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Top-12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Drivers Hold Nothing Back

LAS VEGAS (Dec. 1, 2011) – The 2011 top-12 NASCAR Sprint Cup SeriesTM drivers held nothing back today at the third annual, fan-favorite NASCAR After The Lap held at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas and sponsored by Coca-Cola and Ford. ESPN pit road reporter Jamie Little hosted the event along with co-host Miss Sprint Cup Monica Palumbo.

A list of the top-10 unfiltered, driver “tell-all” comments are outlined below.

Top-10 List
Number 1
· Ryan Newman was asked if he purchased his boss (2011 Champion Tony Stewart) anything special after winning the championship.
· “No!”
· Jamie Little followed with “Ryan, you told me earlier there was a waxing appointment but that no appointment was long enough to cover Tony’s needs.”

Continue reading “NASCAR After The Lap Top 10 Driver Zingers in Las Vegas”

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Day 3: Grubb Stands Tall; Stewart Gets Call
* Award Winners Announced At Annual NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon
* Fans Line The Strip For NASCAR Victory Lap Return, NASCAR After The Lap

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 1, 2011) – Darian Grubb spoke for mere minutes at Thursday’s NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon, but the words that tumbled from the champion crew chief’s mouth were a good two months in the making.

Prior to October’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Grubb learned that his tenure as Tony Stewart’s crew chief would end after the season. Then, six races and three victories later, Grubb won an improbable NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship atop the pit box for the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet. A few days later, the move was confirmed. Grubb was out, Steve Addington was in as Stewart’s crew chief in 2012.

That draining sequence of events framed the highlight of Thursday’s traditional NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon at the Bellagio – Grubb’s acceptance speech as champion crew chief.

With emotion in his voice, Grubb thanked Stewart for the opportunity – and his friendship. During the post-event media availability, Grubb explained his feelings from the roller-coaster ride.

Continue reading “Photos: Champion’s Week Las Vegas 2011 – Victory Lap, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Popular Again”

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Stewart, Teammate Ryan Newman, Winners of Humorous Newlywed Game Parody

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 30, 2011) — Tony Stewart’s on a roll. And that’s a good feeling when you’re in Las Vegas.

Stewart and Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Ryan Newman won Wednesday’s “This Ain’t the Newlywed Game,” a riff on the television original hosted by Bob Eubanks. Stewart and Newman edged the team of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch by most accurately recalling the estimated attendance of March’s Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The game had a myriad of humorous moments – some broad, others ribald – and in some cases more resembled a roast of the top 12 finishers in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™.

Continue reading “Photos: Champion’s Week Las Vegas, Newlywed Game Fremont Street”

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Blickensderfer Named Crew Chief of RCR’s
No. 31 Caterpillar/Wheaties Racing Team

WELCOME, N.C. (November 28, 2011) — Richard Childress Racing has named Drew Blickensderfer as the crew chief for the No. 31 Caterpillar/Wheaties Racing team with driver Jeff Burton for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

Luke Lambert, interim crew chief during the latter part of the 2011 season for the No. 31 team, will assume a yet-to-be announced new position at RCR.

Blickensderfer begins his RCR career after nearly a decade with Roush Fenway Racing. He spent the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season leading the No. 6 team and has been a crew chief, in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, since 2007.

“I’m excited about the move to RCR and the opportunity to help lead Jeff Burton and the Cat/Wheaties Racing team back into Chase contention,” said Blickensderfer. “I was around Jeff briefly at RFR and always admired and liked him. He’s a very talented driver and I look forward to working him and the rest of the No. 31 team in 2012.”

Continue reading “Drew Blickensderfer named Jeff Burton’s new crew chief”