Lake Norman Publications

Speed reads for Jan. 25




JR Motorsports lands another Turner Scott sponsorMOORESVILLE – Regan Smith’s No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevy will have another new sponsor decal when the NASCAR Nationwide Series season begins Feb. 23 at Daytona International Speedway.Northeastern Supply, a Baltimore-based plumbing, heating and air-conditioning company, announced its agreement with the Mooresville-based team in a release.The company previously sponsored Turner Scott Motorsports’ cars.JR Motorsports – owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt and Rick Hendrick – previously announced it agreed to terms with drivers Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet and sponsor Great Clips, all of whom were previously contracted with Turner Scott.Northeastern Supply enters its 20th season as a Nationwide sponsor. The company previously sponsored Nationwide drivers like Kenny Wallace, Jason Leffler and Hank Parker Jr.Belmont Abbey College expands motorsports programBELMONT – Belmont Abbey College has a new major in its academic program: motorsports management.The subject has been available to students as a concentration for business majors since it was first offered seven years ago.Belmont Abbey made the program its newest major to give students a better chance to work in motorsports once they graduated, according to the college website. It was first offered as a major last fall.The class of 2014 will be the school’s first to have Motorsports Management degrees.Earnhardt, Stewart still need sponsorsMOORESVILLE – The Sprint Cup season is just a month away, but two of the sport’s brightest stars haven’t yet lined up full sponsorship packages.Dale Earnhardt Jr., fresh off his 10th-straight Most Popular Driver award and his second straight Chase for the Sprint Cup berth, has 11 unsponsored races for his No. 88 Chevy.Earnhardt still has National Guard as his primary sponsor, but Mountain Dew scaled back its support from 20 races to five, leaving the open slot on the No. 88.Team owner Rick Hendrick told ESPN the No. 88 is set through the summer and he’s confident the team will have full sponsorship the rest of the season.“I’m looking for the right deal, not just any deal,” he told the network.Three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart needs sponsorship for nine races on his No. 14 Chevy.Stewart, the owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, signed Bass Pro Shops as a primary sponsor for the 2013 season, but the company only committed to 18 races. Stewart’s other drivers – Ryan Newman and Danica Patrick – also need sponsors (nine races for Newman and three for Patrick).Elliott to make Truck Series debutMOORESVILLE – Chase Elliott will make his major-series NASCAR debut this year.Elliott, the 17-year-old son of 1988 Sprint Cup champion Bill Elliott, will drive the No. 94 Chevy in nine Camping World Truck Series races.Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports team will field the trucks. The equipment and machines will come from Turner Scott Motorsports’ program, which has an alliance with Hendrick.Elliott, a Georgia native, will make his major-series debut April 6 at Martinsville Speedway, according to a Hendrick Motorsports announcement.- Compiled by Aaron Burns

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