Nascar

No. 5, Chip Ganassi Racing

... drivers into NASCAR's version of the playoffs was a positive for the organization, which has been a tick behind. The team will need to win more in 2017 with the Target sponsorship in the last season of its current contract, and questions about its future considering it ended support of Ganassi's Indy Car program after last year. Driver lineup. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet: Larson earned that breakthrough win last year at Michigan and enjoyed his best year as he finished ninth in the standings. With seven top-5 s in the final 13 races in 2016, he has set the stage for a breakthrough season - the season that many predicted when he was rushed into Cup competition in 2014. Larson: "To be a championship team, you need to just be better than everybody at everything. I could do a better job at executing. Our pit calls could be better. I'm not saying that anything is bad, but I'm saying that everything could be a little bit better to gain lap time and improve on finishes. So, we just ...

Ford Looking For Championships With Upgraded Nascar Lineup

... Harvick leans on his car in the garage during NASCAR auto racing practice at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, in Daytona Beach, Fla. By JENNA FRYER. AP Auto Racing Writer. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Ford's courtship of Stewart-Haas Racing was nothing short of clandestine. No matter how Ford crunched the numbers, it was at a significant deficit in car count. It hindered the manufacturer's ability to win a championship - Ford last won a Cup title in 2004 - and new leadership recognized an immediate need to add a top-tier team. With sights set on SHR, the Ford brass quietly went to work on luring a lifetime Chevrolet team to a rival manufacturer. It was never going to be that easy, but the Ford duo of chief technical officer Raj Nair and global director Dave Pericak didn't know the lengths they'd have to take to court the team. "The first time we visited, we had to stop in some lady's front yard and ...

Louisville Nascar Driver Rhodes Feels Urgency To Win Races In 2017

... Jr.’s JR Motorsports. In 2016, driving full time for Thor Sport Racing in the truck series (Class AA), Rhodes had only two top 5 s and five top 10 s in 23 starts. The Kentuckian led but 55 of the 3,162 laps he ran last year. A June fire that did major damage to Thor Sport’s race shop in Sandusky, Ohio — and some of the team’s race trucks — hampered Rhodes’ season. After some good runs early, including a fourth place at Iowa Speedway and a second at Gateway Motorsports Park (St. Louis), Rhodes did not finish better than 12 th over the season’s final nine races. “Last year, we wanted the championship, we wanted the Rookie of the Year, we wanted all of this,” Rhodes said. “At the beginning of the year, (those goals) seemed very tangible. As the year went on, we experienced the fire, we experienced a lot of adversity. I wouldn’t say it destroyed our program, but it certainly pushed us back and made it very hard to compete.”. Though Rhodes is back ...

Competitive Fire Still Burns Bright For Nascar Champion Jimmie Johnson

... wouldn’t necessaarily encourage him to retire immediately. "I think every athlete would love to have that moment," Johnson said on Saturday during a media roundtable at Daytona International Speedway. "When the fire goes out is the tricky part. I think Carl (Edwards) and Nico were surprises because they were both so competitive and young. "I feel like Peyton was still on the fence for a little while and the fire was still burning, but maybe age or injury kind of forced him consider it. I've been very fortunate to not have anything like that come up. If I can time it that way, great, but I'm more concerned about monitoring when the fire goes out.". Johnson has mostly dismissed questions concerning retirement over the past few seasons. He knows he's reached the tail end of his career, but the 41-year-old doesn't want to think about it. That's because thinking about it ...

From An Incredible Career, Mario Andretti's Daytona 500 Win Still Stands Out

... Andretti's Daytona 500 win 50 years ago one for the ages. Mario Andretti was just 26 when he won the second Daytona 500 he had entered. Getty Images. Covered Indy car racing for 20 years. Work published in 12 countries. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Mario Andretti may well be the most versatile driver the world has ever seen. In a career that spanned 30 years at the top level, he was a force to be reckoned with wherever he raced. And he raced all over the world. In 1967, Andretti competed in 45 races across nine categories. He scored 12 wins in Indy cars, stock cars and sprint cars, and he shared the winning Ford in the 12 Hours of Sebring with Bruce Mc Laren. He also ran midget and Can-Am races on the side. But what Mario accomplished on Feb. 26, 1967, stands out. Two days short of his 27 th ...

Nascar To Crack Down On Prerace Violations With Tougher Penalties

... of the car. And if a team fails a technical inspection station, it must now restart the process from the beginning instead of at the station it failed. NASCAR is also condensing the tiered penalty structure from six levels to two - identified as L 1 and L 2. These violations involve the chassis, engine, electronic fuel injection, fuel, missing lug nuts, tires, the measurement, height and weight of the car, and telemetry, all of which will be classified after a race’s completion with any penalties announced later. An L 2 penalty is considered the most severe. Other rule revisions of note announced on Thursday. - Any driver involved in an accident must report to the in-field care center and undergo a medical evaluation if their car is not repairable. Previously a driver involved in an accident was not subject to a medical evaluation if they could drive their car to the garage. - Only six crew members are permitted over the pit wall to work on a damaged car, plus an additional crew member to focus solely on the windshield and driver. Too ...

What Is Danica Patrick’s Future With Stewart-haas Racing

... Patrick is not the first driver or athlete to experience this, nor will she be the last. What Patrick’s future is with Stewart-Haas Racing, or for that matter in NASCAR, depends on funding. Just as many things center around in the sport. She remains a marketable driver whose appeal extends outside the world of motorsports, but companies are going to want more than a recognizable name and social media posts. And that means she must evolve into a driver who runs and finishes near the front with greater frequency. Because if Patrick cannot perform on the track or draw the necessary sponsorship, then SHR certainly will have no shortage of candidates who can do one or the other — and maybe even both. I have a hypothetical about Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez and Carl Edwards’ retirement. If Jones wasn’t already ...

Jeff Gluck Still On Nascar Beat Under Different Format

... to relocate, because who knows where we’ll end up?” Gluck wrote on his website, Jeff __link__. There’s little doubt the popular Gluck would have ended up with a publication that seeks to improve its NASCAR coverage and give its readers insight into the sport and its personalities. Instead, with assistance from Patreon, which has more than a quarter-million creators making a living through subscription payments, Gluck is proceeding with NASCAR coverage. “My plan is to start a reader-funded NASCAR website and podcast. I will work directly for you, write only about what I think interests you and won’t waste your time with things that don’t,” Gluck wrote in the beginning. “There won’t be any click bait because, if this works, my income won’t depend on page views. “You can help me by giving small contributions through my Patreon page. Patreon is like a Go Fund Me site, except ...

Bowyer Out To Revive Nascar Career As Stewart's Replacement

... going to win a race this is the exact team I'm going to win with. "Wouldn't it be awesome if it was the Daytona 500? So I can stop answering that damn question?". Bowyer is one of the skilled plate racers in NASCAR and he can typically rise to the challenge of a tight pack and split-second decision making. He's a two-time winner at Talladega and has three top-five finishes at Daytona. It makes Daytona International Speedway probably the best place for him to debut with a new team because he's so comfortable at the track. "I love Daytona. I know a lot of people don't say that, but I like it. Maybe I'm a lunatic?" he said. NASCAR beefs up concussion testing before season begins. NASCAR has beefed up its concussion protocol with a consistent screening rule at all venues. Drivers who are involved in a wreck that sends their car to the garage will now be required to report to the infield care center for an evaluation. Under the old rule, a driver went to the care center only if their car had to be towed from the track. NASCAR's standards will also require infield care center ...

The Clash At Daytona Gets Nascar Season Started Saturday Night

... a 50-lap segment. Unlike when NASCAR goes racing "for real," the laps between the stages won't count. What to watch for when the green flag drops at 8:24 p.m. ET Saturday. 1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ; oh, wait. Earnhardt opted not to do the Clash even though he is qualified for it as a past winner. He won't race because, he said, he wanted his 2016 substitute driver Alex Bowman , who won a pole at Phoenix, to race - and race with the crew he won the pole with while Earnhardt missed races with a concussion. Editor's Picks. If you weren't paying much attention during NASCAR's offseason, you have a lot to catch up on before Saturday night's exhibition Clash. New points, new rules, new faces and a new sponsor. Ready. 1 Related. Theoretically, Earnhardt and Bowman both could have raced, as Hendrick driver Kasey Kahne didn't qualify for the field. But with Kahne's ...