SHOW #123 – We recap Michigan, all three series leaders were winners, the Newman Logano smack-down, Dale Jr. curses, plus a full preview of the Bristol weekend. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Paul Northrop

LISTEN HERE (About 50 mins)

SUBSCRIBE HERE

DOWNLOAD HERE

SUBSCRIBE FROM iTUNES: Take us with you! Subscribe to our audio shows from iTunes, and they will automatically show up on your computer as soon as we post fresh shows..it’s easy, FREE, and we take no information. It’s like a DVR for audio so you can take us with you anywhere and listen on your schedule!

Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter

NOTE: Also HEARD on Stitcher Radio

CREDITS:
Hosts: Kerry Murphey & Paul Northrop
Production: Kerry Murphey
Music: Radium Sound
Voice Over: Thomas Moog

CASEY MEARS ASSUMES GEICO NASCAR SPRINT CUP DUTIES

Mooresville, NC (August 18, 2010) – Beginning with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on September 5th, NASCAR star Casey Mears will slide behind the wheel of the #13 GEICO Toyota Camry.

Mears will be entered as the driver of the #13 GEICO Camry in the seven remaining GEICO sponsored races in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The 2011 season will feature Mears and the Gecko in the #13 Germain Racing entry at 18 events.

Effective immediately, Mears will put the Gecko on his chest and attempt to expand the Sprint Cup Series program that Max Papis and the Germain Racing team have worked hard to establish.

Mears carries with him one of the most recognized names in the sport of auto racing, while his resumé makes him the obvious choice to be the new wheelman of the #13 GEICO Camry. He has experienced success at each of NASCAR’s top two levels, winning races in both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series. Versatility being a cornerstone for Mears, he has also won races in the Indy Lights Series, ARCA Series, and in 2006 he became the first full-time NASCAR driver to achieve an overall victory at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

While Mears boasts a distinguished resumé, his family dinner table features a banquet of successful careers. He is flanked by father, Roger Mears, who is a championship off-road racer, while his uncle, Rick Mears, has netted four Indianapolis 500 wins.

Germain Racing will most benefit from Mears’ experience at the top level of NASCAR. Since making his NASCAR debut at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 10, 2001, Mears has been employed by NASCAR’s best and brightest, including Chip Ganassi Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing.

“I’m excited at the opportunity to drive the #13 GEICO Camry for Germain Racing,” Mears said. “It’s a great opportunity and I believe with all the hard work that Germain Racing has put into their Cup program, as well as our relationship with Michael Waltrip Racing, that we’ll be able to do good things. I’ve known Bootie Barker (crew chief) for a long time, so I think we’ll work well together. I’m ready to get to work and do a good job for GEICO.”

Mears’ experience combined with Germain Racing’s technical relationship with Michael Waltrip Racing should result in marked improvement as the GEICO Racing program heads into the 2011 season.

Almirola Signs Multi-Year Deal to Drive JR Motorsports’ No. 88

Florida native to steer JRM’s flagship team in Nationwide Series starting in 2011

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Aug. 18, 2010) – JR Motorsports cemented an integral part of its future Wednesday by signing Aric Almirola to a multi-year driving contract for the company’s flagship No. 88 NASCAR Nationwide Series team starting in 2011, general manager Kelley Earnhardt announced today.

A 26-year-old native of Tampa, Fla., Almirola has 32 career Nationwide Series starts, including one for JR Motorsports in which he finished third at O’Reilly Raceway Park in July. Almirola’s full-time duties as the No. 88 driver will officially begin in 2011, but he could potentially fill the seat in select races this season while he continues to run for a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship.

“The chance to drive full time in the Nationwide Series with a top caliber team is something I am extremely excited about,” Almirola said. “I was at the shop yesterday, and Kelley gathered all the employees around to announce our deal. The energy and excitement was addicting. We raced at ORP together a month ago and had a really good run. There is no reason why we cannot compete like that every race, and there is no reason why we shouldn’t be running for a championship. I would expect nothing less.”

Almirola comes to JR Motorsports with proven credentials. In 2006-07, he competed in the Nationwide Series with Joe Gibbs Racing, earning three poles and six top-10s. He is credited with one victory – the June 23, 2007, race at Milwaukee Mile – in which he and Denny Hamlin shared seat time in the victorious No. 20 car. That performance was part of a successful 2007 campaign, which opened doors to a lifelong dream of racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Dale Earnhardt Inc. signed Almirola to a part-time driving deal in 2008 with the unique task of splitting seat time with one of NASCAR’s all-time greats, Mark Martin. Nineteen of Almirola’s 30 Sprint Cup starts came with DEI (later to become Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing). In his very first race of the 2008 season, Almirola scored a career-best Sprint Cup finish of eighth at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Almirola continued racing in sporadic Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races in 2009 and 2010, but the opportunity to compete full-time this year with Billy Ballew Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series was too good to pass up. In 15 races so far this season, Almirola has two wins (Dover on May 14 and Michigan on June 12) and has finished in the top-10 in all but four events. He currently sits second in the championship point standings.

“If there is a quintessential JR Motorsports driver, we feel it’s Aric Almirola,” Kelley Earnhardt said. “The way he drives, the ambition he carries, the way he represents himself on and off the track, it all fits within our company’s dynamics, our core objectives, and the values of our sponsorship partners. We look forward to putting him in our No. 88 car so he can continue his success.”

Almirola’s one stint for JRM took place on July 24 at O’Reilly Raceway Park. He started the Kroger 200 in sixth position, led one lap, ran among the top-five all night, and finished third in his debut in the No. 88 GT Vodka Chevrolet. Almirola is one of 10 drivers who has or will have raced the No. 88 Chevrolet at least once in 2010. Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the No. 88 Realtree Outdoors Chevrolet at Bristol this Friday night in the Food City 250.

“This has been a far different year than anything we have ever experienced before, but we feel like our decision to take our time and not be rushed into naming a full-schedule driver for the No. 88 paid off with the signing of Aric,” Kelley Earnhardt said. “He brings a lot to the table for us, as well as our sponsors. He is someone they can build their brands around, and he has the talent to take them to the Winner’s Circle.”

Phoenix Moves To Week 2 In NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Lineup;
Realigned NASCAR Sprint Cup Events At Kansas And Kentucky; Chicago To Host Chase Opener

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 18, 2010) – NASCAR announced today the 2011 schedule for its three national series, highlighted by several key changes for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
“The adjustments and realignment of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule will make for an exciting race season next year,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. “The revised schedule provides better situated dates for the tracks, a more challenging lineup for the drivers and ultimately more intrigue for the fans.”
One of those changes comes early, as the second race of the season will be held at Phoenix International Raceway on Feb. 27, a week after the season-opening Daytona 500. PIR replaces Auto Club Speedway in Week 2. Texas Motor Speedway fills in the vacated Phoenix spot on Saturday, April 9 for what will be an exciting night race in the Lone Star State.
Southern California’s Auto Club Speedway will now run its race date on March 27, providing the track and its fans an optimum point in the schedule.
The series’ 36-race schedule will feature two realigned events. A second Kansas Speedway date follows the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and will be held on Sunday, June 5. And for the first time in a decade the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series realigns to a new track with a race at Kentucky Speedway. The Kentucky race will be held under the lights on Saturday, July 9.
The 2011 “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup” – consisting of the season’s last 10 races, during which the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship is decided – will begin at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 18.
Chicagoland’s previous race date was in early July, a slot that went to the realigned event at Kentucky. New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which previously had the first Chase date, will now have the second, on Sept. 25.
Also released today were the 2011 schedule for the NASCAR Nationwide Series, highlighted by a second race at Iowa and Chicagoland speedways, and the 2011 schedule for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, which will see nine races moved to different dates on the calendar.
All three national series – NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – will begin their seasons at Daytona International Speedway’s “Speedweeks,” with a weekend culminated by the Daytona 500. The traditional “non-points” Budweiser Shootout at Daytona will provide fans a NASCAR Sprint Cup preview, on Saturday night, Feb. 12, followed by qualifying for the “Great American Race” to be held on Sunday, Feb. 13.
All three series will end their seasons with another tradition – Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Nov. 18-20.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series will consist of 34 races, all featuring the new car that is being run a total of four times this season.
Iowa Speedway, which joined the schedule in 2009, receives a second date in 2011. The series will visit the Newton, Iowa, facility for the first time on Sunday, May 22 and return on Saturday, Aug. 6.
A new date has been added at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday, June 4. The series returns on Saturday, Sept. 17 as part of a NASCAR national series tripleheader featuring the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday, Sept. 18 and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Friday, Sept. 16.
Last season’s successful inaugural event at the Road America road course in Wisconsin returns in 2011 on Saturday, June 25, the weekend before the Friday, July 1 race at Daytona International Speedway.
A previous stand-alone event at Kentucky Speedway now will be part of the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup/NASCAR Nationwide Series weekend on Friday, July 8.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series will be paired with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on three weekends, at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, April 23 and Saturday, July 23 and at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis on Saturday, July 30.
The 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will consist of 25 races, one of which will be announced at a future date.
Phoenix International Raceway, which traditionally hosted the penultimate race in November, will host the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Friday, Feb. 25.
Darlington Raceway, which returned to the schedule in 2010 after an absence of six years, moves from August to Saturday, March 12.
Michigan International Speedway’s truck race, previously held in June, will accompany its late-summer NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday, Aug. 20.
Two additional date shifts in the fall have stand-alone events at Kentucky Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, moving a month later on the schedule. The series races at Kentucky on Saturday, Oct. 1 followed by Las Vegas on Saturday, Oct. 15.

2011 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES SCHEDULE
Date Site
Feb. 12 Daytona International Speedway (Budweiser Shootout At Daytona *)
Feb. 13 Daytona 500 Qualifying
Feb. 20 Daytona International Speedway
Feb. 27 Phoenix International Raceway
March 6 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 20 Bristol Motor Speedway
March 27 Auto Club Speedway
April 3 Martinsville Speedway
April 9 Texas Motor Speedway
April 17 Talladega Superspeedway
April 30 Richmond International Raceway
May 7 Darlington Raceway
May 15 Dover International Speedway
May 21 Charlotte Motor Speedway (NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race *)
May 29 Charlotte Motor Speedway
June 5 Kansas Speedway
June 12 Pocono Raceway
June 19 Michigan International Speedway
June 26 Infineon Raceway
July 2 Daytona International Speedway
July 9 Kentucky Speedway
July 17 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
July 31 Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Aug. 7 Pocono Raceway
Aug. 14 Watkins Glen International
Aug. 21 Michigan International Speedway
Aug. 27 Bristol Motor Speedway
Sept. 4 Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sept. 10 Richmond International Raceway
Sept. 18 Chicagoland Speedway
Sept. 25 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Oct. 2 Dover International Speedway
Oct. 9 Kansas Speedway
Oct. 15 Charlotte Motor Speedway
Oct. 23 Talladega Superspeedway
Oct. 30 Martinsville Speedway
Nov. 6 Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 13 Phoenix International Raceway
Nov. 20 Homestead-Miami Speedway
* – Denotes non-point event.

2011 NASCAR NATIOWIDE SERIES SCHEDULE
Date Site
Feb. 19 Daytona International Speedway
Feb. 26 Phoenix International Raceway
March 5 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 19 Bristol Motor Speedway
March 26 Auto Club Speedway
April 8 Texas Motor Speedway
April 16 Talladega Superspeedway
April 23 Nashville Superspeedway
April 29 Richmond International Raceway
May 6 Darlington Raceway
May 14 Dover International Speedway
May 22 Iowa Speedway
May 28 Charlotte Motor Speedway
June 4 Chicagoland Speedway
June 18 Michigan International Speedway
June 25 Road America
July 1 Daytona International Speedway
July 8 Kentucky Speedway
July 16 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
July 23 Nashville Superspeedway
July 30 O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis
Aug. 6 Iowa Speedway
Aug. 13 Watkins Glen International
Aug. 20 Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Montreal
Aug. 26 Bristol Motor Speedway
Sept. 3 Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sept. 9 Richmond International Raceway
Sept. 17 Chicagoland Speedway
Oct. 1 Dover International Speedway
Oct. 8 Kansas Speedway
Oct. 14 Charlotte Motor Speedway
Nov. 5 Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 12 Phoenix International Raceway
Nov. 19 Homestead-Miami Speedway

2011 NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES SCHEDULE
Date Site
Feb. 18 Daytona International Speedway
Feb. 25 Phoenix International Raceway
March 12 Darlington Raceway
April 2 Martinsville Speedway
April 22 Nashville Superspeedway
May 13 Dover International Speedway
May 20 Charlotte Motor Speedway
June 4 Kansas Speedway
June 10 Texas Motor Speedway
July 16 Iowa Speedway
July 22 Nashville Superspeedway
July 29 O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis
Aug. 6 Pocono Raceway
Aug. 20 Michigan International Speedway
Aug. 24 Bristol Motor Speedway
Sept. 2 Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sept. 16 Chicagoland Speedway
Sept. 24 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Oct. 1 Kentucky Speedway
Oct. 15 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Oct. 22 Talladega Superspeedway
Oct. 29 Martinsville Speedway
Nov. 4 Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 18 Homestead-Miami Speedway
Note: one additional date to be added

10 Years of Championship Racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway: NASCAR’s 2011 Ford Championship Weekend Set for South Florida

Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Trucks Series all to return to South Florida in 2011 to crown Champions; seats for 2010 Championships (Nov. 19-21) on sale now

MIAMI—For the 10th consecutive year, Homestead-Miami Speedway will serve as host to NASCAR’s Ford Championship Weekend in 2011. South Florida again will be the site when NASCAR crowns its Champions in all three of its top national divisions—the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series— the weekend of Nov. 18-20, 2011.

“It’s a unique privilege to host the Championship finales of America’s No. 1 spectator sport for a 10th year running,” said Homestead-Miami Speedway President Matthew Becherer.. “No other city in any other sport can claim such a string: Consider that the Super Bowl, college football’s BCS, the World Series, NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals all rotate their Championship-crowning events from city to city each year. In hosting NASCAR’s Championship for 10 straight years, we’re appreciative of all that South Florida fans and businesses contribute to the success of a weeklong schedule of events leading up to Ford Championship Weekend.”

Ford Championship Weekend 2010 is set for Nov. 19-21, and tickets—starting at just $55 for the Ford 400 Sprint Cup Championship finale—are available now by calling (866) 409-RACE or by visiting THEChampionshipTrack.com. Kids 12 and under are FREE to Friday night’s (Nov. 19) Camping World Trucks Series Championship and just $10 to Saturday afternoon’s Nationwide Championship (Nov. 20).

“It’s an amazing loyalty our fans display in traveling to South Florida year-in and year-out to see the Champions crowned in North America’s most popular racing series,” said track president Becherer. “We’re excited about this fall’s NASCAR series-crowning Championships, set for Nov. 19-21, and look forward to the honor of again hosting Ford Championship Weekend in 2011, for a 10th straight year.”

Since the debut of Ford Championship Weekend in 2002, Homestead-Miami Speedway has played host to historic NASCAR Championship moments, including last fall when Jimmie Johnson became the first driver ever to claim four consecutive Sprint Cup Championships. In 2004, Homestead-Miami hosted the first-ever NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, as Kurt Busch became the first to hoist the “Chase” hardware. All told, Homestead-Miami has seen 18 different NASCAR Champions crowned.