Opportunities abound for Regan Smith

   Regan Smith may have lost a ride but not for long.

    Last weekend was Smith's last with the Furniture Row Racing team but he unexpectedly picked up a ride in Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway as a fill-in for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

     Earnhardt will miss at least the next two races while he recovers from lingering effects from two concussions over the past six weeks. Hendrick Motorsports tapped Smith to drive Earnhardt's No. 88 Chevrolet while Earnhardt remains on the sidelines.

   Smith's association with Earnhardt isn't likely to end anytime soon.

  

   Smith is expected to drive a full Nationwide Series schedule in 2013 with JR Motorsports, several sources said Thursday. Rick Hendrick, who has partial ownership in JRM, said Thursday the organization was talking to Smith about a Nationwide ride.

    “If Mr. H said it, usually what Mr. H says is gospel,” Smith said.

    Ryan Truex, who ran a partial Nationwide schedule at Joe Gibbs Racing this season, is also expected to join JRM next season, sources said.

Baby born at NH track dies

   A baby born unexpectedly on Sept. 12 in the parking lot of New Hampshire Motor Speedway has died, according to a report by The Union Leader newspaper.

   Katie Ann Hebert was pronounced dead early Monday at Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia, where she was taken by ambulance after she was found not breathing at home. She was three weeks old.

   Katie Ann was born to Shauna Arnold, 27, in the NHMS front parking lot, while en route to Concord Hospital from their home about 45 minutes away in Belmont, N.H. Katie could not wait, so Shauna's boyfriend wisely pulled into the speedway.

   The track was hosting a Rusty Wallace Driving School event, so an was ambulance on hand. By the time NHMS director of operations Tom Blanchette got to the car to assist, Katie had already been delivered.

   Katie and her mom took part in a news conference at the speedway on Sept. 23.

  To read the complete story, go here.

   For an account of the news conference at the speedway, go here.

Take a ride and wave the flag at CMS

   Speedway Children’s Charities will provide lucky race fans with the opportunity to ride in the parade lap prior to Saturday night's Bank of America 500 through an online auction. The fans with the winning bid will take a parade lap around Charlotte Motor Speedway with their favorite NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver and help support children in the Charlotte region.

   Through Wednesday (Oct. 10), fans can visit www.sccauctions.com to bid on this once-in-a-lifetime experience. All auction winners will receive a VIP tour of the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield and a guided tour through the Sprint Cup Series garage. Each winning bidder is allowed to bring one guest.

   Fans who want to feel the thrill of Sprint Cup Series racing from the flag stand can do so on Bojangles’ Pole Night with a $100 donation to Speedway Chidlren’s Charities. With the donation, fans will wave the green flag for one driver as he begins his qualifying run on Thursday night. Contact Lisa Starnes at (704) 455-4426 to reserve a spot in the flag stand.

Newest Kulwicki scholarship winner

  The Lee College of Engineering at UNC Charlotte has awarded its Alan Kulwicki Memorial Scholarship to Matthew Piercy of Conover, N.C. The presentation of the 2012 scholarship will be made Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway prior to the running of the Dollar General 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

   The four-year Kulwicki Scholarship, established in 1994, is one of the highest honors within UNC Charlotte’s Motorsports Engineering program. The scholarship is given in memory of late NASCAR Cup champion Alan Kulwicki, who lost his life in a plane crash in 1993. Kulwicki was himself an engineer, and a strong supporter of engineering and science education. The Lee College of Engineering at UNC Charlotte presents the scholarship to a high-school senior who demonstrates outstanding academic achievement and has an affiliation with auto racing.

   During his high school career at St. Stephens High, Piercy won the Award of Academic Excellence all four years, was a junior marshal and won the Scholar Athlete Award. He was in the Beta Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and National Technical Honor Society.

   Piercy’s racing interests include driving Limited Late Model and Late Model stock cars at Hickory Motor Speedway. In 2011 he placed third in the Limited season championship with four wins, seven second place finishes and nine poles. In 2010 he was fourth in the Limited season championship with nine top-five finishes.

   After graduating Piercy would like to work in the race industry as a team engineer and eventually work his way up to become a NASCAR crew chief.

   “I’m a driven and passionate racer,” Piercy said, “much like Kulwicki. I believe I will represent the scholarship in a manner that directly relates to what Alan Kulwicki stood for. This scholarship will aid me in getting an engineering education that will further my knowledge of race cars and the physics of how they work.”

Fan Fest this week at Penske Racing

   For the first time since 2009, Penske Racing will host a Fan Fest at its headquarters in Mooresville, N.C., with most of its IndyCar Series and NASCAR drivers on hand for autographs and a question-and-answer session with fans.

   The Fan Fest is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. to noon on Friday at Penske Racing,200 Penske Way, Mooresville, N.C. 28115.

   Highlights of Penske Racing Fan fest will include:
   ·   7:30 am – Wristbands for the Penske Racing driver autograph session distributed to the first 300 people in line at the Penske Racing store
   · 8-8:30 am - Pit stop demonstration. IndyCar teams and NASCAR teams
   ·   8:30 - 9 am – Question and Answer session with Penske Racing drivers
   ·   9 -11 am – All Penske Racing drivers will sign autographs for the 300 selected wristband holders
    · 11 -11:30 am – Silent Auction bidding ends and winners are announced

    Exclusive, autographed items from Penske Racing drivers will be up for bid during the Silent Auction. Both cash and checks will be accepted with all proceeds going to the Paralyzed Veterans of America.
   In addition, driver- and team-themed baskets will be raffled off in the Gift Shop for $1 each with all proceeds going to the Paralyzed Veterans of America.  Food and beverages may be purchased on site
   All 2012 NASCAR and IndyCar vehicles will be on display along with trophies from this year’s Penske Racing victories.

Whisky River to take up residence at Charlotte Motor Speedway

   Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s club in uptown Charlotte, "Whisky River," is going to take up temporary residence at Charlotte Motor Speedway next weekend.

 

   Race fans are invited to Whisky River at Charlotte Motor Speedway, opening next Friday, during the Bank of America 500 race weekend. Whisky River is bringing all that it is known for, including a DJ spinning of classic rock n’ roll along with Top 40 hits, an appearance by the notorious mechanical bull and their food menu.

 

   Whisky River-CMS version will be located in the Ford Grandstand near Turn 1. All grandstand ticket holders are welcome from 1 p.m. until 50 laps from the checkered flag for both the Dollar General 300 on Oct. 12 and the Bank of America 500 on Oct. 13. Hit radio station WSOC 103.7 will be on site broadcasting live all weekend long.

 

   “This is a great opportunity for Whisky River to partner with Charlotte Motor Speedway,” said Whisky River General Manager Eric Flanigan. “We are excited to bring the Whisky experience to the fans.”

 

   Whisky River - the original uptown Charlotte version - is located at EpiCentre, 210 E Trade Street in the heart of uptown Charlotte.

 

Kyle Busch apologizes to TRD

NASCAR driver Kyle Busch has apologized for a profanity-laced tirade he made toward Toyota Racing Development during last week’s race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

“I made some remarks out of frustration on my radio at the end of last weekend’s race in Dovert hat were very misguided,” Busch said in a statement released Thursday. “I owe my friends at Toyota and TRD an apology.”

Busch led most of the AAA 400 at Dover on before he was forced to make a late pit stop under green flag conditions in order to make it to the end of the race. He ended up finishing seventh.

As he crossed the finish line, Busch lashed out at TRD over his team radio, claiming the in-house tuning shop for all Toyota cars had cost him and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team "another one."

“We have a great partnership with TRD and they built me a motor that helped me lead over 300 laps and nearly lap the field,” said Busch in Thursday’s statement. “It's just frustrating that the caution fell where it did and suddenly it became a fuel mileage race and we were set up for maximum horsepower. Obviously, that worked well for most of the day and you can't control when the cautions will fall.

“I think we have a great partnership with TRD and we will continue to communicate with them on what our team is looking for. I’m looking forward to getting down to Talladega this weekend and focusing on the race.”

Lee White, president and general manager of TRD, responded Thursday to Busch’s apology:
“We understand Kyle’s passion for racing -- and winning. At TRD and Toyota, we have that same zeal for racing --and winning. We were disappointed with Kyle’s post-race comments from Dover -- a race that he dominated. Kyle’s had a frustrating year with several car and engine mechanical failures which were not his responsibility, and we’re working extremely hard on our end to improve our products and processes. We will continue to address these issues, but we’re ready to put this behind us and move forward with the remainder of the season, including the Toyota drivers battling for the championship.”

Other quotes
Joe Gibbs, Team Owner, Joe Gibbs Racing
“We have a great relationship with Toyota and obviously they are a major part of everything we do at Joe Gibbs Racing. Toyota is first class in every aspect of their company and they share our passion for winning. It has been a frustrating season for Kyle in many ways when you think about some of the issues we’ve had with that 18 team this year and obviously some of those frustrations carried over to his finish last week in Dover. We were able to lead over 300 laps, but unfortunately the cautions didn’t fall our way and certainly you can understand the frustration of having to give up the lead late in the race. However, Kyle recognizes that his comments and the tone of his comments were misguided. We’ve been able to work through this issue and I think everyone is ready to get back to the focus being on racing and Talladega.”


Ed Laukes, Vice President of Marketing Communications & Motorsports, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.

“We’ve had a fabulous relationship with Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing over the last five years. Kyle is a talented driver who wins races and can compete for championships, and he is a very important part of the Toyota brand. We look forward to a long-term relationship with Kyle and Joe Gibbs Racing for years to come.” -- David Scott