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NASCAR Daily News Headlines * November 16, 2009
McMurray To Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing?Earnhardt Ganassi Racing has agreed to terms with a driver to replace Martin Truex Jr., and Kevin Manion will remain as the crew chief for the No. 1 NASCAR Sprint Cup car, team president Steve Lauletta said Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway.Lauletta wouldn’t name the driver, but sources indicated it would be Jamie McMurray, whose Roush Fenway Racing team is being phased out so the organization can go from five to four teams. McMurray started his Cup career driving for team co-owner Chip Ganassi. McMurray has been considered the frontrunner for the ride for the last three months. Bobby Labonte emerged as a possible candidate last month but announced Saturday he will drive for TRG Motorsports in 2010. “We’ve got a full agreement,” Lauletta said. “I really hope it will be [announced] this week.” As far as the crew chief for the car, Lauletta said Manion would remain as crew chief of the No. 1 team. Manion was Truex’s crew chief for his two titles in what is now the Nationwide Series and then went on to Cup with Truex in 2006. Truex is leaving the team after the season to drive for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010.(scenedaily.com)
Hendrick Denying Danica Patrick DealIt's been assumed recently that there's a deal in place to bring IndyCar driver Danica Patrick to NASCAR next season for a limited number of races, but team owner Rick Hendrick reportedly told the Associated Press yesterday that no such deal is in place. Hendrick isn't sure she'll be in NASCAR at all next year, either: "I just think that they are not even close to making a decision on whether to even do it this year or next year," he said of Patrick and her IMG reps. "You never know until it's done. You never know until it's signed. And anybody can change their mind.When you get down to the nitty gritty of any deal, it's always complicated. There can always be someone who comes back and says `I can't do it because of this.'" The rumor is that Patrick would actually be driving for JR Motorsports, which is owned by Hendrick Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick wasn't saying a deal won't get done but that nobody should be assuming anything: "I think everything is an option, and it's just too early to really comment on it," he said.(yahoo.com)
Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABCThe 2009 season finale for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is this weekend at Florida’s Homestead-Miami Speedway as the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ends with the crowning of the champion. ESPN’s live, flag-to-flag coverage of the Ford 400 airs Sunday, Nov. 22, on ABC and ABC HD beginning with NASCAR Countdown at 2:30 p.m. ET. The race’s green flag is at 3:30 p.m. Also from Homestead, ESPN2 airs coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying on Friday, Nov. 20, at 3 p.m., as well as coverage of final practice on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 3 p.m. Dr. Jerry Punch will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage. Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty, co-owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief Ray Evernham in the ESPN pit studio.
ESPN’s flagship program SportsCenter will present a 90-minute special from Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 1 p.m. ET, following NFL Countdown on ESPN. The telecast will lead up to NASCAR Countdown on ABC at 2:30 p.m. SportsCenter presented by AutoZone at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship will be hosted by Allen Bestwick and will give NASCAR fans the opportunity to see things that go on prior to a race that they normally don’t get to see. Mike Rowe, host of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel, will be a special on-site reporter for ESPN and look at some of the dirty jobs of NASCAR. Rowe’s voice has been heard by NASCAR fans as the narrator of segments during ESPN’s coverage of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup this season. ESPN’s Dave Burns will spend the program shadowing the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson, taking viewers behind-the-scenes as the car goes through final race preparation and NASCAR inspection. And ESPN’s Marty Smith will shadow Johnson himself in the hours before he attempts to make history as the first driver to win four consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championships. The program also will include a heartwarming story of how the building of Homestead-Miami Speedway in 1994 and 1995 helped bring the Homestead area back from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Andrew, one of the worst natural disasters in history, on Aug. 24, 1992. Joining Bestwick in the ESPN Pit Studio will be analysts Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty and Ray Evernham. Several NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers also are expected to stop by the studio during the course of the program.
ESPN2 completes its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend as the series concludes 2009 with the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The live, flag-to-flag telecast airs Saturday, Nov. 21, at 4 p.m. ET, with the green flag at 4:45 p.m. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC. Marty Reid will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage. Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty, co-owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief Ray Evernham in the ESPN pit studio.
NASCAR Now, ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program, will close out its 2009 season with four shows originating from Homestead-Miami Speedway, site of this weekend’s final races of the NASCAR season. Allen Bestwick will host the programs with analysts including Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty, Ray Evernham and Dale Jarrett, and reporters Mike Massaro, Nicole Manske and Marty Smith. The first program from Homestead airs Friday, Nov. 20, at 12:30 a.m. ET (late Thursday night), with another airing Saturday, Nov. 21, at 12:30 a.m. (late Friday night). The one-hour weekend edition airs Sunday, Nov. 22, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup finale at Homestead, with the final NASCAR Now of the season airing at 10 p.m. Sunday. Massaro hosts half-hour editions of NASCAR Now from ESPN’s high definition studios in Bristol, Ct., on Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 1:30 a.m. (late Tuesday night), and Wednesday at 6 p.m. Smith will report from Miami for both programs.
With long-dormant North Wilkesboro (NC) Speedway scheduled to re-open late in 2010, ESPN Classic will bring NASCAR fans back to the 0.625-mile short track with a look at the 1989 Holly Farms 400, a NASCAR Winston Cup race. A one-hour highlights program airs Monday, Nov. 23, at noon ET.
Engines and Cars To R&D ShopPost-Race inspection at Phoenix International Raceway, found no problems. NASCAR took engines from the following Sprint Cup cars, to the Research and Development shop: the No. 48, the No. 31 and the No. 17. NASCAR also took three cars for inspection, those were the No. 48, the No. 5 and the No. 17.
Best Western Renews With MWRBest Western International, the World's Largest Hotel Chain, has extended its partnership with one of NASCAR's most popular teams, Michael Waltrip Racing, for the 2010 NASCAR season.Best Western has been a loyal sponsor of the two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip and his team for the past six seasons. The hotel chain will serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 00 Toyota Camry driven by the 2009 Coca-Cola 600 winner David Reutimann for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race to be held at the Phoenix International Raceway on April 10, 2010. Best Western will also serve as an associate sponsor of the No. 00 for the remainder of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. "Best Western is one of the most dynamic and creative sponsors, and we've experienced incredible success together over the past six seasons," said Michael Waltrip. "We know that when we start our engines that Best Western hotel owners and fans will be cheering both David and me on during the 2010 NASCAR season." "Michael and David have been wonderful ambassadors for Best Western on and off the track, and continue to serve as an ideal fit for our brand. Both drivers have loyal fans, much like our hotel chain," said Dorothy Dowling, Best Western's senior vice president of marketing and sales. "This renewed partnership with Michael Waltrip Racing continues Best Western's support of racing, and our quest to help race fans save on hotel rooms." "Racing from dirt track to dirt track across the years, I spent a lot of nights in Best Western hotels across the country," said David Reutimann. "So I know personally the kind of amazing service and great value Best Western offers. Now when I stay at Best Western, I get my own king bed, so I feel like I've made some progress. I am just so thankful that Best Western sees the value in our partnership and has decided to continue to support Michael Waltrip Racing." The only hotel loyalty program for racing fans, Best Western's Speed Rewards is one of the most generous rewards programs, and one of few that is truly international. With more than 4,000 locations in 80 countries, racing fans will find it easy to earn points that can be redeemed for global free room nights with no blackout dates, dining, shopping and entertainment gift cards, gas cards, airline miles and more. Program members can book their award nights and purchase travel at www.bestwestern.com. For more information on Best Western Racing or to sign up for the Speed Rewards loyalty program, please visit www.bestwesternracing.com.
Race and Commercial Breakdown of the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500Total number of companies or entities advertised in brief promos or crawlers: 14 (companies: GoodYear; AFLAC; AT&T; AT&T ‘Fastest Pit Crew of the Year Award’ text to 2258; Racing.UPS.com; Sprint.com/nownetwork; Sprint.com/speed; ESPN.com/deportes; ESPN.com/lockerroomreport; Monday Night Football on ESPN (Ravens vs. Browns); ESPN.com/pick12challenge ; ‘NASCAR Now’ on ESPN; NHRA Finals on ESPN; next week’s Nationwide race; next week’s Cup series race; ‘Modern Family’ on ABC; ‘V’ on ABC)
Also, there are the following race statistics during the broadcast, sponsored by companies:
NASCAR on ESPN ‘In-Race Reporter Question’ ESPN/Craftsman ‘Tech Garage’ AT&T ‘Fastest Pit Crew of the Year Award Standings’ Ford ‘In-Car’ Toyota ‘In-Car’ U.S. Army ‘In-Car’ NASCAR on ESPN ‘Phoenix International Raceway Track Facts’ Gillette ‘In the Clutch Moment’ Gillette Fusion ‘In the Clutch’
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