NASCAR Podcast
SHOW #369 – Guest: Kyle Petty – We recap the Indy “brick kissing” weekend, Bristol testing baby, Jeff Gordon knocks on a door, Sam Hornish Jr. goes to DC, plus a full Pocono Raceway Preview. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Toby Christie
( Roughly 48:00 mins)
Continue reading “The Final Lap Weekly NASCAR Podcast #369 NBC’s Kyle Petty / NASCAR Pocono Preview”
SunEdison Becomes the Official Solar Energy Partner of NASCAR
Partnership to Focus on Benefits of Residential and Commercial
Solar Power Technology
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., and BELMONT, Calif., (JULY 30, 2015) – NASCAR and SunEdison, Inc. (NYSE: SUNE), the world’s largest renewable energy development company, today announced SunEdison as the Official Solar Energy Partner of NASCAR Green. This new partnership builds on the expanded use of solar technology across the sport, particularly at race team shops and race tracks across the country.
Over the next three years, SunEdison and NASCAR will embark on an effort to educate millions of NASCAR fans on the financial and environmental benefits of solar power use. SunEdison plans to work with NASCAR partners, tracks and teams on commercial-scale solar solutions. The White House cited this newly forged partnership as a prime example of making renewable energy accessible to all U.S. homeowners.
“Solar power is a proven and reliable form of renewable energy and the technology is already making a significant impact throughout our industry,” said Steve Phelps, NASCAR chief marketing officer. “Our strategic partnership with SunEdison will help NASCAR further reduce the sport’s environmental impact and help continue to educate our fans on renewable energy.”
“SunEdison is excited to be partnering with NASCAR to highlight the benefits of solar both at and away from the race track,” said Vikas Desai, SunEdison senior vice president of residential and small commercial. “We look forward to being a strategic NASCAR Green partner and helping fans, partners and the sport save money while reducing their carbon footprint.”
NASCAR has taken a holistic approach across its wide-ranging effort to help protect the environment and has been collaborating in earnest with teams, tracks, partners and fans to do that since 2008. NASCAR’s efforts to champion sustainable behavior align with NASCAR fan values.
According to a 2014 study commissioned by NASCAR and conducted by Research Now, four out of five NASCAR fans believe the earth is going through a period of climate change, and two out of three of these fans feel a personal responsibility to do something about it. The study shows approximately two out of three NASCAR fans who believe there is climate change support buying cost-effective solar panels for the home. For additional information on NASCAR Green, visit http://www.nascar.com/green.
Statement from Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
We confirm that Rob Kauffman has agreed to acquire an interest in the team. Further discussions regarding the 2016 season and beyond are underway.
Statement from Michael Waltrip Racing:
Rob Kauffman, co-owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, has agreed to buy an interest in Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. The companies will continue to operate separately and compete against each other for the remainder of the 2015 season. They are also currently evaluating ways to field the most competitive race teams possible to provide an excellent platform for their partners and employees for the 2016 season and beyond. More details will follow in due course.
Statement from Michael Waltrip
“My focus is on 2015 and fulfilling the commitment we have made to our partners and Toyota which is placing our teams in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. There are a lot of details yet to be sorted regarding 2016. I will work closely with Rob Kauffman and our sponsors to formulate the best way forward.”
Kyle Busch’s Victory at Indy Averages 4.7 Million Viewers and 3.0 HH Rating
STAMFORD, Conn. – July 27, 2015 – NBCSN’s live telecast of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway led the network to its most-watched telecast ever yesterday, averaging 4.7 million viewers. Viewership peaked from 6:30 – 6:45 p.m. ET as 5.6 million viewers watched Kyle Busch race to his third consecutive Sprint Cup victory, and his fourth win in five events.
NBCSN NASCAR Sprint Cup viewership highlights include:
With 4.7 million average viewers and a 3.0 national HH rating, Sunday’s Brickyard 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race stands as NBCSN’s most-watched and highest-rated telecast ever.
– Viewership peaked from 6:30 – 6:45 p.m. ET with 5.6 million viewers.
Yesterday’s Sprint Cup race ranks as the most-watched NASCAR event on cable since last year’s season-ending championship race from Homestead (5.2 million on ESPN).
The Brickyard event marks consecutive weeks of growth for Sprint Cup racing on NBCSN. With 4.7 million average viewers, the Brickyard 400 is up +27% from New Hampshire (3.7 million) and up +47% from Kentucky (3.2 million).
Fans streamed 3.7 million minutes of live NASCAR coverage this past weekend via NBC Sports Live Extra.
July 26, 2015
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
INDIANAPOLIS—“This is awesome!” Kyle Busch screamed as he crossed the finish line at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and continued a run that has grown from extraordinary to downright other-worldly.
Holding off Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano during three late-race restarts, Busch beat Logano to the finish line by .332 seconds to win Sunday’s Crown Royal presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at The Brickyard.
The victory was Busch’s fourth in the last five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, all coming after an 11-event absence to start the season, the result of a broken right leg and left foot suffered in a crash during the Feb. 21 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
“I guess Kyle’s back,” a disappointed Logano said after he race, uttering perhaps the biggest understatement in the modern era of stock car racing.
Harvick finished third, followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin. Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski completed the top 10.
To the suggestion that the accident may have provided additional impetus to his comeback, Kyle Busch replied, “I just think that maybe I’ve found my happy place.
“Happy Gilmore (a movie character) – he found his happy place and he just dominated at the end, so maybe I’ve found that, too. Nothing better than being in Victory Lane. Nothing better than being in Victory Lane for one of the biggest wins of my career.
“I just want to celebrate with my team, my wife and my family.”
A quick inventory of Busch’s accomplishments shows that the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota:
· is the first to sweep both the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series races at Indianapolis. Busch won the Lilly Diabetes 250 XFINITY race on Saturday with a last-lap pass of Ryan Blaney.
· gave Toyota its first victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, breaking a string of 12 straight wins by Chevrolet at the 2.5-mile track.
· won the 33rd NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of his career.
· continued his relentless advance toward the top 30 in the standings and consequent eligibility for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs. In what now seems a foregone conclusion, Busch has six races to overcome a 23-point deficit to 30th-place Justin Allgaier.
“We’re a championship contending team,” Busch asserted. “We just have to be championship eligible. Thank the good Lord for bringing me back when he did. Obviously, thanking him for all the success I’ve had in my life, where I’m at and all my blessings.
“To get me back as quick as he did, to persevere through that and that deficit. We’re still continuing on. We can’t have bad days. I don’t know that any of that matters—we’re going to bask in this moment here.”
Perhaps most astounding is Busch’s ability to win three straight races at three different race tracks using three different competition packages: low-downforce at Kentucky with a 3.5-inch spoiler; standard 2015 rules at New Hampshire with a six-inch spoiler; and high-drag at Indianapolis with a nine-inch spoiler and one-inch wicker.
Logano fell just short of giving team owner Roger Penske, a 16-time Indianapolis 500 winner, his first Sprint Cup victory at The Brickyard.
“You come to Indy, and it’s all about the win,” said Logano, who took the checkered flag in the season-opening Daytona 500 this year. “You either win or finish last. It doesn’t really matter anywhere in-between. At least that’s the way I race when I come to a track like this. I feel like, at Daytona and Indy, it’s all about getting trophies and rings and making out with bricks.
“Overall, it was a good day, but second hurts. It always does.”
Jeff Gordon’s last race at The Brickyard as a full-time Cup driver—and his hopes for an unprecedented sixth victory at the 2.5-mile track—suffered an irreparable blow on Lap 50. Racing to the inside of Harvick, Bowyer’s Toyota got loose and spun.
Gordon checked up, trying to avoid Bowyer’s car, but the No. 24 Chevrolet swerved out of control into the outside wall in Turn 3. The resulting damage ended any hope of another Brickyard trophy for the four-time Sprint Cup champion.
“I was underneath Kasey Kahne and we were just racing for position,” Gordon said as his crew worked feverishly in the garage to repair the car. “I saw Bowyer get sideways. I don’t know what caused it. Me and Kasey were trying to check up to avoid it. I don’t know if he got loose or we just both got loose together. Then I just lost control and got in the wall.”
Gordon finished 42nd and lost one spot to 11th in the series standings. Without a win this season, Gordon is in jeopardy of missing the Chase and can ill-afford another day like Sunday.
