Juan Pablo Montoya's NASCAR career isn't over just yet

 

 

   Team Penske announced on Wednesday that driver Juan Pablo Montoya will make two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts for the organization in 2014.

   Montoya will pilot the No. 12 Ford at June 15 race at Michigan International Speedway and he also in the July 27 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

   “Juan is a proven winner in multiple racing disciplines and he is one of the most versatile race car drivers competing today,” said team owner Roger Penske. “Michigan and Indianapolis are two important races for Team Penske. We know Juan has the ability to race for wins in both of those events while still focusing on his full-time program in the Verizon IndyCar Series.”

   A former full-time NASCAR competitor from 2007 through 2013, Montoya earned two wins, 24 top-five finishes and nine poles in his Cup career. He owns career-best finishes of sixth at Michigan and second at IMS. 

 

   “It has been a good start to the season with Team Penske in the Verizon IndyCar Series and it will be fun to get back behind the wheel of the Cup car,” said Montoya. “It’s hard to believe, but Roger Penske has never won the Brickyard 400.

 

"I think that Brad (Keselowski), Joey (Logano) and I will give Roger and Team Penske a great opportunity to check that off the list and we should be strong at Michigan as well.”

 

   To read about what Montoya said about a possible return to NASCAR during this year's Indy Car Series Media Day, go here.

NASCAR's Elliott Sadler joins 'Amazing America with Sarah Palin'

 

   NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Elliott Sadler is a guest on this week's episode of The Sportsman Channel's "Amazing America with Sarah Palin." The episode airs at 8 p.m. ET Thursday.

   Field host Benny Spies heads to Emporia, Va., to meet up with Sadler who shares a behind-the-scenes look into his off-track life, including his love of hunting. Sadler takes Spies on an intense, fast-paced deer hunt and takes on Sadler one-on-one in a race.

   “I love what I do for a living, but I’m also a big fan of the outdoors,” said Sadler. “I wanted to give Benny, and the viewers, an opportunity to come along for an experience that’s a little on the wild side – especially when it comes to deer hunting.”  

   You can watch a sneak peek of the show here.

   To find Sportsman Channel in your area, visit the Channel Finder.

NASCAR investigating post-race fight at Richmond

 

   NASCAR officials are investigating an incident which took place in the garage following the race involving drivers Marcos Ambrose and Casey Mears.

   In a Fox Sports video of the incident, Ambrose and Mears are seen having an animated discussion in the garage. Mears appears to shove Ambrose and Ambrose then punches Mears in the head.

   As Ambrose is leaving the area, a crew member wearing a uniform from Earnhardt Childress Racing Engines appears to sucker-punch Ambrose from behind.

   Any penalties will  be announced early this week.

  

Richard Petty: 'I am just learning to live all over again.'

 

 

   Seven-time NASCAR Cup series champion Richard "The King" Petty is back at the track this weekend for the first time since the March 25 death of his wife, Lynda.

   "I just felt like I needed to sort of had a little time on our own so I have been gone for two or three weeks but I am back in the saddle again now. I am just learning to live all over again," Petty said Friday at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

   Petty's typically busy schedule returned to some normalcy this week, with appearances on Monday in Georgia, Tuesday in Tennessee and Wednesday in Wyoming. "The busier they keep me the better off I will be," he said.

   Petty said his life now will be different.

   "After 55 years I have to start all over again. I was fortunate that all the kids came home for Easter. We had all the kids and grand kids home and that really made things work good," he said.

   "It is great that so many people knew Lynda so well. Of course she had been around a long time, too. She never met a stranger. Every once in awhile I would come in the house and see people I didn’t even know. She would invite them in the house to spend the night or whatever. Again, it is just going to be different."

JR Motorsports adds another Nationwide Series driver

 

   Austin Theriault will make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut this season, as JR Motorsports has signed him to drive three races in the No. 5 Chevrolet.

   Theriault, a 20-year-old late model racer from Fort Kent, Maine, will make his debut on May 18 at Iowa Speedway, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet replete with primary branding from SPY, the eyewear brand behind team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Signature 88 Collection . 

   Nationwide Series races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (July 12) and Kentucky Speedway (Sept. 20) will fill out Theriault’s three-race schedule. The seat of the No. 5 is filled by multiple drivers throughout the season.

   “Our company is known for putting young talent in cars and giving them a shot on one of NASCAR’s biggest stages, and that is what we are giving Austin with this three-race opportunity,” said Kelley Earnhardt Miller, general manager of JR Motorsports. “This keeps our No. 5 car on the track, and it gives Austin the chance to show what he’s got with a lot more eyeballs taking notice.”

   Theriault was the 2012 Maine Vintage Race Car Association’s Driver of the Year, and he made his NASCAR K&N Pro Series debut after winning “Maine Young Guns” inaugural competition in 2012. It was that same year he became a part-time developmental driver for Brad Keselowski Racing.

Pit crew coach for Hendrick's Nos. 48/88 teams steps down

   Hendrick Motorsports confirmed on Monday that Lance Munksgard, who most recently served as pit crew coach for its Nos. 48 and 88 teams, had stepped down from his position and was moving to Texas to work for a family business.

   A Hendrick spokesman said Greg Morin and Chris Krieg will coach the team until a new head coach is named.

   For more information about Munksgard's decision, you can read an interview with him on PitTalks.com here.

  

Competition in Sprint Cup Series is off to a strong start

  

   The first eight races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season certainly have given the impression the season is off to a very competitive start, but there are some statistics from NASCAR's Loop Data, which provide some strong evidence to back up the claim.

   Among them:

   - All three manufacturers have won races thus far, led by Chevrolet's four victories.
   - An average of 12 different leaders per race, compared to 8.6 at this point last year.
   - An average of 25.6 lead changes per race, compared to 17.4 in 2013.
   - A total of 29,541 green flag passes, compared to 23,178 in 2013.
   - A total of 346 green flag passes for the lead, compared to 181 in 2013.
   - An average margin of victory of 0.588 seconds, the smallest since the start of the 2008 season.