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With funding not unfolding in RCR’s favor, Burton must now seek another vehicle for 2014 

For Richard Childress Racing, the numbers just didn’t add up.

The organization’s hopes of expanding to four teams for the 2014 campaign hinged on sponsorship — and there simply wasn’t enough of if to go around. So RCR will remain a three-car entity for the coming season, and Jeff Burton will step aside to make room for a new driver in the No. 31 car.

Burton had told Childress of his intention to step out of the vehicle after the 2014 season, but the team’s inability to expand to four cars accelerated that plan by a year.

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"We have been working hard to try and get all the funding in place to have four Sprint Cup teams in 2014," Childress said in a statement released Wednesday. "With the date on the calendar getting closer to 2014, we just couldn’t run partially funded teams next year. Knowing what Jeff’s plans were in 2015, he and I worked out an agreement for him to step out of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet after this season.”

Burton’s move will coincide with the departure of Kevin Harvick, who is leaving after this year for Stewart-Haas Racing. Two drivers are set for RCR for next season — Paul Menard, who currently wheels the team’s No. 27 car, and Austin Dillon, Childress’ grandson who is a championship contender this year in the Nationwide Series.

RCR said a new driver for its No. 31 car would be announced at a later date. The highest-profile free agent remaining on the market is Ryan Newman, a 17-time winner at NASCAR’s highest level who has a victory this season and will vie for a Wild Card to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at this weekend’s regular-season finale at Richmond International Raceway. A representative for Newman said Wednesday there was “nothing to report” on the driver’s situation.

Burton, though, is confident RCR will be left in good hands.

“They’re just going to have a driver in place that can be competitive and win races,” Burton said Wednesday in a conference call with the media. “They’ll have a full sponsorship in place that they can move the ball forward. That’s good for RCR. And, again, it’s not necessarily the best thing for me in the world, but I’ll figure it out.”

RCR was last a four-car organization in 2011, when it fielded full-time entries for Harvick, Burton, Menard and Clint Bowyer, the latter of whom is now at Michael Waltrip Racing. Although a three-car entity this season, RCR does have a technical alliance with Denver-based Furniture Row Racing, which is also looking for a driver for next season with Kurt Busch’s looming departure for SHR.

Now, RCR’s hopes of once again fielding four cars will have to wait until 2015 at the earliest.

“Richard truly believes that four teams are what ultimately he wants to try to accomplish. I think with the proper planning and enough notice, I think that is the right thing, too. You know, they worked really hard to have a fourth team. There just wasn’t enough funding for (it),” Burton said.

“You know, Richard has done a lot. … I never want to speak for Richard. But people don’t realize how much Richard has sacrificed to make sure that our teams have the things that we need to be successful. For Richard to run me and the 31 car next year would have been ‑‑ the way it looked today, would have been a major sacrifice, and I don’t think that’s fair.  I just don’t think Richard should be put in that position.

“I don’t think it’s in anybody’s best interest to have underfunded teams. Richard doesn’t deserve that, and the people at that company don’t deserve it. It is what it is. It gives them a chance to build and to bring a very, very good race car driver in and build around him, a guy that wants to be there for a long time.”

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Injured driver expected back behind the wheel in 2014

Related: Stewart says no schism with Haas | Looking to stay busy | Covers wide range of topics

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — He was funny bordering on smart-alecky, steadfast bordering on a little defiant, and he made jokes about his weight and getting hot girls.

Yep, same ’ol Tony.

Thankfully.

No one really knew what to expect from Tony Stewart on Tuesday, when the three-time champion of NASCAR’s premier division made his first public appearance since breaking two bones in his lower right leg in a sprint car crash in Iowa early last month. Truth is, he looked good — lost a little weight, maybe? — and sounded even better, taking questions for over an hour from media members, which isn’t always his favorite thing to do. This time, though, it was a respite from the boredom of bed rest.

“I’ve got to watch Oprah the last four weeks now,” he said, “and I’m very tired of watching TV.”

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Stewart made his way onto a dais set up in the lobby of Stewart-Haas Racing using a wheelchair, and is wearing a walking boot to protect the leg where his tibia and fibula were fractured on the night of Aug. 5. He’s been buzzing around the shop on an electric scooter that was a gift from future teammate Kurt Busch, and got his first set of crutches just last week. Sponsor appearances loom, as does a return to the race track this week in Richmond, and then beyond that the Daytona 500 and getting back behind the wheel.

For the first time, the end of this very painful road for Stewart is in sight. Drivers are a tough breed, accustomed to putting up with discomfort for long stretches in the race car, not to mention the bumps and bruises that accompany the occasional tumble. But Stewart made no effort to hide it — this situation has been hard, harder than anything else he’s had to endure physically. We’re talking compound fractures, skin and tissue ripped apart when a piece of his sprint car ravaged his right leg.

Sitting up there joking like his old self, he made it seem so effortless. It’s been anything but.

“The injuries are not just compound fractures. That was probably the easiest part of it. There is tissue damage, there’s skin damage that’s involved, and that’s kind of been the first part of this process that the doctor was concerned about was before even the bones,” Stewart said.

“The first phase of this healing process was getting the skin to heal together, which I’ll admit I’ve been about as squeamish as anybody you’ve ever seen. I literally have damned near passed out at every doctor visit I’ve been to so far with the surgeon. I go into it with the attitude that I’m not going to look at my leg, and as soon as they get the wrapping off of it, I’m like, ‘I’ve got to look.’ It’s like yelling at a dog going ‘Squirrel!’ I cannot not look. And then I spend the rest of the time sitting there with a wet washcloth on my forehead trying to regain consciousness.”

Translation: this was a major deal, a devastating injury perhaps prevented from becoming career-ending by the fact that a doctor from South Dakota was the first person to reach him in his mangled sprint car. Even now, he still faces a slight risk of infection. Stewart remembers his right leg feeling numb after the accident, but because he was wearing a firesuit he didn’t realize just how damaged the appendage was — until he saw the X-rays after the first of two surgeries. “At that point,” he said, “I knew we were going to be out.”

As in, for the year. There’s still physical therapy to be done, more stitches to be removed, a continued recovery process that will perhaps preclude him from doing anything in a race car until Speedweeks of 2014. Doctors tell him the leg will be stronger than ever when it does heal and he’ll be good to go for the Daytona 500. But he has to get there first.

And yet, keeping down the irrepressible Stewart is a futile act. No question, he’ll emerge from this episode a little wiser, and likely a little more hesitant to load up on his beloved sprint car races like he did this year. In hindsight he admits this season’s 70-event schedule was a tad aggressive, and he was feeling the wear and tear by Brickyard week in late July.

“Definitely going to cut back quite a bit,” he said, citing scheduling purposes and not his injury as the primary reason why.

But walk away from it altogether? Stewart, a former U.S. Auto Club star who cut his racing teeth in the discipline? Hardly. He’s going to work toward making sprint cars safer, hoping that his injury and the fatal crash of former NASCAR driver Jason Leffler combine to spur the sea change of progress that major stock-car racing went through after Dale Earnhardt’s death. But step away from it permanently?

Why, he wouldn’t be Tony Stewart if he did that.

“I am going to get back in a car eventually,” he said, and he’s not referring to his No. 14.

Stewart has always been a person and an athlete who lives and races on his terms, a quality that not only makes him immensely popular within the NASCAR fan base, but also somewhat larger than life. “A modern-day A.J. Foyt,” he’s been called by Mark Martin, who’s filling in for most of the remainder of this season in Stewart’s car. Foyt also just happens to be Stewart’s idol, not to mention a driver who’s cheated meeting his maker more times than anyone can count.

“We are all here a short amount of time in the big picture, and I’m somebody that wants to live life,” Stewart said. “I’m not somebody that wants to sit there and say, ‘I’ve got to guard against this, and I’ve got to worry about that.’ I mean, if I got in a race car and didn’t wear a helmet and didn’t wear seatbelts, then that would be dangerous, and that’s being foolish. We don’t do that. But I’m going to go live my life. I’m going to take full advantage of whatever time I’ve got on this earth. I’m going to ride it out to the fullest and I’m going to get my money’s worth. You can bet your butt on that.”

Yep. He may have been seated in a wheelchair and wearing a walking boot, but he’s the same ’ol Tony, all right. And everyone involved in NASCAR can certainly be grateful for that.

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Atlanta Braves waiver pick-up owes NASCAR passion to his son

Atlanta Braves utility player Elliot Johnson took the Internet by storm last week when he went all Ricky Bobby during a post-game interview on FOX Sports South.

Asked about his speed after hitting a two-run triple in a victory over Cleveland, the 29-year-old Arizona native slipped into Victory Lane mode, thanking an array of sponsors, throwing out references to crew chiefs and adjustments, and mentioning that he “got a little loose in the rear.”

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It was a natural then for Michael Waltrip Racing to invite Johnson to Atlanta Motor Speedway, which he visited Saturday along with his wife, Nicole, and young son, Blake.

Is your visit to Atlanta Motor Speedway a direct result of your NASCAR-themed interview on television last week?

“I knew the race was here this weekend, because my son here loves NASCAR. We TiVo it every weekend so he can watch it, because we’re usually playing at the stadium, or whatever it is when the races are going on. So I knew the race was here this weekend and while I was sitting out there during the game (against Cleveland), I just saw a few of the sponsors and thought I’d just throw them in the interview. And then I just winged the interview from there. I got a tweet from Michael Waltrip Racing, and they invited me out here to check things out. Of course, I said yes.”

You’re an Arizona native. Did you follow NASCAR growing up?

“I live in North Carolina now, but really it starts with (Blake). He’s the reason I started getting interested. Ned Yost, my manager with the (Kansas City) Royals who I was with earlier this year, he let us go to the race in Arizona, in Phoenix, because he was on Dale (Earnhardt) Sr.’s pit crew. They were best friends. He was just like a rehydration engineer. But they were hunting buddies, best buddies, so he let us go to the race. I told him we really wanted to go, and he let us go. And since then, I’ve loved it. What an amazing thing. When you see it, it’s pretty incredible. When you go to a race for the first time, you start to realize why it’s so much fun and why everybody makes such a big deal out of it.

What got Blake into it?

“The movie ‘Cars.’ And I think the association with the numbers and the names. When he comes into the clubhouse, he gets to see the numbers and the names (on jerseys), and I think the association with the names, he kind of picked up on that and started picking up on the names and the numbers. He knows pretty much all the racers. He’s fascinated.

Did you have a notable first car?

“I had an ’85 Dodge Conquest. It was a five-speed hatchback, but it was turbocharged. It was pretty fun. When you looked under the hood, most of the parts were Mitsubishi. It was turbocharged, and it was a lot of fun, but it broke down. It overheated all the time. It was a good first car. My mom got it for like 2,000 bucks, or something like that. I loved that car.”

You were placed on waivers by Kansas City and then claimed by the team with the best record in Major League Baseball. What’s that like?

“It’s pretty cool. They’ve had a ton of injuries, and that’s why I’m here. But to land on the best team, you can’t really expect anything like that to happen. But they needed someone to help quickly. … I’m just trying to pitch in a little bit. They’re not expecting me to be a superstar or anything, and I’m not going to be. But if I can just help the team win a little bit and get us into the playoffs, I think that’s all they’re looking for and that’s all I’m going to do.”

So why did you slip into NASCAR mode during your TV interview last week? You’ve set the bar rather high for the next one.

“It was completely spur of the moment. The only things that I thought about were the sponsors to throw in there, the rest kind of came to me as I was doing it. I wasn’t really sure where I was going to go. It just started flowing after that, and I just kind of went with it. I’m surprised it’s gotten as big as it has. … But I was just having fun with it. You mix it in every once in a while, but you can’t do it every time. You play it standard, and if you mix it in every once in a while, it’s fun.”

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Brown (left) survived a frantic battle with Hauck (right) and Hudson for the win at Atlanta.

After a long, tumultuous NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship season, Joey Brown was not about to let another win slip away. Two weeks after dominating at Michigan only to lose due to fuel strategy, Brown found himself out front once again, this time at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  And this time he made sure he came out on top in a spectacular last lap battle with Brandon Hauck and Tyler Hudson.

Brown dominated the race, never being challenged for the lead until the last round of pit stops were in the book. Hauck, who had been matching Brown’s pace but was trailing by a couple seconds, decided to short pit and took the lead. Brown pitted nine laps later and caught Hauck with 22 laps to go, but by then his fresher tires did not have enough of an advantage to complete the pass quickly. Instead he found himself locked in a side-by-side battle with Hauck, with Hudson in third slowly reeling-in the two leaders.

“Craziest race ever . . . don’t really know what to say.” – Joey Brown

Hauck and Brown stayed door-to-door for seven laps before Brown tried to look for another way by. Two laps later, he got a good run to the inside of Hauck and completed the pass. Hauck looked inside a lap later, but could not make it stick and it looked as if Brown had the race won. Despite his inexperience in the NiSWC however, Hauck would not go quietly. With three laps remaining, he made one last try at the lead, diving low on Brown entering Turn Three. The two ran side-by-side once again, with Hauck ahead by a nose as the two took the white flag.

“Craziest race ever . . . don’t really know what to say.” – Joey Brown

Then things got interesting.

Entering Turn One the final time, Hauck took a higher line than Brown expected and the two made contact. The hit shot Brown into the outside wall and slowed Hauck enough for Hudson to get a run at him. Hudson looked low and Hauck tried to shut the door . . . too late.  They made contact, sending Hauck into the outside wall and out of the race with a twenty-third place finish.  The contact also cost Hudson, who slowed enough that Brown roared around him on the outside exiting Turn Two. Hudson, still seeking his first NiSWC victory, tried one last desperate move in Turn Three. He got to Brown’s back bumper and gave it a shove, but Brown held on for his second win of the season.

“Craziest race ever,” said Brown. “Had a fast car but overall I think Hauck was a tad quicker. Really good race overall; don’t really know what to say. I would have been content finishing third.”

“Phenomenal car, big thanks to everyone on One Up.” said Hudson who settled for second. “I wanted that really bad, and did all I could do. There are so many things that could have gone differently and I would be in victory lane.”

Jared Crawford finished third, more than four seconds behind Brown, with Kevin King taking fourth ahead of Ray Alfalla.

“I wanted that really bad, and did all I could do.” – Tyler Hudson

The race had major implications on the NiSWC championship fight. Alfalla, whose win two weeks ago at Michigan already put him in control, pulled even further ahead after Brian Schoenburg finished a distant P11 and terrible nights effectively ended the championship hopes of both Nick Ottinger and Marcus Lindsey. Lindsey went too aggressive with his grille tape and blew his motor in the opening laps. He finished forty-first. Ottinger had connection issues all race and ended up 38 laps behind in thirty-sixth place.

Alfalla now leads Schoenburg by 38 points with Hudson slotting into third, 55 points out of the lead. A twelfth place finish moved Michael Conti into the top five, 74 points behind Alfalla. He sits five points in front of Lindsey with Ottinger an additional 16 markers back.

With only four weeks remaining in the season Alfalla looks to be on his way to a third straight title. The only driver within one race of him in the points is Schoenburg, but he has shown no sign of being able to gain 38 points in the remaining four races. Everyone else has to hope Alfalla makes a mistake or has terrible luck; otherwise the battle is for second.

Chicagoland Speedway is next on the schedule and starts the season’s stretch drive. The first of three online races held one week apart instead of the customary two weeks, it will challenge drivers to use their testing time wisely, especially those who are still in the running for a top five position in the points. Alfalla won both races at Chicagoland in 2012, but with Brown riding his current hot streak, everyone – the championship leader included — will have to be on the top of their game to keep pace. Catch all the action on iRacing Live and MRN.com!

            Average Lap Time Laps Completed Cautions Caution Laps Lead Changes         
            31.120 163 1 4 15         
Fin Pos Driver Start Pos Car # Status Interval Laps Led Average Lap Time Fastest Lap Time Fast Lap# Laps Comp Pts
1 Joey Brown 1 12 Running 0 144 31.12 28.254 2 163 48
2 Tyler D Hudson 21 1 Running -0.25 1 31.106 28.421 2 163 43
3 Jared Crawford 4 83 Running -4.284 3 31.144 28.263 27 163 42
4 Kevin King 12 29 Running -6.44 0 31.152 28.293 27 163 40
5 Ray Alfalla 7 2 Running -6.856 1 31.157 28.231 27 163 40
6 Joshua Langton 16 40 Running -8.41 2 31.161 28.536 27 163 39
7 Byron Daley 22 93 Running -9.09 0 31.161 28.474 64 163 37
8 Ashley Miller 10 7 Running -9.191 0 31.17 28.532 137 163 36
9 Thomas Lewandowski 8 16 Running -14.068 0 31.202 28.416 2 163 35
10 Carson McClelland 23 24 Running -16.573 0 31.205 28.382 70 163 34
11 Brian Schoenburg 3 55 Running -16.77 0 31.221 28.317 115 163 33
12 Michael Conti 6 5 Running -17.84 0 31.227 28.288 60 163 32
13 Nicholas Morse 19 9 Running -18.307 0 31.219 28.413 67 163 31
14 Brian Day 9 4 Running -18.591 0 31.226 28.439 83 163 30
15 Jake Stergios 31 41 Running -19.507 1 31.215 28.555 84 163 30
16 Brandon Kettelle 26 80 Running -20.545 0 31.228 28.477 83 163 28
17 Benjamin Burmeister 18 25 Running -20.883 0 31.236 28.434 82 163 27
18 Landon Harrison 36 89 Running -20.937 0 31.221 28.48 78 163 26
19 Tom Moustakas 39 10 Running -22.858 0 31.228 28.542 27 163 25
20 Danny Hansen 14 20 Running -22.96 0 31.253 28.332 63 163 24
21 Michael J Johnson 11 39 Running -23.41 0 31.255 28.508 74 163 23
22 Bryan Blackford 32 33 Running -25.909 0 31.255 28.378 70 163 22
23 Brandon Hauck 13 53 Running -1 L 8 31.117 28.495 127 162 22
24 Rob Ackley 20 22 Running -1 L 0 31.303 28.52 81 162 20
25 Brad Davies 5 11 Running -1 L 0 31.263 28.459 2 162 19
26 Brandon Buie 30 54 Running -1 L 0 31.335 28.427 114 162 18
27 Andrew Fayash III 34 157 Running -1 L 0 31.332 28.577 140 162 17
28 Dylan Duval 24 42 Running -1 L 0 31.419 28.41 63 162 16
29 Tyler Laughlin 28 51 Running -1 L 0 31.47 28.648 28 162 15
30 Jon Adams 33 84 Running -2 L 0 31.309 28.44 2 161 14
31 Charlie Foster 41 13 Running -2 L 3 31.46 28.614 84 161 14
32 Paul Kusheba 29 32 Running -2 L 0 31.538 28.384 78 161 12
33 Chad Coleman 35 28 Running -4 L 0 31.988 28.616 2 159 11
34 Kevin Burris 37 45 Running -5 L 0 32.146 28.466 27 158 10
35 Patrick Baldwin 38 52 Disconnected -27 L 0 31.343 28.436 83 136 9
36 Nick Ottinger 2 5 Running -38 L 0 32.781 28.18 124 125 8
37 Josh Berry 40 91 Disconnected -68 L 0 32.14 28.408 84 95 7
38 Peter Bennett 27 69 Running -86 L 0 32.645 28.384 71 77 6
39 Adam Gilliland 17 81 Disconnected -94 L 0 33.145 28.362 63 69 5
40 Alex Warren 25 82 Disconnected -129 L 0 38.606 28.547 24 34 4
41 Marcus Lindsey 15 1 Disconnected -144 L 0 29.138 28.583 2 19 3
42 Carson Downs 42 97 Disconnected -163 L 0 0       0 2
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Hart named director, IMSA Communications; Siebens promoted to senior manager

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR announced Wednesday the hiring of David Hart as its Director, International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Communications and the promotion of Nate Siebens to Senior Manager, IMSA Communications.
 
Hart, a seasoned motorsports communications professional, will lead all communications efforts for IMSA following the conclusion of this year’s GRAND-AM Road Racing season, as he completes his current responsibilities with GRAND-AM team 8Star Motorsports. He will begin his new role with NASCAR and IMSA on Sept. 30, and join the IMSA Communications team for the final two 2013 American Le Mans Series Presented by Tequila Patron events. Hart’s focus will then shift to planning around the inaugural United SportsCar Racing season set to launch in 2014. He will be based out of IMSA’s Daytona Beach, Fla., headquarters.
 
“David’s deep roots in motorsports and particular passion for sports car racing provide us with a leader to usher in an exciting new era for the sport,” said Brett Jewkes, NASCAR vice president and chief communications officer. “He’s a team player who earned his stripes in the motorsports garages and extended his impact into marketing and corporate communications.

“Additionally, Nate joined our team in January and has proven himself to be invaluable in our efforts to enhance our efforts in sports car communications. Having new leadership in place before the 2013 sports car season concludes gives us sufficient time to ramp up our communications activities months before the inaugural United SportsCar Racing season.”
 
Prior to serving this season as director of marketing and communications for 8Star Motorsports, Hart spent 15 years at Richard Childress Racing (RCR). From 1999-2009, he led competition communications for the team before taking the role of director, corporate communications, overseeing strategic communications for all of Richard Childress’ business ventures, including RCR and Childress Vineyards. Hart held that position from 2009 through April of 2013.
 
Hart previously held positions with Sonoma Raceway, the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and the Cotter Group, managing communications for sponsors involved in both NASCAR and NHRA.
 
“The opportunity to contribute to IMSA and the United SportsCar Racing in its inaugural season and beyond is the culmination of my 25 years in motorsports communications,” Hart said. “I’ve been a sports car racing fan since I stood on the driver’s seat and held onto the steering wheel of the Bugeye Sprite my dad and uncles raced in California in the mid-1960s. I look forward to working with the media, teams, manufacturers, marketing partners and everyone at IMSA to build a strong foundation for the future of sports car racing in North America.”

Siebens joined the NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications team fulltime in January of 2013, continuing a communications career in motorsports with roots in NASCAR, the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), GRAND-AM, IndyCar, CART/Champ Car and motorcycle racing. Prior to rejoining NASCAR in a new role this year, Siebens had been operating his own motorsports PR company since 2007.

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Larson, Piquet Jr. teams also get fined, docked points

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Penalties have been issued to teams in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series following last weekend’s events at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, respectively.

In the NASCAR Nationwide Series, the No. 30 and No. 32 teams have been penalized for violating Sections 12-1 (Actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (Any determination by NASCAR Officials that race equipment used in the event does not conform to the NASCAR rules detailed in Section 20-A of the NASCAR rule book, or has been approved by NASCAR prior to the event); and 20A-12.8.1(B) (Car failed to meet the minimum front car heights). These infractions were all discovered during post-race inspection Aug. 31.

As a result of these violations, crew chiefs Pat Tryson (No. 30 car) and Trent Owens (No. 32 car) have each been fined $10,000. In addition, drivers Nelson Piquet Jr. (No. 30) and Kyle Larson (No. 32) have been docked with the loss of six championship series driver points. Owner Harry Scott Jr. has been docked with the loss of six championship owner points for each of the two cars (No. 30 & No.32).

In the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Bryan Berry, crew chief of the No. 6 team, has been fined $2,500 for violating Sections 12-1 and 9-4A (Crew chief assumes responsibility for the actions of his team members) following Sunday’s race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Kelly Heaphy, who was with the No. 6 team at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, has been fined $2,500 and denied access to all NASCAR events indefinitely for her involvement in an altercation with a competitor following Sunday’s race.

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Kahne now fully funded for 2014

Time Warner Cable will increase its sponsorship with Hendrick Motorsports, picking up extra races for Kasey Kahne in the future, the team announced Wednesday.

TWC will serve as the primary sponsor for Kahne for six races in 2013, and five races in both 2014 and 2015. That’s an increase every year from the previous commitment of four races from 2013-2015.

Kahne has won twice this year, something not lost on Time Warner Cable executives. With Wednesday’s announcement, Kahne’s car now has primary sponsorship for all of 2014.

“We’ve been extremely happy with the results from our NASCAR initiatives,” said Jeffrey Hirsch, Time Warner Cable’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Residential Services. “The on-track performance of Hendrick Motorsports is well documented, but they’ve also put significant resources into building a world-class marketing operation. It’s been a team effort, and we’re seeing terrific exposure and return.”

Time Warner Cable also serves as the primary sponsor for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Chevrolet in five of the final 11 races of the season, starting this weekend at Richmond and continuing with four of the 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

TWC is also on board with Junior at Chicagoland, New Hampshire, Kansas and Charlotte.

“This is the second time in the last year that Time Warner Cable has expanded its commitment to Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “We’re now leveraging more of our assets, from both Hendrick Motorsports and Hendrick Automotive Group, to drive even greater value into what’s been a very effective program. It’s a terrific partnership that works on multiple levels.”



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Vital stats for the Federated Auto Parts 400

Track:  Richmond International Raceway, in Richmond, Va., is 0.75 miles, paved surface, 14 degree banking in all turns. Banking in the frontstretch is 8 degrees and backstretch is 2 degrees. The frontstretch is 1,290 feet and the backstretch is 860 feet.

Time/TV:  Federated Auto Parts 400, 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, Sept. 7. TV: ABC (coverage starts  at 7 p.m. ET), Radio: MRN

Trailblazers:  The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond was won by Lee Petty on April 19, 1953.

0.51 seconds is the closest margin of victory at Richmond since the advent of electronic scoring, won by Jeff Burton in September 1998.

2 drivers have posted their first Coors Light Pole Awards at Richmond: Bobby Labonte (September 1993) and Brian Vickers (May 2004). Tony Stewart (September 1999) and Kasey Kahne (May 2005) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup wins at Richmond.

3 active drivers have a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series average finish in the top 10 at Richmond: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer.

4 of the 114 races at Richmond International Raceway have been shortened due to weather conditions: spring of 1962, spring of 1977, spring of 1982 and spring of 2003.

6.5 is the average finish position of Kyle Busch, who leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Richmond International Raceway.

7drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Richmond. Bobby Allison holds the record for most consecutive poles at Richmond with five (1972-1974).

7.8 is the best average starting position among active Sprint Cup Series drivers at Richmond International Raceway, a number earned by Jeff Gordon.

8 drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series have posted consecutive wins at Richmond International Raceway. Richard Petty leads the series in consecutive wins at Richmond after posting seven consecutive wins from the fall of 1970-1973. Terry Labonte (1994-1995) and Jimmie Johnson (2007 sweep) are the only two active drivers with consecutive wins at Richmond.

9 is the record for runner-up finishes, a tie between Bobby Allison and Richard Petty. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six.

11 of the 114 Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

15 Cup Series wins at Richmond have been claimed by Petty Enterprises, the most wins at the track, followed by Hendrick Motorsports with 10 and Joe Gibbs Racing with nine.

20 years, 6 months, 21 days is the age of the youngest Richmond pole winner: Brian Vickers on May 15, 2004. The oldest Richmond pole winner is Mark Martin, who won in April 2012 at 53 years, 3 months, 19 days.

22 of the 114 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from the Coors Light pole position. Only three active drivers have accomplished the feat: Kasey Kahne (2005), Jimmie Johnson (2007) and Kyle Busch (2010).

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

32 races after his Cup Series debut at Richmond, Terry Labonte made his first trip to Victory Lane there in 1994, the longest span of any of the 16 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners. Bobby Labonte leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Richmond without visiting Victory Lane at 41.

36 wins have come from Chevrolet, while Ford has 28.

44 is the record for top-10 finishes, held by Richard Petty. Mark Martin leads all active drivers with 30; followed by Terry Labonte with 28.

51different drivers have won at Richmond International Raceway, led by Richard Petty with 13. Kyle Busch leads all active drivers with four.

63 starts at Richmond is currently the series record, held by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty. Terry Labonte leads all active drivers with 55 starts; followed by Mark Martin with 54.

90 of the 114 Cup races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from a top-10 starting position.

114  Sprint Cup races have been held at Richmond International Raceway, one NSCS event from 1953-1958 and two races per year since 1959.
471 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond; 304 in more than one.

1,415 laps led in 40 starts gives Jeff Gordon the record at Richmond among all active drivers.

1953 was the year of the inaugural Coors Light Pole at Richmond, taken by Buck Baker with a speed of 48.465 mph.

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WATCH: Kahne collected in restart

READ: Bowyer’s trouble at Atlanta
Posted on by Staff Report

Get a sneak peek at the new looks for this weekend

SPRINT CUP SERIES PAINT SCHEMES

Greg Biffle will drive the No. 16 Scotchgard Ford.

SHOP: Greg Biffle die-casts

Kyle Busch will drive the No. 18 M&M’s American Heritage Chocolate Toyota.

SHOP: Kyle Busch die-casts

Jeff Gordon will drive the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet.

SHOP: Jeff Gordon die-casts

David Ragan will drive the No. 34 FARM RICH Ford.

SHOP: David Ragan die-casts

Josh Wise will drive the No. 35 THE PETE STORE Ford.

SHOP: Josh Wise die-casts

Brian Vickers will drive the No. 55 LG Partner of the Year/Aaron’s Toyota.

SHOP: Brian Vickers die-casts

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the No. 88 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet.

SHOP: Dale Earnhardt Jr. die-casts

NATIONWIDE SERIES PAINT SCHEMES

Jamie McMurray will drive the No. 5 "The Thinning Hair Expert"- NIOXIN Chevrolet.

SHOP: Jamie McMurray die-casts

Trevor Bayne will drive the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

SHOP: Trevor Bayne die-casts

Regan Smith will drive the No. 7 Hellmann’s Centennial Chevrolet.

SHOP: Regan Smith die-casts

Kyle Larson will drive the No. 32 Snickers Chevrolet.

SHOP: NASCAR die-casts

CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES PAINT SCHEMES

Ross Chastain will drive the No. 19 Brad Keselowski Checkered Flag Foundation Ford.

SHOP: NASCAR die-casts

James Buescher will drive the No. 31 Exide Chevrolet.

SHOP: NASCAR die-casts

Brandon Jones will drive the No. 33 Wolfpack Chevrolet.

SHOP: NASCAR die-casts

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WATCH: Final Laps:
AdvoCare 500

WATCH: Victory Lane: Kyle Busch

WATCH: Kahne collected in restart

READ: Bowyer’s trouble at Atlanta
Posted on by Nascar

Sorenson replaces Scott Speed at Leavine Family Racing

Reed Sorenson will take over as the driver of the Leavine Family Racing No. 95 Ford beginning with this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stop at Richmond International Raceway.
 
Sorenson replaces Scott Speed, who joined the one-car organization in 2012.

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According to officials, Sorenson will drive for the team for the remaining select events on its 2013 schedule. In addition to this week’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at RIR, the team is expected to compete at Chicago, Charlotte, Martinsville and Texas.
 
Sorenson, 27, has 183 career starts in Cup. He currently competes in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for TMG and is 15th in that series’ points standings.
 
Speed has competed at the Cup level since 2008 when he made five starts for Red Bull Racing. He ran full-time for the team in 2009-10 before departing and has run a partial schedule since that time.
 
LFR officials say they are currently in discussions with several drivers for the 2014 season.

READ MORE:

WATCH: Final Laps:
AdvoCare 500

WATCH: Victory Lane: Kyle Busch

WATCH: Kahne collected in restart

READ: Bowyer’s trouble at Atlanta