Former NASCAR driver Robby Gordon ready for his 10th Dakar Rally

 

   Former NASCAR driver Robby Gordon will begin his 10th Dakar Rally in Rosario, Argentina on Sunday as one of 149 international competitors. He will again attempt to become the first American to win the most extreme and demanding motorsports event in the world.  

   Widely regarded as one of the world’s best off-road racers, Gordon’s previous attempts at overall Dakar Rally victory have resulted in an amazing nine stage victories, however, the overall title has eluded him. In 2005, his initial Dakar Rally effort, he become the first American to win a stage in the race which began in 1979.

   Entering its 35th edition, Frenchmen have dominated the Rally, taking 19 overall victories. Finland has produced five race winners, Japan three, Germany two and one each from South Africa, Belgium, Qatar, Spain and Sweden.

   “I feel more prepared than in any of our previous trips to the Dakar Rally,” Gordon said. “Since our first race in 2005, where we accomplished our goal of becoming the first American to win a stage, our focus has been on winning the overall title. I believe with the experience we have, and the new car we have built, this year could be our time.”

What's on tap for Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2014

 

The 2014 Charlotte Motor Speedway schedule:

March 15
King of the Track
zMAX Dragway

April 3-6
AutoFair
Charlotte Motor Speedway

April 11-13
NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
zMAX Dragway

April 17-20
Ford Mustang 50th Anniversary Event
zMAX Dragway and Charlotte Motor Speedway

April 25-26
TORC Off Road Series
The Dirt Track at Charlotte

May 3-4
Carolina Rebellion
Charlotte Motor Speedway

May 16
North Carolina Education Lottery 200
Charlotte Motor Speedway

May 17
NASCAR Sprint All–Star Race
Charlotte Motor Speedway

May 22
LiftMaster Pole Night
Charlotte Motor Speedway

May 23
May Showdown
The Dirt Track at Charlotte

May 24
HISTORY 300
Charlotte Motor Speedway

May 25
Coca-Cola 600
Charlotte Motor Speedway

June-July
Summer Shootout Series (Race Nights TBD)
Charlotte Motor Speedway

June 7
Hot Rod Power Tour
zMAX Dragway

June 21
Faith, Family and Freedom Concert
zMAX Dragway

August 9
Back-to-School Monster Truck Bash
The Dirt Track at Charlotte

September 11
Laps for Life Blood Drive
Charlotte Motor Speedway

September 12-14
NHRA Carolina Nationals
zMAX Dragway

September 18-21
AutoFair
Charlotte Motor Speedway

October 9
Bojangles’ Pole Night
Charlotte Motor Speedway

Southern Slam 150- NASCAR Southern Modifieds
Charlotte Motor Speedway

October 10
NASCAR Nationwide Series 300
Charlotte Motor Speedway

October 11
Bank of America 500
Charlotte Motor Speedway

October 24-26
Goodguys Southeastern Nationals
Charlotte Motor Speedway

November 6-8
World of Outlaws World Finals
The Dirt Track at Charlotte

Nov. 21-Dec. 30
Speedway Christmas
Charlotte Motor Speedway

November 28
Souvenir Blowout
Charlotte Motor Speedway


*Schedule Subject to Change

For a detailed listing of events and for more information on tickets and pricing, visit www.charlottemotorspeedway.com; or call the speedway’s ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS (3267).

NASCAR alters Sprint Cup Series rules for 2014 Speedweeks

   This was posted to the NASCAR Twitter feed on Monday afternoon:

    NEWS: #NASCAR notified Sprint Cup teams today that the spoiler size for the January DIS test and the 2014 Daytona 500 event week, including the Sprint Unlimited, will be 4.5 inches tall. This is .5 inches taller than previously. NASCAR says the taller spoiler size should allow for a little more rear down force which should make the cars a little more stable.

    As recently as the Charlotte test earlier this month, NASCAR officials had said they expected no changes to the Daytona rules package.

ARCA testing speeds from Daytona

Final ARCA testing speeds from Daytona International Speedway
Combined Test Results (12-20/21/22-13)
POS	NO	NAME	TIME	SPEED
1	25	Justin Boston	49.019	183.602
2	15	John Wes Townley	49.046	183.501
3	88	Justin Allison	49.053	183.475
4	23A	Spencer Gallagher	49.057	183.460
5	22A	Tyler Reddick	49.068	183.419
6	55	Leilani Munter	49.099	183.303
7	35	Michael Self	49.105	183.281
8	23	Scott Sheldon	49.152	183.105
9	22	Austin Wayne Self	49.163	183.064
10	2	Thomas Praytor	49.206	182.905
11	39B	Alex Guennet	49.224	182.838
12	39A	Mario Gosselin	49.246	182.756
13	82B	Jacob Engle	49.250	182.741
14	12	Kody Weisner	49.268	182.674
15	22B	Shannon McIntosh	49.270	182.667
16	12A	Jared Marks	49.276	182.645
17	77	Tom Hessert	49.299	182.559
18	38	Clay Rogers	49.304	182.541
19	82A	Cole Powell	49.313	182.508
20	23B	Joey Coulter	49.330	182.445
21	48	Sean Corr	49.336	182.423
22	75	Benny Chastain	49.342	182.400
23	56	Derrick Lancaster	49.342	182.400
24	98	Mason Mitchell	49.342	182.400
25	69A	Will Kimmel	49.346	182.386
26	5	Bobby Gerhart	49.399	182.190
27	86	Bobby Grewohl	49.472	181.921
28	9	Chase Elliott	49.515	181.763
29	75B	Scott Green	49.525	181.726
30	99	Buster Graham	49.530	181.708
31	2	Josh Williams	49.543	181.660
32	40C	Kelly Admiraal	49.613	181.404
33	97E	Friday Hassler Jr	49.678	181.167
34	57	Bryan Dauzat	49.713	181.039
35	90	Grant Enfinger	49.721	181.010
36	12C	Tanner Berryhill	49.769	180.835
37	97	Dominick Casola	49.776	180.810
38	40B	Justin Lloyd	49.806	180.701
39	54	Matt Kurzejewski	49.854	180.527
40	11	Travis Braden	49.854	180.527
41	68	Michael Lira	49.907	180.335
42	69B	Chris Bailey Jr	49.928	180.260
43	40A	Rick Clifton	49.939	180.220
44	5B	Scott Hubler	49.961	180.141
45	57A	Andy Seuss	49.962	180.137
46	5B	Scott Edwards	49.982	180.065
47	54	Mark Thompson	50.004	179.986
48	32	Mason Mingus	50.015	179.946
49	40G	Mark Meunier	50.024	179.914
50	32	John Hunter Nemechek	50.036	179.870
51	40	Josh Reeves	50.061	179.781
52	32	Terry Jones	50.120	179.569
53	40E	Alx Danielsson	50.141	179.494
54	57A	Doug Barnes Jr	50.229	179.179
55	5c	Jacob Severen	50.256	179.083
56	97D	Jami Weimer	50.259	179.072
57	5A	Michael Lia	50.269	179.037
58	39	Darin Matthews	50.331	178.816
59	5A	Casey Hillenburg	50.460	178.359
60	69E	Brian Finney	50.484	178.274
61	69C	Sara Elrod	50.496	178.232
62	40D	Josh White	50.509	178.186
63	11B	Dave Darland	50.554	178.027
64	97B	Kris Martin	50.618	177.802
65	97B	Jerry Tunney	50.683	177.574
66	10B	Ed Pompa	50.739	177.378
67	10	Ethan McMillian	50.766	177.284
68	3B	Tim Viens	50.805	177.148
69	10A	Richard Doheny	50.886	176.866
70	11A	Dan Fredrickson	50.903	176.807
71	7	Brent Cross	51.107	176.101
72	3A	Kevin Powell	51.110	176.091
73	10C	Tyler Speer	51.117	176.067
74	97A	Andrew Portter	51.205	175.764
75	3	Sarah Cornett-Ching	51.242	175.637
76	3C	Karl Weber	51.274	175.528
77	97C	David Sear	52.730	170.681
78	12B	Rachel Marks	53.901	166.973

Check out Danica Patrick as you've never seen her before

  
   Danica Patrick, now a fulltime driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, has made a name for herself over the years doing commercials for her sponsor, GoDaddy.com, particularly those aired during the Super Bowl. No doubt this one will leave people talking as well.

Brian Vickers gets a new crew chief for 2014 NASCAR season

  

   Michael Waltrip Racing announced Thursday that Billy Scott will serve as driver Brian Vickers’ crew chief on the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Scott has served as lead engineer for the team the past two seasons.

   “Billy was the unanimous selection by everyone here at MWR including the crew, drivers, and ownership,” said team co-owner Michael Waltrip. “We feel like engineering is one of our strongest assets and with that type of talent in house it was easy to promote from within. Billy has earned this opportunity because he has helped develop and refine the engineering tools that we use every day to make our cars faster.”

   Scott, 36, began racing motorcycles as a 5-year-old and stock cars when he turned 15. He worked in the Truck series as a mechanic before he returned to college to obtain an engineering degree. After graduating in 2005 Scott worked at Robert Yates Racing and began as an engineer at MWR in 2008.

   “I’m honored, but I also know this is a big responsibility,” said Scott on the announcement. “We have very high expectations for the Aaron’s Dream Machine in 2014. Brian has been incredible to work with and is a winner, so we can’t wait to get 2014 started.”

   Scott Miller, who took over as crew chief on the No. 55 when Rodney Childers left the organization, will return to his previous duties as MWR’s executive vice president of competition.

Ken Schrader Racing hires Martinsville (Va.) Speedway president as driver

 

   Ken Schrader Racing will field a fulltime entry in 2014 in the Automobile Racing Club of America series and owner Ken Schrader has hired Martinsville (Va.) Speedway president Clay Campbell to drive two races for the team.

   Schrader will drive the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts car in 10 races, while Matt Tifft, of Hinckley, Ohio, will be behind the wheel of the No. 52 for eight events. 

   Campbell will drive the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts car in the Feb. 15 series season opener at Daytona International Speedway and the May 3 event at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

   Campbell, a 25-year veteran of NASCAR’s Late Model series, raced at Daytona and Talladega in 2013. Since 2011, Campbell also has competed whenever possible in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series East.

   “Growing up in this sport like I have, obviously, I’ve known Ken Schrader and followed his career for a long time and have tremendous respect for him,” Campbell said. “To now drive for him in the Federated Auto Parts No. 52 is really a highlight of my life.

    "Ken loves racing and has a passion for it just like I do. He knows both sides of this business by being a driver as well as a track owner. I’m the same way, just the exact opposite."