Top athletes compete at NASCAR Drive for Diversity National Pit Crew Combine

Posted on May 25, 2017May 25, 2017 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A select group of former college football, basketball, softball, and track and field athletes from across the country will put their pit crew skills to the test in the second annual NASCAR Drive for Diversity National Pit Crew Combine presented by Goodyear on Friday, May 26.

The 17 athletes earned invitations to compete as part of a nationwide talent search. They will be evaluated based on a series of fitness, agility and pit crew drills and competitions at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.

Top-performing participants will be invited to join NASCAR Drive for Diversity’s crew member development program, operated by Rev Racing, and will receive expert training as tire changers, carriers and jackmen as they pursue full-time employment with NASCAR national series race teams.

“As we saw with last year’s inaugural national combine, the caliber of athletes now competing for opportunities to train with NASCAR Drive for Diversity is stronger than ever,” said Jim Cassidy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. “As the program grows, it’s attracting top-quality talent and competitors who we believe have the potential to excel at the highest levels of NASCAR.”

Current program participants like Lamar Neal, who attended the 2016 national pit crew combine, are already making their mark in the sport. A former linebacker at Norfolk State University, Neal has joined Richard Childress Racing and is now pitting for the team in the NASCAR XFINITY Series™.

In total, there are 35 NASCAR Drive for Diversity pit crew graduates now working in NASCAR, including 25 alums pitting across the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™. In May, three graduates — Raphael Diaz, Kevin Richardson and Mike Russell — helped Roush Fenway Racing driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to his first career Monster Energy Series win at Talladega Superspeedway.

Earlier this year as part of the program’s scouting process, NASCAR and Rev Racing hosted tryouts at six universities: Alcorn State University, Arizona State University, Bethune-Cookman University, Norfolk State, San Diego State University and Virginia State University.

Thirteen men and four women from these schools and others will take part in Friday’s four-hour skills competition led by Phil Horton, Rev Racing director of athletic performance.

“We couldn’t be more proud as an organization to not only see our vision for the program come to life, but to also attract top talent from some of the nation’s best universities,” said Max Siegel, Rev Racing owner and CEO. “Coach Phil Horton is the best in the business. The performance and success of our graduates each week is a true testament to both the mission of our organization and Phil’s lifelong contribution to diversifying and pushing this sport to its limits.”

Ezell Ruffin was a standout wide receiver and his team’s offensive most valuable player at San Diego State before attending training camp with the Indianapolis Colts in 2015. This week, Ruffin will join former Aztec teammate Kevin Walcott as the football players attempt to “go pro” in NASCAR.

Kendra Cooper was a Historically Black Colleges & Universities first-team all-American basketball player at Bethune-Cookman in 2017, and finished her career as the school’s all-time leader in three-point shooting. Cooper will look to follow in the footsteps of Brehanna Daniels, a former Norfolk State point guard and current NASCAR Drive for Diversity tire changer who recently pitted her first race in the ARCA Series.

Tramel Topps worked out for scouts from 28 NFL teams at Arizona State’s Pro Day in March, but will now trade his football cleats for a set of Goodyear tires as he seeks to become a tire carrier with NASCAR Drive for Diversity.

NASCAR Drive for Diversity National Pit Crew Combine presented by Goodyear participants include:

First	Last	Hometown	University	Primary Sport
Charles	Beatty	Phoenix, Ariz.	Arizona State University	Football
Marcell	Blair	Charlotte, N.C.	N/A	Football
Bryce	Bradley	Richmond, Va.	Virginia State University	Football
Devin	Byrd	Fayette County, Tenn.	N/A	Baseball
Trevon	Byron	Newport News, Va.	Virginia State University	Football
Sandy	Chapman	Raleigh, N.C.	Norfolk State University	Football
Kendra	Cooper	Spring, Texas	Bethune-Cookman University	Basketball
Torian	Henderson	Silver Spring, Md.	Norfolk State University	Football
Gerard	Johnson	Richmond, Va.	Norfolk State University	Football
Jalen	Jones	Indianapolis, Ind.	Vincennes University	Football/Track & Field
Sherry	Lewis	Dinwiddie, Va.	Virginia State University	Bowling/Lacrosse
Ryan	Nantuna	Elk Grove, Calif.	Arizona State University	Wrestling
Sophia	Ortega	Highland, Calif.	Bethune-Cookman University	Softball
Ezell	Ruffin	Los Angeles, Calif.	San Diego State University	Football
Tramel	Topps	Milwaukee, Wis.	Arizona State University	Football
Kevin	Walcott	Los Angeles, Calif.	San Diego State University	Softball
Alisha	Williams	Mississauga, Ont.	Virginia State University	Track & Field

Following Friday’s event, pit crew combine participants will attend the Hisense 4K TV 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 27 (1 p.m. ET, FS1).

NASCAR Drive for Diversity also offers a driver development program, operated by Rev Racing, and each year fields six drivers in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. Successful graduates now competing in a national series include Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers Kyle Larson and Daniel Suárez and NASCAR XFINITY Series driver Darrell Wallace Jr.

For the first time, Goodyear becomes presenting sponsor of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity National Pit Crew Combine. The “Official Tire of NASCAR^®” has been a longtime supporter of Rev Racing and NASCAR Drive for Diversity, and supplies the team with race tires for competition.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 will be broadcast live from Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 28 at 6 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90, with additional coverage on NASCAR.com.

Posted on May 25, 2017May 25, 2017 by Staff Report

NASCAR handed an L1-level penalty to the No. 24 Camping World Truck Series team of GMS Racing on Thursday for failing the post-race height requirements for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 on May 19 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

As a result of the infraction, the team loses 10 points in the driver and owner standings and crew chief Kevin Bellicourt is suspended for one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and fined $5,000.

Justin Haley drove the No. 24 Chevrolet to a 17th-place finish at Charlotte, and Haley was in 18th place in the driver standings before the penalty. After the penalty, he dropped to 22nd place.

Posted on May 25, 2017May 25, 2017 by Staff Report

BUY TICKETS: See the races at Charlotte
RELATED: Full weekend schedule for Charlotte

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series are at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend.

Below are the stage lengths for each race — remember, the Coca-Cola 600 has four stages. Click here to bookmark stage lengths for every race this season.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (Race is Sunday, 6 p.m. ET, FOX)

Stage 1: Ends on Lap 100
Stage 2: Ends on Lap 200
Stage 3: Ends on Lap 300
Final Stage: Scheduled to end on Lap 400

XFINITY Series (Race is Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, FS1)

Stage 1: Ends on Lap 45
Stage 2: Ends on Lap 90
Final Stage: Scheduled to end on Lap 200

Posted on May 24, 2017May 25, 2017 by Zack Albert

The suspense ended early for Robert Yates on Wednesday. Surrounded by his family and well-wishers, the 74-year-old master engine builder and team owner’s name was the first called for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s 2018 class.

And for a moment as the adulation poured in, the hardships in Yates’ ongoing fight against liver cancer — currently in its third round of immunotherapy — subsided. For that moment and the ones that followed, he was floating.

“Right now? I feel like I could take a jack and jump over the wall and clear the whole … I’d be on the right side, like I used to,” Yates said, his voice breaking at times during his media rounds in the stock-car racing shrine’s Great Hall. “They’d look back at the film that says your feet were not on the ground, but you were on the other side of the car.”

Yates led the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting for the five new inductees, named on 94 percent of the ballots cast Wednesday. His vote total was the highest for a nominee since 2011, when David Pearson received an equal percentage in voting for the Hall’s second class.

Yates’ ingenuity as an engine builder powered the cars driven by several NASCAR Hall of Famers that came before him. As a mechanic and a team owner, he was privileged to play major roles in winning multiple championships and Daytona 500s. His influence on the sport continues, with many Ford teams enjoying the mighty horsepower that comes from the Roush Yates Engines shops.

But Yates’ competitive spirit is now focused not as much on racing as it is on his health. The long road of treatment began last October, and his son, Doug, admitted that the last couple of weeks had been particularly challenging. The ravages of the disease have made him less of the barrel-chested figure that once carried an imposing prominence in the garage, but he stood tall Wednesday, smiling and signing autographs for fans attending the ceremony.

“I asked him early on when he found out he was diagnosed with liver cancer, well, what do you want to do? How do you want to handle this thing?” Doug Yates recalled. “He said, ‘well, I can’t hide from it. I can’t run from it. We don’t need to publicize this, but if people ask, let’s just tell them where I’m at. If I can use it as a platform for people to get checked and to do something better to extend their lives and have a better quality of life, then I want to make sure that I’m that.’

“It’s been tough and he never complains. I can’t imagine a tougher group of people than a racer, and going to battle with what he’s fighting now is like trying to win the Daytona 500, but probably tougher.”

For a day at least, Yates’ battle was overshadowed by his many stories about coming of age in the sport, his love of all things mechanical, his abbreviated driving career, his work ethic and the Mars Hill college professor who said he’d never amount to anything because he was turning wrenches on a tractor instead of studying.

On NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Day, Yates amounted to everything.

“I don’t even know if I’ll sleep tonight,” Yates said. “I’m so honored and I love this sport, and I want this sport to do the same thing it did for me, again and again and again.”

Posted on May 24, 2017May 24, 2017 by Nascar

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A nod to the past and to the not-so-distant past.

Red Byron. Ray Evernham. Ron Hornaday Jr. Ken Squier. Robert Yates.

NASCAR’s Hall of Fame class for 2018.

Announced Wednesday in the Great Hall of the Hall of Fame, next year’s group of five inductees spans the history of NASCAR.

From Byron, NASCAR’s first Modified (1948) and Strictly Stock (now the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup) Series champion (1949) to Evernham and Hornaday, whose exploits in their respective areas remain fresh in the mind. Wasn’t it just yesterday Evernham was atop the pit box with a young kid named Jeff Gordon and Hornaday was soon dominating the Camping World Truck Series?

Squier, who seems as if he’s been there from the beginning, his delivery behind the microphone setting the perfect stage while documenting so much history.

And Yates? Good grief, did anyone in the garage put more time and effort, more sweat and tears into NASCAR than Yates? He enjoyed the highest of highs and suffered some of the lowest of lows. A 40-year career. “The best 40 years,” the noted engine builder and team owner said.

This year’s class was again determined by 58 voters made up of the nominating committee, the voting committee and a single overall vote determined by fans.

A three-hour or so discussion was lively and educational and perhaps more spirited than in years past. Each of the 20 nominees were discussed, but it soon became apparent that most in the room had zeroed in on a handful of names.

Weighing their accomplishments, their careers, and then deciding how those records stack up against so many others? It’s an honor but it’s also extremely difficult.

As in previous years, you leave the room feeling you’ve got a pretty good idea of how the votes will turn out, but you’re never quite sure.

And then the names are announced and you see the surprise in their eyes and you talk with them and you come to understand how much it really means.

Squier never lobbied for induction, feeling the Squier-Hall Award, named in his honor and shared with the late MRN announcer Barney Hall, was enough of an honor for a lifetime of outstanding work.

His feelings hadn’t changed, he said, once his name was called Wednesday evening.

“I never thought they belonged, the media, with the drivers that put their asses in those cars and drove them so very, very well when they were pretty rough handling pieces of machinery,” Squier said. “They were heroes. They were American heroes.”

Hornaday? He said he wasn’t even aware voting day had arrived and for a guy who still races on dirt, attending was more a matter of supporting those whose names were called.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “My wife should be standing here. She’s the trooper; she’s the one that did all this. I was done racing because somebody stole our tool box and she saved the $1,700 to buy the tool box and new helmet and stuff to go racing.”

Smart woman. Hornaday fared well enough to grab the attention of team owner Dale Earnhardt, for whom he eventually won two Camping World Truck Series titles, and later team owner Kevin Harvick, for whom he won two more.

“I came from the day when you didn’t have a cell phone and had to get a dime or a quarter to call your mom or dad at home and tell them you won,” Hornaday said. “It’s changed a lot. I was racing and now I’m in the Hall of Fame. I hope they have a big enough picture for my wife because she deserves to be in it.”

Evernham, reached by phone in Indianapolis, called it “an overwhelming feeling.”

“I keep thinking back to that kid in New Jersey that all he wanted was to race and now you’re telling me I’m going to be in the Hall of Fame with guys that have been my heroes for so many years,” he said. “I’m honestly just blown away.”

A three-time champion as crew chief for Gordon, Evernham went on to become a team owner where his drivers won 13 times.

“I don’t know whether to cheer, to smile, or to cry,” Evernham said. “I have never felt an overrun of emotions like this. It’s been a 40-year career and let’s face it, the Hall of Fame is the biggest thing that can happen to you in your career when people really recognize you for making a difference in the sport or for something you have done.”

Yates has been on the list of nominees for four years. He’s been on the cusp of selection enough times to make him wonder if he would ever hear his name called.

Batting liver cancer, the 74-year-old tried to keep his emotions in check as he spoke with the media afterward.

“Sitting here today, I said, ‘Look, I’m struggling with some stuff. But if I don’t get in, that’s a reason to work real hard to be here next year to get in,’ ” Yates admitted. “That’s the way I tried to look at it.”

And when NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton announced his name, Yates was overwhelmed.

“I’ve been sixth every year or so,” he said, choking back tears. “Wow. I don’t know. My family means so much to me because they allowed me to work night and day and never told me to come home at three in the morning.

“I always said I never outsmarted them, I just outworked them.”

Posted on May 24, 2017May 24, 2017 by Holly Cain

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The NASCAR Hall of Fame voting committee awarded International Speedway Corporation Chairman Jim France with the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.

The 72-year-old member of the sport’s founding family has served on the ISC Board since 1970 in positions ranging from secretary to executive vice president to now, chairman.

He led the recently completed $400 million Daytona Rising project that transformed the sport’s historic Daytona International Speedway into the world’s first motorsports stadium.

“Jim deserves this honor as the epitome of what the Landmark Award represents,” ISC CEO Lesa France Kennedy said in a statement. “His unassuming yet steady, decisive leadership has been a significant contributor to the growth of the sport through the years. He has left a lasting mark on NASCAR’s legacy. For someone who never seeks the spotlight, I am so pleased to see it shined on him today.”

Jim France founded GRAND-AM Road Racing series in 1999; in 2012, he was the driving force behind the merger of GRAND-AM and the American Le Mans Series, creating the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA).

The youngest son of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., Jim France started working for ISC in 1959 as a teenager.

Posted on May 24, 2017 by Staff Report

RELATED: Meet the class | Historic photos

NASCAR.com senior writers Kenny Bruce and Holly Cain both are members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting panel. Below are their official ballots submitted May 24.

Kenny Bruce’s ballot

Buddy Baker. One of the legendary characters from an era in the sport when drivers were larger-than-life figures. Baker knew only one way to race — wide-open — and he parlayed his on-track success into a broadcast career that helped carry the sport forward.

Red Byron. When it comes to firsts, no one tops Byron, the first NASCAR champion (Modified, 1948) and first champion of what is known today as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (1949).

Ron Hornaday Jr. When you talk of NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series, one name immediately comes to mind. His success helped open the floodgates of California talent.

Jack Roush. Grew a single-car team into a five-team powerhouse and is one of only two owners with championships in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series.

Robert Yates. Won races and championships as one of NASCAR’s top engine builders; as a car owner, his drivers won 57 races and one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title.

Holly Cain’s ballot

Red Byron. NASCAR’s first national champion deserves to be in the Hall, joining every other candidate also on the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame 25-person ballot.

Ron Hornaday Jr. The only four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series winner who owns series records in wins (51), top-five finishes (158) and top-10s (234). It’s time for this series to be represented, and there is no one better to do so.

Jack Roush. The single winningest team owner across all series in NASCAR history, and one of only two owners to ever achieve championships in all of the sport’s three national series.

Ken Squier. Not only did he co-found the sport’s Motor Racing Network (MRN) and handle NASCAR’s national television live race broadcast debut — the 1979 Daytona 500 on CBS — he was responsible for laying the groundwork for the future of the sport’s big-time national broadcasting opportunities.

Robert Yates. Yates won NASCAR championships as a team owner (Dale Jarrett in 1999) and as an engine builder (Bobby Allison, 1983). He has three Daytona 500 owner wins and won 77 trophies as an engine builder for Hall of Famer Junior Johnson.

Posted on May 24, 2017May 24, 2017 by Reid Spencer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The 2018 NASCAR Hall of Fame class is an eclectic group but all five members share at least one thing in common.

They all are responsible for monumental contributions to the sport of stock car racing.

The 2018 class includes NASCAR first champion, Red Byron; one of the sport’s greatest innovators as a crew chief, Ray Evernham; a premier engine builder and champion team owner, Robert Yates; the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series record holder for victories and championships, Ron Hornaday Jr.; and a broadcaster who was instrumental in putting the sport on the map, Ken Squier.

The winner of NASCAR’s modified championship in 1948 and the first champion the Strictly Stock Division a year later, Byron was the last of the original class of nominees from 2010 to gain induction.

“I couldn’t tell you why it took so long,” said NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton, who announced the 2018 Class and the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR, won by Jim France. “We’re going to have current champions, we’re going to have future champions, but we only have one first champion.

“I think last year with (first champion team owner) Raymond Parks sort of paving the way, they said, ‘Hey, wait a minute, Red Byron was part of that, too.'”

Byron was a war hero as well as a titan of the asphalt. He suffered a leg injury in World War II that forced him to drive with a special brace attached to the clutch pedal.

“The five characters that we just announced I think contributed across the board in different ways, in different styles of character and in different time frames,” Helton added. “And so I think it’s another ideal class for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”

In a span of four years, Evernham won three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championships with driver Jeff Gordon. As a crew chief he guided Gordon to a remarkable 47 victories and 30 poles in 213 starts in NASCAR’s top division.

Evernham was on the pit box for two wins in the Daytona 500 and two in the Brickyard 400. In 2001, Evernham led the return of Dodge to top series racing as the owner of his own team.

Despite the stats, Evernham was surprised at his election to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

“The emotion really overwhelmed me, and I’ve been at a loss for words since,” said Evernham, who spoke with reporters by phone after the announcement. “It’s an overwhelming feeling. … I’m honestly just blown away.”

Yates has been on the ballot four times and had come close to induction in the past. This year, he was the leading vote-getter in the 2018 class, being named on 94 percent of ballots.

As an engine builder, he provided the power that enabled Hall of Famer Bobby Allison to win a championship in 1983. As a team owner, he fielded the cars that carried fellow Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett to a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title in 1999.

“It’s really good to be here when you win,” said the 74-year-old Yates, who has been battling liver cancer but appeared in great spirits at the Hall of Fame announcement. “It’s all about winning, isn’t it?

“This is a different deal. This is about people you worked against, maybe for or with. … I think my son (engine builder Doug Yates) deserves a lot of it. I think my family deserves a lot of it. (Wife) Carolyn deserves a lot of it. She let me work night and day.

“But over time, to have everybody remember those days … I can look at the pictures of where we came from and ‘Wow, I wasn’t too bad looking a guy back then.'”

Hornaday leads the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with 51 victories and five championships. Discovered by the late Dale Earnhardt, Hornaday himself has returned that courtesy over the years to such aspiring drivers as Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Ross Chastain and Ricky Carmichael, to name a few.

RELATED: Meet the Class of 2018

Hornaday always had a couch for the up-and-comers to sleep on while they established their careers.

“I got that call from Earnhardt, and now I’m in the Hall of Fame,” said Hornaday, still incredulous at his selection. “My wife should be standing here. She’s the one who did all this. She’s a trooper. I was done racing because somebody stole our tool box, and she saved the $1,700 to buy the tool box and a new helmet to go racing.

“Sacrificed for the whole family—and this is pretty damn cool.”

Perhaps best known for calling the 1979 Daytona 500 on CBS, the race launched NASCAR’s meteoric popularity, Squier co-founded the Motor Racing Network. The Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence, housed in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, bears his name and that of the late Barney Hall.

“I’m just tickled that, just because we played all those hard towns and kept on coming back, that it meant something,” Squier said.

The son of Big Bill France and the brother of Bill France Jr., Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR winner Jim France founded the Grand-Am sports car series and shepherded the merger between Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series to create what is now the IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship.

Currently serving as chairman of the board of International Speedway Corporation, France was also a driving force behind the revolutionary Daytona Rising project that transformed the marquee venue of NASCAR racing.

Posted on May 24, 2017May 25, 2017 by Zack Albert

Richard Petty Motorsports announced Wednesday that Regan Smith will drive the team’s No. 43 Ford in this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The team has not announced plans beyond this weekend.

Smith will substitute for RPM driver Aric Almirola, who suffered a compression fracture of the T5 vertebra in a crash May 13 at Kansas Speedway. Almirola indicated he expects to miss 8-12 weeks of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Smith filled in for Almirola during the All-Star Race weekend, finishing fourth in the Monster Energy Open qualifying race last Saturday night.

Almirola was at Charlotte Motor Speedway last Friday, six days after the multicar wreck that sent him to the University of Kansas Medical Center for overnight observation. The 33-year-old driver said he would not rush his recovery for a more rapid return to NASCAR competition, saying his quality of life beyond his racing career outweighed the risk of further injury in another crash.

“I’ve got a lot of baseball to play with my son and I’d like to dance with my daughter one day at her wedding, so I’m not gonna risk it,” Almirola said. “Whenever the doctors clear me, I’ll be ready to get back in a race car.”

Through 11 races this season, Almirola sits 23rd in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings.

Posted on May 24, 2017May 25, 2017 by Brad Norman

Daniel Suarez brought some Hollywood-level fun to the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Charlotte as part of the pre-release festivities for “Cars 3” and as a Subway ambassador.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rookie Suarez revved up his No. 19 Toyota sponsored by Subway (which he will drive in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at 6 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX, PRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio) for the kids and talked with them about the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle.

As part of the event, children in attendance were treated to Subway Fresh Fit for Kids meals, featuring Subway/”Cars 3″ digital watches, available at Subway restaurants with the purchase of a kids meal starting June 5.

“Cars 3” cruises into theaters on June 16, 2017 in 3D. Suarez voices Danny Swervez, an up-and-coming driver competing in the Piston-Cup and succeeding against all odds.

Other young drivers joining “Cars” franchise stars Owen Wilson, Cristela Alonzo, Armie Hammer in this movie are Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Darrell Wallace Jr.

MORE: “Cars 3” gears up for season-long ride with NASCAR