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The #43 of Richard Petty Motorsports will carry the colors of Transportation Impact for the June 10th race at Pocono Raceway.

With Aric Almirola driving the car the team has pieced together sponsorship to fund the team though the first ten races on the schedule. Last season the car was sponsored by Best Buy but the electronic retailer opted to sponsor Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards for a combined 13 races this season.

Almirola currently is ranked 21st in the Sprint Cup standings after notching one top-10 finish in the seasons first 11 races.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Matt Kenseth and the new Fifth Third Bank scheme

The new number Matt Kenseth is to get on his car comes in the form of a multi-year partnership between Roush Fenway Racing and Fifth Third Bank. Fifth Third Bank will sponsor Kenseth in four races this season with additional races for future seasons to be announced at a later date.

Kenseth’s #17 Ford Fusion will began carrying the name of Fifth Third Bank during the Sprint All Star Race on May 19. Additional races with Fifth Third Bank include Kentucky, Indianapolis and the August race in Michigan.

A former series champion, Kenseth is currently second in the Sprint Cup standings just two points behind teammate Greg Biffle. Kenseth won his second Daytona 500 to start the season.

Team owner Jack Roush also stated that Kenseth, who is in the final season of his contract, will continue to race for the organization.

“Matt Kenseth is a cornerstone of Roush Fenway and he’ll be part of it as long as I am, as long as he wants to be,” Roush said. “He certainly has a place here as long as I’m able to stay at the head of it.”

Even with sponsorship from Fifth Third, Kenseth still has another eight races without sponsorship listed.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Shelby at the 2009 Living Legends of Aviation

An icon in the automobile industry passed away today. Carroll Shelby died at the age of 89, he recently had been battling pneumonia. Though he spent parts of his life working with GM and Dodge, Shelby will largely be remembered for his contributions at Ford and the Shelby Cobra.

While perhaps best known now for his Shelby Cobras and Shelby Mustangs, one of the biggest accomplishments of his life was a 1-2-3 finish of Ford’s GT40 in 1966 in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, ending Ferrari’s then-domination of the event. This win would pave the way for his future endeavors as work began on what would eventually become the Shelby Cobra and the Mustang Shelby GT500.

Shelby wanted to give the people power with the pedal and was known to say “I love horsepower” on many occasions.

Born in Leesburg, Texas in 1923 Shelby dealt with heart problems early in his life. In his later years he was required to have a heart transplant. He was one of the nation’s longest-living heart transplant recipients, having received a heart on June 7, 1990, from a 34-year-old man who died of an aneurysm. Shelby also received a kidney transplant in 1996 from his son, Michael.

In 1992 he was inducted into the Automobile hall of fame.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Best Buy is sponsoring the #17 in 9 races this season

The number 17 has been with Matt Kenseth since he became a full time race car driver at the NASCAR Sprint Cup level. In fact it was also the number of his Busch Series ride prior to Jack Roush purchasing the team.

Now there is word that a press conference is coming that may announce a new number and sponsor for Kenseth.

Roush Fenway Racing announced Wednesday that it has scheduled a news conference for Monday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame to introduce a new multi-year partnership for Roush and Kenseth. The release indicates that Kenseth also will have a new number on his Ford Fusion.

Popularity: 7% [?]

That's not wins that Mickey is smelling

Martin Truex nearly won at Kansas. If Michael Waltrip had of won last weekend at Talladega. If Clint Bowyer didn’t wipe himself out at Richmond. All the aforementioned are ways Michael Waltrip Racing could have won a race this season. Yet ten races into the season and the organization is collectively still searching for their first win since David Reutimann found victory lane at Chicagoland in 2010.

And until they win a race this season no one is going to take them seriously.

Sure Martin Truex is currently 6th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings and he did have a run of five finishes inside the top-10 but this is a sport where a bad weekend would knock him out of the Chase for the Cup because he lacks a win.

Clint Bowyer has an average finish of 14.0 this season. That is the best of his career. Yet he sits in tenth in the standings and without a win is even closer to missing the playoffs then Truex is.

The teams third car has been driven by a variety of drivers. Mark Martin, Brian Vickers and Michael Waltrip have all driven the car with success this season as evident by their 9th place in the owner standings but yet despite the good runs none of them have led the lap that matters.

In fact no one who drives for Michael Waltrip Racing has ever won a race for Michael Waltrip Racing. The organization has been running full time since 2007 and the only guy who has won a race for them is nothing more then the guy who drives Danica Patrick’s car on her weeks away from the Cup series.

That MWR can field cars who can run up front is great for the organization but to be successful at any level you have to win. Until they win they haven’t accomplished their goal.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Eric McClure the driver of the #14 Toyota hit the infield wall hard as the NASCAR Nationwide race was nearing it’s end. Video of the incident can be found below. McClure’s roof had to be cut off the car in order to remove him from it. He was running of the lead lap at the time of the accident.

Popularity: 27% [?]

With help coming from Good Sam and Camping World the #21 of the Wood Brothers has added four races to their 2012 schedule. Trevor Bayne was scheduled to run 12 races at the Sprint Cup level but the recent addition of sponsorship has increased that number to 16.

The #21 Ford will be sponsored by Good Sam/Camping World for the Sprint Cup All-Star race and Coca Cola 600 in addition to races at Atlanta and Chicagoland.

Bayne recently has been forced to sit out of the Nationwide Series since his car lacks sponsorship. He had been in contention for the series title but team owner Jack Roush pulled the plug on paying for a white car to run around the track, even if it was competing for wins.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Kurt Busch celebrates Nationwide Series win at Richmond

We are still in the early stages of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season but Silly Season has already begun.  Joe Garone, the general manager of Furniture Row Racing, has confirmed that he has had talks with Kurt Busch.

I have talked to Kurt Busch,” said Garone, “but it was about a team we don’t even have yet. We are working diligently on getting a second (Sprint Cup) car for next year, and I’m trying to get my hands around some of the guys that will be available going onto 2013. I wanted to make an introduction to Kurt, and just let him know what our plans are for the future.”

Busch is signed to a one year deal with Phoenix Racing and is mired in 26th in the driver standings, one position behind Reagan Smith who drives for Furniture Row. Smith and Busch have worked together well in the past at restrictor plate tracks.

Garone went on to say that while Smith was in a contract year his job was not in jeopardy. A former series champion and winner of multiple races last season, Busch has just one finish inside the top ten this season. Despite his struggles in the Cup series, he has found victory lane in the Nationwide Series this season as he drove the #54 Monster Energy car of Kyle Busch Motorsports to a win at Richmond.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Veteran driver Mike Skinner will make his season debut at Darlington this coming Saturday night. Skinner will attempt to qualify the #52 Toyota of Hamilton Means Racing. The car will be sponsored by Crusader’s Staffing.

In a press release from the team team owner Kelly Owen was quoted as saying “we are incredibility excited to have Mike come on board, he will certainly bring a great deal of knowledge and wisdom to our team’s efforts for the remainder of the season. Best of all he brings stability so that we can make our plans knowing that we a commitment from an experienced driver that can get the job done.”

Last season Skinner attempted to qualify for 30 races and made 21 races. He acted primarily as a start and park driver last season. If all goes well the team plans to have Skinner start all of the races in which they enter.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Mike Ford has been announced as the new crew chief for the #43 car of Aric Almirola. The change is effective immediately meaning that Ford will be calling the shots this weekend at Talladega. Almirola’s crew chief had previously been Greg Erwin. Richard Petty is hopeful that presence of Mike Ford will return Richard Petty Motorsports to victory lane.

And for good reason. Ford has a history of success at the NASCAR Sprint Cup level, serving as the crew chief of Denny Hamlin and the #11 during their recent six year run of qualifying for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. During his time as the crew chief for Hamlin’s car the team won 17 races and notched 66 top-five finishes and 108 finishes inside the top-10.

No role has been announced for Erwin. In eight races this year, Almirola has one top-10 finish and is 24th in the standings.

Popularity: 2% [?]