Off The Track

AMERICAN RED CROSS DONATION:

Last Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway, series drivers and Nationwide teams raised more than $22,000 for the Nashville Area American Red Cross to assist victims of the April 10th tornado that struck Murfreesboro, TN. That donation was coupled with the Nationwide Foundation’s $25,000 contribution the day of the storm. In order to help raise money, 20 drivers joined together for an autograph session in which donation buckets were placed before fans entered the autograph line. In addition, teams participated in a challenge to see who could raise the most money. RAB Racing raised an impressive $13,000 to put towards the relief fund.

HILIARY DUFF’S “BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK” INITIATIVE:

This weekend at Kentucky, the series is once again stepping up to assist a worthy cause. Actress / singer Hillary Duff, who will serve as Grand Marshal of the Meijer 300 presented by Ritz, also is the national spokesperson for the “Blessings in a Backpack” program, an initiative designed to feed children in grades K-5 who qualify for the Federal Free and Reduced Meal Program but may not have enough food for the weekends. The program currently is feeding over 11,500 children in seven states, including Kentucky. The NASCAR Nationwide Series garage will assist the organization’s request for empty team backpacks that can later be filled with food and
distributed to children in the program. Duff will hold a press conference at 3 p.m. on
Saturday at Kentucky Speedway to discuss the program. She also will receive a check on behalf of “Blessings in a Backpack” from the track and race sponsor Meijer. Following the press conference, children involved in the program will participate in a bike relay on pit road with series drivers serving as team captains for the event: Michael Annett; Ken Butler III; Brendan Gaughan; Scott Lagasse Jr.; Stephen Leicht and John Wes Townley.

WHAT’S AT STAKE AT KENTUCKY:

$50,000 is at stake this weekend as the “Dash 4 Cash” bonus courtesy of series sponsor Nationwide Insurance is back again. It goes to the winner if he’s a fulltime, part-time or limited-races driver. Logano, who isn’t running fulltime in the series this year, won the initial race at Nashville Superspeedway in April. The original $25,000 bonus rolled over to its current total and could increase again by $25,000 if not captured this weekend. The other “Dash 4 Cash” races are at Iowa Speedway and Memphis Motorsports Park. Kentucky Speedway is the “home” track to Nationwide Insurance, which bases its headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. Some 1,500 Nationwide
associates have purchased ticket packages and are planning on making the two-and-a-half hour trek to take in the race.

In Other Words . . .

NASCAR changing things up with double-file restarts ……

Last weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series had an opportunity to test out NASCAR’s new policy on double-file restarts. If all goes as planned the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Truck Series will soon follow suit.

Under the previous format, cars on the lead lap would restart in a single-file line while cars that had been lapped would start in a line next to them.

Under the new format, the race leader will have the option to restart on the inside or outside lane. The second-place driver would then restart next to the leader. Regardless of where the leader starts, drivers in odd number positions (third, fifth, seventh places, etc.) will restart on the inside lane, while drivers in even number positions will restart on the outside. All restarts will use the same format regardless of the number of laps remaining in the race.

The first-place driver will continue to control the timing of restarts in a designated zone on the track. Likewise, cars are to stay in line until they reach the start/finish line. The first eligible car a lap or more down will continue to earn one lap back following a caution, which is known as the "free pass." However, a new element will be that the "free pass" will remain in effect the entire race.

Lapped cars choosing to remain on the track will be "waved around" the caution car and will restart the race in respective track position, thus picking up a lap to the leader provided the leader also pits.

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