Driver thrills 4-year-old with hug at Preseason Thunder
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — At just 4 years old, Anthony Zotaro learned a valuable life lesson about being in the right place at the right time.
On the final day of Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway, Zotaro’s grandfather decided to take the young race fan to the track, knowing it was something they could appreciate together.
“Every Sunday, he sits in front of the TV and watches races,” Tim Spry said about his grandson. “He’s been to five or six races, and he’s not even 5 yet.”
"It was just unbelievable. He’s amazed with it. I was shaking to see it happen."
— Tim Spry, grandfather of 4-year-old Anthony Zotaro
Tim Spry and Anthony Zotaro
The two spent the early part of Jan. 12 in the track’s infield watching the cars and lining up for autographs. Toward the end of the morning practice, they walked to the garage’s entrance gate, hoping for just a little more.
“We went around the corner of the building and all of sudden we see her come out, standing there,” Spry said.
It was NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie Danica Patrick. She was walking back to her car after a short break, with the top half of her driver’s suit tied around her waist. Zotaro immediately recognized Patrick and let out a high-pitched “Danica!” scream appropriate for a 4-year-old.
Patrick heard Zotaro’s call and looked in his direction with a smile. Zotaro blew her a kiss, and Patrick returned the favor. Then she went one step further.
“She said ‘Come here, I’ll give you a hug’. And I said ‘He can’t go in there,’ ” said Spry, who was in disbelief his grandson would be allowed to pass the security gate. “And she goes ‘Yes he can.’ ”
With little hesitation, Zotaro made the short sprint and Patrick met him halfway. Even with Patrick down on one knee, he stood on the tips of his toes to get his arms around her. The result was a smile that will be hard to ever duplicate.
“It was just unbelievable,” Spry said. “He’s amazed with it. I was shaking to see it happen.”
The moment, of course, didn’t last long. But it was long enough that Patrick posed with the young boy while Spry took out his flip phone and did his best to snap a photo. She went back to her race car, while Spry put his grandson up on his shoulders, still grinning from ear to ear.
“I feel like I want her to be my girlfriend,” Zotaro said.
Patrick’s gesture reinforced the feelings Spry already had about the sport. A fan since the 1980s, he praised the access fans have to drivers.
“NASCAR is the only place you can get this close to drivers and get autographs and be able to sit down and talk to them,” he said. “You go to any other stick and ball sport, you can’t get that close. I’m a big sports fan. I go to football games. You can stand on the sideline but you can’t get close to them. They won’t even recognize you.
“This is a moment we’ll never forget.”
Blaney has bold goals for 2013
Ryan Blaney isn’t the kind of driver who typically sets goals for himself. But this offseason, on the heels of his first victory at NASCAR’s national level, he sat down with his father and sketched out some objectives for the coming Camping World Truck Series campaign.
Bold ones.
“I want to win five to eight races and win the championship,” said Blaney, who turned 19 on New Year’s Eve. “I honestly want the championship to be locked up going into Homestead. That’s the goal I set for myself. I think we have the team to do it, the car, the support. So we’ll see if we can get there. I believe that with the growth myself and the team have had, we can really get there.”
It seems the confidence of Blaney’s team owner, reigning Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski, is rubbing off on a driver who last September at Iowa Speedway became the youngest race winner in the Truck circuit’s 18-year history. With good reason, perhaps — the son of veteran NASCAR driver Dave Blaney was fast almost everywhere he went in 2012, scoring a runner-up finish in a Nationwide race at Texas to go along with his Truck triumph, and showing a level of maturity well beyond his years.
"There’s a lot of good young talent out there today, and we certainly want to support him."
— Roger Penske, team owner
POLL: Which Truck series driver will be the first to win in 2013?
Now the next step looms, in the form of a full-time Truck Series campaign in the same vehicle he piloted on a limited basis last year — the No. 29 Ford of Brad Keselowski Racing, backed by sponsor Cooper Standard. There will almost certainly be a slate of Nationwide races as well, with a Penske Racing team for whom Blaney is a developmental driver. Regardless, the secret is out. Blaney’s Iowa breakthrough will reverberate into 2013, in the form of increased expectations on a driver smart enough to realize he’s raised the bar.
“I think it all changes,” he said. “I’ve been in the Truck Series, I’ve had a lot of races there, I’ve had a lot of races in the Nationwide Series. And then you come back kind of in my sophomore year here, and you really have to prove yourself. You have to prove you can keep learning, keep growing, and you’re not a rookie anymore. You’ve got to act like a veteran and try to make smart decisions and show that you can keep doing it. So I think the expectations are definitely raised for your second year coming back.”
Blaney’s No. 29 will be one of two full-time BKR trucks competing in 2013. The team will also field a No. 19 Ford which will vie for the Truck Series owners’ championship, and feature four different drivers in the seat — Keselowski, his Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano, Ross Chastain and Dave Blaney. Chastain will pilot the truck for 15 events, including the opener at Daytona. The complete race schedules for Keselowski, Logano and Chastain have not yet been determined.
Dave Blaney will drive the No. 19 truck for one race — the July 24 dirt-track event at Eldora Speedway, where he’s won six World of Outlaws features, twice including the King’s Royal, one of that circuit’s biggest events. The vehicle will feature Chad Kendrick as crew chief and sponsorship from Cequent Consumer Products and Melon 1.
“Last season was a huge stepping stone for the organization as we claimed our first victory,” Keselowski said. “We are looking forward to building on last year’s success this season.”
Ryan Blaney’s goals of five to eight wins and a title — clinched before the season finale, no less — would certainly do that. Those are some daring aspirations, particularly given that no Truck Series driver has recorded more than four victories since 2009. Even in a limited role, though, the flashes were clearly there in 2012, when Blaney placed 11th or better in every Truck race where he was running at the finish. He also notched seven top 10s in 13 Nationwide starts, splitting time between Penske Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing, a team his father competed for at the Sprint Cup level.
He did it all at an age when many are more concerned about their senior prom. Everyone noticed, the Penske Racing brass included.
“We think that he’s a fine young man,” team owner Roger Penske said late last year. “He’s got a lot to learn, like they all do. But coming from a family that’s been racing, he seems to have the talent. There’s a lot of good young talent out there today, and we certainly want to support him.”
What Blaney is aiming for now, though, is a considerable step up. “It really is,” he conceded. “But honestly, when you set that high of a goal, you always have something you’re chasing for. And you tell your team that goal, and it kind of motivates them even more to work harder and push harder. I definitely think it helps when you set a goal, for the driver and the team, to push themselves that much harder. We’ll try our best to try to get there.”
The presence of Keselowski, whose confidence and go-big-or-go-home mentality fueled his run to the 2012 premier-series crown, certainly can’t hurt. Blaney said he’s learned much about racing from the Sprint Cup champion and he reaches out to Keselowski frequently, especially on event weekends. Blaney may have held back some during last year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup — the boss did have a title on the line, after all — but not now.
“In the offseason, I’ve been on him hard. I’m just trying to dig information out of him and learn as much as I can,” he said.
“He’s a smart guy and he knows the game and can play it well,” added Blaney, who returns with Doug Randolph as crew chief. “It’s a big advantage for me to be able to know him personally like that, and be able to talk to him anytime I want, and ask him any questions that I’d like.”
That line of communication may prove even more valuable this year, as Blaney makes the transition from part-time racer to full-time championship contender, laden with expectations from his performance a season ago. The breakthrough at Iowa has become as much a part of him as his dark hair, coloring what everyone expects of him going forward. Yet he doesn’t run from it. “I believe last year was a really big defining moment,” he said. But this 19-year-old is also mature enough to realize that any driver is only as good as his last race.
“You never really feel relief when you’re trying to prove yourself as a younger driver. It’s hard to do,” Blaney said. “You have to keep working, keep showing it. I actually don’t think there’s ever relief as a race car driver. You’ve got to keep proving yourself race after race and year and after year. You can never really sit back and give yourself some breathing space. You have to keep after it and keep fighting hard, especially when you’re trying to make it.”
Veteran experience aids transition to Gen-6 car
It was hard to tell who was happier in the minutes following the final checkered flag of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season: newly crowned champion Brad Keselowski, or race winner Jeff Gordon.
From the size of Gordon’s smile and decibel level of his celebration, you’d have thought the veteran had won the title. As he hoisted his race winner’s trophy, there was no mistaking the feeling that Gordon was back on track for the bigger hardware in 2013.
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Jeff Gordon2012 rankTeamCrew chiefBiggest change for 2013 is…Watch out for…Will win the title if…2012 was… |
The emotion was understandable.
A week earlier, a rare on-track temper tantrum resulted in a $100,000 fine, the loss of 25 championship points, and a whole lot of head-shaking for the prototypical All-American Gordon, who only weeks earlier had clawed back from a slow start (40th place in the Daytona 500 after an engine failure) to qualify for the Chase.
VIDEO: Jeff Gordon season in review
The dramatic run for the berth in NASCAR’s playoffs — coming in the waning laps of the final regular season race — was typical of Gordon’s atypical season, which was an all-or-nothing fight for every lap.
It’s exactly the kind of drama he’d prefer to avoid in 2013.
For all intents and purposes, Gordon gets to enjoy a three-month reign as the Sprint Cup Series’ most recent winner. And while his 10th-place final ranking in 2012 was his lowest since 2005, the 25-point penalty he received for wrecking Clint Bowyer at Phoenix was the difference between 10th and seventh in the standings.
“We’ve had to have one another’s back because we’ve all made mistakes this year,’’ Gordon said shortly after leaving Homestead-Miami Speedway’s Victory Lane. “That’s the kind of team we’ve been this year. So to be able to celebrate with them in Victory Lane was very special, very meaningful and gives a tremendous amount of momentum to go into 2013 with the new race car.’’
As a senior member of the Sprint Cup ranks, Gordon has plenty of experience transitioning to new race cars, and is optimistic it will play in his favor for the upcoming season. He was one of the first to test the new Chevy during its development stages, and came away impressed with the possibilities of the Generation-6 car.
“The manufacturers are more involved, the teams are more involved, (and) I feel like we’ve just got a step ahead with where we are starting with this car,’’ Gordon said. “It drove great in traffic. I feel like we’re going to just continue to evolve this car at a rapid pace. I feel like they look good and drive great, and are only going to get better and better.
“This car right out of the box drove good, and that’s a very good sign.’’
A good sign for the cars, for NASCAR and for Gordon, who, at age 41, has never been more committed to winning his first championship since 2001.
Other than figuring out the Gen-6 package as quickly as possible, Gordon said there’s very little his team needs to change in 2013. The pit crew could be more consistent, he allowed. And it wouldn’t hurt to be more aggressive — he in the car and crew chief Alan Gustafson on the pit box.
Gordon had 18 top-10 finishes in his 15th multi-win season, but also five DNFs and three more showings of 30th or worse.
“We had great race cars, but we kind of do need a reset, and I’m looking forward to the 2013 car,’’ Gordon said.
"I think we’ve got some great things in store for that."
See the full schedule of our top 12 Sprint Cup Series drivers and read more below:
11. Martin Truex Jr.
10. Jeff Gordon
9. Tony Stewart
7. Matt Kenseth
6. Denny Hamlin
5. Greg Biffle
4. Kasey Kahne
2. Clint Bowyer
Team hopes for better qualifying to better results
Whenever he’s asked what his race team needs to fix to be more competitive, three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart delivers a standard answer: “If I knew that, don’t you think I’d be doing it?”
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Tony Stewart2012 rankTeamCrew chiefBiggest change for 2013 is…Watch out for…Will win the title if…2012 was… |
Usually Stewart is smirking or kidding, but by late in the 2012 season, the tone was more serious.
VIDEO: Tony Stewart season in review
After one of the most remarkable championship runs in NASCAR history in 2011, Stewart’s No. 14 Chevy was less frequently a trophy threat in 2012. Despite a very respectable three wins, Stewart defended his title with a ninth place in the standings — his worst showing since a ninth place in 2008. It marks only the third time in his 14-year Cup career he’s placed worse than seventh overall.
“A lot of places that we were so good at last year in the Chase, not being good this time and this year was a little disappointing,” Stewart said.
His five wins during the 2011 Chase were record-worthy, but since he changed crew chiefs for 2012, there was a bit of a reset during the get-to-know-you phase between Stewart and new hire Steve Addington.
Expectations quickly rose, however, when Stewart won two of the first five races — including a first-time victory at Las Vegas. But as the months went on, that quick start to the season was tempered by inconsistency and, especially, poor qualifying. These are two of the team’s priorities for 2013.
Stewart started 20 races from 21st or farther back on the grid, forcing him to play a game of catch-up before the green flag even dropped. And still, Stewart’s 12 top-five finishes were more than the nine top-fives he posted in his 2011 championship season, and more than any season since 2006.
To salvage such good results despite poor starts should be encouraging, but Stewart has a low threshold for any weakness in the program. And that will be tested this year, as he and teammate Ryan Newman welcome a third car to the Stewart-Haas Racing, driven by rookie Danica Patrick.
“We’ve got such a different car and different package, everybody just kind of starts over,” Stewart said. “I am discouraged that we (finished 2012) this way, but not because of what it’s going to lead to next year.
“Everybody is going to start with stuff that is totally different, package-wise, than what we have. … There are a lot of changes and it’s going to be a whole new learning process starting over in Daytona.”
Stewart had not turned a lap in NASCAR’s new Generation-6 cars entering the new year, but he was impressed with the new look of his Chevrolet SS — and the possibilities.
“Anytime you start with anything completely new, it’s an unknown variable,” Stewart said.
“You’ve got to establish a baseline first and the hardest thing is getting the cars built right now. We’ve got a lot of work to do in a short amount of time.
“Nobody knows who’s going to find the right combination with this new car. A lot can change during the course of the season and how teams will develop it."
See the full schedule of our top 12 Sprint Cup Series drivers and read more below:
11. Martin Truex Jr.
10. Jeff Gordon
9. Tony Stewart
7. Matt Kenseth
6. Denny Hamlin
5. Greg Biffle
4. Kasey Kahne
2. Clint Bowyer
Barnes among seven drivers to join Rev Racing for full seasons in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Coming off the most successful season in the nine-year history of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program, NASCAR and Rev Racing welcomed the 2013 NASCAR D4D class live on Google+ Hangout today — a group that will attempt to match the first series championship in the program’s history.
“Four drivers selected from the NASCAR Drive For Diversity Combine will join three returning drivers to compete for Rev Racing in 2013,” said Max Siegel, owner of Rev Racing. “With Kyle Larson capturing NASCAR D4D’s first title in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, as well as the series’ Sunoco Rookie of Year Award, the new class is in a position to continue the momentum and defend the 2013 title.”
Bryan Ortiz, from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and Ryan Gifford, of Winchester, Tenn., will return to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. Ortiz finished second to teammate Larson in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors last season and fifth in the standings.
They will be joined by Daniel Suarez of Monterrey, Mexico, and Mackena Bell of Carson City, Nev. Suarez is coming off a third-place finish in Mexico’s NASCAR Toyota Series, while Bell drove in Rev Racing’s Late Model program last year.
Annabeth Barnes from Hiddenite, N.C., and Jack Madrid from San Clemente, Calif., will pilot the Late Models for Rev Racing. While Devon Amos, from Rio Rancho, N.M., will compete for the team’s Legends program.
“In 2012, the NASCAR Drive for Diversity initiative has strengthened its position as a leading driver development platform in our sport with outstanding finishes from many drivers, especially Kyle’s championship, which was a first for the program,” said Marcus Jadotte, NASCAR vice president of public affairs and multicultural development. “Clearly, the NASCAR D4D initiative and Rev Racing have raised the bar in preparing young drivers for success in our sport.”
Seventeen hopefuls went through a three-day driver evaluation of on-track performances and physical fitness to be considered for a spot in the 2013 D4D class. For the second-consecutive year, the NASCAR D4D Combine was held at Langley Speedway, a .4-mile asphalt oval and NASCAR-sanctioned track.
While several of the drivers will compete in the UNOH Battle at the Beach at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 18-19, the full team will begin its season in March. The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series drivers will make their series debut at the historic Hickory Motor Speedway March 9, while the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East drivers open their season on March 16 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Toyota and Toyota Racing Development will once again support Rev Racing and the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program, with all drivers racing Toyota Camrys in 2013. Goodyear, Mobil 1, Sprint, NASCAR Technical Institute (NTI), 3M, Wix Filters, Mechanix Wear, iRacing, Castle, JRI Shocks, Impact, Playseat, Doghouse Systems, Logitech, and Sign Innovations also return to support Rev Racing and the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program.
Kellogg Company signs multi-year agreement with the N.Y. track
Watkins Glen International announced Tuesday that Cheez-It at the Glen will be the new name of their August race weekend for several years to come, beginning Aug. 8–11, 2013.
While the Nationwide series race name will stay the same — the NASCAR Nationwide Series Zippo 200 — the highlight of the weekend is the Sprint Cup race.
"This partnership adds another chapter to our rich racing history and provides an array of opportunities for all involved. I have no doubt our fans will benefit the most during our Cheez-It 355 at The Glen weekend,” Watkins Glen International President Michael Printup said. “We look forward to driving history together with the Kellogg Company and Cheez-It for years to come."
Although Kellogg has been involved in the sport since 1991, this is the first race entitlement.
"We know this loyalty exists among NASCAR fans, so this is the perfect opportunity for us to show our support for the fans and build on our successful partnerships in motorsports," said Todd Penegor, President of Kellogg U.S. Snacks. "We are proud to be the title sponsor of the Cheez-It 355 at The Glen — a one-of-a-kind event at an iconic venue."
Previously known as the Finger Lakes 355 at the Glen, the 355 translates to 90 laps, or 220.5 miles.
Drivers, teams prep for next stage in preseason shakedowns
NASCAR confirmed Tuesday a total of 33 drivers as participants in the next round of preseason testing, scheduled Thursday and Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The test will be the second go-around at the 1.5-mile track for the sixth-generation NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car, which will make its debut this season. The new model, which bears a much closer resemblance to its street-car counterpart, hit the pavement for its first official test at the Concord, N.C., facility Dec. 11-12 of last year.
The entry list for the Charlotte test has two fewer cars than last week’s Preseason Thunder test at Daytona International Speedway, but the cast of characters is slightly changed. Regan Smith, Austin Dillon, Josh Wise, Travis Kvapil and David Reutimann tested at Daytona, but will not be in Charlotte for practice runs. But David Ragan and David Stremme, both absent from Daytona, will participate at the Charlotte test.
Smith is scheduled to enter the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 24 in the Phoenix Racing No. 51 Chevrolet. Dillon is scheduled to make his debut in the Great American Race in a fourth entry from Richard Childress Racing.
Testing at Charlotte is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET each day. Admission is free.
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Car #
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Driver | Team |
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1
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Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing |
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2
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Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing |
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5
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Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports |
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9
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Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports |
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10
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Danica Patrick | Stewart Haas Racing |
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11
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Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing |
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13
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Casey Mears | Germain Racing |
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14
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Tony Stewart | Stewart Haas Racing |
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15
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Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing |
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16
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Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing |
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17
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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing |
|
18
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Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing |
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20
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Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing |
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21
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Trevor Bayne | Wood Brothers Racing |
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22
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Joey Logano | Penske Racing |
|
24
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Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports |
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27
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Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing |
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29
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Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing |
|
30
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David Stremme | Swan Racing |
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31
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Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing |
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34
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David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports |
|
36
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Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing |
|
39
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Ryan Newman | Stewart Haas Racing |
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42
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Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing |
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43
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Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports |
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47
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Bobby Labonte | JTG-Daugherty Racing |
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48
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Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports |
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55
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Mark Martin | Michael Waltrip Racing |
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56
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Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing |
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78
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Kurt Busch | Furniture Row Racing |
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88
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Dale Earnhardt Jr | Hendrick Motorsports |
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95
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Scott Speed | Leavine Family Racing |
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99
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Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing |
Former Tar Heel visits Hendrick Motorsports
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tyler Hansbrough went to school in the heart of NASCAR country, but the Indiana Pacers’ 6-9 power forward admits he had “other things” on his mind while attending the University of North Carolina.
Those things included helping his Tar Heel team win three-straight Atlantic Coast Conference basketball titles as well as the 2009 NCAA national championship.
“I was young and having fun and never really paid attention to (NASCAR),” Hansbrough said Monday while touring the Hendrick Motorsports complex with members of the Pacers organization. “This (tour) was definitely an eye-opener … I’ve gotten a whole new appreciation for it.”
Hansbrough isn’t totally lost when it comes to NASCAR — just months after he and his UNC teammates defeated Michigan State for the national title, and prior to joining the Pacers (he was the 13th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft), Hansbrough served as grand marshal for the ‘09 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
An off-day between games against Brooklyn on Sunday and Charlotte on Tuesday afforded Hansbrough and his colleagues the opportunity to tour the massive Hendrick complex.
"This was definitely an eye-opener … I’ve gotten a whole new appreciation for (NASCAR)."
— Indiana Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough, after touring the Hendrick Motorsports complex
“Maybe now that I know a little bit more about the cars, met some of these people here, I can get into it and watch it a little more closely,” Hansbrough said.
The group saw nearly every step in the process of building race cars, visiting chassis, engine and fabrication shops, as well as seeing a completed car put through its paces on a seven-post shaker rig.
Steve Letarte, crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr., served as tour guide, while Alan Gustafson and Chad Knaus (crew chiefs for Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, respectively) took time to speak to the group.
“It’s always cool to interact with different teams in sports,” Letarte said. “You don’t realize how similar some of their philosophies and structure are like our race team.
“It was a fun day. The guys from the Pacers were very cool and so interested in what we did; I think we opened their eyes on how NASCAR is more than just cars on the track.”
The athleticism of the crews caught the attention of Hansbrough and Clark Kellogg, vice president of player relations for the Pacers. Hansbrough even tried his hand at jacking a car and attempting to remove a rear wheel after getting a glimpse of a pit stop practice.
“You always draw parallels from what I’ve done as a former player and what I do now as a broadcaster,” said Kellogg, who also serves as lead analyst for CBS college basketball. “But the teamwork aspect is always something that jumps out at you when you get behind the scenes of another organization in another sport.”
Kellogg said he knew there was athleticism involved from the drivers’ standpoint, “but I did not really lock into the fact that the pit crew members are tremendous athletes,” he said.
“You just watch how easily they move and how they get around, they’re like cats. I was quite blown away by the fact that they are extremely athletic and this place has made a commitment to making sure that they not only get high-quality athletes but they prepare them to perform at their highest level in this sport.”