Posted on by Holly Cain

Strong finale puts Patrick at 10th place in final standings

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — With her 13th-place finish in the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 300, the Nationwide Series season finale, Danica Patrick secured 10th place in the standings, the best championship showing for a female driver in one of NASCAR’s top three touring series.

"It is nice to know that statistic, of course, but I always hope for more,” said Patrick, insisting she wasn’t aware of the historical significance of her effort. "We came back at the end of the year to put ourselves in top 10 in points. It would have been nice to have a couple top-fives and the points from the road races that went wrong. But everyone says that at the end of the year."

It took 63 years for someone to better the late Sara Christian’s mark of 13th place in the 1949 Strictly Stock Series points standings.

"It is nice to know that statistic, of course, but I always hope for more."

— Danica Patrick

In Patrick’s first full Nationwide season after a historic seven-year IndyCar career, she already has set records for female NASCAR competitors including leading the most laps in a single race (20 in the 2012 Montreal race), highest race finish (fourth at Las Vegas in 2011) and most career laps led (60). Patrick is the second woman to win a national series pole position (Daytona, 2012).

Next season, she will become the first woman to compete full-time in the Sprint Cup Series with Stewart-Haas Racing.

Patrick made international headlines by leading and nearly winning the 2005 Indianapolis 500 as a rookie. In 2008, she became the first woman to win a major open-wheel race at Motegi, Japan.

But the 30-year-old always has insisted her motivation in competing is to win races. Any trailblazing she does for her gender is a bonus, not necessarily the intent.

"I had a lot to expect when I started the year off, and that’s what put me in a bit of an unhappy place after the second race in Phoenix," Patrick said. "I just expected it to go better right off the bat and be a little bit easier, but it just wasn’t. After race two, I just started setting more realistic goals. And sometimes you have to change them. From one year to the next, things change, cars change, teams change and you have to sort of adapt.

"You have to find little victories every weekend because it’s a long season. Even if making a mistake taught me a lesson, you’ve got to come away with that."

Posted on by Holly Cain

Veteran drivers have broad perspective on evolution of NASCAR racer

When a mustached, mullet-haired 21-year-old Jeff Gordon first climbed into his 1992 Chevrolet Lumina in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, the car had a big rear spoiler and looked similar to the Luminas that fans drove to the race track.

A lot has changed in the 20 years since — Gordon lost the mustache and mullet and picked up four Cup championships — but NASCAR’s latest evolution of race car includes an intentional dose of stock car nostalgia that has captured the attention of drivers, fans and Detroit’s automakers.

As NASCAR formally launches its 2013 Generation-6 — or “Gen-6” — race cars during Daytona Speedweeks in February, fans will immediately see the resemblance to production cars, just as they did decades earlier.

The drivers, meanwhile, are embracing a race car that reigning Sprint Cup champ Brad Keselowski refers to as a “game-changer” and that Gordon affectionately calls, “a street car on steroids.”

“I get asked a lot what has changed the most in the sport during the years, and without a doubt it’s aerodynamics, and how we understand aerodynamics, computer simulation and telemetry,’’ Gordon said.

“I look at the Chevy Lumina I drove in my first race, the height of the deck lid, the greenhouse, how the air flowed over the car, how it got to the rear spoiler, the height of the front air dam, how it flowed underneath the car,’’ Gordon said, becoming more animated as he marveled at the different eras while recalling the old-style cars.

“Had we known then what we know now, that car on the track would have looked a lot different.’’

Now it does.

Gordon and Jeff Burton are two of a handful of veteran drivers with firsthand experience in NASCAR’s car evolution during the past two decades — the move from production-based cars in the 1990s to the safety-first, boxier COT (Car of Tomorrow) in 2007 and now a return to a stronger manufacturer brand identity.

And these veterans provide an important perspective on this new generation of cars — Chevrolet SSs, Ford Fusions and Toyota Camrys — set to turn their first official race laps in the Feb. 24 Daytona 500.

“The first time I drove the COT (2007-2012), it was kind of an eye-opening experience of going, ‘Whoa, this car doesn’t drive anything like the current car,’ ” recalled Gordon.

“It took us probably a year or two to understand that, racing it. This 2013 car, right out of the box it drives good and that’s a very good sign. I think we’ve learned so much more about the splitters, sealing the air, the side-skirts, the greenhouse and how it affects the airflow as well as how it exits rear of the car and affects cars behind it.

“I feel like there’s a lot of positives, a lot of momentum.”

Burton couldn’t agree more. The potential of the Gen-6, as far as he’s concerned, reaches beyond the cockpit and directly into the grandstands.

“When I first started racing, I drove a Thunderbird and it looked like a Thunderbird,’’ said Burton, who made his first Cup Series start in 1993. “As it’s evolved now, this in many ways puts us back to when I started. A Chevrolet looks like a Chevrolet and a Ford looks like a Ford. It’s more like it used to be.

“From the technology standpoint, however, it’s light-years away. The COT was a great concept from the safety standpoint but didn’t look very good. We were able to take the COT concept and improve it and also make it look good.

“In some ways, it’s going back to the way it was 20 years ago but with all the advantages of the safety advances in the last 20 years.’’

Both Gordon and Burton agree, however, that as great as the new cars look, it’s how they race that will decide their true impact.

The COTs, while much safer with more driver room and better impact protection, were often criticized for the racing they produced. NASCAR has gone to great lengths with the 2013 models to ensure that the racing looks as good as the cars do.

The new cars have undergone vigorous wind tunnel tests and on-track experimenting to hit on the right combination that will produce close, exciting, side-by-side racing on all types of NASCAR tracks.

“We have to give fans what they want to see today, not what they wanted to see 10 years ago,’’ Burton said. “And they want to see more action, they want to see more battles, more side-by-side. We’ve got to find a way to give it to them.

“I think they (NASCAR) have put more effort this go-round into understanding what makes the cars race with each other better. That’s irrefutable. Whether the outcome is where it needs to be will be decided later. But the effort has been greater this time than ever before.’’

Posted on by Staff Report

Michael Waltrip again has entry in Daytona spectacle

Michael Waltrip will again race in the Rolex 24, and the team owner is bringing one of his drivers with him.

Clint Bowyer — who pilots the No. 15 car for Michael Waltrip Racing — is one of three drivers joining Waltrip in the AF Waltrip entry for the 51st annual Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 26-27.

Rob Kauffman, co-owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, and road racing veteran Rui Aguas round out the four-driver entry.

Bowyer finished second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings in 2012. This is his first foray into the event.

“I’m not really sure what I got myself into,” Bowyer said with a laugh. “Rob asked me to race and I said I would do it. Everyone has told me how much fun this race is. So, I’m ready. Running 24 hours is a long time, but we will give it our best shot.”

"Daytona is always special."

— Michael Waltrip

Bowyer is the newest member in an AF Waltrip lineup that previously has included Travis Pastrana and Brian Vickers. Pastrana, who recently announced he’d run a full NASCAR Nationwide Series slate in 2013, drove in the event last year.

The AF Waltrip entry is a joint project between MWR and AF Corse, an Italian championship sports car team. The team finished 22nd in the GT Class last season.

A two-time Daytona 500 champion, Waltrip is thrilled to return to the fabled location.

"Daytona is always special, whether it’s the 24 Hours or the Daytona 500,” he said. “Last year was my first year in the Rolex 24 and it was so cool. The road course is awesome. … The drivers are having fun and the fans are having fun.”

The twice-around-the-clock race serves as the kickoff to the international motorsports calendar, in addition to the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series.

"The Rolex 24 at Daytona is the pinnacle of sports car racing in America and a world-class event with huge historic relevance,” Kauffman said. “We made it to the finish last year in our first attempt. The GT category is large and strong this year, but we are going to give it our best shot. You have to be in it to win it.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Michael Waltrip again has entry in Daytona spectacle

Michael Waltrip will again race in the Rolex 24, and the team owner is bringing one of his drivers with him.

Clint Bowyer — who pilots the No. 15 car for Michael Waltrip Racing — is one of three drivers joining Waltrip in the AF Waltrip entry for the 51st annual Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 26-27.

Rob Kauffman, co-owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, and road racing veteran Rui Aguas round out the four-driver entry.

Bowyer finished second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings in 2012. This is his first foray into the event.

“I’m not really sure what I got myself into,” Bowyer said with a laugh. “Rob asked me to race and I said I would do it. Everyone has told me how much fun this race is. So, I’m ready. Running 24 hours is a long time, but we will give it our best shot.”

"Daytona is always special."

— Michael Waltrip

Bowyer is the newest member in an AF Waltrip lineup that previously has included Travis Pastrana and Brian Vickers. Pastrana, who recently announced he’d run a full NASCAR Nationwide Series slate in 2013, drove in the event last year.

The AF Waltrip entry is a joint project between MWR and AF Corse, an Italian championship sports car team. The team finished 22nd in the GT Class last season.

A two-time Daytona 500 champion, Waltrip is thrilled to return to the fabled location.

"Daytona is always special, whether it’s the 24 Hours or the Daytona 500,” he said. “Last year was my first year in the Rolex 24 and it was so cool. The road course is awesome. … The drivers are having fun and the fans are having fun.”

The twice-around-the-clock race serves as the kickoff to the international motorsports calendar, in addition to the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series.

"The Rolex 24 at Daytona is the pinnacle of sports car racing in America and a world-class event with huge historic relevance,” Kauffman said. “We made it to the finish last year in our first attempt. The GT category is large and strong this year, but we are going to give it our best shot. You have to be in it to win it.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Great Clips Inc. signs on as primary sponsor

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — JR Motorsports is beginning a new Nationwide Series primary sponsorship with Great Clips Inc., bringing Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet to a team that already includes Regan Smith, the series’ most recent winner, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Kahne has a long-standing relationship with Great Clips — now the series’ longest-running sponsor — dating back to his early years in the Nationwide Series. The company recently announced a sponsorship of Kahne’s No. 5 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports for three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 2013.

The Nationwide sponsorship guarantees JR Motorsports will field at least two entries in 28 of 33 Nationwide Series events. Smith is already committed to driving a full schedule, and Earnhardt Jr. will compete in select races in a third car.

"I’m looking forward to this new opportunity with JR Motorsports and to continue representing Great Clips, both on and off the track."

— Brad Sweet

As a result of Kahne joining JRM, car numbers have been reassigned to align with Kahne’s branding in the Sprint Cup Series. Kahne and Sweet will split time in the No. 5 Chevrolet for 27 races. Smith will compete for a championship in the No. 7, and Earnhardt Jr. will carry his familiar No. 88 in a limited schedule that presently stands at four races.

JR Motorsports General Manager Kelley Earnhardt Miller said the organization still isn’t committing the No. 5 team to a full-season slate but continues to work at securing sponsorship to fill out the remaining six races.

“The last three months have been critical for the direction of JR Motorsports and the commitment we’ve made, and this partnership with Great Clips is a major step in the right direction,” Earnhardt Miller said. “To sign a 28-race sponsor while adding Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet to our lineup is quite extraordinary. Our goal is still to run two full-time teams, and this helps us greatly to achieve that.”

A teammate of Earnhardt’s at Hendrick Motorsports, Kahne is a 14-time Sprint Cup Series winner and seven-time Nationwide Series winner. He drove two races for JR Motorsports in 2011, finishing fourth at Kentucky Speedway and third at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Kahne rejoined the Great Clips family in 2009 and, over the last three years, has competed in select Nationwide Series races with the company as his primary sponsor.

“Great Clips has been a long-time sponsor of mine for 10 years,” Kahne said.  “They support everything that I do from the Kasey Kahne Foundation to my sprint car team and they continue to grow their program in NASCAR. We all look forward to joining JR Motorsports and continuing to build on the success that they have had.”

Like Kahne, Sweet is a product of United States Auto Club (USAC). He was hired by Kasey Kahne Racing in 2007 and has given KKR seven victories, including wins at the Belleville Midget Nationals, Knoxville Midget Nationals and Four Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway.

“I’m looking forward to this new opportunity with JR Motorsports and to continue representing Great Clips, both on and off the track,” said Sweet. “They have been extremely supportive of me over the last couple of years so taking this step with them is very special for me.”

A race schedule for Kahne and Sweet in the No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet is still to be determined. Earnhardt Jr.’s complete Nationwide Series slate is also yet to be announced, though it has been confirmed he will race Feb. 23 at Daytona International Speedway and March 9 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, both in the No. 88 TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet.

Posted on by Staff Report

Kyle Busch Motorsports bolsters NASCAR Nationwide Series stable

Kyle Busch Motorsports ended the suspense and speculation December 18 by announcing its newest NASCAR Nationwide Series driver on social media channels.

In a YouTube video that was distributed via the team’s official Twitter account, Parker Kligerman confirmed he will drive the No. 77 Toyota Camry next season.

In the video, Kligerman is sitting in the No. 77, his face purposely obstructed by the window net. After a few suspenseful seconds, Kligerman climbed out of the car, announcing: “They had to keep me in there for a while. But without further ado, I’d like to announce that I will be driving the No. 77 Toyota Camry for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2013, fighting for the Nationwide championship.”

The 22-year-old driver has started 18 Nationwide Series races over the past four years.

In 2011 and 2012, Kligerman was a full-time driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Kligerman finished fifth in points in 2012, a year in which he won one race and posted eight top-five finishes.

The talented driver joined Toyota Racing midway through the season and saw his results immediately improve, nabbing his first Camping World Truck Series victory at Talladega Superspeedway.

“When you think of Kyle Busch and Kyle Busch Motorsports, you think of an owner and a team that have established a tradition of winning and pride themselves on it, so I feel honored to be given the chance to come in and continue in that tradition,” Kligerman said in a news release. “I feel that running full-time in the Truck Series the last two seasons and coming close to a championship last season has prepared me to be able to do the same in the Nationwide Series next year.”

Owner Kyle Busch said Kligerman’s performance in a Toyota sold him on signing the Connecticut native to a Nationwide deal, which has yet to announce sponsorship for the No. 77 car.

In KBM’s inaugural Nationwide Series campaign, the group finished with one win, 15 top-five showings and 22 top-10 finishes.

“Our Nationwide Series program really seemed to hit its stride the last 10 races of the season,” Busch said. “We feel like we’ll be able to carry that momentum into next year and come out of the gates stronger than we did in our first season.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Former crew chief Shane Wilson also back on board

After a successful eight-race stint in 2012, Brendan Gaughan will return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series full-time in 2013.

Gaughan will team up once more with crew chief Shane Wilson for a full season, this time in the Richard Childress Racing No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Silverado.

Last year Gaughan had four top-five finishes in eight starts. His best outing was a second-place finish in the American Ethanol 225 at Chicagoland Speedway. Gaughan also drove 10 races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Gaughan has completed six full Camping World Truck Series seasons since making his series debut in 1997. His best overall finish was fourth in 2003. Gaughan took a 26-point lead into series finale that year, but was involved in an accident that wrecked his championship hopes.

That near miss was the driving point for the 37-year-old to return full-time.

“I’m thrilled to be back in the (NASCAR Camping World) Truck Series for a full season,” Gaughan said. “I would have been thankful to compete full time for Richard Childress Racing in any series, but returning to the trucks will provide me a second chance to go out and win the Truck Series championship that was stolen from me in 2003. I can’t wait to be reunited with my former crew chief Shane Wilson. … We’re going to do all that we can to get that championship we should have brought home years ago.”

All total, Gaughan has eight Camping World Truck Series victories and 67 top-10 finishes in 195 starts. He and Wilson first teamed up for four races in 2000, and the duo has the type of steady relationship that is often the difference between wins and top-fives.

“I’m looking forward to being reunited with Brendan,” Wilson said. “We have some unfinished business we need to take care of next season. With our resources from Richard Childress Racing, Brendan being a veteran Truck Series driver and our former history, I think it’s safe to say that we will be a very competitive team in 2013.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Fourth-year driver will pilot Shore Lodge-sponsored No. 2

Brian Scott will join Richard Childress Racing beginning in the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series after agreeing to a multi-year deal in December to drive the No. 2 car.

The No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro, which became open when 2012 championship runner-up Elliott Sadler parted for Joe Gibbs Racing, will be sponsored by Shore Lodge, a resort in Scott’s home state of Idaho.

The fourth-year driver has finished in the top 10 of the Nationwide Series championship points standings for two consecutive seasons, taking eighth place in 2011 and ninth in 2012. He has five top-five finishes and 23 top 10s since his full-time debut in 2010.

"Our goals for 2013 are going to be set at a high level."

— Brian Scott

"I am thrilled to have this opportunity to drive the No. 2 Shore Lodge Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing in the Nationwide Series," Scott said in a press release. "RCR has proven over the past 13 years that it can build and prepare winning cars in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and has for a variety of drivers. I just want to be the next name on that list.

“RCR has a rich tradition of winning races and championships at the highest level of our sport and I am excited about being a part of an organization, like theirs, that is committed to winning. Our goals for 2013 are going to be set at a high level and we are going to do everything within our power to achieve those goals.”

Since RCR’s first Nationwide Series season in 2000, its drivers have won 64 races and five season championships. Scott joins Austin Dillon in the No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet Camaro and a bevy of drivers and sponsors in the No. 33.

"Brian is a strong young talent and we look forward to the entire No. 2 Shore Lodge team adding their part to RCR’s history of success in the NASCAR Nationwide Series," team president and CEO Richard Childress said. "The Scott family knows what it takes to create a tradition of excellence so we look forward to making our program a success both on the track and off."

 

Posted on by Zack Albert

The 36-race schedule has minimal changes for NASCAR’s new-look racer

A largely familiar schedule will greet largely unfamiliar cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2013.

NASCAR’s slate again features 36 points races for its premier division, which will debut all-new cars beginning at the Feb. 24th Daytona 500. All 23 tracks from the 2012 schedule will return.

The newest look will be the cars on those tracks. The Chevrolet SS, Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry will still have a racy stance but with a much more recognizable body style to their street-model counterparts.

"The new NASCAR Sprint Cup cars for next season have dominated fan conversation for more than a year, and the time is approaching to unleash them on the race track," said Brian France, NASCAR chairman and CEO.

The only shift is a swap of late-season dates between Talladega Superspeedway and Kansas Speedway. Kansas, currently race No. 6 in the 2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, will return to its slot as the fourth postseason event on Oct. 6. Talladega will move two weeks deeper into the schedule on Oct. 20. The two had traded dates this season to give Kansas Speedway more time to complete its midseason repaving project.

Homestead-Miami Speedway will host the season finale for the 12th straight year on Nov. 17.

Posted on by Nascar

Reunited with crew chief, veteran takes aim at Truck Series title

Nearly a decade ago, Brendan Gaughan and Shane Wilson were key players for the most competitive young team in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. For the 2013 season, they are together again.

Can success be far behind?

“You can’t deny the chemistry and the communication we had back in the day,” Gaughan, 37, said recently of his former crew chief.

Gaughan, then driving for the family-owned Orleans Racing, won the series’ rookie of the year honors in 2002 with Wilson as crew chief, and the tandem nearly won the championship the following year. Their eight-race win total during the two-year stretch was a series best.

Eventually, Gaughan’s and Wilson’s careers veered down paths. Now, they will intersect once more as the two reunite at Richard Childress Racing.

"We go a long way back. Anytime you have that, there are ups and downs."

— Brendan Gaughan

The team will field the No. 62 truck (a nod to Gaughan’s Orleans Racing days) and will start the season with owner points from RCR’s No. 22 entry, which finished third in points with Joey Coulter behind the wheel in 2012.

Gaughan ran partial schedules in three series (Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Truck) for RCR last year, scoring top-five finishes in half of his eight Truck Series starts and top-10s in half of his Nationwide runs.

Wilson, in the meantime, served as crew chief for Kevin Harvick at 24 Sprint Cup races and RCR teammates Paul Menard and Jeff Burton for a handful of others. This season, Gaughan is certainly happy to have Wilson back on his team.

“We go a long way back,” Gaughan said. “Anytime you have that, there are ups and downs. We’ve had ours. … It’s nice for us to get back together. We’ve both said, ‘You know what? We should have been doing this all along.’ ”

Wilson has been a winning crew chief in all three series, enjoying success with Gaughan (eight wins in the Truck Series), Harvick and Burton (14 in Nationwide) and Clint Bowyer (two in Cup). Given the success he and Gaughan shared, Wilson said expectations for 2013 are high.

“With our resources from (RCR), Brendan being a veteran Truck Series driver and our … history, I think it’s safe to say that we will be a very competitive team,” Wilson said in a release announcing the pairing.

Ty Dillon, last season’s rookie of the year in the series, returns in the No. 3 truck for the organization. A third entry is expected to be fielded for a limited number of events.

The series’ 22-race schedule kicks off Feb. 22 with the running of the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

“This sport all starts at the shop,” said Gaughan, who will also compete in at least two Nationwide Series events this year. “It all starts with the work the people do behind the scenes — the body hangers, the engineers, those folks. You’ve got to take it seriously … make it start on the shop side and the performance will come from there. I’m really pumped about it.”