The 2013 Sam's Town 300 Starting Lineup

Unfortunately mother nature did not cooperate on Friday March 8, 2013. Heavy rain forced NASCAR to cancel all track activity and that resulted in the Nationwide Series teams not having any practice time on Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Since the Nationwide Series teams did not get any practice on Friday, NASCAR cancelled Saturday’s qualifying session. NASCAR gave the Nationwide series teams some track time on Saturday so they could practice before the race. The Sam’s Town 300 starting grid will be set by the 2012 owner points. Brian Vickers will start on the pole for the Sam’s Town 300.

1. Brian Vickers

2. Trevor Bayne

3. Brian Scott

4.Austin Dillon

5. Ty Dillon

6. Brad Keselowski

7. Sam Hornish Jr

8. Parker Kligerman

9. Reed Sorenson

10. Justin Allgaier

11. Nelson Piquet Jr

12. Regan Smith

13. Kyle Larson

14. Hal Martin

15. Elliott Sadler

16. Joe Nemecheck

17. Brad Sweet

18. Alex Bowman

19. Mike Wallace

20. Mike Bliss

21. Ryan Sieg

22. Blake Koch

23. Kyle Busch

24. Eric McClure

25. Daryl Harr

26. Josh Wise

27. Johanna Long

28. Jason White

29. Robert Richardson

30. Juan Carlos Blum

31. Travis Pastrana

32. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

33. Jeff Green

34. Jeffrey Earnhardt

35. Mike Harmon

36. Jamie Dick

37. Dexter Stacey

38. Joey Gase

39. J.J Yeley

40. Scott Lagasse Jr

DNQ. Chase Miller

DNQ. Brendan Gaughan

DNQ. Kevin Swindell

The 2013 Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will air on Saturday March 9, 2013 at 4:15pm ET on ESPN2. Good luck to the Nationwide teams that are in the Sam’s Town 300!

The 2013 Kobalt Tools 400 Starting Lineup

On Friday March 8, 2013, The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers thought they were going to qualify to set the field for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Unfortunately mother nature did not cooperate all day. Heavy rain forced NASCAR to cancel qualifying. This is the first time that qualifying for a Sprint Cup race has been cancelled at Las Vegas. The starting grid for the 2013 Kobalt Tools 400 will be set by the NASCAR rule book. The top thirty-six is based on the 2012 owner points and the remainder of the field is based on the owner points or qualifying attempts from this season.

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Clint Bowyer

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. Kasey Kahne

5. Greg Biffle

6. Denny Hamlin

7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr

8. Kevin Harvick

9. Tony Stewart

10. Jeff Gordon

11. Martin Truex Jr

12. Dale Earnhardt Jr

13. Kyle Busch

14. Ryan Newman

15. Mark Martin

16. Carl Edwards

17. Paul Menard

18. Matt Kenseth

19. Marcos Ambrose

20. Jeff Burton

21. Joey Logano

22. Aric Almirola

23. Jamie McMurray

24. Kurt Busch

25. Juan Pablo Montoya

26. Bobby Labonte

27. Austin Dillon

28. Travis Kvapil

29. David Ragan

30. Casey Mears

31. David Gilliland

32. David Reutimann

33. Dave Blaney

34. Ken Schrader

35. J.J Yeley

36. Trevor Bayne

37. Danica Patrick

38. David Stremme

39. Michael McDowell

40. Scott Speed

41. Landon Cassill

42. Joe Nemecheck

43. Josh Wise

DNQ. Mike Bliss

The 2013 Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will air on Sunday, March 10, 2013 at 2:30pm ET on your local Fox station.


　

　

　

　

　


　

Which Race Car Driver Would You Spend Valentine’s Day With?

Valentine’s Day is one of the most romantic days of the year for couples. For race fans, Valentine’s Day is a day where some race fans dream about spending the day with their favorite race car driver. Female race fans dream about spending Valentine's Day with their favorite race car driver that they have a crush on. Female race fans also would love to spend Valentine ’s Day with their favorite race car driver because they are truly dedicated to their favorite race car driver and they want to tell them how much they care about them. Of course female race fans would love to see what their favorite race car driver’s life is like too. More females are starting to race race cars so of course some of the male race fans are going to think about spending Valentine's Day with their favorite female race car driver. I believe some male race fans would think that Valentine's Day is a great day to tell your favorite race car driver how truly dedicated they are to them. The male race fans would love to see what their favorite race car driver’s life is like and just hang out with them. I believe male and female race fans would both agree that it would be amazing to tell their favorite race car driver how great they are behind the wheel, and Valentine’s Day would be a perfect day to do that!

On Valentine's Day, I posted a message on Facebook and Twitter asking race fans this,"Race fans: Fill in the blank with one of your favorite race car drivers that you would want to spend Valentine's Day with. I would love to spend Valentine's Day with__________. Why would you like to spend Valentine's Day with the race car driver you picked? To the male race fans: You can pick a male race car driver! For example, you could say I pick Dale Earnhardt, Jr. because I would love to hang out with him and see what his life is like.’’ 

"I would love to spend Valentine’s Day with Dale Earnhardt Jr!  I chose him because nobody has looked so good in a white jumpsuit since Elvis. He has Elvis Presley stuff all over his house!"- Jeri Rogers 

“I would love to spend Valentine’s Day with Brad keselowski!"-Vickie Drost

"I would love to spend Valentine’s Day with four time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon!"- Clara Barnhart

"Danica Patrick would be my pick to spend Valentine’s Day with."- Jimmy Thompson

"Sloan Henderson would be my pick to spend Valentine’s Day with. I am dedicated to bringing her back in NASCAR."- Arthur Petty

"I would love to spend Valentine’s Day with Dale Earnhardt Jr!" - Kathy Rogers Dorans

"I would love to spend Valentine’s Day with Jennifer Job Cobb! Jennifer is hot!"- Karl Swinea

"Dale Earnhardt Jr would be my pick to spend Valentine’s Day with because he is awesome on the track and off! He is good looking too!"- Donna L Sweet 

"There is only one man for me! I would love to spend Valentine’s Day with Dale Earnhardt Jr!"- Kath Paxton.

"Ashley Force would be my pick to spend Valentine’s Day with!"- Kenneth J Carlson

"Danica Patrick or Jennifer Jo Cobb would be my picks to spend Valentine’s Day with."- Rob Regula

"Danica Patrick would be my pick to spend Valentine’s Day with because I am from Mississippi, I hear she has a thing for Mississippi men, lol."- John Hickson

"I would love to spend Valentine’s Day with Jeff Burton. I just can’t resist those big eyes of his."- Angela M. Aragon- Henslee

"I would love to spend Valentine’s Day with Danica Patrick!"- Edward Heints

"Kyle Busch is my pick to spend Valentine’s Day with. He is full of M@Ms and Monster Energy!"-  Tim Speed Kornet

"Raphael Matos is my pick to spend Valentine’s Day with."- Shirley Frazier

"If former NASCAR driver Fonty Flock was still alive, He would be my pick to spend Valentine’s Day with."- Miles Turner

"Tony Stewart would be my pick to spend Valentine’s Day with! Tony is hot!"- Pam Lane Elliott

 

"I would love to spend Valentine’s Day with Dale Earnhardt Jr. He is down to earth and good looking!" – Brenda Fraser Lott

 

"I would love to spend Valentine’s Day with Dale Earnhardt Jr because he  is a gentlemen and it would be funny to spend Valentine’s Day with him." - Penelope Flynn

"I would love to spend Valentine’s Day with Tony Stewart, because he is my favorite driver."- Mark Hopkins.

Race fans are truly dedicated to their favorite race car driver and a lot of them would agree that Valentine’s Day would be the perfect day to tell their favorite driver how much they respect them on and off the race track.Thank you to all of the race fans that responded back to my message about which race car driver you would like to spend Valentine's Day with. I hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day!

 

April Race Fan Of The Month Winner: Adrienne Soloman

Up To Speed With Amanda Reisinger’s April “race fan of the month” winner is Adrienne Soloman. Adrienne’s friend Tristian Cook nominated her for Up To Speed With Amanda Reisinger’s April “race fan of the month''. Tristain Cooke said,’’ The person who I am nominating for Up To Speed With Amanda Reisinger’s ''race fan of the month’’ is my good friend Adrienne Soloman. I think that she would make an excellent ''race fan of the month’’ because just like me, she is passionate about racing and her favorite drivers. She does a great job with her Dale Junior Fan Zone #88 group on Facebook. I could not think of a better candidate than Adrienne for April ''race fan of the month.’’
40-year-old Adrienne Soloman is from Brooklyn, New York. Adrienne has been a race fan since 1988. Adrienne said,’’ I became a race fan from going to the races, the excitement, the adrenaline, and the sounds of the race cars.’’ Adrienne’s whole family watches racing!
Adrienne watches NASCAR and the IZOD Indy Car Series. Adrienne said,’’ I pick my favorite drivers based on personality and the way they drive their race cars.’’ In NASCAR, Adrienne is a huge fan of Dale Earnhardt Jr. She is also a fan of Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, and Ryan Newman. In the IZOD Indy Car Series, she is a fan of Dario Francitti, Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Briscoe, and Marco Andretti.
I had the privilege to communicate with Adrienne via email to ask her a couple more questions and she also told me a bit more about her being a huge race fan. This is what Adrienne Soloman had to say to me via email:
''A boy I was dating at the time took me to my first race at Pocono in 1988. I loved it, and I became a fan of Dale Earnhardt Senior that day. I have also been to Watkins Glen, New Hampshire, Daytona, and Dover International Speedway.’’
Adrienne said,’’ I would love to see more side by side racing and some races shorter.''
''I made a fan group on Facebook for Dale Earnhardt Junior because I wanted a place were Dale Earnhardt Junior fans could talk about Dale Earnhardt Junior without the Junior haters causing trouble. I run a drama free group.’’
The last thing that Adrienne told me is that she has turned a lot of friends and neighbors into race fans. Adrienne is a race fan for life!
To: Adrienne Soloman: Congratulations on being Up To Speed With Amanda Reisinger’s April ''race fan of the month’’ winner. I hope you enjoy the rest of the 2012 racing season!
Race fans: If you are interested in checking out Adrienne Soloman’s fan group on Facebook for Dale Earnhardt Junior, then click on the link below.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/WeLoveDaleJuniorandOtherDriversToo/

May Race Fan Of The Month Winner: Matthew Carpenter

Up To Speed With Amanda Reisinger’s May ''race fans of the Month'' winner is twenty three year old Matthew Carpenter. Matthew is from Johnsburg, Illinois. Matthew started to watch racing before he started kindergarten! When he was little he used to play with his hot wheels and pretend he was a race car driver. Matthew’s dad and uncle are race fans. Matthew got his dad interested in racing.
Matthew is a huge fan of NASCAR’s top three series (the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series). In the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, he is a fan of 2011 ARCA Series Champion Ty Dillon. Matthew is a fan of Danica Patrick in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He is a fan of Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He watches other racing series too! He watches the Rolex Sports Car Series, Indy Car Series, and the ARCA Series! Frank Kimmel is Matthews favorite driver in the ARCA Series. In the Indy Car Series, Dario Franchitti and Marco Andretti are Matthews favorite drivers.
I had the privilege to communicate with Matthew via email to ask him a couple more questions and this is what he had to say:
''I have been to about thirteen races at Chicagoland Speedway.”
''If I could change anything in NASCAR, I would try to eliminate the start and park teams. I don’t like how NASCAR locks in the top thirty five in owner's points for every race.’’
Racing is a huge part of Matthews life. He watches racing with his family, and he almost never misses a race. Matthew will be a race fan for life.
To Matthew Carpenter: Congratulations on being Up To Speed With Amanda Reisinger’s May ’’race fan of the month’’ winner! I hope you enjoy the rest of the 2012 racing season!

( Matthew Carpenter.)

March Race Fan Of The Month Winner: Deanna Craig

Race fans live all over the world. Some race fans watch one racing series, and some race fans watch more than one racing series. Up To Speed With Amanda Reisinger’s March "race fan of the month" winner is Deanna Craig.

40-year-old Deanna Craig is originally from Warsaw, Indiana. She moved to Tempe, Arizona last November when she met her fiancé Bernard Rucker (February "race fan of the month" winner) in a Jeff Gordon fan site on Facebook. Deanna and her fiancé Bernard are going to stay in Tempe, Arizona until they move to North Carolina in the future. They want to move to North Carolina in the future so they can be in the heart of NASCAR.

Deanna has been a race fan ever since she was 5 year old. “My dad would take us about every weekend to small tracks in Plymouth and New Paris raceways in Indiana. I can remember being little and loving the sounds of those engines roaring." At age 17 to 20, Deanna was racing in her own racecar. “My dad wouldn’t sponsor me anymore due to the fact that I was going to have my son. My dad did not want to be responsible for anything happening to me. I had to quit my own racing but from then on out, I was hooked watching racing on TV as much as possible." Deanna said,” I wish I could be behind the wheel still. I remember a lot of good times with my dad and racing. It’s funny he calls me for any NASCAR questions and he doesn’t call my brothers.” Deanna said that her family has some ties to David Stremme! “I watched David’s brother bobby race along with his dad. David’s mom is the best! They call her the "purple lady" at a small track in Indiana called New Paris. They race at the M-40 Speedway in Michigan as well. My dad has gone over to David’s house a time or two!"

Deanna and her fiancé Bernard watch the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Camping world Truck Series, ARCA Series, IndyCar Series, the Rolex Sports Car Series, and the NASCAR K@N Series. Every now and then Deanna and Bernard watch Motorcycle racing. Deanna used to watch just the Sprint Cup Series and the Nationwide Series until she met her fiancé Bernard. Deanna is a huge fan of 4-time Sprint cup Champion Jeff Gordon. “I remember the first time I saw Jeff in Midgets in Plymouth. I was hooked on him then and I knew he would be a great NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver in the future.” In the NASCAR Nationwide Series Deanna is a fan of Danica Patrick. “I love Danica Patrick! I wish I had seen her race open wheel." Deanna is a fan of rookie Jeb Burton and Jennifer Jo Cobb in the NASCAR Camping world Truck series. She does not really have a favorite driver in Indy Car or in the motorcycle series yet, because she is just starting to learn those series.

Deanna’s fiancé gave her an experience last November that she will never forget. Deanna went to her first NASCAR race last November!  After her experience at her first NASCAR race, she fell in love with racing even more. Deanna and her fiancé Bernard are hoping to go to the Phoenix races this November. Deanna said when her fiancé took her to her first NASCAR race in Phoenix last November, she kept telling him that she wants to get Jeff Gordon’s autograph! She did end up getting Jeff’s autograph. He signed a plaque of hers and he said hello to her. They made many memories that weekend and got many autographs. Deanna said that they are definitely going to a lot more races in the future.
I would classify Deanna as an extreme race fan based on three things. The first thing that I would consider Deanna as an extreme race fan is that she used to be a racecar driver! The second thing that I would consider Deanna as an extreme race fan is that she plans to get married in the future to a huge race fan. Both of them watch more than one racing series together. I am sure they will have a long happy life enjoying racing together. Deanna is such a huge fan of racing that she has strong opinions about the sport. “I would say if I could change anything in NASCAR it would be the points system. I do not like the new system. I wish they would go back to the old way. I am starting to like the  green-white-checker finish." Deanna said,” most women are into racing because they think that the drivers are cute. I do not watch racing just because the drivers may be cute. I know facts about the racers. I love what Jeff Gordon does on and off the racetrack. I will die loving racing."

To Deanna Craig: Congratulations on being Up To Speed With Amanda Reisinger’s March “race fan of the month” winner! I hope you enjoy all of the race the rest of the 2012 season!

Deanna and her fiancé Bernard.

　

　

Julia Landauer: Determined To Live Her Dream



(Credit goes to Julia Landauer.)

Julia Landauer was born on November 12th, 1992 in New York, New York. She attended a specialized public high school for math and science in New York City called Stuyvesant High school. Julia said,"I missed about 130 days of high school over four years which made it very difficult to balance. However I loved being at the track and at school so I made it work. I was disciplined, worked hard, and wanted to do a lot. Naturally I missed a lot of high school events, but  I was 100% ok with that. If I wanted to do school stuff more than I wouldn’t have pursued racing as aggressively as I did." Julia is currently a sophomore at Stanford University in California."I am majoring in an Interdisciplinary major called Science, Technology, and Society,"said Julia. Julia is a very successful college student and a race car driver. Her dream of wanting to make a career out of racing started when she was just a young girl starting out in go-karts.

Julia got involved in go-karts when she was 10 years old."It was a family sport that my younger sister, brother, and I did with my parents. I loved it from the start and by age 12 I knew I wanted to be a professional race car driver."She won many races and championships in go-karts. Julia climbed the karting ranks to the national level,where she visited the podium and won many times. At the age of 13 she  joined the Skip Barber Racing Series, were she raced in her first car race. She made history at the age of 14 as the youngest and first female champion in the Skip Barber Racing Series. She joined the Formula BMW USA Series when she was 15 years old. Julia was the youngest driver to compete in the 2007 Formula BMW USA Series. She had a best finish of 5th and she earned three top ten finishes ( 5th, 8th , 9th) in the Formula BMW Series. At the age of 16 she started racing in the USAC Ford focus Midgets with Bob East. She moved up to the NASCAR Late Model Stock Car series with Bill Mcanally racing part time when she was 17. She also ran a part time  NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Season  with Sellers racing when she was 18 and 19 years old. Julia said, "I’m planning on racing late models in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series and some K@N Pro Series races for the 2012 season." Her goal for her racing career is that she wants to make a living racing cars.

I  had the privilege to communicate  with Julia via email and ask her a couple more questions. This is what Julia had to say:

  "My favorite part about racing is that it’s like solving a puzzle. A driver has to make so many factors work perfectly in order to win. The entire process, including the excruciating hard work, the team work, the speed, the passing, and so much more , making racing so magical. Finding proper funding is definitely the hardest part of racing,"said Julia.

When I asked Julia if she has a best racing memory she said,"One of my best memories is my first win in  a  car when I was 13. I led the whole race, crossed the line in first, and I knew I was the best that race. Another one is a practice day in go-karts in New castle, IN, where I was so intensely in the zone that it felt like I was gliding on the track. I didn’t have to think about it. It was truly the most amazing feeling that I will never forget."

Julia has been on many race tracks throughout her racing career. When I asked her If she had any favorite race tracks she said,"My favorite road course is Road America, and my favorite oval is South Boston Speedway."

"There is no real "off" season for me. When I’m not in the car I’m working on the business side. I am developing my Julia Landauer Racing brand, meeting with investors, strategizing for sponsorship , working out and going to school. Racing is a 24/7 job. My favorite things to do outside of racing is that I like being in school, I love being outdoors, building things, exercising, and exploring my hometown of  New York City."

Julia said,"I’m inspired by anyone who puts their heart and soul into something, racing or not. Lyn St. James is a huge inspiration and mentor, as is Carl Edwards, but there are so many inspiring people out there in the world."

When I asked Julia what are the skills required to become a good race car driver she said,"There’s no one way to be a racer, but you have to be talented, aggressive, smart,  business and media savvy to name a few things. You have to have  great endurance and physical strength to be physically prepared to be a race car driver. It gets extremely hot in the cars, and you race for hours. You have to be in great shape if you want to be a race car driver.”

The final question I asked Julia was what advice would you give to other women who want to be race car drivers? "Find people who will support you because you are a racer. Surround yourself with those people, be ruthless in asking question and learning, and never let adversity stop your  desire.”

To Julia Landauer:Thank you very much for taking the time to answer some questions so this article could happen. Good luck with college and your racing career! 

Race fans: Click on the link below and "like" Julia Landauer's facebook fan page!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Julia-Landauer/147344155300065

2011 Racing Season. Credit goes to Julia Landauer.