Car maker General Motors Corp. renewed its long-standing sponsorship of the Daytona International Speedway and its signature Nascar race, the Daytona 500. There had been speculation that GM would not renew as financial troubles and slumping sales have forced cuts. It recently terminated an endorsement deal with Tiger Woods and pulled out of advertising during Super Bowl XLIII.
But despite cash worries, the company agreed a new deal for NASCAR’s most prestigious event on a year-to-year basis. Financial terms were not disclosed. The event was the US’s top rated motorsports broadcast in 2008, drawing 33.5 million TV viewers. GM has sponsored Daytona for more than 40 years and Chevrolet spokesman Terry Rhadigan said: “We are able to draw a direct correlation to sales, and that’s where we are going to put our money. We need to be smart with the limited funds that we have and focus those funds where we are going to provide the highest return on our investment.” This report came from SportsBusiness.com.
Three veterans of ESPN’s motorsports team, Mike Massaro, Marty Reid and Vince Welch, will have new NASCAR responsibilities on ESPN in 2009. Massaro, who has been a NASCAR pit reporter the past two years, will join Nicole Manske and Allen Bestwick as host of NASCAR Now, ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program. Massaro and Manske will share the primary host role on a rotating basis, while Bestwick will continue as host of the Monday roundtable discussion edition. Massaro will still work the pits for selected NASCAR Nationwide Series telecasts.
Reid, who has been the lead announcer for ESPN’s coverage of the Indy Car Series the past three years, as well as a play-by-play announcer for selected NASCAR Nationwide Series telecasts the past two years, will see his NASCAR appearances increase. Reid will be the play-by-play announcer for ESPN’s coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series for much of the second half of the season, after ESPN begins its 17-race coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Dr. Jerry Punch will continue as play-by-play announcer for the Sprint Cup coverage and for the Nationwide Series in the first half of the season.
Reid will be lead announcer for the Indianapolis 500 and ESPN on ABC’s four other races on the Indy Car Series. Welch will become one of ESPN’s four primary NASCAR pit reporters for 2009 after having worked selected NASCAR races the past two years while serving as a fulltime pit reporter for ESPN’s Indy Car Series coverage. He will work all of ESPN’s NASCAR Sprint Cup telecasts in the second half of the year along with multiple NASCAR Nationwide Series races throughout the season. In addition, Welch will be a pit reporter for ESPN on ABC’s five-race Indy Car Series coverage, including the Indianapolis 500.
The rest of ESPN’s team of announcers, analysts and reporters for NASCAR will return in 2009. Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree will be lead analysts for the race telecasts, joining Punch and Reid in the booth, while Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Shannon Spake will again be pit reporters. Tim Brewer will continue as analyst in the ESPN Tech Center.
Bestwick will continue to host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program from the ESPN Pit Studio, with analysis by Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty. Analyst Ray Evernham will join NASCAR Countdown for selected races and will continue his role as an analyst on NASCAR Now and other ESPN studio programs. Wallace and Evernham will work selected NASCAR Nationwide Series telecasts as analysts in the booth, filling in for Jarrett and Petree.
NASCAR Now returns on Monday, Feb. 2, while ESPN’s live NASCAR racing for 2009 begins with flag-to-flag coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series opener at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 14, on ESPN2.
Todd Bodine carried over his success from the qualifying round to the finals as he earned his first Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge championship last Sunday at the Olympic Sports Complex.
The top qualifier that Saturday, Todd Bodine was first out of the chute in Sunday’s first round of Race 1, which featured NASCAR and NHRA racers competing against the clock for a trip to the podium. His maiden run of 49.83 seconds stood as the fastest in the round as the top eight of 12 drivers advanced. In the second round, with the race order inverted, nearly each driver that went bested the one before him. Joey Logano, who went next-to-last, posted a 49.56 to set the bar for Bodine. The younger brother of the event’s namesake did not disappoint as he crossed the finish line at 49.35. Bodine’s two-round combined time of 1:39.18 earned the Race 1 title.
“I’ve had a good sled,” Bodine said. “During qualifying and the first round I had really clean runs. The second round wasn’t quite as fast as Larry’s [Gunselman], and what I needed to do was just stay with them, and we got it done.”
Logano, in his second year of competition in the Bodine Bobsled Challenge, finished with a combined time of 1:39.58. Logano, who will contend for the 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, earned his first invitation last year as the 2007 NASCAR Camping World Series East championship. Gunselman came in third at 1:39.60. Gunselman’s second run of 49.33 seconds was the fastest run of either round in the morning session. Morgan Lucas was the highest finishing NHRA competitor in Race 1 at 1:39.83.
Boris Said, the defending Race 1 champion and five-time winner in the Bodine Bobsled Challenge settled for a sixth-place finish. The event also included NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour champion Brian Loftin, who finished eighth in his first bobsledding experience. Philip Morris earned a return trip to Lake Placid with his second NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship in three years, finished 10th.
That Sunday afternoon’s Race 2 featured two rounds of eliminations and two head-to-head competitions. Todd Bodine, Geoff Bodine, Logano and Said represented NASCAR while the NHRA contingent included Lucas, Jeg Coughlin J.R. Todd and Bob Vandergriff. Geoff Bodine and Vandergriff were eliminated in the first round while defending race winner Said and Coughlin failed to advance past the second round.
In the semifinals of Race 2, which pitted the two fastest NASCAR and NHRA drivers against each other for a spot in the championship, Todd Bodine once again edged out Logano with a time of 49.25 for an advantage of .71 seconds. Meanwhile, Lucas defeated Todd by .03 seconds to earn a spot in the finals against Bodine.
For the final round, Bodine and Lucas were setup in competition Bo-Dyn sleds used by the USA National Bobsled team. USA Men’s Coach Brian Shimer served as brakeman for Bodine while Women’s Team Coach Bill Tavares rode with Lucas.
Lucas, who was defeated by Said in the 2008 Bodine Bobsled Challenge Race 2 finals, registered a 47.78-second run in the articulated sled, nearly two seconds faster than his semifinal run. In Bodine’s run, the NASCAR veteran had gained on Lucas’ time through nearly every stage, but rolled the sled coming out of Turn 18. Bodine and Shimer were fine, but Lucas took home the title. “I felt bad about wrecking the sled, but I had this old-time racer tell me once, ‘boy, if you can’t win, be spectacular,’ and we were spectacular,” Todd Bodine said.
In the three-day event a total of 12 drivers piloted specially made bobsleds down the track in Lake Placid, site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. The Bodine Bobsled Challenge is geared to raise money for the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, which was started in 1992 by former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Geoff Bodine, who partnered with Chassis Dynamics. The Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project has built American-made bobsleds for United States athletes competing in the World Cup, World Championships and Olympic Winter Games.
Funds raised from the Bodine Bobsled Challenge go directly to the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project. The annual dinner auction held in conjunction with the event took place at the Lake Placid Crowne Plaza Hotel & Resort Saturday night with proceeds also benefiting the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project. Whelen Engineering Vice President for Motorsports and Bodine Bobsled Project President Phil Kurze was satisfied with the results.
“The auction was on par with last year’s successful event,” Kurze said. “In 2010, with it being an Olympic year, we look for the Fifth Annual Bodine Bobsled Challenge and auction to be an even bigger and better event.” SPEED will televise four hours of the Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge on Sundays, Jan. 18 at noon and Jan. 25 at 2 p.m
The reality of the challenge is starting to sink in for motorcycle veterans Scott Russell, Jason Pridmore and Jeff Ward. The trio of two-wheel stars will tackle four wheels in the 47th anniversary of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 24-25 with the locally based team Spirit of Daytona Racing and the No. 09 Porsche Coyote decorated with AMA Pro Racing decals.
Last weekend’s three-day Rolex 24 test is their final tune-up prior to the twice-around-the-clock challenge. Things are totally different for the two-wheel competitors. From the fenders to the seat belts, it’s a new world on the 3.56-mile road course of DIS for Russell, Pridmore and Ward.
“I didn’t think it was going to be as awkward as it was, being tightly strapped in,” Pridmore said during the lunch break on the second day of testing. “On a bike, if I’m going through a turn, I’m use to turning my head and looking through the corner. In a car, I can’t do that as much.
“I was talking to mom about this. I don’t think my mom could sit in the car, she would be too claustrophobic. Just sitting in the car for the first time, one of my first comments to (owner) Troy (Flis) was, ‘I’ve watched this race for the last six years on TV going I want to do it and now I’m in the car and I’m like why am I here.’ “
All three riders have a storied past at Daytona International Speedway. Russell, whose nickname is “Mr. Daytona,” is a five-time Daytona 200 By Honda winner, a record that he shares with Miguel Duhamel.
Ward, who was also competed in open wheels and stock cars, has raced Supercross at DIS while Pridmore anchors the trio of motorcycle champions with two 750 Supersport victories at Daytona.
Russell, who is a native of Conyers, Ga., concurs with Pridmore saying the transition has been difficult.
“Just being able to breathe fresh air is the biggest difference for me on the bike,” Russell said. “You might be a little warm in the leathers if it’s hot but you still have fresh air going under your helmet. In the car, it’s pretty hot in there.”
Another concern for the drivers is the traffic. With more than 50 sports cars on track during this weekend’s test, they’ve learned the ins and outs of dealing with slower and faster cars.
“It’s kind of like bike racing except you got lot less room to make the move on,” Russell said. “A doorway space I could do what I use to do. Now, the car is still a little twitchy and still tentative. The consistency of some of the drivers, you don’t know who you are coming up on, some guys give way, some don’t.”
Ward is the lone driver to have previous Rolex 24 experience having competed in the race in 1997. “It’s good to be back,” Ward said. “I’m still learning. I’ve never driven these cars and it’s been 12 years since I’ve been on a road course. We just need more seat time, all of us.”
Dempsey announcement: Grey’s Anatomy star turned sports car racer Patrick Dempsey made a couple of announcements in the Infield Media Center on Sunday. Dempsey says the team, formally known as Hyper Sport, will compete in the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 under the Dempsey Racing banner and Avon will serve as the team’s sponsor for the Rolex 24. Dempsey will be promoting Avon’s efforts for breast cancer awareness through their charity walks.
“Real men can do pink,” Dempsey said of the black, white and pink Mazda RX-8. Dempsey, Joe Foster, Charles Espenlaub, Jep Thornton and a yet to be named fifth driver will round out the driving team for the Mazda RX-8 that will compete in the GT class.
Dempsey made his first Rolex 24 start in 2008. He did have a mishap exiting pit road but finished a respectable 39th overall. “I think it helps to have an understanding of what the entire 24 hours is going to be like,” Dempsey said. “Last year, I didn’t really have an understanding. Certainly, getting out the pits was my first realization. Every time I go out, I’m much slower and careful.
“I think that has a lot do with it, knowing what it’s going to take as far as what the various stages are (of the race) and just relax into it keeping a pace that is going to conserve the equipment and just stay out of trouble and keep running and hopefully we can be there at the end.”
The Barrett-Jackson Auction Company will sell 14 vehicles to benefit various charities at No Reserve during the 38th Annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., Jan. 11-18, 2009. The total marks the most charity vehicles ever sold during a single Barrett-Jackson event, with U.S. automakers General Motors and Ford Motor Company, as well as NASCAR icons Tony Stewart and Rick Hendrick, among the generous donors. Barrett-Jackson, which does not collect commissions on vehicles sold entirely for charity, helped raise a combined $6.7 million for charities during the Scottsdale, Palm Beach, Fla., and Las Vegas auctions in 2008.
“Thanks to our caring sponsors, partners and customers, we’re going to offer an unprecedented number of charity cars at the 2009 Scottsdale event,” said Steve Davis, president of Barrett-Jackson. “In today’s unique economic environment, these groups need extra support to continue changing lives. At Barrett-Jackson, we’re devoted to increasing awareness of these charities by offering amazing vehicles on the hobby’s biggest stage.”
Rights to the first retail production 2010 Chevrolet Camaro coupe (Lot #1316) will be auctioned by GM to benefit the American Heart Association. The new Camaro features an eye-catching design reminiscent of the storied 1969 model, but is equipped with modern technology and a GM-estimated 27 mpg highway when outfitted with the available V6 engine. The winning bidder will receive VIN No. 100001 and can spec the Camaro to their liking, choosing from several colors, engines, transmissions and trim packages.
Ford will auction rights to the first retail version 2010 Shelby GT500 (Lot #1347.2). With world-class handling, aggressive styling and 540 horsepower, the latest generation Shelby GT500 delivers unparalleled performance. Ford will also sell the first 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor offered to the public (Lot #1347). The purpose-built, high-performance Raptor is rugged enough for challenging desert adventures yet refined enough for everyday use. All proceeds from these Ford vehicles will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Hot rod legend Boyd Coddington will be honored when a 1967 Plymouth Barracuda (Lot #1306.2) crosses the block, with all proceeds benefiting EAA’s Young Eagles program. After selling the Max HEMI for charity at Barrett-Jackson in 2006, Coddington dreamed of building an even faster muscle car to auction for children. Following Coddington’s passing in February 2008, West Coast Customs and volunteers like Marc Holmes of Rod and Gauges carried the torch and built the one-off ‘Cuda that features a 6.1-liter, 500 horsepower V8 HEMI.
“Reaching 80,000 youth annually and more than 1.4 million since the program began, the Young Eagles flights provide life-changing inspiration,” according to Tom Poberezny, president of EAA. “Aviation is a powerful tool, teaching personal responsibility, honing math and science skills, and helping youth believe that ‘if you dream it, you can do it,’ an attitude Boyd Coddington upheld. We are grateful to West Coast Customs, Marc Holmes and Barrett-Jackson for helping EAA continue to grow the impact of Young Eagles.”
Longtime Barrett-Jackson partner The Darrell Gwynn Foundation will benefit from the sale of a 1970 Plymouth Superbird custom tribute (Lot #1289) and the 2007 Chevy Monte Carlo NASCAR (Lot #1575) driven by Tony Stewart to three victories in the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The Superbird was built by YearOne in conjunction with Gillette Evernham Motorsports, Musclecar TV and former pro wrestler, actor and auto enthusiast Bill Goldberg.
Jack Roush will be on stage to help auction a 2008 Ford Mustang GT ROUSH P-51A (Lot #1575.1). This 510 horsepower Mustang is No. 104 of 151 built and will benefit Speedway Children’s Charities. Additional NASCAR-related charity cars will include Jeff Gordon’s 2006 Chevy Monte Carlo (Lot #1274) that recorded two wins during the 2006-07 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and an officially licensed 2009 60th Anniversary NASCAR Motorcycle built by Destination Daytona (Lot #706). The bike is serial No. 60 of only 60 built and will be sold to benefit Victory Junction Gang through The NASCAR Foundation, while all proceeds from the Jeff Gordon NASCAR will be donated to the Hendrick Marrow Program.
AutoTrader.com will cater to sports fans and gear heads with the sale of a custom 2008 Chevy Tahoe (Lot #961) that includes a baseball-inspired interior and an extra hood with signatures from approximately 220 Major League Baseball players. MLB Hall of Famer Goose Gossage, who helped Autotrader.com collect the signatures as part of their Drive to a New Start program, will be on stage for the sale. Proceeds from the sale will be donated to MLB Charities.
A rare 2008 Barrett-Jackson Edition Ford Shelby GT (Lot #1563) will cross the block in Scottsdale, with all proceeds benefitting the Carroll Shelby Children’s Foundation. No. 26 of only 100 produced, the Shelby features a Barrett-Jackson signature black and red paint scheme, Barrett-Jackson Edition doorsill plates, a special Barrett-Jackson gas cap insert and a Shelby-installed Supercharger.
A pristine 1957 Ford Thunderbird (Lot #1055) will be sold to benefit the automotive restoration program at McPherson College in Kansas. Restored by the McPherson students, the T-Bird is powered by a 312 c.i.d. V8 with a 3-speed Ford-o-matic transmission, power steering and power brakes.
Additional charity cars scheduled for Barrett-Jackson include a 2008 Ford Mustang GT (Lot #62; International Children’s Heart Foundation) and a 1961 GMC Carryall (Lot #701; Boy Scouts of America)
Let’s see what’s on TV this weekend for motorsports. On Monday Speed airs the SCCA Runoffs from Topeka, KS at noon (GT Lite) and Sports 2000 at 1 p.m. VS goes with the Dakar Rally Stage 8 Valpariso-LaSeria at 3:30 p.m. At 4 p.m. OLN Canada offers the same stage. Speed comes back at 6 p.m. with NASCAR Pre-Season Thunder #1. Tuesday has VS going with more of the Dakar Rally Stage 9 LaSeria-Copiago. At 4 p.m. OLN Canada airs the same segment. More NASCAR Pre Season Thunder #2 on Speed. Wednesday starts at noon with NASCAR’s 60th Season on Speed. VS has more of the Dakar Rally Stage 10 with OLN Canada airing that one at 4 p.m. Speed comes back at 6 p.m. with more Pre-Season Thunder #3.
Thursday it’s Speed airing NASCAR 39/10 Review of the 60th Season at noon. VS is back with more of the Dakar Rally at 3:30 p.m. Stage 11 Copiapo-Fiambala with OLN Canada airing that one at 4 p.m. More of NASCAR Pre-season Thunder airs at 6 p.m. on Speed. Friday picks up the momentum for the weekend with the noon airing of the Porsche Super Cup from Britain, Germany and Hungary on Speed. At 12:30 p.m. it’s more of the same on that channel this time from Valencia, Belgium and Italy. VS returns at 3:30 p.m. with the 12th stage of the Dakar Rally Fiambala-LaRioja with OLN Canada offering it at 4 p.m.
Saturday goes like this NASCAR Pre-Season Thunder-Daytona Fan Fest at 1 p.m. on Speed. The Barrett-Jackson goes next at 2 p.m. from Scottsdale. More of the Dakar Rally on VS with the LaRioja-Cordoba stage at 3:30 p.m. OLN-Canada is next at 4 p.m. with highlights from Argentina-Chile. Sunday has VS returns with another episode of the Dakar Rally this time the Cordoba -Buenos Aires stage at 3:30 p.m. More of the Argentina-Chile stage on OLN-Canada at 4 p.m. Speed returns with the AMA SuperX from Anaheim, CA at 6 p.m. with the Speed Report following at 7 p.m. (END)
NOTE: INFORMATION FOR THIS COLUMN CAME FROM VARIOUS REFERENCED SOURCES, PRESS RELEASES, NOTES AND OTHER SOURCES.
