Junior looking to fill a void on his home track

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Zack Albert

Earnhardt Jr. thirsty for a win in Coca-Cola 600

CONCORD, N.C. — There’s good reason Dale Earnhardt Jr. holds Charlotte Motor Speedway in high regard, much of it owed to the proximity to his family’s hometown of Kannapolis, which shares a border to its south with Concord, the track’s longtime address.

The 10-day stretch of springtime racing that culminates with Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 is often considered a home game for the NASCAR industry with its hub in the Charlotte metro area. But for no other driver does the track hit as close to home as Earnhardt, who wears his North Carolina pride on his sleeve and its flag above his driver’s door.

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Earnhardt aims to fill a major void in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series resume with a win Sunday in stock-car racing’s longest event. Though he’s entered Charlotte’s Victory Lane as an All-Star conqueror back in 2000 and a winner in the preliminary Sprint Showdown in 2012, his career record stands at 0-for-30 in points-paying races at the 1.5-mile oval.

"It’s been on my list for a very long time," Earnhardt said Tuesday in a promotional appearance at the speedway. "This is our home track. We live 20, 30 minutes down the road and I’ve been coming here ever since I was a little kid, and have just dreamed of being able to go into Victory Circle here after that 600 and celebrate. Really working hard and I think we’ve got a great shot."

Earnhardt’s earliest memories of coming to the Charlotte track date back to 1981. He was just 6 years old at the time of that year’s 600. Earnhardt said his family typically parked on the ridge associated with the track’s infield road course, alongside longtime family friends the Eurys, and that he often spent his hours at the track playing by rolling scaled-down plastic Ertl-brand cars — lookalikes to those driven by names like Allison and Yarborough — down the hill.

As vivid as those childhood remembrances were, Earnhardt’s other lasting memories were watching his father — inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class member and three-time Coca-Cola 600 winner Dale Earnhardt — race in the family’s virtual backyard and how difficult victories were to come by.

It’s a distant memory, but one that still holds true today.

"It’s such a tough race track," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I learned that watching Dad race here, year after year through the late ’80s and into the ’90s and it was always kind of a fickle, hit-and-miss kind of thing as far as the balance and the setup of the car and the speed that he would have. Sometimes he would show up and be able to really get relatively competitive and other times they would struggle."

Earnhardt Jr.’s own Charlotte troubles have been well documented, none more so than his brush with tough luck in the 2011 running of the 600. In that May classic, the Hendrick Motorsports driver ran out of fuel on the final lap, prolonging a nearly three-year losing skid as Kevin Harvick skipped by for the checkered flag.

Bad breaks aside, finding the proper handle might be the more elusive goal for Earnhardt, who has finished no better than third in points-paying events at Charlotte.

"Just a real hard track to master as far as a setup and a balance of the race car goes, and it’s always kind of been that way for me," Earnhardt Jr. said." We’ve had some good cars here and we’ve had some cars that’ve been a bit of a struggle with. Six hundred miles, so once you’re strapped in that thing and it’s not working, it’s a long night."

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Nascar

Co-owner Len Wood admits team could run full slate, but it would be tough

CONCORD, N.C. — Officials with Wood Brothers Racing said Thursday that the legendary team could run a full 36-race schedule today in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, something the team hasn’t done since 2006.

But, said co-owner Len Wood at Charlotte Motor Speedway, "you’ve got to pay for it.

"We could go run ’em all (now), but it wouldn’t be pretty.

"And with that being said, I don’t think you could keep a sponsor like that either."

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The organization is scheduled to compete in 18 of this year’s 36 points races with driver Ryan Blaney. A new three-year package with Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center covers 12 of those events while the affiliation with Team Penske, which began this year, provided the opportunity to add six races. Blaney is a development driver for the Penske group.

"We know pretty much where we’re going and set our schedule based on where we think we can run the best — which are the speedways and the intermediates," Wood said. "We try to be more efficient about it. Not have to go buy two sets of short track brakes to go run one short-track race, things like that.

"If more races were to come up, then we’re ready. We’d get more cars from Team Penske, more parts and away we’d go."

Penske, whose group fields Fords for 2012 Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski and teammate Joey Logano, told the Associated Press last week that he was not interested in expanding Team Penske to three full-time teams.

"If we can get sponsorship for (Blaney), that gives him a chance to take a look at extending that through a full season next year. That would be our goal," Penske told the AP.

Blaney replaced 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne in the red and white No. 21 Ford when Bayne was named to drive full-time for Roush Fenway Racing this season in the No. 6 Ford.

Blaney finished fourth at Talladega earlier this year, one of his four Sprint Cup starts so far this season.

Wood Brothers Racing, which has been competing in NASCAR practically since the sanctioning body’s inception in 1949, has 98 wins in more than 1,400 starts.

The team was founded by NASCAR Hall of Fame member Glen Wood and originally based in Stuart, Virginia.

The affiliation with Team Penske has already provided improved results on the track.

"The situation we have with Ryan and Team Penske, when we come to the race track, we feel like we’ve got a shot every week," Len Wood said. "Not just at the speedways … when we leave the shop we feel like we can win."

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Nascar

Four-time champion makes announcement on FOX Sports 1

CONCORD, N.C. – When Jeff Gordon steps out of the race car and into the television booth next season, he’ll still be competing. Only this time it could be with himself instead of 42 other NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers.

The four-time series champion and Hendrick Motorsports driver will be an integral part of the FOX NASCAR broadcast team full time next season as a race analyst. Gordon made the announcement Thursday on FOX Sports 1’s "Race Hub" prior to LiftMaster Pole Night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Gordon will join fellow analyst Darrell Waltrip and play-by-play announcer Mike Joy when FOX opens the 2016 season with the coverage of SpeedWeeks from Daytona International Speedway. He will help call races, practices and qualifying sessions for the network.

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Former crew chief Larry McReynolds, who currently works alongside Joy and Waltrip, will move to the on-site studio, known as the Hollywood Hotel, where he will be paired with Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip.

"I will tell you that being up in the booth, there was an adrenalin rush … it’s exciting," Gordon said after qualifying 18th for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR, 6 p.m.). "I enjoyed it. The competition might be with myself trying to always improve and be better, do the best that I can and push myself."

According to a FOX release, Gordon has agreed to a multi-year contract that begins this season. He will serve as the in-race reporter during select Sprint Cup Series events for the remainder of the ’15 season.

He is one of four drivers so far to join FOX broadcasters in the booth for XFINITY Series races this season. Gordon’s schedule saw him in the booth at Texas, Bristol and Talladega, where he joined host Adam Alexander and Michael Waltrip.

"I was very nervous the first race in Texas and I was not feeling well; I was under the weather unfortunately," Gordon said. "That one I was more nervous. The next one (at Bristol) I was a little more comfortable and Talladega, I got to enjoy it. The racing was fun to talk about, and I thought the experience was enjoyable and I was a little more relaxed. I look forward to gaining that confidence and being … more relaxed."

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Gordon will end a stellar driving career at the season’s end, having won premier series championships in 1995, ’97-98 and ’01. His 92 career victories are tops among active drivers and third on the series’ all-time list, trailing only NASCAR Hall of Fame members Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105).

In addition to his television work, he is expected to continue to contribute to Hendrick Motorsports, where he has spent his entire Sprint Cup career.

"I had already made the decision that I was going to step away (from competing full-time) because I have some good options," Gordon, 43, said, "my role at Hendrick Motorsports, my role with (sponsor) Axalta, not to mention some other partners that have interest.

"… I didn’t know if it was going to happen to be honest. It was going back and forth for a while whether it was going to happen. Eventually all the right things came together."

The relationship with Hendrick won’t be an issue, he said, but added, "it’s going to be something that I’m going to have to respect.

"It’s something I would never want to overstep the boundaries. I’m going to be conscious of it. But I also feel like it’s going to help me stay current and up to speed on the knowledge of what is going on. As long as I’m not sharing too many details, I think just speaking in general, it’s going to be a huge advantage for me to have that tie … to be able to bring some of that to the booth."

Erik Shanks, FOX Sports President, COO and Executive Producer, called Gordon "not only a champion but an icon of a racing generation.

"We are thrilled he has chosen to become a part of the FOX family and pair his experience with Darrell.

"Each is credited with helping elevate NASCAR to the popularity it attained during in his respective era, and alongside Mike Joy, this duo will treat fans to unmatched insights each and every week."

Gordon’s familiar red No. 24 Chevrolet will be driven by 2014 XFINITY Series champion Chase Elliott beginning next season.

FOX Sports is in the first year of a new, 10-year media rights agreement that consists of coverage of each season’s first 16 Sprint Cup Series points races as well as the first 14 XFINITY Series events and all Camping World Truck Series races.

NBC holds the rights to the season’s final 20 Sprint Cup events.

Posted on May 21, 2015 by George Winkler

Fans, drivers have chance to win $100,000

CONCORD, N.C. — Roush Fenway Racing‘s Chris Buescher picked up his second win in the NASCAR XFINITY Series last weekend at Iowa Speedway and took over the series points lead, but he said Thursday the only regret he had from the performance was that it didn’t come this week in the Dash 4 Cash qualifier.

Saturday’s Hisense 300 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, Sirius XM) at Charlotte Motor Speedway marks the first step in the 2015 Dash 4 Cash as Buescher and other drivers who are eligible for XFINITY Series points will get a chance to race into the program’s opener next weekend at Dover International Speedway.

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The Dash 4 Cash is a yearly contest that sparks excitement in the form of a $100,000 paycheck to the highest-finishing eligible driver in four select XFINITY Series races. This year’s Dash 4 Cash includes races next week at Dover, July 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Aug. 21 at Bristol Motor Speedway and Sept. 5 at Darlington Raceway.

"I love short track racing and to have Dover and Darlington and Bristol in there is awesome, because those are three of my top five race tracks," Buescher said. "If we’re fortunate enough to qualify in for it, I think the red banner on the windshield and the spoiler will match our paint scheme quite nicely."

Yes, the red banner and spoiler on Dash 4 Cash-eligible cars will replace the blue ones that were used last year when Nationwide ran the show. But that isn’t the only change Comcast made since taking over the program.

The qualifier race is new to Charlotte, as is the finale at Darlington — last year’s finale at Iowa was won by Trevor Bayne — and the inclusion of Dover and Bristol is also a change. Plus, the schedule is more spread out than usual, allowing Bristol and Darlington to get into the mix.

But what remains the same is that fans can enter the NASCAR XFINITY Series $100,000 Sweepstakes at www.nascar.com/Dash4Cash for a chance to take home their own stack of cash if they are paired up with the winning driver at Darlington.

"There’s a lot of hype around it and it’s cool for fan engagement and for the drivers to try and put a little extra pressure on themselves and our teams," Buescher said of the Dash 4 Cash. "It’s going to be a little bit more spread out this year, which I think is a good thing. I think it gives a little more time to prepare and plan for it."

First, drivers like Buescher need to qualify for the event and that means finishing in the top four among eligible drivers on Saturday. Buescher admitted that will be a tough task, because he said the track at Charlotte changes a lot throughout the weekend.

Buescher has had two top-10 finishes in his three XFINITY Series starts at Charlotte, and even though it’s a small sample size, it’s something to build on for the 22-year-old Texas native.

Plus, since he’s coming to Charlotte fresh off the win in Iowa, he said he’s feeling pretty confident about his chances.

"It’s been a good start to the season for us, for sure," Buescher said. "We’ve had new people on board this year, new teammates in Elliott (Sadler) and Bubba (Wallace). I feel like it’s coming together quite nicely this year. We have race cars that are coming to the race track a lot quicker than they were at the beginning of last year at this point in time, and we’re in a much better points position not missing Daytona for sure and being able to get a win early in the season."

It’s worth something, in more ways than one, to see if Buescher can carry that momentum into Saturday.

For more information on the Dash 4 Cash, go to https://www.nascar.com/dash4cash.html.

Posted on May 21, 2015 by George Winkler

JGR driver discusses how baby’s name was picked, if he would let Brexton race

CONCORD, N.C. — The sight of Kyle Busch riding a neon green motorized cooler into the media center on Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway had some folks chuckling, but the new dad smiled as he made a sharp left turn and quickly ascended onto the front stage.

The scene had "cool dad" written all over it, but Busch was perched on top of the plastic vehicle in order to rest his legs as he continues his comeback from injuries sustained in the NASCAR XFINITY Series season opener at Daytona.

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Busch returned to action last week in the Sprint All-Star Race, finishing sixth. Then, he and wife Samantha welcomed son Brexton Locke into the world on Monday.

To say the least, it has been quite a busy week for the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and now he is prepping for Sunday’s ultimate endurance race, the Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM).

Despite his claims of some lost sleep, Busch was alert and more than happy to discuss the birth of his son.

On what has changed since Monday, Kyle said:

"It’s way different than what it was before he was born. Obviously, Samantha was taking care of him. She had him in her so just taking care of him that way and carrying him around (laughter).

"I didn’t have to worry about anything. I didn’t have to feed him, I didn’t have to change him or nothing like that, but it’s a whole different world now that he’s here with having to take care of him so we both have to spread our time. Obviously, when his favorite thing to do is make stinky diapers, then you’ve certainly got your work cut out for you."

On his wife Samantha, Kyle said:

"It was emotional and physically taxing on me, I couldn’t imagine what Samantha was going through. Obviously, I was there and trying to help her and coach her and be with her the entire time and she did phenomenal. … She’s a champ. Samantha is my champion. No matter how well or successful I ever am in my career, she’s got the championship trophy on her mantle."

On how he and Samantha picked the name:

"Samantha and I, we were back-and-forth a lot on names. We kind of tried to figure out whether we wanted to keep the initials K.B. or not, and we decided not to. I kind of liked her maiden name (Samantha Sarcinella), the S.S., so we decided we’d go with the B.B. So then we just started looking up some B names and put the pieces together and kind of made it up. It’s pretty cool that we both agreed on it."

On whether he wants his son to follow in his footsteps:

"Whether he follows in my footsteps or not that’s totally up to him. Brexton one day will be his own person and his own individual. If he wants to be a golfer, by golly we’ll help him be a golfer. If he wants to be a racecar driver like his daddy, more power to him. We’ll give him the best stuff we possibly can. He’ll only make it here if he wins races, that’s my stipulation. He won’t make it here if he ain’t any good. I’ll quit spending money on him long before that. Toyota might not, but I will (laughs)."

MORE: If Busch and Keselowski exchanged texts about fatherhood …

On whether he’d allow his son to go to the prom with Brad Keselowski‘s daughter, also born this week:

"(Brad and I) obviously don’t have a relationship and may or may not ever, but that’s to be seen down the road. We live two completely different lives right now — and you know — we’ll take care of our son the best we can and put him in the best situations we can. But if for some reason, he feels like he needs to chase down Brad’s daughter, then have at it, bud (laughter)."

And shortly after that zinger, Busch rode his motorized cooler out the back door and off to the garage.

SHOP: ‘Rowdy Returns’ shirts and more Kyle Busch gear

Posted on May 20, 2015 by

Company announces new head of military & veterans initiatives role

PHILADELPHIA, PA – May 14, 2015 – In celebration of Armed Forces Week, Comcast NBCUniversal announced today that the company is committed to hiring 10,000 reservists, veterans and their spouses or domestic partners between 2015 and 2017. The new employees will work in a variety of positions across all levels of the organization, including network engineering, technology, operations, theme parks and resorts, programming, customer service, marketing, human resources, and other careers.

From January 2012 through March 2015, Comcast NBCUniversal has already hired approximately 4,200 veterans, far outpacing the company’s goal to hire 2,000 veterans by 2015 as part of its ongoing partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes initiative. It is estimated that between 2012 and 2017, approximately 1 million active-duty service members will have separated from service, and Comcast NBCUniversal is committed to helping them find jobs as they enter the civilian workforce.

"We are so grateful for the impressive men and women who served our country to preserve our freedom," said Neil Smit, President and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Cable and former Navy SEAL. "The military teaches valuable life lessons about leadership, teamwork and commitment — all skills which are highly transferable and we are excited to bring this new talent to Comcast NBCUniversal."

In conjunction with this hiring news, Comcast NBCUniversal also announced the creation of a new role, called the Vice President of Military and Veterans Initiatives. The role will work collaboratively across Comcast NBCUniversal to provide strategic leadership to all aspects of programs and outreach engaging the military and veteran community. The role will report to David Watson, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Comcast Cable, and to John Wallace, President of Operations and Technical Services at NBCUniversal.

As military employees depart their civilian life for training or deployment, there are often concerns connected to the impending leave process, transition to or from the work environment, and family. Comcast NBCUniversal is pleased to announce new enhancements to the company’s military leave policies to help ease this transition for our military employees and their families. Some of the enhancements include:

·         Granting up to 15 days of annual military leave with full pay to support annual training obligations of drilling reservists and National Guard members,
·         Increasing military leave supplemental pay to three years for employees on active duty,
·         Providing the option of staying on Comcast NBCUniversal health and welfare plans during deployment, and
·         Providing certain financial and job transfer assistance to an employee whose spouse or domestic partner is being called, reassigned, or transferred to active military duty in a different geographic area.

"I am delighted that we can support our military heroes and their families," said William Strahan, Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Comcast Cable. "When our military employees embark on training and deployment orders to protect our country, Comcast NBCUniversal wants them to do so with a level of confidence and comfort that the important matters in life are being managed. We are so proud and grateful for their service and look forward to welcoming them to our team."

Significant progress has been made in employing veterans and their spouses or domestic partners; however, there is still work to do. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of the end of 2014, 5.3 percent of veterans remain unemployed. The unemployment rate among post-9/11 veterans remains higher than that of other veterans and the country overall — veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces at any time since September 2001, a group referred to as Gulf War-era II veterans, is at 7.2 percent.

Comcast NBCUniversal is proud to support our active duty military service members, reservists, veterans, and their families. Comcast NBCUniversal fosters a culture that supports veterans and reservists within its ranks. Veterans are invited to join employee resource groups where there is a community among veterans. The Comcast NBCUniversal VetNet employee resource groups serve as a base of support for members in several ways, including a mentoring program and events focused on growing the professional and personal development of veterans and their allies. Combined, the Comcast NBCUniversal VetNet groups have more than 5,000 members and are quickly growing. Additionally, MSNBC’s Taking the Hill is the only veterans-oriented show on a major news network and the only news show on national television anchored by a combat veteran.

Posted on May 20, 2015 by NASCAR Official Release

Cook, Isaac, Labonte, Smith, Turner comprise Hall’s seventh class

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 20, 2015) – NASCAR announced today the inductees who will comprise the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2016. The five-person group — the seventh in NASCAR Hall of Fame history — consists of Jerry Cook, Bobby Isaac, Terry Labonte, O. Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner. In addition, NASCAR announced that Harold Brasington won the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. Next year’s Induction Ceremony is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 22, 2016, broadcast on NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, live from Charlotte, North Carolina.

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The NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel met today in a closed session in Charlotte to debate and vote upon the 20 nominees for the induction class of 2016 and the five nominees for the Landmark Award.

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France and NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton announced the class and Landmark Award winner, respectively, this evening in the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s "Great Hall."

The Class of 2016 was determined by votes cast by the Voting Panel, including representatives from NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, track owners from major facilities and historic short tracks, media members, manufacturer representatives, retired competitors (drivers, owners, crew chiefs), recognized industry leaders, a nationwide fan vote conducted through NASCAR.com and, for the second year, the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion (Kevin Harvick). In all, 57 votes were cast, with two additional Voting Panel members recused from voting as potential nominees for induction (Jerry Cook and Robert Yates). The accounting firm of Ernst & Young presided over the tabulation of the votes.

Voting was as follows: O. Bruton Smith (68%), Terry Labonte (61%), Curtis Turner (60%), Jerry Cook (47%) and Bobby Isaac (44%).

The next top vote-getters were Red Byron, Benny Parsons and Rick Hendrick.

Results for the NASCAR.com Fan Vote, in alphabetical order, were Buddy Baker, Alan Kulwicki, Terry Labonte, Mark Martin and Benny Parsons.

The five inductees came from a group of 20 nominees that included, in addition to the five inductees chosen: Buddy Baker, Red Byron, Richard Childress, Ray Evernham, Ray Fox, Rick Hendrick, Harry Hyde, Alan Kulwicki, Mark Martin, Hershel McGriff, Raymond Parks, Benny Parsons, Larry Phillips, Mike Stefanik and Robert Yates.

Nominees for the Landmark Award included Brasington, H.Clay Earles, Raymond Parks, Ralph Seagraves and Ken Squier. It is awarded to competitors or those working in the sport who have acted as a NASCAR ambassador through a professional or non-professional role. Anne B. France won the inaugural award last year.

Class of 2016 Inductees:

Jerry Cook

Jerry Cook made his name in modifieds, winning six NASCAR Modified championships, including four consecutively from 1974-77. All the while, he was vying with another driver from his hometown of Rome, New York, nine-time champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Richie Evans, for supremacy in NASCAR’s open-wheel realm. After retiring from racing in 1982, Cook stayed with the sport and helped shape the series known today as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Cook served as the series’ director when it began in 1985 and remains with NASCAR as competition administrator.

Bobby Isaac

Bobby Isaac’s uncanny skill at drawing speed from a race car puts him on a short list of NASCAR legends. His 49 career poles ranks 10th all time. Maybe more impressive: Isaac captured 19 poles in 1969, which still stands as the record for poles in a single season. Isaac began racing in NASCAR’s premier series in 1961. He finished runner-up in the series standings in 1968 behind NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson. In 1969, he finished sixth in the standings after posting 17 wins and those 19 poles. In 1970, Isaac won the championship posting 11 victories, 32 top fives and 38 top 10s in 47 starts. Isaac won 37 races in NASCAR’s top series, ranking 19th on the all-time list.

Terry Labonte

Terry Labonte is a two-nickname NASCAR star. Early in his career he was known as the "Iceman" for his coolness under pressure. But his demeanor belied his determination. Later in his career he became known as the sport’s "Iron Man" thanks to 655 consecutive starts in NASCAR’s premier series, a record which stood until 2002. Winning two premier series championships, in 1984 and ’96, is impressive; the 12-year gap distinguishes Labonte further. No other driver has won his first two championships that far apart and Labonte is one of only six drivers with championships in two decades. Labonte’s stellar career is tucked between perfect bookends – his two Southern 500 wins, in 1980 and 2003. His 361 top-10 finishes ranks 10th all time.

O. Bruton Smith

O. Bruton Smith, executive chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., promoted his first stock car race in Midland, North Carolina, at the age of 18. Smith’s early endeavors included operating the National Stock Car Racing Association — seen as an early competitor to NASCAR — and building Charlotte Motor Speedway. CMS became the foundation of Speedway Motorsports Inc., which currently owns eight NASCAR tracks hosting 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and additional high-profile motorsports activities. Smith took SMI public in 1995, the first motorsports company to be traded at the New York Stock Exchange. He was inducted into the North Carolina Business Hall of Fame and National Motorsports Press Association’s Hall of Fame, both in 2006; and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007.

Curtis Turner

Called by some the "Babe Ruth of stock car racing," Curtis Turner was among the fastest and most colorful competitors in the early years of NASCAR premier series racing. Turner competed in NASCAR’s first "Strictly Stock" race in 1949 in Charlotte and was the only driver to win a NASCAR premier series race in a Nash. He posted his first of 17 career victories in only his fourth start on Sept. 11, 1949, at Langhorne (Pennsylvania) Speedway. Although many of Turner’s victories came on short tracks and dirt ovals — much of his career pre-dated NASCAR’s superspeedway era — he won the 1956 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and the first American 500 at Rockingham Speedway in 1965. He remains the only series driver to win two consecutive races from the pole leading every lap. He also won 38 of 79 races in which he competed in the NASCAR Convertible Division.

Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR:

Harold Brasington

Harold Brasington, a South Carolina businessman, believed in Bill France’s fledgling NASCAR business, created the sanctioning body’s first superspeedway – a one-of-a-kind egg-shaped oval, paved on an old cotton and peanut field. Expecting 10,000 fans to show up at Darlington Raceway‘s first competition on Labor Day of 1950, 25,000 spectators showed up for the inaugural Southern 500 – NASCAR’s first 500-mile race. Darlington’s success inspired Brasington to extend his reach north — to North Carolina. He employed his track building and promoting expertise, helping in the creation of Charlotte Motor Speedway and building North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina.

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Holly Cain

Bryson, wife Karen make late broadcaster’s ballot count for 2016 class

As the esteemed NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel gathered Wednesday in Charlotte to deliberate on who will be selected for the 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame class, an equally esteemed single ballot arrived to be counted among the votes.

Completing that ballot was one of the last things longtime broadcaster Steve Byrnes did before passing away from cancer on April 21.

His 12-year-old son Bryson and wife Karen made the surprise special delivery. Then the voting panel, which includes the sport’s legends such as NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett, posed with Bryson in honor of the sixth-grader’s father — a beloved member of the NASCAR family and highly respected member of the media.

Bryson Byrnes (center) delivers his late father Steve Byrnes’ NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2016 ballot to Lauren Harju with accounting firm Ernst and Young as NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Brett Jewkes looks on.

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"What an awesome opportunity as far as things you could experience in the sport,” Karen Byrnes said. "Being in this group photo with people who are founding members of the sport of NASCAR racing, that’s pretty grand.

"One of the reasons I wanted Bryson to go to the (NASCAR Sprint All-Star) race on Saturday and one of the reasons why today is so important to Bryson is because at home, Steve was just dad. He emptied the trash, he was just dad.

"I want Bryson to realize and remember that even though he was just dad at home, out in the world, he had a great reach. He touched a lot of people’s lives in a positive and awesome way. I think it’s great Bryson gets to experience that now and see, ‘wow, dad did a lot of wonderful things.’ "

NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Brett Jewkes remembers the day he brought the voting package — ballot and background material — to Byrnes’ home. Almost immediately, Byrnes started perusing the information.

"As soon as I gave him that three-ring binder, he didn’t just set it down to the side, he opened the book and started scanning the pages,” Jewkes recalled. "It was interesting to me, here he was certainly very sick, but instantly started doing his homework. And if you talk to his former colleagues, they will tell you he was always very well-prepared and diligent.

"The fact he was going to go into the hospital for the last time the next day never entered my mind that night. He was so excited and honored for the opportunity.

"I gave him the ballot and said, ‘it’s up to you and if you’re there May 20 (for voting day), we’ll tear this up and you’ll be part of the debate.’ He made no commitment but just said, ‘I’m planning to be there May 20.’ "

Just this week Byrnes, was posthumously awarded the National Motorsports Press Association’s First Quarter Spirit Award, for his courage and inspiration.

And, Jewkes emphasized, Byrnes wasn’t selected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel because he was sick, but because he has covered NASCAR for the past 30 years and was the choice of FOX executives to represent the network’s vote on the committee.

"We all knew this would give him a big lift,” Jewkes said. "It’s something I’ll never forget, Steve was just so grateful and just felt very, very honored and felt it was a great recognition of what he had achieved in his professional career.

"I’m just so thrilled he had that opportunity and that was important to me."

Bryson Byrnes and his mother, Karen Byrnes, sit amongst the members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel.

That’s something Karen Byrnes could particularly appreciate. She remembers how even from that first night Steve had the information to study, he would share facts about the nominees as she was cooking dinner. Even when he was admitted to the hospital — where he would pass away a week later — Byrnes was looking through the pages and making his selections. Karen found the ballot fully sealed in his briefcase after he died.

"When NASCAR and the Hall of Fame and FOX decided he should be the representative for FOX Sports 1 on the voting panel, it really gave him purpose and a sense that he still was working in the industry; even though his full-time job was fighting cancer, he still had a place,” Karen Byrnes said.

"The sickness can consume your life but for him to have this purpose, it was such a blessing they asked him to do that and that he was able to spend time studying and choosing.

"Steve just left behind such a wonderful legacy of not only his work, but his friendships and relationships and people respecting him in the sport, his family. Honestly, it’s unbelievable since he’s passed away to realize how many different lives his life touched. It’s amazing."

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Jason Lofing

For second consecutive NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze race, underdog wins

Alex Warren made it the second straight week an underdog has found his way to victory lane in the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series Powered by iRacing, winning last night’s long, drawn-out race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Warren did not have a car that could win on outright speed but his gutsy pit call under caution with 18 laps remaining put him in the lead and the flurry of yellow flags that followed gave him all he needed to pick up his first win of the season.

The race came down to a three lap dash to the finish with Warren and Tyler Hill on the front row. Cody Byus and Kenny Humpe, the dominant cars of the night, occupied Row Two and looked to capitalize on the fact their fresher tires. However, the lead twosome got superb restarts and Warren pulled out to a car length lead over Hill as the field thundered down the backstretch. Further back, an intense battle for the remainder of the top five spots resulted in Humpe getting squeezed into the wall coming to the penultimate lap, leaving Byus and Nick Ottinger in position to challenge for the lead.

However, the two would not get the opportunity as contact between them entering Turn Three sent Byus into the wall. Deeper in the field, a similar incident saw Chad Laughton get turned into the outside wall and so the caution flew for the tenth and final time of the night, giving Warren the victory. Hill finished second and Ottinger took third ahead of championship leader Humpe and Rob Ackley.
Despite the high number of cautions the online race was one of the most competitive of the season with 15 drivers swapping the lead 25 times. Corey Vincent started from the pole, showing the speed he often displayed last winter in the NASCAR iRacing Pro Series. Vincent’s time at the front was short-lived as Byus charged from his third place grid position. Byus took the lead on Lap 11 and went on to lead a race-high 86 of 200 laps.

Byus held the lead until Lap 54 when Humpe took the top spot away during the first round of green flag stops. Humpe pitted a lap before Byus and used his fresh tires – combined with a blistering pit stop – to pull out a nearly two second gap on the former leader. The two stayed locked in their positions until a caution on Lap 115 bunched the field and gave drivers a chance to duck into the pits for tires, fuel, and adjustments.

Humpe won the battle off pit road but on the ensuing restart Ray Alfalla made a move to the lead, taking the point on Lap 124. Alfalla lost the lead briefly by going off-sequence with the rest of the leaders in the pits during a yellow flag but he regained the lead on Lap 147 after another yellow brought the leaders to the pits. While all the leaders who stayed out on the Lap 127 caution took four tires, Alfalla took just two and emerged with the lead.

After the restart, Byus was on the charge once again and passed Alfalla on Lap 156, just as the yellow flew for a crash in the back of the field. The caution was not what Alfalla wanted to see as his two tires would likely put him at a disadvantage on the next restart; that proved to be the case as the two-time champion dropped to sixth.

Things got even worse for Alfalla after he chose to pit with most of the leaders on Lap 181. A few laps after the race went green, Ryan Lowe got loose off of Turn Two and Alfalla plowed into him, sparking an accident that also involved Kevin King. Alfalla would wind up twenty-seventh after suffering heavy damage.

Alfalla also took a hit in the points, as he now trails Humpe by 58 markers: a huge margin after just seven races. Laughton also held steady in third despite his late race wreck but finds himself 70 points back. Patrick Crabtree and Chris Overland round-out the top five and are the only other sim racers within 100 points of Humpe.

In two weeks, the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series drivers have another 200 lap affair, this time at Dover International Raceway. Alfalla and Laughton desperately need a win to keep up with Humpe’s blistering pace, while the championship leader will look to take his fourth win of the season. Will a third surprise winner follow Warren and Allen Boes, or will one of the championship frontrunners return to victory lane on the Monster Mile? Catch all the action on iRacingLive!

Posted on May 20, 2015 by

Four drivers and track mogul Bruton Smith make list for seventh class

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—The architect of some of NASCAR’s most impressive facilities joined four of the sport’s most tenacious racers in comprising the 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class, selected Wednesday by the Hall of Fame Voting Panel.

Two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Terry Labonte headlines a quartet of drivers that includes six-time NASCAR modified champion Jerry Cook, 1970 Cup titleholder Bobby Isaac and 17-time premier series race winner Curtis Turner, one of the most flamboyant figures who ever sat behind the wheel of a stock car.

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Joining the four men who made their reputations on the track was a man who has spent his life building some of the most prestigious venues in the sport, Speedway Motorsports Inc. chairman O. Bruton Smith.

Another pioneer in the realm of race track construction, Darlington Raceway founder Harold Brasington, receives the Landmark Award for outstanding contributions to NASCAR, announced Wednesday along with the 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees.

Known as “Texas Terry,” Labonte also earned the nickname “Iron Man” for his 655 consecutive starts in NASCAR’s foremost series. He won his championships 12 years apart, driving for two different owners—Billy Hagan in 1984 and Rick Hendrick in 1996.

Labonte, who won 22 Cup races and 27 poles in a career that spanned 37 years, was in a hotel room with son Justin Labonte when he realized he had been elected to the Hall.

“My phone started blowing up, and I said, ‘Oh, wow, I just got selected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame,’” Labonte said in a conference call with reporters. “(Justin) said, ‘Oh, cool, is it on TV?’ and we started flipping channels looking for it…

“It was very exciting. It’s quite an honor to be in that group of people that are in the Hall of Fame—all these people I looked up to. I never really thought about being part of the Hall of Fame, because there’s so many great people that are in it.”

Isaac, who died in 1977, raced for the first time at NASCAR’s highest level in 1961, but the most productive stretch of his career was compressed into two seasons, 1969 and 1970. In 1969, the Catawba, North Carolina, driver won 19 poles in 50 attempts, still a high-water mark for a single season of Cup racing.

All told, Isaac won 37 races and 49 poles, ranking him 10th all-time in the latter category. Isaac’s conversion rate of poles to wins also was phenomenal; 19 of his 37 victories came from the top starting spot.

Known as the “Babe Ruth of Stock Car Racing,” Turner, who died in 1970, competed in NASCAR’s first Strictly Stock event in Charlotte in 1949. Three starts later, he recorded the first of his 17 victories in NASCAR’s premier division at Langhorne (Pennsylvania) Speedway.

Known for his prowess on the dirt tracks, Turner nevertheless won the Southern 500 in 1956 and the first American 500 at Rockingham Speedway in 1965. Turner, who also won 38 races in 79 starts in NASCAR’s Convertible Division, is the only driver to win two consecutive races from the pole, leading every lap, a feat he accomplished in back-to-back starts at Monroe County Fairgrounds in Rochester, N.Y. and Charlotte (North Carolina) Speedway in 1950.

MORE: See all seven NASCAR Hall of Fame classes

Renowned for his intense battles with NASCAR Hall of Famer and fellow Rome, New York, driver Richie Evans, Cook won more than 300 races in the NASCAR Modified division to go with his six titles, four of which were consecutive (1974 through 1977).

Cook helped shape the NASCAR Whelan Modified Tour and served as series director before continuing his career with the sanctioning body as competition administrator.

“This is like winning all the championships at one time,” said Cook, the only inductee present at the announcement.

Smith’s Speedway Motorsports Inc. operates eight tracks which collectively host 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. It was Smith’s vision, for example, that transformed Bristol Motor Speedway from a half-mile short track to a vast coliseum with seating for more than 150,000 fans.

“When I found out that I was nominated, I realized how much this meant to my family and the 15,000 employees that work for my companies,” Smith said in a statement released after the results of the voting were announced. “Now I realize how much it means to me. It will truly be an honor to be remembered at the Hall of Fame along with people like Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, Glen Wood, Junior Johnson, Darrell Waltrip and so many others who helped build this sport.

“That’s what I’ve tried to do my entire life. I’m a frustrated builder who had a knack for promoting races, and it’s been fun to always try to push the sport to greater heights for the fans. From the first World 600, I’ve always wanted the fans to leave with something spectacular to remember about their experience.”

Smith was the leading vote-getter in the 2016 class, being named on 68 percent of ballots. Labonte (61 percent) was second, followed by Turner (60 percent), Cook (47 percent) and Isaac (44 percent).

The induction ceremonies for the 2016 class are scheduled for Jan. 22.