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Thursday, April 9, 2009

Gordon concerned about GM's future in NASCAR: With the federal government's growing involvement with General Motors, Gordon is concerned about how it will impact Chevrolet's involvement in NASCAR. Gordon owns an automobile dealership and has to keep an eye on his investment. "I keep about as close of tabs on it as I do any of my investments," Gordon said. "That's an investment and it's something that is a little bit more personal because I drive and race a Chevrolet. They've been incredible supporters of Hendrick and myself for so many years, so I'm certainly keeping track of it a little bit more. From a business standpoint I probably don't pay as much attention to it as I should because I'm more focused on driving the race cars." (USA Today)

Allmendinger has sponsorship through September: A.J. Allmendinger now has sponsorship that will keep him on the track through the Sept. 12 Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway, the cutoff for the Chase for the Cup. Richard Petty Motorsports officials announced on Wednesday that Hunt Brothers Pizza will sponsor the No. 44 Dodge for six races plus the All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Officials will continue to look for deals that would allow Allmendinger to drive the entire 36-race schedule. "This is awesome news," Allmendinger said in a statement. "I want to thank Hunt Brothers Pizza for coming on board and supporting us. I know our fans and NASCAR fans in general certainly appreciate all they are doing for the sport." (ESPN.com)

EGR official confirms No. 8 closure: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing president Steve Lauletta is optimistic the No. 8 car made famous by Dale Earnhardt Jr. will return to the track one day, but not until sponsorship is found. Lauletta confirmed on Wednesday an ESPN.com report that operations for the car driven by Aric Almirola has been suspended until sponsorship is found. Lauletta would not confirm how many employees were released, but sources said the total would be between 40 and 50. "The plan was to run the 8 all season," Lauletta said. "We worked really hard to get a few sponsors. We're working really hard to continue to get it back on the track. "But when you're in the position we're in where you don't know what sponsor goes on a car a couple of weeks out, how the team is going to progress in order to race two and three weeks out, it takes a lot of focus away from everybody at the shop." (ESPN.com)

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Report: Jeff Gordon involved in NY Speedway project? New details surrounding a proposed $200-million, 65,000-seat international motor speedway in Fort Erie have surfaced.An article published in the inaugural edition of Professional Motorsport Circuit, an international trade journal, says NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon is involved with the project. Gordon's name has been tagged with a signature speedway and a driving school that's part of the proposal. The article was written by Azhar Mohammad - executive director of Emirates Consulting, a Toronto-based subsidiary of Kuwaiti-based investment bank Bayt Al Mal Investment Co., that is financially backing the project. Mohammad could not be reached for comment Tuesday. "After carefully studying the pitfalls and successes of motor-sport initiatives in the North American market for almost two years, (Bayt Al Mal Investment Co.) assembled a high-profile team," the article states. "The team was spearheaded by multi-NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon, flanked by Paxton Waters Architecture, Derek Daly Design, and Philips Engineering, and supported by a host of local and international strategic partners." The Review learned through sources last week another investment group is preparing to bring a proposal to Niagara Falls council in the coming weeks to develop a racetrack on a 93- hectare parcel of land on Sodom Road. (Niagara Falls Review)

Letarte Named Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race:: Steve Letarte, crew chief for the No. 24 DuPont/National Guard GED Plus Chevy driven by Jeff Gordon, has been named the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race in Sunday's Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. In addition to the $1,000 check, the winning crew chief will receive signage to announce the win on their pit box the following week. The crew chief with the most weekly wins will be honored as the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $20,000 check at the season finale in Homestead. The Wypall Wipers Crew Chief Challenge will continue throughout the 2009 season and spotlight the men behind the machines.(Wypall PR)

No. 24 crew earns Tissot Pit Road Precision Award: It was a double victory for the No. 24 team Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway in Forth Worth. Along with driver Jeff Gordon winning the 500-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup race, the No. 24 over-the-wall crew won the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award. Gordon's crew also won the pit road competition the previous week in Martinsville. The No. 24 crew claimed the Tissot win in Texas due to Gordon's DuPont/National Guard Chevy spending the least amount of time on pit road -- 217.453 seconds. Gordon's pit crew consists of: Clay Robinson (front-tire changer), Mike Houston (front tire carrier), Tim Ladyga (rear-tire changer), Jeff Knight (rear-tire carrier), Jeff Cook (jackman), Caleb Hurd (gasman), Jamie Frady (catch can) and Andy Kruep (eighth man). The pit crew coach is Greg Morin. For winning the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award, the No. 24 team will receive $5,000. The team with the most pit road wins at the completion of the 36-race schedule will earn a $100,000 bonus plus Tissot watches for the driver and over-the-wall crew members.(Tissot PR)

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Miss America to sing National Anthem at Talldega: Miss America 2009, Katie Stam, will perform the national anthem prior to the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, in addition to appearing in the Dodge Speedway Sports Club and Pepsi Pit Tour Experience Zone hospitality areas on April 26. Stam also will make a special appearance at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame induction ceremony on April 23. "We are excited to welcome Miss America to Talladega Superspeedway," Talladega president Rick Humphrey said. "Anyone who heard her sing during the Miss America competition will agree that this should be an excellent rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. (Talladega PR)

Gilliland still working on sponsorship: David Gilliland, the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver who used to reside in Chino Hills, has become a media darling as his team struggles to stay afloat in stock car's premier series. The TRG Chevrolet is 36th in owners points and trails rookie Joey Lagano by a mere 23 points in the race to stay in the top 35, which guarantees a weekly starting spot. "Kevin (Buckler, team owner) is trying to secure funding. We're so close to the top 35," crew chief Slugger Labbe said on Sirius Radio's "The Morning Drive" on Monday. "It helps that they say the No. 8 car is shut down. He's 37th in points. The next three guys behind us all missed the race at Texas this weekend, so we're in a unique situation that we have to go."(San Bernardino Sun)

ISC revenue decline sharply: International Speedway Corp.'s fiscal first-quarter net income fell 31% on falling revenue amid price cuts as the racetrack operator cut its fiscal-year outlook, citing a worsening economy. The company has seen attendance at its events fall. The average income of NASCAR fans is below the national median, making them more susceptible to the recession. The company had also said it had begun to see a slowdown in corporate spending for hospitality, making the process of securing deals more time consuming. The company cut its fiscal-year earnings outlook to a range of $1.80 to $2 on revenue of $700 million to $720 million from December's estimate of $2.35 to $2.45 a share on revenue of $745 million to $765 million. It also said it wasn't including its Motorsports Authentics business in that estimate, saying that division's management was re-evaluating it given the challenges of selling licensed sports goods in the current market. President Lesa Kennedy said the company had reduced ticket prices to make it more affordable for fans to come to events. For the period ended Feb. 28, the motorsports promoter reported net income of $25.1 million, or 52 cents a share, down from $36.2 million, or 71 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items, earnings fell to 56 cents from 78 cents. Revenue decreased 14 percent to $166.1 million.(Wall Street Journal)

Official: RPM to field Indy 500 entry: Richard Petty will field an entry for the Indianapolis 500 for the first time, with John Andretti driving the Window World-sponsored car in the 2009 edition of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" on Sunday, May 24. Seven-time NASCAR champion Petty unveiled the #43 Window World Dallara/Honda/Firestone for Indy 500 veteran and NASCAR regular Andretti on April 6 at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Window World, the world's largest replacement window company, brought Andretti to the Daytona 500 earlier this year. Petty's new entry will feature the traditional "Petty Blue" and "Day-Glo Red" from his stock cars in the "King's" debut as a team owner in the Indy 500 after participating in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard for the past 15 years. Richard Petty Motorsports currently campaigns four Dodge cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Window World and Petty will combine efforts with the Indy-based Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team to field the #43 Honda-powered Indy car for Andretti, an Indianapolis native.(more at Indy500.com)

Monday, April 6, 2009

Montoya in Chase contention: Don't look now but Juan Pablo Montoya is only one position and 16 points outside the top 12 after finishing seventh on Sunday. "That's a great run," Montoya said. "The guys worked hard all weekend and that's our third straight top-15 finish." (ThatsRacin.com)

Flood victim gets boost from TMS: Josh Hoper was about to scrap plans to attend the races at TMS because of record flooding at home in Fargo, N.D. Then TMS president Eddie Gossage found out about Hoper, who had made North Dakota the 50th state to buy a ticket to his track. Never one to miss a public relations opportunity, Gossage called Hoper. Five days later, the Jimmie Johnson fan was in front of the media, suite upgrade and autographed Johnson photo in hand. Of course, there was the Lowe's gift card as well. Lowe's is Johnson's primary sponsor, and Hoper's home has a flooded basement in need of repairs. (Dallas Morning News)

Comcast to buy Sprint-Nextel? "As telco giants AT&T and Verizon move deeper into the TV business, cable giants like Comcast  may have to get into the wireless business to compete. That could eventually involve Comcast buying Sprint Nextel, the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier," writes Silicon Alley Insider here. Comcast and Sprint are backing the Clearwire 4G wireless network, and its WiMax system. If Clearwire doesn't connect, and cash-rich Comcast decides it's easier to buy than build, "the most logical deal could be for Sprint, which currently has a $12 billion market cap," Insider says. "It's not a new idea. But it could make sense in the next few years." (Philly Daily News)

Sunday, April 5, 2009

RPM to increase Allmendinger schedule: Richard Petty Motorsports is close to extending AJ Allmendinger's schedule beyond the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24. Considering Allmendinger, 27, is currently 15th in the standings, 34 points out of the Chase Zone, it's time for RPM to lock him down. "If you had told me last year that I'd be 15th in points right now, I would have laughed at you," Allmendinger said. "But we're in striking distance of the top 12." Allmendinger wasn't even entered in the Samsung 500 at Texas last year. Allmendinger's first priority is to make things work with his current deal. While RPM is currently securing additional sponsorship, potentially with Hunt Brothers Pizza, nothing will guarantee Allmendinger and the No. 44 Dodge's success faster than a revamped pit crew. Allmendinger inevitably loses positions every time he enters pit road. RPM has an Aug. 15 deadline to pick up Allmendinger's option for 2010. Given that Allmendinger has proved that he's the second-best driver at RPM and has served as a catalyst to invigorate Kahne and the company's flagship No. 9 squad, it would be foolish to let him get away. (FOXSports.com)

Penske to Toyota? Roger Penske, who is one of the nation's biggest Toyota dealers, may move Kurt Busch's Dodge team, which just won at Atlanta, into the Toyota camp. A Penske-Toyota-NASCAR scenario has been bandied about for several years. There was no immediate comment from officials at Chrysler, but Toyota racing boss Lee White said "Unless RP has resorted to secretly stealing our parts, there is not chance he's running anything remotely resembling a Toyota in the foreseeable future. It's just another of many false rumors." However, when asked what the response might be if Penske or anyone else wanted to change to racing Toyotas, White said "We are open for customers. And our parts are competitively priced." (mikemulhern.net)

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Truex to leave EGR to replace Logano at Gibbs? The buzz in the garage has Earnhardt Ganassi Racing shutting down the No. 8 Chevrolet and sidelining Aric Almirola after this weekend if a sponsor doesn't magically appear. If that happens, three contracts are affected: Martin Truex Jr., Bass Pro Shops Racing and Chevrolet. Truex's contract states that he must have two teammates or he can leave the team. Bass Pro Shops has a performance clause and with Truex 28th in owner points, the No. 1 team is in a precarious position. Finally, Chevrolet can alter its support to EGR if three teams are not under the roof. The hot rumor at Martinsville last week had Truex replacing Joey Logano in the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs insisted Sunday and again by phone on Wednesday that "Joey's our guy." "We haven't had any conversations with anyone," Gibbs said. "We'd like to have someone in line by summer time, but you have to sit down, look at what partner is available, what driver is available and who would be a good fit for the team. "We had Hall of Fame last year and we don't have it now. So we have room for a fourth team. We'd love to have it." (FOXSports.com)

National Science Musuem partners with NASCAR: As science educators continue to explore ways to improve science scores among students grades 8-12, they now can turn to NASCAR. A new online series of videos called The Science of Speed, announced Friday at the Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in Fort Worth, reveals the sophisticated science and engineering behind NASCAR racing to teach science. To bring the 12-module science video series to computer screens, NSF teamed with NASCAR, the largest sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States, University of Texas at Dallas physics professor Diandra Leslie-Pelecky—author of the book The Physics of NASCAR and Santa Fe Productions, Albuquerque, N.M. In a series of high-quality, easy-to-understand videos, fast cars double as science experiments that illustrate basic concepts of friction, safety, sound and other elements of racing at speeds up to 200 miles per hour. Deftly guided onscreen by Leslie-Pelecky, viewers glimpse the intricacies of a rarely seen side of NASCAR—the science. Segments feature drivers, crew chiefs and engineers from numerous NASCAR garages including Jeff Gordon, Steve Letarte and Lisa Smokstad of Hendrick Motor Sports; Nick Hughes of Michael Waltrip Racing; Carl Edwards and Chris Andrews of Roush Fenway Racing; Josh Browne and John Probst of Red Bull Racing; Andy Randolph of Earnhardt Childress Racing and many others. Teachers and students can download the videos for free from NSF’s new website, Science360.gov. Science360.gov was created to be the preferred on-line destination for obtaining cutting-edge science information.(NASCAR PR)

NASCAR on FOX Martinsville ratings down: Fox’s broadcast of last Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway earned a final Nielsen Media Research rating of 4.6 and a 10 market share, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating is 13.2 percent lower than the 5.3 Fox earned for the race in 2008. (SceneDaily.com)

Friday, April 3, 2009

LVCVA & NASCAR reach agreement to bring Spring Cup award banquet to Las Vegas: NASCAR and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority have reached an agreement in principle to bring the Sprint Cup banquet, awards ceremony and postseason celebration to Las Vegas in the first week of December. LVCVA president Rossi Ralenkotter confirmed the tentative agreement to move the annual event from downtown New York, where it has been held for the past 27 years, and make it a citywide event centered on the Strip. "Some deal points still need to be finalized," Ralenkotter said Thursday. The sides have yet to settle the length of the contract; Ralenkotter wants a deal of three to five years. Also to be determined is the degree to which Las Vegas will be included in advertising and media references to the event. The LVCVA would pay NASCAR between $500,000 and $1 million for each year of the contract, Ralenkotter said. NASCAR has the option of selecting the venue for the banquet, likely to be Dec. 4. A spokesman for NASCAR, Ramsey Poston, said "nothing's been finalized" about this year's banquet plans. The event honors the top 10 drivers from the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

Brad Keselowski in No. 25 at Texas: Brad Keselowski will attempt to qualify the No. 25 GoDaddy.com Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports on Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. This is Keselowski's fifth attempt at making a Sprint Cup Series event and his fourth for Hendrick Motorsports. Keselowski has qualified three times driving the No. 25 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports and most recently drove the #25 Chevy to a 38th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 1. After this weekend at Texas, Keselowski will attempt to make the field in five more Sprint Cup races this season for Hendrick Motorsports. Keselowski will try to line up the No. 25 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet at Darlington on May 9, Dover on May 31, Chicago on July 11, Michigan on Aug. 16, and Kansas on Oct. 4. Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 25-537 for this weekend's event at Texas Motor Speedway. The car, which will be pitted by Keselowski's No. 88 Nationwide Series crew, has not been raced or tested, although McGrew and his team took it to the wind tunnel last month.(HMS PR)

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Gibbs: Logano struggles go back to testing ban: Team owner Joe Gibbs believes Logano’s struggles can be traded to NASCAR's ban on testing, along with just plain bad luck. "A lot of things happened to us this year when we charted our course here," Gibbs said. "We got testing taken away from us. I think probably everybody would say it probably hurts the young guy a lot more than a vet, a guy that's been around. I think that was a tough deal for us. Really you pretty much have to show up at a racetrack. "Many times Joey has been at someplace where he's never had a lap in a Cup car, the Car of Tomorrow. I think it's been a struggle for us," Gibbs added. "He's had two wrecks. Other people caused them. Then we blow a motor. It's been disheartening." (MyFoxOrlando.com)

Kentucky politicians blame each other for failure of NASCAR-related tax incentives: Ky. House Speaker Greg Stumbo is blaming the Senate for the demise of a tax-incentives bill in this year's legislative session designed to help lure a NASCAR Sprint Cup race to the Kentucky Speedway in Gallatin County. But Senate President David Williams said Stumbo's action is a move by the Democrat-controlled House "to try to blame us for everything that went wrong" in the session. "They had ought to be called on it," Williams said. State lawmakers wrapped up the 2009 General Assembly last Thursday without taking up any additional legislation, including tax incentives for the 72,000-seat track near Sparta. (Lexington Herald-Leader)

NASCAR to revise post-race tear-down procedure: In a move that should be more cost-saving to the industry and help enhance the inspection process, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will begin conducting its post-race engine tear-down at the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. “Along with cost savings, this will provide our officials and teams with the means to analyze the engines in a more controlled setting,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “We have been moving towards doing this in the past, and as the stakes continue to rise in our sport, we believe it’s the most effective way of doing things.” As part of its post-race inspection, NASCAR typically tears down the engines of the event’s top-two finishers, in addition to a random car. The height and weight measurements, in addition to the shock and gear inspections, will still take place at the track following the race. Post-race inspection of the engines at the R&D Center will remain open for observation as it did at the race track. Should any violations be discovered during the tear-down process, forthcoming penalties will be handled just as they have before through the NASCAR competition department.(NASCAR PR)

Labonte, Smith inducted into Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame: Bobby Labonte and Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Chairman and CEO Bruton Smith were inducted into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame during Wednesday evening’s gala at The Speedway Club at Texas Motor Speedway. The two were honored along with Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick, No. 99-Carl Edwards and IndyCar Series driver Scott Dixon. Labonte and Smith join previous inductees A.J. Foyt (2003), Johnny Rutherford (2003), Terry Labonte (2004), Lee Shepherd (2004), Kenny Bernstein (2005), Jim Hall (2005), Eddie Hill (2006), Mark Martin (2007) and Jim McElreath (2007) into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame. Labonte’s presenter for his induction was none other than his older brother and 2004 inductee, Terry Labonte. “It’s a great honor,” Labonte said. “Just having the career and starting out in Texas. This is just a neat factor to come to this. This is pretty cool. I always enjoyed following in Terry’s footsteps.” Labonte was honored with a special announcement at the conclusion of the ceremony. Interstate Batteries CEO Norm Miller and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch unveiled the special paint scheme Busch will run during Sunday’s Samsung 500. The paint scheme is a replica of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries car that Labonte drove during his 2000 Sprint Cup Series championship year while at Joe Gibbs Racing. The scheme pays tribute to Labonte’s induction with “Congrats Bobby Labonte! Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame 2009 Inductee” on the deck lid of the car. Smith brought back NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing to Texas in 1997 with the construction of Texas Motor Speedway. Since then, he has continued to develop “The Great American Speedway!” into one of the premier sporting venues in the country. Smith, with the help of racing star Curtis Turner, opened Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 1960 and hosted the first World 600 that year. Since that time, Smith has set the standard in marketing and promoting motorsports as he has turned SMI into one of the most recognizable brands in NASCAR. Hendrick was awarded this year’s Bruton Smith Legends Award. The honor is a lifetime achievement award given to a legendary figure in motorsports. Hendrick is known for establishing one of the winningest organizations in NASCAR. The team owner of four of NASCAR’s most recognizable drivers (Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin) has set the standard of excellence in motorsports. Edwards, who became the first Sprint Cup Series driver to sweep both races at Texas Motor Speedway last year (the Samsung 500 and Dickies 500), earned the Texas Motor Speedway Racer of the Year. Edwards led nearly half the Sprint Cup Series laps run last year at TMS, leading 335 of 673 laps. His two wins placed him atop the list for most wins by a Sprint Cup Series driver at “The Great American Speedway!” with three. Dixon received the Texas Motor Speedway Sportsmanship Award. Dixon earned his first TMS victory during last year’s Bombardier Learjet 550k en route to the IndyCar Series championship.(TMS PR)