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Kevin Gilardoni to drive No. 99 as Papis aims to give back

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Explaining that he wanted to "make a difference," NASCAR driver Max Papis announced Thursday he will field a team in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series for fellow Italian Kevin Gilardoni, with hopes of developing the 21-year-old driver to compete in the NASCAR ranks in America soon.

Papis, who has competed in all three NASCAR national series and currently works as a racing and business advisor for Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon, said he will spend a bit more time in Europe to support his new Max Papis Racing operation, but will also keep a large presence stateside working with Dillon.

Gilardoni is expected to come to the team’s Mooresville, N.C., headquarters in mid-February to get acquainted with the cars and team members before the Euro Series begins April 12 in Spain. Papis even plans to have the Italian compete in a handful of late model races in the U.S. during down times in the Euro schedule, which will include events at famed facilities such as Germany’s Nurburgring as well as Valencia, Spain.

"I look back when I was back in Europe at 15, 16, 17. I had a dream to come and race in America. I didn’t know how."

— Max Papis

"I would like to create this bridge in order to give opportunities to people that have the same dream I had," Papis told reporters Thursday. "And at the same time obviously doing it with NASCAR, it’s a great opportunity. I would have not done it with any other series because obviously I know what’s behind the vision of everyone in the NASCAR series."

The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series considers Papis’ involvement a "huge step" for the series, with impact immediately and in the future.

"The series has started to grow since it was created in 2009, and our common goal with NASCAR and Whelen Engineering and this team is to bring it to the top level of motorsports in Europe," said NASCAR Whelen Euro Series General Manager Jerome Galpin.

"We also would like, as Max said, to develop the bridge to bring the best European drivers racing NASCAR to the U.S. so definitely I think Max’s part of it will be his experience. His knowledge of racing both in Europe and the U.S. will be a huge step forward for us, and especially we’re going to build a path for younger drivers."

Gilardoni comes from the same small village of Como, Italy, as Papis. His most recent racing includes eight wins in 26 races en route to the 2012 Italian Formula Renault 2.0 championship. He finished third in the Renault production-based Megane Trophy Eurocup Series last year with a pole and seven podium finishes.

"My dream now is becoming true, so my target is always to do my best, and over time, step by step with Max’s advice, I hope to be in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series," Gilardoni said, acknowledging his appreciation for the opportunity. "I think from him I can learn everything to be at the top. Everyone like me and other drivers, we (are) really excited and really upbeat. For me, (this is) very important, and I will do my best to be like (Max). 

"And why not be in NASCAR in USA?"

When Papis was asked why a successful driver like himself would want to get involved with the risky ownership side of motorsports, he laughed, then explained earnestly.

"The main reason that drove me to have the team is not actually the desire to be a Hendrick or a Richard Childress," Papis said. "I don’t think that you will see me doing that kind of route. But it’s been more to be able to give back to the sport and do it in a way, in a series that is affordable, in a series where I can make a difference. … I look back when I was back in Europe at 15, 16, 17. I had a dream to come and race in America. I didn’t know how.

"I want to be the person that a kid like Kevin … that has a dream of coming and working in America, I get a call and I create a small, humble platform where they can start their dream, and I can use my connection to do that.

"The love for the sport is so big in my heart."

From a business perspective, Papis is encouraged by the more-than-respectable crowd attending the Whelen Euro races during the series’ first two years and the excitement it has generated.

Speaking at last year’s World Innovation Conference in Cannes, France, NASCAR Executive Vice President Steve O’Donnell reiterated the sport’s intent and commitment to expanding NASCAR’s stock car concept in other countries.

After the Cannes conference, O’Donnell told USA Today that the sanctioning body is seeing progress.

“People see that, and the light goes on that this is a pretty good product and compelling," O’Donnell told the newspaper. "We’re trying to sell two things: the competitive nature of the sport and that it reflects what (fans) may be driving on the street."

Papis has seen this firsthand, and that’s why he was so willing to up the ante and field a team.

"We planted the seed about three years ago. I was able to, thanks to Joe Gibbs Racing, to bring a Cup car to Monza to do a demonstration, and thanks to NASCAR, as well, they really helped us a lot," Papis said. "We planted the seed, and I really felt that that created a lot of enthusiasm because people are not used to hearing the sound of a V8 engine.

"And the way that the NASCAR Euro Series is approaching the business, it is very fan-friendly. The garage is open. We are basically bringing to Europe all the enthusiasm that has been missing there for a lot of years and the way of doing things in America that are basically fan-friendly. So the excitement has been really big, and that’s the reason why I decided to join them right now, because I really feel that the potential of growth is incredible, and I want to be part of it."

Of course for anyone who knows the big-hearted Papis, racing is always about much more than a good business decision. For example, he chose the No. 99 for his team as a tribute to his good friend, the late Greg Moore — even asking Moore’s father for permission to use it.

And judging by Papis’ comments this week, the ability to give back and to provide this opportunity to another young driver is the prevailing motivating factor.

"The love for the sport and the love for my family are the two biggest things that fill my dreams and fill my life every day," Papis said.

Kevin Gilardoni will drive the No. 99 for Max Papis Racing. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Gilardoni)

 

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Stefanyshyn talks changes to Sprint Cup car, panel of drivers discuss fan engagement

DETROIT — NASCAR, manufacturers and teams have collaborated to make a handful of changes to their cars for the coming season, and though many of the tweaks may be small — they could wind up paying big dividends.
 
Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR vice president of innovation and racing development, said cars will be closer to the ground at all but the fastest of tracks the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits. He was among the panelists for Wednesday’s Tech Talk forum at Cobo Center, home of the 2014 North American International Auto Show.
 
"Probably the thing fans will notice most is the height of the cars when they’re in the pits," he said. "It used to be 4 ½ inches but they’ll be closer to the ground this year."
 
Other changes include a steeper rear spoiler, squaring of the front splitter and slightly higher trim of the rear fascia, but Stefanyshyn said those alterations probably will be harder to spot.
 
The lack of severe changes comes a year after the series began running the Gen-6 race car, the result of a collaboration between NASCAR and the three manufacturers that field NASCAR Sprint Cup cars.

Jamie Allison of Ford Racing, David Wilson of Toyota Racing Development and Jim Campbell of Chevy Performance Vehicles and Motorsport also were panelists, and all three said that sense of collaboration still exists — even though all three nameplates want to be first to the checkered flag.
 
"We’re all trying to beat each other’s brains in," Wilson said, "but there still is that commitment to making the sport even better for our fans."
 
Stefanyshyn said the level of cooperation between NASCAR, its manufacturers and teams makes it seem like the sport has an army of engineers.
 
"We don’t have 1,000 engineers [at NASCAR] but we do have 1,000 engineers [throughout the industry]," he said. "This is an area where we work together to make the sport better."
 
Two of the most enlightening tidbits from the discussion included Allison noting that a lack of testing time means simulators are used more and more to prepare cars for different tracks. In many cases, he said, the driver’s first time in the car on a new track is with a setup prepared with extensive computer help.
 
A variety of metrics, Stefanyshyn added, also are used to measure the flow and general competitiveness of a race. A variety of factors, including the number of passes for the lead and the distance between the first and fifth, 10th or 15th cars in the running order, are among the factors NASCAR uses to grade the overall entertainment factor in a race.
 
The second panel focused on fan engagement and featured owner and former driver Michael Waltrip, NASCAR Vice President of Marketing Kim Brink, as well as current NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers David Ragan and Ryan Newman. All three drivers were quick to point out their use of technology hardly ends when they leave the race track.

Michael Waltrip, David Ragan and Ryan Newman talked about their use of technology away from the track.

"There are a lot of ways to know what’s happening while we’re at the race track," Ragan said, "but the fans that follow the drivers and teams want to know what happens Monday through Thursday."
 
The days of mail-in fan clubs, Newman said, are long gone.
 
"Michael used to have a fan club in 1992; now Twitter is the fan club.
 
"It’s social, it’s instant."
 
Michigan International Speedway hosts two NASCAR Sprint Cup races each season and track president Roger Curtis said the search for ways to improve the fan experience on-site never ends. His was the first speedway to offer free WiFi to fans last year and he said it hopes the same will be available at all facilities that host NASCAR events by the 2015 season.
 
"It used to be customer service was a department with us," he said. "Now it’s our job."
 
The NAIAS has a NASCAR flair of its own. Visitors to the show, which opens to the public Saturday and runs through Jan. 26, can get a look at the Harley J. Earl Trophy, presented to the Daytona 500 champion; the NASCAR Sprint Cup Trophy at Chevrolet’s exhibit; and Matt Kenseth‘s No. 20 Camry is on display at Toyota’s show floor.
 
The Sprint Unlimited kicks off competitive racing at Daytona on Feb. 15 on FOX Sports 1. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits MIS on June 15 and Aug. 17.

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Sponsorship expands to 29 races for each of next three years

NEW YORK — The setting was a former Broadway theatre, complete with crystal light fixtures and ornamented gold columns that rose up to the second balcony. The thick, velvet curtain rose to display a familiar blue No. 43 car, and what Richard Petty Motorsports hopes is a new era for both the organization and driver Aric Almirola.

Amid the glitz of midtown Manhattan, RPM on Wednesday announced extended agreements with both the sponsor and driver of its flagship No. 43 car, the vehicle co-owner Richard Petty made famous through seven championships and autograph signings too many to count. Crucial to the deal is an increased commitment from Smithfield Foods,  which has expanded to 29 races for this season and each of the next two years, with the company’s investment in RPM increasing 50 percent each year through 2016.

The deal includes a contract extension for Almirola, who began driving the No. 43 car in the 2012 season, and whose new terms run concurrent with the Smithfield agreement. The increased funding will allow RPM to make upgrades such as the addition of a research and development team, and puts the No. 43 car on its best financial footing since Petty and a pair of investors took back a once-foundering organization from former majority owner George Gillett in late 2010.

"It’s tremendous," said Brian Moffitt, the team’s chief executive officer. "When Richard took back control of the company, him being a champion and a winner, he didn’t just want to run around in the back of the pack. It’s about being competitive. And Smithfield stepping up the way they are, it gives us more testing opportunities, it gives us more to advance research and development. We’ve been able to hire human capital — in our business it’s all about the people, and we’ve been able to invest in some really good people we’ve been able to bring into the company."



(Left to right) Seven-time NASCAR premier series champion Richard Petty, Smithfield Foods CEO Larry Pope and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Aric Almirola at the Hudson Theatre in New York City on Jan. 15, 2014

Smithfield started with RPM in 2012 by sponsoring seven races, a commitment that eventually increased to cover roughly half that season after another sponsor left the Petty team. Wednesday’s announcement in the Hudson Theatre marked the beginning of the Virginia company’s largest marketing campaign today, based on what chairman Larry Pope called double- and sometime triple-digit increases in sales thanks to his association with NASCAR and the Petty brand.

"The financial commitment that Smithfield is making now into 2016 is multiples of where we initially started, and a substantial increase from where we were last year," said Pope, who once lived in Daytona Beach, Fla., and attended the Daytona 500 as a youngster. "That’s an indication of how pleased we are with the success we think the relationship between what Aric is doing on the track, the brands on the track, and what it’s doing for us with our customers. We’ve seen the data supports the fact that this is the right way to reach our customers. We’re very pleased with the success we’re achieving at retail and food service as a result of that, and as a result, we’re increasing our commitment."

NASCAR was pleased to see the increased commitment from a Fortune 500 company. "We know NASCAR is a sport that works for business. It’s clearly working for Smithfield Foods," said Jim O’Connell, NASCAR’s chief sales officer. "It’s one thing for a sponsor to come in, it’s another for them to increase their investment by 50 percent. That shows it’s working for them."

For Smithfield, the sponsorship is a key step in its progression from a commodity-based company to consumer packaged goods company with recognized national brands. For RPM, the increased commitment from Smithfield adds greater flexibility to a team that receives chassis from Roush Fenway Racing and engines from Roush Yates. "We depend on other people," Petty said. "What we’re trying to do now is still depend on those other people, but get more in the game."

RPM also fields the No. 9 car of Marcos Ambrose, as well as an entry for Dakoda Armstrong in the Nationwide Series. Almirola expects the Smithfield extension to help not just the No. 43 team, but the organization as a whole.

"Not only are they investing in Richard Petty Motorsports, but they’re investing in our performance, to help us to perform at the level we need to be competitive," Almirola said of Smithfield. "Because let’s be real — everybody’s seen it for 100 years in racing: money buys speed. The teams with the most money, with the most resources, with all the right tools and right people, and that can afford the right people and the right parts and pieces, are successful. This is a huge step in that direction."



(Left to right) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Aric Almirola, seven-time NASCAR premier series champion Richard Petty and Smithfield Foods CEO Larry Pope at the Hudson Theatre in New York City on Jan. 15, 2014

While the Petty team has long been one of the most successful in NASCAR history, ownership changes and sponsorship issues have hamstrung it over much of the last decade.

"We’ve lost a few steps, but we’re hoping to regain them," Petty said in a video montage that preceded Wednesday’s formal announcement. Although Ambrose has won twice in recent years on road courses, the famed No. 43 car is still looking to snap a winless skid that dates back to a John Andretti victory at Martinsville in the spring of 1999.

But from a Smithfield perspective, winning isn’t necessarily as important as generating exposure for the company. "Whether Aric shows up in Victory Lane or not, the sales activation we’ve been trying to do is working, and we’ve seen sales lifts that are certainly double digits and sometimes triple digits. … So off‑track, the combination of what we’re doing with the retailers and the public appearances, Aric and Richard do a fantastic job off‑track, so there’s no issues, no issues off the track at all. In fact, that’s the big success story," Pope said.

"Now, what I want Aric to be is the subject of conversation on track. I want a lot of chatter, and the way you do that is to be up front and contending to be up front and being in the mix, and I think they have been a bit hamstrung with maybe not quite enough resources to do all the fine-tuning on the car, and as you well know, this is a 1 percent sport. Ninety-nine percent puts you in 25th place. So we’re giving him the ability to have the extra 1 percent, and that’s going to add a whole new dimension to that."

Having his car almost fully funded is certainty a comfort to Almirola, as is the contract extension. Almirola had been working on a year-by-year deal, and now has his first contract covering multiple seasons.

"This gives me the opportunity to be a lot more confident," he said. "I’m not worried that if I make one mistake or whatever, that they’re going to be looking to figure out the next guy that’s going to come in and do better. It gives me a lot of confidence knowing that I have Richard Petty Motorsports behind me, and then obviously Smithfield Foods behind me and that they’re committed to me and they support me. We’ve had a lot of success already off the race track and some on the race track, and we look to continue to increase the success on the race track as well as off the race track. It feels great to not have to be worrying in June or July where I’m going to get my next paycheck from."

For Almirola, the extension continues a relationship he’s had with Smithfield since his days racing in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports. Bob Weber, the company’s senior director of business development, was at Richmond with his son Matt to gauge interest in NASCAR when he met Almirola as the driver was heading to introductions. Since he didn’t have much time to chat, Almirola told Matt to jump in the back of the pickup truck along with him, and ride around the track as the he waved to the crowd.

Almirola finished 18th in Sprint Cup points last season, after a promising early stretch that saw him record four consecutive top-10 finishes, a first for the No. 43 car since Bobby Hamilton did it in 1996. But it was that meeting with Weber back in his Nationwide days that really helped him, and later RPM, gain traction with Smithfield. The Tampa native took over RPM’s No. 9 car for five races after Kasey Kahne left the team in late 2010. Later when RPM was in talks with Smithfield about prospective sponsorship, the company was pleased to learn that Almirola was in the Petty fold.

By 2012, Almirola was driving a No. 43 car that had Smithfield brands on the hood for much of that season, and the relationship has blossomed from there. "I think Aric kind of epitomizes what Richard stands for," Moffitt said, " … and that’s what Smithfield was looking for."

For Almirola, the increased sponsor commitment means perhaps his best shot yet at putting the No. 43 back into Victory Lane for the first time in well over a decade. With a better-funded vehicle underneath him, there’s now pressure to get it done — but pressure that the 29-year-old welcomes, because he knows the promise it entails.

"I’ll gladly take the pressure that comes with it," he said, "because if there’s no pressure, that means you’re not competitive. And if I’m not going to be competitive, I don’t want to do this. I l want to race, I want to win. I don’t get excited about playing board games unless I think I can have a chance to win. So I think it’s a great opportunity for me to go out and have a chance to be extremely successful. And I welcome the pressure, because that means I have all the tools and the people that I need to go out to be successful, and it’s up to me and my crew chief and my guys to go out and get that done."

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21-year-old tested third ThorSport Racing truck at Daytona

MORE: Preseason Thunder testing speeds

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Last Friday night, Ross Chastain‘s phone rang. Just three days later, he was shaking down a truck for ThorSport Racing in NASCAR Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway.
 
So what does the promising 21-year-old driver have lined up for this season?
 
"Every lap I made at the test, how about that?" Chastain joked.

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Now he’s hoping for another call-up. Chastain, who notched two pole positions in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for Brad Keselowski Racing last year, found spot duty for ThorSport in his home state over the course of the two-day test. But the Alva, Fla., native is looking for something more substantial before the 2014 season kicks off.
 
"I was already talking to (team owner) Duke (Thorson) just on a personal level as friends, and they called me last Friday night to come test this truck since I was down here in Florida," Chastain said Tuesday afternoon, after making his final run of the day in the team’s No. 13 Toyota. "It worked out, but we don’t have anything signed. I mean there’s some things that could happen, but one straw could break it all apart. It’s tough not to get too overanxious, but I don’t want to put myself in a position … until it’s done, I’m not confident enough in it.
 
"So I feel like if we can get everything signed or even just a handshake, if we can get that done. As of now, no, we don’t have anything and I’m still working on putting myself in the best position to win races next year."
 
Chastain was in position more than once in his partial, 14-race slate last year, the best of his three seasons to date in the truck series. He was runner-up twice and impressively led multiple laps each time out in his final six starts of 2013.
 
His unofficial start to 2014 consisted of helping two of the series’ top drivers — defending series champ Matt Crafton and defending Daytona season-opening race winner Johnny Sauter — search for secrets to drafting with the new truck body style that makes its debut this season. Doing so meant searching for an edge while respecting the new rule that penalizes the tactic of tandem drafting on NASCAR’s biggest tracks.
 
"We tried some different things that NASCAR’s letting us do, but there’s not a whole lot we can play with, so we did what we could," Chastain said. "Just trying to get them to suck up better. That’s the big thing you’re going to have to be able to do here to make passes since we can’t tandem. You’ve still got to be able to get to the guy’s bumper and that’s something that me and my team here right now, we’re struggling a bit.
 
"We just worked on that, and I think we made a little headway, but there’s definitely still work to be done."

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Recent history shows lame-duck teams can succeed

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Tony Stewart and Darian Grubb in 2011. Kevin Harvick and Gil Martin in 2013.
 
Two driver-crew chief combinations that on the surface appeared to have little or no reason to succeed given their respective circumstances.
 
Or so we thought. We were wrong.
 
What each accomplished comes to mind as we begin to dissect the ramifications of Steve Letarte’s 2014 end-of-season departure.

The crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports organization, Letarte has helped lead the sport’s most popular driver back to respectability. No, the wins haven’t flowed — let’s be honest, they haven’t even trickled with the pairing producing just a single victory. But Earnhardt Jr. posted 10 top-fives finishes in both 2012 and 2013 with Letarte as his wingman, and his 22 top-10 finishes in 2013 were a career best. His fifth-place points finish last year was his best overall result since 2006.
 
Now that Letarte’s impending exit has been announced (he’ll join NBC Sports in 2015), will the team continue to move forward? Or will the breakup lead to a loss of focus?

Not surprisingly, both Earnhardt Jr. and Letarte have said they don’t expect the news to impact this year’s efforts.

"I expect us to do nothing less than improve on what we’ve been doing and steadily keep moving toward our goals," Earnhardt Jr. said.

"I think what makes this situation unique compared to any driver situation I can remember is I’m not going to crew chief for another organization," said Letarte. "I’m not working on being a broadcaster in 2014, I’m working on filling a trophy case. And to do that we have to win."

Does the "what" Letarte will be doing next year matter? Or is the fact he won’t be back more important here?

No doubt, if the team starts slow, Letarte will be the scapegoat. If they succeed … well, the big question is can they succeed?

Stewart and Grubb did. Harvick and Martin did as well.

Grubb, the former Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief who now turns the wrenches, so to speak, for Denny Hamlin at Joe Gibbs Racing, helped Stewart earn a third career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title in 2011.

He did so even though he found out during the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup that he would not be retained for the following season. That Stewart himself had said his team didn’t deserve a spot in the field given its pre-Chase results made what the group accomplished (five Chase wins after going winless during the regular season) that much more impressive.

They could have mailed it in. Started working on the next season. Shown Grubb the door.

The Harvick/Martin effort of 2013 was equally impressive, if not quite as successful. Harvick won four races and finished third in points, which came after the news leaked out toward the end of the 2012 season and was confirmed during the 2013 season that Harvick would exit Richard Childress Racing for SHR in 2014.

Toss in the fallout of Harvick berating the organization after an on-track skirmish with fellow RCR driver Ty Dillon (grandson of team owner Richard Childress) at Martinsville in the fall and you have a volatile situation on your hands.

Yet no implosion occurred.

The Harvick/Martin situation "is a great example" of what teams can accomplish in such situations, said Larry McReynolds, the former crew chief who now works as a television analyst for FOX Sports.

"Every group is different, and it’s the people that control (the outcome)," he said. "That’s where I think Harvick and Gil Martin and even Richard Childress — even throwing the fact of all the stuff that went on at Martinsville … they still kept their heads down and were still focused on winning races and contending for the championship."

Earnhardt Jr. and Letarte have every reason to believe that this latest development will be nothing more than fodder for the naysayers.

They’ve got 36 more races, beginning with next month’s Daytona 500, to prove that that’s indeed the case.

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Free admission to NASCAR Hall of Fame on Feb. 1

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 13, 2014) — For the first time since its 2010 opening, the NASCAR Hall of Fame will offer fans unlimited access to the attraction … FREE OF CHARGE.

On Saturday, Feb. 1, fans will be admitted into the Hall for free as part of NASCAR Fan Appreciation Day — a full day of special activities that includes autograph and Q&A sessions with current drivers and NASCAR Hall of Famers.

"Our sport is unique in many ways, starting with our fans — the most loyal fans in all of sports," said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. "Any successes we have start with our fans, which is why we always look for opportunities to ‘give back.’
 
"NASCAR Fan Appreciation Day is one of those opportunities, with the added benefit of building excitement for the upcoming Daytona 500 thanks to the combination of current and past NASCAR stars coming together."

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin and Greg Biffle headline a group of more than 20 NASCAR national series drivers scheduled to interact with fans during this first-of-its-kind event in Uptown Charlotte, N.C. Several NASCAR Hall of Famers, including Class of 2014 inductees Jack Ingram, Dale Jarrett and Maurice Petty, will also be on hand. 

Fans will have free access to the Hall on a first-come, first-served basis in lieu of needing a ticket. However, fans need to secure free tickets for the driver autograph sessions in advance at nascarhall.com, where they can also find schedules and details about NASCAR Fan Appreciation Day.

Several new exhibits will be on display, including a revamped Glory Road; newly rewrapped Gen-6 racing simulators; a Champions exhibit honoring Jimmie Johnson, Austin Dillon and Matt Crafton; and a Memorable Moments exhibit highlighting recent significant NASCAR milestones. In addition, fans will be among the first to see the new Hall of Honor exhibit featuring artifacts from the Class of 2014, which will open Thursday, Jan. 30.

Immediately following NASCAR Fan Appreciation Day, the NASCAR Hall of Fame will close for a special Junior Johnson Midnight Moon Sign & Shine. The event will feature a private Q&A and autograph session with Junior Johnson and other NASCAR Hall of Famers, and a free tasting at the Midnight Moon moonshine bar. Fans purchasing NASCAR Hall of Fame memberships at NASCAR Fan Appreciation Day will have access to the event.

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Matt Kenseth’s 2013 run with Joe Gibbs Racing among best starts with new teams

There is something about change that can be reinvigorating, that by its very nature can shake off the cobwebs of routine. With a new position, new surroundings or a new vantage point, anything suddenly seems possible.
That’s certainly been the case in NASCAR, as time and time again we’ve seen drivers step into new rides and enjoy renewed careers in the process.

That was certainly the case last year, as Kurt Busch returned to an elite level in his lone full season at Furniture Row Racing, Joey Logano broke through as a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup contender in his first season at what was then-known as Penske Racing, and Matt Kenseth nearly won the title in a seamless debut at Joe Gibbs Racing. While not every driver thrives in a new environment, the 2013 campaign offered plenty of evidence as to the power of change.

And at NASCAR’s top level, the change is only beginning. This coming season brings with it a flurry of ride swapping, and a number of drivers who hope to feel as rejuvenated with their new teams as so many of their fellow competitors were a year ago. Busch and Kevin Harvick move to Stewart-Haas Racing, Martin Truex Jr. moves to Furniture Row, Ryan Newman moves to Richard Childress Racing and AJ Allmendinger goes full-time at JTG Daugherty Racing. (For a complete look at the changes, visit the Driver Tracker.)

Given some of the breakthroughs enjoyed last season, the bar is set rather high. In his opening campaign at JGR, Kenseth led the series with seven victories, and fell 19 points shy of becoming the first driver in 32 years to win the title in his debut with a new team. Given all the firepower changing hands for 2014, somebody might well rival that. Until then, here are the 10 best seasons enjoyed by drivers in their maiden voyages with new teams.

First impressions


An analysis of how drivers have fared in the first year with a new team over the past three seasons (2011-13): Must have finished in the top 20 in owners points to be eligible. Rookies were not counted.

Average wins per season: 2.0
Average top-fives: 9.1
Average top-10s: 16.5
Average finish (race): 14.6
Average finish (season): 9.5
Percentage making Chase: 62.5

10. Harry Gant, 1981

Gant’s career seemed over before it started, given that he had driven for 11 different car owners over a span of eight seasons, never really enjoying much success. That all changed in the spring of 1981 when Gant, then 41, made his first start for the Skoal Bandit team owned by Hollywood director and stuntman Hal Needham. Gant placed second in his debut at Darlington, and then went on to record five more runner-up finishes, win three poles, and wind up third in final points. It was a breakthrough season for Handsome Harry that would lay the groundwork for several more great ones, first with Needham and later owner Leo Jackson, still to come.

9. Fred Lorenzen, 1961

Lorenzen had always been a successful driver, first on the short tracks around his native Chicago and then in the U.S. Auto Club ranks, where he won a pair of titles. But he made the transition to great one early in his third NASCAR season, when he got the offer of a lifetime from powerhouse team Holman-Moody. Driving some of the best equipment of his day, Fast Freddie blossomed into a star in 1961, when he won three times on the sport’s premier circuit. The victories, all of them with Holman-Moody, would pile up over the next seven years, as Lorenzen won 26 times in a career that would earn him nomination for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

8. Cale Yarborough, 1973

The son of a tobacco farmer who once famously subsisted solely on discounted cans of black-eyed peas found at a grocery store, Yarborough was no stranger to hard times. His NASCAR career certainly seemed on the rocks in the early 1970s, due to shifting dynamics in sponsorship and factory support. At one point, the future Hall of Famer even left to race open-wheel cars. But he made a huge comeback in 1973 with the Richard Howard-funded Junior Johnson team, winning four times and finishing second to Benny Parsons in the final standings. Yarborough’s run was just beginning — as he would post 55 wins and three titles from 1973 to 1980.

7. David Pearson, 1972

He was 37 years old, and some wondered if the career of the Silver Fox was fading. By 1971, Pearson had won his three championships, but his glory days with Cotton Owens were behind him, and he had signed with a new team owned by Chris Vallo and Ray Nichels that would dissolve due to poor performance in just seven races. Ten events into the 1972 season, Pearson had made just two starts. But that April, the eventual Hall of Famer hooked up with the Wood Brothers, and beat Richard Petty by a lap at Darlington. Pearson went on to win six times that season, and over the next seven years not only returned to dominance, but made himself nearly synonymous with the brothers from Stuart, Va., and their No. 21.

6. Kyle Busch, 2008

Busch seemed like the odd man out in late 2007 when Hendrick Motorsports added Dale Earnhardt Jr. to its stable of drivers and Rowdy’s subsequent move to Joe Gibbs Racing for the following season seemed to many like a consolation prize. That turned out to hardly be the case, as Busch went on to enjoy his best season to date, an eight-win campaign that cemented him as the No. 1 seed entering the Chase. Mechanical breakdowns in each of the opening three playoff races scuttled his title hopes, and Busch plummeted to a final 10th-place ranking that was hardly indicative of the whole season. But for one 14-week summer stretch where he won seven times and swept both road courses, nobody was better.

5. Mark Martin, 2009

While he wasn’t retired — use that word around the man at your own peril — Martin certainly appeared to be scaling back in the late 2000s, after his long and successful run with Jack Roush’s team had finally come to an end. He raced partial seasons in 2007 and ’08, nearly taking the Daytona 500 in the process. Then came the year Martin still refers to as "a gift" — 2009, when Rick Hendrick put him in the No. 5 car, and the Arkansan enjoyed perhaps the most gratifying season of his career. Martin won five times, finished second yet again in the championship race, and helped Hendrick to an unprecedented sweep of the top three positions in final points. The magic faded after that, but the memories of that special season continue to endure.

4. Matt Kenseth, 2013

The 2003 champion of NASCAR’s premier series was 95 percent certain he’d never have another title shot, not in his final years with a Roush Fenway program whose cars seemed to lack the week-to-week speed necessary for a serious run at the crown. That all changed when Kenseth landed at JGR last year, in a move that allowed Roush to promote Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Kenseth clicked with his new crew chief, he felt comfortable in his new cars, and suddenly he was winning races at a rate he hadn’t seen in years. Kenseth’s debut at JGR netted a personal best seven victories, best in Sprint Cup in 2013, and established him as a title favorite from the beginning. He may have fallen 19 points shy of Jimmie Johnson, but he’ll also be back again this year.

3. Ned Jarrett, 1964

By the end of the 1963 season, Jarrett had solidly established himself as one of NASCAR’s top drivers, with a championship and 22 race wins already to his name. But the next year Jarrett truly took the step into greatness with the help of Bondy Long, a car enthusiast who became a team owner while still in his 20s. Long approached Ford Motor Co. for factory support, and the manufacturer suggested Jarrett as a driver, and the results were incredible. In Long’s No. 11 Ford, the future Hall of Famer won 14 times in 1964 for Long, finishing as runner-up in the standings to Richard Petty. (He even added a 15th win driving for Charles Robinson.) The next year Jarrett finished the job, winning 13 more times and adding his second championship, and cementing his legacy in the process.

2. Darrell Waltrip, 1981

They were the fiercest of rivals, Waltrip and Yarborough, both tenacious on the race track yet different in so many other ways. It was Yarborough, after all, who had christened Waltrip "that talky Jaws" following a crash at Darlington. So it was a surprise to Waltrip when Yarborough approached him late in the 1980 season, with the news that he was stepping out of Junior Johnson’s powerhouse ride — and that he wanted D.W. to succeed him. And succeed D.W. did, motoring to a career-best 12 wins in 1981 (he would win 12 races again in 1982), and winning his first championship in his first season in Johnson’s famous No. 11 car. Two more titles followed for the future Hall of Famer, and to this day Waltrip in 1981 remains the most recent driver to win a championship in his debut season with a new team.

1. Tim Flock, 1955

As it so often the case when it came to one of NASCAR’s biggest early stars, the monkey got all the attention. Flock drove a handful of races in the early 1950s with a Rhesus monkey named Jocko Flocko riding shotgun, a promotional stunt that was the brainchild of car owner Ted Chester. Poor Jocko eventually went bananas in the car, overshadowing even a career that saw Flock win a title in 1952 and break through as one of the sport’s best drivers. But Chester left the sport, and Flock was disqualified by NASCAR for illegally soldered carburetor screws found on his car after winning the 1954 beach-road race at Daytona. Furious, Flock quit the sport and returned to Atlanta to open a gas station. And that might have been it — had he not traveled back to Daytona the following season, with no intention to race.

At least, not until he saw the Chrysler 300 fielded by Carl Kiekhaefer, who had made a fortunate selling boat motors and was just entering NASCAR. A friend at a Mercury Outboard dealer set up a meeting with Kiekhaefer, and soon Tim’s helmet was on a plane to Daytona. Suddenly Flock was back in the game, driving the best cars of his day, and dominating the 1955 season to the tune of 18 victories, 32 top-fives in 38 starts, and his second championship. The next year Kiekhaefer would work similar magic with Buck Baker, adding another title before his short stint in NASCAR ended in a clash with series officials. But Flock was his breakthrough, the 1955 season providing a fitting second act to one of NASCAR’s greatest early careers. And that one was no monkey business at all.

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New drafting guidelines offer an interesting wrinkle on superspeedway racing

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Matt Crafton, for one, will miss tandem drafting at superspeedways, but he concedes its absence could enhance fans enjoyment of racing during Speedweeks.

NASCAR has banned tandem drafting (one car pushing another for sustained periods) in the NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The edict will be in effect when teams return to Daytona International Speedway in February for the first competition of the new season.

Bump-drafting, on the other hand, where one car or truck propels another forward with a tap to the rear bumper, remains a legal tactic.

Crafton, last year’s truck series champion, said he was disappointed to see tandem drafting on the prohibited list, because that style of racing allows two cars to hook up and escape a large pack.

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"I think the tandem deal… you can get away from people," Crafton said Monday during a break in NCWTS testing at Daytona. "But now you’re going to have those packs of 20 trucks. It’s going to be crazy to watch, but now I think you’re going to be able to bump-draft.

"That’s one of the harder things to do is trying to judge it. Is that guy getting into a corner? Because, when you’re sitting behind somebody, you’re going to hit him, and you can’t really judge when you hit them.

"If you’re getting close to them, you can’t judge when you’re getting ready to go in the corner, and if you do hit somebody, it just might start turning the wheel left to go in the corner, and you’re going to cause a big wreck."

But, the way Crafton sees it, the tandem ban should add to fans’ enjoyment.

"There’s going to be ‘goods,’ and there’s going to be ‘bads,’ like I said, but it will be good racing," Crafton said.

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Teams were scheduled to be on track at 9 a.m. ET

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Day 2 of Preseason Thunder testing for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was delayed Tuesday morning by overnight rain.

The Air Titan track-drying system was circling Daytona International Speedway at the scheduled 9 a.m. ET starting time in hopes of salvaging some practice time with the new generation of truck body. The Daytona Beach forecast calls for heavy cloud cover but only a slight chance of precipitation.

Monday’s test session for the Truck Series was adjusted to allow for more track time with the threat of rain on the way. NASCAR officials added 45 minutes to the afternoon session, which was originally scheduled to end at 5 p.m. ET.

A handful of teams had already packed up to leave Tuesday morning, but several others stayed in hopes of gathering more data and tuning up for the series-opening NextEra Energy Resources 250 on Feb. 21 at Daytona.

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Crafton, Sauter and Chastain ran as the top three during testing

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Overnight rain and the threat of more of it Tuesday at Daytona International Speedway turned the final day of NASCAR Preseason Thunder into what amounted to a private test for one of the Camping World Truck Series’ elite teams.

With several teams packing up and heading back to their base camps during the soggy, overcast morning, only five trucks turned laps in the second day of preseason testing at Daytona. Shortly after lunch with the skies partially clearing, only three remained — the trio of ThorSport Racing Toyotas driven by defending series champion Matt Crafton, defending Daytona race winner Johnny Sauter and a part-time entry driven by Ross Chastain.

In what could be a case of the strong getting stronger, Crafton said the team was able to improve its ability to close gaps — or "suck up" — to lead trucks. Sauter’s victories in both of the series’ events on superspeedways last season spoke to the team’s dominant set-ups on the larger tracks, but Crafton said there was an element of starting over with the new, brand-identifiable truck bodies.

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"The sad thing is we had our stuff so good at the end of last year … where we could get up there and push and bump and do whatever we wanted to," Crafton said. "Right now, we’re struggling with that, so it was a very, very beneficial test this afternoon because we got to work on that, just a ton of different things tomake our stuff suck up. I think we’ve got a direction we need to head, and we feel we need to head with it, but we don’t have a definite answer yet." 

The leaderboard speeds accurately reflected the nature of Tuesday’s test with the three ThorSport trucks woven closely together. Sauter (183.921 mph), Crafton (183.895) and Chastain (183.880) rarely took to the 2.5-mile track individually, working instead on finding aerodynamic nuances while in three-truck packs. Ryan Ellis and Jennifer Jo Cobb were the only other drivers to participate Tuesday, and each completed just under 10laps. By contrast, each ThorSport driver completed more than 60 laps. 

Chad Little, managing director of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, said he was pleased with the positive feedback he had received from teams by the end of the two-day session, a coming-out party of sorts for the division’s new-look vehicles. 

"Listening to the drivers and listening to what they’re finding out, I think it paid off," Little said. "… I think we’ve got a pretty good package. We’ll finalize gear ratio, we’ll finalize a few other rules, but for the most part, I think we’re fairly happy with everything speed-wise, temperature-wise with the RPMs, so I think we’re in pretty good shape."

Drivers got the closest comparison to what race conditions might resemble late in the day Monday, when packs of 10-15 trucks formed. Crafton said the feel of the new truck models in traffic hinted at a return to the type of racing from his rookie season, 13 years ago.

"They drove very good," Crafton said. "I think it’s going to be back to the truck series racing back in 2001, ’02, ’03, ’04, when you had the slingshot passes coming to the start-finish line. I think we’re going to be back to that now."

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