Gil Martin talks about crew chiefing the No. 3 car and Austin Dillon

  

    Gil Martin, who most recently served as crew chief for Kevin Harvick in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, was officially named Wednesday as crew chief for 2014 Cup rookie Austin Dillon, who will drive the No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.

   Martin talked about his newest role at RCR:

   "Since I came to RCR in 2000 I've worn many hats since I've been there and I've had the opportunity to be in all kinds of different and successful situations," he said. "I have to say this is probably the most excited I've been since I've been there for the simple that I've watched Austin since he was probably eight years old - go karts, Bandaleros, Legends cars.

   "What an awesome talent. He's won championships through all of that. To get to be a part of watching where he's going to go in the Cup series is a tremendous thing for me. I'm really excited about it. I want to thank Richard for letting me be a part of it."

NASCAR postpones scheduled test Monday at Charlotte Motor Speedway

   Due to rain Monday and another bad forecast for Tuesday as well, NASCAR has postponed its planned Sprint Cup Series test at Charlotte Motor Speedway until Wednesday.

   The test will now run 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Between 20 to 30 teams are planning to participate as NASCAR tests new ideas to help make the improve the racing on 1.5-mile speedways.

Blizzard: Chase Elliott DQ'd from Snowball Derby; Erik Jones wins

   Hendrick Motorsports development driver Chase Elliott appeared to become the first driver in history to win both the Snowflake 100 and the Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., on Sunday.
 
   That was until post-race inspection was completed.

   Elliott was disqualified from the Snowball Derby for having a prohibited tungsten part on his car. Runner-up Erik Jones, who won last season's Snowball Derby, was named the winner. Elliott was relegated to last place in the running order.

   Elliott, the 18-year-old son of former NASCAR Cup series champion Bill Elliott, started from the pole in both events. He won the Snowflake 100 on Saturday for the third consecutive season, a record.

   Here are the official results.

46th Annual Snowball Derby Results
Finish, car number, driver

1 51J Erik Jones            
2 90 Grant Enfinger            
3 29T Austin Theriault          
4 18 Hunter Robbins          
5 8 John Nemechek         
6 11 David Rogers            
7 71 Kyle Benjamin            
8 25 Ross Kenseth            
9 12 Derek Thorn            
10 2W Donnie Wilson            
11 29C Landon Cassill            
12 96 Ben Kennedy            
13 42 Chad Finley            
14 21 Cale Gale            
15 99 Casey Smith            
16 10 Johanna Long            
17 7 Paul Shafer Jr.           
18 22 Jeremy Pate         
19 45 Clay Rogers         
20 98 Daniel Hemric          
21 51N Stephen Nasse        
22 49 Josh Hamner           
23 15 Mason Massey          
24 129 Spencer Davis         
25 29B Anderson Bowen      
26 11 Logan Boyett          
27 91 Zac Hausler         
28 77 David Ragan         
29 98 Mason Mingus         
30 26 Bubba Pollard         
31 74 Preston Peltier          
32 14 Chris Davidson          
33 41 T.J. Reaid            
34 53 Boris  Jurkovic            
35 1 Mike Garvey            
36 112 Augie Grill            
37 9 Chase Elliott  

Surprise! Dale Jr. is NASCAR's most popular again

 

 
   On Thursday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was announced as the 2013 NMPA NASCAR Most Popular Driver at the Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon in Las Vegas.

    It's the 11th straight year that Junior has won the award, a NASCAR record. He was tied with Bill Elliott for the most consecutive wins in a row.

    Elliott won the award from 1991 through 2000. Elliott is also the last driver outside of Earnhardt Jr. to win the award, having done so in 2002. (In 2001, the year he died at Daytona, Dale Earnhardt Sr. won the award.)

    Final order of vote totals:
    1. D. Earnhardt Jr.
    2. Kasey Kahne
    3. Jeff Gordon
    4. Tony Stewart
    5. Danica Patrick
    6. Jimmie Johnson
    7. Kevin Harvick
    8. Matt Kenseth
    9. Kyle Busch
    10. Carl Edwards.

Changes made to NASCAR Hall of Fame nomination and eligibility rules

   Summary of changes made to NASCAR Hall of Fame nomination and eligibility rules:

   Driver Eligibility  
   -Drivers who have competed for a minimum of 10 years and reached their 55th birthday on or before Dec. 31 of the year prior to the nominating year are immediately eligible for the NHOF. Also, any competitor who has competed for 30 or more years in NASCAR competition by Dec. 31 of the year prior to the nominating year is automatically eligible, regardless of age. 

    Nominating Committee Will Select Five Fewer Nominees for Enshrinement
   -Throughout its history, the NHOF Nominating Committee has selected 25 nominees each year to be discussed and voted on for NHOF enshrinement. That number will be reduced to 20 starting with the selection process for the 2015 class.

    Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR
   -Beginning with the 2015 class, a new award – Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR – will be initiated to honor significant contributions to the growth and esteem of NASCAR. 

   Nominating Committee to Meet, Vote on 20 NHOF Nominees / Five Landmark Award Nominees
   -For the first time, the Nominating Committee will meet in person to discuss, debate and vote to create two ballots – the NHOF ballot and the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR ballot. The Nominating Committee will meet during Speedweeks at Daytona on Friday, Feb. 21, 2014.

    Nominees To Be Recused From the Nominating / Voting Process
   -Any member of the Nominating Committee or Voting Panel who appeared on the previous year’s ballot or current year’s ballot will now be recused from participating in the nominating and / or voting process for as long as he / she appears on the ballot. 

    Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Added To Voting Panel
   -As was already announced on Nov. 14 at Homestead-Miami Speedway during the annual NASCAR Championship Contenders Press Conference, the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion will be added to the following year’s voting panel.

Dakoda Armstrong joins Richard Petty Motorsports for 2014 season

 

   Richard Petty Motorsports announced on Wednesday it has signed 22-year-old Dakoda Armstrong, who will drive the organization's No. 43 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Nationwide Series next season.

   Armstrong signed a multi-year contract with RPM. WinFieldTM, Armstrong's primary sponsor during his tenure with Turn One Racing and Richard Childress Racing, will continue its sponsorship of the driver for the majority of the 2014 season; Fresh From Florida will sponsor the remaining three races.

   The team's current crew chief, Philippe Lopez, will remain in the same role with Armstrong, who finished 12th in the Truck series standings this season.

   Michael Annett most recently drove the No. 43 in the Nationwide Series but will move to the Sprint Cup Series in 2014 with Tommy Baldwin Racing.

NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton to join NBC Sports as analyst

 

   NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton will get a jump start on his next career as he finishes up his current one.

   On Tuesday, NBC Sports announced Burton will join its broadcast team as an analyst when the network becomes one of NASCAR’s TV partners in the 2015 season.

   Burton, however, will begin work right away and contribute to NASCAR programming which will debut on NBC Sports Network in 2014. He will also run a partial schedule for Michael Waltrip Racing in the Sprint Cup Series and do testing for the organization.

   “This is an exciting new challenge and I am thrilled to be joining the NBC Sports family,” Burton said in a statement. “I will prepare for each race as if I were driving in it, and I look forward to sharing my experience, views and insights with all the dedicated and passionate NASCAR fans.”

   Burton is the first entry to fill what is expected to be a three-person booth for NASCAR broadcasts on NBC.

 

   Rick Allen, who currently does play-by-play on Fox Sports 1 for NASCAR Truck series broadcasts, will be officially named this week to the same role for NBC, multiple sources confirmed.

  
   In addition, NBC Sports is looking at a current Cup series crew chief to fulfill its third spot in the booth, sources said.

   Sam Flood, executive producer of NBC Sports and NBCSN, said Burton was “the first person we called for this role.”

   “His insights, keen observations and many trophies have earned the respect of everyone involved with the sport,” Flood said. “He will be an outstanding analyst, and has everyone here looking even more forward to getting started.”