NASCAR Talk

Shortly after winning the 50th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Ryan Newman and his car owner Roger Penske sat down to talk to the press about the experience and how it felt to win their first Daytona 500 for Penske Racing.

You can find out what Ryan thought about actually fulfilling his dreams from when he was a young boy in Indiana, how he attributes success to his family, and what it was like to be enshrined in concrete (or at least his hand prints and footprints) in victory lane. Just read the transcript of the Press Conference after the jump.

NASCAR, Ryan Newman Press Conference Transcript

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Once upon a time, series like the Indy Cars and Formula One had a lot of fans, a lot of hype, and a lot of money. Today, NASCAR has taken over the airwaves, many of the sponsors, and a lot of the fans. It is a commonly held belief amongst drivers and car owners that the Nextel Cup series is the epitome of racing nowadays, and that’s clearly where the money is. And money talks. Right now, it seems that money is calling to some of the best open wheel racers in the business who are leaving their comfort zone and taking a chance in NASCAR.

Obviously, Juan Pablo Montoya has been holding his own in the big leagues for Chip Gnassi Racing, and is leading the points for the Rookie of the Year honors at the Nextel Cup level. He drove a few Busch Series races last year to get his feet wet, and it wasn’t long before the road course specialist won his first race in the Nextel Cup. Now the 2007 Indy 500 winner (and Ashley Judd’s husband) Dario Franchitti has just announced he will be leaving the Indy Car series to drive the #40 Cup car for Chip Gnassi Racing full time during the 2008 Season. Literally, I heard it on ESPN as a breaking news report as I started typing this post last night, and an official press conference is scheduled for today (the announcement will be made live at 10:30 ET on Speed Channel). It has been confirmed previously that Franchitti will make his NASCAR debut this weekend in the ARCA race at Talladega.

I also heard Jeff Gordon complaining in a sound bite this afternoon on the radio about how Jacques Villeneuve, Formula One superstar, will make his cup debut at Talladega this Sunday with no more NASCAR driving under his belt beyond a lack-luster finish in the Las Vegas Craftsman Truck race and a Car of Tomorrow Test Session at Talladega. Hendrick teammate Kyle Busch shares Gordon’s reservations about an untested driver joining a restrictor plate race in the middle of the Chase with no previous seat time.

What do you think about these drivers making the leap to the big leagues? Do they need more practice before they jump in feet first, or do you welcome them and their talent to the races? Let me know in the comment section below.

NASCAR, Dario Franchitti, Chip Gnassi Racing, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jacques Villeneuve, Open Wheel racers in NASCAR

As I posted last week, Hendrick Motorsports will be holding a press conference today centering around Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s primary sponsor and car number. It is now official that the Speed Channel will be breaking into their programming to bring viewers the announcement live at 1 pm ET and ESPNNews will begin coverage at 1:30 pm ET. The Hendrick Motorsports website gives these additional details about what will be shown on the Speed Channel:

Anchored by SPEED’s Steve Byrnes from the network’s Charlotte studio, Earnhardt will disclose additional information about his racing plans in 2008 with Hendrick Motorsports, including his sponsor and car number.

It has all but been confirmed by NASCAR.com reporter Marty Smith that Jr. will be driving the #88 car next year, as Robert Yates Racing has officially sold that number to Hendrick. Current rumors have the car with a split primary sponsorship between Mt. Dew and the National Guard, with Amp Energy Drink logos on both designs. Tune in to Speed Channel later today for full coverage.

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Kasey Kahne’s primary sponsor for 2008 is set to be announced today in a press conference from Gillett Evernham Motorsports headquarters in North Carolina. Sources have already confirmed last week that Budweiser will be making the jump to the #9 Dodge piloted by Kahne, but an official announcement has yet to be made. What is unclear is whether or not Budweiser will share primary sponsorship with another company as is rumored. It has been widely speculated that Kahne’s current sponsor, All State, will be featured on the hood of the car with a blue paint scheme for some races next season (yet to be determined). However, Budweiser is known to be somewhat selfish with primary sponsorship of their cars and this could possibly have been the reason for such a delay in the official announcement. The announcement will be made during a live webcast on the Gillett Evernham Motorsports website at 10 am ET.

What do you think of Kasey as the new Bud spokesman? Does it fit his image? There have been pictures of him partying with a Bud Light in his hand in the off season circulating on the internet, so he just may be the right man for the job. Leave your comments below.

NASCAR, Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Kasey Kahne, Kasey Kahne Budweiser, Kasey Kahne 2008 sponsor announcement

Hendrick Motorsports has put out a press release detailing a press conference to be held next Wednesday September 19th in Dallas, TX. The subject of the event will be Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s new number, paint scheme, and sponsors for the 2008 season at the Pepsi headquarters. Mountain Dew and Amp Energy Drink, which are both Pepsi products, have already been confirmed as two of the primary sponsors, but if either will be the main sponsor has yet to be revealed.

As for the number, it is known that Casey Mears will be moving to the #5 car and the #25 car is being eliminated. ESPN is reporting that there will be an 8 involved in some fashion:

Hendrick Motorsports has requested trademarks from the U.S. Patent Office for five numbers that include an 8 — 81, 82, 38, 58 and 28. The number 28 was requested last week, which led to speculation it’s the choice, but Earnhardt previously said he liked 81.

What do you think it will be? Can it be the 28 or 38? Doesn’t RYR own those numbers? I’m putting my money on the 81. Junior drives the 81 sometimes when he Busch Whacks and would already be associated with the number in some ways. I’m also guessing that Mountain Dew will be the main sponsor. Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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