Chris Cook signs with RWR for the 2012 Grand Am GT Series

Rick Ware Racing has announced that Chris Cook will be joining the RWR stable of drivers for their 2012 Grand Am Series campaign.

Cook, a veteran of road racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Grand Am Series, looks forward to his first opportunity to compete for a championship for the entire 2012 season.

Chris adds another dimension to the RWR Grand Am program - mentoring. He coaches many of the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series drivers in road course technique and will play that same role at Rick Ware Racing with Jeffrey Earnhardt and other drivers in the program.

“Bringing Chris into our organization is the key to our success,” stated owner Rick Ware. “Chris will be able to help with development of both the car as well as getting the most out of our drivers with his hands on technique. His experience with heavier cars is second to none! We can now hit the road running with him and our drivers,” Ware added.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to compete in the Grand Am GT Series in 2012,” said Cook. “I've spent over a decade coaching road racing’s elite, and now to able to contend for a title is a dream come true. The RWR Ford Mustang will be an extremely competitive car out of the box and I know that we can be contenders at each and every event with this 2012 Mustang.”

Cook will pilot the Rick Ware Racing Ford Mustang GT for the 2012 title run and looks forward to some of the world’s biggest races, including the 50th Anniversary of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona & the Inaugural Indianapolis Grand Am event during the Brickyard weekend.

Rick Ware Racing Website

SNT Motorsports Development Acquires Chris Cook Performance

SNT Motorsports Development Corporation announced today that it has acquired Chris Cook Performance, a Napa, CA based company specializing in driver development and coaching.

Chris Cook has long been recognized as an elite driver coach and racer. The roster of drivers he has coached includes Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, David Reutimann, and Paul Menard. 

He has also worked with Joe Gibbs Racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Richard Childress Racing, Red Bull Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing, and Richard Petty Motorsports. Chris joins veteran coach Dave Smith on the SNT driver development team. Along with coaching, both Smith & Cook have been active in NASCAR racing during the 2011 season.

Cook remarked, “Our goal is to offer every NASCAR team/driver the most advanced road course coaching programs in the country. SNT Motorsports is developing an entirely new fleet of road course specific stock cars. Each car will have an onboard telemetry system, state-of-the-art radio communications, and the ability to run laps on your preferred tire: radial or bias. To coach world-class drivers, it is critical to have the proper equipment.”

SNT Motorsports owner Steve Tarpley commented, “We are very pleased to welcome Chris to our organization, he brings a wealth of talent and experience to the table. His proven record as a top road course coach combined with our proximity to Infineon Raceway positions SNT Motorsports to make a very strong offering of road course training and driver development at both the professional and enthusiast levels.”

In addition to its professional offering, SNT’s customized driver development and coaching programs can be tailored for stock car and sports car drivers, corporate groups, driving clubs, and specialized security drivers, as well as individuals. Coaching programs include extreme car control training, which is also available as a standalone course.

Chris Cook - Extreme Car Control

Chris Cook in the green Viper.

Chris Cook At Watkins Glen

Chris Cook will be qualifying at Watkins Glen on Saturday in the Rick Ware Racing #71 Ford Mustang.  

Dave Smith's Bi-Mart 125 Race Notes

Portland International Raceway is one of the oldest tracks in the country and is one of the few located right in the city.  Although I have run several events in sports cars at Portland, I have never had the opportunity to run NASCAR at the track.  Last week, out of nowhere I received a phone call from a car owner and long time veteran of the sport, Dick Midgley.  


Dick needed a driver for his car when Patrick Long, last year's winner at Portland, was unable to make it to the race due to scheduling conflicts.  Dick called a few NASCAR officials for driver recommendations and they mentioned that they thought I could do a good job in the race.  I was thrilled when the team asked me to drive, what they said, was a competitive race car.  With just a few days before the event, we scrambled to get prepared. Unlike any other series, racing Nascar on a road course is the equivalent of gorilla warfare except with 3400lb 700 horsepower race cars.  


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Portland Photos

Top Five Finish In Portland

Dave Smith finished fifth in the Bi-Mart Salute To The Troops NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race Sunday at Portland International Raceway.  We will be posting details and comments from Dave soon.


Race details from NASCAR