Nascar | RMNB

RMNB Reader Ryan Ellis set to make return to NASCAR racing at Road America, will wear Deadguins helmet

Road America is one of America’s premier race tracks, with massive amounts of horsepower bellowing through lush Wisconsin hills.

On Saturday one of our very own will be there, as RMNB reader Ryan Ellis takes to the circuit in the SS-Green Light Racing 07 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It will be Ryan’s first race of the season. He will be turning both left and right, sponsored by Superlite Cars and Bachtel Excavating. You can see it all on NBC at 3 PM on Sunday.

“I’m probably more excited for this race than just about other race in my career,” Ellis said. “I almost didn’t even’t have time to get excited because it all came together so quickly.”

Ryan will be wearing a helmet featuring a Deadguins sticker — a nod to the Capitals’ hated rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins. The bucket is also signed by Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who is retiring after this season.

(more…)

The Capitals-related reason why you should vote Matt DiBenedetto into NASCAR’s All-Star Race

Yes, we know we cover hockey, but we have a NASCAR-related request. At midnight tonight, voting for this Saturday’s All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway ends. Would you vote for Matt DiBenedetto for us?

DiBenedetto, who currently ranks 32nd in Monster Energy Cup standings, races for a very small team called Go Fas Racing. His PR manager is none other than Caps fan and guy who once raced a NASCAR with RMNB’s logo on the hood Ryan Ellis. A source tells RMNB that DiBenedetto is neck and neck in a four-way race between Danica Patrick, Chase Elliott, and Ryan Blaney for the top spot. That means your votes could literally put the man I call DiBurrito over the top.

Drivers can qualify several different ways for the race. Drivers that have recently won a race or been a Cup Series champ automatically get entry. For guys like DiBenedetto, the only way in is to win the fan vote to be included in the field of 20 drivers.

Recently, the third-year Cup driver published a serious but touching video, arguing why he deserved your support. It inspired a vote from Redskins fan Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

(more…)

By Ian Oland 2 years ago

0 Comment

After career-best season, Ryan Ellis, without sponsorship, helps best friend Matt DiBenedetto finish ninth at Daytona 500

Sunday evening, NASCAR driver and Capitals fan Ryan Ellis looked on from pit lane as his best friend Matt DiBenedetto crossed the finish line, placing ninth at the Daytona 500. The finish was the talented 25-year-old’s second top-ten ever during three seasons of racing in the Monster Energy Cup. Ellis high-fived and hugged everyone in the pit stall of the number-32 Go Fas Racing team. It was almost as if the team had won.

“At that moment, I felt so much joy. I really felt like I became part of Matt’s team,” Ellis said in a phone interview from the track. “But when I calmed down, I admittedly was super jealous and wished it was me out there.”

(more…)

By Ian Oland 2 years ago

0 Comment

A Russian machine never brakes recap: Ryan Ellis finishes 36th in Drive Sober 200 at Dover (Photos)

During the month of September, we held a fundraiser so Caps fan and NASCAR driver Ryan Ellis could get the final funds he needed to participate in the Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway. The RMNB community came up big again, raising a final total of $8,865 ($1k was donated outside of the fundraiser).

The money allowed Ryan and our blog to design the hood, do a half wrap of the car, add RMNB decals to the sides, and put all of your names — including Harambe — on the trunk.

Over the weekend it was finally time to go racing. Chris Gordon and I joined Ryan in Dover, Delaware, to document his experience. Many random, amazing things happened, so I’m going to share everything.

(more…)

By Ian Oland 2 years ago

1 Comment

WUSA9 features RMNB sponsorship with Ryan Ellis on 11 o’clock news

Friday night, your support got the attention of the local CBS affiliate, WUSA9. Anchors David Longo and Lesli Foster detailed our Russian Machine Never Brakes promotion, where you guys raised nearly $10k to get Caps fan Ryan Ellis into the Dover Xfinity race.

Check it out.

(more…)

By Ian Oland 2 years ago

0 Comment

A first look at Ryan Ellis’s RMNB-sponsored NASCAR race car with your names on it

Thanks to you, we raised $8,840 for Caps fan Ryan Ellis to participate in the Drive Sober 200 Xfinity race at Dover International Speedway this Saturday. That money went to pay for a pit crew, transporting the car, new tires, parts – you name it. It also paid for a half-wrap of Ryan’s black-and-blue painted #25 Chevy Camaro.

Over the last few days, I’ve frantically worked with Rick Ware Racing and Carnage Graphics to turn around a hood design, a bumper design, and several other lower quarter panel decals. While it’s been fun and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it’s also been quite stressful. We also had to figure out where to put everyone’s name who donated, how to best credit our secondary sponsors, and how to make all of those logos perfect vector illustrations.

After 48 hours, the car design was finished (minus the bumper). I really hope you smile at the final result.

(more…)

By Ian Oland 2 years ago

0 Comment

Russian Machine Never Brakes: Help Caps Fan Ryan Ellis Race in the Drive Sober 200

If you’ve been part of the RMNB family for very long, you’ve probably heard of Ryan Ellis.

Ryan is a big Caps fan and an avid RMNB reader. He’s also a stock car driver who made his debut in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series last fall, when he made RMNB the first hockey blog ever to sponsor a NASCAR.

As a NASCAR driver, Ryan’s responsible for raising the (very large sums of) money he needs to get a car into every single race. He really wants to race in the Xfinity Series Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway in Delaware October 1, but needs some help from the RMNB family to get him to the fundraising finish line.

(more…)

By Nathan Burchfiel 2 years ago

0 Comment

Caps Fan Ryan Ellis Missed Game Six of the First Round — to Race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Photos by Chris Gordon.

Ryan Ellis rarely misses a Capitals game. A former college hockey player, the Ashburn native is a diehard fan. But as the Caps closed out the Flyers in Game Six of the first round, Ellis wasn’t watching, or even tracking, the game. Instead, he was making his second career start in the top-tier NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at his home track at Richmond International Raceway.

“That’s the track I grew up watching Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt race at as a little kid and say ‘Oh, it would be cool to sit a little closer next year, not knowing that 15 years later I would driving at it.” Ellis said. “I always wanted to. That’s the only thing you ever think of, but you never really expect to get the chance because you can never expect anything in this sport.”

You would think NASCAR and hockey don’t mix, but they do. NASCAR is a southern sport built on cheap beer, rivalries, and relatively unsophisticated V8s speeding past you at ear-splitting levels. Hockey is a graceful northern game featuring cheap beer, rivalries, and relatively unsophisticated people punching each other in the face. In the stands at Richmond, as Ellis raced in the Toyota Owners 400, there were dozens of people in Capitals gear to be found, including some in full jerseys.

(more…)

By Chris Gordon 3 years ago

0 Comment

RMNB Officially Becomes First Hockey Blog to Sponsor Sprint Cup Car as Ryan Ellis Makes Sprint Cup Debut

Miller Lite, Crispy M&Ms, the AARP.. and now Russian Machine Never Breaks. With tonight’s Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, we entered the rarefied air of NASCAR sponsors. After a rain delay of nearly seven hours, our boy Ryan Ellis took to the track in his #33 ScienceLogic/RMNB Chevy SS for his debut race in NASCAR’s top series.

As we noted in our profile of him, Ryan is a huge Caps fan, former GMU hockey player, and RMNB reader from Ashburn. Ellis said his goal for the race was to learn and avoid accidents in the penultimate race of the year. He did just that, bringing his car home undamaged in 40th in a hectic race filled with uncertainties and the heat of NASCAR’s playoffs. The race was called due to rain after drivers completed 219 of the scheduled 312 laps. Going forward, Ryan hopes to build on this opportunity to get a full-time ride next year and continue to make Sprint Cup Series starts. Congrats to Ryan on a safe first race! This was one of the coolest things we’ve done as a blog. It was a thrill to share it with him. Let this be a lesson: RMNB readers are awesome!

(more…)

By Chris Gordon 3 years ago

0 Comment

Caps Fan Ryan Ellis Will Make His Debut in NASCAR’s Top Series This Weekend

Caps players Peter Bondra and Michal Pivoňka pose with Ellis and his Ashburn Ice House-sponsored car.

Ellis and his Science Logic Sprint Cup Car.

There’s a reason why race car drivers thank companies before family members in post-race interviews: they are the main reason they have a seat. This Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, Ryan Ellis, a die-hard Caps fan and RMNB reader from Ashburn, will get a shot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the sport’s top level. The 25-year-old will drive the Circle Sport #33 Chevy SS, sponsored by the Reston-based IT firm Science Logic, in the penultimate race of the season.

“I’m really, really freaking excited,” Ellis told me last month.

(more…)

By Chris Gordon 3 years ago

0 Comment

Page 1 of 2