Thursday, September 26, 2013

NASCAR: Air Titan should be at most or all tracks in 2014


 
  
   If NASCAR has its way, all tracks should dry faster next season on rainy days.

 
   Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition, told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Thursday he believes the new Air Titan track drying system should be at "100 percent" of race tracks in 2014.
 
   The new system was highly touted to start this year but has only been used at a handful of tracks, mostly because of the cost associated with renting it.
 
   Here is Pemberton's response to Sirius Satellite Radio host Jim Noble when Noble asked if Air Titan would be at most, if not all, Sprint Cup events in 2014:
 
    “Yeah, I believe we’re very close to seeing that. This technology, in a racer’s world, it’s never fast enough. We know that.  If you get an idea that something works you want to understand why you can’t use it 365 days a year.  The guys at R&D, Gene Stefanyshyn and his group back there, they’re working really hard and trying to come up with a package that’s a little more, the economics are there, it’s a little easier to travel, it’s a little more user friendly. We proved out what Air Titan does and immediately, even before the first race was over with us using it, we were on to the next program and the guys back there are knocking out some really, really nice equipment right now and prototypes," Pemberton said. 
 
   "I believe that you’ll see that at 100 percent of the race tracks next year and, if not, we may miss one or two. But our guys are after it, racetracks are wanting it, the fans need it, the drivers are appreciating it. I think when the fans know that Air Titan will be there and there’s an opportunity to start the race on time or start it a little bit earlier than you normally would, I believe that they will appreciate the fact that the effort’s been made to dry the track and get something for them. It’s a big undertaking but I will tell you this, everybody from the top on down in our company, this has been all but priority one for over a year now."

NASCAR’s Kyle Busch Wins 3rd Q Driver of Year Award

   NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch has been voted the third-quarter winner of the Driver of the Year award.

   Busch, 28, was a winner in all three of NASCAR’s top national series over the summer. He had two wins in Sprint Cup, three in Nationwide and one in Camping World Trucks.
He beat out sprint car driver Donny Schatz for the award, which is voted upon by a panel of American journalists and broadcasters.

   Barry Schmoyer, President of the Driver of the Year Foundation, said, “Kyle Busch is a truly a favorite in any series he chooses to race. I’ve watched him for his entire career and it’s hard to believe that he’s only 28 years old.”

   Busch, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, had eight first-place ballots and totaled 124 points according to the DOTY points system.

   The panel of 18 voters determines the winner of quarterly awards and then an overall winner following the season. In quarterly voting, points are awarded on a declining 9, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis. Busch will receive a trophy and a Tissot wristwatch.