Tag: WIX Filters

  • Kevin Harvick Opens Door While Door Shuts on Ryan Newman

    Kevin Harvick Opens Door While Door Shuts on Ryan Newman

    The old saying of one door closing and another opening was most fitting for both Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Harvick officially announced that the door has been opened for him at Stewart-Haas Racing while Ryan Newman acknowledged that the door has been shut for him at that team.

    “It’s nice to officially end all the speculation,” Harvick, the new 2014 driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing, said. “For me, Stewart-Haas was intriguing just for the fact that you have Tony (Stewart) as a teammate who’s been a big part of what we did at KHI to get it started.”

    “We have a friendship that goes beyond the race track,” Harvick continued. “Obviously Gene Haas makes it very intriguing with the guarantees that he made to make the deal happen to put the car on the race track.”

    “When you have a family and you start seeing those guarantees of sponsorship for the car, it makes you think about things,” Harvick said. “I think not only about those two pieces, but also the Hendrick tie with the engines and the support.”

    “I think the potential is really high with all those resources and relationships and things that go with it.”

    “I got a phone call from Tony (Stewart) on Wednesday about 20 minutes to seven and we talked for basically 20 minutes,” Newman said. “That was it.”

    “His phone call was about making the announcement and that I would not be a part of Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014.”

    Both drivers acknowledged that they have the highest regard for Tony Stewart, both as a friend, racer and team owner.

    “I feel like our relationship is going to help progress things as they move forward on the performance side,” Harvick said. “Tony balances a lot of things and I’ve been in that boat.”

    “I think it’s going to allow me the time to help him and be able to make it better.”

    “We only ever argued over how hard we race,” Newman said. “That is the kind of friends Tony and I are.”

    “His stress was the importance of our friendship and that to me will never change.”

    Both drivers talked a great deal about sponsorship as for Harvick, his major sponsor Budweiser will be following him to Stewart-Haas Racing while Newman is currently unsure about the status of any of his sponsors.

    “We’ve had three years with Budweiser and looking forward to moving forward with them as a sponsor,” Harvick said. “Those guys at SHR took full responsibility to have the car funded and that made my life a lot easier.”

    “We have great sponsors in Quicken Loans, Wix Filters, Aspen Dental, Code 3 Associates, and Outback,” Newman said. “They have all done us well.”

    “There are no answers that I have,” Newman continued. “Obviously I have my own homework to do.”

    “I want to be competitive,” Newman said. “I’m not just going to go out there and just find a ride.”

    “I want to find a ride with somebody that has the same goals and perspectives as I do.”

    Both Newman and Harvick had nothing but praise for their current teams, Stewart-Haas Racing and Richard Childress Racing respectively. And both intend to race as hard as possible for their owners and teams.

    “I’ve had a good run,” Newman said. “I look forward to finishing out this year.”

    “Look forward to the opportunity to make the Chase, win races and putting ourselves to have a chance to win a championship,” Newman continued. “That’s my ultimate goal and it always has been.”

    “We’re going to go out and race every week as hard as we can,” Harvick said. “It’s not like we detached ourselves from what we’re doing and those guys on the team, they don’t care about the politics of the sport; they just want to win races.”

    “They like spraying beer in Victory Lane and as a group we’re going to do that until we get to Homestead,” Harvick continued. “We’ll start working on the future plans when that race is over.”

    The two drivers, however, expressed very different emotions about the transition, with Harvick on one hand talking about the change as rejuvenation while Newman showing his upset about the uncertainty of his future.

    “It wasn’t anything personal from Richard (Childress, team owner) or a team standpoint doing anything wrong,” Harvick said. “It was just me needing to rejuvenate myself to get to the race track and really be excited to show up.”

    “Just like everybody else’s job, sometimes you just need a change to get going again.”

    “I do not know what my future holds,” Newman said. “I have no idea right now.”

    “That’s something that weighs on my shoulders,” Newman continued. “That is part of racing and part of the situation that I’m in.”

    While the door is opening for Harvick and closing for Newman in 2014 at Stewart-Haas Racing, both drivers have to focus this weekend on competing at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the 21st Annual Camping World RV Sales 301.

    In fact, Ryan Newman is doing double duty at the Magic Mile, racing both in the Cup Series and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

    “For me, it’s a track position race,” Newman said. “You get a limited number of chances to adjust on your race car and tune your race car and work in those windows that either the cautions or the green flag runs give you.”

    “Excited it’s a big race this weekend for Wix Filters and they are also sponsoring the modified which is a lot of fun for me.”

    “We know that we have to come back here and race for the Chase so obviously this is an important weekend to kind of evaluate where we are with our short track program,” Harvick said. “Flat tracks are a big part of the Chase.”

    “I think this is an important weekend to fully understand what we need to do going forward.”

    So, what will the future hold for Harvick as a new door opens and Newman as a big door closes?

    “I can’t say I’m happy with how everything unfolded,” Newman said. “There will be a change for me in 2014 and I don’t know what that change is.”

    “It’s nice to be in this position to be able to focus on racing a car and getting the performance and doing the things we need to do,” Harvick said. “It’s worked out well.”

     

     

  • Erin Crocker Back in Racing Saddle With Team WIX

    Erin Crocker Back in Racing Saddle With Team WIX

    With the admission of “racing is in my DNA,” Erin Crocker announced her return to the track, with WIX® Filters as her sponsor. Team WIX will sponsor Crocker in seven POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series races in 2013, as well as the 2014 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.

    “I went to the Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Oklahoma in January of this year,” Crocker said. “As soon as I was at the race with all of the excitement, I immediately wanted to be a part of it again.”

    Although she was attending the race as a spectator, Crocker was convinced by a few compatriots to just sit in one of the race cars. And that was all it took for her passion to reignite.

    “Once I did that, it was over,” Crocker said. “As soon as I got back from the race I started making plans to get back in racing.”

    Crocker most definitely has the dates of January 14th to January 18th, 2014 circled on next year’s calendar when she will race in the Chili Bowl herself with WIX as primary sponsor.

    “I love being at the Chili Bowl,” Crocker said. “It is one of the best events for short-track racing and it is at a perfect time of year – in January – when most racing is in the offseason.”

    “I’m really excited to race in the next Chili Bowl,” Crocker continued. “I ran it once about ten years ago and it was the only time I’ve raced a dirt midget.”

    “It was the Saturday night, local track atmosphere that I’ve been around for so long and I feel like the people are my family,” Crocker said. “I will have great equipment and sponsorship behind me so I will have a full team of support.”

    Before the Chili Bowl, however, Crocker will be perfecting her craft by racing her No. 98 WIX Filters midget in POWRi races all over the mid-west for the rest of the year.

    “I am thrilled to get back in the driver’s seat with the Team WIX program that embraces the American tradition of grassroots racing,” Crocker said. “When I spend time at the race track, my passion for racing is renewed.”

    “Partnering with Team WIX allows me to focus on my racing roots and get back to what I love.”

    WIX® Filters is also thrilled to have Erin Crocker back in the sport representing their brand.

    “WIX has a deep heritage with hometown racers, teams and local tracks as part of Team WIX program,” Mike Harvey, brand manager for WIX Filters, said. “Erin embodies what a true, grassroots racer is through her childhood, passion and love for racing.”

    “We are proud to partner with her as she makes her comeback behind the wheel and fuels her passion as part of Team WIX.”

    Although Crocker is thrilled to return to her place behind the wheel, her husband, former crew chief now ESPN analyst Ray Evernham, has expressed his own reservations.

    “Ray is a little nervous about me racing again,” Crocker admitted. “We’ve been around midgets and sprint cars a lot and I think he would feel better if I was in a stock car with more body around me.”

    “I took a bad tumble a few years ago in Knoxville and went over the guardrail and Ray was about 30 feet from it and he didn’t like that too much,” Crocker continued. “But he supports what I want to do and is letting me take the lead.”

    Although Crocker has earned many awards throughout her career, from Female Driver of the Year awards from 1993 to 1995, as well as being the first woman to qualify for the Knoxville Nationals in 2003, she acknowledged that she will face challenges as she returns to the track.

    “I don’t have a ton of experience racing midgets,” Crocker said. “I have a lot of dirt, sprint car experience with a wing on the top so it will take time getting used to driving without a wing on the car.”

    “The horsepower won’t be anything too crazy for me because it is a little less than the sprint cars.”

    Although Crocker is competitive and, of course, wants to win, she is also trying to manage her own expectations as she returns to racing.

    “I’m a race car driver so I can’t help but have expectations,” Crocker said. “I’m sure I’ll adjust my expectations as I go.”

    “I don’t’ know what to expect, but I always expect to win,” Crocker continued. “If you go to the track thinking anything else, you won’t be successful.”

    “In my mind, I’d like to make the A-main, which is hard to do and an accomplishment itself,” Crocker said. “I’m the only woman who has qualified for the Knoxville Nationals A-main, which is the biggest event for winged sprint cars, and I’d like to have a similar accomplishment in midget racing.”

    In spite of needing to knock the rust off, Crocker is very much looking forward to all of the sights, sounds and smells of the racing environment.

    “I’m looking forward to the feeling back behind the wheel with the pedal to the floor and the smell of methanol fumes and just the adrenaline of the racing competition,” Crocker said. “It almost doesn’t feel right when I’m not racing, which is why I’ve come in and out of retirement a few times.”

    “There is no better accomplishment than coming off a feature event knowing you’ve driven the wheels off the car.”

    Crocker also admits that she will enjoy adding another female back into the ranks of racing, particularly since she was one of the initial women drivers in the NASCAR arena.

    “I’m always flattered when people say I helped pioneer women in racing because it was never really my intention,” Crocker said. “I just grew up around it and it is something I love.”

    “To know that I’ve helped other females is an honor, and it is also an honor if I can be a role model or an example for a young girl coming up in racing.”

    “I grew up with a lot of females that raced quarter midgets,” Crocker said. “As we got older, most girls weren’t pushed into racing and went off to college.”

    “In the higher levels of racing, I’ve seen the numbers change and it is more acceptable and there are more women in racing,” Crocker continued. “But there is also still a lot of room for improvement.”

    “There is always interest and attention on women drivers but you need to attract people who truly believe in you to be successful,” Crocker said. “Danica Patrick is the best example now of having that support but I’d like to see more women get that chance as well.”

    Crocker will indeed get her chance as a female driver back at the track and behind the wheel. Her first race with Team WIX will be in the POWRi races in Bloomington, Indiana on June 28th.

  • Tony Stewart Closes Championship Year and Opens Door to New Season

    Tony Stewart Closes Championship Year and Opens Door to New Season

    With the 2012 champion Brad Keselowski officially crowned, it was time for Tony Stewart to close the door on being the past champion, give new the new champ a little advice, and move on to the exciting events of the 2013 season.

    “I feel good,” Stewart said in the media room after making his ninth place remarks at the banquet in Vegas. “I’m not used to being done by now.”

    “I get to go back and enjoy everybody’s speeches and not be nervous about giving my own.”

    Of the new champion to whom he has now passed the baton, Stewart has just one word. He finds Keselowski simply “refreshing.”

    “It’s nice to see somebody that speaks from the heart,” Stewart said. “That’s the way all of us should.”

    When asked if he and past five-time champion Jimmie Johnson had been indoctrinating the new champion Keselowski into his new role, Stewart noted that “Brad has had a busy enough week.”

    “It is a long week for a champion,” Stewart said knowingly. “You wouldn’t trade it for anything obviously but by Thursday night you’re starting to get worn out.”

    “And you can see it in Brad’s eyes that he’s getting tired.”

    “The one thing that Jimmie and I sat down and told him was to enjoy every minute of it,” Stewart continued. “It seems like when you look at the schedule in the morning you think, “Oh my God, they’re wearing me out,” but every moment you have to enjoy and have fun with it because there are 40 plus drivers that want to be where you are this week.”

    Stewart also had a few words of advice for the media when it came to their treatment of the new champion Keselowski.

    “To be perfectly honest, I hope you (the media) continue to treat Brad the way that you are now,” Stewart said. “That gives him the opportunity to be himself and that’s what the fans want to hear.”

    “I’m so scared that at some point somebody is going to turn on him,” Stewart continued. “And then it goes downhill from there.”

    “So, I hope you guys in the media keep doing what you’re doing,” Stewart said. “I’m proud that you are giving him the chance to be open and I think it’s great for our sport.”

    “The sponsors and the fans really enjoy that,” Stewart continued. “I think there’s always a lot more positive stuff than negative each week but sometimes that gets overshadowed.”

    “I hope Brad is able to keep doing what he’s doing.”

    Although the NASCAR season has officially come to an end with the banquet, Stewart said he has just a little bit more racing to do before closing out 2012.

    “I’ve actually still got three races before the end of this year is over,” Stewart said. “I’m going to be almost at 95 races.”

    “I’m excited about that,” Stewart continued. “That’s still what I love to do.”

    While in Vegas to celebrate the new champion, Stewart took a little time out to raise money for charity, at both Keselowski’s and Jimmie Johnson’s PR rep’s expense. During the After the Lap celebration at Planet Hollywood, both Stewart and Johnson pledged donations in order to see champ Keselowski and Kristine Curley share a dance together on stage.

    “Between Jimmie Johnson and myself, I raised my donation to $10,000 and Jimmie donated $5,000 to Victory Junction Gang Camp,” Stewart said. “So, we both ended up raising $15,000.”

    “Yes, it’s been a fun week and we always have a lot of fun with our PR reps obviously,” Smoke continued. “It was a fun moment.”

    Stewart also took the opportunity to reflect on many of the past season’s accomplishments, from those of his competitors to his own team and drivers.

    “I thought there were some great performances,” Stewart said of the 2012 season. “I think Marcos (Ambrose) and Brad (Keselowski) at Watkins Glen was a great example and Jeff Gordon’s run at Richmond to get into the Chase was a great performance.”

    “There were a lot of those individual examples this year that were noteworthy and made for a good year.”

    “I think winning Las Vegas was great for Stewart-Haas Racing,” Smoke said. “To win at a track we hadn’t won at before was special for me personally.”

    “To get Ryan another win and see Danica progress and gain confidence towards the end of the season was great too.”

    Stewart admitted that as much as he has enjoyed his reign as 2011 champion and the past year, he is most certainly looking forward to the new season ahead. One of the biggest challenges will be adjusting to the new car, which was just unveiled earlier in the week by Chevrolet.

    “It can be big,” Stewart said of the new 2013 Chevrolet  SS. “Anytime you start with anything completely new, it’s an unknown variable.”

    “So, it’s something that’s going to take a lot to figure out.”

    “Nobody knows who is going to find the right combination with this new car,” Stewart continued. “So, until we get a couple races, we won’t know.”

    “Even with that, a lot will change during the season.”

    “You have to establish a base first,” Stewart said. “The hardest thing is getting cars built right now.”

    “We’re sitting there with a race shop full of bare chassis that don’t have sheet metal on them yet,” Smoke continued. “And here we are at the beginning of December, so we have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time.”

    While he may be stressing about the 2013 season and building new race cars, Stewart has been most excited about other promises that the next year will hold. One area of excitement is that several sponsors have extended their commitments to his team and the other is that the Truck Series will be racing on dirt at his beloved Eldora track.

    Stewart-Haas Racing recently announced that four sponsors will return in the New Year for Ryan Newman and his SHR No. 39 team.

    “Obviously, we’re very proud to have WIX Filters, Outback Steakhouse, Aspen Dental and Code 3 Associates back with our race team,” Stewart said. “We work really hard to deliver on the racetrack, but we work just as hard to understand each one of our sponsor’s businesses so we can help them accomplish the goals they have, be it in racing or with their customers.”

    “It’s great seeing these partnerships grow and we look forward to another year of success with each of them.” And finally, Stewart will most look forward to serving as host as the NASCAR Truck Series, which will make its dirt debut at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. The half mile track, owned by Stewart, will be the host to the first of two Wednesday night races, with the Eldora race being held the Wednesday before the Indy weekend.

    “It’s just really a dream come true for us not only as a promoter but to imagine that 42 years later we’re going to be taking a national NASCAR series back to a dirt track at Eldora Speedway is a huge honor for us,” Stewart said.

    So, what will Stewart miss most as he closes the 2012 season and opens the door to the 2013 season? Well, one thing is certain and that is that he will not miss the close encounters of the media kind, with the exception of the off microphone conversations at least.

    “Oh God no,” Stewart replied when asked if he would miss the media, many with whom he has had a somewhat mercurial relationship.

    “But as much as I like to battle with you all season, there are a lot of times when we don’t have microphones and we all talk about different things other than racing,” Stewart said.

    “So I will miss that.”