- How can someone get a NASCAR Nextel Cup Rules Book?
Only teams, drivers, NASCAR Officials can get a Winston Cup rules book. NASCAR does not sell them and I can't get them for anyone. You can join NASCAR, last I heard it was $400, see ways to contact NASCAR on my RacingFAQ page
Rules and Guidelines
NASCAR issues five different Rule Books, each of which includes in its title reference to a particular NASCAR-sanctioned series. There is a NASCAR Rule Book for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, a NASCAR Rule Book for the NASCAR Busch Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR Regional Touring Series and NASCAR Weekly Racing Series. Each NASCAR Rule Book is published exclusively for NASCAR members.
NOTE: per legal reasons, I could not post the rules book (or parts of) even if I had one
- NASCAR Calls mandatory meeting for all Cup drivers Friday: NASCAR called a mandatory meeting for Sprint Cup drivers and owners before Friday's practice at Michigan International Speedway in which president Mike Helton encouraged everyone to keep the fans first. NASCAR officials and drivers both agreed this simply was a reminder that during these tough economic times when fans are paying $4 a gallon for gas to travel to tracks that drivers should be more positive about the sport. In other words stop complaining about the new car that has become a target for everything that is wrong in NASCAR's premier series, from creating boring races to being so hot that the drivers are at risk. "My interpretation was that the drivers should be thankful for the position they're in and should be more positive in where this car is going to be in a year or two," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. Jeff Burton agreed. "In today's conversation you could have heard whatever you wanted to hear," he said. "I bet if you asked every driver what they heard they would have said something different. What I heard was things aren't bad. Let's don't forget we can make things better."
NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said this so-called "Come to Jesus" was a reminder of chairman Brian France's preseason back-to-basics message. That the timing was a few days after the lawsuit, he added, was merely coincidental and that the lawsuit wasn't discussed. "We remind them if it weren't for the fans we wouldn't be here," he said. "The fans are paying over $4 a gallon for gasoline. [We told them] to keep the fans in mind when you're talking, to show your appreciation to the fans. Without them this wouldn't be like it is."
The criticism reached an all-time high last weekend at Pocono. Denny Hamlin and several others implied the car was much hotter than the older car and possibly put drivers at risk. Series director John Darby understands. He said there are a lot of things available to keep the cars cooler "that's not being used." He reiterated that NASCAR has no plan to change the car until it's been through an entire season.(in part from ESPN.com)(6-14-2008)
- Forbes Rates the Most Valuable Teams In NASCAR: There's a widening gulf in NASCAR between stock car racing's biggest, most valuable teams and those hoping to hang on for just one more race. Since our first NASCAR valuation package two years ago, values have rocketed skyward, up 65% on average, to $119 million, thanks to a rash of investment in a sport whose radical growth over the past decade appears to be sputtering.
The top-five MVT's are: Hendrick Motorsports at $335 million; Roush Fenway Racing $313 million; Joe Gibbs Racing $184 million; Gillett Evernham Motorsports $150 million; and Richard Childress Racing $130 million
The top-five higest paid drivers listed by Forbes:
1. Jeff Gordon: $32 million; 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: $31 million; 3. Jimmie Johnson: $23 million; 4. Tony Stewart: $19 million; and 5. Kasey Kahne: $14 million.
See full story with at Forbes.com and see the top paid drivers at Forbes.com.(6-13-2008)
- Former official sues NASCAR over harassment claims UPDATE: A former racing official is suing NASCAR, alleging racial and sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Mauricia Grant worked as a technical inspector responsible for certifying cars in NASCAR's second-tier Nationwide Series from January 2005 until she was fired last October. Grant, who is black, alleges she was referred to as "Nappy Headed Mo" and "Queen Sheba," by white co-workers. She also claims she often was told she worked on "colored people time," and was frightened by one official who routinely made references to the Ku Klux Klan. The lawsuit, which seeks $250 million, was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.(ESPN.com/Associated Press) and see a copy of the lawsuit at FoxSports (pdf format)(6-10-2008)
UPDATE: NASCAR chairman Brian France says a former official who's suing the organization never reported discrimination or harassment claims to her supervisors. Mauricia Grant filed a $225 million suit against NASCAR on Tuesday, alleging racial discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliatory termination. France said Wednesday the detailed filing was the first NASCAR learned of her claims. "The disappointing thing is she makes a lot of claims, none of them reported," he said.(Associated Press)(6-11-2008) Comment here
- 'Crabby' cars may be scaled back by NASCAR UPDATE:: Expect NASCAR to tell Sprint Cup teams that they've gone far enough - and in some cases, too far - with making crooked cars. Sprint Cup Series director John Darby said Saturday that teams will get a memo, likely this week, telling them to "clean up" the way they're turning their wheels to help the cars handle better. "They need some of that, but there are some of them that have pushed it," Darby said. The rear wheels on some of the cars were turned to the point that some were having difficulty being pushed onto the scales used in inspection.(Charlotte Observer)(5-18-2008)
UPDATE: NASCAR sent a memo to Sprint Cup teams this week putting a limit on the amount of rear adjustment being made to create more sideforce. The adjustment basically has the back tires turned to the right with a rear toe adjustment, allowing the car to enter the turns with more speed. It's not visibly noticeable on the turns, but on the straightaways the car appears to be crabbing down the track sideways. Darby said teams have been adjusting the rear end in excess of two degrees. NASCAR limited the adjustment to one degree.(ESPN.com)m this rule takes effect as of the race at Dover next weekend.(5-22-2008) Comment here
- No Age Change in 2009: NASCAR officials won't alter the minimum age limit for drivers in the Cup series for next season. Series officials talked before the season about possibly raising the minimum age limit from 18 to 21 but decided against it.(Roanoke Times)(5-19-2008) Comment here
- NASCAR claims electrical fire caused fatal plane crash: NASCAR officials claim an electrical fire caused a fatal plane crash near Orlando last year that killed two aboard the aircraft and three on the ground, but federal investigators do not necessarily agree with that claim. The NASCAR accident summary is included in Friday's release of reports by the National Transportation Safety Board into the July 10 crash of the NASCAR airplane. It claims the pilots were overcome by fumes and were incapacitated. The NTSB says it is still investigating the crash, with a final report of the cause likely in the summer. NTSB reports say a radar unit malfunctioned and caused a burning smell the day before the crash, but NASCAR claims the radar unit did not cause the fire that led to the crash. NASCAR's insurance company earlier this year reached a settlement with a man whose wife and 6-month-old son were killed when their home was hit by the plane. The crash also killed NASCAR pilot Michael Klemm and the husband of a NASCAR executive, as well as a 4-year-old child in the second house that was hit.(Associated Press)(5-9-2008)
- NASCAR appoints panel to look into changing drug-testing policy: NASCAR president Brian France has appointed a group of company officials to an interim committee that will study the sport's drug policy, vice president of communications Jim Hunter said Friday. The group, whose members Hunter said have "been around a long time and know the sport," will report back to France with any recommendations "within six weeks or so." Among the topics they will survey, Hunter said, is whether or not to add a staff substance abuse expert and whether or not random testing should be implemented. Currently, drivers are drug tested only under "reasonable suspicion." Any change to the policy, Hunter said, wouldn't likely take place until the 2009 season.(ESPN.com)(5-3-2008) Comment here
- NASCAR still evaluating McDowell's car and data: G-force readings [no number given] from #00-Michael McDowell’s grinding crash at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend were lower than other major wrecks in NASCAR, but Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby said the nature of severe crashes in the new car has changed so much that G-force readings don’t mean as much as they once did. NASCAR has begun the process of thoroughly examining McDowell’s battered Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota in its Research & Development Center, Darby said, adding that the G-force numbers were “pretty low.” But that wasn’t totally unexpected, because the design of the new car and the SAFER barrier has changed crash dynamics. “G-forces overall have been reduced,” Darby said. “But when you look at the big picture, the G-force is the least significant number anyway.” The significant number is the change in velocity, which Darby said was “substantial” with McDowell’s car. “They weren’t the worst we’ve ever seen by any means,” Darby said. “But part of the process of building a safer race car is to reduce all those numbers as best we can. Even when we understand completely the final numbers – which ultimately will be lower than what we’ve seen in the past – that’s what we’re looking for.” McDowell’s crash, dramatic as it was, wasn’t as severe as the wreck suffered by Jeff Gordon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet slammed the inside wall along the track’s backstretch. “It wasn’t as big a hit as the 24 took,” said Cal Wells, executive vice president for business operations for MWR. “The 24 hit a concrete wall and it jerked the motor and the transmission. ... Everything [on McDowell’s car] performed extraordinarily close to design.”(SceneDaily)(4-13-2008) Comment here
- NASCAR President defends NASCAR Drug Testing Policy: The call earlier this week for regular random drug testing by some of NASCAR's biggest stars apparently will not change the sanctioning organization's current policy of testing only for "reasonable suspicion." But NASCAR president Mike Helton said the reaction by the drivers to the published report that former truck and Nationwide driver Aaron Fike used heroin the same day he drove in some races is a positive sign for the stock car sport. Referring to the story in the April 21 edition of ESPN The Magazine, Helton said, "When you have a headline like that and the other athletes rare up on it and react like they did, that's a positive thing. The [NASCAR] community polices the community," Helton added in an interview with The Associated Press on Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway. "The positiveness of all the drivers talking and everything, I think, echoes the responsibility that exists in this sport to avoid all that and to police all that. That's why we think that the reasonable suspicion policy works as an umbrella from a NASCAR perspective." Helton said he does not know of any policy that can guarantee that no driver will ever race while under the influence of some substance any more than anyone could guarantee that an athlete in another sport will not abuse something on game day. The other part though is the fact that when we do find a situation and we do authenticate the abuse of a substance, it is a severe reaction," Helton said. "It's not just a couple of weeks off, it's a very severe, career-changing reaction from us that I think speaks loudly." Helton added the substance-abuse policy that NASCAR has had in place for more than two decades has worked very well, with the help of the teams and the drivers. "There are a lot of random drug testing policies or substance-abuse policies in our sport and they come through the car owners," he said. "We're different than other sports where we have multiple layers of independence. That's why we feel like the reasonable suspicion element that NASCAR implements has served its purpose and works well. But we know of car owners that have random testing programs with their employees. So those elements are already there. ... There's a lot of ways to attack this animal and a lot of ways to do it, but the shared responsibility between the competitors, the car owners and NASCAR, I think, works."(Associated Press/ESPN.com)(4-13-2008) Comment here
- NASCAR again...NO Changes to the COT planned: For drivers hoping for a change to the new Sprint Cup model car, series director John Darby burst their bubble Friday at Phoenix International Raceway. Darby said NASCAR doesn’t plan on making any alterations to the car, though some drivers, notably defending series champion Jimmie Johnson, called for changes after last week’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. Darby noted that this is only the second year with the new model and Texas was only the third race on a high-banked, 1.5-mile track. “We still call it the new car, right?” Darby said. “But it’s looked at as an old car, one that’s been around forever, and that’s not the case. There’s nothing broken, there’s nothing that we need to jump in and fix. It’s just a matter of continuing to race them and let the teams do what they do best.” Darby said he was open to adding an additional test to the NASCAR test schedule this year if the garage area wanted one. But he doesn’t think adding a day to existing races would be of any benefit to teams.
“I would rather just go test somewhere rather than tack a day on to an event because you can’t test properly when it’s attached to an event,” Darby said. “If you’re the crew chief or the driver, you know you’re testing in the car you’ve got to race the next day. You’re always fearful of trying something new, damaging the car, losing an engine that would affect the event because it’s the next day.”(SceneDaily)(4-12-2008) Comment here
- Drivers upset over lack of drug testing: Sprint Cup drivers Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne say they never have undergone a drug test as NASCAR competitors. "In the 10 years that I've raced, I've never been drug-tested," Harvick said. "To me, that's not a proper drug policy for a professional sport. We haven't made any headway whatsoever on the drug-testing policy." Harvick and Stewart were reacting to an ESPN The Magazine story this week in which former driver Aaron Fike said he competed in Craftsman Truck Series races while he was on heroin.
"I have been in a race with him and I know for a fact that he's not the only one," Harvick said. "There's another driver that was suspended that I can almost guarantee you was in the race car while he was under the influence, and that pisses me off. I'm sure I'll be blasted for saying what I feel, but I don't want to be on a race track with people like that. It's irresponsible more than anything." All four Cup drivers said they are in favor of regular testing.
"I would love it,'' Stewart said. "I've never been asked to take one yet. I think it should be mandatory to have random drug testing. I think it's a great idea. The Fike situation shows that as an organization, we're not doing a good job of seeing this before it happens." NASCAR's substance-abuse policy includes the right to test any driver at any time, but officials only do so if they believe a competitor might have a problem. "The responsibility here rests across the board -- with the drivers and competitors, owners, teams and NASCAR," said Kerry Tharp, NASCAR's director of communication. "We test an individual when we have reasonable suspicion. A positive test results in severe consequences and is a career-changing moment for that person. NASCAR's policy is also supported by the various policies that the teams have in place that are required under the driver/owner agreements. No system is flawless, but we believe our zero tolerant policy that is in place has served the sport well."
Fike was arrested last year in Ohio for possession of heroin.
"I had a long talk with NASCAR about this last year," Harvick said. "It almost seems like it fell on deaf ears. They were more mad that I had a reaction to the situation than they were about trying to move forward. They heard what I said, but my name's not Jeff Gordon. I'm disappointed that we have to react and answer all these questions again."
Tharp said NASCAR officials always take it seriously when drivers come to them with questions or complaints. "Let me assure you that no issue or conversation that we have with a driver, owner or team member ever falls on deaf ears," Tharp said. "Now, they might not always come out of the meeting with the answer they're looking for, but we listen." Harvick wants to see NASCAR test drivers and crew members several times a year. "I'm sure I'll have to do it for speaking my mind," Harvick said. "But if I have to pee in a cup 15 times a year, I'm happy to do it. The bad part is it isn't fair to the 95 percent of his garage that is clean. But I want everybody in the world to know our sport is clean. I want fans and sponsors to know this garage is clean." Harvick and his wife, DeLana, own truck series and Nationwide Series teams at Kevin Harvick Inc. Harvick does not conduct drug tests for his employees. "I don't right now and maybe we need to change the way we look at it, too," he said. "But in the end, it's the responsibility of [NASCAR] to make sure all the drivers are clean." Harvick said Fike drove a couple of races for KHI several years ago. "There was no reason to think something was wrong," Harvick said. "I don't know about drugs, to tell you the truth. But I want to know about the guy racing next to me and not have to wonder if he was out the night before and isn't clean."
Kahne said he had suspicions about Fike. "I definitely wondered about Aaron, so I'm sure others did," Kahne said. "When he said he did heroin before a race, that's incredible that no one knew. As much money as there is in this sport, I think we should take a little more effort to make sure every driver is clean." Harvick believes NASCAR should have changed its substance-abuse policy long ago. "You can tell I'm a little bit frustrated about the situation," he said. "As someone who respects the sport and respects my sponsors, I'm upset that I have to answer questions about Aaron Fike. It really ticks me off, because every driver in this garage should be taking random drug tests." Harvick believes NASCAR needs to do a better job of staying ahead of the curve. "It's just like the safety thing back in 2001," he said. "We didn't react until that situation happened [with Dale Earnhardt's death]. With drug-testing, there's no reason in the world today not to be proactive. "This is about forward thinking about how the drivers are perceived from a public standpoint. If I'm a fan, I don't want to think, 'Are they really clean?' This always has been perceived as a clean sport. Let's not let that change now, because it is. But let's prove it."(ESPN.com)(4-10-2008)
- No changes planned in COT: NASCAR's Jim Hunter, one of the sport’s top officials and a 40-year veteran at the tour’s tracks, said that drivers and crews shouldn’t be expecting any rules changes for the winged car any time soon: “At least for a period of time. “I think Robin (Pemberton) and John (Darby), they’d say ‘Let’s go some more races and see where we are.’” Pemberton and Darby are NASCAR’s top two competition officials under president Mike Helton. “Actually I can remember a lot of guys saying they couldn’t run side-by-side in the old car, when they had a hell of a lot of downforce,” Hunter said. “Carl Edwards got out of his car today and said ‘It’s a great feeling when your hands hurt after a race.’ You just have to get up on the wheel. And that was the whole purpose of this thing ... secondary to safety.” The next midsize track debut for the stock car will be at Concord in a few weeks. But the Mother’s Day weekend race at just-repaved Darlington could also present some similar issues, with its sudden 200-mph speeds, even though the car raced there last spring.(Winston Salem Journal)(4-7-2008)
- NASCAR to return to Australia? Marcus Marshall, a driver in Australia's V8 Supercar Series, said Saturday that countryman Marcus Ambrose's success in NASCAR has boosted the sport's popularity in the country, and sparked rumors that a dormant 1˝-mile track might get active again. The track hasn't been used for about eight years, he said. "It was pretty popular and now there are rumors at the moment of it opening up again, so that kind of fits with NASCAR maybe looking to be more international and Australia as a place to maybe take a round of one of their affiliated championships." Queensland, Australia, is already a destination of the Indy Racing League.(ESPN.com/AP)(3-31-2008) Comment here
- NASCAR won't intervene in Roush dispute with Toyota team: NASCAR officials say they will not intervene in the dispute between Roush Fenway Racing and an unspecified Toyota team that allegedly took a part from the Ford organization. Team owner Jack Roush is asking NASCAR for “relief” on the issue, but NASCAR Vice President of Competition strongly dismissed that idea on Friday. “If they’ve got issues with each other or other teams, then they’ve got to talk to those other teams,” Pemberton said. “I didn’t take a part or a piece, all right? Nobody in this [NASCAR] trailer took a part or a piece. We know Jack said that, and apparently some other team acknowledged having a part or a piece. Those people need to work their deal out.” Roush said a Toyota team took a sway bar home from a September race at Dover last season. If that’s true, Pemberton said, “Then shame on a team that has that person working for them. If you’ve got a guy that takes a part or a piece from another team, then, in my opinion, I wouldn’t have a guy like that work for me,” he said. Still, that doesn’t mean NASCAR is going to do anything about it. “[The teams] have to work together,” he said. “We’re not going to build walls in here. We’re not going to separate everything. We’re going to run this garage area just like it’s been run. If you have issues, then you've got to work it out.”(SceneDaily)(3-29-2008)
- Time for a drivers Union? UPDATE: The always boisterous Tony Stewart led a loud parade of outrage aimed at Goodyear's engineers after Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. If Stewart had thought about it long enough, he might have realized that there is much more that he and his fellow drivers can do. This is the perfect time for the drivers in the Sprint Cup Series to form a union. Then they can have real leverage on matters such as tires, safety and races. NASCAR has always said the drivers are "private contractors," so there has never been a need for a union. Plus, in the old days, any talk of forming a union could have seriously jeopardized a driver's career. See full story at the Delaware News Journal.(3-13-2008)
UPDATE: Major League Baseball has a union. The NFL has a union. The NHL has a union. Is it time for NASCAR to have one? Would a union help settle issues such as the Goodyear tire controversy at Atlanta last weekend? Jeff Gordon isn't sure. "I've seen the unions run things in the ground," Gordon said during a rainy Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. "It bugs the heck out of me when I think of the strikes that have happened in baseball. Look at the strike that just happened with the writer's strike in Hollywood. While there are positives for the people they're representing, sometimes if you look at the sport as a whole or an industry I've seen where it's done a lot of damage. I see it happening right now with General Motors." Gordon said a union is a good thing only if the right people are managing it and the proper intent is there. The problem, he said, is nobody can guarantee that. We all have so many different agendas and ideas, to see them all come together as one could be tough," he said. Gordon said NASCAR would be better suited to have a quarterly meeting in which all drivers are brought together to discuss hot topics.
NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said the current system remains effective. "NASCAR always has had an open-door policy and always will," Tharp said. "Drivers, owners, and crew chiefs are regularly in communication with our sport's leadership. It is a system that has worked and continues to work well." Dale Earnhardt Jr. said the drivers need a spokesperson to represent them as his father once did. Dale Jarrett would like to see a panel of three to five drivers, and not necessarily the same every year, become the voice of the garage. "We won't use that word union," said Jarrett, who is driving in his final points race this weekend. "That gets people stirred up. Does there need to be a panel? Yes, it could be really helpful."(ESPN.com)(3-15-2008) Comment here
- BofA boosts its NASCAR incentives: A sharp drop in profits isn't keeping Bank of America from pursuing NASCAR fans as new customers. The Charlotte-based bank on Tuesday announced it was more than doubling the number of drivers featured in race-themed accounts. The bank also will boost its NASCAR rewards program, providing more access to drivers and behind-the-scenes experiences. Bank of America launched the NASCAR-themed "affinity banking" accounts last spring as part of its push to win business from loyal race fans. The bank also sponsors the October Sprint Cup race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, issues officially licensed NASCAR credit cards and, since 2006, has been the official bank of NASCAR. In its NASCAR banking program, Bank of America issues cards and checks printed with a driver's image or the NASCAR logo. Account holders get "RacePoints" that can be redeemed for merchandise, race tickets or -- for those with high point totals -- special honors, such as meeting a driver or waving the green flag at the Bank of America 500. Along with the NASCAR logo, Bank of America offers accounts with several current and past drivers' images: Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, Dario Franchitti, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Paul Menard, Juan Pablo Montoya, Reed Sorenson, Martin Truex Jr., Kenny Wallace and Rusty Wallace.(Charlotte Observer)(1-23-2008)
- Go or Go Home Drivers to Qualify Together; NASCAR to Provide Tires for Tests: Michael Waltrip suggested last season that drivers outside the top 35 in owners' points should be allowed to qualify together so nobody would have an advantage in track conditions. NASCAR officials must have listened. The governing body kicked off its annual media tour by announcing that those outside the top 35 in all three series [30 locked in for Nationwide and Trucks] -- Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series and Craftsman Truck Series -- will qualify at the end of their respective session. It also was announced that teams will be provided tires for testing at non-sanctioned NASCAR tests. Sprint Cup teams will be given 200 tires, Nationwide teams 160 and Craftsman Truck Series teams 120.(ESPN.com)(1-21-2008) Comment here
- NASCAR Fine Payments Going to NASCAR Foundation: NASCAR announced that starting this season, all money collected from fines issued to drivers will go to the NASCAR Foundation for its charitable initiatives. “Now that the NASCAR Foundation is well established and supporting dozens of charitable organizations it is the logical place for fine money to be distributed,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. “We are excited to be able to work with our charities and help them develop a program that will maximize the impact they can have with their organizations,” said Sandy Marshall, executive director of the NASCAR Foundation.(NASCAR PR)(1-21-2008) Comment here
- Judge rules on discrimination lawsuit against NASCAR: A U.S. District Court judge has dismissed virtually all claims in a racial discrimination and breach of contract lawsuit against NASCAR and other parties stemming from a highly publicized 1999 incident at New Hampshire International Speedway. The incident occurred when former Penske Racing motorcoach driver David Scott, who is black, was greeted by a pair of motorcoach drivers, one of whom was wearing a white pillow case over his head as if he were a member of the Ku Klux Klan. NASCAR indefinitely suspended the two motorcoach drivers involved. In his complaint, Scott said he was promised a job with NASCAR in response to the incident. NASCAR had claimed in its filings that Scott "was given several work opportunities which were declined" and "was not qualified" for the racing official job he wanted. Judge Deborah A. Batts ruled Thursday that the three-year statute of limitations had passed for all of the allegations, except for one on whether NASCAR did not award Scott a minority vendor contract in 2005 and 2006 based on race. Scott must re-file his lawsuit within 45 days to focus on that claim.(SceneDaily.com)(1-19-2008) Comment here
- NASCAR to increase age requirement? MORE A reliable inside source tells rowdy.com that NASCAR is seriously considering raising the age limit for drivers in the Sprint Cup Series from the current 18 years of age to 21. Should the change happen, and a decision has not yet been made according to the source, the driver who comes most quickly to the mind of Rowdy listeners is phenom Joey Logano. Logano, currently with Joe Gibbs Racing, turns 18 on May 24th of this year (he's scheduled to make his Nationwide Series debut at Dover shortly afterward), and under the current rules he would be eligible for Cup duty in 2009. Presumably any change would affect the Sprint Cup series only.(Rowdy.com)(1-16-2008)
UPDATE: NASCAR sources confirmed Wednesday that the sanctioning body is considering raising the minimum age for drivers racing in the Sprint Cup Series from 18 to 21. Currently, drivers must be 18 to compete in the Cup, Nationwide or Craftsman Truck series. If a change is made, drivers between 18 and 21 would remain eligible for Nationwide and Truck competition but would have to wait to make the move into stock-car racing’s top series. There are concerns that young drivers are being moved up through the ranks too soon, and that more time in the second-tier series would give them time to develop their skills on the track and to mature off of it. Such a change could, theoretically, also bolster interest in the Nationwide and Truck series, since it would ensure that promising young drivers could build fan followings and attract sponsorships while competing at those lower levels.(Thats Racin)(1-18-2008) Comment here
- Rules Change Before Daytona? NASCAR is still evaluating data from Sprint Cup Series testing at Daytona International Speedway, but it looks as if there likely will be a change in the gear rule when competitors return in February. Teams currently have a choice of a 370 gear or a 375 gear, but their RPMs are above what NASCAR is looking for. A change in gear - likely a 364 gear - would reduce RPM. That would make the engines more durable. It could even make the cars faster. "If we change the rule, we won't do it officially until all of testing is completed," NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby said Wednesday during testing. "I think all of the teams are already anticipating a change. I know a lot of teams last week tried a 364 gear and a lot of teams here have got 364s in." NASCAR would like to keep the RPMs below 9,000, Darby said. Darby said no one has reached 9,000 RPM. "We're getting too close to that," Darby said. "The key to it is if 10 cars are drafting and they see 8900, when we put 43 out, they're going to be over 9000." Darby said NASCAR is fine with the overall speeds, which have hit 188 mph in drafting.(SceneDaily.com).(1-17-2008) Comment here
- NASCAR to increase age limit? A reliable inside source tells rowdy.com that NASCAR is seriously considering raising the age limit for drivers in the Sprint Cup Series from the current 18 years of age to 21. Should the change happen, and a decision has not yet been made according to the source, the driver who comes most quickly to the mind of Rowdy listeners is phenom Joey Logano. Logano, currently with Joe Gibbs Racing, turns 18 on May 24th of this year (he's scheduled to make his Nationwide Series debut at Dover shortly afterward), and under the current rules he would be eligible for Cup duty in 2009. Presumably any change would affect the Sprint Cup series only.(Rowdy.com)(1-16-2008) Comment here
- NASCAR Settles with Family of Plane Crash victim: NASCAR has agreed to a multi-million dollar settlement with a man who lost his wife and son when a NASCAR owned plane slammed into their Sanford Florida home. That plane crash last July set off a massive fire. Joe Woodard lost his wife Janice and his 6 month old son Josiah. In the home next door four year old Gabreila DeChat died and her brother 10 year old Daniel Happy is still recovering in the Shriners’ Burn Center in Cincinnati. The plane was piloted by Dr. Bruce Kennedy the husband of Lesa France Kennedy president of International Speedway Corporation. NASCAR pilot Michael Klemm was also killed. DeChat’s parents were also burned but have since recovered from their injuries. Woodward’s attorney wouldn’t discuss the terms of the settlement.(Fox News Orlando)(1-12-2008)
