Kyle Busch talks upcoming surgery

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Holly Cain

LAS VEGAS — A day before he is officially crowned NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch confirmed he will be having surgery Dec. 17.

The new Sprint Cup champion told reporters after Thursday’s Myers Brothers Luncheon that his next surgery will include removing the plate, screws and rod that were placed in his right leg and left foot after being injured in a frightening crash in the season-opening XFINITY Series race Feb. 21 at Daytona International Speedway.

He missed 11 Sprint Cup Series races before returning to the seat of his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota then winning five times on his way to earning his first series championship.

“I’m ecstatic for the opportunity to be cut open and have blood and guts all over the place again this offseason,” Busch joked to reporters about the back-to-back surgery schedule.

“No, but I am looking forward to the surgery. I’m looking forward to getting everything out and being able to go through the rehab to try to get back to somewhat normal and being able to not have pain every day and take the medication I have to take every day and all that.”

Busch was upbeat about the medical situation and had high expectations.

“For it being nine months and me feeling how I feel right now, I’m pretty confident I’ll be back to normal nine months after surgery. I still have pain today and every day; it still continues to get better.

“The doctors are pretty shocked at how well I feel right now with the stuff that’s still in the foot. The leg feels fine, it’s normal except on a 20-degree day – it’s got a weird feeling with the broken spot on the bone.”

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Holly Cain

LAS VEGAS — A packed and enthusiastic crowd filled the Encore ballroom at the Wynn Las Vegas for Thursday’s annual NMPA Myers Brothers luncheon. Darlington Raceway earned the big namesake award, and NASCAR’s full slate of Chase drivers and other dignitaries enjoyed Day 4 of the sport’s championship celebration week.

NASCAR Chairman Brian France opened the event by recognizing the now-retired Jeff Gordon as a “role model for other drivers” then praised the sport’s accomplishments over another news-making season.

Calling it a “pivot” from usual remarks, France said he had “never been more excited about the future.” He praised the sport not only for its keen technological advances like the Air Titan track dryers used all too often this season, but also noting the sport has raised the level of competition. “We will have an exceptional future,” he vowed.

After the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award nominees were introduced, and videos were shown about the four’s charitable commitments, the rest of the day centered on racing awards.

Brett Moffitt accepted the Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year award from Sunoco, humbly thanking all the team owners this year who put him in Cup cars (his best finish was eighth at Atlanta) this year.

WATCH: Moffitt accepts his award

Four-time champion Gordon was mentioned throughout the luncheon with various speakers honoring his impact on the sport. Chevrolet executive Jim Campbell presented a “Lifetime Achievement Award” to the driver, and Chevrolet donated a 2016 Corvette ZO6 to be used as a fundraiser in the Jeff Gordon Foundation.

The NMPA Myers Brothers Award was presented to Darlington Raceway as it was recognized for organizing a fun and extremely popular throwback theme at the track’s annual Fall 500-miler this year. The Southern 500 returned to its traditional Labor Day date this year.

The 2014 champion, and this year’s runner-up, Kevin Harvick, won an afternoon high of five awards, including the Mobil 1 “Driver of the Year Award” for his 2,294 laps led and season-best 23 top-five finishes.

There was plenty of humor on the stage to go along with the moving tributes. For example, Matt Kenseth, who received the Fastest Lap Award remarked that he was “really looking forward to running full-time next year” — taking a little jab at his two-race NASCAR suspension for wrecking Joey Logano during the Chase for the Championship at Martinsville Speedway.

This year’s season champion Kyle Busch was presented with a bottle of “Burnt Rubber” cologne — a nod to the commercial starring Jimmie Johnson. After accepting the gold car from Goodyear, Busch joked that Johnson could run a heat race with all the gold cars (six) he’s received.

WATCH: Busch admits his wife loves his smell

Busch’s crew chief Adam Stevens, who received the top crew chief award from Champion, joked that he was also an “unlicensed psychologist and weatherman” in his work leading Busch’s team, referencing the weather posing numerous challenges throughout the 2015 season.

Denny Hamlin was the only one of the 16 Chase drivers not in attendance. Instead, he is recovering from No. 30 surgery to repair his right knee. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament while playing recreational basketball back in September.

Camping World Truck Series champion Erik Jones filled in for Hamlin Thursday afternoon when the Chase drivers drove down the Las Vegas Strip doing burnouts for thousands who lined the city’s famous streets.

Here is the complete list of Thursday’s award winners from the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon:

· NMPA Myers Brothers Award: Darlington Raceway
· Buddy Shuman Award: Clay Campbell, President Martinsville Speedway
· NASCAR Marketing Achievement Award: Sunoco
· Chevrolet Lifetime Achievement Award: Jeff Gordon
· 3M Lap Leader Award: Kevin Harvick
· American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Kevin Harvick
· Coors Light Pole Award: Joey Logano
· Duralast Brakes “Brake in the Race” Award: Kevin Harvick
· Freescale “Wide Open” Award: Kevin Harvick
· Goodyear Tires Award: Kyle Busch
· Ingersoll Rand Power Move Award: No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet team
· MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Year Award: Sam Vernatter, Hendrick Engines No. 4 team
· Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award: Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 team
· Mobil 1 Driver of the Year Award: Kevin Harvick
· MOOG Steering & Suspension Problem Solver of the Year Award: Greg Ives, crew chief No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team
· Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap Award: Matt Kenseth
· Sunoco Diamond Performance Award: Kyle Busch
· Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award: Brett Moffitt
· Champion Sponsor Award: Mars, Inc.

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Staff Report

Eldora Speedway announced Thursday that it has reached an agreement with Major League Baseball Properties, Inc., that will change the name of the annual NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the half-mile dirt track.

The Rossburg, Ohio facility will discontinue the names “Mudsummer Classic” and “Mud Summer Classic” for NASCAR’s only national series event on dirt. The race name was tweaked to “Mud Summer” for 2015 in an effort to further distance the event from the Major League Baseball All-Star Game’s nickname of “Midsummer Classic.”

The play on words was part of the race’s name since Eldora joined the Camping World Truck Series schedule in 2013. Roger Slack, Eldora’s general manager, didn’t let the name go without one last swipe.

“We hope all of the baseball fans who traveled to Rossburg, Ohio the past three years in anticipation of the MLB All-Star Game enjoyed the race and the $2 beers,” Slack said in a statement provided by the track.

Tickets for the not-yet-renamed Camping World Truck Series race — scheduled July 20, 2016 — go on sale Monday, Dec. 14 at 10 a.m. ET.

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Staff Report

Darrell Wallace Jr. was named to Ebony’s Power 100 list this week. The Roush Fenway Racing driver just completed his first full-time season in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

In his young NASCAR career, Wallace has five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series wins. In his rookie season in the XFINITY Series, the 22-year-old finished seventh in the point standings driving the No. 6 Ford for RFR.

The list honors heroes of the black community within the fields of arts, politics, education, community activist, media, medicine and sports.

Among those on the magazine’s Power 100 list are musicians John Legend and Drake, “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah as well as actresses Jada Pinkett Smith and Viola Davis.

To see all the honorees, click here.

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Staff Report

LAS VEGAS — Darlington Raceway moved forward by going back in 2015.

NASCAR’s first paved superspeedway paid homage to stock car racing’s past when it launched a “throwback” program for this year’s Bojangles’ Southern 500, and the move proved to be one of the most talked about, most popular events of the year. So much so that the program has earned the track the National Motorsports Press Association’s 2015 Myers Brothers Award.

The award was announced Thursday during the annual NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers luncheon at the Wynn Las Vegas.

Presented annually by the NMPA, the Myers Brothers Award is named in honor of former NASCAR competitors Billy and Bobby Myers. Its’ purpose is to recognize individuals and/or groups who have provided outstanding contributions to the sport of stock car racing.

Others receiving votes for this year’s award were four-time series champion Jeff Gordon and 2015 Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch.

Darlington Raceway has hosted one or more NASCAR premier series events since 1950. The Southern 500, which returned to its long-held Labor Day weekend date this past season, is considered one of the series’ “crown jewel” events.

More than 30 cars in this year’s 43-car field featured throwback schemes, honoring everything from long-time sponsors to drivers and popular paint schemes from the early 1970s. Several teams got in the act by wearing crew uniforms similar to those worn at the time; concession stand fare included items that were offered at the time and tickets in some sections were even priced similar to that specific time period.

Even television partner NBC got in the act, bringing back former announcers Ken Squier and two-time champion Ned Jarrett to call a portion of the race from the broadcast booth. Jarrett’s son, Dale — a former series champion as well — joined his father in the booth, marking the first time the two had called a race together.

Track President Chip Wile said at the time that the throwback program is “a five-year platform; this isn’t a one-year deal.

“We felt like if we could get eight or 10 teams on board to really showcase what we’re trying to accomplish, we felt like in 2016 we could get more, in 2017 we would get more and so on,” he said. “But the response that we’ve gotten from everyone in the industry has been incredible.”

Myers Brothers Award Winners

2015, Darlington Raceway; 2014, Dale Earnhardt Jr.; 2013, Tony Stewart; 2012, Jeff Gordon; 2011, Drs. Joseph & Rose Mattioli; 2010, Jim Hunter; 2009, Barney Hall; 2008, Thomas Taylor Warren; 2007, Bill France Jr.; 2006, Benny Parsons; 2005, Rusty Wallace; 2004, Kyle and Patti Petty;

2003, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; 2002, Mike Helton; 2001, Dale Earnhardt; 2000, Kyle Petty; 1999, Junie Donlavey; 1998, T. Wayne Robertson; 1997, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; 1996, Rick Hendrick; 1995, TNN: The Nashville Network; 1994, Brickyard 400/Indianapolis Motor Speedway; 1993, Goody’s Manufacturing Co.;

1992, Richard and Lynda Petty; 1991, Harry Gant; 1990; Dick Beaty; 1989, Bill France Jr.; 1988 Richmond International Raceway; 1987, ESPN; 1986, Hayride 500; 1985, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; 1984, Charlotte Motor Speedway; 1983, CBS-TV; 1982, Motor Racing Network; 1981, Junior Johnson; 1980, STP & Champion Spark Plug Co.;

1979, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; 1978, Busch Beer; 1977, First National City Travelers Checks; 1976, Junior Johnson; 1975, Bill France Sr.; 1974, H. Clay Earles; 1973, Wood Brothers; 1972, Winston Cigarettes; 1971, Richard Petty; 1970, Richard Howard;

1969, David Pearson; 1968, Wood Brothers; 1967, Richard Petty; 1966, Norris Friel; 1965, Ned Jarrett; 1964, Richard Petty; 1963, Marvin Panch; 1962, Hank Schoolfield; 1961, Ned Jarrett; 1960, Russ Catlin; 1959, Lee Petty; 1958, Bob Colvin.

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Reid Spencer

The 2015 NASCAR season wasn’t just about hitting important metrics, though the sport did precisely that.

As NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Brent Dewar noted on Wednesday at the SportsBusiness Journal’s Daytona Rising/NASCAR Motorsports Marketing Forum, the 2015 season has been one of change, both in terms of business models and the sanctioning body’s quest for a new entitlement sponsor for its foremost series.

Dewar said he talks almost daily with Race Team Alliance leader Rob Kauffman, and those discussions have far-ranging implications for the ownership model in the sport, including a possible charter system for team ownership.

“Like Rob, I’m cautiously optimistic that we can get something that really helps provide a foundation for the future,” Dewar said, stressing the importance of building stability in the sport.

In that same vein, Dewar expressed pride in the recently completed and unprecedented five-year sanctioning agreements with race tracks that host NASCAR events.

Asserting that NASCAR racing is more popular today than ever before, Dewar noted that the sanctioning body is in an excellent position to broaden its base of potential replacements for Sprint, which will leave its role as title sponsor for the Sprint Cup Series after 2016.

Fundamental changes in the sport, such as an elimination-based Chase format, give NASCAR executives the opportunity to re-introduce the sport to a wider audience.

“If you haven’t been around NASCAR in the last two or three years, you really haven’t been around NASCAR,” Dewar said. “It’s really allowing us an opportunity to talk to a wide group, whether it’s blue-chip domestic companies, to internationals, to regional companies — and we have a great story to tell.

“It’s casting a wide net. We’re in a nice place, and we’ve been to some really cool companies, talking about our sport. We hope to find a partner that will deliver equally the strength that we’ve gotten from Sprint.”

Dewar said there’s no specific timetable for finding a new partner but added that, “I’m as excited today as I’ve ever been in the sport.”

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Reid Spencer

LAS VEGAS — Clearly, the CEO whom Forbes just named “the most powerful woman in sports” for 2015 was delighted to talk about an extraordinarily powerful vision for the future of motorsports as it nears realization in Daytona Beach, Florida.

“I think our fans are going to have a brand new experience,” said Lesa France Kennedy, CEO and vice chairperson of International Speedway Corporation and vice chairperson of NASCAR. “The core fans who have been coming for years will see a brand new modern facility that has 23 escalators, for instance, 17 elevators. They’re going to have wider, more comfortable seats.

“It’ll be a true modern motorsports stadium, something like we haven’t seen before.”

Kennedy, of course, was referring to the ongoing $400 million Daytona Rising project, which, when completed in time for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona (Jan. 30-31, 2016), will transform iconic Daytona International Speedway and, with it, the fan experience at the Birthplace of Speed.

Opening the SportsBusiness Journal’s Daytona Rising/NASCAR Motorsports Marketing Forum on Wednesday at the Mirage, Kennedy allowed herself a nostalgic turn when reflecting on the speedway where she worked and learned the stock car racing business under the tutelage of her father, Bill France Jr.

“It’s been a little emotional,” Kennedy acknowledged. “When they took down part of the grandstands — that’s been a part of my life since the very beginning. Now we’re starting to see the progress and the project come to life, and you can start to see what it will be like for our fans when they arrive in February (for Daytona 500 Speedweeks).

“This one hit home in a lot of ways, in a lot of ways.”

Kennedy also indicated the Daytona Rising project could serve as a model for other speedways within the ISC group.

“When we open it, it will be to an international audience for the Rolex 24, so I think it will give us the chance to show the world what a modern motorsports stadium will be like,” she said. “There will be many specific elements which I think will be very attractive to our other tracks.”

Kennedy topped the list of Forbes’ most powerful women in sports, a distinction she also earned in 2009.

“As we celebrate the 2015 NASCAR season, it’s an honor to be recognized by Forbes alongside so many other women in sports,” Kennedy said. “I’m very proud of what we’re doing at International Speedway Corporation and NASCAR. Exciting changes are ahead throughout our industry, more fans than ever are consuming our sport, and we’re all eager to unveil a re-imagined Daytona International Speedway in 2016.”

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Holly Cain

When Joey Gase heard the news that he won the inaugural Comcast Community Champion Award while attending NASCAR’s XFINITY Series banquet at a Hollywood, Fla. hotel three weeks ago, the young driver simply smiled politely from his seat at a table located in the middle of the grand ballroom.

His unassuming manner is in stark contrast to all the young man has meant to organ donation in the four years since his mother, Mary Jo, passed away suddenly.

From the banquet floor, the 22-year-old, quietly and without reaction, watched the videos for each of Comcast’s so very deserving nominees — also including Martin Truex Jr. and Sherry Pollex representing the Sprint Cup Series (Watch here) and Martha Nemechek (Watch here), the nominee from the Camping World Truck Series.

And when Gase’s name was announced as the winner of Comcast’s $60,000 donation to his charity, finally, the Iowa driver conceded a smile. His mind was on his mom.

“I was pretty surprised,” Gase said afterward allowing a wide grin. “I didn’t know what to expect for sure. It was going through my head, what am I going to do if I do win. I didn’t really prepare a lot for it. I’ve learned from my past giving speeches, the less I prepare the better I do. It’s kind of funny like that.

“I was telling people earlier, it’s not like I have to remember anything about this. It’s all implanted in my head. It is very sad and at least for me and my family, my mom ‘s death was very tragic. But one thing that helped me overcome is that she was able to help 66 people and we know my mom would be very proud of that, to live on and help so many people.”

Gase’s efforts with organ donation are highly motivated because of his own tragic experience. But he discovered the work around this cause is often surprisingly under the radar, so his ability to bring awareness and action as a NASCAR driver is greatly appreciated and needed.

The video showing why Gase was nominated for this important new award, was as inspiring as it was informative. It showed the young driver standing with his race car. Stickers representing organ donors and recipients draw attention to its paint scheme — which changes week to week based on local out-reach — and inevitably spark important conversation.

And what Gase has discovered — much like organ donation itself — is that it’s as good to give as to receive.

“I was 18 (when my mother passed away) and I wanted to do something to honor my mom and promote donation,” Gase said. “I didn’t know much but I knew they had green “Donate Life” ribbons so I put some on the car and first two races back (after her death) we won.”

Since getting his shot in NASCAR’s bigger XFINITY Series — driving for Jimmy Means Racing — Gase has been a vocal advocate and hands-on connection for the process. And everywhere he’s gone, he’s met someone touched by the concept.

“Organ donation, no matter what side you are on, is not something people really talk about,” Gase said. “Once they have a reason to talk about it, they love to talk about it. “They have the right tone and want to hear your story too. It’s recipients or donors and that’s another thing people don’t realize is you can be a living donor. I’ve met alot. I’ve had a lot of crew members, track workers and fans come up to me and share their story.

“It’s really cool when we honor donors. It’s a connection a lot of people don’t have, but we understand what you go through.”

“It’s amazing,” Gase said. “It’s the first time they’ve done this so just to be a finalist and to be recognized like this and honor not only my mom but all the donors out there and let everyone on the wait list know we are doing everything we can to promote this and let them know we are thinking of them.”

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Staff Report

Lesa France Kennedy, CEO of International Speedway Corporation, was named Wednesday as the Most Powerful Woman in Sports for 2015 in a survey conducted by Forbes.

Kennedy, who currently oversees 12 speedways that host NASCAR national series events, received the most votes from an eight-member panel assembled by the New York-based business magazine. The 54-year-old executive has topped Forbes’ list in previous votes, including the 2009 balloting.

Sprint Cup Series driver Danica Patrick was selected as No. 20 among the Top 25. She also ranked fifth in Forbes’ survey of the world’s highest-paid female athletes in 2014.

Kennedy, who also serves as a Vice Chairperson of NASCAR, has helped ISC expand its empire of racing facilities across the country. She has been a driving force behind a reimagining of Daytona International Speedway, the $400 million Daytona RISING renovation of one of the sport’s centerpieces that will debut in the 2016 season.

Kennedy joined ISC in 1983 and has been the organization’s Chief Executive Officer since 2009.

Forbes’ panel of sports business influencers selected France first from a two-stage voting process, considering the criteria of quantitative metrics, sphere of influence, and impact.

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Staff Report