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TV Times: Is There Football in Brian France’s Future?

Lou Modestino — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:50:29 +0000

In an on-line piece, Forbes Magazine wrote about the possibility of the NFL adding two more franchises bringing a total of teams to 34 with the possible return of the NFL to Los Angeles.

As a matter of fact, links on Jayski.com back in ’06 had similar stories appearing in USA Today, Winston-Salem Journal and Sporting News connecting NASCAR’s Brian France to Magic Johnson and the latter’s efforts to bring an NFL franchise back to LA.

The stories, though, had Brian denying any possible involvement.

At that time, however, Brian did give the impression that he wouldn’t be involved in a NASCAR capacity as long as his grandfather and father did. He admitted to having had several conversations with Johnson. Follow up stories even told about the possibility of young France selling his stock in International Speedway Corp. to his uncle Jim and sister Lisa France Kennedy to raise money for a possible purchase of something beyond ISC and NASCAR. It was assumed by many that it was for an NFL franchise.

Recently there was also an item regarding an expansion of the NFL on the Speed Channel crawl, yet the NFL denied any such thing. The Forbes piece indicated that a buy into the NFL would require a $2 billion investment - $1 billion each for a two-team expansion. We tend to believe that the Forbes piece has validity, in spite of NFL denials. So if Brian France and/or Magic Johnson want to get into an NFL franchise, it’ll be a little costly!

By the way, we caught Brian France’s “On My Mind” guest column in NASCAR Illustrated. France declared that 2011 was the greatest NASCAR season ever with the finale coming at Homestead Speedway last November. That’s where The Chase came down to the season’s end between Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards.

“Not even our office in Los Angeles could have scripted a better ending,” he said. Plus he talked about 20-year old Trevor Bayne winning the Daytona 500 as well as other first time winners in the Sprint Cup such as David Ragan, Ragan Smith, Paul Menard and Marcos Ambrose and how these drivers will serve as the next generation in the NASCAR garage.

An interesting article back a month or two appearing in a Toronto daily caught our eye. The crux of the story centered on how NASCAR is becoming like Formula 1 where drivers buy their rides. Reminds us of what’s happened to Bobby Santos, III, a talented young driver of Franklin, Mass., who lost his top two season NASCAR Modified ride in the Mystic Missile owned by Bob Garbarino of Conn. According to a very good source

Bob’s race car is a front line machine even though he did experience a few engine and mechanical problems last year. In 2010, driving that same car, he won the NASCAR Whelen Modified Championship so they couldn’t have been that bad. But it now appears that off and on Modified driver Don Lia will be behind the wheel of the Mystic Missile again. He had a driving assignment in the NASCAR Camping World Trucks for a bit.

But Santos’ bad luck didn’t just end there. His Joe Gibbs deal for the July Nationwide event at Daytona International Speedway also evaporated. Ryan Truex got the nod for that one. Santos also won the 2011 USAC Paved Track Sprint Cup Championship. He did that while driving the Don Berrio-owned car. Adding to Bobby’s bad luck, USAC cancelled the series for 2012.

So at this point in time, Santos is “at liberty”, a politically correct way of saying he’s “unemployed”. Isn’t this just another case where “money trumps talent”? Nowadays, it appears that teams expect a driver to bring something to them, either in sponsorship or money. We made an effort to reach Santos but our phone call wasn’t returned.

Officials from Randy Hill Racing (RHR) announced that they will once again return to the NASCAR Nationwide Series with their No. 08 Randy Hill Racing Ford Mustang beginning with the 2012 season-opener, the DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona on Saturday, February 25.

After separating from Spraker Racing Enterprises in December, RHR’s Randy Hill has methodically been prepping for its second year of competition and will join forces with Go Green Racing (GGR) under a technical alliance partnership. Randy Hill Racing will run as a separate Nationwide team but work with GGR in a collaborative partnership on race weekends.

Officials from Matt Carter Racing (MCR) have announced that NASCAR Nationwide Series veteran Matt Carter has teamed up with the Texas-based Lone Survivor Foundation, which will be his charity of choice for the 2012 season. The upcoming season commences with the season opener on Saturday, February 25 at Daytona.

The Lone Survivor Foundation was organized in 2010 by Petty Officer First Class United States Navy Seal (ret.) Marcus Luttrell and is headquartered in Houston. The Foundation’s mission is to “…restore, empower and renew hope for our wounded warriors and their families using therapeutic support, health and wellness, inspiration, and nature, while emphasizing camaraderie, understanding, respect, and pride.”

Check Jayski.com to see what’s on TV for gearhead action this week into the weekend. (END)

NOTE: Information for this column came from various indicated sources and personal notes.

TV Times: Daytona 500 Moved Just For The TV Ratings

Lou Modestino — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:10:13 +0000

A February, 2011, press release from Daytona revealed that the move of the Daytona 500 to the final weekend of this February was done at the recommendation of Fox Sports, the broadcaster of the first group of races before TNT picks up the baton. The change was done not so much as to sidestep the ever-expanding NFL playoffs and Super Bowl, but to prevent the one weekend gap in March which the Fox Network felt that stopped the NASCAR TV ratings momentum! This year there will be NASCAR races every weekend through mid-November, with the exception of the Easter and Mother’s Day weekends.

With NASCAR hoping to better or at least equal the TV rights money when the contract comes up for renewal shortly, they deferred to the company that writes the big check to sanction, that is the tracks that host the Sprint Cup events as well as the team owners. Money talks and everything else walks, is the old saying.

Speed Week’s 2012 got underway with the minutes ticking down on the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. There was a capacity infield crowd. In the process of that twice around the clock grind, Andy Lally and NASCAR’s A.J. Almendinger, along with co-drivers, made the trip to Victory Lane. On the NASCAR side, Danica Patrick announced to the media that she will forego the Indy 500 this year and will race at Charlotte in the Coca Cola 600 that same weekend with NASCAR. Brad Kasalowski signed with Penske Racing again.

AMA standout Bubba Stewart got his first AMA SuperX win at Oakland, CA, and also signed a deal with Joe Gibbs Racing to give NASCAR a try. Stewart has a lot of fans that will follow him over to NASCAR Land. NASCAR is still tweaking the two-car drift versus The Pack. That’s what NASCAR’s Mike Helton told the group on the NASCAR Media Tour held in Charlotte. There are lots of NASCAR changes as we start to head into the first two 2012 weekends. SPEED’s Performance Awards was delivered on the air Sunday night, and Tony Stewart got the nod. “This is an awesome moment for me,” he told the show host and Mario Andretti, who the award is named after. No surprise here as he won five of The Chase races.

The Sports Car Club of America and the Lincoln Airport Authority have recently agreed to a lease extension that will keep the Tire Rack-SCCA® Solo® National Championships at the Lincoln (Neb.) Airport through 2017.

The event, which annually attracts more than 1200 competitors to crown National Championships in each of the Solo classes, has been held on the concrete airport runway surface since 2009. The recently-signed lease has an additional five-year option included, which could keep the event in Lincoln through 2022. This year’s event marks the 40th anniversary of the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championship event. The Lincoln Chamber of Commerce estimates the event annually has a $3 million impact on the local economy.

In addition to the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships, scheduled for September 4-7 this year, the Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo finale runs just ahead of the Solo Championships, August 30 – September 7. Both the Solo National Tour and the ProSolo Series will visit the site for the second Spring Nationals event Memorial Day weekend, another four-day event that draws competitors to the area.

After the end of all the rallies held in Italy and worldwide in the year 2011, Luca Rossetti is number one of the 2011 Italian Rally Ranking, thereby confirming his position obtained in 2010. A climb all year long allowed the three-time European Rally Champion to confirm his first position thanks to the points gained in events in Italy, The Italian number one of events on gravel is Daniele Batistini; number one on tarmac is Luca Rossetti; number one on snow is Gianluca Linari. There are 2095 drivers from all regions of Italy and the Republic of San Marino, who, after taking part in rallies in Italy and in the world in 2011, have scored the necessary results to enter the Italian Rally Ranking. .

Check Jayski.com to see what’s happening on TV this week into the weekend. (end)

NOTE: Information for this column came from press releases and personal notes.

TV Times: Should Some of the 500 Mile NASCAR Races Be Shortened?

Lou Modestino — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:57:20 +0000

While NASCAR has taken steps to improve its Sprint Cup events, there are a number of issues that paying customers still are unhappy with, such as the l-e-n-g-t-h of the 500 mile events. Most feel that they are way too long. Many end up as an economy run. Fans do not consider them to be real racing.

Another issue is The Lucky Dog. Also is the disconnect of the drivers from their fans. Even though the track did have an autograph program at the recent Daytona Winter Testing, shouldn’t time be reserved for this at all tracks hosting Cup races? And fans still aren’t thrilled with the demise of the template cars of old even though the COT has improved driver safety. That change only came about as a result of several fatal accidents. Many fans simply are not happy with it.

Sources claim that 18-34 year-olds are no longer interested, nor can they relate to, today’s racing cars, except those people that are in the repair trade, such as automotive technicians. Many in that age category, along with their children, are commonly seen at coast-to-coast Monster Truck events. We went to The National hot rod event held in Worcester, MA, last July 4 weekend, and we saw for ourselves many of them in that age bracket.

The large group of young people were with their significant others, some even pushing their kids in strollers. We were impressed that promoter, Bob Mosscoffian from Oxford, MA, has been able to tap into this diverse market which included motor heads of all racial groups. NHRA is doing very well with the 18-34 year olds that NASCAR has yet to tap into.

Another rub that fans have these days is that every time a driver or crew chief gets in front of a camera, it’s the same old canned sales pitch about their sponsors. Fans think It’s a real turnoff. Of course, drivers/crew chiefs have to support and promote their sponsors, but most times it’s a bit much. How about toning it down a little?

In all fairness, NASCAR did get hit pretty badly when Earnhardt, Sr., lost his life, while JR has been in a very long slump. Combine that with this long stalled economy and we can understand why there continues to be empty seats during those NASCAR weekends. But NASCAR and their host venues should be working wiser and smarter in getting fannies into those seats – perhaps utilizing what’s mentioned above. Those are complaints coming from fans, not just from me. Discounted tickets don’t seem to be doing the trick.

By the way, word is that Brian France is spending mucho denaros to keep his divorce decree sealed, and it’s been going on for quite a while. The daily papers are the ones trying get all of the dirt out in the open. But the lawyers aren’t complaining – doing very well financially, thank you very much.

Davy Jones announced that he will compete in this weekend’s 50th anniversary of the Rolex 24 at Daytona with the Mühlner Motorsports America team on the season opener of the 2012 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series season. He will be behind the wheel of the #18 Texas Heart Institute Porsche GT3 Cup car, which he will share with co-drivers John McCutchen, Bill Lester and Mark Thomas.

When NASCAR’s Brian France called Darrell Waltrip’s name last October as a newly-elected member of the 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame class, the three-time champion exuberantly bounded onto the stage, grabbed France’s face and kissed his cheek. Waltrip was inducted into the third class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Jan. 20 alongside Cale Yarborough, Dale Inman, Glen Wood and the late Richie Evans. Waltrip’s aptitude for conveying the events in the 2001 Daytona 500, FOX’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race broadcast, helped carry the network through what became the sport’s darkest day following Dale Earnhardt’s death on the final lap.

Racing Dreams, winner of the Best Documentary Feature Award at the Tribeca Film Festival and executive-produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has its national broadcast premiere on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012, at 9 p.m. as a special broadcast on PBS’s POV (Point of View) series. (Check local listings.) American television’s longest-running independent documentary series, POV is the winner of a Special Emmy for Excellence in Television Documentary Filmmaking, two International Documentary Association IDA Awards for Best Continuing Series and NALIP’s Corporate Commitment to Diversity Award.

The WKA’s races have been a breeding ground for NASCAR racers in the past — Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick and others started out racing competitive go-karts — and Brandon, Annabeth and Josh dream of stepping up to the “big leagues,” too.

Without question, Tom Hessert III was a driver grabbing headlines on the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards tour at the conclusion of the 2011 season. A strong span of eight top-10 finishes including seven consecutive in the last 11 races of the year trademarked his presence.

With nearly a four month hiatus slowly coming to a close, the Cherry Hill, New Jersey native is eager to show that the off-season hasn’t stalled his momentum when he returns behind the wheel of the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Toyota Camry for the season-opening Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on Saturday, February 18, 2012.

When M1 PowerSports and AMA Pro Road Racing head back to Braselton, Ga.’s Road Atlanta for the return of the Big Kahuna Atlanta, scheduled for April 20 – 22, 2012, the action-packed event featuring the stars of American motorcycle road racing will be bolstered by classic race motorcycles and former road racing champions through the addition of the Historic Moto Grand Prix to the weekend’s schedule.

All weekend long, Road Atlanta’s main paddock will host a large Historic Moto Grand Prix display area showcasing some of history’s most iconic vintage race motorcycles. Fans are invited to get up close and personal with the bikes, which will include classics like Jamie James‘ famed Yamaha YZF750/1000 “Yamamonster,” Jimmy Filice’s factory Yamaha FZR, a replica ofEddie Lawson’s Daytona-winning Yamaha FZ750 and many, many more. Check out a h & s programmer.

Check Jayski.com to see what else is on TV this week into the weekend. (END)

NOTE: ITEMS FOR THIS COLUMN CAME FROM PRESS RELEASES AND PERSONAL NOTES.

TV Times: Daytona… From “Shall We Dance?” Back To “Mosh Pit”?

Lou Modestino — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:58:52 +0000

From what transpired during practice sessions at Daytona International Speedway last week, it appears that tandem racing (otherwise known as “Shall we dance?”) could be on the way out. We certainly hope so, as do many others.

Given the recent rule changes and how the drills went at The Big D, we expect to see more strategic and better racing as the cars revert to running together once again in a pack. Though we do have a feeling some cars not in the lead pack may revert back to the “buddy system” in order to catch up.

We have to give NASCAR credit for the effort and foresight put forth in making the changes needed in order to improve the quality of the show. The sanction is alert by responding to what the fans want. And the SPEED Channel’s announcing team was upbeat at all that transpired during the Winter Tests. While in the past, it had been just a lot of hype; this time it seemed to be real.

It seems that there’s not a day that goes by when we learn that some of the one car teams won’t be able to “answer the bell” at Daytona next month because of money and sponsorship problems in the Sprint Cup Series. Many are simply financially tapped out. In previous years, teams with money problems managed to make Daytona as a last ditch effort to line up sponsorship. Now they can’t even do that.

Most of them are not the front line teams, which is no surprise. It could be that some of the single car teams are in such tough shape that even team mergers can’t solve the problem. We’ve also noticed a significant number of Nationwide teams without sponsorship. It can all be traced to the state of the economy and an unwillingness of sponsors to spend $$$ because of the uncertainty of the future. This situation is the worst we’ve ever seen in motorsports. Up until the present, it seemed as if NASCAR had been insulated in previous economic downturns.

On Danica Patrick moving to NASCAR for some selected Sprint Cup races, Hopefully, they will use her presence in advertising and promotional spots as an effort to sell tickets. The IZOD Indy Car Series failed to capitalize on her brand nor did they appear to have pushed it real hard to sell tickets and to get viewers to catch the events on TV. We think that it’s NASCAR’s gain and Indy Cars loss.

It appears that the effort to bring a Northeast Motorsports Museum to the grounds of New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH, is picking up momentum. Some new people have joined the group as associates, and standard bearer Dick Berggren gave assignments to those present at a recent Sunday meeting at NHMS. He’s going to be busy with his Fox/Speed TV pit side gigs starting in February until TNT picks up the baton later in the ’12 season.

Motorsports enthusiasts and race fans will have a unique opportunity to compete for a chance to connect and “hangout” with Hall of Fame race legend Emerson Fittipaldi, thanks to “Are You the #1 Emmo Fan?” It’s a new social media contest beginning January 11. It’ll be sponsored by Motorsport.com, a comprehensive online destination for the world of motorsports and a business division of technology services provider and Internet publisher Net Element (OTCQB:NETE).

As part of the contest, conducted primarily through the Twitter handle @motorsport, one question about Fittipaldi and his career will be posted every day for 30 days. Questions will be retweeted via @emmofittipaldi. All participants will be entered in a sweepstakes for a chance to win an exclusive chat with Emmo through a G+ Hangout and also win a pair of Evoke brand sunglasses. The sunglasses, remakes of the originals signed by Fittipaldi in 1972, commemorate the 40th anniversary of Fittipaldi’s first Formula 1 World Championship title. Five grand-prize winners will be selected.“This is my first online and social media contest,” said Fittipaldi, chairman of Motorsport.com. “I’m excited to introduce this contest as part of my ongoing work with Motorsport.com to leverage digital media outlets that enable me to engage, connect and interact with race fans all over the world.

Fittipaldi, who joined as chairman of Motorsport.com in August, works to help Motorsport.com establish partnerships with top global brands and media companies. He supports and promotes Motorsport.com’s technology innovation, particularly in delivering unique HD and 3D race video and social media content online, and leverages its technology platform to redefine online racing experiences and attract fans to the sport.

Check Jayski.com to see what’s happening on TV in the world of motor racing this week into the weekend. (END)

TV Times: Why Can’t Sprint Cup Drivers Do More To Put (Backsides) In Seats At The Track?

Lou Modestino — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:59:44 +0000

Over the past years, a big disconnect between competitors and fans in NASCAR seems to have happened.

Why can’t drivers be a major factor once again in getting more Sprint Cup fans to attend races as they did before?

It’s obvious that there’s been lots of empty seats for those particular races at just about all of the venues that host them. At one time, NASCAR used to boast about that driver/fan connection when pitching to prospective sponsors.

Well, they can’t brag about that any more.

Back in July of ’79, there was a rain delay for the Firecracker 400, and the race was red-flagged due to a passing shower. The race cars were stopped on the front stretch of Daytona. As fans approached the fence, drivers climbed out of their cars and held congenial conversations with them as well as signing autographs One of the drivers was the controversial Tim Richmond.

Obviously, the late Richmond knew that it was important for fans to relate to him. Unlike today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who praise the fans in conversation but their actions at the track seem to care less about the folks who buy tickets. The fans make it all possible for NASCAR and its venues to conduct those racing events. Back in the old NASCAR era, Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough and David Pearson could all connect with fans. Petty, as an example, signed autographs well into the night after the races were over and wouldn’t leave the track until the last person in line got his signature.

Bobby Allison told me, ”The biggest compliment that I could get was for a fan to ask me for my autograph.” We can recall seeing those drivers in restaurants taking time to be polite to their fans. That was in the early days before NASCAR hit the 12 years of phenomenal growth which could be attributed to fan access to drivers. Too bad there’s been a big change in drivers’ attitudes now while NASCAR seems preoccupied with other issues.

Due to busy schedules, drivers claim they are just too busy to interact with fans. Often times they’ve been observed just hanging out in the garage area keeping out of sight in their haulers or, more so, in their luxury motor homes within secure fenced-in areas of the infield. Claiming they’re too busy is just an excuse to insulate them from the good paying customers.

And it’s pretty much the same story at F1 races as well. That segment of motorsports has never sustained prominent success in the U.S., and it could be because of a similar fan disconnect. Another story to be discussed at some other time.

The NHRA National Full Throttle coast-to-coast series is looking at expanding into the New England market, specifically at the New England Dragway in Epping, N.H. There are published stories telling of that circuit awarding a date to that venue. NED management had to make some costly improvements to bring it to that sanction’s standards yet couldn’t get the rest finished in time for 2012. Couldn’t get a bank loan, according to a knowledgeable source.

We’ve been reading daily business pages that cite tight money policy within the banking industry. This example really hit home with the drag racing fans in the New England area. Now the sanction and the venue are shooting for 2013. If the economy improves, things in the banking industry should loosen up. The folks who operate NED sure hope that’ll happen pronto.

Two final on-track sessions at Daytona International Speedway closed out the third and final day of the Roar Before the Rolex 24 – the last test event leading into the 50^thAnniversary of the Rolex 24 on January 28-29, 2012. For the 14 Daytona Prototypes and 43 GT cars, working out the bugs during this three-day testing weekend came down somewhere between pushing the cars as hard as possible to see what they could handle, or to hold back a little to peak for the main event at the end of the month.Two of the drivers to make their mark during the test event share at least one thing in common, both are nationals of Brazil: Felipe Nasr, the young driver who is in only his fourth season of racing, won a seat for the 50^thAnniversary of the Rolex 24 At Daytona by virtue of winning the Sunoco Daytona Challenge; and Christian Fittipaldi, son of former Grand Prix driver and team owner Wilson Fittipaldi, who won the Rolex 24 At Daytona in 2004 with Terry Borcheller, Forest Barber and Andy Pilgrim.With five cars in the GT field, TRG team owner Kevin Buckler has a unique perspective on the test event. “Friday was one of the best first days we have ever had,” said Buckler. “These first days can be a little rough but the guys have been working really hard back at the shop. All the drivers cycled through the cars and were usually at the top of the time charts with one of the Porsches. We have a whole group of international drivers as well as some buddies of mine in the #65 car and they all did a good job.”

The Rolex 24 At Daytona will get underway on Saturday, January 28, at 3:30 p.m. when Grand Marshal A.J. Foyt will issue the command, “Drivers, start your engines.” A number of special events are planned to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary, including the Rolex 50 Years of Champions display which will feature over 30 of the championship winners at a charity gala to benefit the Halifax Health Foundation on the evening of Thursday, January 26, at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach; a procession of the championship cars to Daytona International Speedway on at 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning, January 27, after which the cars will be on display throughout the weekend.

Randy Hill, owner of Randy Hill Racing, announced the contract extension of NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Casey Roderick that will parlay into the 2012 season. Roderick, a former winner in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, joined RHR last June and has made three NNS starts at Watkins Glen, Dover and Homestead-Miami. Roderick’s best finish occurred at Watkins Glen where he finished 25^th.

The Lawrenceville, Georgia, native turned an impressive career-best qualifying effort of 20^th in the season finale at HMS. The duo hopes to contend for the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship in 2012 beginning with the season opener at Daytona next month.

With the holidays officially over, January racing is here, meaning the running of the 26^th annual Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire to be held at the Quik Trip Center Expo Square. Tanner Berryhill, a turned stock car enthusiast with some open wheel experience, is eager to compete. Berryhill, 18, who quickly gained attention for his presence in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, has teamed up with Cory Kruseman Racing to make his third attempt in the event. In addition to joining a potent operation like CKR, he will be able to lean on the advice and compete with P.J. Jones, Kruseman and Freestyle Dirtbike rider Brian Deegan.

In addition to USAC, Berryhill also has competed in Late Models, the CARS Pro Cup Series (formally known as the USARacing Pro Cup Series), the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards and seven starts in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Series. Following the 26^th annual Chili Bowl National presented by General Tire, Berryhill’s stock-car team, Vision Racing will make an announcement pertaining to its 2012 season.

The International Motorsport Federation confirmed that it had terminated North One Sport’s deal to promote the World Rally Championship after claiming the troubled company had breached its contract. The FIA scraped North One Sport’s One World Rally Championship contract. This came from SportsBusinessInternational.

NASCAR is back in full gear as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams hit the pavement at Daytona International Speedway this week for three days of preseason testing. The main focus of the test is for teams to work on their final preparations for 2012 Speedweeks – in particular, the 54th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 26. “This is an opportunity we are providing to the competitors to implement and test the new Daytona rules package for 2012,” said Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition. “It’s a chance for them to get comfortable with the cooling package, the smaller spoiler and to practice drafting for next month’s Daytona 500.”

The new rules package is a result of information gathered during recent tests at Talladega last October and at Daytona last November.

“While we have had other tests with these set-ups, this is the first opportunity for the entire field to test together and get more comfortable with this package as it relates to their cars,” Pemberton said. “This three-day test will allow the engine tuners for these teams to be able to work with their engine packages and see how they relate and react to the new cooling regulations.”

Next month’s Daytona 500 will be only the third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points event ran on the repaved Daytona International Speedway. This year’s Preseason Thunder will continue to be an opportunity for teams and drivers to test their skills on a relatively fresh surface in addition to the new rules. Complementing the testing portion of this weekend’s festivities, the track is also offering fans an opportunity to be part of a special two-day Fan Fest event.

Perhaps the Fan Fest sessions, scheduled for Thursday, January 12, and Friday, January 13, which will include autograph sessions, driver question and answer sessions, show cars and displays, music and a photo opportunity with the 2012 Harley J. Earl Daytona 500 trophy, will help the driver/fan connection as mentioned above. In addition, fans can ride the high banks under the lights by purchasing a Richard Petty Driving Experience ride along.

Check Jayski.com to see what’s happening on TV for motorsports action. (END)

NOTE: INFORMATION FOR THIS STORY CAME FROM PRESS RELEASES AND PERSONAL NOTES.

TV Times: NASCAR Torques Race Fans With Change To Daytona Race Dates

Lou Modestino — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 01:45:22 +0000

Was moving the Daytona 500 race from Washington’s Birthday weekend to the following Sunday a good idea or not? Sure, it moved NASCAR’s biggest event from the same weekend as the Super Bowl so it wouldn’t get lost in the TV viewing shuffle, yet some unintended consequences occurred. Just ask those diehard NASCAR fans who purchased time shares during that week in order to attend the 500 how they now feel. Lots of loud and angry complaints. Not very happy.

Many schedule their vacations around SpeedWeeks and have done so for years and years. As you may know, time share weeks run from Saturday to Saturday, and those fans coming down for Speedweeks will now have to vacate their time share residences by noon on the Saturday before the big race. Not very happy.

Ed Dornig of Orange, Mass., is one of the many NASCAR fans owning time shares and feels that he got left out in the cold. He owns two time share weeks in early February at the Daytona Outrigger. “I wrote Joey Chitwood (GM of Daytona Intl. Speedway) a letter that explained to him about what the change of date did to me and my family. We’ve been coming down for about 30 years. We’re not the only ones unhappy with this change.”

He went on to say, “I didn’t buy any Daytona 500 tickets this year, but I’m still coming down with a friend of mine for the Thursday, Friday and Saturday races. We’ll check out of my time share on Saturday morning and go to the Nationwide race and leave for home right after that. We should be home in time to catch the 500 on TV back in Orange. In my letter I let Chitwood know about the impact of their decision which resulted in him writing me back to tell me that ‘he learned a lot about the time shares in the Daytona area’. I interpreted that statement as meaning that he got a lot more complaints than just mine,” said Dornig. And naturally, room rates in Daytona are at their highest the night before the 500.

Ed has forever been a loyal NASCAR fan. He is also the host of a motorsports racing show in Greenfield, Mass., called THE CHECKERED FLAG REPORT heard early in the week on 95.3 FM “The Bear”, a country music station. He also authored a popular weekly motorsports column in the local Greenfield Recorder for several years. “Up until all of the changes, it worked out well because my daughter’s school vacation fell at the same time, and she and my wife planned our vacation in Daytona Beach. They won’t be coming anymore.” Not very happy.

And don’t think that the NASCAR move won’t affect motel owners in the Daytona Beach area who are already suffering from the country’s economic slowdown as well. Business could be down even further that week due to the date change. And so the Daytona 500 will continue on without the many hard core fans who travel south to be one with the race.

More changes in the offing. Officials from Randy Hill Racing (RHR) announced that it has parted ways with Spraker Racing Enterprises, crew chief and team manager Jeff Spraker effective immediately. The change allows both entities sufficient time to solidify new opportunities and options for the approaching 2012 racing season. “We are extremely appreciative to Jeff (Spraker) and all of his employees for helping ignite our program in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards and NASCAR Nationwide Series,” explained Randy Hill, owner of Randy Hill Racing. “Our team wishes them nothing but the best in their future endeavors.”

Hill, a successful entrepreneur from Texas who still plans to field an entry in the NASCAR Nationwide Series added, “We’re very close to finalizing everything for 2012. We will be at Daytona for the Nationwide race and we’re looking forward to having Casey (Roderick) at the helm of our Zer08 (No. 08) Ford Mustang.”

He further elaborated, “I also feel that the ARCA Racing Series is a great stepping stone. ARCA was incredibly welcoming to us (Randy Hill Racing) when we made our debut at Iowa Speedway in July. We brought Ross Chastain to their open test at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway two weeks ago, and we’re hoping to open the door for newer talent as the new season draws near. We’re confident in the direction of our team and looking forward to the future and impending season(s) ahead.”

When the Daytona Continental went to a 24-hour event in 1966, the Porsche 911 race car was already part of the field, winnings its class that year in GT 2000 with Jack Ryan, Bill Benecker and Linley Coleman at the helm. So it seems fitting that the latest Porsche 911 road car will lead the field once again in 2012 as the pace car for the 50th anniversary of this iconic sports car classic.

“Porsche has enjoyed a long and successful history in the Rolex 24 At Daytona,” GRAND-AM President Tom Bledsoe said. “Having a Porsche 911 road car pacing this milestone race will be another proud addition to that heritage. The car will lead the field to the green flag at the beginning of the race, and perform all the pace car duties during yellow flags and restarts – a hefty assignment for a 24-hour event at which both weather and track conditions can be unpredictable.”

Check Jayski.com to see what’s going on in the world of motorsports this weekend. (end)