Archives For April 2014

This Easter Weekend is a slow one for the Trackside team here at CV Products. While you can normally find us at multiple tracks supporting many different racing series, this Easter Weekend CV Products will be trackside for just one event — the Pro All Stars Series’ Easter Bunny 150, which you can learn about below. But before we get there, here’s a recap of what’s happened so far this race season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:

Much has been said and written about the seven different winners to start the Sprint Cup season, a streak broken this past weekend at Darlington Raceway when Kevin Harvick became the year’s first two-time winner. Overshadowed somewhat has been a concurrent revolving door, in the form of eight different Coors Light Pole winners to open the season, tied for the series’ longest season-opening streak of different pole winners.

Is competition better than ever? There are statistics supporting that notion:

  • All three manufacturers have won races thus far, led by Chevrolet’s four victories.
  • An average of 12 different leaders per race, compared to 8.6 at this point last year.
  • An average of 25.6 lead changes per race, compared to 17.4 in 2013.
  • Total of 29,541 green flag passes, compared to 23,178 in 2013.
  • Total of 346 green flag passes for the lead, compared to 181 in 2013.
  • And… an average margin of victory of 0.588 seconds, the smallest since 2008.

In addition, it’s even easier to argue that the competition has received a boost in interest because of the nuances of the new championship-deciding Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format. Race winners are virtually assured a berth in the 16-driver Chase, unless there are more than 16 different winners, whereupon the series points could be used to determine which race winners get into the “playoffs.” Number of race victories, though, will be the first “tiebreaker.” And don’t forget about this: the series points leader after 26 races – the “regular season’ champion so to speak – will get in, with or without having a race victory.

After eight races, three of the top five drivers in the series standings are winless – Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson. Between them, those three drivers have won 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships, but right now they’re sharing a seat that perhaps isn’t really hot just yet, but definitely is getting warm.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule resumes next Saturday night at three-quarters mile Richmond International Raceway. Richmond has been called, through the years, “the perfect track” which means there’s a good chance at an interesting season is about to become even more so.

In the meantime, here’s where to find CV Products Trackside this weekend:

Easter Bunny 150

Series: Pro All Stars Series
When: Saturday, April 19
Racetrack: Hickory Motor Speedway — Hickory, NC
Where to find us: In the pits (Pit Pass required for entry)
What you need to know: The Pro All Stars Series announced earlier this week that the Easter Bunny 150 would be televised via PASS TV powered by MotorsportsBroadcasting.com and Race22.com. The live pay-per-view broadcast from the legendary Hickory Motor Speedway will utilize MSB’s years of expertise in covering short track racing events and will also feature fan interaction through Race22’s live race updates throughout the day from Hickory. Fans can purchase the broadcast for just $25 by visiting either ProAllStarsSeries.com or Race22.com. As for the race itself, a great group of drivers have already filed pre-entries, including PASS South points leader and Hickory native, Tyler Church; PASS South points contenders Cole Timm, Jared Irvan, Trevor Noles and Tyler Dippel; and, a strong contingent of Northern drivers including Ben Rowe, Joey Doiron, Austin Theriault, Trevor Sanborn, and Ryan Moore.

There’s busy, and then there’s BUSY. This weekend, the CV Products Trackside Program will be BUSY supporting four major auto racing series, including NHRA, NASCAR, ARCA and Tudor. From races in North and South Carolina, to ones in California and Ohio, our Trackside crew will have their hands and trailers full. Here’s where we’ll be:

NHRA-Logo5th Annual Four Wide Nationals

Series: NHRA
When: Friday, April 11 through Sunday, April 13
Racetrack: Zmax Dragway — Charlotte, NC
What you need to know: The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series makes its first of two stops at the self-proclaimed “Bellagio of dragstrips” — with the spectacle of four-wide racing in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. The site, which has hosted an NHRA national event in mid-September since 2008, is famous for its fan amenities and side-by-side dragstrips.

VFW Sports Clips Help A Hero 200

helpahero200thumbSeries: NASCAR Nationwide Series
When: Friday, April 11
Racetrack: Darlington Raceway — Darlington, SC
Note: CV’s trailer is in the pits and available for people with pit passes only
How to watch from home: ESPN2 at 7:30 P.M. (EST)
What you need to know: If there is one thing that has been evident through the first six races of 2014 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, it’s that the future of NASCAR looks bright. At least two Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders have finished in the top 10 of every race this season. This streak, however, could be threatened tonight in the VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway, a track that is notoriously hard on drivers. For this year’s class of rookie drivers, Darlington stands as the first real challenge on the 2014 schedule as its tight turns and narrow straightaways often see contestants swap paint and collect the famed “Darlington Stripe” by rubbing against the outside wall.

Tequila Patron Sports Car Showcase at Long Beach

Series: Tudor United Sportscar Championship
When: Friday, April 11 & Saturday, April 12
Racetrack: Long Beach Street Circuit — Long Beach, CA
How to watch from home: FOX Sports at 6:00 P.M. (EST)
What you need to know: Honda chassis and engines will be seeking their fourth consecutive overall victory at Long Beach. Driving for Extreme Speed Motorsports, Scott Sharp will be joined this weekend by Continue reading

Chase Elliott became the second youngest driver in NASCAR history to win a Nationwide race. The 18-year-old passed Kevin Harvick on Lap 186 of last night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300, and never looked back, taking his first-ever Nationwide Series checkered flag.

Chase Elliott Wins Nationwide Race

It’s ironic that such a young driver – one making just his sixth start in the Nationwide Series – won last night. That’s because fan voting for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2015 is now open on NASCAR.com, and runs through Tuesday, May 20 at noon ET. The five nominees receiving the highest percentage of votes will comprise the Fan Vote ballot, which will be included among the 54 submitted by the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel to determine the Class of 2015.

One name that may someday soon make it onto the list is Chase Elliott. The 18-year-old is the son of former NASCAR Cup series champion Bill Elliott, and as we told you above, last night he held off a bunch of Sprint Cup Series drivers to win the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.

You never know what’s going to happen during a race, which is exactly why CV Products chooses to be trackside for so many NASCAR and other series’ races. In addition to last night night’s historic race, here’s where you’ll find us for the remainder of this weekend:

duck-commander-500-2014-NASCAR-Race-LogoDuck Commander 500 

Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
When: Sunday, April 6
Racetrack: Texas Motor Speedway — Ft. Worth, TX
Note: CV’s trailer is in the Texas Motor Speedway pits

What you need to know: As we suggested might happen in last week’s Trackside write-up, Kurt Busch set a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup era record when he hit the finish line to close last Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway – six different winners in the first six races. And incredibly, Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth – the top two winners from the 2013 season – aren’t among that group. Neither are marquee drivers like Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon or Denny Hamlin. Be sure to watch tomorrow’s Duck Commander 500 to see if history continues in the form of a seventh different driver winning to start the season. Catch the race from home by tuning into FOX television starting at 2:30pm (EST), or by listing into PRN or SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Orange-County-SpeedwayOrange Blossom Special 150

Series: Pro All Star Series
When: Saturday, April 5
Racetrack: Orange County Speedway — Rougemont, NC
Note: CV’s trailer is in the Orange County Speedway pits

What you need to know: The 150-lap Orange Blossom Special gets underway at Continue reading