TALLADEGA, Ala. (May 6, 2017) — Justin Haley’s first trip to Talladega Superspeedway turned out to be one for the ages. Haley, in his first-ever plate-track start, went from the back to the front in the No. 28 MDM Motorsports Toyota to win the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards General Tire 200 Saturday afternoon.
Haley held off the pack in a one-lap shootout to earn the biggest victory of his career.
“That was crazy,” said Haley. “We had to work our way from the back. We had a battery issue and made an unscheduled pit stop and went from fourth to 30th. I’ve always wanted to run Talladega…I can’t thank these MDM guys enough. My spotter Kevin Hamlin helped me through it. I didn’t know what I was doing but I listened and did what they told me, and it worked out.”
Haley pitted with the leaders under caution on lap 26 for fuel only. From there he raced his way into the top-five before the battery issue brought him back to pit road on lap 40. His MDM crew was able to fix the problem and topped him off with another full load of Sunoco gas for safe keeping.
Haley never changed tires during the 200-mile race.
“The General Tires were amazing. They had grip all day and we ended up on the same tires we started with. The 02 helped me to the finish…I gotta thank Andy (Seuss) for that.”
Andy Seuss, in the No. 02 Robert B. Our Co.-Canto Paving Chevrolet, finished a career-best second on the heels of Haley.
“I’m just happy to be here, let alone finish second,” Seuss said. “We got this car four weeks ago and put it together in my two-stall boat shop. We’re just a small team…a group of volunteers. To come here and run this well against all these ARCA super teams is beyond incredible. General Tires were great. It was gas only today.”
Spencer Davis, in the No. 15 DRIVEN-Venturini Motorsports Toyota, finished a career-best third in his first ARCA start.
“It was just survival of the fittest,” said Davis. “We saved just enough gas. We pushed the 02 to the finish. For my first time in ARCA to run P3…I’m just so thankful. I learned a lot in this race, but there are still tricks of the trade I need to learn. I was getting beat up a little out there, but I learned a lot.”
If it was all happy, happy for the first three, it was pure heartbreak for Brandon Lynn, who ran out of gas leading after he had taken the white flag. Lynn, in the No. 88 Remodeez/Worth-A-Shot Chevrolet for Mason Mitchell Motorsports, held firm on the bottom ahead of rookie Riley Herbst on the final lap before Bret Holmes got turned from behind into the outside wall. Then, under caution, Lynn’s tank went dry.
“Definitely a tough pill to swallow in this situation,” said Lynn. “But there was nothing we could do. You have to make sure that everyone’s safe on the track so the caution had to come out. I think we would have just made it to the checkered flag but I doubt we would have made it back around. At least they know we were there.”
Lynn led 19 laps before giving up the lead to Haley who led the final six. The race was extended by six laps for clean up before series officials sent the field back to green for the final circuit.
Austin Theriault, in Ken Schrader’s No. 52 Orlando Longwood Auto Auction Chevrolet, padded his point lead with a fourth-place finish after leading 30 laps. Shane Lee, who led 21 laps in the No. 22 Big Tine Ford, finished fifth.
Four cautions slowed the pace for 24 laps, one of which turned into a red flag situation for a multi-car pile-up in the tri-oval involving Kyle Weatherman, Will Kimmel, Noah Gragson, Mark Thompson, Ricky Sanders and Dalton Sargeant. All drivers, included Holmes from the late-race wreck, were examined and released.
Weatherman and Sargeant were tied for second in championship points before the crash.
“Overall, it’s a little bit disappointing… we took a hit in the run for the championship,” said Sargeant. “But if any team can rebound from this it’s Cunningham Motorsports.”
Gus Dean, Bobby Gerhart, Herbst, Tom Hessert and Bo LeMastus completed the top-10 finishers, respectively. Herbst was a victory lane threat right till the end but backed up in the outside groove after banging off Haley on the final lap.
The last time Haley raced in ARCA competition he won on the Springfield mile dirt in August of 2016.
Haley chocked up his run to good experience for when he returns to Talladega to compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series later this year.
“The biggest thing for me was learning how these superspeedway races play out. You can only watch it on TV so many times,” Haley said.
The ARCA Racing Series is headed home next for the Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care at Toledo Speedway Saturday and Sunday, May 20-21. The race will air same-day on FS1.
Known as the namesake for Bill McAnally Racing, Bill McAnally is no stranger to success. Aside from being the owner of a seven-time K&N Pro Series West-championship organization, McAnally also teamed up with two-time Pro Series West champion (both titles were won with McAnally) Brendan Gaughan and his father Michael Gaughan to win two Camping World Truck Series races and the Rookie of the Year honors in 2002.
Aside from also winning the 1990 NASCAR Whelen All-American Late Model championship at Roseville Speedway as a driver, McAnally has also fielded cars in the K&N Pro Series for several drivers such as Austin Cameron, Clint Bowyer, and Gaughan. McAnally also holds one of the longest sponsorship associations in motorsports, as his teams have been sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts for 27 years.
What is it regarding the K&N Pro Series that has helped your organization thrive?
BM: Well, we worked our way up through NASCAR’s weekly series, and actually captured a championship back when I was driving, and it was just the next step in the progression. Back then it was just known as the NASCAR Winston West Series, and I bought a Winston West car and the thing that I found about the NASCAR regional touring series is that it was easier to find support to get into some of the markets, especially on the west coast. I mean, we’d get into very popular markets like Spokane, Washington; Seattle, Washington; Denver, Colorado; that have no NASCAR racing at all, so when we come in we’re a real good sales tool for our partners in having a NASCAR race.
So I was able to find support; at the regional level it’s much more hands-on if you get your sponsors in and up-close. We were just at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina, and it’s just a lot more that can fill ownership of it, so much better. The customers from NAPA Auto Parts, the shop owners, the store owners, the Toyota dealers and their employees and their key customers; they can just get in and fill ownership and get so much closer to it.
After several years in the K&N Pro Series that have seen your organization win multiple championships, what is it that keeps you in that division?
BM: It’s a very rewarding series to help develop the young drivers that are coming up. It’s a lot of fun for me because it’s a great series where you can work weekends, and you aren’t traveling as much as you do with the national touring series.
I got to build a Camping World Truck Series team back from 2000 to 2002 for Brendan Gaughan, and we ran trucks there for several years. We got Rookie of the Year in 2002 and won both races at Texas our rookie year. But there was just so much traveling and you were gone so long that you couldn’t have the family time and tend to my other business.
Brendan Gaughan celebrates a Winston West (now K&N Pro Series West) victory at Auto Club with his Bill McAnally Racing crew in 2001. Courtesy: Bill McAnally Racing
So the K&N Pro Series, there are less races, especially here in the west and the traveling is fairly close so you don’t spend so much time on the road. It’s a fun series, helping these young drivers achieve their dreams and moving up the latter. We’ve had amazing drivers over the years, Brendan Gaughan, we’ve worked with Clint Bowyer, Sarah Fisher, Cole Custer, currently Todd Gilliland, just a lot of great, young drivers trying to achieve their dreams and it’s fun to be able to help them do that along with the crew members who have gone through our programs and get jobs at the national touring series level in NASCAR. To walk through the garage area and see all the guys living their dream that actually used our program as one of those steps is very rewarding.
As a K&N Pro Series owner, do you feel that the lack of a gimmick (Playoffs, stage-racing) in this division helps it maintain a separate identity from the other divisions?
BM: Yeah, I mean it definitely has it’s own identity. It’s gotten to the point now that drivers are stepping through it so quick. In years past, you’d have drivers that would run the series such as Andy Santerre, Doug Fadden, Matt Kobyluck, and out here in the west you had guys like Austin Cameron and Eric Holmes who were just staples in the series. Back in the day you had Ron Hornaday and Rick Carelli; they were here and that’s what they did.
Now, today where they’ve changed their rules and allowed 15-year-old drivers to get into the series, they’re here and gone before anybody could learn who Daniel Suarez was or Kyle Larson was, or the people who used the series recently as a stepping stone, they’re now out of the series before they could really get a fan following. So it’s definitely changed a lot.
How do you feel about the competition product that the K&N Pro Series puts out at each event?
BM: It’s amazing. Every year it’s a challenge to be competitive and to contend for the championship. About the time I think it’s going to be easy because somebody’s moved on or moved up there’s always somebody else that steps up and makes it a challenge that you’re battling to win races and championships.
With the current state of change in NASCAR, do you feel that the K&N Pro Series could use similar changes?
BM: Yeah, I mean, they’re continually changing things; we’re making changes, not at the level of the national touring series, but we are making changes such as spec engines and a new body. These changes help strengthen the series and make it better all the time.
Considering that the K&N Pro Series visits the smaller, older home tracks that were popular during NASCAR’s Golden Age in the 60s’ and 70s’, are there any tracks you feel the division could benefit from visiting?
BM: It’s funny you ask that because it is a double edged sword. It’s amazing that we get into markets like Spokane, Washington, Seattle, Washington, and Denver, Colorado because no other NASCAR touring series goes through those markets, even though they’re very strong markets. It’s great that we get into those markets as well as for the sponsors that we have (NAPA Auto Parts, Toyota, etc.), corporations that support our racing efforts, love that we get into those markets that have no other form of NASCAR touring racing.
But when you’re developing drivers you like to develop them on the national touring tracks. So like I said it’s a double-edged sword. Developing a driver, I would love to be taking them to [Auto Club] Speedway, get them out here on the west coast; Chicagoland, you know, take them to Kansas City, run the tracks they’re going to run as they move up the ladder and gain some more experience on the national touring tracks.
But then again, like I said it’s a double-edged sword. It’s just so great that we get into these markets and we have such a hands-on, up-close series that our sponsors can utilize and use us as a marketing tool in areas that have no other form of NASCAR racing.
What is it about Bill McAnally Racing that has kept it as the premiere organization in this series?
BM: It’s the people. We’ve got a great bunch of people and we’ve been very fortunate through the years to keep a great group of people and they care, and they do what it takes to be the best. They’re willing to work hard and put in what it takes to be competitive week in and week out, and that’s what it takes. It takes great people and we’re fortunate to have them.
There’s also the great sponsors that give us what we need to go promote them and be able to race, to live the dream. If we didn’t have the great people and we didn’t have the sponsorship support, it wouldn’t be happening.
Todd Gilliland wins his third K&N Pro Series West race of 2017 at Irwindale Speedway. Photo Courtesy: Bill McAnally Racing
With the success you’ve had this season and last with Todd Gilliland, is there any other driver that you’ve worked with that you can compare him to, or is he in a league all his own?
BM: We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of great drivers, and Todd is just, for his age, I’ve never had a driver with the experience, the knowledge, the know of what he wants out of a race car. Not just to qualify, but what he needs in the race car 100 laps into the race to have the car good. Todd’s just got an amazing knowledge of that at his young age.
At his age, I had Cameron Hayley for awhile at the age of 15, but Todd is one of the youngest drivers that I’ve ever had, and his knowledge compares to drivers who have been driving race cars at this level for many years. He’s very special, unique, and he’s got a very bright future in front of him.
Speaking of, how would you describe the chemistry between the three of your drivers (Gilliland, Chris Eggleston, Derek Kraus)?
BM: We’re one corporation, one company, and we all work together. The drivers, the crew chiefs, every team member, we work together to be the very best that we can be. That goes for the drivers too. Anything they can do help each other, they’re more than willing to work together.
You’ve brought in a lot of young, great talent, some of which have gone on to accomplish a lot in the sport. How do you feel about BMR’s position as a stepping stone for some of those up-and-coming drivers?
BM: Personally, I feel we’re one of the best in the business, and it’s because of the people we have. Not only do we help you develop on the racetrack and learn the skills that veteran drivers, (three-time K&N Pro Series champion) Eric Holmes works for me as a spotter and a driver coach. We surround our drivers with people who can help them develop as quick as possible not just on the racetrack but with their marketing, speaking in front of sponsors, and even doing autograph sessions. We have show car and driver appearances, interviewed on radio and television, we work really hard to put our drivers in position so they can also develop their public relations skills and working with the media while working on their driving skills.
We just try to give them a well-rounded development program as a whole, and I don’t think there is a better place to develop a driver in the NASCAR ranks, in the K&N Pro Series level, than at BMR.
Thank you to BIll McAnally and Kevin Green of Bill McAnally Racing.
The Hooters ProCup Series was on top of the world in 2001.
Brian Vickers was graduating to NASCAR after a three-year Pro Cup career. Joey Logano would join Hooters a few seasons later. Every short track superstar in the eastern half of the country knew that Hooters was the place to be. Johnny Rumley, Bobby Gill, Jay Fogleman, Jeff Agnew, Michael Ritch… they all knew that the money, the prestige and the path to the top went through Hooters Pro Cup.
Hooters had big cars with big horsepower. This was the place where drivers could compete on radial tires for 250 laps and learn how to make pit stops under green flag conditions. This was a professional series for professional drivers where the winner could make ten thousand dollars every night. I knew it well. For nine seasons I was the Hooters Pro Cup television pit reporter and an occasional competitor in the series.
The series grew fast, splitting into north and south divisions with nearly fifty drivers in each. Joe Gibbs fielded a team. Rusty Wallace put his son in a car. Benny Gordon, Shane Huffman and many others graduated to NASCAR.
But it all blew up after the 2008 season when the costs of competition skyrocketed and the Hooters restaurant chain withdrew its sponsorship. The series subsequently declined, went through a string of ownership changes and morphed into a successful but entirely different entity. Nothing else filled the gap with big cars, sellout crowds and a NASCAR-like show, until now.
Photo Credit: Sopwith Motorsports Television Productions
The Super Cup Stock Car Series begins its tenth season this year. Operated by former Hooters Pro Cup staffers and featuring mostly former Hooters Pro Cup teams, the series has quietly built its brand over the last decade. 2016 was its breakout year with higher car counts and a national television deal on MavTV.
The current Super Cup drivers, many of them laboring for under-budgeted mid-pack teams back in the Hooters days, have flourished to become some of the best short track stock car drivers in the country. Veterans like NASCAR’s Bob Schact, ARCA’s J. J. Pack and former Hooters driver Kevin Kromer compete against talented newcomers including ARCA’s Codie Rohrbaugh and Super Cup’s Trent Gossar and Jeff Zillweger.
For competitors, the result is an amazing series that guarantees national television exposure at every race on a realistic budget. For fans, the series represents the return of 3300-pound, 600-horsepower steel bodied monsters to short tracks across the mid-south.
The 2017 Super Cup campaign has been divided into north and south divisions, allowing the Super Cup series to name its first-ever national short track stock car champion this season. I’m thankful to be vying for the North Division title as well as the national crown in between television commitments on NBCSN. Sopwith Motorsports Television Productions has also been named the Super Cup production company for MavTV.
If you were a Hooters Pro Cup fan back in the day, be sure to find a Super Cup race in your area this summer. Is Super Cup a completely identical product? Not quite. The budgets are smaller. The races are shorter (although the series runs double header main events at every show). But those differences are necessary because ultimately, the Hooters series we knew 15 years ago didn’t survive.
The spirit of Super Cup is unmistakably the same as that of the Hooters Pro Cup era. Super Cup brings a big, loud, high horsepower show back to short tracks. We’ve missed that. Apparently, race fans have, too. Super Cup raced for its most recent championship before a standing-room-only crowd at Jennerstown Speedway.
Super Cup is what all-American short track stock car racing once was. I hope to see you at a race this year.
Stephen Cox
Sopwith Motorsports Television Productions
Co-host, Mecum Auctions on NBCSN
Driver, Super Cup Stock Car Series and Electric GT Championship
In his fifth attempt at the Grand Prix of the Americas, Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez has sealed his fifth victory, and in regularly dominant fashion.
Circuit of the Americas posed a formidable threat to the three-time MotoGP champion’s run of success in Texas, with new Movistar Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales coming off two straight wins to start the season. Vinales’ free practice and qualifying times reflected his capability of challenging his fellow Spaniard on American soil, besting Marquez in FP1 and FP3 and landing in third on the qualifying grid one-tenth of a second behind.
But time trials don’t always translate to race scenarios, and when Vinales crashed early on, only Marquez’s Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa had anything to offer him. Pedrosa took the lead early, but lost it to Marquez, eventually falling to third after a battle from a hard-charging Valentino Rossi, who finished three seconds back from Marquez.
First-year rider Johann Zarco posted practice times in the 2.04-range and qualified fifth, but an early race incident with Rossi hurt his track position. He would finish fifth behind Cal Crutchlow, who picked up positions in the second half of the race.
Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso improved one spot on his qualifying position, finishing sixth. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo came in 9th, his highest of the season
Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Andrea Iannone came in 7th, followed by Pramac Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci, who engaged in a hard battle with teammate Scott Redding early on.
Jack Miller rounded out the Top 10, followed by Zarco’s fellow rookie at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Jonas Folger.
Tito Rabat, Hector Barbera and Alvaro Bautista took the final three points-scoring spots, respectively.
Red Bull KTM had another weak showing in their first year, with Pol Espargaro earning a no-classification and Bradley Smith finishing 16th, just outside of point-scoring range.
Sebastian Vettel outdrove Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps to score the victory in the desert kingdom of Bahrain.
Hamilton pitted from the lead on lap 42, ate a five-second time penalty and exited pit lane behind Vettel. He closed the gap in the closing laps, but a local yellow on lap 52 — stemming from Marcus Ericsson’s car coming to a halt off the track near Turn 4 — sealed the deal for Vettel to win his 44th career Formula 1 race.
“Yeah, really a great day. I don’t know what to day (sic),” Vettel said on the podium after the race. “The last half of the in-lap when all the fireworks were there and track was lit up, it was. I just love what I do. I didn’t find any words. It was a really great team effort today.”
Hamilton finished second, earning his 107th career podium finish.
“Obviously a very difficult race, it didn’t start out the best, but the pit lane was my fault, so apologies to the team for losing the time there,” Hamilton said. “I tried my hardest to catch up but it was a long old way to go, it was 19 seconds. But I gave it everything I could but Ferrari did a great job today. So we’re going to push hard together, re-gather as a team and come back fighting.”
Pole sitter Valtteri Bottas rounded out the podium.
“Yeah, it was really a tricky race for me; struggling with the pace all through the race,” Bottas said. “I think in the first stint we found a bit of an issue with the tyre pressures and that explained the rear end struggle. But ever since that I was just rear limited and I was out of the tools on the steering wheel, so it was just oversteering all through the race, which is why the pace was slow, which is a real shame because for sure the target for today was a lot, lot higher.”
Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo round out the top-five.
Bottas led the field off the start and held the lead exiting Turn 1. But Vettel, starting third, powered past Hamilton to take second and challenge for the lead. The top-five kept kept within sight of the leader, rather than the leader pull away as is typical in a F1 race.
Vettel pitted from second on lap 11. Moments later, Max Verstappen suffered brake failure and his car slid into the outside wall in Turn 1.
“I hit the brake pedal. Suddenly, I lost all the rear brake pressure,” Verstappen said. “So I only had the front’s left and you can’t stop the car.”
On lap 12, Carlos Sainz, who was exiting pit road, made hard contact with Lance Stroll in Turn 1. Stroll’s car stalled past the exit of Turn 1 and brought out the safety car.
While that was happening, Bottas and Hamilton pitted on lap 12. Hamilton was held up because the Mercedes crew wasn’t ready for him to pit yet. Adding to that, he was handed a five-second penalty for “driving too slow on pit entry” (for impeding Riccardio).
Vettel cycled to the lead under the safety car period and held off Bottas on the ensuing lap 17 restart. He pitted from the lead on lap 33 and Hamilton, whom Bottas let by for second on lap 28 after reporting his rear tyres were “overheating,” assumed the lead.
Prior to his final pit stop, the talk was Hamilton was going to one-stop his race with his five-second penalty. But he put that to rest when he pitted on lap 41, served the five-second penalty and left pit lane in third, setting up the run to the finish.
Vettel leaves Bahrain with a seven-point lead over Hamilton in the drivers’ championship.
Ferrari leaves with a three-point lead over Mercedes in the constructors’ championship.
As most racing fans know, two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso is slated to run the Indianapolis 500 in a Honda-powered entry from Andretti Autosport.
Less well known is the fact that my Electric GT Championship competitor, Stefan Wilson, was bumped out of his confirmed seat with Andretti so that Alonso could inherit the ride. In return for quietly stepping away from a confirmed Indy 500 seat, Wilson was promised a grab bag of favors including preferential treatment for a future ride.
This deal makes sense for everyone on a lot of levels. But why did the deal have to be cut in the first place? Why aren’t there plenty of cars and engines to go around for any qualified driver who wants to enter? This is where it gets ugly.
Indycar’s adoption of manufacturer-supplied engines has created an artificial shortage of open seats. Both of Indycar’s approved engine suppliers, Honda and Chevrolet, control their costs by placing strict limits on the number of engines they will make available to Indycar teams.
The series has outlawed independent engine providers, chassis builders, and tire manufacturers. You can only race what Indycar tells you to buy. Honda and Chevy aren’t willing to outfit additional teams, and why should they? With the field roughly divided in half between the two engine builders, providing more motors doesn’t significantly increase their chances of winning the world’s biggest race but it drives their costs through the roof.
And this is not the first time the situation has occurred. Pippa Mann had full funding for a shot at Indy a couple of years ago, but once again, an engine shortage figured heavily into the equation. Now Stefan Wilson is out of a ride so that Indycar can reap the benefits of drawing an F1 champ to the 500. Engine supply has become a major limiting factor in drawing any new teams or drivers to the Indy 500.
I’m delighted to see Alonso in the race, but this didn’t have to happen. And it shouldn’t have happened. Bumping drivers out of the race should happen on Bump Day during qualifying, not incorporate boardrooms in April.
Note to Indycar – people will pay to see this drama if you will put it on the track.
Can you imagine the racing world’s enthusiasm if Wilson and Alonso had settled this at 230 mph while fighting over the final grid spot on Bump Day? Instead, we have no drama at all. Unless he misses his flight to Indianapolis, Alonso’s spot is virtually guaranteed because we barely have enough cars to hold the race, let alone the newly revamped Bump Day which seems to generate little interest.
Spec car racing has had 20 years to do something other than fail, yet Indycar can still barely fill its own field each May. The series should open up the formula and allow new chassis builders, engine suppliers, and drivers to compete.
Stephen Cox
Sopwith Motorsports Television Productions
Co-host, Mecum Auctions on NBCSN
Driver, Electric GT Championship, Super Cup Stock Car Series
The Monster All-Star Race, scheduled for May 20, 2017, will mark the 25th anniversary of this race. The first checkered flag for the All-Star race was waved under the lights for the first time in 1992. This was also the race that signaled a new change within the sport, and it has become a tradition that has quickly become a fan favorite.
Some of the most hardcore fans may even take to their own ‘tracks’ to emulate their favorite NASCAR drivers. Between tire changes and checks on antifreeze & coolants, these fans long for the day they can personally meet their racing car heroes.
The following is a breakdown of the specifics of the race, and how the entire race will unfold. Key questions about eligibility, format and other information will also be explained.
Programming Information for the NASCAR All-Star Race
When will the event take place? The Monster Energy Race is scheduled for May 20 (Saturday). It will begin at 6pm EST. The All-Star Race will follow the Monster Energy Open.
Where will it take place? The All-Star Race will occur at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC.
What channel will it be shown on? The Monster Energy Race will be televised on FS1 (Fox Sports).
Will there be a radio broadcast of the event? You can listen to the race on the following radio stations:
NASCAR Radio
MRN
Sirius XM
The Race Format
The Monster Energy All Star Race is considered one of the longest races in the sport. It consists of stages that include 20 laps, 20 laps, 20 laps and 10 laps. This will total 70 laps, run over four different stages, the same as the original race in 1992. Another feature that is consistent between the upcoming race and the 1992 race is that only 10 cars will be eligible to earn a spot in the last lap segment.
How are Drivers Chosen to Advance to the Final Lap?
The drivers who win the first three stages are automatically guaranteed a spot in the final lap. However, they must maintain in the top lap. The remaining spots will go to the drivers who had the best averages in the first segments. So, this means that some drivers will be eliminated before the last lap begins.
Driver Qualifications
The drivers who are eligible to race in the Monster All-Star race are those who have won a prior points event since the beginning of 2016.
Drivers who have won the event before and who also compete on a full-time basis are also eligible to race. Based on these criteria, there are several drivers who have already locked in a spot for the race. They include:
Kurt Busch
Dale Earnhardt. Jr.
Kyle Busch
Joey Lagano
Jimmie Johnson
Ryan Newman
Strategies
All drivers have their own strategies that they use to get the upper hand on their competition. Every team will be given softer tires. This set of tires can be used as the team see fit. These tires will help the driver’s car grip the track and increase speed.
Points
Drivers are not awarded points. However, the winning driver will be awarded $1 million.
Fernando Alonso took the motorsports world by storm yesterday when he announced that he was bypassing the Grand Prix of Monaco to enter the 101st Indianapolis 500 on the same day. So naturally, other Formula 1 drivers were asked if they would do so as well down the road.
Among them was three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who’s no stranger to the NASCAR world. He was a guest of Jeff Gordon’s at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 in 2015.
He was asked, based on Alonso’s decision, would he run an “iconic race” such as Indy or Le Mans if given the chance.
“Probably a NASCAR race, like the Daytona 500 maybe,” he said.
Hamilton would be only the second Formula 1 world champion to compete in the Daytona 500 and first after winning a title (Mario Andretti won the Daytona 500 prior to his 1978 title).
For Hamilton to run the Daytona 500, if he ever does attempt it, he’d likely run an ARCA race at Daytona International Speedway or Talladega Superspeedway as other drivers with no prior restrictor plate racing experience have done. But NASCAR has the discretion to allow a driver with no prior experience racing at Daytona or Talladega to race at Daytona and/or Talladega regardless. Their résumé committee looks over all drivers based on different factors, such as experience, speed of tracks, etc.*
He also said he’d like to do MotoGP.
“I’d like to ride a MotoGP,” he said.
But Hamilton added that unlike Alonso, he wasn’t going to “miss out any of the races in Formula 1.” He also didn’t answer whether or not he would run the Indianapolis 500 or the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as was asked in the original question.
The two other drivers part of the media availability, Stoffel Vandoorne and Sergio Perez chimed in on the question.
“Yeah, I think I’ve decided to do the Spa 24 Hours instead of Hungary this year,” Vandoorne exclaimed.
“I certainly wouldn’t miss Monaco because for me Monaco is my favorite weekend in the whole calendar. So I wouldn’t miss Monaco and normally you have that clash,” Perez said. “But I’d like to do some other racing. I certainly have some interest in IndyCar. The Indy 500 is certainly one of the best races in the world, so I’d definitely to do some.”
*This article has been corrected to show that a driver with no prior restrictor plate racing experience may compete at Daytona and/or Talladega at NASCAR’s discretion. It incorrectly stated previously that NASCAR requires prior experience for restrictor plate races.
A.J. Foyt became the 26th person to be honored with the Spirit of Ford Award, joining an international list of honorees from all forms of racing and racing media.
The award was presented as part of the Road Racing Driver’s Club dinner, an event that helped commemorate the 50th anniversary of Foyt and Dan Gurney winning the 1967 Le Mans 24 Hours.
That remains the first and only victory at Le Mans by an All-American team featuring All-American drivers.
LONG BEACH, CALIF., April 7, 2017 – A.J. Foyt, one of the most legendary American drivers in history, was presented with the prestigious Spirit of Ford Award in a ceremony at the Road Racing Driver’s Club dinner last evening.
The Spirit of Ford Award is Ford Motor Company’s highest honor in auto racing, recognizing lifetime achievement and contribution to the industry both on and off the race track. Foyt becomes the 26th recipient, joining an international list of honorees from all forms of racing and racing media.
Foyt was presented the award during the RRDC dinner by Edsel B. Ford II, great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford and a member of the company’s board of directors.
Foyt was on hand for the dinner along with Dan Gurney, as part of an event helping commemorate the 50th anniversary of the duo’s victory at the 1967 Le Mans 24 Hours, the first and only victory at Le Mans by an All-American team featuring All-American drivers.
LeMans, LeMans, France, 1967.AJ Foyt (right) and Dan Gurney (left).CD#0554-3252-1856-11
“A.J. was one of my heroes in racing when I first followed the sport,” said Ford. “When looking back at his magnificent career, the question isn’t what did A.J. drive, but more what didn’t he drive and win in? His passion for driving and his commitment to the sport since his retirement have made him more than worthy for all the halls of fames he is part of. Many of his most significant victories – including the ’67 Le Mans win – came with Ford power, and it’s truly my honor to be able to present him with our Spirit of Ford Award.”
Foyt is best known as being the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times, but his career spanned into many forms of racing. He has a record 67 wins and seven championships in Indy Car racing. He also was a seven-time winner in the NASCAR Cup series, and has a total of 172 victories and 14 championships during his career.
He is also the only driver in history to win the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona.
He is currently still involved in the sport as the owner of the two-car A.J. Foyt Racing team that competes in the Verizon IndyCar Series.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global automotive and mobility company based in Dearborn, Michigan. With about 201,000 employees and 62 plants worldwide, the company’s core business includes designing, manufacturing, marketing and servicing a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs and electrified vehicles, as well as Lincoln luxury vehicles. To expand its business model, Ford is aggressively pursuing emerging opportunities with investments in electrification, autonomy and mobility. Ford provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products and services, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.
In his first race as a member of Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, Maverick Vinales captured the season-opening win in Qatar on Sunday in dramatic fashion.
The mounting pressure of an almost too comfortable lead in his first premier class race proved too much for rookie Johann Zarco, who lost his bike to a heartbreaking lowside after leading the first half of the race .
Weekend favorite and preseason test dominator Vinales capitalized on the Frenchman’s disappointment and turned the race into a two-bike duel between his Yamaha 2017 M1 and Andrea Dovizioso’s Ducati Desmosedici GP17.
While the final laps were ripe with overtakes for the lead and a drag races on the frontstretch, Vinales finished a half second over Dovizioso and nearly two seconds over third place, teammate Valentino Rossi.
Repsol Honda teammate’s Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa finished fourth and fifth, respectively, over six seconds back from Vinales.
The Qatar GP also saw the best finish in the sport for Aprilia with Aleix Espargaro’s sixth place showing, the top from an independent team.
Octo Pramac’s Scott Redding put in an impressive seventh place effort, stunted from the start by Zarco, whose sweeping move to the inside of the frontstretch killed the British rider’s holeshot aboard his Ducati GP16.
Australian Jack Miller finished 14 seconds back in eighth, matching his third best career finish, only better in last year’s maiden victory at Assen and seventh place showing at Sachsenring.
Top rookie honors went to Alex Rins, who gathered Suzuki Ecstar’s only seven points after teammate Andrea Iannone wrecked early on.
Zarco’s fellow first-year teammate Jonas Folger gathered six championship points for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 with a tenth place finish.
New to Ducati Team, Jorge Lorenzo finished 11th after running off track early on.
Just outside of points positions was the new KTM team of Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith in 16th and 17th, respectively.
