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NASCAR Leads Industry With Annual Summit To Start 2016 Season

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NASCAR

NASCAR Leads Industry With Annual Summit To Start 2016 Season

Innovation And Safety Highlight Concord Gathering

With the DAYTONA 500 right around the corner, the men and women who are tasked with the safety, security and organization across NASCAR gathered in Concord, North Carolina, in a collaboration of ideas and advancements.

NASCAR’s annual Summit, the largest gathering of track services, medical, safety, and security personnel in the motorsports industry, will conclude today after three days of professional seminars, training and topical discussions.

The Summit began nearly 15 years ago when a small group of attendees gathered in January to share benchmarks and prepare for the upcoming NASCAR season. The 2016 Summit marked the 10th year it was held at the Embassy Suites Concord Conference Center.

“Seeking constant improvement is a hallmark that defines these dedicated professionals,” said Jim Cassidy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. “As the industry collectively prepares to begin another racing season, the Summit provides a unique opportunity to exchange vitally important information, advancements, and best practices – with the overarching intent of delivering the best possible event experience.”

The Summit features general sessions and smaller breakout seminars and workshops specific to each functional area. This year’s event included more than 30 focused sessions on topics ranging from incident management to severe weather protocol. Senior Communication Consultant for Game On Nation and former NFL player Leonard Wheeler, a renowned expert in leadership development, delivered the keynote address for the event.

NASCAR also presented awards to individuals for meritorious achievements in their various fields. Bill Braniff, senior director of construction for International Speedway Corporation’s Design and Development unit, was honored with the Jim Bockoven Lifetime Achievement Award for his exemplary contributions across the NASCAR industry for more than 10 years in the area of track asphalt and maintenance. The full list of those recognized for their work in 2015 includes:

Medical

  • Above and Beyond Award – Andy “Sippy” Biron, New Hampshire Motor Speedway
  • Teamwork Award – Atlanta Motor Speedway Infield Care Center and New Hampshire Motor Speedway Infield Care Center / Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital
  • Excellence Award – Jay Nadeau, Daytona International Speedway

Security

  • Steve Beres – Director of Security, Daytona International Speedway
  • Greg Scott – Senior Manager of Event Operations, Kansas Speedway
  • Bill Hindman – Security Manager, Phoenix International Raceway

Track Services

  • Jim Bockoven Track Services Lifetime Achievement Award – Bill Braniff, International Speedway Corporation
  • Excellence in Track Services Award – George Ewald, Pocono Raceway
  • Track Services Teamwork Award – Road Atlanta
  • Track Services Innovation Award – Dan Eakins (R&B Fabrications)
  • Track Services Mission Award – Kristina Frederick, Kentucky Speedway

The 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular season will kick off with the 58th running of the Daytona 500® on Sunday, Feb. 21 at Daytona International Speedway®. The Great American Race® will be broadcast live on FOX, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, with additional coverage on NASCAR.com.

NASCAR IMC

Back to the Future of Racing and Football Venues

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Introducing our newest Fan4Racing writer, Bryan Law

As Tennessee faces Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 10 later this season, it could be one of the biggest games ever participated in by the SEC, if not all of college football. Estimated to fill ‘The Last Great Colosseum’ all the way to the full capacity of 160,000, if not more, it will go down as the largest college football game in history. Just a couple of years before, there was talk of Florida possibly playing a game at Daytona International Speedway after finishing their renovation project.

Believe it or not, Daytona had hosted four college football games before, all by Bethune-Cookman during the 1974 and 1975 season. There hasn’t been a college game at Daytona since then. Even with the downsizing to 101,000 seats, it would still be huge for the super speedway to host a football game once again. Daytona could host Miami, Florida or Florida State in any season. Who knows, down the road they could host their own bowl game. Of course, we’ll leave the bowl naming for the later possibility.
Continue reading →

What’s Up with Smoke?

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Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet, prepares to drive during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 27, 2015 Photo - Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet, prepares to drive during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 27, 2015 Photo – Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

With multiple drivers in winning race cars and a couple of late restarts, the Folds of Honor 500 was a success in terms of what you would like out of any Sprint Cup Series race, but as I sat there watching Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t help but think, what is up with Tony Stewart?

Stewart ended up 30th Sunday after being involved in a late race crash, but what caught my attention was how he was running before the end of the race. Throughout the race I saw Tony running from 25th to 30th and struggling to move forward. But as I sat there Sunday afternoon I began to think of the big ‘Tony Stewart’ picture and came to some conclusive thoughts. Continue reading →

ThorSport’s Cameron Hayley Finishes 14th in his Atlanta Motor Speedway Début

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Cameron Hayley is our next guest on Fan4Racing Fan2Fan NASCAR & Race Talk on Monday, March 2, 2015 at 9 pm ET. During the LIVE broadcast, call 714-202-9918 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite or @Sal_Sigala with any questions or comments.

Making his second track début of the 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, Rookie of the Year contender, Cameron Hayley continues to impress in just his fifth start in the series at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday evening. On Friday, he was the fastest ThorSport Racing driver – 3rd (31.06 seconds) – in the only series practice session and then again in qualifying – 3rd (30.89 seconds) – on Saturday morning. Continue reading →

Jimmie Johnson Starts from the Back and Dominates Late in Atlanta Win

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Coors Light Polesitter Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick dominated the early and middle stages of Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway—before Jimmie Johnson decided to crash the party.

Johnson didn’t take the lead in the second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of the season until Lap 198 of 325, but from then on, his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the class of the field, leading six times for 92 laps in winning for the fourth time at Atlanta and for the 71st time in his career. Continue reading →