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Photo courtesy of Robinson-Blakeney Racing
Robinson-Blakeney Racing (a new Sprint Cup team) has signed J.J. Yeley to drive the #49 Toyota for the 2012 season. Yeley will be reunited with crew chief Tony Furr, who has been hired to coordinate and direct the upstart endeavor.
In addition to its first year in Cup, Robinson-Blakeney Racing returns for its 12th season of competition in the Nationwide Series in the #28 car.
Richard Petty Motorsports announced today the formation of a new NASCAR Nationwide Series team with driver Michael Annett and his long-time partner Pilot Flying J. The team will be run out of RPM’s Concord, N.C. race shop and will vie for the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship.
Annett, a native of Des Moines, Iowa, comes to Richard Petty Motorsports after spending last season at Rusty Wallace, Inc. He has posted 13 top-10 finishes in 105 Nationwide Series starts and drove to a ninth-place finish in the championship points standings last season.
Born into a family with a rich racing heritage, Annett began his own racing career in 2007 competing in the ARCA Series. In only his fourth start, Annett drove his Pilot Travel Centers machine to victory lane at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. He drove to victory once again in the ARCA Series the next season at Daytona International Speedway and also piloted an entry in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in eight events that season. In 2009, he moved to the Nationwide Series with Germain Racing and posted four top-10 finishes en route to a 10th-place effort in the point standings. He remained at Germain through 2010 and in 2011 competed for RWI.
Source: RPM Press Release
Phoenix Racing announced today that they will field the No. 1 Chevrolet in a limited amount of NASCAR Nationwide Series races (NNS), starting at Daytona with Kurt Busch.
This is in addition to running the complete NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule with Kurt Busch.
The team plans on running all major events and are looking for sponsorship for these races.
Members of NASCARMedia.com voted in a week-long poll, casting ballots for the top-10 moments from the just-completed NASCAR season. You better believe I did my part and participated! I voted for what I thought should make the Top 10 moments of 2011 for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the results are out…. and it looks as though I was thinking right along with everyone else!!
The Top 10 Moments of the 2011 Sprint Cup season are listed below – as well as the the one’s that didn’t make it in, but I thought were worth an honorable mention.
See if you agree with me and my counter-parts:
Tony Stewart clinches the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Photo credit: Sandi Goodall/Racingal.com
#1 – Tony Stewart’s Homestead-Miami Clincher
Stewart trailed Carl Edwards by three points entering the 10th and final race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™. Both drivers had predicted the championship wouldn’t be decided until the final lap, and they were right. Edwards, who started on the pole, led the most laps while Stewart yo-yoed through the field after fixing damage to the front of his Chevrolet. Amazingly, Stewart took the lead with 36 laps remaining. Edwards, in second place, stayed in full-out pursuit mode until the checkered flag waved, but finished 1.306 seconds behind Stewart. Both drivers scored 2,403 points with the tiebreaker – five wins to one – falling in Stewart’s favor.
Trevor Bayne, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quicklane Ford, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 20, 2011 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
#2 – Trevor Bayne’s Daytona 500 Win
Winning The Great American Race is a career achievement no matter how many races or championships are won elsewhere. Example: Seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt needed 20 starts to win his Daytona 500 at age 46. All of which made Bayne’s victory both surprising and historic. Bayne, at age 20 years and one day, was making just his second NASCAR Sprint Cup start, although his team – the legendary Wood Brothers – had won the Daytona 500 on four previous occasions. Bayne, who started 32nd and led only the final six laps as a record 74 lead changes were recorded became the youngest Daytona 500 winner and just the seventh to make the race his first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory. The win was Ford’s 600th and 98th for the Wood Brothers.
Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 7 in Long Pond, Pa. Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
#3 – Brad Keselowski’s Wreckers-to-Checkers Win at Pocono
Playing hurt is the measure of athletic success, as Brad Keselowski won August’s Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway just days after breaking his left ankle in a road course testing accident. Few might have projected a healthy Keselowski as a Pocono favorite. He’d won at Kansas Speedway earlier in the summer, but came to Pennsylvania ranked 21st in points. The race turned out to be a coming-out party for the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion, who followed the performance with three more top-three finishes capped by a Bristol victory, a Chase wild card berth and a fifth place finish in final NASCAR Sprint Cup standings.
#4 – Jeff Gordon’s 85th NASCAR Sprint Cup Win
Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon fell short in his title bid, but the 2011 season was his first with multiple victories since 2007. He broke a 66-race winless streak at Phoenix International Raceway in February, added another win at Pocono Raceway in June and scored a historic 85th career victory in a weather-delayed AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in September. Atlanta’s victory gave Gordon sole possession of third among all NASCAR Sprint Cup winners, breaking a tie with NASCAR Hall of Fame member Bobby Allison and soon-to-be-inducted Darrell Waltrip.
Regan Smith earns his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win after crossing the line first in the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on May 7, 2011. Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR
#5 – Regan Smith’s Southern 500 Win
What Trevor Bayne began in February, Regan Smith continued in May. Smith entered Darlington Raceway’s SHOWTIME Southern 500 with a lean resume to say the least: no wins, top fives or top 10s in 104 NASCAR Sprint Cup starts. Smith, then 27, became the upset winner of NASCAR’s oldest “crown jewel.” He led just the final 11 laps and held off Carl Edwards by 0.196 seconds to give Furniture Row Racing – a team headquartered in Colorado – its first series victory.
#6 – Jimmie Johnson’s Aaron’s 499 win at Talladega
At the time, Jimmie Johnson’s final-lap victory – with an assist by teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. – appeared to be an early harbinger of a sixth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. Johnson’s second Talladega Superspeedway win – and 54th overall – boosted him from fourth to second in the point standings. The race matched records for lead changes (88) and margin of victory under electronic scoring (0.002 seconds).
#7 – Paul Menard Holds Off Jeff Gordon to Win Brickyard 400
Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet, celebrates on the bricks after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 31, 2011, in Indianapolis, Ind. Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Surprise winners in 2011, take three. For much of its 19 years, Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Brickyard 400 had been won by the greatest names in NASCAR: Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jarrett, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt, bill Elliott – champions all. No first-time winners in the bunch – until this July. Midwesterner Paul Menard wound up kissing the start-finish line bricks after prevailing in a torrid battle with four-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon. Menard joined Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne and SHOWTIME Southern 500 winner Regan Smith to score a first victory on the schedule’s largest stages.
#8 – Austin Dillon Becomes Youngest NASCAR Camping World Truck Champion
Though a number of young drivers have used their experience in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series as a springboard to NASCAR Sprint Cup success – think Carl Edwards, among others – veteran drivers, for the most part, have had a stranglehold on its championships. Only Travis Kvapil (age 27 in 2003) was younger than 30 in the series’ first 16 seasons. All that changed in 2011 as third-generation driver Austin Dillon, 21, became the youngest to win an NCWTS title. Dillon, a two-time winner, finished six points ahead of NASCAR national series veteran Johnny Sauter. Dillon, Richard Childress’ grandson, returned a title to RCR that Mike Skinner won in the series’ 1995 inaugural season.
#9 – Danica Patrick Posts Best Finish in NASCAR by a Female Driver
All agreed that Danica Patrick’s part-time NASCAR career was on the upswing in its second season. Patrick proved that with an exclamation point on March 5 with a solid, fourth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The performance was record-setting: Patrick became not only the highest-finishing female driver in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race but also in any NASCAR national series event. Patrick’s feat broke a record from NASCAR’s earliest years – Sara Christian’s fifth-place finish in a NASCAR Sprint Cup (then Strictly Stock) race on Oct. 2, 1949 at Heidelberg, Pa.
#10 – 2010 Sunoco Rookies-of-the-Year Win Championship
Two NASCAR national series champions gave media and fans yet another reason to keep an eye on the newcomers. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., whose uneven performance nearly cost him his job with Roush Fenway Racing in 2010, recovered to claim NASCAR Nationwide Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. Roush’s faith was rewarded as Stenhouse won twice en route to the 2011 championship. Austin Dillon’s rookie of the year run in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series wasn’t quite so dramatic but like Stenhouse, he “graduated” to the champion’s chair. The season marked the first time that both Nationwide and truck rookies became champions in their sophomore years.
(Eligible, but did NOT make Top 10)
#1 – NASCAR changes Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup to include two Wild Card drivers who have the most wins between 11th and 20th in points.
#2 – Mark Martin wins 50th Coors Light Pole in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to become the eighth driver to reach that mark.
#3 – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series sets records for average lead changes (27.1), leaders per race (12.8) and races with a margin of victory under a second (23).
#4 – Richard Childress Racing wins 100th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, as Clint Bowyer wins Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega.
#5 – Marcos Ambrose wins at Watkins Glen, becomes fourth driver born outside of USA to win in NASCAR’s top series.
#6 - Tony Stewart passes Jimmie Johnson on the outside at Martinsville with 3 laps left to win his third race of 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
#7 – Carl Edwards wins NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway then crumples car on celebratory trip through the infield.
#8 – Kevin Harvick wins thrilling Coca-Cola 600 after Dale Earnhardt Jr. runs out of fuel on the final lap.
#9 – NASCAR Nationwide Series returns the muscle car/pony car look to competition with Dodge Challenger and Ford Mustang along with the sportier looks of Chevrolet Impalas and Toyota Camrys.
#10 – Kyle Busch becomes the all-time NASCAR Nationwide Series wins leader (now with 51 wins).
# 11 – Kenny Wallace becomes the all-time starts leader in NASCAR Nationwide Series history, now with 522 starts.
#12 – Roush Fenway Racing becomes first NASCAR Nationwide Series team to win driver and owner titles with two different cars – Ricky Stenhouse (No. 6); Carl Edwards, Billy Johnson (No. 60).
#13 – When his engine blows, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. slides across the start/finish line after being slammed by Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards for the season sweep at Iowa.
#14 – As he vowed to do until he went to Victory Lane, Marcos Ambrose returns to Montreal to finally get a win at the track.
#15 – Reed Sorenson survives another wild finish at Road America to return to NASCAR Nationwide Series Victory Lane after a four-year absence.
#16 – Ron Hornaday Jr. extends all-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win total to 51 wins and becomes the fourth driver in NCWTS history to run 300 races.
# 17 -Kevin Harvick Inc. ends its 10 years in the sport with third NASCAR Camping World Truck Series owner’s championship and 43 wins, second-most all-time in series history.
# 18 – James Buescher finishes 3rd in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings after failing to qualify for the second race of the season at Phoenix.
#19 – Kyle Busch claims his 100th national series victory with a win at New Hampshire.
#20 – Dylan Kwasniewski at age 16 becomes the youngest winner in K&N Pro Series West history in August at Colorado National Speedway.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the No. 6 RickyvsTrevor.com Ford crosses the finish line to win, ahead of Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 60 Fastenal Ford, after colliding on the final lap during the NASCAR Nationwide Series U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway on Aug. 6, 2011, in Newton, Iowa. Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR
There certainly were some outstanding performances that took place during the recently completed 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series season. See if you agree.
Top Driver
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Redemption may be an over-used word in athletic achievement, but there’s no better way to describe Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s recovery from infamy to the fame of winning the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series driver championship.
Stenhouse, 24, barely made it through a 2010 season in which he filled Roush Fenway Racing’s shop with the remains of numerous Ford race cars. Relieved of his driving duties at one point in 2010 by owner Jack Roush, Stenhouse’s NASCAR career hung by the thinnest of threads. But the native of Olive Branch, Miss., listened – and learned – from the experience. He rebounded to claim Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors, in the process erasing the largest deficit in series history.
Stenhouse kept that momentum in 2011, winning two races, three Coors Light Pole Awards and piling up 16 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes. Stenhouse earned his first NASCAR national series win – and a reputation for never backing down – at Iowa Speedway in May, coming out on top of a door-to-door battle with his teammate Carl Edwards. His signature moment came three months later, also at Iowa, when he won despite a last-lap engine failure as Edwards rammed into Stenhouse’s rear, blasting him across the finish line.
Elliott Sadler (Honorable Mention)– His first full NASCAR Nationwide Series season
NASCAR Nationwide Series Second Place driver Elliott Sadler Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR
since 1998 didn’t exactly get off to the rousing start Elliott Sadler had hoped for. He finished 38th at Daytona and left Speedweeks ranked 27th with just six points to his credit.
But the NASCAR veteran recovered, climbing to the points lead twice and challenging Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in what effectively was a two-man race throughout the last half of 2011. Sadler was a victim of an untimely wreck in the seasons’ penultimate race at Phoenix, costing him a real opportunity to take the title chase versus Stenhouse down to the season finale at Homestead-Miami. Still, his return to the series was a hit with the fans, who voted Sadler as the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ Most Popular Driver in an online poll on NASCAR.COM.
Comeback Driver of the Year
Reed Sorenson – Reed Sorenson led the points standings three times in the season’s first 20 races, took home the coveted Harley Davidson Sportster motorcycle trophy after winning a wild race at Road America and collected a cool $200,000 as highest finisher among eligible drivers in two of the first four NASCAR Nationwide Series “Dash 4 Cash” races. That was the high.
He was involved in an accident with his Turner Motorsports teammate, Justin Allgaier, resulting in a 32nd-place finish at Atlanta. He fell to 40 points behind the leader with eight races left, effectively ending his championship hopes. Then following the race at Dover, he was released by Turner. He was still third in the standings, but without a ride to keep that status. That was the low.
Reed Sorenson proudly holds the NASCAR Nationwide Series Nationwide Dash 4 Cash check for $100,000 that he earned during the Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway on July 1, 2011. Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR
Despite a seemingly insurmountable task, he was able to work out a season-ending deal with MacDonald Motorsports. His finishes, although not what he had been accustomed to, were consistent enough to lock him into fifth place in the final championship standings.
Kenny Wallace, driver of the #09 G-Oil Toyota, is congratulated on stage by Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage on his 520th NASCAR Nationwide Series race in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 5, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR
Kenny Wallace (Honorable Mention) – Driving for an independent team – RAB Racing – and, by his own decision, without a paycheck – Kenny Wallace spearheaded one of the most unsung comebacks of 2011. In the process, he cemented himself in the record books by becoming the all-time starts leader in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Following the 2010 season, Wallace underwent a personal reinvention. He lost weight, got fit and rediscovered his “inner race-car driver” with his move to RAB. In addition to overtaking Jason Keller as the series’ starts leader – and becoming just the second driver in series history to surpass 500 starts – Wallace partied like it was 2005 registering or matching the following bests, all since that season: his first top-five finish, 11 top 10s and a seventh-place final championship ranking.
Top Team
RAB Racing with Brack Maggard – Before becoming the primary face of RAB Racing, Robby Benton, 32, got started in NASCAR doing summer jobs in Robert Yates’ shop before serving on Davey Allison’s crew. He still displays a pair of Allison’s racing gloves on his office wall.
Before this season Kenny Wallace, 48, had produced solid numbers in a NASCAR career that totaled over 800 starts among its three national series. But he felt as though he was running out of time to continue to prove himself on the track.
The two joined forces in 2011, providing proof for one another that they could compete – and how. Benton’s RAB Racing team finished 14th in the final 2011 owner standings, the highest among single-car independent teams in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Its turnaround can be traced back to 2010, when Boris Said edged Kevin Harvick Inc.’s Max Papis at the finish line in Montreal, giving Said his first NASCAR Nationwide Series win while rewarding Benton and RAB with the organization’s first victory. More importantly, RAB learned it belonged.
This year, Wallace brought with him a renewed energy. He helped lead the fourth-year organization into uncharted territory, where it thrived. In addition to RAB finishing tops among one-car independents in the owner rankings with an average finish of 15th, Wallace was seventh in the final driver standings, collecting one top five and 11 top 10s. Since 2008, the team’s only previous top-five/top-10 finish was Said’s victory.
Roush Fenway Racing (Honorable Mention) – It took a while – four years to be exact – but Carl Edwards tenaciously ran down the three-time defending champion Joe Gibbs Racing to give Roush Fenway Racing its second NASCAR Nationwide Series owner championship. Edwards won the 2007 driver championship, a season in which Richard Childress Racing was the owner champion.
With Ricky Stenhouse Jr. winning the 2011 driver championship, this year marked the first time that the same owner claimed both the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver and owner titles with different teams.
JGR’s No. 18 Toyota, helmed mostly by 2009 series champion Kyle Busch, appeared unbeatable in the early going, winning five of the season’s first 10 races. But Edwards and Roush Fenway’s No. 60 Ford team, backed by veteran crew chief Mike Beam, kept chipping away at the deficit. He closed on his rival in September and kept up the pressure through the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Edwards competed in 34 of the season’s 34 races. GRAND-AM Road Racing veteran Billy Johnson drove the No. 60 at Road America and was headed for a top-five finish before being struck down by mechanical problems.
Top Breakthrough Performer
Rick Ware Racing's No. 15 Ford Poynt driver, Timmy Hill. Hill is the youngest driver ever to win Sunoco Rookie of the Year for the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Photo credit: Sandi Goodall/Racingal.com
Timmy Hill – Winning the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award in one of the most hotly-contested battles in series history is a testament to the resilience of Timmy Hill and his Rick Ware Racing team.
To begin the climb, Hill didn’t race in the season-opener at Daytona. He wasn’t yet 18. Twice during the season, RWR tragically lost a member of its team. Then, just one week after Hill had been honored at the season-ending banquet as the series’ top rookie, another member of the RWR organization unexpectedly passed away.
But through it all, Hill managed to grow in the moment. He battled fellow rookies Blake Koch and Ryan Truex from the moment the trio began racing against each other at Phoenix in February. His main competition turned out to be Koch, as Truex wasn’t able to secure a ride for the season finale, losing his rookie standings lead in the process.
Hill’s best result was 11th at Road America. He also posted finishes inside the top 20 at Talladega, Chicaogland, Richmond and Darlington. His Chicago result came three days before his high school graduation. He and Koch, who became good friends throughout the battle, finished just one position apart six times. The rookie award came down to the final race where the driver who finished in the best position between the two would claim the honor. Koch finished 23rd. Hill was 21st.
Hill is now the youngest rookie award-winner in NASCAR’s three national series.
Blake Koch (Honorable Mention)– Koch didn’t race at Daytona to open the season.
Nationwide driver Blake Koch. Photo credit: Sandi Goodall/Racingal.com
He also wasn’t entered at Las Vegas. But with full sponsorship and a fresh, upbeat attitude in addition to solid skills, Koch’s season with MacDonald Motorsports truly began at Auto Club Speedway and showed improvement throughout. He drew close to Timmy Hill for the rookie honor at the season’s quarter pole and even took a slim lead late, thanks in part to a five-race string of finishes that bested Hill, including matching his career-best finish of 14th at Phoenix. But the string broke at Homestead, the worst time for Koch’s award aspirations.
Top Race
NAPA Auto Parts 200, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve – Marcos Ambrose, the class of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Montreal field, every year had continuously failed to bring home a victory for various reasons. He vowed to return to this event until he won. His chances this year again looked slim after having to start at the rear for missing qualifying while traveling from his NASCAR Sprint Cup duties in Michigan – which took him from a plane to a helicopter to a boat to finally get to his spot on the starting grid – just before the race.
Marcos Ambrose in the No. 9 Stanley Ford takes a corner on his way to the win during the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Aug. 20, 2011, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Credit: Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images
He also had to deal with the hometown favorites: Jacques Villeneuve (the polesitter), Patrick Carpentier (making his last start before retiring) and Alex Tagliani (also started on the front row).
Villeneuve led 29 of the first 44 laps but his chances went away when he and Ambrose tangled in Turn 1 after a restart with 26 laps remaining. Ambrose powered through the mishap and kept pushing through the field, finally taking the lead from Tagliani on Lap 65. This time he held on around the final turn to take an improbable victory.
The excitement continued after the race when Carpentier’s frustrated crew chief Jerry Baxter grabbed Steve Wallace by the hair while Wallace was still in his car. Baxter’s pit road rage was in response to Wallace spinning out the local hero on Lap 56, ruining Carpentier’s final race.
U.S. Cellular 250, Iowa Speedway (Honorable Mention) – In its short NASCAR Nationwide Series history, Iowa Speedway is quickly becoming a track where the outcome can be counted on as one to remember.
Both races at the .875-mile track this season were sellouts (as have all series races there); both were thrillers and both had the same winner – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – and the same protagonist – Carl Edwards.
But the August race resulted in one of this year’s top moments.
As he was leading out of Turn 4 on the final lap, Stenhouse’s engine unexpectedly gave way. Edwards, running a distant second but making obvious headway after Stenhouse’s misfortune, had his view blinded by the smoke and oil from Stenhouse’s expiring motor and plowed into the rear of the No. 6 Mustang. That short chain-reaction sent Stenhouse across the finish line first. The victory, and Stenhouse’s championship season, was indeed “Smashing,” as the next day’s headline blared in the Des Moines Register.
*Selected from discussions with the national series directors, competition department and NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications managers.
Dave Mitchell. Photo credit: NASCAR Media
Dave Mitchell, vice president at Rick Ware Racing, which has fielded teams in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West among other motorsports series, passed away on Tuesday, Nov. 29. He was 44.
Constantly in motion at the racetrack, Dave wore many hats for RWR, including marketing, public relations, crew member and spotter. The just-completed 2011 season was a proud moment for RWR and for Dave in particular. Timmy Hill, the team’s 18-year-old driver and a young man who Dave mentored, captured the NASCAR Nationwide Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award in one of the closest outcomes in series history.
The native of Dayton, Ohio is survived by his wife Danielle and children Chase and Morgan.
A viewing will be held at noon on Saturday, Dec. 3 with services following at 1 p.m. at the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 4145 Johnson Street, High Point, NC, 27265, (336) 869-7739.
It was announced today from Stewart-Haas Racing that Steve Addington is the new crew chief for Tony Stewart.
Also: Drew Blickensderfer named crew chief for No. 31 Jeff Burton for the Caterpillar/Wheaties Racing Team at RCR. Luke Lambert to be reassigned to TBD position at RCR. (via Twitter)
STEWART HAAS RACING
Darian Grubb, [former
Busch had lost crew chief Pat Tryson after the 2009 season, when Tryson left Penske to work for Michael Waltrip Racing.
RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING
Long-time RCR crew chiefs Shane Wilson and Gil Martin have taken new assignments with the 14-time championship-winning organization.
Wilson has been named the crew chief of the No. 29 Budweiser/Rheem/Jimmy John’s team with driver Kevin Harvick after three seasons in the same position with RCR’s No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper team. Martin, the No. 29 team crew chief since May 2009 and a crew chief at RCR since August 2000, has been named director of team operations, reporting to director of competition Kent Day.
This is not the first time Wilson and Harvick have worked together. They joined forces in 2006 to earn 10 wins, 24 top-five and 31 top-10 finishes on the way to that season’s NASCAR Nationwide Series championship. The team’s 824-point margin of victory is a series record.
EARNHARDT GANASSI RACING WITH FELIX SEBATES
Juan Montoya, driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Photo credit: Sandi Goodall/Racingal.com
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced that Chris Heroy has been named crew chief of the #42 Target Chevy with driver Juan Pablo Montoya. Heroy takes over the role effective immediately in preparation for the 2012 season. Heroy joins Earnhardt Ganassi Racing from Hendrick Motorsports where he began in 2004, most recently as lead engineer on the # 5 car for six of the previous seven years. The other year he held the same role on the #88. In addition, he was paired with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson as crew chief in a number or their Nationwide Series races during the 2011 season. Interim crew chief Jim Pohlman, who took over the #42 team at the end of July, will remain with the organization.
SIGNIFICANT LAYOFFS AT ROUSH-FENWAY RACING
Multiple sources have confirmed significant layoffs this week at Roush Fenway Racing. According to sources, more than 100 workers were released by the team Monday and Tuesday. One source put the number at 125. Prior to today, the team employed about 440 people.
Roush Fenway is expected to reduce its NASCAR Sprint Cup car count from four cars to three next season, with the #6 driven by David Ragan likely to be shuttered. At last report, the team is also without sponsors for the #17 of Matt Kenseth. The team may also reduce the size of its NASCAR Nationwide Series operations from three cars to one or two.
2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr and crew chief Mike Kelley Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 21, 2011) — NASCAR’s future was front and center Monday night as four champions in two national series were crowned.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 24 and Austin Dillon, 21, officially were proclaimed champions of the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, respectively, on the Americana Ballroom stage at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel.
Both were honored with their first NASCAR national series titles. Each became champion in the season following a rookie-of-the-year performance. Dillon becomes the youngest champion in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ 17-year history. Both champions won twice during the 2011 season.
2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Austin Dillon and crew chief Danny Stockman Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR
Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 60 Ford Mustang won the NASCAR Nationwide Series Owner Championship, as driver Carl Edwards won eight times. The title is the second in the series for Jack Roush, his previous owner championship coming in 2002. It also marked the first time that the same owner claimed both the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver and owner titles with different teams.
Kevin Harvick Inc. claimed its third NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Owner Championship. DeLana Harvick’s No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado posted seven victories with three different drivers in adding to KHI’s owner titles from 2007 and 2009.
Timmy Hill, an 18-year-old Maryland competitor, won NASCAR Nationwide Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors by a single point, tying the series’ closest decision for that award. Dillon’s Richard Childress Racing teammate Joey Coulter, 21, won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award, the second time the same organization claimed both championship and rookie laurels.
Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier, Aric Almirola and Reed Sorenson finished second through fifth in the championship standings and were honored along with Stenhouse in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Johnny Sauter, James Buescher, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Timothy Peters were second through fifth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final points and joined Dillon on stage.
After a fan vote on NASCAR.com, in which more than 215,000 combined votes were cast, each series’ Most Popular Driver was revealed. Sadler and Dillon were chosen by the fans in the NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, respectively. Each was honored for the first time.
Race: 36 of 36 (11-20-11)
Track Size: 1.5 miles
Race Length: 267 laps/400.5 miles
Banking/Corners: 18 – 20 degrees
Banking/Straights: 4 degrees
Frontstretch: 1,760 feet
Backstretch: 1,760 feet
Qualifying/Race Data
2010 pole winner: Kasey Kahne (176.904 mph, 30.525 seconds)
2010 race winner: Carl Edwards (126.585 mph, 11-21-10)
Track qualifying record: Jamie McMurray (181.111 mph, 29.816 seconds, 11-16-03)
Track race record: Tony Stewart (140.335 mph, 11-14-99)
1 – Carl Edwards (No. 99 AFLAC Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 99.8
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· Two wins, four top fives, six top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 5.7 in seven races
· Series-best Average Running Position of 7.7
· Series-best Driver Rating of 117.5
· Series-high 173 Fastest Laps Run
· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 162.956 mph
· Series-high 1,379 Laps in the Top 15 (86.0%)
· 236 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), seventh-most
2 – Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 95.1
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· Two wins, three top fives, six top 10s
· Average finish of 12.4 in 12 races
· Average Running Position of 14.6, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 87.6, 11th-best
· 60 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
· 415 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 162.140 mph, 10th-fastest
· 1,037 Laps in the Top 15 (64.7%), seventh-most
· 235 Quality Passes, eighth-most
There are still many different scenarios surrounding Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards, but even so much so as it could be as simple if Edwards wins Sunday, he’s the champion. If Stewart wins Sunday, he’s the champion.
Depending on where Edwards and Stewart eventually finish, but, if Edwards finishes ahead of Stewart, he’ll win a championship. The bright side for Stewart: he owns the tie-breaker (most wins), so he needs only to tie Edwards to win his third championship.
Some rather notable milestones on tap for Homestead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:
- Mark Martin will makes his 830th, which will give him sole possession of fifth on the all-time series starts list.
- Kurt Busch will make his 400th series start, the 48th driver to do so.
- Hendrick Motorsports continues its quest for 200 series victories.
- Ryan Newman continues his attempt to become the ninth driver to 50 career poles.
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
Stenhouse – who last year was close to losing his ride due to inconsistency and too many wrecked race cars –needs to finish 37th or better, 38th or better with at least one lap led or 39th and lead the most laps in order to vanquish Sadler, his only challenger.
His Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards can finally capture the owner title that he ceded to Richard Childress Racing in 2007 when Edwards won the driver championship. His No. 60 RFR team is one point behind the leader, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Denny Hamlin is charged with saving the team’s chance at a series-record fourth consecutive owner title. Kyle Busch was originally scheduled to drive the No. 18 at Homestead.
Three drivers are vying for Sunoco Rookie of the Year in what is shaping up to be the closest contest for that award. Ryan Truex, who won’t run at Homestead, has a three-point lead over Timmy Hill and Blake Koch, who are tied for second. They’ll run in the season-finale Saturday.
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
Austin Dillon – grandson of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner Richard Childress – currently holds a 20 point lead over competitor Johnny Sauter and 28 points over James Buescher.
If Dillon can hold on to the top spot in the series finale he will become the youngest NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion at 21 years of age. Dillon also become the first driver to win the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title and win the series championship the following year.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 15, 2011) – NASCAR announced today penalties and fines to the No. 7 JR Motorsports team that competes in the NASCAR Nationwide Series as a result of rule infractions at Phoenix International Raceway.
The No. 7 car of Danica Patrick was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20A-2.3A (improperly attached weight) of the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series rule book. The infraction occurred during the race on Nov. 12.
As a result of the violations, crew chief Tony Eury Jr. has been fined $10,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until March 28, 2012.