Jeff Gordon adds new primary sponsor

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Nascar

Long-term deal hints at four-time champion not retiring soon

Hold off on the retirement talk. Put the bubbly back in the bucket. With today’s sponsorship announcement, it seems four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon isn’t planning any going away parties anytime soon.

Officials with Hendrick Motorsports announced Tuesday an expanded relationship with Panasonic that will include primary sponsorship of Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet for select races through the 2016 season.

The company will be the team’s primary sponsor for two races each year, beginning with this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway. It will serve as an associate sponsor in the remaining races.

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Panasonic will also be the primary sponsor of the No. 24 later this year at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The company aligned itself with Hendrick Motorsports as a technology partner in 2007.

Hendrick Motorsports fields four Sprint Cup teams, for Gordon, six-time champion Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne.

According to a news release from HMS, Panasonic’s Toughbook brand will be featured on the car’s quarter panels this weekend.

"To maximize the value of a NASCAR sponsorship, you need to partner with proven teams and drivers that exemplify your brand," Rance Poehler, president, Panasonic System Communications Company of North America, said. "Hendrick Motorsports and Jeff Gordon have a record of excellence that is a perfect fit for Panasonic and its Toughbook brand."

Team owner Rick Hendrick said his company uses Panasonic technology "across the organization, and it provides the best possible tools in every area, from competition to marketing to IT."

The Toughbook mobile computer is a staple in the NASCAR garage among engineers.

Gordon, 42, is the series points leader and a five-time winner at Sonoma.

The debut of Panasonic couldn’t come at a better place, according to Gordon.

"This is the next step in what’s already been a successful partnership, and it’s going to be fun to take it to another level," he said. "We hope to kick it off with a win this weekend for Panasonic and Toughbook."

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Posted on June 17, 2014 by Nascar

RFR failed to get at least one of its drivers in the top 10 at MIS for the first time since 2000

Through the years, it’s been a safe haven of sorts — a place to go where at least one of the organization’s cars would contend for a win, if not wind up in Victory Lane.

Roush Fenway Racing teams have more victories at Michigan International Speedway (13) than any other stop on the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. The group’s best-combined average finish (13.5) also has come on the 2-mile track located in Brooklyn, Michigan.

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MIS has long been considered a Ford track, with the automaker leading the way in victories there.

But a look at the results from Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 paints quite a different picture. Roush Fenway Racing failed to place any one of its drivers in the top 10 at MIS for the first time since 2000.

In fact, not one of the group’s three teams, with drivers Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., even came close. Biffle, twice a winner in the last three stops at MIS before this year’s event, finished 20th, the highest for the organization.

These are not glory days for the RFR camp. The Michigan misstep wasn’t the only one this year, although at least one of its three teams has finished among the top 10 in all but four of this season’s 15 points races.

Three of those four, however, have come in the past three stops: Dover, Pocono and now Michigan.

"That was a big struggle," Edwards said after bringing his No. 99 Ford home in 23rd place at MIS. "It was pretty tough, but we worked hard and didn’t quit.

"Fortunately, we have a win to get us in the Chase, but we’ve just got to get better as a group. That’s the way it is."

Edwards, who won earlier this year at Bristol, is sixth in points; Biffle is winless and currently 15th while Stenhouse Jr., also winless, enters this weekend’s race at Sonoma Raceway a distant 27th.

Asked about his organization’s position, co-owner Jack Roush said the group had been "probably challenged more than some of the teams have with the difference in the ride height."

"I know that’s changed the dynamic of the underbody of the car and it’s been a revelation," he said. "How low is low enough and how low is too low. Too low is higher than we thought it might have been a month ago and we’re sorting that out."

Earlier this year, the organization released long-time lead engineer Chip Bolin; testing fills the calendar between race dates. The search for speed goes on.

"Virtually every week," said Roush of his teams’ testing schedule. "Either a (Goodyear) tire test at a NASCAR race track … or a bootlegged race track test that’s not on the circuit."

The parts and pieces are there, he said. Finding the right combination has not been easy.

Eleven more races remain before the 16-team Chase field is set, including eight tracks where the group has enjoyed one or more wins. Among those is a return to MIS.

Team Penske drivers Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano are also in the Ford camp, and have combined for three wins this season. Keselowski, the 2012 series champion, is fifth in points while Logano is seventh.

Their success hasn’t gone unnoticed.

"Certainly the Penske guys are running really well with very similar cars," said Roush, "and we’ve just got to get back to where we need to be."

Muddying the waters in the camp is the question of whether Biffle and Edwards will be back in ’15. Both drivers are at the end of their current contracts.

"In due time we’ll have announcements for 2015," Roush said. "We’ve got a lot of 2014 in front of us and we’re obviously focused on that."

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