NASCAR Acceleration Weekend

NASCAR Acceleration Weekend 

How’s that for whetting an appetite?

 

Teams completed the three-day Preseason Thunder at Daytona test session last Saturday, ratcheting up the anticipation for the 54th Daytona 500 on Feb. 26 in the process.

 

New faces, new outlooks and new optimism. That was the theme of the media availabilities throughout the weekend, as drivers look to etch their names into the Harley J. Earl Trophy in February and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship trophy in November.

 

Next up on the preseason docket – NASCAR Acceleration, a three-day extravaganza linking the NASCAR’s past and present.

 

NASCAR Hall Of Fame Induction, NASCAR Preview Presented by Sprint Hits Charlotte

Charlotte becomes the epicenter of NASCAR Acceleration Weekend on Jan. 20-21. The NASCAR Hall of Fame inducts its third class comprised of the late Richie Evans, Dale Inman, Glen Wood, Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough on Jan. 20 at the Crown Ballroom in the Charlotte Convention Center. Activities begin at 7:30 p.m.

 

NASCAR Preview 2012 Presented by Sprint takes place beginning at 9 a.m. Jan. 21 with NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series drivers on hand for autographs in the ballroom and Exhibit Hall. Here’s a complete rundown of drivers and appearance times:

 

NASCAR Preview 2012 Presented by Sprint

Driver Appearance Times (Ballroom)

9:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. – Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth

10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson

11:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. – Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski

12:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. – Greg Biffle

12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. – Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman

2:45 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. – Dale Earnhardt Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya

3:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. – Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart

 

Driver Appearance Times (Exhibit Hall)

9 a.m. – 11 a.m. – AJ Allmendinger, Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears, David Ragan, Justin Allgaier, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Timmy Hill, Blake Koch, Travis Pastrana, Timothy Peters

11 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Marcos Ambrose, Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard, Regan Smith, Brian Vickers, Aric Almirola, Trevor Bayne, Brian Scott, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brad Sweet, Cale Gale, Justin Lofton, Todd Peck

12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. – Michael Annett, Elliott Sadler, Mike Wallace, Dakoda Armstrong, Johnny Sauter, Parker Kligerman, Brian Keselowski, Michael Waltrip, Jason Leffler, Todd Bodine

2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. – Danica Patrick, Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon, Morgan Shepherd, Kenny Wallace, Joey Coulter, Ty Dillon, Brendan Gaughan, Tim George Jr., Max Gresham

 

Defending Champ Bayne Hits Hot-lanta

In advance of the 54^th running of the Daytona 500, defending champion Trevor Bayne will head to Atlanta for a round of media hits, capped off by a visit to the Hawks-Trailblazers game.

 

Bayne will once again drive the historic No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford in Feb. 26’s Daytona 500. The last driver to win back-to-back Daytona 500s was Sterling Marlin in 1994-95. Only three drivers have accomplished the feat: Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Marlin.

 

Off-Season Brings Many Personnel Changes

Last year’s conclusion didn’t exactly turn the garage upside down but there has been enough driver and crew chief movement to whet the appetite of any NASCAR hot stove enthusiast.

David Ragan, winner of last year’s July Daytona race, joins Front Row Motorsports; Kasey Kahne, winner at Phoenix International Raceway in November, joins Hendrick Motorsports in one of the most anticipated shifts. Other driver changes include AJ Allmendinger to Penske Racing; Aric Almirola moves from the NASCAR Nationwide Series to Richard Petty Motorsports; Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin head to Michael Waltrip Racing; 2004 series champion Kurt Busch moves to Phoenix Racing; Danica Patrick moves full-time to the NASCAR Nationwide Series and will drive a limited campaign with Stewart-Haas Racing; and David Reutimann takes a seat with Tommy Baldwin Racing.

 

On other side of pit wall, Stewart-Haas gets two significant additions: Tony Stewart’s former championship crew chief Greg Zipadelli becomes competition director and Steve Addington joins as crew chief of the Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet. Additional crew chief moves include Kenny Francis to Hendrick with Kahne; Darian Grubb to Joe Gibbs Racing and Denny Hamlin; Jason Ratcliff with Joey Logano; Brian Pattie to Michael Waltrip Racing and Bowyer; Drew Blickensderfer to Richard Childress Racing and Jeff Burton; Shane Wilson remaining with RCR but taking over Kevin Harvick’s No. 29 Chevrolet; Todd Berrier to JTG Daugherty Racing and Bobby Labonte; and Chris Heroy, formerly a Hendrick Motorsports engineer getting his first Sprint Cup crew chief role with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates for Juan Pablo Montoya.

 

Clock Work: Historic 50th Anniversary of the Rolex 24 Nears

On Wednesday at 2 p.m., the two most prolific drivers in Rolex 24 will be available to the media on a national teleconference in advance of the 50^th anniversary of the historic endurance race.

The 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona is the most anticipated road race in the history of North American motorsports. This teleconference features two of the iconic drivers in the event.

Hurley Haywood faces the first challenge to his claim as the lone five-time Rolex 24 winner in more than a decade. The racing legend shifted his focus to team management in 2011, and he helped guide Brumos Racing to the Rolex 24 GT championship in the Jacksonville, Fla.-based team’s return to its historic production-based ranks. Haywood will join defending Rolex Series GT champions Andrew Davis and Leh Keen, plus Marc Lieb, in the iconic No. 59 Porsche carrying the same paint scheme that it had in Haywood’s first Rolex 24 triumph in 1973.

Scott Pruett’s four overall triumphs are among his event-leading nine class victories. He’s finished first or second in the last five Rolex 24s, and is also a four-time and defending Daytona Prototype champion. Pruett returns in the No. 01 entry fielded by four-time Rolex 24 winner Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates with the same driver lineup that won in 2011, DP co-champion Memo Rojas, Joey Hand and Graham Rahal.