Richard Petty statement on the death of his sister-in-law, Patricia Petty

 

   Patricia Petty, wife of NASCAR Hall of Fame crew chief Maurice Petty and sister-in-law to seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Richard Petty, passed away Sunday, May 11.

   Richard Petty offered the following statement:

   "We all love Patricia. She was another cornerstone in the Petty family and was always there for Maurice and allowed us to do what we loved to do. She was just another special part of the family. We'll miss her and give our love and support to Maurice and his family at this time."

Danica Patrick on her career-best finish: 'We work hard for it'

   Danica Patrick finally put together a complete weekend from start-to-finish, running strong in practice, qualifying well and earning a strong finish in the race. In this case, it was a career-best seventh-place finish in Saturday night's 5-Hour Energy 400 at Kansas Speedway.

   Patrick was asked about her weekend after the race:

   "It felt good. My goal was just to stay up in that lead group. Generally average out to where I was starting, and I feel we did all that. I’m really overall proud of the team for building cars like these. This was a new car. It was so good. It shows when the runs were long, I got to show this was a quick car," she said. "I’m so happy for GoDaddy always being behind me. I know that we haven’t had the best of times, but we work hard for it. It’s days like today when this is the kind of stuff that materializes in wins. We’ve just got to keep hanging around and doing what we’re doing. I’m just proud of everyone for working really hard and believing in me."

   Patrick was asked to describe the weekend.


   "Drama free. Jay (Guarneri) said this is what we call putting a whole weekend together. We weren’t great great in practice, but we came through in qualifying. Smart about the changes, Gibson did a good job making changes for the race. It was good from the get-go, what it says even more is two things: Really good on restarts and when it wasn’t quite right. Really good on long runs. That just goes to show this is a new car, and they build a great one. We’ve got more of these coming. That’s the even better news. Overall proud for the team. Kevin (Harvick)’s been a great teammate and helping me out, he was very fast tonight. I was surprised to see he didn’t win, but congrats to Jeff and happy for GoDaddy, who’s always been a big supporter of mine no matter what, and it’s days like today that hopefully makes them smile and start to pay off a little."

NASCAR champ Jimmie Johnson to receive key to City of Charlotte

   
   Six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson will be presented with the "Key to the City" during the regularly scheduled Charlotte City Council meeting on Monday, which convenes at 7 p.m.

   Johnson will be recognized by Mayor Dan Clodfelter for his outstanding philanthropic contributions to the Charlotte region and other parts of the country the Jimmie Johnson Foundation.

   The Jimmie Johnson Foundation was launched in 2006 by Johnson and his wife, Chandra, and is dedicated to assisting children, families and communities in need throughout the United States. To date, more than $6.7 million has been contributed to various organizations. 

   The foundation currently focuses on funding K-12 public education and in recent years has contributed close to $1 million to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Cabarrus County school systems.

How you can get a 'Ride of a Lifetime' at Charlotte Motor Speedway

   

   Fans can bid to ride along with their favorite driver during their parade lap after driver introductions for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 25, via the “Ride of a Lifetime” auction which benefits the Charlotte Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities .

   Drivers participating in the auction include Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., among others.

   The winning bidders will receive a pit and garage tour, get to attend the drivers' meeting and see driver introductions prior to their lap around the track in the back of a Toyota Tundra.

   To place a bid, go here. The auction closes at noon on Thursday, May 22.

   VIP Experience Auction

   This year Speedway Children’s Charities is also offering more VIP experiences, providing fans with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities during the 10 days of racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

   Among the packages up for auction: a Jake Owen meet and greet, a visit to Victory Lane for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race or Coca-Cola 600, a VIP Day with a NASCAR Nationwide Series driver and more.

   The auction for NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race packages closes at noon on Thursday, May 15 and the auction for the Coca-Cola 600 packages closes at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 22.

   To place a bid, go here.

Carolina Panthers' Luke Kuechly gets NASCAR assignment

 

   Luke Kuechly, linebacker for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, will serve as honorary pace car driver for the May 17 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

   Kuechly has been the leading tackler for the last two seasons for the Panthers and was the 2013 Associated Press Defensive Player of the year.

   In his rookie season, Kuechly, the ninth overall draft pick out of Boston College, made an immediate impact by leading the NFL in tackles an earning 2012 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.

NASCAR penalizes driver Kasey Kahne's crew chief

   Press release

   Kenny Francis, the crew chief for the No. 5 team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with driver Kasey Kahne, has been penalized for rules violations committed during qualifying May 3 at Talladega Superspeedway.

 

   The infraction is a P3 level penalty and violates Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 12-4.3(A)1-c (unapproved added weight and/or weight affixed improperly) of the 2014 rule book.

 

   As a result, Francis has been fined $25,000. The infraction was discovered in post-qualifying inspection.

 

 

Report: NASCAR driver Kyle Busch issued speeding citation

 

   Charlotte TV station WSOC-TV Channel 9 reported Sunday night that NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch was issued a speeding ticket for allegedly going 60 mph in a 45 mph zone on April 29 in Denver, N.C., located west of Charlotte.

   According to the police report, the officer who issued the ticket said Busch had "a disrespectful attitude."

   A request for comment from Busch's public relations representative was not immediately returned Sunday night.

   You can read the entire Channel 9 report here.

   In May 2011, Busch was cited for speeding and reckless driving in nearby Iredell County. You can read the story of that incident here.