Tag Archives: NCWTS

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Driver Ron Hornaday Jr. penalized

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NASCAR 4C(PRT)

(April 17, 2013) – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Ron Hornaday Jr. has been penalized by NASCAR following his involvement in an on-track incident last Sunday at Rockingham Speedway.

Hornaday Jr., driver of the No. 9 truck, was found to have violated Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing. Altercation with another competitor on the race track during a caution period) of the 2013 rule book.

As a result of this violation, Hornaday Jr. has been fined $25,000, docked 25 championship driver points and placed on NASCAR probation until June 12.

Kevin Harvick wins at Texas, but not too “happy” with Kyle Busch

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Photo credit:\ SPEED

Not so “Happy” Harvick won the WinStar Casino 350 at Texas Motor Speedway. Yes, happy he won; but hot that his driver, Ron Hornaday (KHI’s No. 33 Chevy) was knocked out of contention for the NCWTS Championship.

But can he relate to what happened tonight between Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday? In case you missed the race this evening, this is what blew up Twitter and Facebook this evening. It will be the talk of the rest of the weekend. Trust me.

 

This is Kevin harvick’s response following the race in the Texas Motor Speedway Media Center:

Just as Kevin Harvick was into his first season of taking over for Dale Earnhardt in April 2002 in the No. 29 RCR Chevy, Harvick was officially parked for a Sunday’s Cup race after spinning Coy Gibbs during a Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville. After repeatedly bumping and banging, Harvick rammed Gibbs’ rear bumper and finally spun him exiting Turn 2.

 

NASCAR had enough, black-flagged Harvick and parked him for the day and for the Sunday’s Martinsville race. Harvick parked his #6 Chevy in front of the Truck series hauler near pit road.

 

NASCAR parked Kyle Busch for the rest of the race after a Lap 14 incident that started with Busch and Hornaday racing hard side-by-side and ended with Busch knocking Hornaday into the Turn 4 wall in retaliation and out of the series championship battle.

 

Sound a little familiar?

 

This suspension fell under NASCAR’s rulebook as an emergency action that is “final, non-appealable and non-reviewable.” n addition to the penalties, Harvick was fined $35,000 and his probation was extended. This $35,000 was in addition to the $15,000 that he paid after the Biffle incident.

 

One difference between Harvick and Gibbs and what happened between Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday Friday night, is that Harvick was already ON PROBATION from an earlier incident with Biffle at Bristol. Kyle is not on probation.

 

So, if Kyle Busch is to be fined, I say NASCAR will hit his wallet hard. He intentionally risked the life of another drive, which NASCAR takes very seriously. He’s had issues with his “loss of temper” perviously. With the severity of this wreck, I would like to see NASCAR end his Camping World Truck Series racing, effective tonight, instead of Homestead-Miami, issue a large fine, and follow in Tony Stewart’s footsteps and take an Anger Management course before he does seriously hurt, or god forbid, kill someone.

 

SPEED had reported via Twitter shortly after the race that NASCAR has called a meeting with Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Officials before practice hits the track at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday morning. That’s not a good sign if his Cup car owner is getting involved. Something there is hinting a possible suspension on Sunday.

 

Richard Childress had taken a stance that since the initial incident was during a Busch (Nationwide) race, and the most recent incident occurred during a Craftsman (Camping World) Truck series race, that the penalties should remain in those series and not rolled over into Winston(Sprint) Cup. It’s a fair point, but NASCAR saw that in this case, the driver had demonstrated a lack of ability to control his temper and had intentionally wrecked and risked the life of another driver.

 

But all we can do is wait and see and let NASCAR do their jobs. STAY TUNED!!

Polk’s Meat Products expanding into NASCAR, sponsoring Talladega Superspeedway starting 2012

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Polk's Meat Products will be sponsoring the NCWTS Qualifying Pole Award today. They have also signed on with Talladega Superspeedway to sponsor the track for the next two years starting in 2012. Photo by Sandi Goodall, Racingal.com

“Meat” the company and some employees behind tomorrow’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Sponsor for qualifying… ‘Polk’s Meat Products Qualifying Talladega’. Polk’s Meat Products is stepping it up a few notches and will be seen quite a bit more within NASCAR.

 

As a “local” company in this area, Polk’s Meat Products has announced that they will also be sponsoring NASCAR races at Talladega Superspeedway for the next two years starting in the Spring of 2012.

 

When I say “local” I mean Mississippi, being here in Alabama. Polk’s Meat Products has volunteered a lot of time and have become well known for showing community support. That’s why they were approached by Talladega Superspeedway to cater the Media Center lunch for us today.

The employees enjoying race weekend from Polk’s Meat Products and who will be in Gatorade Victory Lane with the Polk’s Meat Products Qualifying Talladega winner:

(L) Dana Mullins, Randy Lamana, Chuck Harrist, Carlaf Davis. Photo by Sandi Goodall, Racingal.com

 

Polk’s Meat Products have the best cajun sausages around and will also be sold in the concession stands this weekend.

 

Chuck Harrist, Vice President of Sales, started with the company this past January and has big plans for company. His goal is to have Polk’s Meat Products in every store “covering the Mississippi region – St. Louis – Savannah – Milwaukee – Chicago…” then he threw in and “Florida, too!!!” They just made the entrance with Sam’s Club and have been with Wal-Mart.

If your at Talladega Superspeedway for the race this weekend, stop by for a free sampling and show your support to a new sponsor:

Sat., October 22 & Sun, October 23

Make sure to look for Polk’s Meat Products tent in the Corporate Display area.  Sampling Cajun sausage all day leading up to race time.

You can also stop by their Facebook page and show your support. Hit that “like” button, and give them a little “Polk”… uuummm…. poke or visit their website at www.polksmeat.com.

 

 

‘Wild Card’ Talladega Superspeedway expected to shake up Chase even more

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Johnson was hit with a hefty deficit when his accident-induced 34th-place finish at Charlotte dropped him to eighth in the standings, 35 points behind leader Carl Edwards. Is he in? Or is he out?

 

The Chase drivers in front of Johnson at this point seemingly refuse to finish outside the top 10, making Johnson work even more harder. Edwards has top-10 finishes in all five races, the only driver to do so. And second- and third-place Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth have each finished in the top 10 in four of the five Chase races. So what does Johnson need from those drivers to get back into position for that sixth Championship? Poor finishes.

 

Talladega is Chevy Country

Rick Hendrick and Richard Childress each carry 11 wins at Talladega, most all-time among owners. And don’t count out Dale Earnhardt, Jr. just quite yet. Earnhardt is always a threat at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ biggest track and runs well on a restrictor plate. He has led laps in each of the last 11 Talladega races. He may very well bring home Hendrick Motorsport’s 200th victory.

 

Don’t forget last April at Talladega when two records were broke… One was for the closest margin of victory since the inception of electronic scoring in 1993. Jimmie Johnson beat Clint Bowyer to the finish line by .002 seconds.

 

The second was number of lead changes, 88. That tied a record also set at Talladega, prompting a rather unique bonus program for Sunday. If there are 100 or more lead changes in Sunday’s event, the driver who takes the lead the most times will win $100,000. Expect the intensity to be ratcheted up.

 

Also this weekend, NASCAR is implementing some rule changes into the mix. The size of the restrictor plate will increase by 1/64 inch and is now going to be 57/64-inch diameter. This will provide the teams with an additional 7-10 horsepower.

 

The pressure relief valve on the cars’ cooling system will be re-calibrated to reduce the pressure by approximately 8 pounds per square inch from this past April’s race at Talladega.

 

There will also be no greasing of any kind to the rear bumpers. as this had aided the pushing car to ‘slide’ and lessen the chance of spinning the pushed car.

 

Nascar is hoping with the rule changes above, will alleviate the two-car tandem racing.

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

The top five in the championship – Dillon, Sauter, James Buescher, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Timothy Peters – are separated by just 25 points. All but Hornaday posted top-10 finishes (led by Sauter’s third place) at Talladega in 2010.

 

Kevin Harvick Inc.’s No. 2 Chevrolet holds a 73-point lead over Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota in the race for the series owner championship. Busch returns to the series at Talladega where he is the two-time defending winner of the Coca-Cola 250 Powered by Fred.

 

Last year’s Talladega race saw the closest finish under electronic timing and scoring in series history as Busch edged Aric Almirola by 0.002 seconds.

 

Also, NASCAR driver Donnie Neuenberger will be returning to the NCWTS at Talladega. Neuenberger will be piloting the #16 Eagle Convenience Stores Chevrolet for Rick Ware Racing and making his 2nd 2011 start.

Read blog posted, June 2011 >

NASCAR driver Donnie Neuenberger overcomes life’s obstacles.

 

Bracelets supporting The Donnie Neuenberger Foundation will be for sale at Talladega Superspeedway at Donnie’s hauler in the garage area. You can also order directly from The Donnie Neuenberger Foundation at www.dgnracing.com or www.dgnf.org for an order form or by ordering through PayPal. 

WELCOME BACK, DONNIE AND GOOD LUCK!!!

 

Review on NASCAR national series heading to Charlotte and Las Vegas Motor Speedways

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Race #: 31 of 36 (10-15-11)
Track Size: 1.5 miles
Banking/Corners: 24 degrees
Banking/Straights: 5 degrees
Frontstretch: 1,980 feet
Backstretch: 1,500 feet

Have you realized that with Jimmie Johnson’s win at Kansas Speedway, that placed Hendrick Motorsports knocking on the door to their 200th victory? Will the 200th victory happen at Charlotte Motor Speedway? You betch’ ya! Pretty much during the last ten races of the Chase, Johnson reveals his dominance – and will shine at the 1.5 mile Charlotte Motor Speedway Saturday night. Johnson carries six wins at Charlotte, tied for most all-time with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison and Hall of Fame nominee Darrell Waltrip. But for all those nay-sayers, he had a 28th place finish in May’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte because of engine problems.

Carl Edwards, on the other hand while holding a bit of gentleman luck, finished fifth at Kansas, but locked in the lead in points.

What about Brad Keselowski? Keselowski has turned up the heat by a few notches with his fellow Chase drivers. Keselowski surprised at Kansas Speedway with a third-place finish and moved on up to fourth in the standings, only 11 points behind leader, Carl Edwards.

It’s a tight race, and anything can happen. Drivers sitting in the top eight currently are: Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch.

Just 20 points separate eighth-place Kyle Busch and points leader Edwards.

Jamie McMurray won the Charlotte race last year, the only non-Chase driver to win one of the final 10 races last season.

Could another non-Chase driver be a repeat? It’s certainly possible, so watch out for Kasey Kahne as the prime candidate. Kahne has been the top finishing non-Chase driver in each of the last two races, and has three wins at Charlotte, including a sweep there in 2006.

NSCS takes on Charlotte Motor Speedway, Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. on abc.

 

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES

You do realize that Roush Fenway Racing is in a position to make NASCAR National Series History with possibly winning two different Championships in the same series in the season?

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. leads the driver championship standings. He’s 20 points in front of second-place Elliott Sadler with five races to go.

Friday night’s race marks the fourth and final NASCAR Nationwide Series “Dash 4 Cash” event of the 2012 season.

The highest finisher among Elliott Sadler, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Truex and Kenny Wallace will collect $100,000 on top of the race prize money.

Four drivers have been eligible for the bonus in each of the four “Dash 4 Cash” races during the season’s second half – Daytona, Iowa, Richmond and the finale at Charlotte. The first field at Daytona’s July race was set via the top four in driver points entering that event. For the next three “Dash 4 Cash” races, the field was set by the four highest finishers in those races among driver championship contenders.  This quartet was decided by their finishes at Richmond last month: Stenhouse was third, Truex a career-best fourth, Wallace, fifth and Sadler, sixth.

The NNWS hits Charlotte Motor Speedway Friday night at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

 

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

The championship battle in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is down to a mere three points separating Austin Dillon from James Buescher with five races left.

Upcoming races at Talladega and Martinsville are already being pegged as the wild card events. It will be the first daytime race at the 1.5-mile tri-oval since 2002.

2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Champion Max Gresham will make his NASCAR national series debut at Las Vegas. He will compete in the No. 66 Chevrolet fielded by Turn One Racing. Gresham scored two wins and nine top-five finishes this season in the K&N Pro Series East Series.

NCWTS hits Las Vegas 3:30 p.m. Saturday on SPEED.

Information compiled by NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications

NASCAR Chase standings, driver stats heading to Kansas Speedway

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Race #: 30 of 36 (10-9-11)
Track Size: 1.5 miles
Banking/Corners: 15 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 10.4 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees
Frontstretch: 2,685 feet
Backstretch: 2,207 feet

Qualifying/Race Data
2010 pole winner: Kasey Kahne (174.844 mph, 30.920 seconds)
2010 race winner: Greg Biffle, 138.077 mph, 10-03-10)
Qualifying record: Matt Kenseth (180.856 mph, 29.858 seconds, 10-08-05)
Race record: Greg Biffle (138.077 mph, 10-03-10)

After three races in the Chase, Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards technically sit 1-2 in the points – though both are tied at the top with 2,122 points. It’s the first tie for the points lead since after the first Chase race in 2008.

Heading into Kansas, Brad Keselowski, now sixth in points, conquered Kansas during the series’ first visit in June, leading nine laps and besting the field with solid fuel mileage strategy. t was his first victory with Penske Racing, and the first of third wins on the season. During the post-race interviews, Keselowski mentioned how his goal was to make the Chase. Will he repeat and move up getting ever so closer to the NASCAR Championship? What about Greg Biffle? Biffle has two wins at Kansas, and has finished in the top 10 in each of the last five races (and in the top five in four of the last five). He is one of three active driver who average a top-10 finish at Kansas: (Biffle, 8.3; Jeff Gordon, 8.1; Jimmie Johnson, 9.1).

Current NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings leader – Austin Dillon – will attempt to make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut this weekend at Kansas Speedway at the age of 21.

Drive History for Kansas in Point Standings after Dover

1 – Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet)
·         One top five, four top 10s
·         Average finish of 14.3 in 11 races

2 – Carl Edwards (No. 99 AFLAC Ford)
·         Three top fives, six top 10s
·         Average finish of 11.4 in eight races

3 – Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet)
·         Two wins, five top fives, eight top 10s
·         Average finish of 11.9 in 11 races

4 – Kurt Busch (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge)
·         Three top 10s; one pole
·         Average finish of 18.1 in 11 races

5 – Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
·         One win, three top fives, eight top 10s; three poles
·         Average finish of 9.1 in 10 races

6 – Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
·         One win, one top five, one top 10
·         Average finish of 12.3 in three races

7 – Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Crown Royal Ford)
·         Two top fives, five top 10s; one pole
·         Average finish of 19.3 in 11 races

8 – Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&Ms Toyota)
·         One top 10
·         Average finish of 22.4 in eight races

9 – Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
·         Two wins, eight top fives, nine top 10s
·         Average finish of 8.1 in 11 races

10 – Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet)
·         One top five, five top 10s; one pole
·         Average finish of 17.5 in 11 races

11 – Ryan Newman (No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet)
·         One win, three top fives, four top 10s
·         Average finish of 17.3 in 11 races

12 – Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota)
·         Two top fives, two top 10s
·         Average finish of 15.7 in seven races

History

· Groundbreaking was held on May 25, 1999.

· The official opening of Kansas Speedway was in 2001, with the first events being an ARCA race and a NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race on the same day – June 2.

· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was Sept. 30, 2001.

Notebook

· There have been 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kansas

since the track opened in 2001.

· All of the races have been scheduled for 267 laps.

· 10 drivers have competed in all 11 races at Kansas.

· Jeff Gordon won the first two NASCAR Sprint Cup races.

· Jason Leffler won the first pole in September 2001.

· Eight different drivers have won poles, led by Jimmie Johnson with three.

· Eight different drivers have posted victories, led by Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart (each with two).

· Seven of the 11 races have been won from a top-10 starting position.

· Two drivers have won from the pole: Joe Nemechek in 2004 and Jimmie Johnson in 2008.

· The furthest back in the field that a race winner started was 25th, by Brad Keselowski earlier this season.

· Three active drivers with more than one start have averaged a top-10 finish: Greg Biffle (8.3), Jeff Gordon (8.1) and Jimmie Johnson (9.1).

· Jeff Gordon leads all drivers in top fives (eight) and top 10s (nine). Gordon’s only two non-top 10s were a 39th in 2006 and a 13th in 2004.

· Seven of the 11 races that ended under green had a margin of victory under one second. The 2007 race ended under caution.

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES

This year upon his return to Kanas, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – who celebrated his 24th birthday on Oct. 2, has a 22-point lead over second-place Elliott Sadler in the driver championship standings.

The 2010 Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders are Timmy Hill and Blake Koch, with Koch holding off Hill by only two points. Hill and Koch may need to consider a third contender for the rookie title. Ryan Truex, who was the odds-on-favorite to win the award at the start of the season, has worked his way back in to the conversation thanks to a late-season surge with his new team, Joe Gibbs Racing. Although Truex may not have enough time to overtake the rookie lead, but his recent results have been eye-opening. Since joining JGR at Chicago last month, he has finished no lower than 13th in those four races – including a career-best fourth at Richmond and an eighth-place last week at Dover.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver, James Buescher, will compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Kansas for Turner Motorsports. It will be his eighth NNS start this season.

This is an open week for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Sereis.

Ron Hornaday Jr. has accomplished just about everything possible in the NCWTS during his 14-year career – by clinching his 50th victory at Kentucky Speedway – and a record four series championships. Winning an unprecedented fifth series championship seems very unlikely at this point, Hornaday sits in fifth place, 42 points out of the championship. Hornaday has three wins (Texas, Atlanta & Kentucky) this season. He has led an impressive 9,386 laps in his truck series career.

Austin Dillon holds a two point lead in the NCWTS standings over James Buescher.

Next race for the NCWTS:

Oct. 15th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway / 3:30 p.m. on SPEED

Source: NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications/NASCAR Media

Ron Hornaday clinches 50th career victory at Kentucky Speedway

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Ron Hornaday Jr. celebrates his 50th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory after winning the Kentucky 225 on Saturday at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky. Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR

He finally did it!! Ron Hornaday Jr. scored a milestone 50th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win Saturday in the Kentucky 225 on a cold night of racing at Kentucky Speedway. The air temperature at the start of the race was 48 degrees, and the track temperature was 53 degrees.

Hornaday held off the late-race charges of runner-up and polesitter Austin Dillon during the final 10 laps. Dillon, who protected his lead in the series points standings, pulled to within two-tenths of a second of Hornaday but could get no closer.

Hornaday led the final 11 of 150 laps on the 1.5-mile speedway after leader Todd Bodine pitted. The key to Hornaday’s win came on his last pit stop for four tires and fuel. Hornaday led four times for 42 laps.

Hornaday has three wins at Kentucky Speedway. His first career truck win came at Tucson (Ariz.) Raceway Park on April 8, 1995—the same month Dillon turned 5.

There were a track-record 18 lead changes among 11 drivers. Rookie Nelson Piquet Jr. and Brian Ickler in Kyle Busch’s Toyota rounded out the top five. Pretty exciting for a non-existent presence of any NASCAR Cup drivers.

Ty Dillon, Austin’s younger brother, finished 18th in his first NASCAR national series race.

The next race in the series is Oct. 15 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, also a 1.5-mile track.

Source: NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications

NASCAR Nationwide, Camping World Truck Series’ head to Nashville this weekend

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NASCAR Nationwide Series

Federated Auto Parts 300

Nashville Superspeedway

Saturday, July 23

7 p.m. (ET)

ESPN, 7:30 p.m. (ET)

Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90

Distance: 300 miles (225 laps)

Elliott Sadler, the current points leader, is seven points ahead of second-place Reed Sorenson and 18 points ahead of third place Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

And don’t forget the most coveted trophies amongst drivers in all of NASCAR’s national series is the custom Sam Bass Gibson Les Paul guitar trophy that is awarded to the winner at Nashville Super Speedway.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Lucas Deep Clean 200

Nashville Superspeedway

Friday, July 22

8 p.m. (ET)

SPEED, 7:30 p.m. (ET)

Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90

Distance: 200 miles (150 laps)

Drew Herring, who will drive the No. 18 Toyota at Nashville this weekend, knows he’s fortunate to be able to race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. However, Herring also knows that there is more to life than just getting to race; like getting to live it. Herring is still pursuing his racing dreams despite nearly losing his life in a hunting accident when he was just 17 years old. Herring and a number of friends were out raccoon hunting when a wild raccoon, scared by another hunter’s shot, came out of a tree right on top of Herring and several of his friends. As everyone tried to scrabble out of the way of the wild animal, Herring and a friend ran into each other and lost their balance, falling to the ground. When they hit the ground, his friend’s .22-calibur discharged, shooting Herring through the side. The bullet hit Herring’s stomach, colon and pancreas. Fortunately, after spending nine days in the hospital, Herring made a full recovery. Now, he’s back on track to go after his passion, racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, while celebrating life each and every day.

HISTORY

Johnny Benson is the only titleholder with two Sam Bass Gibson Les Paul guitar trophies .

• The past three winners – Todd Bodine, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Benson – captured Nashville Superspeedway’s late-summer race on the way to the series champion’s table in Miami Beach.

• Mike Bliss, his face seriously rearranged after chasing a fly ball into the outfield fence during the previous day’s driver/media softball game, won both Nashville and the championship in 2002.

• Bobby Hamilton was the track’s 2004 winner and series champion.

• Travis Kvapil, the 2003 champion, won Nashville’s 2007 race.

Bodine and Ron Hornaday Jr. are the only NCWTS concrete track winners expected to compete in the Lucas Deep Clean 200.

Source: NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications

Voting opens for 2011 Most Popular Driver in NASCAR’s Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series

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Thought I’d better bring this to your attention:

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 7, 2011) – For the fourth consecutive year, fans can vote online for the 2011 Most Popular Driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (Twitter hashtags: #NNSMPD, #NCWTSMPD).

Voting begins today and runs through Nov. 17, prior to the season-ending race for both national series at Homestead-Miami Speedway during Ford Championship Weekend.

This year, fans have dedicated sites on NASCAR.com to vote. For the NASCAR Nationwide Series, fans can go to www.NASCAR.com/nnsmpd and to www.NASCAR.com/ncwtsmpd for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Fans may vote once per day leading up to the Nov. 17 deadline.

To be eligible to receive votes, drivers must have selected either the NASCAR Nationwide Series or NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to receive 2011 driver championship points. Additionally, drivers must have attempted at least half of each series’ races this season.

The winners will be announced at the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Awards Banquet. The combined post-season gala will again take place in South Florida at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel on Monday, Nov. 21.

With eligibility tied to their selected series for points, a new Most Popular Driver will be crowned in both series this year. Brad Keselowski, the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion, earned a record-setting third consecutive series Most Popular Driver award via fan vote following last season. Kenny Wallace also has three Most Popular Driver awards in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, though not consecutively. Narain Karthikeyan captured the most votes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to earn that series’ Most Popular Driver honor in 2010.

Press Pelease – NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications

Childress, Busch steals thunder from Joey Coulter

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RCR driver Joey Coulter, stands next to his No. 22 Chevrolet Silverado. Photo courtesy of Richard Childress Racing

I need to give a shout-out to Joey Coulter, driver of the RCR No. 22 Chevy Silverado who had his best truck series finish as a Rookie in his first start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway.

With all the hoopla surrounding Richard Childress and Kyle Busch, I believe the focus was taken away from Joey and his awesome driving abilities he  had showcased at Kansas Speedway.

At one point in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250, Coulter was down a lap. He received the  ”wave around” restarting 22nd on lap 65. Restarting 15th with 30 laps to go, Coulter went on a passing rampage, passing six trucks in seven laps and, eventually, working his way up to sixth with 10 laps to go. Coulter then had a clean, lengthy lap-by-lap, side-by-side race with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular Kyle Busch. While approaching the final laps, Coulter made a final pass on the last lap in turn four and secured his first career top-five finish. In the process, he gained five positions in the driver championship point standings.

Congratulations to Joey and the No. 22 RCR NASCAR Camping World Truck team!!!!!