Elliott Sadler Claims Texas Sprint Cup Pole

Photo Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Only three races left in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the Texas Motor Speedway AAA Texas 500 race weekend is one of a dwindling opportunities left for top-level stock car drivers. Not only to capitalize on the Chase for the Cup, some racers of NASCAR's top series are determined to put their name in the news before the season wraps. At Texas Friday, one usually quiet driver piloting a Ford delivered positive result that was much needed for him and his surrounding team. Topping the speed chart after qualifying, Elliott Sadler handsomely beat off two Roush-Fenway Racing Fords of Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards to earn the coveted pole position.

Achieving a 195.397 mile per hour average lap speed around the 1.5 mile oval, Sadler claimed his 8th career Sprint Cup pole which was also his first since April of 2006. Wheeling the Richard Petty Motorsports #19 Ford, the entire four-car race team has been finishing out the NASCAR Sprint Cup of 2010 with uncertainty if a team will even exist in 2011. Elliott Sadler and the #19 Stanley Ford will at least place these parties favourably on the race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. In addition for the pole position for Sadler, the Virginian is celebrating a newly-signed deal to drive a full-time NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule for Kevin Harvick Incorporated starting in 2011.

A Ford 1-2-3 at Texas, Greg Biffle rested into the runner-up position in qualifying. Biffle's 2nd place with the #16 car for Roush-Fenway Racing was 0.249 seconds off the pace of Sadler's sizzling hot lap. Carl Edward's #99 rounded out the Blue Oval brand's top-three.

Juan Pablo Montoya with the #42 car of Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing timed lap propelled a Chevrolet into the only non-Ford present within the at the AAA Texas 500 qualifying's top-five. David Ragan's #6 car settled into 5th place for the start bringing some assurance to Roush-Fenway Racing for the future. While 3 of the Roush-Fenway Racing Fords broke into the top-5, the 4th car of Matt Kenseth starts 19th but no where near out of contention. Kenseth won the 2002 event at Texas Motor Speedway starting 31st on that day.

While Matt Kenseth's #17 team can take solace in statistics which allows winners to come from deep in the pack, this data will also be a relieve to the top-3 Chase contenders after Friday qualifying. Points leader Jimmie Johnson starts 19th in a race track where the #48 Hendrick Motorsports team have enjoyed mixed results. After crashing during the early laps of last year's fall event on the Texas oval, Johnson rebounded in the spring by finishing 2nd place. Second place in Chase points Denny Hamlin (the driver who won the spring 2010 Texas Motor Speedway race) starts in 30th place as he looks to outperform Jimmie Johnson who is just 14 points in front after the Talladega AMP Energy 500. Within the middle, Kevin Harvick starts from 26th place on Sunday only 38 markers away from taking the points lead. 

The AAA Texas 500 is set to receive the command to start engines at 2 P.M. local time or 3 P.M. for Eastern time zone residents.



2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Texas Motor Speedway
AAA Texas 500
Starting Lineup

1. 19 Elliott Sadler Stanley Ford
2. 16 Greg Biffle American Red Cross Ford
3. 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford
4. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Lysol Chevrolet
5. 6 David Ragan UPS Ford
6. 2 Kurt Busch Operation Home Front / Miller Lite Dodge
7. 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet
8. 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
9. 5 Mark Martin CARQUEST / GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
10. 43 A J Allmendinger Valvoline Ford
11. 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot / Old Spice Chevrolet
12. 98 Paul Menard Quaker State / Menards Ford
13. 9 Aric Almirola Budweiser Ford
14. 39 Ryan Newman Tornados Chevrolet
15. 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet
16. 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
17. 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet
18. 00 David Reutimann Aaron's Outdoors Toyota
19. 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Black Ford
20. 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota
21. 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts / Susan G. Komen Toyota
22. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet
23. 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota
24. 83 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota 
25. 25 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops / Arctic Cat Chevrolet
26. 29 Kevin Harvick Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet
27. 77 Sam Hornish Jr. AAA Dodge
28. 21 Trevor Bayne Motorcraft / Quick Lane Ford
29. 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota
30. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota
31. 10 Bobby Labonte Gander Mountain Outdoors Chevrolet
32. 47 Marcos Ambrose Tom Thumb Toyota
33. 38 David Gilliland Taco Bell Ford
34. 87 Joe Nemechek HostGator.com Toyota
35. 13 Casey Mears GEICO Toyota
36. 12 Brad Keselowski No. 12 Penske Dodge
37. 26 Patrick Carpentier Air Guard Ford
38. 66 Mike Bliss PRISM Motorsports Toyota
39. 7 Robby Gordon MAPEI / Menards Toyota
40. 71 Andy Lally TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet
41. 34 Travis Kvapil Long John Silver's Ford
42. 37 Dave Blaney A&W All American Food Ford
43. 09 Landon Cassill Phoenix Racing Chevrolet

Renault Engines Officially with Lotus F1 Team in 2011

Photo Credit: Lotus Racing

Having been the worst kept secret of the Formula 1 paddock (if it was ever a real secret), Lotus Racing has confirmed on Friday the 2011 edition of their grand prix cars who run with Renault power. Furnished by Renault Sport, the French company will replace the Cosworth powerplants Lotus used to reenter the Formula 1 tour.

As the announcement broke, Lotus Racing's team principal Tony Fernandes is quite aware for engine deal's announcement came as no shock to any Formula 1 observer. “I am absolutely delighted that we can now officially talk about the partnership with Renault. There has obviously been a great deal of speculation about which engine will be powering our cars from 2011 and now the announcement has been made I think everyone can see just how ambitious we really are." Fernandes said in the team's news release. The Renault engine deal was first thrown through the rumour mill during late summer but the speculation was heated up later when Lotus Racing announced they would receive gearboxes and other components from Red Bull Racing (a team powered by Renault engines).

Mike Gascoyne, who worked with the Renault F1 as a technical director for three seasons starting in 2001, was enthusiastic about this new involvement with his old employer. "Having worked with Renault before I know exactly what they will bring to our team and I am delighted that they will be playing an integral role in the next chapter of our story. The engine itself gives our designers, engineers and drivers an excellent platform to work with - it is very drivable, has good reliability and comes with a track support team who have a wealth of experience and knowledge. We are all looking forward to working with Renault and are very excited about the future for our partnership and our team.”

When the Lotus team joins the Formula 1 grid in 2011 with Renault power, the ignition will spark a reuniting of French and English companies. Among the many engine manufacturers the original Team Lotus utilized was Renault power between 1983 to 1986. As fate would have it, Lotus' founder Colin Chapman had negotiated the French engines in 1982 just prior to his untimely passing in December of that year. Partnered together in hopes to carry on the accolades under the English Formula 1 team's creator, the pairing united during times when future Formula 1 legends Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell drove Team Lotus colours (which were than John Players Tobacco black and gold). On the tail-end of their 4 seasons of Formula 1 action, Lotus-Renault's grabbed 5 grand prix victories (4 by Senna and 1 by Elio de Angelis). It seems fitting that the official announcement of Renault rejoining Lotus comes while the 2010 Formula 1 schedule blitzes into Ayrton Senna's home country of Brazil.

A second-year team with a full season of knowledge and in-race experience, the Lotus Racing (or Team Lotus) organization will be an exciting outfit to watch throughout the 2011 season.

Weekend Racing Weather Forecast: Nov 5th to 7th, 2010

Sao Paulo, Brazil
Brazilian Grand Prix
Autódromo José Carlos Pace
2010 Formula 1

Friday: Projected to be the warmest day for the 2010 Formula 1 race weekend, ambient temperatures will shoot to 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit) as a high. Skies are forecasted to be mostly sunny through the morning and afternoon with only a slight probability of showers after 9 P.M..

Saturday: A departure from Friday, all indications appear to indicate the use of wet-weather Bridgestone tires again this Formula 1 race weekend in Brazil. With qualifying set for Saturday, the rain and soaked track will undoubtedly throw a monkey wrench into team preparations. Rain is expected to be partnered with chances of thunderstorms through the daylight hours. Daily high temperature is slated at 22 degrees Celsius (72 degree Fahrenheit).

Sunday: Saturday's rain will roll through for the first few hours of Sunday morning but will clear up well before sunrise. With temperatures reaching 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit) as a high, the track should be dry well before the Brazilian Grand Prix sets off in the morning.


Fort Worth, Texas
Texas Motor Speedway
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series/ Nationwide Series/ Sprint Cup Series

Friday: Sunshine will be prominently featured in the skies of the Dallas/Fort Worth area for the big NASCAR race weekend. 17 degree Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit) weather will be present during the afternoon featuring the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' qualifying session followed by the NASCAR Nationwide Series' time trials. A major temperature swing to a daily low of 3 degree Celsius (37 degrees Fahrenheit) will play a part in the Camping World Truck Series' WinStar World Casino 350k race set for 8 P.M. local time.

Saturday: Sunny and a little warmer than Friday, temperatures will reach 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) Saturday afternoon. NASCAR Sprint Cup final practice is set in the late morning while the optimum warm period at Texas will be dominated by the Nationwide Series 300-mile/200 lap O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge.

Sunday: Reaching a projected high of 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit) at Texas Motor Speedway, temperatures showed a steady improvement in the Lonestar state. The AAA Texas 500 is set to roll at 2 P.M. Sunday with plenty of sun overhead.