DARLINGTON, S.C. (Jan. 21, 2017) – Jimmie Johnson, who won a record-tying seventh NASCAR championship this past season, has been voted the winner of the 2016 Richard Petty Driver of the Year Award presented by the National Motorsports Press Association.
Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, was named on 62 percent of the ballots cast for the award of the NMPA membership. Others receiving votes were Carl Edwards (Joe Gibbs Racing), Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing), Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart (Stewart-Haas Racing) and Joey Logano (Team Penske).
Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Johnson are the only NASCAR drivers to win seven titles in what is now known as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
The announcement was made during the NMPA’s annual Convention and Awards Dinner held in Concord, N.C.
It marks the seventh time Johnson, 41, has received the Driver of the Year honor. He also won the award in 2004, ’06, ’07, ’09, ’10, and ’13.
Johnson won five races in 2016, including the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway which clinched his seventh championship. He ended the year with 11 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes in 36 races.
The award is named in honor of Petty, NASCAR’s win leader in its top series with 200 victories. It has been presented annually by the NMPA since 1969. Twenty-three different drivers have won the award since its inception.
Richard Petty Driver of the Year
Determined by vote of the membership, the Richard Petty Driver of the Year award has been presented annually since 1969 to recognize the season’s most outstanding driver. It is named in honor of the seven-time NASCAR premier series champion:
2016, Jimmie Johnson; 2015 – Kyle Busch; 2014, Kevin Harvick; 2013, Jimmie Johnson; 2012, Brad Keselowski; 2011, Tony Stewart; 2010, Jimmie Johnson; 2009, Jimmie Johnson; 2008, Carl Edwards; 2007, Jimmie Johnson; 2006, Jimmie Johnson; 2005, Tony Stewart; 2004, Jimmie Johnson; 2003, Ryan Newman; 2002, Tony Stewart; 2001, Kevin Harvick; 2000, Bobby Labonte;
1999, Dale Jarrett; 1998, Jeff Gordon; 1997, Dale Jarrett; 1996, Terry Labonte; 1995, Jeff Gordon; 1994, Dale Earnhardt; 1993, Rusty Wallace; 1992, Davey Allison; 1991, Harry Gant; 1990, Dale Earnhardt; 1989, Mark Martin; 1988, Rusty Wallace; 1987, Dale Earnhardt; 1986, Tim Richmond and Dale Earnhardt;
1985, Bill Elliott; 1984, Terry Labonte; 1983, Bobby Allison; 1982, Darrell Waltrip; 1981, Darrell Waltrip; 1980 Dale Earnhardt; 1979 Cale Yarborough; 1978 Cale Yarborough; 1977, Cale Yarborough; 1976, Darrell Waltrip; 1975, Richard Petty; 1974, Richard Petty; 1973, David Pearson; 1972, Bobby Allison; 1971, Bobby Allison; 1970, Bobby Isaac; 1969, LeeRoy Yarbrough.
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Veteran public relations representative Dave Ferroni has been named the 2016 recipient of the Ken Patterson Helping Others Award.
Ferroni has been involved in various forms of auto racing for more than 30 years. His company, DMF Communications, currently handles public relations for Furniture Row Racing and driver Martin Truex, Jr. in NASCAR’s premier series.
Publicist for the gold-medal winning U.S. hockey team in 1980, Ferroni has served in a public relations capacity for Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway and the National Hot Rod Association in addition to his work in NASCAR. His company’s accounts have included the U.S. Army, Miller Brewing Co., Pennzoil, McDonald’s and Valvoline.
The Ken Patterson Award is determined by a vote of the National Motorsports Press Association membership and is sponsored by Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The award has been presented annually since 2004 and is named in honor of Patterson, the former public relations director at Talladega. It recognizes public relations officials in the motorsports industry (team, track and sanctioning body) who have exhibited the kind, generous qualities always demonstrated by Patterson.
Ferroni was presented the award during the NMPA’s annual convention Saturday, Jan. 21 in Concord, N.C.
Talladega Superspeedway, co-presenter of the award, will donate $1,000 in Ferroni’s name to the Kenneth Patterson Educational Trust Fund.
Also receiving votes for this year’s award were Lisa Hughes Kennedy (GOLIN/Toyota NASCAR PR), Dennis Worden (Darlington Raceway) and Jessica Stroupe (Chevrolet Racing).
Year – Recipient
2016 – Dave Ferroni, DMF Communications
2015 – Jon Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Inc.
2014 – Mike Smith, Martinsville Speedway
2013 – Marcy Scott, Atlanta Motor Speedway
2012 – Scott Cooper, Charlotte Motor Speedway
2011 – Kerry Tharp, NASCAR
2010 – Denny Darnell, Darnell Communications
2009 – Judy Dominick, GM Racing
2008 – Tom Roberts, TRPR
2007 – Ray Cooper, Clear! Blue Communications
2006 – Jimmy White, Camp & Assoc., Inc
2005 – Dan Zacharias, Ford Racing
2004 – Kristi King, Talladega Superspeedway
DARLINGTON, S.C. (Jan. 21, 2017) – Veteran motorsports journalist Al Pearce has been named the 2016 recipient of the National Motorsports Press Association’s Pocono Spirit Award.
Pearce, of Newport News, Va., was one of four quarterly award recipients this past season and was chosen for the overall award by a vote of the NMPA membership.
Other quarterly recipients were Joe Gibbs Racing spotter Chris Osborne, motorsports artist Jeanne Barnes and former NASCAR driver Mike Skinner and his wife, Angie.
Pearce raised more than $13,000 through the auction of a racing helmet bearing the signatures of the 20 living World Driving Champions as well as those of Phil Hill and Sir Jack Brabham prior their passing. Proceeds from the project, which took nearly four years to complete, went to the Victory Junction Gang Camp, the Kyle Petty Charity Ride, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation and the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation.
He is employed by Autoweek and is a member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
The NMPA Pocono Spirit Award recognizes character and achievement in the face of adversity, sportsmanship and contributions to motorsports. It is sponsored by Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and has been presented by the NMPA each year since 1992.
NMPA Spirit Award Winners
Year – Recipient
2016 – Al Pearce
2015 – Holly Cain
2014 – Lynda Petty
2013 – Marcy Scott
2012 – Andy Hillenburg
2011 – Jeff Gordon
2010 – Jim Hunter
2009 – David Poole
2008 – T. Taylor Warren
2007 – Bill France Jr.
2006 – Benny Parsons
2005 – Morgan Shepherd
2004 – Kyle and Pattie Petty
2003 – Bob Latford
2002 – Larry Hicks
2003 – Bob Latford
2002 – Larry Hicks
2001 – Ricky Craven
2000 – Kyle Petty
1999 – Clay Earles
1998 – Mark Martin
1997 – Dave Marcis
1996 – Dale Earnhardt
1995 – Ernie Irvan
1994 – Ernie Irvan
1993 – Davey Allison & Alan Kulwicki
1992 – Davey Allison Family
DARLINGTON, S.C. – ESPN.com motorsports writer Bob Pockrass has been named the recipient of the National Motorsports Press Association’s Joe Littlejohn Award for 2016.
The award is named after the former track owner from Spartanburg, S.C., and is presented annually by the NMPA in recognition for outstanding service to the organization.
Pockrass recently completed his eighth year as secretary-treasurer for the NMPA. Before moving to ESPN.com, he covered motorsports for sportingnews.com, NASCAR Scene and the Daytona Beach News-Journal. He is a graduate of Indiana University.
The Joe Littlejohn Award has been presented annually since 1970.
“Bob has not only been a tremendous friend, but he has been an outstanding member of the organization,” NMPA president Kenny Bruce said. “His approach to his duties while in office has been no different than his approach to his job covering the sport – he is diligent, fair and one of the hardest working individuals I’ve known.”
Pockrass was presented the award during the annual NMPA convention and awards dinner held Jan. 21 in Concord, N.C.
According to records, Littlejohn, who passed away in 1989, was the first driver to top the 100-mph mark in a stock car on a measured mile. The record was established in 1950 on the sand at Daytona Beach, Fla. He raced before the formation of NASCAR in 1948 and eventually turned his attention to promoting the sport.
He is credited with organizing the NMPA and is a member of its Hall of Fame.
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Mike Skinner and his wife, Angie, have been selected as the fourth quarter recipients of the National Motorsports Press Association’s Pocono Spirit Award.
The Skinners were chosen for their annual benefit, known as the Skinner Roundup, which raises funds in support of Hope For The Warriors, a national nonprofit dedicated to restoring a sense of self, family and hope for service members, veterans and military families.
This year’s Roundup raised more than $220,000 to go toward the project.
Skinner, who competed in all three of NASCAR’s national series, won the inaugural Truck Series title in 1995 and earned 28 victories in the series.
Others receiving votes for the fourth quarter award were NASCAR drivers Joey Gase, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson and former drivers Darrell and Michael Waltrip.
The NMPA Pocono Spirit Award recognizes character and achievement in the face of adversity, sportsmanship and contributions to motorsports.
Each year, the membership of the NMPA selects quarterly recipients as well as an overall winner of the Spirit Award. The award is sponsored by Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and has been presented annually since 1992.
The Skinners join NASCAR spotter Chris Osborne, artist Jeanne Barnes and journalist Al Pearce as quarterly award recipients for 2016.
The overall winner of the 2016 NMPA Pocono Spirit Award will be announced Saturday, January 21, 2017, during the NMPA’s annual convention and awards ceremony in Concord, N.C.
As NASCAR readies to kick off the 2013 season with the Great American Race at Daytona, one common man, Ken Squier, will be ready to once again have an uncommon influence on the sport.
Squier, a Vermont native, has had a lengthy history of covering the sport that he has grown to love and influence. In fact, he started his broadcasting career at the tender age of 14 years.
“I hitchhiked to the track because I didn’t want my parents to know,” Squier said of his first announcing gig. “I think I got $5 for it.”
“They had taken a bull dozer around the field a couple of times and called it a race track,” Squier continued. “It was the north against the south at that time in Vermont and it was a war.”
“The public address system was on a logging truck,” Squier said. “It got so bad that me and another kid hid under the truck until the fights were under control.”
As with many in the sport, Squier came by his love of racing naturally, tagging along with his father who was a harness racing announcer. And thanks to those travels, he got his first exposure to stock car racing.
“My dad was a harness race announcer so I knew I had to be a part of racing somehow, someway,” Squier said. “We used to go to country fairs and one afternoon lasted about five years.”
“It was awful,” Squier continued. “However, on the weekend, you could blast through those awful days because they had the Hell Drivers and the open wheel, open cockpit cars.”
“This was no children’s game,” Squier said. “It was the real deal.”
“We would see on a Saturday or Sunday American Automobile Association races,” Squier continued. “I actually saw the original Joie Chitwood and all the others.”
“My hero when I was a kid was Ted Horn from California.”
From then on, Squier was hooked on this intriguing sport of automobile racing, so much so that he was involved with the founding of the Motor Racing Network, where we served as a commentator from 1969 to 1978.
“The first office for Motor Racing Network was a Pepsi cooler with a glass top folded back and forth out in the hall,” Squier said. “They gave us a phone and said get your ass busy and find some radio stations to carry this race.”
He then took on a role with CBS Sports, again telling the stories of the racers he so admired, as well as covering other sports, including boxing and even frog jumping and hollering contests. In fact, Squier was part of the debut of the NASCAR broadcast for the 1979 Daytona 500 and would be part of many Great American races from that time forward.
“I wore my CBS necktie every Daytona 500,” Squier said. “I paid $5 and selected it because whatever you spilled on it, no one could see.”
And of course, Squier would be part of that one special CBS Daytona 500 broadcast, capturing the infamous fight between the Allison brothers and Cale Yarborough, which was not only seen around the world but which catapulted the sport of stock car racing to the level that it is today.
“The show was over and the Goodyear blimp was headed back to the airport,” Squier said of that incredible Daytona 500 finish. “We were just fussing around and the producer said, “Take a look at this.”
“Capturing that brawl was just one of those moments,” Squier continued. “Everything fell into place that day and all fit together.”
Squier was also part of another historic moment, bringing the innovation of an in-car camera to the sport of stock car racing.
“I was in Australia and the people providing the in-car equipment invited me to see Bathurst which was their Indy 500 at the time,” Squier said. “I was in the truck and sure enough the thing goes on and the course was like a Christmas tree, up one side and down the other.”
“It was just remarkable to see the cameras focused on the drivers,” Squier continued. “When they came down the mountain, there was a straightaway and the race is on and the racer is providing commentary right from the track.”
“I said to myself, I just think I found what we need to do in the Daytona 500.”
Cale Yarborough carried that first in car camera in a Daytona 500, sharing his insights right from the cockpit of his race car. And he went on to win the race as well.
Patty Wheeler, Humpy Wheeler’s daughter, recognized other accomplishments of her good friend and mentor Ken Squier.
“There were other innovations like the Hollywood Hotel on Fox, which was conceived by Squier in the early 1980s as the STP Pit Communication Center,” Wheeler noted. “He started the first ever television production company and launched the first ever weekly motorsports show called Motor Week Illustrated.”
“You remember that 5:35 on Friday afternoons was must-see TV to find out about racing,” Wheeler continued. “And it even led into live wrestling.”
“One of Squier’s great legacies was Motorsports University,” Wheeler said. “When you look at the people on the air, most got their first shot or their big break from Squier.”
“We all owe him a great deal of gratitude for that.”
“What Squier did for motorsports was what Howard Cosell did for boxing,” Wheeler said. “He introduced a broad American public to the sport he loved and showcased it in a way that made everyone else love it with him.”
In addition to his broadcasting prowess, what intrigued Squier most were these racers, these gutsy risk takers, who gave their all both on and off the track.
“This was not a children’s game played by adults,” Squier said. “These were men that were so committed and believed so wholly in what they did that they were willing to take the risk.”
“If one fell, the greatest tribute was to be there the next week to race in their honor,” Squier continued. “It was the kind of sport where those people who took those chances understood that.”
“You could trust them,” Squier said of the NASCAR racers. “They could be wild, but when the chips were down you didn’t have to worry that your children were going to take on a hero that was stuffing something up their nose.”
“That didn’t play in NASCAR,” Squier continued. “It was a different world and still is today.”
“These were common people doing uncommon deeds,” Squier said. “It was Bud Moore in World War II over in Europe.”
“So much of what we know of racing and love came from those incredible people who fought for this nation,” Squier continued. “They were common men that did incredible deeds.”
“And racing is full of those people and still is today,” Squier said. “So, that’s what has always brought me back to this.”
“I can’t stop it because I like it so much and I like the people so much.”
“It is that good.”
For his years of passion for the sport, Squier was inducted recently into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame and also was recognized with the unveiling of the Squier-Hall Award for Media Excellence, with his good friend Barney Hall, at recent ceremonies at NASCAR’s Hall of Fame.
So, this weekend, as fans across the nation sit down to watch the Great American race yet again, with the new gyrocam and other technological broadcasting advances, all should remember that common men doing uncommon deeds, both on and off the track, have grown the sport to what it is today.
And Ken Squier was certainly one of those common men with an uncommon influence on the sport of NASCAR racing.
