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FORMAT CHANGES ENHANCE BATTLE TO QUALIFY FOR INDIANAPOLIS 500

Plan Designed To Add Excitement To Qualifying Days Will Debut This May

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, March 7, 2014) - INDYCAR announced a new qualifying format to set the 33-car starting lineup for the 98th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.

Qualifying will be enhanced with three sessions of time trials over two eventful days, with the goal of increasing entertainment value, fan attendance and TV viewership for the 2014 qualifying weekend on May 17-18, 2014.

New York (March 4, 2014) - It has been over a decade since it was last completed, but this May NASCAR Champion Kurt Busch will endeavor to become only the fourth driver in history to contest the "Double" - competing in IndyCar's historic Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's 600-mile race in the same day. Busch will make his first career Indianapolis 500 qualifying attempt behind the wheel of an Andretti Autosport Indy car. His entry will complete a stable of five (5) for Michael Andretti's championship winning IndyCar team. It is not the first pairing of Busch and Andretti Autosport, however, as in 2013 Busch completed a test day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the team and in the process passed the mandated Rookie Orientation program effectively setting the possibility of the "Double" into motion.

Photo Credit - John Motal RIS/AZ

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AVONDALE, AZ - RIS - As seems to be the fashion these days, the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway was just that.  After the early laps, laps that were dominated by the front row qualifiers--Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, the worm turned and it beacme a race between Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  Harvick won in the end, leading 224 of the 312 laps and had the best car all day.

Kevin Harvick at the 2014 Media Tour

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(AVONDALE, AZ – MAR 2, 2014 – RIS) Kevin Harvick ran away from the field at Phoenix, leading 224 of the 312 laps in NASCAR's The Profit on CNBC 500 Sprint Cup race. Heading last week's victor, Dale Earnhardt Jr, by just under a half second, Harvick's win capped a week featuring his 13th wedding anniversary on Friday and marked his inaugural win for new team Stewart-Haas Racing after leaving Richard Childress' team.

AVONDALE, AZ - RIS - The rains came, but it hardly made any difference.  Leading 155 of the 168 laps run, Kyle Busch was the definition of domance in winning the Blue Jeans Go Green 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Phoenix International Raceway.  Busch was declared the winner at 7:30 PM Easter with the race falling 32 laps short due to the rain.

Photo Credit - John Motal RIS/AZ

AVONDALE, AZ - RIS - Brad Keselowski made it 2-for2 in winning poles in a system that just might favor him.  The driver of the No. 22 Mustang, who won the pole for the Sprint Cup race yesterday, seems to like the format of Knockout qualifying.  The drivers just missed the rain when came on track shortly after qualifying.

Photo Credit - John Motal RIS/AZ

AVONDALE, AZ - RIS - Brad Keselowski cristened the new knockout qualifying format with the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race on Sunday at Phoenix International Speedway.  He beat out teammate Joey Logano for the pole giving Team Penske possession of the front row.  Keselowski ran a best speed of 139.384 mph. Keselowski went out early in the initial 30-minute session that narrowed the pole competition to a dozen drivers.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – RIS – Dale Earnhardt, Jr., won Sunday’s Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Daytona International Speedway in a race that was delayed by six hours and 22 hours by rain.  Earnhardt led the most laps—54—and won on a green-white-checker finish over Denny Hamlin.

CHANDLER, Ariz.  – Alexis DeJoria raced to her first career Funny Car victory Sunday at the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - RIS - Dale Earnhardt, Jr. held off a field of drivers and won the 2-lap shootout to win the Daytona 500 for the second time.  Over the last 50 laps, Earnhardt, Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, and others swapped the lead.  The unofficial top ten was Earnhardt, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Keselowski, David Gilliland, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Matt Kenseth, Austin Dillon, Biffle, and Casey Mears.  Details to follow.

CHANDLER, Ariz.  – NHRA Funny Car icon John Force will be seeking his seventh consecutive final round appearance from the No. 1 qualifying position Sunday at the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.

Credit: Tom Pennington / Getty Images

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – RIS – Regan Smith survived a wild finish to win the Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday.  The Drive4COPD 300 turned into a chess match, unlike last season’s race when Smith blocked Brad Keselowski and carnage happened behind him.  That was the day that an entire motor ended up on the wrong side of the catchfence.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – RIS – Kyle Busch made a daring move on the final lap to pass Timothy Peters and rush to the finish line.  Busch finished 0.0017 seconds in front of Peters.  Johnny Sauter finished third.  The top three were all in Toyota Tundras.  Ryan Truex and Ron Hornaday rounded out the top five, both in Chevrolets. The top Ford was Ryan Blaney, who finished sixth.

(DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEB 21, 2014 - RIS) Kyle Busch used a last-second outside move to edge out Timothy Peters for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Nextera Energy Resources 250 win. A multi-truck crash on lap 73 eliminated several potential winners when Parker Kligerman got turned into Mason Mingus and the resulting melee became a typical "Big One" wreck.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - RIS - The first test of NASCAR's new qualifying procedure produced a new first-time pole winner and many critics. 

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – RIS – Denny Hamlin won the second Budweiser Duel qualifying race for the Daytona 500 as carnage erupted behind him.  Hamlin, who led the final 25 laps, got out first on the only pit stop of the race and was never headed.  The finishing order of the race, which ended under caution, found Jeff Gordon finishing second, Kurt Busch third, Paul Menard fourth, and rookie Brian Scott fifth.

Denny Hamlin at the 2014 Sprint Media Tour

(DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEB 20, 2014 – RIS) Denny Hamlin won the second Daytona Duel under the caution flag, as an out of gas Jimmie Johnson triggered the sole caution of the two 60-lap races.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – RIS – Matt Kenseth took the lead just before the halfway point and went on to nip Kevin Harvick on the final lap of the first of two Budweiser Duel qualifying races at Daytona International Speedway.  Kenseth didn’t take tires on his pit stop, giving him enough advantage to hold off Harvick at the checkers.  Kasey Kahne finished third with Marcos Ambrose and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. rounding out the top five. 

Matt Kenseth at the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour

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Matt Kenseth Grabs First Duel at Daytona

DETROIT  – The most demanding auto race in the world again will have a distinctive American flavor with the returns of Corvette Racing to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. For its 15th consecutive appearance in the French classic, Corvette Racing will be armed with the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. Two of the new GT challengers were accepted to race at Le Mans in the GTE Pro class.

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Feb. 18, 2014) -- The 40th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, set to take place April 11-13, will feature a standing start for the IndyCar Series race, the first time a standing start will take place for the featured race in Long Beach since the final Champ Car World Series race ran here in 2008 and just the second time since the Formula One era ended in 1983.

"One of the unique parts of IndyCar racing is its different formulas – racing on short ovals, superspeedways, street and road courses – and standing starts is another one of those components that in the right place at the right time is good to showcase," said Derrick Walker, INDYCAR President of Competition and Operations. "It's a great location and I think the fans will like it. Long Beach has a history of standing starts, and in its 40th anniversary race this ties in with that tradition."

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – RIS – For the first time in 13 years, a NASCAR Sprint Cup car with the No. 3 on it qualifies for the Daytona 500 and rookie Austin Dillon put it on the pole for next Sunday’s race.  Dillon was the first rookie to win the pole since Loy Allen in 1994.  His speed of 1986.019 mph bested Martin Truex’s valiant effort of 195.892 mph.  The two Chevrolet drivers will make up the front row for the Great American Race regardless of where they finish in Thursday night’s qualifying races which will determine the rest of the field.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - RIS - Denny Hamlin left no doubt.  Hamlin led each segment of the race and made a daring move in the final laps of segment three to take the lead from Brad Keselowski and streak to the checkersin the exhibation race for 2013 pole winners.  Hamlin, who won the final race of 2013 at Miami-Homestead Speedway commented over his radio, "any questions," after crossing the finish line.

Today was Media Day at Daytona International Speedway.  We’ve compiled some interesting quotes from the drivers’ as they begin to repair for the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race on Saturday night.  That means press conferences.  Besides the trivial questions about what was done over the winter and what they got their significant other for Valentine’s Day, there were some interesting quotes.  The first quote is from Michael Waltrip, who will, as usual, be running a small number of NSCS races:

POMONA, CA ---- For the seventh time in his career, John Force drove his Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang Funny Car to victory at the 54th running of the Circle K NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. This was John Force’s sixth final in a row going back to the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello season but today’s final can be described as an epic rematch between two of the strongest Funny Cars in recent memory. It was at this same spot at the conclusion of the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello season during the Auto Club Finals that John Force and Matt Hagan squared off against each other with John coming up on the losing end.  

A belated update to the stories I've been posting for a few years. (This was first written as an exercise in historical research. Since then, we’ve tried to keep it updated. In light of past seasons’ somewhat controversial endings, especially where the 2004 championship is concerned, here’s the version for the year just ended.)

POMONA – John Force picked up right where he left off in 2013 when he raced to his unprecedented 16th Mello Yello Funny Car championship. On the first day of the 2014 NHRA season at the 54th annual NHRA Circle K Winternationals the winningest driver in NHRA history lowered the track elapsed time record he set in November at the Auto Club Finals twice en route to unofficially setting the national elapsed time record. NHRA national records become official at the conclusion of the race but his 3.966 second pass to close out the second qualifying session has a great chance of standing up for a long time.

 NASCAR today announced enhancements to its penalty structure and appeals process beginning this season. In addition to these changes, NASCAR also announced the appointment of a Final Appeals Officer for the sport.

Photo Courtesy of Getty Images for NASCAR

Racing legend and NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace was scheduled to hop back into the 2 car he made famous and turn laps in the afternoon testing session at Daytona Thursday afternoon. Rain thwarted that plan, but Wallace and current 2 car driver Brad Keselowski met with media to discuss how the idea came to be.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN- RIS- According to a press release from Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J. Doug Boles racing legend "Andy" Granatelli passed on Sunday, December 29th 2013 in Santa Barbara, California.

"Andy Granatelli - known appropriately as "Mister 500" - understood better than anyone the spirit and challenge of the Indianapolis 500 and had a remarkable ability to combine innovative technologies with talented race car drivers to make his cars a threat to win at Indianapolis every year," said J. Douglas Boles.

Jimmie Johnson on his way to the Sprint Cup championship

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-- For Immediate Release -- CONCORD, N.C. (Dec. 27, 2013) – With nearly 100 days of racing, car shows, concerts and more already on the calendar, 2014 is shaping up to be another action-packed year at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The legendary 1.5-mile superspeedway, along with zMAX Dragway and The Dirt Track at Charlotte will entertain fans with NASCAR, NHRA and World of Outlaws races, millions of Christmas lights, monster trucks, anniversary celebrations and more.

One of these students was the 10,000th trained by B.R.A.K.E.S. and the instructors in the photo

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(CONCORD, NC – DEC 7, 2013 – RIS) B.R.A.K.E.S. (Be Responsible And Keep Everyone Safe) provided safe highway driving training to the charity's ten thousandth teen driver today, in parallel courses at zMAX Dragway in Concord, NC and at El Toro, California.

Kyle Lick rides his 600 Wingless Sprint into turn 1 at Action Track USA. PatSportsPhoto- Dean Patton Photo.

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Kutztown, PA - RIS - This writer covered the action from Action Track USA for the entire 2013 season. This news release information is good news indeed for fans of Dirt Track Action. With Kyle stepping up to the SpeedSTRs the competition is getting hotter. He is joining the likes of Kenny Brightbill; the 2013 Points Champiom, Billy Pauch, Jr. and Sr., Paul Lotier, Craig Von Dohren and many other top Dirt Track competitors. It is becoming a who's who of Eastern Dirt Track racing. Now Kyle Lick will jump into the action.

PERRIS, CA -RIS- Dave Darland is now the third driver in the 73 year history of the Turkey Night Grand Prix to win on both pavement and dirt. In an exciting race he seemed to be fated to finish second until Damion Gardner lost his left rear wheel with four laps left while leading comfortably.

Photo- Dave Darland kisses the Aggie trophy. Credit Ed Hollowell

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Shoppers take advantage of great deals at the Souvenir and Race Ticket Blow-Out. (Credit: CMS Photo)

-- For Immediate Release -- CONCORD, N.C. (Nov. 20, 2013) – As Black Friday shoppers battle their way through local stores and shopping malls, motorsports fans should race their way over to Charlotte Motor Speedway the day after Thanksgiving for a unique shopping experience. At the 21st annual Race Ticket and Souvenir Blow-Out on Nov. 29, fans will receive great deals on racing merchandise and have the opportunity to drive their personal vehicles on the legendary 1.5-mile superspeedway.

Photo Credit: Andrew Weber - USA Today Sports

HOMESTEAD, FL – RIS – Denny Hamlin held off Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to win Sunday’s season-ending NASCAR Sprint Cup Ford 400 at Miami-Homestead Speedway. Jimmie Johnson won his sixth Sprint Cup championship by finishing ninth. The whole story is much more complicated, though. There was danger everywhere.

HOMESTEAD, FL - RIS - Denny Hamlin finally won his first race of 2013 in the last race of the season, outrunning Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to the finish line.  In bigger news, Jimmie Johnson won his sixth championship, but it wasn't easy.  Johnson dodged competitiors all day, once geting his car damaged on a restart.  He finished ninth while his main competition (Kenseth) was finishing second. 

USAC HONDA NATIONAL/WESTERN MIDGET CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: November 16, 2013 - Peoria, Arizona - Canyon Speedway Park - 46th " Western World Classic"

      FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Darren Hagen, 3. Christopher Bell, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Brad Kuhn, 7. Tyler Thomas, 8. Mike Spencer, 9. Ronnie Gardner, 10. Andrew Felker, 11. Tanner Thorson, 12. Chris Windom, 13. Caleb Armstrong, 14. Jake Swanson, 15. Jerry Coons, Jr., 16. Shannon McQueen, 17. Trey Marcham, 18. Aaron Reutzel, 19. Dalton Armstrong, 20. Parker Price-Miller, 21. Nick Drake, 22. Brady Bacon, 23. Taylor Ferns, 24. Zach Daum, 25. Rico Abreu.

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HOMESTEAD, FL – Brad Keselowski came from 11th place in two laps during the final restart to win the Ford Ecoboost 300 NASCAR  Nationwide Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  In the meantime, Austin Dillon won the season championship by finishing 11th, but only three points ahead of Sam Hornish, Jr.  Penske Racing also won the owner’s championship and Ford became the manufacturer champion.

USAC HONDA NATIONAL/WESTERN MIDGET CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: November 15, 2013 - Peoria, Arizona - Canyon Speedway Park - 46th " Western World Classic"

      FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Darren Hagen, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Christopher Bell, 4. Rico Abreu, 5. Bryan Clauson, 6. Caleb Armstrong, 7. Dave Darland, 8. Tanner Thorson, 9. Jerry Coons, Jr., 10. Brad Kuhn, 11. Tyler Thomas, 12. Bobby East, 13. Tracy Hines, 14. Ronnie Gardner, 15. Andrew Felker, 16. Mike Spencer, 17. Parker Price-Miller, 18. Trey Marcham, 19. Dalton Armstrong, 20. Shannon McQueen, 21. Taylor Ferns, 22. R.J. Johnson, 23. Levi Roberts, 24. Chris Windom. NT