NASCAR Awards Return To Charlotte

The NASCAR Hall of Fame and Charlotte Convention Center will host
two nights of awards honoring the champions of the NASCAR touring
and weekly series in December.  (NASCAR File)

Hall To Host All-American Series &
Night of Champions In December

NASCAR announced today the postseason awards dates for the annual NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards and the NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Series Awards, set for Dec. 13 and 14 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame / Charlotte Convention Center.

The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards will take place Friday, Dec. 13. Among those honored will be the 2013 national champion, as well as track champions from 55 tracks across the United States and Canada, state and provincial champions and top rookies.

On the following evening, NASCAR’s touring series champions will be recognized at the traditional NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards. Set for Saturday, Dec. 14, honorees will include the champions from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1, Mexico’s NASCAR Toyota Series and Euro-Racecar NASCAR Touring Series.

“Holding our two NASCAR Home Tracks awards ceremonies at the NASCAR Hall of Fame is the perfect setting to recognize the soul of NASCAR,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR vice president of regional and touring series. “Celebrating the young talent whose passion build this sport over these two events are highlights each year.”

Both the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards and the NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Series Awards will be streamed live on NASCARHomeTracks.com.

NASCAR previously announced the date for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards (Dec. 6 at Wynn Las Vegas) and the NASCAR Nationwide-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Awards (Nov. 18 at Loews Miami Beach).

Source

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take...

Dylan Kwasniewski – Evident by the dominant procession he led at Bristol, Dylan Kwasniewski, the top-ranked driver per PEER and champion for the K&N West in 2012, will be a tour de force on the larger tracks in the K&N East division in Turner Scott Motorsports equipment. After two of three races on more traditional short tracks saw him finish 27th (17th among K&N East drivers and teams) at Daytona and 15th at Greenville (after starting 11th), the certainty of a title run has taken a hit. Could the smaller tracks be the thorn in Kwasniewski’s side? All four of his K&N West wins came on bullrings, so it isn’t like the driver is inept at tiny facilities. One potential reason to note is that his crew chief, Marty Lindley, ironically a former track champion at Greenville, has now misfired in successive Greenville spring races; he oversaw Bryan Ortiz’s entry when Ortiz suffered a similar four-position drop from start to finish (seventh to 11th) in 2012. (David Smith)

Kinda proud.... He's growing up!(Mom-Jen Kwasniewski)

Ruston Making History With Early-Season Success

Kenzie Ruston is third in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East points after two races.
Getty Images for NASCAR

That Brett Moffitt and Dylan Kwasniewski sit 1-2 in championship points two races into the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season is not exactly a surprise. Moffitt has been in contention for the last two East titles and Kwasniewski is coming off a West championship.

But the driver in third place, Kenzie Ruston, is a surprise, even to herself. Not the success, per se, but that it’s come so quickly for the 21-year-old from El Reno, Okla., who is coming off a history-making finish.

“We’re definitely here to run for the championship,” said Ruston, who is nine points behind Moffitt and one ahead of Greenville race winner Brandon Gdovic. “And we really have high hopes to be there at the end of the year – to be a championship contender and rookie of the year contender.

“I’m very, very shocked, I guess, because I didn’t think it would come this early.”

Ruston and the rest of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East are headed to Florida this weekend for the inaugural NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola. Saturday night’s race will be the series’ first visit to the banked, half-mile asphalt oval.

Ruston became the highest finishing female in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East history with her third-place finish last Saturday. She eclipsed the mark set by Danica Patrick with her sixth-place run at Dover in 2010.

Driving for Turner Scott Motorsports, Ruston qualified 17th at Greenville but gradually worked her way up on the flat half-mile. In the season opener at Bristol, she qualified 29th but was able to make it to up to 11th by the checkered flag.

"Qualifying has never been my strength and coming into the new cars, we've qualified a lot worse than we wanted," Ruston said. "It really has kind of helped. I've been able to get back there and ride and learn and save tires to be there at the end.

“We've been working hard and my crew chief (Rich Burgdoff) has worked hard with me. I'm mostly there every day at the shop working hard and trying to learn as much as I can about these cars so I can do the best I can for them.”

Ruston has previous experience at Five Flags, both running several crate Late Models there as well as competing in the annual late-season Snowball Derby weekend. She finished 10th in the Snowflake 100 in 2010.

“I love the place,” Ruston said. “It’s a lot of banking. It’s just a fast little race track. It’s almost like you never stop turning.”

Source: Jason Cunningham, NASCAR

AARP - Drive to End Hunger

Yup we had that much fun! While attending the Nationwide race in Fontana, stopped by the Drive to End Hunger mobile experience!

Nearly 9 million older adults struggle with hunger related issues every day in America. If you would like to learn more about Drive to End Hunger or make a gift to help those in need please go to: www.DrivetoEndHunger.org.

Jeff Gordon hopes you will help spread the word about this important issue. Please share your support for Drive to End Hunger and Jeff Gordon on Facebook and Twitter to help us reach even more people.

Hey Jeff - I shared on both Facebook and Twitter - and of course blogged about my fun experience!

Penske Race Shop Visit

Lucky kids!

CHARLOTTE, NC – Penske Racing engineer Alex Sinoyannis recently shared his racing experience on stock cars, like the new Gen 6, with a new generation of engineers from James B. Dudley High School, who will enter their concept car (pictured) in April’s Shell Eco-Marathon Americas. This initiative challenges students to develop vehicles that can travel the farthest on a gallon of fuel, and is one way Shell connects people who are interested in the energy challenges of today and tomorrow.

Lucky kids! What a creative way to interest them in both education and conservation!

Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in both the IndyCar Series and NASCAR.   The organization, a division of Penske Corporation is owned and chaired by Roger Penske.

Kwasniewski Conquers Bristol

Dylan Kwasniewski wins the DRIVE4COPD 125 at Bristol Motor Speedway
Getty Images for NASCAR

Reigning K&N Pro Series West Champ Claims First East Victory

By Shon Sbarra, NASCAR
 

BRISTOL, Tenn. – The sign reads, ‘Welcome To The Last Great Colosseum’ at the tunnel entrance of Bristol Motor Speedway.

Dylan Kwasniewski, 17, bested the legendary .533-mile high-banked oval and the other 35 competitors on Saturday to win the DRIVE4COPD 125 in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship season opener.

Kwasniewski, the reigning K&N Pro Series West champion out of Las Vegas, Nev., took the lead on Lap 30 after pole sitter and race leader Michael McGuire got tangled up with lapped traffic under caution. Kwasniewski – behind the wheel of his No. 98 Royal Purple/Rockstar Energy Drink Chevrolet – was able to hold off Brett Moffitt on seven restarts to pick up his first East victory in his fifth series outing.

POS	DRIVER
1	Dylan Kwasniewski
2	Brett Moffitt
3	Ryan Gifford
4	Michael McGuire
5	CJ Faison

Moffitt was followed by Ryan Gifford – racing out of the Rev Racing stable – in third. McGuire rebounded from the early incident to finish fourth while CJ Faison came home in the fifth position.

Gray Gaulding, Eddie MacDonald, Jimmy Weller, Ben Rhodes and Ben Kennedy rounded out the top 10.

Kwasniewski, who led a race-high 96 laps, is competing for a K&N East championship in 2013 with Turner Scott Motorsports in its first full season of competition. It’s his sixth overall K&N Pro Series triumph in 29 career starts.

The race was slowed due to caution eight times for a total of 37 laps and there was just one lead change.

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will return to action on Saturday, March 23 for the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 125 presented by G-Clean at Greenville (S.C) Pickens Speedway.

RESULTS | LAP-BY-LAP RECAP | DYLAN KWASNIEWSKI POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE AUDIO | BRETT MOFFITT & RYAN GIFFORD POST-RACE AUDIO

Dylan Kwasniewski en route to his DRIVE4COPD 125 victory
Getty Images for NASCAR

Jeff Gordon Test Drive

Fake or real . . . . Doesn't really matter. Just plain NASCAR Fun.  Jeff Gordon and Pepsi MAX go to a car dealership where a disguised Jeff Gordon takes an unsuspecting car salesman on the test drive of his life. #GordonTestDrive