NASCAR names two new hires as part of growth segment marketing team

Posted on April 21, 2014 by

Jung, Smith to focus on NASCAR’s youth, millennial and multicultural marketing efforts

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 21, 2014) – NASCAR announced two new hires today as part of the company’s commitment to implementing strategic growth plans for several critical segments, including youth, millennial and multicultural.

Peter Jung joins NASCAR as Senior Director of Growth Segment Marketing, reporting into Managing Director of Brand and Consumer Marketing Kenny Mitchell. Jung, most recently from MasterCard International, served as vice president of global consumer marketing, responsible for youth segment strategies and programs designed to drive a greater preference for the MasterCard brand. In this role, he oversaw the delivery of global consumer insights, innovation and marketing plans that supported youth segment priorities in the U.S. and several international markets.

Jung led the launch of core consumer marketing platforms Priceless Surprises and Priceless Music, targeting millennials and other multicultural segments. He joined MasterCard in 2004 and has also held positions in partner marketing, strategy and planning. Jung graduated from the University of Dayton with a BA in Marketing and Communications.

Nicole Smith will serve as Director of Growth Segment Marketing at NASCAR, reporting directly to Jung. Smith joins NASCAR from her most recent post at the San Diego Padres, where she served as Director of Brand Development. At the Padres, Smith was responsible for leading all marketing and branding activities with a focus on growing sales and attendance among key demographics including youth and multicultural segments.

Smith previously worked at Hewlett-Packard where she explored international business models and the impact of digital innovation, and The Walt Disney Company, where she focused on marketing and branding initiatives. Smith holds a B.A. from UCLA and an MBA from the University of Michigan.

"We are thrilled to welcome two new talented members to the NASCAR team," said Vice President of Marketing Kim Brink. "Peter’s extensive background in global consumer marketing will provide further momentum for our ongoing marketing initiatives. In addition, Nicole will contribute invaluable expertise that will propel our millennial and youth outreach efforts forward."

Jung and Smith will be based in Daytona and begin work at NASCAR on April 22.

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Staff Report

A statistical lookahead to the first of two Sprint Cup Series stops at Richmond

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 21, 2014) –Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia going into the Toyota Owners 400 on April 26.

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RICHMOND-SPECIFIC STATISTICS

Clint Bowyer (No. 15 AAA Insurance Toyota)

· Two wins, three top fives, nine top 10s

· Average finish of 10.1

· Average Running Position of 9.5, fourth-best

· Driver Rating of 100.7, fourth-best

· 183 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most

· 851 Green Flag Passes, 12th-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.414 mph, fifth-fastest

· 5,140 Laps in the Top 15 (80.1%), fifth-most

· 485 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), fourth-most

Kurt Busch (No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet)

· One win, five top fives, nine top 10s

· Average finish of 17.3

· Average Running Position of 14.4, eighth-best

· Driver Rating of 92.2, seventh-best

· 364 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.386 mph, sixth-fastest

· 4,338 Laps in the Top 15 (60.1%), ninth-most

· 428 Quality Passes, 10th-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota)

· Four wins, 12 top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 7.2

· Average Running Position of 7.8, second-best

· Driver Rating of 111.9, second-best

· 529 Fastest Laps Run, second-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.749 mph, second-fastest

· 6,271 Laps in the Top 15 (86.9%), second-most

· 533 Quality Passes, third-most

Carl Edwards (No. 99 FordAlwaysRacing Ford)

· One win, four top fives, 10 top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 13.7

· Average Running Position of 14.9, ninth-best

· Driver Rating of 90.1, ninth-best

· 291 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most

· 957 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.290 mph, ninth-fastest

· 4,276 Laps in the Top 15 (59.3%), 10th-most

· 429 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet)

· Two wins, 16 top fives, 26 top 10s; six poles

· Average finish of 14.1

· Average Running Position of 13.8, seventh-best

· Driver Rating of 96.0, sixth-best

· 343 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.375 mph, seventh-fastest

· 4,518 Laps in the Top 15 (62.6%), eighth-most

· 436 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota)

· Two wins, seven top fives, nine top 10s; two poles

· Average finish of 8.9

· Series-best Average Running Position of 6.6

· Series-best Driver Rating of 114.8

· Series-high 584 Fastest Laps Run

· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 116.782 mph

· 5,361 Laps in the Top 15 (89.2%), fourth-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet)

· Three wins, seven top fives, 16 top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 11.3

· Average Running Position of 7.9, third-best

· Driver Rating of 110.0, third-best

· 458 Fastest Laps Run, third-most

· 854 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.658 mph, third-fastest

· Series-high 6,617 Laps in the Top 15 (91.7%)

· Series-high 613 Quality Passes

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet)

· Three wins, five top fives, eight top 10s; two poles

· Average finish of 17.3

· Average Running Position of 16.2, 12th-best

· Driver Rating of 88.5, 10th-best

· 274 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.232 mph, 11th-fastest

Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet)

· One win, four top fives, seven top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 18.0

· Driver Rating of 86.8, 11th-best

· 341 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most

· 923 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most

· 4,088 Laps in the Top 15 (56.7%), 12th-most

· 433 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Ryan Newman (No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet)

· One win, six top fives, 14 top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 11.4

· Average Running Position of 11.7, fifth-best

· Driver Rating of 91.6, eighth-best

· 921 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most

· 5,419 Laps in the Top 15 (75.1%), third-most

· 550 Quality Passes, second-most

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet)

· Three wins, 11 top fives, 19 top 10s

· Average finish of 10.6

· Average Running Position of 12.1, sixth-best

· Driver Rating of 96.5, fifth-best

· 276 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most

· 875 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.498 mph, fourth-fastest

· 4,755 Laps in the Top 15 (69.8%), sixth-most

· 462 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Richmond International Raceway Data

Season Race #: 9 of 36 (04-26-14)

Track Size: 0.75-miles

Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 14 degrees

Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 14 degrees

Banking/Frontstretch: 8 degrees

Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees

Frontstretch Length: 1,290 feet

Backstretch Length: 860 feet

Race Length: 400 laps / 300 miles

Top 10 Driver Ratings at Richmond

Denny Hamlin………………………. 114.8

Kyle Busch…………………………. 111.9

Kevin Harvick………………………. 110.0

Clint Bowyer………………………… 100.7

Tony Stewart…………………………. 96.5

Jeff Gordon………………………….. 96.0

Kurt Busch……………………………. 92.2

Ryan Newman……………………….. 91.6

Carl Edwards………………………… 90.1

Jimmie Johnson…………………….. 88.5

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2013 races (18 total) among active drivers at Richmond International Raceway

Qualifying/Race Data

2013 Coors Light pole winner:

Matt Kenseth, Toyota

130.334 mph, 20.716 secs. 04-25-13

2013 race winner:

Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet

92.141 mph, (03:18:17), 04-27-13

Track qualifying record:

Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet

130.599 mph, 20.674 secs. 09-04-13

Track race record:

Dale Jarrett, Ford

109.047 mph, (02:45:04), 09-06-97

At Richmond International Raceway:

History

· Originally known as the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds, Richmond International Raceway held its first race in 1946 as a half-mile dirt track.

· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was April 19, 1953 won by Lee Petty.

· The spring 1964 race was run on a Tuesday night under temporary lighting.

· The track name changed to Virginia State Fairgrounds in 1967.

· The track surface was changed from dirt to asphalt between races in 1968.

· The track name changed to Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in 1969.

· The track was re-measured to .542-mile for 1970.

· The track was rebuilt as a three-quarters-mile D-shaped oval following the Feb. 21, 1988 race.

· The first race under permanent lights was Sept. 7, 1991.

· The first season with both races as night races was 1999.

Notebook

· There have been 115 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International Raceway, one NSCS event from 1953 – 1958 and two races per year since 1959.

· 472 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond; 306 in more than one.

· NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Richmond with 63. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 42 starts.

· Buck Baker won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Richmond in 1953 with a speed of 48.465 mph.

· 52 drivers have Coors Light poles at Richmond, led by Richard Petty and Bobby Allison with eight each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six.

· Seven drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Richmond. Bobby Allison holds the record for most consecutive Coors Light poles at Richmond with five (1972 – 1974).

· Youngest Richmond pole winner: Brian Vickers (05/15/2004 – 20 years, 6 months, 21 days).

· Oldest Richmond pole winner: Mark Martin (04/28/2012 – 53 years, 3 months, 19 days).

· 48 different drivers have won at Richmond International Raceway, led by Richard Petty with 13. Kyle Busch leads all active drivers with four.

· Petty Enterprises has the most wins at Richmond in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 15; followed by Hendrick Motorsports with 10, Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing each have nine.

· Chevrolet leads the series in wins at Richmond with 36 victories; followed by Ford with 29 and Toyota with seven.

· 22 of the 115 (19.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from the Coors Light pole. Only three active drivers have been able to accomplish the feat: Kasey Kahne (2005), Jimmie Johnson (2007) and Kyle Busch (2010).

· The pole starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners than any other starting position at Richmond (22).

· 35 of the 115 (30.4%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond have been won from the front row: 22 from the pole and 13 from second-place.

· 90 of the 115 (78.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from a top-10 starting position.

· 13 of the 115 (11.3%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Richmond International Raceway was 31st, by Clint Bowyer in the spring of 2008.

· Youngest Richmond winner: Richard Petty (04/23/1961 – 23 years, 9 months, 21 days).

· Oldest Richmond winner: Harry Gant (09/07/1991 – 51 years, 7 months, 28 days).

· Bobby Allison and Richard Petty are tied for thelead in runner-up finishes at Richmond with nine each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six.

· Richard Petty leads the series in top-five finishes at Richmond with 34; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 16.

· Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Richmond with 41. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 26.

· Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Richmond International Raceway with a 7.643.

· Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Richmond International Raceway with a 7.222.

· Two active drivers have a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series average finish in the top 10 at Richmond: Kyle Busch (7.2) and Denny Hamlin (8.9).

· There have been two NSCS race resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Richmond International Raceway: spring of 2008 (400/410) and spring of 2013 (400/406).

· Only four of the 115 races at Richmond International Raceway have been shortened due to weather conditions: spring of 1962, spring of 1977, spring of 1982 and spring of 2003.

· Bobby Labonte (09/11/1993) and Brian Vickers (05/15/2004) posted their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at Richmond.

· Tony Stewart (09/11/1999) and Kasey Kahne (05/14/2005) posted their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at Richmond.

· Eight drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series have posted consecutive wins at Richmond International Raceway. Richard Petty leads the series in consecutive wins at Richmond after posting seven consecutive wins from the fall of 1970 – 1973. Jimmie Johnson (2007 sweep) is the only active driver with consecutive wins at Richmond.

· All of the 13 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Richmond International Raceway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart won at Richmond in their second appearance.

· Joe Nemechek competed at Richmond International Raceway 18 times before winning in 1994; the longest span of any the 13 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.

· Dave Blaney leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Richmond without visiting Victory Lane at 26.

· Since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993, the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Richmond International Raceway was the (09/12/1998) race won by Jeff Burton with a MOV of 0.051 second.

· Two female drivers have competed at Richmond in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:

Driver	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Date
Janet Guthrie	13	12	2/27/1977
Janet Guthrie	14	12	9/11/1977
Danica Patrick	30	29	4/27/2013
Danica Patrick	36	30	9/7/2013

NASCAR in Virginia

· There have been 283 NASCAR Sprint Cup races among nine tracks in Virginia.

Track Name	City	NSCS
Martinsville Speedway	Martinsville	131
Richmond International Raceway	Richmond	115
South Boston Speedway	South Boston	10
Langley Field Speedway	Hampton	9
Old Dominion Speedway	Manassas	7
Southside Speedway	Richmond	4
Starkey Speedway	Roanoke	4
Norfolk Speedway	Norfolk	2
Princess Anne Speedway	Norfolk	1

· 171 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Virginia.

· 19 drivers from Virginia have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series; 11 have won in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Driver	NSCS	NNS	NCWTS
Joe Weatherly	25	0	0
Denny Hamlin	23	11	2
Ricky Rudd	23	1	0
Jeff Burton	21	27	0
Curtis Turner	17	0	0
Ward Burton	5	4	0
Glen Wood	4	0	0
Elliott Sadler	3	9	1
Emanuel Zervakis	2	0	0
Lennie Pond	1	0	0
Wendell Scott	1	0	0
Tommy Ellis	0	22	0
Jimmy Hensley	0	9	2
Rick Mast	0	9	0
Hermie Sadler	0	2	0
Elton Sawyer	0	2	0
Stacy Compton	0	0	2
Jon Wood	0	0	2
Jeb Burton	0	0	1

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Posted on April 21, 2014 by Staff Report

The Nationwide Series makes its eighth stop of the year at Richmond

RELATED: Play NASCAR Fantasy Live

Entry	#	Driver	Owner	Crew chief	Manufacturer	Sponsor
1	01	Landon Cassill	Johnny Davis	Dave Fuge	14 Chevrolet	G&K Services
2	2	Brian Scott	Richard Childress	Phil Gould	14 Chevrolet	Shore Lodge
3	3	Ty Dillon	Richard Childress	Danny Stockman Jr	14 Chevrolet	WESCO
4	4	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Gary Keller	Perry Mitchell	14 Chevrolet	teamjdmotorsports.com
5	5	Kevin Harvick(i)	Rick Hendrick	Ernie Cope	14 Chevrolet	Tide
6	6	Trevor Bayne	Jack Roush	Chad Norris	14 Ford	AdvoCare
7	7	Regan Smith	Kelley Earnhardt-Miller	Ryan Pemberton	14 Chevrolet	Hellmann’s
8	9	Chase Elliott	Dale Earnhardt Jr	Greg Ives	14 Chevrolet	NAPA AUTO PARTS
9	10	Jeff Green	Mark Smith	Todd Myers	14 Toyota	Supportmilitary.org
10	11	Elliott Sadler	J D Gibbs	Chris Gayle	14 Toyota	OneMain Financial
11	13	Matthew Carter	Derek White	Kevin Eagle	14 Toyota	TBA
12	14	Eric McClure	Mark Smith	Wes Ward	14 Toyota	Hefty Ultimate / Reynolds Wrap
13	16	Ryan Reed	Jack Roush	Seth Barbour	14 Ford	ADA Drive to Stop Diabetes presented by Lilly Diabetes
14	17	Tanner Berryhill	Adrian Berryhill	Adrian Berryhill	14 Dodge	NationalCashLenders.com
15	19	Mike Bliss	Mark Smith	Paul Clapprood	14 Toyota	TriStar Motorsports
16	20	TBA	Joe Gibbs	Kevin Kidd	14 Toyota	TBD
17	22	Ryan Blaney(i)	Roger Penske	Jeremy Bullins	14 Ford	SKF / Discount Tire
18	23	TBA	Robert Richardson Sr	George Church	14 Chevrolet	TBA
19	28	J J Yeley	James Whitener	Steve Plattenberger	13 Dodge	JGL Racing
20	31	Dylan Kwasniewski	Steve Turner	Patrick Tryson	14 Chevrolet	Rockstar
21	33	Cale Conley(i)	Richard Childress	Nick Harrison	14 Chevrolet	OKUMA
22	39	Ryan Sieg	Rod Sieg	Kevin Starland	14 Chevrolet	RSS Racing
23	40	Josh Wise(i)	Curtis Key Sr	Gary Showalter	14 Chevrolet	Curtis Key Plumbing
24	42	Kyle Larson(i)	Harry Scott Jr	Scott Zipadelli	14 Chevrolet	Cartwheel
25	43	Dakoda Armstrong	Richard Petty	Philippe Lopez	14 Ford	WinField
26	44	Blake Koch	Mark Smith	Greg Conner	14 Toyota	TBD
27	46	Matt Dibenedetto	Curtis Key Sr	Kyle Symington	14 Chevrolet	Curtis Key Plumbing
28	51	Jeremy Clements	Tony Clements	Ricky Pearson	14 Chevrolet	RepairableVehicles.com
29	52	Joey Gase	Jimmy Means	Tim Brown	14 Chevrolet	TBA
30	54	Kyle Busch(i)	J D Gibbs	Adam Stevens	14 Toyota	Monster Energy
31	55	Jimmy Weller III(i)	Jimmy Dick	Jason Miller	14 Chevrolet	TBA
32	60	Chris Buescher	Jack Roush	Scott Graves	14 Ford	Ford EcoBoost
33	62	Brendan Gaughan	Richard Childress	Shane Wilson	14 Chevrolet	South Point
34	70	Derrike Cope	Mary Louise Miller	Fred Wanke	14 Chevrolet	Youtheory
35	74	Mike Harmon	Mike Harmon	Gary Ritter	12 Dodge	TBA
36	76	Tommy Joe Martins	Tommy Joe Martins	Joey Jones	13 Dodge	TBA
37	86	Joe Nemechek(i)	Scott Deware	TBA	14 Chevrolet	Bubba Burger
38	87	Kevin Lepage	Andrea Nemechek	James Cooley	14 Chevrolet	JD Motorsports
39	93	TBA	Gregg Mixon	David Goulet	13 Dodge	JGL Racing
40	99	James Buescher	Robby Benton	Chris Rice	14 Toyota	Ruud

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Posted on April 21, 2014 by Staff Report

The Sprint Cup Series resumes at Richmond with the ninth of the race of the season

Entry	#	Driver	Owner	Crew chief	Manufacturer	Sponsor
1	1	Jamie McMurray	Felix Sabates	Keith Rodden	14 Chevrolet	McDonald’s
2	2	Brad Keselowski	Roger Penske	Paul Wolfe	14 Ford	Detroit Genuine Parts
3	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress	Gil Martin	14 Chevrolet	Dow
4	4	Kevin Harvick	Tony Stewart	Rodney Childers	14 Chevrolet	Outback Steakhouse
5	5	Kasey Kahne	Linda Hendrick	Kenny Francis	14 Chevrolet	Farmers Insurance
6	7	Michael Annett	Tommy Baldwin	Kevin Manion	14 Chevrolet	Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet
7	9	Marcos Ambrose	Richard Petty	Drew Blickensderfer	14 Ford	STANLEY/ ACE/ CMN
8	10	Danica Patrick	Tony Stewart	Tony Gibson	13 Chevrolet	GoDaddy
9	11	Denny Hamlin	J D Gibbs	Darian Grubb	14 Toyota	FedEx Ground
10	13	Casey Mears	Bob Germain	Bootie Barker III	14 Chevrolet	No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS
11	14	Tony Stewart	Margaret Haas	Chad Johnston	14 Chevrolet	Rush Truck Centers / Mobil 1
12	15	Clint Bowyer	Rob Kauffman	Brian Pattie	14 Toyota	AAA Insurance
13	16	Greg Biffle	Jack Roush	Matt Puccia	14 Ford	Scotch
14	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	John Henry	Michael Kelley	14 Ford	Nationwide
15	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs	Dave Rogers	14 Toyota	M&M’s
16	20	Matt Kenseth	Joe Gibbs	Jason Ratcliff	14 Toyota	Home Depot Husky
17	22	Joey Logano	Walter Czarnecki	Todd Gordon	14 Ford	Shell Pennzoil
18	23	Alex Bowman	Ron Devine	Dave Winston	14 Toyota	Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry
19	24	Jeff Gordon	Rick Hendrick	Alan Gustafson	14 Chevrolet	Drive To End Hunger
20	26	Cole Whitt	Anthony Marlowe	Randy Cox	13 Toyota	TBA
21	27	Paul Menard	Richard Childress	Slugger Labbe	14 Chevrolet	CertainTeed / Menards
22	30	Parker Kligerman	Brandon Davis	Steve Lane	13 Toyota	TBA
23	31	Ryan Newman	Richard Childress	Luke Lambert	14 Chevrolet	QUICKEN LOANS
24	32	Travis Kvapil	Frank Stoddard Jr	Daniel Stillman	14 Ford	Keen Parts
25	33	David Stremme	Joe Falk	Mark Hillman	14 Chevrolet	Little Joe’s Autos
26	34	David Ragan	Bob Jenkins	Jay Guy	14 Ford	TACO BELL
27	35	David Reutimann	Jerry Freeze	Todd Anderson	14 Ford	MDS TRANSPORT
28	36	Reed Sorenson	Allan Heinke	Todd Parrott	14 Chevrolet	TBA
29	38	David Gilliland	Brad Jenkins	Frank Kerr	14 Ford	LONG JOHN SILVERS
30	40	Landon Cassill(i)	Michael Hillman	Mike Abner	14 Chevrolet	Hillman Racing
31	41	Kurt Busch	Gene Haas	Daniel Knost	14 Chevrolet	Haas Automation
32	42	Kyle Larson	Chip Ganassi	Chris Heroy	14 Chevrolet	AXE PEACE
33	43	Aric Almirola	Richard Petty	Trent Owens	14 Ford	Smithfield Foods
34	47	A J Allmendinger	Tad Geschickter	Brian Burns	14 Chevrolet	Bush’s Grillin Beans
35	48	Jimmie Johnson	Jeff Gordon	Chad Knaus	14 Chevrolet	Kobalt Tools
36	51	Justin Allgaier	Harry Scott Jr	Steve Addington	14 Chevrolet	BRANDT Professional Agriculture
37	55	Brian Vickers	Michael Waltrip	Billy Scott	14 Toyota	Aaron’s Dream Machine
38	66	Joe Nemechek(i)	Jay Robinson	Scott Eggleston	14 Toyota	Land Castle Title
39	77	Dave Blaney	Randy Humphrey	Peter Sospenzo	14 Ford	TBA
40	78	Martin Truex Jr	Barney Visser	Todd Berrier	14 Chevrolet	Furniture Row
41	83	Ryan Truex	Ron Devine	Doug Richert	14 Toyota	VooDoo BBQ & Grill Toyota Camry
42	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr	Rick Hendrick	Steve Letarte	14 Chevrolet	National Guard
43	95	Michael McDowell	Bob Leavine	Wally Rogers	14 Ford	LFR
44	98	Josh Wise	Mike Curb	Gene Nead	14 Chevrolet	Phil Parsons Racing
45	99	Carl Edwards	Jack Roush	James Fennig	14 Ford	FordAlwaysRacing

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Posted on April 20, 2014 by Staff Report

Best race? Top driver? See our analysts’ explanations below

Eight races. In a small sample size of the season — 22 percent to be exact — we’ve had seven winners, breakout stars and some of the best side-by-side action since, well, last year.

The indelible moments began in the first race of the season, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. climbing out of his car under the Daytona International Speedway lights as confetti poured down onto his No. 88 Chevrolet.

There have been some brilliant race-altering strategy calls, some surprises — and yes, some drivers who aren’t quite where they want to be in the standings.

Our NASCAR.com experts pick some early-season superlatives, and leave you with something to look for when the season picks back up next week at Richmond.

Chime in on which expert you agree — and disagree — with the most in the comments section, and submit your own choices for the categories below.

Best race

Zack Albert: STP 500, Martinsville Speedway. As good as Daytona was, the epic back-and-forth between race winner Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson capped a record day with 33 lead changes, the most in the 67-year-old track’s steeped 131-race history.

Kenny Bruce: Bojangles’ Southern 500, Darlington Raceway. Hard to top the constant battle at this historic venue, on a rugged old track and a pair of G-W-C attempts to wrap it up.

Holly Cain: Auto Club 400, Auto Club Speedway. Best race, I don’t know, but the finish was a thrilling conclusion to a wild afternoon at Auto Club in March with Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart dicing it up on a green-white-checkered sprint along with rookie Kyle Larson and the day’s winner, Kyle Busch.

David Caraviello: Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway. Simply one of the more riveting races in recent memory, given the way the leaders were dicing it up at the front of the field, almost through the full duration of the event. There was no riding around. Whether it was the new rules package or the rush to beat the weather, it all produced a mesmerizing 500 miles in NASCAR’s biggest event.

Alan Cavanna: Auto Club 400, Auto Club Speedway. A race of attrition, pit strategy and last-lap passes. Kyle Busch’s happiness melded with Jeff Gordon‘s despair after seeing one get away. Great emotion, great race.

Best call

Brad Keselowski was on an off-cycle pit strategy, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was gambling with fuel. Both decisions resulted in the drivers running 1-2 at Las Vegas.

Zack Albert: Gambling in Las Vegas. Crew chief Paul Wolfe made the most of an off-cycle pit schedule at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, keeping Brad Keselowski in position to pounce for the win when Dale Earnhardt Jr. sputtered with an out-of-gas car in the final lap of the Kobalt 400.

Kenny Bruce: Four tires for Joey Logano at Texas. Crew chief Todd Gordon opted for four tires, leaving his driver third on the final green-white-checkered restart. Joey Logano promptly drove past second-place Brian Vickers and race leader Jeff Gordon (both of whom took two tires) to score his first win of season and all but guarantee the team a spot in the Chase.

Holly Cain: Four tires for Kyle Busch at Auto Club. Crew chief Dave Rogers called for four tires on a final pit stop that was the difference in helping Busch overtake the leader on a two-lap green-white-checkered finale at Fontana.

David Caraviello: Kevin Harvick taking four tires at Darlington. Darlington is an aging track that can cause real headaches for crew chiefs when it comes to tire strategy, but it was clear in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 that four tires were better than two. No question Harvick was helped by cautions, but on a layout as challenging as Darlington, you almost have to plan for late yellows that will push the event beyond its scheduled distance.

Alan Cavanna: No. 88 team at Las Vegas. With a win in hand, the 88 team had nothing to lose by gambling on fuel. Dale Earnhardt Jr. came up a half-lap short, but the call embodied everything great about the new points system and provided a dramatic finish.

Biggest surprise

Jimmie Johnson is fifth in the points standings and has three top-fives and five top-10s, but his lack of a win surprises our experts.

Zack Albert: Team Penske. The hunch was the Penske camp would improve, but 2014 has brought a drastic uptick. Brad Keselowski and teammate Joey Logano each have led multiple laps in seven of eight races, most prolific among all Sprint Cup drivers.

Kenny Bruce: No wins for Six-Time. No, eight races isn’t an eternity, but Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team have often been the first to take advantage of major changes in sport. Not this time.

Holly Cain: Winless Johnson, Kenseth. Our expectations are so high now that we consider it a surprise when eight races into the schedule, last year’s winningest drivers are winless — six-time champ Jimmie Johnson and the guy who gave him a run for his title in 2013, Matt Kenseth.

David Caraviello: Kyle Larson. There were a lot of raised eyebrows when Chip Ganassi put Larson in his No. 42 car after all of one full year of experience at NASCAR’s national level. There are no raised eyebrows anymore. Larson already appears to be an upgrade over Juan Pablo Montoya, and though it’s a long season, you can’t discount the idea of the guy winning a race.

Alan Cavanna: Chase Elliott. Everyone knew Elliott had the racing DNA and potential, but who could predict two wins already? Elliott’s NASCAR Nationwide Series wins were earned using aggressive, late-race moves against some of the best Sprint Cup drivers on the circuit.

Most disappointing

Zack Albert: Kasey Kahne. Driver No. 5 ranked second in Sprint Cup points with four top-fives after eight races last year. This season, Kahne is 23rd with a goose egg in the top-five column.

Kenny Bruce: Martin Truex Jr. He has only one top-15 thus far with a team that made the Chase a year ago.

Holly Cain: Martin Truex Jr. After winning a front-row starting spot for the Daytona 500, Truex and the Furniture Row Racing team haven’t put together a top-10 finish yet.

David Caraviello: Kasey Kahne. In the Hendrick stable, Jeff Gordon leads the points, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the Daytona 500 champ, Jimmie Johnson is there every week and Kasey Kahne is 23rd in points. Something just isn’t clicking with that No. 5 team, and although Kahne is no stranger to slow starts, his is a glaring contrast to the early successes of his teammates.

Alan Cavanna: Kasey Kahne. After eight races Kahne is 23rd in points with no wins and just two top-10s. His three Hendrick Motorsports teammates are first, fourth and fifth in the standings. One win will turn his season around, though.

MVP

Zack Albert: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Five top-three finishes in eight races and a spirited Daytona 500 victory move Junior to the head of the class.

Kenny Bruce: Kevin Harvick. Just ask his crew chief. "He’s way better than I ever thought. Like way better. Seriously," says Rodney Childers.

Holly Cain: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junior vowed to give his crew chief Steve Letarte a fitting farewell season, and he’s done just that by answering an emotional Daytona 500 victory with three additional second-place finishes. If not for a slight mistake in the rain-delayed race at Texas, he’d be leading the standings by a hefty margin.

David Caraviello: Dale Earnhardt Jr. It’s not just the Daytona 500 title — it’s the fact that Earnhardt has maintained the momentum he built over the latter third of last season, and shows every sign of being a legitimate contender for the duration. His five top-fives lead the series, his career-best second at Darlington spoke volumes and that No. 88 team has been as consistently strong as any other group in the sport.

Alan Cavanna: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Five top-three finishes in eight races is the only stat I need to name Dale Jr. as the early-season MVP. I won’t let a mistake at Texas (for which he took the blame) knock him off that perch.

One to watch

Kyle Larson has four top-10s — and one near-win — in the first eight races. He appears poised to challenge for a victory before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field is set.

Zack Albert: Kyle Larson. The first rookie Sprint Cup winner in five years? The kid makes it look more reachable each week.

Kenny Bruce: Kyle Larson. The kid’s scary fast and not easily intimidated. He’ll make his share of mistakes, but continue to impress folks, too.

Holly Cain: Kyle Larson. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate has lived up to the hype accompanying his arrival in NASCAR’s big time. The 21-year-old has already earned a pair of top-fives (including a runner-up at Auto Club Speedway) and four top-10s in a car that had only four top-fives all of 2013 with driver Juan Pablo Montoya.

David Caraviello: Matt Kenseth. After a spectacular debut season with Joe Gibbs Racing, Matt Kenseth is back to doing that Matt Kenseth thing — lurking. He doesn’t yet have a race victory, and he’s gone almost unnoticed as he’s risen to second in points, but that No. 20 car remains strong and Kenseth remains one of the savviest drivers around. People will begin to notice him before long.

Alan Cavanna: Kyle Larson. Larson was my preseason pick for Sunoco Rookie of the Year, and he has exceeded expectations with four top-10s in eight races. Watch out when he goes back to tracks for a second time.

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Posted on April 19, 2014 by

Georgia town celebrates Chase’s victories in similar fashion to Bill’s wins

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The siren is a 12-volt model out of a former highway patrol car, but these days it sits atop a pole striped black and white like a checkered flag. And when it emits its ear-splitting howl, people in Dawsonville, Ga., know exactly what it means — local son Chase Elliott has won another race.

For two consecutive Friday nights, the siren perched on the roof of the Dawsonville Pool Room has sounded its mighty shriek, and for two consecutive Friday nights the locals have streamed outside to honk car horns and celebrate as if it were midnight on New Year’s Eve. Elliott’s back-to-back victories in the Nationwide Series have not only cemented the 18-year-old as a rising star, they’ve also helped to revive a unique tradition in his hometown. When an Elliott wins, the siren above the Pool Room blows. It was that way during Bill’s glory days, and it’s that way again now with his son Chase.

If you haven’t seen by now, here is the video of us sounding the siren for @chaseelliott‘s 2nd win in a row! https://t.co/Lg2rHMkh0M

— Dawsonville PoolRoom (@DawsonPoolRoom) April 13, 2014

"It’s been so good for this community," said Gordon Pirkle, the Pool Room’s longtime owner and a family friend of the Elliotts. "Everybody’s spirits are up. It’s back like it was in the mid-80s."

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Everyone knew about Dawsonville in the 1980s, when Bill Elliott — his nickname, "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville," said it all — put this town on the map. Back then the siren atop the Pool Room rang out with regularity, to the point where Pirkle affixed it to the roof. That siren, which came from a volunteer fire department, is still up there, and the Pool Room’s 77-year-old owner jokes that he hopes to one day sound it one more time.

(Photos courtesy of Michael Garrett)

Barring an unforeseen comeback by the 1988 NASCAR champion, that appears unlikely — Bill hasn’t raced at the sport’s top level in two years, and his siren has remained quiet since his last victory, in 2003 at Rockingham, N.C. So for the better part of a decade the sirens fell silent, and despite its legacy Dawsonville became a sleepy north Georgia town halfway between Atlanta and the Tennessee line. And then Bill and Cindy Elliott moved back because their son Chase wanted to pursue racing, and then everything started to change.

Or perhaps more accurately, everything started to return to the way it used to be. Back in 1983, Pirkle had a shop next to the Pool Room that housed the machines for the coin-operated amusement business he’s also involved in. "The boys fixed up a back room there so they could watch the races," Pirkle remembered, and when a caution flew late in the 1983 season finale at Riverside International Raceway, the locals realized their man Elliott was about to win in NASCAR for the first time. "We had to do something," Pirkle said, and there happened to be this old fire station siren sitting on the floor.

He found an extension cord, plugged it in, took the siren outside and let it roar, beginning a tradition in the process. "Of course, the deputy sheriff pulled up wanting to know what was going on," Pirkle remembered, "and we told him Bill Elliott won the race."

The enthusiasm was understandable. Pirkle had been a friend of Elliott’s father George, and all the Elliott boys were regulars in the Pool Room when they weren’t working at the race shop eight miles away. "They just seem like family to me," Pirkle said. By 1984, when Bill won three times, Pirkle had the siren atop the cab of a pickup truck. By 1985, when Elliott won 11 times, it had a permanent position on the roof. There was no cable television in Dawsonville then, and the Pool Room was one of the few places in town with a satellite dish. Pirkle — who originally didn’t even open the joint on Sundays — would pack them in, putting out folding chairs so everyone could crowd around a 21-inch television.

Now, everyone watches Chase race on a 24-foot projection TV set up down the street in city hall, the same building that houses the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. But the siren still screams from atop the Pool Room, though the model used to celebrate Chase’s victories is louder than the one which honored his father. People on the outskirts of town can hear it from their back porch. "It’s as loud as our emergency tornado warning," said Michael Garrett, Pirkle’s grandson, who manages the Pool Room’s social media accounts. "It’s no little siren."

At 20, Garrett is too young to remember Bill Elliott’s heyday, although he does remember hearing the siren call out for the final few victories of the driver’s career. The success of Chase Elliott, though, has allowed Garrett and others of his generation to experience the tradition all over again. Although Pirkle would sound the siren for big victories in Chase’s late model days — like last year’s Snowball Derby, which the younger Elliott later had taken away due to an inspection violation — nothing has galvanized Dawsonville quite like his Nationwide triumphs of the past few weeks.

"A bunch of people that didn’t know they used to do it for Bill, like people who have recently moved in, are realizing it’s for Chase now," Garrett said. "I heard it back in early 2000s when Bill won his last race. But I really don’t remember it as much as I know now that Chase is winning, and Papa is blowing the siren again. A younger generation like me, we can fall in love with that tradition now because of Chase. We weren’t able to do it back in Bill’s day. It’s a really neat thing."

And it continues a long NASCAR tradition in Dawsonville, where the Pool Room has been a fixture for over 50 years. Bill still pops in a few times a week to eat lunch, when the specials are comfort food staples like chicken and dressing or hamburger steak. Pirkle’s daughter Hayley is a former Miss Atlanta Journal 500 who appeared in Victory Lane on the day when Elliott clinched his championship in Atlanta in 1988. And Chase even worked at the Pool Room one summer when at 13, his parents thought their son should experience what it was like to hold down a job.

Pirkle chuckles when he tells the story. Chase was already racing at the time, and concerned about how he’d fit a part-time job into his schedule, so Pirkle agreed to let him work the early shift and then leave to go work on his race car with the race team employees who would come in every day for lunch. Pirkle had hired plenty of kids involved in sports, and had always found them to be industrious and responsible employees, but he had one rule — anyone who had to leave early had to make sure all the dishes were washed first. Chase would be no different.

"About a week or so went by, and my help was just really loving that kid," Pirkle said. "Every little break he’d get, he’d run back there to that sink and get the dishes washed up. He didn’t want to be late getting to that shop, is what it was. I don’t think the rest of my staff ever washed any dishes on the breakfast shift. He kept them washed up. I can’t believe what a level head that boy’s got on him, and how polite he is. He’s just a good kid."

All of which makes Pirkle quite happy to sound the siren for one of his former dishwashers, as he’s done after Chase claimed back-to-back victories at Texas and Darlington. "Everybody in Dawsonville loves Chase, and loves the Elliotts," Garrett said. "We get so excited. Right as he’s crossing the finish line they’re saying, ‘Sound it! Sound it!’ We don’t even have time to hook anything up or anything. People get so excited."

And with it, Dawsonville comes to life, much like it did in the 1980s when another Elliott was winning races in NASCAR. Chase’s victories clearly resonate with those at the Pool Room, where the sign out front features images of checkered flags, and is topped by a row of cartoon race cars. But people in Dawsonville are equally as proud of the fact that the younger Elliott hasn’t forgotten where he came from — as he showed Wednesday, when he signed autographs for two hours at city hall.

"He’s been raised up in those cars all his life," Pirkle said. "He’s known nothing but racing, from the time he was little and Bill and Cindy took him to all the races, and then he’s worked in the shop up there. And I can tell, he genuinely loves this. I used to kid Bill and them, ‘I guess you picked the wrong one up at the hospital, he’s so polite.’ But then he started racing. I know he’s his boy."

Chase Elliott with Gordon Pirkle

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Posted on April 19, 2014 by Holly Cain

Young drivers touch on how the NASCAR Next experience benefitted them

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Officially they are known as NASCAR’s "Next" but the reality is more like NASCAR’s "Now."

Dylan Kwasniewski, Ben Kennedy and Darrell Wallace Jr. led a crop of young, up-and-coming talented identified by NASCAR as future stars but the future turned out to be a lot closer to the present.

The two-time K&N Pro Series champ Kwasniewski, 18, won the pole position in his very first Nationwide Series start at Daytona International Speedway in February.

Kennedy, great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., was on pole at his family’s Daytona track in his first Camping World Truck Series start there in February.

And Wallace, 20, is already a NASCAR national series winner, with a victory at the super tough Martinsville, Va. half-miler lastseason in only his second Camping World Truck Series start there.

No pressure or anything on the new NASCAR Next Class that will be announced next Friday at Richmond International Raceway.

"I’m sure when they come out . ..with a new lineup, I’m sure that class will have a ton of potential," said Kennedy, who drives the No. 31 Chevrolet for Turner Scott Motorsports.

Wallace said he’s already "pulling for" the new class, wishing them the kind of success, fun and exposure that these three experienced over the last year-plus.

The trio spoke this week about their time representing the program, how they’ve fared under the spotlight, their greatest struggles to date and what advice they have for the incoming group of NASCAR Next.

"I think the biggest thing. .. is getting used to the cameras, being more acclimated to talking with everybody [in the media] and kind of just getting used to being in the spotlight because hopefully we will be in it in the future to come," Kwasniewski said.

Added Kennedy, "Being able to work with all these great drivers, it made a really good bond with everyone throughout the whole program."

This group of drivers in particular made the talent scouts look good.

Kwasniewski, the only driver to ever win both the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West division titles, not only became the youngest Nationwide Series pole-winner in Daytona history, but answered his impressive start with a top-10 finish (eighth).

A month later, team owner Chip Ganassi signed him to a driver development deal with the idea of eventually moving him up to the Sprint Cup Series ranks — exactly what the NASCAR Next platform was designed to yield.

Wallace, also a graduate of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, is the first of the group to hoist a national series trophy – or in his case to bring home a grandfather clock as is the Martinsville, Va. track’s traditional victory award.

"Bubba" – the name he prefers to go by – immediately lived up to his billing, scoring three top-10s in four Nationwide starts as an 18-year old in 2012.

Last year the Kyle Busch Motorsports truck series driver became the first African American since Wendell Scott in 1963 to win a NASCAR national series race and returned this year to make a real run at the truck championship. Two weeks ago at Martinsville he won the pole and finished runner-up and is ranked eighth in points right now.

He says it was a drastic step up to the big time and the next group of NASCAR Next can expect that as well.

"The quickest thing I had to learn was the new tracks that we’ve been to," Wallace said, recounting a vivid example of a high speed "schooling" that still sticks with him.

"A prime example for me was Kansas [last year] when Kyle [Busch] spun out early in the race, I was running 12th or something. I looked back to see where he was and he was next to last. No lie, two laps later he’s passing on the outside line and I was sitting on jack stands.

"It was incredible to see how much experience and talent plays out once you get up to the top three series because it’s a huge jump."

Kennedy, 22, who graduates with a sports management degree from the University of Florida next month, agrees that there is no replacement for experience when it comes to competing in a national series.

"You’ve seen it on TV and everything, but I feel you can only get so much out of watching races until you actually get out there and drive hard in the corner [and] you feel the bumps and everything," Kennedy said, who finished third in the truck race at Martinsville — right behind Wallace — and has a pair of top-five finishes in seven truck starts in 2013-14. He’s ranked sixth in the championship entering the next race, May 9 at Kansas.

All three of these drivers repeatedly spoke about he camaraderie they established as one of the best points of the NASCAR Next experience. They have high hopes for the next group.

"It will be exciting to see who is in the new class now and what they can do out there on the race track. … it’ll be fun to watch for sure," Wallace said.

Advice for the incoming class?

"It’s a cool program to be a part of," Wallace said, "Just got to stick with it."

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Posted on April 18, 2014 by Staff Report

‘Drivin for Linemen 200’ marks return of NASCAR racing to St. Louis area

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Gateway Motorsports Park and MAKE Motorsports annouced Friday that the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on June 14 will be named the "Drivin’ for Linemen 200." The event, held over Father’s Day weekend, marks the return of the Camping World Truck Series to the St. Louis area for the first time since 2010.

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The race name is intended to bring awareness to the Linemen of America and the electrical industry.

The Linemen were recognized by the U.S. Congress on Friday for their efforts as first responders during natural disasters and the race will pay tribute to the past, present, future and fallen Linemen.

"Gateway Motorsports Park is honored to be associated with the Fallen Linemen Organization and the International Lineman’s Museum," Curtis Francois, CEO and owner of Gateway Motorsports Park said. "With the sporadic and dangerous weather we experience here in the Midwest, our fans understand the critical role electrical linemen play in assisting other first responders in their efforts to save lives. Our goal with this event partnership is to recognize these heroes and their families, and pay tribute to the men and women who have sacrificed their lives helping others."

The "Drivin’ for Lineman 200" will be televised on FOX Sports 1 on June 14 with the race set to start at 8:30 p.m. ET. Coverage will begin at 8 p.m. ET.

For additional information on the Fallen Linemen Organization, please visit www.fallenlinemen.org.

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Posted on April 18, 2014 by Nascar

Longtime team owner shares thoughts on reducing horsepower in top series

With NASCAR officials focusing on engine changes in the Sprint Cup Series for 2015 that will result in a reduction of horsepower, such a move should involve "a restriction on the intake side," according to Sprint Cup Series team co-owner Jack Roush.

Roush, an owner in the series since 1988, isn’t suggesting the use of restrictor plates similar to those used at Daytona and Talladega.

Instead, he said, a reduction of the throttle bore size "without a plate underneath" would accomplish the objective.

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"(It is) straightforward and it is easily reversible if you decided that the quality of the racing was hurt by it," Roush told NASCAR.com during the Sprint Cup Series stop at Darlington Raceway on April 12.

"If they want to take 100 horsepower off … reduce horsepower significantly, the least expensive and most palatable way to do that is with a restriction on the intake side."

Earlier this month, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France told Sirius XM NASCAR Radio that changes to the current engine packages used in the Cup Series are coming, perhaps as soon as next season.

France said such a move would be "part of the overall rules packages that we design that hopefully control costs, hopefully make the racing better."

Today’s Cup engines, limited to 358 cubic inches, produce approximately 850 horsepower. Speeds have increased, in part due to a new rules package and the continued development of the Generation-6 car, now in its second year.

While officials with the three auto manufacturers currently involved at the series’ top level, Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota, have been a part of the discussions, they say it is too early in the process to respond to potential engine changes.

Roush, who turns 72 on April 19, is the co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing. The organization has won the NASCAR Cup title twice – with former drivers Matt Kenseth in 2003 and Kurt Busch in ’04. The organization’s 134 victories rank Roush Fenway fourth highest overall and No. 3 among current teams in the series.

He is also co-owner of Roush Yates Engines, which supplies engines to more than one dozen Sprint Cup Series teams.

"From an owner’s standpoint, NASCAR has got to be mindful of … what it costs," Roush said. "The race teams can only afford to change so many things at a time. With the expanding technology and the engineering costs that everybody has with the pressure for sponsorship and investment in the sport, a dramatic or unnecessary engine change would not be welcome in my world."

Roush said previous conversations with NASCAR officials have focused on two considerations.

"One of them is not a big-cost problem and the other one is," he said. "If NASCAR comes back and redefines the engine right away, says we’re going to a 4-valve, twin overhead cam package, that would be a death knell for a lot of teams in terms of what it would cost to re-power these things.

"I don’t think it would materially impact the competitiveness of the cars, or the quality of the product that the consumers buy either from watching it on TV or from buying a seat in the stands.

"The thing that NASCAR has talked about, that they’ve brought to my attention, is changing the displacement of the engine in an effort to reduce 100 horsepower; that gets thumbs down from me because the cost of crankshafts, and the obsolescence that are involved and the development that follows that are going to cost the teams millions of dollars.

"I think NASCAR has asked ‘what about that?’ but I don’t think they are serious in wanting to push that."

Roush said it appears more likely that the change will involve lowering the engine RPM, "which would be less hard on the engine," and could include "a requirement that you use the engine for two races.

"I think that’s more likely where they will wind up," he said.

Both the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series currently operate with a "sealed engine" program.

Such a move at the Cup level would mean higher initial costs due to development and construction, but by making the engine last for two races a net savings could be realized.

"By reducing the RPM, you reduce the power available for the car without changing its restriction or changing its displacement," said Roush. "By making the requirement that an engine be run twice before it was subject to rebuild, we would have that opportunity to reduce costs to the teams."

Roush said there is also talk of moving away from flat tappet camshafts in Cup engines to a roller camshaft similar to what is currently used in the Nationwide and Truck series.

"Right now you have to search the world for the best steel and best coating process to be able to have the friction characteristics that will allow you to run a flat tappet camshaft competitively," he said.

"The roller camshaft lifter arrangement will be much easier to source from a component point of view and much easier for the marginal teams to be able to get camshafts in their engines that will be durable."

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Posted on April 17, 2014 by

From Waltrip to Baker and more, counting down the top 10 NASCAR TV analysts

At its best, auto racing doesn’t just translate via television — it bursts through the screen and into your living room, leaving little bits of rubber on the sofa. That’s often certainly the case with NASCAR, whose sound and fury and kaleidoscopic colors have made for compelling viewing ever since CBS cameras caught Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison slugging it out at Daytona in 1979.

And explaining it all are the personalities on the other side of the camera, who to longtime viewers have become like an extended family — though one where the members don’t always get along. Race announcers, broadcasters such as Ken Squier and Mike Joy, are like the uncles who regale us with stories each time they visit. Analysts, like Darrell Waltrip and Kyle Petty, are like the uncles we argue with across the dinner table. Just like back in the day at the race track, sometimes a few chicken bones get thrown.

Oh, do race fans love their television analysts. Oh, do race fans hate their television analysts. Oh, do race fans love to hate their television analysts, something Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte will surely discover next season when they don headsets for NBC. Regardless of the network, that complicated yet committed relationship is always there, with both sides rushing back to one another each week. Well, except for this one. With NASCAR on a rare hiatus, it’s time to turn the channel back through history, and run down the sport’s top 10 television analysts.

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10. David Hobbs
There was something about that British accent, which seemed both so out of place and so enchanting all at the same time. A former driver who raced just about everything — he made six Formula One starts, and two in what is now NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series — Hobbs worked for more than a dozen years as a color commentator and pit reporter for CBS telecasts of NASCAR. It was Hobbs who sat in the motorhome with Teresa Earnhardt when her husband Dale lost a tire, and ultimately the Daytona 500, to Derrike Cope in 1990. Later, it was Hobbs who asked the Intimidator the question everyone was thinking: What the heck happened?

9. Dale Jarrett

As smooth behind the microphone as he was behind the wheel, Jarrett moved effortlessly into the broadcast booth after his racing days ended, and in recent years has been a regular on ESPN broadcasts. The son of Ned Jarrett, another champion driver who made a successful transition into television, the three-time Daytona 500 winner has been working select broadcasts for ESPN since 2007. The 1999 NASCAR champion and newly-minted Hall of Famer has an even-keeled style that helps to see through the clutter, which viewers seem to appreciate in a medium that can easily be overtaken by shouting and noise.

8. Buddy Baker

The Nashville Network was a NASCAR broadcast partner throughout the 1990s, and Baker was in many ways TNN’s voice. A 19-time winner on the sport’s premier circuit as a driver, Baker brought his gregariousness and enthusiasm straight into the broadcast booth, even though he was still competing part-time. Never at a loss for words, Baker was one of many former drivers who not only found a second career behind the microphone, but discovered that the experience enhanced his career as a whole. He’s still at it today on SiriusXM radio, and his broadcast work is likely one reason he’s earned a nomination for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

7. Chris Economaki

OK, so maybe he wasn’t technically an analyst. But he wasn’t really a pit reporter, either, at least not in his later years. Economaki was simply an original, and every race broadcast was improved by his presence. Part commentator and part essayist, the Dean of American Motorsports opined on all things racing during his stint with CBS, which coincided with the network’s golden age of NASCAR coverage and exposed him to a new audience. His voice was unmistakable, his depth of knowledge was unfathomable, and he could own the TV screen even when sharing it with championship drivers. So no, he wasn’t really an analyst. He was a legend.

6. Benny Parsons

The 1973 champion was a big personality, but he brought an ease to the broadcast booth when he transitioned from behind the steering wheel to behind the microphone. A former Detroit taxicab driver who knew how to relate to people, Parsons often analyzed races in a relaxed, almost professorial tone that struck a chord with race fans. After winning 21 races as a driver, he became a ubiquitous media personality, calling races for ESPN, NBC and TNT. Parsons won an Emmy award for his work with ESPN in 1996, and was still a presence in his sport when he was lost to lung cancer in early 2007.

5. Ray Evernham

The three-time championship-winning crew chief was intense and detail-oriented as a crew chief, and brought that same work ethic to his job as an analyst for ABC and ESPN. Befitting someone who won 47 races atop the pit box, Evernham’s specialty was drilling down to the core of any issue involving car setup or pit strategy, and making it easier for the viewer to understand. He took the job seriously, and it showed — early this year Evernham stepped away from his television work, to avoid any conflict of interest after his role as an advisor to Rick Hendrick expanded into the motorsports realm. That’s a pro’s pro.

4. Andy Petree

He may have an understated tone, but his words can carry plenty of punch. A championship-winning crew chief with Dale Earnhardt before becoming race-winning car owner with a smaller, out-of-the-way team, Petree is as good as any analyst working today at forecasting what’s about to happen on the race track. A part of ESPN’s coverage since 2007, he can also scold with the best of them, in a flat voice that can convey plenty of disappointment. His Earnhardt connection gives him credibility with old-school race fans, while his delivery and underrated knack for outspokenness do the rest.

3. Kyle Petty

On the subject of outspokenness — meet the man who redefined the practice. An eight-time winner in NASCAR’s premier series who has been a mainstay of TNT’s coverage, Petty is far from shy about sharing opinions that are sometimes brutally honest and occasionally inflammatory. The latter was certainly the case when it came to his comments last year about Danica Patrick, but anyone who’s been paying attention realized that was nothing new. In a sport where too many competitors are perhaps too friendly with one another, it’s almost refreshing to have an analyst not afraid of hurting feelings, and that’s what makes Petty so good.

2. Darrell Waltrip

As an analyst, ‘ol D.W. can so rankle some people, that they even questioned whether the three-time champion deserved to be in the Hall of Fame. That’s crazy talk. What’s not, though, is the indisputable fact that since joining the Fox booth in 2001, Waltrip has become the face of his sport on television, and he’s earned that position through sheer enthusiasm and goodwill. Sure, the "boogity" thing may have run its course, and maybe the Fox guys get a little excitable sometimes. But goodness, does Darrell Waltrip love NASCAR, and that passion comes charging right through the television, and it all makes him as engaging and as watchable as any racing analyst there’s ever been.

1. Ned Jarrett

There may be many younger viewers who aren’t familiar with Jarrett’s work on television, given that the two-time champion hasn’t called a race since 2007. But he essentially invented the idea of a former driver moving into the booth, and quickly became a master of the craft. Best known for his work on CBS and ESPN, Jarrett was very much a professional broadcaster, using a concise style that let the race tell the story. But he was human, after all, and his call of son Dale’s 1993 Daytona 500 victory will choke you up even today. When he was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, his broadcast work was cited as much as his racing triumphs, and with good reason. For decades, he wasn’t just an analyst. He was the analyst.

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