Welcome to “Fuel It Up”! The racing world is chocked full of intriguing stories, but sifting through them to get a good general sense of the landscape can be challenging. In Fuel It Up, I take the biggest, more interesting storylines and present them to you in a quick, compact 300-words-or-less format.
The winner of this week’s paint scheme award is the #39 Code 3 Associates, Chevrolet driven by Ryan Newman.…………… Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were both served with big penalties from last week’s Texas NRA 500. Both drivers had their rear end housings confiscated by NASCAR. Keselowski’s Crew Chief, Paul Wolfe and Logano’s Crew Chief, Todd Gordon, were suspended 6 races and fined $100,000 each. In addition, Keselowski and Logano were stripped of 25 points each. Both teams plan to appeal the punishment…………… A rumor circulating among the NASCAR Garage was that there was an informant who brought the rear end housing to NASCAR’s attention. As a FYI, the #2 car, driven by Keselowski was parked next to Jimmie Johnson’s #48 in the garage. The #22 car driven by Joey Logano was parked next to the #24 car of Jeff Gordon. Coincidence? …………… Martin Truex Jr., who finished in 2nd place at Texas was fined 6 points and $25,000 for having his car to low in the front…………… Brad Keselowski, last season’s Sprint Cup Champion, visited the White House on Wednesday. There had been some speculation that the event may be postponed due to the events in Boston earlier in the week but it went on as planned…………… The Kansas Speedway has been repaved and reconfigured since last April’s race. The banking in the corners has increased from 15 degrees to 20 degrees…………… Last April’s winner at Kansas, Denny Hamlin, will once again not be racing this week due to injuries suffered at California earlier this season. Brian Vickers will be driving the #11 Fed Ex car owned by Joe Gibbs Racing…………… X Factor winner, Tate Stevens will perform the National Anthem prior to the start of the STP 400 on Sunday. The “King”, Richard Petty will be the Grand Marshall and offer the command to start engines……………. Due to the tragic events in Boston the Kansas Speedway is informing fans that they can expect longer than usual lines entering the track due to security screenings…………… The weather forecast for Sunday in Kansas calls for cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid 60’s.
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