Benny Phillips named sixth Squier-Hall award winner

Radioactive: Sonoma - "I"m driving like an [expletive] right now..." - "NASCAR Race Hub"

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 2, 2016) NASCAR and the NASCAR Hall of Fame today announced longtime High Point (N.C.) Enterprise reporter and sports editor Benny Phillips as the sixth recipient of the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence.

Phillips spent 48 years with the Enterprise, serving as its sports editor for 32 of them. He will be honored during NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony festivities on Jan. 20, 2017 and featured in an exhibit in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In addition to his time at the Enterprise, Phillips wrote for Stock Car Racing magazine for 27 years and spent 12 years with TBS. The prestigious Squier-Hall Award is the latest in a long list of accolades bestowed upon Phillips during, and after, his exemplary career. Phillips was named the NMPA Writer of the Year seven times, won the NMPA Joe Littlejohn Award in 1977, the IMHOF Henry T. McLemore Award in 1978, the Buddy Shuman Award in 1986 and the NMPA George Cunningham Award in 1988.

Phillips, who battled polio throughout his life, died in 2012 at the age of 74.

"Benny Phillips told the engaging stories that transformed our drivers into heroes, and with it developed a deserved reputation as a trusted confidant whose determination and affable personality made him a beloved fixture in the NASCAR garage," said Brian France, NASCAR chairman and CEO. "Benny delivered the stories of our sport to millions of NASCAR fans on a daily basis through newspapers, books, magazines and television. This award has been given only to the giants of his industry, and unquestionably, Benny was exactly that."

Phillips penned four books, including Dale Earnhardts autobiography "Determined," which he co-authored with fellow NASCAR reporter Ben Blake.

Phillips was among eight nominees voted upon by a panel comprised of NASCAR and NASCAR Hall of Fame executives, journalists, public relations representatives and former competitors. The Squier-Hall Award was created in 2012 to honor the contributions of media to the success of the sport. Legendary broadcasters Ken Squier and Barney Hall, for whom the award is named, were its initial recipients. Chris Economaki, Tom Higgins and Steve Byrnes have since won the award.

The other seven nominees were:

Norma "Dusty" Brandel:The first woman to report from inside the NASCAR garage.

Russ Catlin:One of the best-known early racing writers and historians, served as editor of "Speed Age" magazine.

Shav Glick:Covered motorsports for the Los Angeles Times for 37 years, bringing NASCAR coverage to the West Coast.

Bob Jenkins:Served as the lead NASCAR lap-by-lap anchor at ESPN from 1982-2000.

Bob Moore:Spent more than 20 years as a NASCAR beat writer including stints with the Daytona Beach News-Journal and The Charlotte Observer.

T. Taylor Warren:Best known for his three-wide photo of the 1959 Daytona500 finish, he covered every Daytona500 until his death in 2008.

Steve Waid:Covered NASCAR for more than 40 years for the Roanoke Times & World News, NASCAR Scene and NASCAR Illustrated.

Source: http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2016/7/2/nascar-squier-hall-award-winner-benny-phillips.html

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Denny Hamlin asks, NASCAR executive VP Steve O"Donnell answers

Tony Stewart "Madder Than Hell" Over All-Star Officiating - 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup

When qualifying was rained out for tonight"s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (9 p.m. ET on FS1) it spawned confusion among fans and even some racers.

Would the field for tonight"s race be set by the morning"s practice speeds or by owner points?

Denny Hamlin jumped on Twitter to get an answer and he got one from the top -- as NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O"Donnell jumped in to explain it.

Source: http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/story/denny-hamlin-asks-nascar-executive-vp-steve-o-donnell-answers-charlotte-rain-all-star-race-052116

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Ky. Speedway expects same NASCAR date in 2016

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Full Race - Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond

Kyle Busch celebrates winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway on July 11, 2015 in Sparta, Kentucky.(Photo: Jeff Curry/Getty Images)

If there are major shakeups to next year"s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, a shift in date for the Kentucky Speedway won"t likely be among them.

Officials at the Sparta, Ky., track anticipate the Quaker State 400 again running in 2016 on the second Saturday night in July, one week after NASCAR"s stop at Daytona.

"We are expecting to be on the same weekend next year," Kentucky Speedway"s general manager, Mark Simendinger, said Monday. "I"d be very surprised if we aren"t. Nothing"s official until it"s official, but that"s what we"re all planning on."

NASCAR has taken longer this year to release the upcoming slate. By the end of August 2014, the 2015 schedule was out.

It was then that the series announced a shift in date for the Quaker State 400 from late June to mid-July, same as where the race positioned for its inaugural running in 2011. Kyle Busch, who won the first Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway, also won this summer in a race remembered for NASCAR"s rules experimentation.

Lower downforce and softer tires induced more passing, plus a back-and-forth battle between Joey Logano and Busch in the final 20 laps.

"I don"t think there"s a whole lot of debate so far that the best race of the year was right here at Kentucky in July," Simendinger said. "Now I know how Donald Trump feels. They"re talking aboutme when I"m not around. They"re getting out of the cars (at other tracks) and saying, "Why can"t we set up the cars like at Kentucky?""

The speedway"s current date is also of major importance on the schedule, with the Quaker State 400 the final 1.5-mile track run before the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR"s playoffs include stops at four similarly shaped ovals in the final 10 weeks.

The second-tier Xfinity Series returns to Kentucky Speedway this Saturday for the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300, a race preceded by Friday"s ARCA Racing Series event in Sparta.

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Source: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/motor/kentuckiana-motorsports/2015/09/21/kentucky-speedway-expects-same-nascar-sprint-cup-series-date-on-2016-schedule/72577976/

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