Stewart-Haas Racing On Verge Of Victory Lane

When Tony Stewart (No. 14 Old Spice Chevrolet) made the decision to leave championship-caliber Joe Gibbs Racing to start his own team last season, many skeptics whispered that it would be years before Stewart made another trip to Victory Lane. After all, Haas CNC Racing, the team Stewart took over, had competed in 284 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and had one top-five finish to show for it. Apparently Stewart wasn’t listening to the grim outlook.

Almost one-third of the way into Stewart’s first season as owner/driver of Stewart-Haas Racing, Stewart is third in the standings and a few breaks away from a trip to Victory Lane. Teammate Ryan Newman (No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet) is 10th, both in Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup contention. Stewart has finished runner-up in two of the last three races and has been in the top five in four of the last five. Newman has been able to shake off early season struggles, moving up 22 spots over the past six races.

Continue reading “Stewart-Haas ready for Victory Lane”

Kyle Busch Has 50 Reasons To Take A Bow

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As he stood atop his Indiana Jones-themed car, surrounded by smoke from his victory burnout, Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota) bowed to the fans at Darlington Raceway.

It wasn’t the first time Busch took a bow after a win, but was the first time “The Bow” beckoned a reporter to ask about it during post-race interviews.

The question was simple – “What’s with this bow?”

The answer was simpler – “I don’t know. It’s, thank you very much.”

When prodded for a longer response, Busch answered, “I mean, the good burnout, then I can’t get out of the car fast enough, man. I need to work on that… Then I’m up on top, I appear, then I do a bow, thank you very much, then I go on and have a nice day. I’m trying to get more smoke built up before I get out. I’m working on it.”

Continue reading “Kyle Busch at age 24 already has 50 NASCAR wins”

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 7, 2009) – In a monthlong push to raise money and awareness for key charities dedicated to helping children, The Dale Jr. Foundation has created three initiatives as part of its All Star Charity Line Up. Through these events, The Dale Jr. Foundation will donate to Make-A-Wish, March of Dimes / Bikers for Babies, The NASCAR Foundation and Speedway Children’s Charities.

Beginning this Saturday at the Southern 500 presented by GoDaddy.com at Darlington Raceway, The Dale Jr. Foundation (TDJF) will host 50 guests from the Victory Junction Gang Camp, Make-A-Wish and Kid’s Wish Network in a pre-race chalet. The chalet and 50 race tickets were donated to TDJF by GoDaddy.com and includes an appearance by Brad Keselowski.

“The Dale Jr. Foundation is committed to helping underprivileged youth achieve their goals,” said Kelley Earnhardt, vice president and general manager of JR Motorsports. “Last year, with the help of all of our fans and supporters, we were able to donate to over 250 charitable organizations. This year we want to continue setting the bar higher for our charitable goals. These events surrounding the All-Star race are a great way to start our fundraising efforts for 2009.”

Continue reading “The Dale Jr. Foundation Announces All-Star Charity Lineup”

GORDON CAN TIE – AND SURPASS – YARBOROUGH AT DARLINGTON

DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 5, 2009) – With a win on Saturday night at Darlington Raceway, Jeff Gordon can tie Cale Yarborough in victories. And, because of a name change, he can surpass Yarborough, too.

Gordon, who has 82 career NASCAR Sprint Cup victories, is one shy of fifth-ranked Yarborough on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list and only two away from tying Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for third.

At Darlington, Gordon has seven wins, three poles, 16 top-fives and 19 top-10’s in 28 starts. Five of those victories occurred in the Southern 500, tying him with Yarborough for most victories in that famed event.

But the Southern 500 has not been held at the historic track in five years. Since
2005, there has been only one Cup race each season at Darlington –  and it has not been
named the Southern 500.

Continue reading “Jeff Gordon looking for Darlington records”

MARK MARTIN TO RUN FULL NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES SEASON IN 2010

CONCORD, N.C. (May 6, 2009) – Mark Martin will return to drive the No. 5 Chevrolets of Hendrick Motorsports for the entire 36-race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season in 2010. It will be the 22nd full-time Cup campaign of Martin’s career and his second with car owner Rick Hendrick.

Last July, Martin signed a two-year contract with Hendrick Motorsports covering one full Sprint Cup season in 2009 and one part-time schedule of 26 events in 2010. The revised agreement was signed this week.

“Week in and week out, Mark continues to be one of the best race car drivers in the world,” Hendrick said. “He’s already made an incredible contribution to Hendrick Motorsports, and our entire company is excited about running another full season and winning races with him in 2010.”

Continue reading “Mark Martin stays full-time for 2010”