Posted on by Reid Spencer

During his State of the Sport press conference prior to the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway earlier this month, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France relayed an anecdote about watching a scaled-down, highlight-driven Duke college basketball game on his laptop.

 

The story painted a broad picture of the shift in fan consumption habits. And for NASCAR, that has meant a shift in strategy to serve fans who want an immersive experience, whether attending live in-person, watching on TV, or engaging with sports at home or on the go.

 

By all metrics, NASCAR’s digital and social media numbers have shown strong growth over the 2016 season, validating a strategic choice to reach race fans in the multifaceted ways they opt to consume NASCAR content.

 

Consider these numbers:

 

Overall, NASCAR drew 256 million social engagements across all its digital platforms, an 87 percent increase year-over-year, and a massive increase of video content views.

 

NASCAR saw a 14 percent growth in followers across its social and digital platforms. Of particular note was a spike in the growth of Snapchat followers after NASCAR announced its partnership with that platform in February. NASCAR competitors and fans provided live content from four races, starting with the Daytona 500, under the aegis of “Snapchat Live Story.”

 

The Daytona 500 itself saw a 63-percent increase in race day impressions, while engagement with NASCAR content tripled.

 

“It’s been fantastic,” said Jill Gregory, NASCAR senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “I think that what it has done is validated our strategy that we set out at the very beginning of this season, when we talked about leading with digital and social and really trying to talk to our fans where they were and going to reach them at all the places they consume NASCAR.

 

“We started that with our ‘Ready.Set.Race’ campaign and the Hashtag 500 around the Daytona 500, and it’s really just continued to build throughout the whole season.”

 

The Hashtag 500, the race to win Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s firesuit, generated 13,000 NASCAR-related mentions in a single minute, a high-water mark for NASCAR content since the advent of the sanctioning body’s Fan and Media Engagement Center.

 

Central to the success of the 2016 digital and social media campaign was heavy promotion of #TheChase across all platforms, leveraging Twitter, Vine, Periscope, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to engage fans throughout the 10-week playoff.

 

Capturing the drama of the Chase, which concluded with Jimmie Johnson claiming his record-tying seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship, was the digital film series “Ready.Set.Chase.” All told, the five-film series garnered more than 13 million views.

 

“I think we’re seeing it at NASCAR, and obviously we see it happening across the sports and entertainment landscape, that fans want to customize their experience regardless of what they’re watching or looking at,” Gregory said. “If we want to talk to those fans, we have to go places that are convenient for them.

 

“If they’re watching on their mobile app, if they’re watching via NASCAR.com, if they’re watching on television, it’s our job as the league to provide all of that great content in all of those places and then make sure that we deliver the right experience for each of those platforms.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace has hoisted the sport’s biggest trophies and competed on its largest stages. And this week at Daytona International Speedway the former stock car champion will be bringing his A-game again competing against some of sports car racing’s best in the Ferrari Finali Mondiali.

It is the first time this renowned Ferrari event has been held in the United States and both Wallace and the Speedway are eager to be a part of this internationally famed race weekend.

“We’re really excited,” Daytona International Speedway President Chip Wile said. “It’s all coming together now, the trucks are moving in today. We had the car show last weekend. It’s been really exciting to see all this come together in the last couple weeks, but we’ve been working on it since April.

“It’s the first time this event has ever been hosted in North America and what better place than the International Center of Racing and the new Daytona International Speedway, the world’s only motorsports stadium. It feels like a fitting backdrop for one of the premier Ferrari events in the world.”

Wallace won’t just be representing NASCAR by his presence, he’s going to compete – driving for the Risi Competizione/Ferrari of Houston team in the North America series of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli.

To prepare, the 1989 NASCAR premier series champion spent two days testing the Risi Ferrari at America’s current Formula One venue, Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. And he’ll have opportunity to test on the Daytona road course before the weekend’s race.

“I’m really serious about it and will do best job I can in the time I’ve got,” Wallace said. “This will be real exciting and the team I’m driving for just won the Petit LeMans.

“I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I could have just showed up at Daytona. … but I didn’t want to look stupid that’s why I went to Austin, to get to know the car and know the team.”

This will be the second time Wallace has competed on Daytona’s 3.56-mile road course. He co-drove as part of a team with Danica Patrick in the 2006 Rolex 24 at Daytona, but their sports car had a mechanical failure and did not finish the event.

Wallace is optimistic and he has plenty of reason. He is long considered one of NASCAR’s premier road racers.  

He earned two poles and two wins (1990 and 1996) at Sonoma and a pole and a pair of wins (1987 and 1989) at Watkins Glen, N.Y. He also scored back-to-back wins (1987-88) at the Riverside road course that’s no longer on the circuit.

“I had really good success at Riverside, Watkins Glen and Sonoma, those were all good tracks for me,” Wallace said. “So I told them, ‘sure,’ I’d love to come down and have some fun

“I’m a Ferrari lover. When I found out I was going to compete, I said, I’ve got to get all right with this. So I spoke with (driver) Max Papis and he shared a couple things. The big deal was actually getting some time in a car before Daytona.”

The Ferrari Finali Mondiali, which Wallace will compete in, is a four-day World Championship event featuring Ferrari Challenge teams from the Europe, North American and Asia Pacific series.

Additionally, fans will be treated to the displays of historic Formula One cars and for the first time ever at Daytona, F1 drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will drive in a Formula One. The Scuderia Ferrari drivers will also treat fans to fast laps and pit stop demonstrations.

“Rusty’s really excited and I think this is a unique opportunity for him and for us being able to promote the event through the eyes of a NASCAR champion,” Wile said. “It’s going to be quite the experience. Rusty is such a great ambassador for our sport and this is going to be fun to watch.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Driver and team changes for 2017


JTG Daugherty Racing officials have confirmed that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series organization will expand to two full-time teams in 2017 with the addition of driver Chris Buescher.


JTG Daugherty, co-owned by Tad and Jodi Geschickter and Brad Daugherty, has fielded a single full-time car in the series since 2009. A.J. Allmendinger, the team’s primary driver since 2014, will remain with the organization as driver of the No. 47 Chevrolet.

“We can confirm at this time that JTG Daugherty Racing is currently in the process of starting a second team in the NASCAR premier series,” Tad Geschickter said. “We would also like to confirm and welcome Chris Buescher to the team as our driver for the second car.”

Buescher, the 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion while at Roush Fenway Racing, spent the 2016 season competing for Front Row Motorsports. According to a release from RFR, Buescher and the organization’s charter for its No. 16 team have been “leased” to JTG Daugherty for the upcoming season.

“I’m thankful for the opportunity and look forward to competing for a spot in the Chase,” Buescher, 24, said.

Buescher qualified for the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup after scoring his first career premier series win, at Pocono Raceway. While he failed to advance out of the first round of the 10-race elimination-style format, he finished 16th in points, a career best for a Front Row Motorsports team.

Allmendinger finished a career-best 13th in points in 2014 when he qualified for the Chase. The No. 47 team ended the ’16 season with two top fives and nine top-10 finishes and Allmendinger 19th in points.

He scored the organization’s lone victory to date in the premier series, winning at Watkins Glen in 2014.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Buescher joins second JTG team

 

Roush Fenway Racing announced Tuesday a restructuring plan that will pare its racing operations to a two-car effort in NASCAR’s premier series next year.

 

Trevor Bayne will return for a third season driving the team’s No. 6 Ford, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be back for a fifth year in RFR’s No. 17 Ford.

 

The organization announced last week that it had parted ways with veteran driver Greg Biffle, who had driven team owner Jack Roush’s No. 16 Ford full-time since 2003. Tuesday, Roush Fenway announced that it was leasing its No. 16 team charter and the services of driver Chris Buescher to JTG Daugherty Racing for next season.

 

Roush Fenway also announced several personnel moves as the team seeks to regain its footing after two winless seasons.

 

“We have been able to shore up our plans for 2017 and we feel that this will continue to move us in a direction that will yield improved performance and results,” Roush said in a news release provided by the team. “We saw improvement in our cars and made substantial gains in our performance at times last season, and we will continue to build on that by maintaining a robust engineering group in order to take the next step by consistently running up front.”

 

Buescher qualified for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs last season as a rookie driver for Front Row Motorsports, a Roush Fenway-affiliated organization. Though he finished last among the 16 Chase qualifiers, the 24-year-old driver was the only Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate to win a race, prevailing in August at Pocono Raceway.

 

Roush Fenway Racing announced two promotions in the restructuring of its competition department. Kevin Kidd takes over the role of competition director after serving as Roush Fenway’s team manager the last two seasons. Tommy Wheeler was named operations director, shifting from his role of production director with oversight of the team’s car-building efforts.

 

Roush Fenway also firmed up its crew chief lineup for 2017 with Matt Puccia returning to oversee Bayne’s performance in the No. 6 and Brian Pattie moving to work with Stenhouse and the No. 17 after being paired with Biffle last season. Nick Sandler, formerly Stenhouse’s crew chief, has been assigned the role of director of engineering.

 

Roush Fenway indicated that former general manager Robbie Reiser will remain with the team in a “yet to be determined position.”

 

Buescher’s departure leaves an opening for Front Row’s No. 34 Ford team. The Bob Jenkins-owned organization also fields the No. 38 Ford driven by Landon Cassill.

Posted on by Staff Report

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet for the 2017 season in NASCAR’s premier series was revealed on Tuesday via Nationwide 88’s Facebook page.

Earnhardt tweeted out a preview of his car’s new paint job a day prior to the unveil.

The company has been a primary partner with Hendrick Motorsports since 2014 and was featured as a primary sponsor on the No. 88 ride for 21 races in 2016. Here is a look at the 2016 scheme on track.

Earnhardt, who was sidelined for 18 races in 2016 due to a concussion, is expected to return to make his first start since July in the 2017 season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 26. Both the driver as well as team owner Rick Hendrick have expressed their confidence that Earnhardt will be cleared for the start of the season.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Champion’s Week live streaming schedule


Jimmie Johnson made history Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a record-tying seventh championship in NASCAR’s premier series. Just over a week removed from the accomplishment, the spirit of celebration is still going, but with a fitting change of venue.

NASCAR Champion’s Week is here culminating in a season-ending toast Friday night at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards at the Wynn Las Vegas. The black-tie gala will be broadcast on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Comedian and talk-show host Jay Mohr will play host to the awards for the sixth time. Grammy Award-winning artist Sting headlines a collection of acts providing the musical entertainment.

Before the formal festivities, Wednesday gets the party started with a Champion’s Week kick-off event at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT, with appearances by Johnson, XFINITY Series champ Daniel Suarez and Camping World Truck Series champion Johnny Sauter. The Tony Marques Band performs at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT.

Thursday’s activities open with the annual NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon (2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT), where the Myers Brothers Award for outstanding contributions to the sport of stock-car racing will be handed out as well as several team and individual awards. You can watch this event here on NASCAR.com.

Thursday continues with the NASCAR Victory Lap Fueled by Sunoco (5:45 p.m. ET/2:45 p.m. PT), a tire-smoking parade on the famed strip of Las Vegas Boulevard. The day’s scheduled fun and games wrap at The Palms Casino Hotel with NASCAR After The Lap, a rambunctious tell-all and roast sponsored by Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota. All these events can be watched live here on NASCAR.com.

Friday’s NBCSN broadcast schedule opens with a special live edition of NASCAR America at 7 p.m. ET, continues with a red-carpet special at 8 p.m. ET and concludes with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards at 9 p.m. ET.

In addition to this event honoring the champion, the winner of the Sprint NMPA Most Popular Driver Award will be revealed. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won the award for the past 13 seasons.

MORE: Champion’s Week information

Posted on by Staff Report

MORE: Full 2016 Champion’s Week schedule | TV schedule

 

With Champion’s Week about to be in full swing and Jimmie Johnson set to be crowned the sport’s third seven-time champion, let’s take a look back at a historic 2015 Champion’s Week when Kyle Busch was annointed Sprint Cup Series champion for the first time.

Champion’s Week offers break from offseason withdrawal


READ MORE

Busch thrills youth at local Las Vegas High School


READ MORE

Lesa France Kennedy named most powerful woman in sports


READ MORE

Darlington Raceway wins NMPA Myers Brothers Award


READ MORE

No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing team wins Most Valuable Pit Crew Award


READ MORE

Myers Brothers Awards filled with honors, laughs

 

READ MORE

Dale Earnhardt Jr. named NMPA Sprint Most Popular Driver

 

READ MORE 

What will Kyle Busch’s view be like from the head table?


READ MORE

From New York to Vegas, banquet has storied history


READ MORE

Jeff Gordon overcome by tribute, surprise intro by Tom Cruise


READ MORE

Jeff Hanson wins Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award


READ MORE 

Truex’s off-track triumphs bigger than championship


READ MORE

Kyle Busch crowned 2015 champ at Sprint Cup Awards


READ MORE 

Posted on by Team Release

Sammy Johns has joined Richard Childress Racing (RCR) as the new operations director for the Welcome, North Carolina, racing organization. Johns will report directly to Dr. Eric Warren, director of competition for RCR.
 
“I have known and worked closely with Sammy since 2001 in a variety of teams and roles,” said Warren. “He is well rounded and understands the sport from multiple perspectives. He has the hands-on experience of a crew chief along with the understanding of what it takes to build a modern, technical racing organization capable of winning races in today’s competitive environment.”
 
Johns will take on an integral role at RCR managing and coordinating the manufacturing and car assembly processes, along with overseeing the crew chiefs and general execution of the race teams. RCR’s Technical Director, Mike Coughlan, will continue to focus the engineering department on improving the performance of the cars and the ability to create and use data for a competitive advantage.
 
The Lakeland, Florida, native began his racing career at local short tracks before being named crew chief at Andy Petree Racing. From there, Johns shifted gears and joined Evernham Motorsports as director of competition. He remained a permanent fixture within the organization through 2009 when the company officially became Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM). Johns transitioned into a new role of vice president of operations with RPM and resumed his title until earlier this year.
 
“I am grateful for the opportunity to join such an iconic sports organization in Richard Childress Racing,” Johns said. “The level of engineering and technical expertise at RCR is second-to-none, and I look forward to contributing my knowledge and capabilities to helping this team succeed in 2017 and beyond.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full Champion’s Week schedule

Champion’s Week is here, and NASCAR.com will live stream several events from Las Vegas as NASCAR formally wraps up the 2016 season. Below is the complete schedule.

All times are ET.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 30

— 12-12:30 p.m.: Miss Sprint Cup with Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus (Watch live)

THURSDAY, DEC. 1:

— 2-4:15 p.m.: NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon (Watch live)
— 4:45-5:15 p.m.: NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France (Watch live)
— 6-7:15 p.m.: NASCAR Victory Lap Fueled by Sunoco (Watch live)
— 7:15-7:30 p.m: Matthew Dillner, Claire B. Lang ride to NASCAR After the Lap location, the Pearl (Watch live)
— 7:30-8:05 p.m.: Mike Skinner and Angie Skinner at the Pearl, with guests (Watch live)
— 8:05-9:30 p.m.: NASCAR After the Lap Sponsored by Chevrolet, Ford & Toyota (Watch live)

Posted on by Zack Albert

Germain Racing announced Monday that Ty Dillon will jump full-time into NASCAR’s premier series next season, taking the reins of its No. 13 Chevrolet.


Dillon replaces Casey Mears, who had driven the No. 13 GEICO-sponsored entry since the second half of the 2010 season. The 24-year-old Dillon has made 18 Sprint Cup starts over the last three years, including a relief stint for the injured Tony Stewart during the early stages of last season.


In a Monday morning appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR’s Radio’s “The Morning Drive” program, Dillon indicated that an agreement with Germain Racing came together earlier in the year. The challenge, he said, was staying mum until this week.


“The questions kept coming and coming,” Dillon told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “The cool thing is that I knew what I was doing; I just didn’t say anything. It’s kind of like having an awesome secret that you want everyone to know, but you kind of had to hold it back. I guess all good things are worth waiting for. I’m just excited for what’s to come.”

A team spokesperson confirmed Monday that Robert “Bootie” Barker would return as the team’s crew chief in 2017. GEICO returns as primary sponsor, extending a relationship that bridged Germain Racing‘s transition to a full-time Sprint Cup team in 2009.


The Germain team shares a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing, the multicar organization founded by Dillon’s grandfather, and its entries are powered by Childress-owned ECR Engines. Dillon said that the existing partnerships should help smooth his own transition to a full slate of racing in NASCAR’s premier series.


“I think it’s just going to help us all work a little bit closer,” Dillon told SiriusXM. “Everything is just going to be working hopefully a little bit better between RCR, and everybody just wants to keep growing at Germain Racing and that’s what I’m excited for. Everyone’s got a positive attitude to move forward. I’m looking forward to growing as a driver and also growing with this team. …


“It’s not just making it to the Cup Series for me and Germain Racing. We want to go win races and we want to go win championships. But this is a great start in putting our foot in that direction.”


Dillon has four NASCAR national series victories and has finished among the top five in each of his full-time campaigns in the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series. Dillon also indicated that he would remain involved in RCR’s XFINITY Series program next year; the North Carolina native has competed full-time on that tour the last three seasons.


“I plan on running the XFINITY Series, too,” Dillon said, “so hopefully you’ll be seeing a lot of me on Saturdays and Sundays and getting as much racing in as possible.”


Mears hinted last month at Talladega Superspeedway that his plans with the Germain organization beyond 2016 were uncertain. He has one victory — the 2007 Coca-Cola 600 for Hendrick Motorsports — in 488 career starts in NASCAR’s top division.


Team owner Bob Germain thanked Mears for his tenure, saying “he’s been an integral part of our growth and a great representative for GEICO and our many partners.”