Another rising NASCAR star joins the Nationwide Series

 

 

   Dylan Kwasniewski, who has won championships in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and East the past two seasons, will move fulltime to the Nationwide Series this season with Turner Scott Motorsports.

   Kwasniewski,18, will drive the No. 31 Rockstar Energy Drink Chevrolet Camaro and make his series debut in the Feb. 22 season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

   “I’m thankful for Harry Scott and Steve Turner giving me this opportunity, as well as Rockstar for moving up with us,” Kwasniewski said. “The test session earlier this month at Daytona taught us a lot and it’s good to enter Daytona with a level of confidence, not only for myself, but for (crew chief) Pat (Tryson) and all the guys.

   "Racing in the Nationwide Series is going to present a lot of challenges and it won’t be easy, but I look forward to taking it all on, learning from the other competitors and hopefully winning some races.”

   Kwasniewski, a native of Las Vegas, made his TSM debut last season and became the first driver ever to capture both the K&N East and West championships. In 14 starts he earned six wins, eight top-five and 10 top-10 finishes, three poles and led 394 laps. He also was selected for the NASCAR Next program, an initiative to spotlight the sport’s up-and-coming stars, for the second consecutive year.

   Kwasniewski also will compete in the Feb. 15 Lucas Oil 200, the Automobile Racing Club of America series season opener at Daytona. 

Jeb Burton loses his 2014 NASCAR Truck series ride

 

 

   Turner Scott Motorsports announced Friday that Arrowhead, the primary sponsor of the No. 4 entry driven by Jeb Burton in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, has defaulted on payment to the team. As a result of Arrowhead's failure to make payments, Turner Scott Motorsports will not be able to field Burton and the No. 4 truck full time for the 2014 season.

   The loss of the primary sponsor also means that the company must begin making staff reductions. It is anticipated that the reductions will affect up to 20-percent of the current TSM workforce. The company is moving as quickly as possible to give the affected employees the maximum opportunity to seek employment with other teams.

   "The breakout success of Jeb Burton and the entire No. 4 team in 2013 makes these decisions especially painful," said team co-owner Harry Scott Jr. "However, we will do everything we can to put Jeb on the racetrack with our organization going forward. He is a great talent and has a great career ahead of him.

   "Despite this setback, Turner Scott Motorsports remains strong overall and will compete for championships in both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. We are extremely proud of the talent of our workforce here at TSM, and it is very difficult for us to lose anyone within our organization. We understand the way that this affects the lives of everyone involved, and we will do our best to assist in placement elsewhere in the sport."

Said Burton: "Obviously, these are tough circumstances for everyone involved, not just for me, but also for my teammates who are affected. I am working with Turner Scott Motorsports to identify any potential opportunities for me to get on the track this year."

Burton, the 21-year-old son of former Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton, won a race and finished fifth in the series standings during his rookie season in 2013.

New Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format unveiled

 

 

  DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 30, 2014) – NASCAR announced a new championship format today that will put greater emphasis on winning races all season long, expands the current Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field to 16 drivers, and implements a new round-by-round advancement format that ultimately will reward a battle-tested, worthy champion.

 

    “We have arrived at a format that makes every race matter even more, diminishes points racing, puts a premium on winning races and concludes with a best-of-the-best, first-to-the-finish line showdown race – all of which is exactly what fans want,” said Brian France, NASCAR chairman and CEO. “We have looked at a number of concepts for the last three years through fan research, models and simulations, and also maintained extensive dialogue with our drivers, teams and partners. The new Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup will be thrilling, easy to understand and help drive our sport’s competition to a whole new level.”

 

   Changes announced by France to the championship format include:

- A victory in the first 26 races all but guarantees a berth in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – a change that will put an unprecedented importance on winning a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race all season long

- Expanding the Chase field from 12 to 16 drivers, with those drivers advancing to what now will be known as the NASCAR Chase Grid

- The number of championship drivers in contention for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship will decrease after every three Chase races, from 16 to start in the Chase Grid; 12 after Chase race No. 3; eight after Chase race No. 6; and four after Chase race No. 9

- The first three races of the Chase (27-29) will be known as the Challenger Round; races 30-32 will be known as the Contender Round; races 33-35 will be the Eliminator Round and race No. 36 will be the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship

- A win by a championship-eligible driver in any Chase race automatically clinches the winning driver a spot in the next Chase round

- Four drivers will enter the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship with a chance at the title, with the highest finisher among those four capturing the prestigious NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

 

   Eligibility for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

   The top 15 drivers with the most wins over the first 26 races will earn a spot in the NASCAR Chase Grid – provided they have finished in the top 30 in points and attempted to qualify for every race (except in rare instances). The 16th Chase position will go to the points leader after race No. 26, if he/she does not have a victory. In the event that there are 16 or more different winners over 26 races, the only winless driver who can earn a Chase Grid spot would be the points leader after 26 races.

 

   If there are fewer than 16 different winners in the first 26 races, the remaining Chase Grid positions will go to those winless drivers highest in points. If there are 16 or more winners in the first 26 races, the ties will first be broken by number of wins, followed by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver points.

 

   As was implemented in 2011, prior to the start of the Chase, all Chase Grid drivers will have their points adjusted to 2,000, with three additional bonus points added to their total for each win in the first 26 races.

 

   Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Structure

   After the third Chase race, the Chase Grid will be left with 12 drivers. After the sixth Chase race, the field will drop to eight drivers, and following the ninth Chase race, only four drivers will remain in championship contention for the NASCAR Sprint Cup title.

 

   The first round (races 27-29) will be called the Challenger Round. If a driver in the Chase Grid wins a Challenger Round race, the driver automatically advances to the next round. The remaining available positions 1-12 that have not been filled based upon wins will be based on points. Each will then have their points reset to 3,000.

 

   The second round (races 30-32) will be called the Contender Round. Likewise, if a driver in the top 12 in points wins a race in the Contender Round, the driver automatically advances to the next round. The remaining available positions 1-8 that have not been filled based upon wins will be based on points. Each will then have their points reset to 4,000.

 

   The third round (races 33-35) will be called the Eliminator Round. If a driver in the top eight in points wins a race in the Eliminator Round, the driver automatically advances to the next round. The remaining available positions 1-4 that have not been filled based upon wins will be based on points. Each will then have their points reset to 5,000.

 

   Additionally, drivers who are eliminated in the Contender and Eliminator Rounds will have their points readjusted. Each eliminated driver will return to the Chase-start base of 2,000 (plus any regular season wins bonus points), with their accumulated points starting with race No. 27 added. This will allow all drivers not in contention for the NASCAR Sprint Cup title to continue to race for the best possible season-long standing, with final positions fifth-through-16th still up for grabs.

 

   Four Drivers, First-to-the-Finish Championship Finale

   The 36th and final race of the season will be the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. Simply stated, the highest finisher in that race among the remaining four eligible drivers will win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title.

 

   Bonus points for laps led will not apply in the season finale, so the official finishing position alone will decide the champion.

 

   Note: All rules outlined above also apply to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner championship structure.

 

Blake Shelton's speech inducting Dale Jarrett into the NASCAR Hall of Fame

 

 

   BLAKE SHELTON:  Honored to be here, everybody, and I didn't think this was going to be an emotional deal for me until the airplane ride over here to Charlotte today, and so I decided, I got to thinking about what this is and what it means to you and what it means to me.  So I decided to write this stuff down because I knew I would screw it up if I tried to wing it.  I'm going to read this to you as it came to me on the airplane today.

   People ask me all the time how I became a NASCAR fan, and my answer is always, man, I guess I was just born that way.  You see, my dad was a driver when I was a kid, not like y'all, but he raced on local tracks, stock cars, and what are the ones with the wing?  Okay, sprint cars but without the wing on them, that look like a sprint car, a midget.  I guess my dad raced midgets, okay.  You know what I'm talking about.

 

   See why I wrote this down?

 

   He was also a huge fan of races on TV, and I can't remember my dad ever missing a Daytona 500 or an Indy 500, and I put in parentheses here, although compared to NASCAR, those other cars blow.  I just put that on there. 

 

   Anyway, I think my dad always had a secret dream of one of us kids becoming a race car driver.  He entered all three of us into local motocross events.  My brother was good, my sister was okay, and I sucked.  So I learned to play the guitar, thank God.

 

   Ironically, though, that's how my history with NASCAR came full circle.  Country music and NASCAR go hand in hand, y'all, and I take great pride in being a meaningless but very loud, very defensive ‑ Clint ‑ sometimes pot‑stirring voice among the fan base and the inside of this sport.

 

   Over the years, I've been lucky enough to witness in person some really cool things hanging around you people, and the best part is back in the day I got to bring my dad along with me.  My dad was there the day that Elliott Sadler dove off the SPEED stage here in downtown Charlotte, missing the crowd by about the length of his face.  Do you remember that?  Man, that was funny.

 

   He got to see Michael Waltrip ask meaningless question after meaningless question at a drivers' meeting at Texas Motor Speedway.  To us that was a big deal, I guess.

 

   I watched him shove old women and children aside at Talladega to shake the hands of his favorite drivers:  Dale Earnhardt Jr., Richard Petty, and this man right here, Dale Jarrett.  As years went on, Dale and I crossed paths many times, and although my dad's health began to keep him from traveling, he loved hearing all the stories about the time I spent with Dale.

 

   I didn't tell him everything.

 

   Dale even spoke to him on the phone a time or two.  I believe it was little things like that that kept my dad happy those last few years.  You guys were his heroes.  And even though I know he was beyond proud of my accomplishments in music, he just couldn't get over the fact that I got to spend time with guys like Clint Bowyer and Elliott Sadler, and most of all, Dale Jarrett.  And man, what I'd give if he could have seen the old boys standing around talking about what was the biggest flower arrangement at his funeral, not because it was so big but because it came from Dale Jarrett.

 

   I hope you drivers realize the kind of impact you have on the lives of everyday, hard‑working people, people like my dad, and that's why it's my honor to be here tonight to induct Dale Jarrett into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  So on this 29th day of January 2014, I want to present the NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee and officially induct my friend Dale Jarrett into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Could Jeff Gordon retire after the 2014 NASCAR season?

  

 

   Could four-time Cup series champion Jeff Gordon finally step away from fulltime competition after the 2014 season?

   Maybe, Gordon said. Then again, maybe not.

   Like if he were to win a fifth Cup series championship this season in the season finale at Homestead, Fla.

   "I will call it quits - I'll tell you that right now - right there on the spot," Gordon, 42, said Tuesday during the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour. "I think that would be a great way to go out.

   "But I know if we did that, I'd be thinking, 'Maybe we could do it again next year.'  So, don't hold me to that. I'm jokingly serious."
  
   As Gordon has gotten older, he said it's not uncommon to take time each season to consider his future.

   "I've done everything I've wanted to do in sport. I want to go out feeling good about who I am and what I'm doing and being competitive," he said. "Then you have a bad year and  your back is hurting and you say things like (it might be my final year)."

Could Jeb Burton's 2014 NASCAR season get derailed?

  

 

    Last-minute sponsorship problems could derail Jeb Burton's planned 2014 season in the NASCAR Truck Series.

    A team spokesperson confirmed to the Observer on Tuesday that if sponsor Arrowhead Electronic Cigaretes is unable or unwilling to fund the Turner Scott Motorsports team this season, then the organization will have to "review" its options for the season.

    Reports surfaced on Monday that the company would not be serving as Burton's sponsor for the 2014 season. Last year, the Internal Revenue Service raided raided Cherokee Tabacco LLC, the parent company of Arrowhead Electronic Cigarettes, seizing business records.

    Burton, the son of former NASCAR driver Ward Burton, had a successful rookie season in Trucks in 2013, earning a win and finishing fifth in the series standings.

    The team spokesperson said the organization hoped to have an update on the situation in the "near future."

Where does auto racing rank among America's favorite sports?

   According to a survey taken this month by the Harris Poll, which has been asking adult fans, ages 18 and over about their favorite sport since 1985, pro football is the most popular sport in America for at least the 30th straight year.

    In 2014, 35 percent of fans call the NFL their favorite sport, followed by Major League Baseball (14 percent), college football (11 percent), auto racing (7 percent), the NBA (6 percent), the NHL (5 percent) and college basketball (3 percent).

   Read more here.