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NASCAR News: STP 400 this Sunday at Kansas Speedway

April 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Last Race
So what is it about Texas that the Roush Fenway team loves so much, the BBQ brisket maybe? They performed great at the track last year and continued with the winning trend when Greg Biffle captured the checkered flag at the Samsung Mobile 500. A fast race with very long periods of green flag racing witnessed Biffle break his long losing streak and with his strong finishes this season he could be the first driver to win all three NASCAR titles. He has already won the Truck Series and the Nationwide Series titles in past seasons.

Biffle edged by Jimmie Johnson late in the race while one of the favorites in the race, Tony Stewart, finished two laps down, hurt by the fact that his primary car out from a practice accident earlier in the week and a slow backup. The top five was filled by Johnson, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth.

This Weekend
This week they are back to running under the sun, with the STP 400 at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway that features 15 degrees in the turns and 10.4 degrees in the front stretch and 5 degrees in the back stretch. The facility has a 72,000 person capacity and if you want to see video of past events, and other NASCAR races head over to YouTube.

Broadcast
Sunday, 12:30 pm ET on Fox

Twitter feeds
@Kansasspeedway- Tracks official Twitter feed
@NASCAR-Official NASCAR feed
@NationwideNNS-Nationwide Official Twitter
@NASCAR_NNS-NASCAR Nationwide feed
@NASCARONFOX-Fox Sports feed
@AllWaltrip-3 Time NASCAR Champ and Fox announcer
@PRNLive-Performance Racing Network

Sprint Cup Standings
1) Greg Biffle
2) Matt Kenseth -19
3) Dale Earnhardt Jr. -19
4) Martin Truex Jr. -20
5) Kevin Harvick -24

Nationwide Series
The Roush team did not just win the Sprint race; it also won the Nationwide race of Friday night with Rickey Stenhouse Jr. surviving a restart with six laps left in the race. This is Roush’s fourth consecutive Nationwide Series win at the Texas Motor Speedway, and that is quite something.

Paul Menard, who led the race for a total of 100 laps and started in the pole position came in second while the rest of the top finishers were Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon. For any Dancia Patrick fans, she had her best finish to date with a late race charge going from 13 into the 8th spot at the finish line.

Once again the Nationwide Series is taking a week off, and will next appear once again under the lights, this time racing in Richmond on the 27th.

Nationwide Series Standings
1) Elliott Sadler
2) Ricky Stenhouse Jr -4
3) Austin Dillon -20
4) Sam Hornish Jr. -54
5) Michael Annett -64

Dale Juniors’ Track
Ever wonder what drivers do at home? Well I cannot really tell you but here is an interesting look at the property that Dale Earnhardt Jr. lives on, and it looks like he has developed a nice dirt track where he and friends can go take a spin. Oh, it is also a car graveyard.

I like to think that he has BBQs and then has friends do impromptu races around the track, setting new records reaching what looks like a number of his and his rivals older cars stationed around the property. Head over here and see how many cars you can find in the photos on Yahoo.

Filed Under: Athlete to Follow, Contests, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Fox Sports, Kansas Speedway, NASCAR, Sprint, Yahoo, YouTube Tagged With: ,

NASCAR Under the Lights at Samsung Mobile 500 in Texas

April 13, 2012 by 2 Comments

LAST RACE
The results were either interesting or disappointing from Martinsville’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 two weeks ago, depending on who you are rooting for and what you look for in a race. The race had its fill of last minute screw ups including last lap stalling, crashes and over time. When the dust and smoke had settled, but probably not the tempers, Ryan Newman was the victor.
The Top 5 Finishers

Ryan Newman
AJ Allmendinger
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Matt Kenseth
Martin Truex Jr.

THIS WEEKEND
Now the circuit has moved on to Texas for the Samsung Mobile 500 that will take place on the 1.5 mile oval track at Texas Motor Speedway. A quick reminder, the Nationwide race will be tonight (Friday) and the Sprint race is tomorrow night under the lights. I hope none of the Nationwide drivers are superstitious about racing on Friday the 13th!

Last year Matt Kenseth finally ended a streak of also-rans at the track by taking hoe the checkered flag, and with his solid performance last week has to be considered a top contender here again. In the Sprint Cup standings the drivers are still very bunched up at the top, with four tied for third place but the makeup of the drivers and teams has remained relatively stable from the last race.

BROADCAST
Sat. 7PM ET on Fox

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW
I occasionally tap in to individual drivers twitter feeds but need to do so more often as some have very interesting things to sday, while others often sound like a PR team is pushing the comments out. Any recommendations on who to follow?
@NASCAR-Official NASCAR feed
@TXMotorspeedway-Texas Motor Speedway Official feed
@TMSTotalAccess-Brad Gillie-Texas MS All Access show
@NASCARONFOX-Fox Sports feed
@AllWaltrip-3 Time NASCAR Champ and Fox announcer

SPRINT LEADERBOARD-Race 6-36
1) Greg Biffle
2) Dale Earnhardt Jr. -6
3) Tony Stewert -12
4) Matt Kenseth -12
5) Kevin Harvick -12
6) Martin Truex Jr. -12

For the Nationwide O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 race the fastest lap was turned in by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with a speed of 179.611 miles per hour in one of his practice laps. There will be an additional hour of practice this morning a few hours prior to the start of the race. The four top positions following Stenhouse Jr. are filled by Elliott Sadler, Paul Menard, Kasey Kahne and Joey Logano.
Last year the race was won by Carl Edwards, a feat that marketed a repeat performance by the driver as he won the event the previous year as well.

NATIONWIDE LEADERBOARD-
1) Elliott Stadler 214
2) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -18 behind
3) Austin Dillon -27 behind
4) Trevor Bayne -34 behind
5) Sam Hornish Jr. -54 behind

Hall of Fame Vote 2013-Your Vote Counts!
NASCAR has released its list of nominees for election into its Hall of Fame for 2013, with a slate of 25 people which will be honed down to five lucky people that will be honored by being selected for induction.

We are not going to list them all, you can just hop over to the site and see all of the people, with a succinct mentioning of why they deserve to be on the list. Of more interest to fans is that the can have a say by voting on the Class of 2013, so as they say in Chicago “Vote early and vote often.”

Filed Under: Fox Sports, NASCAR, Texas Motor Speedway, Twitter Tagged With: ,

NASCAR Running at Martinsville

March 30, 2012 by 1 Comment

The racing crowd, or at least portions of it, will be happy to see that we at MSR will be tracking the Sprint and Nationwide races a bit more each week starting with “Watching NASCAR this Week”, a title that is a poor imitation of our “Watching Golf this week” effort. The goal is to provide information on where the races are, when they are, and who is leading this week. The primary focus, at least initially, will be on the Sprint Series but we will add additional series as the season goes on.

Since much of the broadcast information is easily available from a local paper we also want to include on-line and mobile sources of information including some of the solid Twitter feeds that are out there so that if you cannot see this week’s races you can at least quickly and easily check to see who is leading and how your favorites are doing. Since this is very much a work in progress please feel free to drop us a line mentioning any Twitter feeds, bloggers or beat writers that you feel should be included in the roundup in the future.

THE TRACK-THE RACE
This week the teams return to Martinsville, with an April Fool’s Day race for Sprint for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500. Last year’s winner Kevin Harvick will be back behind the wheel to see if he can replicate last year’s results and possibly move up in the points standings. However on a short course such as this cautions and accidents lead to plenty of lead changes and drivers being unable to finish the race so it would be foolish to make an early prediction. For those concerned about the weather the forecast is for sunny.

The Martinsville track was founded in 1947 and has been running races every year since the NASCAR Sprint Series was founded in 1949. At .526 miles in length it is the shortest track on the circuit and so one that has a somewhat unique shape, sort of an elongated oval. The facility holds 63,000 fans and hosts four major races a year including the TUMS Fast Relief 500 as well as a NASCAR Late Model Stock Car race.

BROADCAST
The broadcast will be on Fox starting at 12:30 ET


ONLINE
Fox Sports NASCAR Page
Auto Racing Daily
NASCAR Home page
ESPN NASCAR page

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW
While I am not rooting for a flaming crash like the one that occurred at the Daytona 500 where these was a first ever in race Tweet by Brad Keselowski that soared in popularity it would be interesting to get a driver to send a tweet of a pit stop, or maybe someone from the pit (Probably lose their job, however).

@NASCAR-Official NASCAR feed
@NASCARONFOX-Fox Sports feed
@AllWaltrip-3 Time NASCAR Champ and Fox announcer

SPRINT LEADER BOARD – Race 5 of 36
1) Greg Biffle 195 points

2) Kevin Harvick -7 behind

3) Dale Earnhardt Jr. -17 behind

4) Tony Stewart -18 behind

5) Martin Truex Jr. -20 behind

NATIONWIDE SHOUTOUT–
While initially the Nationwide races will not be a priority here, mainly due to time constraints, it is always well worth taking a look at the races and drivers. At the NASCAR.Com site this week there is a nice piece about how Elliott Stadler has been reborn as a driver in this series after more than a decade in the Cup Series.

NATIONWIDE LEADERBOARD–
1) Elliott Stadler 214

2) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -18 behind

3) Austin Dillon -27 behind

4) Trevor Bayne -34 behind

5) Sam Hornish Jr. -54 behind

NEXT WEEKS RACE:
There will be a one week hiatus-time to break out the Xbox!

Filed Under: ESPN, Fox Sports, Martinsville, NASCAR, Uncategorized Tagged With:

Daytona 500 Delayed — Could Pressure Next NASCAR Race

February 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Sunday's 200,000 fans not this dry

Sunday’s heavy rains forced a delay for the Daytona 500 race, the first time in the iconic race’s 54-year history that it has been delayed. Track officials waited over four hours before deciding that was not going to be a window of clear weather that was long enough to allow the track to dry off sufficiently to allow for racing.

The race has been tentatively moved to Monday but weather reports are not promising as the forecast currently calls for rain. It is likely that the track will wait much longer since any additional delays will make it difficult to reach Phoenix in a timely manner for next week’s NASCAR race.

For the office bound-look online for info

For racing fans there is still news to be had online. We listed a number of services that are being provided by the Daytona International Speedway last week but there are other online and social media sources for fans that might be trapped in an office during the race.

With the race being broadcast on Fox there is of course http://www.foxnews.com/sports/nascar/index.htmls web site that focuses specifically on NASCAR. With a lot at stake they will very likely have their finger on the pulse to see if the race does start at noon EST, or what time it is likely to start. ESPN of course also has a strong NASCAR presence at can be viewed at its site as well.

If you are looking to have a bit of input and possibly chat with other fans while at work, you can head over to Speedtv.com and join in the Twitter conversations that are ongoing or follow any one of a number of drivers Twitter feeds as they talk about the race and the rain issue.

Filed Under: Daytona 500, ESPN, Fox Sports, NASCAR Tagged With: ,

Daytona 500 features Huge Mobile and Social Media Push

February 21, 2012 by 1 Comment

The Daytona International Speedway (DIS), home of this week’s 54th Daytona 500 has been working to expand the sports appeal to the users of social media and has launched a series of programs that will enable fans both at the track and at home to follow the race.

The effort actual started last Saturday night with the first event of the NASCAR season, the Budweiser Shootout, which kicks off its annual Speedweek push. In case you missed the race it was won in spectacular style by Kyle Busch.

Speedweek has something for just about any racing fan and a quick look at its web site shows a comprehensive wealth of information for the fans including overall schedules, FANZONE schedule, track activity and appearances by drivers to list just a few of the events.

However the outreach to directly interact with fans is on Twitter, where fans can join into conversations with drivers, teams, DIS and the media that track this sport. Look to add these onto your Twitter feed – with @DISupdates, #DAYTONA500, #BudweiserShootout, #GatoradeDuel, @NextEra_Energy Resources 250, #DRIVE4COPD300, #Speedweeks. For fans at the track on race day there is also contact @DIS_help and #DIShelp for customer service questions.

The track has been working to enhance its online and social media presence for some time and this push is a continuation of that effort. NASCAR’s Facebook page has over 2.5 million likes while Daytona’s has over 400,000.

“There’s a reason why Daytona International Speedway boasts the largest social media following of any racetrack in NASCAR,” said Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III said in a release. “During Speedweeks, we’ll continue our efforts to make it easy and enjoyable for fans to get closer to the sport, while also reaching out to our younger, more technologically savvy race fans.”

DIS said on Monday that they plan to make the 54th Daytona 500 and Speedweeks a memorable event in many ways, starting with the largest and most expansive social media effort in NASCAR to further engage fans at the “World Center of Racing” and at home.

“There’s a reason why Daytona International Speedway boasts the largest social media following of any racetrack in NASCAR,” said Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III. “During Speedweeks, we’ll continue our efforts to make it easy and enjoyable for fans to get closer to the sport, while also reaching out to our younger, more technologically savvy race fans.”

Join the conversation with DIS, media, teams and drivers on Twitter with @DISupdates, #DAYTONA500, #BudweiserShootout, #GatoradeDuel, @NextEra_Energy Resources 250, #DRIVE4COPD300, #Speedweeks, and contact @DIS_help and #DIShelp for customer service questions on race days. Don’t forget to also follow @NASCAR, and #NASCAR.

There is a free DIS app for both Android and Apple iOS smartphone users that will enable fans at the race as well as the less fortunate than could not make the journey track a wide range of events including receiving new articles.

For fans at the race the app includes a great deal of basic information of the type that can be invaluable including daily schedules, gate policies, directions, and interactive GPS facility and parking maps with search capabilities. There is even a feature called ‘friend finder’ to help locate friends at the various events. There will be QR codes located prominently all around the track that connect to the DIS app.

In addition there will be special QR that fans can use to enter a sweepstakes with NASCAR.COM to win tickets to the 2013 DAYTONA 500. Texting has not been forgotten as well as fans at the race can text DISINFO to 69050 for updates during events as well as information relating to gate opening times, parking and more. For information on specific questions fans can text DISFAN to 69050 and a live attendant will be on hand to respond.

I really like this proactive outreaching to fans by the DIS. For first time fans at the race the mobile app can be a life saver rather her than walking around lost and constantly asking for help. The range of information and content will likely augment fans enjoyment of the race regardless of if they are in attendance or not. I just hope that the tracks network is up to handling the increased traffic this push is likely to generate. I am sure we will hear the complaints if it does not.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Daytona 500, Facebook, iPhone, NASCAR, Smartphone, Twitter Tagged With: ,

FanVision allows Fans to follow NFL Games while in Attendence

November 15, 2011 by 2 Comments


Football fans upset with the limited or poor reception capabilities of their smartphones at football venues might want to take a look at FanVision and its mobile broadcast offerings. While currently only available in a limited number of venues the technology has the potential to save you from the frustration of using your phone as well allow you to see plays that you might have missed.

Available in only 12 NFL stadiums, as well as for Formula 1 racing and the University of Michigan football games it offers fans a number of viewing options and additional features. FanVision Entertainment, which started life as Kangaroo TV in 2003 the company claims that it has so far attended 170 live events in 20 nations including PGA and NASCAR events.

Designed for use in the stadium where the attendee is watching the game FanVision provides a handheld device that features a 4.3-inch display and it claims that it has a six hour battery life. It provides live coverage of the game with multiple camera angles, and has instant replay from multiple angles. There are also custom highlight reels as well as player and team stats and bios .It provides live audio from the local announcing team and in select out of market games it also provides the national radio feed.

There are a total of ten channels and among the other content is the NFL Red Zone, a cheerleader cam, the network telecast of the local game and live fantasy football updates. The NFL teams covered are Arizona, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Minnesota, Miami, New York Jets, Philadelphia, Seattle, St. Louis and Washington D.C.

FanVision has developed a system that avoids the reception issue by putting the broadcast gear in the stadium with equipment at both ends of the stadium and elsewhere and claims that it can reach everywhere in the entire facility. As many fans know, despite having five bars or a strong signal does not ensure that you will be able to make a connection to a network with your phone for uploading, downloading text, email, and video or for any possible purpose.

Since it is offered at a limited number of NFL stadiums currently, and not any that I have attended in the last few year, I have not seen it in action but the premise looks solid and it gets generally positive to very positive reviews. It is not a perfect system according to the reviews but the flaws seem minor compared to the advantages that it brings and I could see buying one if I had a still had season tickets at a stadium it is offered in or rent one if available at a game I am going to attend, now I will not miss the action while in the beer line!

Rental of the devices is $19.99 per game while purchasing the device costs $199 for the remainder of the current season. The full-season price is $249.

Filed Under: Denver Broncos, FanVision, Live sports via mobile, NASCAR, NCAA Football, NFL Tagged With: , , ,
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