Keelan Havick Shines Up The #NASCAR #4

 

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice is about to begin at Dover International Speedway. Keelan had to stop by and make sure the car was lookin' good before Dada took it out on the track. Tune into FOX Sports 1 at 11 a.m. ET for coverage.

Keelan is rocking his Stewart Hass Long Sleeve Shirt and looking more like Dad (Kevin Harvick) every day.

3D Printer Shakes-up Lesson Plan

“It’s cool that The NASCAR Foundation provided us the stuff to have this experience,” said Sandy Lee, an 8th grade student from Ms. Sullivan’s art class at Reidsville Middle School. Sandy is referring to The NASCAR Foundation’s 3D printer donation this past fall to her class. In an effort to bring the innovation and technology that is found in NASCAR to the classroom, The NASCAR Foundation provided several classrooms across the country with 3D printers, and other state-of-the-art tools.

Tuesday, May 20, The NASCAR Foundation visited Reidsville Middle School in Reidsville, North Carolina. This opportunity presented an occasion to strengthen our relationship with the school, while at the same time introduce students to NASCAR. With the help of NASCAR Nationwide Series Driver Jamie Dick, all grades, 6th through 8th, had the opportunity to see his race car up-close and to hear him speak on education, and its relation to his success as a professional athlete and businessman. Jamie is the only driver in the Nationwide Series to hold his MBA, as well as the youngest driver to own his team in the series.

Following the outdoor presentation to each grade level, Jamie and The NASCAR Foundation staff visited the art classroom of Ms. Sullivan. “I try the untraditional to get them interested, like race cars,” said Ms. Sullivan, whose students take her class for an elective credit rather than mandatory coursework.

Over the past couple months Ms. Sullivan’s students have been perfecting their capabilities in using the printer and its software. The design process includes utilizing laptops to create a blueprint of their envisioned project. Creativity, math skills, and an understanding of technology culminate to ensure their creations materialize correctly through the 3D printer.

During the visit, students presented their creations like race cars, a Darth-Vader cup, a prosthetic hand, and a handful of animals! In addition, they demonstrated the printer in action, creating a robot and then an engraved keychain for Jamie to take with him as a memento of his visit to the school.

Yet, Ms. Sullivan’s student’s creativity has expanded beyond the 3D printer. It has acted as a springboard, by inspiring James Wilson, and his fellow students to advance to film. “We are trying to make slow motion picture stuff,” said James, by using their printed creations.

Over the coming year, be sure to check out our website and social media outlets for more stories from our classroom projects!

NASCAR Champ's Son Joins The Jenison Team

Ross Kenseth poses by his Super Late Model at Berlin Raceway.
(Photo courtesy of Tom DeVette)

Ross Kenseth grew up in Wisconsin, so the son of NASCAR Sprint Cup superstar Matt Kenseth has survived a harsh winter or two.

But Kenseth was quick to admit that the one he experienced during his first winter of living in Michigan was especially awful.

“It was probably the worst I’ve seen since I was 5 years old,” Kenseth said during a break in Wednesday afternoon’s test session at the Berlin Raceway.

Kenseth, 20, will be competing in Saturday night’s Super Late Model race at the Berlin half-mile beginning at 6:30 p.m. Kenseth’s father won the 2003 Sprint Cup championship and finished runner-up to Jimmie Johnson a year ago. Kenseth’s ultimate goal is to someday be battling for championships in the NASCAR ranks, too, and his journey has taken him to West Michigan this season.

Kenseth has taken the year off from his studies at Clemson University, and he moved to the Grand Rapids area after signing to drive for the Jenison-based Boyne Machine Racing team. Car owner Mike Blackmer has hired Kenseth to race his No. 77 Enterprise Iron & Metal Ford Fusion template-bodied Late Model in big-dollar races as well as select programs at Berlin – the team’s home track.

Saturday’s race will serve as a tune-up for the ARCA/CRA Super Series Berlin 125 that Berlin will host on May 31. Kenseth said he has been pleased with the progress his team has made in the young season, including a third-place finish at Anderson, Ind., on April 26 in an ARCA/CRA Super Series race.

“It has been going all right,” said Kenseth, who resides in Little Chute, Wis. “It’s always tough having a whole new team and starting from ground zero, but it has been fun. I feel like we have been having some pretty strong runs. We have been real close to winning races, and we have been one or two changes away from breaking through with that. We have had a couple of off days as well, but that has been part of the learning process.”

Kenseth has raced for Blackmer at special events in the past, so when it came time for Blackmer to hire a full-time driver this season, the two hammered out a deal.

“He is up-and-coming, and I think he will eventually be in the NASCAR ranks,” Blackmer said. “I have watched him for the last four or five years, and I think he has talent. I also support Brian Campbell, and I hope to be racing a lot with him. Hopefully, they will be able to feed off of each other.”

In addition, Blackmer hired Kelly Bires to serve as Kenseth’s crew chief. Bires also is from Wisconsin and has raced in NASCAR Camping World Truck and Nationwide ranks, and he made three Sprint Cup starts in 2012.

Bires also has built his own cars in the past, so he is experienced with a wrench, too. He said he is impressed with how quickly the team has come together in recent months.

“We didn’t have any cars or equipment and we were able to build a team within a few months,” Bires said. “We have been able to perform as far as running in the top five and qualifying good. We haven’t won one yet, but we have been knocking on the door and being consistent. That’s where you need to be to have a chance. All things considered, it has gone really well.

“I have worked with Ross the last two years on and off. We are both from Wisconsin, and he has a lot of talent. If I can help him get to the next level and get noticed and do whatever you need to do, that what’s we will do.”

Saturday’s program will include Berlin’s weekly Sportsman, Super Stocks and 4 Cylinder divisions. It will be carload night as well. Admission is $20 for each car, with a limit of eight people per vehicle.

Kenseth has competed at Berlin in the past, including the 2012 Rowdy 251 in which he finished fifth in a race won by Kyle Busch.

“It is definitely a challenging race track,” Kenseth said. “I haven’t run extremely well here. I have had some pretty good finishes here and led a lot of laps here. But I haven’t come through for a win yet. Hopefully, being closer by and getting a lot more laps at the race track, maybe I can figure out what I need to do to win some races here this year.”

Source

#NASCAR Nationwide Points Leader Graduates from High School

Congratulations Chase Elliott on graduating from King's Ridge
Christian High School  in Alpharetta, Ga. this morning

Nationwide Points leader, Chase Elliott was the fastest in the first of three Nationwide Series practices Friday at Iowa Speedway.  Driving the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, Elliott’s top lap on the .875-mile long oval was 134.690 mph. 

This 18-year-old  has won two races in this season’s nine races thus far. He is the son of NASCAR great Bill Elliott.

Rev Racing and #NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity Program Announce Driver Combine

Each year NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity initiative and its competition arm, Rev Racing, seek to obtain the highest quality of applicants representing the most diverse backgrounds and develop them into successful NASCAR drivers. This selection process begins with the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Combine.

This year’s application process will open May 15. The application process will close for submission on August 15, 2014.

Drivers who already participate in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program and are demonstrating progress, though a combination of consistent top finishes in their respective series and positive evaluations, may be offered the opportunity to continue in the program without participating in an additional Combine.

“I am very excited to see this year’s class. Each year, we have seen the applicant pool grow with experience and talented drivers. This class should be no different,” said Max Siegel, Rev Racing team owner.

Potential drivers can access the participant application at revracing.net/combine-application. Additional information and criteria can be found on supplied link. Additional support and technical assistance for the application process can be found by emailing info@revracing.net. Please allow for a 24-hour turn around response.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS: Applicants must meet the following requirements: Between the ages of 15 and 26 (as of October 15, 2014)

• A U.S. citizen or resident alien

• Legally allowed to work in the US

• A member of one of the following ethnic minorities classifications:

African-Americans: Having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa

Asian-Indian Americans: Having origins in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh 

Asian-Pacific Americans: Origins are from Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Trust Territories of the Pacific or the Northern Marianas

Hispanics: Having Hispanic heritage from any of the Spanish-speaking areas of Latin America or the following regions: Mexico, Central America, and South America (including Brazil) and the Caribbean basin.

Native Americans: Persons who are American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut or Native Hawaiian, and regarded as such by the community of which the person claims to be a part. Native Americans must be documented members of a North American tribe, band or otherwise organized group of native people who are indigenous to the United States.

OR

A female of U.S citizenship (or resident alien)

• All drivers must demonstrate their skill and have experience in grassroots/local/regional racing

Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award Nomination

Deadline May 16th
for Your Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award Nomination

There is still time to submit your nominee or forward this email to a friend. Visit NASCAR.com/award to nominate your volunteer by this Friday at 11:59:59 PM EST.

The winner of this award will receive $100,000 for their charity of choice, while the three finalists are given $25,000. Four nominees will be chosen as finalists and announced this fall, out of the nominations we receive by Friday, May 16, 11:59:59 PM EST. Don't miss your opportunity to submit your nominee and give your children's charity the potential to win the grand award of $100,000!

The Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award honors everyday champions and NASCAR fans whose volunteer efforts turn our kids into winners, no matter what kind of challenges they face.

NASCAR Crew Teaches Kids About 'Science of Speed'

NASCAR driver Brian Vickers is an avid reader and science buff who subscribes to "Scientific American" on his tablet. Crew chief Billy Scott went back to school in his mid-20s to finish his degree in mechanical engineering.

NASCAR driver Brian Vickers is an avid reader and science buff.

Vickers, Scott, and other crew members gave several dozen Birmingham teens at the A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club a tutorial Wednesday on the "Science of Speed," stressing how important technology, science, math and engineering are in their field and others.

Vickers is hoping the love for science and math proves contagious.

"If we can change the life of just one of these kids and start them down the path of a math, science, technology or engineering degree, it will dramatically change their life," Vickers said before the event. "That's really cool to me.

"To think that 20 years from now, they could be an engineer maybe building something that I hopefully could use, something really cool, making a great life for themselves. Changing the world and bettering this country because they were intrigued about math and science because we showed up here one day and talked to them about it. That's cool."

Michael Waltrip Racing specialists Kevin White (tires), Jeremy Sharpley (shocks) and David Cropps (safety/interior mechanics) fielded questions about their areas of expertise at stations around the room. Then the kids posed with the crew around a NASCAR pace car.

• Decardious Harris, 13, asked Scott, "How come the car has no doors?"
• Answer: It's about aerodynamics, safety, and the rules.

Mikhail Smith, 15, wanted to know how it feels to drive that fast?

"Going 200 miles an hour, that is like four times as fast as you can go on the highway," Vickers answered. "It's an incredible rush."

High school freshman Alex Slaughter, 15, said he was already a fan of NASCAR — and math and science — before the session.

"It opens your eyes more to what's really happening behind the wheel, with the pit screw and stuff," said Slaughter, an aspiring cardio thoracic surgeon. "It was really amazing."

Vickers told the youngsters about some of the behind the scenes work that goes on with some 200 employees at the race shop, including about 40 engineers.

He also stressed that his parents wouldn't let him race "if I didn't have straight A's."

Vickers said he still reads 3-4 hours a day. Among his interests: particle physics and quantum mechanics.

"I was kind of weirdly excited about the Higgs boson discovery," said Vickers, referring to a subatomic particle scientists detected in 2012. "Like, why would I care? I just find that stuff fascinating.

"NASA always fascinated me. If it wasn't for motorsports, there's a very good chance that's where I probably would have ended up."

Scott, who finished his degree at North Carolina-Charlotte in 2005, said he had an idea of the technical aspect of racing because he started on three-wheelers at age 5. He said he jumped at the chance to share that significance with the kids

"It's hard to put it in perspective for someone who has no idea, who's never been exposed to it and doesn't know what goes into it," he said. "That's kind of cool."

Scott said Vickers' interest in engineering is evident in the day to day operations.

"He is pretty engineering driven," Scott said. "He understands a lot of it. He's always been very interested in what the computer says, how we come about our analysis. He'll even make sure you're not getting stuck on a narrow-minded path. He'll ask questions about the technical side of it, like 'Are you guys have thought about it this way?'"

Race title sponsor Aaron's helped put on the event and announced a $1 million contribution to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America's national teen leadership program.

Keelan Harvick - "Danica Digs Me" #nascar

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Keelan Harvick's t-shirt reads, "Danica Digs Me". (He really IS a Day-Day fan.) Talladega 05/04/14.

Rhodes Scores Derby Bed Race Victory

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East points leader and NASCAR Next driver Ben Rhodes
scored a win in 25th Annual Kentucky Derby Great Bed Races in his native Louisville, Ky.
(Courtesy STIX FX Entertainment)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Seventeen-year-old Louisville, Kentucky, native and NASCAR Next driver Ben Rhodes raced his way to victory in a different fashion on Monday, April 28th, as he was the driver behind the wheel of the winning Alpha Energy Solutions bed in the champions division of the 25th-annual Kentucky Derby Festival Great Bed Races at Broadbent Arena in Louisville, Kentucky. Rhodes and the team won in the final race of the night, dethroning a five-year champion of the event in Alpha’s event debut.

The Great Bed Races, which began in 1990 as one of the many events leading up to the historic Kentucky Derby, put teams up against a clock on a figure-eight track for one lap to see who can come out on top with the best single-lap time. A team consists of one driver with four pushers on a custom-made bed, using human power instead of horsepower, to navigate around the course. The Alpha team made their lap in 33.41 seconds, beating out five-time champions Curtain Call Photo Booth, who held the fast time throughout the entire event, by just a mere 0.56 seconds.

Alpha Energy Solutions was one of many local and national businesses that joined in this year’s competition. Texas Roadhouse, General Electric, Cabela’s, Air Hydro Power, Hampton Inn, AAA East Central, Whole Foods Market, UAW/Assembly Plant Ford Louisville, Purdue University, Home Depot, Geek Squad City, Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 502, and Frisch’s Restaurants were just some of the companies participating.

Rhodes, who is the current championship points leader in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, driving the No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet Impala with Turner Scott Motorsports, enjoyed the challenge of a different kind of racing.

“It was a blast,” said Rhodes. “All of us on the Alpha team put all our efforts in to our debut in the Great Bed Races, and it paid off. The guys were pushing hard and we got a little loose in turn one, but we were good all the way around the rest of the course and didn’t hit a cone. The most stressful part was waiting to hear our time and if we beat the other team.”

The Alpha team consisted of some top athletes in the Louisville area. With Rhodes behind the wheel, the four pushers were Jeff Ellison, COO for Heuser Health and a Cross-fit athlete, Patrick Smalley, Director of Training at Heuser Health who is ex-military and a collegiate football player, Chris Daniel, founder of SocialSphereStudios and former University of Kentucky and professional Pole Vaulter, as well as Chip Heuser, Executive Vice President of Heuser Health and President and Meet Director for Vault in the Ville, who is also a former University of Florida and University of Oklahoma and current professional Pole Vaulter.

Along with the muscle to get the winners’ trophy, Alpha had a one-of-a-kind bed that had some NASCAR engineering behind it.

“Joe Kruschek, one of my TSM team members, came up with the design,” said Rhodes. “The entire Turner Scott Motorsports team was behind us and was anxious to see how we would do. It worked great.

“Our community really gets behind the Kentucky Derby and all the events surrounding it during the Derby Festival. It was really cool to be a part of the action this year and win our first time out. We now have a friendly rivalry with some of the teams and we will see if we can come back next year and go faster and start our own winning streak with the Alpha Energy Solutions bed.”

For more information on Ben Rhodes, including media availability, contact Jason “Stix” Buckley of STIX FX Entertainment at (704) 519-5528 or stix@stixfx.com, and make sure to keep up to date on his racing career at www.benrhodes.com, as well as following him on Facebook ( www.facebook.com/benrhodesinc), Twitter (www.twitter.com/benrhodes), and Instagram (www.instagram.com/benrhodes).

20th Anniversary Kyle Petty Charity Ride #NASCAR

The Kyle Petty Charity Ride will begin its 20th Anniversary Ride in Carlsbad,
California next month and embark on the cross-country motorcycle trek
 and travel more than 2,800 miles before reaching Daytona Beach, Florida.

It's Here!

Former NASCAR driver and racing analyst Kyle Petty is gearing up for his 20th Anniversary Ride Across America! From May 3-10, Petty will lead more than 200 participants - including several celebrities- from Carlsbad, California to Daytona Beach, Florida to raise awareness and funds for Victory Junction.

NASCAR Race Mom will be eagerly attending the Motorcycle Ride Kickoff this Saturday.  Be sure to check back here on Sunday for event photos and interviews.

If you are in the Carlsbad, California area, please stop by to support these modern day children's champions.

Remember that you can click here to win an Kyle Petty Autographed Event T-Shirt and Cap!

Help support Petty and the Riders as they embark on their first ever coast-to-coast tour!

Your donation to Kyle Petty Charity Ride, Inc. will help support thousands of children with life-threatening illnesses that attend Victory Junction, other charitable organizations, and various children's hospitals. 

There are three easy ways to make a donation. (And that doesn't even count visiting them at a pit stop during the ride!)

Click Here to Donate Online 

Call the 888-45-PETTY telephone number

Make your check out to:
     Kyle Petty Charity Ride, Inc.
     125 Floyd Smith Drive, Ste. 45
     Charlotte, NC 28262