NASCAR News - Eras Mesh During 2013 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Eras Mesh During 2013 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Baker, Owens, Thomas, Wallace and Wood Officially Enshrined

 

Five legends of stock car auto racing were enshrined into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., tonight during the Induction Ceremony held in the Crown Ballroom of the Charlotte Convention. Four were NASCAR pioneers, building the sport during its formative years; the other ushered it into modern times and its exploding popularity.

 

Combined, they make the fourth class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. It’s a group with talents that run the gamut necessary for NASCAR excellence: Unparalleled driving skills; team unifying and talent evaluating ownership prowess; a brilliant mechanical mind.

 

Here are the five new members, a group that pushes the total number of NASCAR Hall of Famers to 20.

 

Buck Baker – a two-time NASCAR premier series champion in 1956-57, the first to ever win back-to-back titles in NASCAR’s top level. Cotton Owens – a master of two crafts, that of driver and owner. Herb Thomas – the first driver to win multiple championships in NASCAR’s premier series. Rusty Wallace –  the 1989 NASCAR premier series champion and a 55-time race winner. Leonard Wood – legendary engine builder, mechanic and crew chief for the Wood Brothers.

 

Baker, a 46-time winner, joined the ranks of NASCAR royalty after becoming the first driver to capture consecutive championships in NASCAR’s premier series. He earned his first championship driving cars for legendary owner Carl Kiekhaefer; he won his second driving his own cars. Baker passed his immense driving talent to his son Buddy, who himself won 19 times in the premier series. Buddy Baker inducted his father during tonight’s ceremony.

 

"Buck always made an impression on people, good or bad," said widow Susan Baker, who accepted the induction on Baker’s behalf. Buck Baker passed away in 2002. "If you ever met him, you never forgot him. It was never boring being married to Buck, either. He could make me laugh like no one else could, and he had that same effect on others."

 

Owens joins Junior Johnson as NASCAR Hall of Famers who excelled as both driver and owner. The Union, S.C., native won nine times as a driver in NASCAR’s premier series, and won more than 100 more races in NASCAR’s Modified division. The latter feat earned him the moniker of “King of the Modifieds.” He wore the crown in the NASCAR premier series as an owner in 1966, winning the championship with fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson.

 

“I know this is a biased opinion, but in our family’s book, there was no better racer than Cotton Owens,” said Kyle Davis, Owens’ grandson, who accepted the induction on his grandfather’s behalf. Owens passes away last year. “My grandfather was one of the most humble, most loyal and hardest working men I’ve ever met. He took great pride in the fact that he could build a race car from the ground up … engine, chassis, transmission, you name it … drive it to the race track and then drive it to Victory Lane. He was a wizard at both turning wrenches and behind the wheel.”

 

Herb Thomas was one of NASCAR’s first superstars thanks to his premier series championships in 1951 and 1953. Becoming the first driver to win multiple championships, Thomas laid the groundwork for a record-setting career. His 48 victories in 228 starts translates to a winning percentage of 21.05 percent, a NASCAR premier series record.

 

Thomas’ son Joel accepted the induction on his behalf.

 

“I truly believe this is the greatest honor a driver could receive,” Joel Thomas said. Herb Thomas passed away in 2000. “My father would have been very honored and humbled in receiving this recognition. ... Thank you all for helping him reach his dreams. Thank you to all of his fans for cheering him on and keeping his memories alive.”

 

Ninth on the all-time premier series wins list, Rusty Wallace enjoyed one of the most successful careers in modern-day NASCAR. Wallace won the 1989 premier series championship a season after finishing second in the final points standings. For 16 consecutive seasons, from 1986-2001, Wallace scored at least one win per season. That’s tied for the third-longest streak in history.

 

"I look out in this crowd and I see some of the biggest stars in history,” said an emotional Wallace. “I am humbled that I’m standing up here, and I just can’t thank everybody enough for selecting me to be in the NASCAR Hall of Fame."

 

Leonard Wood again joins his brother Glen, this time in the NASCAR Hall of Fame (Glen was inducted last year). Leonard served as chief mechanic for the Wood Brothers his entire career, winning a total of 94 races with some of biggest names in NASCAR history including brother Glen, Marvin Panch, David Pearson and Cale Yarborough.

 

“It’s certainly a high honor to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, especially right behind my brother, Glen, and two of our former drivers, David [Pearson] and Cale [Yarborough],” Wood said. “Glen and I always did things together, we learned together and we won together.”

 

Each of the five inductees had an inductor who officially welcomed them into the hall. The inductors for the five inductees: Herb Thomas was inducted by NASCAR Hall of Famer Ned Jarrett; Cotton Owens was inducted by his former driver NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson; Leonard Wood was inducted by his nephew and Wood Brothers co-owner Eddie Wood; Buck Baker was inducted by his son Buddy Baker; Rusty Wallace was inducted by his son Greg Wallace.

 

Active drivers introduced each inductee video during tonight’s program. The list of drivers who participated: Carl Edwards for Herb Thomas; Mark Martin for Cotton Owens; Jeff Gordon for Buck Baker; Brad Keselowski for Rusty Wallace; and Trevor Bayne for Leonard Wood.

 

Prior to tonight’s Induction Ceremony was the presentation of the inaugural Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence, awarded to namesakes Ken Squier and Barney Hall.

 

Squier, co-founder of Motor Racing Network, is perhaps best-known for his work during the 1979 Daytona 500, a milestone moment for the entire sport, as Squier’s voice on CBS welcomed millions to the first live flag-to-flag coverage of "The Great American Race" – a moniker he coined.

 

Squier proceeded to call races for CBS and TBS until 1997 before shifting to the studio as host for NASCAR broadcasts until 2000. Squier continues to enlighten NASCAR fans to this day, mostly through special appearances on SPEED.

 

Hall began his career in the 1950s working at local radio stations in North Carolina and served as Bristol Motor Speedway’s first public address announcer when the track opened. He called his first Daytona 500 in 1960, and has missed only three broadcasts in the 54-year history of The Great American Race. He joined MRN as an original announcer at the network’s inception in 1970, first as a turn announcer and then moving to the booth in the late 1970s where he has been a fixture ever since at race tracks from coast to coast. 

NASCAR News - Rusty Wallace Won With ‘Hands-On’ Approach To Racing

Rusty Wallace’s ability as a driver is unquestioned.

He won 55 times – ninth most in NASCAR premier series history – during two decades against rivals named Bodine, Earnhardt, Elliott, Gordon, Jarrett, Labonte, Martin, Richmond and Waltrip.

But Russell William Wallace Jr., the 1989 series champion, did more than just drive the 900 horsepower stock car. His mechanical intuition was equally responsible for career achievements that will be capped Feb. 8 with Wallace’s induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame along with champions Buck Baker and Herb Thomas; championship car owner Cotton Owens and innovative crew chief, mechanic and engine builder Leonard Wood.

“It was like having on-board telemetry,” said Barry Dodson, Wallace’s championship crew chief at Raymond Beadle’s Blue Max Racing, of his driver’s phenomenal ability to judge – and correct – a vehicle’s handling.

Dodson labeled Wallace a high-strung thoroughbred. “You had to keep the bridle on,” he said. “I knew I always had (all) 100% in that seat.

“You didn’t have to be a cheer leader for Rusty. I never have seen a more determined guy.”

Robin Pemberton, crew chief for 15 of Wallace’s 37 victories at Penske Racing, likens Wallace to NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison, another hands-on driver/mechanic.

“He was looking for feel; what he needed. He just knew what he had to have,” said Pemberton, now NASCAR vice president of competition. “He trained a lot of us how to think.”

Fellow NASCAR premier series champion Dale Jarrett concurs with both crew chiefs.

 “He was probably if not the best, certainly one of the best of all time knowing his car, being totally involved in it from the chassis all the way to the aerodynamics of it,” said Jarrett, a fellow ESPN analyst. “He was probably as much of a hands-on driver in making changes to his car as anyone else that I can remember.

“He was a fair but hard-nosed racer.”

2-2-2-2

Rusty Wallace Won With ‘Hands-On’ Approach To Racing

Wallace, 58, grew up in St. Louis, the eldest of three racing sons of short track champion Russ Wallace. He made his competitive debut at age 16 in 1972 at Lake Hill Speedway near Valley Park, Mo. After winning several area racing championships, Wallace moved to United States Auto Club stock cars where he was the 1979 rookie of the year and third in points to champion A.J. Foyt. He won the 1983 American Speed Association title.

Wallace made his NASCAR premier series debut in the 1980 Atlanta 500 driving a Chevrolet owned by Roger Penske to a second-place finish. His first full season, in Cliff Stewart’s Pontiac, saw Wallace claim rookie of the year honors. Victory No. 1 came in the April 6, 1986 Valleydale 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway with Wallace in the seat of Beadle’s Pontiac.

With the Blue Max organization from 1986 through 1990, Wallace won 18 times. He lost the 1988 championship to Bill Elliott by 24 points despite a late-season charge in which Wallace won five of the final six races. Motivated by the near miss, Wallace out-dueled Dale Earnhardt to capture the 1989 title. Wallace won six races; Earnhardt five.

Wallace joined Penske Racing in 1991, and remained with the organization for the remainder of his career. He finished second in points in 1993, won 37 times and extended to 16 the number of consecutive seasons with a victory. From 1986 through 2002 Wallace finished outside the top 10 in points just once.

“Rusty had so many memorable races with our team and he was a big part of our development with Penske Racing and how we were able to grow our NASCAR program,” said Roger Penske, the 2012 championship team owner. “Not only was Rusty a great driver but he has continued to excel after his racing career with his work as a team owner, an announcer and in his development of Iowa Speedway.

“He has meant so much to this sport and we are very proud of all he has accomplished.”

Wallace won 25 short track races and on all three road course – Riverside, Sonoma and Watkins Glen – contested during his career. He scored victories with six different crew chiefs: Dodson, Pemberton, Larry Carter, Eddie Dickerson, Buddy Parrott and Jimmy Makar. His last victory came at Martinsville Speedway on April 14, 2004.

Wallace retired after the 2005 season to pursue a multi-faceted post-racing career as broadcaster, track designer and promoter, motivational speaker and businessman. Both brothers, Mike and Kenny, remain active NASCAR competitors as does his son, Steve.

Induction ceremonies will take place at 7:30 p.m. ET in the Crown Ball Room at the Charlotte Convention Center which is directly connected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The event is the first half of NASCAR Acceleration Weekend followed on Saturday, Feb. 9 by NASCAR Preview 2013. Tickets for the ceremonies start at $45 (available at www.nascaracceleration.com) and the NASCAR Hall of Fame box office. In addition, a $20 ticket will gain fans all-day access into NASCAR Preview 2013 and the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Saturday, Feb. 9.

NASCAR News - Auto Manufacturer Logos Will Now Join Drivers' Names On The Windshields Of The New NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Gen-6 Race Cars

During Autoweek’s Racing Conference held Tuesday in Detroit, NASCAR announced a further enhancement to the new Gen-6 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) cars that puts even more focus on manufacturer identity. In addition to displaying the names of the drivers on the Gen-6 car windshield, there will also be manufacturer identification present on either side of the driver’s name. The roundtable, town hall-style conference featured a panel that included NASCAR President Mike Helton, NASCAR VP of Competition Robin Pemberton and NASCAR VP of Brand, Consumer and Series Marketing Kim Brink, as well as executives from Chevrolet SS, Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry.
 
"I want to confirm that in addition to adding the name of the driver on the windshield, we’re adding the badge of the manufacturer to each side of the driver’s name," said Helton.  "We believe this will help build the identity of the driver with the race car and their relationship with the manufacturer."
 
 The Motor City was the kickoff of "NASCAR’s #Gen6 Road to Daytona Fueled by Sunoco," a multi-city tour introducing the Gen-6 race cars and generating excitement for the 2013 NASCAR season. Gen-6 will make its on-track debut during the non-points The Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX and culminates with the 55th running of the season-opening Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 24 at 1 p.m. ET on FOX.

Larson Tops Warren CAT Qualifier; Swindell takes VIROC V

CHILIBOWL PRESS: Bryan Hulbert - Tulsa, Oklahoma (January 8, 2013) Fresh off a four race sweep in New Zealand, Elk Grove, California’s Kyle Larson kept his streak of wins alive, celebrating a well-deserved victory with Steering Wheel absent doughnuts following a superb battle with Brady Bacon in Tuesday’s Warren CAT Qualifying A-Feature presented by US Fleet Tracking.

Earning the lead spot in the night’s A-Feature line-up, Larson stayed on point for the first three rounds before surrendering the top spot on lap three as Brady Bacon sailed the cushion off turn four.

“I knew it was going to get to the top within a few laps” commented Larson when asked about Bacon taking the lead away early on. “I really was focusing on finishing in the top three and wasn’t really too worried about him [Brady Bacon] getting by me but he was setting such a fast pace and I didn’t know how fast the other guys were behind me.”

With the majority of the field following suit to the cushion, slower traffic would approach quickly with the leaders finding the tail of the field by lap ten.

Taking to the hub to advance through traffic, the time spent around the berm was enough to allow Larson to begin closing the distance between the two.

As the pair of leaders raced on into heavier and heavier traffic, Tony Stewart and Casey Shuman continued a race long contest for the show position with Stewart putting the Chevrolet Performance No. 14 into the third spot on the sixteenth round.

Asked about the track, specifically being able to roll the bottom, Stewart replied, “At the beginning I think when they watered it was still a little bit greasy when we first started the race. It went away in a couple of laps but it was difficult for the first couple of laps to get going down there. As the pace kind of slowed down, my car got better from the halfway point on.”

As Stewart settled into third, Bacon raced to lap eighteen with Larson finding his chance at the lead with traffic holding Bacon to the bottom of the Tulsa Expo Raceway. Taking the PPM No. 99 back to the cushion, Larson would dive the bottom of turn one, pulling even with Brady down the back straight-a-way to take the lead entering turn three only to see the caution flag wave in turns one and two; reverting the field to the last fully completed lap.

Restarting with eighteen laps completed, Larson wasted no time going for the slide job, taking the lead exiting turn one and leading the remaining seven circuits.

“I got a big run on him into one and slid him, and that was kind of the move of the race” commented Larson. “After that I just focused on hitting my marks.”

Brady Bacon would try for the lead in the closing laps but fell short with Tony Stewart taking the final step on the podium. Casey Shuman held on for a fourth place finish with Chris Windom making up the top five.

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Jonathan Beason advanced from his tenth starting spot to finish sixth. Despite dropping a valve in the final laps, Phoenix, Arizona’s R.J. Johnson held on for seventh with Finland’s Markus Niemela crossing the stripe eighth. Shane Cottle and Kevin Ramey rounded out the top ten.

Eight Heat Races were contested with victories going to Casey Shuman, Chris Windom, Brenden Bright, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sean Dodenhoff, R.J. Johnson, P.J. Jones, and Shon Deskins.

The two C-Feature wins went to Darren Kingston and Kurt Mayhew with four A-Feature Qualifiers taken by Markus Niemela, Brady Bacon, Kevin Ramey, and Shane Cottle.

B-Feature victories belonged to Seth Motsinger and Zach Daum who earned the Hard Charger of the night, after a DNF in his Heat Race put the No. 5D last in the second C-Feature. Passing thirty-four cars through the C, B, and ultimately A-Feature, Daum ended up twelfth at the checkered flag.

Also a part of the Warren CAT Qualifying Night was the VIROC V. Headlined with fifteen drivers of who are either past Chili Bowl champions or driving for champion car owners, Kevin Swindell showed his continuing dominance of the Tulsa Expo Raceway with a closing lap pass on race long leader J.J. Yeley to earn his first, and third straight Swindell win in the Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions.

Into total, Tuesday’s Warren CAT Qualifier saw 65 drivers draw in representing sixteen states and three countries.

Tuesday’s Warren CAT Qualifying Night Results:

Heat Races - Top 40 in passing points advance to A-Feature Qualifiers.

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 2H-Casey Shuman[3]; 2. 57X-Kaley Engstrom[1]; 3. 31B-David Budres[4]; 4. 87F-Brian McClelland[5]; 5. 56X-Mark Chisholm[2]; 6. 45X-C.J. Johnson[8]; 7. 57K-Kevin Studley[6]; 8. 33R-Joe Stornetta[9]; 9. 22AZ-Rick Shuman[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 7W-Chris Windom[6]; 2. 8J-Jonathan Beason[3]; 3. 9U-Doug McCune[2]; 4. 7M-Seth Motsinger[5]; 5. 0K-Don O'Keefe Jr[7]; 6. 2X-Clint Woolbright[1]; DNF 49JR-Bobby Michnowicz[4]; DNF 14R-Jody Rosenboom[8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 92J-Brenden Bright[2]; 2. 81-Markus Niemela[1]; 3. 6-Aaron Pierce[4]; 4. 39C-Dillon Welch[8]; 5. 5BL-Barry Lamb[3]; 6. 17W-Cole Wood[6]; 7. 91H-Mike Hudson[7]; 8. 33A-Stephen Arnold[5]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[1]; 2. 71-Kyle Larson[8]; 3. 21N-Nick Speidel[2]; 4. 77H-Michael Harders[3]; 5. 81B-Ryan Beechler[5]; 6. 86C-David Camfield Jr[6]; 7. 1X-Bryan Debrick[7]; 8. 98GB-Curtis Boyer[4]

Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 9D-Sean Dodenhoff[2]; 2. 0Z-Cameron Beard[4]; 3. 99-Brady Bacon[6]; 4. 19W-Matt Mitchell[3]; 5. 17E-Blake Edwards[7]; 6. W94-Waylon Weaver[5]; DNF 23-Jimmy Light[1]; DNF 22-Mike Goodman[8]

Heat 6 (8 Laps): 1. 51J-R.J. Johnson[4]; 2. 14-Tony Stewart[5]; 3. 7A-Dalton Armstrong[2]; 4. 8-Alex Sewell[7]; 5. 21X-Kurt Mayhew[1]; 6. 7J-Shawn Jackson[8]; 7. 1B-Bobby Brewer[6]; 8. 11H-Dustin Hapka[3]

Heat 7 (8 Laps): 1. 98-P.J. Jones[1]; 2. 89K-Josh Lakatos[3]; 3. 05C-Shane Cottle[4]; 4. 7MR-Kevin Ramey[7]; 5. 55-Taylor Lynn Ferns[8]; 6. 94K-Darren Kingston[6]; DNF 22A-Andy Malpocker[2]; DNF 4B-Chris Shirek[5]

Heat 8 (8 Laps): 1. 11T-Shon Deskins[1]; 2. 11C-Chett Gehrke[4]; 3. 28K-Justin Hendricks[7]; 4. 83JR-Bruce Buckwalter Jr.[6]; 5. 12S-Bryan Severs[5]; 6. 5R-Garrett Rider[8]; DNF 73F-Tyler Walker[2]; DNF 5D-Zach Daum[3]

C-Features - Top 4 to corresponding B-Features:

C Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 21X-Kurt Mayhew[2]; 2. 86C-David Camfield Jr[3]; 3. 57K-Kevin Studley[6]; 4. 5BL-Barry Lamb[1]; 5. 23-Jimmy Light[10]; 6. 14R-Jody Rosenboom[8]; 7. 22A-Andy Malpocker[9]; 8. 33R-Joe Stornetta[7]; 9. 1X-Bryan Debrick[5]; 10. W94-Waylon Weaver[4]; DNF 11H-Dustin Hapka[12]; DNF 22AZ-Rick Shuman[13]; DNF 4B-Chris Shirek[11]

C Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 94K-Darren Kingston[3]; 2. 5D-Zach Daum[12]; 3. 56X-Mark Chisholm[1]; 4. 73F-Tyler Walker[9]; 5. 49JR-Bobby Michnowicz[7]; 6. 17W-Cole Wood[2]; 7. 91H-Mike Hudson[4]; 8. 98GB-Curtis Boyer[11]; DNF 2X-Clint Woolbright[5]; DNF 1B-Bobby Brewer[6]; DNF 22-Mike Goodman[8]; DNF 33A-Stephen Arnold[10]

A-Feature Qualifiers - Top 16 in combined passing points advance to the US Fleet Track A-Feature.

A-Feature Qualifier #1 (10 Laps): 1. 81-Markus Niemela[1]; 2. 14-Tony Stewart[5]; 3. 7A-Dalton Armstrong[8]; 4. 7W-Chris Windom[6]; 5. 11C-Chett Gehrke[4]; 6. 11T-Shon Deskins[3]; 7. 28K-Justin Hendricks[2]; 8. 17E-Blake Edwards[9]; 9. 7J-Shawn Jackson[10]; DNF 83JR-Bruce Buckwalter Jr.[7]

A-Feature Qualifier #2 (10 Laps): 1. 99-Brady Bacon[4]; 2. 71-Kyle Larson[6]; 3. 31B-David Budres[1]; 4. 8-Alex Sewell[2]; 5. 92J-Brenden Bright[5]; 6. 39C-Dillon Welch[3]; 7. 87F-Brian McClelland[8]; 8. 55-Taylor Lynn Ferns[7]; 9. 77H-Michael Harders[9]; 10. 5R-Garrett Rider[10]

A-Feature Qualifier #3 (10 Laps): 1. 7MR-Kevin Ramey[2]; 2. 8J-Jonathan Beason[3]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[4]; 4. 51J-R.J. Johnson[6]; 5. 7M-Seth Motsinger[8]; 6. 19W-Matt Mitchell[9]; 7. 81B-Ryan Beechler[10]; 8. 9U-Doug McCune[7]; 9. 9D-Sean Dodenhoff[5]; 10. 6-Aaron Pierce[1]

A-Feature Qualifier #4 (10 Laps): 1. 2H-Casey Shuman[6]; 2. 05C-Shane Cottle[1]; 3. 45X-C.J. Johnson[9]; 4. 89K-Josh Lakatos[3]; 5. 0Z-Cameron Beard[5]; 6. 57X-Kaley Engstrom[2]; 7. 98-P.J. Jones[4]; DNF 21N-Nick Speidel[7]; DNF 12S-Bryan Severs[10]; DNF 0K-Don O'Keefe Jr[8]

B-Features - Top 4 advance to the US Fleet Tracking A-Feature.

B Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 7M-Seth Motsinger[2]; 2. 87F-Brian McClelland[5]; 3. 81B-Ryan Beechler[6]; 4. 19W-Matt Mitchell[4]; 5. 57X-Kaley Engstrom[9]; 6. 86C-David Camfield Jr[14]; 7. 57K-Kevin Studley[15]; 8. 21X-Kurt Mayhew[13]; 9. 83JR-Bruce Buckwalter Jr.[11]; 10. 6-Aaron Pierce[12]; 11. 5BL-Barry Lamb[16]; DNF 11T-Shon Deskins[3]; DNF 55-Taylor Lynn Ferns[8]; DNF 9D-Sean Dodenhoff[7]; DNF 31B-David Budres[1]

B Feature 2 (15 Laps): 1. 5D-Zach Daum[14]; 2. 11C-Chett Gehrke[1]; 3. 98-P.J. Jones[9]; 4. 39C-Dillon Welch[3]; 5. 8-Alex Sewell[2]; 6. 21N-Nick Speidel[4]; 7. 73F-Tyler Walker[16]; 8. 7J-Shawn Jackson[10]; 9. 56X-Mark Chisholm[15]; 10. 77H-Michael Harders[11]; 11. 9U-Doug McCune[8]; 12. 12S-Bryan Severs[6]; 13. 94K-Darren Kingston[13]; DNF 17E-Blake Edwards[7]; DNF 28K-Justin Hendricks[5]

US Fleet Tracking A-Feature - Top 3 Lock into Saturday’s Lucas Oil Championship A-Feature

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 71-Kyle Larson[1]; 2. 99-Brady Bacon[4]; 3. 14-Tony Stewart[3]; 4. 2H-Casey Shuman[2]; 5. 7W-Chris Windom[5]; 6. 8J-Jonathan Beason[8]; 7. 51J-R.J. Johnson[6]; 8. 81-Markus Niemela[10]; 9. 05C-Shane Cottle[13]; 10. 7MR-Kevin Ramey[7]; 11. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[11]; 12. 5D-Zach Daum[18]; 13. 39C-Dillon Welch[24]; 14. 98-P.J. Jones[22]; 15. 7A-Dalton Armstrong[9]; 16. 87F-Brian McClelland[19]; 17. 92J-Brenden Bright[14]; 18. 89K-Josh Lakatos[15]; 19. 19W-Matt Mitchell[23]; 20. 7M-Seth Motsinger[17]; 21. 81B-Ryan Beechler[21]; DNF 0Z-Cameron Beard[16]; DNF 45X-C.J. Johnson[12]; DNS 11C-Chett Gehrke

VIROC V (20 Laps): 1. 39-Kevin Swindell[4]; 2. 1ST-J.J. Yeley[2]; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell[1]; 4. 15X-Chad Boat[5]; 5. 63-Jerry Coons Jr[7]; 6. 47X-Tim McCreadie[6]; 7. 71-Kyle Larson[11]; 8. 24-Tracy Hines[8]; 9. 21K-Cory Kruseman[3]; 10. 05-Brad Loyet[10]; 11. 67X-Brad Sweet[9]; 12. 47-Damion Gardner[13]; 13. 56P-Jason Leffler[15]; 14. 5-Cole Whitt[14]; DNF 14-Tony Stewart[12]

Photo Credit: Mike Spivey

Irwindale Speedway Announces NASCAR Sanction Agreement for 2013 Racing Season

“We’re very happy, No…better than that, we’re quite proud to announce our 2013 NASCAR racing schedule for Irwindale Speedway,” said Irwindale Event Center President and CEO Jim Cohan.

“We met with Bob Duvall from NASCAR yesterday at our offices in Irwindale,” said Cohan.  “He really understands our mission to bring great short track stock car racing back to southern California and he’s very supportive of that goal.  Bob made his presentation, answered all of our questions, we signed the sanction agreement, and he got back on a plane and took the papers back to Daytona Beach.”

“NASCAR is pleased to bring our Home Tracks program back to Irwindale Speedway,” said Duvall, NASCAR’s Senior Director of Business Development.  “This facility hasn’t changed physically in any way; it’s the same great race track.  What has changed is the management group and spirit of teamwork that Jim Cohan’s people bring to the effort, they’re all top pros, and I’m really looking forward to working with them.”

“There were a few doubts out there that this day might not come, not on our part of course.  Our team has worked very hard for this day, and to finally be able to tell the world that Saturday night stock car racing is back at Irwindale,” Cohan added.

 The 2013 racing season will begin on Saturday night, April 6 with a “Grand Re-Opening Night” of racing featuring NASCAR Super Late Models, Late Models, Super Stocks, Mini-Stocks and an evening-ending fun-for-all Demolition Derby.

Late last year Speedway management announced an alliance with Kern County Raceway Park, the new half-mile oval racetrack that’s just completing construction near Bakersfield.  Both tracks are working together to co-ordinate schedules and competition rules to allow teams in a number of divisions to compete at both tracks during the upcoming season.

Irwindale Competition Director, Mike Atkinson, will soon be announcing divisional meetings at the track for car owners and drivers. Applications for 2013 NASCAR licenses for drivers and crewpersons are now available at the Speedway office.

NASCAR Preseason Thunder Rolls Into Daytona

Sixth-Generation NASCAR Sprint Cup Car To Make Debut 

At The World Center of Racing

NASCAR PR RELEASE: NASCAR fans will get their first glimpse of the new sixth-generation NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars on the storied Daytona International Speedway for three days this week at Preseason Thunder, the unofficial on-track start of the 2013 NASCAR season.

This week’s sessions will be the only test for the new car at Daytona prior to Speedweeks, which begins with The Sprint Unlimited on Feb. 16 (SPEED, MRN Radio, SiriusXM Satellite Radio) and culminates with the 55th running of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 24 (FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM Satellite Radio).

“This test is an opportunity for the teams to prepare their cars for Speedweeks and the 55th running of the Daytona 500,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “This is the teams’ test and provides an excellent lead in to the upcoming 2013 season. There has been a lot of work put into the development of the Gen-6 car by the manufacturers, teams and NASCAR. It will be exciting to see the new cars on the track for Daytona Preseason Thunder.”

After several tests for the new car, including one restrictor plate test at Talladega Superspeedway, the rules package has been set heading into Preseason Thunder.

The rules package for Daytona includes:

·         Plate size                      29/32" (same plate size as 2012)

·         Spoiler size                   4" high x 53" wide

·         Spoiler angle                 70 degrees

·         Front Grille size             1-3/4" high x 23" wide

·         Radiator Relief valve       32 psi

In addition to the year’s first on-track testing, the track will also host Preseason Thunder Fan Fest on Thursday night, January 10.

Fan Fest will include autograph sessions, driver fan forums, show cars and displays, music and a photo opportunity with the 2013 Harley J. Earl Daytona 500 trophy.

Tickets for Daytona Preseason Thunder Fan Fest are $20 on Thursday and $10 for Friday and Saturday and are available by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com. Children 12 and under will receive free admission.

Among the drivers scheduled to appear on Thursday, Jan. 10 during the 5:30–7:30 p.m. session are Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart, Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Burton, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kurt Busch and Mark Martin.

In the 7:30–9:30 p.m. session, 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski, 2012 Daytona 500 champion Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Danica Patrick, Aric Almirola, Carl Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Clint Bowyer, Marcos Ambrose, Joey Logano, David Ragan, David Gilliland, Paul Menard, Kyle Busch, Bobby Labonte, Austin Dillon, Trevor Bayne and Casey Mears are scheduled to appear.

Daytona International Speedway will also host special driver chat sessions on the speedway’s social media channels following the end of testing Thursday evening from 5:30-9:30 p.m. Fans can submit questions for Twitter chats by including #DaytonaTesting and the driver’s official Twitter handle. NASCAR’s official Twitter feed @NASCAR will also provide updates throughout the three-day session. Fans can also participate in live driver chats hosted on Facebook by visiting www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.

SPEED will broadcast live coverage of testing on all three days from 1-5 p.m. ET. Additionally, SPEEDTV.com will stream testing live from 9 a.m.-noon ET each day.