Tony Stewart: "I just want to be 100 percent"

 

   Three-time Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart is three races into his return from a serious leg injury suffered in a sprint car race last summer. While Stewart has been cleared to driver by doctors he has repeatedly said his leg is not near 100 percent.

 

   To add insult to injury, so to speak, Stewart is off to a tough start to the season. He has two finishes of 33rd or worse and best finish of 16th at Phoenix.

 

   Sunday's race is at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, one of the most physically demanding in the series. Stewart was asked if he had any fear in returning to racing and his thoughts heading into this weekend's race.

 

   Here is his complete answer:

 

   “The fear was not getting back out. Being out of my Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy is what bothered me more than anything. I’ve had injuries before. I’ve had broken hands and raced dirt cars and stock cars. I’ve had broken bones that weren’t healed 100 percent and still went out and did what we needed to do. This was just a bigger setback. This was one that I didn’t have a choice of being in the car and fighting through it. This was one where the ante was up a little bit," he said.

 

   “Honestly, there hasn’t been one day or night where I’ve sat and questioned whether it’s what I wanted to do or whether it was something I could do. It was just, when can we do it? I just want to be 100 percent, and we’re pushing toward that. The passion and desire I have for the sport, that’s never wavered, and that’s what gets you through some of this stuff. 

 

   “People that want to compete, want to compete. They fight through injuries, they persevere, they work hard to get back where they want to be, and this is no different. There’s nothing about this process that has taken away my desire to do what I want to do. You don’t live for what could happen, you live for what you can make happen.”

 

NASCAR bans cool down laps in knock out qualifying

 

 

   Daytona Beach, Fla. (Mar. 11, 2014) — NASCAR notified its teams this afternoon that effective immediately the following modifications apply to all elements of its national series qualifying including the breaks: 

 

   - One cool down unit connected through either the left side or right side hood flap/cowl flap is allowed to cool the engine

 

   - The hood must continue to remain closed

 

   - Plugging in the generator will not be allowed

 

   - Two crew members will be allowed over the wall to support the car and driver

 

   - No cool down laps will be permitted

   NASCAR instituted a new group qualifying format for its three national series in January and has continued to evaluate the process through the first three races of the season. The new format has been well-received by fans, competitors, race tracks and other key stakeholders. NASCAR believes that the modifications announced today should help make the qualifying even better and more compelling.

   “The qualifying is new to all of us and as we have said over the past several weeks, we are looking at it from all aspects,” said Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition and racing development. “Following discussions, both internally and with others in the garage area, we moved quickly to make a few revisions that will be effective starting with our two national series events at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend. We believe this will only enhance and improve what has demonstrated to be an exciting form of qualifying for our fans, competitors and others involved with the sport. Moving forward we will continue to look at it and address anything else that we may need to as the season unfolds.”

Three observations from Sunday's NASCAR race at Las Vegas

   Three observations from Sunday's Kobalt Tools 400:

   - There have been several doubters of whether NASCAR’s new Chase format would live up to its promises. Three races into the 2014 season, it’s safe to say it’s already delivered. The is no way Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team elects to roll the dice on fuel three races into the season to gain a second win if he wasn’t already virtually ensured a spot in the Chase. He and his crew chief, Steve Letarte, confirmed that after the race. And the downside – which really isn’t one – is there are already three very talented drivers known who will battle for the title – Brad Keselowski, Earnhardt and Kevin Harvick.

   - For much of the weekend, it appeared Danica Patrick may be primed for one of her better NASCAR performances. She was fast in practice on Friday and did well in qualifying. She was also good in Saturday’s first practice session. In Saturday’s final practice, however, she seemed to fall off and in Sunday’s race she quickly fell back in the field. But it wasn’t all bad, by the end of the race Patrick finished 21^st, one lap down, but she was the highest finisher of all four Stewart-Haas Racing drivers.

   - No idea if it’s a sign of things to come but fans certainly turned out in much larger numbers this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway than a year ago. The tone was set on Friday which saw one of the largest qualifying crowds in several years for any NASCAR track. It’s much too early to tell if NASCAR changes this season are the reason, but it’s safe to say they haven’t hurt.

Chip Ganassi Racing adds Dylan Kwasniewski as development driver

   Two-time NASCAR K&N Pro series champion and current Nationwide series driver Dylan Kwasniewski has joined Chip Ganassi Racing as a development driver.

   

   Kwasniewski, 18, will continue to compete in Nationwide with Turner Scott Motorsports but team owner Chip Ganassi hopes to move the 18-year-old Las Vegas native to the Sprint Cup series in two to three years.

   “This young man has impressed us from the moment we saw him,” Ganassi said. His poise, skill and determination on the race track are remarkable for someone so young.”

   Kwasniewski called the move "a dream come true."

   "I have wanted to do nothing but race for as long as I can remember," he said. "I look forward to being part of Chip's organization and will hopefully be a key contributor to its future success."

NASCAR will evaluate new qualifying process and make changes if necessary

   NASCAR officials will continue to monitor and evaluate its new knock out qualifying procedures, which have drawn almost universal praise by competitors and fans but have also raised some potential safety concerns.

   During Friday’s Cup series session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, there were some close calls on the track with cars running at full speed to post fast laps nearly missing cars running off the pace while attempting to cool their engines between runs.

   Driver Brian Vickers, who won the first of three rounds, called the session “the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done in a race car.”

  Friday’s session was just the first on a superspeedway and first using the three-round format.

   “As we discussed with the teams in the offseason, we expected to use the first few weeks of the season to get a good snapshot of how things went and how things played out on various size race tracks,” said NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp. “We’re still in that process.

   “However, the new format has been deemed a success almost universally by the competitors, promoters and fans and that is a very positive development for the sport. We’re getting great feedback and ideas from the garage and if we can tweak it to make it even better moving forward we will.”

   Teams have the ability to address the problem now, if they elected to remove tape from their front grille areas. But unless every team decided to do so, some teams would have an advantage over others.

   When NASCAR first announced the new qualifying procedures it was not going to allow teams to make any changes to the cars during the sessions. It was only upon receiving feedback from teams NASCAR elected to allow some changes to be made.

Who does Dale Junior think is NASCAR's next Chad Knaus?

 

 

   Chad Knaus, the crew chief for Jimmie Johnson's six Sprint Cup Series championships, is not going anywhere soon, but Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., has an idea of who the next brightest crew chief mind in the sport may belong to.

   That's Rodney Childers, new crew chief for driver Kevin Harvick, who won last weekend's race at Phoenix.

   “I think that people perceive him as maybe the next Chad Knaus. He has got a lot of respect from his peers because people really realize his potential and his talent. He has got a great opportunity to showcase that," Earnhardt said of Childers. "I think that obviously Jimmie (Johnson) is going to be one of the guys as a favorite early in the championship. But I think that (Kevin) Harvick has been consistently in the top five in points year after year. 

   "I believe that he is really in a program where he can shine with the opportunity with Rodney to excel even more. They will be extremely challenging. I think that the Phoenix race was just a sign of more to come. When we went to test at Charlotte his car was by far superior to everyone else there. I was like ‘man everybody better watch out, everybody better wake up because this is going to be a strong team.’ They are going to be tough and deservedly so. I think Rodney has already had some good success, but this is a great opportunity for him to really showcase his talent. I think he’s got a ton of it.”

Former NASCAR champ Kurt Busch to try Indy 500-Coke 600 double

 

 

   Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, will join Andretti Autosport for the 98th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 25. He'll also seek to become the fourth driver to "do the double" by competing in the Coca-Cola 600 in Concord, N.C.

   "To add a driver with the résumé of Kurt Busch to the Indianapolis 500 field is a huge gain for IndyCar," said Derrick Walker, IndyCar Series President of Competition and Operations. "We want to see the best 33 drivers put their skills to the test on the biggest stage in motorsports, regardless of which series they come from. To attempt 'the Double' is a tremendous challenge, and we're looking forward to watching Kurt accomplish the feat this May."

 

   Busch, 35, who is dedicating the effort to U.S. military personnel serving around the world, said the opportunity "is a dream come true."

 

   "My dad, a Mac Tools distributor, and I would go to car shows and see Indy cars and he'd say, 'This is about as close as you'll ever get to one of these things' because it was so far removed from what we could dream as a small blue-collar family from Las Vegas," Busch said. "It's just the different opportunities that have come up in motorsports (that have led me) to this biggest moment outside of stock cars.

 

   "It was a talk over dinner (with his agent, John Caponigro) one night on 'what if?' and now it's all becoming a realty for me to drive in the Indy 500 with Andretti."

 

   Marcus Smith, president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, was excited about Busch's decision.

 

   "As a past Coca-Cola 600 champion, Kurt Busch knows what a test of endurance 600 miles can be. To race 1,100 is nearly impossible. Our records show that only one driver has ever completed all 1,100 miles of the double in the same day, and that was by Kurt's new team co-owner, Tony Stewart. To even attempt this takes a lot of guts," he said.

   "Fans will appreciate this effort, and I know they'll be as excited as I will watching the clock to see if he can make it to Charlotte in time for our green flag."