Posted on by Staff Report

Rookie received Earnhardt Jr.’s endorsement in 2014

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live | Vote: Ultimate Daytona Challenge

RSS Racing announced Wednesday that Ryan Sieg will build on his strong Sunoco Rookie of the Year campaign in 2014 and run full time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2015.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

Uncle Bob’s Self Storage will be the team’s primary sponsor for 16 races, beginning with the Alert Today Florida 300 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. on FOX Sports 1. Sieg had two two-10 finishes at the World Center of Racing in 2014.

"I am excited to be back with the NASCAR XFINITY Series full-time in the No. 39 and thankful to have Uncle Bob’s Self Storage backing me," Sieg said. "We feel like we can compete for a spot inside the top 10 in driver points and continue to grow RSS Racing to the next level."

Sieg finished 16th in driver points and his single-car team was 18th in owner points, finishing outside the top 25 in only six races. Veteran crew chief Kevin "Cowboy" Starland will be back with Sieg in 2015.

"This is going to a banner year for Ryan and the entire team," car owner Rod Sieg said in a team release. "It is wonderful going into the season knowing we have a fantastic partner like Uncle Bob’s Self Storage. We want to make them proud."

The team’s partner will serve as an associate sponsor for the remaining 17 races.

"We are thrilled to be a part of the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2015 with Ryan and the entire RSS team," Uncle Bob’s CEO David Rogers said. "Our partnership in 2014 at Mid-Ohio was a success, and we’re looking forward to what this next step with Ryan and the NASCAR community will bring. All of our 1,200 Uncle Bob’s Self Storage employees are delighted to be a part of NASCAR’s large fan base."

Sieg’s third-place finish last July at Daytona caught the eye of two-time Daytona 500 winner and XFINITY Series team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"I’m real proud of Ryan," Earnhardt said. "I watched him at Dover when I was on top of Regan’s pit box and he impressed the hell out of me. I hadn’t really paid a ton of attention to him prior to that, but I know those guys were just kind of running on a shoestring (budget).

"He had a couple runs during the race at Dover that were better than anybody outside the top five for sure. He kind of hung around and raced with guys in some equipment far better than his. It’s great to see him run well. He does a lot with very little. It’s good to see."

Posted on by Staff Report

Executive realignment announced by board of directors

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live | Vote: Ultimate Daytona Challenge

Speedway Motorsports Inc. board of directors named O. Bruton Smith to the post of executive chairman and Marcus Smith as chief executive officer on Wednesday.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

Bruton Smith, SMI’s chairman and CEO since the company went public in 1995, will report to the board of directors and work closely with the board and new CEO on strategic direction, coordinate activities of the board and communicate with key stakeholders.

Marcus Smith, the company’s president and COO since 2008, will work closely with the executive chairman on day-to-day operations and provide leadership and strategic direction while also communicating with key stakeholders. He will continue to sever as SMI president and president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The realignment, approved by the board of directors on Wednesday, is effective immediately.

Posted on by Staff Report

Two-year entitlement deal includes official track partner status

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live | Vote: Ultimate Daytona Challenge

Phoenix International Raceway announced Wednesday that Axalta Coating Systems will be the title sponsor of next month’s XFINITY Series race. The Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 will be held March 14 at 4 p.m. ET on FOX.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

It’s the company’s second race entitlement partnership in as many months. It previously announced it would be the title sponsor for Pocono Raceway’s June 7 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400. Axalta Coating Systems also will become the official automotive and industrial paint of Phoenix.

"We’re proud to welcome Axalta to the PIR family and to partner with them on our spring NASCAR XFINITY Series race," track president Bryan Sperber said. "Axalta has a long and proud history in our sport, both in terms of visible support such as their sponsorship of Jeff Gordon’s iconic No. 24 racecar and behind the scenes with a number of race teams and track facilities. Axalta is a brand that many race fans already know and support, and we are excited to help them continue to reach new audiences."
 
The leading global manufacturer of liquid and powder coatings, Axalta is also the official paint supplier of Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing. The company’s primer base coat is also used for JR Motorsports XFINITY cars, Kyle Busch Motorsports XFINITY cars and Kasey Kahne’s dirt track sprint car.
 
"We are thrilled to be a sponsor of the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Phoenix International Raceway," Nigel Budden, Axalta Vice President and head of its North America business, said. "We are expanding our motorsports involvement to include this race entitlement. This will be a joint partnership effort with our Refinish and Industrial businesses. We are revved up for March and look forward to the excitement and enthusiasm that will heat up the Valley of the Sun."

Posted on by Staff Report

Returns at Atlanta in No. 90 Chevrolet Camaro for King Autosports

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live | Vote: Ultimate Daytona Challenge

Jimmy Weller will drive a four-race schedule in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, beginning at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 28.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

The Hubbard, Ohio native will drive the No. 90 Geneva-Liberty Steel / My Video Library / Weller-Hughes General Contracting & Developing Chevrolet Camaro for King Autosports.

Weller, who made his series debut last April at Richmond International Raceway, has 15 Camping World Truck Series starts with a best finish of ninth in last year’s season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.

"I’m really excited to be back in the NASCAR XFINITY Series this season," Weller said. "It’s been a lot of fun to race with Bobby Dotter, and I’m really proud to join him and his partners at King Autosports as the driver of the No. 90 Chevrolet Camaro for four races this season. I have great partners in Geneva-Liberty Steel, My Video Library and Weller-Hughes General Contracting & Developing, and I’m happy that each of them will be joining our effort on the track again this year."

The 29-year-old will return to Richmond and also run races at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway while seeking sponsorship to run more events.

"We’re very happy to have Jimmy at King Autosports," team partner Bobby Dotter said. "We had a great season working together last year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and I’m excited to help him continue on his career path in the XFINITY Series in 2015."

Posted on by Zack Albert

McMurray, crew chief McCall find similarities that bring the two together

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live | Vote: Ultimate Daytona Challenge

The offseason focus for many NASCAR teams in the market for a new driver/crew chief combination is finding the right match in terms of communication. If the level of politeness is any gauge, Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 1 Chevrolet team has hit its marks.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

Jamie McMurray and new crew chief Matt McCall have been charged with continuing the organization’s momentum from last year, but with the aim of becoming a more regular visitor to Victory Lane. McMurray, known as a past winner of many of stock-car racing’s crown jewel races, will get his first chance at it this week when cars finally return to the track at Daytona International Speedway.

Though they have only been paired for a matter of weeks, the two Macs have already established a level of mutual respect, borne from simply minding their manners. 

"I love that he says, ‘yes, sir,’ to anyone younger or older than him, it doesn’t matter," McMurray said during last month’s Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour. "I do the same thing. I don’t know, I try to be as respectful as I can to everybody and think that’s what really going to make Matt and I a good match is that we both think the same way." 

McMurray, 38, and the 33-year-old McCall are close enough in age that formal niceties for one’s elders can be dispensed, but McCall says the reflex has plenty to do with their upbringing. 

"Obviously, we have a lot of similar background in the way we were brought up, being respectful and ‘Yes, ma’am. No, ma’am’ … that type of stuff," McCall said. "So it’s been interesting conversation. Both of us are saying ‘sir’ to each other, and it’s a little bit strange, but we laugh about it. I think it’s been an easy transition as far as getting to know each other."

Being mannerly might not necessarily translate on the race track — "move over, please" rarely works — but McCall’s background as a former racer has helped instill confidence in McMurray. McCall dabbled with a handful of starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and what is now the XFINITY Series, but excelled at the local and regional touring level, eventually landing as a developmental driver for the former Yates Racing team. 

McCall will be in McMurray’s ear for the first time this weekend when he dons the headset as Speedweeks open in earnest at Daytona, but a special connection between racers already exists.

"The fact he was a driver, I can’t wait to see how he relates to what I’m saying," McMurray said. "I love when I’m talking to him and I talk about something I experienced at a track and he starts shaking his head yes. I’m like, ‘Yep, you already know where I’m going with this.’ I can’t wait to experience that, but I haven’t gotten to yet." 

McCall most recently served as lead engineer for Richard Childress Racing’s No. 31 team and Sprint Cup Series runner-up Ryan Newman, but his departure to the Ganassi organization was contested in court by his former team. McCall said during the media tour that, "that’s all behind us and we’re moving forward now."

Indeed, the two sides staved off legal wrangling with a settlement late last month, removing any cloud over McCall’s development for 2015.

"That was sort of an overblown issue. I don’t know why that became news all of a sudden, but it did," Chip Ganassi said. "We’re happy to have him, Matt’s a great guy and we look forward to a big future here on the team." 

Though he’s a relative newcomer, McCall is keenly aware of the speed that Ganassi’s cars showed as the year progressed — for both McMurray and his teammate, Sunoco Rookie of the Year Kyle Larson. The challenge of maintaining last season’s energy gets its first big test on NASCAR’s biggest stage, the Daytona 500 (Feb. 22, 1 p.m. ET, FOX).

McMurray captured the Harley J. Earl Trophy by winning The Great American Race in 2010, cementing a reputation as a "big game hunter," according to Ganassi, for his performance in racing’s most prestigious events. With more trophies out there for the taking, McCall hopes to serve as a capable guide.

"I keep going back to last year, but obviously, Chip Ganassi Racing was making strides in competitiveness and I think that just lit more fire under him," McCall said. "He’s always had that drive, but his drive is really strong right now. He’s looking forward to the season."

MORE: Matt McCall named crew chief for Jamie McMurray

Posted on by Nascar

Manufacturer adds new nosepiece, but will it lead to an about-face in results?

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live
While the organizations it supports placed three drivers in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup, and one driver managed to finish third in the points standings, the 2014 season was not a particularly memorable one for Toyota.
 
Just one year after Toyota-branded teams hauled in 14 victories, the most since the brand debuted in Sprint Cup in ’07, those same organizations scored just two victories in the series’ 36 points-paying events.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

Joe Gibbs Racing placed all three of its drivers — Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch — in the Chase, and Hamlin advanced all the way to the Championship Round.
 
But Hamlin finished third, Kenseth and Busch fell by the wayside earlier, and there was nothing to crow about from the other major Toyota organization, Michael Waltrip Racing, as its two teams failed to make the Chase altogether.
 
"Yes we came 12 miles from winning our first championship, but setting all that aside, it was extremely disappointing," Dave Wilson, president and general manager, Toyota Racing Development, USA, said. "It was the worst season since our debut in 2007 when we won zero races."
 
"Any way you slice it, it was tremendously disappointing. We collectively did not perform well through the regular season. I think Chicago things started coming together, and I think we had really good speed during the Chase but that’s not good enough. … It just was not a year that we feel good about."
 
There are big changes ahead for all Sprint Cup teams this year, with new technology used to officiate pit road and a new rules package aimed at decreasing both horsepower and downforce. Even the schedule looks different with a three-race West Coast swing on tap early and a move back to Darlington on Labor Day weekend at summer’s end.
 
Toyota teams face an additional challenge — for ’15 the Camry has been redesigned and features a new nosepiece.
 
"Ultimately we had two critical wind tunnel tests," Wilson said. "Those were the tests where not only does NASCAR come to evaluate, but our colleagues from Ford and Chevy were also there. That’s part of our deal, transparency, because we need everybody to buy into this and believe it’s inherently fair."
 
Still, he admitted, everyone wants to be as close to the line as possible from a competitive standpoint. And Toyota pushed it as far as it could. Toyota officials were "sweating bullets," Wilson said. "They were a little nervous.
 
"We passed; we were within in the box so here we go."
 
With limited testing for ’15, teams aren’t sure how the new piece will react when paired with the rules package changes. Wind tunnel tests and simulation programs provide some information, but the proof won’t come until teams get on the track for the first time this week at Daytona International Speedway.
 
Jason Ratcliff, crew chief for Kenseth, said the change to the front end "provides a lot of opportunity for us in the cooling area, the brake duct packaging.
 
"Even though the (total) area is the same, it’s allowed us to grow in that area and do some things better than maybe we did several years ago when we came out with the 2014 nose," he said.
 
Other factors were taken into consideration as well when incorporating the piece into the race-car version of the Camry. Teams don’t want something on the front of the car that could more easily collect and retain debris from off the track and lead to overheating issues, a situation Ford teams found themselves in soon after the debut of its Gen-6 entry.
 
"Is it something that’s going to take us out of the race?" Ratcliff said. "How durable is it to debris, maybe a lug nut or something? Is it going to penetrate it and get to the radiator?
 
"So there’s a lot of engineering that goes behind the grille opening, not just for cooling but for many other things."

Posted on by Nascar

Championship crew chief Andy Petree added as ‘rules guru’

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live | Vote: Ultimate Daytona Challenge

FOX Sports hired former championship-winning crew chief and car owner Andy Petree to serve in the newly created position of rules analyst, a move made as NASCAR prepares to roll out its new pit road video officiating system for the 2015 season.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

Petree will be "tasked with explaining any technical violations to the viewing audience," according to a FOX release.
 
The new officiating system will use 45 cameras to record and feed video of pit stops to a central location where NASCAR officials will view each team’s stop, and rule on any violations.
 
"Not unlike what Mike Pereira does for us during our NFL on FOX broadcasts, we felt the new technical environment in NASCAR lends itself to creating a similar voice on the FOX NASCAR broadcast team," FOX Sports’ John Entz said.
 
"Andy will work into the role of ‘rules guru,’ giving our audience a strong and consistent point of reference from the broadcast booth."
 
Petree won championships in 1993 and ’94 while serving as crew chief for Dale Earnhardt at Richard Childress Racing. As a team owner Petree scored two wins — with Bobby Hamilton at Talladega and Joe Nemechek at Rockingham. Both victories came in 2001.

Posted on by Staff Report

Driver to pilot No. 62 car starting at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live | Vote: Ultimate Daytona Challenge

Brendan Gaughan will be back in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Premium Motorsports.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

Gaughan will drive the No. 62 car for the team starting at Atlanta Motor Speedway for The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 on March 1 (1 p.m. ET, FOX). He will be the team’s full-time driver from that point on.

Brian Scott will pilot the No. 62 car at Daytona for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 22 (1 p.m. ET, FOX).

"We are very excited to have Brendan drive for our team this year, he has a wealth of our experience and I consider him to be a perfect driver to build this time around," Premium Motorsports Managing Member Jay Robinson in a team release.

Last week, Premium Motorsports purchased the assets from the No. 36 team of Tommy Baldwin Racing and changed the team’s number to 62. The team finished 35th in the final owner standings last season.

Zach McGowan will serve as the crew chief for the No. 62 team. He has called 30 races as a crew chief in his career with five coming last season as the pit boss for Tommy Baldwin Racing’s part-time No. 37 entry. The team will be making sponsorship announcements as the season progress, according to a release.

Gaughan is a veteran of all three NASCAR national series. He has 42 starts in the sport’s top series with one top-five finish coming at Talladega in 2004.

Gaughan competed last year in the NASCAR XFINITY Series as a full-time driver for Richard Childress Racing. He earned his first two wins in that series in 2014, with victories at Road America and Kentucky. The 39-year-old will be back for another full season at RCR in the XFINITY Series. He also has eight career wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

In other Premium Motorsports news, the organization will field a car for Mike Wallace at Daytona. His No. 66 car will have primary sponsorship from Crazy Vapors Company.

Posted on by Staff Report

Driver will run 15 races in No. 42 car for HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live | Vote: Ultimate Daytona Challenge

Image courtesy of HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi.

HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi has added Brennan Poole to run a partial NASCAR XFINITY Series slate in 2015, the team announced on Tuesday.

Poole shared his reaction to the news on Twitter.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

Poole will make his first NASCAR national series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 7. Overall, Poole is slated to make 15 starts in the series with primary sponsorship on the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro from DC Solar Solutions.

In addition to Las Vegas, Poole will race at Phoenix (March 14), Texas (April 10), Bristol (April 18), Richmond (April 24 and September 11), Talladega (May 2), Dover (May 30), Chicagoland (June 20), Daytona (July 4), Kentucky (July 10 and September 26), Loudon (July 18), Charlotte (October 9) and Kansas (October 17).

The company will serve as an associate partner on the car for the rest of the schedule.

The 23-year-old native of Texas has spent the past four seasons competing in the ARCA Racing Series, collecting six wins in 35 career starts.

"Im thrilled to welcome Brennan Poole and DC Solar Solutions to our family at HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi," team owner Harry Scott Jr. said in a release provided by the team. "The addition of another quality partner shows the strength of our team and gives a talented young driver like Brennan the opportunity to showcase his ability on the track."

Posted on by Staff Report

XFINITY Series regular will drive No. 62 entry for Premium Motorsports

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live | Vote: Ultimate Daytona Challenge

Brian Scott will drive the No. 62 Premium Motorsports entry in the Daytona 500 (Feb. 22, 1 p.m. ET, FOX), Richard Childress Racing announced via Twitter on Tuesday afternoon.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

Scott will pull double-duty in the opening weekend of the season. He will field his full-time No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR XFINITY Series season opener, the Alert Today Florida 300 (Feb. 21, 3:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1), before competing in the Daytona 500.

Scott has one career start in the Daytona 500, which came last year. After starting the race 12th, Scott finished in 25th-place driving the No. 33 Chevrolet.

In his career, Scott has seven Sprint Cup Series starts and scored his first Coors Light Pole Award in the premier series last spring at Talladega Superspeedway.

Scott will drive full time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series for the sixth straight season, and it is his third campaign with RCR. He finished fourth in the XFINITY Series standings in 2014.