ESPN will try 'split screen' in NASCAR Chase races

NASCAR fans are going to see more racing than ever on their TVs this season.

ESPN on Tuesday announced its telecasts of the 10 Chase for the Sprint Cup races will use "NASCAR NonStop," a commercial format that will bring more racing action to viewers.

ESPN's commercial breaks will feature a split-screen format - showing the advertisement on the left side of the screen and racing on the right.

ESPN's scoring ticker also will continue to move across the top of the screen, allowing fans to follow the running order during the breaks.

"I've watched the format on the open-wheel races for years, I think we all have. I'm not sure if it will move the meter to bring more fans in, but I think for the dedicated fans watching you don't want to see the breaks, you want to the race continue," said five-time reigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

"I think it's a great perk and should be really helpful for our fan base during the Chase races."

NASCAR NonStop will take effect at or near the halfway point of the race, with the first half of the race presented in the traditional commercial-break format.

"Since we returned to NASCAR racing in 2007, one of the most common questions from our fans has been 'Why don't you do the commercials side-by-side?'" said John Skipper, ESPN executive vice president of content.

"We're very pleased to be able to do it now with NASCAR NonStop and showcase the advertiser while still showcasing the race."

During Sunday's Cup series telecast from Dover, Del., Fox used a split-screen format for the first time, for its final commercial break. The move was praised by fans.

Skipper said ESPN worked with NASCAR to create the new format and that the change had been planned for months.

"ESPN's NonStop format will ensure our fans maximize their viewing experience during the most intense and thrilling time of the season - the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup," said Paul Brooks, president of NASCAR Media Group.

The final 17 races of the Cup will be televised on ESPN networks, with 14 on ESPN and three Saturday night races - including the October Chase race at Charlotte Motor Speedway - on ABC.

Roush plans to test Bayne before his return to NASCAR

   Roush Fenway Racing plans to test driver Trevor Bayne this week in preparation for what it hopes is his return to the race track at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

   Bayne, 20, entered the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., two weeks ago to undergo tests for symptoms originally thought to have been related to an insect bite for which he was hospitalized briefly last month.

   He was released last week still receiving treatment for blurred vision - the result, doctors said, of an “inflammatory condition.” He has missed the last three Nationwide Series races.

   "I can't say definitely (Bayne will return at Charlotte) because I don't have the right pay grade and education for that but he is making progress and his symptoms are by and large gone," said team owner Jack Roush.

   "His blurred vision is by and large gone but we are going to take him to Gresham (Motorsports Park) in Georgia to give him some laps to see if he is comfortable and then report back to the doctors and NASCAR to see what they think."

   Roush officials said earlier this week they hoped Bayne would be able to compete in next Saturday's Sprint All Star Race at Charlotte as well as the Nationwide race in Iowa.

   Bayne qualified for the all-star race by winning the season-opening Daytona 500, driving the No. 21 Ford for the Wood Brothers.

Furniture Row Racing: NASCAR's version of the Denver Broncos

   Regan Smith received a lot of attention from the media and fans for his surprise win in last Saturday's Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. His Furniture Row Racing team, which is headquartered in Denver, Colo., didn't go unnoticed, either.

   On Thursday, team owner Barney Visser received a congratulatory phone call from Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. The following message was posted on the governor's Twitter account on Thursday: "Gov. Hickenlooper today called Furniture Row team owner Barney Visser to congratulate the team on the big win last week. Well done! #nascar"

   Smith was asked Friday at Dover about the recognition he and his team has received in Colorado.

   "We’ve worked very hard within Colorado to say hey, we’re Denver’s and Colorado’s race team and to have the governor call is neat. That means a lot to us. Denver has really kind of taken us under their arm and it’s been really neat to see what the media out there has done," he said. "They certainly give us attention like they would give the Broncos or the Avalanche and I wouldn’t have guessed that’s how that would go for when I first went to work for Furniture Row Racing.

   "It's been neat to see. We talked with them all throughout the off-season and the start of this year and I was out there three weeks ago. And they said well, we’ve been qualifying good, when’s the first win going to come? And we kept saying we’ve got fast race cars, we just need to focus on finishing them off and getting top 10’s. So to get to take the trophy back and show it off there is meaningful and to have the governor call is really cool.”

Dale Jr.'s take on NASCAR probation

   While unveiling the new giant HDTV at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Tuesday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was asked about a variety of topics, including his take on NASCAR probation.

   Both Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch were fined $25,000 and placed on probation through June 15 for their post race altercation on pit road following Saturday night's Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

   With many race fans - and media - still wondering exactly what probation means, Earnhardt weighed in as well:

   “Probation doesn’t change the way you drive, because you’re still going to drive hard, and you’re still going to race as hard as you can. It’s obvious when things are intentional and things aren’t. As far I understand it, if you go out there and race hard … and say they get into the same situation that happened before the checkered flag (at Darlington) - I don’t think anything would happen to them. But if they go out of the box and do things that are detrimental, then I think the probation becomes a problem. When you’re a driver, you’re cognizant of that," he said.

   "You can still race hard and get in your fair share of scrape-ups on the race track, when you’re racing. That’s part of the race in-between flags, but it’s the kind of things that happen after the race that I guess they don’t like.

     “Probation works as it’s intended to work. I think that NASCAR wants you to do whatever you think you’re capable of doing in between the flags. They’ve really went to penalize someone for anything that happened between the green and the checkered flag. It’s always everything that happened after that. They’re not going to come and do a judgment call on what happened on the race track. There’s too many variables involved, and the drivers are there now to police themselves during that period."

NASCAR penalizes Harvick, Busch

   NASCAR released the following penalty announcement this morning:

   NASCAR has penalized NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick as a result of rules infractions committed at last weekend’s event at Darlington Raceway.
  
   Busch, driver of the No. 18 car, and Harvick, driver of the No. 29 car, have each been fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation for the next four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points events until June 15 for violating Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing – involved in an altercation on pit road after the conclusion of the race).
   
   “These penalties are a result of what occurred on pit road after the race was over,” said Kerry Tharp, Senior Director for Communications, Competition. “They are about maintaining a safe environment on pit road.”

North Wilkesboro closes yet again

   Speedway Associates Inc., which has been leasing historic North Wilkesboro Speedway the past 1 1/2 years, announced on Monday night it was shutting down operations at the track.

   “We lined up some great events. However, even though we can project positive income from events at the speedway, we do not have the money needed on the front end to make those events happen," Speedway Associates Inc. President Alton McBride Jr. said.

   "In spite of our complete investment in the speedway and in this community, we have run out of money necessary to go forward."

   Speedway Associates took over operation of the 5/8ths mile track in November 2009. The track had closed following the fall Cup series race in 1996. From Labor Day weekend 2010 through the 2011 season-opening Pro All-Star Series race, there were six large and more than a dozen small successful events held at the track.

   "In just 1½ years, SAI's fantastic team returned this wonderful, historic track to its rightful place as the most popular place for past and present industry icons to come and feel the history that was being kept alive by those who carry this speedway in their heart," McBride said.

  

Kyle Busch provides blow-by-blow of Darlington postrace

   Kyle Busch was very willing to discuss the aftermath of Saturday night's Southern 500 and  his run-in with Kevin Harvick. After tangling on the track, the drivers took their feud to pit road.

   Both drivers were called to the NASCAR hauler for a discussion of their postrace actions. Here is Busch's description of the events:

   “After the race I was just kind of cooling down and talking to Dave (Rogers, crew chief) on the radio about that I wanted to talk to him in the hauler about something and I see the (Kevin) Harvick car -- the 29 come up flying up on my inside through three and four. Instead of going to pit road I thought he was going to force me into the inside of the pit road wall so I gave myself a little bit of room and turned up to go back up onto the race track like I would for another cool down lap and he followed me. When he pulled up next to me, I tried to back up. I put my car in reverse and tried to back up and I blew reverse out of the transmission. I tried to back up too fast and the transmission gears are so light that they can’t take that kind of abuse. Blew reverse out so then I had to pull forward and kind of do a U-turn to get back to pit road.

   "I was just trying to get away from the situation with Harvick and unfortunately he got to pit road before me so I pulled in behind him. He let the 47 (Bobby Labonte) go, but I knew if I tried to turn left or right he was going to run into me or block me or something. I just stayed behind him, I was just going to sit there, not worry about it and let him cool his head for a second and let him figure out that we just need to go back to the garage area. Instead of him doing that, he wanted to get out of his car I guess and wanted to fight. I knew that wasn’t going to be a good situation and when I saw him getting out of his car, I knew it wasn’t going to be a good situation.

   "My choices were limited, I was either going to get punched in the face and then wait for Harvick to get back in his car for me to go or just drive through his car and push it out of the way so I could get out of there and try not to get hit or anything like that. I made a judgment call there and it wasn’t one of the best choices that I had, but I pushed his car out of the way on pit road and unfortunately there was men walking down pit road. I hate it that somebody could have gotten hurt, but I was just trying to get away from it and get back to my hauler and go on with my own business.”