By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer A new entitlement sponsor for the Cup Series, competition enhancements and the return of Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the track are just a few of the major story lines heading into the Daytona 500. Motorsports Tribune spoke with Chicagoland Speedway President Scott Paddock to discuss his thoughts heading into Sunday’s Great American Race. New Entitlement Sponsor In January, Monster Energy became just the third company to serve as the entitlement sponsor in NASCAR premier series history, replacing Sprint. “I think it’s exciting for the industry
Read More By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The last time that 2004 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch was behind the wheel of a Ford in a points race was at Texas Motor Speedway in 2005. He finished 10th in the No. 97 Crown Royal Ford Taurus that day. During his time with Ford, Busch earned 14 of his 28 career victories. He also had 43 top fives and 79 Top 10s while competing for the ‘Blue Oval.’ After his departure from what was then Roush Racing, Busch has competed
Read More By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Age: 35 Years in IndyCar: 14 Wins: 3 Podiums: 7 Laps led: 305 2017 Team: Ed Carpenter Racing Ed Carpenter is looking for an improved 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series oval campaign. With a background in oval track driving, Carpenter scaled his full-time IndyCar commitments back to just ovals in 2014 and allowed a road racing driver to take over on the road and street courses. Since making that decision, the driver of the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet has had feast or
Read More By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Austin Theriault added a victory at Daytona International Speedway to his racing resume on Saturday , winning the ARCA Racing Series season-opener over Terry Jones. Theriault got a push in the draft from the No. 77 Ford of Dalton Sargeant with eight laps to go, making the high line work just enough to pass Jones at the iconic 2.5-mile superspeedway to take the win in the Lucas Oil Complete Engine Treatment 200 Driven by General Tire. The caution flew for the third multi-car wreck of
Read More By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Tom Hessert turned a lap at 186.943 mph to take the General Tire Pole Award for Saturday’s season-opening ARCA Racing Series event at Daytona International Speedway. Hessert, a 10-year veteran of the ARCA Series, dialed back his schedule for 2017 and will compete in only five of the 20 races on the schedule. The 30-year-old Cherry Hill, New Jersey native has six career victories, including a 2014 victory at Talladega, but would love to add a victory at Daytona to his resume. “Winning at a
Read More By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Age: 29 Years in IndyCar: 7 Wins: 0 Podiums: 1 Laps led: 80 2016 Team: Ed Carpenter Racing (part time) 2017 Team: Ed Carpenter Racing (full time) Persistence and resilience have led to a return to a full-time Verizon IndyCar Series ride for JR Hildebrand. Hildebrand has served the de facto test driver for Ed Carpenter Racing along with racing at the previous three Indianapolis 500s and the previous two IndyCar Grand Prixs on the Speedway’s road course. With the departure of Josef Newgarden to
Read More By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Age: 25 Years in IndyCar: 1 Podiums: 1 Laps led: 68 2016 Team: Dale Coyne Racing 2017 Team: AJ Foyt Racing While Conor Daly ended his freshman season 18th in the standings, the results do not match the talent. The Noblesville, Indiana native managed to punch above his own weight several times throughout the year, highlighted by a second-place finish in the first Detroit race. Another promising run came at the IndyCar Grand Prix at Indianapolis where he finished sixth after leading a good chunk
Read More Posted On January 17, 2017By Motorsports TribuneIn Cup
By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer *Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for 24 drivers. We will release one driver preview per day over a 24-day stretch. Age: 36 Years in Cup: 13 Career Wins: 17 Biggest Accomplishment: 2006 Season (Six wins and an 8th-place finish in the standings) There’s no doubt that now is the time to perform for Kasey Kahne. The 2017 season will mark Kahne’s sixth with Henrick Motorsports behind the wheel of the No. 5 Chevrolet and his third
Read More By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter AJ Foyt Racing officially confirmed their switch to Chevrolet engines and aero kits ahead of the upcoming 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season. This ends a 10-year relationship with Honda, who has powered the team since 2006. Chevrolet supplied engines to the team in 2005 before pulling out of the sport. “I am looking forward to what will be a new chapter for us that involves returning to an old friend in Chevrolet,” said Team President Larry Foyt in a release. “There are a lot of changes
Read More By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Kyle Weatherman has signed with Mason Mitchell Motorsports for 10 races on the 2017 ARCA Racing Series schedule, the team announced on Wednesday. Weatherman will pilot the No. 78 Chevrolet for the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway and will compete in the next three races at Nashville, Salem and Talladega. The remaining races for the 19-year-old driver will be Pocono, Michigan, Iowa, Chicagoland, Kentucky and Kansas. Weatherman was the 2015 SCOTT Rookie of the Year in the ARCA Racing Series, winning at New Jersey Motorsports
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