NASCAR Chairman and CEO, wife attend BCRF’s Hot Pink Party in New York
On Thursday evening at the Waldorf Astoria, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France and wife Amy attended the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s (BCRF) Hot Pink Party, an annual gala to celebrate the organization’s investment in high-value, high-yield research, as well as all the breakthroughs and progress in the fight against cancer.
"We support a variety of important causes, because it’s the right thing to do," Amy France said. "The work the Breast Cancer Research Foundation does is a vital step toward finding a cure for breast cancer."
Contributing money to and raising awareness for charities is nothing new for the Frances, who are committed to helping worthy and wide-reaching causes, particularly through the Luke & Meadow Foundation.
Not only are the Frances’ long-standing supporters of vital causes — such as the BCRF — that benefit healthcare, but also those that support military servicemen and families like the Bob Woodruff Foundation, as well as those that address issues affecting children such as Autism Speaks.
Greg Biffle, David Ragan and more to run special schemes
In honor of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway (May 9, 7:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1), drivers will be sporting characters from the Nickelodeon show for their paint schemes.
"It’s really fun to be part of the Nickelodeon lineup for the Kansas race and get to feature Patrick Star and Cheez-It on our No. 16 Ford," Biffle said in a press release. "Nickelodeon does a lot to bring sports to kids, which is something that is important and I’m glad to be a part of it. Kansas is a good track for us and Saturday night races are always exciting. Hopefully we can get another Kansas win."
Along with the special schemes, Kansas Speedway will offer a Nickelodeon Kids Zone, which will be located in the Kansas Speedway Fan Zone. The area will feature appearances from the "SpongeBob SquarePants" costumed characters, a "SpongeBob SquarePants" photo station and more.
Perhaps the most improbable comeback win in NASCAR’s rich history, Sunday’s GEICO 500 (1 p.m. ET, FOX) will mark the 30th anniversary of Elliott’s amazing run in the 1985 Winston 500 where he made up more than a 5-mile deficit — without the benefit of a caution period — to capture the impossible triumph.
Elliott, with smoke billowing from under his Ford Thunderbird’s hood, was within a few hundred yards of going two laps down to the leaders on the 2.66-mile track after taking an unscheduled pit stop to make repairs to an oil fitting line. Elliott climbed all the way back to the front and rocketed to Victory Lane.
That unexpected 1985 pit stop, which occurred on Lap 48 after Elliott had already led 25 laps — he wound up leading 60 total — lasted 1 minute and 9 seconds, putting the Dawsonville, Georgia, native within shouting distance of falling two laps down. He began his march up the leaderboard by turning laps nearly a second faster than the leaders, banking that his brother’s (Ernie Elliott) prepared engine would last. Ninety-seven laps later on Lap 145, he passed Cale Yarborough down the Alabama Gang Superstretch for the lead.
"I will never forget that day in 1985," said Elliott, who topped the scoreboard 35 of the last 44 circuits, including the final 20. "I remember coming down pit road and our guys dealing with the oil line issue. We went back out and ran wide open and I was totally shocked the motor lived all day long; totally shocked.
"We were a bunch of misfits put together, 12 of us total on the team, and that included the motor shop and the chassis shop. Most of the guys who pitted the car came in on weekends. We all had a good understanding of the race cars, though. It seems like it was yesterday."
Elliott’s margin of victory was 1.72 seconds ahead of a pack of cars, including Kyle Petty, who edged Yarborough at the start/finish line for second. He averaged a then-record of 186.288 mph in the race, which only had two cautions, both late in the event. The trip to Victory Lane was his first at Talladega, and he added to his legacy two years later with another victory.
"I about kissed everything goodbye because I didn’t know what happened when it started missing there (and engine started smoking)," the 16-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver said on that momentous day in 1985. "But, they raised the hood and got it fixed faster than I thought they would. It felt like I sat there six or 10 laps. I worked my tail off to try and keep up. I just kept on digging. This old car kept on digging. I want to thank the good Lord for making up those laps. The old car just held together and worked."
Last week, Elliott celebrated his tremendous 30-year accomplishment by donning a helmet, firing up the engine of that famed red, white and gold Ford that made him a legend, and made hot laps around NASCAR’s biggest and baddest track. The car’s engine hadn’t been cranked since it was put on display at the nearby International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1986.
"It felt like a million bucks (being back in his historic car)," Elliott said in a press release. "I really miss the competitive side of racing week-in and week-out. I ran so many laps around this race track and tested here so many times in my career. It feels like it was yesterday I was racing here."
The NASCAR Hall of Famer made five laps around the track, then drove to Victory Lane and was presented a replica trophy from 30 years ago.
"The car actually drove surprisingly well. I don’t know how fast I went — couldn’t see for some dirt blowing in my eyes. I think that is the way I drove here in ’85 — with my eyes closed most of the race, so I was right at home. I wanted to go faster but the oil temp went up a bit and I said ‘it (the engine) isn’t going to live long.’ "
When asked if he wanted to come out of retirement to compete at Talladega again, Elliott joked, "I want to come back Sunday (for the GEICO 500). Don’t tell anyone. I hope the car gets through inspection."
JR Motorsports driver eyes first top-10 finish at restrictor-plate track
Much of the attention given to Chase Elliott lately has centered around his five scheduled NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts as he readies to replace Jeff Gordon in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet next season. Elliott performed well at Richmond Sunday, finishing 16th in just his second NSCS start.
Quietly, the 19-year-old Georgia native has climbed to second in the NASCAR XFINITY Series standings, eight points behind leader Ty Dillon. Elliott posted a fifth-place showing in last Friday’s ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond, jumping Chris Buescher in the standings as he tries to defend his XFINITY Series championship.
Since his 28th-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona, Elliott has produced seven consecutive top-10 finishes, including four top fives. The NASCAR Next alum will put his streak on the line in Saturday’s Winn Dixie 300 at Talladega Superspeedway (3 p.m. ET on FOX).
Restrictor-plate tracks have proven to be Elliott’s kryptonite in his young career. He has only finished outside of the top 10 in eight of his XFINITY Series races (19.5%), including all four of his restrictor-plate contests. His best restrictor-plate finish was 15th at Daytona in his XFINITY Series debut last year. Elliott placed 19th at Talladega last spring.
Elliott feels his experience at the Alabama track from last season has prepared him for Saturday’s showdown.
"It’s really tough to plan for a race like this, since there’s so much uncertainty that can happen," he said. "We were in contention last year late in the race, but got caught up in a wreck, which eventually killed our day. Going into this Saturday’s race, I have more confidence knowing I’ve been in a late-race situation there."
Company to sponsor at least 24 Sprint Cup races for multiple years
JTG Daugherty Racing announced Thursday that Kroger will ramp up its backing of the No. 47 Chevrolet and driver AJ Allmendinger, with primary sponsorship for at least 24 races for multiple years.
The expanded sponsorship deal with the Cincinnati-based supermarket chain is set to begin with Sunday’s GEICO 500 (1 p.m. ET, FOX) at Talladega Superspeedway. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team — owned by Tad and Jodi Geschickter with Brad Daugherty — also carries backing from Scott Products, Kimberly Clark, Clorox, Kingsford and Bush’s Beans.
"To get personal text messages from their executives, I know they are overjoyed about it," Allmendinger said in a release provided by the team. "It’s neat to see firsthand how involved all of our sponsors want to be. Tying everything together will really help us take our race team to the next level. Kroger is really passionate about this sport and about our team. We look forward to making them a bigger part of the JTG Daugherty Racing family."
Kroger has worked with JTG Daugherty as a primary sponsor of the No. 47 team for the Daytona 500 since 2010. Tad Geschickter said the company plans a "Race to Saving" initiative around the sponsorship.
"Obviously, expanding our relationship with the largest grocery retailer in America is huge for our team and our sponsors, but is equally significant for the NASCAR industry," Geschickter said. "We are humbled that they chose us to fly their colors over the coming race seasons."
Allmendinger currently ranks 22nd in the Sprint Cup standings after last weekend’s 13th-place finish at Richmond International Raceway. The 33-year-old driver qualified for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs for the first time last year, clinching his berth with his first victory in NASCAR’s premier series last August at Watkins Glen International.
With the rest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage getting a three-race head-start on the season, Kurt Busch suspects he may have been pressing. There’s a certain method to driving all-out in an effort to catch up, but there’s also a necessary balance.
However delicate that tightrope walk might be, Busch found it last weekend at Richmond International Raceway, assuring his spot in the 2015 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs. A change in approach behind the wheel of his Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet helped him settle in for a relatively smooth march to his first victory of the year. Now with his Chase future virtually secure, his approach may be even less burdensome, beginning in Sunday’s GEICO 500 (1 p.m. ET, FOX) at Talladega Superspeedway.
"My thought was you’ve got to go slower to go faster. I think that I might have been driving too hard, too much of a chip on my shoulder, so to speak, to start the year," Busch said Sunday after posting his 26th win in NASCAR’s premier series. "But it was playing out well. I mean, we came out of the box at Phoenix with a fifth‑place finish and a chance to win, backed it up with a chance to win Fontana, brought it home third, and then a few weeks of missing it a little bit, and why were we missing it? Well, maybe because I was just overdriving the car.
"I think last week at Bristol, that track, if you drove it aggressively, it would pay off, but if you stepped over the line just a little bit, you ended up spun out or wrecked or brushing against the fence, and after the race last week, I felt like, you know, just settle down, get into the groove where you let the race come to you and let the talent of the crew members come into play, and that way we all carry the same weight. I think I was just trying to carry too much weight."
Tony Gibson — Busch’s old-school SHR crew chief who prefers tape measures and string to laptops and computer data — wasn’t willing to let the team’s quarterback take all the blame for the void in the win column. As well as the No. 41 camp has performed this season, it’s easy to forget that the driver-crew chief pairing is only nine races old. The team’s first three races of the season were with super-sub Regan Smith behind the wheel while Busch served out a suspension for a behavioral infraction.
Since his return, Busch has been a near-continual challenger, seemingly on the cusp of finding Victory Lane most weeks. Gibson says part of the responsibility for getting him there falls on him.
"I don’t think he drives too hard," Gibson said. "… I think the thing that we missed early is we didn’t execute as far as our practice stuff. Should have had a little bit better practice plan of making longer runs and making sure we had long run speed. I know he goes out and he gives you 150 percent every lap, every practice, and I force some of that on him. I said, man, let’s just go out there and while we got ’em down, just kick ’em while they’re down, try to win every — set fast time and win every practice. I don’t think he overdrove at all. I know he takes a lot of blame on himself and puts a lot of pressure on himself, but as a team we didn’t execute on those races. …
"He needs to drive as hard as he needs to drive. It’s our job to put a car underneath of him that he can run that hard with. Today was proof of that."
With the pressure of Chase uncertainty pretty much off his shoulders, Busch’s job should become easier — or will it? The taste of one victory remains sweet, but Busch indicated that team owner Gene Haas’ hunger may only be satisfied by wins in bunches.
Haas took a chance on the 36-year-old driver by expanding to a four-car operation for 2014, an opportunity Busch almost always expresses his gratitude for in media sessions. But Haas, ever the savvy businessman, clearly expects return on his investment.
Busch hopes to deliver.
"To win early in the year is special, but you can’t hang your hat on it," Busch said. "And last year what I can learn from that situation is developing a new team such as (former crew chief) Daniel Knost and a newer group of guys, I felt the responsibility of being a mentor. This year I feel the responsibility of being the driver and doing my duty because I know I’ve got the best guy on the box with Tony Gibson, the best lead engineer with Johnny Klausmeier, the best car chief, best front‑end guy, rear‑end guy, tire guy.
"Everybody on our team is at a top level so I don’t have to do anything other than drive, and that’s what Gene Haas wants me to do, and he’s not happy with one win. He wants multiple wins. Hopefully we’ll be off and running."
Joe Gibbs Racing officials announced that 18-year-old Erik Jones will step into the team’s No. 18 Toyota for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, beginning with the upcoming SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway (Saturday, May 9, 7:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM).
"I’m pretty excited and grateful for the opportunity to drive the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry in the Sprint Cup Series and make my debut for Joe Gibbs Racing," Jones said in a release provided by the team. Jones was also a guest on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "This is a really good opportunity for me. We are going to try to manage our expectations and if we can go out and get a top-15 run and gain some experience, that would be a great day for us. I’m also excited about representing M&M’s, a great longtime partner at JGR and such a well-known brand. I am looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the M&M’s Toyota at Kansas."
For the Kansas race, Jones will run a special paint scheme highlighting M&M’s support of Red Nose Day.
Kyle Busch, the team’s primary driver, has been sidelined since suffering a broken right leg and left foot in the season-opening XFINITY Series race in February at Daytona International Speedway.
Jones is currently competing full-time in the Camping World Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports, and has started the first eight XFINITY Series events for JGR in two separate entries (and is slated to run a ninth this weekend at Talladega). Originally scheduled to run 10 NXS races for the organization in the No. 20 Toyota, Jones was pressed into duty in the No. 54 entry for select events due to Busch’s injuries.
On Tuesday, it was announced that Ragan would move to the No. 55 Toyota of Michael Waltrip Racing for the remainder of the year, beginning with the Kansas race. That team also had its primary driver, Brian Vickers, sidelined earlier this year due to medical issues.
Jones, a native of Byron, Michigan, has no official starts in the Sprint Cup Series, although he was pressed into service earlier this month at Bristol Motor Speedway. He relieved JGR driver Denny Hamlin early in the Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up to Cancer after Hamlin began suffering neck and back spasms and finished 26th.
In eight NXS starts this season, Jones has one win (Texas), five top-five and five top-10 finishes. He won three straight poles at Auto Club Speedway, Texas and Bristol.
He has two top-five finishes in three starts this year in the NCWTS, and is third in that series’ points standings.
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You know what they say about one door closing and another one opening.
And this door — and hood and roof and fender — is one of the most valuable opportunities in NASCAR.
When GoDaddy announced Wednesday that it would not be back as primary sponsor of Danica Patrick‘s No. 10 Chevrolet next year, the rest of corporate America should have started its engines.
Outside of Dale Earnhardt Jr. there is no NASCAR driver more marketable than Patrick. Her audience and fandom is easily the most diverse in the sport. Hollywood loves her as do hardcore fans in Martinsville, Virginia.
She’s an ideal spokesperson for any company, as comfortable ringing the bell on Wall Street as speaking on behalf of COPD advocacy.
She’s starred in Super Bowl commercials and appeared in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Patrick’s merchandise is annually one of NASCAR’s biggest sellers from young girls who look up to her, to the young girls’ fathers who are impressed with her moxie.
Last year, she became the first NASCAR driver to top one million Twitter followers. Even her dog Dallas Stenhouse has nearly five thousand followers.
And best of all for Patrick, her NASCAR career has never been hotter. She’s driving like an athlete in a contract year because she is. But also because that’s progress and experience. And her underappreciated determination.
"Danica’s very marketable as we all know, and I really have been watching her," NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Wednesday.
"She’s competing more and more at a higher level, and she’s very competitive."
Patrick is ranked 16th in the point standings even after a disappointing run Sunday in Richmond and has been in the top 16 for most of the last month.
Two weeks ago, Patrick was in the historic spotlight again after earning her sixth top-10 finish in the Sprint Cup Series — surpassing the legendary Janet Guthrie’s mark for a female driver.
Her partnership with GoDaddy has worked out well for everyone. It helped her secure a job at Stewart-Haas Racing.
And GoDaddy’s sponsorship investment was essentially completely returned on one day — Sunday, February 17, 2013 — when Patrick won the pole position for the Daytona 500 — the first woman to do so.
As impressive as that was, the bonus came a week later when Patrick contended all day long in the Daytona 500 dicing with the veterans in the final laps and picking up a historic eighth-place finish.
Her SHR team is in full support of navigating this unchartered territory, sounding very optimistic about the future, no matter how murky it is presently.
"With Danica, we see a driver with unparalleled resolve and tenacity,” said SHR Executive Vice President Brett Frood. "She is an individual who transcends the sport and we look forward to fostering new partnerships for her and the No. 10 team."
I know Patrick and she is glass-half-full kind of person.
As she said on Twitter Wednesday:
Heck of a lot of season left to win driving the @godaddy car! Everything evolves and changes in life, I’m excited for what’s to come!
GoDaddy will not renew its primary sponsorship with the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Danica Patrick, according to a release on Wednesday. But the company revealed it is negotiating to keep Patrick as a GoDaddy spokeswoman under a personal services agreement.
"We love Danica and all she does to empower and inspire people, especially women, which is why we are working to keep her in the GoDaddy family," said GoDaddy Chief Marketing Officer Phil Bienert in the release. "We have the utmost respect for Stewart-Haas Racing, and they’ve been phenomenal partners. … The fact Danica is having a record-setting season makes it tough to leave this motorsports sponsorship, without a doubt."
In nine NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this season, Patrick has two top-10 finishes, including a seventh-place finish at Martinsville. With her ninth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway, Patrick set a Sprint Cup Series record for top-10 finishes by a woman driver with six for her career.
"GoDaddy has been an incredible partner for a very long time, almost nine years, and as I’ve said before, our brands have really grown up together," Patrick said in the release. "It’s pretty cool, from a marketing perspective, that we helped GoDaddy build such strong brand awareness here in the U.S. I’m excited to work with GoDaddy on a personal level moving forward, but will miss having their bright green color on my race car next year."
NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France had the following to say when asked on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Wednesday about GoDaddy’s impending departure:
"We’re always disappointed when for one reason or another a company changes course. But that happens, and I know recently they just went from being private to a publicly traded company and I’m sure that changes a lot of their budgets and strategy and that’s just how that goes.
"Danica is very marketable as we all know … and I’ve really been watching her and she’s competing more and more at a higher level, and she’s very competitive. She wants to really make her mark over a period of time, and it’s a tough place to do it with the kind of talent and parity that’s in NASCAR. But she’s showing progress and I think she’ll be just fine."
Despite GoDaddy’s impending departure, one in four FORTUNE 500 companies are now invested in NASCAR, eight percent higher than in 2008. And over the last two years, more than 65 new companies became NASCAR team sponsors.
Later Wednesday morning, Patrick tweeted about the news.
Heck of a lot of season left to win driving the @godaddy car! Everything evolves and changes in life, I’m excited for what’s to come!
