Martinsville NASCAR Truck race postponed until Sunday

 

   Saturday's NASCAR Truck Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway was postponed by persistent rain showers and has been rescheduled for approximately 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday (Fox Sports 1) - to be run immediately after the conclusion of the Sprint Cup Series race.

   Qualifying for the Truck race was also rained out. Darrell Wallace Jr. will start from the pole as he was fastest in practice on Friday.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway seeking to add night racing

 

 

   Jerry Gappens, executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway, hinted in on Tweet on Thursday that his track could have a night Sprint Cup Series race in the 2015 season.

   The 1-mile paved oval located in Loudon, N.H., currently hosts races in July and September and both are held on Sunday afternoon.

   The Observer on Friday asked for comment on the potential of night racing at New Hampshire and the following statement was provided attributed to Gappens:

   “Night racing requires an agreement from a number of stakeholders, and if we do it, we want to do it right and with community support. A recent survey shows Loudon residents support lights, and it has been the top request from our fans for years," Gappens said.

 

   “The first step is to get approval from NASCAR and NBC. We started dialogue in September and I am awaiting an answer. We are hopeful, with the collective work of everyone involved, that the future of New Hampshire Motor Speedway will indeed be bright."

 

Former NASCAR driver Shawna Robinson diagnosed with breast cancer

  

 

    Former NASCAR driver Shawna Robinson, the first woman to win a pole in what is now the Nationwide Series, has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

   Robinson, who now works in interior design and is creator and owner of Happy Chair which restores old chairs, announced on her Facebook page this week that she would begin five to six months of chemotherapy and then require surgery.

   Here is her entire post:

   "I'm getting ready to start a new journey that was unexpected but I am prepared to take it on as I would any challenge ..with direction and strength. I have breast cancer…when they tell you you have cancer you don't hear the rest you just see talking and you seem to be there but your not hearing the words. But it is real, start Chemo next week for 5-6 months then surgery….there is such progress in cancer treatment..…still scared but prepared for battle. Thankful for the family and friends….I'm blessed to have….ready to go wide open and get this thing!!!"

   Robinson won three races in the now defunct NASCAR Goody's Dash Series and has completed in NASCAR's three national series - Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Trucks. Her best Cup series finish was 24th in the 2002 Daytona 500.

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin cleared to race Sunday

   From team press release:

   Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver Denny Hamlin will race this weekend at Martinsville Speedway after NASCAR received official confirmation from his doctors that he has been medically cleared to return to regular racing activities.

 

   Hamlin first visited the infield care center at Auto Club Speedway Saturday night bothered with an irritation in his eye. He returned to the infield care center again on Sunday morning because his condition had worsened. It was at this time that it was determined by the medical team ons ite that he would not be allowed to race due to a sinus infection that was impacting his vision. The doctors at the infield care center referred him to the local hospital for further evaluation.  

 

   During the evaluation at the hospital a small piece of metal was also found to be in Hamlin’s eye. Doctors were able to remove the sliver of metal and Hamlin felt immediate improvement to his condition. A CT Scan did not find any other complications and thus it is believed that the metal was actually the source of Hamlin’s vision issues. He was released from the hospital Sunday afternoon and was given the doctor’s approval to fly home.

 

   Hamlin was then evaluated by a doctor in the Charlotte area on Monday and was sent home to rest. He was instructed to return Wednesday for a follow-up examination.  Following today’s examination, his doctors provided the necessary approval for Hamlin to resume all racing activity without restriction. NASCAR has received official confirmation from his doctors clearing him to resume racing this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

 

   Hamlin is scheduled to meet with the press in the media room of Martinsville Speedway this Friday at 2 PM ET.

Matt and Katie Kenseth welcome the arrival of their third daughter

 

 

   Joe Gibbs Racing press release:

 

   HUNTERSVILLE, NC (March 26, 2014) – Joe Gibbs Racing’s driver of the No. 20 Toyota, Matt Kenseth, and his wife Katie welcomed a new bundle of joy Tuesday evening with the birth of the couple's third daughter. 

 

   Clara Mae Kenseth was born March 25 at 7:39 p.m. EST weighing in at eight pounds and five ounces. Both mother and daughter are doing well as the family enjoys the latest addition who joins the couple’s other daughters Kaylin and Grace, along with their son Ross. 

 

   Kenseth will be able to spend a few days at home with his brand new baby girl before traveling to nearby Martinsville, Virginia for this weekend's STP 500 Sprint Cup Series event at the Martinsville Speedway.

Lynda Petty, wife of Richard Petty, died on Tuesday

Richard Petty Motorsports press release:   LYNDA GAYLE OWENS PETTY   March 6, 1942 - March 25, 2014

Lynda Gayle Owens Petty, 72, one of the first women of NASCAR and its most beloved wife, mother and friend, passed away peacefully at her home in Level Cross, North Carolina today. She was surrounded by her family. Affectionately known as "Mrs. Lynda" to so many, Lynda Petty set a standard for being a loving, supportive and, when needed, an authoritative wife and mother. She also set the benchmark for being a leader in her local community while raising a family in the fast-growing sport of stock car racing. It was with strong will that Petty fought cancer over the past several years. It was the same determination that led her to make a difference as a Red Cross volunteer, a school volunteer, the president of the athletic booster club and a Girl and Boy Scout leader in her lifetime. She also served on the Randolph County School Board for 16 years and was on the board of the Randolph County Hospice.  Lynda helped start the Racing Wives Auxiliary and will always be remembered as the wife to Richard Petty. Their steadfast love endured trials that only a marriage of over 50 years can. Through triumph and heartache, Lynda Petty was the castle that supported a king in private and public moments.    Lynda is proceeded by grandson Adam K. Petty and is survived by her loving husband Richard; son, Kyle and daughters Sharon and husband Terry Farlow; Lisa and husband Charlie Luck; Rebecca and husband Brian Moffitt. In addition, she is survived by grandchildren Austin Petty and wife Sarah; Hannah and husband Brad Leonard; Montgomery and husband Randy Schlappi; Maggie and Kyle Farlow; Richard, Sarah and Margaret Luck; Helen, Thad and Harrison Moffitt, and great grandchildren Sullivan Mae Schlappi and Adam Christopher Stonewall Petty.      A private memorial service for family and friends will be held at Reverie Place in Randleman, North Carolina which Pastor Kenny Crosswhite will officiate. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the following: Petty Family Foundation 311 Branson Mill Road Randleman, N.C. 27317   A public memorial service will not be held and the family asks for privacy at this time.   The family offered the following statement to the public:   "We wish to sincerely thank everyone who has supported us and our family throughout the years and at this time. We will forever love and miss a wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend."

The bumpy California road of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

 

 

   Most Sprint Cup Series teams had no tire problems in Sunday's Auto Club 400, including race winner Kyle Busch. Several did - and there seemed just as many explanations for the issues as there were teams that experienced problems.

 

   The aging pavement at the 2-mile track has been credited for helping to produce an exciting style of racing in recent seasons, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes the root of tire problem may not rest with teams or Goodyear, but instead of some sizable bumps on the track.

 

   After Sunday's race, Earnhardt spoke at length about what he perceives as an issue with the California track.

 

   "To be honest with you, the back straightaway is very rough and I think the tire can’t handle the load that it goes through on that back straightaway. And it’s just tearing the tire up where the sidewall and tread are put together. There ain’t another race track on the circuit besides Kentucky that has bumps like that. They’re incredible huge, huge bumps. And I think that plays a big role in it because the tire must see astronomical loads through that section of the race track that it never sees any other time at any other circuit," he said.

 

   "So, I don’t think it’s good to cycle a tire through bumps like that. I think that’s why the tire comes apart. I think that’s why a left rear here and a left front there and it’s not air pressure and things like that. We’re moving air pressure around and it ain’t saving the tire. There’s bumps on the back straightaway that get worse and worse. They don’t need to pave the race track. Just pave the back straightaway. Not very cheap, but I’ll bet you won’t have any tire problems anymore.”

 

   Earnhardt was asked if the tire issue some teams experienced was a result of the cars coming off or running over the bumps on the track.

 

   “They show it in slow motion during practice all the time. Like the Nationwide guys, they were just banging through there and the cars are moving six to 10 inches in travel; and that’s ridiculous. We run these cars and work within sixteenths of an inch getting them around the race tracks. And for it to be going through that much movement, that many times through the back straightaway can’t be good for the tire. You’re just taking the tire and it’s like taking a piece of aluminum and just keep twisting it back and forth and it’s going to break in half," Earnhardt said.

 

   “The bumps are getting worse and worse and are too bad now. I don’t think it’s low air pressure. That doesn’t help when you get down too low. I imagine that Goodyear is going to look into that. But I’m telling you, the bumps back there and unlike any other thing we see. If they don’t tear the tire up, I don’t care that it’s bumpy. You just go through them and fix the track whenever you feel like fixing it. But, if it’s tearing the tires up and if that’s why, we need to look into it. Us, as a team, the team’s got to fix it all the time. It might be something fundamental like bumps on the race track there. They’re really bad on the back straightaway.

 

   “I feel bad for Goodyear. I think the tire is fine. I like the tire. It’s just those bumps. If you watch the cars go through there in slow motion, it shouldn’t be like that. And grinding them, they tried to grind them and they’re huge. You’d have to grind into the ground into the dirt to get those damn things to move."