All-Star Race fan vote has opened
With the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race set for June 13 at Texas Motor Speedway, the All-Star Race Fan Vote opened Thursday.
Fans can participate by visiting here and voting for their favorite driver. You can only vote for one eligible NASCAR driver per submission, and you may only submit one ballot per day per each unique email address. Sharing your vote on Twitter and Facebook adds a bonus entry for each, for a total of four submissions for your favorite driver per day.
Here are the drivers eligible for the Fan Vote: Aric Almirola, Anthony Alfredo, Chris Buescher, Josh Bilicki, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Matt DiBenedetto, Joey Gase, Timmy Hill, Quin Houff, Erik Jones, Corey LaJoie, BJ McLeod, Ryan Preece, Tyler Red-
dick, Garrett Smithley, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suarez, Bubba Wallace and Cody Ware.
Drivers are eligible for the Fan Vote by having attempted to qualify for the 2021 Daytona 500. Should a Fan Vote candidate win a 2021 NASCAR Cup Series race before the All-Star Race that driver is automatically in the field.
Should a driver win a stage in the NASCAR Open qualifying race before the All-Star Race then that driver will be locked into the field and not eligible to be the Fan Vote winner. A driver must finish the NASCAR Open with his respective vehicle in a raceable condition at the time called as determined by the NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director in order to win the Fan Vote.
One Fan Vote winner has gone on to win the All-Star Race in the event’s history: Kasey Kahne in 2008.
Seventeen drivers are already locked into the All-Star Race. The criteria for eligibility includes NASCAR Cup Series race winners in 2020-21 and full-time drivers who are either past All-Star winners or past Cup Series champions. Those drivers are: Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Cole Custer, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson and Ryan Newman.
Voting will end at noon ET on Friday, June 11.
The Motorsports Council of Pennsylvania (MCP) has announced the first ever statewide study of the economic benefits of Motorsports has been finalized. The organization commissioned the study in 2020 and spent several months collecting detailed data from racetracks, teams, businesses, and fans across all forms and levels of the racing industry.
The results of this study are impressive, clearly showing Pennsylvania Motorsports is a unique and valuable partner to the local, regional, and state economy.
Highlights of the report exhibit: Motorsports has a $2.4 billion dollar economic impact in Pennsylvania. Three-Million fans attend Motorsports events across the state annually, contributing nearly 1.5 Billion in additional spending. In several measures, these numbers rival and even exceed major league sports such as the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers and MLB’s Philadelphia Phillies.
5000+ Race Teams are operating throughout Pennsylvania generating hundreds of millions to the PA economy each year.
Hundreds of racing related businesses located in Pennsylvania positively impact nearly 40 different industries outside of Motorsports.
There are over 21,000 jobs creating over $800-Million in earnings as a result of PA Racing tracks, teams, and affiliated businesses.
The report highlights how a large portion of the above economic impacts benefit rural communities. There are more than 100 racing related facilities in the State and many are located in rural areas.
“We are now actively distributing highlights of this report to public officials, economic development officers, and community leaders to demonstrate the many benefits Motorsports brings to Pennsylvania,” stated Robert Johnson, Executive Director of the Motorsports Council of Pennsylvania. “This report will be utilized by MCP Members to further advance their relationships with local/ state officials, seek grant mation regarding the PA Report contact Robert Johnson at #412-848-5900 or robert@unitedstatesmotorsports.com.
NASCAR has vowed to learn from what turned out to be a wild day of racing in the rain at Circuit of the Americas, which included calling the race early.
Chase Elliott was declared the winner after 54 laps. Scott Miller, NASCAR vice president of competition, said officials initially red-flagged the race to deploy the Air Titans to clear the backstretch. The highspeed section of the course continually had standing water on it that left drivers with poor visibility due to spray being kicked off the cars.
It became clear to NASCAR that with how heavy it was raining, it was a futile effort to try and restart the race. Officials had also cleaned that area of the course before the end of Stage 2 following complaints from drivers and two big crashes. Under the same caution, drivers were brought down pit road for teams to assist with clearing windshields and helmet visors.
“I think that we always try to learn from what we do,” Miller said. “This was kind of a new thing at a big natural terrain road course, and we will certainly learn from that.
“I would kind of own the fact that maybe we did let it go a little bit too long before we did something. But it’s a learning experience for all of us. We will learn. We’ll be better next time, and I think would we pull the plug earlier, probably so.”
Miller said the plan is to look through any available information and high-resolution video to understand better how spray comes off the cars and a possible solution. Multiple drivers complained over their in-car radios, and in interviews, the further back in the field they ran, the worse it was to see. Some went as far as saying they were driving blind.
Poor visibility led to the crash that knocked Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, and Bubba Wallace out of the race. Bell ran into the back of Ryan Blaney, and when Harvick was warned and slowed down, he was run into by Wallace, who didn’t see him.
Harvick was particularly upset Sunday. The 2014 series champion called the racing in the conditions “the most unsafe” thing he’s ever done.
“Harvick has his right to his opinion,” Miller responded. “I don’t think that’s an opinion that’s universally shared among the drivers, and we certainly don’t want to put anybody in harm’s way out there. It’s a tough job for us to balance a competitive event, a good show for the fans, and with the driver’s best interest.
“It’s a tough job. I think rain at a race points out the fact that everybody in this business has a hard job … and balance all the elements to suit everybody is a tough job.”