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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Weekly NASCAR News And Notes
A roundup of the week's news items from around NASCAR's Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series...
Jared Turner  |  Posted June 30, 2011   Charlotte, NC
Kurt Busch notched his first win of 2011 last Sunday at Sonoma. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Numbers On The Rise: Kurt Busch’s victory at Infineon Raceway last Sunday added to the already high number of different winners in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Eleven drivers have now gone to victory lane, the most through 16 races since 2003. Races at Daytona, much like this season, have offered a varied list of victors as there have been seven different winners in the last seven races. Competition numbers – both this season and at Daytona – have been likewise robust. Some notable statistics to consider from this season:
• Average of 13 leaders per race, most through 16 races in series history
• Average of 30 lead changes per race, most through 16 races in series history
• Eight races with a margin of victory under one second, including Talladega, which tied for the closest finish (.002 seconds) since the inception of electronic scoring in 1993.
• 42 different drivers have led at least one lap.
• 30 different drivers have scored at least one top-10 finish.
• February’s Daytona 500 set track records in both leaders (74) and lead changes (22).

New Surface, Big Competition: Saturday’s Cup race will be the first Daytona night race run on the new track surface. If the first Daytona 500 run on the new surface is any indication, it could be a record-setting event. Two major track records were broken during the 2011 Daytona 500. There were 74 lead changes and 22 leaders in February, the most ever at DIS. The highs for a 400-miler at Daytona: 49 lead changes (1974) and 18 leaders (2010).

Kenseth To Lose Sponsor: Crown Royal announced Tuesday that it will not sponsor a Sprint Cup car at Roush Fenway Racing nor any other NASCAR team beginning in 2012. For the past two years, Crown Royal had sponsored driver Matt Kenseth. “We are obviously disappointed with the news, but first we would like to thank Diageo and Crown Royal for a terrific partnership that has spanned almost a decade,” said Roush Fenway president Steve Newmark in a statement. “They have been a first-class partner all the way around. We look forward to finishing out the season with them on the No. 17 as Matt and the Crown Royal team continue to contend for another championship." Crown Royal will continue its sponsorship of the Sprint Cup race at Richmond and focus its NASCAR involvement on that race, an executive for parent company Diageo said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate that they will not be able to continue to be a part of our organization,” Newmark said. “Fortunately, our race programs are operating at a higher level than ever. The No. 17 is an attractive, championship-winning program with a storied history and Matt Kenseth an elite driver. We have already opened the door for discussions and are currently in the process of speaking with companies interested in taking over the program for next season and beyond.”

Chicagoland Secures Chase Race Sponsor: Geico signed a three-year deal this week to be the title sponsor for Chicagoland Speedway's Cup race. The deal gives Geico significant exposure in one of the nation's largest media markets and a high-profile position as the naming-rights partner for the first race in the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup. It's the first time the company has done a naming-rights agreement in any sport. Terms of the deal weren't available, but race title sponsorships typically sell for around $1 million a year. Sources said the Geico deal was backloaded so that the company would pay less this year and more in the final two years of the deal. It includes marketing and promotional commitments. Chicagoland is hosting a Chase event for the first time this year.

Nuts And Bolts: Jeff Burton will become the 22nd driver to reach 600 Sprint Cup Series starts this weekend. Kevin Harvick will make his 375th Cup start and Marcos Ambrose will be making his 100th series start. … Bubba the Love Sponge has been named the grand marshal and honorary pace car driver for the Coke Zero 400. Prior to the race, country artist Martina McBride will host an hour-long concert starting at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. … Troops to the Track program with the Armed Forces Foundation at Daytona will have a group of wounded warriors (Marines and a Navy medic) from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda out to the track. The guests will be treated to a variety of at-track related VIP experiences, including pace car rides, and meet and greets with Rusty Wallace, Kurt Busch and Richard Childress Racing. … Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson has been nominated for two ESPY Awards for ‘Best Male Athlete’ and ‘Best Driver.’ Also, Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne has been nominated for ‘Best Moment’ in sports this year. Fan voting for ESPY winners has begun.

The celebration begins for Dale Earnhardt Jr. after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona last July. (Photo: Getty Images)
Happy Anniversary: Friday night’s Nationwide Series race at Daytona marks the first anniversary of the inaugural race for the series’ new car, which was fully integrated this season following four points events at tracks of varying lengths in 2010. Dale Earnhardt Jr. electrified the Daytona crowd last July as he won the first new car race in the No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet, the number and paint scheme made famous by his late father.

Dash For Cash Is On: Close racing at high speeds on high banks under the lights is the recipe for an entertaining Nationwide Series race at Daytona. Adding an additional $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize raises the stakes even more. The top four drivers in the standings – Reed Sorenson, Elliott Sadler, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Justin Allgaier – are the eligible drivers competing for the bonus. The highest Daytona finisher of those four, no matter he ends up, will win the $100,000 “Dash 4 Cash” award and automatically qualify for the next bonus event at Iowa. The three-highest finishing driver championship contenders at Daytona also qualify for the next bonus event, at Iowa. Those same rules are in effect for the last two “Dash 4 Cash” races, to be held at Richmond and Charlotte in the fall. Nationwide Insurance will award an additional $600,000 to the prize if the same driver captures each “Dash 4 Cash” bonus and wins the final race at Charlotte, bringing the total prize to $1 million. There will be a distinct “Nationwide blue” windshield logo for the four eligible drivers, which will help fans identify those drivers competing for the bonus.

Nationwide Nuggets: Jason Leffler will be making his 275th Nationwide Series start this weekend at Daytona. Leffler now has 202 consecutive races started in the series, the longest active streak. Leffler assumed the No. 1 spot when Carl Edwards, racing in the Sprint Cup event at Infineon Raceway, missed last week’s race at Road America. Edwards’ streak ended at 210 starts. Dennis Setzer will be attempting to make his 150th series start this weekend, and Joe Nemechek will attempt to post his 75th top-five finish. He finished third at Talladega earlier this season. … 2011 Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne and JR Motorsports’ driver Danica Patrick will both have to qualify on time this weekend to assure their position in the Subway Jalapeno 250. Both Bayne and Patrick have average starting positions at Daytona in the top 15.

Truck Series Tidbits: ThorSport Racing driver Dakoda Armstrong, 19, won the June 25 ARCA race at Winchester Speedway in Indiana. The former World Karting Association champion previously won series races at Talladega Superspeedway and Salem, Ind. The Indiana farmer was ARCA’s 2010 rookie of the year. … Ricky Carmichael made a solid Nationwide Series road racing debut, finishing ninth on Saturday at Road America. Carmichael is slated to compete for Turner Motorsports in Friday's Nationwide Series Subway Jalapeno 250. … The Truck Series is off over the Fourth of July weekend but returns to action July 7 – a Thursday night race – at Kentucky Speedway. Current Sprint Cup Series points leader Carl Edwards won his first of six series races at the 1.5-mile facility in 2003, the track’s only first-time NCWTS winner. A win in Kentucky Speedway’s inaugural Quaker State 400 would give the Missourian a sweep of all three NASCAR national series. Edwards previously won the 2005 NNS Meijer 300.

Fireworks Galore: Following Saturday’s Coke Zero 400, Daytona International Speedway will showcase a fireworks show billed as the largest in the Southeast. The 15-minute show will be shot from 15 locations spread across the infield along the Superstretch. The show will feature shells ranging from one to eight inches in size, more than 10,000 pounds of explosive powder and 11,000 individual explosions. The type of shells range from traditional type shells such as Chrysanthemum, Peonies, Dahlias, Willows and Salutes and specialty shells such as, Smiley Faces, Star Patterns, Double Rings, 4 Color Changing, Shell of Shells, Crossettes, Strobing Diadems, Twilight Glitters and vibrant new pastel colors. The finale will last for approximately one minute, 30 seconds and will have over 2,000 individual pieces. The show uses enough control wire to wrap a lap around the 2.5-mile track.

Jared Turner is an Associate Editor for SPEED.com, covering NASCAR and Formula One, and is an Editor for TruckSeries.com. His professional motorsports writing career began in 2005.
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