Author: Mike Haag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – Get ready for a road-course Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race on a layout unlike any other. That, at least, was the way reigning series champion Martin Truex Jr. put it. When he tested on the Charlotte road course in October, Truex described the road course/oval track hybrid as “all kinds of craziness going on.” That was before the track made tweaks to the 2.28-mile course that should make it faster and more intense, lopping as much as 20-seconds off the time it takes to negotiate the 17 turns that make…

Courtesy of TMS Media Relations FORT WORTH, Texas – Texas Motor Speedway will be creating a new club seating area featuring both indoor and outdoor lounges known as the Restart BAR Zone Club that will be unveiled for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 NASCAR doubleheader weekend set for April 6-8. As the name indicates, the club will be located approximately 26 rows above the Restart Zone at the start of the dogleg section on the frontstretch of Texas Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile oval. This is the section where the field is allowed to pick up speed and take the green flag for not…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The distinguished NASCAR Hall of Fame class of 2018 includes a formidable array of eclectic talent: NASCAR’s first champion, arguably the sport’s most innovative crew chief, racing’s most recognizable voice, the Camping World Truck Series’ all-time leading winner and a revered engine-builder-turned car owner. The first member of the 2018 class inducted on Friday night at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Red Byron, was a man of many “firsts.” He won NASCAR’s first sanctioned race on the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1948. That same year, he claimed NASCAR’s first season-long championship…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – By all regards it’s a new generation, crossover all-star pairing for the Ford teams in next Friday’s IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge four-hour BMW Endurance Challenge season-opener at Daytona International Speedway. Young NASCAR drivers Cole Custer, 19, Austin Cindric, 19, Chase Briscoe, 23 and Ty Majeski, 23 will pair up to compete in ultra-fast Ford Mustang GT4s for Multimatic Motorsports on the afternoon before the Rolex 24 At Daytona green flag drops. And while some of those NASCAR stars have a bit of road course experience, the opportunity to run in next weekend’s…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Regarding it as “the ultimate fit,” Danica Patrick announced Thursday that GoDaddy would be sponsoring her cars in the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 this year – the “Danica Double” sendoff to her historic career competing in big time auto racing. Fittingly, Patrick will take her final bow on NASCAR’s and IndyCar’s biggest stages and her most renowned sponsor, “GoDaddy” will provide the primary funding for her farewell. “First and foremost, GoDaddy is such an appropriate fit, a great fit,’’ Patrick told the NASCAR Wire Service shortly after her news was…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Even before answering the first question from a ready group of racing reporters about his induction Friday into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Ray Evernham, 60, insisted on making an important point. “I want to make it clear to everybody on the [conference] call, I know you thank me for the time, but it’s an honor to be able to sit here and take questions for the Hall of Fame,” Evernham said. “I can do this all day if you want,’’ he added, with a laugh. He certainly would have plenty to…

Courtesy of the Verizon IndyCar Series DETROIT – Verizon IndyCar Series driver Takuma Sato and team owner Michael Andretti each received BorgWarner Championship trophies, also known as the “Baby Borg,” this evening to honor their thrilling victory in the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil last May. BorgWarner Inc. President and CEO James Verrier presented the BorgWarner Championship Driver’s Trophy to Sato and the BorgWarner Championship Team Owner’s trophy to Andretti Autosport owner Andretti during the annual Automotive News World Congress Dinner in Detroit, held in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show. “I haven’t decided if it’s…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service The genuine excitement and gratitude for earning a place in the NASCAR Hall of Fame was evident last week as Ron Hornaday Jr. spoke to reporters about the upcoming milestone in his life. The always colorful, ever humble four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion was upbeat recalling important moments in his career and telling classic stories about those who helped him make the big time. And while the 59-year old Californian may not have ever predicted he would be a NASCAR Hall of Famer one day, he definitely knew the sport’s truck series was…

Courtesy of the Verizon IndyCar Series DETROIT – For INDYCAR, “The Future Starts Now” – and it began today with the official unveiling of the highly anticipated car that will rule the roads, streets and ovals in the Verizon IndyCar Series for 2018 and beyond. A panel of dignitaries from within the sport and the automotive industry gathered at the North American International Auto Show to talk about the newly developed universal aerodynamic bodywork kit that will be affixed to the Dallara IR-12 chassis and used by all competitors in the 17-race season that begins in seven weeks. The universal kit…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Ken Squier, the man who coined the phrase “The Great American Race” to describe the Daytona 500 will formally join NASCAR’s “Greatest” later this week. The co-founder of Motor Racing Network (MRN) and longtime voice of the sport will become the first broadcaster among the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s legendary list of inductees. The 82-year old Vermont native is a broadcast icon, setting the standard for calling NASCAR race broadcasts. He famously worked NASCAR’s flag-to-flag network television debut, the 1979 Daytona 500 featuring post-race fisticuffs between Bobby and Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough and his…