Brad Keselowski, Miller Lite sign contract extention with Penske

 

   Team press release:

 

   MOORESVILLE, NC (October 2, 2013) – Penske Racing today announced multi-year extensions of its partnerships with driver Brad Keselowski and long-time sponsor MillerCoors,  two key elements of the organization’s 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) championship.

   “The extensions of our agreements with both Brad Keselowski and MillerCoors put our team in a real position of strength moving forward,” said Roger Penske. “This is an important day as these agreements will allow Penske Racing to invest significantly in our people and our technology, two critical areas to a successful race team.”

   Keselowski, the 2012 NSCS champion, has agreed to an extension that will keep him behind the wheel of the No. 2 Ford Fusion for many seasons to come. The 29-year-old millennial face of NASCAR, Keselowski combines superb driving ability with acute social media prowess that has elevated him to the elite level of the sport.

   “I am fully committed to Penske Racing and Miller Lite,” said Keselowski. “This will allow us to further grow our program and contend for championships on a consistent basis. It’s an exciting time to be a part of this organization and I look forward to a successful future.”

   In 2014, Miller Lite will continue to adorn the side of the No. 2 Ford Fusion for 24 NSCS points-paying races. Miller Lite will maintain a position as a major associate sponsor for the remaining 12 races of the 2014 season.

   This new agreement extends a partnership between Penske Racing and MillerCoors that spans more than 30 years, one of the longest and strongest sponsor-team relationships in all of sports. This includes the 23-year partnership at the Sprint Cup Series level, but it also extends to historical relationships with the organization in IndyCar competition and sponsorships of race tracks formerly owned by Penske Corporation.  

Another NASCAR champ who drove the No. 3 has died

   Rene Charland, the cigar-chompin’ Hall of Famer whose pranks were almost as legendary as his driving ability, died Monday after years of failing health. He was 84.

    Although he won four straight NASCAR national sportsman championships in the early 1960s, Charland is probably best remembered for a fiery, near-fatal wreck at Albany-Saratoga Speedway in 1966. Once he recovered from his injuries, Charland began referring to the accident as “The French Barbecue,” further adding to his own legacy.

    Born in Chicopee, Mass., Charland later settled in Agawam, Mass., and began racing at Riverside Speedway in 1949.

    His familiar No. 3 was a frequent winner at the dirt bullrings in Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut.

    To read more from the Schenectady (N.Y.) Daily Gazette go here.

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."