Stremme To Wheel Toyotas In 2012

Inception Motorsports Goes Toyota

Inception Motorsports announced today their partnership with Toyota and the engine support of Triad Racing Technologies for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS).

“It is a great boost for our team to have the support of Toyota and Triad engines heading into Daytona this season,” said David Stremme, driver of the No. 30 Toyota. “Our team is excited to have their support, especially with their success in the sport.”

Triad currently supplies horsepower for teams in ARCA and NASCAR’s Camping World Truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series, with over 50 race wins since 2009. This will be the first full season for Inception Motorsports and the team continues to look for sponsorship for Stremme’s Toyotas.

“Our team has grown over the off-season,” said Stremme. “We have a great group of talented people in our race family who have been working hard to get us to where we need to be for this season. We are looking for the final pieces to the puzzle and hopefully our track presence will help find that sponsorship piece.”

Photo Credit: Inception Motorsports

Matt Kenseth's Mother Passes

Condolences to the Kenseth Family

Nicola Sue Kenseth, mother of former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth, died at Oak Park Place in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin on Tuesday morning, January 31, 2012, following a long battle with Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease. She was 63 years old.

Mrs. Kenseth was born March 26, 1948, in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, to the late Edmund Nasett and Audrey Loga Nasett. She attended school in Rockdale and Cambridge and graduated in 1966 from Cambridge High School. On October 21, 1966, she was united in marriage to Roy E. Kenseth, a lifelong resident of Cambridge, WI at the Albion Prairie Primitive Methodist Church.

She began her career at the Jefferson County Courthouse, but shortly after her daughter Kelley was born in 1968, followed by son Matthew in 1972, she embraced life as a full time homemaker. As the kids got older, she worked as a medical receptionist for Dr. Victor Soderstrom in Fort Atkinson, at Pediatrics in Fort Atkinson, and at Wisconsin Fineblanking in Deerfield, WI as a receptionist.

The Kenseth’s made their home in Cambridge, WI on Terrace Street where her lifelong friends Bev Nottestad, Judy Taitt and Marilyn Johnson spent time cultivating family relationships in the neighborhood. In 1984, the Kenseth’s moved to Rockdale, Wisconsin, into Ed and Audrey Nasett’s old house with Grandma and Grandpa just up the road. Nicki loved living in Rockdale, enjoyed the sunsets and sunrise off the Koshkonong Creek, spent time with her parents, brothers, sisters and lots of nieces and nephews.

Nicki’s biggest joy in life was her grandchildren. She was always available at home for free babysitting, cookies, reading books, exploring outside and watching movies. She grew up in the Rockdale Lutheran Church, but found her way to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ after encouragement from Edith and Colleen Kenseth. She became a member in the Willerup Methodist Church, served the youth ministry with Youth for Christ, hosted numerous Five Day Clubs and volunteered for service in any area where it was needed. Many of her later years were spent in fellowship with her mother at the Bible Baptist Church of Utica.

Nicki is survived by her husband, Roy, her children Kelley (Shawn) and Matt (Katie) and five grandchildren Ross, Amber, Evan, Kaylin & Grace. She is further survived by her mother Audrey Loga Nasett, Brothers John (Julie), Chuck (Teri), Bjorn, and Sister Cathy, in addition to numerous nieces and nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles.

Funeral services for Nicki Kenseth will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, February 3, 2012 at Willerup Methodist Church, 414 N Water Street, Cambridge, WI 53523 with Pastor Brian Cook officiating. Relatives and friends are welcome at the Nitardy Funeral Home, Park Street, Cambridge, WI on Thursday, February 2, 2012 from 4-6 p.m.

Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

Randy Hill, Go Green Racing Forge New NASCAR Nationwide Series Partnership

Officials from Randy Hill Racing have announced that they will return to the NASCAR Nationwide Series this season with their No. 08 Randy Hill Racing Ford Mustang, beginning with the 2012 season-opener, the DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 25, 2012.

After separating from Spraker Racing Enterprises in December, RHR owner Randy Hill has methodically been prepping for the team’s second year of competition, joining forces with Go Green Racing under a technical alliance partnership. Randy Hill Racing will run as a separate Nationwide Series team, but work with GGR in a collaborative partnership on race weekends. 

Lawrenceville, Georgia native Casey Roderick, who competed in the 2011 season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in a joint effort between RHR and GGR, will return to the driving duties of the No. 08 Ford Mustang, attempting to make his inaugural superspeedway start at the “World Center of Racing.”

“We looked at all of our options and we’re confident in this plan for 2012,” said car owner, entrepreneur and rancher Randy Hill. “We had the privilege to work with Go Green Racing on several occasions last year and we’re thrilled to keep that relationship alive again this year. We can learn a lot from them and that will only allow our program to strengthen. 

“Its Daytona, and by far it will be the biggest race of Randy Hill Racing’s career in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. We’re pumped about it,” he said. “I have great faith that our car will be competitive and Casey will be in top-form which should allow us to be in the hunt for a good finish. Let the countdown begin!” 

The 19-year old Roderick said he is excited about the first green flag of the season and about having a more hands-on approach with RHR. “I’m stoked for Daytona,” said Roderick. “Randy has really put a lot of effort into making this season possible and I’ve been physically preparing myself for the season. I think our relationship with Go Green Racing will be highly beneficial and will only allow bigger and better things to blossom through the doors at RHR.” 

Paul Andrews, a former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship crew chief, will perform the same duties with RHR in 2012. Roderick had the opportunity to work with Andrews in the Ford 300 last October at Homestead-Miami, with Roderick claiming a career-best 20^th place qualifying effort.

Archie St. Hilaire, owner of Go Green Racing said of the new partnership, “Everyone at GGR is excited about working with Casey, Randy and everyone at RHR in 2012. Casey has a tremendous amount of talent that I think will surprise everyone this season starting at Daytona and it’s refreshing to work with a guy who has as much passion for this sport as Randy Hill does. I couldn’t be happier with the way 2012 is shaping up for Go Green Racing!”

Confirmed: Stewart Haas, Tommy Baldwin Partner To Put Patrick In 500

A good deal for Danica...

As SiriusXM Speedway first reported yesterday, Stewart-Haas Racing has entered into a collaborative partnership with Tommy Baldwin Racing that will see TBR field the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet Impala for all 10 of Danica Patrick’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 2012.

The alliance guarantees a starting spot for Patrick in her Sprint Cup debut – the 54^th annual Daytona 500 on Feb. 26 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

TBR’s No. 36 car, which finished the 2011 season 33^rd in points, becomes the No. 10 for 2012. For the 26 races where Patrick is not scheduled to drive, David Reutimann will pilot the No. 10 car. TBR has sponsorship inventory available for these 26 races.

“Tommy Baldwin Racing has proven to be a very strong organization and it’s a good fit with Stewart-Haas Racing,” said Matt Borland, vice president of competition, SHR. “It’s a Chevrolet team led by a racer who knows every inch of a racecar. That kind of technical expertise, along with a company mindset that is similar to ours, provides the ideal environment for Danica to learn and succeed.”

TBR was formed in 2009 and has matured from a single-car team to one that in 2012 will field two Sprint Cup entries and a NASCAR Nationwide Series entry. TBR is owned by Tommy Baldwin, who as a crew chief secured five victories, including the 2002 Daytona 500 with driver Ward Burton.

...and Reutimann...

“We’re very proud of what we’ve established at Tommy Baldwin Racing, and the opportunity to partner with Stewart-Haas Racing and aid in the development of Danica Patrick is a testament to all the hard work we’ve put in over the years,” Baldwin said. “Danica will have a great teammate in Dave Blaney, who has been instrumental in getting our race team to where it is today. And with David Reutimann driving the No. 10 car in the races where Danica is not, the team will remain in a strong and competitive position throughout the year.”

The agreement means TBR will also work with GoDaddy.com, the world’s largestWeb hosting provider and Patrick’s longtime sponsor. “Go Daddy is a first-rate sponsor,” Baldwin added. “Look how they’ve supported Danica over the last six years. Go Daddy is a sponsor that knows how to get things done right.”

Baldwin will maintain a hands-on presence with the No. 10 car and will work closely with Greg Zipadelli, who serves as SHR’s director of competition. Baldwin and Zipadelli have similar backgrounds, as both grew up in the Northeast – Baldwin in Bellport, N.Y., and Zipadelli in Berlin, Conn. – and made a name for themselves as successful crew chiefs within the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour before rising up the ranks as crew chiefs in the elite Sprint Cup Series.

“Working with Tommy will be like old times,” Zipadelli said. “We both grew up together and competed against each other in Modifieds and we did the same thing when we got to Sprint Cup. To finally be able to work with each other and help Danica Patrick make a successful transition from Indy cars to stock cars is a challenge we’re both looking forward to.

...and Tommy Baldwin.

“Partnering with Tommy and his team provides Danica with the foundation she needs to succeed. With a guaranteed starting spot, we can go into each weekend and simply learn. It’s all about getting her comfortable in the car, and with the variety of tracks she’s running, seat time will be incredibly valuable. A guaranteed spot in the race ensures that she’ll have the opportunity to make as many laps as possible.”

Patrick’s 10-race Sprint Cup schedule is as follows:

• Feb. 26: Daytona 500
• May 12: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway
• May 27: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway
• Aug. 25: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
• Sept. 2: Atlanta Motor Speedway
• Sept. 16: Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.
• Sept. 30: Dover (Del.) International Speedway
• Nov. 4: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth
• Nov. 11: Phoenix International Raceway

One more race is still to be determined, with the plan being to assess Patrick’s development as the season progresses and then choose the remaining venue based on need and competitive reasoning.

“Our goal with Danica’s schedule is to try and maximize her 10 races so that she’s as prepared as she can possibly be for a full-time Sprint Cup schedule in 2013,” said Stewart, co-owner of SHR with Gene Haas. “There are short tracks, intermediate 1.5-mile ovals, and some unique tracks like Darlington and Phoenix. The point is to expose her to as many challenges as possible so that she’ll know what to expect in 2013.”