ACS President Dave Allen Talks About Auto Club 400 NASCAR Weekend

NASCAR fans who come to the track for the Auto Club 400 weekend (March 19-22, 2015) will notice more information booths and more people in place to answer questions and guide fans to the right place for the events around the track. Image Credit: Michael Zito via Auto Club Speedway (2014)

Auto Club Speedway President Dave Allen Talks About Auto Club 400 NASCAR Weekend

At the end of last year, Dave Allen was named President of Auto Club Speedway by the parent company, International Speedway Corporation, President - John R. Saunders.

Dave was picked to succeed Gillian Zucker, who recently became president of business operations for the Los Angeles Clippers Basketball team after a 9 year run at ACS. Gillian came to be President of Auto Club Speedway after stints in executive management of Kansas Speedway and Daytona International Speedway.

The track, initially called California Speedway, was built in the late 1990s by racing mogul Roger Penske. Allen joined Penske at the track in 1999 and became senior director of sales and marketing in 2002.

Allen most recently served as the track's vice president of sales and marketing, and helped Zucker complete the naming rights with Auto Club of Southern California in 2008.

In 2015, there have been a few motorsports events already at ACS - but none are as large in terms of fan interest as next week's event, The Auto Club 400 with NASCAR on March 22, and the MAVTv 500 Verizon IndyCar Series race set for June 27.

Dave Allen, President of Auto Club Speedway (right) stands with racecar driver AJ Allmendinger (center), and former PGA and Champions Tour Player Dave Stockton in the grandstands tee box at Auto Club Speedway. Image Credit: Joann DeLeoz Young via Auto Club Speedway (2015)

Welcome Dave Allen ...

<<< Audio of interview here (questions below) >>>

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You have been involved with Auto Club Speedway since near its beginning - What has most impressed you about the facility and its evolution through the last 16 years since you came on board?

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Last Thursday, it was announced Auto Club Speedway will upgrade its safety features in Turn 1 by adding about 600 feet of tire-barrier inside the turn. What are the future plans and timing concerning a more permanent solution to safety and walls around the track?

Contributed from Facebook: When was the track last resurfaced? - Any plans on resurfacing the track?

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The facility at Auto Club Speedway has a large infield - Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the Indy 500 is held, has successfully transformed its infield into a very compelling road course race track - reminiscent of the layout pace found at the track in Portland Oregon ... is Auto Club Speedway planning on attracting additional professional racing through a robust road course addition as IMS has done?

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Dave Allen, President of Auto Club Speedway, takes a swing from the grandstands tee box at Auto Club Speedway. Image Credit: Joann DeLeoz Young via Auto Club Speedway (2015)

Speaking of road course racing, March 10th, you were in a track event promotion on involving golf with multifaceted racecar driver AJ Allmendinger - who, by the way, is having his most promising start to the 2015 NASCAR season (currently P5 in points) with the Kroger/USO sponsored Chevy of JTG Daugherty Racing. Tell us how this came about and some of the impressions and conversation you had with the IndyCar, Sports Car, and NASCAR driver during this golfing challenge.

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Join us on Thursday March 19, 2015 for the Hangar 24 Fan Party just before the Haulers arrive! - When: 5pm-7pm - Where:  Auto Club Speedway Hangar 24 Craft Beer Zone near the Gate B entrance to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Fan Zone - Why:  Watch the NASCAR haulers arrive at the speedway, meet other NASCAR fans, taste Hangar 24’s Craft Brews and maybe see a driver or two. Image Credit: Auto Club Speedway

The NASCAR Hauler Parade begins the NASCAR weekend on March 19th at 5:00pm PT, with Qualifications on March 20th in a knockout format - please highlight the events surrounding Qualifications? What do fans need to be on the look out for while attending Race Day for the Auto Club 400 with NASCAR this coming weekend on March 22?

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ENDS

Schedule for the Auto Club 400 weekend at Auto Club Speedway (March 19-22, 2015):

• Thursday, March 19 @ 5:00pm PT is the NASCAR Hauler Parade - Come welcome your favorite NASCAR team to Southern California (begins at 6:00pm from Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Baseball Stadium)

• Friday, March 20 is Pole Day (NASCAR Qualifying Day)

• Saturday, March 21 is the NASCAR Xfinity (formerly called Nationwide) Series Treatmyclot.com 300

• Sunday, March 22 is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400

• Fifth Cup race on the 2015 schedule

• Free parking, unbelievable menu items and a full weekend of entertainment, live music and fun await fans in the Speedway’s FanZone.

• Tickets start at $45. To purchase tickets call 800-944-RACE (7223), log on to www.autoclubspeedway.com or visit the Auto Club Speedway Ticket Office.

 • Fans can take Metro Link from Lancaster, Oxnard or Oceanside directly to the track for $19 roundtrip.

• Auto Club 400 Race will air on FOX beginning at 12:30pm PT

... notes from The EDJE

TAGS: Dave Allen, ACS, Auto Club Speedway, NASCAR, Xfinity, Fan Zone, Sprint Cup Series, Auto Club 400, Metro Link, FOX, NASCAR Hauler Parade, AJ Allmendinger, Dave Stockton, The EDJE

Paul Tracy Close To Becoming A Bricklayer In IndyCar

Paul Tracy during a time he thought a three-race agreement with KV Racing Technologies announced at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach might lead to a full ride in 2011 ... it was not to be. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Paul Tracy Close To Becoming A Bricklayer In IndyCar

Paul Tracy is looking to have a full year secured ride in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series ... and he is close to getting his deal.

In a conversation at the 50th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona with the media in attendance, Tracy shared that he is nearing an agreement on driving for a full season with Michael Shank Racing, a team partially owned by AJ Allmendinger, co-driving winner of the 2012 Rolex 24 at Daytona held this past weekend.

In looking to find additional information on the progress of these developments, this posting at Twitter this morning from Paul Tracy speaks volumes:

paultracy3 paul tracy

When it comes to getting things done, we need fewer architects and more brick layers ................

For a little understanding of what frustration Las Vegas resident the "Thrill From West Hill" is talking about, one needs to know what may be standing in the way of finalizing a Michael Shank Racing DW12 effort to deliver a full season ride for Paul Tracy.

This excerpted and edited from The Sault Star -

Tracy's last ride: Racer close to 1-year deal
By DEAN MCNULTY, QMI AGENCY - Jan. 30, 2012

It was Tracy who spotted a then-teenaged Allmendinger at a go-kart race in Arizona more than a dozen years ago and decided to help the youngster with his racing career.

Tracy even introduced Allmendinger to some high-powered ChampCar World Series team owners that resulted in Allmendinger winning the Atlantic Series championship in 2003. But after only three seasons in ChampCar, Allmendinger defected to NASCAR, a move that Tracy was highly critical of at the time.

Time, however, seems to have healed those wounds because in an interview with Associated Press motor sports writer Jenna Fryer at Daytona where Tracy was driving the No. 77 Doran Racing Riley Ford, he said there are only some finishing touches that need to be made to get him in an MSR Dallara DW12 come March 25 for the opening IndyCar race at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

"We have a car, we have a sponsor, but we need to put an engine package together," Tracy said of the contract talks.

That may be a sticking point as MSR had been reported to be in line of one of the new Lotus engine packages that will debut in the IndyCar series this season.

Tracy has a long term relationship with rival Honda, which has backed the Canadian driver for the past four seasons as he attempted to get his open-wheel racing career back on track.

The 43-year-old native of Toronto has not had a season-long contract since ChampCar folded in 2007.
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"What I think what has hampered me most over the last few years is really only being in a car three, four, five times a year," he said. "When you are not out there testing all the time with the likes of Dario (Franchitti) or Scott Dixon and all these guys, they are in the car all the time.

"When you are out of the car, you get rusty. It didn't affect me as bad in '07 when ... I jumped back in and I could get going right away. And I can still get going pretty well, but it's so competitive now that you just can't be out of a car for that long."

Tracy said most teams in the IndyCar Series are at a competitive disadvantage at the best of times going up against the financial might of Chip Ganassi Racing and Penske Racing.

"It's very, very difficult to get in top notch, top level IndyCar equipment because it's so expensive and Penske and Ganassi really have a handle on that," he said.
[Reference Here]

The 2012 season provides a unique opportunity for a new team to be competitive right away due to the fact this is the first year of a new formula. All teams are starting out with a new chassis, with a choice of one of three new turbo-charged power plants - Honda, Chevrolet, and Lotus.

This scenario just might be what the doctor ordered for a new team, that has a winning tradition behind it, with a driver who has the skill, experience, and heart to be a bricklayer in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

... notes from The EDJE


- Article first published as Paul Tracy Close To Becoming A Bricklayer In Indycar on Technorati -

A DAYtona In The Life Of Dale Jr.

EARNHARDT (ON BAD LUCK.): "I think we were good, I just had some bad luck. Every time I would get in the front, some bad luck would take me to the back. Something I would do or something else. But I had a great car; I could run up in the top five all night. I had a great car. My car was ready to go -- just had some circumstances kept moving me to the back." Image Credit: Hendrick Motorsports (2009)

A DAYtona In The Life Of Dale Jr.

Good driver, good car, great racing, bad day for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

With a little more than 75 laps to go, Dale Jr. commits an aggressive driving error that takes out ten cars while he was riding on the bottom of the track one lap down to the leaders. The only good news was that even though he was involved, he skated through the melee with no damage to his car.

Brian Vickers was also a lap down and saw Dale Jr. trying to sneak around him on the inside track position. Dale Jr. was pushed beyond the double yellow marker line and could not advance. On the way back on to the racing part of the track, Dale Jr. caught Brian Vickers’ bumper and spun him up the track in front of the field taking out about 10 cars including the best running car of the day driven by Kyle Busch.

Tom Cruise in the crowd before the race. He had the honor of driving the pace car to lead off the race. Image Credit: OSPHOTO via Twitter

Brian Vickers was interviewed after the wreckage was cleared and stated that he felt that Dale Jr. had touched him on purpose. “NASCAR should penalize him” stating that a driver was penalized earlier in the week during the Bud Shootout and the cost assessed by NASCAR was five (5) laps. How come he was not penalized?, asked Vickers.

The truth for Dale Jr. was not having a good time judging many things all race long … mostly in the pits.

Weather threatens to end the race early. Image Credit: dmentd82 via Twitter

The first judgment mistake that happened early in the race was that Earnhardt overshot his pit box. This caused Dale Jr. to have to go back around and pit out of sequence placing him at the back of the field upon the restart.

Raindrops are fallin' on my head ... Image Credit: nascargirls via Twitter

His second judgment mistake happened on the round of pitstops before the Vickers accident. There, Dale Jr. placed his car at a slight angle in the pitbox and had his right front tire on the line. The NASCAR official tried to warn the pitcrew but they changed the right front tire and the official had to penalize Dale Jr. one full lap.

This had Dale Earnhardt Jr. frustrated and working hard to make up his lap before the pending rain came over the track.

Image Credit: Tinaodarby via Twitter

The Daytona 500 Race ended on Yellow Flag/Red Flag Caution due to rain with 48 laps to go.

In an after race interview, Dale Jr. was heard saying, “Vickers should have held his ground” and “My pit sign is pink and everyone else’s is pink – next week we will probably make ours yellow and everyone else will make theirs yellow."

Dale Jr. ended up finishing in 27^th position in a field of 43 cars - on the same lap as the winner.

A bad day for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the 88 AMP sponsored Chevrolet.

A good day for open-wheel ChampCar racing veteran AJ Allmendinger driving a Valvoline sponsored Dodge with a 3^rd place podium finish in his first Daytona 500.

Matt Kenseth in a DeWalt sponsored Roush Fenway Ford won the race for the driver’s first win and team’s first ever win after 22 tries at Daytona, followed by Kevin Harvick in his Shell/Pennzoil sponsored George/Haas Chevrolet.

HOW THEY FARED

... notes from The EDJE

[autosport.com liked this post so much, they patterned their story after this posting]