Nascar

Joey Logano took first at the Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway last Friday. It was his first win since joining Penske Racing, and the win wasn’t the only highlight of the day. Logano broke the track record of 203.241 mph previously helped by Marcos Ambrose. Logano’s No. Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion took the track at 203.949 mph. His qualifying lap enters the record books as the ninth fastest pole-winning lap in the history of the Sprint Cup Series.

Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson also bested Ambrose’s record, coming in as the second- and third-place qualifiers for the day. Driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr., acknowledged the speed, saying, “The car’s got a lot of grip. I think the track is even more abrasive than the first trip here. The cars are carrying a little more speed than the first trip here in practice and qualifying.”

Overall, it was a pretty good day for Logano on the MIS, which has been described as the sport’s fastest track thanks to the greater amount of banking. He tailed Mark Martin, his childhood hero, in the final stages of the race, finally taking the lead when the No. 55 Toyota ran out of fuel with only three laps to go. Not only did he best Cup veterans Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch, but he also moved from 16th place in series points to the number 13 spot. There are still three races left before the Chase for the Championship, and Logano’s momentum might push him far enough to make it.

Logano began racing in 2009 at Joe Gibbs racing. This win was the third in his Cup career and the first for 2013. The risk that Roger Penske took on the young driver has paid off. Penske, former owner of MIS during the early 1970s, called Logano’s win one of the biggest in 30 years. It was particularly meaningful since Penske hails from Detroit.

“What a great time to win, being in Ford’s backyard, being in Roger’s backyard,” Logano said in an after-race interview. “I’m glad to make the most of it.”

Rounding out the race’s top ten were Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch.

[Photo Source: http://www.freep.com]

The NASCAR Nationwide Series made its first appearance at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the first time in the history this past weekend to hold the Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200. The new track quickly proved to be one of the most difficult racetracks on the Nationwide Series this season. While all of the series regulars and road course specialists competed at the Mid-Ohio track last Saturday, the race had an extremely surprising winner.

AJ Allmendinger spent almost the entire race at the lead, and he would have been able to coast to victory if it was not for a caution with only two laps remaining in the race. The seventh and final caution of the 92-lap race forced all of the contestants to bunch together before they ran the final two laps of the race. The caution may have put the final result of the race in doubt if Allmendinger did not have such a dominant car all day. As soon as the flag waved for the final two laps, Allemdinger was able to jump ahead of the pack to take the checkered flag with little pressure from Michael McDowell and Sam Hornish Jr. behind him. McDowell was second and Sam Hornish Jr. assumed the series points lead after finishing third. Max Papis and Brian Vickers rounded out the top five.

The race last Saturday at Mid-Ohio was only Allemdinger’s second race on the Nationwide Series due to the suspension. He was also able to win his previous race at the Road American race track in Wisconsin. If AJ Allmendinger is able to keep up the dominant performances in his next few races, then he may be able to earn back the full-time job that he lost due to the suspension.

 

[Source: usatoday.com]

After earning his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in the Penske Racing Dodge, Brad Keselowski was touring the Charlotte Motor Speedway 1.5 mile oval behind the wheel of the 2013 Ford Fusion.

Roger Penske made the switch at the end of the 2012 season. The champion was in the No. 2 Miller Lite Fusion this morning. “It’s hard to get a great read on the whole manufacturer change because, obviously, it’s a different car, but I think all the signs are there that we have the potential to be just as strong, if not stronger, than we were last year, which is very, very encouraging,” said Keselowski during the break.

The choice to attend the NASCAR two-day open test was up to the teams. Penske took advantage of the opportunity for both Keselowski and new driver Joey Logano. It is not only their first opportunity to run the Ford brand, but mainly testing the 2013 “Gen 6” version Fusion.

Keselowski added before the afternoon session, “It’s been a lot of fun having the first day today working with Joey, which I think has been probably more of an adjusting process than the actual car itself, and a good adjusting process. I’m curious to see over time how we can work together and push each other to be the best we can be, so I’ve had a lot of fun with that so far. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re only a half-a-day into two really important days, not only for Penske Racing but for the sport itself and, hopefully, we can continue to show progress.”

(Source: Motorspot.com)

Brad Keselowski didn’t dare take his phone in his car before the biggest race of his life. NASCAR’s social media champion handed it over before pulling on his helmet and chasing the Sprint Cup title he promised to deliver to Roger Penske.

But when Sunday’s race ended, Keselowski crossing the finish line at Homestead-Miami Speedway as the champion, he didn’t even consider getting out of his car to celebrate before getting that phone back.

Keselowski, the kid you first heard about when he tweeted from inside his car during the season-opening Daytona 500, opened his championship reign by tweeting from inside his car: “We did it,” he posted with a picture.

He did it with Penske, forming NASCAR’s oddest couple to capture its biggest prize.

Keselowski brought Penske his first Sprint Cup championship 40 years after his first stock car race, beating five-time champion Jimmie Johnson of mighty Hendrick Motorsports while delivering the crown that fills a glaring hole on Penske’s otherwise sterling racing resume.

Penske is considered the gold standard of open-wheel racing — he has 15 Indianapolis 500 wins — and his empire makes him one of the most successful businessmen in America. But until Sunday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway, his NASCAR program was never more than average.

“Personally, I feel amazing that I’ve been able to achieve this in racing,” Penske said. “I think it took guts for me to stay in the sport. We could have thought, ‘Well, we won the Indy 500 15 times and we’re a big deal.’ But I’ll tell you one thing … I think I just woke up here tonight, and it’s a big thrill.”

As always, Penske credited the entire program.

But the program really turned behind Keselowski, a blue collar, Michigan native, who chugged sponsor Miller Lite’s product, donned goggles to douse the Blue Deuce crew with champagne, and imagined how his life will change as NASCAR’s champion. At 28, he’s the eighth youngest champion in NASCAR history and proud he doesn’t have a date for the Nov. 30 champions banquet in Las Vegas.

“I’ve always wanted to date a celebrity,” said Keselowski, “I’m just throwing that out there. That would be really cool, don’t you think?”

Penske could only shake his head in bewilderment.

“Maybe I am conservative, but I like to have a little fun, too,” Penske said. “And I think when you’ve won the NASCAR championship, the driver, you can kind of give him a little wider path, and he’s certainly taken it side to side. I think it’s all good.”

Keselowski might not have seemed like Penske material three years ago, but he’s a cornerstone now.

He was a developmental driver for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008 when he went to see Penske, determined that he could be the driver to bring “The Captain” a coveted Cup championship. He wiggled free from his contract a year later, and had a second-tier Nationwide championship — and a closet full of starched white Penske shirts — to show for his convictions.

Now, three years into the plan, he and Penske have that Cup championship and a connection no one saw coming.

(Source: WashingPost.com)

Brad Keselowski has won his first NASCAR championship.

The 28-year-old Detroit native clinched the Sprint Cup title Sunday when fellow title contender Jimmie Johnson pulled out of the season finale because of a parts failure. The championship is the first for longtime NASCAR owner Roger Penske and gives outgoing car manufacturer Dodge the sweetest of parting gifts.

All Keselowski had to do was stay out of trouble over the final 60 miles, which essentially turned out to be 40 victory laps around Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Keselowski says over his radio, “If he’s in the garage, let’s race.”

It is Dodge’s first Cup championship since Richard Petty’s title in 1975. And it surely will help Penske get over a heartbreaking second-place finish in the IndyCar championship in September.

(Source: Washingtonpost.com)

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (September 4, 2012) – Penske Racing announced today that Joey Logano will join the team in 2013. He will drive the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Logano, 22, a two-time Sprint Cup Series winner who is currently competing in his fourth full season, will begin a multi-year agreement with Penske Racing.

“I am very excited to join Penske Racing and begin the next phase of my career,” said Logano. “I am looking forward to the opportunity as it will be an honor to drive for Roger Penske and race for wins and championships. I am also proud to represent Shell-Pennzoil as they are a respected global brand that does a great job of activating in the sport on and off the track.”

In addition to his pair of victories, four poles and 16 top-five finishes in his young Cup Series career, Logano has also produced 15 wins and 19 poles in five seasons competing part time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

“Joey Logano is a very talented driver who has already achieved a lot of success at a young age,” said Tim Cindric, President of Penske Racing. “Joey is a great fit for our organization and we look forward to building on his success as he takes his place behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford.”

With an impressive track record of winning from an early age, Logano has established himself as one of NASCAR’s fastest rising stars. He started racing quarter midgets at the age of six and won his first championship just one year later. After rising up quickly through the racing ranks, Logano became the youngest winner in Nationwide Series history when he won at Kentucky Speedway at the age of 18 in 2008. Just one year later he won at New Hampshire to become the youngest winner ever in Cup Series competition. Logano went on to be named 2009 Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year, setting the stage for a bright future in the sport.

“We welcome Joey Logano to the Shell-Pennzoil team, and we know he will do a great job representing our brands and Penske Racing in 2013 and beyond,” said Lisa Davis, president, Shell Lubricants Americas. “Joey is clearly a special talent on the race track, and we look forward to working with him off the track as well.”

Logano will join Brad Keselowski, a three-time race winner and championship contender in 2012, and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford team to form a potent combination for Penske Racing in the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Penske Racing is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Competing in a variety of disciplines, cars owned and prepared by Penske Racing have produced 362 major race wins – including 15 Indianapolis 500 victories – 423 pole positions and 23 National Championships. For more information about Penske Racing, please visit www.penskeracing.com.

[Source: PenskeRacing.com]

Yesterday Roush Yates announced that Penske Racing will use its FR9 engine in the Ford Fusion cars it will be campaigning in NASCAR next season.

It’s quite a switch for Penske Racing, which has traditionally built and maintained its own engines. Now it will be using the same engines as other Ford teams.

“We are very pleased that Penske Racing has decided to use Roush Yates’ FR9 engines as they re-join Ford starting in 2013,” said Jamie Allison, director, Ford Racing. “This aligns well with the spirit of One Ford; having a unified One Ford engine program in NASCARallows us to apply all of our technical resources into one program benefitting all Ford teams. We believe the FR9 has proven to be a strong engine and by taking the input from our teams and drivers at Roush Fenway, Penske Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports and the Wood Brothers, we know that input, along with the knowledge and technical skills of Ford and Roush Yates, led by Doug Yates, will only make our engine program even more competitive in the future.”

Jack Roush and Robert Yates used to be direct competitors but they combined forces in 2004 to make engines available to all Ford teams; so it was probably only natural for Penske Racing to participate. Nowadays Roush Yates supply engines to teams in numerous racing series.

In other NASCAR news, SRT Motorsports announced today that it would not compete in NASCAR next season. Coincidence? Not really.

Back in March, Penske Racing revealed it was switching from racing the Dodge Charger in the Sprint Cup series to the Ford Fusion next season. This left SRT Motorsports, as Chrysler’s racing division is now named, without a top team for next season. Robby Gordon was the only other team running a Dodge this year and he has only competed in a handful of NASCAR events.

It’s a real blow to NASCAR, which has suffered from a decline in spectators and TV audience this year, as it was hoping the new closer-to-production-looking cars that will debut next season would revive interest. Now we will only see the Ford Fusion, Chevrolet SS and Toyota Camry on the track. Ironically NASCAR approved all the aerodynamic packages, created by the teams, last week. The Dodge Charger was also approved but now it will not be seen on the track in competition. It’s a museum piece already.

Twitter’s first TV commercial aired Sunday, touting a web page that curates conversations including the hashtag #NASCAR. The commercial left many brands wondering what Twitter had in store for them with the new hashtag pages.

Mashable learned Monday that although this project was a partnership between NASCAR and Twitter, NASCAR had no editorial insight on what appeared on the page, meaning the new hashtag pages are for events, not brands.

Twitter explained in an email that the hashtag event page, launched for Sunday’s 2012 Pocono 400 NASCAR race, was aimed at detailing the race experience and not the NASCAR brand.

The social network employed algorithms and human curation to showcase tweets and photos from drivers, fans, pit crews, celebrities and media. It plans to continue using “twitter.com/#NASCAR” for future races.

Twitter didn’t share plans on what other events would be given the hashtag page treatment but stressed the company is focused on building compelling consumer experiences. People who are not Twitter users can also view the #NASCAR hashtag page.

We suspect major sporting events and entertainment award ceremonies will likely get the first nod because they tend to quickly incite a high volume of tweets from users (see gallery below).

(Source: Mashable.com)