08/20: Dixon to Race in ALMS at
Atlanta
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis 500
winner and IndyCar Series points leader Scott Dixon will team with
former Indy winner Gil de Ferran in the 10-hour Petit Le Mans at
Road Atlanta on Oct. 4.
It's the 10th race this season in the American Le Mans Series and
will be Dixon's first Petit Le Mans since 1999.
Dixon, going for his second IndyCar championship, has won six races
this season for Ganassi Racing. (USAToday.com)
___________________________________________
08/19: Cup Schedule Announced
NCRL-
NASCAR announce it 2009 Cup schedule
today with some schedule changes. The Cup will see a three-way date
swap between Atlanta Motor Speedway, Auto Club Speedway and
Talladega Superspeedway.
NASCAR also gave the drivers another break. This one is before
Labor Day when the drivers will enter a 12 weekend run to the end of
the season.
The 2009 Cup Schedule:
02/07/09 Budweiser Shootout Daytona International Speedway
02/15/09 Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway
02/22/09 Auto Club Speedway
03/01/09 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
03/08/09 Atlanta Motor Speedway
03/22/09 Bristol Motor Speedway
03/29/09 Martinsville Speedway
04/05/09 Texas Motor Speedway
04/18/09 Phoenix International Raceway
04/26/09 Talladega Superspeedway
05/02/09 Richmond International Raceway
05/09/09 Darlington Raceway
05/16/09 Sprint All-Star Race Lowe's Motor Speedway
05/24/09 Lowe's Motor Speedway
05/31/09 Dover International Speedway
06/07/09 Pocono Raceway
06/14/09 Michigan International Speedway
06/21/09 Infineon Raceway
06/28/09 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
07/04/09 Daytona International Speedway
07/11/09 Chicagoland Speedway
07/26/09 Indianapolis Motor Speedway
08/02/09 Pocono Raceway
08/09/09 Watkins Glen International
08/16/09 Michigan International Speedway
08/22/09 Bristol Motor Speedway
09/06/09 Atlanta Motor Speedway
09/12/09 Richmond International Raceway
09/20/09 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
09/27/09 Dover International Speedway
10/04/09 Kansas Speedway
10/11/09 Auto Club Speedway
10/17/09 Lowe's Motor Speedway
10/25/09 Martinsville Speedway
11/01/09 Talladega Superspeedway
11/08/09 Texas Motor Speedway
11/15/09 Phoenix International Raceway
11/22/09 Homestead-Miami Speedway
______________________________________________________________
08/18: Gibbs Announces Stewart
Replacement
NCRL-
With Tony Stewart's departure and now
the Gibbs Nationwide teams scandal Joe was looking for a feel good
moment. That came with the word that on August 25th Joe
Gibbs Racing will officially announce the new driver of the #20 car.
With little surprise it will be 17 year old Joey Logano who is
currently in the #20 GameStop Toyota in the Nationwide series.
They also announced that his first Cup race my come at Richmond.
But that depends on where everyone else on the team falls. If
he should better one of his teammates where they couldn't get into
the race well he wont be running.
________________________________________________________
08/17: Its an Edwards Weekend
NCRL-
Carl Edwards completed a weekend sweep
with his victory of the 3M Performance 400. Yesterday he took
the win for the Nationwide series.
Today he would beat Kyle Busch out of the pits on the last stop of
the race after a caution on lap- 180 and drive away for his fifth
Cup win.
He would catch and pass Dale Earnhardt Jr. and David Ragan after the
green feel. Both drivers stayed out during the caution.
He would find himself needing to race Busch again with only two laps
left but had little problem as he went on to win.
After the green to start the race it would take Edwards until lap 74
to take the lead for the first time. After that the race would
be between Edwards, Busch, and pole sitter Brian Vickers.
Of note Jimmie Johnson, and Teammate Jeff Gordon both had a run in
with Tony Stewart. The three would get into a three-wide
bumping incident that would leave both drivers out of contention.
Johnson would cut a tire and the same would go for Gordon. But
it turned out much worse for him when he too cut a tire and hit the
outside wall.
Johnson would finish 17th after another incident where he spun
through the grass late. Gordon would finish 42nd and drop from
sixth to ninth in the points.
For Stewart he would finish 12th.
______________________________________________________________
08/16: Peugeot to Enter Two LMP1
Prototypes at Petit Le Mans
Peugeot will race at Road Atlanta for
the first time as part of the American Le Mans Series field at the
10-hour Petit Le Mans endurance race in October.
Two of the French company's 908 HDi LMP1-class prototypes will race
in the series for the first time since a single 908 made its ALMS
debut in March at the Twelve Hours of Sebring. The 908 displayed
front-running speed at Sebring but finished 11th overall (fourth in
LMP1) after suffering mechanical problems.
It went on to finish second, third and fifth at the 24 Hours of Le
Mans in June, when the lead 908 finished on the same lap as race
winners Allan McNish, Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen in an Audi
R10 TDI. (AutoWeek.com)
____________________________________________________
08/15: Vickers Picks Up Michigan Pole
NCRL-
Brian Vickers drove his Toyota to the
pole for this Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at Michigan. He would come
out in the 33ed spot to knock Jimmie Johnson off the pole.
Johnson who was 25th on the qualifying grid had picked the pole up
with a 187.028 mph run bumping Elliott Sadler.
Vickers would lay down a 188.536 mph run betting Johnson by .31
seconds.
Sadler would hold on to third with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff
Gordon rounding out the top five spots.
Points leader Kyle Busch put in a 185.797 mph run and will start
from the 11th spot.
Race Weather.net is
calling for sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 80's at race
time.
The race can be watched on ESPN with coverage starting at 1:00 pm
ET.
- Official Newman to Stewart-Haas
Racing
NCRL-
What was announced on Thursday was made
official today as Stewart-Haas Racing told the press that Ryan
Newman would be making the move to the new team for 2009.
During discussions Newman made it known that he had at least three
other offers but went with SHR because it was a new team.
_______________________________________________________________
08/13: It's a Done Deal
NCRL-
At 10:30 am tomorrow morning at Michigan
International Speedway Stewart-Haas Racing will announce that Ryan
Newman will be signing with them for the 2009 season.
It has been speculated ever since Tony Stewart became a part owner
with Carl Haas that Newman who had been released from his contract
with Penske would drive for the team.
While he will be in the #4 Chevy a sponsor has not been announced.
If the current Haas team doesn't increase in the standings Newman
will need to make the field on speed for the first five races.
_________________________________________________________
08/10: Number 8
NCRL-
Rain may have put Kyle Busch on the
pole, but his driving is what gave him his eight cup win in 23 race
as he dominated the filed at The Glen. This also gave him the
bookend to both Cup road courses. He also had won a Nationwide
road race to become the first driver to win three in one season as
he shows everyone that he isn't just an oval race.
Busch would lead everyone to the green but give it up to Dale
Earnhardt Jr. on the very next lap. He would get the lead back
until pit stops on lap 30. He would hold on to the lead until
his teammate Tony Stewart slipped by Busch for the lead on lap 55.
But, Busch would take it right back on the next lap.
The next lead change would come when Juan Pablo Montoya took over as
Busch and Stewart pitted for service on lap 58. Busch would be back
up front after stops on lap 65.
On lap 78 Ryan Newman would spin and back into the race line to
bring out the third caution of the race. Newman was running
third at the time he spun. He would finish 26th. But,
when they went back green on lap 82 they wouldn't get far as Michael
McDowell made contact whit David Gilliland. Gilliland would
bounce off the wall into the racing line starting a 10 car incident.
NASCAR would throw the red flag to clean the mess up.
They would go back green with only four laps left. Busch was
the leader followed by Stewart, an amazing Marcos Ambrose, Montoya,
and Truex Jr.
Busch would check out with as much as a 1 second lead over Stewart,
who was battling a hard charging Ambrose but Stewart would close the
door.
Busch would cruse to his eight win sweeping the road course
circuits. He would lead Stewart, Ambrose, Montoya, and Truex
Jr. to round out the top five.
Of interest was Marcos Ambrose who started from the 43 spot to
finish third. He would be in the 29th spot with in 15 laps and
in 16th by the halfway mark. This was just a great run.
Busch would lead the most laps with 52 of the 90 run. The race
would see five leaders, eight lead changes and four cautions with a
red flag.
- photo by David Duprey, AP
___________________________________________________________________
08/09: Record-Tying Victory
SPARTA, Ky. - Helio Castroneves was
trying everything to squeeze every drop of ethanol out of the No. 3
Team Penske car in the final five laps of the Meijer Indy 300
presented by Pepsi and Edy's.
Castroneves was working 50-plus laps since his last pit stop, while
the string of other contenders had pitted under green between Laps
189-194. That's how Castroneves inherited the point, and he would
have peddled the 1,600-pound car it into Victory Circle for the
first time this season if necessary.
"You got to go. You got to go," race strategist Tim Cindric implored
Castroneves over the radio as he saw Scott Dixon close from 6.1403
seconds behind to 2.1338 with two laps remaining.
Dixon, who took a splash of fuel as the leader on Lap 194, cut the
gap to 0.6241 of a second as the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing
car crossed the start/finish line for the white flag lap.
It appeared Castroneves would be able to hang on. But as the slowing
car exited Turn 4, Dixon went to the outside for the pass and
victory by 0.5532 of a second. (IndyRacing.com)
-
Audis Roll on at Road America
Audi scored its second straight 1-2 finish in the 2008 American Le
Mans Series with Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr taking a 2.463-second
victory Saturday in the Generac 500 presented by Time Warner Cable.
Diesel power won overall at Road America for the first time since
2006 as Werner crossed the finish line just ahead of teammate Marcel
Fässler.
Werner passed race leader David Brabham on Road America's long
frontstretch for the lead with 20 minutes left. TDI Power ran down
the Acura in the waning moments as two late yellow flags played into
Audi's hands, just as it did two weeks ago at Mid-Ohio.
Werner and Luhr won for the sixth time this season in LMP1 and
fourth time overall. Luhr qualified on the overall pole position as
Audi won overall at Road America for the first time since 2006. The
R10 TDIs also won back-to-back overall races for the first time in
two years. Fässler teamed with Emanuele Pirro in the second Audi
entry.
"It was an exciting race and wasn't as easy as it looked especially
after the second-to-last yellow," Werner said. "It was really
difficult to pass the Acuras but the traffic helped me get a little
closer and then TDI power helped me overtake them. After that
everything was really nice." (americanlemans.com)
- Franchitti Back in Stock Cars
for Seven-Race Nationwide Deal
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Dario Franchitti
will run seven Nationwide Series races the rest of the season for
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, and the Scotsman whose
Sprint Cup rookie season sputtered to a halt without sponsorship
hasn't given up on resuscitating his stock-car career.
"I'm going to talk to other teams in the NASCAR paddock," Franchitti
said Friday at Watkins Glen International, where he's returning to
NASCAR this weekend after taking nearly a month off since Ganassi
shuttered his No. 40 Dodge. "I'm going to talk to everybody and see
what my options are for next year, as well as talking to teams and
manufacturers in other series." (USAToday.com)
- Franchitti Considering ALMS
Dario Franchitti is still considering a
number of options for his future outside NASCAR, including a switch
to the American Le Mans Series.
Speaking at Watkins Glen, the Scot confirmed he is scheduled to run
in seven races in NASCAR's second-tier series driving the No. 40
Fastenal Dodge, but said he has the possibility to pursue other
options in other series if he wants to.
"Right now is seven Nationwide races, but there's still the chance
for me to do other stuff in other series as well," Franchitti said.
"Whether it's Cup, whether it's sports cars, I've got the option to
do that. (autosport.com)
_________________________________________________
08/08 Scott Dixon Grabs Indy 300 Pole Position
SPARTA, Ky., Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Scott Dixon
grabbed the pole position Friday for the Indy Racing League's Meijer
Indy 300 at the Kentucky Speedway.
The No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver circled the 1 ½ -mile
oval four times in 1 minute, 37.3293 seconds at 218.968 mph,
claiming his sixth pole this season and the 13th of his IndyCar
career.
With four races left in the 2008 IndyCar season, six drivers remain
mathematically eligible for the championship, but Dixon, the leader,
holds a comfortable 65-point advantage over second-place Helio
Castroneves. (upi.com)
- Lucky No. 4 for Luhr at Road America?
Will the fourth time be the charm for
Lucas Luhr? Audi's German factory driver certainly hopes so. Luhr
earned his fourth career pole position at Road America on Friday and
was the fastest overall qualifier for the Generac 500 presented by
Time Warner Cable. His lap of 1:46.935 (136.277 mph) gave him a
0.41-second margin over Andretti Green Racing's Franck Montagny.
Luhr hasn't won from pole position at Road America after three
previous fast qualifiers. On Friday his time was 0.73 seconds faster
than Allan McNish's qualifying record from last year of 1:47.665
(135.353 mph).
"I should have backed off a bit," Luhr cracked. "I'll make sure
Nishy gets a note that I broke his record. I think this is one of
the best race tracks in America and I really like it. It's just good
fun to come here." (americanlemans.com)
- Rain Washes Out Qualifying
NCRL-
Maybe they need to get the rain tires
out 'cause it rained today at Watkins Glen to cancel Cup qualifying.
This doesn't really help the road course warriors as most will find
themselves toward the back of the field. But, there are some
pretty good oval guys up at the top.
Points leader Kyle Busch, who won at Sonoma this year will be
jumping off from the point position. Jeff Gordon will start
from sixth and be sitting in a nice spot to get that elusive win for
2008.
The two guys to keep your eyes on; Juan Pablo Montoya and
Robby Gordon, will both be coming to the front from the 25th and
31st spots respectively.
So,, with rain the field was set by NASCAR by points so the top five
drivers will be the top five to start. That puts Kurt Busch,
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Burton
your top five starts.
Our friends at Race Weather.net are calling for some more rain on
Sunday. They are calling for a 40% chance of rain and
temperatures in the low to mid 70's.
You can catch the race on ESPN starting at 1:00 pm ET.
______________________________________________________
08/07: Yeley Out
NCRL-
Hall of Fame Racing announced that they
will no longer need the services of J.J. Yeley as of Michigan next
week.
Yeley will be replaced by Brad Coleman for the Sprint Cup race Aug.
17 at Michigan. This doesn't mean that Yeley will be racing
this weekend, they had already announced that he was out for P.J.
Jones for Sunday's Centurion Boats at the Glen.
For Coleman, 20, he will attempt to make his Cup debut at
Michigan, prior to this he has served as the organizations test
driver since November 2007.
_________________________________________________________
08/03: Rain Shuffles the Field at
Pocono
NCRL-
With Mark Martin looking
like the strongest driver in the early part of the race he would
would find himself slipping to Carl Edwards on lap 70. But, it
was the rain that set up a lot of pit strategies.
A rain storm would slip into Pocono on lap 126, brining out the
caution on lap 130 and the red flag on lap 131. With the rain
the leaders would come in to the pits with a number of drivers
staying out gambling on the weather.
Edwards would not be a happy camper when his crew chief called him
into the pits during the red flag. But, it would all work out
as he would regain the lead late after fuel became the question for
a number of teams.
With fuel the issue leader Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, and Mark
Martin all came in for fuel and service. Kahne would still be
the leader after they cycled through. But, he would need one
more stop to finish, and that would come on lap 185.
After Martin came in Edwards would regain the top spot. He
would then hold his breath as he drove to his win.
Behind Edwards were Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, and
David Ragan the top five.
Points leader Kyle Busch, who had pitted the same time Edwards did
would run out of fuel with only two laps to go finishing 35th.
The race would see 13 leaders and 25 lead changes with 7 cautions
and one red flag.
_______________________________________________________
08/01: Indy Racing League Announces '09 Schedule
NCRL-
To see schedule click here.
- Johnson
Follows Up Indy Win With Pole
NCRL-
After winning the embarrassment at
the Brickyard Jimmie Johnson has continued his lucky streak by picking up
the pole for Sundays Pennsylvanian 500.
Running a 168.215 mph lap Johnson the 32 driver to qualify out of the 44
would knock Mark Martin off the pole.
Martin who was on the pole before Johnson knocked him off had run a
167.560 mph lap but was .209 seconds off of Johnson's run.
David Gilliland, Jeff Gordon, and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five
qualifying spots for Sunday's race.
Race Weather.net is calling for a clearing skies on Sunday after
possible rain and thunder storms on Saturday. Temperatures are
expected to be in the mid 70's at race time.
You can catch the race on ESPN at 1:00 pm ET.
___________________________________________________________
07/27: Johnson
Survives Brickyard Fiasco
NCRL-
Jimmie Johnson held on to win his
second race at the Brickyard as poor Goodyear tires turned the race into
a farce.
While there was a race at the Allstate 400 it never really got going
because Goodyear's choose of tires turned out to be terrible. The
tires were so bad that NASCAR needed to call six competition cautions to
make sure that teams were running on safe tires.
As a result of the tire issues the longest green flag races was about 12
laps. This established teams to start to wonder if they would have
enough tires to complete the race, not to mention destroying the fuel
windows.
As the race wound down the Johnson team made a bold gamble and took only
two of the faulty tires. He would be the leader when they went
back green and held off Carl Edwards, and Denny Hamlin to pick up his
second Indy win.
Rounding out the top five were Elliott Sadler, and Jeff Gordon.
Points leader Kyle Busch finished 15th and still holds a 253 point lead
over Dale Earnhardt Jr.
____________________________________________________________
07/26: Dixon Takes
Off
EDMONTON, Alberta - Three weeks
earlier at Watkins Glen International, Scott Dixon was painfully and
embarrassingly aware of how a mistake on a road/street course can bite
you in the chassis.
Running second under caution, Dixon was
warming the tires of the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car in
anticipation of the restart when he spun and was rear-ended by Ryan
Briscoe's No. 6 Team Penske car. Sure, Dixon recovered after a pit stop
for minor repairs, but the miscue relegated him to an 11th-place
finish and potentially cost a series-record fourth consecutive victory
at the historic venue.
"I gave myself a bit of a kick in the bum
after what I did at Watkins Glen," he said.
Well, cutting to the chase (literally) at
the Edmonton City Centre Airport circuit, Dixon this time was the
beneficiary of a late-race mistake by his closest pursuer in the
championship race that transformed a battle royal into a 5.9237-second
breeze. Four laps were lopped off the scheduled 95 because of the
1-hour, 50-minute window.
(IndyRacing.com)
- Johnson Sits
on Indy Pole
NCRL-
After a week off the Cup cars are
back on the track with qualifying for the Allstate 400 this Sunday at
the Brickyard. It was Jimmie Johnson who found his way to the top
spot with a 181.763 mph run.
Johnson would come out in the 18th spot to make his run and grab the top
spot from Ryan Newman who had run his qualifying attempt from the second
spot.
Mark Martin who was 30th would get the closest to Johnson missing
bumping him by .101 seconds.
So for Sunday it will be Johnson, Martin, Newman, Kahne, and Jeff Gordon
the top five drivers.
Your friends at Race Weather.net are calling for increasing clods as the
race progresses with a chance of PM thundershowers. The
temperatures at race time should be around 85 degrees.
The race will be televised on ESPN starting at 1:00 PM ET.
- 1-2 Start Again
EDMONTON, Alberta - Ryan Briscoe's
real battle of machine and racetrack was to squeeze into the Firestone
Fast Six shootout. Once there, it all fell into place for the resurgent
IndyCar Series driver.
For the second weekend in a row, Team Penske will start from the front
row on a road/street course. Briscoe won the Firestone Fast Six, which
secured the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award for the Rexall Edmonton Indy, with
a quick lap of 1 minute, 0.7311 seconds (116.955 mph) on his third of
four laps in the 10-minute rally session.
Helio Castroneves, the pole
sitter and runner-up to Briscoe at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on
July 20, will join him on the front row. It's the fourth race in a row
that a Team Penske car has started from the pole.
_____________________________________________________
07/21: The Fight
Seen Around the World
NCRL-
Looks like our girl Danica Patrick is
causing controversy again. This time she wasn't chasing one of the male
drivers down to give them a reality check of just why you don't mess
with the Danica, nope this time she went after one of the only other
women on the IRL circuit, Milka Duno.
It appears that Danica, who we all know should always get her way, on
and off of the track, was a tad miffed at Duno for not moving over and
letting our princess of open wheel racing by during a practice session
over the weekend. Yea, a practice session.
After the practice Danica marched right down to Duno's pits and well,
let her know who is the top female driver in open wheel racing and just
why Duno would have the nerve to block her. Well, Duno just didn't see
it exactly the same way. In
fact after, what Duno said was some rather un-lady like comments by
Danica, threw a towel in little miss spunk's face. then things got
a bit more heated.
To see the incident, which was caught on that wonderful website You
Tube, click here.
_______________________________________________________________
07/20:
Road Warrior
LEXINGTON, Ohio - All Ryan
Briscoe needed - all he was hoping for - was the racetrack to remain
green for the final 20 laps of the second Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
presented by Westfield Insurance.
Replenished with ethanol, Firestone
Firehawks providing the necessary grip for the tricky 2.258-mile,
13-turn circuit washed clean by late-morning thunderstorms, and with
humid air flowing over his helmet, Briscoe was enjoying the view of the
spectator-covered natural-terrain course as the race leader.
"Finally, something went our way," the
driver of the No. 6 Team Penske car said after claiming his second
victory of the season with a commanding victory over pole sitter Helio
Castroneves. "This is great."
It's the 27th time in IndyCar Series history - and second time in eight
days -- that teammates have finished 1-2. It's the eight time for Team
Penske; the first since 2005. (IndyRacing.com)
- Luhr, Werner Lead Audi's Return to
Overall Victory
Audi returned to its dominating
style at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a 1-2 finish in the Acura
Sports Car Challenge on Saturday with Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner taking
the first overall victory for the R10 TDI since April. Luhr crossed the
finish line 7.717 seconds ahead of teammates Emanuele Pirro and Dindo
Capello.
Luhr drove the last hour and 55 minutes with the same set of Michelin
tires and one more stop for fuel. Werner started fifth on the grid but
moved up to third on the first lap, was second on the third lap and took
the lead for good when Werner passed pole-sitter Gil de Ferran's Acura
ARX-01b a minute later.
Audi's victory broke a string of two consecutive overall wins for Penske
Racing and Porsche at Mid-Ohio. Werner and Pirro placed third overall
last year in the first race for the diesel-powered R10 TDI at Mid-Ohio.
Winter development and a better handling race car gave the big Audis and
its drivers an easier time navigating the ups, downs and arounds at the
track. (americanlemans.com)
_________________________________________________
07/19: Furious Fast
Six
LEXINGTON, Ohio - This year, pole
sitter Helio Castroneves will have a Team Penske wingman in an effort to
win the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance. Of
course, Ryan Briscoe has similar thoughts.
That they are teammates only goes so far on the racetrack, and sharing
the front row for the start of the 85-lap race on the 2.258-mile,
13-turn circuit will only last so long. So, again, track position, quick
pit stops and no mistakes will rule the day.
"This morning, we were talking about what a great chance we had to start
on the front row with both cars, and we did it," said Castroneves, who
won the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award presented by Auto Zone with the
quickest lap in the 10-minute Firestone Fast Six rally session of 1
minute, 07.2480 seconds (120.878 mph) to culminate knockout
qualifications. (IndyRacing.com)
______________________________________________________
07/18: Returning in
Style: De Ferran on Mid-Ohio Pole
Gil de Ferran won his third straight pole
position at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Friday...seven years since his
last. The storybook debut season for De Ferran Motorsports continued
with de Ferran's first pole in the American Le Mans Series, a
record-breaking 1:07.969 (119.596 mph) for the Acura Sports Car
Challenge.
De Ferran's Acura ARX-01b led a second
straight overall sweep of the front row for Acura in a home race before
thousands of Honda and Acura employees and guests. The two-time CART and
former Indianapolis 500 winner qualified 0.224 seconds ahead of Patrón
Highcroft Racing's David Brabham, who sat on the pole a week ago at Lime
Rock and won the race overall with Scott Sharp.
"I have to say this is a very emotional day," a beaming de Ferran said.
"We are a very young operation, and to get our first career pole in our
third race of existence is unbelievable. I am absolutely over the moon.
I want to say a big thank you to all the guys on the team and Honda
Performance Development. The rhythm that they have been showing is
unbelievable." (americanlemans.com)
__________________________________________________
07/17: Hard Times
Maybe Coming to NASCAR
NCRL-
The economy is tanking, gas prices are going
through the roof, the ranks of the unemployed are growing, housing is
well, it just sucks.. And, NASCAR will eventually feel the pain.
When Ganassi closed Dario Franchitti's operation because of the lack of
sponsorship the writing was on the wall.
This isn't something new. Motorsports is expensive in so many
ways. Just ask the defunct Champ Car owners. The economy was
still pretty stable but lack of support from fans and companies pretty
much killed them. They were bought out by the IRL, but that
doesn't make them stable.
Both Champ Cars and the IRL have also seen what happens when the cost of
doing business for auto manufactures gets tight. For the Champ
series they ended up with only one engine maker, and it wasn't even a
major brand. True it had a Ford logo but Cosworth was a subset of
Ford. They became the only engine maker after the others left. It
didn't take long for the same thing to happen to the IRL who now run
only Hondas.
So, why hasn't this happened to NASCAR? Because it's still early.
The Ganassi move should have other teams looking over their shoulders.
The fans can't drive miles to see a race, paying over $100.00 for
tickets when that could get them a couple more tanks of gas, or some
food. Look at the stands, you are starting to see more empty
seats.
If fans do go to a race it will likely be to the through-back tracks
like Dover, Darlington, Richmond, Bristol, and of course Daytona.
But, go to two races at California, or Texas, or any of the other cookie
cutter tracks? Don't think so.
Now with everything else looming GM has announced that they will be
cutting back their NASCAR spending. The company is deep in the red
and well if you want to survive you need to cut things that suck the
money out of you and auto racing does just that. They are the
first but don't be surprised when Ford does the same thing. They
are in worst shape than GM and that isn't saying much. Even the
new kids at Toyota are having problems with sales. So, if you
don't sell cars i would guess that you wont spend money on racing.
Things are getting tight and when that happens the fun stuff gets but on
the back burner. Unless something happens to turn things around
fast we may see even more teams pull the plug on their operations.
Who knows maybe the big multi-car teams will make way for the old one or
two car teams. Only time and money will tell.
Developing.
___________________________________________________
07/15: Penske Opens
Door for Newman
NCRL-
Penske Racing has given the 2008 Daytona 500
winner Ryan Newman his blessing and has let him out of his contract.
In an announced Penske Racing said that it was cutting their ties
with Newman effective at the end of the year.
This allows Newman to start to shop around for a new team.
Speculation has him signing with is friend Tony Stewart the new co-owner
of Stewart-Haas Racing.
Newman has been reported to say that he currently has three options for
'09. Besides Stewart-Haas the other two could be Childress or even
Gibbs where Stewart just left.
Developing.
- Tracy Gets Seat for Edmonton
NCRL-
Champ Car Champion Paul Tracy who has not
raced open wheel since the Long Beach race has picked up a seat for the
IRL's first appearance in Canada when they race in Edmonton.
Sources have said that the 39 year old Canadian will drive for IRL Chief
Executive Officer Tony Gorge who owns Vision Racing, and Derrick Walker
Racing will supply the race crew for the team.
_______________________________________________________________
07/12:
100 and Counting
What started with Juan Pablo Montoya at
Indianapolis in 2000 and most recently added Scott Dixon at Nashville
have been major contributions to Chip Ganassi Racing Teams reaching the
century mark in victories.
Dixon's win in the rain-shortened
Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway was the 100th
for the team in six motorsports series since its inception in 1990 with
a one-car Indy-car racing program (how appropriate) and a new sponsor,
Target.
It was the fourth victory of the season
for the driver of the No. 9 car, which assisted in pushing his IndyCar
Series points lead to 63 over Team Penske's Helio Castroneves (finished
third) as the series travels to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this week. (IndyRacing.com)
- Guess Who
NCRL-
Like him or hate him, one thing everyone has
to agree on Kyle Busch is on fire.
Making it bookends in Chicagoland Kyle
Busch, who won Friday night's Nationwide race, would win his seventh Cup
race and second in two weeks Saturday Night in a thriller in the last
laps with Jimmie Johnson.
Busch dominated the night by leading 145 of the 267 laps of the Life
Lock.com 400. But a hard charging Jimmie Johnson wouldn't make it
an easy win for the #18 driver.
After a caution for debris on the track on lap 236 Busch would bring
Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick to the green flag. With 25 laps
to go Johnson would catch Busch riding right up on to his bumper looking
for someway to get around him. But, a spin on the backstretch by
Bobby Labonte on lap 244 would bring out the 8th caution.
The leaders would stay out and Busch would bring everyone to the green
again on lap 248. Johnson would put more pressure on Busch
catching him two laps later. Johnson would go to the inside of Busch and
take over the lead for the first time of the race.
With ten laps left Johnson was leading with Busch and Harvick second and
third. Johnson was still leading when David Gilliland's engine
blew up to bring out the ninth and final caution of the race setting up
the final run between Johnson and Busch.
With two laps to go Johnson would bring the field to the green. On
the white flag lap Busch would go to the of Johnson to make the pass on
the backstretch to regain the lead. Johnson would slap the outside
wall coming out of the final corner and Kyle Busch would get the
checkers by .159 seconds over Johnson.
Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, and Tony Stewart would round out the top
five.
There were 10 leaders and 16 lead changes with Busch leading the most
laps.
- Victory for Brabham, Sharp at Lime Rock
David Brabham
did it again. Another late-race pass meant victory in the American Le
Mans Series, this time a historic first overall victory for Acura and
Patrón Highcroft Racing. Brabham passed Penske Racing's Timo Bernhard
with 90 seconds left Saturday to win the American Le Mans Northeast
Grand Prix with Scott Sharp.
Brabham
and Bernhard ran 1-2 for the last 50 minutes of the race, one that saw
Brabham qualify on the overall pole position. The Patrón Highcroft Acura
ran the final 1:26 on one tank of fuel and set of Michelin tires and
coasted to the finish line in an attempt to save precious drops of fuel.
Brabham won overall for the first time since 2002 in Washington DC with
Panoz, and Sharp won an overall race for the first time and the first
American to win an overall series race since Butch Leitzinger in 2005.
The pairing also won in class at Long Beach earlier this year. The
victory came on Patrón Highcroft's home track with its headquarters 50
miles from the track in Danbury, Conn. (americanlemans.com)
____________________________________________________
07/11:
Score Two for the
Home Teams at Lime Rock
Racing at home never felt so good for David
Brabham and Dirk Werner. Brabham scored his fifth overall pole position
and Werner his first class pole in qualifying Friday for the American Le
Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park. Brabham's Patrón Highcroft
Racing and Werner's Farnbacher Loles Racing both are based in nearby
Danbury, Conn., about 50 miles from the freshly repaved circuit.
Brabham's lap of 46.696 (115.642 mph) came on his final flying lap
around the new 1.51-mile, 10-turn layout as Acura swept the front row
with its ARX-01b entries. Brabham's second overall pole with Acura came
at the expense of Simon Pagenaud, driving de Ferran Motorsports' entry
with team owner Gil de Ferran. The young Frenchman turned a time of
47.082 (114.694 mph). (ALMS.com)
- They'll Learn to play
LEBANON, Tenn. - Helio Castroneves will
start from the pole in the Firestone Indy 200 in an effort to close to
gap in the championship standings.
The Team Penske driver recorded a four-lap average of 204.519 mph (1
minute, 31.5320 seconds) on the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway to
unseat Danica Patrick and pocket his second PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award
presented by Auto Zone of the season (Twin Ring Motegi based on entrant
points after qualifications were rained out). It's Castroneves' 24th
earned pole (last at Belle Isle in 2007), and extends his IndyCar Series
record to seven consecutive years. (IndyRacing.com)
__________________________________________________________
07/10: Storms Cancel
Qualifying
NCRL-
Thunderstorms put Kyle Busch on the pole for
Saturday night's LifeLocak.com 400. With qualifying washed out
NASCAR set the field by the current points.
Along with Busch are
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, and Jimmie Johnson
rounding out the top five spots.
RaceWeather.net is predicting a 40% chance of PM thunderstorms for
Saturday night's race.
If all goes well the race will be televised on TNT in HD starting at
6:30 pm ET.
- Stewart Sets
NASCAR Future Beginning in 2009 as Driver/Owner with Stewart-Haas Racing
JOLIET, Ill. (July 10,
2008) – Two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart has set
his NASCAR future, and it’s as an owner and driver with Stewart-Haas
Racing beginning in 2009.
Stewart-Haas Racing is the new partnership between Stewart and Haas CNC
Racing, with the revamped entity slated to run two cars full-time in the
Sprint Cup Series.
“This is an incredible opportunity that allows me to race competitively
in NASCAR’s top division while carving out a place in this sport long
after my driving career is over,” Stewart said. “I’ve won races and
I’ve won championships and I know I could’ve continued to do that at Joe
Gibbs Racing, but to attempt to do those things as a car owner is
something that really appeals to me. There’s a whole new sense of
appreciation and satisfaction that comes with success when you’re both a
driver and an owner.”
Stewart knows that sense well, for the 37-year-old from Columbus, Ind.,
already owns two teams in the United States Auto Club (USAC) and two
Sprint Car teams in the World of Outlaws (WoO). (tonystewart.com)
__________________________________________________________________
07/09:
Stewart to Leaving Gibbs,
Starts Own Team
NCRL-
Another name that has been swirling around
the garage has been Tony Stewart. Will he stay with Gibbs racing
or pull the plug. That speculation was answered today with Stewart
announcing that he will be a co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing for the
2009 season.
The reason may never be totally known on the jump, but there are many
rumors. One of the biggest is the Gibbs switch to Toyota.
Stewart has always been a Chevy man, and that will be his car in '09.
Another possibility is that he is expected to be the highest paid driver
in NASCAR when he moves. Plus it will be his team and he will do
as he whishes. Not what would of happened if he remained or
re-upped with Gibbs.
This move hasn't put a lid on the rumor mill, not by a long shoot.
It has pretty much blew the lid right off of it.
There is a good chance as the rumors go that Stewart will be bringing
Ryan Newman over with him opening a spot at Penske. Of course lets
not forget the opening at Gibbs with one of the most recognizable cars
on the track.
So after a ten year run and two Cup Championships with Joe Gibbs Racing
Stewart will be moving on to try something totally different.
Stay tuned for the official announcement tomorrow at Chicagoland.
____________________________________________________________
07/08: Truex Jr.
Nailed by NASCAR
NCRL-
the DEI team of Martin Truex Jr. had their
car confiscated by NASCAR after it failed to pass inspection for
Saturday night's race at Daytona. It was all a question as to how
hard NASCAR would come down on the #1 and driver Truex.
The verdict is in and its a heavy one. Truex will lose 150 points
and severely damage his chances to make the Chase. Truex is now
18th in the standings falling four spots.
Truex's crew chief Kevin "Bono" Manion and car chief Gary Putnam were
suspended from the next six races and placed on probation until the end
of the year. Manion was also hit with a $100,000 fine
- Toronto's Paul Tracy Lines Up Car, Close to Racing in Edmonton Indy
EDMONTON — It appears Paul Tracy has secured
a car and is close to signing a deal and securing a sponsor to compete
in Edmonton's inaugural IndyCar open-wheel race on July 26.
"We're just down to the wire here and getting things locked down,"
Derrick Walker, owner of Walker Racing, said Tuesday in an interview
from Indianapolis.
"We're through the worst. Now it's just getting all the details down and
everybody agreeing, and off we go."
Walker, who has been brokering the deal with Vision Racing owner Tony
George, said he expects a decision within days and pegged the chances of
a deal at "80 per cent."
"I don't foresee any major issues and it's never done 'til it's done,
but I think the likelihood is very, very strong," he said. (canadianpress.google.com)
_________________________________________________________
07/06: First Victory
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - Ryan Hunter-Reay
recorded his first victory in 16 IndyCar Series races as the Rahal
Letterman Racing driver maneuvered the No. 17 Ethanol car around the
3.37-mile, 11-turn course to win the Camping World Grand Prix at The
Glen.
Hunter-Reay overtook Darren Manning in
the No. 14 ABC Supply Co. car for A.J. Foyt in Turn 1 on a Lap 51
restart and hung on the remaining nine laps. Tony Kanaan finished third
and Buddy Rice was fourth.
It was the first victory for Rahal
Letterman Racing since Michigan in 2004 with Rice. (IndyRacing.com)
- Kyle Busch
Wins Again
NCRL-
Picking up his sixth win of the season Kyle
Busch once again found the luck of the NASCAR Gods. With a car issue
earlier in the race he would slip all the way back to the 37th spot
after running third. But when the smoke cleared at the end, and I
do mean smoke Busch was the man.
The race came down to a real photo finish when it was to close to call.
It all boiled down to a late caution and when did the yellow come out.
It was hard to determined if it was Busch or Carl Edwards in the lead
when on the white flag lap Michael Waltrip, Sam Hornish Jr., Dave
Blaney, Travis Kvapil, J.J. Yeley, and more were caught up in a big
crash.
Edwards would cross the finish line and take the checkers before Busch
but the caution came out with Busch just in front of Edwards on the back
stretch. The rule freezes the filed in a situation like this.
And it was Busch just ahead of Edwards when that happened.
NASCAR officials not sure who was leading when the caution came out
ending the race needed to go to video to determine the winner.
The race saw 11 caution and had 10 leaders with 23 lead changes.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. lead the most laps with 51 and finish eight.
Jeff Gordon who had looked good all night and was running in the second
spot as the went back racing with a green/white/checkers start was hit
in the rear-end by Carl Edwards and spun at turn one. He would
finish 30th.
Tony Stewart would start the race from the 17th spot but illness would
pull him out of his car on the third caution of the race on lap 72.
J.J. Yeley would pick up the driving duties and do a good job until a
late race crash would put his finish at 20th.
Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, and David Ragan rounded out the top five
finishers.
Jeff Burton who was
second in points fell to third, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. moving into
second.
_____________________________________________________________
07/05: Briscoe on
Pole at The Glen
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - IndyCar Series
qualifications for the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen had plenty
of surprises, including three-time pole winner Helio Castroneves using
the "international sign for screwdriver" to acquire a tool in an
ill-fated attempt to repair a broken throttle.
Castroneves, participating in the first of three segments to determine
the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award presented by Auto Zone, didn't record a
time in the 20-minute session because of a throttle cable that snapped
and will start a series-worst 26th for the July 6 race.
Team Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe will start at the opposite end of the
field, winning the pole in the Firestone Fast Six shootout. Six
different teams are represented in the first three rows. (IndyCar.com)
____________________________________________________________
07/04: Menard on
Pole for Coke Zero 400
NCRL-
A big surprise this afternoon as Paul Menard
grabbed the pole for Saturday's race at Daytona. With a 185.916
mph lap he would knocked fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. out of the top
spot.
Menard came out in the sixth with Earnhardt Jr. sitting on the pole
after his 185.437 mph run, and Menard would drive to the pole and then
settle back as the rest of the 45 car field tried to knock him off.
The one driver that would come the closest was Mark Martin who rolled
out 27th. Martin would run 185.870 mph to just miss bumping Menard
off.
Behind Menard, Martin, and Earnhardt are Joe Nemechek, and Johnny Sauter
rounding out the top five spots.
Points leader Kyle Busch will start from the ninth spot.
With only 45 cars running this Saturday everyone will be on the track.
Race Weather.net is calling for
variably cloudy night with a 40 % chance of thunderstorms.
The race will be televised on TNT in HD starting at 6:30 pm ET.
- Official, Martin will Drive the #5
NCRL-
Rumor and speculation were laid to rest
today as Rick Hendrick announced his latest mega-deal signing Mark
Martin to a two year deal.
Martin who will be 50 years-old next year has 35 Cup victories, but no
championship. He has also finished four time second in
Championship points.
The deal has Martin running a full schedule next season and a part-time
schedule in 2010. His last full-time ride was in 2006 with Roush
Racing.
Specifics of the deal besides the 2 year contract were not discussed.
- Truex #1 Confiscated
NCRL-
Bad news for the #1 team of martin Truex Jr. NASCAR
confiscated his primary car Thursday after failing inspection. It
appears that the roof failed to meet the required templates.
DEI indicated that they will not bring a back-up car to Daytona if
the car is not released by NASCAR. If it isn't Truex will be using
one of his teammates back-ups.
If NASCAR moves on the infraction it could well cost Truex and DEI
big. Past issues similar this has resulted in losses of points as
high as 100. The #1 team is currently 71 points behind the 12th place
Kevin Harvick.
_____________________________________________________________________________
07/02: Martin to the
#5
NCRL-
Hendrick Motorsports has announced a major
media advisory for Friday. It is speculated that they will
announce another high level driver moving to their stable.
It appears that retired, semi-retired, part-time driver Mark Martin will
become the next driver of the #5 replacing Casey Mears.
Specifically what type of ride will be announced at the press
conference. But, the word in the paddock is that it may well be
full-time.
Developing.
As Martin may move to Hendrick it was also announced that Aric Almirola
will be the full-time driver of the #8 DEI Chevy in 2009.
- Net worth: Champ
Car Auction Rakes in $1.2 Million
It is hard to put a price on
history, but it turns out the last vestiges of the Champ Car World
Series were worth about $1.2 million.
Most of the assets of the defunct series sold at auction June 3, as
organizers liquidated an extensive catalog of pace cars, racing
equipment, transporters and other memorabilia.
Champ Car filed for bankruptcy March 5 after agreeing to merge with the
Indy Racing League. The cash from the auction will be used to pay an
extensive list of creditors. Will Power won Champ Car's last-ever race,
at Long Beach in April. (AutoWeek.com)
___________________________________________________
07/01: Franchitti
Done
NCRL-
Indianapolis 500 winner, and IRL Champion
Dario Franchitti appears to be done for the 2008 Cup Series.
It was announced today that Ganassi will shut down the #40 operations
for lack of sponsorship.
In a statement Ganassi said that "...continuing to run the car without
proper funding has become increasingly difficult." He also
indicated that they are committed to Franchitti's stock-car development.
There is speculation that Franchitti may run the remaining Nationwide
series in in the #40 Dodge.
________________________________________________________
06/30: Montoya Hit
with Penalty
NCRL-
When Juan Pablo Montoya said that he hit
Kyle Busch on purpose it was a pretty sure bet he would get a penalty
from the folks at NASCAR. And, that was what they did.
The surprise is that he was assessed a two lap penalty for rough driving
and not following race procedure. NASCAR officials said there
would be no further penalties, but the penalty did drop him to the 32nd
place, with Busch finishing 25th.
The big surprise was that NASCAR did not
fine him for the incident.
- High Gasoline Prices Pinch NASCAR Fans
CHICAGO — Many NASCAR fans think nothing of
jumping in their recreational vehicles or pickups and driving 300 miles
or more to watch races in places like Talladega, Ala.; Bristol, Tenn.;
and Las Vegas. But rising gasoline prices are forcing them to make tough
choices.
"The higher fuel prices have hit them hard," said Roger VanDerSnick of
International Speedway, one of two major publicly owned race track
companies. "We pull from such a huge geographical area."
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) has been one
of the fastest growing sports in the United States, boasting a fan base
of about 75 million, second only to the National Football League. It has
the biggest stable of corporate sponsors of any U.S. sports league and
TV deals worth $4.48 billion that run through 2014. (USAToday.com)
______________________________________________________
06/29: Crazy, Rainy
End to Lenox 301 Sees Kurt Busch Win
NCRL-
When the race started rain was a concern and
it would end the race with Kurt Busch the winner.
As the race was winding down Tony Stewart was looking like he might get
the win. But, on lap 271 a crash between Dale Earnhardt Jr., who
was coming in to the pits, with Jamie McMurray, and David Ragan brought
out the 6th caution for the day.
Stewart ns the leaders would come in for service with Kurt Busch staying
out and taking over the lead.
When they went green Busch was the leader followed by Michael Waltrip,
J.J. Yeley, Martin Truex Jr., Elliott Sadler, and Stewart would start
from the 14th spot.
But only two laps later Sam Hornish Jr. would get into Clint Bowyer to
bring out the 7th caution. As the cars were slowing Juan Pablo
Montoya would, purposely, get ingot the rear of Kyle Busch. Busch
would spin and collect Montoya putting both drivers out of the race.
The rain would start on lap 284 and the shortly after NASCAR would call
it with Kurt Busch the winner. The frozen field would finish with
Michael Waltrip, J.J. Yeley, Martin Truex Jr., Elliott Sadler, rounding
out the top five.
Tony Stewart who led the most laps with 132 would finish 18th.
Pole sitter Patrick Carpentier would bring everyone to the green and
hold the led for five laps until Kevin Harvick passed him. Harvick
held the top spot until Dale Earnhardt Jr., passed him on lap 44.
Harvick would regain the lead after stops on lap 74.
The first yellow came out when Dario Franchitti being spun by Davis
Reutimann.
Casey Mears who will not be returning to Hendricks next year would take
over the lead on lap staying out after the caution by Franchitti and
Reutimann. He would hold it until a caution on lap 138,
When they went back green on lap 143 Tony Stewart would be the new
leader and settle in until lap 172 when Earnhardt Jr., McMurray, and
Ragan would bring out the yellow. Kurt Busch stayed out and after
another caution and rain would become the winner.
The race had seven cautions and a red flag. There were eighth
leaders and nine lead changes.
_____________________________________________________
06/28: Kanaan
Prevails
RICHMOND, Va. - Tony Kanaan knew it would be
difficult to maneuver the No. 11 7-Eleven car to Victory Circle on the
confining Richmond International Raceway with 26 starters - half of whom
were making their first appearance on the 0.75-mile oval - and 300 laps
ahead.
But this tough?
Kanaan kept the Honda-powered Dallara
clear of multiple mishaps to claim his first victory since Belle Isle
last September and his first on an oval since Kentucky in August. He
held off Team Penske's Helio Castroneves, who advanced 16 positions
through a combination of furious driving and attrition for his fourth
second place of the season, in the SunTrust Indy Challenge. (IndyRacing.com)
- Driver News
NCRL-
Things are starting to happen with Cup
drivers and their teams. Greg Biffle has agreed to an three year
extension to his contract with Roush Fenway Racing. While Biffle
was extending his contract, Casey Mears the winner of last year's
Coca-Cola 500 was ending his relationship with Hendrick
Motorsports.
While these two announcements came this week there are still rumors
swirling about Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, and Martin Truex Jr.
Richard Childress Racing is looking for a fourth driver for their new
team and any one of these could well be candidates. IF any of
these drivers should move that will open spots for Gibbs, Penske, and
Earnhardt Inc.
Stay tuned as the Silly Season appears to be in full swing..
________________________________________________
06/27: Family Matters
RICHMOND, Va. - Tony Kanaan, the senior
member of the Andretti Green Racing quartet, called a family meeting
before the race earlier this week at Iowa Speedway. He wanted to clear
the air, get everyone on the same page and communicate like the "old
days."
Aside from his mistake late in the
250-lap race after leading 71 laps, which resulted in a Turn 1
single-car crash, the team scored its best cumulative result in quite a
while (rookie Hideki Mutoh was second, Marco Andretti third and Danica
Patrick sixth).
Five days later, the vibe continued at
another short track - the 0.75-mile Richmond International Raceway.
Kanaan posted a four-lap cumulative time of 1 minute, 04.333 seconds
(167.876 mph average) in garnering the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award
presented by Advance Auto Parts - his first on an oval since last August
(1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway). Andretti will start next to the No. 11
7-Eleven car in the 300-lap SunTrust Indy Challenge. (IndyRacing.com)
- Big Surprise
as Patrick Carpentier Takes Pole
NCRL-
Rain played a role in today's qualifying.
With Reed Sorenson sitting on the pole with a 128.828 mph run rains came
and a 1 hour and 45 minuet delay came.
After they got back to business it Sorenson would end up in sixth and a
surprising Patrick Carpentier would be sitting on the pole.
Carpentier would win his first pole with a 129.776 mph run betting Bobby
Labonte by .163 seconds. Following Carpentier and Labonte are
Scott Riggs, Kevin Harvick, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. round out the top
five.
Also a surprising Dario Franchitti found a seventh place starting spot
after a number of hard weekends.
Points leader Kyle Busch will start from the 27th spot.
Sunday's forecast from Race
Weather.net is calling for a 60% chance of rain and thunderstorms.
With temperatures in the high 70's.
Sunday's race will be televised on TNT starting at 12:30 pm ET.
________________________________________________________________
06/22: Kyle Busch is
Back and He can Turn Right too
NCRL-
On lap 33 Kyle Busch would take the lead
by passing Greg Biffle after he spun and Juan Montoya checked up so he
didn't hit Biffle. He would dominate from that point on only
relinquishing the lead when he pitted.
For Montoya it looked like he would be pushing for a repeat win as he
road in second working on the leader Busch. But it all come apart when he was spun by Marcos Ambrose who had gotten
under him. He would work his way back but not enough time to get
back to the front as he would finish sixth
Kasey Kahne would start the race from the
front but he would lose it to Jimmie Johnson on lap 5.
The first yellow came out when Joe Nemechek and David Ragan got
together. When they went back green Greg Biffle was the new leader
followed by Montoya and Kyle Busch who had started from the 30th spot.
Busch would take the lead over on lap 33 when B9ffle spun and
Montoya hit the brakes not to make contact. For all intent Busch
would never give the lead up from that point on.
As the race wound down it looked like Busch, McMurray and Tony
Stewart and David Gilliland and Kevin Harvick would end pretty much one
through five. But, with only five laps to go Harvick would get
lose and clip McMurray who would then clip Stewart and Ron Fellows
spinning all four cars.
When they went back green Busch would still be the leader but now it was
Gilliland, Jeff Gordon, Elliott Sadler, and Clint Bowyer the top five.
When they went back racing Sadler would start with a flat right rear
tire. But, he would hold on and finish 19th without crashing.
For Busch he never looked back as he would pick up his fifth win.
Gilliland, Jeff Gordon, Bowyer, and Casey Mears would round out the top
five spots.
The race had six leaders, with six lead change, and six cautions.
With two laps left Stewart would get into the back of Scott Pruett who
would hit Truex Jr. to bring out the red flag. This would set up a
green/white/checker finish.
- Best Birthday Present
NEWTON, Iowa - Hmm, what to get the race car
driver who has everything for a birthday present? Shoes? Nah, Dan
Wheldon has enough for every high schooler in Iowa. A pair of
sunglasses? Ditto.
OK, how about just raising a bottle of champagne with Wheldon in Victory
Circle? Now you're talking.
Wheldon, born 30 years ago in England, gave himself the best present he
could think of by winning the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer at
Iowa Speedway. Indirectly, Iowans also were celebrating with the Target
Chip Ganassi Racing driver. He and teammate Scott Dixon donated their
race winning (totaling $60K) to flood relief organizations. (IndyRacing.com)
_______________________________________________________________
06/21: Natural Fit
at Front
NEWTON, Iowa - When things are going your
way, even a passing shower works to your advantage.
Sure, Scott Dixon would have preferred to earn the PEAK Motor Oil Pole
Award presented by Bower Petroleum at Iowa Speedway. But by virtue of
his superlative season so far, he'll still start from the pole in the
Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer based on entrant points.
Dixon, driving the No. 9 Commit car for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, will
start on the pole for the fourth time this season and the second year in
a row on the 0.894-mile tri-oval. Team Penske's Helio Castroneves will
join Dixon on the front row to complete the Iowa repeat. (IndyRacing.com)
___________________________________________________________
06/20: Kahne On Pole
at Infineon
NCRL-
A resurgent Kasey Kahne was the big surprise
winning the pole forr Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350. Kahne who has
never faired well on road courses posted a 92.153 mph run on the 1.99
mile road course beating Jimmie Johnson by .096 seconds.
Behind Kahne and Johnson were Kurt Busch, Bobby Labonte, and Jeff Gordon
rounding out the top five.
Points leader Kyle Busch will start from the 30th position.
Also, of interest was the road experts, the best qualifying came from
Robby Gordon who will start from the 8th spot, and defending winner Juan
Pablo Montoya will start form the 21st position 11 spots better than
last year.
Race Weather.net is calling for mostly sunny skies and the low 80's at
race time.
The race will be televised on TNT in HD starting at 3:30 pm ET.
_______________________________________________________________
06/16: So What is
the Rule?
NCRL-
IT was a 76-race winless streak for Junior
and the fans were just dying to see him get a win. He has had a
few close calls, like Richmond but his win this Sunday at Michigan has
brought some controversy with it.
After the caution came out for Sam Hornish Jr. there became a real
question of if he could finish. He and his team pretty much had no
idea if he would make it. So, Junior went to the flat apron and
would turn off his engine and coast. But, as everyone at the track
and on television saw he drove right by the pace car before he killed
his engine.
But, NASCAR has a rule that under caution you can not pass the pace car.
The fact that Junior passed the pace car by a number of car lengths
raised some questions for Matt Kenseth, and Bran Vickers. Both
drivers said that they understood that you can't pass the pace car for
any reason. However, NASCAR officials said otherwise, saying that Junior
did not violate a rule, that all he needed to do was maintain "a
reasonable speed or a reasonable pace" behind the pace car and that once
he was warned he complied.
Don't ask Kenseth or Vickers if they think he didn't violate the rule.
___________________________________________________________
06/15: Michigan, it
was all about Fuel and Junior
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his last stop on lap
148 and had no idea how much fuel he had as he found himself in the lead
with four laps to go. It would be tight as he and Jamie McMurray
battled for the lead. Then with only two laps left Sam Hornish
would lose control and spin bring out the caution and setting up a
green/whit/checked finish.
The next question was could Earnhardt make it when they went back green.
Earnhardt would conserve his fuel by running on the apron of the track
and cutting his engine off and costing when ever he could.
When they went green he had the fuel as he pulled away from Kasey Kahne.
Then Patrick Carpentier would bring out the seventh and last caution
ending the race with Earnhardt Jr. winning.
This was Earnhardt's fist win for Hendrick and the first win since his
last on May 06, 2006 at Richmond.
Things started fast when Kyle Busch brought the filed to the green.
Dave Blaney would bring out the first caution early when he spun on lap
three.
When they went back racing Jimmie Johnson would slip by Kyle Busch to
take over the lead.
Brian Vickers would take over the lead on lap 34 and start a battle with
Johnson for the next laps until he came in for green flag pit stops.
On lap 83 Matt Kenseth took over the lead and started a Roush teammates
started to trade it.
On lap 147 Bobby Labonte would spin and bring out the fourth caution
setting up the leaders to come in for what would be Earnhardt's last
stop for fuel.
After pit stops on lap 148, the race would change over to who could make
it on fuel. It would start when Jimmie Johnson came in on lap 182
and the leaders started to come in for their last top off.
When they cycled through David Ragan would be the new leader, but he
still needed to pit. He would come in on lap 194 turning the lead
over to Earnhardt Jr. This would set up Earnhardt and McMurray
trying to save fuel and battle for the lead until Sam Hornish Jr. would
spin. With the Hornish spin the majority of drivers would come in
for a stop and go including McMurray with the race turning into a
green/white/checkered finish.
Earnhardt would stay out and when they went green it was Earnhardt,
Kahne, Martin, Vickers, and Kenseth. Martin would run out of fuel
but not cause a caution. He would finish 25th.
With only one lap to go and Earnhardt Jr. leading Patrick Carpentier
would crash and end the race with Earnhardt winning.
Kasey Kahne would fish second, followed by Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers,
and Tony Stewart rounding out the top five.
Jimmie Johnson would lead the most laps with 65, the race would see 14
leaders and 31 lead changes, and there were seven cautions.
________________________________________________________
06/14:
Audi
Wins Battle of the Diesels
As predicted, the 76th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
came down to a battle of the diesels. Audi and Peugeot each fielded
three teams, and the battle ensued until the very end as weather proved
to be a factor that contributed greatly to end-of-race strategy.
With the No. 2 Audi of Tom Kristensen, Allan
McNish and Dindo Capello leading and on the same lap as the No. 7
Peugeot of Nic Minassian, Jacques Villeneuve and Marc Gene, and with
rain infiltrating the 8.48-mile storied race course, Audi Sport
Technical Director Ralf Juttner chose to switch Kristensen from Michelin
slicks to intermediates with slightly more than an hour remaining.
Peugeot, meanwhile, chose to remain on slicks, a decision commentators
speculated was influenced by driver Minassian. The call proved to be
correct for Juttner as Audi widened its lead to win by slightly more
than four and a half minutes.
American Le Mans Series' teams and drivers fared extremely well in the
other classes with Risi Competizione's No. 82 Ferrari F430 GT capturing
the GT2 title. In all, Series competitors recorded 14 podium positions
Audi's victory was its eighth in the last nine years and firmly
established Kristensen as the greatest driver in the history of the
hallowed endurance classic as he extended his record Le Mans wins to
eight. For teammate McNish, it was the second Le Mans win for the
heralded Scot, the first coming 10 years ago in a Porsche. The victory
was Capello's third. (ALMS.com)
- Carbon
Monoxide to be Monitored
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NASCAR will monitor a number of driver's
cars this Sunday for Carbon Monoxide levels. It appears that this
was predicated on complaints by drivers of excessive heat in the new
COT.
NASCAR also indicated that a number of teams are not paying as close
attention as they should on keeping drivers cool with what is available
already in the new cars.
What if any changes will come after the tests is still unknown at this
time.
Developing.
________________________________________________
06/13: Qualifying
Wash Out
NCRL-
They will be starting by the current points
standings as rain cancels qualifying at Michigan.
As the NASCAR rules set it Kyle Busch will lead the field on Sunday
followed by Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, and Denny
Hamlin the top five in points.
Race Weather.net is calling for
sunny skies on Saturday so teams should get at least two practices in
before Sunday's LifeLock 400. But, of concern is Sunday as a 40%
chance of rain is currently in the forecast for the race.
If all goes well the race will be televised on TNT in HD starting at
12:30 pm ET.
-
Magnussen Gives Corvette First Le Mans Pole
Corvette Racing's record at the 24 Hours of Le Mans since
2001 is as impressive as any with five GT1 victories. Jan Magnussen gave
America's premier sports car team its first pole position in the world's
greatest race on Thursday. Magnussen turned a lap of 3:47.688 (133.911
mph) to better his time set Wednesday in the Corvette C6.R he will share
with Johnny O'Connell and Ron Fellows.
Magnussen and Patrick Long in GT2 gave the
American Le Mans Series two drivers on class pole positions for the
weekend's 76th running of Le Mans.
The two-day qualifying session continued the momentum the Corvette
drivers established in the first half of the American Le Mans Series
season. The trio in the No. 63 factory entry won the Mobil 1 Twelve
Hours of Sebring, and Magnussen and O'Connell lead the GT1 championship
with three victories in four races.
Magnussen, O'Connell and Fellows have combined for 74 American Le Mans
Series victories to go along with eight wins at Le Mans. Magnussen's
time was just 0.093 seconds ahead of Christophe Bouchut in the Larbre
Competition Saleen S7R, the smallest of margins over an 8.468-mile
circuit. (ALMS.com)
_______________________________________________________________
06/12: Cleveland
Pitches for IRL Date in 2009
Cleveland made its pitch to get back on the
IndyCar schedule for 2009 on Wednesday as political and civic leaders
met with Indy Racing League officials.
Cleveland's Burke Lakefront Airport had been a popular stop on the
former Champ Car schedule and organizers were hoping to leverage the
city's 26 year racing history as a way to get back on the racing
calendar.
Following the open-wheel merger between Champ Car and the IRL, a number
of Champ Car events in 2008 were knocked off the calendar - only
Edmonton, Long Beach and Australia managed to survive this year. But
Cleveland is looking to join Toronto and several other venues in getting
back on the calendar in 2009. (TSN.ca)
- Labonte Resigns for Four More
NCRL-
It was announced that Bobby Labonte, the
2000 Cup Champion, has signed a four-year extension with Petty to stay
in the No. 43 Dodge.
__________________________________________________________
06/11: Paul Newman
Fighting Cancer
NCRL-
Speculation has been on going for some time
that screen and racing legend Paul Newman was fighting cancer.
That has now been confirmed by Canadian news service
cbc.ca.
They have reported that A.E. Hotchner, the entertainer's business
partner and longtime neighbor has aid that Newman told him about the
disease about 18 months ago.
The rumors surrounding Newman's health have said that the he is
suffering from lung cancer specifically and undergoing outpatient
treatment in New York.
A comment from Newman's office, was that "Mr. Newman says he's doing
nicely," said Daniel Burstein, a Los Angeles-based spokesman for Newman.
Other news services such as the Associated Press have also been running
the story.
___________________________________________________
06/08: Kahne Wins
NCRL-
Kasey Kahne picked up today's win at a crash
fest at Pocono. Late in the race points leader Kyle Busch would
spin on lap 177 brining out the tenth and last caution of the day.
The leaders would come in with Brian Vickers, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
staying out. Vickers would
 bring
the field to the green on lap 182 with Kahne sitting in third.
Kahne would drive by Earnhardt on the next lap and reel Vickers in on
lap 185 to regain the lead. Kahne would drive away from the field
to win the Pocono 500 by a comfortable 3.702 second margin.
Things started out with Jimmie Johnson quickly moving around Kahne
to take the lead early. Kahne would get the lead back on lap 35.
Kyle Busch and Jamie McMurray would get together on lap 46 with Busch
heading to the garage with right front damage.
Rain would show up on lap 69 and NASCAR would throw the red on lap 71 as
they tried to dry the track.
When they got back to racing on lap 74 Jimmie Johnson was the leader.
But, the caution would come out seven laps later when Clint Bowyer would
crash hard and collect Juan Montoya.
They would see four more cautions for a number of spins as the race
progressed. When it was all over pole sitter Kahne would find himself
the winner over Brian Vickers. Behind Kahne and Vickers were
Denney Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton rounding out the top
five.
Dixon the
Beneficiary
FORT WORTH, Texas - What is it
about Marco Andretti and late-race momentum-draining crashes?
That's two races in a row in which the
driver of the No. 26 car for Andretti Green Racing was involved in a
multi-car incident with less than 10 laps remaining. This time, it
potentially cost the third-year IndyCar Series driver his second career
victory.
Scott Dixon was the beneficiary.
Dixon, driving the No. 9 Target Chip
Ganassi Racing car that started on the pole, led Helio Castroneves
across the finish line under caution after Andretti's entanglement with
the No. 17 Ethanol car driven by Ryan Hunter-Reay on Lap 223 of 228.
Castroneves' Team Penske teammate, Ryan Briscoe, came back from a lap
down to finish third and Dan Wheldon improved seven positions to fourth
in his back-up car. (IndyRacing.com)
________________________________________________________
06/06: Dixon Out
Front
FORT WORTH, Texas --
Scott
Dixon has been partial to 1.5-mile ovals this season, converting three
front-row starts into a victory and a pair of third-place finishes. The
results have gone a long way to providing the reigning Indianapolis 500
champion a 28-point lead over Helio Castroneves in the championship
standings.
What will he do on the action-packed Texas Motor Speedway starting from
the pole - his third on a 1.5-mile oval -- in the Bombardier Learjet
550k? (IndyRacing.com)
- Kahne on the
Pole
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Kasey Kahn |
