As Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) prepares for the start of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, TaxAct, the official tax preparation software partner of SHR and driver Danica Patrick, has launched the Race to Your Refund Sweepstakes. Race fans can now enter the Race to Your Refund Sweepstakes for a chance to win a number of prizes, including an exclusive 2017 VIP Daytona race experience featuring Patrick and SHR co-owner Tony Stewart.

“TaxAct does a great job of engaging NASCAR fans and the Race to Your Refund program is another strong example of their efforts,” Patrick said. “The sweepstakes provides an opportunity for our fans to have some fun and connect with TaxAct, all while helping them to get the best deal when they file their own income tax return.”

For the third consecutive year, the NASCAR Hall of Fame will open its doors for free for NASCAR Fan Appreciation Day.

On Saturday, Jan. 23, fans will have free access to the Hall for a full day of activities, including autographs and Q&A sessions with current drivers and NASCAR Hall of Famers. Fans will be admitted into the Hall on a first-come, first-served basis in lieu of needing a ticket.

However, tickets to the below autograph sessions, highlighted by 13-time Sprint NMPA Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. must be secured in advance. Vouchers for these autograph sessions will be available for free on NASCARHall.com starting at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 16. Each fan can secure up to two autograph session vouchers.

Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion turned in their second strong performance in as many weeks with a seventh-place finish at the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. It was the rookie driver’s second top 10 and fourth top 15 finish of the season.

The Wood Brothers’ famous No. 21 followed last weekend’s 14th-place showing by qualifying eighth for the Kansas race.
Starting from that eighth spot, Blaney ran in the top 10 for most of the 267-laps, leading the race on laps 215-219. He dropped only as far back as 17th at lap 158.

NASCAR announced today the base NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rules package to be used during the 2016 season. The package was delivered to teams after an extensive collaborative process between NASCAR and industry stakeholders.

The base package will include a 3.5-inch spoiler, a 0.25-inch front leading splitter edge and a 33-inch wide radiator pan. These components will provide lower downforce on the cars, and Goodyear will develop tires to complement them. Earlier this season, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kentucky Speedway and Darlington Raceway featured a similar aero package.

"It's never gonna happen."
If you had told me a few years ago that NASCAR's Tony Stewart would be retired from the Sprint Cup series career as soon as 2017, that would have been my response.

Tony Stewart loves racing more than anything, I would have said, and he will be here as long as he can compete -- possibly longer.
But of course, that's not the case. On Wednesday, Stewart is expected to announce that he will be competing in his final season in the Cup series in 2016, with Clint Bowyer expected to take over behind the wheel of the 14 car starting in 2017 (no 2016 stopover destination for Bowyer has yet been announced).