Roger Penske calls move to Ford camp in NASCAR 'a home run'

   Iconic motorsports owner Roger Penske was asked this week how he felt his first year back with Ford Motor Co. in NASCAR competition has gone thus far. He certainly seems pleased.

    Here was Penske's complete answer:

    "I’d say the transition to Ford has been a home run. The commitment from Ford Motor Company from top to bottom is something that we haven’t seen with many manufacturers, and certainly when we see NASCAR it’s a first-class organization. The support technically we get on the engine side with Roush Yates has been terrific, and, quite honestly, switching to the new Gen-6 car and also looking at going with a new manufacturer had a lot of challenges, but I think we’ve come together and we’re only going to get better," he said.

    "Obviously, I wish we had both cars in the Chase. We had some reliability issues as we got towards the end of the season, but that happens in racing. Overall, we’re glad with where we are and we’re looking forward to the future.”

Is there another Allison on the NASCAR horizon?

 

   Justin Allison, grandson of NASCAR legend and International Motorsports Hall of Fame driver Donnie Allison, and great nephew of former NASCAR champion Bobby Allison tested at Nashville Superspeedway earlier this week and will make his debut in the Automobile Racing Club of America series race Friday at Kansas Speedway with Team BCR Racing.

   "Testing at Nashville was very helpful," said Allison, 21. "I'm getting use to driving at a larger track than what I'm use to. Howard (Bixman) has given me a great car, along with the crew at Team BCR. I'm getting very excited to make my debut."

   In 2010, Justin  won the Allison Legacy Series points championship. He won seven races and finished in the top-five 20 times in 21 races. This season he has been competing in the PASS Super Late Model South Series.

Motorsports broadcaster Marty Reid out at ESPN

   An ESPN spokesman confirmed Sunday afternoon that Marty Reid no longer works for ESPN and the network has decided to go "in another direction."

    Allen Bestwick will call rest of the NASCAR Nationwide Series races this year. The network will announce a replacement for its IndyCar Series broadcasts in the future.

    Reid has worked as a television sportscaster at ESPN since 1982, covering motorsports for the network. Most recently he was the network's IndyCar Series lead commentator and also called select NASCAR Nationwide Series races for the network and the Indianapolis 500 for ABC.

Truex should be able to avoid surgery on wrist

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. has been getting a new cast on his broken wrist each week but it appears he will be able to avoid having surgery. 

   “We started to see this week – it looked a little bit better, so that was good news. The doctor was pretty certain we won’t need surgery now, which is a great news after all the bad news I’ve gotten here lately,” Truex said. 

   "So, hopefully, we’ll keep a cast on it obviously until it heals completely and then I’ll probably wear some sort of brace at least in the race car for the remainder of the year.” 

   Truex broke his right wrist in a wreck last month at Bristol, Tenn.

NASCAR: Air Titan should be at most or all tracks in 2014

 

  
   If NASCAR has its way, all tracks should dry faster next season on rainy days.

 

   Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition, told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Thursday he believes the new Air Titan track drying system should be at "100 percent" of race tracks in 2014.

 

   The new system was highly touted to start this year but has only been used at a handful of tracks, mostly because of the cost associated with renting it.

 

   Here is Pemberton's response to Sirius Satellite Radio host Jim Noble when Noble asked if Air Titan would be at most, if not all, Sprint Cup events in 2014:

 

    “Yeah, I believe we’re very close to seeing that. This technology, in a racer’s world, it’s never fast enough. We know that.  If you get an idea that something works you want to understand why you can’t use it 365 days a year.  The guys at R&D, Gene Stefanyshyn and his group back there, they’re working really hard and trying to come up with a package that’s a little more, the economics are there, it’s a little easier to travel, it’s a little more user friendly. We proved out what Air Titan does and immediately, even before the first race was over with us using it, we were on to the next program and the guys back there are knocking out some really, really nice equipment right now and prototypes," Pemberton said. 

 

   "I believe that you’ll see that at 100 percent of the race tracks next year and, if not, we may miss one or two. But our guys are after it, racetracks are wanting it, the fans need it, the drivers are appreciating it. I think when the fans know that Air Titan will be there and there’s an opportunity to start the race on time or start it a little bit earlier than you normally would, I believe that they will appreciate the fact that the effort’s been made to dry the track and get something for them. It’s a big undertaking but I will tell you this, everybody from the top on down in our company, this has been all but priority one for over a year now."

NASCAR’s Kyle Busch Wins 3rd Q Driver of Year Award

   NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch has been voted the third-quarter winner of the Driver of the Year award.

   Busch, 28, was a winner in all three of NASCAR’s top national series over the summer. He had two wins in Sprint Cup, three in Nationwide and one in Camping World Trucks.
He beat out sprint car driver Donny Schatz for the award, which is voted upon by a panel of American journalists and broadcasters.

   Barry Schmoyer, President of the Driver of the Year Foundation, said, “Kyle Busch is a truly a favorite in any series he chooses to race. I’ve watched him for his entire career and it’s hard to believe that he’s only 28 years old.”

   Busch, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, had eight first-place ballots and totaled 124 points according to the DOTY points system.

   The panel of 18 voters determines the winner of quarterly awards and then an overall winner following the season. In quarterly voting, points are awarded on a declining 9, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis. Busch will receive a trophy and a Tissot wristwatch.

Preseason Thunder returns to Daytona in January 2014

   Preseason Thunder, the annual NASCAR testing session at Daytona International Speedway featuring the Sprint Cup Series, will expand in 2014 with the addition of test dates for both the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series.

   NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will test on Jan. 9 and 10. The NASCAR Nationwide Series will test on Jan. 11 and 12. The Camping World Truck Series will wrap up Preseason Thunder on Jan. 13 and 14. It' s the first time since 2008 that the Nationwide and Truck series teams have participated in January testing sessions at Daytona.

   All test sessions are scheduled between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET each day, weather permitting. Each session includes a one-hour lunch break starting at noon.

   The Preseason Thunder Fan Fests, the companion events to the January testing sessions in the Sprint FANZONE, are scheduled on Thursday night, Jan. 9 for the Sprint Cup Series and Saturday night, Jan. 11 for the Nationwide Series.

   Fans can watch testing at no cost from a section of the Oldfield Grandstands. Tickets for Preseason Thunder Fan Fest for the Sprint Cup Series, which include the autograph session wristbands, will be available for purchase by calling (800) PIT-SHOP on Monday, Nov. 18 beginning at 9 a.m. Visit www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/thunder for more information.