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Fan at the Track – Daytona Pre-Season Thunder 2012

NASCAR

January 12 – 13, 2012 – Daytona

By Sheri Albritton

Sheri is a rookie blogger. Her favorite race team is Stewart-Haas Racing and her favorite drivers are Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski and…in short, she is a NASCAR fan.  Sheri’s father was a local dirt track racer, so she is not a rookie at the track.  Her father’s favorite driver was Dale Earnhardt Sr. and his favorite team was Richard Childress Racing. Upon becoming a  NASCAR  fan, Sheri chose a driver from a different team and manufacturer, with Jeff Burton the 1994 Rookie of the Year, driving a  Ford with Stavola Brothers.

For the second year in a row my NASCAR season began at Pre-Season Thunder with me driving through the tunnel into the infield of Daytona International Speedway.
I would not have it any other way.
If you ever have the opportunity to do this take it, you will not be disappointed.

Day 1

Thursday January 12, 2012

My first day started early 8am and ended late 10pm.

Starting the day with a walk up on the fan deck, which overlooks the garages,
there are all our boys in their glory getting set for another year of “Boys have at it.”

You can see the excitement in the garage with loads of
high fives, fist pumps and hand shaking.

Butt slapping only happens in the #14 garage,
but you can see that everyone is ready to be here.

Clint Bowyer in his firesuit with a new sponsor 5-Hour Energy

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with Paul Menard walking in the garage area

Brad Keselowski in his Miller Lite Dodge

The first guy on the track is none other than my hero of the 2011 season,

Brad Keselowski

And from there we were off,

with drivers doing 200 mph plus on a beautiful day in Daytona.

The first session consisted mostly of single car runs.

It was great to see the cars back on the track.

You could feel the excitement in the air from the fans, media and crews.

SPEED Reporter Wendy Venturini on the job

I did have the honor of taking a HOT pass garage tour in the afternoon.

This is always fun and a must do if you ever get the chance.

Last year I actually tripped over Kevin Harvick!

Nothing like that this year but it is fun!!

Kevin Harvick with crew chief Shane Wilson and crew

Crew chief Bootie Barker talking with his driver, Casey Mears

Champion Tony Stewart with Clint Bowyer

Fanfest begins at 5pm and runs until 10pm.

This is your chance to see your favorite driver and get their autograph.
They also do a Q & A session.

I managed to pick up autographs from

Dinger, Burton, Bowyer, Keselowski and last but not least Jr.

The following is a sampling of two Q & A sessions
and what I thought was best!!

Q&A session from left to right, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch and Jeff Burton

Okay, So I am going with Jeff Burton here…

Question to Jeff Burton: What does it mean to you to lose
Clint Bowyer as a teammate?

Jeff’s Answer: Everyone will feel better in the morning;

we will get more done before noon.

I will miss him he was a great teammate and an awesome friend.

Q&A session from left to right, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer and Michael Waltrip

Whom ever put these three guys on the same stage is a genius!

All I can say is “You had to be there.”

In all seriousness, the best exchange was between Michael and Tony.

Question to both Michael and Tony: How does it feel to be relatively new teams and having the successes and or prospect of success at this level.

Tony’s Answer: I am very pleased and humbled with what we have been able to accomplish in the short time we have been here.

Michael’s Answer: We started from nothing, where Tony had everything from Haas and only had to build from there. It’s been harder for us but we are getting there and we are ready for 2012.

Tony to Michael: But you have 2 really Cool Big Trophy’s.

Michael to Tony: Yes, but you have 3 even Cooler Bigger Trophy’s.

I don’t believe either is willing to trade!!

Day 2

Friday January 13, 2012

And the fun continues, on to day 2  

It’s very cold, only 42 degrees at 8am and 

I will be here ’til 8pm tonight.

This is something I look forward to every year.

If you have a chance, you need to add
Pre-Season Thunder to your bucket list!!

The day stared with single car runs and some tandems.

I really enjoyed watching 

Brad Keselowski and  A. J. Allmendinger in the tandems.  

The Garage was busy with all the teams trying different things.

Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart driving in the garage area

They say a picture is worth a thousand words… 

I wonder what Carl and Tony are talking about here?

Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards looking on as Kurt Busch drives by…

Come on Tony…he just wants to talk to the other Champion from 2011!!

2011 Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart walking past
2011 Daytona 500 Champion Trevor Bayne

Coming back from lunch and look what we got!!

2012 Pre-Season Thunder in Daytona – Testing Pack Racing

As a fan, I love the pack…I so missed you!! 

I realize it’s a little boring at home to watch, 

but at the track it makes your heart beat fast and will take your breath away!!

And as a result of pack racing,

 I was able to get my favorite picture of the weekend…a bitter sweet moment.

  This….while JB’s team worked to repair his car!!

Jeff Burton on the sidelines while #31 car is repaired by his crew

Caterpillar crew works hard to get the #31 car back on the track

At 3:30 some of us tweeples got together 

for our first tweetup of 2012! 

Hosted by Jeff Gluck and attended by several media members 

and Miss Sprint Cup Kim Coon.

The first tweetup of 2012 with organizer Jeff Gluck, from SBNation and Miss Sprint Cup, Kim Coon
By the way…Bob Pockrass is there too…do you see him?
Do you recognize anyone else?

Fanfest begins at 5pm and runs until 8pm

Again this is your chance to see your favorite drivers and get autographs.

 They also do a Q & A sesson.  

This time I managed to pick up autographs from 

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Aric Almirola, Greg Biffle and Marcos Ambrose.

These Q & A’s were not as entertaining as Thursday night.  

But I left with the understanding… 

These guys are happy to be doing what they do 

and they really like US … THE FANS!! 

And you can bet Aric Almirola will be smiling all year!

Q&A session from left to right, Steve Byrnes from SPEED, Marcos Ambrose,
Aric Almirola and Jimmie Johnson

Q&A session from left to right, Steve Byrnes from SPEED, Greg Biffle,
Jeff Gordon, Casey Mears, and Michael McDowell

At the end of the day, 

If I could never attend another race and could only do this…

I would be one very happy NASCAR fan!!

Sheri loves going to the race track and has agreed to be our “Fan at the Track” on her next race weekend. So, plan to see her again on Fan4Racing.

You can follow Sheri on twitter @31SpazCat15

So…Who will be our next Fan at the Track?  Maybe YOU!

Let Fan4Racing know when you will be…at the track!

NASCAR limits car to car communication for 2012

NASCAR

January 13, 2012 Testing Pack Racing
Daytona’s Pre-Season Thunder
(Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)

In 2012, as part of NASCAR’s initiative to limit two car drafting, the use of team radios have been limited. While it doesn’t mean teams won’t be able to draft together, it will certainly make it more challenging. It’s one of several changes implemented in hopes of bringing traditional restrictor plate racing back to Daytona and Talladega.

When the two car drafting began a couple of seasons ago, teams learned ways to make it an art form, especially in time for 2011 Speedweeks at Daytona to kick off the season. It went beyond two drivers hooking up and simply drafting with one another throughout the course of a restrictor plate race. Teams were able to provide drivers the chance to change to other team channels during the course of a race. When any two drivers hooked up to draft together, one driver would switch to the others radio channel allowing for the chance to talk with one another. This was important because drivers would be able to discuss braking points to stay hooked together, swapping points to change positions from pusher to leader and vice versa to combat cooling issues, timing for making runs to the front of the field, and overall race strategy.

Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton finish 1-2
in Talladega Fall Race – 2011
(Photo by Associated Press)

Some teams even took the communication to the next level. In the most recent restrictor plate event last fall at Talladega, then RCR teammates Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer not only communicated all race long on Burton’s team channel, but also used Burton’s spotter to almost exclusively spot both cars (when running in tandem) throughout the event. It was an extra tool that further allowed each driver to be on the same page. Bowyer would eventually take the checkered flag followed by Burton in second.

Moving into 2012, each driver will have to stay on their respective channel, meaning that drivers may no longer communicate with one another and will use their own spotters throughout the course of races. Drivers will undoubtedly find ways to work together and will be able to relay messages to other drivers through either crew chiefs or spotters. However, it simply won’t be as effective as talking to one another over the radio.

Tell us your thoughts about this decision by NASCAR for the 2012 Daytona 500. Do you think NASCAR will reverse this decision before the season-opener?

Great Clips Continues To Thrive In NASCAR

NASCAR

Companies pay big dollars to be a
Sponsor in NASCAR

In today’s economy, it has become a common site in the NASCAR garage to see a revolving door of sponsors. NASCAR’s official businesses, official products, and even series sponsors have changed hands over time. Many teams have also seen sponsors pull back sponsorship or pull out of the sport completely. A few drivers have felt the threat of lost sponsorship due to actions on their own part. Even fewer drivers have been able to maintain a steady relationship with a sponsor without seeing much change or pull-back.

The Busch Brothers, Kurt and Kyle, have both seen how their actions can affect their place with a team, how crucial sponsors are and how much influence they hold within a team. Kurt found himself suspended by Roush for the final two races following an off-track incident at Phoenix in 2005. Kyle saw M&Ms pull their sponsorship for the final two Cup races of the 2011 season and having Z-Line ask for someone else to drive the Nationwide car after his actions at Texas.

Drivers like Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have maintained a long lasting relationship with their sponsors. Johnson’s relationship with Lowes began when he started in Cup in 2001. Gordon’s relationship with DuPont dates back to 1992 when he made his first start at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Tony Stewart has also seen a long lasting relationship with sponsors. His relationship with sponsors has extended beyond NASCAR to his dirt racing efforts both personally, as well as the cars he fields for his drivers in the World of Outlaws.

Great Clips sponsorship includes the
Nationwide Race in Altanta annually

Many people are familiar with long standing sponsors like Lowes, DuPont, Interstate Batteries, and M&Ms just to name a few, given their prominence in NASCAR’s top-tier series. There are a few sponsors that also have long standing ties with one of NASCAR’s lower series as well. One such sponsor is Great Clips, who holds the distinction of being the longest running sponsor in the Nationwide Series. They entered the sport in 2001, adorning the hood of the #38 car for what was then Akins Motorsports with driver Christian Elder. As the years have passed, Great Clips has seen several drivers tote their brand to the public and has seen the fruits of their labor pay dividends as their brand has grown and expanded both in and out of NASCAR. The company now has over 3,000 salons nationwide and has seen their sponsorship expand to the title sponsorship of a Nationwide event every year at Atlanta.

Joey Saldana with the Great Clips Sprint Sponsorship
at Kasey Kahne Racing
(photo from Kasey Kahne Racing)

Kasey Kahne has maintained a long lasting relationship with Great Clips, which started in 2003 when he took over the #38 car, then as a virtually unknown driver. With Kahne, Great Clips saw Victory Lane for the first time in the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2003. Kahne moved up to Cup in 2004, but continued to drive for Great Clips in the Busch Series. After the 2005 season, Kahne stepped away from the Great Clips car and pulled back his efforts in the Nationwide Series. It would be five years before close ties between Kahne and Great Clips came back to the forefront when he returned to the familiar seat of the #38 car, sharing the ride with Jason Leffler for the 2010 season. Great Clips also came onboard as a main sponsor for the #91 car of Kasey Kahne Racing, driven first by Cody Darrah and then by Paul McMahan for the 2010 World of Outlaws season. They were also an associate sponsor on cars driven by Joey Saldana and Brad Sweet. Great Clips remained on board the #91 car driven by Darrah for the 2011 season as well. Their sponsorship remains with Kasey Kahne Racing this season but makes the jump from the #91 car to the #9 car driven by Joey Saldana.

Brad Sweet and Great Clips Postcard
with Camping World Truck series

Brad Sweet joined Kasey Kahne Racing in 2007, driving a car in the USAC series. When Kahne shuttered his USAC operations in 2009, Sweet remained with the team, competing in the World of Outlaws. With Kahne behind him, Sweet began to make the move from open-wheeled Sprints to NASCAR. In 2009, he ran several events in ARCA and the Camping World Truck Series. When Sweet made his first truck start at Phoenix International Raceway on November 13, 2009 in the Lucas Oil 150, Great Clips was on his truck. They sponsored his truck the following two seasons as well while he ran a limited schedule. This season, Sweet will campaign for rookie of the year honors in the Nationwide series, splitting seat time in the storied #38 Great Clips car with Kahne. Great Clips’ involvement with the sport has been a winning partnership and with the tandem of Kahne and Sweet it will continue.

Cause and Effect: Jeff Gordon proves success with AARP

NASCAR

By Guest Blogger and Race Fan Patti Rodisch

Patti is an experienced blogger on the Fan vs. Fan Network. Her favorite NASCAR race team is all of them and her favorite driver is Jeff Gordon. She also enjoys other sports including Alabama Football, Supercross, Indy Car and basketball. And you can listen to Patti and her co-host Dustin Parks talk about racing every Saturday at 6 pm CT/7pm ET on Blog Talk Radio.

Jeff Gordon celebrates winning
the Subway Fresh Fit 500 in Phoenix in February 2011
(Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Late in 2010, Jeff Gordon announced he would be teaming up with the American Association of Retired Persons or the AARP who would become his primary sponsor in 2011 through the 2013 season. Media and fans asked why AARP would spend money on NASCAR sponsorship? Why would a then 38 year-old Gordon team up with an organization that supports those who are 55 or older?

The goal was simple, to end hunger for millions of senior citizens across the United States. It has never been done before in NASCAR. A cause-driven sponsorship deal and there was no guarantee it would work in the first place.

It cost millions to sponsor a race team and the AARP saw an opportunity with Gordon. The opportunity was to take the message of ending hunger to a sport with a target age group not even out of their 30’s yet.

Still, it is this age group with parents and other relatives who fit the AARP target age of 55 or older.

Jeff Gordon discusses his 2011 sponsorship with
AARP and The Drive to End Hunger
in Concord, NC October 2010
(Photo by The Associated Press)

Gordon became the perfect spokesperson as he is widely respected for not only his accomplishments on the track but more so away from it.

Gordon’s own foundation, the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation, has worked to help find cures for children with cancer and other diseases. He has opened up a hospital, has held fundraising events every year and recently has taken his mission global to Africa.

Gordon was named ‘NASCAR Illustrated Person of the Year’ in 2011 for his philanthropic work. Gordon takes representing AARP and the Drive to End Hunger very seriously. Throughout the race season he visited food banks local to the track, getting hands-on and fully involved whether they are at the race track or not.

The partnership with AARP and Drive to End Hunger at the race track in 2011 opened the eyes of millions of race fans to the serious issue of hunger in the U.S.

Jeff Gordon’s 2011 ‘Drive to End Hunger’ Car
(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Gordon and his team success on the track did not hurt the cause either. Gordon won at Phoenix in the spring with the DTEH colors on the car. The result of this is TV exposure, raising awareness not only in the racing community but outside of it as well.

By the end of the season over $12 million was raised through Gordon’s exposure. With fans texting HUNGER to help support the program, over 3 million meals for senior citizens were provided.

Gordon talked about his partnership with the AARP to scenedaily.com, “For them to do it with the number of races and basically be the primary sponsor of the season and get behind these food banks every week and get to meet some of the older Americans that are dealing with the hunger issues as well as the people that are volunteering, it’s an amazing program.”

Cause-driven sponsorships have never been done in NASCAR. Usually it is only major corporations that are willing to pay for one of the best advertising packages available. Three plus hours on national TV with limited commercial break your product takes center stage.

In order for AARP’s sponsorship deal to be successful, fans have to buy-in. Not only did Gordon’s fans buy-in, many other NASCAR fans did as well.

In this type of sponsorship deal, success really lies on the fans and on-track performance to help keep the “AARP” brand in fans’ mind.

For Gordon in 2012, not only will he be looking to continue this successful cause-driven sponsorship program, he will be looking to capture his fifth title, Gordon’s first since 2001.

Patti will be posting more blogs periodically, watch for her again on Fan4Racing.

Fans can follow Patti on twitter @nascar_lugnuts

Fan4Racing

Fan at the Track – Daytona Pre-Season Thunder 2012

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NASCAR limits car to car communication for 2012

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Great Clips Continues To Thrive In NASCAR

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Cause and Effect: Jeff Gordon proves success with AARP

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Ownership and Rights

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Ownership and Rights