Jeff Gordon shocked the NASCAR community this morning with the announcement that 2015 would be his last season as a full time driver in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series. Gordon, who will be 44 in August, has won 92 races in a career that started with a race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1992. His resume includes four Sprint Cup championships.
SARAH FISHER TO COMPETE IN 2015 CHILI BOWL WITH RW MOTORSPORTS
Hartman Oil Fuels Fisher's First Return To The Driver's Seat Since 2010
(SPEEDWAY, Ind.) January 6, 2015 - Sarah Fisher will return to the driver's seat next weekend to compete in the 29th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire in Tulsa, Okla. The woman voted most popular driver four times in two different series will campaign the No. 67RW for RW Motorsports, owned by Steve Weirich and Mario Rotondo. Hartman Oil will be the presenting sponsor on the midget.
(CONCORD, NC – DEC. 16, 2014 – RIS) Sprint announced today that, following the 2016 season; the wireless telephone provider will no longer sponsor NASCAR's Sprint Cup series. In the sanctioning body's statement Brett Jewkes, NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, stated: "NASCAR and Sprint have enjoyed a long and productive partnership that has returned significant value to both parties. We understand significant changes within Sprint and the highly competitive business environment it is in has led to a decision not to extend its Cup Series entitlement position following the 2016 season."
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES RELEASES 2015 RULE CHANGES
INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014) - The 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series rulebook was issued to teams this week and changes to the sporting and technical regulations include double points for the 99th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race and the season finale at Sonoma Raceway on Aug. 30.
Legendary NHRA crew chief and mechanical wizard Dale Armstrong died Nov. 28 from complications of sarcoidosis at his home in Temecula, Calif. He was 73.
Christopher Bell gets to kiss the hat in 2014. photo speedblur101
PERRIS,CA -RIS- Christopher Bell came to the 74th Turkey Night Grand Prix trailing Rico Abreu for the USAC Honda National Title by 26 points. Bell won the 98 lap feature and 'Kissed the Hat' as has become the custom since the trophy featuring the late JC Agajanian's hat was created. But Rico had a good night too and won the 2014 title by ten points after a fifth place finish.
JoJo Helberg at Irwindale. photo Speedblur101
IRWINDALE, CA -RIS- Jo Jo Helberg had everything going his way as he set quick time at a new track record, 13.791; 130.520 mph, won the trophy dash and the feature in the “King of the Wing” winged sprintcar event.
The checkered flags end the race, right?
From track releases - CONCORD, N.C. (Nov. 19, 2014) – It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Charlotte Motor Speedway and a merry band of hard-working elves are keeping themselves busy bringing the infield Christmas Village to life before officials flip the switch on Speedway Christmas in just two weeks.
Matt Hagan and Andrew Hines also earn world championship titles; Hagan, Lucas and Arana Jr. score Auto Club NHRA Finals victories
Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR
HOMESTEAD, FL – RIS – Kevin Harvick held off Ryan Newman to win the Ford EcoBoost 400 and the Sprint Cup championship at Miami-Homestead Speedway. Harvick was in the lead with 3 laps of the 267 scheduled laps. A hard driving Newman watched as Harvick got past and kept the lead until the checkered flag to win.
Kevin Harvick earlier in the year
(CONCORD, NC - NOV 16, 2014 - 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.)
Lunch one Thursday in 2004 was interesting. We met, as usual almost every week, at the local Lions' Club for their inexpensive and tasty hot dogs. This gathering has included at times, Chris Economaki, plus drivers, crew, retired drivers and owners, journalists, etc. The weather and home crises cut into attendance this week but it was still an interesting group.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Unofficial Final Points Report
Pos Driver BPts Points Ldr Nxt Starts Poles Wins T5s T10s DNF PPos G/L
1. Kevin Harvick 48 5043 0 0 36 8 5 14 20 2 4 3
2. Ryan Newman 7 5042 -1 -1 36 0 0 5 16 1 3 1
3. Denny Hamlin 20 5037 -6 -5 35 3 1 7 18 2 1 -2
4. Joey Logano 40 5028 -15 -9 36 1 5 16 22 4 2 -2
5. Brad Keselowski 50 2361 -2682 -2667 36 5 6 17 20 1 5 0
POMONA, CA (November 15, 2014) ---- John Force Racing today announced a multi-year sponsorship with Lucas Oil Products. The announcement makes Lucas Oil the “Official Oil of John Force Racing” and the Corona, California based company will have signage on all the John Force Racing Funny Cars and the Top Fuel dragster as well as driver uniforms and race transporters beginning in 2015.
HOMESTEAD, FL – RIS – With the Nationwide Series driver’s championship already decided, all was left was good racing and an owner’s title to be decided. Sprint Cup driver Matt Kenseth fought hard for the win and Chase Elliott was finally able to celebrate his accomplishment. It was pretty heavy stuff for an 18-year old and a guy who hadn't won anything all year.
Unofficial Points Report, NASCAR Nationwide Series
Homestead, FL – RIS – Matt Crafton won the 2014 NASCAR Camping World Series Championship while Darrell Wallace, Jr. drove to victory at Miami-Homestead Speedway Friday night. Darrell Wallace Jr. held off Kyle Larson on the last lap to win Friday night’s Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, his fourth NASCAR Truck series victory of the season.
SOURCE: FOYT RACING
A.J. Foyt Undergoes Successful Triple Bypass Surgery in Houston
HOUSTON Nov. 12, 2014-Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt underwent successful coronary bypass surgery today in Houston after being diagnosed with blockages on Monday.
Foyt, 79, had been admitted to the Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center on Friday with intermittent chest pains but initial testing results were inconclusive. However, a cardiac catheterization procedure performed Monday revealed blockages in arteries where Foyt had several stents from past procedures, most recently in March, 2010.
The triple bypass surgery was performed by renowned cardiothoracic surgeons O.H. "Bud" Frazier, MD, Director of Cardiovascular Surgery Research at Texas Heart Institute (THI) and Chief of Transplant Service, St. Luke's Medical Center and William Cohn, MD, Director of Minimally Invasive Surgical Technology at THI. Both men trained under artificial heart pioneer Dr. Michael DeBakey while Dr. Frazier also worked with Dr. Denton Cooley, a former partner of DeBakey's and founder of the Texas Heart Institute.
Foyt is expected to remain in the hospital through Monday.
Foyt and his son Larry recently announced the expansion of their IndyCar team from one car to two for the 2015-2016 seasons. Jack Hawksworth was named as driver of the No. 41 ABC Supply Honda; Takuma Sato will pilot the No. 14 ABC Supply Honda for the third straight year. In October, Foyt purchased a building in Speedway, Ind. which will be used by his race team as a Midwest base during the summer.
Foyt has had a number of stays in various Houston hospitals in recent years, most of which were related to injuries stemming from his 1990 Indy car accident at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. Last year he underwent back surgery and had his left hip and right knee replaced in separate surgeries, and in 2012, he battled back from a life-threatening staph infection after surgery to remove bone spurs in his artificial left knee, which had been replaced in 2006.
Foyt, who was deemed to be one of the toughest race drivers ever during a career that spanned five decades, has proven to be just as tough in his non-driving 'golden' years.
POMONA, Calif. — With recent history in mind, it is not surprising the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car world championship is coming down to another thrilling battle between Matt Hagan and reigning world champ John Force.
Credit: RIS/AZ John Motal
AVONDALE, AZ – RIS – Kevin Harvick led 264 of the advertised 312 laps en route to winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday. It was a do or die situation since only a win could get him into the final round of the 2014 Cup Championship. Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Newman also qualified. Those four will race for the 2014 Sprint Cup next Sunday at Miami-Homestead Speedway. A second-place finish in Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 did Jeff Gordon no good, thanks to a final-lap run by Ryan Newman, who passed rookie Kyle Larson for the 11th position on the final lap to eliminate Gordon from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by a single point.
Robert Ballou with the big check.
PERRIS, CA -RIS- It was a 'first' in the 19 year “Budweiser Oval Nationals” as Robert Ballou swept all the 410 sprintcar features at Perris Auto Speedway.
It was Roberts fourth USAC National feature win of the year and maybe the two biggest nights of his career as he took 20 thousand dollars for the championship to add to the five thousand he won in the Friday preliminary feature. Rockland California is where Ballou calls home and winning in his home state was also a big bonus.
Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR
AVONDALE, AZ - RIS - Brad Keselowski, who couldn't get past Kyle Busch all day, passed Busch on the final lap of a green-white-checker finish to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series DAV 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. While Keselowski was winning the race, Chase Elliott was clinching the 2014 Series Championship with a fifth place finish. Busch, who led all but 19 of the 206 laps, appeared to have a victory in hand when a caution was thrown on Lap 199 when Alex Bowman suddenly fell of the pace and out of gas.
Robert Ballou after Perris non-stop win.
PERRIS, CA -RIS- Friday Night was the second night of the 2014 “Budweiser Oval Nationals” but the first for the USAC National Series traditional 410 sprintcars. With 55 cars qualifying it was becoming a long night as five cars flipped including Damion Gardner getting stuck on the fence during his heat. The Feature did not get started until 11 pm. Robert Ballou won the 30 lap Feature leading 20 laps in a race that was caution free and over in 9:24.75!
AVONDALE, AZ - RIS - Eric Jones drove his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Tundra to w win at Phoenic International Raceway in the NASCAR Camping World Lucas World 150 Camping World Series race. The race was delayed almost two ahours for electrical issues that did not allow the light to come on and saw the race end early.
Credit: RIS/AZ John Motal. John suddenly passed away Tuesday. Our thoughts and prayers to his family.
AVONDALE, AZ - RIS - Denny Hamlin, needing a 11th place or better finish to make the final four championship race, accomplished part of that in winning the pole for the Quicken Loans 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Hamlin covered the one-mile distance in 25.332 seconds (142.113 mph) to win his third Coors Light pole award of the season, his second at Phoenix and the 20th of his career. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota edged fellow Chase driver Brad Keselowski (142.079 mph) by .006 seconds for the top starting spot in the final race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup's Eliminator Round.
Forty Six drivers were at Perris Perris Auto Speedway for the opening night of “The Budweiser Oval Nationals” for sprint cars. Opening night was limited to 360 CID cars and featured many drivers from the USAC National Sprintcar series as well as drivers from the numerous 360 series in the southwest. When the results were in it was the National Series had shown their skills as C. J. Leary and Bryan Clauson fought it out for the $2,500 winner's purse.
Credit: Matthew Bishop/AP Photos
NASCAR has assessed penalties to crew members from the No. 5 and No. 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams for their involvement in post-race incidents on Nov. 2 at Texas Motor Speedway. In addition, the crew chiefs from those two teams also have been penalized.
Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR
FORT WORTH, TX – RIS – The old joke used to be about going to a fight and a hockey game breaking out. The same thing could be said for NASCAR these days. Jimmie Johnson won his fourth race of 2014 in fine fashion in a green-white-checker finish, but what became after might be best described as frustration due to the nature of the format of the championship. Regardless, let’s talk about what happened on the track.
Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR
FORT WORTH, TX - RIS - Kyle Busch had just celebrated a win Friday night in the Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, but he proved he wasn't finished in the Lone Star State. He had cause for more celebration Saturday afternoon by winning the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge by outdueling Joey Logano.
Getty Images/NASCAR
FORT WORTH, TX - RIS - Kyle Busch passed German Quiroga off a restart in a two-lap shootout in the Camping World Truck race Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway for his seventh victory in nine series starts this year.
Credit: Getty Images/NASCAR
FT WORTH, TX – RIS – Matt Kenseth, winless in 2014, put his No. 20 Toyota on the pole for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Kenseth ran a lap of 199.299 mph in securing the pole over Jeff Gordon (199.291 mph).
INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014) - INDYCAR announced the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule today featuring 17 race events, two new race venues and a total of six ABC and 13 NBCSN event broadcasts. The diverse calendar of events - which features six ovals, six road courses and four temporary street circuits - includes a total of 13 markets making a return to the calendar from 2014.
Credit: Getty Images/NASCAR
MARTINSVILLE, VA – RIS – Dale Earnhardt Jr. held off Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon over the final five laps after a red flag condition to win a typical dramatic short track race at Martinsville Speedway. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally won the coveted grandfather clock trophy by winning the 66th Annual Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500.
MARTINSVILLE, VA – RIS – It might have taken over four hours, but the fans roared and darkness didn’t come. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., out of the championship picture, came on late to outduel Jeff Gordon to win the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500. On a day when it seemed all the drivers who did qualify to continue on the championship quest had rough days, Earnhardt steadily moved to the front and led the final laps to take home the Grandfather Clock he so coveted.
Getty Images/NASCAR
MARTINSVILLE, VA – RIS – Darrell Wallace Jr. in the throwback #34 Wendell Scott number and paint scheme started from the pole position for the Kroger 200 race at the historic half mile Martinsville Speedway and he finished in the same position for his third victory of 2014 and fourth victory in 41 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
MARTINSVILLE, VA - RIS - Darrell Wallace, Jr. led the most laps (97) and became the winner of Saturday's Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway. Wallace's Toyota truck carried the colors of new Hall of Fame inductee Wendell Scott and had the number changed from his usualy number of 54 to 34, Scott's number.
MARTINSVILLE, VA - RIS - Darrell (Bubba) Wallace, Jr. won the pole for the NASCAR Camping World Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway. Wallace's Toyota is painted like the colors that NASCAR Hall of Famer Wendell Scott used in the Sprint Cup Series. The number has been changed to 34, the number Scott used when racing. Wallace became the first African-American to win a NASCAR national series race last year.
NASCAR/Getty Images
MARTINSVILLE, VA – RIS – Jamie McMurray surprised most of the small crowd of fans watching by winning the pole position for Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Bomb 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway. McMurray circled the .526-mile short track in 18.954 seconds (99.905 mph) in his No. 1 Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, far ahead of the championship contenders on Friday in winning the pole for the first race in the Eliminator Round of the Chase.
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Oct. 23, 2014) - Veteran crew chief Jimmy Prock has been hired by Don Schumacher Racing for a position yet to be determined, DSR owner Don Schumacher announced Thursday.
The Dirt Track at Charlotte to Feature New Track Surface At Nov. 6-8 World of Outlaws World Finals
More the 1,500 yards of clay were added to the surface at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. The new surface will make its debut on Nov. 6 at the World of Outlaws World Finals. (RIS photos by John Davison)
For Immediate Release (CONCORD, N.C. Oct. 22, 2014) – When more than 150 competitors and thousands of fans return for the World of Outlaws World Finals, Nov. 6-8, they'll be welcomed with new North Carolina red clay at the lightning-fast, fourth-tenths-mile oval. Track officials resurfaced the facility over the summer in preparation for the three biggest nights on dirt to ensure more thrilling racing and improve track conditions.
KIA MOTORS EXPANDS PARTNERSHIP WITH B.R.A.K.E.S. TEEN PRO-ACTIVE DRIVING SCHOOL TO PROVIDE NO-COST DEFENSIVE DRIVING INSTRUCTION
Kia and B.R.A.K.E.S. Gear Up for National Teen Driver Safety Week (Oct. 19-25) to Raise Awareness for Free, Hands-On, Behind-the-Wheel Education
B.R.A.K.E.S. has trained more than 12,000 teens and their parents in 10 states
