mark martin

NASCAR News & Notes: Martin, Reutimann, Ragan, Benson, Robby Gordon

by on January 21, 2012

in nascar, sports

Below are some random NASCAR news bites about David Reutimann, David Ragan, Johnny Benson, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, and a quickie on Robby Gordon’s Dakar Rally run!

NASCAR News and opinion from NASCAR BITS & PIECES on Brusimm.com

After getting ousted by Michael Waltrip Racing, David Reutimann landed on his feet, so to speak, and landed a ride with Tommy Baldwin Racing, joining Dave Blaney in that Sprint Cup stable.

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David Ragan at the 2011 AAA Texas 500 - QualifyingDavid Ragan was another driver that landed on his feet after being ousted by Roush Fenway Racing.  Ragan will be driving for Front Row Motorsports for 2012.  He’ll now be the teammate to David Gilliland.

Not his best shot at fame and glory, w/ no disrespect to the team, but I think we’ll be seeing his name every weekend anyway.

Bob Jenkins owns the team.

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Last time I heard, though Johnny Benson was plotting a return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2012, it appeared as if the deals he was hoping for fell through, and he will not be competing in the 2012 season.

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NASCAR News From the Week That Was

by on October 1, 2011

in nascar, sports

NASCAR News and opinion from NASCAR BITS & PIECES on Brusimm.comSo what happened last week that caught my eye in the sport of NASCAR?

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First up, I caught a wiff that Bank of America Charitable Foundation will be giving $1 million to education programs.  This nice deed is connected with their sponsorship of the October race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Any time schools can get money is a nice thing, considering schools seem to take the brunt of budget cuts when money needs to be saved.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Sponsor Swap

Word on the street is that Amp Energy is dripping off the hood of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s hood and will be replaced for 16 races in the 2012 season by Diet Mountain Dew.

When Diet Mountain Dew is on the the hood of the No. 88 Chevy, Amp will be an associate sponsor.

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NASCAR’s ‘AAA 400′ TV Sched and Stats at Dover

by on September 29, 2011

in nascar, sports

NASCAR News and opinion from NASCAR BITS & PIECES on Brusimm.comI love Dover and the NASCAR races held there.  It’s still a traditional paperclip shape, and it’s still in the configuration it’s been in with banking and such, for as long as I remember it. That makes it a unique entity in and of itself.

With the upcoming AAA 400, here’s what we can expect for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend TV schedule at Dover:

NASCAR TV SCHEDULE

Friday 9/30 Practice on ESPN2 2:30 PM ET
Saturday 10/1 Qualifying on Speed 1:30 PM ET
Sunday 10/2 AAA 400 live on ESPN 2:00 PM ET

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If you’re running a fantasy team, here are some super quick stats on the drivers and the event:

Average Finish Loop Data
Carl Edwards 6.8
Jimmie Johnson 7.2
Greg Biffle 7.6
Mark Martin 8.4
Jeff Burton 8.5

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Kasey Kahne Gets His Hendrick Motorsports Sponsor

by on June 7, 2011

in nascar, sports

As you all are aware, Kasey Kahne is in the No. 4 Toyota for Red Bull Racing this year… it’s a a one-year deal that kept him in the mix, in a ride until he gets to the No. 5 Chevy under the Hendrick Motorsports roof in 2012.

It’s been reported that Kasey Kahne now has a sponsor for that ride, with Farmer’s Insurance.  The contract will cost Farmer’s $13 million per year and they’ll adorn the hood of the Chevy when Kasey Kahne steps into the ride, replacing Mark Martin.

I’m am not sure what Mark Martin will be doing after he gets out of the No. 5.  Retire?  Nahhh…  Mark Martin has been know to say he’s not worried about 2012…  he seems to have plans.

NASCAR Bits & Pieces NB&P

foxsports.com

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NASCAR At Dover International Speedway This Weekend

by on May 13, 2011

in nascar, sports

This weekend, NASCAR is at Dover… one of the last independently owned tracks not owned by the big two race track organizations.

For the schedule, Friday the 13th already had two practice sessions.  Qualifying for the ‘FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks‘ at Dover International Speedway will be taking place on Saturday, the 14th of may at Noon, Eastern time.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race will take place on Sunday, May 15th, at 1 p.m. Eastern.

In the practice sessions, David Ragan was the only driver to be in the top-10 in practice speeds in both sessions.

Between both practice sessions, Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch shared the top spots.  They were followed by A.J. Allmendinger, Brad Keselowskit, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards and  Joey Logano shared the top-5 other spots across the two practices.

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NASCAR At Darlington Raceway This Weekend, Top Performers, Top-35 & More

by on May 5, 2011

in nascar, sports

This weekend, NASCAR is returning to Darlington Raceway, best known for the nickname, The Lady in Black.  It’s a tough track and every driver needs to bring their ‘A’ game… even compared to other weekends.

If you’re wondering what the NASCAR Cup schedule is like at  Darlington, here’s a rough guide to what’s happening when: (All times Eastern)

Friday (5/6)

11:30 AM First Practice on Speed
2:00 PM Practice on Speed
5:00 PM Qualifying on Speed

Saturday (5/7)

7:30 PM Southern 500 live on Fox

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Who are we looking at to possibly outperform the rest of the gang?  Good question.

We haven’t seen a repeat winner at the track since 2006 though over the last 12 races, the statistics say Jeff Gordon loves this place, and then followed up by Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman.  Maybe we’ll see Gordon redeem himself after donating his car’s paint to the wall at Richmond.

Among the bunch noted in the above section, Hamlin won in ’10, Martin in ’09, Gordon in ’07.  It feels like a grab bag.  I could only venture forth a real guess after I’ve seen some practice and qualifying data and see who unloads off the truck.

Though, if I had to pick now, I’d pull Greg Biffle‘s name because he’s lead the most laps, per modern-day loop data, and this track may cater to his abilities.

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‘Aaron’s 499′ Qualifying [Can We Say 'Hendrick Motorsports'?]

by on April 16, 2011

in nascar, sports

Bruce's NASCAR Bits and Pieces LogoAfter a good ARCA race that only saw a few single car, ‘that’s racin’ incidents, NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying for the Aaron’s 499 took to the track. Or more specifically, Hendrick Motorsports took to the track and showed up qualifying!

Hendrick Motorsports drivers took the top four positions of the day with Jeff Gordon on the pole and Jimmie Johnson filling out the front row, and Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. filling out the second row.  (Dale Jr. is having a decent year so far and I’m sure his fans are hoping he’ll keep it up!)

With only two drivers to go, the rest of the field behind the front rows included Paul Menard, Landon Cassill, David Ragan, Kurt Busch, Brian Vickers & Clint Bowyer filling out the top-ten spots.

Daytona star Trevor Bayne took eleventh.

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Patrick Hires Benson & Waltrip Re-Ups with Best Western [NASCAR]

by on March 6, 2011

in nascar, sports

Danica Patrick hired Johnny Benson to help her out at a few tracks during her NASCAR Nationwide Series endeavor. One of those being Las Vegas. It looks like it might be paying off.

Danica Patrick just made a bit of history and finished 4th in the Las Vegas Nationwide Series race and that is the highest NASCAR finish by a woman in a NASCAR national series.  She achieved the finish through a combination of digging back from a 2-lap down position and fuel management to finish 4th.

That was great to see her snag a decent finish finally. Mark Martin won the race, this being his 49th win under the 2nd national tier series, the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

But with Mark Martin starting on Sunday in the Cup race, will mark his 1,052nd start in NASCAR. Richard Petty started 1,199 races.

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Best Western International renewed their relationship with Michael Waltrip Racing for the 2011 season.

Best Western has backed Waltrip’s team for the last seven years. Best Western also has a Speed Rewards program for race fans. Check out the Best Western press release below for other info!

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NASCAR Driver News Updates (McMurray, Martin, Wallace, Elliott & More)

by on January 19, 2011

in nascar, sports

Bruce's NASCAR Bits and Pieces Logo

Today we’ve collected some updates on a few NASCAR drivers that you might be interested in hearing about.  We chat about Jamie McMurray’s new contract, Mark Martin’s 2011 plans, what Rusty Wallace has in mind for his son Steve, Michael McDowell’s 2011 driving plans.  Plus a few NASCAR Bits & Pieces on Bill Elliott, Dave Blaney & Sam Hornish.

Jamie McMurray

Daytona 500 champion Jamie McMurray speaks at a press conference at Willie Mays Plaza in front of AT&T Park following his victory tour of San Francisco

Jamie McMurray signed a multi-year contract extension with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing (EGR), giving him a seat for the next couple of years.  If you remember, he won the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte last year, but ended up 14th in points.  I’d love to see him get more gusto in that car/team and compete for the Cup!  He’s a likable personality who I like to see interviewed.

Mark Martin

Mark Martin has huge plans.  He’s looking to compete in all three National NASCAR series this year, Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series.  Hmm, I wonder which series he declared that he’ll be competing for the championship in?  A really twisted part of me would love to see him tame the Nationwide Series yet again, but seriously, we know where he has to be.

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Why The Jimmie Johnson Haters Need to Take A Step Back and See The Stats

by on November 27, 2010

in nascar, sports

Jimmie Johnson Five-Peat Championship

This article is an opinion on the performance of NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson and how consistently he has performed since his rookie year, no matter what points system or car type he’s been in.  After I’m done, you just might understand why I’ve started see Johnson’s performance  for what it is .

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I’ve always been a bit confused about a vocal part of the NASCAR fan base who have such a rage-on for Jimmie Johnson.

It’s amazing how people can dig up the hate on the guy.  An acquaintance of mine had spouted his distaste for Jimmie after he won his fifth straight championship.  According to his opinion, my peer declared that NASCAR made sure their golden boy won his fifth title and went on to declare that it was a crock of refuse.  (But with the grittier word in place of refuse.)

NASCAR’s Golden Boy

Dale Earnhardt Jr and Taylor Swift at 2008 Nashville Sound and Speed

But if you really have to know, NASCAR’s golden boy is Dale Earnhardt Jr., who accounts for over 50% of all merchandise sales of diecast, clothing & accessories of the sport.  And as his performance has been declining, so too have been the sales, and NASCAR feels that pinch, whether you realize it or not.

If NASCAR were to actually back their “golden boy,” they’d do everything they could to get Dale Eanrhardt Jr. in the winner’s circle and out of his business suit where Dale Jr owns a lot of companies like television production companies, race tracks, race teams, real estate offices, bars and what not.  They wouldn’t be applying so much parity to the sport to spread the wealth of winning if they had a “golden boy.”

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