NASCAR Current News

NEXT Race/RaceCast: Find Sprint Cup Next race information, including television, practice, qualifying times and more, also radio coverage information.. During the race find RacewayReport.com: RaceCast with running order, notes, and more..

Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009

Hornish OK after wreck: Afterward, Sam Hornish inspected what was left of his car in the garage area, sharing a laugh with former NASCAR driver and current television commentator Jimmy Spencer as the twisted wreckage was lifted onto a tow truck to be hauled away. Hornish said he was OK but sore, adding he knew he was in trouble as soon as Kahne made contact with him. "I couldn't control it," Hornish said. "I thought the tires were probably going to hurt a little bit. I didn't think I was going to get hit by two more cars. It was a pretty big hit, but the cars are safe. I've got a couple of bumps and bruises, but all in all I'm pretty good." (Elmira Star-Gazette)

The latest on NASCAR's 2010 schedule: The 2010 schedule situation appears to be pretty much status quo with Dover's Sprint Cup date shifting back to mid-May, more a result on the way next year's calendar falls with Easter and Memorial Day. There won't be any big changes on the Nationwide and Truck Series slates with Milwaukee's future still very much up in the air. The trucks will return to Darlington in the Spring and there's a report Pocono will also be added to its schedule.(RacingOne.com)

Crew member salary details revealed in lawsuit: A lawsuit against Roush Fenway Racing gives a look into the world of crew members and what they earn and what their contracts can be like. To compare with what a Nationwide driver can make, check this out. Jason Myers, former car chief for Carl Edwards, has filed suit against Roush Fenway Racing for wrongful discharge (i.e. firing) and in violation of the Family Medical Leave Act. Myers, who joined Roush in 2002 and was Edwards' car chief (title just below crew chief) from 2006-08. Court documents stated that Myers suffered from depression and attempted suicide three times. Roush submitted Myers' contract as part of its court documents on Monday. Just like driver contracts, crew contracts are kept confidential. Teams don't want other teams to know what they're paying or how they're compensating their employees. Myers earned a base salary of $110,472.96 as car chief for the 99 car of Carl Edwards. (Virginian-Pilot)

Marco Ambrose gainning confidence: After three years of driving in NASCAR competition, Ambrose feels more confident he can challenge for the win on any of the Sprint Cup tracks on the 36-race schedule. "We can contend every week," Ambrose said. "At Pocono we were crashed out in sixth or seventh with 20 laps to go. We finished top 10 at Daytona and Talladega. We've had top-10s at Bristol. So there is no single track that I'm worried about anymore. "I just need to be faster on the ovals. There is still this, 'Why can I win on a road course but not battle to make top-10 on the ovals?' I think that just over time I'll either make it, or I'll go home. It's going to be a pretty simple choice." (Lexington Dispatch)

Economy hasn't effected Watkins Glen's attendance: Despite the economy there was more than 150,000 people up at the race track this weekend. Watkins Glen International president Michael Printup says that numbers of both attendance and sponsors have been up this year. For yesterday's race the track had an increase of more than 500 people. The economy has affected several other tracks, especially with merchandise and attendance. (WETM-TV)

Red Bull Racing to stick with Toyota? It looks like Team Red Bull will be sticking with Toyotas and TRD engines in 2010, rather than jump to Chevys and Rick Hendrick horsepower. Team manager Jay Frye said he expected to make some announcements on everything in the next week or so. Brian Vickers' contract renewal with Red Bull has been up in the air, but Vickers is expected to get a new deal with the team, and Vickers is also expected to drive some for Toyota Nationwide owner Todd Braun in 2010.(MikeMulhern.net)

Juan Pablo Montoya comments on Schumacher's comeback: Juan Pablo Montoya is doubtful whether the hype of his former rival Michael Schumacher's return to Formula One will be justified. "Will he be faster than the (regular) Ferrari drivers? That would surprise me, but you never know," the Colombian, who in his grand prix career 2001-2006 was often wheel-to-wheel with the German, is quoted as saying by the Bild newspaper. 33-year-old Montoya, who now races in NASCAR, believes the Maranello based team will be busy making Schumacher's F60 as quick as possible. "I am sure they will be developing some new parts for his comeback in order to guarantee that he looks good," Montoya said.(F1times.co.uk)

EGR to use Hendrick engines? If Team Red Bull does stay in the Toyota camp, that could open up a Rick Hendrick engineering and engine option for car owner Chip Ganassi and driver Juan Pablo Montoya. Ganassi and Montoya are running Chevrolets this season, with engines supplied through Richard Childress. However General Motors' bankruptcy and racing cutbacks have left a number of issues and sponsorships up in the air.(MikeMulhern.net)

NASCAR wants to continue in Nashville despite refusing Sprint Cup race: NASCAR, despite refusing the Superspeedway a Sprint Cup race, wants to maintain a presence in the Nashville market and has no plans to abandon the track. "This facility is second to none and Cliff and his people do a great job," said Wayne Auton, NASCAR's truck series director. "Personally this is my favorite stop on the entire circuit. I always enjoy coming to Nashville with its country music and great racing history. "NASCAR and Nashville have a great relationship and I see it continuing." (Nashville City Paper)

Robby Gordon met with NASCAR officials: Robby Gordon did his best to head NASCAR off at the pass. After dumping Joey Logano in the Nationwide Series race on Saturday at Watkins Glen International, Gordon met with NASCAR at the trailer prior to the drivers meeting on Sunday to explain his side of the story. Gordon, who salvaged a 14th-place finish after the incident Saturday, said he hoped "in the future we will both race each other cleaner." Gordon added that he didn't expect any further repercussions from NASCAR. However, Sprint Cup Series director John Darby said that any final outcome would depend on Gordon's behavior in Monday's rain-delayed Cup race.(FOXSports.com)

Monday, Aug. 10, 2009

Don't expect Jeff Gordon to race in Nationwide Series anytime soon: Jeff Gordon pointed out the fake nature of suggestions that the Sprint Cup performances of Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards are affected adversely by full-time participation in the Nationwide Series. "I think this is so funny and so ironic," said Gordon, "because, five years ago, it was, 'Man, all the guys that are running the Nationwide Series are running in the top five in points. Do you think you should be running more Nationwide races, and is there a correlation to that?' Now here we are saying that none of them is in the top five." But Gordon added that he wants no part of the grind. "To me, the intensity of the Cup series is enough, the schedule is hectic enough and I can totally understand those guys wanting to run eight or 10 races a year on the companion weekends," he said. "But the guys that are going for the championship? That's a lot to take on, and I could see where it could be a distraction." (Gaston Gazette)

No plans to use rain tires in Sprint Cup series: Well before the first raindrops fell at Watkins Glen International this weekend, NASCAR president Mike Helton publicly stated there were no plans in place to run a Sprint Cup road race on a wet track in the near future. But if there was ever a change of heart from the sanctioning body, Goodyear officials said Sunday the Akron-based tire company would be equal to the task. "We certainly think so," Goodyear spokesman Greg Stucker said. "There's not that big a difference between the two cars and if you go back years ago, we did run them in Japan on the Cup cars. We're confident we could have a package that would be suitable, if that's what they chose to do." In fact, Goodyear's newest stock-car racing rain tire, closely related to the Eagle One passenger tire, underwent extensive testing this past November at Goodyear's facility in Texas. They used one of Chip Ganassi's Nationwide cars with Juan Montoya behind the wheel, and from all indications, the improvements made to the tire proved successful.(NASCAR.com)

Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009

NASCAR to study use of rain tires: NASCAR president Mike Helton said more research will have to be done before fans see Sprint Cup Series cars racing in wet conditions. Jeff Gordon said he isn't thrilled about the idea but enjoyed watching the 2008 Nationwide race in Montreal run in wet conditions. Ryan Newman was more open to the idea but pointed out that Sprint Cup cars are heavier than Nationwide vehicles. "I think that in bad weather, NASA sends up smaller space craft instead of the big space craft and it is pretty similar," Newman said. "You don't want to risk a lot. I don't think it would be an ideal situation for all of the fans. It hasn't, per se, been done yet. It has been tested and practiced a little bit. I am all for it. I have never raced in the rain. It would be a disadvantage to me. I think it is still racing."(Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

Logano on R. Gordon: You can't fix stupid: Joey Logano, who was wrecked pretty blatant by Robby Gordon and sent spinning into a tire barrier. Logano's fuel lines came loose and the car caught fire, forcing him out of the race. "Apparently, we got in a little grudge match after I cut down his tire," Logano said. "It's a pretty raw deal. You can't fix stupid, it's forever. You put that in your memory bank."(Alabama Live)

Gibbs' book to debut at No. 6 on NYT's best sellers list: Game Plan for Life: Your Personal Playbook for Success, the July 21 release by NFL Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs with Jerry B. Jenkins, will debut at No. 6 on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction list ("Advice, How-To & Misc") on Sunday, August 9. In Game Plan for Life, Coach Gibbs shares the principles that have guided him to success in every area of his life and explains how you can make those same principles work for you. (JGR PR)

Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009

Hamlin reacts to Reutimann's comments: David Reutimann said Wednesday he was not ready to forgive Denny Hamlin for the accident at Pocono Raceway that essentially ended his championship hopes. That, apparently was news to Hamlin. "I was surprised," Hamlin said Friday at Watkins Glen International. "We actually talked that night and he seemed fine. He didn't say that he was angry or anything. I've been in that situation before where you're battling for a Chase spot. It's not always about one race. There's a lot of races that lead up to it. I'm apologetic about it for sure. It's something that I didn't mean to do, but you can't put the blame all on me if he doesn't make the Chase."(ESPN.com/AP)

Hall of Fame candidates for NMPA announced: The National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) announced the candidates for this year's NMPA Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame ballot. All candidates who receive votes on at least 65% of the ballots cast will be elected. In the event that no candidate receives 65% of the required votes, the leading candidate (or candidates, in the event of a tie) will be elected. The nominee's are: Roger Penske, Jack Roush, Rusty Wallace, Waddell Wilson and Robert Yates. The NMPA consists of qualified members of the media who report on the sport of auto racing through his or her affiliation with print, radio, television or the Internet news organizations. The NMPA Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame, located on the grounds of Darlington Raceway has been in operation since 1965, and recently inducted its 77th and 78th members. For more information on the National Motorsports Press Association and/or to join the organization, go to nmpaonline.com.(NASCAR PR)

Friday, Aug. 7, 2009

Keselowski only option for 2010 is the No. 09? Brad Keselowski may only have one option if he wants to drive full-time in a Hendrick Motorsports-supported Sprint Cup car in 2010: Phoenix Racing. Tony Stewart told reporters on Wednesday in Texas that it was doubtful Stewart-Haas Racing will expand to three teams next season. Plus, sources said Stewart had no interest in Keselowski, anyway. Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently said it was doubtful his Nationwide Series team supported by HMS would expand to Cup. Red Bull general manager Jay Frye, on the chance that his organization moves to General Motors with Hendrick support, said he is not looking at expansion. That leaves Phoenix Racing, which is running 10 races with Keselowski in cars with HMS motors and chassis this season [and the rest of the season in Dodges]. They already teamed for a win at Talladega Superspeedway earlier this year. Keselowski says he has about six options, but most of those are now outside of HMS. One appears to be moving to Penske Racing, but that would throw a wrinkle in his plans to stay in Earnhardt's Nationwide program that runs Chevrolets. Penske runs Dodges and it's not likely the driver will be allowed to compete for two manufacturers.(ESPN Insider)

Stewart-Haas Racing unlikely to field third car in 2010: Owner/driver Tony Stewart says he doesn't foresee his Stewart-Haas Racing organization expanding to include a third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team in 2010. Stewart-Haas currently fields the No. 14 Chevrolet for Stewart as well as the No. 39 Chevrolet for teammate Ryan Newman. "We're at a point in the season right now where we're getting close to the Chase [For The Sprint Cup], and we're focused on that," Stewart said Tuesday while hosting the second annual Smoke Show fantasy camp at Texas Motor Speedway. "We would pretty much have to have the decision, the agreements on all that already done. We'd have to have the driver, the sponsor; we'd have to have that done by now to be able for it to be feasible for next year." While Stewart has previously said that he would be open to adding a third team in the future, he said Tuesday that expansion wouldn't come "at the sacrifice of performance."(SceneDaily.com)

Said in the No. 08: "We've been rained out three times here," Boris Said said, referring to failing to make the field because without enough points he couldn't get on the grid. "So we listed Terry Labonte as the driver for the car, and if it rained out qualifying, he would run the race for us. But it looks sunny, so we're going to run it." Said has been trying to get his part-time, partly-owned team in more solid shape; he failed to make the Daytona 500 field, and his only NASCAR run has been at Sonoma, where he qualified ninth and finished 24th. "I plan on being in Montreal (for the Nationwide race later the month), but they haven't committed yet," Said said. "Hopefully if we bring this car back in one piece, we'll get the go-ahead." And on the Cup side? "We were going to go to Daytona in July, but the weather looked terrible, so we decided not to try, and that was a good call, because it rained out qualifying," Said said. Said runs Fords, with some engineering support through Jack Roush, and with veteran Frank Stoddard as crew chief and part owner. Earlier this year Said and Rick Clark announced a "merger" that would create a team that would run in 12 to 18 Sprint Cup events this season. That plan, given the economic environment, didn't quite go as planned. However Friday Said announced that Clark had indeed become majority owner of the team, with a 51% share. And the team plans a fuller Cup schedule next season, Said said. John Carter, the Georgia businessman who just bought Jeremy Mayfield's Toyota operation two weeks ago, is part owner too, and is in fact listed as official owner of Said's car here. "It's all one organization," Said insists. "John Carter came on board this year; he'll still be part of this operation. It's hard for the big teams right, so you can imagine how tough it is for everyone else. Hopefully we can get everything together and be at Daytona next year."(milemulhern.net)

Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009

Robby Gordon in Jim Beam Black scheme; RGM to field second car with Jones: After months of preparation and testing, Robby Gordon is prepared to capitalize on the tricky twists turns of Watkins Glen International this weekend. Gordon will attempt to capture his second career win at the 2.45-mile road course. Gordon cruised to victory lane at the Glen in 2003, sweeping both Sprint Cup road courses races that year. In his ten Sprint Cup Series starts, he has seven top-five finishes and posts an average finish of 10.6. Additionally, he has completed 96.5% of all laps attempted and has led 79 laps. In Gordon's fifth start in his No. 7 at The Glen, Jim Beam once again returns as the primary sponsor in a special black and red paint scheme. Jim Beam has been the primary sponsor for several of Gordon's top-five finishes at the 2.45-mile road course, including a second place finish. Robby Gordon Motorsports has entered a second car in this weekend's Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen. PJ Jones, son of racing legend Parnelli Jones, will pilot the No. 04 Jim Beam / Menards Toyota and will serve as a teammate to Robby Gordon. Jones has made eight Sprint Cup Series starts at The Glen and has posted one top-five and two top-ten finishes. His best performance came in 2002 when he finished fourth. Watkins Glen  "I obviously look forward to the road courses every year and view them as one of the best opportunities for our team to win a Cup race," said Gordon. "Sunday's race marks Jim Beam's fifth time as our primary sponsor at this race. We have posted three top-five finishes during over the last five years. However, I would love nothing more than to pull the No. 7 Jim Beam Toyota into Victory Lane on Sunday," commented Robby Gordon. "We have tested numerous times in preparation for this weekend's race and have spent the last few weeks fine tuning our cars for the race. I feel really good about chances this weekend. Watkins Glen its a momentum track, and we need some momentum for the remainder of the year."(RGM PR)

Reutimann still upset with Hamlin after wreck: David Reutimann doesn't buy the explanation Denny Hamlin gave for the wreck in Monday's Sprint Cup race at Pocono that may also have wrecked his chances of making the Chase. Reutimann said he never brake-checked Hamlin, as the eventual race winner claimed occurred prior to the accident on Lap 174 that not only took out Reutimann but also Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Marcos Ambrose. He said Hamlin basically ran over him in an effort to get position. "I was just trying to get away from him," Reutimann said on Wednesday. "In the end, if you push a guy sideways enough he's not going to be able to bring it back. I didn't hear [his] explanation, but I can tell you it's pretty inaccurate. I was in the throttle all the time to the point I was hung out so far I kind of had to do something." Reutimann went on to say he was as "mad as heck" at Hamlin, even though the two have exchanged text messages in which Hamlin apologized. "If a guy says he's sorry I tend to believe it," Reutimann said.(ESPN.com)

Survey: Sport sponsorships expected to grow only .7% in 2009: Sports leagues around the country are inking some offbeat deals as they hunt for new sources of ad dollars, particularly to replace financial-services firms and auto makers. Spending on sports sponsorship deals in North America is expected to grow just 0.7% to $11.48 billion this year, after growth of almost 15% last year, according to IEG, a research company owned by WPP PLC. (Wall Street Journal)

Elliott Sadler regrets twitter comment: A tweet after Monday's race at Pocono got Elliott Sadler in trouble. After finishing 24th, he tweeted: "Frustrating day today. Not good early worked on it a lot and actually got it pretty good. Drove up to 11th and ran out of tires. Yep OUT!" In another tweet from Sadler shortly after that, it included: "Yep ran out of tires. That's hard to swallow!" A few hours later, Sadler's tone changed. He stated: "I want to tweet everyone and tell them I really upset my team earlier. My tweet was confusing to read. We had gone thru all the tires we were allowed for the day. I didn't know that in the car or I would have used different strategy. 100 percent my fault. Nobody to blame but me." Teams were allowed to purchase up to 10 sets of tires for Monday's race. (Virginian-Pilot)

Ambrose running Nationwide, Sprint Cup at Watkins Glen: Last year, Marcos Ambrose became a first-time NASCAR race winner taking the checkered flag in the Nationwide Series Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International, driving for JTG-Daugherty Racing owned by Tad and Jodi Geschickter and Brad Daugherty. For his first Sprint Cup race at The Glen, he started 43rd and finished third in only his third start. Ambrose's impressive run with Wood Brothers landed him his career-best finish by crossing the finish line in third-place. Now, Ambrose is pulling double duty again at the 2.45-mile road course. On Saturday, he climbs behind the wheel of the No. 47 STP Octane Booster Toyota fielded by JTG-Daugherty Racing and looks to repeat with support from his Sprint Cup Series crew chief Frank Kerr and his No. 47 Little Debbie Toyota Racing pit crew. Then on Sunday, Ambrose aims to supersede his career-best finish [3rd] matched at Sonoma (Infineon Raceway) this season. Following Pocono on Monday, Ambrose left Monday afternoon straight to Dover International Speedway for a two-day Goodyear tire test. In addition to Ambrose running the Nationwide and Cup Series events, he will be kicking up some dirt at Black Rock Speedway in Dundee, NY on Friday night.(MWR PR)

Martin: Gordon persuaded me to Hendrick Motorsports: Veteran Mark Martin, who leads Sprint Cup drivers with four victories in 2009 and is 10th in the points standings, credits Jeff Gordon for his role in bringing him aboard Hendrick Motorsports after Martin ran a limited schedule the past two years. "Jeff was a huge supporter of Rick persuading me to do this," Martin said.(Star Gazette)

Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009

Sorenson to drive the No. 43 at Watkins Glen: Reed Sorenson will drive the No. 43 Dodge for Richard Petty Motorsports in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International. The Petty team retained Jacques Villeneuve as a substitute driver in case Sorenson continued to suffer from the effects of carbon monoxide he inhaled in Monday's race at Pocono. Fortunately, Sorenson has recovered from the accident. Owners George and Foster Gillett along with the Richard Petty Motorsports team appreciate Villeneuve's willingness to help out on such short notice.(RPM PR)

NASCAR on ESPN television ratings down at Pocono: ESPN's live telecast of the rain-delayed NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway on Monday, Aug. 3, earned a final national household coverage rating of 1.8. The telecast averaged 2,246,135 viewers. ESPN's live telecast from 2:00-4:30pm/et during Sunday's rain delay earned a 2.4 rating. Last year's event at Pocono, which was run and telecast as scheduled on a Sunday afternoon, earned a 4.5 rating, which had equaled ESPN's rating for the 2007 race. ESPN's live coverage of the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 2, earned a final national household coverage rating of 1.3. The telecast averaged 1,640,942 viewers.(ESPN PR)

NASCAR testing at Dover: Several drivers from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series are at Dover International Speedway on track as part of a Goodyear tire test on August 4 and 5 in preparation for the upcoming Sept. 25-27, 2009 "Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup" race weekend. Participating drivers include: Johnson, Montoya, Ambrose, Busch, Stremme, Ragan, Labonte and Allmendinger. Truck Series drivers testing: Skinner and Braun. This is a closed test session and fans are not permitted in the outdoor grandstand or inside the track.(Dover International Speedway)

No. 9 Kasey Kahne crew wins Tissot Pit Road Award: Kasey Kahne's pit crew captured the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award in Monday's rain-delayed Pennsylvania 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway. It was the first Tissot win of the season for the No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports crew, which became the 14th different winner of the weekly competition. Kahne's Dodge Charger spent the least amount of time on pit road  222.986 seconds -- during the 200-lap, 500-mile race. The quick work by the No. 9 crew helped Kahne post a fifth-place finish. The No. 9 over-the-wall crew consists of: John Royer (front-tire changer), Shawn Ward (front-tire carrier), Jim Carbon (rear-tire changer), Kevin Duncan (rear-tire carrier), Eric Wilson (jackman), Mark "Tank" Probus (gasman), Rick Pennington (catch can) and John Oehler (windshield). The team's crew chief is Kenny Francis and the pit crew coach is Brett Cumming. Kahne's crew will collect $5,000 for the pit road win. The team with the most Tissot Pit Road Precision Award wins at the completion of the 36-race Sprint Cup schedule will receive a $100,000 bonus plus Tissot watches for the crew and driver. Greg Biffle's No. 16 crew leads the Tissot competition with four wins while Jeff Gordon's crew is second with three wins.(Tissot)

Gilliland to debut new sponsor and car # at Watkins Glen: David Gilliland is ready for The Glen and to debut his new TaxSlayer.com colors on the No. 70 TaxSlayer.com Chevy in this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen to be run Sunday, August 9. Gilliland will be going back to the track where he had one of his worst racing accidents. He will also have a teammate for the first time this year with TRG's sports car ace Andy Lally. New sponsor TaxSlayer.com will ride with David for the first time this weekend. Gilliland: "Watkins Glen will be a good debut for TaxSlayer.com on the car. The car really looks great. It has a medieval feel to it, which is cool. I am looking forward to meeting those folks and working with them over their six race term." TaxSlayer Pro's computerized tax return system, which was introduced to professional tax practitioners in 1992, is the first chapter in the company's story. More info at taxslayer.com andwww.taxslayerracing.com.(TRG Motorsports)

No. 11 Crew chief Mike Ford named Wypall Crew Chief of the Race: Mike Ford, crew chief for the No. 11 FedEx Toyota driven by Denny Hamlin, has been named the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race after Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. After waiting through the rain delay on Sunday and fighting emotions all weekend, Hamlin and his No. 11 team started the race on Monday with great optimism. Despite fighting an ill-handling race car throughout practice on Saturday, Hamlin and Ford knew they had made the right changes for a good shot at the win. A strong car kept Hamlin at the front of the field for most of the day, and after the last round of pit stops under caution with 20 to go, he found himself just outside the top five on the last restart. At that point, Hamlin knew he had the car to win and with encouragement from his crew chief over the radio, found the speed to take the lead with just nine laps to go. In addition to the $1,000 check, the winning crew chief will receive signage to announce the win on their pit box the following week. The crew chief with the most weekly wins will be honored as the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $20,000 check at the season's end.(Wypall)