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Tag: JD Motorsports

  • NASCAR, IndyCar Communities Team Up For #CooperStrong

    NASCAR, IndyCar Communities Team Up For #CooperStrong

    What started as a text message from JD Motorsports team owner Johnny Davis to team employee Alex Tauras has now become a hero card drive extending across the motorsports world, centered around an eight-year-old fan with a terminal illness.

    Cooper, a young race fan from Oklahoma, is currently battling Stage 3 Anaplastic Ependymoma, which is a tumor that forms when cells in the central nervous system (including the brain and spinal cord) begin to multiply rapidly. An ependymoma is anaplastic if the cells grow very quickly and are significantly unusual in shape.

    Cooper had let it be known that he’d like some hero cards of some race car drivers, and Tauras, who runs the JD Motorsports social media pages, spread the word through the team’s social media accounts including the team’s official Reddit account, where he then posted to the r/NASCAR community. From there, the drive took off as several fans began sending in not only hero cards, both signed and unsigned, but diecasts and T-shirts as well.

    “I figured that if Cooper liked racing and just wanted hero cards, I’m sure other people would join in and send us some of their duplicates,” said Tauras. “Little did I know, that would quickly blow up. From the time I created the post, even till now, I’m getting messages from NASCAR fans all over the United States asking what they can send him. To be honest, I really had no real intention on doing something like this, but it’s funny how God puts you in places and situations.”

    “As of right now, I think we’re somewhere in the high 30s for diecasts of all sizes, maybe a few hundred hero cards, and one guy is sending us about 1,200 trading cards along with a variety of stuff.”

    One r/NASCAR community member, user /u/GarageguyEve, cross-posted the drive over to the Reddit INDYCAR community, r/INDYCAR, where several fans from that community have also teamed together to send young Cooper some more racing swag. Among those from the community Andretti Autosport, who saw the post on the INDYCAR Reddit, has been in contact with JD Motorsports to help send more to Cooper.

    Texas Motor Speedway and some members from Hendrick Motorsports are also reaching out and sending packages to Cooper, but the icing on the cake may happen on November 7, as Cooper has been invited to be a guest of JD Motorsports for the November race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

    JD Motorsports issued a thank you to the fans through their Reddit account, stating that the drive was “not only a testament to what the NASCAR/Motorsports community is capable of, but it’s a testament to the kindness, compassion, and resolve that our community has.”

    According to Tauras, room is running out with the number of items they are receiving for the drive, so the team plans to send the items out this week so it can arrive early enough and fall into place accordingly as Cooper is currently recovering at home.

     

  • Chastain, Preece, McClure To Drive For JD Motorsports

    Chastain, Preece, McClure To Drive For JD Motorsports

    GAFFNEY, S.C. – The 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series season will be brand new, and the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller team is ready to shine in the new landscape.

    NASCAR has changed the system that decides the championship in the XFINITY Series, adding a version of the Chase format that has been successful for several seasons in the Sprint Cup Series.

    A victory in the first 26 races of the 33-race XFINITY season will all but guarantee a driver entry into the XFINITY Chase. Twelve drivers will make the Chase.

    Drivers will race for the title through three rounds, with four being eligible for the championship in the season’s final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida. The Final Four driver who finishes the highest at Homestead will win the title.

    “We’re ready to race for it,” said JD Motorsports with Gary Keller owner Johnny Davis. “We have the drivers, the cars and the resources here to make a run for the championship. We can’t wait to get started.”

    JDM plans to field three cars again this season in the XFINITY Series.

    Ross Chastain, who turned in a superior performance in his rookie XFINITY season last year, returns to the team’s No. 4 Chevrolets with backing from the watermelon industry. Brian Berry will be the team’s crew chief, with Gary Cogswell also on board at JDM as a co-crew chief and key mechanic across all of the team’s operations.

    Former NASCAR Whelen Modified champion Ryan Preece takes over JDM’s No. 01 Chevy. Zach McGowan, already familiar with Preece from working with him in both Sprint Cup and XFINITY races, will be the team’s crew chief. Preece, who won the Modified championship in 2013, has raced with support from Mohawk Northeast, Inc., Mizzy Construction and Falmouth Ready Mix.Eric McClure joins JDM to drive the team’s No. 0 Chevrolet in the season-opener Feb. 20 at Daytona International Speedway. Todd Myers will be crew chief. Reynolds Wrap will be McClure’s sponsor.

    JDM plans to field the No. 0 cars throughout the season and is actively pursuing driver/sponsor partnerships going forward.

    G&K Services, a long-time JDM sponsor, returns in 2016 as one of the team’s key ingredients.

    “Everything is lining up well,” Davis said. “We expect to have three strong teams when we get things started next month in Daytona. We should be astronomically better than last year. We’re better prepared, and we have more resources.”

    Chastain, 23, scored four top 10s for JDM last season, including a ninth-place run in the season-opening race at Daytona.

    “I feel like we really overachieved last year, especially since I hadn’t been to a lot of the tracks,” Chastain said. “Now we’re back and we’ve regrouped. The right people are in the right places, and the morale of the whole team is better.”

    Chastain said he’s shooting for race wins, a finish in the points top 10 and a run into the Chase.

    Preece, 25, brings a strong resume to JDM. He finished as runner-up in the tough Whelen Modified Series in 2009 and 2012 before winning the title in 2013. He has 15 career wins in that series.

    Preece ran five Sprint Cup races last season.

    “It’s a great opportunity to run with Johnny Davis Motorsports,” Preece said. “I’ve been bouncing around between Sprint Cup and XFINITY, and it’s good to have a chance to run XFINITY full-time. It’s a lot of good seat time.

    “I love to race, and it’s cool that NASCAR has given us the opportunity to shoot for the Chase and to race for a championship.”

    McClure has finished in the top 20 in points in the XFINITY Series in each of the past five seasons. Also a former Sprint Cup driver, he brings a wealth of experience to JDM.

    McClure raced for Davis in 2007 in the XFINITY Series.

    “Johnny’s organization has come a long way,” McClure said. “It’s fitting that at this stage of my career that I can come back and partner up with a guy who knows how to race and knows how to maximize his opportunities. My career has sort of come full circle.”

  • Jeffrey Earnhardt Continues the Family Tradition

    Jeffrey Earnhardt Continues the Family Tradition

    Jeffrey Earnhardt may have a famous last name but he’s determined to make his mark in NASCAR on his own terms. His determination is unmistakable and his desire undeniable as he talks racing.

    This season he has a full-time ride in the Nationwide Series with a new team, JD Motorsports. Jeffrey is committed to the team for believing in him and giving him the opportunity to drive even when he hasn’t had sponsorship.

    “Being out there every week has been huge for me,” he said. “It’s definitely helping me learn to be a better driver. I’m fortunate to have an awesome group of guys that I get to work with every weekend.”

    However, many of his fans continue to ask about the possibility that Jeffrey will partner with his uncle, Dale Earnhardt Jr. at JR Motorsports.  Dale Jr. spoke to the media about his nephew at Darlington Raceway this past weekend.

    “I watch him every week during the Nationwide races, he stated. “I think he’s done a couple of good things with that team, had a great qualifying effort at Bristol and got spun out the first lap of the race. He has had some other good situations that I’ve seen where he’s had some speed in practice or in qualifying and in particularly in the race he has done well on a few occasions. We keep an eye on him. Him and I are close; he lives real close to me. He’s supposed to come over to the house Sunday to hang out a little bit. I mean we stay pretty tight.”

    While it’s conceivable that Dale Jr. and Jeffrey will team up at some point in his career, Jeffrey is especially pleased that they are forming a closer personal bond and spending time together away from the track.

    “I’m not looking for him to hand me a full ride. It would have to be the right scenario,” he explained. “The fact that he’s reaching out to try and create a better relationship, because we didn’t used to have one, he was always busy and I was off doing my own thing, it’s pretty cool.

    Photo Credit: David Yeazell
    Photo Credit: David Yeazell

    Jeffrey was competing at Darlington for only the second time in his career. His first experience at the track was in 2011 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Before the race we talked about his goals and the challenges he would face during the race.

    “Darlington is a unique track,” he continued. “It’s really hard to learn and get used to. The biggest thing that everyone has always told me about this track is to race the track and not to race other cars.”

    Jeffrey qualified in 26th and brought home a 20th place finish. It is his second top-20 of the season and he is currently ranked 17th in the point standings.

    “I feel like this team is very capable,” he told me. “It’s my first year with them and we’re still learning but I think we’re capable of a top-15 every weekend. We want to get better each weekend and get everything we can out of these cars.”

    NASCAR will take a week off for Easter break but you can catch up with Jeffrey when the action resumes at Richmond International Raceway on April 25th.

     

  • The Earnhardt Legacy Continues to Evolve

    The Earnhardt Legacy Continues to Evolve

    With Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway, thoughts of Dale Earnhardt Sr. and his legacy on the sport of NASCAR are only natural.

    Yet, in spite of his being gone for thirteen years now, with his fatal crash in the Daytona 500 in 2001, his legacy continues to not only live on but evolve significantly.

    One of the biggest evolutions in the legacy of Dale Earnhardt Sr. is of course the return of his infamous No. 3 car to the track with Richard Childress’ grandson Austin Dillon behind the wheel.

    Both Childress and Dillon were most mindful of their impact on the Earnhardt legacy as they made the announcement prior to the start of the season.

    “I know in my heart, today, as I sit here, Dale Earnhardt is smiling down,” Childress said. “He would want to see this 3.”

    Childress also stated that he believes the return of the No. 3 car actually will serve to preserve the legacy of his friend ‘The Intimidator’ and will provide teachable moments about his place in the sport to new and the new and up and coming fan base.

    “My hope is that Dale Earnhardt fans will be re-energized,” Childress said. “We are going to do our best to make them proud and I know Austin will.”

    “I think the new fans will learn a lot about the great Dale Earnhardt by watching this.”

    Indeed, the No. 3 car has indeed been the talk of the town during preseason testing, atop the speed charts at 195.109 mph when the rain finally stopped enough for the Cup cars to take the track.

    An additional evolution in the Earnhardt legacy occurred this week with the announcement of the dropping of the Earnhardt name from the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates banner.

    While Dale Earnhardt’s widow Teresa Earnhardt has not been involved in the ongoing operations of the team, it is unclear what, if any, her role is moving forward.

    “It’s been an honor to have the Earnhardt name affiliated with our team,” Chip Ganassi Racing President Steve Lauletta said. “Dale and Teresa have done a tremendous amount for the sport.”

    “We’ll continue to do business with those (DEI) companies,” Lauletta continued. “The relationship with Teresa and DEI was a benefit to the organization and we certainly want to continue to be affiliated with them.”

    “But for our partners and for the way we operate the organization, we’re changing the brand to Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.”

    While the Earnhardt name may be going away at the Cup level, the legacy continues on with another team that is affiliated with that famous moniker, JR Motorsports.

    This team, headed by General Manager Kelley Earnhardt Miller, daughter of Dale Earnhardt, Sr., recently announced their new up and coming driver Chase Elliott. The 18 year old will be behind the wheel of the No. 9 NAPA car in the Nationwide Series and will team with Regan Smith.

    “This will be the strongest lineup we’ve put on the track since we started racing full time in 2006,” JRM General Manger Kelley Earnhardt Miller said. “He’s that good.”

    Another major evolution in the Earnhardt legacy occurred this week as well, with the announcement that NASCAR’s most popular driver and reigning Earnhardt heir Dale Junior will be losing his crew chief Steve Letarte in 2015.

    NBC Sports made it official that Letarte will be joining the network in the broadcast booth, leaving the pit box of Earnhardt Jr. after this season.

    “I had a pretty good understanding what his decision was going to be when I left Homestead, so I’ve had time to really wrap my brain around it,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “It was a huge shock at first, just for me personally.”

    “I sat down with him and talked about it, the more it made sense and the more I understood his situation and I could put my own selfishness aside and kind of understand what was important to him and how this was good for him.”

    While Dale Earnhardt Jr. is experiencing his own changes, the next generation of Earnhardts are experiencing their own evolutions on the track.

    Jeffrey Earnhardt, grandson of Dale Earnhardt Sr., announced this week that he will be racing full-time in the Nationwide Series. The 24 year old driver will be behind the wheel of the No. 4 Chevrolet, teaming up with Landon Cassill, for JD Motorsports.

    “It’s a great opportunity for me,” Jeffrey Earnhardt said. “This sport runs in my family, and it’s where I want to be every week.”

    “Racing with Johnny and Gary and the guys will give me a shot at running well every week and adding on the experience I need.”

    The final cog in the Earnhardt legacy evolution is another grandchild, however, this one is female. Twelve year old Karsyn Elledge, daughter of Kelley Earnhardt Miller, has been making her own name in the sport, racing her grandfather’s No. 3 in sprint cars with sponsor Nickelodeon.

    “I didn’t get to meet him, but I know that it makes my mom and my dad proud that I run this number,” Earnhardt Elledge said. “I’ve only heard how great it was with this number and this legacy and I am excited to carry it on.”

    Perhaps Dale Earnhardt Jr. summed up the evolution of the Earnhardt legacy best, as he discussed the changes in his own professional career including his crew chief.

    “Life is full of change,” Junior said. “And we have to adjust and be able to move forward.”