the race again in 2009, leading just 20 laps and passing teammate Kyle Busch late. Then, last year, he completed the trifecta, dominating the event by leading 106 laps en route to his third-straight victory.

    • LOGANO WANTS TO KEEP A KENTUCKY “WIPEOUT” LIMITED TO HIS CAR: It’s a favorite game show of many people these days, including Joey Logano himself. It features spills, thrills and plenty of laughs. It’s ABC’s Wipeout. And the video game version will hopefully bring some thrills without the spills at Kentucky Speedway. Wipeout: In the Zone for the Xbox 360’s Kinect system will be the featured game on the No. 20 GameStop Toyota for the Feed the Children 300. Released on June 14th, Wipeout In the Zone features over 30 outrageous obstacles that will test players’ limits in more ridiculous ways than ever. Players can try to run the entire course in one shot, conquering one challenge after another, such as leaping over a pool of water using the infamous “Big Balls” and maneuvering their players to avoid being pummeled by the “Smack Wall Sweeper.” Once again featuring the talents and hilarious commentary of the show’s hosts, Wipeout In the Zone will bring hours upon hours of fun and laughter for the entire family.

    • LOOKING FOR FOUR IN A ROW…OR IS THAT FIVE IN A ROW?: This weekend, Logano will not be looking for his fourth-straight win at Kentucky Speedway. In fact, he’ll be looking for his fifth-straight. Logano raced at the track back when he was just 12 years old in the Young Lions Nationals for Legends cars on the quarter-mile track that utilizes part of the infield and part of pit road. Despite never being to at the track before, Logano won the event, becoming the youngest Young Lions Nationals winner ever. Therefore, Logano has won all four events he’s ever competed in at Kentucky Speedway.

    • RIDING HIGH FOLLOWING DAYTONA WIN: Logano and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team are on a hot streak right now, coming off the team’s second win of the season (and Logano’s first Nationwide Series win since last season at Kansas) last weekend in Daytona. Logano, who called the win the biggest of his career in any division he’s ever raced, used a push from JGR teammate Kyle Busch to score his first restrictor-plate victory, leading only the final lap. The win, coupled with Logano’s last few runs in the Sprint Cup Series (pole and sixth-place finish in Sonoma, third-place finish at Daytona) has the 21-year-old’s confidence soaring. It also has the team’s confidence soaring with the problems they had to overcome at Daytona, including a broken clutch in qualifying, a spin early in the race and an unscheduled pit stop for a loose wheel. Despite all the problems, Logano and the team never backed down and was able to grab the win.

    • DOUBLE DUTY… WITHOUT THE TRAVEL: This will be the third year in a row that Logano will compete at Kentucky Speedway while pulling double duty and racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as well on the same weekend. In the past, he’s traveled back and forth between Kentucky and Michigan. This year however, the Sprint Cup Series will make their debut at Kentucky Speedway, racing Saturday night.

    • CHASSIS: The JGR team will take chassis #20108 to Kentucky Speedway. That chassis has raced three times already in 2011 at Vegas (seventh-place finish), Texas (fourth-place) and Darlington (second-place). Chassis #20121 will serve as the team’s backup.

    • STAT OF THE WEEK: 141.1 Logano’s driver rating at Kentucky is a stellar 141.1. The next closest driver is that of JGR teammate Kyle Busch, who has a driver rating of 130.7 at Kentucky Speedway. Driver rating formula combines wins, finishes, top-15 finishes, average running position while on lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, led most laps and lead-lap finishes.

    • THE RACE: The Feed the Children 300 at Kentucky Speedway (Sparta, KY; 1.5-mile oval) is set for Friday, July 8, 2011. The race will be broadcast on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. EST, with radio coverage on PRN starting at 7 p.m. EST.

     

    Logano’s 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Season Stats:

    Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Laps Led Earnings Avg. Start Avg. Finish

    11 1 5 8 1 90 $314,735 7.9 6.5

     

    Logano’s Career NASCAR Nationwide Series Stats:

    Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Laps Led Earnings Avg. Start Avg. Finish

    77 9 38 62 16 1437 $2,848,939 7.3 7.0

    Logano’s Career NASCAR Nationwide Series Stats at Kentucky Speedway:

    Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Laps Led Earnings Avg. Start Avg. Finish

    3 3 3 3 3 202 $44,553 1.0 1.0

    Joey Logano Quotes:

    “I’m pretty pumped to get back to Kentucky, for obvious reasons of course. Kentucky has really felt like a second home to me over the last couple of years in the Nationwide Series. We’ve had pretty good success there. People ask me all of the time why we have been so good and I don’t really know what to say about that. I’ve turned a lot of laps on that track between all of the testing we did there in the Cup cars and in all of the Nationwide races there. But I don’t necessarily feel any more comfortable there than I do at some other tracks that we go to. I guess really I just know what the track is going to do as the race goes on and how to handle the bumps there. There is something said about having laps at a track I guess.

    “I also get asked about the streak there a lot. I try not to think about it too much and treat going to Kentucky like I treat going to any other race that we go to. But then again, it’s pretty cool when you look at it to be able to say you’ve won three-straight races at the same track and you’ve won all of them from the pole. Not a lot of people can say something like that. And last year, Kentucky was where we got our first win of the season so there was a lot of pressure on us to win that race. Now that we’ve got that out of the way with our win at Daytona last weekend, we can go into Kentucky with a little extra momentum and have even more confidence that we can win again. I know I’m going to give it my all and all of the guys on the team want to be a part of winning four-straight.

    “I’m think it’s pretty cool to have Wipeout on the car. I love that game show on TV. It is crazy. I would love to be on that show one of these times. Maybe one day they will have a celebrity show and I can get an invite. I’m pretty excited to try it out on the Kinect though. It will be fun to run the course but not get hurt, although when I play Kinect with some of my friends, it can get pretty physical. We’ve brought a lot of cool looking cars to Victory Lane at Kentucky. Hopefully, we can do that again this year.”

    Adam Stevens Quotes:

    “Kentucky is going to be a cool race because of all the tracks we go to, it will be the closest to home for me. It’s about 140 miles away from my hometown of Portsmith, OH. I’ve got some family coming to the race, so that is always a little added incentive to do well. And they couldn’t be coming to a better track with Joey’s track record at Kentucky. Three races and three wins is pretty impressive, but that also puts a little added pressure on us because we know everyone’s eyes are going to be on us to be the car to beat. And we also really want to keep the streak going as well. It would be pretty impressive to make it four-in-a-row.

    “The big difference about this year though is that we will be going to the track with the new Nationwide Series car for the first time, so things will be a little different for us and for Joey. Because of that, we can’t go off of the notes of the past there, as far as setup and the car itself. We will just have to go off of more of our notes from this year. Really, you can compare Kentucky to any of the intermediate tracks that we run on. It has a lot of bumps which can change some things, but for the most part, other notes can give you a good baseline. You can still look at the past notes as far as how the track changes, what kinds of changes were made to the car and such. There is always something you can pull off of old notes.”

    No. 20 GameStop Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing Team

    Driver – Joey Logano Crew Chief – Adam Stevens Car Chief – Mike Sibley

    Race Engineer – Curtis Ratzlaff Shock Specialist – Joel Weidman Front-end – Nick Fuller

    Rear-end – Dave Rudy Tire Specialist – Chris “Yoshi” Jones Engine Tuner – Roger Purcell

    Truck Driver – Tim Clancy Jackman – Jason Tate Gasman – John Eicher

    Front Tire Changer – John Royer Front Tire Carrier – Brett Morrell

    Rear Tire Changer – Coleman Dollarhide Rear Tire Carrier – Eric Groen

  • Kevin Harvick No. 33 Nationwide Series Advance: Kentucky Speedway

    Kevin Harvick No. 33 Nationwide Series Advance: Kentucky Speedway

    Kevin Harvick

    No. 33 Rheem Heating, Cooling & Water Heating Chevrolet Impala

    NASCAR Nationwide Series Race 18 of 34 – Kentucky Speedway

    HARVICK TAKES THE WHEEL: The NASCAR Nationwide Series heads to Kentucky Speedway this week with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the inaugural tripleheader weekend at the Sparta, Ky., facility. Behind the wheel of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Impala, Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) co-owner Kevin Harvick will go for his second win at the 1.5-mile track on Friday night. This will be the first start at Kentucky for Harvick in his own equipment.

    KENTUCKY FACTS: In two previous starts, Harvick has one win, one top-five and two top-10 finishes. The driver led 131 laps on his way to victory lane in 2001. The win was one of five that season and part of a record that scored the driver the first of two Nationwide Series championships (2006, 2001).

    CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 Rheem team will bring a brand new chassis to Kentucky Speedway this weekend. Chassis No. 080 has been tested in the wind tunnel and prepared for competition.

    PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: The Nationwide Series headed to Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway last week with Clint Bowyer in the driver’s seat of the No. 33 Menards Chevrolet Impala. The team faced a hurdle early in the race weekend as an accident in practice forced the team to compete in the backup Chevrolet. In qualifying, KHI set a Nationwide Series record as the first organization to take the top four starting positions. Bowyer started from the fourth position and overcame an early-race setback at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. He raced among the top 10 only to have his night end before the checkered flag flew following an accident on lap 80. The Menards team was scored with a 34th-place finish.

    HARVICK’S THOUGHTS ON KENTUCKY:

    “It’s been a while since I’ve raced at Kentucky Speedway, but I’m looking forward to racing there this weekend. This is going to be a big weekend with it being the first time for the Sprint Cup Series to race at the track and having all three series there for a tripleheader. The fans are going to get to see three really great races. I was able to win at Kentucky in 2001. It’d be really great to get this Rheem Chevrolet into victory lane on Friday night.”

    About Rheem:

    Rheem Manufacturing Company (www.rheem.com) is privately held with headquarters in Atlanta. In its 86th year of operation, the company manufactures a full-line of eco-friendly, technologically advanced residential and commercial heating and cooling systems; tank, tankless, solar and hybrid heat pump water heaters; whole-home standby generators, controls, swimming pool and spa heaters; indoor air-purification products; and commercial boilers throughout North America and world markets. The company’s premium brands, including Raypak, Ruud and Rheem, have been recognized with countless industry and consumer awards for reliability, innovative design and high quality. Rheem is the official heating, cooling and water-heating supplier to Richard Childress Racing (RCR), Kevin Harvick, Inc. (KHI) and is a primary sponsor of RCR’s No. 29 Sprint Cup Series car and KHI’s No. 33 Nationwide Series car and Camping World Truck Series No. 2 truck. Harvick was named Nationwide Series “Driver of the Decade” in 2010.

  • Elliott Sadler No. 2 Nationwide Series Advance: Kentucky Speedway

    Elliott Sadler No. 2 Nationwide Series Advance: Kentucky Speedway

    Elliott Sadler

    No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet Impala

    NASCAR Nationwide Series Race 18 of 34 – Kentucky Speedway

    NEW TO KENTUCKY: The No. 2 OneMain Financial team will unload in the Bluegrass State with driver Elliott Sadler competing at the Sparta, Ky., track for the first time in his career. Although he has never participated in a race at the intermediate track, Sadler has tested at the facility multiple times.

    DOUBLE DUTY: Prior to the Nationwide Series race Friday night, Sadler will compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at the track Thursday night. Steering the No. 2 Hunt Bros. Pizza Chevrolet Silverado, Sadler will log time on the 1.5-mile track for the first time in a truck. This season, he has competed in three Truck Series events, including a second-place finish at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February.

    TO THE POINT: Heading into this weekend at Kentucky, Sadler sits in the second position in the Driver’s Point Standings. With 17 races remaining on the Nationwide Series schedule, the Emporia, Va., native sits only nine points out of the lead behind Reed Sorenson.

    PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Under the lights at Daytona International Speedway, the No. 2 OneMain Financial team was gunning for a win at the famed superspeedway. After leading 31 laps, the most of any driver in the field, Sadler brought the field to the white flag as the leader. On turn four on the last lap, the No. 2 was involved in a multi-car accident, skidding across the finish line in the eighth position.

    THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Elliott Sadler

    How do you feel heading into this week’s race at Kentucky Speedway?

    “I am really looking forward to going to Kentucky. I’ve tested there a lot in the past few years, but this will actually be my first time competing at the track. With the Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series there for the first time all together at the track, it should be a really great weekend. Being that we have never raced there as a team, I am actually going to run the trucks there on Thursday night and come back and run the OneMain Financial Chevrolet on Friday night. We will have a lot of extra practice time.

    “We are actually bringing my favorite car to Kentucky. We ran so well with it in Chicago, and we were running near the top of the field the entire race until we had tire problems toward the end of the race. Kentucky is a really great 1.5-mile track. It’s a night race, which should be really exciting. It’s definitely one that we have circled on the schedule as a race we are looking forward to.”

    CitiFinancial

    CitiFinancial, soon to be OneMain Financial, is the premier community lender in North America. With more than 1,300 locations across the United States. CitiFinancial has been serving communities since 1912. Additional information may be found at www.citifinancial.com.

    Citi

    Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

  • Understanding NASCAR Electronic Fuel Injection

    Understanding NASCAR Electronic Fuel Injection

    UNDERSTANDING ELECTRONIC FUEL INJECTION: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CHANGE TO ELECTRONIC FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS ON NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES CARS IN 2012

    AUBURN HILLS, Mich., (Saturday, June 2, 2011) Since 1949, NASCAR has used carburetors as part of its primary fueling system within all of its stock car racing platforms. Earlier this season, the sanctioning body announced the change to develop and integrate electronic fuel injection (EFI) systems into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for competition rollout starting with the 2012 season. Implementation of EFI is a dramatic move that transfers highly specific stock car technology to more relevant and current fueling systems seen on modern day passenger vehicles that is uniformly supported by Dodge and participating auto manufacturers. On Thursday, July 7, NASCAR will be conducting an open test for Sprint Cup Series competitors at Kentucky Motor Speedway in advance of next weekend’s Sprint Cup event. As part of this open test, teams will be allowed to conduct their first on-track track test of EFI.

    A single Penske Racing Dodge Charger R/T will be participating in EFI testing. Dodge Motorsports Engine Engineer Pat Baer breaks down the important technical facts behind NASCAR’s move to EFI.

    Question and Answer:

    Q: WHAT IS ELECTRONIC FUEL INJECTION?

    A: Until now, NASCAR Sprint Cup engines have all used a carburetor to mix air and fuel that enters into the intake manifold and that mixture eventually gets drawn into the cylinders to burn. The carburetor is a simple mechanical device that’s been reliable, if not very accurate, in it’s delivery of the mixture of air and fuel to the engine and Sprint Cup teams have spent decades developing it to be an effective tool. So, what’s fuel injection? A fuel injection system is made up of a throttle that lets only air into the intake manifold and then eight electronically controlled “fuel injectors,” that are placed in the intake manifold very close to each cylinder, to provide the fuel. The system works when the throttle opens and lets air into the intake manifold and then each of the eight “fuel injectors” inject an electronically measured pulse of fuel into the airstream just as it’s going into each individual cylinder. An onboard computer uses input from sensors that are placed all over the engine to calculate exactly how much fuel to add to the air flow just as it’s entering the cylinder, which means a much more accurate and efficient fuel delivery system.

    Q: HOW DOES EFI DIFFER FROM CARBURATION ON A CUP SERIES CAR?

    A: EFI is a high-pressure system that regulates and atomizes fuel into each cylinder. Carburetors utilize a mechanical linkage to control a valve that allows more air to enter into the engine from one common source. As more air is entered into the engine, more fuel is drawn into the intake airstream and down into the combustion chambers.

    Q: IS EFI MORE EXPENSIVE?

    A: Yes. An EFI system will cost more than a carbureted system. Final costs have not been established yet.

    Q: WHAT IS THE MAJOR BENEFIT OF SWITCHING TO EFI?

    A: Better control of the fuel is the major benefit. When the fuel is mixed with air in a carburetor, it basically just enters the intake manifold as a fuel/air haze. With cars circling the track and making constant left hand turns, that haze is thrown to the right side of the intake manifold that tends to starve left side engine cylinders of fuel and tends to flood right side cylinders with fuel. Eight injectors, one for each cylinder, can be adjusted electronically to each cylinder’s need to assure that it gets the optimum amount of fuel under all conditions. Electronically controlling “when” the fuel flows also eliminates the problem we see now of flames out the exhaust pipes caused by wasted fuel. The fuel/air haze in the carbureted manifold today continue to pass through the cylinders even after the driver lifts off the throttle and then get wastefully burned in the hot exhaust system. With electronically controlled fuel injection, when the driver lifts off the throttle the fuel stops flowing instantly.

    Q: WHAT IMPACT WILL IT HAVE ON NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES RACING?

    A: NASCAR has established very specific rules for the manufacturers and race teams in order to keep a level playing field. NASCAR has established common suppliers and each manufacturer will be using the identical EFI components such as fuel injectors. We expect very little change from the vantage point of our fans, but the manufacturers and teams will continue to look for engine power increases with the new fuel delivery system.

    Q: WILL THERE BE A MAJOR DIFFERENCE IN ENGINE PERFORMANCE?

    A: No. Initially, the EFI engines will make about the same horsepower as the carbureted engines, perhaps a few horsepower less. The current Holley 830 carburetor built within NASCAR’s rules and specifications are very good and have been optimized over many years of development. It will take a little more time for EFI systems to increase power.

    Q: HOW HAVE DODGE ENGINEERS PREPARED FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EFI?

    A: Almost all of the engineers that work in Dodge Motorsports had previous production car jobs and we are well versed in developing engines with EFI. In addition, Penske Racing is bringing extensive race car EFI experience to this NASCAR initiative. Technically speaking, the main difference is that the NASCAR race vehicle is subjected to many different operating conditions than production cars, so we are focusing on those differences to ensure the new system is robust. We are looking forward to testing and implementing EFI at the race track.

  • Firecracker Finish at Daytona for Michael Annett, Oakley and Infinite Hero Foundation

    Firecracker Finish at Daytona for Michael Annett, Oakley and Infinite Hero Foundation