Tagliani Tops Texas INDYCAR Qualifying for Firestone 550 Pole

Photo Credit: INDYCAR/LAT USA

 
A week after a bizarre street race on Detroit’s Belle Isle course, the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series is taken into another unusual situation for the 7^th race of the year. Only the second oval race of the 2012 season where drivers are still acquainting themselves with new Dallara racing machines, the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway is the first time the new vehicle configuration will run on a highly-banked circuit.

For the second year in a row, Canada’s Alex Tagliani was the toast of Texas in the time trials for the IZOD INDYCAR Series’ Firestone 550 at the 1.5-mile oval in Fort Worth. Last year winning the pole with Sam Schmidt’s team, it was Tagliani and the combined effort of the #98 Bryan Herta Autosport team that mustered a two-lap average speed of 215.691 miles per hour to take the top spot for Saturday night’s 228-lap event at the Texas Motor Speedway.

Beating the #10 car of Dario Franchitti by a thin 0.01 second advantage, the #98 car’s pole is only the latest indicator for an emerging force to be reckon with on the IZOD INDYCAR Series tour. Since being dropped by engine supplier Lotus at the end of the Long Beach event, the Bryan Herta Autosport team returned to the Indianapolis 500 with Honda’s formidable powerplant. After a stable Indy 500 for the team, Alex Tagliani delivered the #98 car into the top-10 at the Belle Isle for the highest finish in the 2012 season for the team. “Wow that is so great, back on the pole at Texas! I told people after we sat out the race in Brazil that our season started in Indy and it did, with Honda power.” said Alex Tagliani after qualifying adding confidence that his team will be a threat for the Firestone 550.

From 2^nd through 4^th, Chip Ganaasi-owned race cars of Dario Franchitti, Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon will be lined up on Saturday night planning to display their dominance showed in the first race of the double-race last season at Texas Motor Speedway. With the Firestone 550 integrated back into a single race for 2012, the Texas Motor Speedway event will not have the disputed second race lottery that proved costly for Franchitti and Dixon in 2011.

With Chevrolet power showing the way through the beginning of the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series season, the improved forces of Honda teams have begun to displace the bowtie’s early path of success. Will Power leads in the #12 Team Penske car in 5^th place leads the Chevrolet runners that occupy 4 of the top-10 spots in the Firestone 550 starting grid. Andretti Autosport’s #27 car piloted by James Hinchcliffe and Tony Kanaan in the #11 KV Racing Technology vehicle are Chevrolet drivers right behind Power’s #12 car while Marco Andretti is placed 9^th on the grid for the Saturday race.

Losing 10 grid positions after engine changes at the previous Belle Isle race will be the HVM Racing #78 car of Simona de Silvestro and the AJ Foyt-owned #14 driven by Mike Conway.

The Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway will start at 8pm on Saturday night.


2012 IZOD INDYCAR
Firestone 550
Texas Motor Speedway
Qualifying Results

	Car #	Driver	Driver Nationality	Race Team	Engine	Speed
1	98	Alex Tagliani	Canada	Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian	Honda	215.691
2	10	Dario Franchitti	Scotland	Target/Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	215.646
3	38	Graham Rahal	United States	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	215.554
4	9	Scott Dixon	New Zealand	Target/Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	215.331
5	12	Will Power	Australia	Team Penske	Chevrolet	215.116
6	27	James Hinchcliffe	Canada	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	214.920
7	11	Tony Kanaan	Brazil	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	214.701
8	14	Mike Conway	England	AJ Foyt Enterprises	Honda	214.458
9	26	Marco Andretti	United States	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	214.424
10	15	Takuma Sato	Japan	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	214.196
11	77	Simon Pagenaud	France	Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports	Honda	214.082
12	2	Ryan Briscoe	Australia	Team Penske	Chevrolet	214.060
13	22	Oriol Servia	Spain	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet	213.957
14	8	Rubens Barrichello	Brazil	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	213.949
15	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	United States	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	213.927
16	5	EJ Viso	Venezuela	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	213.444
17	3	Helio Castroneves	Brazil	Team Penske	Chevrolet	213.402
18	83	Charlie Kimball	United States	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	212.833
19	18	Justin Wilson	England	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	212.136
20	20	Ed Carpenter	United States	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	211.643
21	19	James Jakes	England	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	211.245
22	6	Katherine Legge	England	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet	210.543
23	78	Simona de Silvestro	Switzerland	Lotus-HVM Racing	Lotus	204.066
24	4	JR Hildebrand	United States	Panther Racing	Chevrolet	202.596
25	67	Josef Newgarden	United States	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	No Speed

Phoenix Rises in Qualifying: Mark Martin on Pole for Subway Fast Fit 500

Photo Credit:Tyler Barrick/Getty Images for NASCAR

 

With NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers and crews receiving less than 4 days of time to decompress from the marathon event that was the 2012 Daytona 500, the Phoenix International Raceway approached as the second weekend on the auto racing series' schedule. Placing the first practice laps on the new 1-mile oval's surface Friday, the NASCAR Sprint Cup teams ready for their first non-restrictor plate event.

 

Early preparations for Sunday's Subway Fast Fit 500 in two Friday practice sessions indicated the Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Camry were quick studies on the recently-laid Phoenix asphalt. In the first practice, Mark Martin in the #55 Aarons Toyota was second-quick behind Tony Stewart's #14 Chevrolet. In final practice it was the Michael Waltrip Racing cars driven by Martin Truex Jr and Clint Bowyer at the top of the speed charts.

 

During Saturday qualifying, Mark Martin justified Michael Waltrip Racing's strong practice session performances outrunning the then-pole sitting #78 Chevrolet of Regan Smith. Martin's lap time of 26.313 seconds and top average qualifying speed of 136.815 miles per hour was enough to repel the attack of Tony Stewart. Accepting the Coors Light Pole Award for the 52nd time in his NASCAR Sprint cup career, Mark Martin holds 2 wins in the series at Phoenix International Raceway. In Martin's pole at Phoenix in 2009, he led 157 laps to win for Hendrick Motorsports.

 

With Toyota taking its first pole of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, it was a fleet of Chevrolet Impala that took spots 2nd through 6th for Sunday's race. Tony Stewart, Regan Smith, Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan Newman are the members of the Bowtie Brigade wanting to claim Chevrolet first win at the Phoenix International Raceway since early 2010. The April 2010 win by Ryan Newman was the last of 10 consecutive victories for Chevy at the 1-mile Phoenix oval.

 

Rounding out the top-10 in qualifying is Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Kasey Kahne. The surprise winner of the fall Phoenix event for the now-sold Red Bull Racing team, Kahne was one of many drivers that dealt with uneasy travelling through the turn 3-4 complex in qualifying for the Subway Fast Fit 500. In order to salvage a 15th place starting position after qualifying after a slip in turn 3, the #15 Toyota piloted by Clint Bowyer would turn around on track and abandoned his first lap for better momentum in the second lap.

A short 312-lap event around the 1-mile desert oval track, the Subway Fast Fit 500 is set to start at 3 PM Eastern time.

 

2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup

Phoenix International Raceway
Subway Fast Fit 500
Qualifying Results

 

1. 55 Mark Martin Aaron's Toyota
2. 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet
3. 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row / Farm American Chevrolet
4. 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's / Kobalt Tools Chevrolet
5. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
6. 39 Ryan Newman WIX Filters Chevrolet
7. 16 Greg Biffle 3MWraps.com Ford
8. 29 Kevin Harvick Rheem Chevrolet
9. 20 Joey Logano The Home Depot Toyota
10. 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet
11. 31 Jeff Burton Wheaties Chevrolet
12. 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Brown Toyota
13. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota
14. 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford
15. 22 AJ Allmendinger Shell Pennzoil Dodge
16. 15 Clint Bowyer 5-hour Energy Toyota
17. 47 Bobby Labonte Kingsford / Scotts Toyota
18. 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield / Allez Cuisine Ford
19. 51 Kurt Busch Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet
20. 27 Paul Menard Menards / Tarkett Chevrolet
21. 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet
22. 83 Landon Cassill Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota
23. 36 Dave Blaney Ollie's Bargain Outlet Chevrolet
24. 99 Carl Edwards SUBWAY Ford
25. 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Filters Toyota
26. 17 Matt Kenseth Best Buy Ford
27. 23 Scott Riggs North Texas Pipe Chevrolet
28. 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Dodge
29. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard / Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet
30. 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet
31. 13 Casey Mears GEICO Ford
32. 10 David Reutimann Accell Construction Chevrolet
33. 26 Josh Wise Morristown Drivers Service Ford
34. 34 David Ragan Barrett-Jackson Ford
35. 49 JJ Yeley America Israel Racing Toyota
36. 38 David Gilliland Rick Santorum for President Ford
37. 98 Michael McDowell Curb Records Ford
38. 87 Joe Nemechek AM/FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves Toyota
39. 7 Robby Gordon SPEED Energy / Bashas' Dodge
40. 33 Brendan Gaughan South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet
41. 93 Travis Kvapil Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota
42. 32 Mike Bliss Southern Pride Trucking / U.S. Chrome Ford
43. 30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Toyota

 

Peugeot Grabs Petit Le Mans Pole Over Audi

Photo Credit: Peugeot UK

American Le Mans Series-style sports car debuted on the 2.54-mile Road Atlanta circuit for the first time in 1999 for the Petit Le Mans event. One of the most recent endurance races, victory at the Petit Le Mans has gained the prestige as a coveted victory in sports car racing. Pleasing the American Le Mans Series head and Road Atlanta owner Don Panoz, teams competing in the event stretching 1,000-mile or 10-hour (whichever mark is approached first) can also secure an automatic entrance in next year's 24-Hour of Le Mans. For 2011, 58 cars among 5 racing categories have shown up for the 12th annual autumn race.

With Audi confirming the presence of Team Joest at the event last week, the 2011 Petit Le Mans is set to become another modern rivalry between the Peugoet 908 and the Audi R18. In what amounted to be a close qualifying result, the overall lead to the green flag, the French squad of Peugeot claimed first blood against Audi. Featuring the driver pairing of Sebastien Bourdais, Simon Pagenaud and Anthony Davidson for this weekend, the #7 Peugoet 908 flew around the Road Atlanta track in 1 minute, 7.428 seconds.

The pole-winning Peugeot claimed only a 0.128 second advantage for the top spot. The #1 Audi R18 demonstrated the ability to keep pace with the winning team of the past two Petit Le Mans events. Competing the past two times with variations of the R15 prototype, Audi Sport Team Joest have been foiled for what would be their 10th Petit Le Mans victory by the Peugeot 908. Audi Sport Team Joest is determined to claim back its dominating ways which transpired as their storied R8 and R10 prototype sports cars went mostly contested. In the second row for the 2011 Petit Le Mans start, Peugeot and Audi cars share the grid position for the LMP category and overall for the event.

The second-most watched class in the Petit Le Mans on Saturday will be the GT category where Ferrari, BMW, Porsche and Chevrolet all have a likelihood for claiming a season-ending honour of victory. With each of these automaker recording at least one win in the American Le Mans Series season entering Road Atlanta, the GT class is a battle royal among the production-based vehicles. Leading in the overall team point standings is the BMW M3 GT cars fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing convincingly over the fierce competitors for 2011. For Petit Le Mans qualifying, the #51 Ferrari F458 Italia took the class pole over the BMW M3 pair. The #51 Ferrari who be starting 24th overall in the starting line-up for the Petit Le Mans with the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing BMWs securing 25th and 26th. The top-3 cars in the GT running order were separated by only 0.52 seconds on the qualifying time sheet.

Making its American Le Mans GT class debut at Road Atlanta will be the Lotus Evora GTE race car. Campaigned by Lotus Jetalliance, the Evora GTE will be participating as a prep for the car's full season of competition in 2012.    

In the Prototype Challange category, Intersport Racing's #89 car was rebuilt from a Friday morning practice crash to lead class. Concluding the practice session at Road Atlanta, the Intersport Racing crew were able to effect repairs to the exact racing machine that was involved in a massive crash with the Robertson Racing #40 Ford GT. Unfortunately, the Robertson Racing car was unable time into the Petit Le Mans event Friday but could race Saturday.

Starting at 11:30 an Eastern time, the 2011 Petit Le Mans under what is expected to be a largely sunny day at Road Atlanta.

 

Seeing Red Bull at Spa: Vettel Tops in Qualifying

Photo Credit: Lorenzo Bellanca/LAT Photographic

 

Dealing with wet as well as drier weather conditions, this Formula 1 race weekend at the Spa-Francorchamps race track has pressured drivers and teams to be quite adaptive. Rain as well as water-covered track surfaces assured two practice sessions Friday where Pirelli slick and rain tires received considerable usage. Qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, the changing competition structure due to weather played a role in the three timed sessions.  

 

Qualifying started with competitors logging laps on wet weather Pirelli tires as earlier rain dampened the Spa-Francorchamps race course. Early into the Q1, a more dramatic moment during Belgian Grand Prix qualifying was a mechanical problem that transpired on the Mercedes GP car of Michael Schumacher. Being on the top of the practice sheet following the first track session Friday, Schumacher encountered a loss of a rear wheel and tire assembly. The Mercedes GP race machine spun through turn 7 and 8. Such a sudden spin out, Schumacher initially suspected he simply lost control of the race car. Finding some wit in reaction to the lost wheel, Michael Schumacher commented, “Well, obviously I would have wished for a different end to today’s qualifying, but it is difficult to drive on three wheels - even if I should have the experience to do so in Spa." While Michael Schumacher was unable to log a qualifying time, Formula 1 stewards granted the 7-time World Champion and his Mercedes GP car the right to race Sunday.

 

Once the wide Q1 qualifying grouping ended, the Mercedes-powered McLaren of Jenson Button and the Mark Webber's Red Bull-Renault car were the top of the time chart. Clocking a time of 2 minutes, 1.813 seconds around the 7.004-kilometer Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the #4 McLaren, Button led the remaining 17 Formula 1 race cars into the Q2 session.

 

Traditionally faster than the first time trial session, the Q2 qualifying grouping was actually a fraction slower. A drying race track nullified performance improvements made by Formula 1 teams. Almost a 1 slower than Jenson Button's Q1 time, Fernando Alonso led after the second Formula 1 time trial session in his Ferrari. The biggest performance fall-off occurred with the McLaren-Mercedes of Jenson Button. Button was the fastest driver in Q1 but was relegated to a 13th place starting spot for the Belgian Grand Prix.

 

As the Spa-Francorchamps course dried, the 10 remaining vehicles running Q3 session began to undertake a potentially risky move to place slick Pirelli tires on their race machines. With the Belgium race track developing a dry groove, the choice to tread on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit demonstrated an immediate pay-off. Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton wore the Pirelli optional slick compound in a final time trial attack. While competing in the dodgy course conditions, the final 10 cars performed laps that were around 15 seconds faster on slick tires as they fought for top positions for the Belgian Grand Prix.

 

Taking pole for the Sunday's event, Sebastian Vettel emerged from relative silence throughout the race weekend. Vettel achieved a 1 minute, 48.298 second lap time in his Red Bull-Renault preserving the team's undefeated streak in qualifying so far in 2011. McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton took 2nd place despite an on-track qualifying incident with the Williams F1 car of Pastor Maldonado. As Hamilton's McLaren team members quickly fixed the front wing damage, Maldonado will be assessed a five-grid position penalty dropping the Williams F1 driver to 21st place. Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber captured the 3rd place starting spot for the Belgian Grand Prix race ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

 

A few surprises in the top-10 includes the Scuderia Toro Rosso team car of Jaime Alguersuari planted in a stunning 6th place. Powered by Ferrari powerplants, Alguesuari is joined close to the front by Sauber's Sergio Perez in 9th position also propelled by the same Italian engine supplier. Also prominently fixed in the 2011 Belgian Grand Prix is the Lotus Renault GP cars. The first competitive run in the team's race car, Bruno Senna will start 7th in his first Formula 1 event since 2010. The second Lotus Renault GP driver Vitaly Petrov will start 10th.

 

The Belgian Grand Prix is 12th round of the 2011 Formula 1 season set to start at 2 PM local time (8 AM Eastern time). Weather forecasts call for a very cool 44-lap event which could also present the after effects of a rain shower.

 

 

2011 Formula 1
Belgian Grand Prix
Spa-Francorchamps
Starting Grid

 

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

Briscoe to Lead Field for Saturday's Roadrunner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas

Photo Credit: Jim Haines


The last IZOD IndyCar race before preparations for the Indianapolis 500 on May 30th, Kansas Speedway represents the team's only oval tune-up in 2010 season. With teams fully Intended in being competitive on the 2.5 mile Brickyard, the Roadrunner Turbo Indy 300 lured a season-high 27 drivers and race cars. Joining the field this race is Jay Howard in a second Sarah Fisher Racing vehicle as well as John Andretti driving a #43 car in a joint venture between Richard Petty, Window World and Andretti Autosport.

As the first oval, IZOD IndyCar teams will receive their first competitive orientation to a new qualifying procedure for all ovals in 2010. Similar to the Indy 500 four-lap qualifying setup, the average of all four lap times will determine the starting order.

Taking right turns out of the equation for IZOD IndyCar drivers, the Kansas Speedway event for 200 laps around the 1.5 mile oval is guaranteed to provide the fastest average qualifying speeds of the early season. Taking the pole at a storming 212.146 mles per hour average per lap within a four-lap window, the #6 Penske Racing car in the hands of Ryan Briscoe grabbed honours. "It's great to win the pole. Team Penske has picked up from where it left off at Homestead last year. That's a good sign. Hopefully it's a sign of speed to come at Indy, as well." Briscoe asserted in a post-qualifying response.

The first of what proved to be a strong effort for the entire Target/Chip Ganassi Racing team, Scott Dixon placed a second-fastest qualifying effort. At a four-lap average time which accumulated at almost a mile per hour slower, Dixon is confident the his #9 car will make it up in the race tomorrow. "We come into this event with confidence and it is a nice place to race." Dixon said.

Some drivers are also viewing the Kansas Speedway race as a potential confidence builder after some less than stellar road course appearance. One of those drivers in need of a strong showing on ovals is 2009 IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti. With only one podium finish to show for 4 road course starts in the #10 Target/Chip Ganassi Racing car, Franchitti posted a 3rd place, his best 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series start since pole position in the Sao Paulo season opener.

4th and 5th place sported some surprise appearances of smaller IZOD IndyCar Series teams. Delivering the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing #06 to the best start of the year, Hideki Mutoh successfully transferred his 2 years of oval expertise from Andretti Autosport to N/H/L Racing. 4th overall in the session, Mutoh happily commented on the full team effort. "I'm very proud to be a member of this team and I know they have been working very hard in the off season to build new things for ovals. It looks like it worked out today." In 5th place on the grid for the Roadrunner Turbo Indy 300, Alex Tagliani is continuing to make waves with the first year FAZZT Race Team.

Other qualifying stories through the Friday Kansas Speedway session reflects on the reversal of fortunes for two drivers, one moving up on the grid and the other down. Struggling through the initial four road and street races, Danica Patrick and placed her #7 Andretti Autosport car in a respectable 9th position, leading the four-team. On the other hand, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's Justin Wilson had a lousy outing in Kansas Speedway qualifying. The slow #22 car actually caught the driver by surprise as Wilson felt comfortable with the vehicle's handling. "I can't believe we were not quicker. I'm going over the data with my engineers right now to see if there is any drag on the car and fix that."

In a final but imporant note, overall IZOD IndyCar point standing's leader Will Power will start 7th on Saturday afternoon. Having raced only Indianapolis Motor Speedway last season, his performance on the tracks he had missed with the #12 Verizon Penske Racing team last year might pose the greatest challenge to the Australian.



Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney


Scheduled to run Saturday, broadcast of the Roadrunner Turbo Indy 300 will take place on ABC at 1:00PM.


2010 Roadrunner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway IZOD IndyCar Series Starting Grid

1. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
2. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
3. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
4. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
5. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ FAZZT Race Team
6. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Enterprises
7. 12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
8. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing
9. 7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
10. 24 Mike Conway/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
11. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology
12. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology
13. 2 Raphael Matos/Brazil/ Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
14. 67 Sarah Fisher/United States/ Sarah Fisher Racing
15. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ Andretti Autosport
16. 8 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology
17. John Andretti/American/ Team Window World
18. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
19. 36 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium/ Conquest Racing
20. 22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
21. 66 Jay Howard/England/Sarah Fisher Racing
22. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/ Andretti Autosport
23. 19 Alex Lloyd/England/ Dale Coyne Racing
24. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela/ Dale Coyne Racing
25. 4 Dan Wheldon/England/ Panther Racing
26. 26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
27. 34 Mario Romancini/Brazil/ Conquest Racing

Power Produces IZOD IndyCar Pole on Streets of St Petersburg

Photo Credit: Dan Helrigel/IndyCar

After starting the 2010 IZOD IndyCar season outside of the United States for the first time in series history within the thrilling Sao Paulo round, the teams return to the streets of St Petersburg, Florida. The 6th visit for the IndyCar Series, Penske Racing holds three of previous race victories on the 1.8 mile, 11-turn circuit.

In qualifying for the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg, Penske Racing driver Will Power backed up a fastest speed in Friday practice to grab the pole position for Sunday's event. Blitzing the temporary race course in 1 minute, 1.6026 seconds, this fastest time by the Penske Racing #12 car is roughly 8/10ths of a second faster than the pole time of Graham Rahal in 2009.

Securing his last pole at Edmonton last July, a race that Will Power went on to dominate to victory. In a post race interview, Power responded to a question regarding his confidence going into tomorrow's race by saying "Yeah, been very strong all weekend, really happy for all of the Verizon guys. It's their first full season, so started off very strongly and that was hard work in that session. Tried to save the good Reds (faster, softer alternative tires) for the Fast Six and had a light run."

Posting a best time just 0.2771 seconds slower than Power's Penske Racing machine, Tony Kanaan falls short Andretti Autosport's first pole since the June 2008 race at Richmond. Andretti Autosport does has reason to celebrate with two cars being in the Firestone Fast Six qualifiers as the #26 car of Marco Andretti was 6th quickest in the afternoon time trial session.



Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

Filling the 3rd through 5th spots in the Firestone Fast Six were the #9 Target/Chip Ganassi Racing car of Scott Dixon, the #22 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Justin Wilson and Will Power's teammate Helio Castroneves in the #3 Penske machine. As for Penske Racing's 3rd driver Ryan Briscoe, his #6 car will start deep in the grid in 19th place after struggling to find speed around the 1.8 mile track. Briscoe enters the race as the defending 2009 winner at St Petersburg.

Another car finding trouble in St Petersburg qualifying was the #10 driven by Sao Paulo polesitter Dario Franchitti. On Sunday, Franchitti will be making his 200th open-wheel racing start in North America at St Petersburg (86 races in the IRL IndyCar Series and 114 in the defunct CART tour).

Competing in his first race of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar season, Graham Rahal has placed the Sarah Fisher Racing #67 in a sluggish 16th place in qualifying. With the partnership between Rahal and Sarah Fisher Racing scheduled only for St Petersburg as well as the next race at Barber Motorsports Park on April 11th, rumours have continued to run on Rahal's future plans in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Some indications have Graham Rahal returning to Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing later this season.

The 2010 Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg will air on ABC at 3:30PM.


2010 IZOD IndyCar Series
Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg Starting Grid

Pos #| Car #| Driver/Team

1. 12 Will Power/Australia Penske Racing
2. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil Andretti Autosport
3. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
4. 22 Justin Wilson/England Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
5. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil Penske Racing
6. 26 Marco Andretti/United States Andretti Autosport
7. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States Andretti Autosport
8. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada FAZZT Race Team
9. 8 EJ Viso/Venezuela KV Racing Technology
10. 24 Mike Conway/England Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
11. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan KV Racing Technology
12. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
13. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
14. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
15. 4 Dan Wheldon/England Panther Racing
16. Graham Rahal/United States Sarah Fisher Racing
17. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil AJ Foyt Enterprises
18. 34 Mario Romancini/Brazil Conquest Racing
19. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia Penske Racing
20. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil KV Racing Technology
21. 7 Danica Patrick/United States Andretti Autosport
22. 19 Alex Lloyd/England Dale Coyne Racing
23. 2 Raphael Matos/Brazil Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
24. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela Dale Coyne Racing

Logano in Home Depot Toyota Nails Bristol Pole

Photo Credit: Tom Whitmore/Getty Images for NASCAR


After a one weekend hiatus following the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta, the NASCAR Sprint Cup series returns for a two-race short track engagement rounding out the month of March. The concrete surface of the 0.533 mile Bristol Motor Speedway oval starts the short track trek in Sunday's Food City 500 race.

Through pole qualifying on this high-banked Bristol Motor Speedway, the 19 year old Joey Logano set fastest time sailing his #20 Home Depot Toyota around in a swift 15.396 seconds. Enjoying a strong sophomore season so far in 2010, 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup rookie of the year Joey Logano pole is his first-career top start in the series. However, while Joey Logano's pole compliments the obvious maturing of the Joe Gibbs Racing's young talent, Logano's true growth will come on Sunday as he attempts to survive the Food City 500. After running the two Bristol races of 2009, Logano sported 38th and 34th place finishes.

Winding up 2nd place, Kurt Busch was only 1/100th of a second slower in his Penske Racing #2 Miller Lite Dodge. A 4-time winner at Bristol Motor Speedway with his last victory coming March of 2006, Kurt Busch has always been a perrenial front-runner almost every time race's raced on the oval.

While a racing adage says "money buys speed", the tight quarters and tricky corners of Bristol has a habit of defeating the notion even as well-funded Sprint Cup superteams adapt to the short track. With this being said, occasions in qualifying for lightly-financed teams to pull off an upset performance exists as a possibility. For this past qualifying session at Bristol, Dave Blaney driving the Prism Motorsports Toyota jockeyed his #66 car for a brilliant 3rd place. This qualifying result is Dave Blaney's 2nd top-5 qualifying performance for the short 2010 season.

Fourth and five place spots were snatched by the Hendrick Motorsport duo of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon while Chevrolet brandmate Juan Pablo Montoya continues to search for his first oval victory.

With this weekend's race being the first since the dramatic Atlanta incident involving Carl Edwards' late-race revenge shot on Brad Keselowski, thoughts surround what this will mean for the short track event. One of those questions regards whether a three-race suspension will affect Edwards' on-track performance. This question was answered by the #99 Ford of Carl Edwards securing 8th place on the grid. A second question for whether a stewing Keselowski might seek a return shot on Edwards at Bristol will be revealed in the race. However, the pair will start considerably far apart as Brad Keselowski could do no better than 36th in qualifying.

Last year's Food City 500 winner Kyle Busch will have a long journey to the front as the #18 Toyota encountered troubles in qualifying. Kyle Busch will start 38th for Sunday's race.

For many car owners, a top finish in the Food City 500 will prove itself a much valued commodity. With the first 5 races concluded the NASCAR Sprint Cup field will be measured on 2010 car owner points. The top-35 cars will be guaranteed a starting position through the next races. Prior to the running the upcoming Sprint Cup race at Bristol, the #36 Chevrolet and #37 Ford are sitting tied for the 35th spot. A coveted spot which will aid teams in collecting sponsorship and respect in the Sprint Cup series, 39th place #13 Toyota is only 29 points outside of the top-35 position.


2010 Food City 500 Starting Order
NASCAR Sprint Cup
Bristol Motor Speedway

1) 20 Joey Logano      Home Depot Toyota
2) 2 Kurt Busch       Miller Lite Dodge
3) 66 Dave Blaney      PRISM Motorsports Toyota
4) 48 Jimmie Johnson   Lowe's Chevrolet
5) 24 Jeff Gordon      DuPont Chevrolet
6) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
7) 17 Matt Kenseth     Crown Royal Ford
8) 99 Carl Edwards     Scotts Ford
9) 47 Marcos Ambrose    Little Debbie Toyota
10) 00 David Reutimann   Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota
11) 14 Tony Stewart     Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet
12) 98 Paul Menard      Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Ford
13) 5 Mark Martin      GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
14) 31 Jeff Burton      Caterpillar Chevrolet
15) 11 Denny Hamlin     FedEx Express Toyota
16) 38 David Gilliland   Taco Bell Ford
17) 1 Jamie McMurray   Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet
18) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet
19) 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Toyota
20) 78 Regan Smith      Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
21) 39 Ryan Newman      Haas Automation Chevrolet
22) 77 Sam Hornish Jr.  Mobil 1 Dodge
23) 43 A J Allmendinger Insignia/Best Buy Ford
24) 9 Kasey Kahne      Budweiser Ford
25) 16 Greg Biffle      U.S. Census Ford
26) 33 Clint Bowyer     BB&T Chevrolet
27) 09 Aric Almirola    Phoenix Construction/Graceway Chevrolet
28) 83 Brian Vickers    Red Bull Toyota
29) 82 Scott Speed      Red Bull Toyota 
30) 6 David Ragan      UPS Ford
31) 26 David Stremme    Air National Guard Ford
32) 7 Robby Gordon     Warner Music Nashville/Blake Shelton Toyota
33) 29 Kevin Harvick    Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet
34) 90 Casey Mears      Keyed-Up Motorsports Chevrolet
35) 87 Joe Nemechek     ComputerWorks Toyota
36) 12 Brad Keselowski  Penske Dodge Dodge
37) 19 Elliott Sadler    Stanley Ford
38) 18 Kyle Busch       M&M's Toyota
39) 55 Michael Waltrip  PRISM Motorsports Toyota
40) 46 Terry Cook       Whitney Motorsports Dodge
41) 34 Travis Kvapil    Long John Silver's Ford 
42) 37 Kevin Conway     Extenze Ford
43) 71 Bobby Labonte    TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet

Dale Earnhardt Jr Amped Up for NASCAR Sprint Cup Atlanta Pole

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

A pleasing site to the fans of NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr ushered his #88 AMP Energy Chevrolet to pole position at Atlanta Motor Speedway in preparations for the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup's Kobalt Tools 500 on Sunday. Capturing his first pole since the spring race at Texas in 2008, Dale Earnhardt Jr has been on a tear in qualifying for 2010 placing in a top-4 starting spot for 3 of the first NASCAR Sprint Cup races.

In the Atlanta qualifying session, 3rd driver to qualify Kasey Kahne took his #9 Budweiser Ford around the 1.52 mile oval at an average speed of 191.688 MPH or 28.922 seconds. Kahne held onto the 1st place spot through the following 8 cars until Jeff Gordon rolled to a time just 15 one-hundredths of a second faster than the #9 Ford. Gordon held the top spot for little more than a minute as the next car up, the #18 Toyota of Kyle Busch, bested the #24 Chevrolet's time. The first lap averaging a time faster than 192 MPH, Busch would be denied the pole by Dale Earnhardt Jr .

With the #88 car of Hendrick Motorsports claiming the first starting spot in the Kobalt Tools 500, car owner Rick Hendrick will enjoy seeing 3 of his 4 cars near the front with Mark Martin clocking in 4th and Gordon settling into a strong 5th in qualifying. Hendrick satellite team of Stewart/Haas Racing was able to place Ryan Newman in 7th and Tony Stewart in a fair 15th position. As for the #48 Chevrolet driven by back-to-back Sprint Cup winner of 2010 Jimmie Johnson, he could only muster a 16th place start. While Johnson lacked the qualifying speed in the late Friday afternoon time trials, the #48 Chevy came from 20th last weekend to win at Las Vegas.

The Richard Petty Motorsports squad also reserves an honourable mention after NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway. With Kasey Kahne resting 6th, an determined run by Elliott Sadler's #19 Ford was a refreshing surprise in 8th ahead of David Ruttimann and Carl Edwards.

As for the teams registering outside of the top-35 in 2009 car owner's points, Dave Blaney drove the #66 PRISM Motorsport to the highest of the cars needing to qualify for Sunday's race. Michael McDowell was the final driver to break into the field for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.


2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Kobalt Tools 500
Atlanta Motor Speedway

Top 10:

Pos | Car # | Driver | Sponsor/Car Make

1) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet
2) 18 Kyle Busch              M&M's Toyota 
3) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 
4) 5 Mark Martin         Hendrickcars.com/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 
5) 24 Jeff Gordon         DuPont/National Guard Chevrolet 
6) 9 Kasey Kahne         Budweiser Ford 
7) 39 Ryan Newman         Tornados Chevrolet
8) 19 Elliott Sadler   Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford 
9) 00 David Reutimann  Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota
10) 99 Carl Edwards     Scotts Ford


Other Notables:

11) 2 Kurt Busch       Miller Lite Dodge
15) 14 Tony Stewart     Office Depot Chevrolet
16) 48 Jimmie Johnson    Lowe's/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet
27) 66 Dave Blaney      PRISM Motorsports Toyota
31) 13 Max Papis        GEICO Toyota
34) 21 Bill Elliott     Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford
35) 29 Kevin Harvick    Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet
43) 55 Michael McDowell PRISM Motorsports Toyota

Kurt Busch Takes Pole for Las Vegas Shelby 427 Cup Race

Photo Credit: Autostock/Penske Racing

Into the third race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup, fans of the top stock car series have been treated to some unpredictable happenings in the first two events. The Shelby American 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the second non-restrictor plate race of the season and has the potential to help establish some firm ground under where the Sprint Cup teams stand for 2010.

On Friday qualifying, Kurt Busch piloted has Miller Lite Dodge won the time trials for the Shelby 427 pole. Perhaps gaining some inspiration from the dominance of Penske Racing's IndyCar teams testing performances at Birmingham's Barber Motorsports Park, Busch shot around the 1.5 mile oval at an average speed of 188.719 miles per hour striping the #24 of Jeff Gordon from the top position. Scoring pole in his hometown race, the elder Busch brother will likely enjoy a repeat result from last season when Kyle Busch's won from the pole.

With Dupont/Pepsi Max #24 Chevrolet nailing down a tough mark to beat for Busch, Gordon was little more than 1/100th of a second short of successfully holding off Busch's fast Dodge. In 3rd, Ryan Newman has ridden his Tornados-sponsored #39 Chevrolet attempting to fight the turbulence of an unfair 2010 campaign so far. Falling victim to a last race crash at the Daytona 500 and an engine failure at Auto Club Speedway, Newman currently sits 36th in driver points.

Dale Earnhardt Jr took the top spot early in the qualifying session for the second time of the year. As qualifying concluded, Earnhardt Jr's #88 Chevrolet settled into a 4th place starting position for Sunday's event. JR Nation fans wanting to see a turnaround for the #88 Hendrick Motorsport car in 2010 will be pleased to learn this weekend's qualifying effort through Earnhardt Jr's average start of 28.6 place in the past four visits to Las Vegas.

In 5th and 6th, the 2 of the 3 Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch and Joey Logano can present a definite challenge to the lead at Las Vegas. With Kyle Busch the reigning race winner in the #18 Toyota, Logano has been showing some real promise through the early stages of the 2010 Sprint Cup campaign seated 9th in points.

Rounding out the top 10 in Friday's qualifying is the highest-starting Ford of Greg Biffle, the #5 Chevrolet of Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya. Despite the aggressive performance that the Earnhardt-Childress Engine program has in the first two races of 2010, Montoya's #42 Target Chevrolet placement of 10th was the fastest of the group at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Current Sprint Cup points leader and fellow Earnhardt-Childress Engine runner Kevin Harvick could only muster a 34th place starting spot for Sunday's Shelby American 400 race.

In the middle of the field, multiple race winners Jeff Burton and Jimmie Johnson will be starting the event with not only their experience but with statistics on their side. Through the past 12 Sprint Cup races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the winner came from a starting position outside of the top 15 on 6 occasions. Four of those times became from between 23rd to 25st place.

With two 500 mile races launching the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the 400 miles around Las Vegas Motor Speedway might seem like a breather to the drivers and teams. However, these shorter races basically compresses the intensity level of the competitors as fewer laps mean a more flat-out race. These shorter events for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series also leaves less margin of error making even one pit road penalty a considerably more costly occurrence.


2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Shelby American 400
Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Pos # | Car # | Driver | Sponsor/Car make

1) 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge
2) 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont / Pepsi Max Chevrolet
3) 39 Ryan Newman Tornados Chevrolet
4) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet
5) 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota
6) 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota
7) 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford
8) 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
9) 14 Tony Stewart Old Spice / Office Depot Chevrolet
10) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
11) 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford
12) 99 Carl Edwards Aflac / Kelloggs Ford
13) 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet
14) 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge
15) 87 Joe Nemechek FrontRowJoe.com Toyota
16) 12 Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge
17) 00 David Reutimann TUMS Toyota
18) 6 David Ragan UPS Ford
19) 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Ford
20) 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's / KOBALT Tools Chevrolet
21) 13 Max Papis GEICO Toyota
22) 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
23) 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota
24) 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald's Chevrolet
25) 34 Travis Kvapil Long John Silver's Ford
26) 98 Paul Menard Moen / Menards Ford
27) 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota
28) 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
29) 71 Bobby Labonte TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet
30) 36 Mike Bliss Kim Kardashian Fragrance Chevrolet
31) 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota
32) 47 Marcos Ambrose Kingsford / Scott Branded Products Toyota
33) 55 Michael McDowell PRISM Motorsports Toyota
34) 29 Kevin Harvick Pennzoil Ultra Chevrolet
35) 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Gold Filters Toyota
36) 66 Dave Blaney PRISM Motorsports Toyota
37) 19 Elliott Sadler Stanley Ford
38) 38 David Gilliland Taco Bell Ford
39) 37 Kevin Conway  Extenze Ford
40) 43 A J Allmendinger Valvoline Ford
41) 26 Boris Said Southern Pride Trucking Ford
42) 7 Robby Gordon Monster Energy Toyota
43) 09 Aric Almirola Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 

McMurray Takes Pole for Sprint Cup Race at Auto Club Speedway

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

While the 2010 Daytona 500 is the highly-coveted season opening race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the 500-mile restrictor plate event is often considered on its own merits. Many teams have been bracing for the Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway (I think sponsorship placement might be running amok) as the official start to the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

In fact, the past two Daytona 500 winners, Ryan Newman in 2008 and Matt Kenseth in 2009, experienced less than stellar seasons following their Daytona celebrations missing the Chase for the Cup in their respective years. With this history now weighing on the newly-crowned Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray, him and the #1 EGR (Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing) Chevrolet are intent to break the cycle. Through Friday afternoon qualifying at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, the #1 Chevrolet Impala appears on a linear path to being a force throughout the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

Carrying momentum from the Daytona 500 victory, McMurray rocketed around the 2-mile oval at 39.185 seconds equating to an average speed of 183.744 MPH. A high accomplishment for the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing teammate Juan Pablo Montoya's 2nd place run allowed the team to take full possession of the front row.

As EGR serves up a 1-2 punch against the NASCAR Sprint Cup competition for the start of Sunday's Auto Club 500, qualifying results for the 2nd race of the 2010 season appears to show another emerging threat. The Earnhardt-Childress Engines program which powers EGR, Richard Childress Racing and the Furniture Row Racing team is following up their show of incredible potency since Daytona Speedweeks, continuing to have legs on the Sprint Cup competition around 2-mile oval in California. Settling 3rd after holding the top spot earlier in qualifying, Clint Bowyer in Childress' #33 car placed three Chevrolets in front of Kasey Kahne.

Kahne and the #9 of Richard Petty Motorsports have so far shown speed in their new Ford Fusion stock cars (spending time in victory lane after winning one of the Gatorade Duel 150 races) but will be looking for a strong finish at Auto Club Speedway.

In 5th place after time trials, the biggest surprise of the short year so far. Failing the break into the Daytona 500, the #66 Prism Motorsports Toyota driven by Dave Blaney will be attempting to turn this starting position at Auto Club Speedway into a valuable points day which could aid the team in cracking into a prized top-35 in car owner points spot for 2010. While the NASCAR Sprint Cup series is currently resting on 2009 car owner points t0 entitle the top-35 teams into this season, after the 5th race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Sprint Cup series will update to 2010 points guaranteeing teams within the top-35 the ability to race in upcoming weekends.

Having some of their fire stolen by the Earnhardt-Childress Engine brigade, the standard Chevrolet front-runner Hendrick Motorsports has two race machines positioned in the top 10, Jimmie Johnson in 7th and Mark Martin in 10th.


Auto Club 500 Qualifying
NASCAR Sprint Cup

Top 10:

1) #1 Jamie McMurray         Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet
2) #42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 
3) #33 Clint Bowyer         Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet 
4) #9 Kasey Kahne         Budweiser Ford               
5) #66 Dave Blaney         Prism Motorsports Toyota
6) #29 Kevin Harvick         Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 
7) #48 Jimmie Johnson         Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet 
8) #77 Sam Hornish Jr.         Auto Club Dodge               
9) #18 Kyle Busch         Interstate Batteries Toyota
10) #5 Mark Martin         GoDaddy.com Chevrolet

Other Notables:

12) #2 Kurt Busch         Miller Lite Dodge 
14) #31 Jeff Burton         Caterpillar Chevrolet
16) #14 Tony Stewart         Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet
18) #39 Ryan Newman         Haas Automation Chevrolet
20) #17 Matt Kenseth         Crown Royal Ford
24) #09 Aric Almirola         Phoenix Racing Chevrolet
27) #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy Juice / National Guard Chevrolet
28) #24 Jeff Gordon         DuPont Chevrolet
29) #43 A J Allmendinger Best Buy Ford
31) #99 Carl Edwards         Aflac Ford
42) #26 Boris Said         Sacred Power/Southern Pride Trucking Ford
43) #13 Max Papis         GEICO Toyota

Mark Martin Takes Pole for the Daytona 500; Earnhardt Jr Joins Hendrick Teammate on Front Row

Saturday's qualifying the event known as the 'Great American Race' took place against gusty winds and some teams scratching their heads after running only a few laps of practice on a rainy Friday.

With only 43 starting positions up for grabs for the 2010 running of the Daytona 500 in Sunday February 14th, 54 cars take the track for a nerve-racking 2-laps each of single race qualifying. While only the first 2 positions will be locked in following the session, every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitor is under pressure to provide the fastest lap possible since their speeds play a part in the Gatorade 150 mile Duel races set for Thursday.

Sporting a bearded look in accompanying his new look #88 AMP/Energy Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt Jr backed up his fastest time in Friday practice. Drawing an early spot in Daytona 500 qualifying, Earnhardt Jr grabbed the fastest time with a 190.913 miles per hour. A run which proved strong amongst the first 10 Sprint Cup cars to take time, Earnhardt Jr was a little disappointed with the #88 Chevrolet scrubbing off speed as the splitter was brushing along the race track.

The 12th car out on the track, Earnhardt Jr's teammate Mark Martin quickly stole the show with his run in the #5 Godaddy.com Chevrolet. Placing 2nd in practice time behind the #88 car on Friday, Martin reversed the results by running his Hendrick Motorsports car faster at 191.188 miles per hour.

The next Hendrick bullet launched onto the Daytona high-banks was Jimmie Johnson who posted a 5th place run with 26 cars of the 54 cars setting time.

As qualifying ran Chevrolet proved that they had a run on the competition with two Hendrick Motorsports leading the way. However, the NASCAR Sprint Cup teams running Toyota and even Dodge (3 of the 6 being campaigned by Penske Racing) contenders have proven themselves to be on equal footing in regards to speed. The one manufacturer struggling to find speed was the newly-expanded Ford Racing. Through the 2-lap single-car qualifying runs, the Ford Fusions appeared to be lacking as the cars of Richard Petty Motorsports and 3 of the 4 Roush/Fenway rides had set some ho-hum times. While the #17 Crown Royal car of Matt Kenseth, the final guaranteed race starter to qualify for the Daytona 500 in accordance to top 35 in owner points, posted an optimistic run for Roush/Fenway, the pride of Ford Racing has been the #21 Wood Brothers team. A car that must qualify without the aid of car owner points Driven by two-time Daytona 500 winner and the 1988 NASCAR Cup series champion Bill Elliott, the Motorcraft Ford bolted around the track at an astonishing lap of 190.57 miles per hour, threatening to front row at one point in the qualifying run.

While the Roush/Fenway Racing Fords didn't show a lot of speed during single car qualifying, slowness in restrictor plate racing qualifying is not out of character. With four experienced drivers who have shown muscle in restrictor plate racing, Roush/Fenway Racing is likely to shine deeper into Speedweeks as drafting becomes paramount. Also remember that Matt Kenseth won last year's Daytona 500 after starting 39th place.

At the end, the Hendrick Motorsports team celebrated a massive victory in Daytona 500 qualifying with the #5 Chevrolet of Mark Martin as well as the #88 Chevy of Dale Earnhardt Jr takes the 1st and 2nd place positions. For the drivers, these results are career best through the major qualifying event. With Earnhardt Jr's starting in his highest spot ever in 11 starts, Mark Martin takes his career first pole in Daytona 500 in 2010.

As both drivers are locked into the Daytona 500, they'll also lead Thursday's Gatorade Duel 150 races as the rest of the field will fight to claim their starting positions for the famous 500-miler around the 2.5 mile superspeedway.


Qualifying Results for 2010 Daytona 500

Top 10:

1. Mark Martin #5 Chevy
2. Dale Earnhardt #88 Chevy
3. Ryan Newman #39 Chevy
4. Bill Elliott #21 Ford
5. Juan Pablo Montoya #42 Chevy
6. Jimmie Johnson #48 Chevy
7. Kurt Busch #2 Dodge
8. Clint Bowyer #33 Chevy
9. Kyle Busch #18 Toyota
10. Jeff Gordon #24 Chevy

NASCAR Sprint Cup: Truex Takes Pole in Phoenix

Photo Credit: Darrell Ingham/Getty Images



The second-last race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season convenes on Phoenix International Raceway for an short, but important 312-mile Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 where every driver and team will fire their last salvos in the battle for stock car victory. The highest stakes reside in the Chase for the Sprint Cup as Johnson's disastrous race in Texas last week availed some opportunities to the his point race challengers.

Claiming his 3rd pole of 2009, the #1 Rain X-sponsored Chevrolet driven by Martin Truex Jr clocked the fastest time around the flat one-mile oval. Counting down his time with the Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing (EGR) team that started his Cup career, Martin Truex Jr has 2 races left in 2009 before joining the Michael Waltrip Racing organization for the 2010 season.

Hot off his suspenseful Texas win, Kurt Busch #2 Miller Lite Dodge posted second-fastest speed in time trials after drawing late run through the qualifying order. Though Kurt Busch 4th place seed in chase points sets him within 171 points to Chase leader Jimmie Johnson, Busch's ambitions are more logically centered on closing the 98-point gap on 2nd place in Sprint Cup standings. Penske Racing teammate Sam Hornish Jr has been mustering a good overall performance at Phoenix following an awful Texas Motor speedway. Qualifying 12th, Hornish showed some serious speed during topping the first Cup series practice in his #77 Dodge.

Third place in Phoenix qualifying, Jimmie Johnson is ready to surge back to prime form to lock by his 4th championship. With intense focus on the entire Lowes Hendrick Motorsport team, Johnson's time was likely greeted warmly by the entire #48 team. Even though the 12th place qualifying performance at Texas was not a disappointment, it could be argued that this sub top-10 starting spot positioned Johnson's #48 Chevrolet in his lap 3 accident.

In plotting the 9th round of 10 races of the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup, Jimmie Johnson's main competition Mark Martin as well as Jeff Gordon will roll 10th and 14th on Sunday afternoon. Not as much a fighter to Johnson but to Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart #14 car starts 8th and is only 7 points from Busch's 4th place Cup standings position. While posting 4 wins this season with his freshman Chevrolet team, Stewart would understanbly feel cheated by the fact that is pre-chase lead was evaporated by the 10-race playoff format of NASCAR's top series.

Regan Smith, Brandon Ash and Kevin Conway (who had prepped to pull triple-duty at Phoenix with his first start in the Cup series) failed to make the show for Sunday.

NASCAR Sprint Cup
Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
Starting Grid

Top 10

1. Martin Truex Jr #1 Chevrolet
2. Kurt Busch #2 Dodge (C)
3. Jimmie Johnson #48 Chevrolet (C)
4. Kasey Kahne #9 Dodge (C)
5. Denny Hamlin #11 Toyota (C)
6. Greg Biffle #16 Ford (C)
7. Kyle Busch #18 Toyota
8. Tony Stewart #14 Chevrolet (C)
9. Casey Mears #07 Chevrolet
10. Mark Martin #5 Chevrolet (C)


Other Notables

11. Michael Waltrip #55 Toyota
12. Sam Hornish Jr #77 Dodge
14. Jeff Gordon #24 Chevrolet (C)
17. Juan Pablo Montoya #42 Chevrolet (C)
18. Dale Earnhardt Jr #88 Chevrolet
19. Brian Vickers #83 Toyota (C)
20. Bobby LaBonte #71 Chevrolet
23. Max Papis #13 Toyota
24. Ryan Newman #39 Chevrolet (C)
25. Carl Edwards #99 Ford (C)
28. Matt Kenseth #17 Ford
31. Kevin Harvick #29 Chevrolet

Brian Vickers doubles up on pole awards at Michigan

For both 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup races being run on the 2 mile Michigan International Speedway Brian Vickers and the Team Red Bull #83 Toyota will lead the field to the green flag. Securing the pole for Sunday's Carfax 400, Brian Vickers also defends his 2008 pole for his third straight at the Michigan oval.

Being a race symbolic in distance to the three American auto companies, Vickers' Toyota Camry will be under full attack by four Chevrolet qualifying 2nd through to the 5th place spot. June race winner Mark Martin #5 Kellogg's/Carquest Impala leads the bowtie brand starting beside the Red Bull #83 on the front row. Giving the Target car runs similar in strength to the IndyCar team in past races, Juan Pablo Montoya continues to find the bulls eye timing in third. Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five. Last year's Michigan late summer race winner Kurt Busch starts in sixth position.

Two drivers provided big surprises through the Friday afternoon time trial session. Bill Elliott in a blue and white Wood Brothers #21 Ford Fusion bombed the top 10 in an echo two their past success at Michigan Speedway. With the limited scheduled #21 Ford rolling out ninth, 39th place is held by Kyle Busch who appears to be lacking the typical Joe Gibbs Racing speed in his #18 Toyota. Chances are that Kyle Busch will be in a hurry to get to the front.


With 44 cars vying to be part of Sunday's Carfax 400 field of 43 cars, the lonely driver and team out is Tony Raines #37 Dodge missing the cut by just 0.051 seconds.


Carfax 400 Starting Lineup
Sunday, August 16th 2009

1. Brian Vickers
2. Mark Martin
3. Juan Pablo Montoya
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Martin Truex Jt.
6. Kurt Busch
7. Ryan Newman
8. Joey Logano
9. Bill Elliott
10. Kasey Kahne
15. Dale Earnhardt Jr
17. Greg Biffle
18. Tony Stewart
21. Jeff Gordon
39. Kyle Busch