Speedway Children’s Charities Teams With The NASCAR Foundation And Motorsports Charities To Offer Fans The Ride Of A Lifetime

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Feb. 20, 2010) – The NASCAR Foundation has teamed up with Speedway Children’s Charities and several other motorsports charities to offer fans the experience of a lifetime by taking a lap around the track with their favorite NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver and help support children’s organizations across the country through the “Ride of A Lifetime” charity auctions.

Lucky race fans will have the chance to ride in the pre-race parade lap with their favorite driver at several race tracks prior to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races throughout the 2010 season. The pre-race parade lap rides with select drivers will be available through both online and live auctions throughout the season at 10 race tracks based on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season schedule including Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Infineon Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Speedway Children’s Charities has partnered with The NASCAR Foundation, the official host of charity auctions on NASCAR.COM, to run the online auctions for rides at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Infineon Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway, while live driver auctions will be held in Las Vegas and at both races at Texas Motor Speedway.

The Ride of A Lifetime program launched this week with bidding on the first event at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 7. Fans can bid on the chance to ride with a number of drivers including Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Bobby Labonte, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, David Ragan, David Reutimann, Scott Speed, Tony Stewart, Martin Truex Jr., and Brian Vickers. Rides start at $500.

All of the proceeds from the Ride of A Lifetime program will benefit numerous children’s organizations across the country through The NASCAR Foundation and Speedway Children’s Charities.

For more information, a list of auction dates and locations, or to bid on a ride with your favorite driver, please visit www.sccrideofalifetime.com or www.nascar.com/foundation.


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Ratings slide tied to motorsports' move

For the first time in 34 years, the Daytona 500 wasn't on the FM dial in Charlotte last weekend.

Motorsports are moving this year from WSOC-FM (103.7), their home since 1976, to sports station WFNZ-AM ("Fan" 610).

Charlotte, the heartland of NASCAR, without a strong FM signal for the races?

It's another sign of the fast-changing media landscape, particularly regarding sports programming.

While motorsports have dedicated fans, the ratings have been dipping in radio along with a three-year slide for TV. This year's Daytona 500 TV ratings were off about 15 percent from last year, though there were two long viewer-bleeding delays while the track was repaired.

And a new challenge for radio is the personal people meter, which will be introduced in Charlotte this year. Racing is one of those formats that doesn't do as well under the new measuring devices.

"It was a business decision" to move the races to AM, says D.J. Stout, WFNZ's operations manager, one he says he's thrilled with. His station has added Tar Heels sports and the Bobcats broadcasts, and he says NASCAR belongs there, too.

"I just wish the race didn't have a two-hour delay because of potholes," he says.

"It's a sports station," says Bill Schoening, market manager for CBS Radio's Charlotte stations, which include both WSOC-FM and WFNZ-AM. "It'll allow a further connection between the talk shows and the broadcasts."

David Hyatt, president of Concord-based Motor Racing Network, says he was surprised by the switch "with the racing industry based here."

Most of MRN's affiliates are FM stations, with about 450 stations carrying Sunday cup races during the season.

Nationally, there have been concerns at some stations about what the new personal people meters will mean for race ratings, but he says he thinks with proper promotion motorsports will continue to thrive on radio.

Cheryl Knight, director of affiliates for MRN, says WSOC-FM was the No. 1 station in Charlotte on Sunday afternoons during racing, according to Arbitron figures.

MRN has talked to other Charlotte stations about picking up the coverage, but no one was prepared this season. "My biggest hope is that WSOC will come around and put the cup races back on the FM," Knight said. "We'd like to continue the relationship for years to come."

Racing won't entirely disappear from WSOC-FM. May and October races at Charlotte Motor Speedway will still be carried on the station. Race fans on the northern end of the city can also get racing from WTQR-FM (104.1) out of Greensboro.

Station still on standby

Technical problems are delaying the debut of WZGV-AM ("The Groove" 730).

Lanny Ford, general manager of the station that will feature classic hits of the late '60s to early '80s, had hoped to have WZGV on the air in early February. Now it looks like it will be early March.

"Weather messed us up some with construction delays," said Ford. Now tests on the transmitter in Belmont are being conducted. Ford says he's just awaiting FCC approval to launch.

Media movers

News 14 Carolina anchor Heather Childers has left the Time Warner Cable channel after eight years. That leaves chief meteorologist Jeff Crum and sports director Mike Solarte as the last of the original on-camera workers at News 14 there since for the station's launch in 2002. ...

Natalie Pasquarella moves up from the WSOC (Channel 9) morning newscast to 10 p.m. anchor on sister station WAXN (Channel 64) and will also co-anchor Channel 9's "Eyewitness News at 5:30 p.m." with Blair Miller beginning at the end of March. "They told me they thought I was a great fit for the shows, and I think I said 'yes' immediately ... I thought, wow, I get to sleep in until 8 in the morning now," says Pasquarella, who was anchor in her native Steubenville, Ohio, before moving to Channel 9 in 2008 ...

Replacing Pasquarella on the morning and midday news will be Robyn McGlohn, formerly morning anchor at the NBC affiliate in Huntsville, Ala. ... Former Channel 9 anchor Kim Brattain will travel to Haiti next month with the Charlotte-based charitable group A Hand Up for Haiti. A medical team will spend a week in the countryside, and Brattain will send video blogs and develop a documentary ...

Bonita "Bo" Griffin, the S.C. native best remembered locally as a host of "Blue Ribbon" on the old Turner South network, died of intestinal cancer at age 51 ... From the Facebook site "Friends and Fans of Jon Robinson," where news of the former TV anchor's struggle against drug addiction is posted: "We feel we have a responsibility to report that Jon left the 'Refuge' treatment program in Ohio over the weekend. He apparently went on a binge but has checked himself in to the detox center in Mecklenburg County and promises to get into another treatment program. Anyone who knows about addiction treatment knows it often takes several tries to stick." ... That was Monroe's Jason Looney playing a bell clerk in this week's episode of the CW's "One Tree Hill."

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Honda 2010 Motorsports Overview

TOKYO, – February 19, 2010 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – In its motorsports activities, the symbol of Honda’s challenging spirit, the company has aimed for the world’s top level from the days of its founding and taken on challenges in a variety of racing categories. Last year marked Honda’s 50th anniversary of first racing at the Isle of Man TT, in the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix (WGP). With the know-how and challenging spirit cultivated in its motorsports activities, Honda will develop activities to meet more customers’ expectations. The company will bring joy to customers in each racing category and share with them the dreams and excitement generated by these activities.

1. Motorsports Strategy

- Motorcycle activities

In the MotoGP, the premier class of the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix (WGP), the Repsol Honda factory team will compete with two riders: Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso, while the satellite team will enter three teams with four riders. Their machine, the RC212V has been matured to develop a more highly competitive model. Through improvement of both team structure and machines, Honda will take on the challenge of winning all three championship titles, capturing the rider’s title as well as the team and constructor’s.

The Moto2 class has been established as a new WGP racing category this season. Honda will participate in this category as the sole official engine supplier. Honda will supply all teams with engines developed exclusively for the Moto2 class but derived from the in-line 4-cylinder engine of Honda’s commercially sold, supersports model CBR600RR.

Repsol Montesa Honda will compete in the World Trial Championship Series (WCT), entering two Honda riders in this class: Toni Bou, who puts up an impressive set of skills, and Takahisa Fujinami, a veteran Japanese rider. Honda aims to capture both the rider’s and manufacturer’s titles as it did last season.

Honda will carry out a wide range of racing activities that include Suzuka 8hours Endurance Road Race, all categories of the All-Japan Championship Series, and international championships, and compete in each race aiming for the highest height.

- Automobile activities

In North America, Honda began its participation in open wheel racing in 2003 and has been the sole engine supplier to the IRL(R) IndyCar(R) Series since 2006. Once again this year, Honda will provide all teams with a V8 HI10R engine running on 100% ethanol fuel. Japanese drivers show full participation in the IRL(R), including Hideki Mutoh racing for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and Takuma Sato, who was active in Formula One, racing for the KV Racing Technology team this season.

For racing activities within Japan, Honda will compete in the Super GT Series with a newly developed HSV-010 GT, entering five teams and five race cars. As part of the Honda GT Project, this new machine was developed under the leadership of Honda R&D Co., Ltd. with the collaboration of M-TEC Co., Ltd. and Dome Co., Ltd. With this machine in hand, Honda is shooting for a title win in this machine’s debut.

In Formula Nippon, where Honda won the dual titles of driver and team championship last season, Honda will enter three teams and equip five cars with the 3.4-liter V-8 HR10E engine.
With the objective of developing drivers who can claim the podium at top-level races both inside and outside of Japan, Honda will actively strive to develop young racers through the Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP). Honda will promote the cultivation of new talent through the Suzuka Circuit Racing School Kart (SRS-K) and Suzuka Circuit Racing School Formula (SRS-F) racing schools in addition to Formula Challenge Japan (FCJ), the Japanese Formula 3 Championship and Formula Nippon.

2. Expanding the Popularity of Motorsports

Mobilityland Corporation will continue to host racing events and actively create venues and opportunities for people to watch, participate in, and enjoy racing, contributing to the further growth of motorsports culture in Japan.

Mobilityland will be hosting the Grand Prix of Japan, Round 2 of the Road Racing World Championship; the Grand Prix of Japan, Round 3 of the World Trial Championship Series at Twin Ring Motegi; and the Japanese Grand Prix, Round 16 of the 2010 Formula One World Championship at Suzuka International Racing Course. Through these races, the company provides fans with opportunities to watch and feel a variety of Japanese and international motorsports events including these premier two- and four-wheel races.

To provide Honda vehicle owners with opportunities to watch, participate, and enjoy, the Enjoy Honda program will be held again this year and is scheduled for Suzuka Circuit on April 17-18 (Sat.-Sun.) at the same time as the Suzuka 2&4 Race and for Twin Ring Motegi on August 7-8 (Sat.-Sun.) during Formula Nippon Round 4.

The Honda Exciting Cup One-Make Race – Civic Series will also continue this year, with events held in a variety of areas where customers can participate and enjoy.

To read the full Honda release with the complete “Overview of Motorcycle Racing Strategy” and “Overview of Automobile Racing Strategy”, please go to http://world.honda.com/news/2010/c100219Motorsports-Overview/.
About Honda

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (TSE:7267/NYSE:HMC/LSE:HNDA.L) is one of the leading manufacturers of automobiles and power products and the largest manufacture of motorcycles in the world. Honda has always sought to provide genuine satisfaction to people worldwide. The result is more than 120 manufacturing facilities in 30 countries worldwide, producing a wide range of products, including motorcycles, ATVs, generators, marine engines, lawn and garden equipment and automobiles that bring the company into contact with over 19 million customers annually. For more information, please visit http://world.honda.com .


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Michelle Smith, first female to win championship at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, dies

Michelle Smith’s intensity was always what impressed veteran drag racer Louie Hall the most.

“Sweet as sugar, tough as nails,” said Hall, of Portage. “That’s what she had written on the back of her Camaro.”

Mrs. Smith of Belmont died Thursday of liver cancer.

Mrs. Smith, who was the first female to win a track championship at the U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, was 46.

Mrs. Smith was a veteran Martin competitor, and she won the track’s Street Tire championship in 2004 and 2005. Mrs. Smith never backed down from the boys -- not even her husband. In fact, Mrs. Smith edged out her husband, Daniel Smith, to capture her first title. Daniel also is a Martin veteran.

“She was a quite a gal and a great racer,” said U.S. 131 Motorsports Park spokesperson Stephanie Peterson.

“I remember when we had our second lady’s race, Michelle Smith was the first one in the lane, and there was no one in the other lane because no one wanted to race her. They were hanging back.

“Her and husband are here every Saturday bracket racing. She will be greatly missed.”

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Michelle Smith Memorial Fund.

Visitation is scheduled 7-9 p.m. Sunday and 2-4 p.m. and 7:30-9 p.m. Monday at the Pederson Funeral Home, 127 North Monroe Street, Rockford. A reading of the rosary is 7 p.m. Monday.

The funeral is 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Assumption Catholic Church, 6369 Belmont Ave. NE, Belmont.


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GENE PRICE MOTORSPORTS LATE MODEL RIVER SERIES HIGHLIGHTS HAVASU 95 ACTION THIS SATURDAY

The Havasu 95 Speedway will present its fans with another full evening of ASA sanctioned racing this Saturday night highlighted by an appearance from the Gene Price Motorsports Late Model River Series. Also making a contribution to the racing excitement level will be the ASA street stocks, factory stocks and the vintage sprints and midgets. The most scenic quarter mile asphalt oval is located within the Sara Park complex in Lake Havasu City-Arizona.

The phenomenally popular Gene Price Motorsports Late Model River Series is now at the half way point of the current winter racing season. The series' schedule is equally divided between the Havasu 95 Speedway and the Lucas Oil I 10 Speedway. In its brief history the series has quickly become a fan favorite because it features close quarter competition from a highly talented field of late model stock car drivers who range from veterans, who know the fast way around a short track, to youngsters who are looking to climb the ladder of their budding racing careers.

Going into Saturday night's race, the series' championship picture is being led by a youngster who has been impressing everyone for several years now. "Awesome" Austin Murphy will be looking for another series win in Lake Havasu City in an effort to pad his current points lead. In four series events the Lancaster-California high school student has two feature wins, along with a second and third place finish. Making his competitive level even more "awesome" is the fact that his team, After Hours Racing, will be debuting a newly constructed late model this weekend.

Murphy will arrive at the Havasu 95 Speedway this weekend with a 28 point lead over former series champion Bobby Keirns. The local driver is well aware of the fact that he has some work to do to towards eradicating Murphy's lead and said "we just need some really good racing and some really good nights. But I do think that we've got something for him, (Murphy). We've got a lot of points to make up and four races to do it in. Our car is fast, I'm pretty excited and optimistic about the whole deal. I can't wait to get this thing going again, we're looking forward to this Saturday night."

But that pair of drivers will have to keep a sharp eye on another pair of drivers expected to be on hand Saturday night. One of them is Mark Schriner a veteran of late model campaigns who fully understands what it takes to win feature races and track championships. Schriner is currently ranked sixth in the series standings but that's only because circumstances caused him to miss a race back in November. He has a feature win during the current campaign and will be a pre race favorite to get another one Saturday night.

Yet another strong factor in the series 50 lap feature will be the presence of Lake Havasu City driver Jerry Snell. Jeff Murphy, the father-crew chief-car builder of the series points leader, has regarded Snell as a major source of competition for his team. Snell is currently ranked eighth in the standings. Unfortunately circumstances forced him to miss two of the four completed events. But it can't help but be noticed that the two races Snell did compete him resulted in a feature win and a second place finish.

Yet another exciting level of racing action, at the Havasu 95 Speedway Saturday night, will be the presence of the ASA street stocks. This ASA street stocks have been completely dominated by the series' elder statesman Ralph Adams. Then again, at age 69, Ralph Adams is the elder statesman at any race track he chooses to show up at. In four events during the current winter racing season Adams has four feature wins and a repeat track championship seems to be eminent. That success is based on years of experience, a race car that is always well prepped and an extremely smooth driving style.

While Adams has been busy taking his much younger competition to racing school this season, there are a trio of younger drivers in this division who are currently engaged in a very tight battle for second in the championship standings. Phillip Waterman and Rick Maddox Jr are tied for second at 174 points each while Rick Benzansen is only four points behind them.

The fan favorite factory stockers will be bringing their special blend of racing excitement to the Havasu 95 Speedway this Saturday night. The series' teams will also be bringing a very close championship battle to the track this weekend. Shawn Deitch and Scott Allen are tied at the top of the rankings with 256 points each. The rotating drivers from the Big O Tire team is also a very big part of the championship profile and are only two markers away from the co leaders. Also never to be overlooked here is the presence of Lisa Snell who is only two points away from third and just 12 points away from the top of the standings.

The Havasu 95 Speedway loves to bring back the exciting racing days of yesteryear. They will be doing just that again Saturday night with a special exhibition race featuring vintage sprint and midget open wheel racers. These cars hold a very prominent place in the history of racing in America. For old school racing fans their presence will be a blast in the past to the days when these open wheel cars barnstormed their way to race tracks all over the country. For younger racing fans the presence of these vintage racers will be an exciting look at history.

The Havasu 95 Speedway racing weekend actually begins on Friday night with a test and tune session for the teams from 6 to 9 pm. Spectators will be admitted free to watch the practice session.

On Saturday race day the spectator gates will open at 4pm with the racing getting underway at 6pm. General admission tickets for Saturday are $12. Tickets for seniors, 55 plus, the military and the handicapped are priced at $10. Kids tickets, ages six to 16, are $6 while kids five and under are admitted free when accompanied by a paid adult. The speedway also offers a family package for $25 which admits two adults and two kids. Fans can also enjoy the special amenities from the speedway's VIP section for $25 which features the best seats in the house for watching the racing action.

For out of town teams and fans the Days Inn is the official motel of the Havasu 95 Speedway. They offer beautiful and spacious rooms at very affordable rates. Call toll free for reservations at 800 835 2410. Reservations can also be made online at www.thehavasuinn.com.

For more information about racing at the Havasu 95 Speedway dial up their official website at www.havasu95speedway.com or contact promoter Bill Rozhon at 928 716 6300.


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HPA Motorsports Crafts Custom 550-HP Scirocco, Offers it to North America

It's been a long 22 years since Volkswagen deemed North America worthy of its Scirocco hatchback. For those V-Dubbers who can't live without VW's newest iteration of the hot hatch, HPA Motorsports will not only import one into the new world, but tune it to your exact specifications.

The volks at HPA Motorsports have worked out a deal to have the Scirocco imported directly to its workshop in British Columbia, Canada, only 10 short miles over the U.S. border. Once the car arrives, the fun begins. While HPA can do just about whatever your heart desires, it strongly suggests its FT565 package. The special setup adds a pair of Garrett H25 turbochargers to the 3.2-liter V-6.

The mechanics at HPA beef up all the internals to handle the 550 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque the new engine produces. Brakes are upgraded to 14-inch rotors and 8-piston calipers in front, along with 13-inch rotors in back. Stock wheels are replaced with 19-inch BBS aluminum rolling stock, wrapped in Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tires.

HPA claims the tuned all-wheel-drive Scirocco can reach speeds of up to 200 mph, and sprint from 0-60 in no more than 3.5 seconds. If that isn't enough, there is a Stage 2 version of the package. This not only gives the car a 100 lb-ft bump, but gets the hatchback down the quarter-mile in 11.3 seconds. 0-60 mph times are shaved down to a scant 3.4 seconds.

HPA plans on only building 10 FT565 Sciroccos each year, and every last one of them is destined for the U.S. Later this year HPA says it will debut its FT640 package which will be paired to VW's 3.6-liter powerplant and is scheduled to make a ton more power. HPA says each car will take a cool $150,000 to get you into one of these custom-built monsters, but we're sure they're worth every penny.


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Global Motorsports Group Announces Three Car World Challenge Team for 2010

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Coming off of its strongest season yet in the World Challenge Championship, Global Motorsports Group is announcing its return to the championship for the 2010 season.

GMG, based in Southern California, will return with a trio of Porsche 911 GT3s to compete in the World Challenge GT class. Leading the team will be team owner and driver James Sofronas of Newport Beach, Calif. Sofronas enjoyed a stellar 2009 season, in which he scored wins at the Long Beach Grand Prix and at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on his way to finishing a career-best second in the championship.

Joining him will be series veteran Dino Crescentini, of Manhattan Beach, Calif., who is back for his third season in the Stoptech/GMG Porsche 911 GT3. Crescentini scored a win in 2009 at Watkins Glen International Raceway, on his way to finishing the season in ninth place. In the third GMG Porsche will be William Ziegler, the 2009 World Challenge Rookie of the Year. All three cars will be outfitted with GMG’s line of World Challenge parts, StopTech brakes, Sparco safety gear and BBS wheels. GMG also enjoys a close association with Porsche Motorsports North America.

“There is no doubt that World Challenge is one of the most competitive and demanding racing series in North America,” said Fabryce Kutyba, co-owner of Global Motorsports Group. “This allows us to develop and test our World Challenge line of components and complete packages for Porsche cars. GMG’s products are the direct result of our involvement in motorsport, and through this race winning experience we are able to develop the best products in the world to enhance performance and maintain factory reliability.”

“We are very happy and proud to announce that we are returning to World Challenge GT with all three of our 2009 drivers for this season,” said Sofronas. “World Challenge has been the foundation on which we have built our race team and our Porsche product line. GMG World Challenge parts can be found not only on our race cars, but our customer’s street and race cars. We are excited to see what 2010 holds for us.

“On a personal level, I can’t wait to get back into the No.14 GMG Porsche GT3 and fight for a championship. Finishing second last year and getting those two wins was great, but now it is time to go after the top spot at the awards banquet. I can’t wait for the lights to go out in St. Petersburg.”

Sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing, the 12-race 2010 World Challenge Championship begins March 26-28 with a doubleheader race weekend at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. For more information, please visit www.world-challenge.com.


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