NASCAR Thread

[GM Franchise]

Matt Kenseth was docked 50 driver's points, his crew chief was suspended for six races (as well as the All Star Race), and was fined $200,000. Joe Gibbs also had his owner's license suspended and will not get any owner points for six races.

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/9206870/nascar-lowers-boom-matt-kenseth-engine-part

[Hondo]

That's gotta hurt.

[GM Franchise]

He's back...but not for long.

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/9227421/denny-hamlin-eyes-talladega-start-wants-points

[GM Franchise]

Joe Gibbs Racing penalties lessened.

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/9255440/panel-reduces-nascar-penalties-matt-kenseth-joe-gibbs-racing

[GM Franchise]

NASCAR to mandate baseline concussion testing starting in 2014

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/9873350/nascar-mandate-baseline-concussion-testing

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR will require baseline concussion testing for its drivers starting next season.

NASCAR had only recommended the testing this season, but indicated to drivers that a preseason baseline screening could become mandatory as early as 2014. The baseline test will be compared with test results taken after a driver has crashed to help diagnose a concussion.

"NASCAR made this decision because we think it is important to drivers' health for doctors to have the best information and tools available in evaluating injuries," said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR vice president of racing operations.

Drivers were informed of the mandate during a Thursday meeting at the R&D Center in Concord with top NASCAR officials that lasted nearly two hours and covered a variety of topics concerning 2014 changes.

The baseline testing will be performed through the widely used neurocognitive assessment ImPACT test, which evaluates an athlete's verbal and visual memory, processing speed and reaction time.

"Before announcing this rule, we provided drivers concussion and baseline testing education and created opportunities for them to ask any questions they may have to a top neurosurgeon that specializes in traumatic brain injuries," O'Donnell said. "ImPACT tests are not new to our sport and have been used for treatment through the years."

O'Donnell said in February that NASCAR had identified 32 concussions in its top three national series since 2004, including three in 2012. One suffered by Dale Earnhardt Jr. forced NASCAR concussions into the spotlight.

Earnhardt was injured in a crash during an August 2012 tire test at Kansas, but didn't seek treatment for a mild concussion. His stubborn streak instead kept him behind the wheel, and he was then part of a 25-car pileup in October at Talladega that triggered lingering headaches and other recognizable warning signs.

Earnhardt went to a doctor, and he was ultimately benched for two races.

Earnhardt's plight led four-time series champion Jeff Gordon to voluntarily take the ImPACT test, which has long been mandatory in the IndyCar Series.

"I just think whether it's voluntary or not, it's a good idea to have," Gordon said in February. "I don't think that NASCAR necessarily has to make it mandatory, but if you're a race car driver, and you feel you're going to be here for a while, you need to make it mandatory to yourself."

Drivers this year were invited to two concussion education sessions featuring Dr. Vinay Deshmukh of Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates, a member of NASCAR's medical advisory group. Drivers were presented with an overview of what concussions are, their causes, treatment and the role that baseline tests play in the comprehensive evaluation of concussions.

"We are extremely confident that our concussion protocol is among the best in sports," O'Donnell said. "We regularly review all of our practices involving safety and health to see if there is anything that we can do better, or should do differently moving forward. Implementing baseline testing is a primary example of our philosophy to protect our competitors the best that we can."


Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press

[GM Franchise]

NASCAR to possibly overhaul qualifying



http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/9873399/nascar-considers-overhaul-qualifying-2014-season

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR told its competitors Thursday it is considering eliminating single-car qualifying next season in an overhaul that would likely implement road course-style qualifying at all but two tracks.

Drivers from all three national series met with top NASCAR officials for almost two hours at the R&D Center in Concord to discuss several different ideas under consideration for 2014. The only thing officially announced by NASCAR was that it will mandate baseline concussion testing for drivers starting next season.

NASCAR might do away with single-car qualifying next season and instead go with group qualifying, which was used this season at the Sonoma and Watkins Glen road courses, at all tracks except for Daytona and Talladega.
But series officials also outlined potential changes to qualifying procedures everywhere except Daytona and Talladega. NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said the field would likely be set at Daytona and Talladega with an "open qualifying session" that would allow for a 60-minute drafting session.

"It's not written in stone at this point in time," Tharp told The Associated Press. "We just talked about some ideas that would make things more interesting. Today was an opportunity for us to talk to the drivers about ideas, and I'm sure other ideas will come up over the next few weeks."

NASCAR also informed drivers of a Dec. 9 test at Charlotte Motor Speedway to continue work on its intermediate track package, with Dec. 10 held as a rain date. NASCAR tested a variety of different packages Oct. 14 at Charlotte and discussed the results of those tests with drivers Thursday.

"We are just trying to do everything we can to make the racing better, particularly at the intermediate tracks," Tharp said.

NASCAR this year implemented road course qualifying for its Sprint Cup Series at Sonoma and Watkins Glen for the first time. Under the new format, which had previously been used in the Nationwide Series, cars attempting to qualify were divided into groups. The number of groups, and the number of cars in each, depended on the number of cars that practiced for the event.

Group assignments were based on final practice times. Each qualifying group was on-track for a set period of time, determined by the series director. A car's best lap time during the group session was the qualifying lap time of record.

NASCAR used heat races in the Truck Series to set qualifying at Eldora Speedway in July for the first time. Fans enjoyed it, but there doesn't seem to be a push to bring it to the Sprint Cup Series.


Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press

[GM Franchise]

Darrell Wallace, Jr. becomes first African American to win NASCAR race since '63



http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/truck/story/_/id/9883258/darrell-wallace-jr-becomes-first-black-driver-win-nascar-race-1963

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Darrell Wallace Jr. became the second black driver to win on NASCAR's national level and first in a half-century, taking the Truck Series race Saturday at Martinsville Speedway.

Wendell Scott won in Jacksonville, Fla., in December 1963 in what is now known as the Sprint Cup Series, the highest of NASCAR's three national levels.

Darrell Wallace Jr. became the first black driver to win on NASCAR's national level since Wendell Scott won a Cup race in 1963.

"This means everything," the 20-year-old Wallace said. "This is an emotional win for me, especially doing it in Wendell Scott's backyard. I love coming here to Martinsville; it's always good to me. It finally paid off. I think it's my third trip here. I love coming here. The fans are great here."

Wallace, driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, beat Jeb Burton into Turn 1 off a restart with five laps to go.

"We congratulate Darrell Wallace Jr. on his first national series victory, one that will be remembered as a remarkable moment in our sport's history," Brian France, NASCAR's chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "Darrell's success, following fellow NASCAR Drive for Diversity graduate Kyle Larson's win earlier this season, is indicative of a youth and multicultural movement that bodes well for NASCAR's future growth."

Wallace was never below sixth place and led a race-high 96 laps but needed to survive a final restart. Wallace chose the inside line for the reset and quickly pulled away from Burton.

"I had a chance to talk with Darrell and his father in Victory Lane today and we are just thrilled for him and his entire family on the win in Martinsville," said Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. "We obviously think a lot about Darrell. He has tremendous talent and we really believe he can have a huge impact on our sport."

The Concord, N.C., driver was making his 19th career start.

"I had so much confidence coming into this race," Wallace said. "I told my guys that I did, and I told everybody that asked if I was going to win. ... So, it was, 'No, maybe we're going to try,' this one was, 'For sure,' and we capitalized. This means a lot."

Brendan Gaughan was second, followed by Burton. Championship leader Matt Crafton finished 17th and leads James Buescher by 51 points with three races remaining.

Tempers flared in the garage after Ty Dillon turned around Kevin Harvick at the entrance of Turn 1 in front of Crafton and Chase Elliott. Once both drivers got their cars going down the backstretch under caution, Dillon resumed his efforts to spin Harvick but was ultimately unable to complete the task.

The pair steered their cars down pit road, and Harvick stopped in Dillon's pit stall to voice his frustrations. Harvick's truck was instantly surrounded by Dillon's pit crew and an orange sledgehammer was tossed his way in response. Harvick is in his final season with Richard Childress Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. Dillon is team owner Richard Childress' grandson.

"The 3 (Dillon) just dumped me," said Harvick, who will drive for Stewart-Haas Racing next year. "Exactly the reason why I'm leaving RCR because you've got those kids coming up and they've got no respect for what they do in this sport and they've had everything fed to them with a spoon. So, I cut him slack all day and, you know, he just dive-bombs me in there, dumps me. I've got to thank all these Anderson Syrup guys for everything that they do. It's a shame you've got to get taken out by some rich kid like that."

Dillon finished 22nd, and Harvick was 30th.

"I'm sure he's tweeting something now about it," Dillion said. "So, can't even face me after. I'm pretty disappointed in the things that just went down. I used to look up to that guy, but I guess he doesn't understand the circumstances of what's going on."


Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press

[GM Franchise]

Kevin Harvick vs. Ty Dillon Feud Boils over at Martinsville



http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1826061-kevin-harvick-vs-ty-dillon-feud-boils-over-with-crash-at-martinsville-truck-race?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&hpt=hp_t2

The Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway was a veritable potpourri of everything that could ever happen on a race track. There was an accident, a driver trying to purposefully spin another off the track, and feuding between a driver and his owner.

What more could you ask for?

The drama began when Kevin Harvick and Ty Dillon made contact with 13 laps to go in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Dillon tried a risky move on the first turn in order to take over second place from Harvick. He bumped Harvick in the side, and both drivers spun out.


That was only the first part of the story.

The two drivers immediately went back at it after the caution, and Dillon tried to spin Harvick out, to no avail. Then, when Harvick was in pit row, he stopped his truck in Dillon's box so that Dillon wouldn't be able to enter his pit stall.

Harvick's day on the track was done, but he still had plenty on his mind.

Back in November, it was announced that Harvick would be leaving Richard Childress Racing for Stewart-Haas Racing. That deal won't go through until 2014, so Harvick is in a bit of a lame-duck period with his current team. But because he's on the way out, he didn't mind unloading on RCR and Dillon, the grandson of RCR namesake Richard Childress, via USA Today's Jeff Gluck.


Nate Ryan of USA Today has the transcript of what Harvick said during his interview in the infield:

(Dillon) just dumped me. Exactly the reason why I'm leaving RCR because you've got those kids coming up, and they've got no respect for what they do in this sport and they've had everything fed to them with a spoon.

So I cut him slack all day, and he just dive-bombs me in there, dumps me. It's a shame you've got to get taken out by some rich kid like that.

As a result of that fiery interview, David Caraviello of NASCAR.com pointed out that Harvick and RCR are unlikely to have an amicable end.


Dillon had his own take on what went down with Harvick on the racetrack, via Ryan:

I can't believe that happened. To tear a truck up after the race and totally take us out, and then to not stick around after the race—to walk off and not even want to say anything to me—I'm sure he's tweeting something now about it.

So he can't even face me afterward. I'm pretty disappointed in the things that went down. I used to look up to that guy. I guess he doesn't understand the circumstances of what's going on ... To tear a truck up and act like a punk on pit road—and stopping by my pit stall when my guys are coming out—that was pretty ridiculous. I'm not happy with him. And for him to not even stick around, that's pretty sad, too.

In terms of the race itself, Dillon was able to stay on the track and eventually finished 22nd. Harvick, on the other hand, couldn't and ended up 30th.

This is unlikely to be the last act in this ongoing saga. Although Harvick still has time left on his deal, the relationship between him and Richard Childress Racing has almost grown to be untenable.

Childress remained diplomatic after the race, via Sporting News' Bob Pockrass. He said, "I'm very disappointed—that's all I can say. I've got too much class to say what I want to say right now. When I say it, I will say it to his face."

Harvick will be racing in the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 on Sunday, starting in the 10th position and under the RCR banner. The two sides will have to bury the hatchet for at least a few hours, as neither will want to sacrifice results in order to satisfy a personal grudge.

NASCAR.com video of the Harvick vs. Dillon conflict at today's race

http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/videos/2013/10/26/camping-world-truck-series-martinsville-kevin-harvick-ty-dillon-wreck-tempers-flare.html

Here's the Youtube video I found about what happened.

Kevin Harvick vs Ty Dillon fight crash & Harvick Interview with replays