SAXTON: Expanded NFL schedule would affect NASCAR

The NFL Players Association and the NFL have had discussions at a “very high level” over potentially adding an 18th regular-season game to the schedule, NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell told The Washington Post.

Howell told the Post that talks between the NFLPA and the league have not reached the stage of formal negotiations, but he acknowledged that he plans to discuss the issue with players in the near future.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said earlier this year that he favored an 18-game season, adding that he envisions a lengthened schedule that would culminate in a Presidents Day weekend built around the Super Bowl on Sunday night. [Emphasis added]

This change would likely impact the NASCAR schedule. The Daytona 500 has been held on Presidents Day weekend the last several years. It is a shame when NASCAR has to plan their schedule around what other sports. Look at how NASCAR lost two weeks of racing because of the Olympics and TV.

Big Diamond back this weekend

With heavy downpours during the afternoon and more rain expected, Big Diamond Raceway was forced to postpone last Friday’s racing events.

The scheduled Dave Kamp Memorial races will now be held this Friday. The 410-winged sprints have been removed from the August 9th racing card and the Big Creek Concrete 602 Rookie Crate Sportsman have been added.

‘Pack the Track’ returns

The promotional team at the Clinton County Speedway is bringing back “Pack the Track” night on Friday, August 9th with free general admission to everyone. It has been 20 years since Pack the Track night has been offered to fans.

Fans will witness a five-division show featuring the RaceSaver Sprints cars, Pro Stocks, 270 Micro Sprints, East Coast Legends, and the Four-Cylinder stock cars. Gates will open at 5PM, Hot-laps begin at 7PM.

Larson wants another Indy shot

Planning the racing schedule for next year may not be the first thing on Kyle Larson’s mind after winning the recent thrilling Brickyard 400, but the 2021 Cup Series champion has interest in a second shot at the Indianapolis 500.

While Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick provided a “not yet” to a potential deal for Larson to run the 109th Indy 500, Larson is on board for a sequel.

“We’ve definitely been talking about it,” Larson said recently. “I think weighing what’s important to everybody … it sounds good, I’ll say, so far, but things could change, so we’ll see. Obviously, I’d love to do it. I think everybody knows that I would love to do it because, in my mind, I did not get to do it this year. I hope that the pieces can fall into place and we can hopefully get things put together and announce something and get excited about doing the double next year.”

Penske, PPG extension

The 40-plus year partnership between Team Penske and PPG — one of the longest-running business relationships in motorsports history — will continue in 2024 and beyond with today’s announcement of a multi-year extension of PPG’s sponsorship across the team’s NASCAR and INDYCAR programs.

The distinctive blue-and-white PPG paint scheme will continue to be featured in NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition as two-time series champion and back-to-back Indianapolis 500 winner, Josef Newgarden, will race the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet in 2024 and into the future. Under the partnership extension, PPG will continue to serve as an associate partner on the No. 12 Chevrolet driven by two-time INDYCAR champion Will Power, and the No. 3 Chevrolet driven by six-time INDYCAR SERIES race winner Scott McLaughlin. PPG will also continue as a Team Penske partner in the NASCAR Cup Series, serving as an associate sponsor of the No. 2 Ford Mustang driven by 2022 DAYTONA 500 champion Austin Cindric, the No. 12 Ford Mustang driven by reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, and the No. 22 Ford Mustang driven by two-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano.

“Our relationship with PPG was really one of the first business-to-business partnerships of its kind in motorsports,” said Team Penske President Tim Cindric. “It began over 40 years ago and we are really proud of everything we have accomplished together on and off the race track. Their commitment to motorsports has been far-reaching. We are looking forward to continuing to wear their colors in the winner’s circle for years to come.”

The Team Penske and PPG partnership began with the 1984 INDYCAR SERIES season. Over the last 40-plus years, Team Penske and PPG have amassed unparalleled successes together. Notable accomplishments include, 17 Indianapolis 500 victories, 11 INDYCAR titles, four NASCAR Cup Series championships, three DAYTONA 500 wins, seven NASCAR Xfinity Series titles, four Australian SuperCars Championship triumphs and a Bathurst 1000 victory.

Building on the partnership with Team Penske, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) also announced today that PPG has extended its title sponsorship of the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400, a crown jewel of the NASCAR season, for multiple years. In addition, PPG will continue as the Official Paint and Finishing Supplier of IMS.

“We are excited to build upon our extensive history with Team Penske, INDYCAR, and IMS,” said Tim Knavish, PPG chairman and chief executive officer. “To be able to expand and strengthen these relationships speaks to the commitment and success we’ve had together. I look forward to seeing the PPG name on Team Penske cars and at the Brickyard 400 for years to come.”

Team Penske’s most recent NASCAR victory at IMS came with Cindric in 2021 on the famed facility’s road course behind the wheel of the No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang. Team Penske and PPG have visited victory lane together 13 times across INDYCAR and NASCAR competition as a primary partner.

NHRA sweepstakes

NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) officials have announced that the 2024 NHRA Sweepstakes, which features a variety of prizes from NHRA partners.

Camping World, K&N Performance, A-iPower, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Summit Racing Equipment and RevZilla are all part of this year’s NHRA Sweepstakes, which is offering more than $25,000 worth of prizes winnings to lucky NHRA fans.

One grand prize winner will be awarded a 2024 Keystone Coleman 17B travel trailer from Camping World.

Six first-prize winners will each be awarded a K&N Performance Cold Air Intake System.

One second-prize winner will be awarded an A-iPower GXS7100iRD Dual Fuel/Remote Start Inverter Generator

One third-prize winner will be awarded a certificate that is good for one set of four passenger or light truck tires from Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.

One fourth-prize winner will be awarded a $1,000 SummitRacing.com gift card. The gift card is only valid at summitracing.com and is subject to the terms and conditions of Summit Racing.

One fifth-prize winner will be awarded a $1,000 RevZilla.com gift card. The gift card is only valid at RevZilla.com and is subject to terms and conditions.

To enter, fans may visit the NHRA Sweepstakes landing page to complete the online entry form. Please visit NHRA Sweepstakes Official Rules for terms and conditions. The sweepstakes will end at 11:59 p.m. ET on December 6, 2024. No purchase necessary. Terms and conditions apply.

Aggressive driving penalties

In the wake of Corey LaJoie tangling with Kyle Busch at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series, should NASCAR implement more in-race penalties for aggressive driving? I do think there should be more and tougher penalties.

Absolutely. No matter what Corey LaJoie and his team said about how the incident occurred, it was unacceptable. There have been several instances where aggressive driving between two drivers ends up involving more than bargained for. You have at-track crew members, shop crew members, sponsors and more who are all involved in a car being on track. When an innocent bystander is wrapped up in someone else’s mess, which ended up being seven total as a result of the LaJoie-Kyle Busch contact, it casts an even larger shadow on the whole deal. Let’s also remember Layne Riggs was held two laps for reckless driving at Nashville Superspeedway in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and while we don’t need an extreme amount of policing, this is another area that needs more consistency.

Most of the time in the lower series, NASCAR wastes no time dishing out penalties for reckless driving and parking drivers for two laps when deemed necessary. Why NASCAR isn’t doing it in the Cup Series is beyond me. It decided to wait to penalize Carson Hocevar until the week after his offending race, and LaJoie got away scot-free after clearing not lifting Busch’s back bumper into turn 1 at Pocono — Pocono, of all places! LaJoie should have been penalized for what he did. A shove doesn’t get any more egregious or intentional than that.

The current in-race penalties for rough driving are sufficient. The incident between Busch and LaJoie was a racing deal. Busch made an aggressive block. LaJoie had to get back up to a reasonable angle to make the corner. You had two people who were at a point in the race when they weren’t in the mood to give. The result was a wreck. It wasn’t aggressive driving, it was hard racing.

Remembering Rogers

The founder of Grandview Speedway will be remembered with 50 lap Forrest Rogers Memorial on Saturday. That will be a 50 lapper for the TP Trailers Modifieds. Sportsman will make up the second part of the show. There is a 7:30 p.m. starting time.

Ernie Saxton is an auto racing contributor for MediaNews Group. He co-founded the Eastern Motorsports Press Association, served as public relations director for Grandview Speedway for 47 years, and is in multiple halls of fame for his promotion and journalism related to the sport. He has announced races at more than 100 tracks, and he is the only person to have announced a race at Madison Square Garden. Email him at ESaxton144@aol.com.