05/09: Biffle Takes
Pole at Darlington
NCRL-
Greg Biffle ran a 179.442 mph to take this
Saturday's Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington. Be would beat Dale
Earnhardt Jr. by a mere .013 seconds, who ran a 179.357 mph qualifying
lap.
Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five
spots for the race.
Points leader Kyle Busch will start behind hi brother in the sixth spot.
Race Weather.net is calling for a
partly cloudy day in the low 80's at race time.
Race coverage will be on FOX HD starting 7:00 pm ET.
_________________________________________________________________
05/05: Junior Has No
Hard Feelings Over Wreck
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) - Dale Earnhardt Jr. was
frustrated as he climbed out of his car following a testing session
Monday.
But Earnhardt's angst wasn't directed at his fans' newest villain.
His throng of supporters loudly blamed Kyle Busch for the wreck Saturday
night that ended Earnhardt's best chance to end his winless drought. But
Junior was more concerned with the hit he took in the Sprint Cup
standings after a possible win turned into a 15th-place finish at
Richmond International Raceway. (FOX.com)
__________________________________________________
05/03: Hard Racing
Sees Bowyer take Advantage and and the Win
NCRL-
Hamlin who won the Nationwide race last
night dominated, and that isn't really the right adjective to describe
the total control of the race he had. Starting from the pole
position he would lead 381 of the 400 laps. His closest competitor
for most of the race was Kyle
 Busch,
but he never appeared to have enough to get by Hamlin.
But, this is short track racing and the out
come can never be a given. As the race wound down Hamlin would
established a nice cushion as Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
battled for second. The with only 18 laps to go Hamlin would have
a tire starting to go down. Busch and Junior would catch and pass
Hamlin as they went into the turn three wide, and Junior would take the
lead with 17 to go.
Eight laps later Hamlin tire would let go
and he would come to a stop on the track. He would also be
penalized two laps by NASCAR for stopping.
This would setup a shootout between
Earnhardt Jr. and Busch with just nine laps left. Both drivers
would fight hard and with only three laps left get together with
Earnhardt spinning and hitting the outside wall ending his chance to
break a two year winless streak.
As Busch and Earnhardt got together Clint
Bowyer, who had started as far back as 31st would slide under Busch and
take the lead. After an eight lap clean up they would go back to
racing with a Green-White-Checker finish. Busch would end up in a
battle with Mark Martin for second and Bowyer would cruse to his second
Cup win.
Over all the race was behind Denny Hamlin
who would only give the lead up for pitstops. There were only five
leaders and four lead changes as Hamlin ruled the field.
The race would get somewhat shook-up when J.J. Yeley on lap 229 who
would get into the outside wall and collect Patrick Carpentier, Kurt
Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Juan Montoya, Michael McDowell,
Johnny Sauter, David Gilliland and points leader Jeff Burton. Most
of these cars were running in the top ten when the incident took place.
Weather did not play an issue even though rain was on the horizon.
There were some discussions that it could have showed up before the end
of the race but, that never happened.
When it was all done Bowyer would find himself the winner with Kyle
Busch, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, and Martin Truex Jr. rounding out the
top five spots.
_____________________________________________________________
05/02: Virginia
Native Hamlin on Richmond Pole
NCRL-
Mark Martin rolled onto the track third for
qualifying and would post a 126.033 mph lap to take over the pole form
David Reutimann. He would then sit back as the others tried to
knock him off. It was looking like he was pretty safe until Denny
Hamlin hit the track in the 27th spot. Hamlin would run a 126.198
mph run to push Martin into the number two spot by .028 seconds.
Martin Truex Jr., a surprising Patrick Carpentier would qualify fourth
and Reed Sorenson would round out the top five spots for Saturday
night's race.
Saturday's race weather from Race
Weather.net calls for an increases in clouds and scattered showers
as the race starts. Temperatures should be in the low 70;s at race
time.
FOX HD will televise the race starting at 7:00 pm ET.
______________________________________________________
04/27: Back-to-Back
Wins
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Dan Wheldon became the
first repeat IndyCar Series winner at Kansas Speedway in eight races,
winning the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 by 2.1778 seconds over Tony
Kanaan.
Wheldon, driving the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car, last won on
the 1.52-mile oval. Wheldon inherited the lead on Lap 152 when teammate
Scott Dixon pitted and held through a Lap 172 restart. (IndyRacing.com)
- When the Dust
Cleared it was Kyle Busch
NCRL-
What a day for Kyle Busch. He
thought he had car issues early, he would miss his pits and stall on lap
62. By lap 65 he would find himself in the 35th spot and then fall
a lap down. But by lap 117 he would get it back and start his move
to the front.
 On
lap 170 it looked like it could have been all over when he and Jamie
McMurray would get together. Both drivers would save their cars
and three laps later Busch would move into the lead for the first time
of the race.
He held it until Michael Waltrip and Jimmie Johnson would power by.
But a debris caution would allow Busch to push his way back to the lead.
With only one lap to go Michael McDowell would spin but there would be
no caution, but it wouldn't matter as the big one would take place near
the back of the pack when McMurray went up the track and would collect a
number of cars including Johnson, Smith, Kahne, Nemechek, and Stremme.
They yellow and white flags would fly and Busch would finish a great
comeback to win.
Over all things were pretty clean for most of Sunday's Aaron's 499.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was looking like the old Junior leading the most laps
with 45. But, the guy that was always around the front was Denny
Hamlin. It could be any one of the 21 race leaders but Hamlin was
always running second or third.
While he had a great car and it could always get to the front it just
didn't have what he needed to hold a lead.
As the race was winding down Hamlin was still the leader when the fifth
caution came out for debris. This set up Hamlin followed by Ryan
Newman, David Ragan, Earnhardt Jr., and Jeff Gordon the top five cars
wine they went back green with 20 to go.
Hamlin would get hung out to dry and slip back through the field.
Jeff Gordon would slip into the lead but Ryan Newman would just drive by
to take it form him.
With 18 laps to go Kyle Busch would get a big push from Juan Pablo
Montoya to drive by the leaders and take over the lead for the first
time of the race.
Then as was expected all race long a big crash hit with only 15 laps to
go. Dale Earnhardt Jr. would start a chain reaction and when it
was over Earnhardt, Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, McMurray, and
Bobby Labonte were all involved.
They would get back to racing with Busch still in the lead but a hard
charging Michael Waltrip who was being pushed by Jimmie Johnson would
get by Busch and Montoya with eight laps to go. But, Bobby Labonte
who was involved in the the earlier crash would crash again to bring out
the seventh caution.
Michael Waltrip would bring Johnson, Kyle Busch, Montoya, and Jeff
Gordon to the green with only five laps left. Busch would go back
to the front with more help from Montoya and regain the lead with four
laps left.
Then with two to go Michael McDowell would spin, then everything broke
loose in the back of the field ending the race with Kyle Busch winning
the Aaron's 499.
Behind Busch Juan Pablo Montoya, Denny Hamlin, David Ragan, and Brian
Vickers would round out the top five.
The race would see seven cautions, have 53 lead changes, with 21
leaders, and take just over three hours to complete.
___________________________________________________________
04/26: Way to Go
Front Row Joe
NCRL-
It appeared that it was going to continue
with the Tony Stewart weekend madness as he came out early and stuck a
nice qualifying run that looked like no one would beat. But,
almost three hours after his run Joe Nemechek in a one car operation out
of Denver Colorado would knock Smoke off the top of the mountain.
Stewart would run a 186.896 mph lap at the Superspeedway. He would
see a number of challengers but, no one really could touch him.
With only two drivers left Nemechek would come out in the 46th of 47
position and lay down a 187.386 mph run to beat Stewart by .134 seconds.
A surprising Ken Schrader would pick up the third spot followed by A.J.
Allmendinger and Kyle Busch to round out the top five.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. would pick up the 9th spot and points leader Jeff
Burton will start in the 38th spot.
Sunday's race is looking questionable with a 60% chance of rain and
thunder storms per our friends at Race
Weather.net.
If the race should get the green it will see coverage start at 1:00 pm
ET on FOX HD.
- Target Sweep
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Shaking up the front of
the grid was an intended byproduct of four-lap oval qualifying, which
was instituted this year partly to test car/driver consistency.
That the Target Chip Ganassi Racing cars will share the front row for
the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway wasn't totally
unexpected, the remainder of the top 10 will raise some eyebrows. Two
Vision Racing cars? Marty Roth and Tomas Scheckter? Where are TK and
Marco? (IndyRacing.com)
- Will He Stay
or Will He Go
M. Service
NCRL-
Talladega usually is all about Junior.
This year it stated to appear that things wouldn't be much different.
A new team could he find himself back as the dominate player at the
Superspeedway? Oh, wait a minute Tony Stewart might leave Gibbs
Racing when his contract is up..
Everyone has jumped onto this band wagon, chasing the Stewart story.
And, yes we are too.
There have been rumors that Smoke will leave and possibly move over to
Haas CNC Racing because of a possible part ownership. But, hasn't
Stewart said repeatedly he really doesn't want to be a Cup owner.
There have been rumor about Childress racing as well. But, RCR is
looking to put a fourth car on the track next year before Stewart's
contract is up. It is highly doubtful that RCR would hold that
seat for a year. But, hey things can happen.
So why would Stewart consider leaving a team that he has years with?
Why not. This is a business and a sport and drivers are just like
another athlete. Anyone watch Baseball or Football?
Players leave teams. They do it for many reasons but MONEY is
usually the main issue.
Stewart has over a year and a half on his contract. Starting the
buzz now puts Gibbs racing in a position of what to do. They have
tow very good drivers besides Stewart so they will probably get by.
Regardless of Stewart's volatility on and off the track he is a great
driver, and anyone would want him. This is likely not missed by
Gibbs Racing.
Lets all remember he has a contract through 2009, yes Gibbs could let
him go early, but that is doubtful. I really wouldn't start to
give this story really long legs until sometime next year. And if
Gibbs Racing wants to keep Stewart they will find a way.
Oh, yea so do you think Junior will win this Sunday?
___________________________________________________________
04/20: Power Wins in
Long Beach
NCRL-
In the 34th and last Champ Car race at Long
Beach it would be Will Power who closed the book on the open-wheel
series.
Power who dominated for the win bested second place rookie Franck
Montagny by more than five seconds.
Grahm Rahal who won in last weekends IRL race had problems after a
mid-race crash. Race favorite the Newman-Haas-Lanigan team with
pole winner Justin Wilson would have engine problems and falling out
after 12 laps.
With the IRL using the points earned at Long Beach Power did himself
well as he jumps to the fifth spot in the IRL standings.
While this race ended a Champ Car series it is also the beginning of a
unified open-wheel series with the IRL that has already shown that the
crowds are accepting the change.
- Thrice is nice:
Kyle Busch wins Nationwide Series race in Mexico
Kyle Busch never planned to race the full
NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule this year. But after scoring his third
consecutive win in an incident-plagued event at Autodromo Hermanos
Rodriguez, he's having second thoughts.
"The consideration is there," Busch said after he scored his first
NASCAR road-course victory for Toyota. He is now just 66 points out of
the points lead. "But it's still a race-by-race deal. We'll make a
decision here fairly soon."
The race, NASCAR's fourth in Mexico, was déjà vu for Chip Ganassi
Racing's Scott Pruett. After qualifying second, Pruett dominated the
late portion of the race, led 36 laps and pulled to over a six-second
lead. But reminiscent of last year's race when Juan Pablo Montoya caught
teammate Pruett–-only to spin Pruett on the way to winning-–Busch caught
Pruett's Dodge late in the race. (AutoWeek.com)
- Danica Makes History
NCRL-
The wait and speculation is now over.
In her 50th Indy Racing League start, Danica Patrick
 became
the first women to win a major open-wheel racing event winning the Indy Japan 300
at the Twin Ring oval.
In what turned out to be a fuel strategy race Patrick's team hit all the
right buttons as the leaders came in for splash and goes on lap
189. Patrick would stayed out catching pole sitter Helio
Castroneves on lap 198. She would slip buy with six laps remaining
and then establish a nice lead over Castroneves cursing to her first
win.
Scott Dixon who was leading by as much as 3.6 seconds would need to come
in for fuel on lap 195. Then on the very next lap both Dan Weldon
and Tony Kanaan would come in for fuel as well.
Patrick and Castroneves both had had had made an extra stop after a late
race caution setting them up to finish the race without any other stops.
Patrick who started the race from the sixth position had fallen back as
far as ninth during the race. But, with great fuel strategy she
was able to take the advantage when the leaders were forced to stop as
the race was coming to a close.
"It's a long time coming.
Finally," Patrick said. "It was a fuel strategy race, but my team called
it perfectly for me. I knew I was on the same strategy as Helio and when
I passed him for the lead, I couldn't believe it. This is fabulous."
Patrick started her Indy racing career in 2005. She would bolt to
the top of racing news when she became the first woman to lead the
Indianapolis 500 in her rookie year and finish fourth. But, the
questions started shortly after that was she good enough to win a race.
Before her historic win in Japan her best finish would come last year
when she was second at Detroit's Belle Isle. Now that its over the
next question is when's the next one?
Castroneves would finish second followed by Dixon, Wheldon, and Kanaan
rounding out the top five.
_________________________________________________
04/19:
Audi's Werner, Luhr Win a Thriller in Long
Beach
Audi Sport North America scored a
surprising victory on Saturday in the Tequila Patrón American Le Mans
Series as Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr recorded their second straight win
with a stunning performance. The Audi R10 TDI claimed its maiden victory
on the streets of southern California.
Werner crossed the line of 1.964 seconds ahead of Emanuele Pirro in the
sister Audi as the German manufacturer finished 1-2 overall in an
American Le Mans Series race for the first time since St. Petersburg in
2007, also a street circuit.
Werner got around Penske Racing's Romain Dumas in the Porsche RS Spyder
with 11 minutes remaining for the overall lead and used the torque and
power of the R10 TDI to pull away after a late caution period. Pirro did
the same as he teamed with Frank Biela in the runner-up car. (ALMS.com)
___________________________________________________
04/18: It's a
Nationwide, Open-Wheel, Sports Car Weekend
NCRL-
The Cup teams are off this weekend but
there is still a lot of racing. The Nationwide Series will be down
in Mexico racing Sunday. Across the Pacific Ocean and the IRL
teams will be running in Japan. The sports car teams of the
American Le Mans series will be in Long Beach California as the Champ
Car teams bring that series to an end.
First up was the IRL but major rain has postpone that race. It was
scheduled for 10:00 pm ET live on ESPN. However, the race has been
rescheduled for 10:00 pm ET tonight on ESPN Classic.
The ALMS who will run at Long Beach this
Saturday. Rice time is at 4:00 pm PT but will be televised on ABC
Sunday at 9:30 am PDT.
NASCAR's Nationwide series in Mexico will be on ESPN Sunday at 1:30 pm
ET. Then at 5:00 pm ET the Champ Car s will bring their series to
an end in Long Beach with their last race.
Its a busy weekend even without the Cup teams..
____________________________________________________
04/16: Mix of
Drivers and Teams Adds Twist to Last Champ Car Race
A lot of the drivers racing
Sunday in the last Champ Car World Series event will be back on familiar
ground at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Most the teams and drivers who have made the switch to the IRL's IndyCar
Series as part of the unification of the two American open-wheel series
have been dealing with strange equipment, new tracks and unfamiliar
competitors.
But thanks to a quirk in the schedule, the traditional race through the
streets of downtown Long Beach will put them back in the Panoz DP-01
cars most of them raced in 2007. (sportsillustrated.cnn.com)
- Making Your Points
MOTEGI, Japan - Second to
winning, an IndyCar Series race is all about the points. Score
consistently and you'll be in the title hunt down the stretch.
Inconsistency is a sickle, slicing away at any advantage gained by a
victory.
Even one race misadventure can be costly;
just ask Helio Castroneves about Milwaukee 2007.
The recently unified IndyCar Series is
split this weekend for the final time - IndyCar Series regulars at the
Twin Ring Motegi oval and teams that recently transitioned to the series
on the Long Beach street course for the final time under Champ Car
sanctioning and using its equipment. Both races will award driver points
toward the IndyCar Series championship. (IndyRacing.com)
____________________________________________
04/13: Johnson and
Knaus Gamble and Win
NCRL-
It all came down to gas, who had
it and who needed it. When it was all over it was a gamble by Chad
Knaus and Jimmie Johnson as they brought Hendricks's to the checkers for
the first time in '08.
 On
lap 290 it was apparent that almost everyone would need to come in for
fuel. Mark Martin was leading as the leaders started to come in
for their last stops. First was Denny Hamlin who would give up
second place to pit on lap 297. Martin would roll into the pits on
lap 302 turning over the lead to Johnson.
As the laps ticked off Kevin Harvick who was running in second would run
out of fuel and cost to into the pits. Clint Bowyer would pick up
second on Harvick's bad luck.
It was looking really good for Johnson if he had the fuel to make it to
the end as second place Bowyer was over ten seconds off of Johnson's
pace.
With such a big lead Chad Knaus told his driver to slow it down to
conserve as much fuel as possible. It would work like a charm as
Jimmie Johnson would take the checkers winning the Subway Fresh Fit 500.
The race would start late as FOX showed the conclusion of the Boston New
York baseball game baseball game.
When the race finally did get started Johnson would make his way to the
front quickly taking the lead for the first time on lap 31.
The first caution for an incident would come out on lap 41 when Matt
Kenseth hit the wall after he lost a tire.
They would fly the red flag after pole sitter Ryan Newman blew-up
dumping oil on the track. His trouble would also start a multi car
crash which included Kenseth, Jeff Burton, J.J. Yeley, Johnny Sauter and
Reed Sorenson.
Bowyer would hold on to second. Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, and
Mark Martin would round out the top five spots.
______________________________________________
04/10: Newman Takes
the Phoenix Pole
NCRL-
Ryan Newman who was hit with a 25
point penalty after last weekend's race at Texas will be leading the
field to the green on Saturday night.
Newman picked up the pole for the Subway 500 with a 133.457 mph lap
topping Elliott Sadler by a mere .009 seconds.
On fire Carl Edwards will be starting from the third spot followed by
Mark Martin and Kasey Kahne who round out the top five.
Points leader Jeff Burton will be starting way in the back with a 39th
starting position.
Petty is still having problems as Kyle Petty failed to make the race as
did John Andretti.
Saturday night's weather per our friends at
Race Weather.net is calling for
sunny and 87 degrees at race time,
The race will be broadcast on FOX in HD starting at 8:00 pm ET.
-
20 Entries Confirmed for Champ
Car's Finale
Graham Rahal, seen here during
the 2007 Long Beach race, will be back in Long Beach on April 20 for the
last race in Champ Car history. Rahal won the IndyCar race in St.
Petersburg last weekend.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rumblings that the 2008 Grand Prix of Long Beach would feature only a
handful of entries have turned out to be off the mark. The final race in
Champ Car history will boast 20 cars and drivers when the green flag
drops on April 20.
Ironically, the 20 entries for the series finale are the most at Long
Beach since 2002.
Nine drivers who switched to the unified IndyCar Series for 2008 will
race at Long Beach rather than the Motegi, Japan, IndyCar event that
same weekend.
The Long Beach lineup also includes: (AutoWeek.com)
___________________________________________________
04/08: Sauter to
Replace Mayfield
NCRL-
Haas CNC Racing announced today
that they have released Jeremy Mayfield and has replaced him with Johnny
Sauter.
The decision was made only one day after they announced that Sauter
would replace Mayfield in the #70 Chevy for the Phoenix race this
Saturday night.
There is also a rumor that Haas CNC maybe considering a change in their
second car the #66 Chevy driven by Scott Riggs.
Both Mayfield and Riggs have been disappointments as the #70 of Mayfield
is currently in the 36th points and the Riggs #66 is in 31st
- Newman Hit with 25 Point Penalty
NCRL-
NASCAR has announced that
Ryan Newman in the #12 Penske Dodge was penalized 25 points and his crew
chief Roy McCauely was fined $25,000 and has been placed on probation
until December 31, 2008 for components and or parts that did not conform
with NASCAR rules.
____________________________________________________
04/06: It was All
Edwards at Texas
NCRL-
The race would come down to a
Green-white-checkers after Martin Truex Jr. would lose his
 engine
with just four laps to go. But it would really impact a dominate
Carl Edwards who on old tires would just drive away form his closest
challenger Jimmie Johnson to easily win the Samsung 500.
The race would start with Dale Earnhardt Jr. bringing g the field to the
green. He would hold on to it until Kyle Busch would get by him on
lap 14.
For Edwards he would pick up the lead for the first time while he was on
pit road. But, Junior would get the lead after stops.
Jeff Gordon would crash on lap 109 coming into turn four. He would
try and get back but would finish 43ed.
Through the middle of the race it was all Matt Kenseth and Jimmie
Johnson but no one was even close to Edwards. He would pretty much
go to the front when ever he wanted to. It was on lap 233 when
Jimmie Johnson would enter the pits for green flag service that Edwards
would regain the lead and when he came out of the pits he would bring
the field to the green flag. and never look back.
Behind Edwards and Johnson, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, and Denny Hamlin
would round the top five out.
The race would see six cautions and have six leaders with 16 lead
changes. Carl Edwards would lead the most laps with 123.
_______________________________________________________
- Rahal Wins at St. Pete
NCRL-
Champ Car crossover and son of
open-wheel legend Bobby Rahal Graham Rahal would
 make
history as he became the youngest IRL winner at 19 years old. He
would holding off Helio Castroneves who was attempting to win his third
St. Pete race in-a-row.
Rahal missed the first race of the season when he crashed his car at
Homestead-Miami last week, and didn't have a overly good qualifying
effort. But, he had told the press that he felt that his car was
still very good in race trim. That statement turned out to be very
true. But, it did get a bit scary as he was involved in an
incident early in the race spinning out. He would battle his way
back and ck up the win.
Heavy rains early turned the race into a timed race which helped set up
his run. For Castroneves it looked like he just might catch Rahal
after a late race caution. But when they went back green Rahal
just walked away form Castroneves never really looking back.
Rounding out the top five were Tony Kanaan, Ernesto Viso, and Enrique
Bernoldi.
Next week the IRL is off to Japan and for the Champ drivers they will
run their last race at Long Beach.
_____________________________________________________
04/05: Audi Scores
St. Pete Street Repeat
Audi's Lucas Luhr passed Romain
Dumas on a restart with three minutes left Saturday to give Audi a
victory in the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg presented by
XM Satellite Radio, the German manufacturer's first overall victory of
2008. Luhr teamed with Marco Werner in Audi Sport North America's No. 2
Audi R10 TDI as a diesel-powered prototype won on the streets of St.
Petersburg for the second straight season.
The 0.818-second victory was Luhr's first overall in the American Le
Mans Series and his seventh victory on a street circuit. Werner won
overall for the first time since the 2007 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of
Sebring. The car made just one pit stop in the race.
"We were not expecting the car to be this good so it was great to go out
and win a race for Audi," Werner said. "It was for sure very exciting. I
think it was very stressful for me in the pits. I could watch it on TV
and was very nervous, especially with all the safety cars." (ALMS.com)
- Kanaan Picks
Up Pole for St. Pete
NCRL-
It will be Tony Kanaan leading
the field to the green flag for Sunday's Honda Grand Prix of St.
Petersburg.
Kanaan held off Will Power with a top speed of 103.627 mph. Power
who is driving for KV Racing Technology ran a 103.499 mph best lap to
pick up the second spot. He also topped Kanaan on his last run but
the new qualifying looks at all three of a drivers speeds to set the
pole.
Behind Kanaan and Power are Justin Wilson, Helio Castroneves, and Ryan
Briscoe round out the top five.
Sunday's race will be televised
on ESPN in HD starting at 2:30 ET.
___________________________________________________________________
04/04:
Street Dreams: Werner Puts Audi on
St. Pete Pole
Marco Werner's affinity for street circuits shone again
Friday.
The Audi factory driver captured the overall pole position for
Saturday's Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg presented by XM
Satellite Radio with a record run, besting Penske Racing's Romain Dumas
as Audi looked to regain its winning ways in the American Le Mans
Series.
Werner's best lap was a 1:02.825 (103.144
mph) around the 1.8-mile, 14-turn circuit on the bayfront of St.
Petersburg. His time also beat Dumas' overall pole-winning time from
2007 by 0.214 seconds in the diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI he will share
with Lucas Luhr.
And it could have been even better. Werner was on pace to improve his
time on the next lap before running too hard into Turn 8 and spinning
the car. The R10 did stop before impacting the tire barrier so there was
no damage.
"I was pushing very hard on my last lap and was 0.2 seconds better than
the qualifying lap," he said. "On a normal circuit you have trouble
going into the grass or gravel. Here of course you don't have any of
that."
Werner placed second overall here last year with Emanuele Pirro, just
0.426 seconds behind Allan McNish and Dindo Capello. Werner will make
his seventh Series street circuit start and has finished either first or
second in his previous six events including a victory last year on Belle
Isle in Detroit. (ALMS.com)
- For Earnhardt Jr. Hendricks is a Nice Change
NCRL-
Dale Earnhardt has been the
shining star in the Hendricks's stable so far this year. And today at
the track that he picked up his first win in 2000 he would best the
filed to sit on the pole for Sunday's Samsung 500.
Earnhardt would would lay down a 190.907 mph lap to win the pole besting
Carl Edwards by .212 seconds.
Kyle Busch picked up the third spot after his disaster at Martinsville.
Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson would round out the top five spots.
It wasn't a very good day for points leader Jeff Burton he would find
himself starting in the 35 position
for Sunday.
The big story was Michael McDowell who had an insane crash in
qualifying. Coming into turn 1 on the second lap McDowell would
lose his car and slam into the safer barrier almost head on. He
would get out of the car unhurt.
As a result of McDowell's crash qualifying was held up for over an hour.
But, of interest his fist run put him in the 40th spot for Sunday's
race.
Our friends at Race Weather.net are calling for a mostly sunny race day
with temperatures in the high 70's.
The race will be televised on FOX in HD starting at 1:30 pm ET.
____________________________________________________________________
04/03: Things
Looking Bleak for Petty Enterprises
NCRL-
It's been some time since
Petty Enterprises has had a win. In fact, the last time they won a
race was in 1999 with John Andretti. Kyle Petty hasn't won since
1995 when he won at Dover. Bobby Labonte was to have turned the
team around but has yet to win a race since he moved over to Petty
Enterprises in 2006.
To add insult to injury they have now lost their long time sponsor
General Mill's to Richard Childress Racing (RCR) for the '09 series.
This puts the team in a scramble for a sponsor next year. Considering
the tight budgets of cooperate America it wont be an easy job with their
drivers running out of the picture.
With the departure of General Mill's there are rumors that Labonte
might be leaving with the sponsor to RCR.
With Kyle currently out side of the magic 35th in points his ability to
qualify is a major question since he will need to do it on speed alone.
This also raises a question about his move out of the seat for this
weekend's race in Texas. Chad McCumbee will be taking over the
driving duties. The question is is this the end of the road for
Kyle? He sat out some races last year fulfilling contract
obligations on TV.
Only time will tell what's up at Petty Enterprises but its not looking
very good.
-
A Look at
the St. Petersburg Grid
The Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg returns to the fast and
demanding 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit along the St.
Petersburg waterfront for the second time after an impressive and
competitive debut a year ago. Now celebrating its 10th season, the
Series has competed on a total of eight street venues in its history.
St. Petersburg was one of three new ones in 2007 along with Long Beach
and Belle Isle in Detroit.
Thirty-one of the 61 drivers entered for this year's Acura Sports Car
Challenge of St. Petersburg presented by XM Satellite Radio competed in
the 2007 race. Five of them are defending class champions: LMP2 winner
Sascha Maassen from Penske Racing, Corvette Racing's Olivier Beretta and
Oliver Gavin, and Risi Competizione's Jaime Melo and Mika Salo.
Eighteen of the drivers entered have scored at least one class or
overall victory in the eleven previous Series street races and achieved
a total of fifty-five class or overall victories in the 11 races. Lucas
Luhr and Sascha Maassen lead the entered drivers with six street wins
each. Olivier Beretta, Oliver Gavin, Jaime Melo, Johnny O'Connell and
Mika Salo each have four.
Eighteen drivers will make their first start in a Series street race:
Marc Basseng, Gerardo Bonilla, Harrison Brix, Jonny Cocker, Paul
Drayson, Christian Fittipaldi, Patrick Friesacher, Lou Gigliotti, Chris
Hall, Robbie Pecorari, Doug Peterson, Patrick Pilet, Andrea Robertson,
David Robertson, Scott Sharp, Tom Sutherland and Dirk Werner.
The Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg presented by XM
Satellite Radio is scheduled for 1:25 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 5 from
the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. The race will be broadcast on ABC
from 1:30-3:30 p.m. ET on April 5. American Le Mans Radio coverage will
be available on XM Satellite Radio Channel 144 from 5 to 8 p.m. ET on
Sunday, April 6. Live American Le Mans Radio coverage will be available
at americanlemans.com, which also will feature IMSA's Live Timing &
Scoring. (ALMS.com)
_________________________________________________________
03/30: Hamlin Wins
at Martinsville
NCRL-
Denny Hamlin would pick up
the lead on lap 427 and hold onto it to the end of the Goody's 500 for
the win.
He had a hard charging Jeff Burton reeling him in as rain was falling.
By lap 478 Burton and Hamlin battled lap traffic, with Hamlin holing the
lead.
On lap 493 Michael McDowell would spin and Jeff Gordon would get by
Burton to take over second place. But, lap cars would be a problem
for Gordon as he tried to reel Hamlin in. Gordon would get by the
lapped traffic and make his run on lap 499. But, Hamlin would hold
him off an pick up the win.
Jeff Burton would finish third, followed by Jimmie Johnson, and Tony
Stewart rounding out the top five.
The race saw 18 cautions and 9 leaders with 21 lead changes.
Jeff Burton with his third place finish will take over the points from
Kyle Busch who finished 38th after he spun on lap 20 and then had pit
issues when he over shoot his pit box never really was an issue.
______________________________________________________
03/29: Dixon Wins
IRL Opener
NCRL-
Scott Dixon would hold off a
hot Marco Andretti in the final laps of the Gainsco Auto Insurance Indy
500 to win the first unified open-wheel IRL race for 2008.
Dixon would start from the pole with with Danica Patrick on his outside
starting second. Dixon would break away early as Patrick would
experience car trouble and fall off the pace. This would set up a
race between Dixon and Andretti. The two drivers would battle for
most of the race.
While Dixon and Andretti were fighting it out Dixon's teammate and three
time Homestead-Miami winner Dan Weldon who had started from the 22nd
spot was quickly moving up through the pack.
In the late going of the race Tony Kanaan would take over the lead and
look to be very strong. But, with as he was closing in on a
possible win he would get caught up in a crash with only seven
laps left in the race. Ernesto Viso would spin and collect Kanaan
breaking his right front suspension.
Kanaan would stay out on the track with his wounded car leading while
under caution. But, once the green fell on lap 197 Dixon would
blow by to take over the lead and pick up the win.
Marco Andretti, Dan Weldon, Helio Castroneves, and Ed Carpenter would
round out the top five cars.
Kanaan would finish eight.
There were five different leaders and 12 lead changes with only three
cautions. Marco Andretti would lead the most laps with 85. The
average speed was 171.248 mph and the fastest lap was 213.309 mph by
Ryan Briscoe.
Trouble Right
Out of the Box
NCRL-
Ed Carpenter and AJ Foyt, IV
have been moved to the rear of the field for tonight's Gainsco Auto
Insurance Indy 300 after they "failed post qualifying technical
inspection."
This will move Danica Patrick
to the outside of the front row.
- New IRL
Starts Tonight
NCRL-
The much publicized reunited
open-wheel season will begin tonight at Homestead-Miami as the IRL's
season opener will start at 8:00 pm ET.
Scott Dixon will lead the field to the green. He will be followed
by Ed Carpenter, A.J. Foyt IV, Danica Patrick, and Ryan Briscoe the top
five qualifiers.
Race coverage is on ESPN2 in HD starting at 7:30 pm ET.
________________________________________________________
03/28: Gordon Takes
Pole at Martinsville
NCRL-
Jeff Gordon will start from
Sunday's Goody's 500 pole. This is his seventh pole at the
Virginia short tack. H e came out tenth on the grid and would lay down a
96.288 mph lap to take over the top spot and then hold on to it with
little trouble.
Denney Hamlin was Gordon's closest competitor and he finished .109
seconds behind the #24. Hamlin would roll out of the pits 26th and
would run a nice 95.757 mph lap to take the second spot for Sunday.
Behind him was Aric Almirola who impressed at Bristol with an eight
place finish. David Ragan and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top
five spots.
Elliott Sadler who is fighting back pain qualified 25th.
The weather for Sunday's race is looking at the possibility of showers
as the race progresses. Race Weather.net is calling for variable
clouds and 53 degrees with the increasing chance of showers throughout
the day.
Race coverage will start at 1:30 pm ET on FOX.
- Elliott
Sadler Hurts Back, Iffy at Martinsville
NCRL-
Elliott Sadler did something
to his lower back, and he has no idea what. But, its bad enough
that he may miss this Sunday's race at Martinsville.
Currently Dennis Setzer is doing the driver duties. There was hope
that Sadler would be able to qualify but that was looking unlikely.
If Sadler doesn't start Setzer will likely get the nod for Sunday.
Setzer a Truck Series regular has only eight Cup starts.
Mark McArdle, vice president of competition for Gillett Evernham
Motorsports was reported to say it is totally up to Sadler how this
plays out.
______________________________________________
03/26: Danica
Patrick Touches on Weighty Issue
IndyCar
star rips league on new minimum weight rule
We’ve
known for some time that the Indy Racing League was going to start
including the driver in the cars’ minimum weight.
This rule, which goes into effect this season, is an attempt to cut the
advantage a lighter driver can have over a heavier driver in terms of
speed. When this emerged from the IRL, everybody keyed on what the
effect would be on the league’s top star, the 100-pound Danica Patrick.
(mvn.com)
- Da Matta Back Behind the Wheel
Former Champ Car champion
Cristiano da Matta has driven a racing car for the first time since
suffering critical head injuries in a testing accident at Elkhart Lake
more than 19 months ago.
The 34-year-old Brazilian successfully tested a GAINSCO/Bob Stallings
Racing GrandAm at Eagles Canyon in Texas last week, and could now
partner former PKV Champ Car teammate Jimmy Vasser in a second BSR
Pontiac Riley at Laguna Seca in May.
Da Matta, who suffered a subdural hematoma after hitting a deer while
testing his RuSport Champ Car in August 2006, spent nearly two months in
hospital in recovery. (autosport.com)
- Rahal OK After Crash During Testing
New Albany's Graham Rahal was not
injured in a crash during testing on the oval at Homestead-Miami
Speedway last night, but his race car sustained considerable damage with
the Indy Racing League season opener just three nights away.
Rahal, whose Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team is making the hurried
transition from Champ Car to the IRL, lost control in turn one of the
1.5-mile oval as he passed the slower-moving car of Oriol Servia. Rahal
careened into the SAFER Barrier on the outside wall. (columbusdispatch.com)
_____________________________________________________
03/25: Outside the
Top 35, NASCAR Driver Jamie McMurray in Danger of Derailing Career
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The pressure is
officially on Jamie McMurray, a one-time Chase contender who now finds
himself in jeopardy of missing races.
A disastrous start to the season - his best finish was a 22nd at
California - sent McMurray into NASCAR's first off weekend ranked 36th
in the points standings. It had to have made for a miserable break for
McMurray.
He heads into Martinsville Speedway, where he must qualify on speed to
make Sunday's race. It's an agonizing position for any driver, but must
be particularly difficult for the self-loathing McMurray - a guy who was
so despondent over his first season at Roush Fenway Racing, he couldn't
sleep and was convinced he had to relearn how to drive. (canadianpress.com)
_______________________________________________________
03/23: Tracy Still
on the Outside Looking In
NCRL-
It appears that Paul Tracy's 2008
open-wheel season will be a very short one. The 2003 Champ Car
Champion is currently without a ride in the 2008 Indy Car Series, and
his current team owned by Gerald Forsythe plans to run only the last
Champ Car race in Long Beach California. After the Long Beach race
Forsythe will close his racing operation.
Tracy who is still under contact with Forsythe has stated that he has
not been released from his current contact. Tracy has also said
that he hasn't even talked to Forsythe since he announced that he was
closing operation back on February 29th.
While it was expected that Tracy would land a seat with one of the top
IRL teams after the merger was announced, today most of those teams are
set for the season. Plus the first IRL race is on March 29th a
week away.
Tracy's contract with Forsythe is for four more years, and while he can
race forms of racing he can't run in another open-wheel series. It
appears that Forsythe wants to look at his 2009 options before releasing
Tracy.
It has been reported that Tracy is current looking at some Sports Car
racing teams as well as NASCAR's Nationwide Series. But, right now
things don't look very good that he will be in a ride anytime soon.
______________________________________________
03/16:
Jeff Burton Gets Lucky Break and Wins
for his first Bristol Race
NCRL-
It
got exciting as usual at Bristol. As the race was coming to an end
Tony Stewart would lead Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kevin
Harvick to the green with only five laps to go. But, something
happed to Stewart and Hamlin would pass him for the lead.
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As Stewart slipped to second Kevin Harvick would get by Junior and put
pressure on Stewart as they the two raced for second. With only
two laps to go Harvick would slid up and get into Stewart putting him
into the outside wall. When Harvick and Stewart got together Jeff
Burton would slip into the second spot as the yellow came out.
With only two laps to go this would setup a green, white, checked
finish.
When the green fell with tow to go Hamlin who was leading would fall
well off the pace and Jeff Burton would blow by to picking up the win.
Behind him would be his teammates Harvick, and Bowyer giving Childress
his first one, two, three finish.
The race would start with Jimmie Johnson
bringing everyone to the green flag. He would hold it until lap 12
when Clint Bowyer passed him for the lead.
The first race related caution would come out on lap 59 when Robby
Gordon spun but would luckily not make any contact. Gordon's
caution would be one of ten for the race.
Tony Stewart who would lead the most laps but finish 14th after his
incident with Harvick, would take the lead for the first time in the
race on lap 96.
Points leader Kyle Busch would take over the lead when Denny Hamlin
needed to come back into the pits. Busch would lead the filed to
the green on lap 281, but disaster would befall him when he lost his
power steering fluid and would slid up into the wall and severely
damaging his car. Busch would come back to finish 17th.
Stewart would be back up front when they went back to racing on lap 304.
He and Kevin Harvick would swap the lead a number of times after they
went back racing. As the race was winding down it was all Stewart
and Harvick.
On lap 489 Brian Vickers would blow a tire and slid up into the outside
wall bring out the 9th caution. This would set up a crazy finish.
Stewart would bring everyone to the green with five laps to go.
But, he would lose the lead to his teammate Hamlin and then get together
with Harvick setting up the green white checkered finish.
When they went back racing Denney Hamlin would fall off the pace and
Jeff Burton who slipped through the Harvick, Stewart incident would blow
by Hamlin to win his first Bristol race and set up a Childress one, two,
three finish.
Behind Burton, Harvick, and Bowyer was Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt
Jr. rounding out the top five.
The race saw eight leaders and 17 lead changes with ten cautions..
Tony Stewart lead the most laps with 267. The winner Jeff Burton
would lead only the last two laps of the race.
- What a Night for Penske, Porsche at
Sebring
The 2007 American Le Mans Series
was a magical one for Penske Racing. The 2008 season may be even better
if Saturday was any indication. Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Emmanuel
Collard drove to an historic overall win at the 56th Mobil 1 Twelve
Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida.
The win was the first overall at Sebring by an LMP2 car and saw 27
overall lead changes, a race record, and three lead-lap finishers, tying
a race record. Dumas took the checkered flag by 1:02.084 over Dyson
Racing's trio of Butch Leitzinger, Marino Franchitti and Andy Wallace in
their Porsche RS Spyder. The Audi Sport North America trio of Dindo
Capello, Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen finished third overall and
first in LMP1.
Third in P2 class and fourth overall was the second Dyson Porsche of
Chris Dyson and Guy Smith as the P2 class took three of the top four
spots.
The overall win for Porsche was its first since 1988 when Hans Stuck and
Klaus Ludwig took victory in a Porsche 962. Roger Penske took his first
win at Sebring in 40 years and became the first team owner to win
overall at Sebring, the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. (ALMS.com)
_______________________________________________________
03/14: When it Rains, You
Don't Qualify
NCRL-
Maybe NASCAR should consider
starting their season later... It's rain again.. So they will be
starting by NASCAR rules. That puts Jimmie Johnson on the pole
because we haven't made it past the first five races.. Bristol
will be the fifth race, if this happens again we will see it set by
points.
Because of the rain Johnson will be followed by his teammate Jeff
Gordon, Then Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, and Casey Mears rounding out
the top five.
If everything works out Sunday's race will be seen on FOX starting at
1:30 pm ET. Race Weather.com is calling for a big go at the green
flag with partly cloudy skies and 55 degrees.
_____________________________________________________________________
03/13: American Le
Mans Series Rolls Out at Sebring
NCRL-
The American Le Mans started its
2008 series yesterday with support race practice. Qualifying for the
ALMS teams starts today at 3:05 pm ET for GT1 and GT2.
For Friday support races and fan events will rule the day with the ALMS
56th annual 12 Hours at Sebring starting at 10:05 Am on Saturday morning
and finishing at 10:05 pm ET.
Television coverage will begin at 9:30 am ET on SPEED.
__________________________________________________________
03/11:
Drivers
Harshly Critical of Goodyear Tires
Kyle Busch got the breakthrough
victory for Toyota, the first NASCAR Cup tour win for a foreign carmaker
since 1954.
But it was teammate and runner-up Tony Stewart who stole the post-race
spotlight yesterday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, leading an angry chorus
of drivers complaining about too-hard tires on this new winged car of
tomorrow and poor racing in the Kobalt Tools 500.
And Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon were right up front with their
criticism, too. (journalnow.com)
_________________________________________________
03/09 Its Toyota's
First Win as Kyle Busch Dominates
NCRL-
Kyle Busch was looking like the
early favorite until a hard charging Carl Edwards jumped to the lead
late in the race. Edwards would get by Busch on lap 240 and hold on to
it through a caution. But, when he brought the pack to the green
on lap 267 smoke started coming out the back of his car. He would
lose his transmission and take his car to the garage on lap 277 ending
his day. As Edwards' day ended Kyle Busch went back to the lead
after pit stops never looking back as he would skate to Toyota's first
Cup win.
The race would start with Dale Earnhardt Jr. jumping to the lead on the
very first lap of the race passing his teammate Jeff Gordon.
Earnhardt would hold on the the lead until Kyle Busch would catch him
and take the lead for the first time on lap 60. Busch would hold
on to the lead until he brushed the outside wall on lap 149. Clint
Bowyer would take advantage and pass Busch for the lead.
Bowyer would on through lap 205 when he would turn the lead back over to
Busch on lap 205. Busch would stay up front until Edwards won the
race out of the pits on lap 265.
After Edwards blew up Busch would move back upfront and never need to
really look over his shoulder.
As the race was winding down Greg Biffle would start to move through the
filed and would take over the second spot on lap 310. But, as he
was racing to the second spot Busch was in the process of setting up a
three second lead.
As Kyle Busch was putting distance between him and Biffle, his teammate
Tony Stewart was reeling in Biffle's second place car. And with
only two laps to go Stewart would pass Biffle and set up a one two Gibbs
Toyota finish as Busch would win by 2.255 seconds.
Behind the Gibbs boys Dale Earnhardt Jr. would catch third, Biffle would
slip to fourth and pole sitter Jeff Gordon would pull out a fifth place
finish.
The race saw nine lead changes and 26 lead changes with 8 cautions.
Next week its short track racing as the Cup goes to Bristol.
____________________________________________________________
03/08: Champ Car
files for Bankruptcy
The Champ Car World Series is
officially in bankruptcy court in Indianapolis.
The filing shows an assortment of creditors, including four companies
owned by the four men who filed the bankruptcy: Gerald Forsythe, Kevin
Kalkhoven, Dan Pettit and Paul Gentilozzi.
Cosworth, which is owned by Forsythe and Kalkhoven, seeks $1.825
million; PKV Racing, owned by Kalkhoven and Pettit, wants $645,883;
RuSport, which was bought by Pettit, seeks $424,861; and Forsythe
Championship Racing, which is going out of business, wants $327,961.
The filing also shows that Indy Racing League founder Tony George will
pay $6 million for key assets of Champ Car, including the mobile medical
facility. Also, George will pay Kalkhoven and Forsythe, the series' two
primary owners, $2 million each to promote and stage the Grand Prix of
Long Beach on April 18-20. George agreed to continue the Long Beach race
in future IRL seasons.
Champ Car and the IRL will finalize their contract once Champ Car's
filing passes through U.S. Bankruptcy Court. They signed an agreement in
principle on Feb. 22. (AutoWeek.com)
__________________________________________________________
03/07: Jeff Gordon
Picks Up Atlanta Pole
NCRL-
Jeff Gordon came out seventh and
would set a lap speed of 185.251 mph and never look back as he picked up
the Kobalt Tools 500 pole in Atlanta. Teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.
would come the closest to bumping Gordon, but he would finish .063
seconds off of the pace as he picked up the outside spot for Sunday.
Earnhardt had a little problem when he got the green which may have cost
him the pole.
Martin Truex Jr. looked good as he will start from the third spot.
Carl Edwards qualified fourth looking to pick points up for his penalty
of 100 this week. Rounding out the top five was Bobby Labonte.
Current points leader Kyle Busch will start from the sixth spot.
Missing the race are Ken Schrader, Bill Elliott, Johnny Benson, Burney
Lamar, and John Andretti.
Sunday's race weather from Race Weather.net is calling for a mostly
sunny day in the mid fifties.
The race will be televised on FOX starting at 1:30 pm E.T.
Don't forget daylight savings time starts at 2:00 am on March 9th your
clocks will move one hour forward for Sunday.
____________________________________________________________
03/05: Robbie Gordon
Gets Points Back
NCRL-
Robby Gordon the only
owner/driver team operating in the NASCAR Cup Series got some good news
today. NASCAR has overturned the penalty they hit Robby Gordon
Motorsports with after the Daytona 500 for a parts violation and
reinstated the 100 driver/owner points.
Also Crew chief Frank Kerr got a victory, as he was able to have his
six-race suspension dismissed. But, there was still a price to
pay, literally. Kerr's fine was raised from $100,000 to $150,000
and he will remain on probation until the end of the year.
This is great news for the Gordon team. With the crash at Las
Vegas Gordon had slipped out of the top 35 which would guarantee his
team a starting position. He will now sit in the 21st position.
- Edwards Team
Fined and Penalized
NCRL-
NASCAR issued its decision on the
Roush team and Carl Edwards #99 Ford Fusion that failed post-race
inspection after the Las Vegas race.
The fines and penalties are that Edwards and his car owner Jack Roush
will lose 100 championship driver and 100 championship owner points,
respectively. Also if they should qualify for the Chase, the team will
not receive the 10 bonus points for the UAW-Dodge 400 victory used for
determining the Chase seeding order. The #99 crew chief Bob Osborne was
fined $100,000, and has been suspended for the next six Cup races.
He will return on April 30 and serve the rest of the session on
probation.
_________________________________________________________
03/04: Edwards Car
Fails Post Race Inspection
NCRL-
After Carl Edwards win was
celebrated by the Roush team his Ford Fusion was failing it's post-race
inspection at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. NASCAR found that the lid
was not on the oil tank box of his car. They confiscated and sent
the parts back to North Carolina for further inspection.
This isn't good news for the Edwards team. Similar issues
surrounding the new cars has resulted in some hefty fines and loss of
points. If NASCAR finds this to be a major infraction it could
cost Edwards his 21 point lead over Kyle Busch.
Developing.
_____________________________________________________________
03/02: Edwards Makes
in Two in Two Weeks
NCRL-
Carl Edwards would find his way to the front of the field Sunday for the
first time on lap 21. When he got it back on lap on lap 238,
passing his teammate Matt Kenseth he wouldn't look back as he picked up
his second win in three races.
Things would start out with Kyle
Busch brining everyone to the green to get the UAW-Dodge 400 underway.
After a number of stops for cautions lead changes due to cycling of cars
Jeff Burton would be the new leader as the went back green on lap 75.
But Kyle Busch would jump back to the front catching Burton on lap 81.
Tony Stewart would lose a tire and hit the wall hard bringing out the
third caution. Kyle Busch would get everyone back to racing on lap
114. But, Busch would get passed by Matt Kenseth on lap 117.
ON lap 144 Robby Gordon would blow a tire hitting the wall and bringing
out the fourth caution. This would also set up pit stops.
They would go back green with Kenseth leading on lap 149.
There would be a number of lead changes until Carl Edwards would pick
the lead back up on lap 195.
After the seventh caution and pit stops Matt Kenseth would be back up
front when they went back green. Kenseth and Edwards would battle
until lap 238 when Edwards would get by Kenseth to regain the lead.
It looked like no one had anything for Edwards at theist point.
While Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr. fought for second Edwards was starting
to run away. Then on lap 256 Kurt Busch would crash to bring out
the tenth caution. When they went back green it was Edwards,
Earnhardt Jr., Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, and Greg Biffle. That put
three Roush cars in the top five.
As the green flag feel Earnhardt would not get any traction and cause
Kenseth and Gordon to avoid Earnhardt, but the two would get together
and Gordon would hit the wall hard. Kenseth would get by with no
damage.
This would bring out the eleventh caution and a red flag as NASCAR
cleaned up the mess.
They would go back green on lap 265 and no one would have anything for
Edwards as he cruised to his second win in two weeks.
Behind Edwards was Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle, Harvick, and Burton
rounding out the top five.
_______________________________________________________
02/29: Kyle Busch
Becoming Toyota Poster Boy
NCRL-
What a difference a year makes,
and one of the top level teams, as Toyota has been flexing their newly
found muscles in the early going of Cup racing, And, its Kyle
Busch who is helping them flex them.
Kyle Busch who has been on an
impressive run has added a pole to his list as he would knock Carl
Edwards, who by the way is have a great start as well, off the Las Vegas
pole this afternoon.
Running a 182.352 mph qualifying speed Busch would beat Edwards by .125
seconds. They will be followed by Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, and
Mike Skinner for Sunday's UAW-Dodge 400.
Sunday's weather for the race looks like a mild 68 degrees at race time,
but with possible wind gusts up to 25 mph per our friends at
Race Weather.net.
The race will be televised on FOX at 3:30 pm ET.
- Paul Tracy Looking For A Ride
HOMESTEAD - Forsythe Championship
Racing, one of Champ Car's top teams, abruptly announced Thursday it
will not be part of the open-wheel reunification, leaving the defunct
series' best-known driver without a ride.
Paul Tracy, the 2003 CART champion and winner of the only CART edition
of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, told Speedtv.com he'll shop his
services to Indy Racing League teams. (canada.com)
- Forsythe Shuts Down Operations
The fallout of the merger between
Champ Car and the rival Indy Racing League continued with one of the
biggest names in open-wheel racing parking its cars for good.
Forsythe Championship Racing yesterday announced that after 13 years of
competition in CART and Champ Car World Series, the team will not be
making the move to the IRL.
"Forsythe Championship Racing is announcing today the cessation of its
racing operations," Neil Micklewright, vice-president of operations for
Forsythe, said in a statement. "The team has been unable to secure the
necessary sponsorship to be able to compete in the Indy Racing League
IndyCar Series in 2008." (canada.com)
____________________________________________________________
02/27: IRL, Champ Car Unification Press Conference
NCRL-
M. Service
The IRL and Champ Car held a
press conference today at 12:15 pm ET at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.
While a lot has been speculated issue regarding the merger was cleared
up.
Regarding the races the Long Beach race in California will be Champ Cars
final race. They will run it at the same time that the IRL teams are
running in Japan. To keep everything even and have no
disadvantages the IRL will distribute points and prize money for both
races under their current system. All of the Camp Teams will run the
Panoz DP01 body. After the race they will change over to the
Dallara bodies and Honda engines.
Regarding other races, they are trying to include the Edmonton Canada,
and the Surfers Paradise, Australia races. They also expect to try
and have a clean schedule for the 2009 season. However, one of the
favorite races may be done. The Cleveland Champ Car race may not make
the cut for next year. But, Tony George hedged somewhat saying
that they will discuss that issue later.
All historical records and other intellectual properties are being
merged. This will put the history of American open-wheel racing under
the IRL.
The Champ Car teams will be teamed up with IRL teams to help the
transition. Some of the parings mentioned were, Newman/Haas and Rahal
Letterman, Target Chip Ganassi and KV racing, noting the past
relationship between Jimmy Vasser and Chip Ganassi.
It was also discussed if they will likely limit the number of teams
coming over from Champ Car. When asked Brian Barnhart, the Chief
Operating Officer of the IRL said that "yeah, I'd say there is a limit.
I think that's driven by equipment."
It was also discussed that they are looking for a 20 race season for
2009, with 50% ovals in the mix. At this time its hard to say what
types of other races will be fit in. Pure road races or inclusion
of some street races.
It is apparent that things are still being thought through. It is
just five weeks till the first IRL race in Homestead-Miami. will
they have all the bugs worked out hardly considering the endeavor they
are starting but for the American open-wheel fan base it a great start.
_________________________________________________________
02/26: Could
California Go Restrictor Plate
NCRL-
After a long weekend in Southern
California for NASCAR and racing fans alike the Auto Club Speedway will
be tearing up the track to work on the water seepage that caused the
postponement of the Auto Club 500.
But, rather than just ripping up the track to fix the weeping Gillian
Zucker, President of the Auto Club Speedway has suggested reconfiguring
the track into a restrictor plate track.
In a story at ESPN.com Zucker was reported to say that if they are going
to tear it up to fix they might as well make it a bit more interesting.
The track currently has 14 degree banking in the turns and Zucker is
thinking it should be maybe more like 20.
The whole thing came about after a discussion with Michael Waltrip who
appears to have made the first suggestion. At first Zucker thought
it was funny but the more she thought about it the more she liked the
idea.
Waltrip thought that the banking should be closer to 32 degrees.
But, Zucker didn't think that it really needs that much banking.
The cars are running close to 210 mph now with the 14 degrees.
The idea is new and hasn't been discussed with NASCAR or the
International Speedway Corp. owner of the track. But, if it were
approved it would make a big change to the racing in Fontana,
California. Ever since NASCAR granted a second race at Fontana
they haven't had a sell-out. There have been many reasons
speculated to as why. Many think the race is kind of boring.
While the drivers love the track because it is wide and has many racing
lines it doesn't really result in that side-by-side racing that fans
like.
The other issue, and one that could be helped by rescheduling is the Las
Vegas race. Vegas isn't that far away and having two California
races with a Vegas race people will think twice before going to all
three. And of course Vegas has a bit more going for it than
Fontana, like the whole gambling thing.
A superspeed way could be that one thing to help peek the interest of
fans all over the Southern California basin. We will see if this
turnout to be more than just a thought.
______________________________________________________
02/25: What a Difference a Day Makes
NCRL-
After rain was the story last night NASCAR
would resume the race today at 1:00 pm ET. They would get back to
racing with 160 laps left and Jimmie Johnson would bring the field to
the green.
There would be dicing as teammates Johnson and Jeff Gordon swapped the
lead.
As the race progressed a number of drivers would capture the lead as
drivers would come in for adjustments.
On lap 167 Dale Jarrett would slap the wall and bring out the tenth
caution. But, of note is Carl Edwards. Edwards would just
get fuel and tires and make no adjustments to his car.
When they went back green on lap 171 Jeff Gordon would be the leader and
Edwards would be behind him. Edwards would catch Gordon with
little problem and pass him for the lead on lap 179.
Edwards would set up a huge lead. He would at one point have
almost a 5 second gape between him and Gordon.
After stops for the 11th caution Jimmie Johnson would regain the lead.
But, Edwards would run him down passing on lap 237 and settle in to pick
up the win.
Behind Edwards were Johnson, Gordon, Kyle Busch, and Kenseth rounding
out the top five.
After two days of racing in California the Auto Club 500 would see 15
leaders and 34 lead changes with 12 cautions.
- Race to Resume at 1:00 pm ET
NCRL-
After NASCAR made an attempt to get the race
in as of 12:02 am ET, they would pull the plug at 2:00 am ET
rescheduling the Auto Club 500 for 1:00 pm ET.
When the race gets back underway Jimmie Johnson will lead Travis Kvapil,
Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, and Kasey Kahne the top five a the time of the
postponement.
You can catch the remainder of the race on FOX.
________________________________________________________
02/24: Weather Dominates at California
NCRL-
The question is should they even have tried?
After rain was the story all weekend long NASCAR would send the Sprint
Cup cars to the track after a three hour start delay. The green
flag would fall at 6:32 pm ET getting the All State 500 under way.
Jeff Gordon would rabbet jump to the lead and run away from everyone.
But, it would only last for 14 laps as the first caution would come out
when Denny Hamlin would cut a tire and hit the wall. A question
came up fast was it really a cut tire or could it have been water on the
track. NASCAR was fighting weepers, where ground water from the rains
would seep onto the tack.
When they went back to green on lap 18 Jimmie Johnson was the new
leader. But, Jeff Gordon would zip by his teammate to regain the
lead. Gordon would hold on until his other teammate Casey Mears
hit water and would spin collecting Sam Hornish Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr.,
and Reed Sorenson.
NASCAR would red flag the field so they could clean up the wreckage.
They would also work on the track to hopefully elevate the weeping
problems. Just over an hour delay NASCAR brought out the yellow
and the drivers started back to the track.
It appeared that NASCAR was hoping to get an official race in as more
rain was looming. But they wouldn't get far as rain started in
turn four on lap 39. They would get back to racing on lap 47 with
Johnson in the lead. But, a number of on track incidents and the
next heavy batch of rain would bring out the second red flag on lap 85
at 9:12 pm ET.
___________________________________________________________
02/22:
BREAKING NEWS
Indy Racing and Champ Car Complete Merger
NCRL-
The rumors have been swirling for years,
but this year there was a bit more of an edge to them. Would
American open-wheel racing final come under one banner. That
answer as of today is yes.
Champ Car investor Gerald Forsythe signed a contract to merge with the
Indy Racing League today according to the
Indianapolis Star. With much speculation and rumor last night
IRL President Tony George and Champ Car investor Kevin Kalkhoven sighed
their part. That signing was keep under wraps as may thought they
had not reached an agreement on some specific issues.
The official press release is being planed for next week with the
location still unannounced.
One of the possible sticking points was the Champ Car race in Long Beach
California. It appears that that race, as well as Champ Car races in
Canada and Australia will be included in the 2008 IRL schedule.
Open Testing for 2008 will begin at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Feb.
27-28 the public is invited.
Developing.
- Qualifying in California a Wash-Out
NCRL-
Heavy rains in Fontana has caused
NASCAR to cancel Cup qualifying. This puts Jimmie Johnson and Jeff
Gordon on the front row for Sunday's race. Clint Bowyer, last
years California winner Matt Kenseth, and Casey Mears will round out the
top five.
The lineup is established by the to 35 drivers using the 2007 owner
points. This also resulted in A.J. Allmendinger, Ken Schrader,
Patrick Carpentier, Mike Skinner, and Burney Lamar going home.
Things don't look much better for Sunday's race as Race Weather.net is
calling for a mostly Cloudy day and a 40% chance of rain, with
temperatures in the low 60's .
If the race should get off to a start it will be televised on FOX with
coverage starting at 3:30 pm ET.
- California Name Change
NCRL-
The California Speedway has changed it name to the Auto Club Speedway.
The Triple A has had a relationship with the track since 1997 and the
Auto Club 200 inaugural NASCAR Grand National West race. The name
change has been inked for a ten year run.
- IRL and Champ Cars Still Talking, But No Deal Yet
NCRL-
There was a planed joint press
conference set for today between the IRL and Champ Cars concerning the
possible merger of the two American open wheel series. However, it
was canceled as discussions continue.
Reports have the two groups making ground, but there are still some
sticking points. Specifically Tony George, owner of the IRL is
pushing for the full rights of Indy-style racing. What this
initials is owning the history, trademarks, and that all future races be
under the current Indy Racing League Banner. This demand by George
will all but wipe away any mention of the other league. This could
be a hard pill to take for the current co-owner of Champ Cars, Kevin
Kalkhoven who George is working with.
Also, there are some issue with the Champ Car cornerstone race the Long
Beach Grand Prix. Currently there is a scheduling conflict with
the Long Beach race and the IRL race in Japan. The Japanese have
indicated that they will not let the IRL out of their contract.
The IRL season is scheduled to start at Homestead on March 29th.
Making movement in the coming days imperative if the two leagues should
merge this year.
Developing
_________________________________________________________
02/21: Penalties From NASCAR with Love
NCRL-
NASCAR divvied out what is
becoming their annual Daytona Penalty parade today. The majority
this year were won by teams in the Nationwide Series, (wow, that's still
hard to say, you will remember that series as the Busch series).
And the sole Sprint Cup team who lucked out was the #7 Robby Gordon
group.
Gordon was nailed by NASCAR with a $100,000 fine and docked 100 points.
The fine was for Gordon's crew chief who was also suspended for
six races. Robby Gordon has been reported to say he will appeal
the decision. Good Luck.
Over in Nationwide, Kertus Davis, Johnny Sauter, David Gilliland, David
Stremme, Cale Gale, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were all penalized, and six
crew chiefs were suspended and fined. Also, ensuring that they
spread the love Todd Bodine, winner of the Truck race, and two
crew chiefs were penalized in that series.
____________________________________________________________
02/19: IROC to Close Doors
NCRL-
After 35 years of racing the
International Race of Champions (IROC) is coming to an end. In a
two-day public auction they will liquidate all assets including tools,
cars, and memorabilia March 7th and 8th at their headquarters in Tinton
Falls, N.J.
The series didn't not race last year because of the lack of a sponsor,
and this was the major factor that faced them this year as well.
Sponsorships are becoming increasingly less available for any number of
reasons including the current economic environment.
The series that was developed by this years Daytona 500 winning owner
Roger Penske in 1973. The idea was to take the top 12 best drivers
in the world from different types of racing and put them into identical
cars to answer the question who was the best driver.
The races in the beginning were on four different types of tracks.
The first year they raced at the road courses of Riverside International
Raceway in Southern California, and Daytona International Speedway.
NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. Suggested including ovals. Later they ran
only oval tracks as support races at NASCAR events.
The series has ran the Porsche 911, Chevy Camaro, Dodge Daytona, and the
Avenger, GM came back in 1996 with the Pontiac Firebird.
So, who is the greatest driver in the world? Well, with wins and
Championships its Mark Martin. Martin has five Championships and
13 wins. He is followed by Dale Earnhardt who had four
Championships, and was tied with Al Unser Jr. with 11 wins.
The series will be missed.
- Indy Racing and Champ Cars May Be or May Not Be Together for '08
NCRL-
It's been some time since
there has been so much chatter about the IRL and Champ Cars merging.
But, lately its sound more and more like it may be a done deal.
In a report posted on Auto
Racing Daily well known open wheel reporter Robin Miller is saying
that when he talked to Paul Tracy, Tracy told him that he was flying in
to Indy later this week to get fitted for a seat for a Indy Racing
Dallara. Tracy was reported to say further that he was going to
Homestead to test.
It has also been reported that Champ Car is currently updating their
schedule which is resulting in dropping a number of their international
races.
If this is indeed all true we should be seeing a press conference within
the coming days. But, as happened in the past the slightest breeze
could bring this whole then down. And that is exactly what a
Canadian news service is claiming has already happened. The
National Post is reporting that the IRL's attempt to get the
Japanese to change their race date so as not to conflict with the Champ
Car Long Beach race, possibly the biggest race on the Champ Car circuit,
fell through ending the merger.
So the question is who's right...
Developing..
_______________________________________________________
02/17: It's a Penske One - Two
NCRL-
Ryan Newman's first win since 2005 is the big one, capturing the 50th
Daytona 500.
After the last caution of the race there would be only three laps left
as Jeff Burton brought the field to the green. Burton wouldn't be
able to hold off a hard charging Tony Stewart who would take the lead
with Ryan Newman in tow.
As they came to the back stretch on the white flag lap Newman would find
his teammate Kurt Busch behind him as Stewart would hook up with his
teammate Kyle Busch setting up a Dodge Toyota charge to the checkers.
But the Dodges had just a bit more of a run as Kurt Busch pushed Newman
to the first Penske restrictor plate and NASCAR one two win.
The race was pretty clean from the start with the first two cautions
coming out on lap 80 and then on lap 150, both for debris. 15 laps
later the first caution came out for an incident between teammates David
Ragan and Matt Kenseth. Then as the race wound down the things got
a bit more racy and the cautions increased with four more in the next 24
laps.
Jimmie Johnson would get lose on lap 176 collecting Martin Truex Jr.
On lap 183 while running in the top five Clint Bowyer would get turned
around. Six laps later Dave Blaney would bring out the sixth
caution when he slapped the wall. On lap 195, the last caution
that would set up Newman's win, Casey Mears would try and block a hard
charging Tony Stewart. He would get clipped as he moved up in
front of Stewart and would slam into the outside wall.
The race would see 15 leaders and 42 lead changes. But, it would
be Kyle Busch who dominated for most of the race. Running up front for
most of the day he would lead 86 of the 200 laps well ahead of anyone
else.
The new car of tomorrow appeared to pass their Daytona test with flying
colors. It was also a race that showed the Toyotas are for real.
Toyota looked strong for most of the race but when it was all over they
would only place two cars in the top ten with Stewart and Busch.
The real story was the Dodge teams. Besides Newman and Kurt Bush
four other Dodges would finish in the top ten.
Behind Newman and Busch to round out the top five spots were Tony
Stewart, Kyle Busch, and Reed Sorenson.
____________________________________________________________
02/16: Villeneuve Out, For Now
NCRL-
Bill Davis Racing (BDR)
announced that F1, and Champ Car Champion Jacques Villeneuve's venture
into Cup racing has been put on hold.
After failing to qualify for Sunday's 500 BDR has told the press that
they will be filling the seat of the #27 Toyota with Mike Skinner, and
Johnny Benson for the next several races.
The went on to say that they are still behind Villeneuve's long term
goal to race in the Cup Series and are continuing to work with him on
it.
_________________________________________________________
02/14: Duels See Earnhardt and Hamlin Win
NCRL-
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