NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano was asked this week if he thought his career in NASCAR's top series had gone tougher than expected.
Here was his answer:
Logano: “Yeah, obviously it is tough. But this year has gone very well in my eyes. We've had really fast race cars. We've had opportunities to win, but, yes, we've had a lot of adversity. When you look at those two 40th place finishes, you look at the issues we had at the beginning of the year, you look at a penalty, I feel like this year we're easily a Chase contending team that's capable, I think, of winning a championship. Right now we're out of position because some things that were our fault and some things that we couldn't control. That's part of our sport, and that's how it goes, but we're in contention of winning races now. I'm excited about that.
"I had to go through a learning curve when I first started racing Cup in a lot of different areas and in a lot of different things, and I feel like having this fresh start here at Penske Racing with Shell and Pennzoil and Roger (Penske) and Brad (Keselowski) and Todd (Gordon, crew chief) and all these guys, we're all working great together. So I feel like we're right on the verge of getting that win this season and getting ourselves in.”
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Joey Coulter debuts a new partner at Pocono Raceway this weekend on his Toyota Tundra - FOX Sports 1.
The rebranded Speed Channel will be America's newest sports network and set to launch Saturday, Aug. 17. The network will serve as TV home to the series. Pocono will mark the first of two consecutive appearances onboard the No. 18 Tundra for the network and will incorporate a unique concept to count down the days until its official launch the weekend of the Truck Series race at Michigan International Speedway.
Some very telling information came out this week in the Nielsen ratings for last Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway which was broadcast on ESPN. The race received a 3.6 rating - up nine percent from a year ago.
Attendance at the track, however, was perhaps the lowest in the race's 20-year history. That was not necessarily a surprise. What was a little surprising were the details behind the ratings.
The market with the largest rating - where the most people had their TVs tuned to the Brickyard 400 on Sunday - was Indianapolis, with a whopping 13.7 rating. And that was up 26 percent from last year's 10.9 rating.
What that means is a very large segment of residents in the Indianapolis TV market remain firmly loyal NASCAR fans. What it also means is they were not interested in attending the race in person.
That is the best evidence I've seen of the growing disconnect between fans who attend NASCAR races in person and those who remain at home and watch on TV.
It's a gulf NASCAR and the tracks are going to have to work hard to bridge.
The rest of the best
The rest of the top 10 TV markets for Sunday's Brickyard 400:
2. Greensboro, N.C.,
(10.1)
3. Greenville, S.C., (9.4)
4. Charlotte, N.C., (9.1).
5. Norfolk, Va., (8.3)
6. Jacksonville, Fla., (8.2).
7. Nashville, Tenn., (8.1).
8. Birmingham, Ala., (7.8)
9. Richmond, Va., (7.7)
10. Knoxville, Tenn.,
(7.2)
Some thoughts on Sunday's Brickyard 400 from former Speedway Motorsports Inc. and Charlotte Motor Speedway president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler:
Sunday's pitiful crowd at Indy was a sore reminder that something is indeed
wrong. Pocono, which is just a weird version of Indy, this Sunday will be
similar except the crowd will look bigger since they only have 60,000 seats compared to
Indy's 250,000.
So, what is it?
First, the economy is still lousy particularly for those working class
people that made NASCAR what it is. I also think we have 'corporatized' the sport
terribly and I blame the sponsors and some tracks for this. It has gotten too
fancy and we need to get back to our roots.
However, I believe a lot of this can
be blamed on the much maligned aero push that enables the lead car on all tracks except
Daytona and Talledega to simply take off and then you have a lead of 600 feet and
that completely eliminates back and forth racing for the lead. The back-and-forth lead change is probably the second most exciting thing
in racing (outside of the wreck) and we simply don't have that. Without it you
have few if any rivalries and those intense rivalries sell more tickets than
anything.
I know that NASCAR is not only totally aware of this aero push dilemma and
but their R&D department is working overtime to find the answer to this mystery. Will they? Of course, but it needs to be done with the speed of sound!
If
not, we will be running these races with "studio" crowds just for the sake of TV.
Randy Earnhardt, the brother of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt Sr., died Sunday, July 28, 2013 after a battle with cancer. He was 60.
Randy's niece, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, posted the following message on her Twitter account prior to Sunday's Brickyard 400 and Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
“Prayers for our family as we have lost our Uncle Randy after a year long battle with cancer. #cancersucks #earnhardtstrong”
Dale Earnhardt was the third-oldest of five siblings, which included Randy, their brother Danny and sisters Kaye and Cathy.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was asked about his uncle's death after Sunday's race.
"It was really tough. He helped me through a lot of challenges when I was trying
to become a race car driver. He was there when I started driving late models. I
went through the whole process of racing with Tony (Eury, Sr.) and all of them
through the Bud car, Randy was always there. I hurt for Mamaw and Randy's
brother and sister, Danny, Kaye and Kathy," Earnhardt said.
"It is just very very sad, but I am glad
his suffering is over with. He is going to be missed. He was awesome, such an
awesome guy. He kept things together (at DEI). He was in charge of a lot of
different things. Mainly in charge of where every nut and bolt was. He was
accountable for everything. After the racing after I left and everything kind of
went away, he stuck around. He was loyal to Dad, and really looked after
everything that was there and that was my Father's and what would have been
important to him as far as material things. Randy really looked after that.
"It
is tough. It is part of life, and it is hard to get used to. I am just glad his
suffering is over with, he was having a real hard time. I loved him dearly, and
will miss him a lot."
Ryan Newman's pole for Sunday's Brickyard 400 is the 50th of his Sprint Cup Series career and he became the ninth driver in NASCAR history to win at least 50 poles.
All-time pole winners
Driver Wins
Richard Petty 123
David Pearson 113
Jeff Gordon* 72
Cale Yarborough 69
Darrell Waltrip 59
Bobby Allison 58
Mark Martin* 56
Bill Elliott 55
Ryan Newman* 50
*-active
Charlotte Motor Speedway will wrap-up its 20th annual Summer Shootout Series on Monday and Tuesday nights.
The doubleheader will be highlighted by a fireworks display on Tuesday and a 'Grudge Match Bus Race' on Monday night featuring NASCAR drivers Max Papis and Miguel Paludo; Legend Car Pro drivers Daniel Hemric and Tyler Green; Security Force Legend Car Masters drivers Bruce Silver and Eddie Harwell; and the World's Fastest Mascot, Lug Nut, and the Carolina Panthers' Sir Purr.
Monday night's action will also feature a car cruise promoting the fall AutoFair at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Local car clubs will cruise around the 1.5-mile superspeedway to show off their classic rides. In addition, in honor of the birth of the royal baby, Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge, any fan that shows a photo ID proving their first name is George at the main ticket office will receive one free adult admission.
On Tuesday night, champions will be crowned in six divisions, each featuring a tight points battle, as drivers look to lock up a Summer Shootout championship. Also Tuesday night, Stadium Stocks from Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., will take to the frontstretch quarter-mile in an exhibition race. The evening will be capped off with a 15-minute fireworks extravaganza, which will include not only the originally scheduled show, but the fireworks postponed from the Fourth of July celebration.
For more information, visit www.charlottemotorspeedway.com
