Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Learn which drivers and crew chiefs are on the move

Reigning NASCAR XFINITY Series champ Chris Buescher will move up to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to drive for Front Row Motorsports in 2016, Roush Fenway Racing announced Thursday, as part of an enhanced technical alliance between the two teams.

 

Buescher, who locked up his first NASCAR national series title at Homestead-Miami Speedway last month, will drive the No. 34 Ford Fusion, with the team receiving full engineering and pit support from Roush Fenway.

 

“We are thrilled to announce this alliance,” Roush Fenway President Steve Newmark said. “Not only will it foster increased communication within the Ford camp, it will allow our newest champion Chris Buescher to continue to hone his skills with substantial seat time behind the wheel in the Sprint Cup Series in top-grade equipment.

 

“We look forward to working more closely with Front Row on many levels and we believe it is a relationship that will be mutually beneficial for both parties.”

Buescher explained to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s “The Morning Drive” what a relief it was to have his 2016 plans set.

“It’s definitely exciting for it to come together here right now,” Buescher said. “I think before I had a lot of things circulating, a lot of rumors. Stuff that I didn’t really know yet. Really no one knew, but it’s finally played out. … Even though it has been a quick turnaround time, it’s very stressful not knowing what you are doing the next year when you are sitting here just trying to figure out where you are going to be racing at and how often. So this is very relieving news and very exciting news.”

The 23-year-old is also looking forward to the challenges of moving up the national series ladder.

“There’s always challenges when you move and that will remain the same,” Buescher told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “You see it with anybody moving up to Cup, and I don’t care what ride it’s in. There’s going to be a learning curve that’s going to have to take place. It won’t be easy, but it will be fun, it will interesting and I’m excited to learn with a new group.”

 

Texas native Buescher made six Sprint Cup starts in 2015 in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford, with a best finish of 20th at Auto Club Speedway. He never ranked lower than third in the driver championship standings.

“We’ve grown a lot and accomplished a lot as an organization in our six years of full-time Sprint Cup racing, and I’m proud of our progress,” Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins said. “We’re ready for the next step, and this partnership with Roush Fenway Racing is going to take us there. Chris Buescher is a champion, and he’s a driver that we’ve worked with already and have great respect for, so he’s the perfect guy to bring into our line-up.”

For his part, Buescher is eager to come in and help the team continue to build.

“It is a new team,” Buescher told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “It is a smaller team but it is a team that is still building. It’s just like anybody that has come into this sport, I don’t think you have ever seen somebody come in, especially in the last 10-20 years and just been dominate off the truck. It’s going to be a building process, along with myself going over to Front Row and driving, we are going to have the alliance between Roush and them as well. … I think it’s a way to build it up.”

And the reigning XFINITY Series champion told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio he is hopeful for additional seat time in the XFINITY Series.

“I’d love to run more XFINITY races. I think its as important as ever to get as much seat time as possible right now especially with no testing. If everything comes together, I’ve expressed an interest in it.”


Plans for Front Row Motorsports‘ second Sprint Cup Series entry will be announced at a later date.

Posted on by Staff Report


Dale Earnhardt Jr. spent Wednesday fishing with fiancee Amy Reimann on his property while filming some shots for sponsor Nationwide. 


The shoot included the Sprint Cup Series driver’s 2016 No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, featuring a new paint scheme, and his accompanying helmet.


On Thursday, Junior’s sponsor, Nationwide, released the first-ever look at the No. 88 driver’s firesuit for 2016. 

Pretty snazzy, right?

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Stewart-Haas Racing hired former Michael Waltrip Racing pit coach Walt Smith for the 2016 season. According to SHR, he will join coordinator Joe Piette and coach Kevin Sharpe in their pit department.

Smith is an experienced coach who has spent time at Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing and MWR. He’s joining a pit crew team at SHR that has won championships with Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick and back-to-back Mechanix Wear MVP awards with the Nos. 4 and 41 teams.

For more pit crew news, visit PitTalks.com.

Posted on by Nascar

Joe Gibbs knows it’s important to enjoy the moment. Appreciate the accomplishment, savor it and soak it all in.

Because the end of one season means the beginning of another is much closer.

That’s how it was when he was head coach for the Washington Redskins, with whom he won three Super Bowls. And that’s how it’s been each time his Joe Gibbs Racing organization has won NASCAR Sprint Cup Series titles, something its drivers have now done four times.

Kyle Busch and the No. 18 team gave JGR title No. 4 this season, wrapping up the title with a victory last month at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch joins former JGR drivers Tony Stewart (’02, ’05) and Bobby Labonte (’00) as series champion.

“My favorite story on that,” Gibbs, 75, said, “is we’d just won the Super Bowl, just walked off the field. I’d done the press stuff. My wife Pat and I were going to a party and had gotten in a limo.

“And all of a sudden a fan throws open the door, looked back at us and said ‘We’ve got to get ’em next year!’

“And I (said), ‘It’s been 10 minutes!'”

JGR drivers have won 128 races since the organization was formed in 1992. Labonte and Stewart won when the group fielded Pontiac entries; Stewart’s ’05 title came with Chevrolet. Busch’s title was the first for automaker Toyota, which joined JGR in ’08.

The organization added a fourth team for ’15, with driver Carl Edwards and all four drivers — Busch, Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin — qualified for this season’s Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Busch won the title in spite of injuries that kept the 30-year-old sidelined for the season’s first 11 points races.

Winning the championship is a huge accomplishment, and it goes much further than just within the walls of the shop as Gibbs explained.

“I think one of the biggest (positives) is the people that go with you, and by that I mean (sponsors) Mars, Stanley Black & Decker, Monster, Interstate Batteries, all those companies,” he said. “They invest a lot with us. It takes a lot to race these cars. Then to see them get the benefit of that is just … you can’t even put it into words.

“Then Toyota getting its first (Sprint Cup championship) is a huge deal. All that they’ve invested and the time and work they’ve put into it.

“So I think it’s all the people that get to go with you (on the journey), but particularly in this sport because we’re so dependent (on sponsorship). This sport is totally different. We’ve got to have great partners, great sponsors, people that are willing to work with you and put resources into this. To get a championship is a big deal.”

Interstate has been a partner with JGR since the beginning. Mars joined in ’08 when Busch came on board.

Fielding a championship team not only generates interest among others outside the organization who may be looking to improve their own situations, it also can make it more difficult to hold on to talented personnel already in-house.

It’s a situation Gibbs discovered early on as a team owner. Talented folks want to work for a winner. Other folks want to hire your talented folks.

“We’ve got kind of a tough situation with key employees and people that mean a lot to you because we’re all right in Charlotte,” he said. “And nobody has to move. They just have to roll next door. So you’re constantly faced with that.”

To combat it, he said, “You have to try and make the job as good as you can make it. You try to give them as many benefits as you can.

“But you have to realize too, that when you have really good people, sometimes you lose them.”

For now though, it’s time to enjoy the recognition. Fleeting as it may be.

“We’ll enjoy this as much as we can,” Gibbs said. “The problem is, we don’t have much of an offseason. (The next one) comes quick.”

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Photo courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports Twitter account, @TeamHendrick

Meet Dean “Squirrel” Mozingo, the long-time transporter driver for the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team. The story behind his nickname? Worthy of a King.


•   •   •

“Back in ’97, ’98 – I was working for the Pettys at the time – and Richard (Petty) and I always had a really close relationship. Actually, it started with Lee Petty, (he) was the original Squirrel, which you can go back and see on top of his car. So, that’s what they called him and when Richard started driving, he became Squirrel Jr.


… I was living with Kyle (Petty) – his son – at the time, so we were like family back then … And when I started working for Richard – like I said, we have a very close relationship – he had snuck into Rockingham one morning and put these little gray squirrels on the door of my tractor … I still could remember seeing the feathers on his hat go by the grille of the truck, so I knew he was there doing something and when I got up there, there was this little gray squirrel on the door and he said, ‘You’re squirrel from now on.’ And I said, ‘Yes sir.’


So, that’s where I got it from: Richard Petty.



…(Chase Elliott) already calls me Squirrel, he’s already called me Squirrel a couple times when he’s been on the trailer … He’s already used to it. Kyle Busch actually texted me the other day and he called me it. I mean, all of them – everybody calls me Squirrel.



I don’t even think they know I’ve got a real name – I think they just think that’s my name anyways. Jeff (Gordon)’s kids call me Squirrel, for God’s sake. (Team owner) Mr. Hendrick calls me Squirrel … he came up to me the other day, he said, ‘Squirrel, the legend’ and he was laughing.



… I think people just find it fun … I’ve had people make me stickers over the years and sent them to me of what they portray me as … I’d like to trademark a little squirrel, that’s a good point because I’ve had my daughter work on a little squirrel. She’s an artist so I’m getting her to draw me one. I’m going to trademark it.



… James Bickford told me the other day. He said, ‘Squirrel, you’re going to be the first truck driver to make the Hall of Fame … you’re more famous that most drivers.’

I said, ‘You never know, man.’ “

Posted on by Staff Report

Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed part of his 2016 XFINITY Series schedule on Monday, noting a return to Richmond International Raceway for the first time in over a decade. 

 

After indicating over the weekend that he currently had two races on the docket for next season over the weekend, the 13-time NMPA Sprint Most Popular Driver tweeted that he “Just figured out I will be running the April 23rd XFINITY race at Richmond International Raceway for Hellmann’s” in the No. 88 JR Motorsports entry.

 

Earnhardt hasn’t said what the other race will be yet — or if he’s looking to add more — so stay tuned as that information becomes available.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: NBC Sports Live Extra


All times ET

Tuesday, Dec. 8
7 a.m., NASCAR America: The States of NASCAR (re-air), NBCSN
7:30 a.m., NASCAR America: The States of NASCAR (re-air), NBCSN
4:30 p.m., NASCAR The List: Iconic Cars, NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Stories of NASCAR #1, NBCSN

Wednesday, Dec. 9
7 a.m., NASCAR America: Stories of NASCAR #1 (re-air), NBCSN
7:30 a.m., NASCAR The List: Dale Earnhardt Sr. Moments (re-air), NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Stories of NASCAR #2, NBCSN

Thursday, Dec. 10
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Stories of NASCAR #3, NBCSN

 

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR Nation was buzzing Sunday and into Monday about the results of the 48th annual Snowball Derby Super Late Model Race.
 
Specifically, the chatter was regarding race winner Chase Elliott and the driver who crossed the start/finish line first. The two were not the same.
 
Christopher Bell, who won at Eldora in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in July, took the checkered flag in his Kyle Busch-owned entry before being disqualified less than an hour later for failing post-race technical inspection. That led to Elliott, who finished second to Bell, being declared the official winner — Bell was formally scored 37th, last in the field.
 

 
The 300-lap race on a half-mile oval in Pensacola, Florida, is the Super Bowl of late model races and has launched the careers of several drivers. Elliott won the event in 2011, and Erik Jones — now a rising NASCAR star — turned heads in 2012 when he outdueled Kyle Busch for the win.
 
The event had a distinct NASCAR flavor, with the following drivers also competing in the main event: Dalton Sargeant (fourth), William Byron (eighth), Kaz Grala (10th), Daniel Hemric (11th), Johanna Long (20th) and 2014 winner John Hunter Nemechek (21st).
 
Busch, who won the race in 2009, shared his disappointment and frustration via Twitter.