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Company plans major push around May 17 event at .875-mile track

RELATED: Buy tickets to the 3M 250 at Iowa

Iowa Speedway announced Thursday that 3M has signed on as an entitlement sponsor for the track’s May 17 race for the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

The XFINITY tour’s first of two stops this season at the .875-mile track will now be called the 3M 250.

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"This opportunity is especially exciting because it has enabled us to promote an authentic product and service integration with 3M while also delivering more value to our fans and sponsors," said Jimmy Small, Iowa Speedway president. "Fans, partners and teams that visit Iowa Speedway have come to expect a top-of-the-line experience, and this partnership with 3M will undoubtedly help us meet and exceed these expectations."

According to the track, the partnership sweeps beyond naming rights. The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company plans to designate "selfie" picture-taking areas and create graphics and signage around the Newton, Iowa track with its 3M Envision Print Wrap brand.

"The 3M 250 will give fans a look at the science behind a number of our products used in NASCAR," said Don Branch, 3M’s Chief Marketing Officer. "Instead of focusing solely on the impact 150-plus 3M products have on the building and maintaining the cars on the track, the 3M 250 will allow fans to see how 3M helps make the modern fan experience more exciting and engaging for them."

3M, an official partner of NASCAR, has been a sponsor in the sport for nearly 20 years. The creative solutions company signed on last August to be primary sponsor of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet and four-time premier-series champion Jeff Gordon, now in his final full season of Sprint Cup Series competition.

RELATED: Buy tickets to the 3M 250 at Iowa

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One 90-minute session began at 5 p.m. ET

Steady rain placed Thursday’s on-track activity for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in a delay at Kansas Speedway. However, trucks did take to the track for one 90-minute practice session right at 5 p.m. ET.

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The lingering precipitation, tinged with the threat of severe storms in the Midwest, drenched the 1.5-mile track, delaying the scheduled 3 p.m. ET start for the hourlong opening truck series practice. A 90-minute final practice session was also scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET.

Air Titans took to the track to try and get it dry so that there would be one practice session ahead of Friday night’s qualifying session and race.

The Camping World Truck Series is slated for the fourth of 23 races this season with Friday night’s Toyota Tundra 250 (8:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1).

Two-time defending series champion Matt Crafton enters the 167-lap race with a two-point lead in the standings over 19-year-old Tyler Reddick, winner of the season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

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Hemric, Suarez, Jones and Newman placed second through fifth

RELATED: Full practice results

Cameron Hayley topped the lone NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice session at Kansas Speedway on Thursday afternoon.

Hayley, a Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, made the fastest lap late in the 90-minute session with a speed of 175.798 mph.

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Another rookie, Daniel Hemric was second in the session with a speed of 175.558 mph. Hemric has made six career Truck Series starts with three coming this year in the No. 14 Chevrolet.

A pair of Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates took third and fourth place in the session. Daniel Suarez (175.393 mph) and Erik Jones (175.279 mph) were at the top of the speed chart for most of practice but slipped back near the end of the session.

The Kansas race will be Suarez’s fifth career Camping World Truck Series start and his fourth this season. He has three top-10 finishes in his three starts so far in 2015. Jones, a Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, has had three top-seven finishes to open the season and will also be making his first Sprint Cup Series start this weekend.

Sprint Cup Series veteran Ryan Newman, who is making his first Truck Series start since the 2013 race at Eldora, came in fifth in practice with a speed of 175.006 mph.

Initially, there were supposed to be two practice sessions: a 60-minute one that began at 3 p.m. ET and then a 90-minute session that started at 4:30 p.m. ET. Wet weather in the area delayed trucks from taking the track until 5 p.m. ET for just one practice session of 90 minutes.

Just over five minutes into the session, Matt Tifft made contact with the wall in Turn 4 to bring out a caution. On Twitter, Tifft said that he blew a right front tire. The wreck destroyed the team’s primary truck, forcing him to a backup.

Norm Benning missed the first 30 minutes of the practice as he was serving a practice penalty.

Entering the Kansas race, Matt Crafton the two-time defending series champion holds a two-point lead over Tyler Reddick, who won at Daytona in the season opener. Jones is in third place in the standings and just six points back of Crafton, while Crafton’s ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter is fourth in the standings and 16 points back of Crafton.

Keystone Light Pole Qualifying is set for 4:45 p.m. ET on Friday with TV coverage on FOX Sports 1. The fourth race of the season, the Toyota Tundra 250, will be on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET with TV coverage on FS1 as well.

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Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award nominations close May 8

THROUGH MAY 8: Nominate a volunteer for the 2015 award

The NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by Nationwide is accepting nominations for 2015 through Friday, May 8. The winner will receive $100,000 and a brand new Ford vehicle while three other finalists will receive a minimum $25,000 donation from The NASCAR Foundation.

Daniel Noltemeyer, a 33-year-old from Louisville who was named winner of the annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award last year, was a visitor to Talladega Superspeedway last weekend.

Noltemeyer, who has Down syndrome, established Best Buddies Kentucky, a foundation that creates opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He has become a spokesperson for the foundation and works for more inclusion for those with disabilities.

"It’s talking about one-to-one friendships," Noltemeyer said. "…they match people with different disabilities … with college buddies in middle-school and high-school chapters all over Kentucky."
 
The Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by Nationwide, now in its fifth year, includes a $100,000 from The NASCAR Foundation to Best Buddies Kentucky. Fans and organizations may nominate dedicated NASCAR fans who have made a profound impact on the lives of children in their community at NASCAR.com/award through May 8.

"It was so incredible (to win the award)," Noltemeyer said. "…all my friends can build on the great friendships that I have made through The NASCAR Foundation."

During his weekend in Alabama, Noltemeyer not only got to cheer on his three favorite drivers, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick. He spent time with Earnhardt before the race at a Nationwide event and again after the race in Victory Lane.

"I am so proud to meet Earnhardt because he is just young at heart," Noltemeyer said.

Mark McCarter of the NASCAR Wire Service contributed to this story.

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Joey Gase of Jimmy Means Racing revels in special day at Talladega

Fifth-place finishes don’t normally create much of a stir, yet it was hard to miss the scoreboard salute and the congratulations from across the country that came after the fact.

For Joey Gase, for Jimmy Means Racing and for finishing fifth.

When was the last time a NASCAR driver finishing fifth generated any substantial interest?

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Was it earlier this season when Kurt Busch finished fifth at Phoenix, his indefinite suspension lifted after missing the season’s first three races?
 
Or was it in the season-ending race of 2009 at Homestead, when Jimmie Johnson finished fifth to become the first driver to win four consecutive championships?
 
It’s just not a spot that often gets noticed.
 
Saturday at Talladega, however, it was hard to miss.
 
Long after the race had ended, the scoring pylon continued to show one number in one position and nothing else — the No. 52 of Gase and Means.
 
The others, first through fourth and sixth through 10th, were gone. Fifth was there, though, and it was there for quite a while.
 
Gase, 22, earned his first career top-five in Saturday’s Winn Dixie 300 at Talladega Superspeedway, and it came in his 85th start in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. His best previous finish of 11th came at the same track last year. Beyond those two results, he had just one other finish inside the top 20.
 
He’s young and eager, willing to do whatever is necessary as long as the end result is a race car, a race track and himself behind the wheel.
 
In addition to his XFINITY Series effort, he has five career Sprint Cup starts.
 
One of the first things he admitted when speaking to the media following the Talladega finish was that he doesn’t have a public relations representative.
 
Granted, given the cost of racing and the limited resources facing some teams, a public relations person isn’t high on the list of necessities. Especially in a series that isn’t Sprint Cup.
 
Tires? Everybody’s gotta have tires. Then there are entry fees and engines, travel and "hey, this piece is flat worn out, we gotta find us a used one somewhere," reasons for what a team has and what it does not.
 
Asked afterward to describe his team, Gase called the group "small but mighty."
 
There are perhaps five full-time employees, and maybe three that travel to the track each week. The others are volunteers that come from a nationwide network of friends Means has developed through the years.
 
"These last couple of weeks, we’ve actually been able to get four over-the-wall guys (to pit the car), that’s all they do," Gase said. "That’s actually their job. And that’s been pretty big for us.
 
"It’s just crazy. We’re just so small."
 
Means is a former racer and an old school, hard-knocks kind of owner. He finished 11th in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup points standings in ’82. He’s been around. His XFINITY Series team has been competing since ’01, but until Saturday had never scored a top five.
 
His kid, Brad Means, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. used to pal around in the infield. Earnhardt, Sunday’s winner in the Sprint Cup race, spoke at length about those times.
 
It’s been reported that at least one set of tires on Gase’s car Saturday were used Goodyear’s from Earnhardt’s own No. 88 Cup team.
 
A Cedar Rapids native, Gase will be a bit closer to home these next two weeks — he’ll attempt to qualify for Saturday’s Sprint Cup race with Go Fas Racing at Kansas Speedway, then head to Iowa Speedway the following week for his next XFINITY Series start with Means and Co.
 
It will be his sixth Sprint Cup start. Both Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series efforts have carried branding from Donate Life this year, a non-profit organization whose focus is organ, eye and tissue donation.
 
It’s a cause near and dear for Gase — his mother, Mary Jo, passed away in 2011 and Gase made the decision to donate her organs. He’s met those whose lives were enriched, or extended, thanks to that decision.
 
He visits hospitals on his own and speaks to groups about organ donation. Few advocates for any cause are as authentic, as eager.
 
When he’s not racing, his car duties are the previously mentioned public relations, seeking out sponsors and handling the graphics that go on the car each week. Anyone that walks in the shop, he said, "we put them to work.
 
"Basically no one on our team has just one job. Everyone does a little bit of everything."
 
Saturday "everything" paid off with a top-five finish.
 
For most folks, fifth is quickly forgotten. For Gase and Means and the folks that work for the joy of working, maybe it’s a beginning.

Posted on by Jason Lofing

Winner played fuel-strategy game to notch first NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze win

Allen Boes scored the first win of his NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series Powered by iRacing career on Tuesday night at Pocono Raceway, becoming the most improbable winner thus far in 2015. Boes ran near the back for most of the race and narrowly avoided two wrecks before pit strategy enabled him to stay out for the last run of the race and attempt to stretch his fuel mileage to the finish. The gamble paid off, barely, as Boes crossed under the checkers running on fumes. Danny Hansen played the same strategy and finished second despite two spins early in the race. Series point leader Kenny Humpe settled for third after once again having the dominant car, while Tyler Hill and Landon Harrison rounded — out the top five.

"Just kept hoping that I could make it and it held on." — Allen Boes

After a disappointing start to the season, Boes was relieved to finally have a good day, even if it did take a lucky break or two. "I have no clue how I made it on fuel," he conceded. "Just kept hoping that I could make it and it held on and gave up right at the finish line."

The race got underway in familiar fashion: with Humpe leading the field to the green after winning his third pole in six races. However, outside polesitter Ray Alfalla was not about to let Humpe drive away from the field and mounted a strong challenge in the early laps. On the third lap Humpe made a rare mistake off Turn Three and Alfalla took full advantage, accomplishing a feat not seen much in 2015 – passing Humpe under green.

Alfalla’s time at the front was short-lived though as Humpe had the stronger long run car and retook the lead on Lap 14 before caution on Lap 20 saw a new face make his way to the lead.  Just before the yellow flag flew, Brian Schoenburg decided to short pit the moment his fuel window opened. The caution was a lucky break as at Pocono it is possible to pit and not lose a lap which cycled Schoenburg to P1 when the rest of the lead lap cars pitted under caution.

Once the green flag flew again Schoenburg’s lead only lasted a couple corners as Nick Ottinger and Humpe passed him just before another yellow came out for a wreck in Turn Two. On the next restart Humpe used the outside line to his advantage and passed Ottinger for the lead and began to distance himself from the field, only to have his margin erased by another caution on Lap 49. The yellow brought the field back to pit road and it appeared everyone would need one more stop to make it to the finish.

However, two more quick cautions produced a split strategy. The top dozen cars decided track position was more important and stayed out, while the majority of the drivers running further back chose to pit under both cautions and top off.  This turned out to be the race-winning call for Boes as the last 35 laps ran without a caution flag which forced Humpe, Alfalla, and the rest of the leaders to pit under green.

Though the victory eluded him Humpe still gained ground in the championship standings. He now leads Alfalla by 35 points with Chad Laughton slipping 51 points adrift after finishing tenth. Patrick Crabtree and Chris Overland occupy fourth and fifth respectively.

The next stop for the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series is under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the longest race of the season. The 300 mile event normally sees its fair share of comers and goers as drivers fight to stay ahead in the strategy game while managing setup adjustments. In last year’s running Danny Hansen led just 19 of 200 laps on his way to his first career win. Will Humpe return to his winning ways or will Charlotte have another surprise victor? Be sure to catch all the action under the lights on iRacingLive and MRN.com!

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The committee upholds the previously revised penalty against RCR

Today the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer, Mr. Bryan Moss, heard and considered the appeal of a P5 penalty issued on March 31, 2015 to Richard Childress (owner), Ryan Newman (driver), Lucas Lambert (crew chief), James Bender (tire technician) and Philip Surgen (race engineer) relative to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series vehicle #31 at Auto Club Speedway.

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The penalty concerns the following sections in the 2015 NASCAR rule book:

12.1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing
20.16: Wheels and tires
    A. Any device, modification, or procedure to the tire or wheel, including the valve stem hardware, that is used to release pressure, beyond normal pressure adjustments, from the tire and/or inner shield, will not be permitted.
20.16.2: Tires
    F. Modifications to the tires, by treatment or any other means, will not be permitted.

12.5.3.5.2: Minimum P5 Penalty Options (includes all four points below):
            A. Loss of 50 championship driver and owner points, regardless of whether the violation occurred during a Championship race or not
            B. $75,000-$125,000 fine
            C. Suspension for the next six series Championship Races, plus any non-championship races or special events which might occur during that time period, for the crew chief and any other team members as determined by NASCAR
            D. Probation through the end of the calendar year for all suspended members, or for a six-month period following the issuance of the penalty notice if that period spans across two consecutive seasons

12.5.3.5.3: P5 Level infractions detected during post-race inspection:
If the infraction is detected during post-race inspection, then the following penalty elements will be added to those listed previously in this section:
            A. Loss of an additional 25 Championship driver and owner points; regardless of whether it was a Championship Race or not
            B. Loss of an additional $50,000

The original penalty assessed included a $125,000 ($75,000 plus $50,000) fine, six-race suspension and probation through Dec. 31 to Lambert; six-race suspension and probation through Dec. 31 to both Bender and Surgen; and the loss of 75 (50 plus 25) championship car owner and 75 (50 plus 25) championship driver points to both Childress and Newman.
 
On April 16, a three-person National Motorsports Appeals Panel heard the appeal and made the following decisions:

1. The Appellants violated the Rule or Rules set forth in the Penalty Notice and it is a P5 level  violation.
2. The Panel amends the original Penalty levied by NASCAR because there is no written explanation of what constitutes a post-race inspection. Therefore the Penalty elements added under Section 12.5.3.5.3. are removed and the Penalty adjusted to:
-Loss of 50 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Car Owner points for Richard Childress.
-Loss of 50 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Driver points for Ryan Newman.
-$75,000 fine.  Suspended for the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Races, plus any non-Championship Races or Special Events which might occur during that time period.  Placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31 for crew chief Lucas Lambert.
– Suspended for the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Races, plus any non-Championship Races or Special Events which might occur during that time period.  Placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31 for Tire Technician James Bender.
-Suspended for the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Races, plus any non-Championship Races or Special Events which might occur during that time period.  Placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31 for Race Engineer Philip Surgen.

Upon hearing today’s testimony, Bryan Moss, the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer, made the following decisions:
•    Based on a preponderance of evidence, the Appellants violated the Rules.
•    Based on a preponderance of evidence, the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer upholds the penalty as amended by the National Motorsports Appeals Panel.

The decision of the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer is final and binding on all parties.

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NASCAR levies P3 penalty for rules violation found at Talladega

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 6, 2015) — The No. 40 team that competes in the NASCAR XFINITY Series has been penalized for a rule infraction discovered during pre-race inspection May 2 at Talladega Superspeedway

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The infraction is a P3 level penalty and violates the following Sections in the 2015 NASCAR rule book:

12.1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing

20.17.2.1: Overall vehicle weight

            B. Any and all ballast added to the vehicle must be bolted inside an added ballast container, inside the main frame rails, and/or inside the front sway bar mounting tube.

As a result of this violation, crew chief Kevyn Rebolledo has been placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31. Additionally, driver/owner Derek White has been docked 15 NASCAR XFINITY Championship driver and car owner points.

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Sprint Cup driver has won four of five Camping World Truck starts

JR Motorsports announced Wednesday that Kasey Kahne will drive the team’s No. 00 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series next weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Kahne, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teammate to JRM co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Hendrick Motorsports, is scheduled to making his first start in the Truck Series since 2012 on May 15 in the N.C. Education Lottery 200 (8:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1). The move was announced by Kelley Earnhardt Miller, general manager for the Mooresville, N.C.-based team.

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"I’m looking forward to running the Truck race at Charlotte for JR Motorsports," said Kahne, who has led 307 of 686 laps in his Truck Series career. "They had a fast truck in the Martinsville race and have a great program going over there. Thanks to Kelley, Dale Jr. and Gene Haas for putting this deal together. I haven’t been in a truck race in a long time, but I always enjoy racing in that series."

Kahne boasts a nearly undefeated record in Truck Series competition with four victories — twice at Darlington, and once each at Homestead-Miami and Rockingham — in five career starts. His only non-winning appearance in the Camping World Truck Series was a second-place effort at Pocono Raceway in 2010.

JR Motorsports had previously set a 10-race schedule this year for 17-year-old Cole Custer, who was announced as a returning member to the NASCAR Next youth initiative Wednesday. Custer, the youngest winner in NASCAR national series history, was the driver for JRM’s Truck Series debut in March at Martinsville Speedway.

"Getting Kasey behind the wheel of the No. 00 is going to be a true asset for the team and Cole," Earnhardt Miller said in a release provided by the team. "With Cole’s age, he’s not eligible to compete on some of the bigger tracks, so we had to limit the schedule based on that fact. This opportunity to have Kasey in the truck will help the team evaluate our program on an intermediate track. And Kasey’s stats in that series really speak to his talent."

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Tony Stewart takes you behind the scenes at Richmond

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Have you ever wondered what goes into bringing great NASCAR races to your television set every week?

Find out the answer, as Tony Stewart joins NASCAR VP of Operations/Technical Productions Steve Stum for a tour of the broadcast compound.

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the operation and learn about the NASCAR Green initative, which gets support from Mobil 1.

Watch today’s video, which is part of NASCAR Inside Track presented by Mobil 1, then come back throughout the season for more behind-the-scenes videos from Mobil 1 and NASCAR.