As activity for the upcoming season ramps up with media tour appearances, sponsor shoots and much more, Nationwide has unveiled the slate of races for which the insurance company will serve as the primary sponsor for the No. 88 team.
Below is the list of the 21 races that Nationwide will be the primary sponsor on the No. 88 — including the exhibition event of the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona in which Alex Bowman will pilot the car (which is noted with an asterisk*).
FOX Sports analyst Michael Waltrip will make one final run at the Daytona 500 next month and then call it a career in NASCAR.
Waltrip, 53, made the announcement in a release with sponsor Aaron’s on Thursday afternoon. He is a two-time winner of the "Great American Race," prevailing in the Daytona International Speedway opener in 2001 and 2003.
Premium Motorsports will prep the "Aaron’s #15 Thanks Mikey Toyota" for his 30th consecutive start in the Daytona 500. Waltrip has had more than a 17-year association with the Atlanta-based sponsor. Waltrip’s entry is from a chartered team, meaning he is guaranteed a spot in the 40-car field.
"I have experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows at the Great American Race," Waltrip said in the release. "But when you are a NASCAR racer who has the privilege of racing here, you love Daytona no matter what happens. In my 30th and final Daytona 500, I am just going to enjoy every moment and be happy that Aaron’s has given me one more opportunity to hoist the Harley J. Earl trophy."
Waltrip has been a part of FOX Sports’ coverage of NASCAR’s top division since 2012. The Kentucky native has entered no more than four races a year — primarily at Daytona and Talladega — for the last seven seasons.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. looked absolutely relaxed Wednesday morning, sitting in the single director’s chair on stage at the Charlotte Convention Center and meeting with the NASCAR national media for his first formal pre-season question and answer period. He seemed so comfortable, in fact, that when he was ushered off stage for the next phase of Media Day appointments he actually seemed a little surprised, maybe even … disappointed.
Not many NASCAR racers would admit missing the media obligations but Earnhardt said it was one of many aspects of his job the sport’s superstar realized he did indeed long for after being sidelined for the second half of the 2016 season recovering from concussion-like symptoms.
Earnhardt made the most of the brief time with reporters, explaining what he missed most about competition, talking about his high expectations for the upcoming season and even dropping a hint that he and his newlywed, Amy, may be planning to expand their new family soon.
At a time in his 17-year full-time Cup career when the two-time Daytona 500 winner and perennial championship contender is focused on returning to competition next month, he seemed equally as mindful — and grateful — of his life away from the track.
"Mentally, you have to make the decision if you want to keep racing and if you want to keep racing, you have to make the decision to be in 100 percent," Earnhardt said. "This is the top, the elite series in motorsports in North America and if you’re going to be out there, you can’t do it without being in 100 percent. I had to answer a lot of personal questions of myself and really just buy in. All that was a big process and I’m really happy with what I’ve decided to do."
And he was candid about the developments that have only enhanced his life changed him for the better, he feels.
"Getting married has been incredible," Earnhardt said. "I wish I had figured all this out sooner. I’m frustrated with myself that I took so long to grow up. But I’ve got an amazing wife and she’s changed my life really. She’s helped me as a person become better on all fronts, personally and all my friendships and relationships how I treat people and obviously in my professional life helped me as a driver. It’s been great.
"I’m just hoping to enjoy what’s left of my career and hopefully I get to make the decisions on that myself as far as how much longer I race. Gonna start a family and all that good stuff too and have a lot of good things to look forward to and I’m really excited about my future."
Earnhardt was thoughtful and reflective answering questions. He will have his first official Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series test in Phoenix next week after being sidelined since last summer in recovery.
He said that being out of the car absolutely changed his perspective.
"You do take your job for granted when you’re doing it every week," Earnhardt said. "As a society, we get better and better at complaining. The drivers aren’t any different; we moan and complain about everything. But when you get a chance to step back and watch it … I got a chance to be at Dover and watch the drivers come in that morning for practice and it was an eye-opening experience.
"It was an out-of-body experience almost to watch all that happen. Looking at them and knowing that was me. I got to see the drivers from a different point of view and got to see the sport from a different point of view. Being out of the car made me anxious to get back in.
"To be honest, I’m happy to come back here and continue to compete. I got real close to not being able to compete and it being someone else’s decision whether I competed or not."
Listening to Earnhardt speak and watching his expressions, it was clear his career and his lifestyle aren’t to be taken for granted. His time on stage was actually a gentle reminder to others and affirmation for him.
His desire to win hasn’t changed — if anything it has intensified. But his view of racing life and life, in general, has a new and improved perspective.
"People have asked me since I turned 40 when I would retire and all I wanted to do was make that choice myself," Earnhardt said. "I don’t know when I’m going to stop racing, but I want to able to make that choice and not have it made for me. All that stuff really showed me how much I have going for me and how fun this really is. You can make it really difficult or you can enjoy it. This is an incredible position to be in and it’s an awesome sport, and driving the cars is fun. Doing the photo shoots, doing the commercials and talking to the media, all those things are fun. But you can make it not any fun if you want to.
"As human beings, we have a tendency to do that. The grind, man, is so long. You’re doing it year after year after year, and it doesn’t seem like we had much of an off-season. You actually work harder in the off-season.
"I can see how you get wound up and burned out a little bit. I’m certainly not feeling that way right now, and I’ll be much more self-aware down the road trying to remember what this is and what position I’m in and not take it for granted."
WARRENDALE, Pa. (Jan. 25, 2016) – SAE International will honor two NASCAR safety experts with the Ralph H. Isbrandt Automotive Safety Engineering Award.
John Patalak, Senior Director of Safety Engineering, NASCAR Research and Development; and Tom Gideon, recently retired Senior Director of Safety Engineering, NASCAR Research Development and Safety, will be honored for their SAE International technical paper, "Development and Implementation of a Quasi-Static Test for Seat Integrated Seat Belt Restraint System Anchorages" (2015-01-0739). The two will receive their awards during the SAE 2017Government/Industry Meeting, Jan. 25-27, in Washington, D.C.
Patalak’s work at NASCAR includes researching, developing and approving driver and vehicle safety systems and investigating vehicle crashworthiness and occupant protection issues. Prior to NASCAR, he worked for an engineering consulting firm specializing in vehicle crashworthiness and occupant protection.
A licensed Professional Engineer, Patalak graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and is currently a graduate student concentrating in biomechanics at the Virginia Tech – Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences.
Gideon retired as Senior Director of Safety from NASCAR in 2016. Gideon joined NASCAR in 2009 as Director-Safety R&D; before that, he served as Safety Manager for GM Racing with General Motors.
Gideon is a Professional Engineer with a BSME from The Ohio State University. He is the author/co-author of several SAE International papers on driver’s safety, and is also a Board Member of the International Council of Motorsports Sciences (ICMS).
TheSAE 2017 Government/Industry Meeting provides attendees with the opportunity to connect directly with the key players driving advanced automotive, fuels technology and pending legislation.
Johnson, the seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, may have another trophy to add to his collection after stomping on the field in the beard category when he showed up at the annual Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour on Tuesday, sporting a hefty mountain man look.
Junior, who typically sports a thick man mane of his own, would like to compete with Johnson in the face game, but conceded the W to Johnson on Wednesday during his media session.
"Jimmie, I told him. He sent me a picture of him skiing and he said ‘Man, I’m getting ready to know this beard off.’ I said, ‘You better have that in Daytona, because you’ll get more drafting help. That’s a bad ass beard and I’d keep it if I were you,’ " said Earnhardt. "He’s hung onto it. I don’t know if he’s taking my advice or what. I’m certainly pro-beard. If I’d have known he was going to come so strong, I would’ve worked on mine a little more.
"Amy’s got me keeping it pretty short these days. I certainly envy what Jimmie’s got going on, it’s awesome."
With 32 days left before the Daytona 500, there’s still plenty of time for Earnhardt to up the ante.
What do you think — does Johnson have the silver (gray?) standard for facial hair right now, or is Junior just being nice?
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 25, 2017) – After a season of milestones for NASCAR Drive for Diversity graduates competing across NASCAR national series, the industry’s flagship development program for multicultural and female drivers has announced that six drivers will join its 2017 class. The drivers were selected after a competitive combine held last October at New Smyrna Speedway and will compete for Rev Racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
The 2017 class features a former NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series champion, the granddaughter of one of the sport’s female pioneers, and NASCAR Drive for Diversity’s first sibling teammates. The drivers will attempt to follow in the footsteps of program graduates and current national series drivers Kyle Larson, Darrell Wallace Jr., and 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Daniel Suárez.
“Now more than ever, we’re seeing the impact of NASCAR’s development program in producing drivers who excel at the highest echelons of our sport,” said Jim Cassidy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. “There’s a great deal of talent and potential in this year’s class. With the strong foundation that NASCAR Drive for Diversity provides, these drivers will have the opportunity to develop the skills needed to elevate their racing careers.”
The 2017 class is led by four returning drivers, Collin Cabre, Jay Beasley, Madeline Crane and Rubén García Jr., who first competed in stock car racing in his native Mexico. Collin’s younger brother, Chase Cabre, joins 16-year-old Macy Causey as this year’s NASCAR Drive for Diversity newcomers. Causey’s grandmother, Diane Teel, was the first woman to compete in a NASCAR XFINITY Series race in 1982.
Rev Racing, the operational arm of NASCAR Drive for Diversity, will field four teams in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and two in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
The 2017 NASCAR Drive for Diversity roster features:
Collin Cabre: An impressive second year in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program was highlighted by four top-five and six top-10 finishes and a sixth-place finish in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship standings. After winning the 2015 season finale at Dover International Speedway, Cabre was named to the 2016-2017 NASCAR Next class. The 23-year-old from Tampa, Florida, will compete in his third season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East with Rev Racing.
Chase Cabre: Cabre, 20, registered 12 race wins in 21 starts in a 600 Mini Sprint Car and is a two-time Fall Brawl Champion at Florida’s Ocala Bullring. In 2016, he averaged a fourth-place finish in races at Hickory Motor Speedway and set two poles during the season. Chase will compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in his rookie season with Rev Racing.
Rubén García Jr.: At age 20, the Mexico City native became the youngest NASCAR PEAK Mexico driver to win the series championship in 2015. García was also part of the NASCAR Next program in both 2015 and 2016. He returns to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East after finishing 10th in the series last season.
Jay Beasley: Beasley, 24, made history in 2013 by becoming the first African-American driver to win a Super Late Model race at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In his first season with the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program in 2014, he earned two top-five and five top-10 finishes in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. He returns to the series for his third season with Rev Racing.
Macy Causey: Causey was honored with the NASCAR Young Racer Award in 2016. The year prior, she won the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Virginia Rookie of the Year Award and earned top rookie honors at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia, where in 1978 her grandmother became the first woman to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race at the track. Causey will compete for Rev Racing in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series.
Madeline Crane: The Georgia native began her career racing Bandoleros at Atlanta Motor Speedway at age 10. Crane, 19, moved into Legend cars, and by the time she was 14 had garnered 59 top-five finishes in 82 starts. Returning for a second season with NASCAR Drive for Diversity, she will compete in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series following two top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 2016.
NASCAR Drive for Diversity aligns drivers with a team of executives, athletic directors, crew chiefs and mentors tasked with helping them achieve career successes, and thus improving their goal of reaching one of the three NASCAR national series.
Since it began fielding NASCAR Drive for Diversity cars in 2010, Rev Racing has been one of the most consistent teams in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, registering 17 wins, 65 top-five and 124 top-10 finishes with drivers finishing in the top-10 in points each season.
“Each year the applicant pool and talent level rises and our program continues to evolve and create more opportunities for advancement,” said Max Siegel, CEO and owner of Rev Racing. “NASCAR Drive for Diversity and Rev Racing are proud of the impact that we have had in the sport and we look forward to graduating the next generation of athletes to the national series.”
The 2016 NASCAR season was a historic year for NASCAR Drive for Diversity alumni. Larson, who is Asian-American, became the first program graduate to win a race and reach the playoffs in the sport’s premier series, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
The 2017 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season opener will take place on Feb. 19 at New Smyrna Speedway, where Rev Racing scored a win with Suárez in 2014.
For more information on NASCAR Drive for Diversity, visit NASCARDiversity.com.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The 2017 NASCAR Media Tour started Monday night with a dramatic, warmly-received and game-changing announcement about a new race format for NASCAR’s three national series and a re-designed points system aimed at increasing competition levels throughout races.
It was a hard act to follow, but the next two days of panel interviews, photo ops and video one-on-ones delivered interesting interviews and a definitive positive vibe in the air.
"Enhancements" was the word of the week and may prove to be the theme of seasons to come.
For the first time, the traditional "tour" didn’t include visits to any of the area’s race shops or the nearby Charlotte Motor Speedway. No crew chiefs or owners appeared on stage or roamed the halls.
But one by one, drivers — representing all three NASCAR national series — took the stage at the Charlotte Convention Center — settling into a lone director’s chair next to the emcee’s podium to provide season previews and at times, purely entertain.
At times the 10-minute question-and-answer segments felt more like open-mike night at a comedy club. Jamie McMurray and AJ Allmendinger cracked jokes and took all-in-fun shots at various media members.
The GMS Racing team proved itself among the most entertaining of media availabilities with drivers 27-year old Spencer Gallagher and newcomer 17-year old Justin Haley
"If you want to compete in a NASCAR national series you can’t be a fatso." Spencer Gallagher declared as he snacked on a green apple. "Plus it makes you look good in a firesuit.’"
During his team’s time on stage, he spoke about his highly-publicized tussle with John Wes Townley during a truck race saying, "Pacifism got me nowhere, I learned my lesson."
And should he win the upcoming season-opening XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway, he promised a fence climb followed by a back flip capped off with a dramatic "grass" angel.
"Whenever I win Daytona, watch out," Gallagher said with a grin.
It was indicative of a preseason of positive thinking and contagious optimism.
Interviews with Israeli driver Alon Day, and new Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rookie, Daniel Suarez, of Mexico, proved interesting, their stories so compelling and inspiring.
Julia Landauer, who will compete full time in the NASCAR K&N Pro West Series this year, started Wednesday morning’s slate of interviews. The 25-year old Stanford graduate and former cast member from the hit television show “Survivor” spoke about being named to Forbes Magazine‘s prestigious Sports "30 Under 30" list. She is a member of the elite NASCAR Next class and promised her goal will be to do the interview next year as a full-time driver in one of NASCAR’s three national series.
Reigning, seven-time champ Jimmie Johnson took good-natured questions about his heavy beard, chances at a record eighth Cup title and whether — just maybe — the fans have come around to appreciating his amazing efforts.
"I think when a driver has enough gray in his beard, the fans kind of let you off the hook a little bit," he said laughing. "There has been a shift over the last two or three years, for sure. Homestead and even before we won the race and the championship, they introduced us on stage and there was a much larger roar than I anticipated hearing. So, I guess I’ve earned my spot now after 15 seasons and seven championships; well, at that point, six championships. But, I think tenure plays a big role."
Asked if he simply just had to get older to acquire the love, Johnson joked, "Essentially, yeah."
His popular Hendrick Motorsports teammate driver Kasey Kahne spoke about rebounding in 2017 after failing to make the playoffs last year.
"Everybody is working hard, but for us we are going in the right direction and it is going to show this year and I’m looking forward to that," he promised.
Their teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was equally optimistic but also delivered an inspirational reminder that competing in this sport is truly a gift. Having missed the second half of the 2016 season recovering from concussion-like symptoms, the newlywed Earnhardt said he’s got a renewed outlook about his place in the sport and life in general.
"I’m excited to be here for media day, which is new for me this year," Earnhardt said without prompting as soon as he took a seat for his media session.
"Usually you kind of tell everybody Daytona will get here when it gets here, but I’m excited for the season. It can’t get here fast enough.
"Really thankful to be back and be working, and can’t wait for the opportunity to test at Phoenix in a couple of days and then get on to Daytona and get on to work."
It was the prevailing message of the week and indicative of the good vibes.
As Justin Allgaier said during the final few minutes of interview time, "I’m ready to go now."
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The lines of communication between Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske are open, but it’s yet to be determined how each organization will benefit in the coming season.
"There are definitely a lot of different avenues where we can work together," Team Penske driver Joey Logano said during Wednesday’s NASCAR Media Tour presented by Charlotte Motor Speedway. "It is always an interesting relationship because we still have to race each other but we want to see how we can both grow and make Ford a powerhouse manufacturer … get them a manufacturer’s championship and have both our organizations win more races. That’s the ultimate goal."
Logano and Keselowski have won 25 times under the Ford banner since the start of ’14; SHR drivers have 17 wins over that same period.
"Teaming with SHR is a smart move and an impressive move by Ford," Logano said. "It shows their commitment to what they are trying to do and their investment in our sport."
Ford officials say that technical information gleaned by the manufacturer is provided to all its teams. Individual organizations, however, maintain a certain level of secrecy in the interest of competition.
"I think it depends on which facet of racing we’re talking about," Raj Nair, Executive Vice President for Global Product Development and Chief Technical Officer, Ford Motor Co., said recently. "Certainly under the hood with Roush Yates Engines we’re providing that continuity and sharing of information across all of our teams.
"On the aero work that we’re doing on the body, the same level of information is provided to all of the teams. Ford also provides access to a variety of chassis simulation tools, which teams may or may not choose to use.
"We’re trying to find a little bit of that balance of the things the teams are good at doing themselves, providing them that freedom and flexibility to do that on their own and to some extent compete against each other and see which way is better," Nair said. "But the things where you want to leverage a lot of commonality, the big tools that Ford Motor Company brings, the big investment … try to use that across all our teams."
Logano said Ford officials "want us all to work together as much as we can, but we still have to race each other so there is that line there for trading out assets."
"There has already been communication and some things are already underway," he said. "It will be interesting to see how that relationship grows over the next few years and how it works out. So far so good."
A Ford driver has not won the championship since 2004, although Logano has qualified for the Championship 4 twice in the last three years — 2014 and 2016.
The automaker last won the manufacturer championship in 2002.
The No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet is getting a new paint scheme for 2017, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. helped unveil it Tuesday morning along with local artist Sam Bass.
Calling it perhaps one of his favorite paint schemes ever, Earnhardt pulled back the car cover to reveal a bold yellow-dominant scheme. Watch the video below to see it.
Axalta announced in 2015 it would serve as primary sponsor of the No. 88 for 13 races per season through the 2018 season. Junior, naturally, was super excited about the schematics. He saw a sneak peek earlier Tuesday morning and posted a video to Twitter about it (also revealing his helmet).
NASCAR Chairman & CEO Brian France and NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell delivered the news via press conference alongside drivers Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin.
With the new format, there will be three stages per race, providing emphasis on aggressive racing and strategy. The winner of the first two stages of each race will receive one playoff point, and the race winner will receive five playoff points. Each playoff point will be added to a driver’s reset total following the 26th race, if that competitor makes the playoffs.
Following the announcement, racing professionals and fans alike had much to talk about.
See what NASCAR writers and broadcasters had to say about the sport’s next phase:
Tom Jensen, FOX Sports: "The reasoning behind NASCAR’s new stage-based race format is pretty basic: Improving competition is a bigger priority than simplifying the math is. … Last year, if a driver won the Daytona 500, all they had to do for the next 25 races was stay in the top 30 in points and they were all but guaranteed to make the playoffs, so some of them cruised during the summer. With playoff points awarded in every stage of every race now, there will be considerable incentive to race hard all the time." | Read more
Bob Pockrass, ESPN: "Among the biggest impacts will be the importance of qualifying, since that first stage will be approximately the first quarter of the race." | Read more
Lee Spencer, Motorsport.com: "Although the new format was a collaboration among the sport’s shareholders, clearly, NASCAR considered the fans’ sentiments when incorporating some of the hot button topics into the new format. … And for fans that appreciate the influence of pit crew performance, having the field set for segments two and three by pit stops will place more emphasis on the men going over the wall." | Read more
Brant James, USA Today: "NASCAR as an industry, after half a year of consultation with drivers, its fan council and social media’s temperament, implored its fan base to just give it a taste Monday, unveiling a system that it claims will give incentive for more dogged racing throughout the regular season. … This was a risk worth taking." | Read more
