Start Times Finalized For Budweiser Speedweeks 2013 Events

For the fourth straight year, the 55th annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 24, NASCAR’s biggest, richest and most prestigious race, is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start time (TV – FOX Sports, Radio – MRN Radio).

Start times for the other remaining events of Budweiser Speedweeks 2013 at Daytona International Speedway are as follows:

· The 51st anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series race, Jan. 26-27, 3:30 p.m. (SPEED)

· The Lucas Oil 200 ARCA Racing Series, Saturday, Feb. 16, 4:30 p.m. (SPEED)

· The Daytona Shootout non-points event, Saturday, Feb. 16, 8 p.m. (FOX)

· Daytona 500 Qualifying Presented By Kroger, Sunday, Feb. 17, 1 p.m. (FOX)

· Budweiser Duel At Daytona, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2 p.m. (SPEED)

· NextEra Energy Resources 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, Friday, Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m. (SPEED)

· DRIVE4COPD 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race, Saturday, Feb. 23, 1 p.m. (ESPN)

Penske Racing’s Brad Keselowski will begin his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title defense in the season-opening 55th annual Daytona 500, which will mark the debut of the new 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car. Dubbed “Gen 6,” the new-look sixth generation cars highlight greater brand identity for the manufacturers.

Matt Kenseth, who won the 2012 Daytona 500 with Roush Fenway Racing, will attempt to be the first driver since Sterling Marlin (1994-1995) to win “The Great American Race” for a second straight year with his new team Joe Gibbs Racing.

Tickets for NASCAR’s biggest, richest and most prestigious race – the 55th annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 24 – start at $65 and are available at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.

For the second straight year, the Speedway is offering special youth pricing for the Daytona 500. Children 12 and under will receive 50 percent off all backstretch grandstand seats for the Daytona 500 while supplies last. In addition, children 12 and under are free in the Sprint FANZONE throughout Budweiser Speedweeks.

- Daytona International Speedway, Press Release

NASCAR's Sixth Annual Loopies: Now With Even More Loop

No Championship, No Biggie For Loopie Winners Johnson, Busch

Kyle Busch has frequently called this the worst year of his motor sports career.

Here's news for him: He’s wrong. So, so wrong. His tune will change by the time he reads the next 1,271 or so words. There’s some hardware in his future. And not just any hardware … Loopie hardware. And not just any Loopie hardware … the granddaddy of them all.

So paraphrasing Ralph Wiggum, who once succinctly said “Me fail English? That’s unpossible,” So, “Congratulations Kyle, you’ve won the Stefan Kretschmann Lifetime Achievement Award. Worst year ever? That’s unpossible.”

A quick primer for those just tuning in: For the sixth consecutive season, the NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications team has pored over a season’s worth of Loop Data and filtered out the top statistical performances of the 2012 season. After a painstaking review, a select committee created awards to recognize those drivers who numerically excelled this season. Those awards have evolved into arguably the most coveted prize in all of NASCAR. They are – and this is – The Loopies.

The envelopes please..

Loop Top Dogg: This award yearly goes to the driver who led the mostLoop Data categories. Every week, NASCAR releases a season-to-date Loop Data stats packet that charts 15 different statistical categories. This year’s winner of the “Loop Top Dogg” led an astounding 13 of them.

Congratulations, Jimmie Johnson. Johnson’s ranked first in the most important of all Loop Data stats, Driver Rating, with a gaudy 109.5. That was eight points higher than second-best Kyle Busch.

In all, Johnson led Average Running Position, Driver Rating, Fastest Early in a Run, Fastest Late in a Run, Fastest Laps Run, Fastest on Restarts, Green Flag Speed, Laps in top 15, Laps Led, Miles Led, Percentage of Laps Run on the Lead Lap, Speed by Quarter (by the way, he also led each quarter overall) and Speed in Traffic.

Quantity of Quality Award: This award goes to the driver who led the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in Quality Passes, which are passes of cars in the top 15 while under green flag conditions.

The winner, who will have to clear up even more mantle space, is Brad Keselowski. Keselowski, who led the series by more than 200 quality passes, tallied 2,201 quality passes overall.

This is significant. These are the toughest cars – with the most talented drivers – to pass, and Keselowski did it more often than any other driver.

And considering his average starting position of 16.2, he had to do it often. Did You Know: Keselowski is the first champion to fail to win a pole in his championship season since Matt Kenseth in 2003.


Most Improved Driver: Awards like these are usually given after taking into account a number of different success barometers. But this is the Loopies. And our nominating committee needs only one measure: Driver Rating.

The driver with the biggest improvement in Driver Rating from 2011 to 2012, and winner of the coveted Loopie: Greg Biffle. Biffle, who finished fifth in 2012 after missing the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in 2011, ballooned his Driver Rating by 13.6 points over last season. Last year, he had an 85.9. This year: 99.5.

In all, six drivers enjoyed a double-digit improvement in Driver Rating from last season: Biffle, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson.

Least Improved Driver: Not all Loopies are coveted. That’s what makes these awards so unique, and dare we say, unrivaled.

Here’s one of them. The driver with the biggest drop in Driver Rating wins this Loopie, and it goes to Carl Edwards – with an asterisk. Edwards actually only had the third-biggest drop – 16.8, from 101.0 in 2011 to 84.2 this season. But it was the biggest drop among drivers who didn’t switch teams, and therefore the committee made an executive decision to allow Edwards to take home this award.

In actuality, David Ragan suffered the biggest drop in Driver Rating. In 2011, Ragan had a Driver Rating of 78.3 for Roush Fenway Racing. For Front Row Motorsports this season, it dropped to 49.2. Kurt Busch, who went from Penske Racing to Phoenix Racing and Furniture Row Racing, dropped 22.7 points.

Coffee’s For Closers Award: Stealing a line from one of the most famous scenes in cinematic history, this “Glengarry Glen Ross”-themed award goes to the top “Closer” in the series. The “Closer” statistic measures the positions gained or lost in the last 10 percent of races. The top Closer this season: Ryan Newman, who improved 68 total positions in the last 10 percent of races this season.

“He’s Partially Sponsored By An Energy Drink, So Doesn’t Need Coffee, Thankfully” Award: (If by now you haven’t realized that these awards are all in good fun – and, well, ridiculous – hopefully this award’s name has sealed the deal.) This one goes to one of the worst Closers (again, not all of these awards are coveted). And the winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt lost 41 spots in the last 10 percent of races this year, among the worst of any driver. But, with a sponsor like AMP Energy, he doesn’t need coffee to keep him caffeinated, anyway. Nor does Kurt and Kyle Busch (Monster Energy) or Clint Bowyer (5-hour Energy), all of whom also were in the red in the Closer category.

Serenity Now Award: A happy driver is a successful driver, and that’s certainly true with the winner of this award, Kurt Busch. When Busch announced his move to Furniture Row Racing during the Chase, he exuded calm and joyfulness. The results were immediate. A tale of the tape breakdown of Busch in his new No. 78 Furniture Row ride compared to his stats in No. 51 Phoenix Racing car:
- In only 6 races, he had more top 10s in the No. 78 (three) than he did in in 29 races in the 51 (two)

- Driver Rating: 86.6 vs. 67.8

- Average start: 17.7 vs. 22.7

- Average finish: 14.3 vs. 25.0

- Average Running Position: 14.6 vs. 22.2

- Pass Differential: +13 vs. 0

- Laps in the top 15 percentage: 47.8% vs. 21.5%

Stefan Kretschmann Lifetime Achievement Award: It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. A brief setup of this one: Stefan Kretschmann works for NASCAR's partners at Stats, LLC in Chicago, and is considered the godfather of Loop Data. His brain created the formula for Driver Rating, and many of the other formulas that make Loop Data so interesting and invaluable. We started this award last season to honor a driver who has been statistically strong throughout the Loop Data Era (2005-Present). Jimmie Johnson took home the inaugural Lifetime Achievement trophy.

This year’s recipient is a man whose talent has landed him an unparalleled 20 perfect Driver Ratings of 150.0 throughout NASCAR’s three national series. Congratulations to one of the all-time stat kings: Kyle Busch.

Here’s a back-of-the-baseball-card view of an amazing career that shows little sign of teetering:
- Among drivers with a minimum of 50 races, Kyle ranks third in NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Rating (97.6); first in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (113.8) and first in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (119.3).

- More perfect driver rating than any other driver.

o 15 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and five in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

- Best career Average Running Position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (6.683)

- Most Fastest Laps Run in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (5,031)

- NASCAR Sprint Cup numbers: 4,328 Fastest Laps Run (third-best); 59,961 Laps in Top 15 (third); Average Running Position of 12.8 (fourth)

- More top fives in this year’s Chase (seven) than any Chase driver.

- Cracked the 100-point Driver Rating threshold in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the third time. That’s second only to Jimmie Johnson, who did it six times.

- NASCAR Statistics Official Release

Chicagoland Speedway 501c3 Foundation R.A.C.E. Donates Over $70,000 in 2012

Chicagoland Speedway’s 501c3 foundation, R.A.C.E., awarded $25,000 in grants to five Chicago-area charities at a luncheon on Thursday, raising its total charitable gifts for 2012 to $70,370.

“When we launched R.A.C.E. seven months ago, we knew it had the ability to benefit those in the community and we are seeing that come to fruition,” said Scott Paddock, president of Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66 Raceway. “What we accomplished in our first year exceeded our expectations, but we are committed to growing our charitable arm to new heights in 2013. This process has given us a wonderful opportunity to see how many remarkable local projects are in need of support and we are ready to step up and assist in filling that void going forward.”

The Bridge Teen Center, Greater Joliet YMCA, George Werden Buck Boys and Girls Club, Nathan C. Splant Foundation and Will County Children’s Advocacy Center were selected and recognized for their notable contributions to the community and were awarded cash donations through the R.A.C.E. grant process.

The Bridge Teen Center received a $5,000 donation for their after school programs.

R.A.C.E. provided Joliet’s Central City YMCA, part of the Greater Joliet Area YMCA, with $5,000 to support Project SOAR and Central City YMCA’s youth basketball and cheerleading leagues.

George Werden Buck Boys & Girls Club received a donation of $6,500 to assist with their Memorable Male Mentors program with aims to counteract the gang recruitment of young males in the Joliet community.

In addition, the Nathan C. Splant Foundation received a $2,000 for the Halo Project which provides HALO SleepSacks for babies in the NICU of Munster Community Hospital.

The Will County Children’s Advocacy Center received a donation of $6,500 to aid the Forensic Child Interview Program.

In addition to the $25,000 in grants, the Speedway also awarded another $45,000 through scholarships, silent auctions, partnerships and raffles.

As an Advisory Committee member, Joliet Mayor Tom Giarrante was on-site for the presentation.

"Joliet and Will County are home to some of the most incredible charities and programs in the state of Illinois and it is great to see them receiving the support they deserve," said Giarrante. "Chicagoland Speedway is committed to changing our community for the better and as a R.A.C.E. Advisory Committee member I am excited to be a part of that process going forward.”

With a focus on youth, safe driving and the military, R.A.C.E. raised funds over the course of the year through community events, raffles and auctions. The three principles guided the seven-member R.A.C.E. Advisory Committee, which was responsible for evaluating grant applications throughout the year.

- Chicagoland Speedway Official Release

Husky Tools To Sponsor Kenseth and Joe Gibbs Racing #20

The Home Depot announces it will utilize the home improvement store’s proprietary tool brand, Husky, as the primary sponsor for the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota in each of its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races during the 2013 season.

Through this partnership The Home Depot looks to reward its customers through Husky Days of Giving, a Facebook contest offering the chance to win great Husky products daily as well as a grand prize to be awarded at the end of the promotion.

Husky will be the primary sponsor on JGR’s No. 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry in 20 races during the 2013 season and The Home Depot will remain the associate sponsor when Dollar General serves as the car’s primary sponsor.

To go directly to the Husky contest page, fans can click on the following link: www.facebook.com/pages/Husky-Tools

Once there, they click “like” to become a fan of Husky and then click on the big “enter” button at the center of the page to fill out the entry form before hitting the submit button for a chance to win. Fans can enter once daily between now and December 24 for their chance to win.

- JGR Press Release

50 Drivers Will Headline 2013 NASCAR Acceleration Weekend

For NASCAR fans who have been eagerly counting the days to the opening of the 2013 season, their wait is almost over. Almost.

For the second-consecutive year, reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski, five-time premier series winner Jimmie Johnson and NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. will help race fans celebrate the past, present and future of NASCAR. The return of NASCAR Acceleration Weekend – a fan-friendly, interactive experience – is scheduled for Feb. 8-10, 2013, at the Charlotte (N.C.) Convention Center and includes the 2013 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and NASCAR Preview 2013.

NASCAR Acceleration Weekend tickets are on sale now and available at www.nascaracceleration.com and the NASCAR Hall of Fame box office. Tickets for Friday night’s Induction Ceremony start at $45. In addition, a $20 ticket will gain fans all-day access into NASCAR Preview 2013 and the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Saturday, February 9.

More than 50 drivers across NASCAR’s three national series – NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – are scheduled to participate in the all-day NASCAR Preview 2013 event. Fans will have the opportunity to interact with drivers and secure autographs, participate in driver Q&A sessions, get a first-look at the new sixth-generation NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race cars and paint schemes and check out various interactive displays, among other activities.
The weekend’s activities begin Friday, February 8, with the 2013 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The five inductees are Buck Baker, Cotton Owens, Herb Thomas, Rusty Wallace and Leonard Wood. Legendary broadcasters Ken Squier and Barney Hall will also be honored with the inaugural Squier-Hall Award for Media Excellence for their significant contributions to the success of NASCAR during their distinguished careers as media members covering the sport.

The following day, Saturday, February 9, NASCAR Preview 2013 begins at 7 a.m. in the Charlotte Convention Center. Similar to last year’s event, the all-day fan festival will feature autograph and on-stage Q&A sessions by top drivers from all three national series, the new sixth-generation NASCAR Sprint Cup cars and paint schemes, giveaways and activities for fans of all ages.

Among other marquee names scheduled to participate are four-time series champion Jeff Gordon, three-time series champion Tony Stewart, two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr., reigning NASCAR Nationwide Series most popular driver Danica Patrick, and 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion James Buescher.
Also on Saturday, February 9, the newly inducted NASCAR Hall of Fame members and/or their family representatives will be on hand for the unveiling of their Hall of Honor exhibits commemorating their NASCAR careers. On Sunday, February 10, each inductee’s granite marker will be unveiled in the Ceremonial Plaza as well as other exclusive member-only events.

- NASCAR Press Release

Swan Racing to compete full 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule

A new NASCAR team, Swan Racing, will take the track at Daytona International Speedway in February 2013. Led by NASCAR's newest team owner, Brandon Davis, Swan Racing will compete fulltime in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, racing the No. 30 Toyota driven by David Stremme.

Davis, CEO of independent oil and gas company Swan Energy Inc., and a dirt-modified driver in the United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) purchased the assets of Inception Racing earlier this year.

"Swan Racing is here to race competitively every week – the days of starting and parking are over. I am confident that we are putting together the personnel to one day produce a championship contender," said Davis.

"I have spent a lot of time with Brandon this year and I can tell you he is here to win," said Stremme. "I have never been so excited for a new season as I am for 2013. I'm ready to get started now."

Davis has tapped Steve Hmiel to be Swan Racing's director of competition. Hmiel is a veteran of the NASCAR garage area with over 35 years of experience as a crew chief, car chief and competition director.

Hmiel broke into NASCAR with Petty Enterprises, helping Richard Petty win championships in 1975 and 1979. In 1984, he was the crew chief for Terry Labonte's championship. As Mark Martin's crew chief from 1992 – 1996, Hmiel won 13 races for Roush Racing. In 2005, Hmiel was Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s crew chief for a brief period and won that year at Chicagoland Speedway. Most recently Hmiel was competition director at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

"Steve is among the best and brightest technical experts in the NASCAR garage area. His experience and expertise will be a crucial part in Swan Racing's success," said Davis.

"This is a great opportunity to build a team from the ground up. Brandon is completely committed to winning; he has a long-term vision. I am excited to be part of it," said Hmiel.

Swan Racing is located in Mooresville, N.C., and will get its horsepower from Triad Racing Technologies, a top engine builder.

Swan Energy will be the primary sponsor on the No. 30 Toyota. Discussions with additional sponsors are underway and further sponsor announcements are expected early in 2013.

- Swan Racing Press Release