Speedway Children's Charities Hosting 22nd Annual Bill Walker Memorial Gears & Greens Golf Tournament
21 Mar 2019 Written by Steven B. Wilson
The NASCAR short track season is officially upon us - huge grins, high spirits, bumpers and intensity all around.
Sunday’s STP 500 at the half-mile Martinsville Speedway (at 2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) opens the test of gumption, patience and short track mastery for the season.
Certainly the last time the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series visited Martinsville it met all expectations of drama and excitement. With a 2018 championship spot on the line, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. went door-to-door, bumper-to-bumper for the win in an epic duel in the final laps.
The two made contact multiple times. Ultimately Logano moved leader Truex out of the way in a “bump and run” winning the race and earning his spot to ultimately be in the Championship Four at Homestead-Miami. Logano answered with his first Monster Energy Series championship three weeks later with a victory in South Florida.
The final lap intensity that Logano and Truex showed last year is every bit what NASCAR fans have come to expect in short track racing – that particular chapter came complete with a post-race promise from Truex that he would not soon forget the way Logano raced him.
The defending winner of Sunday’s race – Stewart-Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer earned his first win at the track in a less dramatic, however equally stellar fashion – leading a race best 215 laps. He was one of three drivers who led at least 100 laps on the afternoon (also Ryan Blaney, 145 and Denny Hamlin, 111).
Over the course of their careers, it’s been Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch leading the short track (Martinsville and Bristol, Tenn.) statistics among active drivers.
Johnson has nine wins at Martinsville and two at Bristol. Kyle Busch has seven victories at Bristol and two at Martinsville. His brother Kurt has six wins at Bristol and a pair at Martinsville – including the longest span between wins there (22 races) between his first win in 2002 and last in 2014.
And Denny Hamlin is always a favorite at Martinsville, where he’s won five times – a mark second only to Johnson’s nine among active drivers. This year’s Daytona 500 winner has four top-10s in the opening five races and won this race last in 2015.
Interestingly, over the last 10 races at Martinsville and Bristol, there have been only two drivers to win multiple times at the tracks. Logano has a pair of wins at Bristol (2014-15). And Kyle Busch is the only one to do so at both tracks - winning twice in that time frame at Martinsville (2016 and 2017) and also at Bristol (2017 and 2018).
There have been nine different winners in the last 10 Martinsville races (Kyle Busch the long repeat winner) and eight different winners in the last 10 Bristol races (Kyle Busch and Logano repeat winners).
Three of the last four Martinsville winners – Logano, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski – already have wins this season.
Busch, who scored his 200th NASCAR national series win last week at California’s Auto Club Speedway is looking to earn his third consecutive win and top that magic number. So far he’s won on Phoenix's ISM Raceway one-miler, the California Auto Club Speedway two-miler and eager to see if he can retain his magic in the epic 500-miler at Martinsville’s historic half-mile "paperclip".
“I think just being able to get comfortable, get settled and make sure that you’re good to go for those hauls,’’ Busch said about the demands of racing at Martinsville. “Don’t worry about what lap it is ,ever, during a race. That’s the worst thing that could happen to you.
“You just try to not ever worry about what lap you’re on or what’s going on around you. You just keep battling, keep driving, keep your focus forward on what you’re doing. That’s the best way to go about those long, long races.”
GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES
The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series returns to competition this week in the Martinsville 250 at Martinsville Speedway (at 2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) after a two-week break.
Grant Enfinger leads the series driver championship standings with a six-point advantage over Sunoco rookie Harrison Burton, but history has proven Martinsville remains a race very much “up for grabs.” There have been eight different winners in the last 10 races.
The exception to that is veteran Johnny Sauter – who has won twice in the last five races. His four career wins are most in series history at the track. He’s still looking for his first win of 2019 and ranked sixth in the championship since changing teams this season and returning to ThorSport Racing where he raced from 2009-2016.
Defending race winner John Hunter Nemechek is not entered this weekend, however one of the track’s most high profile former winners, Bubba Wallace will be competing. The Richard Petty Motorsports fulltime Monster Energy NASCAR Cup driver is very partial to Martinsville as that’s where he scored the first career victory (2013) in one of NASCAR’s three national series. He added another in 2014 making Martinsville the only track on the circuit where he’s been a repeat winner.
Other fulltime Monster Energy and Xfinity Series drivers entered this week include two-time Gander Outdoors Truck Series winner already this year Kyle Busch, along with Austin Dillon, Ross Chastain and Timmy Hill, who will debut an entry for his new family-owned team - Hill Motorsports.
Coming into the race, points leader Enfinger and defending series champion Brett Moffitt are the only drivers with two top-five finishes in the opening three races. Neither of them has won at Martinsville, however. The top-10 in the standings are separated by only 26 points heading into the weekend and show a very diversified points battle with four Fords, three Chevrolets and three Toyotas represented.
Myatt Snider Speaks With High School Students About Safe Driving
21 Mar 2019 Written by Steven B. WilsonReigning NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series driver Myatt Snider took some time to visit students in the Martinsville/Henry County area on Thursday, spending time discussing the dangers of distracted driving at Magna Vista High School and reading to students at Albert Harris Elementary School.
Snider, who is in town for Saturday’s TrüNorth Global 250, made the appearance with Who’s Your Driver, a Virginia organization that promotes safe driving.
“I feel like it’s really important to talk to the younger generation about texting and driving, because our phones are so ubiquitous these days that you basically have your entire life on it,” Snider said. “It’s so easy to think I can just send this one text or check this quick notification, but it’s really not.
“You’re taking your eyes off the road for a good 100-150 feet and you could end up taking someone’s life.”
Snider, just 24 himself, felt his age gave him an advantage when speaking as he is just a few years removed from being a high school student.
“I think I can definitely relate to the trends that these kids like,” Snider said. “I can talk to them about what they like and I think that’s helpful – to have a younger kid that they can relate with.
Snider then spent the afternoon at Albert Harris Elementary School reading to Kindergarten through Second Graders and talking about racing and his career.
Snider will be at Martinsville Speedway on Friday to practice for the TrüNorth Global 250 and again on Saturday for the race.
The TrüNorth Global 250 is part of the STP 500 weekend presented by whosyourdriver.org.
The weekend will end on Sunday with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in action for the STP 500.
Adult tickets the TrüNorth Global 250 are $35 and youth 17-and-under are admitted free.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or online at www.martinsvillespeedway.com.
Martinsville Speedway PR
NTT IndyCar Series driver Ed Jones has been cleared to drive in the INDYCAR Classic at Circuit of The Americas following a re-examination by Dr. Geoffrey Billows, INDYCAR medical director.
Jones sustained a small non-displaced fracture of the distal fourth metacarpal in his left ring finger when his No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Scuderia Corsa Chevrolet made contact with the wall during the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 10. Jones met with a hand surgeon in Miami in the days following the race and had the hand properly splinted.
INDYCAR Classic activities begin with practice on Friday. NTT P1 Award qualifying is scheduled for Saturday with the 60-lap race on 3.41-mile permanent road course taking place Sunday (1 p.m. ET, NBCSN and Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network).
IndyCar PR
TrüNorth GlobalTM Partners with Martinsville Speedway For TrüNorth Global 250
21 Mar 2019 Written by Steven B. WilsonThis weekend’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race has a new name, and Martinsville Speedway has a new partner, as TrüNorth GlobalTM has partnered with the Speedway as the entitlement sponsor of the TrüNorth Global 250.
TrüNorth GlobalTM will use Martinsville Speedway as a platform to further advance its reputation as the leading provider of Class 3-8 warranty programs and services in North America, and the global industry leader in transportation-related warranty and commercial asset protection programs for the dealers, drivers, fleet and freight operators, and finance companies it serves.
“We’re very excited to have the opportunity to team with the Martinsville Speedway to sponsor this event in association with our NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series program,” said TrüNorth Global™ CEO, William Eskridge. “The racing program has provided us with numerous opportunities to engage with our dealers and warranty customers around the country as we continue to build our family of brands and introduce innovative, technology-driven commercial asset protection solutions to meet our customers’ unique needs.”
Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell said he hopes this is just the beginning of a long-term partnership with TrüNorth GlobalTM.
“I’m really excited about having TrüNorth GlobalTM come on board and that they see the value and exposure that Martinsville Speedway brings,” Campbell said. “TrüNorth GlobalTM is already involved in NASCAR on the team side, as the Official Commercial Truck Warranty of NASCAR, and now, with joining the track side, I feel this shows that they are committed to our sport and our speedway.”
The TrüNorth GlobalTM 250 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race is this Saturday.
Adult tickets to the race are $35 and youth 17-and-under are admitted free.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or online at www.martinsvillespeedway.com.
Martinsville Speedway PR
Fan Favorite BMS Transporter Parade Moved To Food City 500 Weekend
21 Mar 2019 Written by Steven B. WilsonThe fan-favorite Bristol Motor Speedway Transporter Parade is moving to the Food City 500 weekend and will see a return to its original route.
The BMS Transporter Parade is set to begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 4 at the Bass Pro Shops at The Pinnacle. The haulers will then begin the nine-mile trek as night falls, passing by historic State Street in downtown Bristol as well as two Food City locations before arriving at Bristol Motor Speedway around 8 p.m.
“It was important to us to have the Transporter Parade return to its traditional route, allowing our guests the best chance to see this popular nighttime spectacle,” said Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway. “When looking at our schedules, it made sense for this parade to be the Thursday night kickoff to an exciting Food City 500 weekend. We’re always working for the fans and we can’t wait to welcome everyone to the region in just a few weeks.”
Guests are encouraged to visit Bass Pro Shops at The Pinnacle to get an up close and personal look at the colorful haulers, which will be arriving throughout the day. Food City locations on Euclid Ave. in Bristol, Va. and Volunteer Parkway in Bristol, Tenn. will provide prime viewing spots as the transporters make their way to The Last Great Colosseum. A small section of grandstand near the pit gate will be open to allow guests the opportunity to see the transporters enter the Speedway and assemble in the infield.
Tickets for the Food City 500 weekend are available. Food City 500 adult tickets start at $55, while tickets for the Alsco 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series/Zombie Auto 150 K&N Series doubleheader start at $35. Guests can also add on a ticket to Bush’s Beans Pole Day for $10 or by bringing two cans of Bush’s Beans product to a BMS ticket booth with a Food City receipt. For a limited time, $50 Food City 500 tickets are available at all Food City locations.
BMS is committed to making race weekends affordable for the whole family. Kids’ tickets (12-and-under) are free to the Alsco 300/Zombie Auto 150 and Bush’s Beans Pole Day and only $10 for the Food City 500. Earlier this year, BMS introduced teen pricing. Teens 13-19 years old are eligible for half-priced race tickets. For all races, each child and teen must have a physical ticket in hand to enter the gates. The Bristol Motor Speedway ticket office is the only authorized location that can produce the free kids' tickets.
Fans who want to get up close to on-track festivities are encouraged to add a Pre-Race Pit Stop pass to their race weekend experience. The pass provides several amenities, including a cold pass for infield access, opportunities to see the teams and haulers up close, access to the new Food City 500 pre-race party, including the pre-race concert featuring Randy Houser as well as driver intros.
To purchase tickets to the Food City 500, please call 423-BRISTOL or buy them online at www.BRISTOLTix.com.
BMS PR
OCFS Motorsports Show to feature NASCAR Stars and So Much More
21 Mar 2019 Written by Steven B. WilsonEvery year The Orange County Fair Speedway kicks off their season with the fan-favorite Motorsports Show, a celebration of all things racing, not just OCFS's long history. Fans attending will have an opportunity to see NASCAR cars and drivers in addition to OCFS's weekly competitors in their DIRT Modified race cars.
This year, Stewart Friesen's rookie year no.52 Halmar International Chevy Silverado will make its second annual appearance, but it wont be alone. In addition to numerous classic race cars, northeast DIRT Modifieds, Slingshots and Karts, the show will also be hosting the ARCA series cars of John Ferrier and Tommy Vigh. Both Ferrier and Vigh are weekly competitors at OCFS who have branched out to the national, NASCAR owned ARCA series.
Tommy Vigh will be joined at a Q&A Panel Discussion Powered by Privy/We-Text, set to begin at 7pm est Saturday March 23, 2019. The panel will last about 45 minutes and fans will also have an opportunity to present questions from the audience to the line up of drivers that includes Vigh, OCFS Champion Jeff Heotzler, NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver David Starr and Daytona Winner and ARCA Team Owner Andy Hillenburg. After the panel discussion has concluded, the drivers will be available for autographs in the Extreme Energy Solutions/Extreme Team Racing Associates Display Area, located inside the OCFS Arena.
Fans can also anticipate a Saturday night appearance by Northeast DIRT racing's greatest driver of all time, Brett Hearn. Hearn, who has been aloof up to this point on where he will race weekly, has entered his 2019 Big Block Modified in the Motorsports Show, and is set to appear at around 7pm. All will certainly be hoping to hear an official announcement regarding his 2019 race schedule.
Saturday March 23rd:
- 11:00am: Show Opens
- 1:30pm: Little Miss OCFS Crowned
- 2:00pm: Tire Change Contest
- 3:30pm: Pit Crew Challenge
- 5:00pm: Charity Auction
- 7:00pm - Q&A Session
- 8:00pm Ms. OCFS Pageant
- 10:00pm: Show Closes
Sunday March 24th:
- 11 am: Show opens
- 12:30pm: Street Stock Shoot-Out Series Awards Ceremony
- 1:30pm: 2018 OCFS Point Awards Ceremony
- 3pm: Best of Show Awards Ceremony
Ms./Little Miss OCFS and Car Entry forms at
https://
OME PR
Spencer Davis and Rette Jones Racing poised for Martinsville run
21 Mar 2019 Written by Steven B. WilsonPoised to make their first NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) start of the season, Spencer Davis and Rette Jones Racing (RJR) head to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway focused and determined for Saturday afternoon’s Martinsville 250.
Last month, Davis and RJR attempted to make the season-opening race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, but a series of obstacles hindered the Mooresville, N.C-based team from making the starting grid.
Excuses aside, failure is not an option for the combination in the fourth Truck Series race of the season and the team feels well prepared to do battle at the historic Virginia short track.
Davis’s efforts for Martinsville will be supported by ALLPRO in the No. 11 Ford F-150.
ALLPRO Corporation is a business-to-business purchasing cooperative comprised of a network of independently owned paint and decorating product retailers. They serve over 280 such member retailers who represent approximately 1,400 storefronts located throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and parts of Europe.
“Can’t thank ALLPRO enough for their continuing support,” added Davis. “We started off the year with a top-10 finish for them in NASCAR K&N competition at New Smyrna and I’d think realistically if we can put ourselves in a good position during Stage 3 – we can come out of Martinsville with a boost of confidence and an opportunity to prove that we belong here.
“I know my crew chief and owner Mark (Rette) is giving us everything we can to get to the job done and in the race, I’m going to do my job to have a smart race so we can have a great finish.”
With 39 trucks pre-entered for Saturday afternoon’s race, Rette knows it’s going to be another race full of fast trucks and talented drivers – but he knows that Davis possesses the same capabilities despite his inexperience.
“We’re coming to Martinsville this weekend and holding nothing back,” added Rette. “Spencer is a gifted short track racer with tons of talent and has a knack for places like Martinsville. We’ve been working hard on our No. 11 ALLPRO Ford and know if the cards fall our way, we can have a satisfying finish.”
For Martinsville, Rette Jones Racing is also thrilled to welcome Priestly Demolition Inc. (PDI) who will serve as a major associate partner in the 250-lap slugfest Saturday afternoon.
PDI is a family owned and operated and is one of the largest and most trusted demolition contractors in Canada. They have the expertise and resources to handle any project while providing the personalized service of a small organization. Their highly trained team of professionals and top-of-the-line fleet equipment will help prepare you to build for a better future.
In addition to ALLPRO and Priestly Demolition Inc. serving as the title marketing partners for Martinsville, Rette Jones Racing also welcomes Horton Ave. Materials, Jones Group Demolition and Abatement, Ford Performance, JRI Shocks, Huntilar Corp. and Goodridge Fluid Transfer Systems as associate marketing partners for Saturday afternoon’s anticipated thriller.
RJR is co-owned by Canadian entrepreneur and former race car driver Terry Jones.
In 33 career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts, Davis has earned one victory (Dominion (Va.) Raceway 2016), two poles, achieved 14 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes. He has also 224 laps led in event competition.
Davis, 20, also has five NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) starts to his credit – all in 2018 driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM). He earned two top-10 finishes including a career-best of seventh in his series’ debut at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
The Martinsville 250 (250 laps| 131.5 miles) is the fourth of 23 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races on the 2019 schedule. Practice begins on Fri., Mar. 22 from 1:05 p.m. – 1:55 p.m. A final practice session is set for 3:05 p.m. – 3:55 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Sat., Mar. 23 beginning at 10:40 a.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 2:00 p.m. with live coverage on FOX, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Eastern).
For more information on Spencer Davis, please check out his Facebook page (Spencer Davis Racing) or on Instagram @spencerdavis_29.
Davis tweets too. Follow him @SpencerDavis_29.
The latest on Rette Jones Racing is available at RetteJonesRacing.com, the team’s Facebook page or Twitter @RetteJones30.
RJR PR
On Point Motorsports and Brennan Poole Welcome Back Bad Boy Mowers for Martinsville
21 Mar 2019 Written by Steven B. Wilson
Let the Roar of Engines be Your Wake-Up Call When Booking with DegaRooms.com
21 Mar 2019 Written by Steven B. WilsonTalladega Superspeedway’s official hotel reservation service – DegaRooms.com – has hotel deals fans will flip over when planning their trip for the historic track’s tripleheader motorsports weekend, April 26-28. Reserve your room today and book early for the best location options and pricing available!
DegaRooms.com is the hassle-free, most economical way for fans to make room reservations for the much-anticipated GEICO 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, MoneyLion 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series event and the General Tire 200 for the ARCA Menards Series.
Representatives at DegaRooms.com have screened hotel rooms for quality assurance and the guaranteed lowest available room rates publicly offered. DegaRooms.com offers hotels in the Birmingham, AL area and featured hotels include Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Hyatt Regency, Westin, and more.
Select hotels on DegaRooms.com also offer an incredible shuttle service for those fans wanting to sit back and relax while the shuttle service takes care of their transportation needs. The buses will arrive early enough for fans to enjoy all the incredible activities the track has to offer on race morning, and the buses will depart the track approximately 45 minutes after the checkered flag waves. Shuttle services at participating hotels start as low as $45 per day.
To top it off, DegaRooms.com does not charge any booking fees or change fees. DegaRooms.com will send guests a hotel confirmation letter and follow-up during race week to give up-to-date schedules and weather information.
Fans can book their hotel by visiting www.DegaRooms.com. With just a few clicks, fans will be on their way to the biggest and baddest track in NASCAR.
For more information about Talladega Superspeedway’s tripleheader weekend featuring the GEICO 500, MoneyLion 300 or the General Tire 200, visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com or call 855-518-RACE (7223).
The 2.66-mile venue is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year along with Transformation – The Talladega Superspeedway Infield Project presented by Graybar. The new Turn 3 Oversized Vehicle Tunnel, as well as the new Finish Line Premium RV area (includes full hookups) and new Infield Shower Trailers, are scheduled for completion in time for the tripleheader weekend. The culmination of the project will occur in October with a one-of-a-kind Talladega Garage Experience, which will feature “up-close” access, interactive attractions and enhanced amenities. For more information, visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.
TSS PR
