New Hampshire Motor Speedway Introduces the World’s Softest Wrecker Bumper!
Loudon, NH — In light of the recent controversy surrounding Clint Bowyer’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, officials at the speedway utilized some creative ingenuity to help ensure that “The Magic Mile” and its wreckers aren’t part of any similar debate in the future.
With the new “pillow-soft” bumper revealed today, speedway general manager Jerry Gappens wants to assure all future winning race cars make it to victory lane carefully.
The wrecker is the exact same truck that pushed Bowyer’s No. 33 Cheerios/ Hamburger Helper Chevrolet to victory lane after he ran out of gas during his burnout at the September 19th SYLVANIA 300, but with a new and improved soft front bumper.
Bowyer’s win skyrocketed him from 12th to second in NASCAR’s 10- race playoffs. Post-race inspection revealed Bowyer’s car was 60-thousandths of an inch too high for NASCAR standards, resulting in the loss of 150 championship owner and driver points dropping him back to last place in the Chase. Richard Childress Racing appealed twice to NASCAR, arguing that the track’s wrecker knocked the winning car out of legal tolerances when it was pushed to victory lane. Both appeals were upheld.
“We just thought we would be proactive and make modifications that would be more ‘car pushing-friendly’,” said Gappens. “This technology works well with household bedding applications, so we thought we would try it here!”
Race fans can be sure the wrecker will be ready for the 2011 season of speed. Advanced tickets are available for all three major motorsports events. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LENOX Industrial Tools 301 on July 17 and the SYLVANIA 300 on September 25 tickets for next year range from $39 to $110 and tickets for the IZOD Indy Car Series race on August 14 are priced from $35 to $75. Fans buying all three events can save an additional 10-percent and, for any purchase, interest free payments are available. Purchase them now by calling our ticket hotline at (603) 783-4931 or visit us online at www.nhms.com.
Photos of the new bumper system is available at: http://www.nhms.com/handler.cfm/template,photo_gallery/sf_id,9335/cat_id,43442/
Sources: Kristen Costa/NHMS PR