Tony Stewart on crew chief Chad Johnston: 'I think the world of him'

   While three-time Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart has gotten off to a slow start this season - he is currently without a win and is 19th in the series standings - there has been much speculation as to the cause, including questions about his new crew chief this year, Chad Johnston. 

   Stewart, who missed the last 15 races of the Cup season last year with two broken bones in his right leg, dismisses that idea outright.

   "Chad and I keep learning each other better and better each week. I really like Chad Johnston. I think the world of him," Stewart said. "I think he's probably been the best match personality-wise of any of the crew chiefs I've had since Zippy (Greg Zipadelli, Stewart's first crew chief in NASCAR).

   "So, I've had four really good crew chiefs now, but I think Chad and I really are kind of on the same page, so I'm excited about that side of it.  We've just got to find that one piece of the puzzle that gets us the rest of the way there."

 

Goodyear makes some tire changes for the Brickyard

   The annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stop at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which has had issues in the past with tire problems, will see some changes this weekend based on recommendations from Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

   While teams in both NASCAR series in action at Indy will run the same right-side tire code (D-4476), they will be on distinct left-side codes. Cup teams have run this right-side tire at Indianapolis since 2012. Compared to last year, Cup teams will be on a different left-side tire code (D-4556), though they have run it at both Dover and Kentucky earlier this season.

   Another change from last year is an increase in the minimum recommended air pressure in all four tires -- up four psi in the left-side tires and up five psi in the right-side tires. The recommended changes in set-up came out of a Goodyear test at The Brickyard on June 16 and 17.

New winner, lots of controversy at Bowman Gray Stadium

   Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., is no stranger to racing controversy and it recently experienced another bizarre round last Saturday night that has led to a slew of severe penalties and a new winner in the track's 25-lap modified race.

   In a statement released from track officials on Monday, the track's NASCAR Whelen All-American Series officials described the actions taken:

   "After a thorough review and consultation among many officials, NASCAR Officials at the Stadium have determined that Lee Jeffreys of Winston-Salem was indeed involved in the collision with Burt Myers of Walnut Cove, N.C., and Tim Brown of Tobaccoville, N.C. Jeffreys was at first said to have only slowed to avoid the wreckage instead of being caught in it, so he was placed back in the race lead and received the win when the race never returned to green flag racing due to rain. Danny Bohn of Huntersville, N.C. is now declared the race leader at the time and is awarded the victory."

   Officials announced that drivers Myers and Brown were moved to the rear of the field in the finish order, both drivers were placed on probation and each was docked 100 points in the modified series standings.


   “Both the decision regarding Lee Jeffreys as well as Burt Myers and Tim Brown are not decisions we take lightly. We talked with many other NASCAR Officials,” said John Horton, NASCAR’s chief steward at Bowman Gray Stadium. “We believe that these penalties will send a message that this is something we can not tolerate.”

   You can watch a video of the incident above. Read a story from the night of the incident here.

NASCAR Chairman Brian France: Race Team Alliance "not necessary"

   NASCAR Chairman Brian France was a guest Monday afternoon on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio with  hosts Dave Moody and Angie Skinner. Among the topics was France's take on the newly formed Race Team Alliance.

   Here is what he said:

   

    France: We didn't think it was necessary and we thought the benefits they would arrive at with this association would be much smaller than they do. They're smart guys and they may figure out some things that we're not aware of. But on balance I would say two things - one, the idea that they don't know how many employees they have or what their costs are and this is a way to tackle that, that's terrific. We certainly want them to get those kinds of answers for sure. The one thing that is central to NASCAR though, is when you deal with one voice, that would probably be the worst thing we could ever do - and that's to listen to one voice, even it was a consensus voice. Every decision that we've ever made that was important, the more input, the more people we heard from, the better the result. So, that will never change in the business model of NASCAR. Good ideas come from all over the place and that's the strength that we have. Our communication has never been better. We just have to keep building on that.

   Q: There's a lot of speculation about the RTA's goals. Do you have any insight?
   France: They're smart guys. They are entitled to approach the business in certain ways. We're going to respect that but, you know, we're going to go down the road dealing with all of the team owners - not most of them, not the big ones, but all of them. That's the best outcome we can get. Whenever we do something and we're working on all kinds of things now, these are never simple things. Drivers, crew chiefs, engineers - we always pick their brains on things because it's not always black or white if we go one way or that way on whether it actually lowers costs or it actually improves racing. The last thing we would want to do is not talk to everybody so where we can find where the truth lies.

   Q: With attorneys now involved, do you still fill comfortable talking to owners who are part of the RTA?
   France: Sure, it's business as usual. We're embarking on some big things.    

   Q: It's clear you are making distinction from individual car owners and the RTA. What is the point of communicating with the RTA via attorneys and vice versa?
   France: I don't want to get too technical with legal mumbo jumbo. That doesn't serve anybody. The reality is we need to deal with the owners directly; that's how we've historically done it. If they think there are some benefits, we may not agree, but we'll certainly respect it.

   Q: Is ultimately the goal of the RTA to negotiate new percentages of the TV deal? Are those percentages set?
   France: They're set. It's the right allocation. Everyone would like to have more - that's natural. We're business as usual. The tracks continue to make big investments in their facilities and they need to rely on the fact it's business as usual in NASCAR. We're focused on building better relationships with team owners all the time.

Who was the most-mentioned NASCAR driver of the first half of the season?

Most Mentioned 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Drivers 

Driver                Interviews

Interview Time

Mentions

Harvick, K.	20	0:17:30	2,533
Johnson, J.	32	0:21:53	2,326
Gordon, J.	21	0:21:09	2,181
Keselowski, B.	24	0:18:21	2,056
Earnhardt, Jr., D.	29	0:26:21	1,950
Logano, J.	17	0:14:29	1,626
Kenseth, M.	17	0:14:19	1,556
Busch, Ky.	20	0:14:46	1,401
Hamlin, D.	13	0:14:41	1,063
Edwards, C.	24	0:17:20	964

Statistics reflect all live race telecasts and replays of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season through the July Daytona race (Race #18).

For more than 25 years, Joyce Julius & Associates has been measuring and evaluating corporate sponsorships from our headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

Tony Stewart wins in his first sprint car race since accident

Tony Stewart is certainly no worse for wear when it comes to racing sprint cars despite an accident almost a year ago that left him with two broken bones in his right leg.

Stewart won the feature at Tri-City Motor Speedway in Auburn, Mich., on Friday night - earning a victory in his first sprint car race since his Aug. 5 accident last season that forced him to miss the final 15 NASCAR Cup series races of 2013.

Early Saturday morning, Stewart posted the following message to his Twitter account:

"If you haven't heard already, I ran my sprint car tonight and won! Felt great to run it again. Was a 2nd place car but had a little luck :)"

In May, Stewart tested in a sprint car at Carolina Speedway in Gastonia.

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.