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Logano incidents help Junior fly under radar

It took a second post-race fracas in as many race weekends to relegate NASCAR’s most popular driver to an afterthought. While crews and drivers were pushing and shoving on pit road, Dale Earnhardt Jr. departed Auto Club Speedway with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points lead in tow.

Now he carries it into tiny Martinsville Speedway, once again overlooked given the continuing saga involving Southern California combatants Joey Logano and Tony Stewart, and the injured Denny Hamlin. As far as Earnhardt is concerned, everyone else can keep on scuffling. He doesn’t mind working in the shadows, for once.

"There are other guys in the series not doing anything any flashier than we are."

— Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“I feel like it gives us the opportunity to keep focusing on what we need to do. We’re still not winning races, and I don’t expect to get much attention until we can win races,” Earnhardt, leader in the standings by 12 points over Brad Keselowski, said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters.

“We’ve finished well, but I think there’s a lot of areas where we can improve. We get to focus on that being out of the scope and out of the spotlight. We can pay more attention to, how do we keep getting better as a team? If we go out and win some races, we’ll get credit where credit is due. But we’ve run well, we’ve gotten lucky, we’ve had good cars, we’ve worked hard. But everybody in the garage has done the same thing. There are other guys in the series not doing anything any flashier than we are. So I wouldn’t expect the spotlight to be much brighter than it is. Hopefully we can win some races, though, and change that.”

Earnhardt may not have won since his victory last summer at Michigan that snapped an epic 143-race skid, but his level of consistency has become the standard on NASCAR’s premier series. This season, he’s the only driver to have finished in the top 10 in all five Sprint Cup events. Since missing two races late last year because of lingering concussion symptoms, he’s notched top-10s in seven of his nine starts and completed all but two laps over that span.

That trend continued in the most recent Sprint Cup event at Auto Club Speedway, where Earnhardt used a devastating finishing kick to surge from 18th to second over the final green-flag run. Now it’s on to half-mile Martinsville, where Earnhardt has never won, but where he finished third last spring, has a personal-best driver rating and has led more laps (868) than at any other venue on the sport’s top circuit.

As he did in Southern California, Earnhardt has shown a knack this season for making up positions late in a race — a trait for which he credits strategy calls made by crew chief Steve Letarte. At Fontana, a decision to take four tires and a fortuitous restart position in the favored outside lane helped Earnhardt seize the points lead from reigning champion Keselowski, who suffered his first finish of the season outside of the top five.

All of which makes Earnhardt wonder if his current points position really reflects how well his car has run. No question, he’s managed the finishes. But looking back over the first five races, he sees room for improvement.

“Just circumstance and good fortune has been a big part of it,” Earnhardt said. “We’ve ran good, we’ve had good cars, good speed. … I think we’re a better team than we were last year but still ‑‑ I just feel like that we need to be winning races, we need to be running up in the top two, three all day long. We just need to run a little bit better. There’s just a little bit there for us to gain until I feel super comfortable and feel, I guess, like our statistics and our points position really reflect on our performance.”

Between the blocking controversy ignited by Logano and Stewart and the fractured vertebra that’s sidelined Hamlin — who will be out at least five races, and have Mark Martin substituting for him at Martinsville — there’s plenty going on to steal the spotlight from Earnhardt, who sounds more than willing to give it up. While attention is diverted elsewhere, the points leader wants to improve his No. 88 program and prepare for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

“We’ve got time in the season to get there, and we did that last year. We got faster throughout the season. And by mid‑summer, we were really one of the best teams out there, I thought,” he said. “So I’ve got good confidence in the team that we’re going to be able to gain what I think we need to gain to be able to compete once the Chase comes around, and hopefully we’ll have that opportunity to be in the Chase at that point. But we’ve still got more to gain. There’s guys out there that I see that have more speed, and I think that’s the only thing that concerns me.”

See the graphic below for more on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s stats at Martinsville Speedway:

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Logano incidents help Junior fly under radar

It took a second post-race fracas in as many race weekends to relegate NASCAR’s most popular driver to an afterthought. While crews and drivers were pushing and shoving on pit road, Dale Earnhardt Jr. departed Auto Club Speedway with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points lead in tow.

Now he carries it into tiny Martinsville Speedway, once again overlooked given the continuing saga involving Southern California combatants Joey Logano and Tony Stewart, and the injured Denny Hamlin. As far as Earnhardt is concerned, everyone else can keep on scuffling. He doesn’t mind working in the shadows, for once.

"There are other guys in the series not doing anything any flashier than we are."

— Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“I feel like it gives us the opportunity to keep focusing on what we need to do. We’re still not winning races, and I don’t expect to get much attention until we can win races,” Earnhardt, leader in the standings by 12 points over Brad Keselowski, said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters.

“We’ve finished well, but I think there’s a lot of areas where we can improve. We get to focus on that being out of the scope and out of the spotlight. We can pay more attention to, how do we keep getting better as a team? If we go out and win some races, we’ll get credit where credit is due. But we’ve run well, we’ve gotten lucky, we’ve had good cars, we’ve worked hard. But everybody in the garage has done the same thing. There are other guys in the series not doing anything any flashier than we are. So I wouldn’t expect the spotlight to be much brighter than it is. Hopefully we can win some races, though, and change that.”

Earnhardt may not have won since his victory last summer at Michigan that snapped an epic 143-race skid, but his level of consistency has become the standard on NASCAR’s premier series. This season, he’s the only driver to have finished in the top 10 in all five Sprint Cup events. Since missing two races late last year because of lingering concussion symptoms, he’s notched top-10s in seven of his nine starts and completed all but two laps over that span.

That trend continued in the most recent Sprint Cup event at Auto Club Speedway, where Earnhardt used a devastating finishing kick to surge from 18th to second over the final green-flag run. Now it’s on to half-mile Martinsville, where Earnhardt has never won, but where he finished third last spring, has a personal-best driver rating and has led more laps (868) than at any other venue on the sport’s top circuit.

As he did in Southern California, Earnhardt has shown a knack this season for making up positions late in a race — a trait for which he credits strategy calls made by crew chief Steve Letarte. At Fontana, a decision to take four tires and a fortuitous restart position in the favored outside lane helped Earnhardt seize the points lead from reigning champion Keselowski, who suffered his first finish of the season outside of the top five.

All of which makes Earnhardt wonder if his current points position really reflects how well his car has run. No question, he’s managed the finishes. But looking back over the first five races, he sees room for improvement.

“Just circumstance and good fortune has been a big part of it,” Earnhardt said. “We’ve ran good, we’ve had good cars, good speed. … I think we’re a better team than we were last year but still ‑‑ I just feel like that we need to be winning races, we need to be running up in the top two, three all day long. We just need to run a little bit better. There’s just a little bit there for us to gain until I feel super comfortable and feel, I guess, like our statistics and our points position really reflect on our performance.”

Between the blocking controversy ignited by Logano and Stewart and the fractured vertebra that’s sidelined Hamlin — who will be out at least five races, and have Mark Martin substituting for him at Martinsville — there’s plenty going on to steal the spotlight from Earnhardt, who sounds more than willing to give it up. While attention is diverted elsewhere, the points leader wants to improve his No. 88 program and prepare for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

“We’ve got time in the season to get there, and we did that last year. We got faster throughout the season. And by mid‑summer, we were really one of the best teams out there, I thought,” he said. “So I’ve got good confidence in the team that we’re going to be able to gain what I think we need to gain to be able to compete once the Chase comes around, and hopefully we’ll have that opportunity to be in the Chase at that point. But we’ve still got more to gain. There’s guys out there that I see that have more speed, and I think that’s the only thing that concerns me.”

See the graphic below for more on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s stats at Martinsville Speedway:

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Hollywood star on the rise with G.I. Joe Retaliation, the box office smash

Best known as Tyra Collette from the television program “Friday Night Lights,” actor Adrianne Palicki was one of the grand marshals for the recent NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Now starring as Lady Jaye in the film “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” Palicki spoke with NASCAR.com prior to the event:

Q: What can you tell us about your new film?
Palicki: “The movie is fun and explosive. I don’t know if you’re a G.I. Joe fan, but it’s definitely a movie made for G.I. Joe fans. It’s an awesome action-packed film, and what an awesome cast we have (with) Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson. … I play Lady Jaye. She’s a tough cookie. She likes to play with the boys. She’s one of the only women in the movie, and she’s definitely a guy’s girl.”

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Q: This is your first time at a NASCAR race. Any drivers in particular you hope to meet?
Palicki: “I wanted to meet Danica (Patrick). I haven’t yet. Hopefully I will. I’m a big fan of her’s. She’s kind of like the Lady Jaye of NASCAR.”

Q: How big is it for an actor to be in a big-budget action picture?
Palicki: “You know, it’s weird, because while we were shooting it, it didn’t seem like a big deal. Even working with Bruce and Wayne, they were more just like friends of ours. It wasn’t until actually we did the international tour that it started to feel like a lot bigger deal and people really got excited about it.”

Q: Do you like cars? Any personal favorites?
Palicki: “My favorite is the one I own now. I own a ’72 Chevy pickup. My grandpa used to collect old cars, so I fell in love with them at such a young age. And I was living in Texas for so long (shooting “Friday Night Lights”), I was like, I need a truck. I bought it from the original owner, and just had it revamped as far as painting and interior. The engine is gorgeous. It’s so beautiful.”

Q: Much like drivers, you’re in a performance business that requires a big break to launch your career. What was yours?
Palicki: “I worked for years, and then I got “Friday Night Lights,” and I have to say that changed my entire trajectory. My entire life changed after that. I loved that show. So that I feel like that was my shift.”

Q: Speaking of “Friday Night Lights,” that show has amassed such a devout following. How often do you get asked about it?
Palicki: “All the time. People stop me and say, ‘Oh my god, “Friday Night Lights” is my favorite show.’ I love it, because I love ‘Friday Night Lights’ fans, because we didn’t have them when we were actually shooting. So now we have this massive group of people who love it, and I’m really happy.”

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NASCAR Race to Green™ will rally fans, industry and partners around sustainable behavior       

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As racing season shifts gears into April, a month nationally associated with environmental awareness, NASCAR is launching two programs further bolstering the sustainability efforts the sanctioning body, industry, and a wide range of partners have in place to help reduce the sport’s carbon footprint.

Headlining the month-long NASCAR Green® initiative leading up to Earth Day and Arbor Day are two signature programs designed to help drive more sustainable behavior within the sport. NASCAR Race to Green™ will galvanize teams, tracks, drivers, Official NASCAR Partners, and most importantly fans, around the theme of protecting and preserving our environment. The NASCAR Green Clean Air Tree Planting Program™ Delivered by UPS will plant trees to absorb carbon emissions equivalent to all of the racing in NASCAR’s three national series for the entire season. One mature tree over the course of its lifetime absorbs about one metric ton of carbon dioxide, the same amount of carbon dioxide emitted by a NASCAR Sprint Cup car driving 500 miles.

NASCAR Race to Green includes a call-to-action for fans and the industry to pledge trees that will be planted across the country as well as in a number of areas recently devastated by natural disasters. NASCAR fans can visit www.NASCAR.com/green to donate trees — for $1 per tree for a 2-3 foot sapling — to be planted in those stricken areas.

"NASCAR has become the leader in sustainability across all sports."

— Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO

As presenting sponsor of the NASCAR Green Clean Air Tree Planting Program, UPS has partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to commit to plant more than 8,000 trees — including 90 in each market where the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races for the remainder of 2013. Additionally, UPS will serve as presenting sponsor for the NASCAR Green Summit later this fall.

“Our NASCAR Green activities this month comprise our most ambitious and collective effort to date in reducing our sport’s impact on the environment,” said Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO. ”With the help of our industry, some best-in-class partners, and most importantly our fans, NASCAR has become the leader in sustainability across all sports and has had a substantive impact in creating awareness and positively changing consumer behaviors around Green.” 

“UPS shares NASCAR’s commitment to operating sustainably and doing our part to protect and preserve the environment,” said Ron Rogowski, UPS vice president, global brand and sponsorships. “Last year, we launched an initiative to plant one million trees worldwide that aims to reduce and offset carbon emissions. At UPS, we are always looking for ways to apply our sustainability experience to everything that we do, including operating more than 2,600 alternative fuel vehicles.”

Since its inception in 2008, NASCAR Green has become one of the most powerful environmental awareness platforms in the country. NASCAR has the largest recycling and tree planting programs in sports; has put nearly four million miles on Sunoco Green E15, a biofuel blended with 15 percent American-made ethanol from American-grown corn; and has the largest renewable energy stadium projects in the world.

Importantly, the efforts that have led to these achievements align with NASCAR fan values. According to a 2012 study conducted by Toluna, NASCAR fans are twice as likely as non-fans to view their household as very green — always looking for new ways to positively impact the environment. The same research shows that NASCAR fans are multiple times more likely than non-fans to closely associate NASCAR with being environmentally responsible — not surprising since NASCAR fans are more likely to see the various initiatives the sport has in place to positively impact the environment.

NASCAR Race to Green will highlight accomplishments, events and activities taking place within the sport in three key areas: waste, emission and power. While NASCAR Green initiatives have and will continue to span the entire year, including the complete roll out of the NASCAR Green Clean Air Tree Planting Program Delivered by UPS, the following activities will take place during the month of April:

· On April 5, Martinsville Speedway, NASCAR and UPS will host an event officially kicking off the NASCAR Green Clean Air Tree Planting Program during the race weekend.

· Kansas Speedway will prominently feature the NASCAR Green logo on the infield grass and the backstretch wall and start/finish line will be painted green. A Toyota Camry Hybrid will serve as pace car for the race.

· Pocono Raceway in partnership with NASCAR will be donating 8,000 tree seedlings under the supervision and monitoring of the National Parks Service. The donation is a continuation of a major reforestation effort that will eventually result in 150,000 new trees at the Flight 93 National Memorial, the nation’s permanent memorial to the 40 passengers and crew of United Flight 93, and all of those lost on September 11, 2001. The UPS Foundation will also donate 35,000 trees to this site.

· NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ teams and drivers will also be doing their part throughout April. A large majority of teams will feature the NASCAR Green logo on the B-post of their race cars. Additionally, NASCAR drivers are expected at a number of industry events throughout the course of the month.

· NASCAR will also break new television creative on NASCAR on FOX during the network’s broadcast of the STP 500 on April 21 at 1 p.m. ET. A 30-second spot, courtesy of Ogilvy & Mather, will bring the NASCAR Green platform to life. The campaign will also include print and radio. Additionally, a digital vignette will be released, encouraging fans to join the effort by pledging trees.

· The NASCAR Foundation in partnership with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) will host a park renovation project in the Kansas City area on Earth Day highlighting the first of the UPS tree planting events. Participants will include SCA representatives, local high school students, UPS volunteers, Sprint employees and representatives from the NASCAR community.

The next NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race will be the STP Gas Booster 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday at 1 p.m. on FOX, FOX Deportes, Motor Racing Network Radio and SiriusXM Satellite Radio

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Posted on by Staff Report

Fans can meet Truck series drivers during one-hour session

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Rockingham Speedway, fans will get the chance to meet some of their favorite Truck Series drivers.

On Saturday, April 13, the speedway is holding a one-hour autograph session by the rocks at the main entrance to the track at 10:50 a.m. The session is open to anyone who has purchased a ticket to either Saturday or Sunday’s race.

Rockingham Speedway President Andy Hillenburg said last year’s attendance to the autograph session is the reason they are bringing it back for a second time.

Another fan event will be Sunday’s “Tweet Meet,” where fans who are part of the active NASCAR Twitter community can meet and talk before the race. Details will become available as the event gets closer through the speedway’s official handle, @RockinghamSpeed.

This is the second trip to Rockingham Speedway for the Camping World Truck Series. The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at The Rock presented by Cheerwine is on Sunday, April 14 at 2 p.m. ET.

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Newman calls tactic a "chicken" move; Dale Jr. not so much

Blocking. Impeding the progress of a trailing competitor while attempting to maintain or improve one’s on position on the track. It’s hardly new to NASCAR.
 
Ryan Newman describes it as “chicken.”
 
Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he expects it and accepts it.

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"In certain situations,” NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series points leader explained.
 
The issue of blocking returned to the spotlight when Tony Stewart took exception to Joey Logano’s efforts to keep Stewart behind him during a late-race restart at Auto Club Speedway.
 
“I think blocking is a chicken way to drive,” Newman said April 2 during a NASCAR national teleconference. “It’s just something I don’t do.
 
“If you’ve got a run on me, take it. If I can get through the corner better than you, then we’ll race, but blocking is … an open-wheel type move, it seems like.
 
“You’re there to race; you’re not there to block. … It’s just a chicken way of driving and not very respectful for the guys around you.”
 
Stewart’s frustration following the Auto Club 400 led to an altercation between the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and Logano, who eventually succeeded him at Joe Gibbs Racing.
 
“What the hell do you think I was mad about?” an angry Stewart said when asked about the incident moments after it occurred.
 
“Dumb little (expletive) runs us clear down to the infield. He wants to (expletive) about everybody else and he’s the one who drives like a little (expletive). I’m going to bust his ass.”
 
Logano, the leader with 11 laps remaining when the race resumed following a caution period, moved low on the track to block Stewart’s advances once the green flag reappeared.
 
Stewart moved lower. Logano countered by moving lower as well.
 
Logano said he “had to throw the block there.
 
“That was the race for the lead,” the 22-year-old said afterward. “I felt if the 14 (of Stewart) got underneath me, that was going to be the end of my opportunity to win the race.”
 
He was “protecting” his spot, he said.
 
Neither won the race — Logano tangled with Denny Hamlin on the final lap and finished third while Stewart, simmering, eventually took the checkered flag in 22nd.
 
Shortly thereafter, things got a bit heated around Logano’s No. 22 Penske Racing Ford as it sat on pit road.
 
“My opinion is that … I might block in certain situations,” Earnhardt Jr. said April 2. “I would expect and accept to be blocked in certain situations. But you’ve got to give me race track. You’ve got to give me somewhere to run. You can’t just run me up into the fence. … If you give me a reasonable amount of race track to race on, then I really can’t complain in regards to what you’re trying to do to maintain the position.”
 
Was Logano wrong for blocking Stewart? Given the number of times blocking occurs, did Stewart overreact?
 
If it is acceptable for a driver to use his car to move a fellow competitor out of the way in the closing laps of a race, is it any different when a driver in front uses his car to slow another’s progress?
 
In the aftermath of a 24-car pileup on the final lap last fall at Talladega, it was Stewart who said, “I just screwed up. … It was my fault blocking to stay where I was at. So, I take 100 percent of the blame.”
 
How blocking is viewed by competitors is often determined by when it takes place. Just as intentional contact is often viewed differently when drivers are “going for the win.”
 
“Tony is one of the best, but I have to say he tried to block us at Talladega in the fall and wrecked the entire field. That’s racin,’ ” Michael Waltrip Racing crew chief Rodney Childers tweeted a day after the California incident.
 
“If my driver didn’t try to hold his position on the restart for the chance to win, I would be really pissed.”
 
Strip away the last-lap mentality and drivers often see such incidents in a different, less forgiving light.
 
“Is the position that important at that moment in time?” Earnhardt Jr. asked. “Everybody will have a different opinion.
 
”I’m not going to say I’ve never blocked anybody because I have. … Being in certain situations, that’s your only alternative.”
 
Newman, a teammate of Stewart’s at SHR, said he did not know if Stewart and Logano had spoken to one another since the post-race incident.
 
“I don’t know if they talked, plan on talking or won’t ever talk again,” he said.

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Posted on by Brad Norman

Martinsville Speedway should be rust-free after drivers kept busy during layoff

Joey Coulter took his late model stock car and raced at dirt tracks throughout the Southeast over the past six weeks while waiting for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to get back on track.

Ryan Blaney, who finished eighth in the season-opening NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway, was one of multiple Truck Series drivers to race go-karts in Mooresville, N.C., and test his truck at Rockingham Speedway.

The key to drivers staying sharp over such an extended break was getting in the car — any car — and on a track — any track — to do what comes so naturally on the NASCAR circuit: log laps.

“When you get breaks like this, not running is pretty bad,” said Darrell Wallace Jr., who finished 12th in his opening Trucks Series race back in February. “I mean you take Kyle Larson, he runs 150 races a year. So I personally try to do as much racing as I can to keep everything up to par.

"…if you’re a racer, you always want to race something, no matter what day of the week it is or where it’s at."

— Darrell Wallace Jr.

“Plus, if you’re a racer, you always want to race something, no matter what day of the week it is or where it’s at.”

Wallace is part of a young contingent of drivers that will be on the track this week in Martinsville for the Kroger 250, the first Trucks Series race since Feb. 22. In fact, six drivers on the 40-car entry list are younger than 20.

In addition to Wallace, who is 19 years old and will drive the No. 54 Toyota, Blaney is 19, Grant Galloway and Devin Jones are 18, Chase Elliott is 17 and Erik Jones is 16. Of that group, only Wallace and Blaney have previously driven in the Truck Series.

They have the opportunity to race Saturday following a rule change in the offseason that allows 16- and 17-year-old drivers to compete in Truck Series races at tracks 1.1-miles or less.

“Lowering the age limit to 16 at the smaller tracks gives another opportunity for drivers to get experience before they get into the mile-and-a-half-type tracks,” Truck Series director Chad Little said. “(It’s a) very important goal for NASCAR and also working with our partners, the track owners.”

Jones is the youngest beneficiary of the rule change, and he’ll drive the No. 51 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports. It’s an interesting twist, given that Jones outraced Busch in December to win the 45th annual Snowball Derby, an event considered the premier late model event of the season.

Jones’ win at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., led to negotiations for him to drive a five-race schedule for KBM — Jones will also run the fall Martinsville race, at Rockingham Speedway on April 14 and both races at Iowa Speedway.

“Coming here to Martinsville, you can feel that history. This is a great opportunity for me, and I think it’s going to be a good race for us,” Jones said. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity, with Kyle Busch trucks having so much success here. I’m used to short tracks, so I think it’s going to be a good race for us.”

Like most of his fellow young competitors, Jones has not raced at Martinsville. His first foray to the .526-mile paperclip track was last week during a media availability session.

He took in the flat, speed-inviting straightaways and tight turns while riding along for a few pace-car laps.

“Martinsville is one of those real bullring type tracks,” Jones said. “It’s always been one of my favorites to watch on TV. Getting off the corner will be big. If we can figure that out and get around people, I think we’ll have a pretty good day.”

The young folks, though, will be in the pack with some veterans who have been racing longer than they’ve been alive.

Ron Hornaday Jr., who has four Trucks Series titles, 51 wins and 323 total series races, sits second in the standings after finishing third at Daytona. He’s the elder statesman of the Truck Series at age 54. Other veterans include Johnny Sauter, who won the opening race and leads the points standings, and 49-year-old Todd Bodine, who is 10th in the standings.

What happens if Jones or some other young hotshot has a chance to outduel a bigger name in the waning laps?

“In your first race, it’s kind of setting a precedent. You can’t let people knock you out of the way,” Jones said. “When the white flag comes out, you do what you got to do.”


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Smaller team sees big results on the track thus far in 2013

Its driver had left for another team. Its 18-person workforce faced updating a fleet of race cars. And its sponsor-strapped owner was talking about potentially shutting down.

That was the situation Phoenix Racing faced prior to the 2013 Sprint Cup season, one that promised to tax the little organization like never before. Kurt Busch had moved on to Furniture Row Racing. The implementation of the redesigned Generation-6 car meant a lot of work for a team without a lot of employees. And owner James Finch openly wondered how much longer he’d be willing or able to fund everything out of his own pocket.

And indeed, this season has had an impact on Phoenix — just not the one so many expected. Two weeks ago at Auto Club Speedway, there was the No. 51 hauler parked in between those of title contenders Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne. Heading to Martinsville Speedway this week, Finch’s car stands ninth in Sprint Cup owners’ points, a rather unexpected position for a team that doesn’t have a permanent driver, and competes at a distinct disadvantage in terms of sponsorship and personnel.

"I have to think it makes some of the bigger owners take a look at their organizations, because we have 17 full-time employees."

— Steve Barkdoll, Phoenix Racing GM

“It’s been really good,” general manager Steve Barkdoll said from the team’s shop in Spartanburg, S.C. “Our little group of 18, we basically work seven days a week. We may take a half a day off for travel, but you still have to travel that day. But when the guys come in here on Monday, we’re trying to figure out what we can do. If you can run consistently in the top 15 like we’re doing, you give yourself that ability to maybe have a chance at the end to make that pit call to be up front, to win a race if you’re running up front. But all our guys believe in what we have, and they believe in our drivers that we’re working with, too.”

This wasn’t supposed to happen, not in the season after former Sprint Cup champion Busch moved on, not in a year requiring a total overhaul of all the race cars, not with Finch using his own checkbook to make up for sponsorship shortages. But the team’s rotating cast of drivers has consistently brought the car home in one piece, a very big deal for an organization that dealt with more than its share of crashes last season. And for a small outfit like Phoenix, the manufacturer-supplied stamped parts of the Gen-6 allow for a faster turnaround rate and more time to fine-tune the vehicle for that weekend.

“One thing about this car, even though the parts and pieces came a little bit late, this car doesn’t have to be at the body hanger’s (as long). It’s more like a model kit,” Barkdoll said. “So it’s there less time, which allows a smaller organization like ours to be able to work on it in the shop more. And then not tearing stuff up this year is helping us also.”

No small detail, given that Phoenix crashed out of seven races last year, a rate sure to tax a program with such a small workforce. This season, drivers haven’t only kept the car clean, but also competitive — Regan Smith opened with a seventh-place run in the Daytona 500, and AJ Allmendinger hasn’t finished worse than 16th in his three starts. The team’s lowest finish to date is 21st by Nationwide Series regular Austin Dillon at Las Vegas.

Sponsorship remains an issue. “We don’t have anything for the majority of the races,” Barkdoll said. That puts an even greater emphasis on the positives — drivers staying out of trouble on the race track, Hendrick Motorsports engines, a Gen-6 car that in this case seems to be delivering on its promise of leveling the playing field. However it’s happening, Phoenix for the moment is successfully competing with teams that have millions more in sponsorship dollars and hundreds more employees.

 “I have to think it makes some of the bigger owners take a look at their organizations, because we have 17 full-time employees,” Barkdoll said. “That’s counting the secretary, two truck drivers, and myself. Now you’re talking 14 people that work on the race cars, basically. To be able to do that with such a small group, you couldn’t come in here and tell people we couldn’t do it, because everybody here believes we can do it. Certainly working with Hendrick and getting their engines, knowing we have the same power as Jeff (Gordon) and Jimmie (Johnson) and Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) have, makes us believe in what we do. But everybody’s very proud of what we’re doing.”

Can they keep it up? Small, physical Martinsville looms as a challenge, given that Phoenix has historically run better on bigger tracks. Smith is back behind the wheel this weekend, and then on standby at Texas for Allmendinger, who recently inked a limited IndyCar deal with Penske Racing and will be undergoing Indianapolis 500 rookie orientation the same week. But Barkdoll expects Allmendinger to be in the seat at Fort Worth, and then it’s likely Smith again at Kansas given that Allmendinger might be running the open-wheel event at Long Beach the same weekend.

At Richmond, Ryan Truex — a Camping World Truck Series driver and younger brother of Martin Truex Jr. — will make his Sprint Cup debut in the No. 51. Barkdoll said Finch and Truex’s father Martin Truex Sr. are friends, and that the driver also brings some sponsorship.

“We just have to look at being creative right now to find sponsors, and he has some sponsors,” Barkdoll said. “And James is always willing to take a chance on young drivers. (Truex) has done some testing for some of those organizations. If we had our best-case scenario, we’d love to find a full-time sponsor and just race full-time with AJ, because Regan has his full-time Nationwide thing. But right now that’s just not the case.”

Smith, who has a full-time Nationwide Series ride with JR Motorsports, will return to the car at Talladega and Darlington as Allmendinger begins Month of May activities at Indianapolis. Juggling drivers is becoming routine for a team that so far has remained competitive despite its disadvantages, and now faces the test of sustaining that success through the rest of the year.

“It’s certainly a money-driven sport, and right now there are no plans to change course,” Barkdoll said. “We just have to figure out how to get a sponsor in here that can help us help James. He hasn’t called up and said, ‘Hey, don’t buy brake pads this week. Use the ones you used last week.’ He’s never done that. But two years in a row without a primary sponsor is pretty tough on somebody.”

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Almirola, Ambrose, McMurray and Montoya near track record (Harrelson Photography)

The Gen-6 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car debuted Monday at Richmond International Raceway. A cool surface created grip and fast conditions, which may threaten RIR’s track record when teams return for the Toyota Owners 400 on Saturday, April 27. 

"It turns better. It has more drive off. Everything is better about it."

—Jamie McMurray on the Gen-6 car at Richmond International Raceway

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing drivers Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya along with Aric Almirola and Marcos Ambrose with Richard Petty Motorsports put their Chevrolet SS and Ford Fusion rides through the paces on the short track as part of a two-day test.

The four drivers, along with the rest of the Sprint Cup field, will shoot for the standard set by Brian Vickers in 2004 with the Generation-4 car at 20.772 seconds, 129.983 mph.

“The track is extremely fast,” said Almirola. “When we rolled out on the track at 9 this morning, it was still kind of cool, and the track had a lot of grip. We were running lap times close to the pole speed in race trim. Really surprised at how fast the track was and how fast our cars were.”

“This morning was a lot of fun,” said Montoya. “The track was really cool this morning so it was crazy fast. It’s a good place when you need to find some traction. There’s a lot of things you can work on here.”

 “(The Gen-6 car has) so much more grip than what we had last year,” said McMurray. “I think it would be hard to find anybody say they don’t like that. It turns better. It has more drive off. Everything’s better about it.”

The Richmond race weekend gets under way on Thursday, April 25 with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Blue Ox 100 and the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown presented by FedEx. The Nationwide Series hits the track on Friday, April 26 for the ToyotaCare 250, followed by the Sprint Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 on Saturday, April 27.

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Legendary South Florida businessman responsible for building the facility that hosts NASCAR championship races

Longtime South Florida businessman and Homestead-Miami Speedway founder Rafael “Ralph” Sánchez died Monday morning. Sánchez (1948-2013) had been in declining health for much of the past year.  He is survived by wife Lourdes, daughter Patricia and son Ralph Jr. 

Sánchez, who founded and managed the Grand Prix of Miami starting in 1983, led efforts to bring the motorsports facility to Homestead.  He worked with City of Homestead and Miami-Dade County officials to make the track a reality. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the track took place on Aug. 24, 1993 — exactly one year after Hurricane Andrew wiped out much of Homestead.  The track is credited with being a major catalyst for redevelopment following the Category Five hurricane that leveled large portions of Miami-Dade County.

“I am saddened to learn of Ralph’s passing and offer my condolences to Lourdes, Patricia and Ralph Jr.,” said Homestead-Miami Speedway President Matthew Becherer. “Whether it’s the championship races that receive worldwide attention, the economic impact, or the countless memories made by fans that attend track events, it’s directly attributable to Ralph and his foresight.  The team at Homestead-Miami Speedway and racing fans in this region are indebted to Ralph.  South Florida has lost a true visionary.”

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Businessman H. Wayne Huizenga joined Sánchez as a track partner before the facility opened two years after construction began with a NASCAR Busch (now Nationwide) Series race in November 1995. In 1997, Penske Motorsports (PMI) and International Speedway Corporation (ISC) became partners with Sánchez and Huizenga.  Less than one year later, PMI and ISC purchased Sánchez’s remaining interest in Homestead-Miami Speedway.  ISC became the sole operator in 1999.  The facility will host season-ending championship races in NASCAR’s top three touring series for the 12th consecutive year in November (15-17).

Al Garcia, the vice president for operations at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the longest tenured track employee, worked for Sánchez starting in 1984.  Garcia remembers him fondly: “He was charismatic, yet tough as nails.  Above all, Ralph was very loyal.  You have to give him credit for pursuing his dreams in racing and foregoing what had been to that point been a lucrative career as a developer.  I am very proud to have known Ralph and to have worked alongside him.”

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