Nascar Driver Press Conference Schedule - Pocono

Press Conference Schedule, Pocono Raceway

NASCAR schedules driver press conferences at every race weekend event. These normally include the Top 12 drivers in championship points in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, along with other drivers of note. The press conferences will last approximately 15 minutes each and may be viewed at NASCAR.com.

June 7:

12:30 p.m. – Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota) – Media Center

12:45 p.m. – Carl Edwards (No. 99 Kellogg’s Ford) – Media Center

June 8:

11 a.m. – Clint Bowyer (No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota) – Media Center

11:15 a.m. – Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Ford EcoBoost Fusion) – Media Center

11:15 a.m. – Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) - #24 hauler

11:30 a.m. – Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet) – Media Center

11:45 a.m. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet) – Media Center

1:55 p.m. – Tony Stewart (No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet) - #14 hauler

2:15 p.m. – Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M/Rite Aid/NextCare Ford) – Media Center

2:30 p.m. – Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota) – Media Center

- NASCAR 

Budweiser Party Porch comes to Turn Four at Michigan

Michigan International Speedway has brought all the amenities of a tailgate to Turn Four. Now, fans can party before, during and after the race, all while overlooking the high-speed action of NASCAR’s soon-to-be fastest racetrack.

The new Budweiser Party Porch at Michigan International Speedway is a respite area and hang-out at the track, all overlooking Turn Four.

The new patio includes concession and merchandise stands, as well as a full bar. Plus, there will be umbrella-covered picnic tables for fans to sit and relax during the day.

The Budweiser Party Porch is open all day and practically all night. The Turn Four Patio is for guests of all ages before and during the race. Guests may bring coolers the meet speedway requirements in to enjoy the area.

“We have continued to enhance our fan experience,” track President Roger Curtis said. “The new Turn Four Budweiser Party Porch brings the best of a family cookout to the racetrack. We have tried to include all our guests in the design, and to be able to include entertainment is awesome. We are looking forward to making this a must-stop place on everybody’s visit to MIS.”

After the race, the Budweiser Party Porch is a cool hang-out for the speedway’s camping guests 21 and older. The age restrictions will be enforced about one hour after the race. Coolers are not permitted in the area during this time.

“This will be a really cool place for fans who want to continue the party with other guests after the race,” Curtis said. “

Live music is scheduled from 8-11 p.m. every night, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Budweiser Party Porch will close at midnight.

“We’re thrilled to continue our strong partnership with MIS by sponsoring the Budweiser Party Porch,” Mark Bennett, retail sales director for Anheuser-Busch Inc. said. “We believe racing is a great opportunity to have a great time with friends and what a better way to enhance that experience than with a Budweiser. We look forward to seeing all the great guests at the track stopping by the Budweiser Party Porch.”

- Michigan Speedway Press Release

Tommy Baldwin Racing And Phoenix Racing Work Together This Weekend

 In an effort to help a fellow small team, Tommy Baldwin and James Finch worked out a deal for David Reutimann to drive the No. 51 Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing following Kurt Busch’s suspension for this weekend’s race at Pocono Raceway. Dave Blaney will pilot the No. 10 Chevrolet, and Tony Raines will return to the No. 36 Chevrolet for the Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR.

Blaney will get behind the wheel of the No. 10 Chevrolet in his 57th start for Tommy Baldwin Racing and 25th start at the Pocono, Pa., racetrack. Raines will return to the No. 36 Chevrolet. The Indiana native ran the 2012 and 2010 Sprint Showdown races for the team.

“I understand the position James was put in this week,” explained Tommy Baldwin. “As an owner of a small team, I wanted to help him out. We talked and thought that this lineup would be best for both of our teams.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will hit the 2.5-mile track Wednesday, June 6 to test the new pavement. The Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR will start at 1:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, June 3.

- Tommy Baldwin Racing Press Release.

Pocono 400 Renamed Pocono 400 Presented by #NASCAR

Pocono Raceway (@PoconoRaceway) announced today a relationship with Twitter.  The June 10, Pocono 400 will be renamed the Pocono 400 Presented by #NASCAR. The renaming of the first of two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events annually held at “The Tricky Triangle,” comes two weeks after @NASCAR and @Twitter announced a unique digital partnership with the creation of twitter.com/#NASCAR, launching this week at Pocono Raceway. The twitter.com/#NASCAR event page will feature Tweets that bring fans closer to everything that unfolds during the Pocono 400.


“We are very excited about the opportunity to be associated with the new partnership between NASCAR and Twitter,” said Pocono Raceway President & CEO, Brandon Igdalsky (@bigdalsky). “Once it was announced the platform would launch during our June race weekend, we immediately began planning the name change. We firmly believe the NASCAR and Twitter partnership will take our industry to a whole new level, and our Raceway is thankful to be the first track to showcase the #NASCAR initiative! Twitter lets every fan experience the thrill of being at Pocono Raceway, even if they can’t be here in person.”


Pocono Raceway will launch several Twitter-based initiatives throughout the Pocono 400 Presented by #NASCAR race weekend. One such program will be a “Tweet Your Seat” contest, occurring during pre-race activities on Sunday, June 10, where one randomly-selected fan will become the Honorary Starter and wave the green flag to start the race. Additionally, “The Tricky Triangle” will be hosting a Fan Fair Scavenger Tweet Hunt, with a Tweet Up to follow, on Sunday, June 10, starting at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Tweet Hunt, open to the first 50 teams of two to arrive at the Flag Pole, located outside Fan Fair and behind the Grandstands, will  be solely Twitter-based, meaning all participants must have a mobile device connected to their Twitter accounts. More information will be explained throughout the race weekend via the Raceway’s Twitter handle and website.


“During the Pocono 400, Twitter will give fans an all-access pass to all of the excitement happening at Pocono Raceway. The raceway’s creative Twitter campaign offers fans at the race a new way to connect with each other and get even closer to the action of race day,” said Omid Ashtari (@omid), head of Sports & Entertainment at Twitter.


@NASCAR becomes the first professional sports organization to partner with @Twitter and will give fans a behind-the-scenes look at what takes place, at respective race tracks, during each NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend. The Twitter.com/#NASCAR page will create a platform for millions of fans to view the best-possible content directly from the drivers, television personalities, race teams, media members tracks and race fans in attendance, all utilizing #NASCAR in their tweets. The tweets displayed on the newly-created page will be drawn using several algorithmic and editorial signals, bringing fans closer to everything taking place on a race day.


- Pocono Raceway Press Release 

Pocono Raceway History and Notes

At Pocono Raceway:

History:

· Opened in 1968 as a three-quarter-mile track, Pocono Raceway held the first race on the 2.5-mile track in 1971.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was in 1974.


Notebook:
· There have been 68 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono Raceway.

· There was one race from 1974 through 1981, and two per year since.

· This season will mark the first time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Pocono will be scheduled for 400 miles. Prior to 2012 all NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races were 500 miles at Pocono Raceway.

· Buddy Baker won the first pole.

· There have been 38 different pole winners, including David Pearson who won the pole there in June 1984 but did not race; 16 drivers have more than one pole there.

· The pole has been swept just three times: Bill Elliott (1985), Ken Schrader (1993) and Denny Hamlin (2006).

· Richard Petty won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono.

· 30 different drivers have won races at Pocono, led by Bill Elliott and Jeff Gordon, each with five victories; 20 drivers have won more than once there.

· There have been six season sweeps at Pocono, the last by Denny Hamlin in 2006.

· Bobby Allison (1982, ’83) and Tim Richmond (1986, ’87) each won three consecutive races at Pocono.

· 47 of 68 Pocono races have been won from a top-10 start.

· The June 2005 race was won by Carl Edwards from the 29th starting position, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started.

· 13 of 68 races have been won from the pole, Bill Elliott (1985, 2002) and Denny Hamlin (2006 sweep) are the only drivers to have done it twice. Tony Stewart is the most recent driver to win from the pole in 2009.

· Rick Hendrick leads all car owners with 12 Pocono victories.

· Mark Martin leads all drivers in top fives (19) and top 10s (33), but has yet to win at Pocono. His best finish was second, six times (most recently in August 2004). Martin is tied with Bobby Allison for most runner-up finishes at a track without winning. Allison also had six at Martinsville.

· Jimmie Johnson (9.0) and Denny Hamlin (9.7) are the only active drivers to average a top 10.

· Youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pocono Raceway winner: Jeff Gordon (06/16/1996 – 24 years, 10 months, 12 days).

· Oldest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pocono Raceway winner: Harry Gant (06/17/1990 – 50 years, 5 months, 7 days).

Pocono Raceway Data

Race #: 14 of 36 (06-10-12)

Track Size: 2.5 miles

Race Length: 200 laps / 500 miles

·     Banking/Turn 1: 14 degrees

·     Banking/Turn 2: 8 degrees

·     Banking/Turn 3: 6 degrees

·     Frontstretch: 3,740 feet

·     Backstretch:  3,055 feet

·     Shortstretch: 1,780 feet 

Top 12 Driver Rating at Pocono

Denny Hamlin............................ 118.6

Jimmie Johnson........................ 107.0

Kurt Busch................................ 105.8

Jeff Gordon.............................. 100.8

Tony Stewart............................... 99.5

Carl Edwards.............................. 98.4

Ryan Newman............................. 94.8

Mark Martin................................. 93.2

Kevin Harvick.............................. 91.4

Kasey Kahne.............................. 89.5

Jeff Burton................................. 89.2

Kyle Busch................................. 87.6

Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2011 races (seven total) at Pocono.

Qualifying/Race Data

2011 pole winner: Kurt Busch, (171.579 mph, 52.454 seconds)

2011 race winner: Matt Kenseth, (125.578 mph, 05-15-11)

Track qualifying record: Kasey Kahne, (172.533 mph, 52.164 seconds, 06-11-04)

Track race record: Jeff Gordon, (145.384 mph, 06-12-11)

- NASCAR Statistics

Kurt Busch suspended, probation extended

NASCAR has suspended driver Kurt Busch until June 13 of this year and extended his NASCAR probation until Dec. 31 for his actions following the NASCAR Nationwide Series race June 2 at Dover International Speedway.

Kurt Busch violated Section 12-1 (Actions detrimental to stock car racing; violation of probation; verbal abuse to a media member) of the 2012 NASCAR Rule Book. Kurt Busch had previously been placed on NASCAR probation May 15 for his actions during the May 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Darlington Raceway. That probation was originally scheduled to end July 25 but has now been extended through the end of this year.

-NASCAR PR

FedEx 400 NASCAR HotPass Lineup

Ride Along with Hamlin, Harvick, Johnson and Earnhardt at Dover on DIRECTV 


Event:     FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks

Previous Winner:   Matt Kenseth (beat Mark Martin by 2.122 seconds on May 15, 2011) 

Date / Time:    Sunday, June 3, at 1 p.m. EDT 

Track:     Dover (Del.) International Speedway 

Configuration:    1-mile concrete oval (400 laps = 400 miles) 

Banking in Turns:   24 degrees 

Banking on Frontstretch:   9 degrees 

Banking on Backstretch:   9 degrees 

Frontstretch:    1,076 feet 

Backstretch:    1,076 feet 

First Sprint Cup Series Race:  July 6, 1969 – Mason-Dixon 300 (Winner – Richard Petty) 

Grandstand Seating Capacity:  135,000 

NASCAR HOTPASS on DIRECTV is back, and it’s FREE to all DIRECTV customers. Four dedicated driver channels offering viewers multiple camera angles, real-time statistics and audio of the network broadcast augmented by live communication between the drivers and their pit crews are available for all 36 points-paying races during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. 
The NASCAR HOTPASS lineup for the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover (Del.) International Speedway is as follows:   

DIRECTV Channel 795: Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 FedEx Autism Speaks Toyota team of Joe Gibbs Racing.

DIRECTV Channel 796: Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet team of Richard Childress Racing.

DIRECTV Channel 797: Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s Madagascar Chevrolet team of Hendrick Motorsports.

DIRECTV Channel 798: Dale Earnhardt Jr., and the No. 88 AMP Energy / National Guard Chevrolet team of Hendrick Motorsports.

About NASCAR HOTPASS on DIRECTV:
NASCAR HOTPASS is available free to all DIRECTV customers. More information is available at www.directv.com/hotpass.



- TrueSpeed Communications Press Release