Off The Wall Racing News

NASCAR

A New Twist for Daytona’s Budweiser Shootout


It was announced last Friday that NASCAR has changed the eligibility requirements for the February 12 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway.
Drivers who have won Sprint Cup rookies of the year honors from 2001-2010 will now be included in the non-points exhibition race.

So, along with the 12 drivers who competed in the 2010 Chase for the championship and the past series champions and previous winners of the Budweiser Shootout, the Daytona 500 and the July Cup race at Daytona, any ROY’s who don’t qualify under the other requirements will be included. This means that Kasey Kahne (ROY in 2004), Regan Smith (2008), Joey Logano (2009) and Kevin Conway (2010) are now eligible bringing the total to thirty drivers for this year's Budweiser Shootout.
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NASCAR Illustrated’s Person of the Year:

Joe Gibbs

Gibbs fits the bill as a person who has had the greatest positive impact both on and off the track in NASCAR…

Since entering NASCAR as the owner of Joe Gibbs Racing in 1992, Joe’s teams have won three Cup Championships and nearly a fourth with Denny Hamlin finishing second in 2010.

With 88 career Cup victories, JGR has thrived in NASCAR. Beyond NASCAR, Joe is a
winner in every aspect of the term. Prior to becoming involved in auto racing, Joe’s Washington Redskin NFL teams won three Super Bowl Championships leading up to Gibbs' induction into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1996.

But the measure of this man is much deeper than simply as a winner in sports. Joe Gibbs is a strongly religious man who has positively touched many lives with his faith-based philosophy. He has written a best-selling book entitled “Game Plan For Life” in an attempt to inspire people in every walk of life. Giving inspirational speeches on many occasions, this man, in his soft-spoken way, has become a part of the fabric that is America.

Joe Gibbs is a true asset not only to American sport, but to the human race.
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SPEED TV is on it! Daytona testing coverage...

23 hours of live testing coverage from Daytona Jan. 20-22 will be presented on both SPEEDTV and SPEEDTV.com as the Sprint Cup Series engine testing roars back to life next week for the first time in three years.

Here’s the schedule:
Thursday, Jan. 20
9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (SPEED.com)
1 p.m. - 5 p.m. (SPEED.com)
5 p.m. - 7 p.m. (same-day delay) (SPEED)

Friday, Jan. 21
9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (SPEED.com)
1 p.m. - 2 p.m. (SPEED)
2 p.m. - 5 p.m. (SPEED.com)

Saturday, Jan. 22
9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (SPEED.com)
1 p.m. - 2 p.m. (SPEED)
2 p.m. - 5 p.m. (SPEED.com)
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Funnies!

For you Jeff Gordon fans…

An Oldie But a Goodie!
tez oughta like Taz!

Powerful Auto Batteries!

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Add this to Gene Haddock’s list of things to do to help NASCAR bring the fans back:

Start an office pool!

This is very similar to what we do here on Lug-Nuts. Check out the article. This pushes people, just like fantasy games, to at least tune in to the races and who knows, maybe it would push them to attend racing events in their area...

Here’s a link to the article on buzzle.com:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-do-nascar-office-pools-like-nfl-office-pools.html
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Want to know what Travis Pastrana was doing before NASCAR?

I know the vid is a little long but it’s worth the look…

Do you believe those guys literally flying just a few feet above the ground with those wing-like garments? Amazing… Must really be a rush! Then there’s the guy that parachuted from a helium balloon at over 70,000 feet above the earth… Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
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Formula One

Construction begins on Austin F1 track!

Wow! People are working… Earning a living! It’s a miracle! Way to go Texas!
(Now why does our wonderful media have to put a negative spin on this... The Austin track is a GREAT thing for thousands of people but here's this one poor guy upset about it and the media focuses on him. Want to know what one of the symptoms to our poor economy is? Look no further than the practices used by our news media. There, got that off my chest...)
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The 2011 Formula One Racing Calendar

13 March Bahrain
27 March Australia
10 April Malaysia
17 April China*
8 May Turkey
22 May Spain
29 May Monaco
12 June Canada
26 June Europe (Valencia)
10 July Great Britain
24 July Germany
31 July Hungary
28 August Belgium
11 September Italy
25 September Singapore
9 October Japan
16 October Korea
30 October India*
13 November Abu Dhabi
27 November Brazil

* Subject to circuit approval
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Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series – A Harbinger of Things to Come?

Last Sunday, Ryan Dalziel served notice that Starworks Motorsport is a team to watch in the 49th running of Daytona’s Rolex 24 later this month, unofficially breaking the Daytona International Speedway track record with a lap of 128.194mph (1:39.973) in the No. 8 Corsa Car Care Ford/Riley.

I believe they run a portion of this race on the new surface... Makes me wonder, will speeds top out above NASCAR’s mandated ceiling at the 500?
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Finally, how about going to the mall when looking for a new car? Check out this video of Europa Autopia’s new auto mall now under construction in Istanbul Turkey… There will be 48 dealerships, financing companies and insurance companies all under one roof and did you notice the roof? A test track is being constructed up there for people to test drive the vehicles! The time for auto malls is upon us!

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39 Days!