Austin Dillon hopes to double down on his NASCAR dirt experience

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Austin Dillon returns to Eldora Speedway next week as the defending champion of the Mudsummer Classic Truck series race. In 2013, Dillon became the first driver in 43 years to win a NASCAR national series race on dirt. Richard Petty was the last to accomplish the feat in September 1970 at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. 

In the inaugural event at Eldora, Dillon led a race-high 64 laps, posting a 127.3 driver rating on his way to Victory Lane. He returns to the track with limited seat time in the Truck series, but that has not stopped him in the past. After winning the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck series championship, Dillon has made six series starts, posting five top-10 finishes. In three starts this season, he has yet to finish outside the top-10. 

Cup rookies Kyle Larson and Michael Annett have also entered next week's race at Eldora. 

Jeff Gordon: RTA will be 'good for the sport'

   Four-time Cup series champion Jeff Gordon took part in a national teleconference on Monday and was asked his opinion on the nine owners who formed the Race Team Alliance last week.

   Here was his response:

   "Well, you know, I don't really see where things have changed a whole lot other than it's more official. They've been meeting for years to get together and communicate about where the sport is at, things that they can do to strengthen their teams, be more efficient. I think it's really just more of an official way to create that alliance, and I think it's a positive because our sport, in order for it to be strong, the teams need to be strong. They need to be profitable. They need to be able to do business," he said.

   "It's turned into a big business, and it's constantly growing, and so I'm in support of it because if the teams are strong and more successful, then that's good for us that are part of the team and it's good for the sport, it's good for the fans, and so I think that this is definitely going to be something that we're all going to learn from and grow from, but I think it's something that definitely is only going to be good for the sport in general."

    Gordon also said he believed the RTA was more of a team alliance than an alliance of individual owners.

    "To me it's what's going to make the teams more efficient, stronger, more profitable, and to me that includes the drivers. That includes all the employees on each of those teams," he said. "I think that it's in a lot of ways covering us, as well.  We're aligned with the teams. I have a contract with a team and I want that team to be strong because I know if that team is strong, then that secures my position as a driver. It secures our sponsors and only helps us with our partners and our fans."

If the RTA doesn't seek confrontation, why does it crave attention?

The nine founding team members of the Race Team Alliance announced the formation of their business alliance last Monday through a mass email distribution through the media. In the days since, the RTA's spokesman, Michael Waltrip Racing team co-owner Rob Kauffman, has conducted more than a dozen interviews with various media outlets to talk about an organization which has yet - at least officially - to conduct any business.

Kauffman insists a large part of the reason for the organization’s creation is to help reduce team costs through work on such issues as workman’s compensation and hotel room costs. Assuming that’s true, teams could have done that years ago, and if they did, there would be no reason to announce that effort through a news release, whether successful or not.

The creation of the new organization was announced very publicly and to attract attention. If the goal was simply to accomplish results, that could easily be done behind the scenes. So, whose attention is the RTA attempting to get? Perhaps fans, but whatever cost savings the teams gain do not necessarily transfer to fans. That leaves the media and NASCAR, or more correctly, NASCAR through the filter of the media. Why is that even necessary for a group that claims it does not seek confrontation?

Sprint Experience a 'no show' at New Hampshire

   Sprint, the sponsor of NASCAR's premier Cup series, has recently cut back on the number of tracks at which it will host its nearly 15,000-square-foot Sprint Experience interactive display area.

   Race fans on Friday took to Twitter and other social media sites complaining the popular display was not at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, some blaming NASCAR or the track itself for its absence. 

   Speedway president Jerry Gappens said the track was informed less than two weeks ago that Sprint would not be bringing the Experience this weekend. As of Friday afternoon, Sprint's web site page dedicated to the Experience still said it would be appearing at all 36 Cup race weekends this season.

   "As a promoter, when I got word two weeks ago I was disappointed because it creates a void in the display area that is a featured attraction for fan interaction," Gappens said. "The Sprint display has been a very popular activity for our fans for years.

   "To have that not here, takes away from the experience. Sprint is in a very competitive business and needed to divert some of the money it took to activate it to advertising."

   Gappens said the track - and others coming up including Michigan, Watkins Glen and Atlanta - will still get paid for the display space. "I'd still like to see it here, though," he said.


   When asked about the decision not to bring the Sprint Experience to New Hampshire, spokesperson Kimberly Meesters provided the following statement to The Observer:

   "We have an abbreviated schedule during the summer. It will be at New Hampshire in the fall. Some years we take it to every race. Some years we focus on the markets most important to Sprint corporate priorities. Sometimes we send it every week but send smaller footprints. It varies. We are doing 33 races this season."

   The Sprint Experience is a 14,400-square-foot interactive display that brings fans closer to the sport by offering custom interactive games, driver and celebrity appearances, participation in stage games, and the latest handsets and technologies available from Sprint. 

Why does Clint Bowyer have a lobster hanging on his wall?

   For the past seven seasons, Sprint Cup Series winners at New Hampshire Motor Speedway have received a unique prize in addition to the traditional winner's trophy. They earn a large rock lobster - some of which look as large as the drivers. 

   Clint Bowyer, who has two wins at New Hampshire, was asked what he did with his lobster and the avid hunter had an appropriate reply.

   “It’s hanging on my wall right next to my trophy animals -- I figure it’s a trophy right. I have four or five deer heads on the wall, a couple elk heads and my lobster," he said. "Everybody is like, ‘I get it, I get it, I get it, why is that there?’  Hey, it’s a trophy.”

NASCAR's response to formation of RTA

   NASCAR response to formation of Racing Team Alliance:

    “We are aware of the alliance concept the team owners have announced, but have very few specifics on its structure or purpose. It is apparently still in development and we’re still learning about the details so it would be inappropriate to comment right now. NASCAR’s mission, as it has always been, is to create a fair playing field where anyone can come and compete. Our job is to support and strengthen all of the teams, large and small, across all of our series and we’ll continue to do that. NASCAR is a unique community with hundreds of stakeholders. They all have a voice and always will.”

   - Brett Jewkes, NASCAR VP/CCO

Nine NASCAR multi-car teams form business alliance

   Press Release

   A group of nine multi-car teams participating in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) announced today they have formed a collaborative business association called the Race Team Alliance (RTA). The purpose of the organization is to create an open forum for the teams to explore areas of common interest and to work collaboratively on initiatives to help preserve, promote, and grow the sport of stock car racing.  The organization intends to open up its membership to all full time NSCS teams in the very near future.

   In providing a vehicle for the teams to work together, the organization creates for the first time a single entity to engage with stakeholders on creative ways to market and experience the power of the sport’s teams and drivers. As part of its focus, the RTA also plans to explore innovative ways to harness the combined purchasing power and scale of the teams’ operations to drive efficiencies in costs.

   Rob Kauffman, co-owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, has been elected the first chair of the RTA.

   “With the encouragement of NASCAR and the manufacturers, the teams have met in various forms and forums over the years to explore areas of common interest. This simply formalizes what was an informal group.” said Kauffman.  “The key word is ‘Collaboration’. We all have vested interests in the success and popularity of stock car racing.  By working together and speaking with a single voice, it should be a simpler and smoother process to work with current and potential groups involved with the sport. Whether it be looking for industry-wide travel partners or collaborating on technical issues – the idea is to work together to increase revenue, spend more efficiently, and deliver more value to our partners.”

   The following teams are the executive members of the RTA: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Hendrick Motor Sports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Richard Petty Motor Sports, Roush Fenway Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske.