NASCAR Fines Denny Hamlin For Comments Made Following Race At Phoenix International Raceway
NASCAR has fined driver Denny Hamlin $25,000 for comments he made following the March 3 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway.
NASCAR determined that Hamlin violated Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing) of the 2013 NASCAR Rule Book. Continue reading
Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, and Kasey Kahne, driver of the #5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2013
Photo – Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
Several of NASCAR’s top drivers in the Sprint Cup Series have found themselves behind in the point standings after two races in the 2013 season.
2012 Chasers, with disappointing results this season include, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, and Martin Truex Jr, along with Kyle Busch, although not a Chaser last year, did have a strong finish to his season. All four of these drivers currently sit 30th or worse in the point standings and will be chasing a good finish in the Kobalt Tools 400 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. Continue reading
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite, in action during NASCAR Testing at Charlotte Motor Speedway on January 18, 2013
Photo – Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
So far, the 2013 season has produced two Sprint Cup Series races on two entirely different tracks and this weekend the teams are in Las Vegas, with yet another different type of track for the drivers. Daytona is a super speedway and Phoenix is considered a one-mile short track.
But the most widely raced track on the Sprint Cup circuit is the 1.5-mile intermediate track, and that’s what drivers will race for the first time this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with their new generation six cars. Although it’s not their first Gen6 test on a 1.5-mile track, Las Vegas does represent their first full race on an intermediate venue.
How important is the extra test time scheduled for Thursday?
“Without a doubt the 1.5, two-mile tracks can make your entire season. That test day is going to be huge,” said Steve Letarte, crew chief of the No. 88 driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished in the top-ten in every 1.5- and two-mile race he ran in 2012. “As a crew chief, you are trying to figure out what area you should be working in.”
Rodney Childers, who oversees the No. 55 Toyota that Mark Martin put on the pole a week ago at Phoenix, agrees.
“With it being an intermediate track and a place that’s really fast, the aero part becomes the biggest thing that you fight and I think everybody in the garage needs to learn a little bit [more] about this new car and where the splitter needs to be compared to the race track,” Childers said.
Although teams tested the Gen6 car in Charlotte, also a 1.5-mile track, in January, there are some differences presented to drivers for their test at Las Vegas. The most obvious difference being weather conditions. But there’s more for drivers to consider as well. Continue reading
A track services worker extinguishes a simulated car fire along pit road during track services training at Charlotte Motor Speedway over the weekend. More than 150 track services workers from 10 tracks across the country participated in the training, which Charlotte Motor Speedway has hosted annually since 1991
Photo – Charlotte Motor Speedway
As it has annually for more than two decades, Charlotte Motor Speedway welcomed more than 150 track safety professionals over the weekend for a two-day training session to hone their skills and prepare for the upcoming race season.
Personnel from 10 NASCAR facilities – including Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway – received hands-on safety training for all events at the speedway. Leading the way in safety training, Charlotte Motor Speedway has been offering such classes since 1991. Continue reading
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #6 Ford EcoBoost Ford, does a burnout after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 10, 2012
Photo – Jeff Bottari/Getty Images
As the old saying goes, “To be the best, you have to beat the best,” so NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers will have their work cut out for them as a number of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stars have entered Saturday’s Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.