Get out your checkered flags Canada: Canadian Steve Meehan launches all-Canadian NASCAR team
-New team to kick off its run at this weekend’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Nashville 300-

TORONTO, ON, April 19, 2011 – Today, Go Canada Racing, the newest all-Canadian NASCAR contender, officially starts its quest for NASCAR glory. Go Canada Racing is the only current NASCAR national series team with a Canadian owner, businessman Steve Meehan, and a Canadian driver, rising Canadian NASCAR star J.R. Fitzpatrick.
“Go Canada Racing brings together my two great passions: business and racing,” said Meehan. “My success in business has been built on seeing where the right opportunities are and creating a great team of people to do the job. When I saw the opportunity to start a team, I brought in the right people, like J.R., and with their help I believe I can have the same kind of success in the racing world as I had in the business world.”
Meehan’s goal for Go Canada Racing is for it to become the first fully-Canadian team to compete full-time on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tour – the preeminent series in North American motorsports. The team raced two weeks ago at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, and will make its official debut this Saturday, April 24th, at Nashville Superspeedway.
“NASCAR has 7 million fans in Canada, many of whom watch the races every week on TV,” continued Meehan. “This team will give the millions of Canadian fans a ‘home team’ to rally around, and I believe it’s a great opportunity for Canadian companies to showcase their brand to this huge audience of Canadian race fans.”
The team name, Go Canada Racing, and car number, 67, were both chosen to give the team an all-Canadian feel. The name was inspired by the cheers of “Go Canada” that Canadians are accustomed to hearing at sporting events throughout the country. The car number, 67, corresponds to 1867, the year of Confederation in Canada. This number is very significant for Canadians, and Meehan believes it will help Canadian NASCAR fans identify with his team even more.
In the driver’s seat will be Canada’s rising NASCAR star, J.R. Fitzpatrick. At age 18, Fitzpatrick became the youngest driver to win the CASCAR Super Series championship, and last year he finished second in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series championship. Over the last three years he has raced in nine NASCAR Nationwide events, and drove to a career-high finish of seventh at Road America and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, both in 2010. The opportunity with Go Canada Racing is Fitzpatrick’s first chance at a full-time ride on one of the premier stock car racing circuits in North America, an opportunity he has worked towards for many years.
“I’ve been racing since I was 15 years old and it has always been my dream to step into one of these cars full-time,” said Fitzpatrick. “Steve has put together an outstanding team and given us the tools to succeed in this sport. We have a great crew, a great car, and a great team, and I’m looking forward to competing with some of NASCAR’s best, starting this weekend in Nashville.”
“We’re looking forward to the addition of Go Canada Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Racing Operations. “Canada is an important market for NASCAR, as demonstrated by our commitment to developing Canadian drivers in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. Now, the millions of NASCAR fans in Canada have a ‘home’ team to root for on NASCAR’s national level.”
About Go Canada Racing
Canadian businessman Steve Meehan founded Go Canada Racing in the spring of 2011. The result of Meehan’s desire to bring together his interest in racing with his talent for business, Go Canada Racing is an all-Canadian team with a goal to bring the NASCAR Sprint Cup title to Canada. Prior to owning Go Canada Racing, Meehan was the Co-founder and CEO of Canadian investment firm Investment Planning Counsel, which boasted $15 billion in assets under management and more than 1,000 financial planners across the country at the time of his departure. For more information about Go Canada Racing, visit www.gocanadaracing.com.

NOMINEES ANNOUNCED FOR 2012 NASCAR HALL OF FAME CLASS
Earles, Isaac, Owens, Richter and Leonard Wood Join List Of Legends

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 19, 2011) – NASCAR announced today the list of 25 nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s third induction class to be enshrined in January 2012. From that list, five inductees will be elected by the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel, which includes a nationwide fan vote on NASCAR.COM.
Of the 25 nominees, 20 return from last year’s group. Five are first-timers: H. Clay Earles, Bobby Isaac, Cotton Owens, Les Richter and Leonard Wood.
This round of nominees, which again includes many of the sport’s legendary names, were selected by a 21-person nominating committee consisting of representatives from NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame and track owners from both major facilities and historic short tracks. The committee’s votes were tabulated by accounting firm Ernst & Young.
The NHOF’s inductees will be determined by the Voting Panel, which has 54 members – the entire Nominating Committee, media members, manufacturer representatives, retired competitors (drivers, owners, crew chiefs) and recognized industry leaders. In addition, the fan vote will result in the Voting Panel’s 55th and final ballot. Fan voting on NASCAR.COM opens on April 28 and closes June 12.
Following are the 25 nominees, listed alphabetically:
§Buck Baker,first driver to win consecutive NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series championships (1956-57)
§Red Byron, first NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series champion, in 1949
§Richard Childress, 11-time car owner champion in NASCAR’s three national series
§Jerry Cook, six-time NASCAR Modified champion
§H. Clay Earles, founder of Martinsville Speedway
§Richie Evans,nine-time NASCAR Modified champion
§Tim Flock, two-time NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series champion
§Rick Hendrick, 13-time car owner champion in NASCAR’s three national series
§Jack Ingram, two-time NASCAR Busch (now Nationwide) Series champion
§Dale Inman, eight-time NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series championship crew chief
§Bobby Isaac, 1970 NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series champion
§Fred Lorenzen, 26 wins and winner of the Daytona 500 and World 600
§Cotton Owens, driver-owner, won 1966 owner championship with David Pearson
§Raymond Parks, NASCAR’s first champion car owner
§Benny Parsons, 1973 NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series champion
§Les Richter, former NASCAR executive; former president of Riverside International Raceway
§Fireball Roberts, won 33 NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series races, including the 1962 Daytona 500
§T. Wayne Robertson, helped raise NASCAR popularity as R.J. Reynolds Senior VP
§Herb Thomas, first two-time NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series champion, 1951, ’53
§Curtis Turner, early personality, called the “Babe Ruth of stock car racing”
§Darrell Waltrip, 84 wins and three NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series championships
§Joe Weatherly, two-time NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series champion
§Glen Wood, as driver, laid foundation for Wood Brothers’ future team success
§Leonard Wood, part-owner and former crew chief for Wood Brothers, revolutionized pit stops
§Cale Yarborough, three consecutive NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series titles, 1976-78

The Class of 2012 will be announced live on SPEED on June 14 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C and inducted next January. The 2011 class, which includes David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett, Lee Petty, and Bud Moore will be enshrined at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Monday, May 23.

Episode Airs Wednesday, April 20th at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (April 19, 2011) — Five-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will guest-star in an upcoming episode of the new hit FOX comedy series “Breaking In” this Wednesday, April 20th at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT after “American Idol.”

“Breaking In” is an offbeat half-hour workplace comedy about a high-tech security firm that takes extreme – and often questionable – measures to sell its protection services. Created by Adam F. Goldberg and Seth Gordon, the series centers on a team of uniquely skilled oddball geniuses hand-picked to work for a manipulative mastermind. The series stars Christian Slater as larger-than-life Contra Security head honcho Oz, Bret Harrison as computer hacker Cameron, Odette Annable as alluring bad girl Melanie, Alphonso McAuley as fanboy/mad genius Cash.

Johnson, the 35-year-old El Cajon, Calif., native, plays himself in the episode as the storyline is built around his race team needing security assistance.

“It was a very cool experience, and I’m excited to see how this week’s episode turned out,” said Johnson. “Fred Savage was really encouraging and gave me great direction and I had a blast with Christian Slater. I think the hardest part was not laughing at Michael Rosenbaum [who plays character Dutch]. That guy is what you’d call high energy. The whole experience was great. I hope the fans enjoy seeing me do something different, but trust me, I won’t be leaving my day job any time soon.”
Slater, who served last month as the Grand Marshal for the Auto Club 400, was very impressed with Johnson’s acting ability.

“Jimmie was just as smooth on the set as he is on the track. Everyone was excited to have him be part of the episode,” said Slater. “It was even more special for me as he made my son’s birthday by autographing a pair of racing shoes.”

Part of Wednesday’s NASCAR-focused episode was shot at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Johnson, who currently sits second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, was also on the Sony-based set of “Breaking In” to film portions of the episode.

“Breaking In” is produced by Happy Madison Productions, Adam F. Goldberg Productions and Sethsquatch, Inc. in association with Sony Pictures Television. Goldberg, Gordon and Doug Robinson serve as executive producers, while Goldberg serves as writer. Fred Savage is the episode’s director.

Wild, Record-Tying Finish At Talladega
Two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Records Matched In Sunday’s Aaron’s 499

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 17, 2011) – Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway tied two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series records – number of lead changes and closest margin of victory.
There were 88 lead changes at the start/finish line, tying an all-time NASCAR record set in last season’s April event at Talladega. The final lead change occurred on the last lap – eight of the last 12 Talladega races featured a last-lap lead change.

Jimmie Johnson edged Clint Bowyer by .002 seconds, which matches the closest margin of victory since the inception of electronic scoring in May 1993. That mark was originally set at Darlington Raceway on March 16, 2003, with Ricky Craven beating Kurt Busch.

Since 1993, every race at Talladega finishing under green – 29 in all – has had a MOV under .400 seconds.
Johnson, with his 54th-career victory, moved into a tie with NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Lee Petty for ninth on the all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins list.
Passing numbers – for the lead and otherwise – also were high.

There were 159 green flag passes for the lead all around the race track, with a total of 11,025 green flag passes throughout the field.

Sunday’s race capped off a record-breaking weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
In Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race, there were 56 lead changes, an all-time record since the series’ inception in 1982.