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Daytona Rolex 24 Victory Goes to Mike Shank Racing

Editor — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:06:05 +0000

Traditionally the racing season’s starter event, the Rolex 24 at Daytona celebrated its 50th anniversary with plenty of nail-biting action on the track this past weekend. Mike Shank Racing from Pataskala, Ohio, took the checkered flag in the Daytona Prototype class, breaking NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger’s almost six-year dry spell as he completed the final stint of the race. This was the ninth try at the championship for Mike Shank racing, with other team members being Justin Wilson, Ozz Negri Jr. and John Pew.

With 2 hours and 8 minutes of the race remaining, Allmendinger took the lead in the MSR Ford-Riley, doing battle with defending champion Scott Pruett driving for Ganassi Racing. Allmendinger also managed to outrun Ryan Dalziel in the Starworks car as he headed for the finish line. Although it was Allmendinger who claimed the victory for the team, other team members had made the win possible with their driving skills earlier in the race. In fact, IndyCar driver Justin Wilson turned in the fasted lap of the race. Allmendinger took over from Negri, and had a close shave with Allan McNish in the Starworks car as he banked in turn four and connected bodywork with Allmendinger’s car. However, the latter was undeterred and continued in his pursuit for first place. With 19 minutes left of the race, and the Shank team enjoying a lead of 11 seconds, a GT car sliding into an inside wall caused some anxiety. Fortunately for the leading cars there was no call for a full course caution, which would have resulted in a bunched up field for the final sprint and Allmendinger crossed the finish line with a 5.198 second lead over second-place Ryan Dalziel in the Ford-powered Starworks car.

As runner-up in the 2011 Grand-Am championship, SunTrust Racing was well prepared for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, but unexpected engine trouble saw driver Max Angelelli enter the pits only 25 minutes into the race. The car entered the race five minutes later, only to return shortly after to be declared out of the race. Team owner, Wayne Taylor, noted that it was the first time they have had engine trouble since using Chevrolet, and as the race began their only concern was the traffic, the engine trouble had caught the team by surprise. Angelelli had started the race in second place, and will be awarded some points for completing 30 minutes of the race. While it was a disappointing start for SunTrust Racing, the season has just begun and anything can happen in the months ahead.

Daytona 500

Editor — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:42:33 +0000

The popular Daytona 500 will see 43 NASCAR drivers competing in this highly prestigious event. A highlight this year will be the US Air Force’s Thunderbirds performing a thrilling fly-over. The race is heald annually anc covers a distance of 500 miles, consisting of 200 laps.

Date: 26 February 2012
Time: 1 PM
Venue: Daytona International Speedway
City: Daytona Beach
State: Florida
Country: United States of America

NASCAR Advocates Return to Pack Racing

Editor — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:22:41 +0000

Two-car tandem racing has become a feature at Daytona and Talladega, with drivers working together to gain the highest speed possible around the track. In this two-car collaboration the trailing driver pushes the lead car around the track. Due to the position of the cars, the driver doing the pushing has a limited view of the road ahead and relies on the leader to make the right moves. However, the close proximity of the two cars can lead to overheating, and so the pusher needs to trade places with the leader from time to time. The temporary breaking of the pusher-leader partnership causes a dramatic reduction in speed for both cars and is potentially hazardous.

Three days of testing at Daytona saw NASCAR trying to break this two-car tandem racing pattern, and revert to the pack racing format that auto racing fans enjoy the most. During the testing, Kyle Busch clocked a 205.813 mph in a pack racing format, while Regan Smith and Kurt Busch formed a two-car tandem, with Kurt Busch clocking an incredible time of 206.058 mph.

Bearing in mind that NASCAR has traditionally been against exceeding speeds of 200 mph, four-time series champion Jeff Gordon reportedly queried the high speeds being achieved on the track, and was assured by NASCAR officials that they have no problem with the new record speeds. Nevertheless, with pack racing bringing in the fans, in November last year NASCAR Chairman Brian France made it clear that he wants drivers to move away from two-car tandem racing, so in addition to a series of changes to rules governing aerodynamics of racing cars, driver-to-driver communications over their scanners has been banned.

While a number of changes have been made during testing, with drivers and their teams kept informed all along the way, it is very likely that more changes will be made before the much anticipated Speedweeks begin, with the iconic Daytona 500 taking place on February 26. NASCAR vice president Robin Pemberton noted that while there may be some loose ends to tie up as they make final plans for Speedweeks, and was reported as saying that “everything is going according to plan.”

Tony Stewart on Winning Streak

Editor — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:55:44 +0000

Tony Stewart continued his winning streak by taking the checkered flag at the 14th annual Rumble in Fort Wayne 50-lap midget car event on New Year’s Eve. Driving the twenty-year old VW-powered Munchkin, Stewart completed the race at 11:04 pm, later noting that the car in which he had claimed seven victories was easy to work with and fun to drive. Stewart ended the year on a high note and added to his list of achievements which include being the fast qualifier in his past ten races, and winning nine times in fourteen career starts.

Although it had an unpromising start, 2011 turned out to be an exciting year for both Stewart and his fans as he claimed his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship, with his previous two title wins being in 2002 and 2005. The final race of the NASCAR season turned into a nail-biting duel between Edwards and Stewart, with Stewart crossing the finish line in first place and claiming the championship title.

In a post-race interview, 40-year old Stewart was reported as saying that it was the first time he had raced on New Year’s Eve, and that it was a great way to have finished the year. He also noted that it would be hard to keep up his winning streak, but he anticipates that it will be a lot of fun trying.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Tony Stewart has revealed that he will be part of a four-car “Team of Champions”, along with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Bryan Clauson and Jake Blackhurst, to participate in the 26th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals set to start on 10 January. Driving the Chevrolet Performance Parts Sponsored No. 14 Chevrolet/Spike, which he has dubbed “Back in Black”, Stewart intends to challenge the Esslinger/Ford dominated event. Clauson will be driving a No. 39c Essingler/Spike Indycar/Indy 500 race car, while Stenhouse Jr. will be competing in a No. 39a Esslinger/Spike, and Blackhurst will be driving a No. 39b Esslinger/Spike Kitchen Cooked entry.

SFHR New Speedway Headquarters in the Pipeline

Editor — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:07:53 +0000

With this year’s auto racing season at an end, the auto racing industry will be looking forward to 2012, and making plans to promote this exciting sport despite the gloomy outlook for the U.S. economy. The recent ceremonial ground-breaking for the new Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing headquarters to be built on Speedway’s main street, can be seen as a vote of confidence that auto racing will maintain its place as one of the country’s most popular sports. With a budget of $2.5 million, the new headquarters is a collaborative effort with the Speedway Redevelopment Commission (SRC) and will feature shop and office space for the race team, gathering all the aspects of running a winning team – such as engineering, machine shop, service, paint and composites – under one roof.

The new SFHR headquarters has the IndyCar construction company, Dallara Automobili, as its neighbor – taking delivery of their new race cars will not present any challenges. Engineer Gian Paolo Dallara was recently presented the John Bolster Award for his achievements in the sport of auto racing, and his company will be supplying their new DW12 to fifteen IndyCar teams, including SFHR.

Sarah Fisher made a name for herself in US motorsport by becoming the first, and only, female team owner, as well as being the youngest owner in the IZOD IndyCar Series. She was also the first female team owner to win a race in the IZOD IndyCar Series. At the age of 19, Sarah made history by becoming the youngest female to compete in the Indianapolis 500, making her the third female ever to compete in the iconic race. In that same year, 2000, her third place finish at the Kentucky Speedway made her the first female to stand on the podium. By taking second place at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, Sarah became the first female to finish as a runner-up in a major-league open-wheel race. These are just some of the accomplishments of this talented driver who has made auto racing her career. The new headquarters for her joint venture with Willis “Wink” Hartman, is the fulfillment of another of Sarah Fisher’s goals.

The 38,000 square foot building will include a home-style kitchen and a retail gift shop, with the latter featuring an area for fans where they will have the opportunity to interact with members of the SFHR team. Conference facilities will provide a convenient venue for meetings with sponsors, while a state-of-the art gym will ensure that the team has what it needs for each member to be in peak physical condition, with the added advantage of having the Indianapolis Motor Speedway just a five minute walk away.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Ends with a Duel

Editor — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 08:19:53 +0000

As the final race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship, the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday offered excitement from start to finish, ending with Tony Stewart taking the checkered flag and the championship title. Having won the NASCAR season championships in 2002 and 2005, this was Stewart’s third championship victory – a victory for which he had to battle against very strong competition. The last 40 laps of the 267-lap event proved to be a duel between Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards that kept fans in suspense right to the finish line. Although Stewart and Edwards ended the season tied in points, the championship title went to Stewart because of his five victories during the season, compared with one victory for Edwards.

What made Stewart’s victory even sweeter was the fact that it was not without obstacles. Eearly on in the race he discovered a hole in his car’s front grille forcing him to stop for repairs. His team put a new grille over the damaged one, securing it in place with electrical tape, and sending him on his way again. At one stage Stewart was 40th in the field, but climbed to 5th place before a 74-minute rain delay broke his stride once more. But nothing was going to stand in Stewart’s way as he fought his way to the front of the field, and the battlefor first place became a duel between himself and Edwards.

In a post-race interview, Stewart acknowledged that the first 109 laps of the race had been very challenging and commended his crew for their hard work. Commenting on his daring driving style which saw him passing a trio of cars on the inside of the track, Stewart said:”That shows you how bad I wanted to win this thing.” He also noted that a driver can’t hold anything back when going for a championship.

Martin Truex Jr. finished in third place, with Matt Kenseth taking the fourth spot and Jeff Gordon coming in fifth. Having scored two wins in the season, Jimmie Johnson had a disappointing finish to the season, finishing 32nd due to engine trouble and an incident in lap 143 where he spun out and hit the wall. Nevertheless, Johnson ended in sixth place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings with 2304 points. Both Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards clocked up 2403 points, with Kevin Harvick taking third place with 2345 points, Matt Kenseth at fourth place with 2330 points, and Brad Keselowski in fifth place with 2319 points.

Good Sam Club 500 Victory to Clint Bowyer

Editor — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:36:49 +0000

Richard Childress Racing teammates Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton presented a superb example of teamwork and driving skill as they separated themselves from the pack, chasing each other and working together to maintain first and second positions at Talladega on Sunday. But on the final stretch of the Good Sam Club 500, Bowyer pulled past Burton to cross the finish line in first place – his first win of the current season and the 100th win for Richard Childress Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. Third place was taken by Dave Blaney, with Brad Keselowski in fourth place and Brian Vickers in fifth, followed by Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin in sixth, seventh and eighth place respectively.

In a post-race interview Bowyer was reported as saying that he owed it to his team and sponsors to go out and win the race, even if it was up against his teammate. Burton noted that Bowyer did what he was supposed to do in making his move to take first place, following the strategy they had planned before the race. Commenting on the result, Childress said that he tells all his drivers to try to win the race, as they are in the business to race hard and to put on a good show for the fans.

While the two RCR drivers held the lead using the two-car drafting system, where two cars working in a nose-to-tail formation can gain at least a 10-mph advantage, other drivers further back in the field tried the same strategy with varying degrees of success. Jeff Gordon was less than impressed when Trevor Bayne failed to push him over the last two laps as Gordon had expected. Instead, Bayne joined the alliance of fellow Ford drivers in supporting Roush Fenway Racing teammates Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards in the championship race. Gordon had been in seventh place on the final restart, but fell to 27th spot when Bayne bailed on him. Gordon tweeted his disappointment with Bayne and his dissatisfaction with the two-car drafting style, noting that it is too premeditated.

A number of accidents marred the race, but fortunately no injuries occurred, although it did result in a reshuffle of the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup championship standings. The first ten spots, in order, are held by Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon.

Kenseth’s Position Boosted by Charlotte Victory

Editor — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:06:36 +0000

Claiming first place in the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, 15 October, Matt Kenseth has moved up to third position in points in the 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. Carl Edwards is in first position with points, and Kevin Harvick in second. While Kyle Busch took the lead in 111 laps of the race, Kenseth moved into a serious battle for the lead late in the race, bagging his third win of the season and moving up in the championship stakes. He is now just seven markers behind Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards, and with Talladega Superspeedway next on the championship calendar, the competition is definitely heating up.

The 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship started off on a disappointing note for Kenseth as he came in 21st with the opening race at Chicagoland. His form showed definite improvement as he finished in 6th place at Loudon, 5th place at Dover and 4th at Kansas, with his win at Charlotte showing his talent as a driver. Since his rookie campaign in 2000 when he took the checkered flag at Charlotte, Kenseth counts the 2003 Cup championship and a Daytona 500 win among his achievements. Reportedly considered by some to be a “boring” driver, Kenseth has stated that he was hired to try and win races and that’s what he tries to do week after week.

The top-five of the Bank of America 500 were Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne and Marcos Ambrose. Other highlights of the racing action at Charlotte on Saturday included some intense on-track rivalry between Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards, which they resolved off-track after the race. Jimmie Johnson – five-time defending series champion – was involved in a hard accident just 17 laps short of the finish line, when he made contact with Ryan Newman. As the winner of the race at Kansas last week, Johnson had started Saturday’s race ranking third in points, with only four points between him and Edwards – he has now dropped to 8th in the standings. But as all auto racing fans know, each new race presents its challenges and opportunities, and anything can happen as drivers Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Kurt Busch Takes Victory at AAA400

Editor — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 07:58:56 +0000

Auto racing fans like nothing better than nail-biting rivalry right through to the checkered flag, and the AAA400 at Dover International Speedway on Sunday October 2nd provided plenty of action and excitement as Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson battled for first place. The race ended with Busch taking first place by 0.908 of a second, and Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards coming in at second and third. As the third event in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, this was the 24th Cup victory of Busch’s career, and his first at Dover International Speedway.

In chilly, overcast weather loyal NASCAR fans at Dover watched as drivers competed for victory. As reigning Cup champion, a position he has held for five years, Jimmie Johnson held the lead for most of the laps of the race, until a double-file restart with 42 laps to go, and a second restart seven laps later, saw Busch move into first place and stay there. Although Johnson never did close the gap between himself and Busch after the restarts, his efforts to do so made for some exciting on-track action.

Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch have quite a history on the race track, with close rivalry on the track spilling over into some controversial post-race verbal sparring. However, in a post-race interview on Sunday, Johnson acknowledged that Busch had done a better job than him on the restarts, thereby giving him the advantage. In turn Busch is reported as stating that beating his arch-nemesis was “icing on the cake”, but pointed out that there is still a long way to go in the series and they would be focusing on future events. Both drivers played down the aspect of personal rivalry, with Johnson noting that they had raced “hard and clean”.

Following Sunday’s race the 2011 Sprint Cup standings have Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards in first place with 2122 points each, while Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch follow with 2113 points each. Jimmie Johnson is in fifth place with 2109 points, followed by Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth, both with 2108 points. Eighth place goes to Kyle Busch (2107 points), ninth to Jeff Gordon (2103 points) and tenth spot to Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2088 points). The next event in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 9, 2011.

Keselowski Eyes Chase for the Sprint Cup Goal

Editor — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 08:21:45 +0000

Thrilled with his Nationwide victory at Chicagoland Speedway, Brad Keselowski appears determined to carry his current momentum through into the rest of the season, with his eye on the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. The fact that Carl Edwards ran out of gas on the Chicagoland pit road, gave Keselowski the break he needed to take the lead, which he kept to the end, crossing the finish line 8.568 seconds ahead of Edwards, and claiming his third win of the season.

Keselowski’s performance on Saturday was his first victory since he took first place at Indianapolis in July. Four days after Indianapolis, he broke his left ankle in an accident during a test run at Road Atlanta, and was forced to miss three scheduled races. Three weeks ago the defending Nationwide champion took first place just prior to the opening round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championships – referred to simply as The Chase. Keselowski has claimed one of the two wild-card spots to participate in this prestigious event, and is rumored to be considered as a serious contender by more experienced drivers.

In response to the speculation that he had the advantage in the Sprint Cup due to having missed on some of the Nationwide Series through his injury, Keselowski denied that this was the case. He noted that this erroneous viewpoint was unfair to a lot of people and not in line with the reality that the Penske Racing team members are working well together which contributed to the success.

Having taken second place after running out of fuel, Carl Edwards was reported as saying that he had a really good time racing with Brad Keselowski, and commended NASCAR for letting the race run its course following his fuel stop, rather than throwing a caution to bunch the field back together. He noted that this decision reinforced the organization’s credibility.

Brian Scott took third place at Chicagoland, and was reported as saying that racing with the Sprint Cup drivers is the best experience a Nationwide driver can have. He noted that his team performed well in a field full of Cup drivers and he was proud of the effort. Aric Almirola took fourth place with Sam Hornish Jnr coming in at fifth.