Kasey Kahne Racing

Kasey Kahne Racing–10/1-10/22

Kasey Kahne Racing – Results Recap
October 1 through October 22

2014 season winding down; personnel changes at KKR

The end of the racing season is here. A quick way to tell, for sprint car fans anyway, is most of the shows are now on Saturday nights as opposed to the often mid summer mid-week shows throughout the country. To close out the season, the KKR teams are in-shop from Monday to Thursday evening, with Friday’s designated as a travel day for the remaining four events of 2014.

KKR has gone through a few personnel changes recently, with No. 49 crew chief David Fero moving over to the NASCAR world in 2015 as a mechanic on Kyle Larson’s No. 42 Sprint Cup car. Former No. 9 mechanic Mike Carber was promoted to the No. 49 crew chief for Brad Sweet, and Austin Wenrch, a seasoned mechanic from Pennsylvania, was added to the No. 49 crew.

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Martinsville–Greg Zipadelli

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOODY’S HEADACHE RELIEF SHOT 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 24, 2014

GREG ZIPADELLI, DIRECTOR OF COMPETITION FOR STEWART-HASS RACING, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed the crew chief (Daniel Knost and Tony Gibson) and team swap of the No. 41 Chevrolet SS and No. 10 Chevrolet SS teams. Full Transcript:

TAKE US THROUGH THE CHANGES THIS WEEK:
“This week obviously we have made some changes for Texas between the No. 10 and the No. 41. We are just basically looking to try to get both teams to be a little more consistent. They have had speed throughout the year, but haven’t necessarily put the whole season together all the races at the level that we expect from them. Tony Gibson has got a lot of experience. That group has been with a lot of veteran drivers. We just felt like it was worth moving him over to Kurt (Busch). We feel like his experience and things will help put that group together and get the finishes that we need out of that team. As far as Daniel (Knost) he is a young aggressive, very smart engineer. Danica (Patrick) is used to more of that dealing with the engineers from her background. She actually, a while ago, talked about having the opportunity to work with a younger engineer and build the relationship over time. I just kind of feel like it was the time to do it. We have three races with us not sure what the testing policy is for next year. This is a good opportunity for us to switch things up for Texas. The last three races and just see how things go.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Martinsville–Greg Zipadelli →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Martinsville–Jimmie Johnson

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOODY’S HEADACHE RELIEF SHOT 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 24, 2014

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media today at Martinsville Speedway. He discussed his outlook on the rest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Martinsville’s history in NASCAR, short-track mentalities, readying for 2015 and other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT:

WE’RE INTERESTED TO KNOW YOUR MINDSET OVER THESE FOUR RACES. YOU CAN’T DEFEND YOUR CHAMPIONSHIP BUT YOU CAN CERTAINLY WIN RACES.
The mindset is simple. We want to close out the year well and finish as high as we can in points. We want to win races. That’s what we’re here for. We did not have a good last three races for a variety of reasons. The results weren’t there. Frankly, two of those results would have eliminated us from championship hope (in past years). I felt like at Talladega, we were given a pretty big gift and we came close to taking advantage of that opportunity. We want to do well. We want to win races. At the same time, this does open up an opportunity for us to work on ’15 from a personnel standpoint and even from a 2015 test plan. Obviously testing is gone next year, so anything we can do to work on the 2015 package will suit us well. We’re not slowing down any. These last four weeks are going to be about as busy as any as we’re getting geared up for 2015.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Martinsville–Jimmie Johnson →

Gary Scelzi Motorsports

Gary Scelzi Racing–Scelzi Wins Trio of Heat Races, Advances into Tough Trophy Cup Main Event

Scelzi Wins Trio of Heat Races, Advances into Tough Trophy Cup Main Event

Inside Line Promotions – TULARE, Calif. (Oct. 21, 2014) – Dominic Scelzi put together another standout performance at the Trophy Cup last weekend despite facing adversity during the 21st edition of the premier event at Thunderbowl Raceway. Continue reading Gary Scelzi Racing–Scelzi Wins Trio of Heat Races, Advances into Tough Trophy Cup Main Event →

Bigfoot

2014 BIGFOOT Open House and Spooktacular Event Wrap-up!

2014 BIGFOOT Open House and Spooktacular Event Wrap-up!

October 17, 2014 (St. Louis, MO) – The weather tried its best to put a damper on our 8th Annual Open House and BIGFOOT Spooktacular. With the help of the Kevin and Tammy Gundaker and their excellent staff at Tri-City Speedway and the WHOLE BIGFOOT crew, not only did we get past everything the weather threw at us, but we were able to put on a fantastic show!

The Open House went off without a flaw. We had 6 trucks including BIGFOOT #1 on display along with the “Land of the Giants” truck club, Bommarito of Hazelwood, Firestone Tires, the Southern Crush Mini Monster Truck, and Tim Dyson and his freestyle motorcycles.

There was a band playing throughout the day and we even had an appearance by Tess Boyer who appeared on “The Voice.” She even sang a few songs!

We had Trick or Treating, face painting, and a balloon clown…even some of the BIGFOOT drivers dressed up!

Not being able to use the track infield due to the days and days of rain, we built a track in the pit area by the parking lot and were able to have an ALL BIGFOOT Wheelie, Race, and Freestyle competition. Tim Dyson performed his crazy stunts and Pleasant Cook and her Southern Crush Mini Monster Truck did an exhibition.

Our Wheelie contest winner was BIGFOOT Rookie Driver Josh Gibson – that says a lot, considering he was competing with almost all of his teammates!

Racing winner was none other than veteran Driver Dan Runte, who took the win over that same Rookie, Josh Gibson.

Freestyle winner was Larry Swim, who just beat out Darron Schnell. I’m not sure anyone knew it, but Larry served double duty, as he drove both his Firestone BIGFOOT #19 AND Dan’s 25th Anniversary Summit Racing BIGFOOT #18 in the Freestyle competition!

GREAT show and GREAT job by everyone, but the overall winners where the fans! They saw an awesome show that even featured BIGFOOT #5, the 10′ Tire Truck, crushing cars – NOT something you see every day! AND the whole thing was FREE.

Larry Swim in Firestone BIGFOOT
We would like to give a special “Thank you” to the following:

– Kevin and Tammy Gundaker and the entire staff at Tri-City Speedway
– Bommarito of Hazelwood, with particular thanks to Kevin Hall, Jerry Eickel, and Julie Chandler
– Doc’s Harley Davidson, with particular thanks to Rich Blosser
– Vinyl Images, with particular thanks to John and Joe Duever and Destiney Conley
– Land of the Giants
– Southern Crush Mini Monster
– Announcer Dewain Hulett
– Doug Welker with Big Squid RC and Trigger King RC
– Tess Boyer
– Marty’s Used Cars
– Scott Air Force Base Color Guard, Vocalist, & Alan Rohlfing
– Firestone Experience, with particular thanks to Charlie, Dave, Kristin, and Anastasia
– Our Entire BIGFOOT Family

Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing–Geico 500

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Geico 500 Post Race Report
Talladega Superspeedway
October 19, 2014

Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon and Paul Menard finished fifth, 13th and 36th, respectively.
Newman is tied for second in the Sprint Cup Series championship point standings, while Dillon ranks 19th and Menard ranks 22nd.
In this upcoming Eliminator Round of competition, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship point standings will now be reset and the top-eight competitors will be even heading into Martinsville. Continue reading Richard Childress Racing–Geico 500 →

Wood Brothers

Wood Brothers Racing–Late Spin Ends Bayne’s Bid at Talladega

Late Spin Ends Bayne’s Bid at Talladega
October 19, 2014
With 10 of the scheduled 188 laps remaining to be run in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Trevor Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick crew had their No. 21 Ford Fusion in 2nd place with plenty of fuel in the tank for the finish.

Although the remaining laps didn’t play out like Bayne and his Wood Brothers team planned, co-owners Len and Eddie Wood left the track pleased with their team’s performance. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Late Spin Ends Bayne’s Bid at Talladega →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega Post Race

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER RACE NOTES & QUOTES
OCTOBER 19, 2014

LANDON CASSILL, NO. 40 CARSFORSALE.COM CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 4TH
TALK ABOUT YOUR RACE: “We wanted to win this race. We came here to win it. My team deserves it. Carsforsale.com deserves it. We don’t have a lot to work with. But what we do work with, we set out to run good at these four superspeedway races, and we proved that this year. Fourth place is just amazing. ”

THERE IS A LOT THAT GOES ON IN THE CLOSING LAPS OF THESE RACES: “Yes, there was. I’ll be honest with you, the only scenario that I was aware of was the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski) and the No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson). I know the No. 20 (Matt Kenseth) had a lot of pressure but these guys build these cars for Hillman-Circle Racing, and we are out here to win. Today we came one step closer to that.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega Post Race →

World of Outlaws

World of Outlaws–A Fremont Comeback for Donny Schatz

A Fremont Comeback for Donny Schatz
Wins the Last Chance Showdown and then battles through the field to score his 26th World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series victory of the season
FREMONT, Ohio – Oct. 18 2014 – Donny Schatz proved Saturday night at Fremont Speedway that nothing can keep him down on the way to his sixth career World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship.

After qualifying second, Schatz looked well positioned at Fremont – and then disaster struck. Continue reading World of Outlaws–A Fremont Comeback for Donny Schatz →

World of Outlaws

Wood Brothers Racing–Bayne Earns 16th Starting Spot in Intense Qualifying Session at Talladega

Bayne Earns 16th Starting Spot in Intense Qualifying Session at Talladega
October 18, 2014
The new format for knock-out qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway made for some anxious moments, but in the end, Trevor Bayne and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team wound up with a solid 16th-place starting spot for Sunday’s GEICO 500. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Bayne Earns 16th Starting Spot in Intense Qualifying Session at Talladega →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Jimmie Johnson

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
OCTOBER 18, 2014

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND
WAS THERE ANY STRATEGY BEING PLAYED OUT THERE DURING THAT RUN?
“There were a lot of strategies being put into use. Having to really come through and work out for you is just the toughest thing, because 20 some guys and a lady have an idea of what is going to work and timing that right and finding what works for you is impossible. Not impossible, just the odds very low. Hopefully it is entertaining. You don’t really feel like you are doing your part as a race car driver in a qualifying session like this, but it is plate racing and if it’s entertaining I guess I’m okay with it.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Jimmie Johnson →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Dale Earnhardt Jr.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 18, 2014

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 DIET MOUNTAIN DEW CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media today at Talladega Superspeedway. He discussed his standing in the Chase, needing a win Sunday to advance, how to control the race, Talladega preparation and other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT:

WHAT’S IT GOING TO TAKE FOR YOU TO GET INTO VICTORY LANE TOMORROW AT TALLADEGA?
“If I understand this style of racing that this package creates, we need to be in the front and we need to be controlling the restarts at the end of the race – being able to choose the inside or outside line and who’s going to be pushing you on those particular starts. That guy there is going to be the one controlling the race. With this particular package, the leader is not impossible to pass but he really has the upper hand. With our cars and how capable I know our cars are and have been throughout the season at plate tracks, I know we can fend off pretty much most challenges that we’re presented with. We got the lead here in the race earlier this year and were a little short on fuel. We ended up coming down pit road and not taking the gamble. The gamble worked out for the other guys who were in the same boat as us. We didn’t do it for some reason. But when we were up there leading, I felt like I had control of the race. Guys were making some runs and trying to make passes, but were able to fend them off relatively easy. We need to run the race how we run the repaves or the road courses and run the race backward. We’ll probably have to gamble a little bit on fuel and be a little bit short. But to get that advantage over 42 other cars, you’re going to have to risk more in regards to fuel mileage or what pit strategy you have on pit road. We’re willing to do that. We don’t have anything to lose. If the race plays out that, it would be the best scenario for us.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Dale Earnhardt Jr. →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Justin Alexander

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 18, 2014

JUSTIN ALEXANDER, CREW CHIEF, NO. 27 MOEN/MENARDS CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed moving from his current race engineering role to the crew chief position for Paul Menard and the No. 27 Chevrolet SS team. Full Transcript:

ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT THIS WEEKEND?
“Oh, very excited. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. It’s a special opportunity. I’d like to thank RCR and Menards and all for giving me this opportunity.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Justin Alexander →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Kevin Harvick

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 17, 2014

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway to discuss advancing to the next round of the Chase, the challenge of Talladega and the fallout from the Charlotte weekend, among other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT:

YOU CLINCHED A SPOT IN THE ELIMINATOR ROUND OF THE CHASE WITH LAST WEEK’S WIN AT CHARLOTTE. DOES THAT AFFECT YOUR STRATEGY COMING INTO TALLADEGA?
“Obviously it takes a lot of pressure off by not having to worry about a strategy. You just go race. Those guys have worked hard on the cars to make them as good as they can no matter the scenario. At the bare minimum, we owe it to them and the fans to race as hard as we can and take the same approach as we have all year – try to run well in practice, qualify well, lead laps and try to win a race. If it works out, it works out. That’s the thing that comes out of last week. If it works out, fine and if doesn’t, fine. Just race hard.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Kevin Harvick →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Ryan Newman

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 17, 2014

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed post-race activities at Charlotte last week, his opinion of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format at this point, the upcoming Martinsville race, qualifying at Talladega, and more. Full Transcript:

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION OF THE CHASE NOW THAT WE’RE HALFWAY THROUGH IT?
“I think there’s definitely an increase of intensity on the track and off the track; there’s no doubt about that. You’ve opened it up to more competitors, which makes the intensity even more. You get more attitudes and egos in there. That, I think, is kind of expected. Some of the skirmishes (post-race, Charlotte) were a little bit unexpected. And probably the people that were in the skirmish were unexpected, as well. But you’ll have that, from time to time.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Ryan Newman →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Jamie McMurray

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 17, 2014

JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 CESSNA CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway, and discussed racing at Talladega, race strategy, teammates at Talladega, car setups and other topics. Full transcript:

ON BEING AT TALLADEGA: “Talladega is one of the more laid-back weekends for all of us. It’s typically one practice to see if the car feels good. I’m glad they base qualifying if it gets rained out on your practice speed because it gets all the cars on the lap for at least one session. Then it is pretty laid back for the rest of the weekend until the race starts. So, it is one of the calmer weekends we get to have.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Talladega–Jamie McMurray →

Valerie Thompson Racing

Valerie Thompson seeking to break her personal best top speed of 212 mph at Texas Mile speed competition

Valerie Thompson seeking to break her personal best top speed of 212 mph at Texas Mile speed competition

Scottsdale, AZ – October 16, 2014 – Seven-time land speed record holder and one of the world’s fastest BMW racers, Valerie Thompson, will return to Beeville Texas for the Texas Mile, October 24 – 26, her second visit to the event this year. Thompson set a personal best top speed of 212 mph during the March 2013 Texas Mile event on her record-setting CTEK Battery Charger sponsored BMW S 1000 RR.

The Texas Mile is a bi-annual motorsports festival created in 2003 for high-performance vehicle enthusiasts, welcoming a wide variety of racing vehicles, including motorcycles, modified street cars and race cars. Participants come from all over North America to test themselves on one of the fastest and most challenging tracks in the world.

“I really enjoy racing at the Texas Mile. It’s a very well run event and the one-mile track is smooth as silk. We were here for this year’s March event, but were rained out,” said Thompson. “We’ve made a lot of improvements to my BMW since March, earning two new land speed records at the Ohio Mile and Bonneville. Our team is very hopeful I can break my 212 mph mark, weather permitting.

Thompson’s team will be providing free battery charging services for competitors and race attendees at their pit display during the three-day speed festival, compliments of her primary sponsor, CTEK Battery Chargers.

The Texas Mile is held at Chase Field Industrial at 2745 Byrd Street, Beeville, Texas

Follow A Dream Racing

Follow a Dream–Maple Grove Report

Jay Blake’s Permatex/Follow A Dream team knocked off former world champ Tony Bartone in the first round at the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa., before a broken transmission line sidelined the team in round two.
Driver Todd Veney qualified 14th with a run that easily would have been well into the top half of the field had a similar problem not knocked the transmission out of high gear near the half-track mark. “I coasted for the whole back half of the track and still ran a 5.83 at 199 mph,” he said. “The car was going almost 209 mph at half-track – our best all year – so that was more than a little encouraging. That would have been about a 5.59, but even coasting for the last 600 feet it was quick enough to get us in the show.”
A decided underdog in the first round of eliminations against Bartone, the former world champ who has more career victories than any driver in the field, the Follow A Dream team ran a backpedaling 5.74 at 260.26 mph – the car’s fastest speed this season – to win. “One of these days we’re going to win this race,” said Blake, whose life-changing experience at this event in 1998 led him to form the Follow A Dream organization. “I’ve always said I’d rather win this race than win Indy, and at some point it’s going to happen.”
The final race of 2014 is the NHRA Finals Nov. 14-16 at the world-famous Pomona, Calif., track, where the Permatex/Follow A Dream team was runner-up in 2005 and won in 2006.

Gary Scelzi Motorsports

Gary Scelzi Racing–Scelzi Seeking Fresh Start Entering 21st annual Trophy Cup This Weekend

Scelzi Seeking Fresh Start Entering 21st annual Trophy Cup This Weekend

Inside Line Promotions – TULARE, Calif. (Oct. 15, 2014) – Dominic Scelzi is aiming for a fresh start this weekend when he tackles the 21st annual Trophy Cup at Thunderbowl Raceway.

“I called it quits on 2014 and this weekend will start 2015,” he said. “We’re going to consider this the first race of next year. The year 2014 was not good to us by any means.” Continue reading Gary Scelzi Racing–Scelzi Seeking Fresh Start Entering 21st annual Trophy Cup This Weekend →

Raider ET Challenge

2014 Raider ET Challenge

The final weekend of the 2014 Raider ET Challenge at Maryland International Raceway was a challenging success. After postponing Virginia Motorsports Park’s Autofab Raider ET Series weekend twice due to weather, it was finally rescheduled for this past weekend at MIR. Rain persisted all day on Saturday and at 3pm, race officials decided to cancel Saturday’s race and try to complete Sunday’s race if the weather cooperated. Fortunately, the weather held out on Sunday, and the Raider championships were able to be settled on the track. Like always, the racers were extremely pleased with the entire program. The Raider ET Challenge Series remains the largest bracket program in the region. We thank you whole-heartedly for your support. Without you, this series would not be what it is today. Continue reading 2014 Raider ET Challenge →

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