NASCAR on TV this week

RPM makes crew switches for Ambrose, Almirola

RPM Makes Pit Crew Switches for Ambrose, Almirola

According a report from FoxSports.com’s Lee Spencer (http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/Richard-Petty-Motorsports-shifts-parts-of-NASCAR-Sprint-Cup-pit-crews-082212), Richard Petty Motorsports announced they’re changing up the pit crews for Marcos Ambrose’s No. 9 team and Aric Almirola’s No. 43 in hopes of helping performance for both drivers.

“We’re trying to move things around to improve the performance on both teams,” RPM Director of Operations Sammy Johns said.

The moves will include the swapping the rear tire changing combination of changer Justin Fiedler and carrier Eric Wallace from Ambrose’s team with changer Kyle Power and carrier Blake Haugland from Almirola’s team. Also, the teams will switch jackmen with as Rodney Fetters will move to the No. 43 team and Kevin Wing will move to the No. 9 team.

Ambrose finished fifth at Michigan last week after earning his second career Sprint Cup victory at Watkin Glen Aug. 12. Ambrose currently sits 17th in the points standings while Almirola is 21st.

ESPN To Move NASCAR Broadcast In Six Markets

ESPN announced Thursday afternoon that, due to conflicts with NFL teams in some markets, Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race to different channels. Race coverage is scheduled to begin at 7 PM ET with the actual green flag scheduled for 7:48 PM on ABC.

However, in Buffalo, New York, Tulsa, Oklahome, Weslaco, Texas, and Quincy, Illinois, the race will be shown on ESPN. Also, in Detroit, WXYZ-TV will show the first part of the race on its digital tier 2 channel, then join the race in progress on its regular channel once the Detroit Lions preseason game ends. And in Rochester, New York, WHAM-TV will move the race to its digital tier 2 channel.

The ABC affiliates in Little Rock, Arkansas, Corpus Christi, Texas, and Omaha, Nebraska, will pre-empt NASCAR Countdown for local news, but will join the NASCAR broadcast at 7:30 PM ET.

Nationwide Crew Member Hess Suspended

NASCAR announced Thursday that Nationwide Series crew member Ryan Hess has been indefinitely suspended for violating the sanctioning body’s substance abuse policy. Wednesday, Hess was found to have violated Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 19 (violation of the NASCAR substance abuse policy) of the 2012 NASCAR Rule Book .

Hess has been a member of the MacDonald Motorsports team for the past four years. According to a report on rantsports.com (http://www.rantsports.com/nascar/2012/08/07/jason-bowles-and-his-american-majority-no-81-toyota-team-ready-for-watkins-glen-this-saturday/) earlier this month, Hess has been a jack of all trades for the team. The Mooresville, N.C.-native is a mechanic along with being in charge of decals, tires, parts running, loading the hauler and being the gas man for the No. 81 car on race day.

Front Row Motorsports one of Inc. Magazine’s fastest growing private companies

Front Row Motorsports has been named one of Inc. Magazine’s 5000 fastest growing privately owned companies. According to a press release by Front Row Motorsports, the NASCAR Sprint Cup team was placed at No. 800 on the list. The team fields the No. 26 car driven by Josh Wise, No. 34 driven by David Regan and the No. 38 driven by David Gilliland..

According to the release, FRM has had 12 new primary sponsors for at least one race this season, and five of those sponsorships have turned into multi-race deals.

“We are selling sponsorship and raising corporate dollars in a time when very few teams are,” said Robin Johnson, chief marketing office for FRM. “It’s not a negative that companies are placing more scrutiny on their budgets. It just forces us to be smarter with how we go about building and executing our programs.”

The team’s cars have not been major factors on the track this season. Gilliland is 28th in the points standings, Ragan is 30th and Wise, a rookie, is 39th. Ragan has the team’s only top-10 finish this season, a seventh at Talladega in April.

“Our team is focused on constant improvement both on the racetrack and in the marketplace” said Jerry Freeze, general manager who has been with FRM since 2009. “Being named to the Inc. 5000 is certainly a victory for us off the track and shows that we are capable of winning in corporate America. We’re an interesting case study to look at – we’ve raced at least two teams full-time in the Sprint Cup Series since 2009. We’re a team that came into the sport right as the economy started to take a turn for the worse. We’ve weathered the storm, so to speak. Being named to the Inc. 5000 is a nice way to be recognized for our hard work and resiliency.”

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