Humpy Wheeler, president of The Wheeler Company and former president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, offered his thoughts on NASCAR's recent announcement it was looking at changing its Top 35 rule in qualifying. He also offered his own idea to make qualifying relevant again.
"It is interesting that NASCAR is looking at qualifying and they certainly should. Up until a decade ago qualifying at many tracks was a big deal. Years ago qualifying took place as early as Wednesday to bolster ticket sales. That was eliminated and most places it was shoved to Friday and sometimes Saturday. It has become a nonentity for a track as far as revenue is concerned," he said.
"Just 15 years ago at the height we sold more than 30-40,000 tickets for the pole. We ran four laps and made a big deal out of it and then had a race afterwards. It gave a lot of less fortunate race fans a chance to go the speedway because ticket prices were low. There was also a lot of cheap betting on the pole. Indy 500 pole day drew in excess of 100,000. Last May there were probably less than a tenth of that. Track operators and the sanctioning bodies let the competitors talk them into late qualifying and one lap and guaranteed starting positions. This took all the drama out of it.
"Can it become what it once was? Like many things in racing we have lost, it will take a lot of creativity and work…along with time to ever bring it back. What we should do is qualify in four 15 minute sessions. Ten cars are given 15 minutes to hit the track. They can all go out together or by themselves. Fastest car wins the session. At the end of the four sessions let the four fastest either race each other four laps or qualify again to determine the pole. Let 'em race…that would bring it back!"
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Keselowski's take on Sadler's NASCAR penalty
Elliott Sadler grabbed the lead on a late-race restart in Saturday's inaugural Nationwide Series race at Indianapolis but NASCAR soon black-flagged him for jumping the restart. His chance at the win and another $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus disappeared. As did most of his lead in the series standings over teammate Austin Dillon.
Brad Keselowski was the race leader on that restart. He spun his tires on the restart and was getting a push from behind by Penske Racing teammate Sam Hornish Jr. and Sadler crossed the line before he did.
Keselowski's take on the incident:
“It happened really fast and I don’t have a complete picture of what happened. So, it’s hard for me to make a statement about it. I can tell you my perception of it was I got a push from Sam and it was a little more than I could take. And certainly I wasn’t going full-throttle but I was not in the zone when Elliott (Sadler) took off. It appeared that Elliott got a push from behind as well and maybe he just couldn’t slow down, I don’t know. I don’t know how it all played out," he said.
"I think NASCAR has made it a point to say that they’re not going to measure down to a millimeter on who beats who to the restart line. They just want it to be close and fair. It was obvious that Elliott beat us by more than that. That’s NASCAR’s call as far as how it all worked out in the box and so forth. It’s very difficult to say from my view and I’d like to see a full replay to kind of verify some of the things that I saw. Obviously, NASCAR saw something they didn’t like and made a call accordingly. That’s their job.”
Brad Keselowski was the race leader on that restart. He spun his tires on the restart and was getting a push from behind by Penske Racing teammate Sam Hornish Jr. and Sadler crossed the line before he did.
Keselowski's take on the incident:
“It happened really fast and I don’t have a complete picture of what happened. So, it’s hard for me to make a statement about it. I can tell you my perception of it was I got a push from Sam and it was a little more than I could take. And certainly I wasn’t going full-throttle but I was not in the zone when Elliott (Sadler) took off. It appeared that Elliott got a push from behind as well and maybe he just couldn’t slow down, I don’t know. I don’t know how it all played out," he said.
"I think NASCAR has made it a point to say that they’re not going to measure down to a millimeter on who beats who to the restart line. They just want it to be close and fair. It was obvious that Elliott beat us by more than that. That’s NASCAR’s call as far as how it all worked out in the box and so forth. It’s very difficult to say from my view and I’d like to see a full replay to kind of verify some of the things that I saw. Obviously, NASCAR saw something they didn’t like and made a call accordingly. That’s their job.”
Friday, July 27, 2012
Helio Castroneves to return to "Dancing with the Stars"
Castroneves won Season Five of “Dancing with the Stars” in 2007 with professional dance partner Julianne Hough, as the Team Penske driver defeated former Spice Girls member Melanie Brown in the finale. Using a memorable yellow suit and Brazilian flair, Castroneves captured the surprising victory as he wowed the millions of fans of the popular show with both his moves and his infectious personality.
In his 13th year with Team Penske in 2012, Castroneves is enjoying one of his best seasons on the track as he battles for the IndyCar Series championship. Through 11 races, Castroneves is ranked second in the standings after earning a victory at Edmonton last weekend. In his IndyCar career, Castroneves has 27 victories, 37 poles and has led 4,729 laps.
"I'm excited to return to ‘Dancing with the Stars,’” said Castroneves. “Winning the ‘Mirror Ball’ trophy was an unbelievable experience and I’m very honored that the show has asked me back to compete again this season. I know it’s going to be a lot of hard work, but also a lot of fun. I can’t wait to start dancing again!”
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Johnson leads NASCAR media exposure this season
No driver has been mentioned more often on television, interviewed more
frequently, or collected more exposure value for their sponsors in the first half of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season than Jimmie
Johnson.
According to research conducted by Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc. — which has monitored every NASCAR race telecast over the last 28 seasons — Johnson's sponsors as a group appeared for 13 hours, 10 minutes, 46 seconds during live and replayed telecasts of the season's first 18 points-paying races. When also factoring in verbal mentions (82) of his sponsors, $45.3 million of in-broadcast exposure value was amassed by the 43 brands monitored in association with Johnson.
Joyce Julius calculates television exposure value by comparing the in-broadcast visual and verbal exposure to the estimated cost of a national commercial during the telecast and applying Joyce Julius Recognition Grading, which takes into account factors such as size and placement of the image on screen, as well as brand clutter and integration of the brand into the activity.
Rounding out the top-five in media exposure value were Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle.
According to research conducted by Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc. — which has monitored every NASCAR race telecast over the last 28 seasons — Johnson's sponsors as a group appeared for 13 hours, 10 minutes, 46 seconds during live and replayed telecasts of the season's first 18 points-paying races. When also factoring in verbal mentions (82) of his sponsors, $45.3 million of in-broadcast exposure value was amassed by the 43 brands monitored in association with Johnson.
Joyce Julius calculates television exposure value by comparing the in-broadcast visual and verbal exposure to the estimated cost of a national commercial during the telecast and applying Joyce Julius Recognition Grading, which takes into account factors such as size and placement of the image on screen, as well as brand clutter and integration of the brand into the activity.
Rounding out the top-five in media exposure value were Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
What's next for A.J. Allmendinger
Now that Sprint Cup Series driver A.J. Allmendinger has been indefinitely suspended for failing a random drug test, what happens next?
Well, it's really up to the driver.
NASCAR spokesman David Higdon explains the next steps:
"Under section 19-11F in our rule book, NASCAR facilitates assistance for anyone testing positive under our substance abuse program. When a license is suspended, NASCAR sends a letter for reinstatement. By agreeing to the terms of the letter, the member is allowed to participate in the Road to Recovery Program," he said.
"The Program Administrator will work with the suspended member to arrange evaluation by a substance abuse professional. This evaluation helps the PA create a road map leading to a return to competition. This plan may include everything from counseling to in‐house treatment and rehabilitation. Additional testing is also required, and the Program Administrator will decide how often the member will be tested, for what and under what conditions.
"Once the member successfully completes the plan, the PA will send a letter to NASCAR recommending reinstatement."
One caveat. Allmendinger can be reinstated but there is no guarantee he can return to the ride he left, driving the No. 22 Dodge for Penske Racing. That would be up to the team.
Well, it's really up to the driver.
NASCAR spokesman David Higdon explains the next steps:
"Under section 19-11F in our rule book, NASCAR facilitates assistance for anyone testing positive under our substance abuse program. When a license is suspended, NASCAR sends a letter for reinstatement. By agreeing to the terms of the letter, the member is allowed to participate in the Road to Recovery Program," he said.
"The Program Administrator will work with the suspended member to arrange evaluation by a substance abuse professional. This evaluation helps the PA create a road map leading to a return to competition. This plan may include everything from counseling to in‐house treatment and rehabilitation. Additional testing is also required, and the Program Administrator will decide how often the member will be tested, for what and under what conditions.
"Once the member successfully completes the plan, the PA will send a letter to NASCAR recommending reinstatement."
One caveat. Allmendinger can be reinstated but there is no guarantee he can return to the ride he left, driving the No. 22 Dodge for Penske Racing. That would be up to the team.
Shell statement on Allmendinger's failed drug test
THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT SHOULD BE ATTRIBUTED TO SHELL AND PENNZOIL:
Shell and Pennzoil believe that the process and procedures that NASCAR has in place as part of their substance abuse policy are appropriate and serve to ensure that the sport and its participants are held to the highest standards.
We share Penske Racing’s disappointment with the result of AJ’s (Allmendinger) B sample test and will work closely with them to determine plans moving forward. We hope for the best for AJ during this difficult time.
Shell and Pennzoil believe that the process and procedures that NASCAR has in place as part of their substance abuse policy are appropriate and serve to ensure that the sport and its participants are held to the highest standards.
We share Penske Racing’s disappointment with the result of AJ’s (Allmendinger) B sample test and will work closely with them to determine plans moving forward. We hope for the best for AJ during this difficult time.
Friday, July 20, 2012
NASCAR Contenders Live: New fan event starts NASCAR Chase
NASCAR announced on Friday the launch of a new interactive fan event which will help kick off the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The event, called NASCAR Contenders Live and sponsored by Toyota and Sprint, will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 12 at the House of Blues in Chicago.The 12 Chase contenders will interact onstage with NASCAR's biggest supporters - the fans - and share their strategies and insight on how they plan to win the ultimate prize: the Sprint Cup Series championship.
In conjunction with the event, a sweepstakes has started to give fans a chance to win an ultimate package that includes a 2012 Toyota Camry SE, two tickets to the NASCAR Contenders Live, two VIP tickets and two VIP passes to attend the Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 16, a one-year subscription to SiriusXM Satellite radio and $500 cash.
To enter, go to www.NASCAR.com/ContendersLive until Aug. 30 at 3 p.m. Eastern. Beginning July 27, fans can purchase tickets to NASCAR Contenders Live on the website.
In conjunction with the event, a sweepstakes has started to give fans a chance to win an ultimate package that includes a 2012 Toyota Camry SE, two tickets to the NASCAR Contenders Live, two VIP tickets and two VIP passes to attend the Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 16, a one-year subscription to SiriusXM Satellite radio and $500 cash.
To enter, go to www.NASCAR.com/ContendersLive until Aug. 30 at 3 p.m. Eastern. Beginning July 27, fans can purchase tickets to NASCAR Contenders Live on the website.
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