2016 Speedweeks At Daytona Schedule

Friday, February 12th
5:00 - 5:55 PM 2016 Sprint Unlimited Opening Practice (FS1)
6:30 - 7:25 PM 2016 Sprint Unlimited Final Practice (FS1)

Saturday, February 13th
10:30 AM - 12:25 PM 2016 Daytona 500 Opening Practice (FS1)
1:30 - 3:25 PM 2016 Daytona 500 Practice (FS1)
4:15 PM ARCA: 2016 Lucas Oil 200 Driven By General Tire (80 Laps) (FS1)
8:15 PM 2016 Sprint Unlimited at Daytona (75 Laps) (FOX)

Sunday, February 14th
1:15 PM 2016 Daytona 500 Coors Light Pole Qualifying (FOX)

Wednesday, February 17th
5:00 - 5:45 PM 2016 Daytona 500 Practice (FS1)
6:10 - 6:55 PM 2016 Daytona 500 Practice (FS1)

Thursday, February 18th
12:00 - 12:55 PM 2016 Daytona 500 Practice (FS1)
1:30 PM 2:55 PM 2015 NextEra Energy Resources 250 Opening Practice (FS1)
4:00 PM 4:55 PM 2015 NextEra Energy Resources 250 Final Practice (FS1)
7:00 PM 2016 Can-Am Duel at Daytona Race #1 (60 Laps) (FS1)
9:00 PM 2016 Can-Am Duel at Daytona Race #2 (60 Laps) (FS1)

Friday, February 19th
10:30 AM-11:55 AM 2016 PowerShares QQQ 300 Opening Practice (FS1)
12:00 - 12:55 PM 2016 Daytona 500 Practice (FS1)
1:00 PM-1:55 PM 2016 PowerShares QQQ 300 Practice (FS1)
2:00 - 2:55 PM 2016 Daytona 500 Practice (FS1)
3:00 PM-3:55 PM 2016 PowerShares QQQ 300 Final Practice (FS1)
4:30 PM 2016 NextEra Energy Resources 250 Qualifying (FS1)
7:30 PM 2016 NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona (100 Laps) (FS1)

Saturday, February 20th
10:00 AM 2016 PowerShares QQQ 300 Coors Light Pole Qualifying (FS1)
12:15 - 1:55 PM 2016 Daytona 500 Final Practice (FS1)
3:30 PM 2016 PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona (120 Laps) (FS1)

Sunday, February 21st
1:00 PM 2016 Daytona 500 (200 Laps) (FOX)

Michael Waltrip Joins BK Racing

Two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip will compete in the 2016 Daytona 500 for BK Racing. Waltrip, a commentator for Fox Sports, had sponsorship for the race from Maxwell House, but he had not announced which team he would drive for until Thursday, nine days prior to opening practice at Daytona International Speedway.

BK Racing is expected to have two automatic berths in the Daytona 500 as part of the new NASCAR "charter" system that is expected to be finalized in the coming days. The team will field three cars at Daytona, with Waltrip driving the No. 83 that typically will be driven by Matt DiBenedetto. DiBenedetto will drive a third car, the No. 93, while David Ragan will drive the No. 23 he is expected to run all season.(ESPN)

New for 2016 NASCAR Hotpass

New for the 2016 NASCAR season I will be uploading multi-feed videos of part or all of select Sprint Cup races. One feed will be onboard camera's for a select driver and the other feed will be the network broadcast of the race with either TV or radio audio. Essentially it is a watered down version of NASCAR Hotpass which was broadcasted by DirecTV from 2007-2013. I have included a sample video from the 2015 Cheez It 355 at The Glen.

Changes coming to Phoenix?

After five-consecutive fall sell-outs at Phoenix International Raceway, the track is considering several capital improvement's for the half-century old track - including the possibility of moving the start-finish line to the backstretch. "I think we're going to take a really hard look at our master plan over the next couple of months and start to answer some of those questions about how best to maximize the opportunities here at Phoenix," PIR track president Bryan Sperber said. "If this were a baseball game, we're probably in the first inning of that. So, there will probably be a lot of different things that will surface and will vet a lot of the potential opportunities and land on a really good plan for Phoenix going forward." What's made the backstretch so attractive to fans is how the reconstruction of the one-mile track has enhanced the quality of racing. In 2010, ISC announced a $100 million project that widened the front stretch to 62 feet and expanded the dogleg by 95 feet which increased the radius to 500 feet. Progressive banking was added to the relatively flat track. Turns 1 and 2 were raised to 10-11 degrees, Turns 3 and 4 to 8-9 degrees. Work was completed in tim for the November 2011 race. "The fans love it - what they call the dive-bombing," Sperber says of the action on the backstretch where drivers use the apron to their advantage. "Whoever thought we could be four and five-wide at Phoenix. It's been tremendously exciting. We thought it would be good, but it vastly exceeded even my expectations. We've really been blessed with a great racetrack and I think the next step for us is to make sure the rest of the facility matches the high quality of what we're seeing in terms of the racing."

With the track holding approximately 60,000 fans along the front stretch into Turns 1 and 2, a row of motorcoaches on the backstretch and a smattering of spectators on Rattlesnake Hill between Turns 3 and 4, there's certainly room for expansion. While many tracks are tearing down stands, few areas boast the car culture of Phoenix and the valley. "We've looked at enhancing the front stretch," Sperber said. "We've looked at some concepts, like adding a double-decker stand on the frontstretch. Certainly, the idea of developing some things on the back - were even talked about back in the late '90s - Bill France Jr., even talked about that.(Motorsport)(11-16-2015)

Atlanta and Kentucky Will Be Repaved

From an interview with Danny James of the Lane Construction Corporation. James is the Mechanical Supervisor responsible for overseeing the paving of racetracks such as Daytona International Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Kansas Speedway. James is supervising the paving the Dominion Raceway in Spotsylvania, VA. During the interview, James said Lane Construction has been contracted to repave Atlanta Motor Speedway and Kentucky Speedway in 2016. See the full video interview on the Dominion Raceway Facebook page.(11-18-2015)