Nearly a month into the “off-season” for NASCAR competition, the headlines continue to mount with news, announcements and other topics of interest surrounding the top-three national touring series of NASCAR.
As the off-season races towards the checkered flag in February, CATCHFENCE.com will keep you informed with its “in-review” column, offering a quick glance at some the trending topics in the sport of NASCAR.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:
Heart Surgery Sidelines Brian Vickers: Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 55 Aaron’s Toyota Camry will miss the start of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season after undergoing corrective surgery this past Saturday.
Vickers through a team release explained on Monday that he wasn’t feeling well last week and admitted himself to a hospital. Upon results of those tests, it was determined that his body was rejecting an artificial patch that was inserted in 2010 to fix a hole in his heart.
This past Saturday, Vickers had surgery to repair the hole and is (now) beginning the healing process. Michael Waltrip Racing, the team that Vickers drives for has not said how long the 31-year old will be sidelined.
“I want to thank everyone for their sincere support,” said Vickers in a release. “I have faced obstacles before and it has made victory that much sweeter and I know that will be the case again. I will need plenty of time, rest and rehab but this temporary setback will not stop me from pursuing my dream of becoming a NASCAR Sprint Cup champion.”
NASCAR Mixes Up Sprint Unlimited Eligibility: Coming off one of the most exciting seasons in NASCAR history, the sanctioning body announced on Monday that all 16 Chase drivers will be eligible to compete in the 75-lap event on Saturday Feb. 14 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
In addition to Chase drivers and 2014 Coors Light Pole Award winners, as well as former Sprint Unlimited race winners, former Daytona 500 pole winners who competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series full time in 2014 will now also be eligible to compete.
A.J. Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Danica Patrick and Martin Truex Jr. all will receive a waiver into the Sprint Unlimited as either a Chase driver from 2014 or a former Daytona 500 pole sitter.
“The 2015 Sprint Unlimited has potential to be one of the most competitive ever,” said NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell. “With more drivers eligible, the intensity level increases for our fans and competitors, making for a compelling start to the 2015 season.”
Brian Vickers was one of the 25 drivers previously eligible to compete, however, considering Monday’s announcement – he will be forced to withdraw from February’s competition.
The format for the event has not been announced, however, in the past NASCAR fans have determined it.
Bobby Labonte Lands Ride With GoFAS Racing In 2015: As first reported on CATCHFENCE.com, 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte has a new home for the approaching season. We broke the news that Labonte will fly the No. 32 Ford Fusion colors beginning in the Daytona 500 taking the seat vacated by his older brother, Terry. The team confirmed later in the day through a news release that the 21-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner will compete in a minimum of four races, the superspeedways in 2015.
Texas-based C&J Energy Services will continues its role in backing the No. 32 entry. GoFAS Racing is jointly owned by former NASCAR veteran crew chief Frank Stoddard and Maine-entrepreneur and former XFINITY team owner Archie St. Hilaire.
Clinton Cram will remain crew chief.
Government Slashes National Guard Budget For Motorsports: In a not surprising announcement, USA Today reported Sunday that Congress has bereaved funding for the Army National Guard’s sponsorship of motorsports following claims that advertising on race cars did little to generate actual recruits.
Lawmakers cut the Guard’s advertising budget by $13.8 million, the same amount the service had requested to sponsor race cars. In 2014, the National Guard sponsored NASCAR’s most-popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., while also backing Graham Rahal in the Verizon IndyCar Series.
In August, both race teams were informed by the National Guard that their contracts would not be renewed for the 2015 season. It was estimated that the National Guard spent $32 million on its NASCAR program, including activation, while spending just $12 million with Rahal in open-wheel competition.
Tony Stewart Will Have Fifth Surgery On Right Leg: Tony Stewart, still recovering from a December 1 surgery on his injured right leg, will have another.
Stewart who attend the Performance Racing Industry trade show this past Thursday at the Indiana Convention Center, broke his right leg in a sprint car accident in Aug. 2013.
In an interview with USA Today Sports, the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship co-car owner said the fifth and hopeful final surgery (to be announced) will remove the rod in the leg he broke at Southern Iowa Speedway, a dirt track in Oskaloosa. The incident forced Stewart out of the final 15 races of the 2013 Cup season, before returning in February.
In retrospect, this year is one Stewart won’t miss.
Stewart recorded back-to-back top-five finishes at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway respectively in March, but struggled since. Stewart made headlines this summer, after he struck and killed fellow sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr on Aug. 9 in upstate New York.
Stewart returned to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races after a three-week absence at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway. A New York grand jury cleared Stewart of any wrongdoing.
The driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet SS also failed to earn a victory in 2014, halting a 15-year streak of winning at least one race on the Sprint Cup series tour. To make matters worse, Stewart finished last in the season-finale at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway and missed the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the third time in his career and second year in a row.
Stewart, 43, will return to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition for the 17th consecutive season in 2015.
He has not returned to sprint car racing since the Ward Jr. tragedy.
Kyle Busch Recovering From Surgery Too: Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch successfully underwent a planned foot surgery on Dec. 11, the team announced.
The surgery was performed to relieve a recurring source of inflammation in the 29-year old’s left foot. The procedure was completed by Dr. Robert Anderson of OrthoCarolina.
The father-to-be was released shortly thereafter, with wife Samantha later tweeting a photo of a resting Las Vegas, Nevada native playing video games, with his left foot elevated in a walking boot.
The Busch’s are expecting their first child this spring.
Busch, who finished 10th in the final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship standings is expected to make a full recovery before the start of the 2015 season, which will come with new leadership
atop his No. 18 pit box in Adam Stevens.
NASCAR Clarifies Testing Policy For Sprint Cup Series Competition: NASCAR has provided clarity on its overhauled testing procedures for the 2015 Sprint Cup season.
While teams will be banned from testing independently, there will be 12 Goodyear tire tests that will be followed by a one-day open test that will allow one car per organization. Nate Ryan of USA Today Sports also reported that while attendance isn’t required, teams must indicate their participation at least three weeks ahead.
It a multicar organization has participated in the prior tire test, it must use the same driver and team in the open test.
The Goodyear tests will be held with a rotating set of three groups of four full-time teams. The first group includes Joe Gibbs Racing, JTG Daugherty Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske.
The second group: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Michael Waltrip Racing, Richard Childress Racing and Roush Fenway Racing. The third and final group: BK Racing, Furniture Row Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Petty Motorsports.
Notable full-time teams not included in the Goodyear tests include: Front Row Motorsports, GoFas Racing, Germain Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing.
