Jamie McMurray talks about his wreck in final practice

   NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jamie McMurray, who has been fast all weekend at New Hampshire, was involved in wreck in the closing minutes of Saturday's final practice session. 

   Q: Looks like you had a tire going down?

   McMurray: Yeah, I actually felt it pop or go flat really early.  I just couldn’t get slowed down.  Every time I got on the brakes it wheel hopped.  I felt like I was going to turn right.  I was trying to get the car slowed down and I knew for a long time I just couldn’t get slowed down enough.    

 

   We cut a left rear tire down. It’s the exact same thing that happened to the No. 42 car (Juan Pablo Montoya) the third lap of practice yesterday. It’s weird, because we had just put new tires on and actually added air to the left rear, trying to make it better. We hadn’t had a problem, but we were just trying to be safe. So it’s a little puzzling that it actually blew out now, when we were trying to be more conservative.

 

   Q: Looks like the car has a lot of damage. Are you going to be able to get it fixed?

   McMurray: I don’t know.  It’s torn up pretty good, but we qualified okay so I hope they tell me they can fix it, but I’m not real sure.

 

   Q: Are you Okay? You looked a little ginger when you got out of the car?

   McMurray: I’m fine. It’s ironic that happened because we actually had added air to the left-rear tire to try to be safe. Then we had a tire go down, so I’m a little bit puzzled more than I am hurt.

 

   Q: Has a decision been made whether to fix the car or use a backup?

   McMurray: So, we’re going to try to fix it because we qualified 11^th and it’s really hard to pass here. And I thought our car was really good in practice; it’s definitely the best car I’ve had here at Loudon. So we want to race this car. It’s mainly cosmetic. So if they can get the panels out and get it where it’s presentable, I think we’re going to try to race this car tomorrow.

 

   It does look better now that they’ve pulled some of the bent pieces off. The right-rear quarter panel I think is going to be the most critical thing because it was tore up pretty good. But it looks much better than it did 20 minutes ago.

Ryan Newman will not return to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014

   Although not a total surprise, Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart confirmed on Friday that driver Ryan Newman will not return to the Sprint Cup Series organization in 2014.

   Newman had only signed a one-year deal that expires at the end of this season. After officially announcing Kevin Harvick's move to the organization next year, Stewart said SHR was not in position to run a fourth Cup team.

   "We're not ready to expand to a fourth team," said Stewart. "Unfortunately, this will be the last year we have Ryan."

   Danica Patrick also drives fulltime for SHR.

   "I believe in him 100 percent," Stewart said of Newman. "I truly wish we were able to facilitate four teams."

   Newman said he’s “had a good run” at SHR.

   “I look forward to the opportunity to make the Chase this season and win the championship. I do not know what my future holds,” Newman said.

   “There are organizations out there that are capable of winning races and championships and it is obvious there are seats that could potentially become available.”

Sponsor Budweiser to move with Kevin Harvick to SHR

   Press release from Budweiser:

BUDWEISER TO JOIN KEVIN HARVICK AT STEWART-HAAS RACING BEGINNING NEXT SEASON
King of Beers to be Primary Sponsor of No. 4 Chevrolet SS in 2014 

    ST. LOUIS (July 12, 2013) – For more than 30 years Budweiser has sponsored some of NASCAR’s top race car drivers. The King of Beers will continue its rich tradition in the sport by joining Kevin Harvick as he moves to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014 to drive the No. 4 Chevrolet SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

   “Over the last three years, Kevin has been an amazing ambassador for Budweiser, both on and off the track,” said Blaise D’Sylva, vice president of media, sports and entertainment marketing, Anheuser-Busch.  “We value that level of commitment, and we’re proud to join him at Stewart-Haas Racing next season.”

   Under the terms of the deal, Budweiser will serve as primary sponsor of the No. 4 Chevrolet for 20 races as well as the Budweiser Duel during Budweiser Speedweeks at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Budweiser will serve as a major associate sponsor for the remaining races on the Sprint Cup Series schedule.

   “I’ve developed a great relationship with so many people at Budweiser and am very happy it’s an association that will continue for many years to come,” said Harvick, who has represented Budweiser since 2011. “We’ve enjoyed a lot of success together and our expectations match right up with those of Stewart-Haas Racing.”

   With the move to Stewart-Haas Racing next year, Harvick will utilize the No. 4. The transition to the team comes as Harvick enters his 14th year in NASCAR’s top series. Thus far, he has earned 21 Sprint Cup Series wins, 96 top-five and 198 top-10 finishes.

   “We’re very proud to have such an iconic brand in Budweiser and an incredibly accomplished racer in Kevin Harvick join Stewart-Haas Racing,” said Tony Stewart, three-time Sprint Cup Series champion and co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. “Budweiser is the leader in its industry and Kevin has proven himself year-after-year in our sport. It’s a partnership we welcome as it will make our entire organization stronger.”

   With eight races remaining before the start of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Harvick is ranked fourth in the Sprint Cup Series standings with two wins, five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.

   “Richard Childress has been a great partner to us and we value the efforts of everyone at Richard Childress Racing,” said D’Sylva. “As we enter the second half of the season, we’re focused on supporting the No. 29 Budweiser Racing team as they contend for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.”

   “I can’t thank Richard Childress and everyone at RCR enough for everything they’ve done for my career,” Harvick added. “I was just trying to make a name for myself in the Truck Series and Richard believed in me enough to make me a part of his race team back in 1999. Without him, and without the hard work of so many people at RCR, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

   While Budweiser adorned the hood of the No. 29 Chevrolet for the past three seasons, the iconic bowtie has been a staple in the Sprint Cup Series garage dating back to its sponsorship of Terry Labonte’s No. 44 Chevrolet at Stratograph Racing in 1983. In the years since, Budweiser has celebrated a championship and nearly 60 wins in NASCAR’s elite division with the likes of Darrell Waltrip, Geoff Bodine, Bill Elliott, Kenny Schrader, Ricky Craven, Wally Dallenbach, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Harvick.

 

NASCAR team owner Michael Waltrip crossing the Atlantic to find speed

  NASCAR driver and team owner Michael Waltrip will make his second appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England this weekend. Waltrip will drive a 2012 No. 15 5-hour Energy Toyota at the annual festival that features a hill climb by historic motor racing vehicles.

    The Goodwood Festival has become one of the largest and most diverse motorsports events in the world. The festival includes everything from modern concept cars to historical vehicles dating back to 1902, along with race cars from all disciplines of motorsports. NASCAR stock cars, Formula 1 Grand Prix racers, Le Mans style cars and various motorcycles will all make a run up the hill at Goodwood.

    NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer won three races last seasonfor Michael Waltrip Racing in the No. 15 car Waltrip will use in the event.

NASCAR elects not to penalize teams for roof-flap violations

NASCAR Determines No Penalties Coming Out of Daytona Race Weekend

   DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 10, 2013) – Following a thorough review, NASCAR announced Wednesday that it will not assess penalties to the teams that had to change out the spacers that support the hinge bar of the car’s roof flaps last week at Daytona International Speedway. There were 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams and 15 NASCAR Nationwide Series teams that were involved.

    “We examined this from every aspect we possibly could and determined that there would be no penalties involved,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “Based upon our inspection and subsequent review, it was our determination that the functionality and safety aspects of the roof flaps were not compromised and the on track competition would not be impacted. Moving forward we will work with the roof flap manufacturer and the race teams to evaluate and optimize the associated installation hardware, review the process in its totality and communicate in a timely manner to the garage area any revisions that we determine need to be made.”

Penske crew member hit by debris from Daytona wreck

   Penske Racing confirmed Monday that Jay Hackney, the front tire changer for Joey Logano's No. 22 Sprint Cup Series team, was hit by debris from the last-lap wreck on the frontstretch in Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

   Hackney, who was standing in front of the team's pit box when the multi-car wreck unfolded, was hit on the wrist by a piece of metal that first bounced off the pit box.

   According to a team spokesman, Hackney on Monday was "100 percent fine."

   Here is a photo of the debris:

   The full story on PitTalks.com can be read here.


  

What Dale Junior thinks about the No. 3 in the NASCAR Cup series again

   In Daytona on Thursday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was asked about the possibility of Austin Dillon moving to the Sprint Cup Series next season and driving the No. 3 made famous by his late father.

    Here was Earnhardt's response:

   “I think it will be great. It was an iconic number for my father and it means a lot to a lot of his fans. This sport doesn’t really retire numbers and all the numbers have history tied to them for several different reasons. The No. 3 is no different. I think that for Austin (Dillon) a kid like Austin in this regard any kid that wants to come up through the ranks and he drove the No. 3 in dirt racing and he drove the No. 3 in his Truck series and Nationwide series. He has earned the right to run that number as long as he wants. It could have been anybody, but it’s Austin. It could have been any kid coming up through the ranks that had ran that number and that’s his number. Maybe he’s not even an Earnhardt fan maybe that is just his number. He wants to run it I think it’s not really fair to deny somebody that opportunity. I’m okay with it. I know that might not be the way a lot of people feel or some people feel, but I’m sure it’s the minority that feels that way. I think that a lot of people will be telling Austin positive things about it.”