Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Canadians Invaded Road America Nationwide Race

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images

Several Canadian racers were called upon by stock car teams as a weapon of choice for the challenges of road racing competition. Having been on display in various forms of open wheel racing and sports cars, racers in Canada have an aptitude to turning left as well as right in motorsport competition. For the 2011 Bucyrus 200 at Road America, there are four drivers driving a maple leaf flag. Two of those Canadian motorsport representatives who threw an NASCAR Nationwide Series stock car around for the Saturday afternoon event were young, feisty drivers wanting to prove themselves for a full-time ride in the United States. The other two are experienced hands who have successfully demonstrated their talents to a world stage. Together, Ron Fellows, Jacques Villeneuve, JR Fitzpatrick and Andrew Ranger belted themselves into stock cars as part of a 42-car field at Road America.

After an extended Bucyrus 200 event, the Canadian contingent posted one of the best combined efforts for a non-American group of drivers competing on the NASCAR circuit. All four drivers (two from the province of Quebec and two from Ontario) collected a top-10 finishing position with and for their respective teams.


Ron Fellows

One of Canada's greatest chances of victory on the 4.048-mile circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin will be driving in his traditional road racing role with the JR Motorsports racing team. Driving the #7 Chevrolet, 51 year-old Ron Fellows rejoins the race organization for the fourth year in a row on the NASCAR Nationwide Series raod course events. One of the most successful Canadian drivers to compete in NASCAR with multiple victories in the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. Out of 6 total victories in NASCAR, the highlight was winning the Canadian NASCAR Nationwide series round at Circuit Gilles Villeneve.


Finishing second at the Road America track in Elkhart Lake, the driver of the #7 Chevrolet expressed considerable eagerness in competing for the Bucyrus 200. "Road America is one of my favorite road courses. It's long and fast, and great for racers. And the setting, in amongst lots of trees and rolling hills, is typical of a few great tracks built in the late 1950's and early 1960's. Watkins Glen (International) and Mosport (International Raceway) come to mind as similar tracks." Fellows' appreciation of great road courses was demonstrated in early June near Bowmanville, Ontario. Ron Fellows is part of an ownership group that is purchasing the historic Canadian Mosport complex.


Road America Result:

Requiring a ruling from NASCAR, Ron Fellows once again netted a runner-up spot. After the leader under caution ran out of fuel on track, Fellows' #7 AER Chevy appeared to be the new first place runner. Ruled in making an illegal yellow flag pass on the #32 Dollar General car of Reed Sorenson, Ron Fellows was repositioned in second place. Fellows in post-race expressed firm disagreement with the NASCAR ruling claiming that the #32 Chevrolet ran out of fuel.


Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images


Jacques Villeneuve

Winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1995 along with the overall CART title, second generation Canadian motorsport pilot Jacques Villeneuve biggest moment of glory was being crowned the 1997 Formula 1 World champion. In recent years, Jacques Villeneuve has been attempting to break through on the NASCAR circuit. Making a debut in the NASCAR truck series in 2007, Villeneuve appeared Sprint Cup series-bound for the 2008 season until prospective funding did not come through for Bill Davis Racing. Hitting a dead end of that deal, Villeneuve remained hungry for opportunities to drive in stock car competitions. Driving a handful of events in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, the French-Canadian driver was able to win rides in Nationwide series road races. Driving for Braun Racing for the last two seasons, Jacques Villeneuve returned to Road America in 2011 behind the wheel of the #22 Dodge of Penske Racing.

Villeneuve "I was fighting for the win in last year's race so I have some unfinished business at this event, for sure."


Road America Result:

Rebounding from trouble, Jacques Villeneuve placed the Discount Tire #22 Dodge into a 3rd place finish after 57 laps. At one point of the race, the French-Canadian driver was thrilling the crowd at Elkhart Lake by battling between his former Formula 3 rival Max Papis.

Unfortunately for Villeneuve, his podium finish resulted with many NASCAR fans and other drivers citing the 1997 Formula 1 Drivers Championship using less than kind opinions. Maybe or maybe not warranted based on the fact the #22 Dodge Challenger initiated an accident wrecking two front-runners including the #33 Chevy driven by Papis. Happening as the field took the first green-white checker restart attempt, the #22 Dodge dived to the right on the race track creating a three-wide scenario. Initially running on the pit lane exit lane, Villeneuve's right tires would clip the infield grass sending his car into the #11 Toyota of Brian Scott. In post-race, Villeneuve said he knew there was going to be trouble when his #22 Dodge touched the infield grass. Villeneuve said he didn't want to be in the position and made it clear it was not an intentional incident. Nonetheless, criticism following the chaotic NASCAR Nationwide series race would be squarely pointed at Jacques Villeneuve.


Andrew Ranger

One of the many young racing talents who attempted to break into open wheel racing, Andrew Ranger succeeded in this goal very early in his career. Finishing 4th in the 2004 Atlantic Series along with netting a rookie of the year title, Ranger was hired to a full-time Champ car ride in 2005. The Roxton Pond, Quebec native's two series in Champ car resulted with sub-par performances which was highlighted by a 2nd place in the Monterrey road course event in his rookie year. After 2006, the instability of the open wheel racing in North America as well as his less than glorious time in Champ Car caused Andrew Ranger to rethink a still young racing career.

Taking part in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Ranger would claim 2007 and 2009 championship titles. A terror on road course, the driver eventually adapted to short ovals to dominate. Last season, receiving notice from American teams, Andrew Ranger would go on to win NASCAR K&N Series events as well as a more recent ARCA race at New Jersey Motorsport Park.


Road America Result:

The 24 year-old Andrew Ranger drove the #53 Waste Management Dodge for owner Robert Torriere. Ranger's best NASCAR Nationwide Series finish heading into Road America was 3rd in the 2009 race at Montreal. Andrew Ranger could not top that effort in Elkhart Lake but did record a second-career top-10 result in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Starting 21st, the #53 car weaved to a solid 6th place.


JR Fitzpatrick

The 2006 champion of the CASCAR Superseries (the precursor to the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series) at just the age of 18, JR Fitzpatrick was brought on a fast track to NASCAR success which took him to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Driving first for TRG Motorsports, the driver was recruited by Kevin Harvick Incorporated (KHI) for select events. Scoring a best finish at Daytona International Speedway with 4th, funding cuts to KHI had JR Fitzpatrick returning to the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series full-time in 2010. Almost taking the title, 2011 brought Fitzpatrick a new opportunity with a new NASCAR Nationwide team. Go Canada Racing was set up to run select events for the year with plans to run the full schedule in 2012.

Determined to be recognized as a Canadian stock car star, Fitzpatrick has resorted to strategy drivers like Kyle Busch utilize for success. Getting the most possible seat time in stock car competition, a most aggressive 2011 racing season for JR Fitzpatrick includes competing in the United States as well as back in Canada.

Road America Result:

A 3rd start of the year for the #67 Go Canada Racing Ford Mustang, the Road America race could have went very badly for the team early. JR Fitzpatrick needed to take evasive action around the spinning #6 Ford of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Avoiding contact, Fitzpatrick continued to drive a clean race and was eventually rewarded as lead competition was whittled away in the late laps. Finishing 10th at the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Elkhart Lake on Saturday, JR Fitzpatrick jetted back to Canada in order to contend for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series event on the 2.54 mile road course at Mosport International Raceway.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Kurt Busch thumps Cup field in Sonoma win


Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR



By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

SONOMA, Calif. (June 26, 2011) — Sonoma County is famous for wineries, not woodsheds, but Kurt Busch found the latter Sunday at Infineon Raceway, administering a good old-fashioned whipping to his NASCAR Sprint Cup competition in the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

Busch led 76 of 110 laps and beat runner-up Jeff Gordon to the finish line by 2.685 seconds to win his first race of the season and the 23rd of his career, tying him with Ricky Rudd for 26th on the career win list. The victory, which broke a 38-race drought, was Busch’s first on a road course.

By staying out front for most of the afternoon, Busch avoided the wildness exploding behind him — including a revenge play featuring Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers and sustained late-race drama involving Juan Pablo Montoya and a host of extras.

Gordon, who was mired in traffic for much of the day, parlayed pit strategy into his second-place finish by staying out on old tires late in the race. Series leader Carl Edwards did the same and came home third, extending his advantage in the standings to 25 points over second-place Kevin Harvick, who finished ninth Sunday.

Clint Bowyer ran fourth, followed by road-course ace Marcos Ambrose and polesitter Joey Logano. Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., Harvick and Brad Keselowski — Busch’s Penske Racing teammate — completed the top 10.

Busch and crew chief Steve Addington hit on a two-pit-stop strategy for a race in which most drivers would require three stops. It worked to perfection.

“We developed the strategy from practice,” Busch said. “It gave us the calculations we needed, and it showed that we could make it on two stops. A lot of guys said that they couldn’t make it on two stops, so we knew there were going to be teams pitting around Lap 10, Lap 15 to get those fresher tires.

“So my thought was, inside the car, ‘Well, I need to continue to push this car hard and run a lap time that won’t allow those guys with fresh tires to chop off (the margin) and catch me. It was just one of those feelings where the crew was helping me, I was helping them, and the race played out perfectly for us.”

Busch led Truex through Turn 11 on Lap 87, but right behind him, Vickers jack-hammered Stewart into the tire barrier, destroying the rear end of Stewart’s Chevrolet. The back of Stewart’s car came to rest on top of a stack of tires, unable to move.

Vickers, who waited for Stewart to pass him before wrecking him, exacted revenge for a Lap 37 incident in which Stewart pile-drove Vickers’ Toyota into the same corner and started a seven-car chain-reaction collision that collected Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Chevrolet and eventually knocked the No. 88 out of the race.



Photo Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images


Busch stayed on the track during the final caution and led the field to a restart on Lap 92. From that point on, it was no contest.

On more than one occasion, Montoya drove aggressively through the field, only to be derailed by contact with other cars. On fresh tires late in the race, he advanced to the sixth position before turning Kasey Kahne’s Toyota and falling back.

Soon after that incident, a three-car wreck involving Montoya, Keselowski and Kyle Busch dropped Montoya to 22nd at the finish.

“We got through the corner, and I just got on his bumper a little bit and moved him a little,” Montoya said of the incident with Keselowski. “Got a good run, and I guess he didn’t like it … he just plain and simple wrecked us.”

Not surprisingly, Keselowski had a different view.

“I don’t take any pride in all that stuff, but at some point, you’ve got to run your own deal,” he said. “It was pretty obvious that it was eat or be eaten, and I wasn’t going to be eaten.”

V is for Valencia Victory by Vettel

Photo Credit: Nissan Infiniti USA

Presiding on a hot Sunday, the third European Grand Prix on the Valencia 25-turn street course

Coming into the European Grand Prix, motor racing fans previously watched the 2011 Formula 1 championship leader Sebastian Vettel perform a rare misstep at the Montreal street course. Getting loose at the end of the Canadian Grand Prix, Vettel slid his Red Bull-Renault allowing Jenson Button to pass for the top podium position. By taking pole on Saturday qualifying, Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team were ready to immediately set aside the final laps of the Canadian Grand Prix.

As the green lights dimmed to start the 2011 European Grand Prix, Vettel's Red Bull-Renault dash out in front of his teammate Mark Webber. For 57 laps, the German Sebastian Vettel drove flawlessly on the Spanish Sunday afternoon negotiating the Valencia 3.367-mile street course.

Chasing down the second Red Bull-Renault, the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso flew at his home grand prix. Starting 3rd, the Spaniard Alonso navigated by Webber on lap 21 using the DRS wing enhancement heading into turn 12. The Ferrari took second place at this point of the European Grand Prix but lost it through a pit stop exchange. As Alonso fell behind Webber on lap 29, The second member of the Scuderia Ferrari team Felipe Massa experience a race-hindering pit stop. On lap 30, Massa's Ferrari pit crew were slowed by a wheel nut getting jammed in a tire changing air gun. Taking over 8 seconds to change Pirelli racing slicks, the #6 Ferrari was displaced from the 4th place running Lewis Hamilton.

Into the European Grand Prix's latter stage, Fernanado Alonso's Ferrari regained the runner-up spot with a combination of the Spanish driver's considerably fast pace and other circumstances that slowed the #2 Red Bull-Renault. Through the final laps, Mark Webber was instructed by Red Bull team engineers to short shift through the gearbox's lower 3 gears. An attempt to ease the volatile state of the transmission, the maneuver slowed the Australian's pace late but allowed the Red Bull-Renault to soldier on to the third and final podium spot.

Unlike the carnage-filled Canadian Formula 1 race, every car that started the European Grand Prix crossed the finish line. The only moment of true anxiety in the race occurred when the Lotus-Renault GP driver Vitaly Petrov and the 7-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher collided on lap 15. Following the race, Michael Schumacher responded to the race changing incident saying "I saw Petrov quite late, even though I was aware that he was coming, and tried to brake as late as possible and go round the corner with him. But when I wanted to draw back, I locked the front wheel and slipped into him, which was clearly my mistake." Vitaly Petrov finished 15th in the race while Michael Schumacher (who needed to attend pit road for a replacement front nose and wing assembly) came across the finish line 17th.

Repeating the 2011 grand prix race domination shown by the reigning Formula 1 champion, Sebastian Vettel took his Red Bull Racing team to victory for his 6th time in the 8 races currently run on the world tour. As Vettel sailed to the European Grand Prix, he extends his lead in the 2011 Formula 1 driver championship by 77 points over the nearest position. The 2011 European Grand Prix did cause a shift in the second-place spot of the Formula 1 driver points. Mark Webber's 3rd place in the event gave him a enough points to tie McLaren's Jenson Button for the runner-up in the current standings.

Next for the Formula 1 tour is the July 10th British Grand Prix.


Formula 1
2011 European Grand Prix
Race Result



  1. 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing
  2. 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
  3. 2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing
  4. 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren
  5. 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
  6. 4 Jenson Button McLaren
  7. 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
  8. 19 Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso
  9. 14 Adrian Sutil Force India
  10. 9 Nick Heidfeld Lotus Renault GP
  11. 17 Sergio Perez Sauber
  12. 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams F1
  13. 18 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso
  14. 13 15 Paul di Resta Force India
  15. 10 Vitaly Petrov Lotus Renault GP
  16. 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber
  17. 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
  18. 8 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams F1
  19. 21 Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus
  20. 20 Jarno Trulli Team Lotus
  21. 24 Timo Glock Marussia Virgin Racing
  22. 25 Jérôme D’Ambrosio Marussia Virgin Racing
  23. 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT F1
  24. 22 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Sorenson Conquers Road Warriors and Craziness for Bucyrus 200 Win


Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images


The first excursion for the NASCAR Nationwide series on the road courses for 2011, the Road America round was a complete change in tone for a stock car tour dominated by oval tracks. A 4.048-mile track in Elkhart Lake, the Bucyrus 200 race is 50 laps of unique fender-to-fender competition.

Spending much of this 2011 season as a driver for a "Start and Park" effort in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, Michael McDowell was given a golden opportunity to compete for a NASCAR trophy with Joe Gibbs Racing's Nationwide series team. Driving the #18 Toyota, McDowell was fast throughout Friday practice as the young driver polished up on skills acquired through his road racing background. Against the likes of Jacques Villeneuve, Ron Fellows and Max Papis, Michael McDowell accomplished early greatness by taking the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the top in qualifying. Max Papis, Jacques Villeneuve, Billy Johnson and Ron Fellows rounded out the top-5 in a qualifying session occurring just ahead of the actual race.

In the late Saturday afternoon event, the NASCAR Nationwide Series Bucyrus 200 received the green flag with 42 drivers immediately demonstrating their varying levels of road racing experience. Led by McDowell, the past champion of the Star Mazda tour showed staying power at the front. The #18 Toyota Camry led the race's first 6 laps on his way to leading 30 overall laps in the event Saturday. Other vehicles and drivers who would claim an early lap includes the #66 Toyota of Steve Wallace as well as the the #22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger driven by Jacques Villeneuve. Both Villeneuve and Wallace spent 4 laps out front at Road America.

Deeper in the field, NASCAR Nationwide Series points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr was encountering a much more difficult compared to the front contenders. Spinning in turn three on only the third lap of the Bucyrus 200, Stenhouse Jr's #6 Ford narrowly averted serious collisions with the #32 Chevrolet of Reed Sorenson and the JR Fitzpatrick's Go Canada Racing #67 Ford Mustang. A rough start for the young Roush Fenway Racing development driver, Rick Stenhouse Jr would receive a lesson in perseverance as the #6 Ford would claim a top-10 finish.

As the race endured, the road race ringers began to assert themselves against the Nationwide series regulars. Jacques Villeneuve was a frequent figure in the top-10 as was the #33 Chevrolet of Max Papis and the #7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet piloted by last year's runner-up at Road America Ron Fellows. Through the latter laps of the Bucyrus 200, Papis and Villeneuve delighted the fans with a fierce battle for what would eventually amount to top-5 positions.

In the last 10 scheduled laps of the Bucyrus 200, the #11 car of Brian Scott played a tight fuel economy gamble only to be quickly overhauled by the leaders. Led by Michael McDowell in the late going, the #18 Toyota driver stormed past Scott for the lead position with the #7 car of Fellows accompanying McDowell. In the lead and pulling away from Ron Fellows, McDowell appeared to be on track to certain victory at Road America until caution flew. The full-course yellow flag was shown on lap 48 after the #41 car of Doug Harrington spun and stopped in the track's 11th turn. Erasing the #18 Toyota's over 6 second lead, the late caution set up what would be a wild green-white-checker battle that burned through NASCAR's maximum three attempts.



Photo Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images


Positioning a drivers in a situation to easily steal positions, the first green-white-checker on lap 50 gave a textbook example of ultimate aggression heading into a two-lap sprint. Taking the green, Jacques Villeneuve brought his Penske Racing #22 Dodge Challenger into a precarious three-wide into turn 1. Brushing the in-field grass, Villeneuve launched back into the race track pounding into the #11 Toyota of Brian Scott. Sending Scott spinning into the corner's sand trap, the #22 Dodge also clipped the #33 Chevrolet of Max Papis. Becoming a passenger as the #33 Kevin Harvick Incorporated Chevrolet slides, Papis made hard head-on contact with the track's retaining wall. Out of the three cars involved in the incident, Jacques Villeneuve's #22 Dodge would actually end up in the best position at the end of the Bucyrus 200 finishing in 3rd place. However, an angry Scott and an irate Papis would quickly seek out Villeneuve in post-race first explaining their displeasure through gentle but telling bumper tag.

Bunching the field together, the late race caution gave a chance for the Turner Motosports #31 Chevrolet of Justin Allgaier to contend for the win. In the second restart to the checkered flag, Allgaier would effectively muscled his way to past Ron Fellows as the Nationwide regular set sights on McDowell. As Allgaier chased down the #18 Toyota, leader Michael McDowell spun out hading the lead to the #31 Chevy. Taking the top spot at Road America, Allgaier's desire to run to victory lane was defeated by several NASCAR Nationwide cars coming together in turn 6. An incident resulting from McDowell's spin, Steve Wallace, Alex Kennedy, Ricky Carmichael and Eric McClure were caught up.



Photo Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images


Justin Allgaier led the double-file field to green for the third green-white-checker restart with Ron Fellows starting alongside. By the time cars passed the start-finish line, Allgaier's Turner Motorsports teammate Reed Sorenson in the #32 Dollar General Chevrolet stormed past Fellows for the second place. just as the #31 stock car of Justin Allgaier was pulling away from his competition, the #88 Chevrolet of Aric Almirola became stuck in a off-track safety trap.
As Almirola's stricken car brings full course caution for the third and final time, the Bucyrus 200 would be settled with Justin Allgaier as a winner. However, in a plot development fitting for all the wild action on track, Allgaier's #31 car began to lose power on the final lap. In the NASCAR rulebook, a leader must maintain a reasonable pace in order to stay in position. Ultimately losing the race on fuel, Allgaier lost due to less than a gallon of racing fuel.

With the #31 Chevrolet coasting ever so slowly, the second place car inherited the race lead as well as the prized victory of the Bucyrus 200 at Road America. Though the #7 Chevrolet of Ron Fellows appeared out front of the competition, NASCAR deemed his pass to occur under caution. In second place prior to the caution, Allgaier's Turner Motorsports teammate Reed Sorenson took the win of the Bucyrus 200. Sorenson's first NASCAR Nationwide Series win since Gateway in 2007, the #32 Chevrolet ducked the early race mishap with Ricky Stenhouse Jr's #6 Ford.

After getting roughed-up by other drivers through the final laps, Canadian Ron Fellows road racing skill kept him in the runner-up position (the second year in a row at Road America). Behind 4th place Jacques Villeneuve, Elliott Sadler driving the #2 Chevrolet collected an important 4th place finish. With the race result, Sadler is still 2nd in the NASCAR Nationwide series drivers standing but only 5 points ahead of Sorenson.

Mike Wallace's #01 Chevrolet rounded out the top-5 of the Bucyrus 200 with Andrew Ranger, Michael Annett, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ricky Carmichael and JR Fitzpatrick composing the top-10 in the first NASCAR Nationwide Series road course event. Though Canadian drivers did not capture victory after a strong showing at Road America, the North American country can celebrate a very impressive feat. Fellows, Villeneuve, Ranger and Fitzpatrick together provided a rare opportunity to have 4 Canadian racers finish in the top-10 for a major NASCAR touring series event (may be a record but I can not confirm).

NASCAR Nationwide Series cars return to oval racing on Friday night at Daytona International Speedway.




2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series
Bucyrus 200 Presented by Menards
Race Results

  1. 32 Reed Sorenson Dollar General Chevrolet
  2. 7 Ron Fellows AER Chevrolet
  3. 22 Jacques Villeneuve Discount Tire Dodge
  4. 2 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Chevrolet
  5. 01 Mike Wallace Cowboys & Aliens Chevrolet
  6. 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. RickyvsTrevor.com Ford
  7. 53 Andrew Ranger WM Recycling Dodge
  8. 62 Michael Annett Pilot/Flying J Toyota
  9. 30 Ricky Carmichael Monster Energy Chevrolet
  10. 67 J R Fitzpatrick Go Canada Racing Ford
  11. 15 Timmy Hill New Orleans Voodoo Ford
  12. 18 Michael McDowell Pizza Ranch Toyota
  13. 39 Josh Wise Cajun Industries Ford
  14. 81 Blake Koch DAYSTAR.com Dodge
  15. 19 Mike Bliss SheboyganAuto.com Chevrolet
  16. 11 Brian Scott Shore Lodge
  17. 28 Derrike Cope MAXelence.com Chevrolet
  18. 70 Dennis Setzer ML Motorsports Dodge
  19. 31 Justin Allgaier Florida Gulf Safe Chevrolet
  20. 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips Chevrolet
  21. 23 Alex Kennedy St. Baldrick's Dodge
  22. 88 Aric Almirola TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet
  23. 33 Max Papis Rheem/Menards Chevrolet
  24. 87 Kevin Conway AM/FM Energy/Wood & Pellet Stoves Toyota
  25. 52 Tim Schendel TRX Software Development, Inc. Chevrolet
  26. 66 Steve Wallace 5-Hour Energy Toyota
  27. 14 Eric McClure Hefty BlackOut/Reynolds Chevrolet
  28. 09 Kenny Wallace Toyota Toyota
  29. 13 Jennifer Jo Cobb DriverBoutique.com Ford
  30. 41 Doug Harrington New Orleans Voodoo Ford
  31. 16 Trevor Bayne RickyvsTrevor.com Ford
  32. 51 Jeremy Clements racedaysponsor.com Chevrolet
  33. 60 Billy Johnson Fastenal Ford
  34. 64 Jason Bowles Fuel Doctor Toyota
  35. 89 Morgan Shepherd Victory in Jesus Chevrolet
  36. 75 Carl Long Lilly Trucking of VA Ford
  37. 40 Charles Lewandoski # Key Motorsports Chevrolet
  38. 44 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet
  39. 03 Scott Wimmer R3 Motorsports Dodge
  40. 46 Chase Miller Key Motorsports Chevrolet
  41. 42 Tim Andrews Key Motorsports Chevrolet
  42. 55 Brett Rowe Imperial Bedding Chevrolet

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Sato Scales Iowa Qualifying for First INDYCAR Pole

Photo Credit: Chris Jones

After a hard-knock rookie year that resulted in the former Formula 1 driver crashed out 10 times through the 17-race 2010 IZOD INDYCAR Series season, Japan's Takuma Sato and KV Racing Technology entered 2011 ready to embrace a better on-track performance. Starting the season off with a 5th place finish on the Streets of St Petersburg event wheeling the #5 KV Racing Technology car, Sato also enjoyed some success on the Milwaukee Mile oval. Finishing 8th in the event, Takuma Sato overcame being faulted for contact with a crew member in pit lane. In the time trials for the Iowa Corn Indy 250, Sato's transition from the Formula 1 world championship to the IZOD INDYCAR tour involved a major progression. Lapping the 7/8 mile Iowa Speedway in 35.6857 seconds, sophomore driver Takuma Sato stormed a surprise pole position.

Takuma Sato's top qualifying effort came hours before a collision on track. During IZOD INDYCAR Series practice, Sato and the #77 Sam Schmidt Racing of Alex Tagliani collided. "I was approaching on the outside at a much greater closing speed because I think (Tagliani) was just coming out of the pits." Sato said regarding the accident. Alex Tagliani said overwards that the #5 car didn't gave enough room on the oval disappointed for his team.

While the presence of Takuma Sato on the pole served as unusual, the entire Friday evening qualifying session for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 took on an interesting complexion. Starting with Sato on the front row is Andretti Autosport driver Danica Patrick who was little more than 3/100th of a second slower than the #5 KV Racing Technology car. For Patrick and the #7 Godaddy.com Dallara-Honda, this is the 29 year old's highest starting spot since Homestead of 2008.

Starting directly behind his teammate, Tony Kanaan continues to the #82 Geico-sponsored KV Racing Technology race car a week after a near victory at the Milwaukee Mile. Driving for Andretti Autosport last season, Kanaan captured the win at Iowa Speedway for the team's second and final 2010 series victory.

Behind 4th place starting JR Hildebrand, Penske Racing's Will Power secured a row three starting spot for the Saturday night event. After being considered a road course warrior only, Power has been vastly improved in oval racing competition. At Iowa Speedway, Will Power has a 5th place finish in 2010 and a 9th place result during the 2008 season when he drove for KV Racing Technology.

Tied in the 2011 IZOD INDYCAR overall standings with Will Power heading into Iowa, Dario Franchitti will roll off beside his #12 car rival. James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Mike Conway and Ryan Briscoe rounds out the top-10 in qualifying for the Iowa Corn Indy 250. Only 3/10th of a second separated pole sitter Takuma Sato and 10th place Ryan Briscoe in qualifying.

Two events of note is the presence of one front-running competitor in the rear and another series favourite on the sidelines. Almost spinning out in qualifying, the #9 car of Scott Dixon will be third to last in the starting lineup. "We are just way too loose and it was not what we're looking for." the New Zealand drive said as he prepares to launch from a 23rd place position.

Not racing at the Saturday night event on the Iowa Speedway oval will be Simona de Silvestro. The Swiss driver appeared at the race track Friday but did not receive medical clearance to drive for this IZOD INDYCAR Series event. Having undergone the standard IMPACT test, INDYCAR Medical Director Dr. Michael Olinger noted that de Silvestro was showing post-concussion symptoms following a practice crash in Milwaukee qualifying this week. Following de Silvestro's evaluation, her HVM Racing team decided to head back to their race shop and sit out the Iowa event.

Unleashing the 25-car IZOD INDYCAR Series field, the Iowa Corn Indy 250 is set to roll at 8pm Saturday night.

 

Qualifying ResultsIowa Speedway
  1. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology
  2. 7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
  3. 82 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology
  4. 4 JR Hildebrand/United States/ Panther Racing
  5. 12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
  6. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
  7. 06 James Hinchcliffe/Canada/ Newman/Haas Racing
  8. 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/Andretti Autosport
  9. 27 Mike Conway/England/Andretti Autosport
  10. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
  11. 2 Oriol Servia/Spanish/ Newman/Haas Racing
  12. 22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
  13. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing
  14. 67 Ed Carpenter/United States/Sarah Fisher Racing
  15. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ Sam Schmidt Racing
  16. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Racing Enterprises
  17. 26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
  18. 24 Ana Beatriz/Brazil/ Dreyer & Reinbold
  19. 58 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology
  20. 38 Graham Rahal/United States/Chip Ganassi Racing
  21. 83 Charlie Kimball/United States/ Chip Ganassi Racing
  22. 19 Alex Lloyd/England/Dale Coyne Racing
  23. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
  24. 18 James Jakes/England/ Dale Coyne Racing
  25. 34 Sebastian Saavedra/Columbia/ Conquest Racing


78 Simona de Silvestro/Switzerland/ HVM Racing (Car withdrew following driver de Silvestro not receiving medical clearance to compete)



Iowa Corn Indy 250
Pos | Car #  | Driver/ Nationality/ Team

Road America Charts Different Course for 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series on Friday

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images

For the second year in a row, the 4.048-mile Road America awakes with the sound of 700-plus horsepower stock cars of the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Situated in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, the scenic but renowned race track of Road America has been most recognized as a site for open wheel and sports car battles. The site of a fantastic road race last season, stock car regular Carl Edwards won the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series event by outperforming some of the best road racing ringers such as Jacques Villeneuve and Ron Fellows.

Due to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series holding a road course race in Sonoma, California, the high-profile stock car regulars (many of whom competed in the last event at Michigan International Speedway last Saturday) have elected not to pull the weekend double-duty. Due to the distance between the weekend's NASCAR races and top placement in NASCAR Sprint Cup points, even the reigning 2010 race winner Carl Edwards is foregoing the event (ending a continuous NASCAR Nationwide starting streak dating back to a June 2005 race at Kentucky). For Road America, Edwards' #60 Ford Mustang for Roush-Fenway Racing will be wheeled by development driver Billy Johnson.

Making the most of a four-time winning car in 2011, Billy Johnson posted a fastest time lapping the 4-mile race track in the NASCAR Nationwide Series' first practice session. Posting a time of 2 minutes, 14.871 seconds around the 14-turn road course, the 24-year old Johnson was immediately quicker than Jacques Villeneuve and Michael McDowell. Confident on the #60 Fastenal Ford's performance, Billy Johnson and the #60 team did not participate in the NASCAR Nationwide Series' final practice. Roush-Fenway Racing teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr also sat out the second prep session for Saturday's Bucyrus 200 race. Stenhouse Jr posted a 7th fastest time in his #6 Ford Mustang during the earlier practice at Road America.



Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images

A weekend without the typically strong Sprint Cup competitors, a less known but no less talented crowd of drivers are given a chance to claim the spotlight. For this event, Michael McDowell his been granted the ride that Kyle Busch often wheels in selected NASCAR Nationwide Series events. Driving the #18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, McDowell draws upon his Star Mazda and Grand Am road racing series experience to preside in the top-3 for both practice sessions at Road America. NASCAR Nationwide Series title contenders like Reed Sorenson, Elliott Sadler and Trevor Bayne showed competitive pace as they take a break from left-only turns. Sadler posted a top-10 time in both sessions driving the Kevin Harvick Incorporated #2 Chevrolet eager to gather important driver championship points in Saturday's Bucyrus 200 race. Elliott Sadler is only 2 points behind current championship leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Practice for the Bucyrus 200 at Road America also saw a set of notable but part-time competitors lapping the 4.048 mile track. Drivers often chosen by teams only for the three road courses on the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series calendar (so-called 'Road Ringers'), talents joining the stock car tour at Road America includes a number of successful stars of sports car, Indy-style car and even Formula 1. Second-fastest in the first practice and third highest on the second session's time sheet, 1997 Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve returns to NASCAR this season in the Penske Racing #22 Dodge Challenger. Last season in this event, Villeneuve fought hard for Braun Racing until a late-race mechanical problem concluded a chance at a top-5 finish.

While Jacques Villeneuve will be driving a car commonly competed by Brad Keselowski, the #33 Chevrolet owned by Kevin Harvick Incorporated is also calling on decorated road racer Max Papis. An expatriate of sports car and open wheel driving, Papis last time competing a NASCAR stock car on a road course almost ended with victory. Battling to win the Napa Auto Parts 200 at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Vileneuve in 2010, the Italian native Papis was narrowly beaten by Boris Said on the last lap. On Friday, Max Papis and the #33 Chevrolet topped the second practice chart. Other Road Ringer talents present at Road America includes Ron Fellows, Andrew Ranger and Alex Kennedy.

With qualifying and the race set for Saturday, the NASCAR Nationwide Series Bucyrus 200 Presented by Menards will take place as a 50-lap affair starting at 4:30 pm.



2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series
Bucyrus 200 Presented by Menards
Entry List


  1. 01 Mike Wallace Cowboys & Aliens Chevrolet
  2. 2 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Chevrolet
  3. 03 TBA R3 Motorsports Dodge
  4. 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. RickyvsTrevor.com Ford
  5. 7 Ron Fellows AER Chevrolet
  6. 09 Kenny Wallace Toyota Toyota
  7. 11 Brian Scott Shore Lodge
  8. 13 Jennifer Jo Cobb DriverBoutique.com Ford
  9. 14 Eric McClure Hefty BlackOut/Reynolds Chevrolet
  10. 15 Timmy Hill New Orleans Voodoo Ford
  11. 16 Trevor Bayne RickyvsTrevor.com Ford
  12. 18 Michael McDowell Pizza Ranch Toyota
  13. 19 Mike Bliss SheboyganAuto.com Chevrolet
  14. 22 Jacques Villeneuve Discount Tire Dodge
  15. 23 Alex Kennedy St. Baldrick's Dodge
  16. 28 Derrike Cope MAXelence.com Chevrolet
  17. 30 Ricky Carmichael Monster Energy Chevrolet
  18. 31 Justin Allgaier Florida Gulf Safe Chevrolet
  19. 32 Reed Sorenson Dollar General Chevrolet
  20. 33 Max Papis Rheem/Menards Chevrolet
  21. 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips Chevrolet
  22. 39 Josh Wise Cajun Industries Ford
  23. 40 Charles Lewandoski # Key Motorsports Chevrolet
  24. 41 Doug Harrington New Orleans Voodoo Ford
  25. 42 Tim Andrews Key Motorsports Chevrolet
  26. 44 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet
  27. 46 Chase Miller Key Motorsports Chevrolet
  28. 51 Jeremy Clements racedaysponsor.com Chevrolet
  29. 52 Tim Schendel TRX Software Development, Inc. Chevrolet
  30. 53 Andrew Ranger WM Recycling Dodge
  31. 55 Brett Rowe Imperial Bedding Chevrolet
  32. 60 Billy Johnson Fastenal Ford
  33. 62 Michael Annett Pilot/Flying J Toyota
  34. 64 Jason Bowles Fuel Doctor Toyota
  35. 66 Steve Wallace 5-Hour Energy Toyota
  36. 67 J R Fitzpatrick Go Canada Racing Ford
  37. 70 Dennis Setzer ML Motorsports Dodge
  38. 75 Carl Long Lilly Trucking of VA Ford
  39. 81 Blake Koch DAYSTAR.com Dodge
  40. 87 Kevin Conway AM/FM Energy/Wood & Pellet Stoves Toyota
  41. 88 Aric Almirola TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet
  42. 89 Morgan Shepherd Victory in Jesus Chevrolet

Friday, June 24, 2011

NASCAR Schedule & Weather Forecast: June 24th to 26th 2011

Photo Credit: Jonathan Daniel



Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Road America
NASCAR Nationwide Series/ Rolex Sports Car Series



Friday

10:45 am- Rolex Sport Car Series Practice
Temperature: 16 degrees Celsius (61 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 10%


12 pm- NASCAR Nationwide Series Practice
Temperature: 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 10%

2:05 pm- Rolex Sport Car Series Qualifying (GT Class)
Temperature: 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 10%

2:35 pm- Rolex Sport Car Series Qualifying (DP Class)
Temperature: 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 10%

3:30 pm- NASCAR Nationwide Series Practice
Temperature: 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sun with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 10%

Saturday:

9:15 am- Rolex Sport Car Series Practice
Temperature: 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

11 am- Rolex Sports Car Series 250 Driven by VisitFlorida.com
Temperature: 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

2:05 pm- NASCAR Nationwide Series Qualifying
Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

4:30 pm- NASCAR Nationwide Series Bucyrus 200 Presented by Menards
Temperature: 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 0%



Sonoma, California
Infineon Raceway
NASCAR Sprint Cup


Friday:

12 pm NASCAR Sprint Cup Practice
Temperature: 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

3:40 pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying
Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny
Chance of Precipitation: 0%


Saturday:

9 am- NASCAR Sprint Cup Practice
Temperature: 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

10:45am NASCAR Sprint Cup Practice
Temperature: 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny
Chance of Precipitation: 0%


Sunday:

12:00 pm NASCAR Sprint Cup Toyota/Save Mart 350k Race
Temperature: 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny
Chance of Precipitation: 0%


Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
Mosport International Raceway
NASCAR Canadian Tire Series


Saturday:

11:00 am NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Practice
Temperature: 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of rain
Chance of Precipitation: 40%

12:30 pm NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Practice
Temperature: 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of rain
Chance of Precipitation: 40%

4:00 pm NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Qualifying
Temperature: 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of rain
Chance of Precipitation: 40%


Sunday:

12:00 pm NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Vortex Brake Pads 200
Temperature: 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of rain
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

INDYCAR Iowa Speedway Schedule & Weather Forecast: June 24th to 25th 2011

Photo Credit: Chris Jones

Newton, Iowa
Iowa Speedway
IZOD INDYCAR/ Firestone Indy Lights



Friday:

11:00 am Firestone Indy Lights Practice
Temperature: 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sun with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

12:00 pm- IZOD INDYCAR Series Practice
Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sun with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

3:15 pm- Firestone Indy Lights Qualifying
Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sun with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

4:15 pm-IZOD INDYCAR Series Qualifying
Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sun with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

6:30 pm- Firestone Indy Lights Practice
Temperature: 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly Cloudy with sun
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

7:30 pm- IZOD INDYCAR Series Practice
Temperature: 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly Cloudy/ Night
Chance of Precipitation: 0%


Saturday:

5:40 pm- Firestone Indy Lights Sukup 100
Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorms
Chance of Precipitation: 40%

8 pm- IZOD INDYCAR Series Iowa Corn Indy 250 Race
Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorms
Chance of Precipitation: 40%

Formula 1 European GP Schedule & Weather Forecast: June 24th to 26th 2011

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP



European Grand Prix
Valencia, Spain
Formula 1


Eastern time is in brackets ()

Friday:
10 am (4 am)- Formula 1 Practice 1
Temperature: 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sun with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 10%

2 pm (8 am)- Formula 1 Practice 2
Temperature: 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sun with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 10%


Saturday:
11 am (5 am)- Formula 1 Practice 3
Temperature: 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

2 pm (8 am)- Formula 1 Qualifying
Temperature: 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny
Chance of Precipitation: 0%


Sunday:
2 pm (8 am)-Formula 1 European Grand Prix
Temperature: 29 degrees Celsius (84 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Franchitti Wins Fiercely Fought Milwaukee 225

Photo Credit: Chris Jones

After an absence through the 2010 season (the first year since World War 2 that an open wheel race was not run on the prolific one-mile oval), the IZOD INDYCAR drivers and teams happily returned to the Milwaukee Mile. A revived event, the 225-lap affair at the Milwaukee Mile started under overcast skies to a less than packed set of grandstands. Though the empty seats might have been more plentiful than a promoter would desire, the loyal open wheel racing fans who showed up for the event were treated to one of the most thrilling events so far on the 2011 IZOD INDYCAR Series calendar.

Taking pole position on Saturday over Penske Racing's Helio Castroneves, Dario Franchitti and his #10 Target/Chip Ganassi team were looking for their second win on an oval for the 2011 season. As the green flag dropped to on the 26-car field of The Milwaukee 225, a few contenders would quickly be ruled out of the event. Into the first turn of the opening lap, Ryan Hunter-Reay spun-out in his #28 Andretti Autosport car. Unlike the last IZOD INDYCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway where caution fell only once in the double-race format, the one-mile oval event at Milwaukee demonstrated more of a challenge against the teams and drivers.

Of the 26 drivers starting The Milwaukee 225, 9 were making their first IZOD INDYCAR starts at the race track. Of those drivers was 2010 series rookie of the year contender Simona de Silvestro. Striking the wall hard in Saturday's qualifying session, it was unsure if de Silvestro would gain medical clearance to drive less than 24-hours since her crash. To the delight of the fans, the #78 HVM Racing car and driver Simona de Silvestro took green for The Milwaukee 225. Quickly gaining the reputation as one of the toughest drivers on the circuit, the Swiss racer de Silvestro weekend resulted with a driving a damaged, slow #78 car HVM Racing made a painstaking effort to start shotgun on the IZOD INDYCAR field. Competing just 11 laps on the Sunday afternoon, the 22 year-old decided to park the Indy car rather than risking her luck on the tight, fast Milwaukee Mile.


 Photo Credit: Shawn Gritzmacher


Aside from de Silvestro, there were other drivers and teams missed the race setup for The Milwaukee Mile 225 event. The lead cars guided by Dario Franchitti lapped the #77 Sam Schmidt Racing car driven by Alex Tagliani for the first time prior to the 25th lap. Finishing 29 laps down, the hard day for the two-time pole-sitting team ended with the #77 as the last vehicle running on track. While Tagliani stuck out the entire race run with an ill-handling race car, AJ Foyt's #14 driven by Vitor Meira join the HVM Racing #78 with self-appointed retirement from the Milwaukee event after 75 laps.

Through the first 116 laps, Dario Franchitti was the event's only leader. Holding onto the top spot even during a pit stop occurring as the field was under caution on lap 66, Franchitti managed the Sunday afternoon race comfortably in the lead. Unlike his #10 teammate, the #9 Target/Chip Gannasi Racing car of Scott Dixon found the race particularly harsh off the start. Getting overhauled on track by Takuma Sato and Tony Kanaan early, Dixon would become acquainted with the strong beginning for the KV Racing Technology squad. However, during the first round of pit stops, Scott Dixon and the #5 of Sato would become involved with a wild altercation. While there was no contact, the #9 car was briefly impaired from entering his pit by Sato. Due to mediocre pace on the race track and pit road troubles, New Zealand's Scott Dixon struggled in the lower top-10 through the race eventually coming home 7th place. Along with the anxious moment as a collision was averted, tire changer for the #5 KV Racing Technology team was hit by Sato's entrance. Committing an infraction in the INDYCAR Series rules, the Japanese former Formula 1 driver to serve a drive-through pit penalty. At the end of the event, Takuma Sato and team salvaged their run following the early miscues finishing The Milwaukee 225 in 8th place.

As misfortunes first the one leading KV Racing Technology team, the #82 team car of Tony Kanaan was having another strong event for his new IZOD INDYCAR Series ride in 2011. Chasing down the #10 Target car, Kanaan's British racing green Geico-sponsored machine caught and passed leader Franchitti on lap 116. A big shift in the tone of the event as well as the balance of racing power in the IZOD INDYCAR Series, Kanaan aligned with the KV Racing Technology organization has become a refreshing spoiler in as many races. At Milwaukee, Tony Kanaan battled the #10 car of Target/Chip Ganassi Racing on two occasions to lead in the 225 miles of competition. One time Dario Franchitti was able to retake the top position was on a restart following the lap 123 crash of JR Hildebrand. Showing a start car on the early stages of a green flag run, Franchitti was eventually run down by Kanaan through longer periods of caution-free racing.


Photo Credit: Chris Jones

After the race's 5th caution on lap 165 where the yellow flag flew for the damaged car #59 car of EJ Viso, a final set of pit stops for the lead cars prepared drivers for the final 51 laps remaining of the Milwaukee Mile race. A controversial development between the pits of the #10 Target/Chip Ganassi Racing team and the #12 Penske Racing team. Entering his pit stall, Franchitti made contact with a crew member the #12 team for driver Will Power. Seen as similar to the incident for which Takuma Sato was penalized for earlier in the event, the INDYCAR officials ruled there was no fault by the #10 car's driver or team thereby allowing Dario Franchitti to remain in the thick of the important event's latter stage.

Beating out both the #10 of Franchitti and the #82 of Kanaan, the renowned teamwork of Penske Racing showed up big time as the #3 car of Helio Castroneves was sent out ahead of the other lead cars. As the race restarted, Castroneves was pulling away appearing as if he could cruise to victory at Milwaukee. However, with 39 laps remaining, the Brazilian driver reported to his crew an instinct that a Firestone racing tire was low on the #3 Penske Racing Dallara. It worry of low air pressure in the left rear tire was confirmed by the Penske Racing team's pit telemetry.

As the leader of The Milwaukee 225 contemplated whether to give up the lead for a tire change or risk remaining on track, Helio Castroneves' decision was practically resolved when caution came out for the 6th and final time on lap 195. The reason for the yellow flag was the crash of race contender Tony Kanaan in oval's turn 4. Losing control of his #82 car in the late stages, a disappointed Kanaan exited the KV Racing Technology for an unceremonious end to a solid race performance.

Photo Credit: Chris Jones

During the caution, Helio Castroneves and the Penske Racing crew gave up the lead in order to change questionable tires. In a matter of only a few laps, Dario Franchitti was presented not only the lead but the comfort of having both of his primary competition out of the equation. To the checkered flag, Dario Franchitti stormed across the line ahead of the #83 of Graham Rahal (Rahal is one-half of Chip Ganassi Racing's second team). From 3rd to 5th, Oriol Servia, Will Power and Danica Patrick came across the line for excellent finishes.

In the overall IZOD INDYCAR driver standings for the 2011 year so far, Dario Franchitti and Will Power are tied at the top of the points. Preparing for their last June race at the Iowa Speedway, the appearance in Milwaukee has given the IZOD INDYCAR Series some moments of action and suspense American open wheel racing fans will continue to hunger for through the duration of the IZOD INDYCAR Series season.


Race Results
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile 225
Pos # | Car # | Driver/ Nationality/ Team
  1. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
  2. 38 Graham Rahal/United States/Chip Ganassi Racing
  3. 2 Oriol Servia/Spanish/ Newman/Haas Racing
  4. 12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
  5. 7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
  6. 06 James Hinchcliffe/Canada/ Newman/Haas Racing
  7. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
  8. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology
  9. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing
  10. 22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
  11. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
  12. 27 Mike Conway/England/Andretti Autosport
  13. 26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
  14. 83 Charlie Kimball/United States/ Chip Ganassi Racing
  15. 18 James Jakes/England/ Dale Coyne Racing
  16. 67 Ed Carpenter/United States/Sarah Fisher Racing
  17. 24 Ana Beatriz/Brazil/ Dreyer & Reinbold
  18. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ Sam Schmidt Racing
  19. 82 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology
  20. 58 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology
  21. 4 JR Hildebrand/United States/ Panther Racing
  22. 19 Alex Lloyd/England/Dale Coyne Racing
  23. 34 Sebastian Saavedra/Columbia/ Conquest Racing
  24. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Racing Enterprises
  25. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland/ HVM Racing
  26. 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/Andretti Autosport

Monday, June 20, 2011

Hamlin Breaks Through With Win At Michigan

Photo Credit: Gregg Forwerck/Getty Images for NASCAR



By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(June 19, 2011)

BROOKLYN, Mich. — For the first time this season—at a track where he was expected to contend—Denny Hamlin finally dodged the pitfalls that have plagued him in previous races and closed the deal.

First out of the pits after a stop under caution on Lap 192 of 200, Hamlin held off Matt Kenseth after a restart with five laps left and claimed his first victory of the season in Sunday’s Heluva Good 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Hamlin, who won his 17th Sprint Cup race, crossed the finish line .281 seconds ahead of Kenseth. Unlike previous races at his best tracks, such as Martinsville, Richmond and Pocono—where Hamlin was strong early but succumbed to a variety late-race problems—Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota was at its best in the closing laps of Sunday’s race.

“We finished—that’s the thing,” Hamlin said in victory lane. “We got it done. Everyone knows that we’ve been strong. Today we didn’t look as strong as what we normally do here, but we got it working there at the end.

“We made a magic adjustment, and the car took off. This is the point of the season where we really need to start hitting our stride, and hopefully we’ve got another good 10 weeks before the Chase starts.”

Kyle Busch, Hamlin’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, finished third for the second week in a row. Paul Menard came home fourth for his best result of the season, and Carl Edwards finished fifth and expanded his lead in the series standings to 20 points over second-place Kevin Harvick (14th Sunday).

Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin and Brian Vickers completed the top 10.

Kenseth spun his tires on the final restart but got a push from Edwards, his Roush Fenway Racing teammate, and closed on Hamlin over the final five laps—but ran out of time.

“I got a bad restart, and Carl pushed me back to clean air, which was real nice of him, and I got back to Denny, but I couldn’t get around him,” Kenseth said. “We were kind of slow for about 10 laps on most runs, and then it seemed like we were the best car from 10 (laps) until we needed fuel.

“I just didn’t have enough time to get around him. I tried everything I could, and I just couldn’t figure out how to do it.”

The victory and third-place finish for the Gibbs cars were a welcome change from the start of the weekend. On Friday, NASCAR ordered all three JGR teams to replace oil pans that had not been submitted for approval. (JGR’s third driver, Joey Logano, finished 18th.) NASCAR is pondering sanctions for the unapproved parts, with an announcement expected early in the week.

Hamlin cracked the top 10 in the Cup standings for the first time since the third week of the season at Las Vegas. The runner-up to Jimmie Johnson in last year’s Chase, Hamlin is ninth, 77 points behind Edwards with 11 races left before the field for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is set.

Hamlin got the opportunity he needed when a caution on Lap 158—the result of an accident involving Juan Pablo Montoya and Andy Lally in Turn 4—interrupted a cycle of green-flag pit stops and scrambled the running order for a restart on Lap 164.

Edwards passed Kenseth and Busch for the lead on the restart lap, with Hamlin in pursuit. With the top-10 drivers in fuel-saving mode, Edwards continued to pace the field, pulling away from Hamlin by a second and a half, before contact from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin sent Dale Earnhardt Jr. into the Turn 1 wall to bring out the final caution.

On Lap 192, when the lead-lap cars came to the pits—most for two tires and fuel—Hamlin’s crew executed its best stop when it counted most.

Johnson continued to have problems with Michigan, one of four active Cup tracks where the five-time defending champion hasn’t won a race. Johnson spun off Turn 2 just eight laps into the race, flattened three of his four tires and broke the sway bar on the No. 48 Chevrolet.

Ultimately, Johnson lost two laps as his crew repaired the car. He salvaged a 27th-place finish but lost most of the ground in the standings he had gained on Edwards last week at Pocono. Johnson fell from second, six points back, to fifth, 29 points in arrears.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Kurt Busch Bashes to Third-Straight Cup Pole at Michigan

Photo Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images
 
The last of the 46 cars to attempt a qualifying run for the Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips 400, Kurt Busch piloted the #22 Pennzoil Dodge to his third-straight pole on the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup tour. Achieving the top spot in qualifying with a time of 38.156 second run, Busch's result stood the test of David Reutimann's effort in the Michael Waltrip Racing #00 Toyota. Extending his recent pole-streak, Kurt Busch also repeats as lead qualifier in the spring race at Michigan.
 
Outside of the top-10, 2008 race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr starts 15th with his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Earnhardt Jr actually led the whole Hendrick Motorsports team as Mark Martin will start 19th, Jimmie Johnson 21st and the #24 car of Jeff Gordon will be taking the green flag in 31st spot.
 
Another notable driver out of the top-10 in qualifying at Michigan International Speedway is the NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader. The Roush Fenway driver Carl Edwards starts 23rd at Michigan positioned differently to the beginning of last week's race at Pocono. Having a 40-point point deteriorate to just a 4-point interval over Jimmie Johnson, #99 Ford of Edwards suffered a rare drivetrain issue. Carl Edwards has two wins in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series at Michigan
 
Prior to Kurt Busch's pole lap, the biggest news in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage at Michigan International Speedway has been situated on Joe Gibbs Racing attracting the ire of the sanctioning body's scrutinizing. On Friday, oil pans from the team's three Toyotas (the #11, #18 and #20) were confiscated in pre-practice inspection. In qualifying, Denny Hamlin was the highest-qualifying member of Joe Gibbs Racing stable with his #11 Fed Ex Toyota. Kyle Busch starts 24th while Joy Logano in the #20 car will start on the tail end of the 43-car field due to an engine change made after the Toyota's race motor expired on Friday. 
 
The closest race to the Motor City of Detroit, qualifying gave a reason for Chevrolet and Ford to be somewhat worried. Four Toyota Camrys entered the top-10 with Chevrolet Impalas taking three spots and two positions belonging to Ford Fusion race cars. Kurt Busch was the only Dodge in the top-36 for the Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips 400. 
 
The NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway will start at 1:00pm Eastern time.
 

 
Starting Lineup
NASCAR Sprint Cup
Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips 400
Michigan International Speedway
  1. 22 Kurt Busch Shell/Pennzoil Dodge
  2. 00 David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota
  3. 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford
  4. 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota
  5. 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
  6. 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet
  7. 16 Greg Biffle Red Cross/3M Ford
  8. 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota
  9. 27 Paul Menard Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet
  10. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota
  11. 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
  12. 51 Landon Cassill Security Benefits/ThankATeacherToday Chevrolet
  13. 39 Ryan Newman USArmy236Bday/BMooreNASCARHOF Chevrolet
  14. 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald's Chevrolet
  15. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet
  16. 47 Bobby Labonte RainEater/Advance Auto Parts Toyota
  17. 21 Trevor Bayne Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford
  18. 9 Marcos Ambrose DeWalt Ford
  19. 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
  20. 6 David Ragan UPS Ford
  21. 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet
  22. 29 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet
  23. 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Now Hiring Ford
  24. 18 Kyle Busch Snickers Toyota
  25. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Cars 2 Chevrolet
  26. 43 A J Allmendinger Best Buy Ford
  27. 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet
  28. 38 Travis Kvapil Fellowship of Christian Athletes Ford
  29. 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota
  30. 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota
  31. 24 Jeff Gordon Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet
  32. 30 David Stremme Inception Racing Chevrolet
  33. 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
  34. 46 J J Yeley Red Line Chevrolet
  35. 32 Mike Bliss bluCigs Ford
  36. 71 Andy Lally TRG Motorsports Ford
  37. 7 Robby Gordon SPEED Energy/Walgreens Dodge
  38. 66 Michael McDowell HP Racing LLC Toyota
  39. 13 Casey Mears GEICO Toyota
  40. 34 David Gilliland Taco Bell Ford
  41. 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Dodge
  42. 36 Dave Blaney Golden Corral/GetAuctionAccess.com Chevrolet
  43. 81 Scott Riggs Whitney's Collision.com Chevrolet

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Franchitti Takes Pole for The Milwaukee Mile 225

Photo Credit: Chris Jones

 

In 2010, the state of Wisconsin's motorsport options were limited as the Milwaukee Mile was unable to host their traditional major stock car and open wheel races due to financial difficulties. While the NASCAR Nationwide series has relocated to nearby Elkhart Lake's Road America, the IZOD INDYCAR series waited for the previous promoter issue to be resolved. Added back to the schedule for 2011, fans of the one-mile event (which often presided the week after the Indianapolis 500) rejoiced as open wheel racing returned after a 2010 season absence. 
 
Ending a horrible chapter for the fairgrounds that hosted auto racing since 1903, the IZOD INDYCAR series are back to the outskirts of Milwaukee to compete at the 1-mile oval in West Allis. Readying for a Sunday afternoon event, qualifying for The Milwaukee Mile 225 will have Target/Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti starting at the front. Recording a two-lap average lap time 42.7766 seconds, Franchitti's average speed of 170.841 miles per hour was 2.5 miles per hour faster than Ryan Briscoe's 2009 pole run.
 
Alongside Dario Franchitti, the Target/Chip Ganassi Racing driver will have Helio Castroneves representing the initial best starting of top rival Penske Racing. The #9 car of Scott Dixon will be immediately following teammate Franchitti to the green flag. From 4th to 6th place will have the team cars of KV Racing Technology launching a best chance for the team to spoil as a victor. The #82 of Tony Kanaan leads over Takuma Sato and EJ Viso. 
 
While fast in practice, Penske Racing's Will Power struggled in qualifying Saturday afternoon. Following his first oval win at Texas Motor Speedway, Power's circle track luck took a turn with only a 17th fastest time after losing traction for just an instant on track. "We were flat through turns one and two but we had a big moment there in turn three when we got loose that cost us."
 
With a 26-car field set to compete for The Milwaukee Mile 225, the HVM Racing team could be questionable for the race Sunday as driver Simona de Silvestro crashed on her warm-up lap in qualifying. Conscious after the accident, de Silvestro was taken off-site for further medical examination.
 
The Milwaukee 225 will start Sunday at 3:30pm.

 
 
Starting Grid
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile 225
 
Pos # | Car # | Driver/ Nationality/ Team
  1. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
  2. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing
  3. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
  4. 82 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology
  5. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology
  6. 58 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology
  7. 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/Andretti Autosport
  8. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
  9. 26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
  10. 2 Oriol Servia/Spanish/ Newman/Haas Racing
  11. 24 Ana Beatriz/Brazil/ Dreyer & Reinbold
  12. 38 Graham Rahal/United States/Chip Ganassi Racing
  13. 22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
  14. 19 Alex Lloyd/England/Dale Coyne Racing
  15. 7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
  16. 06 James Hinchcliffe/Canada/ Newman/Haas Racing
  17. 12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
  18. 4 JR Hildebrand/United States/ Panther Racing
  19. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ Sam Schmidt Racing
  20. 27 Mike Conway/England/Andretti Autosport
  21. 83 Charlie Kimball/United States/ Chip Ganassi Racing
  22. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Racing Enterprises
  23. 18 James Jakes/England/ Dale Coyne Racing
  24. 34 Sebastian Saavedra/Columbia/ Conquest Racing
  25. 67 Ed Carpenter/United States/Sarah Fisher Racing

 
?26. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland/ HVM Racing (Pending further information)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, June 17, 2011

Race Weekend Schedule & Weather Forecast: June 17th to 19th 2011

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR



West Allis, Wisconsin
Milwaukee Mile
IZOD INDYCAR Series/ Firestone Indy Lights Series

Friday:

3:00pm- IZOD INDYCAR Practice

Temperature: 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

 
3:45pm- IZOD INDYCAR Practice (All Cars)
 
Temperature: 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 0%




Saturday:


8:45am- Firestone Indy Lights Practice

Temperature: 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


9:45am- IZOD INDYCAR Practice

Temperature: 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


11:55am- Firestone Indy Lights Practice

Temperature: 18 degrees Celsius (65 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


12:55pm- IZOD INDYCAR Practice

Temperature: 19 degrees Celsius (67 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


3:50pm- Firestone Indy Lights Qualifying
 
Temperature: 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


4:45pm- IZOD INDYCAR Qualifying
Temperature: 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


Sunday:

12:30pm Firestone Indy Lights David Hobbs 100



Temperature: 19 degrees Celsius (67 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 20%


3:30pm- IZOD INDYCAR The Milwaukee 225
Temperature: 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 20%



Brooklyn, Michigan
Michigan International Speedway
NASCAR Sprint Cup/NASCAR Nationwide Series/ ARCA Racing Series

Thursday:

2:30pm- ARCA Practice

Temperature: 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 30%




Friday:

10:00am- ARCA Qualifying

Temperature: 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 20%


11:30am- NASCAR Nationwide Practice

Temperature: 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 20%


12:30pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Practice

Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 20%


2:00pm- NASCAR Nationwide Practice

Temperature: 24 degrees Celsius (74 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 20%


3:30pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Practice

Temperature: 24 degrees Celsius (74 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 20%


5:15pm- ARCA RainEater Wiper Blades 200

Temperature: 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 20%


Saturday:

11:10am- NASCAR Nationwide Qualifying

Temperature: 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


1:10pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying

Temperature: 22 degrees Celsius (71 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


3:30pm- NASCAR Nationwide Alliance Truck Parts 250

Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%



Sunday:

1:00pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400

Temperature: 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 30%

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Gordon Ties Waltrip, Allison With 84th Win at Ponoco


Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR



By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(June 12, 2011)

LONG POND, Pa. — Jeff Gordon may be starting to feel his age, but he certainly didn’t show it in Sunday’s 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway.

“I’m just so excited to be a part of this sport,” Gordon said in victory lane, after taking the checkered flag 2.965 seconds ahead of runner-up Kurt Busch. “I’m going to be 40 this year (Aug. 4). I’m an old man now.”

Statistically, the old man already is an important part of NASCAR Sprint Cup history. His victory Sunday was his second of the year, his fifth at the tricky 2.5-mile triangular track and the 84th of his career, tying Gordon with Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison for third on the all-time list.

As NASCAR’s elder statesman and four-time champion later pointed out, the race was won on pit road. The No. 24 Chevrolet crew got Gordon out ahead of Busch on a stop under caution for debris on Lap 156 of 200, enabling Gordon to streak away from eventual seventh-place finisher Juan Pablo Montoya after a restart on Lap 160.

During a green-flag stop on Lap 177, the No. 24 crew again performed flawlessly, increasing the cushion Gordon held over Busch.

“If we can just get out front, I think we’ll be OK,” Gordon had told crew chief Alan Gustafson before the Lap 160 pit stop — and that’s exactly what happened.

“You guys won that one in the pits—way to go,” Gordon radioed to his crew after crossing the finish line.

Kyle Busch ran third, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Busch’s No. 18 Toyota, however, failed postrace inspection, with the left front being too low when measured by NASCAR’s height stick. If penalties are forthcoming, they will be announced later in the week.

Montoya, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. completed the top 10. Series points leader Carl Edwards suffered an engine failure 58 laps into the race and finished 37th. Edwards’ lead in the standings shrank to six points over second-place Johnson and 10 over third-place Earnhardt.

Clean air proved decisive, as Kurt Busch, the polesitter, couldn’t close on Gordon significantly during the final 41-lap green-flag run.

“It was a great, hard-fought battle with Jeff Gordon at the end,” Busch said. “It started about 130 laps in, about 70 to go, where we were able to take the lead, stretch it out. Then there was a caution (the fourth debris caution of the race, on Lap 155). The 24 beat us out of the pits.

“I thought we could gain on him after 15 laps into the run. We were able to do that most of the day. We were able to do that again at the end, but we just couldn't close the gap far enough. The old ‘Golden Boy’ had it in him today.

“Neither one of us slipped those final few laps. It was just one of those, ‘I'm giving it all I got, and I can’t close the gap.’ ”

Denny Hamlin, a four-time winner at Pocono, led a race-high 76 laps, but a broken valve stem forced him back to the pits after a stop on Lap 160 and relegated him to 19th at the finish. Hamlin lost one position in the standings to 12th, as Gordon jumped past him into 11th, his highest position since winning at Phoenix in the second race of the season.

After a disappointing stretch that started with a crash in Las Vegas in week No. 3, Gordon feels his team is beginning to realize its potential.

“We were embarrassed by the way we were running,” Gordon said. “When I came on board with Alan (the result of a crew chief swap in the offseason), I knew that they were special and amazing. Phoenix came a little sooner than we thought, but I felt like we could do that this year.

“Then we went on a streak where we just weren’t competitive, but what it takes is a team that believes in you, and you believe in them, and you work together to get there. That’s what we did today.”