Suárez Takes Over Points Lead, Hits Major Milestone
On the strength of three consecutive top-tens to start the season, Daniel Suárez took the points lead for the first time in his young – and impressive – career.
It was also the first-time in NASCAR history that a driver born outside the United States has led the standings in any NASCAR national series. The Mexico-born driver also matched his best finish of second last weekend at Las Vegas. Continue reading →
NASCAR Names Ford Motor Company Winner Of ‘Driving Business Award’
Ford Becomes First Three-Time Award Recipient;
Exemplary Member of the NASCAR Fuel For Business Council
Days after Ford Motor Company celebrated its first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of the season, the manufacturer will take home its third NASCAR “Driving Business Award.” Ford is the first three-time recipient of the annual award, which is bestowed upon the Official NASCAR Partner that demonstrates leadership and results through its participation in the NASCAR Fuel for Business (NFFB) Council.
The NFFB Council hosted its first meeting of the year last week in Las Vegas, bringing together an exclusive group of nearly 60 Official NASCAR Partners. Ford has been competing in NASCAR since 1949 and has been a proud member of the NFFB Council since 2007. Council members bring key personnel from across their organization to construct customized deals that help address specific business needs.
As a result of Ford’s participation in the Council in 2015, Ford aligned business goals with a number of Official NASCAR Partners, resulting in highly visible partnerships and a number of programs that were successful in ‘Driving Business.’
“As a proud member of the Council, winning the ‘Driving Business Award’ for the third time is proof, yet again, of how effective the NASCAR Fuel for Business Council platform is at generating a positive return on investment for partners,” said Tim Duerr, Ford Performance motorsports marketing manager. “At Ford, we’re constantly identifying new and innovative ways to add value to our partnerships, and this tool maximizes our B2B strategy in motorsports.”
As one of the most active participants of the NFFB Council in 2015, Ford identified procurement opportunities, optimized chances for NASCAR partners to purchase Ford vehicles for their fleets, offered participation in Ford’s “Partner Recognition Program” and created successfucl co-marketing programs. Highlights from Ford’s success in 2015 leveraging the NFFB Council include:
Ford sold more than 3,500 vehicles through its ‘Partner Recognition Program’
Co-marketing programs with MillerCoors, Goodyear and SiriusXM result in nearly 900 vehicles sold
Ford executed multiple deals that eclipsed $5 million in value
More than two-thirds of Council members participated in business-to-business deals with Ford
“Ford continues to be a preeminent member of the NASCAR Fuel for Business Council, setting the standard as an active and dedicated partner during our quarterly meetings,” said Steve Phelps, NASCAR executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “Committed to winning both on and off the track, Ford’s ability to execute business-to-business deals delivered results worthy of being a three-time recipient of the award.”
Since the NFFB’s 2004 inception, the Council has facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue and savings to its participating members.
Be sure to watch the next NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race – the Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday, March 13 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM.
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, races Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6, 2016 Photo – Todd Warshaw/Getty Images
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6, 2016 Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6, 2016 Photo – Robert Laberge
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6, 2016 Photo – Brian Lawdermilk
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6, 2016 Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Overcoming a pit road speeding penalty with daring late-race strategy, Brad Keselowski broke a 33-race drought with a victory in Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.Keselowski passed Las Vegas native Kyle Busch with five laps left to win for the first time since the fifth race of 2015 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion beat Team Penske teammate Joey Logano to the finish line by 0.675 seconds, as Busch lost ground over the closing laps.
Rain delayed the start of the race, and high winds and a late-race dust storm made visibility a challenge, but the bizarre conditions left Keselowski undeterred. Nor did a pit road speeding penalty under caution on lap 180 prove catastrophic, thanks to a series of astute pit calls by crew chief Paul Wolfe.
“This is really, really great,” said Keselowski, who lauded the lower-downforce aerodynamic package in place for the 2016 season. “It seemed like there were plenty of challenges, whether it was pit road or the weather or cautions.
“They threw everything they had at us today but this Miller Lite Ford team was too strong, and we were able to fight them off and get to victory lane.”
Relative to the field, Keselowski picked up speed toward the end of a run with a car that was eminently maneuverable. Busch’s car took off early but couldn’t maintain its pace late in a fuel run.
“He (Busch) had a really good short-run car, but it fell off on the long run,” Keselowski said. “That’s part of this new package. Some are good on short runs and some are good on long runs, and we had a really good long-run car today.”
Six-time series champion Jimmie Johnson beat Busch to the finish line by 0.018 seconds to secure third place. Austin Dillon ran fifth, and rookie Ryan Blaney came home sixth, posting a career-best finish on an open-motor race track.
The victory was Keselowski’s second at Las Vegas and the 18th of his career, but it wouldn’t have been possible if Wolfe hadn’t elected to keep the No. 2 Ford on the track on lap 217 when all but Keselowski, Logano and Dillon pitted for tires and fuel under the fifth caution of the race.
It took 38 laps, however, for the benefits of the strategy to become clear — thanks to Busch’s remarkable restart on lap 224. From the sixth position, Busch powered his No. 18 Toyota to the outside of Johnson’s Chevrolet, picked up huge momentum off the second corner, dived to the inside and shot past both Logano and Keselowski entering turn three.
One lap later, a multi-car wreck in turn one ended strong runs by Matt Kenseth and rookie Chase Elliott, but the seven laps run under the resulting sixth and last caution enabled Keselowski, Logano and Dillon to stretch their fuel supplies to the end of the race.
Busch streaked away on the lap 233 restart but developed a pronounced vibration in the right front of this car, and the chase group of Keselowski, Logano and Johnson closed in. Keselowski passed Logano for the second spot on lap 259 of 267 and streaked past Busch three laps later.
“I tried to hold him off as long as I could, but he showed how fast he was getting by me and Kyle and checking out,” Logano said after the 1-2 finish. “Congratulations to Team Penske. It’s something to be very proud of for our team.
“We have a lot of second-place finishes already this year. I know we’re only three races in, but I’m getting antsy. We have good speed in our cars — we’ll be all right.”
The call to stay out on lap 217 proved decisive for the Penske Fords, but the decision to sacrifice track position for four tires on lap 199 (when most others opted for right sides only), made the strategy possible.
“The way I look at it, if you’re going to do two tires, you got to get that clean air,” Wolfe said. “Otherwise, we’ll take four all day long. It gives you opportunities at the end to do some different strategies to get that track position back.
“Obviously we knew when the caution fell there, we were still short on fuel. At that point it was worth the risk to take the gamble and hope for the cautions. Obviously, we got those and were able to get to Victory Lane.”
Busch retained the top spot in the series standings and leads Johnson and seventh-place finisher Kevin Harvick by seven points. Logano is fourth, 11 points back.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series kicks off its three-race NASCAR Goes West trip with Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Following its trip to Vegas, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Phoenix International Raceway before closing its West Coast road trip at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
Kevin Harvick, from Bakersfield, California, dominated last season’s edition of NASCAR Goes West, winning the first two races (Las Vegas and Phoenix) and finishing second in the last contest at Auto Club. Continue reading →
