Fan4Racing has taken a break since the NASCAR season finale at Homestead-Miami, but now it’s time to compile a summary from five of the biggest NASCAR news stories during the off-season as we gear up for the 2017 season to begin.
Also coming soon is our first 2017 Fan4Racing Radio show next Monday night starting at 8:30 pm ET with myself and co-host Sal Sigala on Fan4Racing NASCAR & Race Talk. Watch for more details about this show on Monday, January 16th.
Now let’s get started with a summary of the five biggest off-season NASCAR news count down.
…Five…
Early December, NASCAR finally announced the new title sponsor of their the top series with a multi-year agreement starting in the 2017 season and includes the NASCAR All-Star race. Monster Energy began their tenure as naming rights partner on January 1, 2017 and becomes only the third company to serve as the entitlement sponsor in NASCAR premier series history, following RJ Reynolds and Sprint/Nextel.
As part of the agreement, the brand also becomes the Official Energy Drink of NASCAR.
Mid December NASCAR unveiled the new name for their top series as ‘Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™’ again starting January 1, 2017. The new brand mark and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series mark, prominently features the iconic Monster Energy logo, and represents a new era in NASCAR as they shared the news across their social and digital media channels for the first time.
Also shared via social media was the new NASCAR brand identity with a new logo replacing the bar mark used by the sanctioning body since 1976. The NASCAR brand identity has been in development since early 2016 as part of a broader effort to refresh the NASCAR brand. The design of the new logo pays tribute to the storied history of NASCAR, incorporating elements of all four previous marks since the company’s inaugural season of 1948.
The first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points race will be the 59th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 26th at 2 pm. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
…Four…
Below is a statement made mid-December from Brian Moffitt, the CEO at Richard Petty Motorsports:
“At the conclusion of the 2016 season, we evaluated how to best improve our on-track product. We feel that it’s in the best interest of our partners and for Richard Petty Motorsports to focus our resources on the No. 43 Ford Fusion and Aric (Almirola) in 2017.
“A concentrated effort on one team will position us for improvement while giving us adequate time to reestablish our two-car team in 2018. For the interim, we will lease one of our two charters.”
…Three…
Earlier this month, NASCAR announced the return of Fan Appreciation Day at the NASCAR Hall of Fame along with the induction ceremony for 2017 class of Hall of Fame inductees including, Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Mark Martin, Benny Parsons and Raymond Parks on Friday, January 20th. Activities during Fan Appreciation Day on Saturday, January 21st include an autograph session with question and answers from NASCAR stars past and present. In addition to NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees, Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick and Mark Martin, other drivers participating include, Austin and Ty Dillon, Aric Almirola, Ryan Reed, Timothy Peters, Kasey Kahne, Daniel Suárez, John Hunter Nemechek, Martin Truex Jr., Brandon Jones, Noah Gragson, Chase Elliott, Blake Koch, Kaz Grala, David Ragan, Brennan Poole, Christopher Bell, Paul Menard, Brendan Gaughan, and Johnny Sauter. Fan Appreciation Day follows the NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony the previous night.
NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2017 Induction Ceremony is on January 20th, at 8 pm ET on NBCSN. As in previous years, current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stars will help present each inductee. Scheduled to present at this year’s induction ceremony are seven-time premier series champion Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon.
Advance tickets are available for free on NASCARHall.com website. Each fan can secure up to two tickets for one of the seven autograph sessions (one ticket for an individual or two tickets for an individual and their guest).
…Two…
9 January, 2017, Detroit, Michigan USA
Introduction of the 2018 NASCAR Camry that will race for the first time in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
©2017, Michael L. Levitt
Photo – Courtesy of Toyota Racing
Yesterday, Toyota unveiled their 2018 NASCAR Toyota Camry race car in unison with the debut of the 2018 production Camry at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Following a dramatic redesign to its show room counterpart, the Camry race car will compete on the race track in 2017 as Toyota defends its NASCAR Premier Series manufacturer’s championship.
Toyota entered NASCAR Premier Series competition with the Camry in 2007 and the manufacturer won its first driver’s championship in 2015, followed by its first manufacturer’s championship in 2016. Camry drivers have won 95 NASCAR Premier Series races over ten seasons.
The NASCAR Camry will make its debut on-track in 2017 before the 2018 production Camry hitting showroom floors at Toyota dealerships later this year. The NASCAR Camry will first compete at Daytona International Speedway on February 18th in The Clash at Daytona before defending its Daytona 500 title on Sunday, February 26th.
…One…
Photo – JGR
And finally, can this be true?
The latest big NASCAR news involves Carl Edwards and Joe Gibbs Racing. With two scheduled press conferences at Joe Gibbs Racing on Wednesday, January 11th, the word is, Carl Edwards will announce that he is stepping away from NASCAR racing. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.
Although, there are other storylines from the NASCAR off-season, these are five of the biggest stories of interest and there are more interesting storylines in the pipeline, so stay tuned in. Fan4Racing will continue to keep fans updated with the latest news throughout the 2017 season.