Posted on by Holly Cain

Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup contender supports Oral-B ‘Built in the USA’ campaign

Ryan Newman showed up at Camp Lejeune two weeks ago on behalf of Oral-B’s “Made in America” campaign prepared to have some fun with the United States Marines stationed there — tour the facility and sign some autographs, even wave the flag for a fun “grudge match” race among the Marines.

Bad weather forced a change in plans but Newman is convinced the rain was actually a gift. It put him in a more intimate setting with the servicemen and women. And he feels strongly that he didn’t miss out on anything, but instead gained a stark reminder and renewed appreciation for the Marines and their families.

And what it means to be an American.

As fans celebrate Veteran’s Day this weekend, Oral-B asks you to show your support for American workers by logging on to OralbUSA.com and taking the pledge to Start Your Day with the USA by using an Oral-B Pro-Healthy All-in-One manual toothbrush. Follow #OralbUSA on Twitter and "like" Oral-B on Facebook.

“We didn’t get a chance to do the grudge match with the bad weather but I think that made it a little more personal and gave us the opportunity to spend more time together at the camp, to talk and have a little tour,’’ Newman said. “It was a lot of fun. It was an experience for me to be able to go to a Marine base like that having been to so many (of his former sponsor) Army bases.’’

“The one thing I learned with the Army, you really should know the story behind the soldiers, what makes them the soldier they are, the sacrifices they make. One of the most special things was the statue they had there of two Marines rescuing the other Marine and the story that went behind it.

“That’s the point, the personal relationship you have with the solider and what makes them who they are. That goes a longer distance than just saying you met. It’s the personal touch to the soldiers.’’

During the interview Newman mentioned the statue a half dozen times, clearly touched by what it portrayed and symbolized.

According to Hope for the Warriors, which commissioned the statue and dedicated it earlier this year, the monument depicts then-1st Sgt. Bradley Kasal being carried out of action by Lance Corporals Chris Marquez and Dane Shaffer. Kasal was injured after running into enemy fire to shield a fellow Marine from a grenade explosion.

“It was so touching, that is the true warrior, these are true heroes, and it makes you realize the sacrifices they make for us,’’ Newman said.

That’s why Newman is so proud to be a part of the Oral-B Built in the USA Tour, which is pledging a $100,000 donation to the Hope for the Warriors fund. With the 2008 Daytona 500 winner’s help, Oral-B is drawing attention to its campaign to help get wounded servicemen and women back into the workplace.

It’s a real world relationship between an American company, producing products in the country — approximately 1 million toothbrushes a day in its Iowa City, Iowa plant — and then giving back by donating to American troops.

It’s more than just a sponsorship for Newman, it’s an important cause.

“It’s nice to have that connection of being proud of something that’s built in the USA with people that are proud to work in the USA and represent the soldiers that represent us and give us the freedoms we have in the USA,’’ Newman said smiling as he tied it all in together.

“It’s about being proud Americans and the difference Oral-B makes in working with the soldiers.’’

As for Newman’s visit to Camp Lejeune, he still managed to make it a fun day for all the military members and their families that turned out despite the rain.

“It’s important for the wives and the kids of those who are deployed,’’ Newman said. “They might be a race fan and their dad is deployed so it makes a big difference when they can come out and get an autograph.

“They all may not be Ryan Newman fans, they may just be NASCAR fans. But it’s still a connection of what we do and the message we can deliver that we stand behind their mother or their father and the choices they make to give us the freedoms that they have.’’

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Posted on by Staff Report

Compare Mark Martin’s Coors Light Pole-winning lap at Phoenix with two Chase contenders

RELATED: Full Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage

With only two races left in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, drivers are making every move count, especially in Coors Light Pole Qualifying. 

On March 1, Mark Martin set the pace for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway by leading in qualifying with a best speed of 138.074 mph in 26.073 seconds. At 54, Martin became the second-oldest driver to win a pole in NASCAR’s premier series.

Martin’s lap around the track was recorded by Inifinity Video Systems, and the company’s competitive motion analysis shows his lap side-by-side with the laps of the top two Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup title contenders.

As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to the desert, take a look at how the No. 55 car outpaced its competition. See where Chase competitors gained or lost tenths of a second, translating into track position on the track and pit stall positions off of it.

Pos.

Driver.

MPH

Seconds

Behind

1.

Mark Martin

138.074

26.073

—

3.

Jimmie Johnson

137.804

26.124

-0.051

9.

Matt Kenseth

136.882

26.300

-0.227

Johnson took a lower line than Kenseth, heading into Turn 2 and allowing him to gain speed on an arc up to the wall. Watch Coors Light Pole Qualifying on Friday (5:40 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 2) to see if the top two drivers in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup follow similar lines.

Johnson leads going into Turn 1, but Martin arcs up closer to the wall to take the advantage off the Turn 2 dogleg, heading down the backstretch. It’s neck and neck to the start/finish line, but Martin edges out his former Hendrick Motorsports teammate.

Martin used Turn 1 to sneak under Kenseth’s path and cross in front of him to take the lead and extend his advantage down the backstretch. Kenseth closes off of Turn 4 but can’t close on him, coming up .0.227 seconds short. 

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Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR Chairman & CEO, wife donate $50,000 to help wounded military members

On the eve of Veteran’s Day weekend, NASCAR Chairman & CEO Brian France and his wife Amy attended "Stand Up For Heroes" on Wednesday night, supporting the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces with a generous donation.

Presented by the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival, the annual event benefits post-9/11 service members and their families upon returning home from military service. NASCAR partners Sprint and Toyota also served as sponsors.

The Frances donated $50,000, helping raise more than $5 million — a new record for the event — now in its seventh year. To date, $21 million has been raised by the Stand Up for Heroes events, presented at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.  

"Brian and I were honored to make this donation to support our military servicemen and woman and their families, who make incredible sacrifices each and every day to help protect our nation," said Brian’s wife Amy France.

Among the performers were comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Cosby. Other notable attendees included NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams and Universal Studios President and COO Ron Meyer.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Bruce Springsteen and Roger Waters also took the stage. Waters performed with a band comprised of nearly two dozen musicians and singers, all of whom are wounded active service members or veterans representing all branches of the armed forces and the MusiCorps Wounded Warrior Band.

You can watch the event below and go to BobWoodruffFoundation.org for more information.

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Posted on by Staff Report

Teenager improves from second to first in final practice

Related: Practice results

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Erik Jones, 17, turned the fastest lap in final practice after coming up second-best to German Quiroga (Red Horse Racing) in the opening session as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series took to the track here at Phoenix International Raceway this evening.

Jones (Kyle Busch Motorsports) will roll off last in pole qualifying (Friday, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 2) after turning a 134.394 mph lap in the second practice. Cale Gale, the winner of last year’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, was second-fastest as he attempts only his second start of 2013 for Turner Scott Motorsports.

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The final practice included an on-track incident between Darrell Wallace Jr. and Chad Frewaldt that saw the latter spin Wallace Jr., who expressed his displeasure in the cockpit of his competitor.

Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders Ryan Blaney (Brad Keselowski Racing) and Jeb Burton (Turner Scott) were third and fourth with Blaney’s BKR teammate, Ross Chastain, rounding out the top five in the final session.

Series points leader Matt Crafton improved from 13th in first practice to 10th overall while James Buescher, who trails Crafton by 46 points, was 16th and 22nd respectively in the two practices.

Ron Hornaday Jr., Miguel Paludo, Brendan Gaughan, Brennan Newberry and Crafton were sixth through 10th in the hour and 55-minute final preparation for the Lucas Oil 150 (Friday, 8 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1).

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Posted on by Nascar

Incident occurred in second Truck Series practice at Phoenix

MORE: Practice results

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Darrell Wallace Jr. won’t be punished by NASCAR for an on-track altercation with Chad Frewaldt Thursday after the two drivers crashed during practice at Phoenix International Raceway.
 
Wallace, sixth in the Camping World Truck Series standings, had just passed Frewaldt on the outside in Turn 3 when the two made contact going through Turn 4.
 
Wallace’s Kyle Busch Motorsports truck spun around and up against the wall in front of Frewaldt’s RSS entry before sliding back down the track and into the inside wall.
 
Frewaldt was still in his truck, his window net down, when Wallace charged up the banking and appeared to attempt to strike the driver.

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"I was and I wasn’t (thinking)," Wallace said. "I knew if I tried to throw a punch, I’d probably break my hand because he still had his helmet on. … I might have pushed his head over a little bit to get his attention. But it’s just frustrating. It’s kind of hard to control yourself when you’re that mad, especially when it’s practice."
 
Wallace, who won his first race in the series last month, said he could tell Frewaldt was still in the throttle when they exited the third turn.
 
"I heard him never lift. I looked in my side mirror and he was still there, the spotter said ‘still there inside’ and … the next thing you know I’m spinning around, hit the fence pretty good.
 
"Honestly, I think he should have backed out. We were 10 times faster than him; we’re both rookies so I get it, we’re trying to learn the track. But if you’re that far off the pace then step back. Fall in behind … that’s the biggest thing.
 
"I know if I’m getting passed I’m not going to screw up someone else’s line and run in there to their door and clean out the guy. That’s what I’m frustrated about the most. It easily could have been missed, both on my part and his part."
 
The KBM team had already rolled out a back-up truck and begun the process of switching over parts before the series’ second practice had concluded.
 
The team chose to use the backup entry of Erik Jones, who is driving the No. 51 entry in Friday’s Lucas Oil 150. This was done in part because Wallace’s back-up had the Good Sam paint scheme instead of Toyota Care, but mainly because the No. 51 back-up had more of a short-track setup.
 
Wallace’s back-up, said crew chief Jerry Baxter, "is more of an intermediate (truck).
 
"We’re six points out of fifth place right now," he said, "and we’ve got to give ourselves the best chance to get in that top five. … It’s a little setback, but hopefully if we’re strong enough, we’ll come back on it."
 
Baxter said Wallace won’t be able to discern much with just two laps of qualifying on Friday in the new truck. "But we’ve got three teams here. We’ll put our heads together and we’ll be alright."
 
KBM is also fielding the No. 18 of Joey Coulter.
 
If there were a dozen or more crewmen swarming around the Wallace truck, there were only four or five trying to put the No. 38 of Frewaldt back together. Including the driver.
 
Armed with a hammer and looking to make his first start in the series, Frewaldt was attempting to straighten bent sheet metal while others worked underneath the No. 38 truck.
 
"I was trying to get up to speed, we’re going down into Turn 3 and we got together," he said of the incident. "What actually happened, I really don’t know for sure.
 
"We’re about 30th fastest on the speed charts, and he’s probably up in the top-10. So that tells you who got into the corner first.
 
"I can’t say who caused it, because I’m not for sure."
 
Neither driver was injured and both spoke with NASCAR officials behind closed doors after the incident.
 
"You remind everyone these are young men, they’re competitive , this is the heat of the moment," Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition, said afterward.
 
"He (Wallace) did slap at the helmet. And it’s a race car helmet and a race car. So I’m pretty sure the helmet is OK. … He was just frustrated and you get that."

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Posted on by Nascar

Kevin Harvick can still take home title, but he’ll have to be close to perfect

RELATED: Full Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage

PHOENIX — The numbers suggest that it is a two-man race from here on out, with the 2013 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup to be decided between Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth.

That may indeed be the case, but with this weekend’s Advocare 500 at Phoenix and next week’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead remaining, nothing is set in stone. More than 700 miles and nearly 580 laps remain, providing ample opportunity for the unexpected to occur.

Officially, there are nine drivers still mathematically in the running for this year’s championship — from Johnson back to Penske Racing’s Joey Logano, who trails the leader by 91.

But it’s a two-man race, or so we’ve been told.

Kevin Harvick, third in points and who trails Johnson by 40 and Kenseth by 33, has been painted out of the picture. Is it unrealistic to think that the Richard Childress Racing driver could charge back into contention? Maybe. But could it happen?

Of course.

Harvick has gained 25 or more points on Johnson four times this season; he’s outpointed Kenseth by 20 or more on three occasions. The possibility exists.

The probability is another matter. But the possibility? It’s still there. And it’s why they race.

Otherwise, why not just line up only the 48 and 20 teams and let them have at it for the next two weekends?

Last week’s Texas race had barely ended when Johnson was reminded of what took place a year ago. His situation was identical, leading by seven points with two races remaining.

Uncharacteristic finishes in the final two races cost him a sixth championship, and eventually dropped him to third in the final points standings, so don’t try to convince the Hendrick Motorsports driver that the Chase title is all but his to claim.

But how often does the No. 48 team, which has won five titles since 2006 with Johnson at the helm, have "uncharacteristic" finishes? Maybe not often, but it does happen. As recently as the pre-Chase string of races that included Michigan (40th), Bristol (36th), Atlanta (28th) and Richmond (40th) earlier this year.

Kenseth isn’t immune to the occasional setback either, with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver finishing outside the top 25 five times in 2013.

Of course, for Harvick to race his way back into contention, he will have to do just that — race his way back in. It sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? If Johnson and Kenseth stumble, Harvick needs to have major points days. Top 10s are out of the question; top-five finishes would help.

But wins are what the No. 29 team needs in the final two races.

And it’s possible.

Harvick is a three-time winner at Phoenix, and the defending race champion. The dust-up between Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer got the airplay last November, but Harvick got the trophy.

Only Johnson has more career wins on the 1-mile track (4) while Kenseth has a single victory here in the desert.

At Homestead, where Kenseth is the only winner among the three, Harvick has an average finish of 7.9, Johnson 15.3 and Kenseth 17.6.

So, yeah, it’s possible.

If Harvick and his team, led by crew chief Gil Martin, have an edge, it’s that the No. 29 team has nothing to lose. Trying to catch up isn’t the preferred position, but it often provides more opportunities.

Perhaps it’s a two-man race, perhaps it isn’t. Maybe it’s still too soon to tell. Just as Harvick has enjoyed his share of better points days than Johnson and Kenseth, the opposite is also true. The points swing both ways.

There’s no doubt that Harvick is the darkhorse in the points race, but he’s in the race. And darkhorses have been known to come through.

Thankfully, statistics aren’t guarantees. They don’t tell us what will happen, only what has happened.

And we know what has happened. It’s what we don’t know that draws us back.

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READ: Top 10 moments
at Phoenix

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Phoenix

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Homestead may be win or bust

WATCH: Chris Rice explains
"The Swap"
Posted on by Staff Report

 

Watch live news conferences from Phoenix International Raceway starting at 5 p.m. ET

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