SPORTS MARKETING NEWS, PRODUCTS AND EVENTS FROM LINCOLN ELECTRIC October 2012 HAMLIN WINS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, COLLECTS JGR’S 100TH WIN By: joegibbsracing.com Denny Hamlin won Joe Gibbs Racing’s 100th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win with a dominating performance during the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It was Hamlin’s Series-leading fifth victory of the season and first in the Chase as he moved to within seven points of the points lead after the second of 10 races in the battle for the Championship. Joey Logano earned a top-ten finish by coming home in eighth while Kyle Busch lost a certain top-five finish when he lost a cylinder in his engine just past the midpoint of the race and had to settle for 28th. Hamlin, who was among the fastest cars throughout the weekend during practice, wasn’t able to get a similar result in qualifying and had to start his No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota 32nd this afternoon. It was clear however from the outset that Hamlin wouldn’t let the poor starting position deter his efforts as he was up to 20th in just 15 laps and moved into the top 15 by lap 30. Hamlin would race in 12th and a great stop by the FedEx team following a lap 40 competition caution would put him inside the top ten for the first time. The No. 11 Camry would continue its climb toward the front and entered the top five by lap 60 and completed his run to top spot when he passed his teammate Busch on lap 94. From there Hamlin dominated the rest of the way while leading a race-high four times for 193 laps. A caution on lap 272 would wash away a more than six second lead he had built up. Once again the team wasn’t bothered by the challenge as Hamlin just drove away from the field on the final restart to claim JGR’s 100th Sprint Cup Series win. Jimmie Johnson finished second behind Hamlin, while Jeff Gordon was third, Clint Bowyer fourth and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top five. There were four cautions for a total of 17 laps with 17 lead changes among 10 Denny Hamlin earns his fifth victory in New Hamphire different drivers. LOGANO TO JOIN PENSKE RACING IN 2013 By: penskeracing.com MOORESVILLE, N.C. - Penske Racing announced that Joey Logano will join the team in 2013. He will drive the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Logano, 22, a two-time Sprint Cup Series winner who is currently competing in his fourth full season, will begin a multi-year agreement with Penske Racing. "I am very excited to join Penske Racing and begin the next phase of my career," said Logano. "I am looking forward to the opportunity as it will be an honor to drive for Roger Penske and race for wins and championships. I am also proud to represent Shell-Pennzoil as they are a respected global brand that does a great job of activating in the sport on and off the track." In addition to his pair of victories, four poles and 16 top-five finishes in his young Cup Series career, Logano has also produced 15 wins and 19 poles in five seasons competing part time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. "Joey Logano is a very talented driver who has already achieved a lot of success at a young age," said Tim Cindric, President of Penske Racing. "Joey is a great fit for our organization and we look forward to building on his success as he takes his place behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford." Logano will join Brad Keselowski, a three-time race winner and championship contender in 2012, and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Lincoln Electric is the team to form a potent combination for Penske Racing in the 2013 exclusive welder of Penske Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. PAGE 1 1 October 2012 RYAN HUNTER-REAY WINS 2012 INDYCAR CHAMPIONSHIP By: IndyCar.com FONTANA, Calif. -- The IZOD once again the ovals – three IndyCar Series championship crashes on three of the ovals was Will Power's to this year -- that’s a massive hit lose entering the MAVTV 500 in the points. Three years INDYCAR World winning the road course Championships at Auto Club championship, quite Speedway. After Lap 55, it convincingly, so it’s very became Ryan Hunter-Reay's to obvious where I lack." win. Ed Carpenter earned his For the third consecutive year, second IZOD IndyCar Series contact in the season finale victory -- for the second altered the title aspirations of consecutive year in the finale the Aussie. The No. 12 and with Dario Franchitti as the Verizon Team Penske car runner-up. Carpenter is the first "caught a seam" in Turn 2 of team owner/driver to win since the 2-mile oval, spun and made Adrian Fernandez in 2004 (also 1 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport contact with the SAFER Barrier at Auto Club Speedway). Scott while running 12th -- a few car Dixon finished third (the 98th 2 Will Power Penske Racing lengths ahead of Hunter- top five of his career) and Helio Reay's No. 28 Team DHL/Sun Castroneves was fifth. Drop Citrus Soda car. "This feels great for a team that 3 Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Rac- ing "It’s the season; you can’t just started in November," said make mistakes like that," said a Carpenter, who led a field-high 4 Helio Castroneves Penske Racing dejected Power, who had a 62 laps in a race that featured 17-point advantage at the 29 lead changes. "I probably 5 Simon Pagenaud Schmidt/Hamilton MS green flag of the 250-lap race. should have won Indy but I "My team was pushing me to kind of messed up a little bit. 6 Ryan Briscoe Penske Racing get around him, and it was just We have been trying to win a mistake." ovals all year and finally got it 7 Dario Franchitti Target Chip Ganassi Rac- Hunter-Reay also clinched the done. Good way to end the ing A.J. Foyt Trophy for most year." points scored on ovals. He Franchitti, who won the last 8 James Hincliffe Andretti Autosport entered the race tied with IZOD IndyCar Series race at Kanaan. the speedway in 2005, tied Al 9 Tony Kanaan KV Racing Technology "There were definitely times Unser Jr. and Bobby Rahal for there where it was looking fifth all time with 88 podium 10 Graham Rahal Chip Ganassi Racing hopeful," Power said. "All credit finishes. He also passed Rick to my guys getting the car out Mears with his 112th top-five and doing those 12 laps to get finish and tied Castroneves a couple of points. At the end and Dixon for eighth with his of the day, Hunter-Reay is 29th runner-up finish. definitely a deserving "Almost isn't quite good champion. A real enough," said Franchitti of the fighter. Probably as far as pass that occurred just before all-around drivers go, he’s Sato's crash. "Ed just got a big probably the best in the series run. Ultimately the smallest because he wins in each amounts, but you win by those discipline. and you lose by those." "If I look back on the season, Lincoln Electric is the Official welder of the IZOD INDYCAR Series PAGE 2 October 2012 ANTRON BROWN VICTORIOUS IN DALLAS BY: NHRA.com Antron Brown raced to the Top Fuel victory Sunday, September 23rd at the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at the famed all-concrete Texas Motorplex near Dallas. Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock), and Michael Ray (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners at the second of six playoff events in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. Brown claimed his fifth victory of the season and moved into a tie for the points lead with the driver he beat in the final round, teammate Spencer Massey. Brown powered his Matco Tools dragster to a 3.898-second run at 311.49 mph to hold off Massey’s FRAM dragster, which finished with a 3.945 at 300.60. “This is definitely the way to rebound,” said Brown, the playoff top seed who dropped to fourth in the standings after a first-round loss at the playoff opener last weekend in Charlotte. “I have to give credit to my team for sticking together. We were winning in the first round in Charlotte when we broke an input shaft. It’s so easy to get down after something like that. We came here, and the car was throwing us fits by being overaggressive. Brian [Corradi] and Mark [Oswald, co-crew chiefs] kept backing it off until they got a good handle on it in the semi's.” Brown and Massey lead seven-time world champ Tony Schumacher by 24 points and the suddenly surging Shawn Langdon is 41 back as the playoff race in the 8,000-horsepower category gets intense. “In that final, we had to give it everything we had against the FRAM car,” said Brown, who beat three Countdown contenders — David Grubnic, Langdon, and Morgan Lucas — in the first three rounds. “We edged them, and it felt really good to win and to tie them in the points lead. We have four races left, and it’s going to be a slugfest to the end. Everybody’s throwing haymakers. It’s an all-out battle royal right now.” STADIUM SUPER TRUCKS SETS 2013 SCHEDULE BY: stadiumsupertrucks.com New York – Robby Gordon’s Stadium SUPER Trucks and NBC Sports Group have reached an agreement to televise the 2013 Inaugural Stadium SUPER Trucks Season on NBC and NBC Sports Network.