All posts by Joey Barnes

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Michael Waltrip announced on NASCAR Race Hub that he will be driving the No. 83 Maxwell House Toyota for BK Racing in this year’s Daytona 500. “It’s a great opportunity for us to expand our team and go racing,” Waltrip said on the FS1 program. The opportunity to drive with BK Racing has Waltrip teamed with Matt DiBenedetto and David Ragan, who raced for him at Michael Waltrip Racing last season. Waltrip also took to social media following the announcement. Looking much forward to reuniting w/ manyRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Following the unfortunate accident in an all-terrain vehicle on Tuesday that has left Tony Stewart hospitalized with a back injury, the NASCAR community continues to wait on the status of the three-time Sprint Cup champion. With no word on the severity of the injuries, many wonder what this could mean for Stewart, who declared 2016 would be his last in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Stewart, 44, has missed a combined 18 races dating back to 2013, breaking bones in his right leg that season inRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The 2016 NASCAR season is upon us and that means a fresh start for the drivers and teams, hope for their fans, and a set of bold predictions on how it will all play out. With our new NASCAR guy, Toby Christie, putting out his bold picks for the new season, it only seemed right that I try to restore balance on what has been predicted. Daytona 500 champion: Jimmie Johnson Johnson has two wins (2006, ’13) in “The Great American Race” and has formed aRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Jolyon Palmer has decided to carry the No. 30 for his Formula One career as he enters his rookie season in 2016 with Renault. The Brit joins the grid after spending last season as Lotus’ test driver following a championship winning GP2 season in 2014. Palmer drove in several Friday practice sessions last year with the No. 30  and announced through social media that he will continue to carry that number. I can officially confirm that I will be using number 30 this year. #JP30 #F1Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief CFH Racing announced that owners Sarah Fisher and Wink Hartman have removed themselves as owners of the team, dissolving it and re-introducing Ed Carpenter Racing for the 2016 IndyCar season. Hartman’s oil company has taken a major hit since prices have reduced and as such hurt his chances to continue involvement with the team going forward. Fisher will stay involved with the team, working with current partners and assisting in sponsor development. Entering 2015 the trio of Hartmen, Fisher, and driver/owner Ed Carpenter decided to mergeRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Rebellion Racing has confirmed its lineup for the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Swiss team will run two upgraded Rebellion R-One AER LMP1 machines as they set to take aim for their fourth consecutive FIA WEC Endurance Trophy for LMP1 Privateer Teams. The squad of drivers assembled will be all a returning cast of characters, led by Nick Heidfeld and Nicolas Prost, the duo will be joined by Dominik Kraihamer, Mathéo Tuscher, Alexandre Imperatori, and Mathias Beche. “WeRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief It’s all about going back to the beginning for Sage Karam. The 20-year-old returns to the team he made his IndyCar debut with in the 2014 Indianapolis 500, Dreyer & Reinbold. The entry is officially listed as Dreyer & Reinbold/Kingdom Racing and is set to compete in the 100th Indy 500 in May. In his debut, Karam put on a phenomenal drive from 31st to ninth for the small-budget team, which led to Chip Ganassi putting the former Indy Lights champion in a part-time ride forRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Through all of the history and tradition that is the Indianapolis 500, the event has never carried a title or presenting sponsor, until now. A deal has been reached with D-A Lubricants’ Penn Grade Motor Oil for three years worth $5 million total to become the presenting sponsor starting with the 100th Indy 500. “This historic announcement is welcome news for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and generates even more momentum for the entire Verizon IndyCar Series,” Hulman & Company CEO Mark Miles said. “PennGrade Motor Oil, with itsRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Change is in the air. At the 2016 Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour presented by Technocom, NASCAR announced several changes and perhaps none bigger than adding a playoff system to the XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series. The system will be identical to the Chase for the Sprint Cup format NASCAR has used the last two seasons. To be honest it is surprising that it took this long for NASCAR to add a playoff format to its two lower divisions and that it didn’t elect toRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Juan Pablo Montoya topped the time sheets in the FIA World Endurance Championship rookie test at Bahrain. The test was set for five hours and organized by the sanctioning body. Montoya set a best lap of 1m40.861s in the No. 17 Porsche 919 Hyrbid, over 1.2s faster than Richie Stanaway, who was running in the No. 8 Audi R18 e-tron Qauttro. The two-time Indy 500 champion teamed with Mitch Evans, who set a best time of 1m42.946s. Stanaway, an Aston Martin GTE Pro driver, impressed AudiRead More