Posted on by Staff Report

MORE: New looks for 2017


The latest paint scheme reveal from Stewart-Haas Racing is in, and it’s freaky fast — and freaking cool.


In its latest tweet, the team’s official Twitter account revealed the look for the 2017 No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford, driven by Kevin Harvick. Jimmy John’s will be the primary sponsor for 16 races this year, including the season-opening Daytona 500 (Feb. 26, 2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).



Previously, SHR revealed the Busch Beer and Busch Light No. 4 paint schemes.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: See tracks covered in snow


The NASCAR community may not have collectively received the full brunt of snow initially predicted, but wintry weather still hit North Carolina late Friday night and into Saturday, sending several drivers and crew chiefs outside to play.


Those based in Charlotte know that predictions of big snow — and such was the case this weekend — can often wash out in a sea of sleet or cold rain, but there was still more than enough to break out the sleds in the northern parts of the Piedmont.


Here’s a look at drivers playing in the snow with their families. Our favorites include Joey Logano sitting in an outdoor hot tub, Greg Biffle using the hood of a race car for a sled and Darrell Wallace Jr. posing for a … risqué … photo.


Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Driver Tracker for every full-time 2017 ride
MORE: Learn more about the Charter system


NASCAR revealed in February 2016 a landmark new ownership structure, awarding 36 Charters that guarantee entry into every points event in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Since then, some leasing and buying of Charters has occurred. The table below shows the Charters (which were awarded following the 2015 season) for 2017.

Teams listed alphabetically.

Notes: 
*Premium Motorsports sold this Charter to Furniture Row Racing for its second team, the No. 77. In 2016, the Charter was leased by the No. 46 team of HScott Motorsports.
**Richard Petty Motorsports is leasing the No. 44 Charter to the No. 32 team of Go Fas Racing in 2017.
***Roush Fenway Racing will lease the No. 16 Charter to JTG Daugherty Racing’s newly formed second team (No. 37) in 2017.
^Near the end of the 2016 season, Tommy Baldwin Racing sold its Charter to Leavine Family Racing.
#HScott Motorsports’ No. 15 Charter was sold to Premium Motorsports.
&Go Fas Racing is leasing the No. 32 Charter to the No. 21 team of Wood Brothers Racing.
$Circle Sport and The Motorsports Group merged operations to field the No. 33 team with the Charter Circle Sport had. In 2016, Circle Sport partnered with Leavine Family Racing to field the No. 95 for the season.
%BK Racing sold the No. 83 Charter to Front Row Motorsports, who is leasing the Charter to TriStar Motorsports for the 2017 season.

2017 NASCAR Charter Teams

2016 Car # 2017 Car # Organization with charter for ’17
23 23 BK Racing
1 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
42 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
95 33 Circle Sport w/The Motorsports Group$
34 34 Front Row Motorsports
38 38 Front Row Motorsports
46 77 Furniture Row Racing*
78 78 Furniture Row Racing
13 13 Germain Racing
44 32 Go Fas Racing**
5 5 Hendrick Motorsports
24 24 Hendrick Motorsports
48 48 Hendrick Motorsports
88 88 Hendrick Motorsports
11 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
18 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
19 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
20 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
16 37 JTG Daugherty Racing***
47 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
7 95 Leavine Family Racing^
15 15 Premium Motorsports#
3 3 Richard Childress Racing
27 27 Richard Childress Racing
31 31 Richard Childress Racing
43 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
6 6 Roush Fenway Racing
17 17 Roush Fenway Racing
4 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
10 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
14 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
41 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
2 2 Team Penske
22 22 Team Penske
83 72 TriStar Motorsports%
32 21 Wood Brothers Racing&
Posted on by Staff Report

So many NASCAR drivers have mastered the fine art of social media. But it didn’t happen overnight, as is evidenced by some of their very early, and often awesome, initial tweets. What follows are actual posts from actual drivers, as they first immersed themselves into the Twitters. We’ll do several installments over the course of 2017.

 

Jimmie Johnson

 

Collecting wives like Sprint Cup trophies. #Se7enSpouses (He later corrected the typo)

 

Lots of questions here. For the sake of brevity, we’ll only ask one, which is: Why does Chad Knaus looks like Bond Girl?

June 11, 2011 — the day you learned that Jimmie Johnson wasn’t actually vanilla.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I KNEW IT. And here I thought he just always used words like “Excogitate” and “Verisimilitude” in post-race press conferences.

His first #TBT, before he basically owned the hashtag title and deed.

Hmmmm. Two years ago. Wonder if this’ll ever become, y’know, a thing.

Landon Cassill

It’s OK fam we still love you and your pasty white thighs.

171, nice.

Not sure, but you’re probably Snapchatting it.

OK someone check on lonely Landon.

Kevin Harvick

Early on, Harvick posted a tweet of a bull rampaging through a crowd, with the text “What I’m doing to the English language for the next 11 weeks.”

These are difficult, if the track workers at Michigan International Speedway are any indication.

Calling out DeLana’s snoring in one of his first tweets. Strong.

And then doubling down on details. Our best guess is dear DeLana didn’t follow him at this point. Because Kevin is still alive.

Brad Keselowski

13 hours? Yeah, this was well before the kid.

I’ll take “Tweets Not Favorited By Kyle Busch for $1,000, Alex.”

When you want details and don’t want details at the same time.

Joey Logano

Technology is rough.

Not that this isn’t riveting content Joey but could you please step it up a bit? Like you, we’re having trouble keeping our eyes open.

OK, nevermind. Napping now.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Buy tickets for Texas

 

Following a year that saw both its NASCAR race weekends impacted by rain and track drying issues, officials with Texas Motor Speedway have announced a capital improvement project that includes a repaving of the 1.5-mile racing surface, the installation of an expansive drainage system as well as a reconfiguration of Turns 1 and 2.

 

Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage said the decision wasn’t a difficult one to make “because you always want to please the fans.

 

“I think the initial response from some drivers is no (don’t repave) … but they were all here … they all experienced it. It really wasn’t a choice; we need to do this.”

 

The spring Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas in 2016 was delayed nearly two hours due to rain; the fall event was delayed approximately six hours, finally started under a green/yellow flag situation and was eventually shortened 41 laps when precipitation returned.

 

The project is expected to be completed by March 1. NASCAR teams are scheduled to return to Texas April 7-9 for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race and Cowboy 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race.

 

Gossage said he hoped Goodyear officials would hold a tire test at the track upon completion of the repave. “We are going to strongly encourage Goodyear to test and not just bring a hard tire,” he said. “That will be a mistake.”

 

However, in a statement released Friday afternoon, Goodyear official Greg Stucker said the tire supplier “will have to bring a new tire set-up” for the race weekend but that “because of the tight schedule, we do not have time to do a tire test.”

 

Stucker said that similar changes were made at Kentucky last year, and along with the tire supplier’s history over a wide range of track configurations and surfaces, “we will determine the appropriate tire set-up in advance of the event, giving teams plenty of time to prepare.”

 

The Kentucky repave project also included a reconfiguration of its first and second turns and drainage improvements.

 

Gossage said that repaving the track also afforded officials the opportunity to drop the banking in Turns 1 and 2 from 24 to 20 degrees, a move that could provide more passing opportunities as drivers should have to lift off the gas and possibly brake more due to the flatter turns.

 

“Hopefully in time as the asphalt ages the drivers will have to stay out of the gas a little longer, hopefully use the brake some in Turns 1-2 and that sets up passing opportunities in the turns, on the back straightaway and of course now you’re carrying a different speed through Turns 3-4 and hopefully that creates some passing opportunities on the front straight as well,” he said.

 

“A whole lot of different things going on here, but the big thing … that you’re not seeing is underneath it is this drainage system. Because we want to make sure that we don’t struggle with the issues that weve struggled with last year. It’s not fair to the fans.”

 

Also, making the changes now means that teams will race on the same surface on both trips to Texas this season, something Gossage said was particularly important given that the fall race is one of the final Chase races.

 

“We didn’t want to have two different Texas Motor Speedways in one NASCAR season, especially when we were the third Chase race from the end of the season,” he said. “We felt like you need to have the same track when you’re here in April and when you’re here in November in the course of a season.”

 

No cost estimate was given for the project.

 

Texas is the second track to announce a repaving project this year. Atlanta Motor Speedway, which is also owned by Speedway Motorsports Inc., will be repaved following the completion of this year’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 slated for March 5.

Graphic courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway

Posted on by Staff Report

Kurt Busch shows off his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ride’s power in the now-annual ‘Doonies’ event and video featuring Monster trucks, Monster Girls and "every conceivable off-road machine," said event director Ash "Dirt Shark" Hodges.


A social media showstopper of a video and event, Busch tweeted about his favorite part of the event:



Watch Busch and other world-renowned drivers show off their stuff in the ‘Doonies3’ video (Busch appears at the 3:10 mark).


 Click here to learn more about the ‘Doonies.’

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: More on the Hall of Fame | Fan Appreciation Day


CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For just the third time since the NASCAR Hall of Fame first opened its doors in 2010, race fans will see a new Glory Road exhibit encircling the Great Hall in the museum’s main level.


Glory Road "ICONS" features 18 cars representing some of NASCAR’s most recognizable vehicles as well as its legendary drivers.


The exhibit will officially open to the public Jan. 7. Friday, Hall officials held an unveiling for members of the media and various local dignitaries.


Seventeen of the vehicles were on display when the hour-long event got underway. The wraps on the 18th, the No. 28 Ford Thunderbird piloted by Davey Allison for Ranier-Lundy Racing, were removed during the program.


Among those in attendance for the unveiling were Allison’s father, Bobby Allison, the 1983 series champion and winner of 84 races, Davey’s son Robbie Allison, Joey Knuckles (Allison’s crew chief for 19 races in 1987), Larry McReynolds (Allison’s crew chief at Robert Yates Racing from ’91-93) and Lorin Ranier, son of team owner Harry Ranier.


"I notice in this general area Alabama is represented really well," Robbie Allison said, noting his father’s car sits between those of his grandfather and fellow Alabama Gang driver Neil Bonnett. "We’re doing pretty well I think.


"When I look at this car, one thing that stands out is I always see the snippet online of him driving down pit road at Talladega and the whole crew is on top of the car. … I see it all the time. All the good times that he and his team shared and our family was able to share through racing."


Davey Allison scored his first NASCAR win in the top series in ’87 at Talladega Superspeedway. He would add 18 more victories, including two more at the 2.66-mile Talladega track, before his death in 1993.


Bobby Allison’s racing career had ended in 1988 when his Buick slammed into the wall and was then struck by another race car on the first lap of a race at Pocono Raceway. Clifford Allison, Davey’s brother, was killed in a crash during practice in 1992 at Michigan International Speedway.


"Something that my granddad says to me all the time is that racing has taken a lot away from us but it’s also given us an awful lot at the same time,” Robbie Allison said. "There are so many good memories …


"The words that everybody that knew (my dad) on and off the track, determination, hard work, obsession even, always willing to put in that extra effort to be better every day. … He was definitely as good of a father as he was a racer.”


McReynolds, now a NASCAR on FOX analyst, said Allison "actually made my job pretty easy because … I think a lot of it was the way Bobby brought him up through the racing ranks he knew what was going on with that race car and he had a pretty good idea what we needed to do to make it better. …


"He obviously did a phenomenal job in that race car but he did a really unbelievable job outside the race car. He loved his race fans."


The 18 cars featured on the new Glory Road "ICONS" exhibit span the history of NASCAR, from the 1952 Hudson Hornet driven by Marshall Teague — a dominant combination in the sport’s formative years — to the 2015 Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota Camry that carried Kyle Busch to the series championship.


Other entries in the exhibit include:

• 1957 Ford Fairlane driven by Fireball Roberts

• 1964 Plymouth Belvedere of Richard Petty

• 1966 Ford Galaxie owned and driven by Wendell Scott

• 1966 Dodge Charger fielded by Cotton Owens and driven by David Pearson

• 1939 Chevrolet Coupe piloted by Richie Evans in 1970-71

• 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Darrell Waltrip

• 1978 Ford Thunderbird driven by Bobby Allison

• 1982 Oldsmobile Omega driven by Sam Ard

• 1989 Ford Thunderbird driven by Neil Bonnett

• 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass driven by Harry Gant

• 1992 Ford Thunderbird driven by Bill Elliott

• 1995 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Mike Skinner

• 1999 Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Dale Earnhardt

• 2005 Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Jeff Gordon

• 2013 Chevrolet SS driven by Jimmie Johnson


Winston Kelley, executive director of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, said his group began with a notebook of "100 to 120 cars" that had to be trimmed considerably before beginning the process of selecting and obtaining the final 18.


"If I handed you that notebook you would probably agree that 80-90 are iconic cars," Kelley said. "There are others that are noteworthy of acknowledging at some point in time, but would it pass the sticker test … would you say ‘yeah that’s iconic?’ "


As with previous Glory Road exhibits, the "ICONS" exhibit will remain on display for three years.

Posted on by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon humbly conceded that he was absolutely prepared to learn and absorb from his new Wayne Taylor Racing teammates in preparation for the WeatherTech SportsCar Series’ season opener, the Rolex 24 — Gordon’s first drive in the great race since 2007.

 

What he wasn’t counting on, however, was the practical joke initiation.

 

Actually it was more of an homage to the great NASCAR champion from 25-year old Jordan Taylor — one of Gordon’s three teammates for the Jan. 27-28 Rolex race.

 

"I had the idea as soon as I learned he would be driving with us to come up to him in the garage as a super fan," Taylor explained with a smile Friday afternoon as the team met with the media following the first practice session of the Roar Before the 24 three-day test.

 

"I figured he had seen that exact person, the jacket, the shorts, the mustache … I figured he’d seen that a million times and I would just blend in with the crowd. But, he saw it coming and kinda ruined my day."

 


 

Gordon laughed hearing Taylor relive the scenario. For all the high jinks in getting to know one another, however, this team is absolutely a serious favorite when it comes to the twice-around-the-clock race on Daytona’s 3.56-mile road course.

 

This will mark only the second time the newly-retired Gordon has competed in this prestigious event. Yet he looked quite comfortable walking around the paddock and more importantly, sitting behind the wheel of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA Cadillac DPi prototype — which was second fastest in Friday’s opening practice session.

 

Dressed in Wayne Taylor Racing team blue, he led his co-drivers Jordan Taylor, Taylor’s older brother Ricky, 27, and veteran Max Angelelli onto the stage to meet the press as part of the annual "Roar" test session.

 

"I am having a blast," Gordon said. "It’s been a dream of mine not just to drive a car like this but to compete out on track with a team and car like this.

 

"It’s a lot of fun for me. I treat this like I’m a rookie, having only run this race one other time. I just tapped into this team and the teammates listening and talking to (team owner) Wayne and Max and last two months really getting to know Ricky and Jordan testing with them. It’s been an amazing experience but I must say getting behind the wheel of a car that brakes like that and corners like that is kinda eye-opening to me, but also at the same time, so much fun."

 

Before the fun, however, Gordon has methodically prepared himself — mentally and physically training for this 24-hour test. He has immersed in Equinox training, snow skiing and more cardio workouts in general.

 

"It’s not as hot as inside a stock car," Gordon said, "But it definitely puts a lot more loads on your body. I’m trying to get myself in as good a shape as these young kids I’m chasing around."

 

Out in Daytona’s vast garage area, it was easy to locate the Wayne Taylor Racing hauler. Several people crowded outside hoping for a glimpse of Gordon, or even better: an autograph.

 

Maryann Danker, 67, of nearby Seville, Fla. stood outside holding a diecast NASCAR car of Gordon’s. She is a 20-year member of the Jeff Gordon Fan Club and attending her first Rolex test session "only because of Gordon," she said.

 

Earning the prestigious Rolex watch later this month would put Gordon in historic company. Only Jamie McMurray has won the Daytona 500, Indianapolis’ Brickyard 400 and the Rolex 24 — an impressive congregate of some of the world’s greatest races. And Gordon is up for achieving that honor too. Even if it’s not something he’s specifically focused on.

 

"I’ll be honest, that would be special but that’s like icing on the cake," Gordon said. "I haven’t thought a lot about that."

 

Then looking at his young teammates, Gordon added, "These kids force me to have fun because — especially this one (Jordan) I have to watch out for him and was happy to get one over on him yesterday.

 

"I’m a very serious competitor and they are, too, but they like to mix it up and have fun and I love that. I want to have fun, but I really am only going to have fun and a smile on myself if we’re up on that podium in the number one position when this race is over."

Posted on by Staff Report

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (January 6, 2017) — Joe Falk of Circle Sport (CS) and Curtis Key, Sr., of The Motorsports Group (TMG) announced today that it will combine resources and participate in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS). The team will be led by Circle Sport owner, Joe Falk, utilizing manufacturer Chevrolet and participate in the full 2017 season under the No. 33.


The managing partnership of the two Chesapeake, Virginia business men merged to increase sponsorship opportunities and enhance their performance on the track. TMG owner Curtis Key has obtained a percentage of Circle Sport NASCAR Charter in the deal. The Charter will give the No. 33 guaranteed entries into all 2017 MENCS events.

"It’s great to join forces with Curtis Key, I’ve known him for a very long time and know we share the same feelings about racing," said Falk.


CS/TMG will be housed out of the facility that has been the home of The Motorsports Group in Mooresville, North Carolina. In the off season, the facility and equipment has been upgraded including purchase of updated cars.

Pat Tryson has been named Crew Chief of the team. Tryson, a veteran Cup Series crew chief will return to the TMG shop after heading up TMG in 2015 during its transition from the XFINITY Series into the Cup Series.

"It’s great to have Pat back with us, he was instrumental when we got started with our Cup program and we look forward to his insight in 2017," said Key.

Gary Showalter, a tenured employee of TMG will serve as the team’s general manager. Showalter started with TMG in the Camping World Truck Series in 2005 and was in TMG’s climb from the Truck Series to the Cup level in 2015. He will oversee the day to day race facility duties as well as race team personnel.


CS/TMG has yet to name a driver the No. 33 Chevrolet but officials are adamant to that an announcement will come in the next few weeks.


Also, released today is the revamped logo combining the two teams’ monikers.

"The Circle Sport with TMG logo was necessary to rebrand the team into one entity rather than the using two logo’s side by side," added Falk.


The No. 33 Chevrolet SS will debut at Daytona International Speedway for Speedweeks in February.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

LAS VEGAS — NASCAR Chairman & CEO Brian France took the stage Friday at the Consumer Electronics Show to discuss how the sanctioning body is using technology to enhance the fan experience and engage with the next generation of fans.

France was on the Sports Business Innovation panel with National Hockey League (NHL) Commissioner Gary Bettman and United States Olympic Committee (USOC) CEO Scott Blackmun.

Here are the high points France delivered:

On how diversity and globalization are critical to success:

“We have a unique challenge because kids don’t play our sport in the playground,” France said. “We are the only ones in auto racing investing millions of dollars on combines for diversity drivers. These programs take time, but we just saw the benefit. We just had a Mexican driver, Daniel Suarez, win our second largest national series and that would not have happened without our diversity program. We don’t do this because it is socially smart, which it is, but because that is where you find the best talent, and we want everybody to be a NASCAR fan.”

On how the Monster Energy partnership will help NASCAR reach new fans:

“In our case aligning with the right sponsor is important. They help us tell our story and we count on their activation to take us to places and channels we would not normally be in. I am very happy about our new entitlement partner Monster Energy, they have incredible reach with Millennial customers and fans, auto racing is in their DNA and they have a smart digital approach.”

On fans’ consumption habits:

“The ways in which fans consume their favorite sports has changed in an unprecedented way, and that is the great challenge and opportunity that all leagues face,” France said. “We want to be smart about how we attract (the younger generation) and balance that with our core fans and connect with all of them in ways that we have never seen before.”

On how technology can improve competition, safety and fan engagement:

“We want to use technology and innovation to make our core product better,” France said. “We all want to make our sport safer, and our games and races better. We are using technology to drive our sport in ways that we could not have even imagined only 10 years ago.”

On how technology, developed at the 61,000-square-foot NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina, has helped:

“The combination of innovation and technology can solve almost all problems,” France said. “One of the challenges of outdoor sports is rain delays. We developed the Air Titan, which cut the time to dry the track. This was a huge thing for us to be able to retain our TV audience.”

On the introduction of the digital dash, which uses 16 customizable screens to monitor and record 24 different elements such as RPM, oil temperature and lap times:

“This is the new frontier,” France said. “We have an enormous amount of telemetry at our races between the drivers, crew chiefs and their strategy, and we are in the early stages of looking to deliver that data to fans in their seat, at home or through streaming.”