Statement from Kentucky Speedway on traffic problems on Saturday night

July 9, 2011

Statement from Kentucky Speedway General Manager Mark Simendinger regarding traffic for the “Quaker State 400”

We’ve had an overwhelming response to our inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series “Quaker State 400.” We know we had challenges related to traffic. We’re already planning improvements and looking forward to a much better situation for next year’s event.

Johnson faces off with Junior Nation

   In the hours following last Saturday night's Sprint Cup race at Daytona International Speedway, Jimmie Johnson got deluged with comments on his Twitter account from Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans angry Johnson left Earnhardt alone on the track on the final laps while he pit for fuel.

   Earnhardt and Johnson had worked together in a two-car drafting tandem virtually the entire race but Johnson's crew chief, Chad Knaus, elected to have Johnson pit for fuel on a late caution for fear Johnson wouldn't last if the race went to multiple green-white-checkered restarts.

   Earnhardt fans perceived a slight and several criticized Johnson after the race. He seemed to get irritated with a few while attempting to respond to some of the comments.

   On Friday, Johnson was asked if he was surprised by the reaction of fans.

   “In some respects, but as time went on and the more I checked in on Twitter, I saw a lot of support from his fans. In the beginning there was plenty of creative messages on there for me. As time went on and I was really impressed and appreciate the support from Junior Nation and then also my fan base defending me and it still at the end of the day, every fan is entitled to their own opinion," Johnson said.

   "There are different things that exist inside the garage area and a different reality than people see. It’s been fun. It was my first real experience to how active social media can be following a race.”

Martin not interested in team ownership

   NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Mark Martin joined Dave Despain Sunday night on "Wind Tunnel" and during the course of his appearance said he is not interested in becoming a NASCAR team owner once he concludes his career with Hendrick Motorsports.

   Despain: Do you want to be an owner in NASCAR?
   Martin: “No, Dave, I don’t. I am very interested and would love to commit to Jay Frye (Red Bull Racing vice president and general manager) and that organization to help Jay move forward and rebuild that organization in all forms. There‘s a lot of things I want to do in the sport still, including driving race cars, and outside of driving race cars. But as an equity owner, I can’t see it happening anywhere. I’m not interested in doing that.”

   Despain: So, what are you interested in doing outside race cars?
   Martin: “I just think that I’ve got something to offer to a race team. I love racing and I love NASCAR. I’ve done it ever since I was 15 years old. I thought in 2005 that I wanted to go home and sit on the couch for the rest of my life. That’s not the case … it seemed like a good idea at the time and I tried that. But I know what I want to do. I want to be a part of the sport that I love so much and all the people. Driving race cars is cool. My time is somewhat limited in that area and there are other things I can do to help race teams. I can bring something to the table. I’m interested in getting an opportunity to do that. I’m really excited about 2012 and opening a new chapter in my life. 

   "I’ve had the time of my life being part of Hendrick Motorsports. I’ve won eight or nine poles and five races, all big bonuses to what I’d expected when I was sitting looking at things in 2008. I’ve had the time of my life but it’s time to open the next chapter and I’m really excited about it. I couldn’t be more excited about what comes next and I’m not sure what that is. But it’s going to be fun and I’m looking forward to it."

   Despain: How interested are you in having driving be at least a component of what package you put together? Is it important to you to still be in the seat at some level next year or are you comfortable with the idea that you might not be doing that?

   Martin: “Dave, I’m comfortable with the idea but all anybody in the garage wants to talk to me about is driving their stuff. So, for me to be involved in racing, it’s more likely that it will be in the driving part than anything else. I’m cool with it. On a good day, I still can hold my own out there on the race track but it’s not that important to me. What’s important to me is being a part of the sport and being a part of something that’s successful. Winning races is really, really awesome and I’d like to drive something that I can win races in, but also a great challenge is helping a race team who is not on that level try to creep toward that level also is a great challenge for me and something that I would look forward to, too. There are all kind of different things out there. 

 

   "This is going to be a crazy silly season. We’re going to be faced with the toughest year economically, I think, in 2012 that we’ve ever been faced with and I think there are going to be a lot of challenges. I think the silly season really is going to go down to the last part of the year. It may be November, December before I know exactly what it is that I’m doing and I’m fine with that because, like I said before, I do this because I love it and not because I need a job.”

Scott Speed obtains lien on Red Bull property in North Carolina

    Former Red Bull Racing driver Scott Speed has obtained an order of attachment against his former employer, placing a lien on the organization’s real property in North Carolina until Speed’s lawsuit against the team is resolved.

    The order was served Tuesday of this week and such orders can be issued only in very limited circumstances in North Carolina.

    The order covers the Red Bull shop itself in Mooresville, N.C., and the property on which it sits, which was purchased for approximately $3.3 million.  

   After he was fired as one of the team’s drivers in the Sprint Cup Series, Speed sued Red Bull in December for breach of contract and sought damages of at least $6.5 million. In March, a N.C. judge denied Red Bull’s request to dismiss the suit.

   A discovery motion in Speed’s case is scheduled to be heard 10 a.m. on July 11 in Iredell County Superior Court in Statesville, N.C.

   William Bray, Speed’s attorney in the case, said his client sought the order because of Red Bull’s recent announcement that it was looking to end its ownership role in NASCAR at the end of the 2011 season.

   “It certainly appears to us looking at the many options Red Bull has discussed that one of them may well entail the sale of its assets,” Bray said. "We’re simply trying to ensure Scott is able to collect should his lawsuit prevail.”

   Red Bull can attempt to contest the order, but as of Friday had not done so.

  
   Through a spokesperson, the team said it would not comment on any pending litigation.

  
   Speed spent seven years with the Red Bull organization, driving for the team in Formula One in 2006 and 2007 and in the Automobile Racing Club of America and NASCAR Trucks series in 2008 as he prepared for a full-time move to the Cup series.

   Speed finished 35th in the Cup standings in 2009 and 30th last season. In 76 series starts, he had one top-five and three top-10 finishes.

Dale Jr. would rather look out for No. 1

   It's no secret Dale Earnhardt Jr. is no fan of the new two-car drafting tandems that currently dominate the racing at Daytona and Talladega. He has said many times that he preferred racing in the large pack of cars to having to depend on another driver for much of the race in hopes both get a good outcome.

   On Friday at Daytona International Speedway, Earnhardt expanded a little on his reasoning, basically indicating that the two-car drafts goes against what he believes is the bottom line in racing - looking out for No. 1.

   “I’d rather have control of my own destiny and be able to go out there and race and just do my own work and worry about my own self. It’s really weird and kinda wrong on some levels to race that way and to think like you think. You take care of somebody and you feel this obligation to take care of them and then worry about having them take care of you and how that makes them feel," he said.

   "Been growing up all these years racin’ for number one-lookin’ out for number one. Doing my job. This is what I need to do. I need to do this to get up through the pack. This is how my car drives and now you are doing it so different. Your thought process and everything you think about during the race is nothing near that. It is just different and weird. It won’t be like that forever I assume and hopefully I am alive and still racin’ when it goes back to the way it was because I just really enjoy lookin’ out for number one, man.

   "If you had a car that drive up through there and you were smart about drafting and knew what you were doing, you could make some cool things happen and that was pretty fun.”

Replay Trevor Bayne's surprising Daytona 500 win

   Race fans can re-live Trevor Bayne's upset win in the 2011 Daytona 500 and get a glimpse of never-before-aired footage by watching a NASCAR Media Group-produced special on Thursday night.

   The one-hour documentary, titled "Daytona 500: The Inside Story," will air on Discovery's HD Theater at 9 p.m. Eastern.

   The show includes highlights from the week of tributes to the late Dale Earnhardt, who died in a last-lap wreck in the race 10 years earlier, as well as Bayne's improbable victory which made him the youngest winner in the history of the event.

  

Hard liquor about to hit the NASCAR sponsorship road

   What was once a sponsorship boon in NASCAR appears set to disappear.

   When NASCAR lifted its long-standing ban on hard liquor sponsors beginning with the 2005 season, it produced an influx of several lucrative deals from Jack Daniels, Jim Beam and Crown Royal, among others.

   On Tuesday, Diageo, the parent company of Crown Royal, announced it was ending its sponsorship relationships with NASCAR and Roush Fenway Racing's No. 17 team driven by Matt Kenseth following the 2011 season.

   Crown Royal is the last remaining hard liquor sponsor in the Sprint Cup Series following the infusion of new sponsors six years ago.

   "We have developed strong relationships with the people at both organizations - they have not only been fantastic business partners, but have also become our friends. We thank them for working with us throughout the years to showcase the importance of our social responsibility initiatives," said Yvonne Briese, vice president of marketing for Diageo.

   "We look forward to a strong finish to the 2011 season and like the many fans we’ve gained along the way, we’ll never stop rooting for the No. 17 car on its way to Victory Lane."

   Prior to the 2005 season, NASCAR teams were allowed to advertise beer and malt beverages such as Smirnoff Ice but not hard liquor. The ban was in place in part because of an agreement then among major television networks to turn down hard-liquor commercials.