quarta-feira, 27 de abril de 2016

NASCAR on NBC podcast, Episode XII: Trevor Bayne and Danica Patrick

Trevor Bayne’s undulating career path and Danica Patrick’s connection with kids are among the highlights of the latest NASCAR on NBC podcast.

Bayne joined the podcast before his Tuesday appearance on NASCAR America, discussing his wild ride after winning the 2011 Daytona 500. After winning NASCAR’s biggest race in one of the major upsets in history, Bayne suffered through health problems (eventually leading to a diagnosis of MS) and a lack of funding kept him from racing full time in 2012.

“I’ve got a very strange career so far,” he said. “Even just my first year, going from a victory to the hospital, I said, ‘We just went through 10 seasons worth of a drama in one year.’ ”

Bayne persevered and moved full time into NASCAR’s premier series last season with Advocare, a sponsorship that materialized after his chance meeting with the company’s president.

“It’s crazy how it worked out,” the No. 6 Ford driver. “Five months before, I didn’t know what Advocare was.

"I tell young drivers all the time how important relationships are, You never know who you’re talking to, and some of my biggest breaks in racing have come from talking to people who most of the time I didn’t know who they were and what they did.”

Bayne also discussed his renewed commitment to triathlon training, his throwback paint scheme tribute to Mark Martin for the Southern 500 and his improvement in the 2016 season. Some of his results can be credited to a working relationship with crew chief Matt Puccia, who has bonded with Bayne as the father of a newborn.

The second guest on the podcast is Danica Patrick, who joined by phone from Chicago where she was promoting a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sponsorship. The Nickelodeon promotion, which is in conjunction with the Chase for the Sprint Cup opener at Chicagoland Speedway, is the latest chance for Patrick to connect with younger fans, who seem to be drawn to racing’s most successful female driver.

“I think it’s because I’m their size,” the 5-2 Patrick said with a laugh. “I actually do think it’s because I’m small, it helps.

“But I’m probably someone their parents have pointed out to tell them a good story that you can do whatever you want. Just because you’re a girl doesn’t mean you can’t do something that boys do.”

Patrick also discusses how it felt to have Tony Stewart back at the track, her 2016 season with new crew chief Billy Scott and the new NASCAR news on lug nuts (“I plead the fifth.”).

Finally, NASCAR Talk editor Dustin Long will join us after covering the past two races at Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway. Dustin provides insight on the repercussions of Carl Edwards’ winning bump on Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch and how Tony Stewart seemed in his return to racing after missing two months.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking below or download and subscribe to it on iTunes by clicking here. The free subscription will provide automatic downloads of new episodes to your smartphone. It also is available on Stitcher

Felix Sabates: NASCAR ‘should have’ penalized Tony Stewart

Felix Sabates, a co-owner of Chip Ganassi Racing, said he agreed with comments Tony Stewart made last week about lug nut safety, but he believes NASCAR “should have” fined Stewart $35,000.

“The reason for that is, we all have to have a united front,” Sabates told reporters over the weekend at Richmond International Raceway, according to AutoWeek’s Matt Weaver. “You can’t have somebody shooting their mouth about this sport because it hurts with the sponsors.”

NASCAR fined Stewart the day he announced he would return to driving the No. 14 Chevrolet after missing the first eight races of the season because of a fractured back he sustained in an all-terrain vehicle accident in January. Soon after, the Drivers Council announced it would pay the fine for Stewart.

Sabates, 70, is a minority owner in Ganassi’s team. A native of Cuba, Sabates initially fielded an entry in NASCAR with Kyle Petty in the No. 42 beginning in 1989. He is also a confidant of NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France, even buying a yacht from France in recent years.

According to Autoweek, Sabates was in attendance at just his second race this season after a “health scare” when he made his comments, which included predicting how Stewart would fare in his shortened, final season.

“You have one of the premier drivers, well he used to be anyway and now he’s an old guy,” Sabates said. “He’s a nice guy, and I love him to death, but Tony is not going to win anything. He’s old. And I’m old. I can’t do what I used to be able to do, so it got nothing to do with anything other than age. He’s been hurt.”

Stewart hasn’t won since June 2013 at Dover. A Ganassi-owned car hasn’t won a points race since the October 2013 race at Talladega.

“Anyway, he should have come back and not said anything,” Sabates said. “He should have gone to NASCAR and said to NASCAR, ‘Hey, I disagree,’ and by the way, I agree with him on that, too.

“I agree with him that we shouldn’t have some teams taking a risk only putting three or four lug nuts on. I think it should be five lug nuts, and if they’re not tight, you bring the car back in. So Tony is right. I agree with him. It’s a safety issue. He should have handled it a different way. So he got penalized $35,000, and he’s lucky he got the (Drivers Council) to pay it for him.”

Drivers Council donating money raised for Tony Stewart fine to charity

Tony Stewart will pay his $35,000 fine to NASCAR for comments on lug nut and wheel safety last week himself.

Meanwhile, after the Drivers Council announced it would pay Stewart’s fine, it will now donate the money to charity. In a press release, Stewart announced the $35,000 will go to Autism Delaware.

“I appreciated the Drivers Council support, but I didn’t want them to pay the fine,” Stewart said. “We decided as a group to donate the money to charity.”

Autism Delaware was founded in 1998 by Artie Kempner, coordinating director for NASCAR on FOX, and his wife, Marcy. In the last 18 years, the charity has raised $5 million and helped more than 1,000 children and adults living with autism.

“Artie is such a good friend to all of us and his foundation does a lot of great work,” Stewart said.

The money raised by the council will be presented by Denny Hamlin on May 12 in Wilmington, Delaware, at the Drive for Autism golf tournament, which is hosted by Kempner.

The Drivers Council, in its second season of existence, is made up of Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Hamlin and Stewart.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. crew chief suspended; NASCAR warns Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart teams

Nick Sandler, crew chief for Ricky Stenhouse Jr., was suspended Wednesday by NASCAR for this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway for an inspection violation at Richmond International Raceway.

Sandler was fined $20,000, suspended through May 4 and placed on probation through Dec. 31 for an improper steering wheel coupler that was discovered by officials in the opening garage inspection.

Asked if the team would appeal, a Roush Fenway Racing spokesman said the team is “reviewing the matter.” An appeal likely would defer Sandler’s suspension until after Talladega.

NASCAR also gave warnings to the teams of Tony Stewart (failing laser inspection system twice in prerace) and Jimmie Johnson (failed template inspection twice).

It’s the first warning for each team.

NASCAR America: Adam Stevens discusses relationship of Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards

Adam Stevens, the crew chief for Kyle Busch, discusses how he intends to save the relationship between Busch and Carl Edwards, what needs to get done before going to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend and the new lug nut policy.

NASCAR America: Trevor Bayne reveals throwback car for Darlington Raceway

Trevor Bayne will be using a paint scheme that Mark Martin made famous with Roush Fenway Racing in 1996 and 1997, recording four wins during in that time. Furthermore, that’s also when Trevor Bayne started his racing career.
Mark Martin was honored with two different paint schemes in the Southern 500 last year. Bayne drove the paint scheme Martins used in 1998 and Sam Hornish Jr.‘s was inspired by Martin’s iconic Winn-Dixie paint scheme in the Xfinity Series.

NASCAR America: Scan All: Richmond International Raceway



Go behind scenes with driver and team communication during the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway to see which driver wanted a beer and ice cream sandwich during last weekend’s race.