A few brief notes from the racing scene …
Kyle Busch was discharged from the Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida and has been transported to North Carolina for further treatment. This photo above was posted on twitter by Kyle’s wife, Samantha (@SamanthaBusch) with the comment: “Off to NC! Thank u to everyone at Halifax for taking such good care of Kyle n to all of U for the continued prayers!”
David Ragan has been named as the interim driver for Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing for at least the next few weeks … see USA Today’s report by Jeff Gluck here.
In the case of an interim driver for Atlanta, Stewart-Haas Motorsports has named Regan Smith as its Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend Feb. 26-March 1st. Atlanta will be Smith’s second race in the No. 41 car. He drove the Haas Automation Chevrolet to a 16th place finish last Sunday in the Daytona 500. Smith already had some history with Stewart-Haas prior to Daytona. He subbed for Tony Stewart in the team’s No. 14 car last August at Watkins Glen.
Smith was the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year and won the 2011 Southern 500 at Darlington, South Carolina Raceway. He is a fulltime driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and finished 2nd in the 2014 championship standings. Smith, 31, is from Cato, New York. An interim driver for the No. 41 team at next weekend’s Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and subsequent races has not yet been determined.
Defending Sprint Cup Champion Kevin Harvick stated that Kyle Busch’s Daytona accident was a wake-up call to NASCAR tracks that should have been more proactive on safety. His position was clearly stated in a piece published on Racer.com. “I hit the same wall further up last year and voiced my opinion and unfortunately I was just a dot on the chart and there was no reaction,” he said. “Hopefully this is a lesson learned. You don’t want to have a reaction, the tracks have to be proactive, they have to look ahead for accidents that might happen.”
In IndyCar …
For a Rahal Racing snapshot of how the 2015 season is shaping up so far — Click Here
Also related to Indycar and the Indianapolis 500: Michael Andretti, owner of Andretti Autosport and Ryan Hunter-Reay, reigning Indianapolis 500 Champion discuss how they are looking ahead to both the 99th and 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.
In an interview with MotorSport.com‘s Covy Moore, Tony Kanaan spoke candidly about the loss of the Verizon IndyCar’s first scheduled race of the season in Brazil and how the cancellation affected him, the fans and Team Chip Ganassi … see the interview here
Announced Tuesday in Indianapolis that seven-time TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Champions and six-time Rolex 24 At Daytona Winners Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) that reigning Rolex 24 At Daytona Winner and three-time Verizon IndyCar Series Champion Scott Dixon will join Scott Pruett and Joey Hand in the driver lineup of the No. 01 Ford EcoBoost Riley Prototype for the historic 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway on March 21. Dixon competed once with CGRFS this season in a second Prototype fielded in the Rolex 24 At Daytona where the team scored their first victory of the season and Dixon’s second overall win in the event (2006).
Dixon will enter his 14th season with Target Chip Ganassi Racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2015. He is a three-time Verizon IndyCar Series Champion (2003, 2008, 2013) and won the Indianapolis 500 in 2008. Dixon’s 35 INDYCAR wins are tied for fifth on the all-time list, and he has 18 CGRFS sports car starts resulting in two wins, three pole positions and six podium finishes.
Dixon commented: “Sebring is one of those iconic motor races in the world and I think we’ll have a good chance. The team started strong with a win in the Rolex 24 At Daytona with the No. 02 car this season, and the No. 01 car won in its Sebring debut last year. I’m looking forward to working with Scott and Joey again, and the whole IMSA program.”
Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 25 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has anywhere in the world. Today his teams include four cars in the IndyCar Series, two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and one Prototype in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Overall Ganassi Race Teams have 17 championships and over 160 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400 and six Rolex 24’s at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Indiana and Concord, North Carolina, with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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