Uncategorized

_For 22-year old Dion von Moltke, 2013 is a crossroads year. He spent last season developing the new Audi R8 Grand-Am with APR Motorsport. The car was a work in progress for much of the season before coming into its own late in the year. Now, the Audi is ready for primetime, but von Möltke is without a full-time ride._ _For the Rolex 24 at Daytona, von Möltke signed on as the fourth driver for Alex Job Racing’s Audi R8 Grand-Am, joining DTM racers Filipe Albuquerque and Edoardo Mortara, along with Oliver Jarvis. After final practice, von Möltke took some time out of his day to sit down with our own Phil Allaway._ Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com: *This is the first time that Alex Job Racing has raced an Audi. Is this an absolutely new chassis, or a leased car?* Dion von Moltke: Yes, it’s a brand new car. It was really kind of a last-minute effort. It’s been an amazing job by Audi Sport Customer Racing as well as WeatherTech Racing and Alex Job just to get everything organized in time.

@jamiemcmurray: Our 2nd child was born earlier today. Both mom and Hazel are going great. We feel so blessed to have 2 healthy kids. @mattkenseth: I can’t wait to get back to racing in the nationwide series, Thanks @gamestopracing and @resers! @BubbaWallace (Darrell Wallace, Jr.): Kyle to us(drivers): “I didn’t …

In the 1996 NBA draft, the Portland Trail Blazers took a chance on a 6-foot-11 center straight out of high school named Jermaine O'Neal. Although young and raw, O'Neal showed enormous potential, enough so that Portland rewarded the bench player with an absurd four-year, $24 million contract. It was the finest money ever thrown towards a trash can, O’Neal acting like a first-class bust from the start instead of a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Heavily criticized for gameplay that at times wouldn’t hold up in your gym, once the contract expired, the Trail Blazers gladly waved the white flag. Determined to cut their losses, they landed a deal with Indiana for former All-Star (and aging) center Dale Davis.

Hello, race fans. Hope you had a great holiday season. Mine was decent. I got a new camera, then took it to the Rolex 24 at Daytona. I'll post some of my best pictures from there on my "Facebook fan page":http://www.facebook.com/WritingOfPhilAllaway/ later this week for you. Let's just say that I really like my new Nikon 1 J1. However, pictures of Audi R8's and Porsche 911's are not what this column is about. TV telecasts are what we're discussing here. I don't have anything to critique this week, but within a few days there will be V8 engines growling and exciting action on television. It is my goal to give you a little preview of what you're likely to see this year as the NASCAR 2013 campaign revs up.

*Mark Martin* *2013 Ride:* No. 55 Aaron’s Toyota (Michael Waltrip Racing) *Season With Team:* 2nd *Crew Chief:* Rodney Childers *Burning Question: How much longer can Martin be competitive?* With Martin, at this point it’s continually a question of age. The veteran turned 54 years old in January, and while his skills haven’t diminished at the rate of many of the drivers of his generation (Terry Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace) it’s only a matter of time before Father Time catches up with him – physical fitness be damned. Even the timeless Harry Gant, who holds the record for oldest Cup victory at 52 years of age couldn’t hang on forever. Holding his retirement tour in 1994, two years after that record he couldn’t even pull down a top-5 result despite driving for the same organization.

*2012 Rides:* No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Dodge, No. 7 Red Horse Racing Toyota *2012 Primary Sponsors:* Cooper Standard, Reese Towpower, Draw-Tite, Mopar, O'Reilly Auto Parts, PlanitDIY.com, Laitner, Camp Horsin' Around, Toyota, Red Horse Racing *2012 Owners:* Brad Keselowski (BKR), Tom DeLoach (RHR) *2012 Crew Chiefs:* Doug Randolph (BKR), Chad Kendrick (RHR) *Stats:* 22 starts, 1 win, 8 top 5s, 15 top 10s, 2 poles, 2 DNFs, 5th in points. *Best Finish*: 1st - Talladega (October). *Average Finish:* 9.2.

*2012 Ride:* No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Mustang *2012 Primary Sponsors:* Pilot Travel Centers/Flying J (30 races), Northland Oil/1-800-The-Lost (Iowa, August), Old Wisconsin (Atlanta), EFS (Kansas, October) *2012 Owner:* Richard Petty (listed in the owner points standings as Sandra Turner, due to the team acquiring the 2011 owner points from Turner Motorsports' No. 32 team) *2012 Crew Chief:* Philippe Lopez *Stats:* 33 starts, 0 wins, 6 top 5s, 17 top 10s, 0 poles, 5th in points. *Best Finish:* 3rd - twice (Daytona - July & Dover - September). *Average Finish:* 11.2. *Team Ranking: 1st* of 1. Richard Petty Motorsports fielded only one car in the Nationwide Series in 2012.

*2012 Ride:* No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet *2012 Primary Sponsor:* Bass Pro Shops *2012 Owner:* Richard Childress *2012 Crew Chief:* Scott Naset (Feb. - June), Marcus Richmond (July - Nov.) *Stats:* 22 starts, 1 win, 7 top 5s, 17 top 10s, 3 poles, 0 DNFs, 4th in points. *Best Finish*: 1st - Atlanta. *Average Start:* 6.0. *Average Finish:* 9.0.

*2012 Ride:* No. 22 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet *2012 Primary Sponsor:* Darrell Gwynn Foundation/Steak-umm *2012 Owner:* Richard Childress *2012 Crew Chief:* Harold Holly *Stats:* 22 races; 1 win, 8 top 5s, 15 top 10s, 1 DNF, 3rd in points. *Best Finish*: 1st - Pocono. *Average Finish:* 8.5.

*2012 Cup Ride:* No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford *2012 Primary Sponsors:* Motorcraft, Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center, Good Sam, Camping World *2012 Owners:* Glen & Leonard Wood *2012 Crew Chief:* Donnie Wingo *Stats:* 16 starts, 0 wins, 0 top 5s, 2 top 10s, 0 poles, 2 DNFs, ineligible for points. *Best Finish:* 8th - Talladega, Spring. *Average Finish:* 22.5.