NASCAR 2015

[Sandstone Addiction]

[Sandstone Addiction]

JEFF GORDON WILL RUN FINAL FULL-TIME SEASON IN 2015




"As a race car driver, much of what I've done throughout my life has been based on following my instincts and trying to make good decisions," Gordon said in a release provided by the team. "I thought long and hard about my future this past year and during the offseason, and I've decided 2015 will be the last time I compete for a championship. I won't use the 'R-word' because I plan to stay extremely busy in the years ahead, and there's always the possibility I'll compete in selected events, although I currently have no plans to do that."



http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-med...torsports.html

[Sandstone Addiction]

"Wonder Boy"

[Iceaxe]

I still remember when Jeff was running sprint cars and midgets...

[Iceaxe]

FWIW- Chase Elliott will be in the #24 in 2016.

[Sandstone Addiction]

FWIW- Chase Elliott will be in the #24 in 2016.

Will be good to see the Elliott name in the cup series again. Should be a good pick to take the #24 to the next level.



Awesome Bill was always one of my faves.

[Sandstone Addiction]

Congratulations Matt Kenseth!

I hope this is an sign of things to come this year.

[Sandstone Addiction]

Kurt Busch suspended from Nascar indefinitely.




DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Kurt Busch, whom a Kent County (Del.) Family Court commissioner determined had committed an act of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend, remains indefinitely suspended by NASCAR after losing his initial appeal to the sanctioning body Saturday afternoon.

Busch has one last-ditch appeal available, NASCAR spokesman David Higdon said, and NASCAR Final Appeals Officer Bryan Moss will hear the Stewart-Haas Racing driver's case Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.


"We are very disappointed that our appeal was rejected by NASCAR's appeal panel," Busch attorney Rusty Hardin said in a statement. "We are re-appealing immediately, per the proscribed process. We have significant and strong evidence that contradicts the commissioner's conclusions.

"In the end we are confident that Kurt will be vindicated and he will be back racing. Until then we will continue to fight on his behalf by ensuring that the entire truth is known."

A three-member panel of former NASCAR executive Paul Brooks, former race-car driver Lyn St. James and Greenville Pickens (S.C.) Speedway track owner Kevin Whitaker voted Saturday afternoon to deny Busch's initial appeal as the 2004 Sprint Cup champion desperately attempts to become eligible for the sport's biggest race.

Even if Busch had won the appeal, it was far from a guarantee he would race Sunday in the Daytona 500. SHR executive vice president Brett Frood said Saturday morning that no final decision had been made on whether Busch would race if the appeal was granted and Chevrolet, a major SHR sponsor, has suspended its personal services relationship with Busch.


Frood said SHR plans for Regan Smith to replace Busch as the driver of the No. 41 car for the Daytona 500. Smith, who practiced the car Saturday, will have to give up the 24th starting spot and start at the rear of the field as Busch's replacement.

SHR was not involved in Busch's appeal because the discipline was issued specifically to Busch for a non-racing violation of NASCAR rules. No attorneys were allowed in the closed-door hearing room in NASCAR's headquarters at its International Motorsports Center, where both NASCAR and Busch delivered their points of view, could call witnesses and had the opportunity for rebuttal.

Busch left the headquarters before the decision was announced and quickly walked to a car waiting for him. NASCAR rules prohibited him from commenting before NASCAR made the decision public.

NASCAR suspended Busch after a Kent County (Del.) Family Court commissioner issued findings and opinions Friday for a protective order he granted Monday to Busch's ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll. In the opinion, Commissioner David Jones found that the preponderance of the evidence from testimony in December and January showed that Busch strangled Driscoll with his left hand and with his right hand on her chin and face, caused her head to forcefully hit his motorhome wall Sept. 26 at Dover International Speedway.

The NASCAR appeals panel rarely overturns behavioral penalties because of NASCAR's broad behavior rule: "NASCAR membership is a privilege. With that privilege comes certain benefits, responsibilities and obligations. Correct and proper conduct, both on and off the race track, is part of a Member's responsibilities."

NASCAR has no specific penalty for behavioral infractions, which is different than its six-level scale it uses to determine penalties for technical violations.

"Behavioral infractions differ from technical infractions in that each is handled on a case-by-case basis, viewed in context, with an understanding of the prominence of the sport, the large fan following that the sport has garnered, the large corporate and sponsor support that the sport attracts, and also with an understanding of the passions that the sport can evoke, as well as, the competitive nature of most NASCAR members," the rule book states.

The final appeal is different than the initial one because now Busch has the burden proof rather than NASCAR.
Busch must show that he did not violate a rule, that the penalty is not within the scope of NASCAR guidelines and/or he was denied his rights during the initial appeal. Moss, the former president of Gulfstream, can ask questions and call any witnesses he wants.

NASCAR Chairman Brian France also can step in at any time and lift the suspension.

Missing the Daytona 500 also could keep Busch from the Chase for the Sprint Cup no matter what happens after this weekend because of a rule that requires drivers to race every event unless. NASCAR has not decided yet whether to grant him an exemption from starting the race even though he has qualified the car.

France vowed in November that NASCAR would join other sports leagues in how it deals with allegations of domestic abuse and would be more aggressive than it had in the past. In January 2014, Travis Kvapil pleaded guilty as part of an agreement that would wipe his record clean after the successful completion of two years probations. NASCAR did not discipline Kvapil.

NASCAR opted to discipline Busch after the detailed opinion was released Friday and not wait to see if the Delaware attorney general will charge Busch with a crime. Prosecutors would face a higher burden of proof -- beyond a reasonable doubt -- than what was needed for the protective order, which is a preponderance of the evidence.


http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/12359632/kurt-busch-loses-appeal-indefinite-suspension

[Sandstone Addiction]

Sunday, February 22, 2015
Joey Logano wins Daytona 500

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Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Joey Logano, the driver who has spent seven years trying to live up to impossible expectations, raced to his first career Daytona 500 victory Sunday as he continued to reward Roger Penske for catapulting him into one of NASCAR's top stars.

Nicknamed "Sliced Bread" when he broke into the Sprint Cup Series at 18 because so many predicted him to be the next big thing, Logano found himself searching for a new job after four underwhelming seasons.

He was snatched up by Penske for the 2013 season after being dropped by Joe Gibbs Racing, a move that jumpstarted his career. His victory in "The Great American Race" on Sunday gave "The Captain" his second Daytona 500 title. Penske, one of the most respected team owners in motorsports, also has a record 15 Indianapolis 500 wins.

"Daytona 500, oh my God! Are you kidding me?" Logano yelled in victory lane. "I was so nervous the whole race."

The 24-year-old from Connecticut was quiet for most of the race, which was dominated by four-time champion Jeff Gordon.Making the final Daytona 500 start of his career, Gordon won the pole and led the field to green in the first race of his last Sprint Cup season. Gordon kept his Chevrolet out front for 77 of the first 100 laps, and led a race-high 87 laps.

But when the slicing and dicing for the win began, Gordon was mired in traffic and Logano suddenly found himself in contention. He had reason to fret, though, after Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski went to the garage with an engine failure.Then Ryan Blaney, another Ford driver, also lost an engine, and Logano was in danger of the same fate.

But after Blaney's engine failure set up a restart with 19 laps remaining, Logano buckled down for white-knuckle, three-wide racing throughout the field. He surged to the front and seemed to have the race under control, but a caution with three laps remaining forced him to fight for the win one last time.

NASCAR needed nearly seven minutes of stoppage to clean the track, and it set up a two-lap sprint to the finish.Logano sat in his car thinking about a strategy, which wasn't the most comforting feeling."You got a red flag, and they give you the opportunity to think of everything," he said.

And even though Penske and a committee of team executives watch from the roof and offer advice, there was nothing in his ear with the win on the line.

"It's funny because the whole team gets pretty quiet when you're about to win the Daytona 500," Logano said.He got a terrific jump on the field, and as Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. mounted their push for the lead, a wreck further back in the field brought out the yellow flag.

It froze the field and Logano won under caution. He's the second youngest Daytona 500 winner in history, behind only Trevor Bayne, who was 20 when he pulled off an upset victory in 2011.

Logano's win gave Ford a sweep of the opening weekend at Daytona. Tyler Reddick won Friday night's Truck Series race driving for Keselowski, and Ryan Reed won the Xfinity Series race on Saturday for Roush Fenway Racing.Ford also won the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona in January with Chip Ganassi Racing.

Reigning Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick finished second and was followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., the defending race winner.Denny Hamlin finished fourth in a Toyota and was followed by six-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, Casey Mears, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle.

Gordon was involved in the final accident and finished 33rd.

Tony Stewart's drought at Daytona extended to 0-for-17 when he was involved in a multi-car accident on an early restart.Stewart seemed to drift up the track into rookie Ryan Blaney, and the contact sent Stewart into the outside wall. Stewart took his car to the garage, returned to the race down 64 laps, and eventually called it a day and accepted his 42nd-place finish.It was the first Daytona 500 in 15 years without one of the Busch brothers in the field.

Kurt Busch, the 2004 series champion, was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR as he faces accusations of domestic assault against his ex-girlfriend last fall. Suspended on Friday, he lost two appeals on Saturday that kept him from the race. Regan Smith finished 16th as the replacement driver for Stewart-Haas Racing.

Kyle Busch broke his right leg and his left foot in a Saturday crash in the Xfinity Series race. He was undergoing surgery at the same time his brother was arguing his second appeal. Matt Crafton, the two-time Truck Series champion, finished 19th as Joe Gibbs Racing's replacement driver.

[Iceaxe]

With Kyle out my interest wasn't all there. I'm now thinking of skipping the Vegas race as it's not as much fun when your driver is out.

[Sandstone Addiction]

I would have been a lot more excited to watch the race if I didn't have to listen to Darrell Waltrip's senseless gibberish.

[Sandstone Addiction]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...ash-and-injury

NASCAR Must Accept Blame, Improve Safety After Kyle Busch's Crash and Injury



For NASCAR, this week should be all about the terrific racing that took place over the last 25 laps or so of the Daytona 500.

But it's not.

And for that, NASCAR should be ashamed.

Instead of talking almost exclusively about how Joey Logano pulled off his first win in NASCAR's biggest race, a dark cloud of regret hung over the very event itself because of what happened in the Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway one day earlier.
That was when Kyle Busch, one of the brightest stars in stock-car racing, was involved in a huge wreck that caused the car he was driving to veer way off the 2.5-mile superspeedway. It did not come to rest until he violently slammed into an interior wall that for some inexplicable reason was not protected by a SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier.

At this point, in 2015, 14 years after the death of Dale Earnhardt at the same track in a last-lap accident during the 2001 Daytona 500, how in the world can any square inch of any track in America that NASCAR races on not be protected by SAFER barriers? And of all the tracks in America, how can Daytona be one that has failed the sport so miserably?

While it's true much has been done since Earnhardt's death, with the introduction of SAFER barrier technology, mandatory head- and neck-restraint devices and cars that absorb impact better and overall are much safer, the quest to improve safety standards in all motorsports should be never-ending and absolutely relentless. Those in charge here appear to have dozed off at the wheel.


Busch suffered a compound fracture of his lower right leg and a broken left foot, incurring serious injuries that arguably never should have happened. (While racing inherently is dangerous and accidents such as the one Busch was involved in are sometimes unavoidable, softer walls almost certainly would have made a difference and lessened the physical damage to the driver.)

Doctors at Halifax Health Medical Center of Daytona Beach performed surgery on Busch's right leg Saturday night, and Joe Gibbs, his car owner, told Fox Sports' Tom Jensen on Sunday morning that he isn't certain how long his driver will be out.
To their very, very limited credit, both NASCAR vice president Steve O'Donnell and Daytona track president Joie Chitwood stepped up in a news conference that never should have had to take place and accepted responsibility for the accident that caused Busch's injuries.

"The Daytona International Speedway did not live up to its responsibility," Chitwood said, according a transcript of the news conference held last Saturday evening. "We should have had a SAFER barrier there today; we did not. We're going to fix that. We're going to fix that right now.”

Chitwood then said track workers already were at work placing tire barriers on the inside walls of the track for the following day's Daytona 500.


"Following that, the Daytona International Speedway is going to install SAFER barrier on every inch at this property,” Chitwood added, according to the transcript. "This is not going to happen again. We're going to live up to our responsibility. We're going to fix this, and it starts right now."

O'Donnell added: "What happened (Saturday night) should not have happened. That's on us. We're going to fix it. We're going to fix it immediately."

Bold words indeed.

And more than a little empty because they come too late.

Tire barriers? This isn't 1985. How about SAFER barriers? Not tomorrow, not in time for the next race at Daytona, but yesterday.
Why weren't the SAFER barriers already in place? The answer is simple and can be explained in one word.
Money.

According to the Charlotte Observer's Scott Fowler, the barriers cost $500 per square foot—or as much as $2.6 million to install a mile's worth. That's a whole lot of money to cover a huge track like Daytona. But as also noted by Fowler, defending Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick tweeted a full year ago: "If you can spend $400 million on renovating your track you can afford a few more soft walls."
That's how much International Speedway Corporation, which is owned and run by the France family that also lords over NASCAR, is spending on a Daytona Rising renovation project. So Harvick's point is right on the mark, even if it was ignored by the powers that be until now.

Harvick certainly wasn't alone in heaping on the criticism following the incident involving Busch, with fellow drivers Regan Smith and Kasey Kahne also weighing in.

[Iceaxe]

Dude, wheres my car?

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Travis Kvapil is without a race car for the Sprint Cup Series race this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway as authorities are investigating the Friday morning theft of the Team Xtreme No. 44 car from a hotel parking lot in Morrow, Georgia.

Video obtained by police shows that the incident happened at 5:34 a.m. in the parking lot of the Drury Inn. Sgt. Larry Oglesby of the Morrow Police Department told ESPN.com that the incident was reported at 5:50 a.m. and that they are treating the car's disappearance as a stolen vehicle.

Team Xtreme Racing owner John Cohen, who was not at the track, told ESPN.com by phone that the team will have to withdraw from Sunday's race. Kvapil tweeted about the situation Friday morning after discovering the vehicles were missing.

[Sandstone Addiction]

Wow...that's just crazy.

What in the world would anyone do with a series specific race car?

Sucks that it happened to a low budget team that has to scrape together nickels and dimes to just make ends meet.

[Iceaxe]

The car was found abandoned, but the truck, hauler and tools are gone. But its too late for the team that was forced to withdraw.

This really hurts a small team as owner points are recalculated after the first three races and we all understand what that means. So this is a huge hit to the team.

[Sandstone Addiction]

Anyone going to Vegas? @Iceaxe?

[Iceaxe]

I was goimg... but without the Busch brothers I have no one to cheer for so I'm going to go canyoneering instead.

[Sandstone Addiction]

I haven't had much to cheer for since possibly the greatest driver of all time (IMHO...of course) hung up his helmet for the last time...

[Iceaxe]

Unfortunately Davey didn't get to hang up his helmet. His carrer was spectacular but much too short to be tagged the GOAT. If we are speculating on unfulfilled potential than my money is on Tim Richmond.

[Sandstone Addiction]

Sooooo...is his former girlfriend an international spy or not???

That's what I really want to know.

Kurt Busch's suspension lifted


CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kurt Busch reiterated his innocence but also said he understood NASCAR's decision to suspend him nearly three weeks ago and to lift his indefinite suspension Wednesday while also making him eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup if he can win a race or earn a spot by points.

Busch was suspended Feb. 20 after a Delaware family court commissioner determined that the preponderance of the evidence during a hearing for a protective order showed he committed an act of domestic violence Sept. 26 against ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll at Dover International Speedway.


The 2004 Sprint Cup champion will return to the track Friday at Phoenix International Raceway, as he steps into the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 car that is funded by Haas Automation, the company of team co-owner Gene Haas.

"It means the world to me to be back in the car," Busch said during a teleconference Wednesday afternoon. "It's been a tough situation the last few months, and I've gone through this with confidence knowing that I know the truth and that I never did any of the things that I was accused of.

"It was a complete fabrication. It was unfortunate that my personal life crossed over and affected my business life. I can't wait to get to the track to see my team, to shake their hands and say, 'Thanks for the support.'"

Entire article:

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup...pension-lifted