Could NASCAR's safety solutions have applications to other professional sports?

   As NASCAR begins its investigation into Monday's last-lap wreck during the Coke Zero 400 that tore a giant hole in the frontstretch catchfence at Daytona International Speedway which left five fans injured, it's possible any new solutions that arise could be applied to other professional sports.

   Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's executive vice president and chief racing development officer, was asked Tuesday about the work being done on any 'next-generation' catchfence solutions and whether something new was on the horizon.

   O'Donnell opened the door to searching for new technologies that could be applied to any sport with a playing field.

   "I think the catch fence, first and foremost, is there to obviously keep the car from going through, and I think it did that. I think the next iteration that we would look at, it may not be a fence make, but what are the new technologies that are out there," he said.

   "I think this is an area for all sports to look at, with anything either flying away from a playing field or a racing surface. If we can lead in that area, we want to do just that. I wouldn't make it specific to a fence. There could be a lot of new technologies that we could look at collectively with the tracks to make some improvements in that area."

Fan videos of Monday morning's horrific crash at Daytona

   Here's a collection of videos taken from fans in the grandstands at Daytona International Speedway of the last-lap crash in Monday's rain-delayed Coke Zero 400:

   

Rico Abreu scores his first NASCAR victory

  Rico Abreu made a name for himself wheeling an open-wheel car on dirt. It hasn’t taken long to get acclimated to stock car racing on asphalt.

 

   In only his seventh start, the 23-year-old from St. Helena, Calif., earned his first NASCAR win Saturday night in the K&N Pro Series East race at Columbus (Ohio) Motor Speedway. Abreu, who stands 4-foot-4, was born with achondroplasia, a genetic disorder that is a cause of dwarfism.

   With his victory in the NAPA 150, Abreu continues his breakout year that saw him with the prestigious Chili Bowl Nationals sprint car event, make his first stock car start in February, sign with HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks and win his first Coors Light Pole Award in the previous K&N Pro Series East event at Langley Speedway.

   Abreu captured his second Coors Light Pole Award in a row earlier in the evening at Columbus, but it was the decisive pass for the lead that he made on Lap 115 that ultimately delivered his first victory. Abreu just beat Grant Quinlan to the finish line. In his K&N Pro Series East debut, Quinlan battled for – and swapped – the lead eight times with Abreu throughout the 150-lap event. 

   Abreu is following the path that his friend and fellow Californian Kyle Larson – now a full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitor – took in transitioning from dirt to asphalt. Larson’s first NASCAR victory came in his sixth career K&N Pro Series East start in 2012 en route to the championship that season.

   William Byron, who finished 14th Saturday, retained the championship lead by 20 points over Hill with seven races complete.

   The NAPA 150 will be telecast on NBC Sports Network on Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Brian France on franchising: 'It's in our best interest to have healthy team owners'

  Could some form of franchising be in NASCAR's not-so-distant future?
  
   In an appearance Wednesday afternoon on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NASCAR Chairman Brian France seemed to open the door to some sort of franchising model for NASCAR teams that would provide invested team owners with equity outside of the car parts and machine tools that fill their respective shops.

   Asked by Sirius host Dave Moody for his take on the status of talks on the issue, France said, "It's in our best interest to have healthy team owners who have the best opportunity to field quality race teams. That's a goal that we've had for a long time. That remains. In any way we can do to benefit that business model and create more opportunities for ownership, for example, whatever we may be, all of those things are what are being discussed. It's not a new direction. We are taking a little bit more of a formal look at that. Whatever we can come up with that benefits our team owners, their business models and creates a healthier and more competitive NASCAR, that's in our best interest."

   Asked how far along the talks are, France said, "These are complicated matters. They aren't new. What is different a little bit is that we're formalizing these discussions so we can accelerate these ideas. Directionally, in our best interests of course to make sure our team owners are healthy. They've said they have a lot of challenges right now. We're listening to that because they are one of the most important stakeholders in NASCAR."
 

NASCAR Chairman Brian France supports 'eradication of the Confederate flag'

Statement from Brian France, NASCAR Chairman & CEO

   DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 27, 2015) – “NASCAR will maintain its long-standing policy preventing the use of the Confederate Flag in any official position at our events. In all areas that NASCAR controls on a given race weekend, the flag has no presence. 

   “We have been clear in support of this position throughout our industry and to those across the country who have called for the eradication of the Confederate Flag. We will be as aggressive as possible to disassociate NASCAR events from an offensive and divisive symbol. We are working with the industry right now to achieve that goal.”

Jeff Gordon on Confederate flag: 'I support NASCAR.'

   Jeff Gordon, who grew up in Northern California, will make his final start of his NASCAR career in Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. On Friday, Gordon was asked about his reaction to NASCAR's statement this week that it supported the efforts of S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley and others to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse.

   “As far as the confederate flag I think that… I know how we approach it at Hendrick Motorsports and that is everything that we can control. We have eliminated the ability to use it in anyway or it show up in any of the things that we are involved with.  I think that is the stance I see that NASCAR has taken and have had that stance for several years," Gordon said.

   "To me I’m in support of what they are doing. It’s a delicate balance. We race all over, but the South is an area where we have a lot of fans. Everyone has different opinions and expression of that. I support NASCAR and the stance that they are taking.”

NASCAR's Jeff Gordon makes a 'homecoming tour' stop in Northern California

   Before competing in next weekend's Sprint Cup Series race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon and his family made a stop on Saturday in Northern California as part of his "homecoming tour."

   Gordon, who grew up in Vallejo, Calif., was joined by his wife, Ingrid, daughter, Ella and son, Leo, and first made a stop at the Rio Linda quarter-midget track where Gordon first raced, as well as the middle school he attended in Vallejo. 

   Gordon announced at the beginning of the year this would be his last as a fulltime competitor in the Cup series. He will begin work next season as a TV analyst for NASCAR on Fox TV. 

 

   “When you look around Rio Linda, this is really where Jeff got his start, and this is where he came from,” said Gordon, stepfather, John Bickford. “Now, he’s like the ambassador for this sport. Becoming a professional driver is what all of these kids want to do. Every one of these kids racing quarter-midgets today wants to race in Indianapolis or the Daytona 500 someday, and he achieved that.”

   Gordon and his family toured the 61-year old facility, visited with young racers and took part in pre-race ceremonies. It marked the first time Gordon had visited the facility in more than 30 years. His daughter, Ella, is in the early stages of her own quarter-midget racing career.

   “Rio Linda was the first place that I ever drove a race car on the track, and I won a lot of races there and made a lot of friends. I don’t know what life would be like for me today if it weren’t for Rio Linda,” said Gordon.

   Gordon also paid a visit to the former Springstowne Middle School (now Vallejo Charter School) in Vallejo, which he attended. Gordon was born in Vallejo and lived in Northern California until he was 14 years old. He was welcomed by nearly 200 students and their families for a question-and-answer session in the quad of the middle school. 

   Gordon was also presented with proclamations and gifts from U.S. Congressman Mike Thompson (Calif. 5th Congressional District), Solano County Supervisor Erin Hannigan, Vallejo Vice Mayor “Jess” Malgapo and Vallejo City Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Ramona Bishop.