Elliott To Race At Coke Zero event

January 26th, 2012 Stephen Rhodes Posted in NASCAR, Sprint Cup Series - News/Rumors

Bill Elliott is back.

Walmart announced Thursday morning that it will sponsor former Sprint Cup champion Elliott in a one-race deal for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway in July.

The car, a Chevrolet numbered 50 in celebration of the retail giant’s 50th anniversary, will be entered by Turner Motorsports and will have engines prepared by Hendrick Motorsports.

“Turner Motorsports has a lot of resources,” Elliott said. “I think they can do a really good job from what they’ve done in the Nationwide Series. I feel comfortable with it. I’m very excited about this program.”

Elliott said bringing Walmart into NASCAR is a major move. He compared it to NASCAR racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time in 1994.

Elliott, 56, raced part of the Sprint Cup schedule last season with Phoenix Racing, the team that will field cars this year for Kurt Busch.

Elliott won the Sprint Cup championship in 1988. He hasn’t run a full-season schedule in several years.

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All future Sprint Cup series fines to be made public

January 26th, 2012 Stephen Rhodes Posted in NASCAR, Sprint Cup Series - News/Rumors

NASCAR has caught flack in recent seasons for its practice of issuing “undisclosed fines.” These fines have usually been handed out to Sprint Cup Series drivers after they criticized the sport publicly, be it through television interviews or their own Twitter accounts.

Reports Amanda Vincent of Motorsport.com, the sanctioning body yesterday made a statement on its media site stating that it is discontinuing the practice of not disclosing all its fines.

“NASCAR will no longer issue fines that are undisclosed,” the statement read. “We looked at this issue from every angle and gathered feedback from the industry. While there are always sensitivities related to sponsor relationships and other leagues may continue issuing disclosed and undisclosed fines, NASCAR has decided that all fines moving forward will be made public after the competitor or organization that has been penalized has been informed.”

NASCAR has routinely disclosed its fines for competition infractions for illegal parts, cars failing inspections, etc., but fines for negative comments have been made, at least somewhat, in secret.

A few supposed undisclosed penalties issued in the last few seasons that word eventually leaked out about include an incident in 2011 in which Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge, made negative comments on Twitter about NASCAR’s move to electronic fuel injection following an on-track test of the system.

The previous season, Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet, were reportedly fined for their criticism of NASCAR, supposedly for comments they made regarding caution periods.

The statement didn’t say that there would no longer be fines for comments made by drivers or that the amount of or reasons for fines would change, just that all penalties would be disclosed from here on out.

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Snyder Named Gresham Crew Chief

January 25th, 2012 Stephen Rhodes Posted in Camping World Truck Series - News/Rumors, NASCAR, Transactions

Joe Denette Motorsports has announced that Terry “Richie” Snyder has been named crew chief for the No. 24 Made In USA Brand Chevrolet of Max Gresham for the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season.

“I’m very excited for the opportunity to work with Max this year,” said Snyder. “He has a lot of talent and enthusiasm. He is in the shop everyday asking questions and learning these trucks. I know with his talent, my experience, and our drive to succeed, we have a combination for success in 2012.”

While Snyder will be making his debut as a crew chief when the NCWTS takes the green flag at Daytona International Speedway in February, the Thomasville, N.C., native is a veteran racer who knows what it takes to be a champion.

Snyder got his start working on late models and has a background in racing that spans more than 10 years. With extensive experience building suspension, Snyder also served as a fill-in truck chief on Johnny Benson’s 2008 championship-winning team. He was also the truck chief for Timothy Peters during the 2009-2010 NCWTS seasons, and for Jason White in 2011.

Over the past seven years, Snyder has contributed to 15 wins, seven pole awards and 65 top-five finishes in the NCWTS.

Gresham, who will drive the No. 24 machine and contend for the 2012 Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors, says Snyder’s experience in the series and his passion for the sport will be the key to success in 2012.

“Richie is a very well-rounded, knowledgeable guy who has a passion to succeed,” said Gresham. “Although he has never called the shots as a crew chief, he has been around this sport and this series for a long time. He has worked with some great drivers and learned a lot through the years. I know his experience will help us succeed on the track.”

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Improvements In Store At Kentucky Speedway

January 25th, 2012 Stephen Rhodes Posted in NASCAR, Sprint Cup Series - News/Rumors

Kentucky Speedway officials, who oversaw one of the worst traffic debacles in NASCAR history at the track’s inaugural Sprint Cup race last summer, Wednesday promised dramatic improvement for this year’s second race at the facility, according to Mike Hembree of Speed.com.

Officials said the track has purchased and-or improved 326 acres of parking at or near the track and that they will be able to park from 12,000 to 18,000 more cars at this year’s race.

Parking was a major problem at last year’s race. The difficulties led to thousands of fans being stranded on highways near the track. Many never made it to the facility for the race.

The chaos became so pronounced that Bruton Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports, and other high-level SMI officials ventured into the parking areas to try to assist in parking cars and moving traffic.

“We’re going to do it over, and we’re going to do it right this time,” said Smith.

“Whatever could go wrong probably went wrong as far as traffic was concerned. We’ve purchased more land. We’ve opened a lot more parking, so that will not be an excuse. We’re going to work hard to prove ourselves.”

The work also includes improved access from nearby Interstate 71, which had massive traffic jams in both directions near the track last summer.

The track’s NASCAR weekend is scheduled June 28-30. Officials said all improvements will be completed before the race.

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Buemi To Secure LeMans Ride With Toyota?

January 25th, 2012 Stephen Rhodes Posted in Le Mans Series - News/Rumors

Toyota will shortly confirm Sebastien Buemi as the lead driver for the Japanese marque’s second Le Mans entry for 2012.

That is the claim of the Swiss website 20min.ch.

Earlier, it emerged that the former Toro Rosso driver – who has been signed by Red Bull Racing as its official reserve driver for this season – wanted to add the fabled 24 hour Le Mans race to his 2012 program.

“His wish will come true this summer,” said the report.

On Wednesday, Toyota announced that former F1 drivers Alex Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima will front the lineup for one Toyota prototype at Le Mans.

“Discussions are still ongoing to finalize the driver lineup for the other (car),” said a spokesman.

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Hulkenberg Deal A One-And-Done

January 25th, 2012 Stephen Rhodes Posted in Formula 1 - News/Rumors

Nico Hulkenberg‘s race deal with Force India appears to be only for a single season.

The 24-year-old, who sat out the 2011 season on the Silverstone-based team’s reserve bench, has told Germany’s Sky Sports News HD that he will be working this season to secure his future.

“My goal is to establish myself in Formula One,” said Hulkenberg, whose promising new career was interrupted by Williams at the end of his debut in 2010.

“I want to have a race cockpit again in 2013,” he insisted.

Hulkenberg said he should be ready to face off immediately with his new teammate Paul di Resta, who will begin his second consecutive season with Force India in Melbourne.

“I may have to polish off a little rust,” admitted Hulkenberg, “but I’m relaxed and ready for the season.”

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50 Years Of Rolex 24: 1997

January 24th, 2012 Stephen Rhodes Posted in Grand-Am Road Racing - News/Rumors, Your Track Pass Exclusive

Dyson Racing’s No. 20 Riley & Scott Mk III-Ford started the 1997 Rolex 24 At Daytona as an afterthought, but finished the star turn when it ended the team’s near-two decade quest for a first win in the Florida endurance classic. The fact that it took just about anybody and everybody in the Dyson pit who owned a driving suit to get it into victory lane – seven in total – just adds to the legend.

For 1997, team owner Rob Dyson had two Riley & Scott Mk III Ford V8s entered, but one looked on paper to have a much better chance of producing a win. The team’s lead entry featured full-season championship challengers James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger, with Andy Wallace and John Paul Jr. joining for Daytona.

The second entry was more of a “have fun and see what happens” scenario, with Dyson set to be joined by Elliott Forbes-Robinson and John Schneider.

“How we ended up with Elliott and John Schneider was that Elliott said, ‘I’m putting together a deal to run Daytona, and want you to run the second car,’” Dyson recalls. “‘I’ve got John Schneider on board, and he wants to do the race.’ I didn’t know the guy. He was a good pair of hands, not a pro. Reliable, safe and progressive.”

As it turned out, they’d need it.

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Jeff Nowicki Teams With Michael Baughman Racing for Daytona 24H

January 24th, 2012 Stephen Rhodes Posted in Grand-Am Road Racing - News/Rumors

Driver Jeff Nowicki announced today he’ll be joining Michael Baughman Racing to race this year’s GRAND AM Rolex Series‘ 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona. The team will field the #46 Katech powered Corvette C6 in the highly competitive GT division. Action gets underway with a 10:00 AM ET practices session Thursday, January 26 with GT qualifying scheduled for 4:15 PM the same day. The 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona will take the green flag at 3:30 PM Saturday, January 28.

This will be TeamMBR’s sixth Rolex 24 at Daytona. Managed by Michael Baughman who brings 30 years of motorsports experience, both as an owner and driver. He has competed in GRAND AM since the Series’ inception.

Joining Nowicki and Baughman behind the wheel of will be Ray Mason Jr., Armand Fuaml and Ivo Breukers. Crew Chief for this year’s effort will be Buddy Fey.

“I’m excited to be a part of Team MBR for the 50th running of the Daytona 24 Hour race,” said Nowicki. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in the group Michael put together and think we’ve got the talent, knowledge and maturity to launch a formidable attack at the podium.”

It’s a huge project to put a race program together for an event like the Rolex 24,” Jeff noted. “You don’t do it without support and partners. I’m fortunate in that Mobil 1, the leading synthetic oil producer in the world, has continued to support my efforts for the past 20 years. They’ve been an active partner in my automotive business and at the track. I can’t thank them enough for that support and for helping make this happen.”

“In addition to Mobil 1,” added Nowicki, ‘we’ve also got the support of SKF Racing’s wheel bearing division which means we’ll be using the same bearings as the production Corvette ZR1. They’re the right bearing for the round-the-clock challenge. We’ve also enlisted the support of Design Engineering Inc., a producer of thermal materials that will help control various temps around the powertrain and other heat sensitive areas during the 24 hours of intense racing.”

“Lastly,” noted Nowicki, “we’ll be recording all the action utilizing a new seat mounted Cruise Cam bullet camera system produced especially for the C5 and C6 Corvette.”

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