Statement from Shell-Pennzoil on Kurt Busch

   Shell Pennzoil released the following statement on Friday evening in light of NASCAR's decision to penalize driver Kurt Busch.

   “Shell and Pennzoil are disappointed with recent actions by driver, Kurt Busch, at the final race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race season. His actions are in no way consistent with the way we want our brands represented and we have expressed our disappointment and concerns directly to Penske Racing.”

NASCAR fines Kurt Busch $50,000

NASCAR Fines Kurt Busch For Actions At Homestead-Miami Speedway

November 25, 2011

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 25, 2011) – NASCAR has fined Kurt Busch $50,000 for his actions during the Nov. 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

 

   NASCAR determined that Kurt Busch violated Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing – inappropriate hand gesture; abusive language) of the 2011 NASCAR Rule Book.

 

   In issuing the penalty, NASCAR cited Kurt Busch's "poor judgment in making an inappropriate hand gesture" when he drove his car into the garage early in the race after it experienced transmission problems. In addition, NASCAR said Kurt Busch showed "disrespect towards a media member," an incident that followed similar inappropriate media confrontations earlier in the season.

RCR makes crew chief change official

    Richard Childress Racing formally announced on Wednesday new roles for Shane Wilson and Gil Martin in prepartion for the 2012 NASCAR season.

   As the Observer first reported on Friday, Wilson is the new crew chief of the No. 29 Chevrolet team and driver Kevin Harvick. Wilson spent the past three seasons with RCR's No. 33 team. He replaces Martin, the No. 29's crew chief since May 2009. Martin has been named director of team operations, reporting to director of competition Kent Day.

   "Kevin came to me after the Phoenix race a couple weeks ago and asked for a change in the leadership of his team for the 2012 season," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. "The expectations at RCR are to win championships so the decision was made to move Shane Wilson to the No. 29.

   "Shane did a great job for RCR in the Nationwide Series when he first got here, and built on that success the past three seasons with our No. 33 team, so we feel he will continue do a great job with the No. 29 team."

   This is not the first time Wilson and Harvick have worked together. They joined forces in 2006 to earn 10 wins, 24 top-five and 31 top-10 finishes on the way to that season's NASCAR Nationwide Series championship. The team's 824-point margin of victory is a series record.

   "Shane is a good friend of mine and we had a lot of success together in the NASCAR Nationwide Series," said Harvick. "He has a lot of experience now in the Sprint Cup Series and I look forward to working with him again."

   Further personnel changes within RCR's competition department will be announced in the coming weeks.

Who scored most points in the Chase?

   It should come as no surprise Tony Stewart scored the most points in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, coming out with a scant three-point advantage over runner-up Carl Edwards. Stewart won his third Cup title in a tiebreaker over Edwards.

   The surprise was two drivers not in the Chase - Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer - ranked in the top five of points scored in the last 10 races.

   Here's a look at the top five:  

2011 Chase Points
Starting Driver	Points
Tony Stewart	403
Carl Edwards	400
Kasey Kahne	368
Kevin Harvick	333
Clint Bowyer	328

2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule

2012 NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES SCHEDULE

Date Site Network

2/24 Daytona International Speedway SPEED

3/31 Martinsville Speedway SPEED

4/15 Rockingham Speedway SPEED

4/21 Kansas Speedway SPEED

5/18 Charlotte Motor Speedway SPEED

6/1 Dover International Speedway SPEED

6/8 Texas Motor Speedway SPEED

6/28 Kentucky Speedway SPEED

7/14 Iowa Speedway SPEED

7/21 Chicagoland Speedway SPEED

8/4 Pocono Raceway SPEED

8/18 Michigan International Speedway SPEED

8/22 Bristol Motor Speedway SPEED

8/31 Atlanta Motor Speedway SPEED

9/15 Iowa Speedway SPEED

9/21 Kentucky Speedway SPEED

10/6 Talladega Superspeedway SPEED

10/13 Las Vegas Motor Speedway SPEED

10/27 Martinsville Speedway SPEED

11/2 Texas Motor Speedway SPEED

11/9 Phoenix International Raceway SPEED

11/16 Homestead-Miami Speedway SPEED

Dale Junior's thoughts on a No. 3 car in the Sprint Cup Series

   On Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was asked what he thought if three or four years down the road Austin Dillon, who will drive the No. 3 Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series next season, wanted to move to the Cup series and drive the No. 3.

   A No. 3 car has not appeared in a Cup series race since Dale Earnhardt Sr. was killed in a last-lap wreck in the 2001 Daytona 500.

   Dillon, the grandson of Earnhardt Sr.'s team owner Richard Childress, won the 2011 Truck series championship on Friday night.

   "I just look at it differently. I don’t look at the numbers tied to drivers as much as just the history of the number. The number is more of a bank, you know, that you just deposit history into. It doesn’t really belong to any individual. Austin’s ran that number and you can’t really deny him the opportunity to continue to run it. It just wouldn’t be fair," Earnhardt Jr. said.

   "Dad (Dale Earnhardt Sr.) did great things. He was a great ambassador for the sport and we’re still as a whole, reaping the benefits of all he accomplished and what he did that put us in front of a lot of people. But even before that, the number was Richard’s. Richard drove it. And someone else drove it before then. There’s a lot of guys in the fifties and sixties that ran that number with success. So the number is really kind of like a bank and you deposit history into and they don’t really belong to the individuals.

   "It’s iconic when you put the colors and the style with it; it’s a little bit iconic to the sport. Austin is a good kid. He seems to have a great appreciation for what’s happening to him and what’s going on around him. And I would be happy if he wanted to keep doing that. He kind of had to know when he first started to run that number if he got this far into the deal, he would have to cross a few bridges like that and that was a tough decision I guess at first to start running the number for him; knowing what kind of pressures he might face down the road. But I think it would be fine by me for him to do that. I think that it’s got to get back on the race track one of these days.

   "It just can’t be gone forever you know?”

Kyle Petty on NASCAR secret fines

   SPEED analyst Kyle Petty shared his views regarding NASCAR's practice of punishing drivers for what it deems to be publicly disparaging remarks about the sport.  

   Do you agree or disagree with the practice of NASCAR imposing secret fines o n drivers?

   Petty: “I definitely, strongly disagree with the practice of imposing secret fines on drivers or anyone in the sport. If you’re going to fine an athlete in any sport for something that a sanctioning body perceives as derogatory to the sport in any way, it’s because they obviously made a public comment. And if it’s so derogatory and it’s publicly made, then it should carry a public fine and be publicly reprimanded. I definitely disagree with the secrecy here.”

   Do you think secret fines compromise the sanctioning body’s credibility?

   Petty: “I think it infringes on NASCAR’s credibility a bit. As a fan watching the sport, how do you know what these guys are being told, what they’re being fined for, what is being said behind closed doors? You don’t know. When drivers begin to talk and say things, you wonder if those thoughts are their true feelings or if it’s just political speak and something they’ve been told to say. At the same time, I totally agree with NASCAR that competitors should not slam the sport. It’s our sport, it’s a sport we all try to build and that we all try to build up. But I don’t see where Brad (Keselowski) said anything against the sport itself. He just said he didn’t like EFI (electronic fuel injection).”