Massive Penalties and New Driver Schedules: What You Need To Know For January 31, 2019

(Note: Please excuse the formatting issues. We are working to get this resolved.)

If you’re reading this column, chances are you’ve seen my previous iterations in the form of “What You Need To Know”, “Summer’s Five Things”, etc.

If you’re new to this column, allow me to explain. The intention is for this to be a one-stop-shop first thing in the morning for race fans to get an across-the-board glimpse of everything that happened in the world of NASCAR — and elsewhere in motorsports — the previous day.

 For those of you who have read this column before, or perhaps are regular readers, you will notice that it looks a bit different today.

Recently, I realized something about myself … I’m a “scanner”. Without meaning to, realizing it, or thinking about it consciously, I noticed that I no longer “read” things word-for-word, line-by-line. Rather, I scan the  content for information and then circle back to the points I found interesting or was seeking out.

This got me thinking — I can’t be the only one who does this. In fact, in a faster-paced, second-by-second, 24-hour world that we now live in, I think it’s more likely than not that you’ve probably picked up this habit to a certain degree. Perhaps you read headlines more often than the actual news articles or you get your information from  journalists on Twitter rather than the publications they write for. 

Regardless, I’ve decided that this change in consumption means it is time to adapt “What You Need To Know” to accommodate this type of busy reader. You want the gist, the summary, the substance. You don’t necessarily need all the details. You just want a quick glimpse or overview of – yes – “what you need to know” and you can find out the additional details later at your own convenience if you are so inclined. 

As a result, I’ve modified “What You Need To Know” to condense the biggest news stories of the day into easily digestable, bite-size-able, consumer-friendly lists that give you the “who, what, when, where, and why” of the story without adding all the extra words that you probably don’t read anyway. 

Now, how long will this last? It’s simple, really. If I feel like the format is better suited to today’s readers and is well-received, I will keep it going indefinitely. If it’s missing the mark and you, the readers, aren’t finding it as helpful as intended, I will go in a different direction. 

I also don’t want those of you who do like a lot of content to feel pushed aside. In all my previous columns, regardless of the length, I try to provide a variety of resources where you can read different stories with additional details, statistics, etc. that you may find interesting but aren’t necessarily part of the “need-to-know” pieces of the story. I will still plan on doing so for those of you who enjoy the finer details.

So, with that said, I hope you enjoy the “bite size” version of “What You Need To Know” — but feel free to provide your thoughts either way!

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What you need to know …

… about the penalties assessed against DGR-Crosley

• NASCAR issued severe penalties against NASCAR K&N Pro Series East team DGR-Crosley for violating the preseason testing policy
• NASCAR penalized the team for their participation in a private test session with driver Ty Gibbs at New Smyrna Speedway on January 14
• The testing policy asserts that teams may not engage in private test sessions at tracks that are on the series schedule
• New Smyrna Speedway is the site of the season-opener for the K&N Pro Series East on Feb 10th
• DGR-Crosley asserts that the session at New Smyrna was for the ARCA Racing Series and will appeal the penalty
• Matt Weaver of Autoweek posted on Twitter that, per a source, the team was running a K&N Pro Series East engine in an ARCA car
• The team was issued a P6 level penalty: car owner David Gilliland and driver Ty Gibbs were suspended for three races; car chief Chad Walters has been suspended indefinitely; all three were fined $5,000; and a loss of 100 driver and owner points was assessed
• Ty Gibbs is the grandson of Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series
• Gibbs was not scheduled to drive for DGR-Crosley in the K&N Pro Series East for the 2019 season

…about Riley Herbst’s and Ty Gibb’s 2019 Plans

• Riley Herbst will compete in eight races for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series
• Herbst will share the No. 18 Toyota with Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Jeffrey Earnhardt in the XFINITY Series
• Herbst will also pilot the No. 18 car for seven races in the ARCA Racing Series
• Herbst will share the No. 18 in the ARCA Racing Series with Ty Gibbs, who will serve as the driver for 12 races
• Monster Energy Drink will serve as the primary sponsor for Herbst and Gibbs in their respective races
• Ben Beshore will be the XFINITY Series crew chief; Mark McFarland will serve in the crew chief role in ARCA
• Herbst’s first XFINITY Series start will be April 12 at Richmond Raceway; Herbst’s first ARCA start will be February 9 at Daytona International Speedway; and Gibbs’ first ARCA start will be March 8 at Five Flags Speedway

…about the ride Conor Daly landed for the Indianapolis 500

• Conor Daly will race for Andretti Autosport in the 2019 Indianapolis 500
• Daly has not competed in an NTT IndyCar Series race since last August at Pocono Raceway
• Daly will be piloting the No. 25 Honda with sponsorship from the Air Force in a fifth entry for Andretti Autosport
• Daly’s teammates will be Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti, and Zach Veach
• This is the only NTT IndyCar Series race in which Daly is currently scheduled to compete

…about the new sponsor of The Duels at Daytona

• Gander RV is replacing Can-Am as the sponsor of the two 150-mile qualifying races to set the field for the Daytona 500
• The races will now be known as the “Gander RV Duel at Daytona”
• The qualifying races will be held Thursday, February 14th
• Camping World Holdings owns Gander RV and Gander Outdoors
• Gander Outdoors serves the entitlement sponsor for NASCAR’s Truck Series
• As part of the agreement, Gander RV, Camping World, and Good Sam will host consumer RV shows at DIS over multiple years and will hold an RV Rally in 2020

…about Fox Sports’ Daytona Speedweeks programming

• Fox Sports has released their TV schedule for Daytona Speedweeks:

Monday, Feb. 4

·       NASCAR RACE HUB (6:00-7:00 PM ET) (FS1)

Tuesday, Feb. 5

·       NASCAR RACE HUB (6:00-7:00 PM ET) (FS1)

Wednesday, Feb. 6

·       NASCAR RACE HUB (6:00-7:00 PM ET) (FS1)

Thursday, Feb. 7

·       NASCAR RACE HUB (6:00-7:00 PM ET) (FS1)

Saturday, Feb. 9

·       MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES PRACTICE (10:30 AM-12:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       NASCAR RACE HUB WEEKEND EDITION (12:00-1:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES PRACTICE (1:00-2:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       NASCAR RACE HUB WEEKEND EDITION (2:00-3:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES FINAL PRACTICE (3:00-4:00) (FS1)

·       NASCAR RACE HUB WEEKEND EDITION (4:00-4:30 PM ET) (FS1)

·       ARCA RACING SERIES RACING (4:30-7:00 PM ET) (FS1)

Sunday, Feb. 10

·       DAYTONA 500 POLE QUALIFYING (12:00-2:00 PM ET) (FOX)

·       NASCAR RACEDAY (THE CLASH AT DAYTONA) (2:00-3:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       THE CLASH AT DAYTONA (3:00-5:00 PM ET) (FS1)

Monday, Feb. 11

·       NASCAR RACE HUB (6:00-7:00 PM ET) (FS1)

Tuesday, Feb. 12

·       NASCAR RACE HUB (6:00-7:00 PM ET) (FS1)

Wednesday, Feb. 13

·       DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY (12:00-3:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       NASCAR RACE HUB (6:00-6:30 PM ET) (FS1)

Thursday, Feb. 14

·       NASCAR RACE HUB (12:30-1:30 AM ET) (FS1) (delayed)

·       NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES PRACTICE (2:30-3:30 PM ET) (FS2)

·       NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES FINAL PRACTICE (4:30-5:30 PM ET) (FS2)

·       NASCAR RACEDAY (CAN-AM DUEL) (5:30-7:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       CAN-AM DUEL AT DAYTONA (7:00-10:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       UNRIVALED: EARNHARDT VS. GORDON (10:00-11:00 PM ET) (FS1) (delayed)

Friday, Feb. 15

·       NASCAR XFINITY SERIES PRACTICE (12:00-1:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES PRACTICE (1:00-2:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       NASCAR XFINITY SERIES FINAL PRACTICE (2:00-3:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES PRACTICE (3:00-4:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       NASCAR RACE HUB WEEKEND EDITION (4:00-4:30 PM ET) (FS1)

·       NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES QUALIFYING (4:30-6:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       NASCAR RACEDAY: NGOTS (7:00-7:30 PM ET) (FS1)

·       NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES RACING (7:30-10:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       NASCAR PRESENTS: THE ADVENTURES OF JANET GUTHRIE (10:00-10:30 PM ET) (FS1) (delayed)

Saturday, Feb. 16

·       NASCAR XFINITY SERIES QUALIFYING (9:30-11:00 AM ET) (FS1)

·       NASCAR RACE HUB WEEKEND EDITION (11:00 AM-12:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES FINAL PRACTICE (12:00-1:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       NASCAR RACE HUB WEEKEND EDITION (1:00-2:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       NASCAR RACEDAY-XFINITY (2:00-2:30 PM ET) (FS1)

·       NASCAR XFINITY SERIES RACING (2:30-5:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       NASCAR XFINITY SERIES POST-RACE (5:00-5:30 PM ET) (FS1)

Sunday, Feb. 17

·       NASCAR RACEDAY (DAYTONA 500) (11:00 AM-1:00 PM ET) (FS1)

·       NASCAR RACEDAY (DAYTONA 500) (1:00-2:30 PM ET) (FOX)

·       DAYTONA 500 (2:30 PM-6:30 PM ET) (FOX)

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