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  • Jeb Burton Signs with BK Racing for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season

    Jeb Burton Signs with BK Racing for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season

    CHARLOTTE, NC (February 9, 2015) – Jeb Burton has signed with BK Racing for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season, as the driver of the No. 26 Toyota Camry.

    Jeb Burton, the son of Daytona 500 Champion Ward Burton, will be competing in his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season as a Rookie of the Year Contender. Twenty-two year old Burton has had a great start to his racing career with one Camping World Truck Series win, seven Top 5’s, nineteen Top 10’s and seven Coors Light Pole awards. After finishing in the Top 10 55% of the time in the trucks series, and sitting on the pole 14% of the time, Burton looks to make an unforgettable debut in the top series in motorsports, starting February 22nd Daytona.

    BK Racing Co-Owner, Anthony Marlowe commented on Jeb Burton joining the team, “We are very lucky to have a great, young talented driver like Jeb Burton in one of our NASCAR Sprint Cup cars. It was important for us to find full-time anchor drivers for this season that are experienced and team-oriented. Jeb’s success in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series along with his family’s history in the sport makes his emergence into Cup a great story. The story, which also includes having a strong shot at winning Sunoco Rookie of the Year in 2015, has already proven to be very marketable. I look forward to seeing Jeb behind the wheel of the No. 26 Toyota Camry very soon. I think he is going to do great in the Daytona 500.”

    “I am so thankful for the opportunity that BK Racing has given me,” Jeb commented. “It has been a dream of mine to race in the Daytona 500 ever since I was 9 years old and I stood with my Dad in victory lane. I remember thinking to myself then in 2002, I would like to win the 500 one day. Now I have a chance at making that dream come true. I am looking forward to making the 500, providing the best possible finish I can by running and racing hard every lap this season. I also look forward to competing for the 2015 title of Rookie of the Year. Each week, I will be concentrating on finishing on the lead lap and learning as much as possible.”

    Additionally, Ward Burton will be a team ambassador for BK Racing and join Jeb in select appearances throughout the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season.

    For up-to-date information on BK Racing, make sure to follow the team on social media. Check out BK Racing’s Facebook at facebook.com/BKRacing_2383 or Twitter and Instagram @BKracing_2383.

     About BK Racing, LLC

    BK Racing is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota Racing team headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 2012 after acquiring the assets of Red Bull Racing, BK Racing’s staff of 60+ employees work to field the No. 23, 26, 83 & 93 entries in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. BK Racing’s combined annual revenues of its sponsorship base exceed $50 billion. 2015 will mark BK Racing’s 4th consecutive full-time season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

     BKRacing

     

  • Chris Heroy Ready to Shine at Daytona as Kyle Larson Begins his Sophomore Season

    Chris Heroy Ready to Shine at Daytona as Kyle Larson Begins his Sophomore Season

    We have all heard the statement, “Behind every good man is an equally good woman.” The same goes for NASCAR, for behind every good driver is an equally good crew chief. We have heard of some of the great duos; Dale Earnhardt and Kirk Shelmerdine, Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham, Tony Stewart and Greg “Zippy” Zipadelli. Now, we have one more duo to add to NASCAR, Chris “Shine” Heroy and Kyle Larson.

    A crew chief is the glue that holds the whole team together. They wear many hats throughout the racing season. They are trainer and therapist, they are reassuring and they are the calming force when others collide. When they make the right call in a race, they are the hero but when they make the wrong call, their heads are on the line. They give the driver what they need, even if it’s not what the driver asked for.

    Heroy is by no means new to the NASCAR scene, but he took, perhaps, the long way around. He started in Indiana but ended up in California where he got his first start in racing with a Toyota Atlantic Series team (open wheel). In 2004 Heroy began his career in NASCAR as a chassis engineer for Hendrick Motorsports on what was the final season for Terry Labonte. He stayed with Hendrick Motorsports for eight years working as the chassis engineer for a diverse group of drivers including Kyle Busch, Casey Mears, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers, Mark Martin.

    In 2012 he left Hendrick Motorsports for the opportunity to be the crew chief for the No. 42 Target sponsored Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, driven by Juan Pablo Montoya. In 2012 Montoya announced that at the end of the season, he would return to IndyCar and all eyes turned to a driver who was taking the K&N Pro Series by storm. It was a young driver, who had caught the attention of many fans with his no holds barred driving style, Kyle Larson.

    The 2014 season started with an uproar over the return of Dale Earnhardt’s No. 3 with Austin Dillon at the wheel. It was the most eclectic season for rookies that NASCAR had in many years and all eyes were on the No. 3, wondering if Dillon would live up to the reputation.

    While that was happening Heroy and Larson, who had clicked from the start, were forging a friendship beyond racing, but it was showing on the track as well. With Heroy’s knowledge and Larson’s natural talent, they became the duo that stole the rookie spotlight from Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and Dillon. Now all eyes were on Larson as with each race the team was becoming the one to watch come race day.  Heroy and Larson had a rookie season like no other and the fans loved it. It was no surprise when Larson won the 2014 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year title hands down.

    Heroy already has everything ready for Daytona and is eager to race. In fact, the Atlanta car was on the floor getting ready for that race when I spoke to him. I asked him if the new testing rules had affected them at all and he explained, “It does yes, we come up with all these ideas, but we have no idea if they will work or not so we put them in what we call a “bucket.” We have a full bucket of ideas now, we just have to wait until we get to the track to see if they work or not, which adds more pressure to race weekend because there is much more to try.”

    I asked Heroy if the push from Ryan Newman at Phoenix International Raceway upset Larson and he surprised me by saying, “Actually not really, Kyle isn’t one that gets really heated in the car too bad. Once I told him Newman needed that spot to make it (into the Chase) he was okay with it.”

    Heroy also talked about the goals for this year, commenting, “Our goals for this year are pretty much the same, win our first race (at least one), make the Chase and hopefully we win it all.”

    I questioned whether Larson has changed since becoming a new father. Heroy chuckled and said, “Nah, he takes Owen (Larson’s son) everywhere. Once he is in the car, that all goes away and it’s all about the race.”

    Next, I asked Heroy if he had any pet peeves about Kyle. He laughed and said. “Yes, getting him to the car quicker. He is so grateful for all his fans and he hates to walk away and not have the time to sign an autograph for everyone.” He added, “Fans mean everything and he still is amazed by the fans that say, ‘I remember you back in your open wheel days at such and such track.’ It really makes you think how much fans have really followed your career.”

    We also talked about driving styles and I asked Heroy if Larson’s driving style reminded him of Kyle Busch because many fans find it similar. He answered, “Not really,” adding, “I have heard that before but in truth he is more like Jimmie Johnson, more controlled than you think.”

    Heroy is comfortable in his role with the team. Each member of the team has a role to fulfill on race day. It’s the crew chief’s job to ensure that everyone knows what to do and to make adjustments all race long for the car and subsequently the driver and Heroy is perfect with Larson. It should not come as a surprise that this team is capable of accomplishing great things.

    NASCAR is Heroy’s family for the moment and that’s okay with him. However, if you are on the beach early one morning and spot a Target painted surfboard out catching a wave, say Hi, as odds are, it could be Heroy, as not only is he a superb crew chief but he is an avid surfer as well. In fact, that’s how he got the nickname “Sunshine” which was further shortened to, “Shine.”  So perhaps when they give the command to “start your engines,” one day we should just say “Surf’s up,” and watch his reaction.

     

  • Richard Childress Racing Plans to Build on 2014’s Successes

    Richard Childress Racing Plans to Build on 2014’s Successes

    Charlotte, NC – Richard Childress Racing will come back with the same drivers in 2015. Sprint Cup runner up Ryan Newman in the No. 31 Chevrolet, Paul Menard in the No. 27 Chevrolet, and Austin Dillon in the No. 3 Chevrolet. Newman said the second place season almost didn’t happen.

    “There was a point right around May when we got caught looking in the wrong direction and just were behind,” Newman said during the fourth and final day of this year’s Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour.

    “They did an awesome job of continually stepping up, bringing better and more competitive pieces to the race track. Everyone at RCR stepped up. It was an awesome thing to be a part of.”

    Nothing has changed on his team, so Newman is looking to make the No. 31 even better. Last year was the first year in four that he didn’t win a race.

    “No reason for it not to,” said Newman. “Even though there were no (wins) in the win column, we achieved some amazing things for a first-year organization, no reason we can’t keep that incline going.”

    The potential for success, he said, was there from the beginning, “but I didn’t think it would explode the way it did.

    “I think we all saw gunpowder laying on the floor, but we didn’t know who was going to light it, when it was going to light and how much of it was going to go off. I think every bit of it went off, and then some.”

    Austin Dillon went through his rookie year with some success and some disappointments, but thinks he will use the experience to have a better sophomore season. Battling side-by-side with Kyle Larson for the rookie title all season, he came up short, but no one could say he didn’t have a successful rookie season.

    “There’s a lot of pressure any time you move to a new series,” said Dillon, who immediately backed off the naysayers by winning the Coors Light Pole Award ahead of the 2014 Daytona 500. “Having the 3, there’s so many fans behind it and it was a great year to go through. Nothing crazy happened. This year, I think we’ve got to start getting crazy. We’ve got to start making things happen.

    “When I say that, we need to be in the Chase; we need to be part of the chaos at the end of the year. I want to put more pressure on (myself) and you can more focus on the competition side of things. People know how we approached that first year; I think we did it right. Now it’s time to make fire and go fast.”

    The 24-year-old is also scheduled to run 20 XFINITY Series races in 2015, which he believes will help him figure out the ins-and-outs of his Cup ride. The new technical package for Sprint Cup cars in 2015 is much more closely aligned with NASCAR’s second series than in years past.

    There’s a lot for Dillon to build on for 2015 and a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup berth is not out of the question. With the initial attention around the No. 3 car’s return now mostly a thing of the past, it should allow the RCR driver to stay steady throughout the year and keep his head down.

    “The good thing is, we had a decent year last year, but when you can find places to improve, and you know where those are, you should be able to take those and make them better,” Dillon said. “I think that’s what I’ve been able to do the last couple of years when we go from say, rookie year in Trucks or (XFINITY), then second year and you win a championship.”

    “I’m not saying we’re going to go out there and win a championship, but that’s our goal. I think we can, and what Ryan and Luke (Lambert, No. 31 crew chief) were able to do, I think me and Gil want to accomplish that, have a shot at the end of the year.”

    RCR owner Richard Childress announced that Wix Filters had re-upped with the organization and Grainger will join the No. 31 Chevrolet with Ryan Newman.

  • Hendrick Motorsports Fills a Fifth Chair

    Hendrick Motorsports Fills a Fifth Chair

    Charlotte, NC – There was lots of news during Hendrick Motorsports’ presentation at the 2015 Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour on Thursday. The biggest news of the day was what we all knew was going to happen. Chase Elliott will be driving the No. 24 Chevrolet in 2016. It’s a year off yet, but that was the buzz around the Charlotte Civic Center.

    Before Thursday afternoon’s presentation from Hendrick Motorsports, five director’s chairs stood empty on the stage, one earmarked for team owner Rick Hendrick and the rest for his four drivers. One chair rested to the side, awaiting its moment to join the group.

    In the same way, Chase Elliott has waited for his seat in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. And now his time is just around the corner.

    Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday that Elliott, the defending NASCAR XFINITY Series champion, will join the sport’s premier circuit full-time in 2016 after running a partial schedule of five races this season in the No. 25 Chevrolet. In making the step forward, Elliott, 19, will take over the Hendrick-owned No. 24 Chevrolet made famous by four-time champion Jeff Gordon, who announced last week that this will be his last full-time season in NASCAR’s top division.

    Elliott said he was informed of his impending promotion to Sprint Cup by a phone call from Hendrick, shortly after Gordon made his intentions known to his team. As big a shock as news of Gordon’s decision was, Elliott said the piece of the story involving him was an even bigger surprise.

    “That’s a phone call I was not expecting that day. That is for sure,” Elliott said. “I didn’t know anything about Jeff’s announcement until that morning and to have Mr. Hendrick tell me that he wanted me to be that person to go in and drive that car whenever Jeff got done was just an unbelievable phone call — one that I was not expecting and something that I couldn’t have dreamt happening.”

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. was sporting his new primary sponsor’s logo on his firesuit, but wanted to talk about his new crew chief, Greg Ives. It appears Earnhardt and Ives hit it off quickly.

    “We’ve run things over in our mind about things to try and all that,” Earnhardt said. “We’re going to be fine and I think Greg will be beneficial to both Jimmie (Johnson) and I.”

    It will be the first season in a long time that anyone other than Kenny Francis has been Kasey Kahne’s crew chief. In 2015, Francis moves on to other duties at Hendrick Motorsports and Keith Rodden takes over the reins. Kahne was confident that the turnaround in the No. 5 Chevrolet will be dramatic.

    Gordon revealed that he had made up his mind to retire last summer, and only timed his announcement when he thought it was best. Car owner Rick Hendrick said he tried to get his star driver and had been trying for some time.

    “You know I’m a pretty good car salesman, and I was very persuasive for awhile, but I ran out of good lines, I guess.”

    Gordon apparently had been pondering this for several years, but came to his decision this year. When that decision was made and the announcement became public, Hendrick wasted no time in calling young Chase Elliott to place him in the No. 24 for 2016, a phone call that Elliott didn’t expect. It happened on the same day that Gordon made his announcement.

    After the blockbuster news, the typical excitement for Jimmie Johnson was kind of lost in the dust. Johnson and Hendrick did pledge that the No. 48 would be back in the thick of things next year, but Hendrick did say what he thought would be a fitting end to an awesome career for Jeff Gordon.

    Without blinking, Hendrick said, “Fourteen wins and a championship.” Now, THAT would be the way to go out.

  • Richard Petty Motorsports Moves to Greater Space and Individuality

    Richard Petty Motorsports Moves to Greater Space and Individuality

    Charlotte, NC – They are doing things different over at Richard Petty Motorsports. First, they’ve moved from a shop over near the Concord Airport to a shop in Mooresville. The shop in Concord was adjacent to Roush Fenway Racing and their souvenir shop. It only had 40,000 square feet of space. In Mooresville, they will have twice the space and they can do different things, like hanging their own chassis parts and really building cars like they want to.

    It was a breakout year for RPM. Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 Ford, won his first race in July at Daytona International Speedway and Marcos Ambrose decided to head back to Australia to drive at home after nearly winning a race and joining Almirola in the Chase. Ambrose was replaced by Sam Hornish Jr. who will drive the No. 9 Ford in 2015. Hornish has the endorsement of the owner.

    “I think Sam brings a lot of versatility,” said team owner and seven-time Cup champion Richard Petty. “Marcos (Ambrose) was super on road courses and stuff, but he never got the hang of being ready. He could have good races and bad races and good times in the races, but I think Sam will be much more consistent with it.

    “In our testing, (Hornish and Almirola) both felt the same thing in the car. Whether they’d change the air pressure or they’d change the springs and both of them feel the same thing. With Marcos, he was one way and Aric was the other way and so it was hard to compare them. Now we’ve got two cars that we can sit down and say, ‘OK, you try this and I’ll try that and if it works, we’ll put it on the other car.’ That should be an advantage for all of us.”

    It should be noted that Hornish has won the Indianapolis 500 and finished second in points in the Xfinity series in 2013. He has credentials, something Ambrose did not when it came to oval racing.

    Despite an announcement on Wednesday that Hornish only has sold sponsorship for just 10 of the schedule’s 36 races thus far, Hornish will be running a full slate, starting with the season opening Daytona 500. With less than a month to go before the Great American Race, the lack of sponsorship is daunting but offers a view into what the Petty and Co. think of Hornish’s talent behind the wheel. Performance on the track comes first, sponsorship later.

    For an organization and owner that have long been at the helm of motorsports innovation, albeit in the past, the investments that RPM is making to grow and build for the future is clear. Its current focus is on testing new ideas and implementing them into the cars, something that they haven’t necessarily been able to do in recent years.

    With the tools and space that the new shop allows it to explore and take advantage of, combined with two drivers that are very much on the same page to start the season, something that Petty alluded to not being the case with Almirola and Ambrose, it should give RPM the flexibility to continue its growth from last season to expand its goals and increase performance in the coming years.

    “Aric came to all three of the tests and we got the opportunity to jump back and forth out of the car to see what each of us liked as far as driving goes and I feel like that’s one of the main benefits right now,” said Hornish, who led the eighth-most XFINITY Series laps in 2014 despite running just eight of the schedule’s 33 races.

    “It seems like we both want similar things out of the race car. When we get to the race track, hopefully we’ll be able to cover twice as much ground as far as finding what’s going to be a direction to head and make our cars better each weekend.”

    Hornish’s last full-time Cup season was in 2010 in a Team Penske Dodge so there’s certainly going to be some adjusting to do in the early going, especially considering he hasn’t competed full-time at all since 2013. He knows there are going to be bumps in the road, but he’s willing to put in the work necessary to make his mark on this avenue of motorsports before the 35-year-old starts to think about wrapping up his racing career.

    “Going back to the Cup Series full-time, it’s a lot different than when I did it last time. I feel like we’ve got a lot of things to look forward to,” Hornish said.

    “I want to be a part of building something. I feel like the best thing that I can do in the situation that I’m in right now is to try to be a good leader and keep people excited about what’s going on and to move the program forward because I know that I’m not going to be racing forever. If I can get to the point where I leave it better than when I found it, I feel like that’s my main goal.”

  • The Final Word – Greats do not always stay great though a few, like Jeff Gordon, leave as they arrived

    The Final Word – Greats do not always stay great though a few, like Jeff Gordon, leave as they arrived

    Legends. Icons. Some athletes simply are the best, at least until Father Time is done with them. Few seem able to be able to step away while there might still be some gas in the tank. I get that. I mean, why quit before the curtain needs to fall?

    Jeff Gordon appears to be one who is prepared to take his final bow while he is not just a legend in his sport, but also a contender. At the age of 43, Gordon has four championships to his credit, 92 victories and an amazing 320 Top Fives in 761 starts. Forty-Two percent of the time, Gordon has mattered in races run since finishing fifth in the 1993 Daytona 500. In 22 seasons to date, he has finished the year no worse than 14th and that was in 1993.

    There are other legends in other sports who have provided incredible statistics. Wayne Gretzky once scored 92 goals in a National Hockey League season and 930 in his career when you include the 46 from his lone World Hockey Association campaign. The Great One had only nine in his final season as a 38 year old. Even the man Gretzky considers the best of the best, Gordie Howe, who scored 15 in his final season, and he was 52 years old.

    The Great One was preceeded by simply The Greatest. As Cassius Clay, the boxer the world came to know as Muhammad Ali, was an Olympic gold medalist in 1960. In his prime, he was a heavyweight who fought with the speed of a middleweight. He won the title in 1964 in a shocking win over Sonny Liston. After a three year ban and four more years that included losses to Joe Frazier and Ken Norton, he shocked the world again by regaining the crown from George Foreman. After another epic battle with Frazier, he lost then regained the title in 1978 against Leon Spinks. He retired, but came back for two ill-fated bouts, being stopped by Larry Holmes in 1980 and losing in 10 rounds to Trevor Berbick a year later, at the age of 39, a phantom of his former self.

    Babe Ruth is, was, and will forever be the face of baseball. A seven time World Series winner. A dozen home run titles, including 60 in 1927. When he hit more than 50 homers in both 1921 and 1922, his closest rival had hit 35 fewer. He hit 714 in his career, still ranked third best all-time. Ruth won a batting title, hit .342 in his career, and in 1916 even had the best ERA amongst all American League pitchers. That year he went 14 innings to win a World Series game on the mound. In his final season, at the age of 40, the Bambino lasted just 28 games. He hit six home runs (swatting 3 of them six days before he retired) and batting a mere .181.

    Two hundred wins, 27 of them coming in the 1967 season alone. Seven NASCAR titles. An astounding 25 seasons ranked amongst the Top Ten. There is a reason Richard Petty is the King. By the time he was done, the tank was dry. Over his last five seasons, he was winless and failed to crack the Top Twenty each of those seasons. By the time his final season came around, at the age of 55, a trio of 15th place finishes were his best on the year. Petty’s final win was already eight seasons behind him.

    Most retire when the tank is empty, but not all. Ken Dryden was 31 when the Montreal Canadiens’ goaltender called it quits, winning top goaltending honors in five of his seven seasons. Dryden ended his career as a Stanley Cup champion, his sixth, to become a lawyer, author, and public servant.

    Rocky Marciano was undefeated in 49 fights, 43 won by knockout, including the final seven that saw him leave the ring as World Heavyweight Champion. Marciano was thrice named by Ring magazine as fighter of the year, with his 1952 fight with Jersey Joe Walcott judged the best knockout ever. The Rock was just 32 when he hung them up.

    Sandy Koufax played through pain, winning three Cy Young Awards, including one for his final season. In 11 seasons with the Dodgers, he won 165 games for a 65 percent winning percentage, striking out 9.3 batters for every nine innings played. One season he won both the Cy Young and was the National League’s Most Valuable Player. The arthritis that caused his early departure failed to stop him winning 27 games in his final turn. Koufax retired at the age of 30, not because he could no longer pitch but rather to avoid the threat of a permanent disability.

    Which brings us back to Jeff Gordon. He will be 44 when he retires at the end of the 2015 season. His back hurts, and time will tell how much he has left in the tank, but odds are he will still be among the best on the track each week. Four wins in 2014 bodes well. Over the past four years, in his last 108 races, he has won 10, to go with 76 Top Tens. Gordon has been a Top Ten driver at the end of every season of his career, with the exceptions of 1993 (14th) and 2005 (11th), rating sixth best the past two.

    It will be sad to see one of the greats leave his seat early. The good news is that he leaves on his terms, still at the top of his game. The great news is that a wife, daughter, and son get to see him a whole lot more and his fans have memorabilia that will never go out of style. Oh, yes, we also get to have one more season watching one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers in action as the drive for five remains alive.

  • A Jeff Gordon story – Sometimes the little things mean the most

    A Jeff Gordon story – Sometimes the little things mean the most

    A few times a year, I’m privileged to be able to go to a NASCAR race as part of the media. It’s a unique experience that allows me to be a small part of something that has an enormous impact on so many.  What may surprise you is that it is often the little things that make it a special experience.

    One of the most enjoyable aspects is the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life. During several conversations with one of the women who helped prepare our food at the media center she talked about being a lifelong NASCAR fan and proudly told me, “I’m a huge Dale Jr. fan but my Dad likes Kasey Kahne. Can you believe that?” The look on her face was priceless.

    The young man who stood watch at the door to the media center told me how he begged a friend to switch assignments with him so that he could work the race at Darlington.

    My favorite moment was shared with a photographer at Darlington Raceway who has been working the NASCAR circuit for over 30 years. I was surprised to hear he drove all the way from Canada to cover the Darlington race. He was accompanied by his daughter.

    He began talking about how it was in the “old days’’ when drivers like David Pearson and Richard Petty would spend hours signing autographs for their fans. “I don’t know why,” he said “but they had such an appreciation for the fans, especially the kids. You don’t see that much anymore.”

    But then he related a story about his daughter. She has been his constant companion since she was old enough to travel with him. “She grew up in NASCAR,” he told me.

    When his daughter was a small girl, she had a Jeff Gordon Pepsi trading card and desperately wanted it autographed. When the opportunity arose, they approached Gordon who was surrounded by fans. It was beginning to rain but they were determined to wait. When Gordon saw the girl, he politely told the rest of the crowd; “children first.”

    “Gordon took the card from her, placed it face down on his pants leg, covered it with his hand so it wouldn’t get wet and told us to follow him to his hauler. He signed the card and spent several minutes talking with my daughter and me.”

    The photographer’s eyes were glistening as he looked at me and said, “Signing autographs, that’s business. But this, (he pantomimed covering up the card on his leg), this was from the heart.”

    As the story unfolded, it reminded me that a driver’s legacy extends far beyond the racetrack. It shines as an example of why Gordon’s impact on the sport goes far beyond statistics. As he embarks on his final full time season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this year, I can only imagine how many more lives he will touch.

  • Jeff Gordon to run final full-time NASCAR season in 2015

    Jeff Gordon to run final full-time NASCAR season in 2015

    By HendrickMotorsports.com  – Jan 22, 2015

    CONCORD, N.C.– Jeff Gordon, the celebrated stock car champion whose crossover appeal helped take NASCAR into the mainstream, will compete in his 23rd and final full-time Sprint Cup Series season in 2015. He announced his decision this morning to the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team he has driven for since November 1992.

    “As a race car driver, much of what I’ve done throughout my life has been based on following my instincts and trying to make good decisions,” Gordon said. “I thought long and hard about my future this past year and during the offseason, and I’ve decided 2015 will be the last time I compete for a championship. I won’t use the ‘R-word’ because I plan to stay extremely busy in the years ahead, and there’s always the possibility I’ll compete in selected events, although I currently have no plans to do that.

    “I don’t foresee a day when I’ll ever step away from racing. I’m a fan of all forms of motor sports, but particularly NASCAR. We have a tremendous product, and I’m passionate about the business and its future success. As an equity owner in Hendrick Motorsports, I’m a partner with Rick (Hendrick) and will remain heavily involved with the company for many years to come. It means so much to have the chance to continue working with the owner who took a chance on me and the incredible team that’s stood behind me every step of the way.

    “Racing has provided a tremendous amount of opportunity that’s been extraordinarily rewarding and fulfilling in my life. The work we’re doing with the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation will continue to be extremely important to me. Outside the race car, my passion is pediatric cancer research, and my efforts will remain focused there when I’m no longer driving.

    “I’ll explore opportunities for the next phase of my career, but my primary focus now and throughout 2015 will be my performance in the No. 24 Chevrolet. I’m going to pour everything I have into this season and look forward to the challenge of competing for one last championship.

    “To everyone at NASCAR, my teammates, sponsors, competitors, friends, family, members of the media and especially our incredible fans, all I can say is thank you.”

    Gordon, 43, has earned four career Cup championships, 92 points-paying race wins and 77 pole positions, all for longtime car owner Rick Hendrick. He is third in all-time victories behind only NASCAR Hall of Fame drivers Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105).

    One of the most versatile drivers of his era in any auto racing discipline, Gordon’s résumé includes three Daytona 500 victories and a record five Brickyard 400 wins. He is the sport’s winningest road course driver with nine victories, stands alone as the all-time leader with 12 restrictor plate wins and has won at every track on the Sprint Cup circuit with the exception of Kentucky Speedway.

    “There’s simply no way to quantify Jeff’s impact,” said Hendrick, who first noticed Gordon during a race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March 1992. “He’s one of the biggest sports stars of a generation, and his contributions to the success and growth of NASCAR are unsurpassed. There’s been no better ambassador for stock car racing and no greater representation of what a champion should be. I will never be able to properly express the respect and admiration I have for Jeff and how meaningful our relationship is to me. I’m so grateful for everything he’s done for our company and my family, and I look forward to many more years together as friends and business partners.”

    Hendrick Motorsports will announce plans for its 2016 team alignment at a later date.

    JEFF GORDON BIO BRIEF:

    FULL NAME: Jeffery Michael Gordon

    BIRTHDATE: Aug. 4, 1971

    BIRTHPLACE: Vallejo, California

    HOMETOWN: Pittsboro, Indiana

    FAMILY: Wife Ingrid Vandebosch; daughter Ella Sofia (7); son Leo Benjamin (4)

    Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001)

    92 career Cup victories; third on the all-time list

    77 career Cup pole positions; third on the all-time list

    Three-time Daytona 500 winner (1997, 1999, 2005)

    Five-time Brickyard 400 winner (1994, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2014)

    Three-time champion of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (1995, 1997, 2001)

    NASCAR record nine road course victories

    NASCAR record 12 restrictor plate victories

    1997 Winston Million winner and four-time Winston No Bull 5 winner

    Seven-time winner at Darlington Raceway

    CUP SERIES HIGHLIGHTS AND CAREER NOTES:

    2014: Captured four victories, three pole positions, 14 top-five finishes and a series-leading 23 top-10s. Scored a NASCAR-record fifth Brickyard 400 win, tying Formula One driver Michael Schumacher for the most victories at Indianapolis. Posted series-best average finish (10.4) en route to a sixth-place finish in the point standings. Extended NASCAR record for most consecutive seasons with a pole (22). Starred in the viral video “Test Drive 2,” which has surpassed 17 million views on YouTube.

    2013: Finished sixth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with one win (Martinsville), two poles, eight top-fives and 17 top-10s. Set NASCAR record for most consecutive seasons with a pole (21), breaking a tie with NASCAR Hall of Fame driver David Pearson. Starred in the viral video “Test Drive,” which has surpassed 43 million views on YouTube.

    2012: Recorded two wins, two poles, 11 top-fives, 18 top-10s and finished 10th in the Chase. Scored first career Homestead-Miami victory and surpassed NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Darrell Waltrip for sixth in all-time career laps led (23,147). Recipient of the Heisman Humanitarian Award, established to recognize those in sports who give significantly to serve communities and improve the lives of others. Appeared as himself in an episode of the FOX animated television show “The Simpsons.” Returned to Rwanda for a second time in conjunction with the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation. Recipient of the NMPA Myers Brothers Award, which recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of stock car racing.

    2011: Began working with fourth full-time crew chief Alan Gustafson. Posted three wins, one pole, 13 top-fives and 18 top-10s en route to an eighth-place finish in the Chase. Moved to third in all-time wins after scoring his 85th career victory at Atlanta and claimed sole possession of third in all-time career poles (70). Voiced the character “Jeff Gorvette” in the animated film “Cars 2.” Traveled to Rwanda with the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation, and visited the Democratic Republic of Congo in conjunction with the Clinton Global Initiative.

    2010: Finished ninth in the Chase with one pole, 11 top-fives and 17 top-10s. Tied NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Cale Yarborough for third in all-time career poles (69) and remained sixth in all-time career wins (82), one behind Yarborough.

    2009: Finished third in the Chase with one win, one pole, 16 top-fives and a series-high 25 top-10s. Scored first career Texas victory. Appeared in an episode of the long-running children’s television series “Sesame Street.”

    2008: Finished seventh in the Chase with four poles, 13 top-fives and 19 top-10s. Scored first career Texas pole. Became first NASCAR driver to surpass $100 million in career prize winnings.

    2007: Finished second in the Chase with six wins, seven poles, 21 top-fives and 30 top-10s—a single-season record for most top-10s in NASCAR’s modern era (1972-present). Scored first career Phoenix victory and set all-time record for most career restrictor plate wins (12). Moved to sixth all-time in career wins (81) and fourth all-time in career poles (63).

    2006: Finished sixth in the Chase with two victories, two poles, 14 top-fives and 18 top-10s. Scored first career Chicagoland victory and extended own record for most road course victories (9) with fifth career win at Sonoma.

    2005: Posted four wins, two poles, eight top-fives, 14 top-10s and finished 11th in the point standings. Achieved third career Daytona 500 victory, fourth win at Talladega and sixth and seventh victories at Martinsville, marking the second time in three years he swept both events at the short track. Ran first race with third full-time crew chief Steve Letarte at New Hampshire on Sept. 18. Appeared as himself in the film “Herbie: Fully Loaded.”

    2004: Five wins, six poles, 16 top-fives and 25 top-10s. Finished third in the inaugural Chase, marking 11 consecutive top-10 point finishes. Led standings after 26th race before top-10 points were reset. Became the first stock car driver to capture four victories at Indianapolis and only the fourth driver in history to win there four times. Won back-to-back races for the 19th and 20th times in his career.

    2003: Three wins, four poles, 15 top-fives, 20 top-10s and a series-leading 1,639 laps led. Won both events at Martinsville to complete a season sweep at the track. Finished fourth in the point standings. Became the only auto racing driver in the show’s history to host NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.”

    2002: Recorded three victories, three poles, 13 top-fives and 20 top-10s. At Darlington, won 60th career race. Recorded 300th career start and became first NASCAR driver to surpass $50 million in career prize winnings.

    2001: Achieved a fourth career championship to become at the time only the third driver to win more than three titles. Led the series in several statistical categories: wins (6), poles (6), top-fives (18), top-10s (24), races led (25) and laps led (2,320). Became the first driver to eclipse $10 million in single-season prize winnings. Won both the all-star event and the Brickyard 400.

    2000: Began working with second full-time crew chief Robbie Loomis. Earned three wins, three poles, 11 top-fives and 22 top-10s. Became the youngest driver in history to achieve 50 career wins. Won Talladega, Richmond and Sonoma. Win at Sonoma marked sixth straight road course victory, a series record. Finished ninth in points.

    1999: Finished the season with seven victories to become the first driver in history to win the most races for five straight years. Also won the most poles (7) and led the most laps (1,319). Finished the season sixth in points with 18 top-fives and 21 top-10s. Ran final race with original crew chief Ray Evernham at Dover on Sept. 26. Appeared on the cover of Fortune magazine. Established the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation, which supports pediatric cancer research, treatment and patient support programs. Became an equity owner in Hendrick Motorsports after signing a lifetime contract to drive for the team.

    1998: Won third series championship with 13 victories, seven poles, 26 top-fives and 28 top-10s. Became first driver to win the Brickyard 400 twice. Won the Winston No Bull Five twice. Tied two modern-era records with 13 wins in one season and four wins in a row. Named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.

    1997: Won second series championship with 10 victories, one pole, 22 top-fives and 23 top-10s. Became youngest driver to win the Daytona 500 in a Hendrick Motorsports 1-2-3 finish. Second driver ever to win the Winston Million.

    1996: Led the series in wins (10), poles (5) and laps led (2,314). Also recorded 21 top-fives and 24 top-10s. Finished second in championship points, only 37 behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Terry Labonte.

    1995: At 24, became youngest Cup champion in NASCAR’s modern era in only third full season in the series. Recorded seven victories, eight poles (personal record), 23 top-10 finishes and 2,610 laps led.

    1994: Won twice, including first career victory at Charlotte and the inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis. Achieved seven top-fives and 14 top-10s.

    1993: Earned series Rookie of the Year to become the first driver ever to win top rookie honors in NASCAR’s two top divisions (XFINITY Series Rookie of the Year in 1991). Became first rookie in 30 years to win a 125-mile qualifying race at Daytona.

    1992: Signed contract with Hendrick Motorsports and made first career series start on Nov. 15 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, finishing 31st under the guidance of crew chief Evernham. The race also marked the final NASCAR event for seven-time series champion Richard Petty.

     

  • Ron Hornaday Signs as the Primary Driver for The Motorsports Group for 2015 Season

    Ron Hornaday Signs as the Primary Driver for The Motorsports Group for 2015 Season

    Mooresville, NC Jan. 21, 2015

    (Mooresville, NC) – Veteran NASCAR driver, Ron Hornaday, will be the primary driver of the No. 30 TMG Chevrolet for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, starting at Daytona International Speedway.

    Hornaday, a longtime veteran in the NASCAR garage, has been involved in racing his entire life. Starting off in the NASCAR K&N Series in 1989, he quickly advanced to the top series in the sport. In addition to an impressive 55 combined series wins, Hornaday also has four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championships.

    “I am happy to be signing on with Curtis Key and the entire TMG organization for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season,” Hornaday said. “This team has been working really hard during the offseason to get cars ready for Daytona and the rest of the season. I’m hoping to bring some guidance and racing knowledge to this start up Cup team.”

    TMG Owner Curtis Key commented, “We are glad to have Ron Hornaday come on board with
    The Motorsports Group. Ron has been involved in the NASCAR industry for over 20 years now.
    His experience and knowledge of the industry is exactly what we need this first year in the
    Sprint Cup Series.”

    Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the No. 30 TMG Chevrolet. More information on
    sponsorships will be announced in the coming weeks leading into the start of the 2015 NASCAR
    season.

    Connect with The Motorsports Group and Ron Hornaday on social media. Like us on Facebook
    at facebook.com/TheMotorsportsGroup, follow us on Twitter @TMG30PR and @RonHornaday,
    and follow us on Instagram @TMG30PR.

  • NASCAR Champions Featuring David Pearson

    NASCAR Champions Featuring David Pearson

    Cup Champion: 1966, 1968, 1969
    Born: December 22, 1934
    Hometown: Spartanburg, South Carolina
    Career: 1960 – 1986

    Premier Series Stats:
    Starts: 574
    Wins:   105
    Poles:  113

    David Pearson was not only fast in a race car, he was also quick on his feet. NASCAR’s “Silver Fox,” could outrun and outthink most of his competitors on any given day.

    Pearson made the most out of each opportunity. He never ran every single race in any season during a career that spanned 27 years, making his three Cup championship titles even more impressive.

    He won his first championship in 1966, competing in 42 of 49 races. Pearson’s second championship was earned in 1968 after running 48 of 49 events. His third and final title came in 1969 when he ran 51 of 54 races.

    Over the course of his career, Pearson raced his way to 105 victories and 113 poles in only 574 starts which ranks second all-time in both categories. His winning percentage of 18.293 is the third highest all-time. Only Herb Thomas (21.053) and Tim Flock (20.856) were more productive on the track. Any time he showed up to race, Pearson was a threat to win.

    Richard Petty once said of his rival, “If anybody asks, who is the best driver you ever drove against? I don’t hesitate. It was David Pearson.”

    Pearson drove for fellow Spartanburg, South Carolina native Cotton Owens from 1962 to 1967 and won his first championship in 1966 with Owens. Their partnership produced 27 wins and fostered a lifelong friendship.

    “He meant more to the sport than a lot of people thought,” said Pearson. “He won a ton of races in modifieds. He built the cars himself. He built the motors himself. He drove them. He won at Daytona on the beach. And he was just a good, honest fella.”

    His second and third titles came as a driver for Holman-Moody in 1968 and 1969. The two championship years included 27 wins (16 in 1968 and 11 in 1969), 26 poles and 78 top-fives in 99 starts.

    In 1968 while driving for Holman-Moody, Pearson began his rule of “The Track Too Tough To Tame,” capturing his first win, followed by another victory in 1970.  His domination continued throughout the 1970s with Wood Brothers Racing as he collected six more checkered flags at Darlington Raceway between 1972 and 1977. Two more first place finishes in 1979 and 1980 gave him a grand total of 10 wins and 12 poles, securing his place as the all-time wins leader at one of the most difficult tracks on the NASCAR circuit.

    Pearson’s 10 Darlington victories included wins with three different manufactures between 1968 and 1980.

    Ford – 1968, 1970 – Holman-Moody
    Mercury – 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976 (twice), 1977 – Wood Brothers
    Chevrolet – 1979 – Rod Osterlund
    Chevrolet – 1980 – Hoss Ellington

    Parson joined Wood Brothers Racing in 1972 for one of the most potent combinations of driver and team in NASCAR history. Although he didn’t compete in enough races to contend for a championship while with the team, he was always a formidable opponent wherever he raced.

    Pearson’s dominance on the track was never more evident than in 1973 when he won 11 of the 18 races he entered. “It was just enjoyable to go to a race track, he said, “knowing you had a chance of winning that race before you ever got there.”

    His career with the Wood Brothers also included a dramatic win of the Daytona 500 in 1976 in a car built by renowned car builder Banjo Matthews. Richard Petty was leading as the race wound down when Pearson made his move to the inside for the pass. At the same time Petty dove to the bottom of the track and the two collided as they were racing off of turn four. Pearson managed to keep his car running and inched across the finish line for his lone Daytona 500 win.

    Pearson also had an affinity for Charlotte Motor Speedway. In 46 starts, he earned a record 14 poles, including 11 consecutive poles from 1973 to 1978. Three of those poles translated into wins for Pearson.

    In 2011 he was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame by Leonard Wood. Pearson called Wood, “the smartest man in the world,” in his acceptance speech. “If they needed something for that car and they couldn’t find it or couldn’t buy it, he made it.”

    He went on to thank Richard Petty. “He’s probably the one who made me win as many as I did. I’d run hard because he’d make me run hard. Sometimes he’d even make a mistake and I’d pass him. Of course I didn’t ever make no mistakes,” he said laughing.”I always accused him of having big engines when he passed me.”

    Pearson concluded by saying, “I knew if I ever went to a race track and he was there, if I could beat him, I’d win the race.”

    Pearson’s natural talent plus the ability to outwit his competitors made him one of NASCAR’s most successful and influential drivers both on and off the track.

    Accomplishments:

    1960 Rookie of the Year
    1966, 1968, 1969 Sprint Cup Champion
    1979 and 1980 Most Popular Driver Award
    1990 International Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee
    1991 National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame Inductee
    1993 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Inductee
    1998 Named One of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers
    1998 Charlotte Motor Speedway Court of Legends
    2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee