MWR begins process of shutting down

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Nascar

Officials with Michael Waltrip Racing have begun the process of shutting down the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series organization, filing the required Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice (WARN) with the North Carolina Commerce Department detailing the anticipated layoff of its employees.

Any employer planning the closure of a company or large layoffs is required to file a WARN notice with the state. Notices must also be filed with those workers affected, or their representatives, the N.C. Division of Workforce Solutions and the chief elected government official where the site/company is located.

According to the document, the company will lay off a total of 217 employees during a five-and-a-half month period, from Nov. 1 through April 15 of next year.

MWR, which began competing full-time in 2007, currently fields two full-time teams, the No. 15 Toyota for driver Clint Bowyer and the No. 55 Toyota for driver David Ragan. The racing facility is located in Cornelius, North Carolina.

At its height, MWR fielded three full-time teams, and its drivers have won seven Sprint Cup events. Its last victory came during the 2013 season and Bowyer has the team’s highest points finish, placing second in the 2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Bowyer enters this weekend’s race, the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, looking to earn one of the remaining positions in this year’s 16-team Chase field.

Ragan, who joined the team after 11 races, is 24th in points.

On Aug. 19, MWR officials announced that the organization and Bowyer had mutually agreed to sever their relationship following the completion of the 2015 racing season, which concludes in November at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

RELATED: MWR, Bowyer to go separate ways

It was also stated at that time that MWR would not field a full-time entry beyond this season.

Co-owner Rob Kauffman, whose financial resources helped keep the team afloat shortly after its debut, announced in late July that he was in the process of purchasing an interest in Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

RELATED: Kauffman buys interest in CGR

In August, he said that MWR “really wouldn’t have existed through to today without substantial and continued financial support from me.

“I think that from a business standpoint it didn’t make sense any longer. You can’t have a top-10 budget and top-10 resources and not be in the top 10 for a sustained period of time,” he said.

“It’s a performance related business, it’s all about performance. It’s a great sport but a very difficult business model. From a business decision it just made sense to not go forward with that organization, which isn’t really commercially viable.”

Neither Bowyer nor Ragan has announced plans for 2016. Their current sponsors, 5-hour ENERGY (Bowyer) and Aaron’s (Ragan) also have not announced sponsorship plans beyond this season.

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Nascar

Officials with Darlington Raceway and International Speedway Corp., which owns the South Carolina facility, should be congratulated for their efforts leading into this weekend’s Bojangles’ Southern 500.The retro-themed weekend has been the talk of NASCAR in recent months, garnering more attention than any event outside of the season-opening Daytona 500 back in February. Copious amounts of content — print, Internet and broadcast — have been devoted to this weekend’s race.

And rightfully so.

The fact that the program coincides with the return of the historic event to the Labor Day weekend is icing on the cake.

When the seed for the throwback plan was planted, there was no indication that this year’s race would be return to its long-held September date — the 2015 schedule wasn’t officially announced until August of ’14, and track officials weren’t privy to potential changes much earlier than that.

After a one-year dalliance with a November stop in 2004, the 500 had a nine-year run on Mother’s Day weekend in May where it did well.

Last year’s race was held in April in yet another schedule shuffle.

But the Southern 500 in April or May is not the Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend.

“Having the extra time from last April until Labor Day this year has been really helpful because truly it’s just a small group of people that have put this together,” Chip Wile, President of Darlington Raceway, said recently. “And it’s been a learning process but it’s been really fun.”

The platform is the kickoff of what Wile describes as a five-year plan to revitalize the track’s lone NASCAR race weekend, which includes Saturday’s XFINITY Series race as well as Sunday’s Sprint Cup event.

For decades, the Southern 500 was considered one of the most difficult races on the series’ circuit. The track’s unusual shape — a 1.336-mile layout with distinct differences between Turns 1-2 and 3-4 — favors no particular driving style. Winners are often determined by a combination of skill and good fortune.

The oppressive heat and humidity that hung over the track nearly every September race weekend took its toll as well — the list of drivers that required relief at some point is a lengthy one.

That difficulty, combined with the fact that the track is the oldest paved speedway to host NASCAR events (it opened in 1950), earned Darlington a lofty position in NASCAR’s early years. The race is still considered one of NASCAR’s crown jewel events — along with the Daytona 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. But the praise for this weekend’s program shouldn’t stop with track officials. Teams have bought into the idea wholeheartedly, developing amazing throwback paint schemes, many of which honor some of the sport’s legendary drivers and organizations.

Sponsors and various stakeholders, such as Goodyear, have gotten on board. Broadcast teams will incorporate the throwback platform into their programming.

It’s been a win-win situation for everyone involved. It also couldn’t have come at a better time.

Wile and his group wanted to make his track’s lone Sprint Cup race stand out above the crowd, and it certainly seems as if that has been accomplished. Darlington isn’t the only track that’s been able to develop an idea that resonates with those in the sport as well as those in the stands. Not as large in scope but certainly just as entertaining, the annual night race at Bristol Motor Speedway in August generates interest not only for the competition on the track, but its pre-race show is perhaps the most popular on the schedule. Anchoring the program are drivers entering the track to music they have chosen and the Motor Racing Outreach effort that has children of drivers and other personnel singing the National Anthem (an idea generated by former track president Jeff Byrd).

The product on the track remains of primary importance, and fortunately that’s been a constant at Darlington — the racing there rarely fails to excite and entertain.

And if there’s a bit of a history lesson included, so much the better.

“I really love the history and the heritage of the sport,” former championship-winning crew chief Ray Evernham said. “I think it’s really important if we’re going to bring new fans, younger fans, that demographic, they’ve got to understand why. When you start telling some of the history and the tradition, and showing that, I think it gets people really interested.

“Now they understand why people are so passionate about it or why somebody will come sit in the same seat for 50 years or why we work so hard on these cars. I think it’s really important that we go back and show the steps that it took to get here in order to engage new fans.”

And there’s no better place or time than Darlington Raceway. On Labor Day weekend.

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Staff Report

One DraftKings NASCAR fantasy player is still basking in the glow of his ultimate fan experience in June at Michigan International Speedway.

Bruce Strang, who is signed up to play with NASCAR’s official daily fantasy sports partner, earned a bevy of prizes for himself and guest Kimberly.

Strang’s VIP experience at Michigan included a lap around the track, access to the infield and close proximity to the drivers and crew chiefs.

“It was a once in a lifetime experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life,” Strang said. “The things we got to see and do were amazing. I have told everybody that I know and also some folks that I don’t really know.”

“There isn’t one thing that I wish would have went differently — well, maybe that the weekend didn’t end. Even though it rained a lot, and the race on Sunday was shortened, I still have zero complaints.”

NASCAR and DraftKings announced their joint partnership on May 14, a three-year agreement that gives DraftKings an exclusive license to develop NASCAR-branded games across the daily fantasy sports category.

Daily fantasy sports games on DraftKings give players a one-of-a-kind event experience as DraftKings has access to a direct data feed from NASCAR Digital Media that contains real-time statistics.

In each game, participants are assigned a fixed salary cap they can use to draft their entire roster, comprised of five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers. Scoring categories in DraftKings NASCAR daily fantasy sports games will include finishing position, fastest laps, laps led and place differential.

NASCAR games on DraftKings will provide fans the opportunity to win one-of-a-kind NASCAR prizes and VIP experiences — as Strang experienced.

More information on DraftKings NASCAR daily fantasy sports games is available at www.draftkings.com.

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Staff Report

LEARN MORE: Bing: Chase predictions | About Bing
RELATED: Play the Chase Grid Battle Game here

Let the battle begin.

The Chase Grid Battle Game Powered by Bing, a game in which players make round-by-round picks in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, returns for the second consecutive season.

Registration is open now. Go here to sign up and start thinking about your strategy before the first postseason race Sept. 20 at Chicagoland Speedway.

New this year is the presence of Bing — and more specifically Bing Predicts, a methodology that uses algorithms to make predictions. Gamers can consider the Bing Predicts tool when playing the Chase Grid Battle Game and have a leg up on the competition.

Throughout the summer, Bing Predicts has made accurate forecasts for events such as the Women’s World Cup and the Tour de France.

Bing will make predictions for drivers advancing to each round throughout the Chase. Right now, the algorithm predicts Kevin Harvick will repeat as Sprint Cup Series champion, besting Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski in the Championship Round at Homestead.

“We’re excited to work with NASCAR to bring the power of Bing’s intelligent predictions to The Chase Grid Battle Game to help players up their chances of winning,” said Ryan Gavin, general manager of search at Microsoft Corp. “Bing Predicts is quickly becoming the resource for both avid sports fans and casual players to get an edge on the game and impress their friends — and we’re excited to bring it to NASCAR’s passionate fan base.”

Also new in 2015 is a race-by-race scoring format that awards points after each of the 10 Chase races. Prizes for the overall highest score includes a VIP trip to a 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, tickets to a NASCAR driving experience and an autographed driver helmet.

The highest-scoring participant after each of the four Rounds in The Chase will also receive $100 to use in the NASCAR.com Superstore. Players can form leagues to compete against friends and other fans, with the option to create up to three entries per user.

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Staff Report

RELATED: Watch Friday’s event here

At 8 p.m. ET on Friday, join NASCAR.com as we go back in time.

We’re getting into the spirit of this week’s throwback theme at Darlington Raceway and, teaming with NASCAR Productions, will broadcast a cut-down video presentation of the 1970 Southern 500. Click here to bookmark the link.

The video includes original footage from 1970 and will also present factual tidbits from the era — some NASCAR history and trivia from that season, along with pop culture notes.

Remember, 8 p.m. ET on Friday — set your calendars now.

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 3, 2015) — NASCAR fans have the opportunity to showcase their race prediction skills again this year with The Chase Grid Battle Powered by Bing. Back for the second season, the game allows players to make Round-by-Round picks and compete for prizes throughout the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which kicks-off Sept. 20 at Chicagoland Speedway.

New in 2015, the race-by-race scoring format awards points after each of the 10 races in The Chase and for predicting the drivers who will advance through each round up until the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 22. Picks can also be made with the help of Bing Predicts, which relies on relevant data to make intelligent recommendations about upcoming events and is fully integrated into the game.

Prizes for the highest overall scores include a VIP trip to a 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, tickets to a NASCAR Driving Experience and an autographed driver helmet. The highest-scoring participant after each of the four Rounds in The Chase will also receive $100 to use in the NASCAR.com Superstore. Players can form leagues to compete against friends and other fans, with the option to create up to three entries per user.

“Participating in The Chase Grid Battle Game allows fans to maximize their Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup experience, and this year we’ve improved upon it even further with the new scoring format and integration of Bing Predicts to help players increase their odds of winning by making the most informed picks each round,” said Colin Smith, vice president, NASCAR Digital Media. “Establishing new, innovative ways for fans to engage with our sport is and always will be a critical objective for NASCAR.”

Fans can visit here to create a free account and register to play. Registration is open now through Nov. 1, closing before the start of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, The Eliminator Round.

Tune in this Sunday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m. ET on NBC to watch the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Posted on September 2, 2015 by

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Nascar

Perhaps somewhat overshadowed by all the talk about Darlington Raceway‘s “throwback” platform this weekend is the return of NASCAR’s low downforce package, incorporating aerodynamic changes first unveiled at Kentucky Speedway earlier this year.

Three significant changes have been incorporated into the Sprint Cup Series package for Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 (7 p.m. ET, NBC/Live Extra, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR) that differs from the package used in the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky in July.

The Darlington spoiler will be 3-1/2 inches (instead of 3 inches) and the splitter will feature a 1/4-inch leading edge.

Also, the tires to be used at Darlington were built specifically for this particular low downforce package. The build was determined after a one-day test in July with drivers Matt Kenseth (Joe Gibbs Racing), Brad Keselowski (Team Penske) and Tony Stewart (Stewart-Haas Racing).

There is no change in the size of the splitter extension panel, which was set at 25 inches for the Kentucky event.

Driver feedback, for the most part, was positive following Kentucky. But Jason Ratcliff, crew chief for Kenseth, noted that differences in the two tracks and other considerations would have an impact this weekend at Darlington.

“It’s going to be a lot different … because we haven’t run at Darlington at this time of year in a while,” he said. “… Darlington is unique anyway — you run right around the fence, which makes it difficult to pass, but I thought the aero package was good and we were able to work on the car and find some speed and nothing negative with it.”

Fellow Joe Gibbs Racing driver Carl Edwards said he’s looking forward to putting the low downforce package back on the track.

“The way we’ve been running lately and the way this package drove at Kentucky, I mean to me Darlington is going to be like Christmas in September. I’m pumped,” he said.

So About Those Tires

The tire combination selected by Goodyear will feature the same left-side tire code used at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this year with a right-side tire code that was run at Kentucky.

“We had a very minimal change in grip at Kentucky from what we raced there in 2014,” Greg Stucker, Director of Race Tire Sales for Goodyear, told SiriusXM NASCAR on Wednesday. “Just a little bit more grip on the left-side tire, and the results of that particular event I think were very, very positive.

“I think the low-downforce package showed a lot of potential. I think a lot of people walked out of there thinking that was a really nice package. It certainly reduced grip, put a lot of control back into the drivers’ hands. Did a lot of things that I think people were looking for.”

Stucker said a “considerable amount of grip” has been added to the Darlington tires, with hopefully will offset some of the aerodynamic grip lost with the aero changes on the cars.

“The reduction in downforce going from the standard 2015 (package) to the low-downforce package increased lap times by about three-quarters of a second, 7/10ths to 8/10ths, something like that,” he said. “That much slower. When we put the grippier setup on, it gave us about that same 7/10ths to 8/10ths back.”

A December test at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2014 actually provided some of the initial data for the low downforce tire build.

“We went back there again in March of this year to confirm that tire package for a low-downforce setup that at the time was thought to be run in the (Sprint) All-Star Race,” Stucker said. “So we had a lot of work done in a similar configuration. Historically Darlington and Charlotte are similar. We run the same right-side tire there, slightly different left. But it gave us a real good starting point for where to go back to Darlington so we did that.”

Riding a Blue Streak

The teams and track officials aren’t the only ones on board with this year’s “throwback” theme for the Bojangles’ Southern 500. Even Goodyear is going retro, returning to a logo design used in the 1970s.

At that time, the logos and markings on each tire were hand-painted — that won’t be the case this weekend — “but they’ll definitely have the looks of what we ran back in the ’70s,” Stucker said.

“We had not yet gone to Eagle on our race tires. They were still called Blue Streak Specials.”

The yellow Goodyear lettering seen on today’s Goodyear Eagle tires came into use in 1992.

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Nascar

(Photo courtesy of: Hendrick Motorsports)

Hendrick Motorsports and driver Kasey Kahne will pay tribute to the organization’s inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season this weekend with a special throwback paint scheme similar to the one run by former driver Geoff Bodine.

The majority of Sprint Cup Series teams will feature retro paint schemes on their cars this weekend as part of the return of the annual Bojangles’ Southern 500 to Labor Day weekend at Darlington Raceway.

Known at the time as All-Star Racing, team owner Rick Hendrick fielded the No. 5 Chevrolet for Bodine with veteran crew chief Harry Hyde calling the shots during the 1984 season.

If not for a victory by Bodine, his first in the series, at Martinsville Speedway, the successful Hendrick Motorsports organization of today might never have existed.

“We finished 35th in our first Darlington race back in ’84 and nearly closed the doors,” team owner Rick Hendrick said. “Martinsville was next on the schedule, and Harry Hyde did a great sales job and talked me into running one more race.

“He was convinced Geoff could win (at Martinsville) and, thankfully, he was right. We were able to get a sponsor (Northwestern Security Life), which allowed us to finish the season and set the table for everything that’s happened since.”

Today, HMS is a four-team Sprint Cup organization fielding entries for Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. HMS drivers have won 11 Sprint Cup titles (Johnson 6, Gordon 4, Terry Labonte 1) and 237 races.

“There’s so much history at Hendrick Motorsports with the wins and championships, so to go back to when it started with All-Star Racing, Geoff Bodine and that paint scheme is great,” Kahne, who will run the retro look at Darlington as well as Richmond International Raceway, said.

“It would mean a lot to win the Southern 500. It’s always been one of the races that I’ve wanted to win … To do it in this car that time of the year right before the Chase, it would be a perfect time.”

As part of a two-race partnership between Hendrick Motorsports and Hendrick Automotive Group, fans can register to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Charlotte, N.C. for a ride-along with Kahne as well as a behind-the-scenes tour of HMS. Click here for more information.

“We’ve had a lot of success when our two companies have worked together on programs,” Hendrick said “When Darlington announced the throwback concept, we thought it would be a great opportunity to bring back the All-Star Racing car and build a sweepstakes for fans and customers.

“Seeing the paint scheme on the track at Darlington and Richmond will bring back a lot of memories.”

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Holly Cain

In keeping with NASCAR’s throwback-themed Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, here’s a nod to Kevin Harvick and his No. 4 Budweiser Chevy team’s historic run this season.

You have to go back to the days of lava lamps, bell-bottoms and the AMC Gremlin to find the last time a NASCAR Cup driver (Bobby Allison, 1972) has reeled off double-digit runner-up finishes as Harvick now has.

The reigning Sprint Cup Series champ’s two wins — back-to-back trophies at Las Vegas and Phoenix — punched his title defense ticket into the 2015 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. But it’s his 10 second-place efforts and career-high 17 top-fives that keep him a favorite for his second Cup championship.

It’s the kind of superior consistency that creates confidence, maintains momentum and ultimately makes the team more likely to deliver in the clutch. There’s two ways this many near-misses can be viewed — either as encouraging “almosts” or discouraging “not-enoughs” — but Harvick and his crew chief Rodney Childers are glass-half-full kind of guys.

“It’s a really fine balance and getting yourself frustrated over the success we’re having would be really, really silly,” Harvick offered with a smile as he waited out a rain delay during a test at Homestead-Miami Speedway last week.

“I’m proud of what we’ve done and what we’ve accomplished.

“We’re all really confident with the way the year has gone. I think if you look at on a piece of paper it’s definitely the best year I’ve ever had from a career standpoint.

“I’ve been around this deal long enough to know those 10 second-place finishes could have swung to wins just as easily and they could have swung to 25th-place finishes just as easily. I’m really proud of the things we’ve done and feel like we’re a better team than we were last year and having better results up to this point.”

The second-place finishes have contributed to a series-best 7.5 average finish through the first 24 races — better than three-time winner Joey Logano (9.0 average finish) and four-time winners Jimmie Johnson (12.0) and Kyle Busch (12.5). So while Harvick may not have been visiting Victory Lane as often as those others, no one’s been in close proximity more often — heartening news for his Stewart-Haas Racing team and worrisome for everyone else.

“The whole point of coming here (to SHR) was to have a chance of winning races week in and week out and we’ve done that; you can’t force winning, when things are going your way they are and when they aren’t, they’re not,” Harvick said.

“It’s a lot of fun to be a part of it and see the intensity and enthusiasm this team brings week in and week out because it’s such a calm confidence around here.

“The way we’ve run I think we could win the championship with everything we’ve done so far. I don’t think we need to do anything any different because the cars are running great and we know what we’re up against when the Chase starts and the grind of what that is. And I think we’ll do that better than we did last year.

“The best for us is in front of us.”

Runner-up finishes in a season

Number	Driver	Year
18	David Pearson	1969
15	Bobby Allison	1970
14	Richard Petty	1964
13	Ned Jarrett	1965
12	Bobby Allison	1972
12	David Pearson	1968
12	Joe Weatherly	1962
12	Dick Rathmann	1953
10	Kevin Harvick	2015
10	Buck Baker	1958