SHOW #389 – Guests: Jimmie Johnson & Brendan Gaughan – Plus we begin our look at the Top 16 drivers of 2015, News of the Week, and did we mention Kerry chats with Jimmie Johnson ? Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Toby Christie
( Roughly 48:00 mins)
thefinallap
The Final Lap Weekly NASCAR Podcast #388 Dale Earnhardt Jr. / Chris Buescher / Champion’s Week
onSHOW #388 – Guests: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (yeah I know right?) and XFinity Series Champ Chris Buescher, we also recap our escapades in Las Vegas at Champion’s Week. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Toby (I interviewed Dale Jr.) Christie.
( Roughly 48:00 mins)
NASCAR honors champion Kyle Busch and departing superstar Jeff Gordon in emotional awards gala
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Dec. 4, 2015
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
LAS VEGAS – Friday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards gala at the Wynn Las Vegas honored series champion Kyle Busch for one of the most remarkable comebacks in the history of professional sports.
But Busch, car owner Joe Gibbs and champion crew chief Adam Stevens had to share the stage and the limelight with retiring four-time champion Jeff Gordon, who bade a tearful farewell after 23 full-time seasons and 797 consecutive races in NASCAR’s premier series — complete with a surprise introduction by mega movie star Tom Cruise.
The awards banquet capped an extraordinary year for Busch, who missed the first 11 events of the season after breaking his right leg and left foot when his No. 54 Toyota plowed into a concrete wall inside Turn 1 at Daytona International Speedway in the NASCAR XFINITY Series season opener.
Against all odds, Busch returned to action at Charlotte in May and proceeded to win five of the final 25 races, including the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the event that made him a champion.
“We’ve all heard the old saying ‘Break a leg!’ which means, you’re wishing someone good luck in show biz,” Busch said. “Well, as I stand here today and think about how lucky I am, I can say without a doubt, that breaking a leg AND a foot works just as good in racing.
“One day, I went from being able to win races, to the next where I was just thinking about how I was going to be able to walk into the delivery room with (wife) Samantha to be a part of the birth of our son Brexton. I can’t thank Dr. Todd McCall and Dr. Bob Anderson for putting me back together as well as they did. Anyone looking to have leg or foot surgery, just ask for the Kyle Busch special.”
The surgery and extensive rehabilitation paid off, as Busch was able to hold off defending series champion Kevin Harvick in the Championship Round race at Homestead.
Cruise, who played California driver Cole Trickle in the movie “Days of Thunder” (an interloper much as Vallejo, California native Gordon was when he came to stock car racing in the early 1990s), summed up Gordon’s stature as a champion driver and a statesman for the sport in one sentence.
“He felt as comfortable discussing a championship with George Bush as he did breaking down a Homestead race with Kyle Busch,” said Cruise, who went on to introduce Gordon as “my friend, the four-time champion, the legend — Jeff Gordon.”
After Cruise’s appearance came another surprise. NASCAR Chairman & CEO Brian France conferred the seldom given Bill France Award on the retiring champion, an recognition that had not been presented since Gordon’s car owner, Rick Hendrick, was honored in 2009.
“You’re the very definition of a champion, and quite simply, you changed the sport for the better,” France said.
Indeed, Gordon’s most emotional moment during a heartfelt speech came when he choked back tears while thanking Rick and Linda Hendrick for hiring him in the first place.
“Rick and Linda Hendrick, thank you so much for choosing me to be your driver,” said Gordon, who finished third in the championship standings. “I’m so proud to say I only drove for one car owner – and the best car owner – my entire Sprint Cup career.”
Fourth-place finisher Martin Truex Jr. provided another emotional moment when he spoke of long-time partner Sherry Pollex’s battle against ovarian cancer.
“I’d like to thank Sharon, Sherry’s mom, and her family for their incredible support throughout Sherry’s battle,” Truex said. “Sherry, I can’t thank you enough for being in my life, you’re a true inspiration and I love you very much.”
Note: Jeff Hanson, diagnosed at age 12 with optic glioma, was the recipient of The NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by Nationwide for his fundraising efforts, which have netted more than $250,000 for the Children’s Tumor Foundation and more than $1.3 million for charities worldwide.
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The Final Lap Weekly NASCAR Podcast #387 – Jeff Gordon Media Center Part 1 / Off Season Begins
onSHOW #387 – We hear from Jeff Gordon, plus two Top 10 lists, News of the Week, our Fantasy Racing finishing order, and a bunch more, wow we talk a lot about not much. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Toby Christie
( Roughly 48:00 mins)
NASCAR Sees Most Watched Finale, Record Online, Social, and Merchandise Numbers
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NASCAR Season Concludes with Most-Watched Finale Since 2005, Digital and Social Consumption Records and Growth in Merchandise Sales
Viewership for Finale Peaked at Nearly 12.4 Million Average Viewers
Banner Year across Digital and Social Media Highlighted by 4.1 Billion Social Media Impressions and 1.1 Billion Page Views
NASCAR Next Alumni Sweep Sunoco Rookie of the Year Awards across Three National Series for Second Consecutive Year
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 1, 2015) – The sport fittingly crowned a first-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch, in what was a transformational season that saw the championship format produce a series of records, milestones and firsts on and off the track.
The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship Race on NBC and NBCSN was the most-watched finale since 2005 – peaking with nearly 12.4 million average viewers. This concluded a successful first season of the largest and most lucrative television partnerships in NASCAR history with FOX and NBC.
A record number of fans consumed NASCAR through digital and social media in 2015. NASCAR amassed 4.1 billion social media impressions, 1.1 billion page views – up more than 20 percent from 2014 – and a 34 percent year-over-year increase in its mobile audience.
In addition, driver merchandise sales at tracks increased more than 20 percent since the Fanatics Trackside Superstore launched in July.
NASCAR Next, a program that identifies and nurtures young drivers, produced the Sunoco Rookie of the Year winner in all three national series: Brett Moffitt in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series; Daniel Suárez, a NASCAR Drive for Diversity graduate, in the NASCAR XFINITY Series; and Erik Jones in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
“We had unprecedented collaboration with stakeholders this season and saw many positive results in our effort to innovate, better serve our fans and grow the sport,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. “We will continue to work tirelessly this offseason to further improve the fan experience at every turn and look forward to kicking off next season at the Daytona 500 where fans will experience the unveiling of the world’s first motorsports stadium.”
NASCAR today also announced the top five selling drivers for the 2015 season at the Fanatics Trackside Superstore. Dale Earnhardt Jr. topped the list at No. 1, followed by Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and newly crowned champion Kyle Busch rounded out the list at No. 5.
Other milestones, records and firsts achieved during the 2015 season include:
Competition:
· Jeff Gordon broke Ricky Rudd’s Iron Man record with his 789th consecutive start on September 27. He joined the likes of legends Cal Ripken, Jr. and Brett Favre who hold records for most consecutive games played in baseball and football, respectively.
· For the first time since 1993, two different drivers, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch, won three consecutive races in a single season.
Sponsorships:
· New or renewed NASCAR Official Partnerships with nearly a dozen brands this season, including: 3M, Fanatics, Ingersoll Rand, Microsoft, Sherwin Williams, Sun Edison, Universal Technical Institute, and K&N Filters as the entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series™.
· In 2015, nearly 1 in 2 Fortune 100 companies relied on NASCAR to build their brands.
· Partnerships with Fortune 500 technology companies grew by 66% over last two years.
Merchandise:
· In partnership with Fanatics, NASCAR created a centralized location for merchandise at each track, which led to the average transaction growing by 75 percent.
· The three tracks that saw the most significant sales growth were Homestead-Miami Speedway (+100%), Phoenix International Raceway (+66%) and Talladega Superspeedway (+62%).
Diversity:
· In addition to the aforementioned diversity breakthroughs on the track, NASCAR partnered with RISE, a recently formed non-profit to promote diversity and equality through sports. NASCAR Chairman Brian France was named to the Board of Directors and will help steer the initiative alongside the commissioners of the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB, and other top sports executives.
· Roush Fenway Racing pit crew member Mike Russell became the first African American Drive for Diversity graduate to win a national series championship.
Technology:
· For the first time, cars featured a digital dashboard instead of analog gauges. The new technology will be mandatory for all NASCAR Sprint Cup vehicles in 2016.
· Air Titan 2.0 track-drying technology helped save numerous races and improved the race experience for fans, teams and partners.
· State-of-the-art pit road technology was seamlessly implemented this season to increase the accuracy and safety of pit road officiating.
· NASCAR Sprint Cup Series post-race inspections from the NASCAR R&D Center were streamed live to fans across the world.
Entertainment Marketing:
· Nearly 230 million viewers watched NASCAR drivers appear in 77 primetime shows, including American Idol on FOX, The Soup on E!, Real Housewives on Bravo and Penn Zero on Disney XD.
· More than 120 celebrities appeared at races this season, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kid Rock, Vince Vaughn, David Spade and Adam Sandler.
· Originally produced TV and digital projects, with more than 150 appearances by NASCAR drivers, tracks and partners, generated 50 million viewers.
Tracks:
· NASCAR announced multi-year sanctioning agreements with tracks for the first time. The landmark five-year agreements will provide fans more time to plan and tracks more time to promote, sell sponsorships and build the fan experience.
· Throwback weekend at Darlington celebrated the storied history of NASCAR with unprecedented industry support including 32 retro paint schemes, by honoring 14 NASCAR Hall of Famers and through a variety of 1970s-themed food and entertainment.
The Final Lap Weekly 