May 21st, 2011 admin
Once-gifted racing career of Chase Austin may have just received the enhancement it needed. Willy T. Ribbs has formed Willy T. Ribbs Racing and he will enter Austin in the Indy Lights race on May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This news came in twenty years after Ribbs became the first black driver to contest in the Indianapolis 500.
Austin would be the first black driver to start an Indy Lights Race by qualifying for the Freedom 100, which runs two days before the Indianapolis 500.
On the eminent Brickyard oval, Austin, from Eudora, will pursue in the footsteps of two other black drivers who have competed there. George Mack raced in 2002, while Ribbs raced in the 1991, 1993 and 1994 Indianapolis 500s. In Indianapolis in 2007, Lewis Hamilton won the 2007 United States Grand Prix.
Austin said he was not overly worried, after concluding his last among the 18 Indy Lights drivers on the track Friday for open practice. Than the second-slowest driver, fellow rookie James Winslow, Austin’s top lap of 184.944 mph was evidently slower.
As of now, Austin is optimistic of a good finish, as it will gain him more exposure and sponsorship to fund more races this season. He has an accord with Willy T. Ribbs Racing for just one race.
Ribbs hopes there is a future for his team and Austin. Ribbs, in his 23 years of racing has made 47 IndyCar, 3 Sprint Cup and 23 Camping World Trucks series starts.
Tags: Chase Austin, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy Lights Race, Willy T. Ribbs
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April 26th, 2011 admin
Kyle Busch registered the most first-place votes in the 1st quarter Driver of the Year 2011 and accomplished win in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions races by leading broadcasters and journalists in the United States.
In the Sprint Cup Series, the driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries/M&Ms Toyota Camry also drives JGR’s #18 Z-Line Designs Toyota in the Nationwide Series. In the Camping World Truck Series, he runs his own team, Kyle Busch Motorsports. He drives the #18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra on a part-time basis.
Busch won one Cup Series race, four nationwide races, and one Truck Series race in the first quarter of the season. At Bristol Motor Speedway in March, he swept both weekend races Cup and Nationwide.
President of the Driver of the Year Foundation, Barry Schmoyer said that it would be an understatement to call Kyle Busch versatile. He added that to triumph on any given weekend, he certainly proved that he is a triple-threat. He said that he will not be astonished if he will be handing Busch in the years to come, the DRIVER OF THE YEAR trophy as he is just 25-years-old.
According to the DRIVER OF THE YEAR points system, in the voting Busch took nine first-place ballots and totaled 121 points. NASCAR drivers swept the virtual podium with Kevin Harvick also earning six first-place votes, 84 points and Carl Edwards garnering six first-place votes and 89 points.
Online picks in the NASCAR betting have Jimmie Johnson 5/2, Kyle Busch 9/2, Carl Edwards 9/2, Kevin Harvick 15/2, Tony Stewart 13.
Tags: Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, NASCAR, Sprint Cup Series
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April 13th, 2011 admin
Matt Kenseth gets hold of three post-race contingency awards at the Samsung Mobile 500 and he led a race-high 169 laps to end a 76-race win drought.
To claim the American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award, the Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 team used timely adjustments and long green flag runs. The award is given to the driver who records the highest average speed on restarts and finishes the race on the lead lap. DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race Award was claimed by the crew chief Jimmy Fennig. The award is presented to the crew chief of the driver who during the weekend exhibits the superlative qualifying and race effort based on finishing position. Based on qualifying, laps led and finishing position, Roush Yates Engines won the MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Race Award.
With numerous Sprint Cup Series victories at Texas Motor Speedway, Kenseth turns out to be the fourth Sprint Cup Series driver with the win. He joins Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards, Hamlin and Jeff Burton. For most top-5 finishes at Texas, he also persists to hold the record with nine in 18 career starts.
For the 3-hour, 14-minute primetime live broadcast that began at 7 p.m. ET, the Samsung Mobile 500 attracted more than 4.6 million households and seven million viewers. In comparison to FOX’s opening night race of the 2010 season at Phoenix, the Samsung Mobile 500 displayed gains.
The next Sprint car race will be held at Talladega Superspeedway on April 17. The auto racing odds for the forthcoming race are Jimmie Johnson 3, Kyle Busch 4, Carl Edwards 9/2, Kevin Harvick 13/2 and Tony Stewart 12.
Tags: Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Samsung Mobile 500, Texas Motor Speedway
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March 25th, 2011 admin
Construction crews maintained working to get the venue ready for its introductory NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race this summer, with Kentucky Speedway officials leading Gov. Steve Beshear on a tour of the track. In preparation for its first NASCAR Sprint Cup race on July 9, Kentucky Speedway is making enhancements to its camp grounds, as well as expanding its grand stands.
Track officials said the wide-ranging renovation and expansion that started in September is ahead of schedule, with less than four months to go before the July 9 race for NASCAR’s top series. Ticket sales have also surpassed expectations.
It is an $82 million project, which includes building of two, 19,000-seat towers that will augment grandstand seating to about 106,000. When Beshear was on tour, workers were mounting seats in one of the new towers. About 3,000 new camp sites are also added to the track. There are also plans for the garage area, like an update and perhaps move the same, even though until the fall, that will not take place at the earliest.
To give fans a better view of the action, the track is also moving pit road 200 feet closer to the grandstand. General manager Mark Simendinger said that during the Nationwide Series’ annual visit, bumpy surface has every now and then, produced an exciting product; therefore, he does not foresee making any alterations to the track, like repaving. Simendinger admitted that to produce a sellout when NASCAR’s top stars visit, there is a lot of pressure for the track. He added that if not all 117,000 seats are filled on the second Saturday night in July; he would be astonished, as he explained ticket sales as brisk.
Tags: Kentucky Speedway, Mark Simendinger, NASCAR, Sprint Cup
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March 3rd, 2011 admin
The Kobalt Tools 400 takes place this Sunday in Sin City, Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the race #3 on the NASCAR schedule. The season has got off to a great start. Daytona 500 was captured by a rookie, while in last week’s race at the Subway Fresh Fit 500, an old pro gets his first win.
For Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400, the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team and Kevin Harvick will travel to Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) for a fresh off a fourth-place run at Phoenix International Raceway. Harvick has scored three top fives and four top-10 finishes, in 10 races at the 1.5-mile speedway. At the track since 2001, he has completed all but five of the 2,691 laps run in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) competition and has led 54 laps at LVMS. Last February, the Bakersfield, Calif., native earned his best finish of second.
This weekend at LVMS, Harvick will race chassis No. 325 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Built new in 2010, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, he drove this car to a third-place finish in the season finale. Driving the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), Harvick will pull double duty this weekend at LVMS as he competes in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race as well. At LVMS, the two-time NNS champion and team co-owner is the defending NNS race winner. In NNS competition at the 1.5-mile speedway, he holds two wins, six top five and seven top-10 finishes.
The various NASCAR betting odds for the Kobalt Tools 400 are Jimmie Johnson 9-2, Kyle Busch 6-1, Jeff Gordon 7-1, Carl Edwards 8-1, Denny Hamlin 10-1, Tony Stewart 10-1, Kevin Harvick 12-1, Kurt Busch 12-1, Greg Biffle 20-1, Matt Kenseth 25-1, Mark Martin 25-1, Kasey Kahne 30-1.
Tags: Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, NASCAR, Sprint Cup
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February 16th, 2011 admin
Minnesota congresswoman Betty McCollum has introduced an amendment to prevent any branch of the military from sponsoring NASCAR teams.
Today, the Army sponsors Ryan Newman at Stewart-Haas Racing; the Air Force sponsors A.J. Allmendinger at Richard Petty Motorsports, and the National Guard sponsors Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports and the Coast Guard also have been involved with NASCAR teams.
McCollum’s staff, Bill Harper does not believe in the argument that NASCAR racing is an effective recruiting tool. To fund the government through Sept. 30, the amendment is one of more than 400 that lawmakers want attached to Republican Paul Ryan’s spending bill.
In an effort to let the “House work its will”, lawmakers in both parties have been allowed by speaker John Boehner to offer amendments. From offbeat to uncompromising, is what the proposals have ranged. Unless for the breeding purposes, one would ban using federal funds to round-up wild horses. Environmental Protection Agency would be defunded by another. This week, proposals are scheduled for a vote and it is unclear which proposals will end up in the final bill.
In 2000, Congress directed the Army to explore motor sports sponsorships as a recruiting tool. Each branch of the military had a partnership with NASCAR racing, at some point last decade. Because of a smaller ad budget, the Marines axed their racing team and because there was no way to know if it actually boosted recruiting. Today, still to sponsor the race cars are the Army, Air Force and National Guards.
Although the current NASCAR sponsorship totals are unavailable, the U.S. Army paid $11.6 million to sponsor Newman’s car in 2009, which is quite small compared to the federal budget that is approaching $4 trillion. The size of the expense is not the issue for Harper.
Harper admitted that for this amendment to become a part of the law there is a long way to go. To fund the federal government through this fiscal year, Congress and the Senate are expected to pass separate bills and McCollum’s amendment is attached to the House bill.
Before sending, a measure to the president to sign, then a committee will merge those bills. It would be effective only through Sept. 30, the end of the government’s fiscal year, even if the amendment becomes a part of the law.
Tags: Betty McCollum, Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon, NASCAR, Ryan Newman
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February 4th, 2011 admin
Of NASCAR’s top three series, the Cup series is the only one in which Toyota has not won a manufacturer or driver’s championship. In 2010, Denny Hamlin came close but in the end, he came short by 39 points as Jimmie Johnson won his NASCAR-record fifth consecutive championship.
To make another run at the title, coming up short in 2010 also leaves Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing in prime position. For the Chase in 2010, Hamlin’s teammate, Kyle Busch was also qualified and he in his first season working with crew chief Dave Rogers won three races. This season, that duo should be stronger.
Joey Logano, in his sophomore season also made a lot of progress. During the final 10 races of the season, even though he did not win a race, he was running as well or better than more than half of the 12 participants. With 16th in points, he ended the year. However, in the Toyota camp, Hamlin should remain as the favorite to win the manufacturer’s first Cup title. In 2010, he and his No.11 team won a series-best eight races. Other than the qualifying part, Hamlin has begun to show very little weakness in any area.
Some in NASCAR nation view Hamlin loss, which defined the entire season, by allowing 33-point lead with two races to slip away, has made them believe that No. 11 team faded so badly under pressure that it will damage its cohesion and confidence in 2011. After finishing second in ’03 and ’04 and fifth in ’02 and ’05, his first four seasons, there were those who wondered if Johnson would ever win a title.
Hamlin said that he is ready to go and he feels as confident as he has ever been. He added that he is confident that his team can do it and they can win on all different types of racetracks. He said that he had everything in place and he will stick to all his key personnel and crew members, which he had last year.
Tags: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Joe Gibbs, NASCAR
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January 18th, 2011 admin
Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR), in its third year of competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) is pleased to announce that the team will run the No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet. In all 36 events, NASCAR veteran Dave Blaney will pilot the No. 36. He will kick off the season with the 53rd Annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 20. Through innovative partnership packages, the team will complete 16 events and look to add more events.
The team will target 16 races to complete until proper funding is found to complete the remaining 20 events, although TBR will attempt to qualify each week. Two races at Daytona, Bristol, Richmond, Phoenix, Martinsville and New Hampshire are included in the targeted races.
Team owner Tommy Baldwin said that their plan is in place to compete in 16 events with or without sponsorship. He said that to support their team in those 16 races and more, they would definitely love to bring a sponsor on board. He added that by developing unique and customized packages for potential partners, they would continue to seek more funding. For partners looking for an economical entrance into the sport of NASCAR, they have put together a comprehensive package.
For Prism Motorsports, last year Blaney drove in 17 races, six for Front Row Motorsports and six for TBR. At Richmond, his best finish with TBR was a 30th place finish. Of the 36 races, Baldwin’s No. 36 car qualified for 26 and finished 40th in the owner points.
Baldwin will be the crew chief for the team. He was Blaney’s crew chief for two years at Bill Davis Racing. Blaney said that with great promise, TBR ended the year and rebuilt their fleet of cars in the offseason. He thinks that they will hit the ground running, with that and their previous experience together. With two poles and three top-five finishes, Blaney has 362 career Cup starts.
Tags: Dave Blaney, NASCAR, Sprint Cup Series, TBR, Tommy Baldwin
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January 4th, 2011 admin
Max Gresham announced that on January 28-29, he would compete in the 2011 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown – NASCAR’s top short-track racing showcase, at Toyota Speedway.
In the event billed as the ‘Daytona 500’ of short-track racing, Gresham already has a guaranteed starting spot by virtue of his two NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victories in 2010.
Gresham said that for him, this is a great opportunity to race in one of the NASCAR’s biggest short-track events. He is really looking forward to driving for Davis Motorsports. With Kevin Swindell driving, they had a solid 2010 season and they did pretty well at the Showdown last year. He is sure that the team will have a god car. He added that they would be able to contend for a top-five finish or even a win, which would be special.
The 2011 Showdown will have the top racers from across North America and it will mark the eight running of the event. In three sections, the 225-lap NASCAR K&N Pro Series all-star race is broken up, two 100-lap segments preceding a 25-lap dash to the finish. The race will feature drivers like Gresham, who have secured starting spots in K&N Pro Series event winners and 2010 NASCAR touring division championships. Back-to-back K&N Pro Series East champion Ryan Truex and three-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series West winner Eric Holmes are the drivers with guaranteed starting spots.
In the show, Bobby Santos (NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), German Quiroga (NASCAR Mexico Series), D.J. Kennington (NASCAR Canadian Tire Series), Burt Myers (NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour) and Keith Rocco (NASCAR Whelen All-American Series) also have guaranteed spots. K&N Pro Series race winners Paulie Harraka, David Mayhew, Andrew Ranger, Auggie Vidovich, Ty Dillon, Patrick Long, Brett Moffitt, Greg Pursley and Darrell Wallace Jr. too have guaranteed spots in the show.
On Saturday, January 29, SPEED will televise the Toyota All-Star Showdown and it will telecast a 50-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model contest live on Friday and on January 28 a 75-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Super Late Model race.
Tags: Daytona 500, Kevin Swindell, Max Gresham, NASCAR, Toyota Speedway
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December 22nd, 2010 admin
According to a news release from the team, to compete fulltime in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2011, NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace will team with RAB Racing.
At Daytona, International Speedway, on Feb. 19, Wallace, who has over 20 years of experience in stock car racing, is scheduled to make his debut in the team’s No. 09 Toyota.
In NASCAR’s top-three divisions, Wallace has competed in more than 800 events, including 488 Nationwide Series starts. In the series, he has nine wins, 64 top-five and 159 top-10 finishes and he is a three-time winner of the series Most Popular Driver award.
Wallace said that he has been nervous since the final 2010 Nationwide Series race at Homestead, as he was trying to find the right fit for next year. His goal was to find a team with whom he could be competitive and he believes RAB Racing is the perfect one for him. He is ready to go for 2011. For the past few years, he has known Robby and he has watched him grow his team. The relationship with Toyota Racing Development (TRD) will allow Wallace to be able to work with at least three other Toyota teams, which includes his brother Rusty. This will help the nationwide program at RAB Racing next year.
According to RAB Racing co-owner Robby Benton, significant changes have been made in anticipation of 2011, which includes a manufacturer switch from Ford to Toyota. For Wallace and its No. 09 car, RAB is still working on sponsorship for the full season. For 16 races, it already has primary backing from the likes of University of Northwestern Ohio, Federated Auto Parts and Family Farmers.
Benton feels that the team will get more depth by the addition of Wallace, who has 488 Nationwide Series starts under his belt, including nine wins, 64 top-fives and 159 top-10 finishes. For most all-time, his 488 starts in the series is second to Jason Keller.
For the 2011 season, Kenny Wallace and UNOH have some other special events planned, but it’s clear that this is a partnership will help the racing community at large off the track for years to come and will result in great things on the track.
Tags: Kenny Wallace, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, RAB Racing, UNOH
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