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Plenty of road racers have made an impact on NASCAR

As the premier form of motorsports in North America, NASCAR has long been a series that competitors in other racing disciplines have found impossible to resist. Regardless of what circuit they hail from, so many drivers have been drawn to NASCAR, whether to just stick a toe in the water, or take the plunge and go all the way in.

That’s certainly true of drivers who have shown prowess in road racing, like those competing this weekend in the Rolex 24 At Daytona — the first such event under the banner of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship. Just as the Rolex 24 and other prominent road racing events like the 24 Hours of Le Mans have lured in NASCAR drivers on several occasions, many of those who excelled on serpentine circuits have occasionally felt the need to trade their GTs or formula cars for stocks.

Road racing has a long and proud history in NASCAR, as have the road racers who have competed within it. Some stayed for full seasons, some started only a race here or there, others changed careers completely. Many left an indelible impact, even if they stayed for only a short while. So in celebration of this weekend’s Rolex 24, here are the top 10 road racers who left their mark on NASCAR.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA COVERAGE

  • Saturday: 2-4 p.m. ET on FOX; 4-9 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2

  • Overnight (Saturday-Sunday): 9 p.m.-7 a.m. ET on IMSA.com (includes live images, in-car cameras and announcers)

  • Sunday, Jan. 26: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1

10. Jerry Nadeau

In NASCAR circles, Nadeau is best-remembered for his lone victory in the sport’s top series, a weather-delayed triumph at Atlanta on the final day of the 2000 season. But the Connecticut racer cut his teeth in sports cars, winning a Skip Barber scholarship and racing a pair of seasons in the Zerex-Saab Pro Series. Although his lone NASCAR victory was on an oval, Nadeau almost certainly would have won in 2002 at Sonoma had a rear-end gear not failed with three laps remaining. One month later, he scored a class victory in a sports car event at Daytona. Who knows how much more he might have been capable of had his career not ended in a crash during a practice session at Richmond in 2003.

9. Ron Fellows

Thanks in part to his affiliation with Corvette Racing, the Canadian-born Fellows has done just about everything in sports-car racing, including an overall triumph in the Rolex and three class victories at Le Mans. He was also an early convert to NASCAR, making his first start at Watkins Glen in 1995. One of the preeminent road-course "ringers" of his time, the affable Fellows was also a ready source of information to series regulars. He was an ace at the Glen, where he has earned three of his four Nationwide Series wins, both of his Camping World Truck Series triumphs, and scored his highest Sprint Cup Series finish — second, in 1999 and 2004. His NASCAR rides may have dried up as the regulars improved, but in the Finger Lakes region especially, Fellows will be long remembered.

8. Mark Donohue

Donohue experienced a varied — if often trying — career in sports cars. His affiliation with Roger Penske produced a slew of victories in Trans-Am and other U.S. road racing series, in addition to the 1972 Indy 500. But it was on road circuits where Donohue was at his best, as he showed again in 1973 when he won a Sprint Cup Series event for Penske at Riverside International Raceway. It was the first of many NASCAR victories for "The Captain," and the most recent time a "ringer" has won a road-course event at NASCAR’s top level. Donohue made just six premier-series starts in NASCAR, but his mark at Riverside from four decades ago still stands.

7. Mario Andretti

To put it simply, Andretti won in everything — including NASCAR, where his handful of starts netted him a victory in the sport’s biggest race in 1967. Most famous for his exploits in Formula 1 and open-wheel racing, the Italian-American was also a terror in sports cars, as he showed by winning three 12 Hours of Sebring races in addition to the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 1972 (an event shortened to six hours that year). Although triumph at Le Mans ultimately evaded the 1978 F1 world champion, victory in NASCAR did not. Andretti made just 14 starts at NASCAR’s highest level, but one of them was a Daytona 500 victory for Holman-Moody in 1967. Daytona International Speedway had become truly international indeed.

6. Marcos Ambrose

Unlike many road racers who only dallied in NASCAR, the Australian went all-in. The one-time F1 aspirant raced for a time in Europe before ending up back home in V8 Supercars, where he won the pole in his first start and eventually claimed back-to-back championships. In 2006 he made the leap to NASCAR, and two years later had his first national-series victory in a Nationwide event in 2008 at Watkins Glen. Ambrose has since won a pair of Sprint Cup events at the Glen, and let one famously slip away in 2009 at Sonoma. While he hasn’t yet broken through on an oval — his best finish is third, at Dover and Bristol — and he had a down season last year with Richard Petty Motorsports, there’s no questioning the commitment of a driver who moved halfway around the world to chase his dream.

5. Dan Gurney

Much like Andretti, Gurney was an American F1 driver (with four career F1 victories) who couldn’t resist the temptation NASCAR presented. Raised amid the height of the California hot-rod culture, Gurney gravitated to road racing and blitzed through the Trans-Am and Can-Am circuits en route to F1. But along the way he made 16 starts in what is now the Sprint Cup Series, and on the Riverside road course he was nearly unbeatable. He won there five times, with four of those victories coming with the Wood Brothers, and is tied for second in all-time NASCAR wins at the since-closed track. Gurney also made three runs at the Daytona 500, placing fifth in the Great American Race with Holman-Moody in 1963. Four years later he added a Le Mans title, and began the tradition of the victor spraying champagne.

4. Juan Pablo Montoya

Few moves in recent memory sent more shock waves throughout international motorsport than Montoya’s jump from F1 to NASCAR in 2006. A road racer with a resume to rival the best ever, Montoya has succeeded at a variety of levels ranging from F1 to the Indy 500 to the Rolex 24 At Daytona, where he anchored a trio of victories for car owner Chip Ganassi. His NASCAR career was one of promise and frustration, capped by three national-series victories — two at the Sprint Cup level — all on road courses, and a pair of infuriatingly close calls at the Brickyard. But Montoya never won on an oval, saw his performance lag along with that of his Ganassi team, and left NASCAR after the 2013 campaign. Even so, his seven full-time seasons sent a message that Sprint Cup was as competitive as any circuit in the world.

3. Robby Gordon

Wait, Robby Gordon — road racer? Oh, yes. He may be better known for his off-road exploits, but the California native was a stone-cold ace in series like Trans-Am and the former incarnation of IMSA. He was a part of four consecutive class victories in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and three in the 12 Hours of Sebring. On a road course, Gordon could wheel it, as evidenced by his Sprint Cup victories at Watkins Glen and Sonoma. But what sets Gordon apart from other luminaries is that not only did he race NASCAR full-time for eight seasons, he won on unrestricted ovals — in the Nationwide Series at Richmond, and at the Sprint Cup level at New Hampshire. That’s the true mark of NASCAR validation for a one-time road racer, and Gordon earned it.

2. A.J. Foyt

While his legacy is unquestionably most tied to his four Indy 500 victories, the great Texan was no slouch on a road course, either — after all, he won the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans — the latter in his one and only attempt — a trifecta not even Andretti could replicate. And ‘ol A.J. knew his way around a stock car, too, competing in 128 premier-series races over 30 (30!) seasons, winning seven times along the way. His most notable victory may have been the 1972 Daytona 500, but Foyt also won unrestricted oval events at Atlanta and Ontario. He even started the inaugural Brickyard in 1994 at age 59, and made three Truck Series starts in his 60s, reason alone for any NASCAR fan to have a soft spot for the guy.

1. Boris Said

No, he never won a Sprint Cup event. Yes, he has just one victory in each of the Nationwide and Truck circuits, both of them at road courses. But over the course of a long career in NASCAR, one in which he made several attempts to go full-time, the California racer achieved something with much broader implications — he willingly made drivers like himself obsolete. The reason so few road-course ringers exist today is because Said helped the rank-and-file NASCAR regulars get that much better at road racing. In the end, he was successful enough that his services weren’t needed anymore.

Said is a legendary road racer, with victories in the Rolex, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, among other events. In early 1999, he got a call from the Wood Brothers to help tutor Elliott Sadler at Sonoma — and soon enough he was tutoring most everyone. A European journalist once tallied all the NASCAR drivers Said had helped, and came up with the total of 32. Said pursued his own NASCAR career with some success, making 47 Sprint Cup starts, but eventually the top-level rides that once went to ringers dried up as the regulars got better. Said had much to do with that, and even though he didn’t enjoy the NASCAR achievements of a Foyt, Gurney or Montoya, he left a greater legacy than them all.

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Sprint Cup Series rookie rebounds from shaky start to keep car in fifth place

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kyle Larson is well regarded for his ability to climb in all types of race cars and make them go fast. But even he thinks endurance sports car racing may take a little getting used to.

As he quickly learned, being fast is only a piece of the puzzle when it comes to the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The 2014 Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate climbed out of his No. 02 Ganassi Racing prototype Saturday night smiling, but shaking his head about his first-ever laps in a sports car. It was a full-on sensory experience.

ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA COVERAGE

  • Saturday: 2-4 p.m. ET on FOX; 4-9 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2

  • Overnight (Saturday-Sunday): 9 p.m.-7 a.m. ET on IMSA.com (includes live images, in-car cameras and announcers)

  • Sunday, Jan. 26: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1

"Traffic’s pretty hairy, especially into (turn) one and the bus stop (chicane)," said Larson, observing the speed differential between his prototype and the production-based GT cars that comprise the 67-car Rolex 24 field.

"You have lots of grip and then someone goes off in the dirt right in front of you and all of a sudden you don’t have grip anymore. There’s so many lights out there, too. I saw fireworks going off. It’s exciting for sure."

Maybe a little too exciting initially for Larson, who stalled the car as he tried to leave pit road and incurred a speeding penalty. But he settled in and kept the car in the same position on track as he received it — fifth place overall.

"I’m not sure what happened," Larson said of his pit miscue. "I know I stalled it when I first tried to take off so I don’t know if that turned the (speed) limiter off but apparently it wasn’t on. That was kinda weird.

"I did get more comfortable, but my rhythm I thought felt slow; even when I felt like I was running good laps, I was slower than I was in practice."

While Larson was a little critical of himself, his co-driver, reigning IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon, had nothing but praise for the 21-year-old. Dixon smiled when talking about how much Larson has impressed him.

"He’s a smart kid and very talented," Dixon said. "And you’ve got to remember, I don’t know how many road courses he’s done ever. I’m guessing it’s in the single digits. He’s adapted very quickly, he’ll put on a great show. I’m looking forward to seeing his big future."

At one point, all three NASCAR drivers entered in the Rolex 24 were on track at the same time — Larson, his Ganassi Rolex and NASCAR teammate Jamie McMurray, and Michael Shank Racing driver AJ Allmendinger.

McMurray’s No. 01 Ganassi Ford was best among the NASCAR group, in second place overall to the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing prototype at the seven-hour mark.

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Posted on by Holly Cain

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ actor seeks second Rolex 24 at Daytona podium

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The largest crowd of the morning lined up four-deep outside an auxiliary garage inside Daytona International Speedway, enthralled to watch what is typically a rudimentary and largely ignored preparation for the Rolex 24 at Daytona: driver change practice.

But this wasn’t just any driver change practice. This one involved actor Patrick Dempsey, 48, star of the popular long-running ABC television drama "Grey’s Anatomy," who recently signed a two-year deal to stay on the show and this weekend resumes his favorite real-life roles as racer and team owner when the green flag drops Saturday (FOX at 2:10 p.m. ET) in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship’s inaugural event.

Politely focused — even with pleas from the crowd for him to take off his helmet and smile for a photo — Dempsey went through the drill with his three co-drivers in the No. 27 Dempsey Racing Porsche 911 GT America.

This is serious business for Dempsey. His wallet and heart are heavily invested.

ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA COVERAGE

  • Saturday: 2-4 p.m. ET on FOX; 4-9 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2

  • Overnight (Saturday-Sunday): 9 p.m.-7 a.m. ET on IMSA.com (includes live images, in-car cameras and announcers)

  • Sunday, Jan. 26: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1

"We’ve been working almost 10 years to build this program," Dempsey said Friday relaxing in his transporter during a break from practice. "I think initially people were like, ‘oh this is kind of interesting to see an actor come in from Hollywood, but how long will it last? How serious is he and can he sustain it?’

"That’s what we’re trying to prove. We had a very clear plan on how we wanted to develop and achieve and what the right pace to do it would be. It’s incredibly tough. … But we’re steadily getting to where we want to be.

"We have a lot of work to do. We haven’t won a race yet. We’ve been on the podium a couple times and had some great runs at Sebring and at Le Mans."

A historian of racing, Dempsey appreciates historic venues such as Sebring (the next race in the TUDOR series schedule) and Le Mans, which he featured in a well-received documentary series "Racing Le Mans" which aired on the Discovery Channel.

He is also, naturally, historically enamored with Daytona’s famed high banks and its roots in NASCAR.

"When you go down to the beach, you think back and wonder what it must have been like running around on the beach," he said smiling, "just insane.

"And the evolution of how this (speedway) came about and the evolution of how it is today. That’s what’s great about racing and all the different places you go."

In fact, Dempsey has a particularly good relationship with Daytona. He led 28 laps and earned his first podium finish — third place — in the 2011 Rolex 24. It prompted an emotional Dempsey to tease reporters during the post-race interviews, "I’m retiring from ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ as of today. I’ll be racing full time from here on in. There’s a headline for you."

As he continued to explain — tears in his eyes — what the accomplishment meant, his co-driver and longtime racing business partner Joe Foster patted him on the back and said, "He’s got a true passion for the sport. He’s not one of those jackasses that just comes in here to race because it’s cool."

Andrew Davis, 36, who will co-drive with Dempsey during a full season of TUDOR GTD class competition this year, agrees with Foster. A 2011 GRAND-AM Series GT champion, he was a racing instructor when Dempsey participated in the renowned Panoz Driving School in the mid 2000s. They have competed against and alongside one another for years.

"I’ve been able to watch Patrick through the very beginnings of his career," said Davis. "Him having his other life in Hollywood and what he does as a profession, people could look at this as a hobby for him. But he has put so much time and effort into this. I’m very impressed with his skill level and his effort is unquestionable. He really is a professional driver."

For Dempsey, that’s the highest praise he can receive. Like another famous actor who stood on Daytona’s Rolex 24 winner’s podium, Paul Newman, Dempsey cherishes the time out of the Hollywood spotlight. At the race track he is just "another driver” in the paddock.

A great bonus is that any special attention he receives race weekend can be — and is — directed to raising awareness and funds for his Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing. He even has a special Rolex 24 "Dempsey” ticket package that includes a 15-minute question and answer with his team before the race.

"As soon as I come to the track, I immediately relax, I feel more at home here than anywhere," Dempsey said. "The other drivers, the fellowship and there’s a twinkle in everybody’s eye when we’re out here because we all know we’re lucky to have a chance to do this.

"There is a sense of camaraderie I really enjoy, and your results are proven on the track. You’re either fast or you’re slow, and you can’t hide from that.

"In Hollywood, it’s kind of an abstract notion of what success is. It depends on so many things. It’s similar in ways to racing. …  a script is like a car. How competitive is that car? How well-written is that script? I find there’s a lot of parallels, and I like to be able to do both. It’s nice to be able to come back and forth.

"Of course," he added with a big smile. "If I could focus 100 percent on racing, I’d do that in a heartbeat."

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Posted on by Nascar

All-around champion Andretti highlights ’14 class

CONCORD, N.C. — Mario Andretti, the only driver to win the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 and the Formula One world championship, headlines this year’s class of inductees for the National Motorsports Press Association NASCAR Hall of Fame.
 
Joining Andretti are Ray Evernham, a championship-winning crew chief and former NASCAR team owner, and award-winning journalist Steve Waid.
 
The three were officially inducted into the Hall on Saturday evening.
 
While his NASCAR endeavors were limited — he made only 14 starts between 1966 and ’69 — Andretti proved to be just as talented in stock cars as he was in open-wheel competition. His ’67 Daytona 500 victory came while driving for the legendary Holman-Moody team.
 
He led 112 of the race’s 200 laps, including the final 33, to beat out Fred Lorenzen for the win. He also scored a top-10 at Riverside (Calif.) in ’67, finishing ninth while again competing for Holman-Moody.

Andretti won four IndyCar championships (1965, ’66, ’69, ’84) and the Indianapolis 500 in 1969. He is a 12-time winner in F1, and captured that series’ title in ’78.
 
Between 1993 and ’99 Evernham won three NASCAR Cup titles and 47 races while paired with driver Jeff Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports. He twice guided Gordon to wins in the Daytona 500, and in 1994 the team captured the inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
 
Evernham left Hendrick to become a team owner following the ’99 season, and he helped Dodge return to the sport in 2001. His Evernham Motorsports organization fielded cars for six drivers between ’01 and ’07 — including former Cup champion Bill Elliott and Kasey Kahne.
 
Waid, a former president of the NMPA, has covered NASCAR for more than four decades. He is a former winner of the organization’s George Cunningham Writer of the Year award, and in 1989 was presented the Henry T. McLemore Award for distinguished service in the field of motorsports journalism.
 
Waid and fellow Hall of Fame member Tom Higgins co-authored the biography "Junior Johnson — Brave in Life," detailing the life of one of NASCAR’s most popular figures.
 
Andretti was named on 80 percent of the ballots cast by the NMPA membership, Evernham 75 percent and Waid 67 percent.
 
Receiving votes but not named on the required 65 percent minimum for induction were team owner Joe Gibbs and former Busch Series competitor L.D. Ottinger.
 
The NMPA Hall of Fame is located on the grounds of Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The first class was inducted in 1965, and this year’s group brings its membership total to 94.

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Posted on by Brad Norman

Chase history has proven each year is a clean slate for drivers

A champion isn’t the only thing the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup produces. Each year since the format’s inception in 2004, drivers have had breakthrough seasons and continued to shake up the postseason field. Change is constant, whether it’s a relative unknown charging toward championship contention or a field of drivers totally different from the previous year.

Since 2005, an average of 4.4 drivers each season qualified for the Chase after not making it the previous year. In seven of those nine seasons, a driver has finished in the top three of the final standings after failing to make the Chase the previous year.

So not only does the Chase field get shuffled every year, those who are reintroduced to the postseason consistently compete for championships.

Here are five drivers — broken down by category — most likely to join the 2014 Chase field after missing out last year.

The rookie: Austin Dillon

The 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion joins a three-car Richard Childress Racing stable that should produce a competitive ride early. Dillon ran more Cup races last season than any other Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, making 11 starts for three different teams. He was running third when the white flag dropped at the fall Talladega race, but was involved in a last-lap wreck while making a move for the win.

Considering that performance, an 11th-place run in June’s Michigan race and a session-leading speed at Preseason Thunder testing in January, Dillon seems advanced enough on the big tracks to be in contention for a victory or two. That would put him in position to join Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards as the only drivers to make the Chase in their rookie seasons.

The first-timer: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

The last time we saw Ricky Stenhouse Jr. teamed with crew chief Mike Kelley, the two were obliterating the Nationwide Series field en route to consecutive championships in 2011 and 2012. Kelley stayed with Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 Nationwide Series program when Stenhouse got the call to drive the 17 Cup car last year, but the two are back together in 2014.

Having that familiarity in the garage and at the shop benefits Stenhouse, but it’s only part of the puzzle. Something clicked for the 2013 Sunoco Rookie of the Year late last season. In Stenhouse’s first 25 starts, his average finish was 19.7. That improved to 16.9 over the final 11 races. Stenhouse earned his lone top-five and each of his three top-10s in the final 11 races as well, his season reaching a crescendo with a third-place run in October at Talladega.

A driver can be dangerous when he’s more comfortable both on the track and in the garage, all of which points to the possibility of a breakthrough for the 26-year-old.

The fresh start: Martin Truex Jr.

Truex was on the cusp of qualifying for his second consecutive Chase before being mired in a race scandal at the regular-season finale at Richmond. The eventual penalties handed down to Michael Waltrip Racing were so severe that not only did Truex lose his postseason spot, the sponsor of his No. 56 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota pulled its support, eventually costing the driver his ride with the team.

Truex, now with Furniture Row Racing, earned his second career victory in 2013 and ended the season with an average finish of 15.1, the second-best of his career. His average finish on the two road courses was 2.0 — with a win at Sonoma — and Truex had three top-fives and six top-10s in the six races at 1.5-mile tracks prior to the Chase field being set.

The 33-year-old knows how to perform, and so does his Furniture Row team, which made the Chase for the first time in team history last season.

The recovered: Denny Hamlin

A broken vertebra in his lower back sidelined Hamlin for the better part of five races last year and robbed him of valuable track time in the new Generation-6 vehicle. That injury combined with the specter of his feud with Joey Logano contributed to a malaise that never lifted. The result: Hamlin missed the Chase for the first time in his career, while Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch enjoyed career years.

Hamlin’s outlook is more hopeful than another driver returning from injury, Tony Stewart. Stewart shattered his right leg in an August sprint car crash, and until ‘Smoke’ climbs into his No. 14 Chevrolet and circles the high-banks of Daytona, it is hard to know if he’ll be racing at 100 percent for the season-opening Daytona 500.

Hamlin, meanwhile, earned his only victory of 2013 at Homestead in the season finale. The previous time he won at Homestead was in 2009, and Hamlin followed that up with a championship run the next season.

The veteran: Brad Keselowski

In 2013, Keselowski became the second champion under the Chase format to not qualify for the postseason one year after winning the title. Tony Stewart missed out in 2006, but drove in the postseason for the next six seasons — and won another title. There’s no reason to think Keselowski won’t enjoy a similar resurgence.

The 2013 season feels like an aberration, one in which the outspoken champ was forced to overcome bad break after bad break. Keselowski opened the year with four consecutive top-fives, driving some battered cars across the start/finish line in the process that would have sent most drivers toward the middle of the pack. He was undone by a rare midseason slump that saw the Team Penske driver finish outside the top 10 nine times during a 10-race stretch, as well as garnering 31 points worth of penalties after two failed inspections.

More than anything, Keselowski has come off as cool and confident during his postseason interviews. Perhaps being out of the spotlight over the winter has refreshed and renewed the driver. If Keselowski’s not doubting himself, why should we?

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Jones to drive in 12 races, Busch takes 10; Wallace Jr. expected to return

The youngest winner in the history of NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series will have plenty of chances to add to his growing resume in 2014.

Erik Jones, the 17-year-old who became the circuit’s youngest winner by prevailing last fall at Phoenix, will share a Truck Series ride this season at Kyle Busch Motorsports with the team owner, the organization announced Friday. Busch and Jones will split the No. 51 truck, the vehicle that won the owners’ championship in the series last year.

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Jones is slated to be behind the wheel for 12 races in the vehicle, including the dirt-track race at Eldora Speedway. Busch will drive in 10, including the Feb. 21 season-opener at Daytona International Speedway. ToyotaCare returns as primary sponsor and will adorn the hood of the No. 51 for 14 races, seven with each driver.

KBM is also expected to once again field the No. 54 truck of Darrell Wallace Jr., who last fall at Martinsville Speedway became the second African-American driver to win a national-series event in NASCAR. Wallace, 20, finished eighth in final series points in 2013.

Jones made history last November at Phoenix when at 17 years, five months and nine days old he led a race-high 84 laps en route to becoming the youngest winner in Truck Series history. The Phoenix win was the culmination of a five-race schedule which saw the youngster finish inside the top 10 in each of his outings, including a ninth-place finish in his debut in March at Martinsville, where he became the first 16-year-old to start a Truck Series event since Busch in 2001.

"I really learned a lot last year from Kyle and everyone at KBM," Jones said. "I felt like each time out we all grew as a team and at the end of the season I was able to fulfill a lifelong dream by winning in one of NASCAR’s top three divisions. Going into this season, I feel like we have a great chance to get back to Victory Lane and go out and defend our owner’s championship."

In addition to his Truck Series schedule, Jones made three starts behind the wheel of KBM’s No. 51 super late model in 2013, winning the Winchester 400 at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway in October, and the Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. in December. The racing prodigy also earned his first ARCA Racing Series victory in August at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway driving for Venturini Motorsports.

"Erik did a tremendous job for us last year picking up wins in both the truck and the super late model while running a very limited schedule," Busch said. "At just 17 years old, he shows a lot of poise behind the wheel, provides great feedback to the crew chiefs and he has already proven that he can win on some of the biggest stages."

Crew chief Eric Phillips, a 27-time winner in the Truck Series, will call the shots for the No. 51 team in 2014. Jones’ first race in the vehicle will be at Martinsville on March 29.

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Allmendinger, Larson and McMurray expect added excitement

RELATED: More on the changes | Official release | Changes 101 | Reaction | Tracks pleased

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — There was plenty of buzz in the Daytona International Speedway garage Friday morning, and it wasn’t limited to the huge turnout and high expectations for the Rolex 24 At Daytona or the new TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

Even as the three-driver NASCAR Sprint Cup Series contingent here was preparing for a weekend of sports car racing in the traditional Daytona Speedweeks opener, they were enthusiastically discussing this week’s change to NASCAR qualifying.

"I think it’s really cool because the qualifying will be exciting for the drivers and the fans," said 2010 Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray, who will compete in the Rolex 24 At Daytona for his Sprint Cup team owner, Chip Ganassi. "I haven’t heard one guy say anything negative about it."

The new format — announced Wednesday — will incorporate group qualifying sessions with an elimination-style concept. At tracks 1.25 miles or longer, all entrants will have 25 minutes to put up a fast lap. The quickest 24 cars will move onto the next round, which will be 10 minutes long. The fastest 12 from that session will move onto a five-minute final round with the front of the grid set from there. There will be five minutes between each round for adjustments, but teams can’t put the cars/trucks on jacks or open the hoods.

On tracks less than 1.25 miles in length, there will be a 30-minute opening session for the field with the fastest 12 moving on to a final 10-minute round.

The traditional Daytona 500 qualifying format will remain the same as will qualifying for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series dirt track race at Eldora Speedway.

"With this new format, I think it’s really cool because you get a lot of cars on the race track which is what qualifying needs to keep the fans excited," said AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet. "One car on track just doesn’t do it, and it’s not just that way for NASCAR. When Formula One tried it, it was bad, same with IndyCar, it doesn’t matter.

"This way leaves the suspense. You don’t know until the last second who’s going to move on, who’s on pole. I’m a huge fan of it."

And, he added, it creates a more even playing field.

"The biggest thing for me is that it eliminate conditions," Allmendinger said. "You can’t say, ‘oh, I drew first, I’m at a disadvantage.’ Now it’s your own doing. Go out when you want and go get your lap. Maybe you don’t hit the lap you want, but it’s still just good enough (that) you get to move on and maybe you hit it next time."

"It’s all about trying to keep it exciting for the fans, exciting for the teams."

McMurray’s Ganassi teammate, Cup rookie Kyle Larson, conceded he doesn’t know any different. In fact, he thinks the group style may benefit him.

"It may give me a better chance at qualifying actually," said Larson, who will drive the No. 42 Target Chevrolet for Ganassi. "For me, I do the single car stuff and I don’t have anyone to judge off of. In all the racing I’ve done, any time I’ve done group qualifying, I’ve done better so that’s exciting for me. It seemed like whenever there was the group (format), I’d have that person in front of me to chase and it seemed to help."

All three drivers seemed to like the idea of the extra element of suspense the new format creates, but also the additional strategy it will force teams to use.

"When I first heard of this all I could think about was how many times someone has pulled out in front of you at practice, not on purpose but on accident and ruined your lap or you’ve done that to someone else," McMurray said.

"Sometimes when you’ve pulled out in front of someone when you’re going down the backstretch, typically you’ll get out their way because you know you’ve blocked their lap. But now if it’s qualifying, you can’t (pull out of the way), you just have to go.

"So I think there will be some tensions sometimes between teams and spotters. I think there will be a story sometime before a race."

On a larger scale, Allmendinger, Larson and McMurray expressed support for NASCAR’s willingness to mix things up in the name of competition and a better show for fans.

"All of us as a group want to make things better," McMurray said. "I think we’re all more open-minded that we were even 10 years ago to try things that we think will make it better.

"It’s okay to make things more exciting."

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Transportation company will be primary sponsor for four races

David Ragan and his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford will again bear the message of sponsor CSX in 2014.

The transportation company will serve as the primary sponsor at the season-opening Daytona 500, as well as at Darlington Raceway in April, at Michigan International Speedway in August and at Richmond International Raceway in September for the regular-season finale.

CSX will also be an associate sponsor at Pocono Raceway in August and Charlotte Motor Speedway in October, and the "I Brake for Trains" bumped sticker will again adorn the back of Ragan’s car for every race.

"We developed a great relationship with CSX last year, and we actually grew together as the season went on," team owner Bob Jenkins said in a release. "We celebrated our first team win at Talladega with the 34 car, and CSX jumped on the opportunity to celebrate that win by joining us for the All-Star race. And this year the program is even bigger. We’re proud to be partnering with a successful Fortune 500 company and helping to spread their message."

Ragan earned Front Row Motorsports’ first win in team history in the spring Talladega race, getting a shove from teammate David Gilliland to roar past the field and take the checkered flag. Earlier this week, Front Row announced that Love’s Travel Stops had expanded its sponsorship for Gilliland’s No. 38 Ford.

Earlier this week, the team announced that Farm Rich — which sponsored Ragan’s victory at Talladega– would return in 2014.

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Relocation to coincide with completion of Daytona Rising

In the midst of a massive $400 million renovation, Daytona International Speedway is undertaking another project.

The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America announced Friday it will relocate from the Detroit area to the famed World Center of Racing by January 2016. The Daytona Rising transformation is also scheduled to conclude in January 2016.

The collection for the Hall of Fame includes vehicles and artifacts from a variety of organizations and will be exhibited year-round as part of the regular tour admission at DIS.

"The partnership between Daytona International Speedway and the Hall of Fame is a match made in racing heaven," President of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Ron Watson said in a news release. "The Hall gets a home within one of America’s most famous and best-loved sports venues. Race fans and tourists who come to Daytona will have another great attraction to visit throughout the year."

The reimagined Daytona, through the Daytona Rising project, will have five expanded, redesigned entrances that will lead fans to a series of neighborhoods along the nearly mile-long frontstretch.

Now, even more history will be added to the most historic track in NASCAR.

"Daytona International Speedway is an iconic racing venue and will be a fitting home to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America," Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III said in a release. "Having the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America right here in Daytona will complement Daytona Rising and provide another reason for race fans to visit Daytona International Speedway."

Bobby Allison, Buck Baker, Dale Earnhardt, Bill France, Junior Johnson and Richard Petty are among the NASCAR figures enshrined in the Motorsports Hall of Fame.

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Soon to be inducted Hall of Famer thinks changes will produce a ‘whole different mindset’

RELATED: More on the changes | Official release | Changes 101 | Reaction | Tracks pleased

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Dale Jarrett says qualifying is still an important part of the sport, and believes the new format unveiled by the sanctioning body Jan. 22 will help rekindle interest in the process of determining the starting lineup.
 
"I think it’s pretty cool," Jarrett, one of this year’s five NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees, said during a stop at the Hall on Thursday. "It will be pretty interesting the first few times to watch it all unfold. I understand the concept, and had talked to NASCAR (officials) last year about it. Something needed to be done to make it a little more exciting and I think this will do that."
 
The change, which will be in effect for the majority of this year’s Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series events, will feature timed rounds with a predetermined number of those posting the fastest laps advancing. At tracks 1.25 miles in length or greater, the format will consist of three rounds; at those less than 1.25 miles, two rounds will be used to determine the lineup.
 
From 2001 through this past season, NASCAR’s qualifying format consisted of single-entry, timed laps at the majority of its venues.
 
Prior to 2001, NASCAR events often featured two rounds of qualifying, but under a different format. The quickest 25 on the opening day locked in their spots, while those outside the top 25 could either stand on their first time or choose to re-qualify a day later.

Jarrett, the 1999 Cup champion and currently a booth analyst for ESPN’s NASCAR coverage, said he remembers the former format as well as the pressure that came with it.
 
"Guys today don’t understand what that second-round qualifying was about, just everything that went into that," he said. "What were you going to do and just how stressful that was. You couldn’t even begin to think about the race until you had made the race, and then deciding if you were going to have to run second round qualifying and all that.
 
"I think the interesting part (now) will be how the teams and drivers embrace it and how much they put into it. I think we will see a whole different mindset with qualifying and making speed out of your cars."
 
Although NASCAR doesn’t award points to drivers who qualify on the pole, there are benefits to posting a fast qualifying lap. Not only does the pole winner start the race free and clear of traffic, but pit stall selection can have a significant impact on race day. The widths and lengths of pit roads at the various tracks differ, as do the sizes of the pit boxes. Openings to the garage area can provide easy access out of one pit box, and easy access into another.
 
"I think (qualifying) is still important, because of the level of competition today," Jarrett said. "The confidence of getting your weekend started off right, that’s always been important. And as competitive as things have become, picking where you want to be on pit road, where you feel comfortable as a driver and where the crew chief feels good, that goes into it as much as anything, and that’s still going to be determined by how you qualify.
 
"If you have a poor effort and that box is narrowed down to just a few choices, it makes your weekend more difficult on top of the fact that you realize your car is not as fast as you want it to be."
 
Pit stall selection isn’t done until after qualifying has been completed, and the order of selection is based on those results (from fastest to slowest).
 
In his career, Jarrett won 32 races in Cup and 16 poles. He also finished sixth or higher in points from 1982 through 1987 and won 11 times in what is now known as the Nationwide Series.
 
He is part of a 2014 NASCAR Hall of Fame class that also includes Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Maurice Petty, Jack Ingram and Tim Flock. The five will be inducted into the Hall on Jan. 29.
 
Ned Jarrett, Dale’s father and a two-time NASCAR champion in Cup, was inducted into the Hall in 2011.

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