LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!

OK so it's not boxing but in the world of NASCAR, you never know.  



With Daytona only a little over a month away, I figured it was time to get everyone back up to speed as to what has been happening in the NASCAR world.

So much to cover and so little time..  Let’s just get right to it.  

Many seat changes happening this year.  Everyone get out your score cards, you may need them to keep up.  LOL

Driver Changes for 2014:

#3 [was #29] Austin Dillon moves up from Nationwide Series to replace Harvick and changes to #3 with Dow Chemical and Cheerios as the sponsor

#4 [was #39] Kevin Harvick moves from the #29 to Stewart Haas Racing #4

#7 Michael Annett brings Flying J sponsorship and replaces Dave Blaney in the #7

#30 expands to a two-car team with Cole Whitt and Parker Kligerman; the #30 and un-numbered 2nd car

#31 Ryan Newman replaces Jeff Burton

#32 GoGreen Racing teams up with FAS Lane Racing, Terry Labonte will run the car in Daytona 500, driver lineup to be announced

#35 Josh Wise will not return, team will likely run different drivers in the car

#41 Kurt Busch moves to a brand new 4th Stewart Haas Racing team

#42 Kyle Larson replace Juan Pablo Montoya who heads back to Indycar

#47 A.J. Allmendinger replaces Bobby Labonte, switches to Chevy

#55 Brian Vickers(if healthy) takes over the ride full time after sharing it last two years

#66 [was #56] Michael Waltrip runs Daytona 500; Jeff Burton at Las Vegas, maybe other races

#78 Martin Truex Jr. moves from the #56 and replaces Kurt Busch

#95 Michael McDowell replaces Scott Speed / Reed Sorenson, team could run full time

#98 Phil Parsons Racing, Josh Wise named as the driver, switches to Chevy from Ford
not announced / unknown:

#12 third Penske team, could run Ryan Blaney in a few 2014 Cup races

#33 Circle Sport / Richard Childress Racing collaboration; Cassill to return, nothing announced by team

#36 J.J. Yeley to return? tested at Charlotte in Dec

#40 Hillman Racing, no word on 2014 plans

#51 supposedly Justin Allgaier will be the driver; Bobby Labonte will run a 2nd team car in Daytona 500

#52/#92/#29? Brian Keselowski, switches to Ford, waiting to hear from NASCAR about car number change, ran #52 in 2013

#83 David Reutimann will not return to the team; team to announced drivers in mid January, could change car numbers; Alex Bowman & Travis Kvapil tested the cars at Charlotte in Dec

#87 indications are that Joe Nemechek will return in 2014

#93 team plans to announce driver lineup in mid January, could change car numbers; Alex Bowman & Travis Kvapil tested the cars at Charlotte in Dec

OK everyone get all of that.  Make sure there will be a test later.  LOL


In other news:………

Chase Elliott to run full season for JR Motorsports, NAPA Returns: Chase Elliott will compete full time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports starting in 2014 and do so with NAPA AUTO PARTS as his full-season primary sponsor. With Elliott as its driver, the 2014 season will mark NAPA s 19th in NASCAR sponsorship. NAPA (National Automotive Parts Association) has more than 6,000 stores nationwide with more than 400,000 quality parts and accessories for automotive and industrial applications   the most extensive inventory in the industry. NAPA headquarters is in Atlanta, Ga., just a short distance from Elliott s hometown of Dawsonville, GA. "NAPA is pleased to continue its long standing involvement in NASCAR, the most popular form of motorsports in the United States supported by its many loyal and passionate fans," commented Dan Askey, President of NAPA. "Equally, we are proud to form this new partnership with JR Motorsports. Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Rick Hendrick and its many employees have developed one of the premier teams in the Nationwide Series. Chase Elliott is a young and talented, future star in the sport and will represent NAPA well both on and off the track. We welcome Chase and the entire JR Motorsports organization to the NAPA Family." Elliott will carry the #9 on his NAPA Chevy   the same number his father, legendary racer Bill Elliott, carried for much of his storied career that included the 1988 Sprint Cup Series championship. The 2014 season will mark the younger Elliott’s Nationwide Series debut. He turned 18 on Nov. 28, becoming eligible for competition. "This is the opportunity of a lifetime," Chase Elliott said. "My family and I are still trying to believe it all. I couldn’t ask to be partnered with anyone better than Dale Jr., Kelley and Mr. Hendrick, along with all of the people at their organizations who have put in countless hours to pull this together."

I personally am really happy to see Chase get his chance in a Nationwide car.  He has large shoes to fill but has come a long way with the help of his dad.  It’ll be great to see another Elliott in the NASCAR.  

Mayfield pleads guilty to possession of stolen goods: Former NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield has pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor possession of stolen goods and one count of misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Mayfield will serve no jail time, but will have to pay $88,124.41 in restitution to the victims. $60,000 of that was paid Monday, with the rest being paid Tuesday, officials told WBTV. He will serve a 45-day suspended sentence and 18 months of unsupervised probation. Mayfield's home in Catawba County was searched in 2011 and items alleged to be stolen were taken by law enforcement as evidence. Mayfield was suspended indefinitely from NASCAR in May 2009 after testing positive for methamphetamine.

Mayfield, in my opinion, got off again, sure it hurt his pocketbook, but he still hasn’t really learned anything.  Maybe now he will just go away.  

NASCAR Reinstates Former Crew Member Todd Parrott: NASCAR has reinstated former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series crew member Todd Parrott upon his successful completion of NASCAR s Substance Abuse Policy Road to Recovery Program. Parrott had been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR on Oct. 17, 2013 for violating the sanctioning body s substance abuse policy (NASCAR). Before his suspension, Parrott was the crew chief for the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford and driver Aric Almirola.

No word yet if he has a place to land, but he did what he had to do to get back into the sport he loved so much and still has a lot to offer any young driver that wants to learn.  

Preseason Thunder Rolls Into Daytona: All three NASCAR national series will test at Daytona International Speedway from Thursday, Jan. 9 to Tuesday, Jan. 14. FOX Sports 1 will broadcast Preseason Thunder testing live on Thursday and Friday from 1:00-5:00 pm/et, and on Saturday, from 3:00-7:00 pm/et (same day delay). The test sessions are scheduled to run each day from 9:00 am -12:00noon/et and 1:00-5:00 pm/et.

Fan Fest: The Preseason Thunder Fan Fests are scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 9, for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Saturday, Jan. 11, for the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Drivers will participate in the Fan Fest, scheduled from 5:30 - 9:30pm/et both nights. Tickets are available at the gate and are $25 per person for Thursday, and $10 for Saturday. Kids 12 & under are free throughout testing.


I will be bringing you all the action live, if I can get my new phone to log in correctly, on Friday.  If not, then San’s gonna be busy uploading photos that I send to her.  Better be ready San.  

Anyone is more than welcome to join me there.  Just let me know where to meet up.  



Guess there is only one more thing to add and we can get this show on the road.  

"REACH UP THERE AND PULL THOSE BELTS TIGHT ONE MORE TIME!"

"BOOGITY, BOOGITY, BOOGITY, LET'S GO RACING!"

Forgot one thing.  We can't go racing without our opening prayer....

  
Thanks for the new blog Cocoa.  You did an OUTSTANDING job!!!    With one exception....    you can't start the season's blog, without

LMAO, we are all trying to forget him.  


 

Team Penske and Miller Lite announced today that Rusty Wallace, NASCAR Hall of Famer and the 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, will drive the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion Thursday, January 9 during a NASCAR test at Daytona International Speedway, LIVE on FOX Sports 1 at 1pm ET.

The occasion coincides with the 25th anniversary of Wallace’s championship and the approaching 40th anniversary of the original Miller Lite beer. Look for special paint scheme and firesuit.

The last time Wallace piloted the Blue Deuce was at the season ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway November 2005.

Damn!!   You beat me to it!!

RUSTY WALLACE RETURNS TO NO. 2 AT DAYTONA TEST




With prodding, NASCAR Hall of Famer to get back in car at Preseason Thunder

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- What started as friendly ribbing and good-natured coaxing from team members on pit road late last season has resulted in NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace's return to the driver's seat of Penske Racing's No. 2 Miller Lite Ford -- for an afternoon.

The 1989 premier series champion will help celebrate longtime sponsor Miller Lite's upcoming 40th birthday by steering the appropriately retro-colored Miller Lite car during Thursday afternoon's Preseason Thunder test session at Daytona International Speedway -- his first time in a Cup car since he retired in 2005.



Above is the retro-colored Miller Lite paint scheme Rusty Wallace will drive on Thursday.




"It all started at Homestead I was standing between the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) and 2 (Brad Keselowski) cars joking around and those guys were egging me on to get back in a car and when Brad got wind of it, he called me up two weeks later and was serious about it and Roger (Penske) was all for it," the 57-year-old Wallace told NASCAR.com. "Everyone in the world has been on me to test. ‘Why haven’t you been back in a car?’ This here kind of got me.

"It's going to be hard not to have a big ol' smile all day Thursday."

Not only did 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Keselowski, the current driver of the famous Blue Deuce, pursue the idea of Wallace driving his car, he told NASCAR.com that couldn't be prouder to share his seat with Wallace, the driver Keselowski considers largely responsible for the team's title-worthy presence in the Cup ranks today.

"I thought it was a great opportunity and obviously there's a lot going on with the retro scheme to tie in," said Keselowski, who was 5 years old when Wallace hoisted his Cup trophy and in his first full season of NASCAR competition (NASCAR Camping World Truck Series) the year Wallace retired.

"I've got a lot of respect for Rusty and am thankful for what he's done. He pretty much put Penske's NASCAR program on the board. He's kind of the father of the Miller Lite racing program and it's a great way for us to reconnect to the roots of our program and pay respect to him as kind of the patriarch of it in a lot of ways.

"For me, it was a no-brainer for him to do it."

Now as popular a TV analyst on ESPN as he was 55-time winner in the Cup ranks during a storied 25-year career, Wallace said he expects the experience to be more than a sentimental adventure around NASCAR's most famous track. He got permission and blessing from ESPN to make his first laps in NASCAR's Generation-6 car and sees it as a tangible asset to his work in the broadcast booth too.

"I think it'll help my TV stuff and I'll have a more in-depth knowledge of what the car feels like," Wallace said. "I don't know of any other analysts that are doing this right now. … I honestly pride myself in the information I give fans on the air.

"This will give me an opportunity to validate a lot of the stuff I say on air."

Wallace said in preparation for the test he had to undergo all the mandatory medical testing any driver would -- from baseline concussion scans to drug testing -- and even secure a new NASCAR license. And NASCAR confirmed Wallace has met all its requirements.

"Mike Helton's pretty pumped up about this, too," Wallace said of the longtime NASCAR president.

According to Wallace, crew chief Paul Wolfe wasn't planning on either Keselowski or Wallace doing any drafting practice in this week's two-day test on the famous high banks, so Wallace will make a series of single-car runs.

How many, no one knows yet.

"I'm going to give the car all I've got and I'm going to learn," Wallace said. "They're looking for some speed, some comfort. I'm not going there to say, 'Let's change this spring, let's change this shock.' I'm there to gain a lot of knowledge and have fun with the team. It's not like I'm going there to aid the team. I'm going to have fun, learn and get back in the seat."

"Brad will shake it down a couple runs then I'll get in the car and I just may stay in it the rest of the day," Wallace said with a laugh.

And that's fine with Keselowski.

"There's plenty of testing to do and I told him, I'm not too proud to let you in my car and do some laps, let's do it," Keselowski said. "At the end of the day, this is about respect and this is my way of showing respect back to Rusty. He's a Hall of Famer for a reason and I expect he'll get up to speed right away.

"I might just go in the grandstands and have a beer and watch."


http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2014/1/8/rusty-wallace-daytona-test-preseason-thunder.html

This is for e......

DP removing her rookie stripes, back in November...

Ten bold predictions for 2014

http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2014-01-08/2014-predictions-dale-earnhardt-jr-danica-patrick-ricky-stenhouse-chase-fights/



There are some things you can count on every season, like rain at Pocono and a big wreck at Talladega.

Fans will boo when Kyle Busch walks across the stage and again when he takes a bow after collecting another checkered flag. They will cheer (loudly) when Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes the lead and concoct another conspiracy theory every time Jimmie Johnson wins.

They will get tired of hearing and reading about Danica Patrick and cover their children's ears when something goes wrong for Kurt Busch.

But there are some things you just can't predict, like Tony Stewart breaking his leg in a sprint-car race or defending champion Brad Keselowski missing the Chase.

Here are 10 bold predictions for 2014.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. crew chief Steve Letarte leaving team for NBC



Dale Earnhardt Jr. crew chief Steve Letarte is stepping down after the 2014 season to become a TV analyst for NBC sports.

Sirius/XM’s Dave Moody first reported the story Thursday on his GodfatherMotorsports.com blog.  http://motorsports-soapbox.blogspot.com/2014/01/breaking-news-letarte-heading-for-tv.html

Letarte has been Earnhardt’s crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports since 2011. The duo has one win — at Michigan in 2012 — and has made the Chase the past three seasons. Earnhardt finished fifth in the final standings last season.

Letarte is expected to join play-by-play announcer Rick Allen and driver Jeff Burton in the NBC booth when the network returns to NASCAR in 2015.

Schedule, start times, TV coverage for 2014 Daytona 500, Speedweeks

Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway begins on Friday, Feb. 14 with practice for the season-opening Sprint Unlimited and concludes with the Feb. 23 Daytona 500.

Speedweeks 2014 features two weeks of NASCAR racing, including Daytona 500 events and races for the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series.

Here’s a look at key dates and events scheduled throughout Speedweeks:

Friday, Feb. 14

Sprint Unlimited practice
Drawing for Sprint Unlimited pit selectio

Saturday, Feb. 15

Sprint Cup practice for Daytona 500 qualifying
Sprint Unlimited (8 p.m., Fox Sports 1)

Sunday, Feb. 16

Daytona 500 qualifying (1 p.m., Fox)

Monday-Tuesday, Feb. 17-18

No Sprint Cup activity

UNOH Battle At The Beach practice, qualifying and racing for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and Whelen Modified Tour series

Wednesday, Feb. 19

Sprint Cup practice
Truck Series practice

Thursday, Feb. 20

Nationwide practice
Truck Series practice
Duel 150 qualifying races for Daytona 500 (7 p.m., Fox Sports 1)

Friday, Feb. 21

Daytona 500 practice
Nationwide qualifying
Truck Series qualifying
Truck Series race (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1)

Saturday, Feb. 22

Final Daytona 500 practice
Nationwide Series race (1:15 p.m., ESPN)

Sunday, Feb. 23

Daytona 500 (1 p.m., Fox)

Nice job cocoa. I found my way here, lol

Thanks for the new blog Cocoa.

As always, Beer Boy SUCKS

   

Prediction...
Gomex wins big!!!

Still trying to dry the track.

NASCAR bans tandem drafting for Nationwide, Truck series

NASCAR has outlawed tandem drafting on restrictor-plate tracks in 2014 for the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series, which saw some brutal accidents at the end of the races at Daytona and Talladega last year.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2014-01-11/tandem-drafting-banned-nationwide-trucks-kyle-larson-crash-daytona



The sanctioning body was able to eliminate tandem racing — where one car pushes another car around the track to increase the speed of both cars — in Sprint Cup with engine-cooling rules that make it difficult to orchestrate a tandem draft without overheating the engine.

It will try those engine cooling rules plus smaller spoilers in the Nationwide and truck series this year but also have issued an edict to the drivers in its two top development series not to tandem draft. Drivers can still bump-draft but can’t be bumper-to-bumper pushing beyond a tap.

“We had a few owners who came to us and said, ‘Look, you’ve got to help us. Just tell them they can’t do it and police it and we’ll help you with it,’” NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said in an interview with SN Saturday. “We’ll see how all that works out. It’s a reaction to a lot of things, and part of it you’d have to think that weighs in is the big wrecks.”

At the end of the Nationwide race at Daytona last year, Kyle Larson’s car got airborne and sent pieces of car parts and debris flying into the speedway’s catchfence. The fence buckled at the crossover gate — which can be removed so fans can get to and from the infield — and debris from Larson’s car injured more than 30 fans.

At the end of the truck race at Talladega in October, several drivers were involved in a last-lap accident that destoryed several trucks.

While wrecks often happen no matter the style of racing, tandem drafting includes the danger of a driver’s view being blocked when pushing another car. And any sudden move from the car being pushed often will result in a crash. With limited visibility and less reaction time than normal (as well as often having drivers with less experience), NASCAR opted to ban the practice.

“You still have to rely on a lot of other cars to work with you in the draft, and two cars are still faster than one, but the fact that you don't have to have somebody locked onto your back bumper or your front bumper like the tandem racing, it puts a lot more control in your own hands rather than relying on other guys,” said James Buescher, who won the Nationwide race at Daytona in 2012.

Drivers like having that control.

“It’s tough to comprehend the concept of let me help this guy get to the front, knowing that I might have to finish second to him just so I can finish second because it happens that he's the car out front and I'm the car in back,” said JR Motorsports driver Regan Smith, who was involved in the Larson crash last year.

“I think getting rid of that is going to be good. I'm excited to see the style of race it will be when that's gone, and assuming that that's gone completely this year. Just the rules alone I think are going to be enough to do away with 90 percent of it.”

Pemberton said the ban will be strictly policed. Drivers can be black-flagged for tandem drafting, NASCAR officials said.

“You can pull up and bump a guy and hit him, but you just cannot stay (there), you can’t connect,” Pemberton said. “So far what we’ve seen on the track today has been pretty good. … The drivers like the fact that we’re helping with that. The vast majority don’t want to hook up.”

“We feel like it will be a better race, a better show with more of a conventional old-school style of drafting,” Pemberton said.

What the Earnhardt-Ganassi Split Means for NASCAR

From the Bleacher Report

For the first time in 30 years, one of the most revered team names in NASCAR annals will no longer exist.

Last week's news came and went fairly quietly, but the magnitude will definitely be felt throughout the sport in 2014 as the last vestige of team ownership connected to the late Dale Earnhardt will no longer exist.

In the same season that team owner Richard Childress brought back the No. 3 Chevrolet for the first time since Earnhardt's tragic death on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, there will no longer be a team connection to the late Intimidator.

Perhaps you didn't catch the news—it was made public with very little fanfare indeed.

But the fact remains that what had been Earnhardt Ganassi Racing since 2009, and Dale Earnhardt Inc. before that (dating back to 1984, the same year Rick Hendrick formed Hendrick Motorsports, for whom Earnhardt's son Dale Jr. now drives for), is now history.

EGR has now reverted back to its original name of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

Gone is any connection to Earnhardt or his widow, Teresa.

Gone is the last vestige of keeping the late Man In Black's name as a team owner alive, as well.

Sure, Dale Jr. remains a team owner in the Nationwide Series, but his organization has long been known and continues to be known as JR Motorsports, not Dale Earnhardt Jr. Motorsports or something similar.

Frankly, NASCAR without the name of Earnhardt in the corporate moniker of a race organization is almost like not having the team names of Petty or Wood still in business.

It's just plain sad.

The elder Earnhardt first formed a team with his name on its front doors in 1984 to campaign a part-time Busch Series effort. That eventually evolved into a five-year run from 1995-99 that the organization competed on the then-Craftsman Truck Series with Ron Hornaday Jr.

And it wasn't until 1996 when what became famously known as DEI that the organization began to campaign cars in the then-Winston Cup Series.

That same year also marked the debut of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Busch Series. After part-time efforts in 1996 and 1997, Junior would go on to win back-to-back Busch championships in 1998 and 1999.

On the Winston Cup side, DEI competed in four Cup races in 1997 with Steve Park and 30 races in 1998 split between Park and Darrell Waltrip.

It wasn't until 1999 that DEI really began to hit its stride with a full-season campaign with Park behind the wheel, followed by a two-car effort in 2000 with Park and Junior in his first full season in Cup racing.

Even with the tragic death of its founder and namesake, DEI continued to grow into one of the premier teams in the Cup series, including the younger Earnhardt, Michael Waltrip (before he formed Michael Waltrip Racing) and eventually Martin Truex Jr. behind the wheel.

But when the younger Earnhardt parted ways with his stepmother and succeeding team owner Teresa Earnhardt following the 2007 season after a power struggle for control of the organization, things at DEI went downhill rather fast.

There was the ill-fated and short-lived association—called a "merger" of sorts—with real estate developer Bobby Ginn, who seemed to come and go from the NASCAR world in the blink of an eye.

Earnhardt's widow then merged her organization with that of Chip Ganassi, forming Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in 2009, a business marriage that lasted five seasons.

Going forward now, the Earnhardt name will only be associated with Junior's efforts at Hendrick Motorsports and JR Motorsports, as well as those of Jeffrey Earnhardt, who will compete this season in the Nationwide Series for JD Motorsports.

But there will be no true vestige of the Earnhardt name as part of an official team name in 2014 and perhaps forever.

And NASCAR will be poorer as a result.

NASCAR’s Chase proposal gaining support among drivers

NASCAR’s proposed change to the Chase for the Sprint Cup began to stir reaction throughout the NASCAR world Saturday.

The Charlotte Observer reported Friday night that NASCAR is looking at a 16-driver Chase with the field based primarily on race winners during the regular season. The Chase field would be pared to 12 after the third Chase race, eight after the sixth and four after the ninth. The top four would enter the season finale with the same number of points, creating a winner-take-all season-ending race.

MORE: NASCAR's radical plan | Pockrass: Chase proposal a gimmick | Best Daytona 500s | Crew chiefs under pressure

While the proposal is being questioned by fans and some in the media have labeled it “another gimmick,” it’s being embraced by many in NASCAR circles.

This points system change is going to be a really good thing. Trust in it and watch how exciting each chase race is going to be

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) January 18, 2014


Every race will be a fight to get out of the bottom 4 of the standings. Races will play out like Richmond each race.Minus the arm scratching

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) January 18, 2014
The “arm scratching” was a reference to Clint Bowyer, who appeared to spin intentionally at Richmond after his crew chief told him to “itch it.” Bowyer and his Michael Waltrip Racing team were penalized for trying to manipulate the outcome of the race to help get teammate Martin Truex Jr. into the Chase.

Brad Keselowski responded to Hamlin’s comments with:

@dennyhamlin agreed. Guess we may be in the minority here

— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) January 18, 2014
They weren’t in the minority among drivers known for their NASCAR analysis.

Curious why the 3 point shot,TV timeouts,2 minutes warnings,defensive 3 seconds,shot clocks,etc,etc,r not considered gimmicks

— Jeff Burton (@JeffBurton) January 18, 2014
In another series of tweets, Burton stated:

The millions of viewers of the Super Bowl seem to enjoy a playoff system with eliminations.

— Jeff Burton (@JeffBurton) January 18, 2014
NBC will telecast the final 20 races of the Cup season starting in 2015. That, of course, meant that some view Burton’s opinion as biased.

Funny how my opinion is now cause I'm a 'talking head'. Just to b clear I base my opinion on what I believe!

— Jeff Burton (@JeffBurton) January 18, 2014
NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Darrell Waltrip, a TV analyst for Fox, tweeted that he wants a five-driver winner-take-all finale:

has to be pressure, drama, you have to be perfect, isn't that what you want in a champion, with a playoff system everyone is in to start!

— Darrell Waltrip (@AllWaltrip) January 18, 2014
Added his younger brother, Michael Waltrip:

I love the playoff idea. And If tv timeouts are ok for other sports, why shouldn't we have them? @NASCAR

— Michael Waltrip (@mw55) January 18, 2014

BB's new sponsor, for some of his races...

LMAO think Aug has the right idea when naming him BUMBLE BEE.

I'm not excited about those colors, or that name!!

Qualifying format is official... Good article/video explaining it..

http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2014-01-22/group-qualifying-2014-new-rules-format-knockout-sprint-cup-nationwide

Guess y'all get another shot, at BB..... Wurth will be primary sponsor, on some races, as well....

Float like a Butterfly and sting like a drunk bumble bee.....

oh what I'd give to prank his car with 4 more black vinyl letters...LESS

Did you ever think Cocoa meant lets get ready to bumble!

sangria wrote:Guess y'all get another shot, at BB..... Wurth will be primary sponsor, on some races, as well....

  

Team Penske announced Tuesday that Wurth will join Miller Lite as co-primary sponsor of Brad Keselowski's No. 2 Ford Fusion for the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. There was an error in the photo released earlier. The sponsor logos should read Wurth Less on the rear quarter panels. Wurth Less will be the primary sponsor on the 2012 Cup champion's car for eight races, beginning with Round Two of the 2014 season at Phoenix International Raceway.

 


E you may want to duck.  Think I see....

Aw, isn't Bumble Bee cute in his wittle outfit.

LMAO.... Y'all SUCK!!!!

   

That's one for each of ya!

In other news.  Daytona set up a live web cam for all to see the progress made to the new stands.

Very cool


http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/Vanity-Pages/2013/Daytona-Rising/Web-Cams.aspx

That IS cool!

OK I guess we can bash Kasey Kane next huh.......may as well get ole rooster bent also!

gomexwx wrote:OK I guess we can bash Kasey Kane next huh.......may as well get ole rooster bent also!

Oh BTW this is from his own twitter account. I would never do anything this mean to Kasey.

BB definitely but not Kasey.

he just looks like he has a bit too much sugar in his tank....lol

Big day: NASCAR expected to unveil sweeping changes to the Chase

For the fourth time in 11 seasons, NASCAR is expected to overhaul the points system in its flagship Sprint Cup Series, with this change expected to be the most radical yet.

Today's fourth and final day of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway concludes with a 1 p.m. ET press conference led by NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. At that press conference, France is expected to announce the following:

-- The field for the Chase for the Sprint Cup will be expanded from 12 to 16 drivers.

-- After the third race of the Chase, the bottom four Chase drivers will be formally eliminated from championship contention, leaving 12 drivers to fight for the title.

-- After the sixth race of the Chase, the bottom four remaining drivers will be eliminated, cutting the title hopefuls to eight.

-- After the ninth race of the Chase, the bottom four remaining drivers will be axed, leaving four drivers to contend for the championship.

-- For the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the final four drivers will have their point totals reset so all four are tied. Whichever of the four drivers does best at Homestead will be the series champion for the year.

If these changes are announced as expected, it will mark a sharp departure in how the champion is determined.

From 1949 to 2003, NASCAR's champion was determined by race results over an entire season, with an emphasis on consistency. In fact, NASCAR used a single points system from 1975 to 2003, one that legend has it was drawn up on a cocktail napkin at the Boot Hill Saloon in Daytona Beach by the late NASCAR historian Bob Latford.

But after Matt Kenseth took over the points lead in the fourth race of 2003 and never again trailed despite winning only one race all year, NASCAR adopted the 10-race, season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2004. The sanctioning body expanded the Chase field from 10 to 12 drivers in 2007, and revamped the points system in 2011.

Now, it appears ready to reinvent the wheel again.

FOXSports.com will have full news coverage and analysis of today's announcement following the NASCAR press conference.


This should be interesting.  I'm wondering how it will effect the fantasy leagues.

I'm guessing they will revamp fantasy again, to put it more in line with the new chase changes.

Wow, that's quite a change.

Think Nascar will have it live..

http://www.nascar.com/presspass.html

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format has been tweaked and adjusted in the 10 seasons it has been used to determine the sanctioning body’s Sprint Cup champion.

Thursday, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France announced a major overhaul for the 10-race format, one that will see the field expanded from 12 to 16 teams, with three shootout-style rounds culminating in a single championship-determining event among the final four remaining competitors.

"We have arrived at a format that makes every race matter even more, diminishes points racing, plus puts a premium on winning races, and concludes with a best-of-the-best, first to the finish line showdown race -- all of which is exactly what fans want," France said.

"We have looked at a number of concepts for the last three years through fan research, models and simulations, and also maintained extensive dialogue with our drivers, teams and partners. The new Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup will be thrilling, easy to understand and help drive our sport's competition to a whole new level."


Under the new format, the 16 available qualifying positions for the Chase will be awarded to those drivers that have at least one victory through the first 26 races, as long as he or she is in the top-30 in points and has attempted to qualify for each of the season-s previous points races.

If more than 16 drivers earn at least one win, only those highest in the standings (with at least one win) following the 26th race would advance. However, should the points leader after 26 races be winless, he or she would be awarded the 16th and final Chase position.

Only twice in the history of NASCAR have there been more than 15 winners in the first 26 Cup races (1961 and 2003).

If fewer than 16 drivers have at least one win, all remaining positions to fill the grid would be determined based on points standings.

The 16 drivers qualifying for the Chase will have their points reset to 2,000 points, and will be seeded based on bonus points (three per win) earned prior to the start of the Chase.

The nine races leading up to the season-ending event are divided into three individual rounds consisting of three races each.

Chase eligible drivers posting at least one win in each of the rounds will continue to advance. Remaining available positions will be determined and seeded based points earned during each round.

Points for those in the Chase will be reset prior to the start of each round with all drivers starting the round with the same amount of points.

Drivers not in the Chase will continue to earn points under the current non-Chase points format.

The Challenger Round -- Opens the Chase and consists of races at Chicagoland, New Hampshire and Dover. Twelve of the 16 drivers will advance from this round.

A win in any of the three races automatically advances the driver to the next round, with remaining positions to be determined based on points earned during the round.

The 12 Chase drivers advancing will be seeded based on points earned through the three previous races and will have his or her points total reset to 3,000 points prior to the start of the next round.

The Contender Round -- Consists of races at Kansas, Charlotte and Talladega. Eight of the 12 drivers will advance from this round.

As in the previous round, a win in any of the three Contender Round races automatically advances the driver to the next round, with remaining positions to be determined based on points earned during the round.

Points totals will be reset at 4,000 points for those advancing.

The Eliminator Round -- Consists of races at Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix. Four of the eight drivers will advance from this round to earn a berth in the season-ending Sprint Cup Championship (final) round.

Eliminator Round winners automatically advance, with the remaining position or positions determined by points earned in the three races.

The four drivers that advance into the final round will have their points total reset to 5,000 following the Phoenix race.

Sprint Cup Championship -- The highest finishing driver at Homestead among the four eligible drivers will win the Sprint Cup championship.

While bonus points for laps led will be awarded through previous rounds, no bonus points for laps led will be awarded in the final race. Finishing position in the final race will determine the champion.

For those Chase drivers that fail to advance out of an individual round, their points total will be reset at 2,000 points at the conclusion of that particular segment. They will continue to earn points based on finishes in the remaining races, with no further adjustments. Thus, a driver that fails to advance out of the initial Challenger Round could earn enough points to finish as high as fifth in the final points standings. He or she would finish no worse than 16th based on the initial points reset.

CHASE FOR THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP FACTS & FAQS
January 30, 2014, Official NASCAR release, NASCAR.com

Round-by-Round and Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Grid explanations

Q. Does this new Chase format emphasize winning?

A. Absolutely. The easiest way to make the new Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is to win. And winning is also the fastest way to advance in the Chase and become one of the four drivers competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.



Q. How will the Chase Grid drivers be selected?

A. Positions 1-15 on the Chase Grid will be determined by the drivers with the greatest number of NASCAR Sprint Cup  Series wins after the first 26 races. The 16th position is reserved for the points leader if he/she does not have a win.

Q. How will the Chase Grid be seeded?

A. All drivers will have their points total reset to 2,000 points. Drivers receive 3 additional bonus points for each win during the first 26 races.

Q. Is there a minimum points standing that a driver who records a win during the first 26 races must achieve to make the Chase Grid?

A. Yes. A driver must be in the Top 30 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points following the first 26 races AND have attempted to qualify for all of the first 26 races.

Q. What if a driver is prevented from competing in one or more of the first 26 races due to injury or illness?

A. NASCAR, for rare instances, can waive the requirement of attempting to qualify for all of the first 26 races as long as the driver is in the Top 30 in points.

Q. Which races are the "advancement" races?

A. Once the field is reset after the 26th event, there are "advancement" races following the 29th event (Dover); 32nd event (Talladega); and 35th event (Phoenix). There will be four drivers competing for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Q. Will lap leader bonus points still be applied?

A. In all but the final race, bonus points for laps led will still be awarded in the Challenger, Contender and Eliminator Rounds. However, at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship, the four drivers will start the race tied and there will be no bonus points for laps led, etc. The highest finisher among that group will be the champion.

Q. What happens to a Chase Grid driver's points if he/she doesn’t advance to the next round of the Chase?
A. Drivers who don’t advance to the next round will have their point totals reset to the Chase-start base of 2,000 (with any regular-season wins bonus points), plus the additional points they’ve earned during the Chase.

Just ran across this vid of BB and Rusty.... methinks BB had a couple beers...

http://www.nascar.com/content/nascar/en_us/news-media/videos/2014/1/14/sprint-cup-series-rusty-wallace-brad-keselowski-play-video-game.html

New win-based Chase expected to create more contact, rough racing


CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A sport with flat television ratings and racetracks struggling with declining attendance made a drastic move Thursday that it hopes provides a spark.

How does NASCAR plan to ignite that sprark? By encouraging drivers to rough each other up and move each other out of the way to win races during a new championship format that it hopes creates excitement on the final laps of races.

MORE: New Chase emphasizes winning | Change gets positive reviews | Bowyer in contract year

“If it's late in the race and you've got a faster car, we expect some contact,” NASCAR Chairman Brian France said Thursday in announcing the new format. “Obviously there are limits, but that's always part of NASCAR, to have some version of contact late in the race.

“Will this bring more of that? I'm sure it will to some level.”

NASCAR will still have a 26-race regular season, but instead of the top 10 drivers in the standings making it on points, plus two wild-cards based on wins, the new Chase for the Sprint Cup will now feature 16 drivers made up of race winners and the regular-season points leader. Winless drivers only get in on points if there are still spots left among the 16.

PHOTOS: Media Tour gallery | Hall of Fame inductions | Best Chase battles

In order to encourage winning throughout the regular season, drivers will continue to get three bonus points for regular-season wins when the Chase field is determined and points are reset. Then they will have to win to advance in the elimination-based Chase.

Four of the 16 drivers will be eliminated, based on points, after three Chase races — unless one of the bottom four has won a Chase race, automatically qualifying them for the next round. The same process will continue after the sixth and ninth Chase races, setting up a four-driver shootout in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

There will be no bonus points for wins when points are reset after each of three elimination rounds.

Kyle Busch said that could have changed his approach last year when he was chasing Matt Kenseth at New Hampshire in the second Chase race, as Kenseth already had won the Chase opener at Chicago.

“I’m chasing him down to try to get to him and if I could have got to him, I could have moved his (butt) out of the way to get a win to knock me into the next round of the playoffs because he didn’t need it,” Busch said. “Those situations are what they’re looking at. They’re not wanting let’s just race to the checkered and not cause any drama and have a good points day and move on type scenario.

“That essentially is what it comes down to.  … There’s going to be a lot more risk-takers with this strategy than maybe what there had been in the past. But you’re also going to have to weigh that risk and know what consequences it has for you.”

Early in the season, Busch won at Watkins Glen when Brad Keselowski refrained from bumping or spinning him on the final lap. Would Keselowski have raced him differently under the new format?

"Yes," Busch said. "I would agree with that, that’s what it’s coming down to."

Ironically, if the new format had in place in 2013, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would have won the championship without winning a single race. Earnhardt rallied from a blown engine in the first Chase race to finish fifth in the final standings.

“In all of our discussions with the race teams and the drivers, almost to the person they say the strategy changes completely,” NASCAR Senior Vice President Steve O’Donnell said. “So you can look at that, but at the end of the day, we don’t think it’s anything that you can look at and project to 2014, by any means. You can do the math, but we believe it will fundamentally change how they race.”

NASCAR officials said that a winless driver could have won the Chase under the old system and there will always be scenarios where the results don’t match expectations.


Kyle Busch spins at Kansas. (AP Photo)
“The biggest risk would be not to do it,” France said. “When something … is so clear, and we've done our homework, hopefully, in how we've designed it, we've talked to all of our industry and most importantly, our fans. Because if they don't like what we do, then nothing matters.

"And, overwhelmingly, the more they understand it, the better it gets. … Everything is designed around what you know about NASCAR. Close, tight, tough competition, and this does it all.”

Well, sort of.

“The thing that we have to focus on is just what they’ve started (to do), making sure that the cars can race one another,” said Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards. “That’s (done by) taking downforce away, making the tires softer, making a more dynamic race that way. I hope we continue to work toward that because then, no matter what format we have, we’ll have guys racing one another door too door, nose to tail, bumping each other.

“But right now it is difficult to do that. If I’m staring at the guy through my front window, it doesn’t matter if it’s a billion dollars and 10 championships, if I can’t catch him, I can’t catch him.”

NASCAR also has made a series of aerodynamic changes that it believes will make the new Gen-6 car, which debuted last year, easier to drive and race.

Under the new Chaser rules, O’Donnell believes that more races will be decided by strategy than just one driver wrecking another.

“Our drivers will tell you they give 100 percent each and every lap,” O’Donnell said. “But it could change the mentality that, do you finish second in the past because that was a really good points day and I can use that second place to move on, or do I have to win to advance?

“I think that may change the game at the elimination races.”

France certainly thinks so. He says that is the intent — to emphasize winning and reduce points racing.

"The avid fans like it because they don't particularly care for points racing, even though they understand it," he said. "The casual fans don't understand points racing ... (This) clears all that off and then emphasizes winning, which everybody understands.

"… Riding around and being pleased because the current format rewards consistency, those days are going to be pretty much over."

NASCAR began gathering fan feedback on new Chase scenarios in 2010, during Jimmie Johnson’s streak of five consecutive championships. France and O’Donnell said that the changes were not based on Johnson's dominance or to keep him from winning a seventh Cup championship.

“I can’t get into the fans’ head, but there is speculation, did you do this because of Jimmie? No. Jimmie performed,” O’Donnell said. “We fully expect Jimmie to dominate again. Jimmie has been time and time again a champion of NASCAR. You’ve got to beat the best of the best in the Chase.”

Johnson says the biggest change since the Chase was implemented in 2004 won't have a big impact on his approach — until the final race.

"Up until Homestead, I don't know that it's way different, but in the postseason you have to win and the champion has always won races, and you have to win a lot," Johnson said. "That's how we've won our championships, so I don't think a lot changes there. But the biggest change is one race, four cars. … That's definitely going to change the way we race there."

Though Johnson and other drivers have mixed feelings about the change, the six-time champion believes it will be good for a sport searching for a new spark.

"Something big needed to happen, (and) here it is," he said. "If it's the magic bullet and the right bullet, only time will tell. I commend NASCAR for looking at something big and something different."

— Jeff Owens contributed to this story.

New Chase puts heat on NASCAR race officials

Vid of KyBu expressing his opinion about changes (when doesn't he!)

http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2014-01-30/chase-format-controversy-penalties-officials-rules-wrecks-cautions-inpsection


CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR has its new Chase format. It’s work, though, isn’t done.

In fact, NASCAR has just made it harder on itself.

The new format encourages contact and will lead to drivers wrecking each other more often at the end of races. It could create more incentive to violate NASCAR’s 100 percent rule. And it puts the onus on NASCAR to make the right decisions when deciding to throw a caution flag or keeping the race green late in the race.

MORE: Wins key to Chase | More rough racing coming | 12 Chase questions | Driver reax

NASCAR, which has come under fire for some of its officiating, will have to prove that it can officiate the new Chase for the Sprint Cup. They will face as much scrutiny as the new format itself.

Obviously, NASCAR officials think they're up for the job.

“We’ll officiate the sport the same way,” NASCAR President Mike Helton said. “We get the fact that this puts pressure on us officiating, and we feel like we're capable of stepping up to it.”

PHOTOS: Media Tour gallery | Hall of Fame induction

They will have to step it up. With wins the primary requirement for drivers to qualify for the Chase, NASCAR wants drivers to rough each other up a bit more. But there is always the caveat that there are limits to that aggresion and lines that can't be crossed. So how much will be too much?

With NASCAR’s emphasis on this being a contact sport, expect it to be extremely lenient when it comes to end-of-the race rumbles. Expect drivers to unceremoniously wreck one another late in the race until NASCAR steps in and makes a ruling on where the line is.

That could lead to something else — more fights in the garage. Once again, NASCAR officials would have to intervene.

And could there be more incentive to cheat under the new system, especially for drivers 20th in the standings or worse? NASCAR already has shown that it would not allow drivers to count wins toward the Chase if a car that wins fails inspection, but it has not faced a scenario yet where such a decision would keep a driver out of the Chase.


Brian France and Mike Helton (AP Photo)
The new system also could encourage team mainpulation once the Chase starts as a win automatically qualifies a driver for the next round. In the Chase, bonus points for wins don’t carry over from round to round (they do in the regular season) so once a driver wins in the Chase, that driver could have two races where the finish doesn’t matter.

If a driver wins a Chase race and then in the same round gets passed by a teammate for the win, there will be automatic scrutiny on whether team orders were in place. NASCAR rules require drivers to give 100 percent on the track, but drivers and pit crews are pretty adept at making a mistake that costs them a split second look like just an unfortunate occurrence.

When Michael Waltrip Racing was penalized last year for trying to manipulate the race at Richmond, NASCAR believes it sent a strong message to teams that anyone considering such shenanigans wouldn’t even think about it. Several drivers said so during the past week. But that won’t keep such speculation from occurring and could certainly be a headache either for NASCAR or the teams involved.

What about a driver who has a Chase win and then goes out and experiments, with no incentive to finish higher until the next Chase round? NASCAR Senior Vice President Steve O’Donnell indicated that a team can experiment with a setup just as it would do in any race, so there would not be a violation of the 100 percent rule.

Maybe the most pressure for NASCAR officials comes late in the race, when it must make better decisions than they did at the end of the Nationwide Series finale last November when a lengthy caution heavily impacted the championship.

As one owner said earlier this week, what NASCAR can’t have is a late caution for a piece of plastic determine the champion. Late-race cautions now won't just determine a race winner, they could determine a Chase participant during the regular season or who advances in each of the Chase elimination rounds.

Somewhere former Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby is smiling. He doesn’t have to worry about any of this as NASCAR has replaced him with rookie series director Richard Buck.

Buck, Helton, NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton and series director David Hoots often confer to make the calls on cautions and possible penalties for drivers who wreck one another.

“We know that there is an opportunity that we'll have to make a hard call, but we also know that there are good competitors out there,” Pemberton said.

“We expect them to behave proper and leave the championship out there on the line for the guys that deserve that. You can never rule everything out.”

Maybe under this Chase format, the only thing you can rule out is this: There won’t be any less debate on whether NASCAR made the right call at a pivotal moment as this format increases the number of pivotal moments throughout the season.

So NASCAR officials should expect scrutiny and controversy. And the NASCAR pilots should expect later postrace flights as Pemberton and Helton should expect to hold plenty of postrace briefings outside the NASCAR hauler.

NASCAR Penalties, Fines & Suspensions 2014

Nascar penalty chart.... Appeals flow chart... penalty news....  see page, for charts

http://www.jayski.com/news/pages/story/_/page/NASCAR-Penalties-Fines-2014


NASCAR Reinstates Ty Norris: NASCAR announced Thursday that it has reinstated Ty Norris, an executive with Michael Waltrip Racing. Norris had been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR last Sept. 9 as part of the penalties assessed to MWR following the sanctioning body's review of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sept. 7 at Richmond International Raceway. Norris remains on indefinite NASCAR probation.(NASCAR)
Statement Statement from Ty Norris, Executive Vice President at Michael Waltrip Racing: "I appreciate NASCAR's action today and respect their position. I am focused forward and dedicated to the success of Michael Waltrip Racing and the continued growth of a sport that has been my home for the past 24 years."(MWR)(1-23-2014)