Posted on by Staff Report

‘Play It Safe’ campaign returns to the No. 34 Ford Fusion in 2015

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For the third consecutive season, CSX and Front Row Motorsports will team up to spread the railroad’s "Play It Safe" message. The company will ride along on Ragan’s Ford Fusion for eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this season.

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The familiar blue-and-yellow paint scheme will debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway (March 1, 1 p.m. ET, FOX). Other events include the April date at Bristol Motor Speedway, Fourth of July weekend at Daytona International Speedway and the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"I’ve really enjoyed working with all the great people at CSX," Ragan said in a team release. "I’ve gotten to visit some rail yards and meet the professionals who keep the trains moving and do it with safety as their top priority. We’re excited to keep spreading the message about playing it safe around trains and railroad tracks with our No. 34 CSX Ford program."

The Jacksonville, Florida-based company works with Front Row’s NASCAR team to reach the Milennial generation of 18-to-34-year-old males, who are most likely to be involved crossing collisions or trespassing on tracks.
 
"If we save just one life, this program is well worth it," CSX Global Director, Brand & Digital Media, John Claybrooks said in a team release. "There are a lot of parallels surrounding the importance of safety on the race track and around railroad tracks. The No. 34 Ford is a great partner communicating this message thoughtfully and creatively."
 
Team owner Bob Jenkins is proud of how his team is the right fit for CSX’s needs.
 
"It will be great to have David and CSX teamed up once again in 2015," Jenkins said. "They’ve done a lot of great work together, not just at the track, but in schools and rail yards talking with kids and CSX employees. We’re really proud of the platform that we’ve been able to offer to get their message out. It’s a great partner success story for our team."

Posted on by Staff Report

Idaho native teams up with company from his home state on Chevrolets

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Boise, Idaho’s Brian Scott will team up with Albertsons from his home state on rides in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the XFINITY Series. Combined with Safeway, the two grocery stores make up the second-largest supermarket chain in North America.

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Richard Childress Racing will partner with the chain on the No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro in the XFINITY Series while Scott will drive select Sprint Cup events in the No. 33 Circle Sport Racing Chevrolet SS with Albertsons as a primary sponsor.

Scott has a history with the brand, winning his first Camping World Truck Series race in 2009 at Dover International Speedway with the company on his ride.

"The relationship between Albertsons and my family is a very special one," Scott said in a team release. "This partnership will give me the opportunity to expand those relationships with the company and gain new ones with their associates. Albertsons was a part of my first NASCAR win, and if all things go well, they’ll be a part of my first XFINITY Series win as well."
 
With more than 2,200 stores, 250,000 employees and 27 distribution centers across 34 states, Albertsons’ growth reminds RCR CEO and Chairman Richard Childress of his company’s own rise from a single-car team run by a driver-owner.

"Albertsons is a company rich with history and known for its quality supermarkets, innovation and people," Childress said in a team release. "Joe Albertson opened his first store in 1939 and built the company with a simple philosophy: ‘whatever you do, take care of the customer.’ It’s something we strive to do at RCR every day and we’re proud to represent the Albertsons’ legacy and their 250,000 associates. They are a terrific addition to our family of blue-chip partners here at RCR."

Scott begins his sixth consecutive full-time season in the XFINITY Series, finishing a career-high fourth in the 2014 driver point standings.

Posted on by Staff Report

Rule book polices impeding qualifying attempts, defines side-skirt penalties

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On the eve of the 2015 season, NASCAR issued a bulletin that outlined updates for qualifying procedures, race violations and assessment of unapproved vehicle/mechanical adjustments, modifications, or failures penalty (including the flaring of side skirts).

Updates are highlighted.

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9.3.1. QUALIFYING PROCEDURES
f. All vehicles must remain in the lower lane of the race track while accelerating to an appropriate speed before merging into traffic.

g. Any Competitor that intentionally impedes or interferes with another competitor’s qualifying attempt, or otherwise engages in any unsafe act while on the racing surface (including pit road) during a Qualifying attempt, may be subject to disciplinary action by NASCAR in order to protect the safety and integrity of the Qualifying procedures. Such action by NASCAR may include, but is not limited to disallowing such competitor’s posted qualifying speed(s) and/or removing the vehicle from any additional qualifying round(s) for this Event.

10.7.1. RACE VIOLATIONS
c. Unapproved vehicle/mechanical adjustment(s), modifications, or failures will not be permitted during an Event.

d. Examples of unapproved vehicle/mechanical adjustments(s) or modifications include, but are not limited to the following body/vehicle components as determined by NASCAR XYZ Series Managing Director in his/her sole judgment: (Examples listed)

e. Failure(s) include, but are not limited to, any of the above components detaching, deforming, moving, loosening, breaking and/or otherwise failing to maintain their shape, integrity and intended function, unless attributable, in NASCAR’s judgment, to race contact or the normal demands of racing (i.e. cracked splitter).

10.7.1.1. ASSESSMENT OF UNAPPROVED VEHICLE/MECHANICAL ADJUSTMENT(S), MODIFICATION(S), OR FAILURE(S) PENALTY
a. When the observed vehicle is determined to have an unapproved mechanical adjustment(s), modification, or failure(s) by the NASCAR XYZ Series Managing Director, a directive is given to the Crew Chief for his/her vehicle to report to their assigned pit stall to perform a satisfactory repair to all applicable components before the vehicle will be released back into competition. All repairs must be satisfactory to the NASCAR Officials.

b. When the satisfactory repair is completed during a yellow flag / caution condition the vehicle must restart the race with all other penalty vehicles in respective order, take the green flag on the race track and then serve a green flag pass-thru penalty.

c. When the satisfactory repair(s) penalty is assessed under a green flag condition in the Event, the vehicle must report to their assigned pit stall until all components are repaired. When the NASCAR Official determines all repairs are satisfactory, he/she will release the vehicle back to competition.

d. If any crew member(s) is observed/involved in the cause of the unapproved vehicle/mechanical adjustment(s), modification or failure(s), whether to the team’s vehicle or to another competitor’s vehicle, then that member and the team is subject to a written warning (and any resulting Penalty, if applicable) per Section 12.5.3.1 Warnings and P1 Penalty Options, as determined by the NASCAR XYZ Series Managing Director.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Who does the 2012 champ consider to be the best driver in the sport?

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — What started life as an innocent answer later morphed into a revealing insight from Brad Keselowski about how he rated his peers. But it also illustrated that if there were such a thing as a talent podium of NASCAR drivers, Keselowski has himself on it, but behind reigning Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick and his No. 1 pick, Carl Edwards.

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Keselowski, celebrating his 31st birthday Thursday at NASCAR Media Day at Daytona International Speedway, said his progress in NASCAR’s big leagues led him to the self-assessment that he considered himself a top-three driver in the sport. Pressed to name the other two, the always candid Keselowski complied, putting Edwards atop his list with Harvick a close second.
 
"I personally think just from watching, and I’m not afraid to say it, that Carl Edwards right now is the best driver in the Sprint Cup," Keselowski said. "That’s my personal opinion; it doesn’t make it law or fact. To go with that, you could probably place an argument for Kevin (Harvick) as the second best."
 
Edwards’ efforts in his final season at Roush Fenway Racing were maddeningly inconsistent, and though the veteran struggled with performance at times in 2014, he was able to scratch out two victories — at Bristol Motor Speedway and Sonoma Raceway — and advance to the Eliminator 8 in the new-look Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs.
 
"I’ve seen what Carl’s done in cars that didn’t have the speed," Keselowski said. "He has a very diverse skill set. He’s been able to win at tracks like Sonoma and has won at every type of track, I should say, and I feel like he does the best job of any driver I’ve seen out there taking a car that is not fast and finding speed out of it. I think when the times have come that he’s had dominant cars, he’s had dominant performances. He’s shown to me the skill set at every level to be a top driver."
 
His uncanny ability to do less with more made an impression on Keselowski, who said that he considers Edwards a favorite for the 2015 championship in his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing. Harvick and new team Stewart-Haas Racing struck similar gold in their first year together last season.
 
"It would not surprise me if they were the team to beat this year," Keselowski said of JGR’s No. 19 Toyota, Edwards’ new team. "There’s something about those new teams — magic comes together."

Posted on by Zack Albert

Organization acknowledges team has contingency plan in place

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kurt Busch said Thursday that he has no timetable for a possible resolution to the legal issues that have shrouded his offseason, but that his team has a contingency plan in place should the matter impact his racing career.
 
Busch spoke at length about the legal proceedings Thursday at the annual NASCAR Media Day at Daytona International Speedway, expressing some mild frustration that the case is now entering its third month. Allegations of domestic assault brought by Busch’s ex-girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, first surfaced over 90 days ago.

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"The days in court, and now that we’re going close to Day 100 as far as all of the proceedings go, normal situations that happen around these type of situations take 30 minutes, so sometimes preferential treatment can go the wrong way," Busch said. "… So we all have to be patient, we all have to understand that there’s a process that we have to respect, and the fact that no announcement has come out, each day that goes by continues to be good news.
 
"And with the team and their support — they’ve been fantastic, (team co-owner) Gene Haas especially — it’s amazing to have the comfort level that I have, as well as to have told them the truth and understanding of everything, it’s easy to be here and be pumped up about the season that’s 10 days away."
 
Busch will have racing on his mind with starting Friday with the opening of on-track activity at Daytona, heading to Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited (8 p.m. ET, FOX) and the Feb. 22 Daytona 500 (1 p.m. ET, FOX). But in the interim, the 36-year-old driver has made multiple offseason trips to a Delaware courtroom for hearings.
 
Driscoll has sought a no-contact order in court related to her claim of an alleged physical confrontation at Dover International Speedway last September. The Delaware state attorney general’s office has yet to rule on the alleged altercation and whether any charges will be handed down.
 
Team co-owner Tony Stewart — like Busch, a former Sprint Cup Series champion — said that his Stewart-Haas Racing team has prepared a backup plan in case the legal proceedings involving Kurt Busch have an unfavorable outcome. Neither NASCAR nor the team have made movement toward removing Busch from his role as full-time driver of the Stewart-Haas No. 41 Chevrolet, opting to let the legal process play out before taking any action.
 
Stewart said that while the team has a contingency plan, he hopes it doesn’t come to that.
 
"We do, but we’re kind of waiting to see, and I’m very hopeful that we won’t have to worry about it," Stewart said. "I feel bad that he’s in that situation right now — that they’re both in that situation — so we have to be smart and we have to have a plan in place if it doesn’t work out for whatever reason."
 
Busch first spoke publicly about the case late last month at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour presented by Technocom. Thursday in Daytona, he reiterated the theme of his comments from January.
 
"It’s a matter of knowing that the truth has been told and we’ll see how things unfold," Busch said. "The process, we have to wait on what their decision’s going to be."

Posted on by Zack Albert

Driver motivated by last year’s questioning; no such feelings in 2015

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The chatter around Kyle Larson in last year’s "meet the press" session at Daytona International Speedway had a specific tenor to it, with the only thing certain being the uncertainty.

How would the bright-eyed rookie perform, and was team owner Chip Ganassi bringing him to NASCAR’s top-level Sprint Cup Series too early? After last year’s breakout, when he came ultra-close to knocking down the wall for his first big-league stock car win, Larson said there’s some validation to quieting his former detractors.

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"This Media Day’s a lot different than last year’s, for sure — a lot different questions," Larson said Thursday at Daytona International Speedway. "I definitely paid attention to it, people doubting what we were going to be able to do last year and it fueled our team to go out and prove them wrong. I didn’t let it get to me or anything like that.

"Just like anything else, I just go out there and do the best job I can, and I’m going to try to do the same thing this year."

He returns to Daytona this year with more maturity backing his 22 years, some of which comes with being a new father, just weeks after he and girlfriend Katelyn Sweet celebrated the Dec. 22 birth of young Owen Miyata. In terms of racing performance, he’s also matured quickly on the track, wrapping the year with top-10 finishes in nearly half (17 of 36) of the Sprint Cup schedule last season.

After finishing second three times last year and becoming a more regular contender near the front of the pack, the outlook for 2015 is even brighter.

"Last year, nobody had any expectations for me except failing," Larson said. "The expectations are different this year, a little more pressure, but our team’s not paying attention to any of those expectations. We’re just going to go out there and do the best we can. I think we can run up front every week, hopefully, be competitive and try and get a couple wins."

Posted on by Zack Albert

Driver thought commercial was funny, didn’t mean to offend anyone

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Danica Patrick said Thursday she was "definitely disappointed" that a commercial for her sponsor, GoDaddy, did not air as planned during the Super Bowl on Feb. 1.
 
Patrick, appearing at the annual NASCAR Media Day at Daytona International Speedway, was included in an ad that raised the hackles of animal rights activists, upset over a puppy being sold online. When GoDaddy board director Blake Irving decided to pull the commercial from the broadcast, it kept Patrick from padding her record of appearances in Super Bowl commercials (13).

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"I wasn’t in the Super Bowl for a commercial, but I was in a Super Bowl commercial," Patrick said. "It just didn’t run."
 
Patrick also scuttled the notion that GoDaddy intentionally created a controversial commercial in order to draw attention to the company.
 
"GoDaddy had every intention to run that commercial, and I feel like I heard from a lot of people that it was choreographed and it was planned," Patrick said." I think that’s so funny. We thought it was a really funny, slightly left-side joke, but it really was not intentional.
 
"So was I surprised? I don’t think anything in this culture surprises me any more. People have opinions about everything, and especially when you get into that world of animal rights, tree rights or whatever rights. They all have an opinion."
 
The Arizona-based Internet domain registrar said when it withdrew the commercial that the puppy, named Buddy, came from a "reputable and loving breeder." But GoDaddy found one notable side benefit from filming the ad — the company wound up adopting the commercial’s star pooch with the job title of Chief Companion Officer.
 
"I think that Blake handled it as great as he could have," Patrick said of the company’s board director. "I feel like he made the most of the moment and showed the character of GoDaddy and of himself and said fine, we’re not here to rock the boat, we’re not here to make people angry and we’ll pull the commercial and run something else."
 
Though Patrick co-starred with Buddy, the dog she shares with boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr. still has her heart. The miniature Siberian Husky — named Dallas Stenhouse, with just fewer than 4,500 followers on Twitter — came from a breeder in Asheville, North Carolina, a fact that Patrick offered a faux apology for Thursday.
 
"I looked hard to find my dog online. Sorry. I did," she said. "I love my dog and I take great care of her. I was up at 1:45 in the morning taking her for a walk in the dark last night because she had to go out. She found a good home, so how bad can it really be? The Internet is a source for information. It was really hard to find a miniature Siberian Husky, but we found one."

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No. 48 driver tells story of how instrumental Gordon was in his early career

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As Jimmie Johnson continues his pursuit of a seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title, teammate Jeff Gordon renews his own pursuit for a fifth championship.
 
The biggest difference, outside the career totals, is that Johnson, at 39, has time on his side.
 
Gordon, at 43, does not. But not because of his age, as his highly competitive 2014 effort proved. While his career could be extended by several years, Gordon announced last month that that would not be the case. The 2015 season will be his last.

MORE: Full coverage of Gordon’s final full-time season

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"I look at my own arc in life and in motorsports," Johnson said Thursday during the annual NASCAR Media Day at Daytona International Speedway, "and the fact that he gave me my chance, created a team for me to go racing, and then what has happened from there.
 
"You won’t see another competitor out there singing his praises, I think, like me."
 
Before Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick offered Gordon a piece of a new Sprint Cup team that would debut in 2001, there was no No. 48 team at HMS. Johnson, a former off-road racer, was a level below Sprint Cup, looking for a break.
 
Gordon, already a three-time champion, was a fellow racer from the west coast, one of the first to successfully make the crossover from open wheel sprints to the heavier stock cars. He might not have known who Johnson was, but Johnson surely knew of Gordon’s exploits.
 
"I doubt he’ll remember and we never had a chance to formally meet," Johnson said, but at test sessions, I guess in ’99 and even in 2000 when he was running some (XFINITY) stuff … every now and then the 24 car would be there and I would always try to linger by his pit and try to introduce myself to him, and it never worked out."
 
Eventually, Johnson said he took matter into his own hands. His team at the time, owned by William Herzog, was exiting the series and he needed career advice.

RELATED: Johnson reflects on Chase format a year later
 
At Michigan in the summer of 2000, he got more than that.
 
"The only opportunities I had involved switching manufacturers … and I knew Jeff left Bill Davis and Ford and went to Rick Hendrick and Chevy and I thought he had like the magic answer, so I introduced myself at the drivers’ meeting, asked him for a few minutes of time," Johnson said. "He brought me back to the transporter, we talked briefly before the start of the race, and after I told him my situation, he gave me some advice, and then said, ‘you’re not going to believe this, but we’re talking about starting a fourth team, and your name is the only name that’s been brought up.’
 
"So just in a 30‑minute window of time, what all went on, starting out trying to work up the nerve to introduce myself to him, looking for some advice, and then practically leaving with the job was just insane. It was the wildest 30 minutes of my life."
 
But it’s not only the impact on his own career, Johnson said, that stands out. Gordon opened the door for NASCAR on a number of levels on and off the race track.

RELATED: Find out how Kahne learned of Gordon’s decision
 
"I think now since we know it’s his final year, we’re all looking back and having some ‘aha’ moments,” Johnson said.
 
"He really was instrumental, in my opinion, in helping car owners and sponsors realize that there are drivers far and wide that can come in and be competitive, and he opened the door for (Tony) Stewart, and Stewart opened the door further for myself and Kasey Kahne, Ricky Stenhouse. Now we have more drivers from the state of California than any other state; it’s wild to think in NASCAR that that’s the case, and I think Jeff is responsible for that trend happening.
 
"You look at when Jeff and Dale Earnhardt and their competitive nature in our sport, kind of falling into mainstream media at that point — we needed a clean‑cut, well‑spoken person to kind of carry the sport. Jeff was that guy. His dominance helped our sport."

Posted on by Nascar

Sprint Cup managing director Richard Buck on issues that were addressed

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR officials did a bit of fine-tuning of their own Thursday, issuing a bulletin that involves, among other items, qualifying procedures and unapproved adjustments just one day before NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will take to the track for the first time this season.
 
In some instances, it’s more a matter of having something that’s already understood by teams simply spelled out in the rule book.

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"Based on … feedback for qualifying, as an example, we just defined the expectations, what’s expected of the drivers," said Richard Buck, managing director for the Sprint Cup Series.
 
"The rules for each track are specific for the blend line, pit road speed, the commitment line and then (we) defined joining the pack again, getting up to speed. You’ve got to do it in an appropriate manner."
 
Any perceived attempts to gain an advantage or slow another car’s or cars’ progress would not be treated lightly.
 
"It’s a judgmental (penalty)," Buck said. "If we see it, and it’s egregious then we may take the time away, and we may park the car for the qualifying session. We are mainly looking to make sure that it’s done in the fashion that we all know it should be and that it’s a safe ingress and egress from the pack."
 
The sanctioning body also re-visited the issue of teams altering or manipulating vertical rocker panel extensions, commonly known as side skirts. It was announced earlier this season that the practice, which became commonplace last season, would no longer be allowed. However, the specifics of penalties involving any such alterations were clearly spelled out.
 
The bulletin addresses all unapproved body modifications.

RELATED: Bulletin addresses qualifying, skirt penalties
 
"We added another bracket to the left-hand side (of) the body to help stabilize the bodywork in front of the rear wheel," Buck said. But if we find any manipulation of the body, whether it’s the side skirts or front fenders or the roof pushed down, whatever it is … if we can identify that there’s been modifications to the car during the event, we’ll bring that car down (pit road)."
 
If such a modification occurs while the race is under caution, the driver will be required to return to pit road and the team must repair the area in question to the satisfaction of race officials.
 
"(The driver) will rejoin the field at the tail with the other penalty cars that must take the green on the track and then come down and do a green-flag pass through unimpeded by another yellow," Buck said.
 
"On a green-flag situation, we will call the car down pit road under green. They’ve got to repair it and then they can go back out so that’s essentially the repair and the green-flag pass through."
 
Sprint Cup Series teams make their first appearance on the race track Friday as practice for Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway get underway. The season’s first points race, the Daytona 500, is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 22 on FOX.
 
"The most important thing for us," Buck said, "is to make sure it’s a level playing field for everybody, so if somebody is manipulating the car in any way, we now have language in there that allows us to address it firmly and fairly for everybody."

Posted on by Nascar

Brothers make side trips to Volusia Speedway Park for DIRTcar Nationals

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The NASCAR season hasn’t officially begun — Thursday’s annual media day here is a non-points function — but Austin Dillon already has a win and two top-five finishes.
 
Dillon, along with younger brother Ty, has been competing each night at nearby Volusia Speedway Park (Barberville, Florida) in the DIRTcar Nationals. The multi-night event highlights dirt-track competition in UMP Modified entries.

"We started off Tuesday night … with a win and that was pretty awesome," Dillon said. "Looking forward to finishing out the week there; we’ve already had a little bit of success — finished first (Tuesday) and third (Wednesday)."
 
With his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series duties yet to begin — practice for those in Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited begins Friday — Dillon said he’s hopeful he can squeeze in several more nights of racing on the dirt track.
 
"I’ll be back out there tonight and hopefully tomorrow night after (Unlimited) practice; then take Saturday off, go back Sunday, Monday and Tuesday," he said.
 
"Every year we come down here and run the dirt Modifieds, after we’re done we put them on the shelf for the year."
 
That doesn’t end his dirt-track effort, however. Dillon also runs a dirt Late Model several times throughout the year.
 
"I just love getting to the dirt track whenever I can," he said.
 
Dillon, a former XFINITY Series champion, is beginning his second full season in the Sprint Cup Series as driver of the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet. He finished 20th in points last year, with one top-five and four top-10s.
 
He is the defending pole winner for the season-opening Daytona 500.
 
Competing outside NASCAR has not been an issue thus far, he said.
 
"No one has said anything. The only guy that could make that call (is) my grandfather (team owner Richard Childress), and he enjoys watching us race on dirt," Dillon said.

MORE: Dillon looks to apply rookie season lessons