Thursday Daytona Notebook

Notebook Items:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. hopes a “no-name” car will be the answer

DeWalt expands partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing

Chevrolet unveils new NASCAR XFINITY Series Camaro

June 30, 2016

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

Dale Earnhardt Jr. hopes a “no-name” car will be the answer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – What’s in a name?

Henceforth, the chassis Dale Earnhardt Jr. drives won’t have one—not since the No. 88 Chevrolet named “Amelia” spun and wrecked at Talladega and was consigned to the chassis “graveyard” on Earnhardt’s property in North Carolina.

“No, we’re not going to be naming cars anymore,” Earnhardt said Friday at Daytona International Speedway. “I knew, as soon as we did that, it sort of took off and put a lot of pressure on that car and the team. These cars just don’t stick around long enough to get names. You used to race cars for years and years, and they would show a personality.

“These days, you only keep a car for maybe a year before it’s unrecognizable or it’s cut out of the herd. We had so much success with that car last year that we ran it this year, and we probably shouldn’t have. There are newer ideas and theories and better ways to do things that car didn’t have. But we assumed, hey, it was doing so well, why wouldn’t it keep going?”

That question answered itself at both restrictor-plate tracks this year. Amelia spun in the Daytona 500 but survived. Then the second of two wrecks in the May race at Talladega forced her into retirement.

With a new chassis ready for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at the 2.5-mile track, Earnhardt expects the balance issues that caused the spins in the first two plate races of the season to be solved.

“We spun out at Daytona and Talladega, and we have a pretty good understanding of why our car has been unstable,” Earnhardt said. “We brought a new car that’s hopefully going to be a much better race car for us. We went back to our set-ups that seemed to work so well.

“So, the guys are always working and trying to find speed, and that really made the car unstable, so we dialed some of that back out and went back to our older set-ups and hopefully that’s going to be all we need to be competitive and be able to get up there and be aggressive.”

DEWALT EXPANDS PARTNERSHIP WITH JOE GIBBS RACING

DeWalt Tools, which has a lengthy history with driver Matt Kenseth, is increasing its presence on the Toyotas fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing, the team and tool maker announced on Thursday at Daytona.

DeWalt is doubling its presence as primary sponsor on Kenseth’s No. 20 Camry from four to eight races this season, adding events at Chicagoland, Dover, Kansas and Homestead. In addition, DeWalt will sponsor the NASCAR XFINITY Series cars of Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez for a total of six races.

Starting in 2017, DeWalt will serve as primary sponsor on Kenseth’s car for 15 races.

The announcement coincides with DeWalt’s launch of its new FLEXVOLT battery technology, which the tool maker expects to revolutionize the functionality of power tools by making possible cord-free work sites.

Team owner Joe Gibbs was more circumspect about Kenseth, who is in a contract year. Without saying specifically that Kenseth had re-signed for a specific term, Gibbs allowed, “We don’t talk about contracts and stuff for drivers, but I will say this—our plan is Matt’s going to retire here, so that’s what we’d say.”

When Kenseth drove for Roush Fenway Racing, DeWalt sponsored him from 1999 through 2009.

“For me, it’s a dream come true really for DeWalt to come back,” Kenseth said. “A couple years ago (in 1999 at Michigan), I made my first Cup start with DeWalt, and I hope to make my last Cup start with DeWalt – not today of course, but hopefully someday a few years down the road.

“They’ve been more than a great sponsor for me – they’ve been like family. I’ve made a lot of friends over there. They obviously make the best power tools in the world. I’ve always been proud to represent them, so really happy they signed on, took on a bigger role, and I’m looking forward to getting the DeWalt colors back to victory lane.”

CHEVROLET UNVEILS NEW NASCAR XFINITY SERIES CAMARO

Chevrolet celebrated the 50th birthday of its heralded Camaro model by unveiling on Thursday at Daytona the sixth generation of the car, which will compete in the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2017.

“For the past 50 years, Camaro has played a key role in Chevrolet’s racing success in winning races and championships,” said Mark Kent, director, Chevrolet Racing. “We look forward to further success with the new Camaro SS in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.” 

The 2017 model features a refined shape to the upper nose and hood, the product of computational fluid dynamics analysis, as well as full- and reduced-scale wind tunnel development.

The fifth-generation Camaro has competed in the NASCAR XFINITY Series since 2013.

“Racing improves the breed and helps us design better cars for the showroom,” Kent said. “That’s why Chevrolet is on the track week after week, year after year.”