This week NASCAR heads to Waktins Glen International for one of their two road course races of the season on the Sprint Cup Series schedule. The race comes just one week after NASCAR made history for itself when they raced in the rain last Saturday in the Nationwide Series in Montreal, which most critics feel came off as a huge success. As of right now there are no plans to break out the rain tires on Sunday, but there’s still plenty to look forward to with just five races remaining until the cutoff for the Chase.

Recent Winners:
2007 – Tony Stewart
2006 – Kevin Harvick
2005 – Tony Stewart

Recent Polesitters:
2007 – Jeff Gordon
2006 – Kurt Busch
2005 – “Rained Out”

the Usual Suspects:
Tony Stewart is in the midst of the longest winless streak in his Sprint Cup career, but that should be of little concern to the no. 20 team this weekend. ‘Smoke’ built up a bit of momentum for himself after a 2nd place finish last week at Pocono, and now he heads to Watkins Glen where he holds the best driver rating over the past 3 years and has the second best average finish amongst active drivers. He’s one three of the last four races at the Glen, along with a 2nd place finish in 2006.

The only driver to breakup Stewart’s winning streak at the Glen in the past four years was Kevin Harvick, the winner of this event in ‘06. In his seven career races at Watkins Glen, last year’s 36th place finish is his only run outside of the top-15. He also has four top-10’s in that span ….. Jeff Gordon is considered a threat to win at most tracks, but perhaps even moreso at road courses. Once dubbed “King of the Road”, Jeff has had a rough go of it with only one top-10 finish here since 2002, but he did win 3 of the 4 events prior to that stretch ….. The series points leader, Kyle Busch, was never thought of much as a road course racer heading into this season, but already in 2008 he’s managed to win the Nationwide Series race in Mexcio and then went onto win the Toyota Save/Mart 350 at Infineon. After a 33rd place run at Watkins Glen in his rookie season, Kyle has since rebounded with back-to-back top-10’s ….. Denny Hamlin has run here only twice, finishing 10th and 2nd in those races.

the Unusual Suspects:
Robby Gordon has been in dire need of some good runs for the sake of his own race team, Robby Gordon Motorsports, and many fans have long expected that success to come at one of NASCAR’s two road course events. Robby has six top-5 finishes in eight races run here, and even won the event while racing for RCR back in 2003. He currently has a string of three consecutive top-5 finishes at Watkins Glen.

Marcos Ambrose competed in his first Sprint Cup event earlier in the season at Infineon. Known for his road course specialties, Marcos didn’t disappoint, as he had a great top-five effort going until issues late in the race put an end to his day. This will be his first visit to Watkins Glen with the Cup Series as he once again fields the no. 21 Wood Bros. Racing entry, but there’s no reason to think he won’t rise to the occasion once again ….. Juan Pablo Montoya is always a favorite to keep an eye on at road course races as well. An incident with Kevin Harvick here last year put an early end to his day and he finished 39th, but that should be considered a one-off deal. He does have an Infineon win to his credit at the Cup level.

Road Course Ringers are sure to be a factor in any NASCAR road course race, regardless of the series. Though they don’t typically win these things at the Cup level, many of the drivers leave their mark with exceptional runs. Amongst the ringers included in this weekend’s entry list are: Ron Fellows (DEI) – two top-5’s in the last 4 years; Boris Said- finished 3rd in 2005; PJ Jones – finished 4th in 2002; and Brian Simo and Max Papis are on the list as well.

the Unusual Slackers:
Greg Biffle picked up his first ever top-10 Watkins Glen finish last year when he crossed the line in 10th, but each of his four starts previous to that were 30th or worse. His overall average here is 30.2 ….. When you think of road course racing, Kurt Busch isn’t a name that immediately jumps out at you as someone you need to avoid carrying on your fantasy roster, but like Biffle, he also has only one career top-10 at Watkins Glen. Four of his seven races here he has finished outside of the top-15 ….. Dale Earnhardt Jr. managed to put together a string of solid runs here at one point, finishing 3rd, 5th, and 10th from 2003 to 2005, but in 8 years of racing here, he’s finished 35th or worse three times, holding an average finish of just 20.6.

Best Driver Ratings:
1. Tony Stewart – 137.9
2. Denny Hamlin – 112.1
3. Jeff Gordon – 108.2
4. Robby Gordon – 106.3
5. Jimmie Johnson – 104.5

Best Driver Averages:
1. Scott Pruett – 5.8
2. Denny Hamlin – 6.0
3. Tony Stewart – 6.1
4. Mark Martin – 8.8
5. Robby Gordon – 9.4

Watkins Glen Facts:
- 8 of the 25 races at Watkins Glen have been won from the pole position. The last driver to do so was Tony Stewart in 2005, but before that it hadn’t happened since Jeff Gordon did it in 1998.
- 16 of the 25 races have been won from a top-five starting position.
- The deepest starting position a driver has ever come from to win at Watkins Glen is 18th. Steve Park did it in 2000.
- Jeff Gordon holds the track record for most wins with 4.
- Mark Martin holds the track record for most poles (3), top-five’s (12), and top-ten’s (16).
- The most different leaders ever during a race at the Glen was 12 – back in 1995.
- Chevrolet leads the manufacturer race at Watkins Glen with 14 wins.
- 5 drivers currently in the top-12 in points have never led a lap at Watkins Glen: Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, and Clint Bowyer.
- In the midst of a 35 race winless streak, Tony Stewart’s last victory came here at Watkins Glen in 2007.

Video of the last 7 laps of the 2007 Centurion Boats at the Glen race:

Six-Pack Challenge:
Winner – Tony Stewart
2nd Place – Robby Gordon
3rd Place – Marcos Ambrose
4th Place – Kyle Busch
5th Place – Carl Edwards
6th Place – Kevin Harvick

Lock of the Week – Tony Stewart
Sleeper Pick – Marcos Ambrose
Steer Clear of – Greg Biffle

Post from: EveryJoe

Race Preview for Centurion Boats at the Glen at Watkins Glen

Heading into Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Infineon Raceway, most people weren’t talking about points leader Kyle Busch as a favorite to win, especially since he was starting all the way back from the 30th position … well, they were wrong. Busch put his no. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota out front on lap 32, and then held the position for the remainder of the race, with the exception of 2 laps that were led by Carl Edwards during green flag pit stops.

Busch gained his track position due to some good fortune when he and nine other cars made their first pit stops just prior to the first caution of the day on lap 30. Up to that point, the race had been dominated by Jimmie Johnson, who took the lead from polesitter, Kasey Kahne, back on lap 5. The caution forced all of the cars that hadn’t yet stopped into the pits, and marred the race leaders back into traffic. Greg Biffle inherited the lead at that point, but his string of misfortunes continued as he spun through the dirt going through turn 3. Busch was riding in third at that point, but the second place car of Juan Pablo Montoya had to check up during Biffle’s spin, and Kyle made the pass on both cars.

Carl Edwards, who had been in second when the first caution came out, had worked his way back up into the top-five prior to the next round of pit stops, but was again the victim of another untimely caution. He was handed the lead after Kyle Busch and several other cars had pitted, but the caution waived again on the following lap when Kurt Busch and Robby Gordon made contact on lap 70, and Gordon was unable to get his car restarted. Once the remaining cars came in for their stops, Edwards found himself outside of the top-20, and Busch was once again named the race leader.

The next bit of excitement came on lap 78 when Marcos Ambrose – making his Sprint Cup debut – got into Juan Pablo Montoya as the two raced for position inside the top-five. The contact sent Juan spinning on the track, but he was able to maintain position inside the top-15. The damage was very minor to Ambrose’s car as well, but the no. 19 of Elliott Sadler got into the back of him with just 26 to go. No caution came out for the incident, but Ambrose pulled his car onto pit road, and the no. 21 Wood Bros team called it quits for the day.

The final 10 laps in the scheduled 110-lap race saw three separate cautions brought out. The first of which came when Michael McDowell cut down a left side tire that sent him screaming into the wall on lap 101. The field lined up with Kyle Busch still out in front, followed by Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart, and Kevin Harvick. The trio behind Busch brought out the fifth caution of the day when Harvick got into the turn a bit too hard and clipped the rear end of McMurray, who was already loose. McMurray then clipped Stewart, and all three cars went spinning.

With the field bunched up, a bunch of cars got into one another around the middle of the pack, and Tony Stewart just sort of drove through all of them. Receiving the most of the damage was the no. 41 Dodge of Scott Pruett, who drove his wrecked race car off the track as NASCAR waived the final caution of the day, and eventually red flagged the race as they cleaned up the mess. The field lined up for one final restart in NASCAR’s fifth green-white-checkered finish of the season, but it was all for naught. Kyle Busch did as he had all day long and drove away from the field yet again, and eventually landed himself in Victory Lane for the fifth time in 2008.

David Gilliland held onto the 2nd spot and earned himself the best finish of his career, and only his second top-five in his three seasons with Yates Racing. Behind him in third was Jeff Gordon, who had a miserable start to the day, but managed to fall in-line with the pit stops and the cautions and pickup a much-needed top-five for his team. In 4th was Clint Bowyer, and 5th place went to Casey Mears, who picked up his first top-five finish of the season.

Juan Pablo Montoya rebounded from his earlier incident with Marcos Ambrose, and the no. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team salvaged a 6th place run. 7th place went to Ryan Newman, who started in 9th and went virtually unnoticed the entire afternoon as he hung around just outside of the top-ten for most of the day. Matt Kenseth probably had an even quieter day than Newman, but still managed to finish in 8th, which was also good enough to move him back inside the top-12 in points. Despite having one of the best cars all day, the pit strategies did not fall in the favor of the no. 99 Roush team, and Carl Edwards was forced to settle with a 9th place finish. And, Tony Stewart – who restarted in 19th on lap 108 – managed to fight his way back up through the field to in the last couple of laps to finish 10th.

Other Notables: Greg Biffle recovered from his earlier spin to finish 11th … Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished with a satisfactory 12th place run … Jeff Burton continued his streak of top-15 runs with a 13th place finish … Defending Series champion, Jimmie Johnson, was dumped by Greg Biffle on lap 100, but was able to rebound with to 15th … Terry LaBonte finished 17th for Petty Enterprises … After running inside of the top-five most of the day, the late race mishap relegated Jamie McMurray to 18th … Elliott Sadler also had a good run going, but had a tire go down after the final restart that sent him from 4th to 19th … Kevin Harvick wound up in 30th … Polesitter, Kasey Kahne, dropped like a rock after giving up the lead on lap 5 and wound up finishing 33rd.

The top five spots in the points standings remained unchanged, while Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle leap-frogged Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne to move into 6th and 7th. Clint Bowyer went from 12th to 10th, while Tony Stewart remained 11th. And, as previously mentioned, Matt Kenseth finally made his way into the Chase field, taking over the 12th spot in the standings, while Kevin Harvick dropped from the cut for the first time this season. He sits in 13th now, just 2 points behind Kenseth.

Grades:
the Race – 72%
the Drama – 78%
Coverage – 90%
Pre-Race – 84%

Overall Grade: 78.0%

Complete Results (from nascar.com):

 
Sprint Cup Series Standings (from nascar.com):

Recommended Reads:
- Busch Wins Toyota Save/Mart 350 – (the Lead Lap)
- Kyle Busch Dominates in Sonoma – (Racing for the Win)

*Credit photo to Newscom.

Post from: EveryJoe

Rating the Race: Infineon – Toyota Save/Mart 350

Lock of the Week – Juan Pablo Montoya – Top Ten – 7 points
Sleeper Pick – Marcos Ambrose – Outside Top Fifteen – No points
Steer Clear of – Kasey Kahne – Outside Top Fifteen – No points lost

Roc’s Picks (Michigan):
1. Jeff Gordon – 3rd – 42 points
2. Juan Pablo Montoya – 6th – 40 points
3. Clint Bowyer – 4th – 40.5 points
4. Boris Said – 41st – No points
5. Tony Stewart – 10th – 36.5 points
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 12th – 35 points

Lock of the Week – Jeff Gordon – Top Five – 10 points
Sleeper Pick – Marcos Ambrose – Outside Top Fifteen – No points
Steer Clear of – Kasey Kahne – Outside Top Fifteen – No points lost

Head-to-Head:
TZ - 161.5 points (2,698.5 cumulative)
Roc – 204 points (2,666 cumulative)

Do You NASCAR Fantasy League
Standings After Infineon:
1. Team Legacy
2. raracing
3. Bruce’s Team of Bits
4. AlexRyan
5. Jimmie’s Rockets
6. Vanilla Thrillaz

Post from: EveryJoe

Fantasy Follow-Up: Infineon

As you tune into TNT this Sunday afternoon to watch NASCAR’s Cup race, your first inclination may very well be that you mistakenly tuned into the IndyCar Series race … but, wait … why are they driving stock cars, right? Well, don’t try to adjust the set or flip the channel, because that, my friend, is indeed the Sprint Cup Series, and that’s what we call road racin’.

See, for as long as I can remember, twice a year team owners go out and fetch themselves an experienced road course racer in an effort to tame the mountains in Sonoma, CA or the hills at Watkins Glen, NY, replacing their less-than-adequate Cup drivers that have never driven anything other than a stock car since the day they graduated from go-karts and late models.

Scrolling through this year’s entry list for the Toyota/Save Mart 350, though, at first glance it doesn’t really seem that bad. Of the 47 entries, all 7 of them are fairly familiar names to viewers that follow the Cup Series exclusively, but this year is unique in that there are also four drivers entered for the race that are full-time Cup drivers, yet they actually have more open-wheel and road course racing experience than they do driving the ovals (Patrick Carpentier, Dario Franchitti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish Jr), not to mention two more drivers that also have their share of experience in the open wheel ranks (Robby Gordon, AJ Allmendinger).

The most notable of the changes taking place amongst the teams this year is no doubt within the ranks of Chip Ganassi Racing, where Reed Sorenson – in his second season of Cup racing – has been replaced by one of the most famous road course ringers of all, Scott Pruett. Pruett has driven in 11 road course races in the Cup Series that have resulted in 3 top-five’s and 5 top-ten finishes, and also finished 3rd earlier this year in the Corona Mexico 200 in the Nationwide Series. He does not currently compete full-time in any of racing’s premier series, and is frequently used as a hired gun of sorts, often by Ganassi. Pruett’s also won three Daytona Prototype races this year alone, including the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

My gripe on this one doesn’t necessarily lie so much with the addition of Pruett to the team for the road course race, but moreso with the seclusion of Sorenson. I’m a huge advocate of the theory that if you hired a guy to be your driver, then for Pete’s sake, let him drive! It may seem like an unlikely scenario at this point in Sorenson’s career, but what happens if the day comes that Sorenson is competing to make the coveted Chase field? You can’t pull him from the race at that point, but with minimal road course experience under his belt, you’re hurting his chances of salvaging a decent finish and moving onward to stay competitive for the Chase. Granted, that’s far from the case this season as Reed currently sits 32nd in points, but to me it’s a clear cut case of Ganassi being near-sighted … meaning that he’s only looking at the here and now, wanting to increase his odds for a win on Sunday. But, whatever happened to planning for the future? Of course, they’re doing the exact same thing over at DEI where they’re replacing young Regan Smith this weekend with the likes of Ron Fellows. Different team, but I hold the same opinion.

One driver that I’m very particularly interested to see this weekend, however, is Marcos Ambrose who will be making his Sprint Cup Series debut behind the wheel of the no. 21 Wood Brothers Ford. Early in his career, Ambrose had driven in the open-wheel circuit, garnering the Formula Ford Euro Cup championship in 1998 and two V8 Supercar Championship titles in ‘03 and ‘04. He broke into the ranks of NASCAR through the Craftsman Truck Series in 2006 and then progressed to the Nationwide Series last year, where he finished 8th in points.  This year he currently sits in 13th with only 3 top-ten finishes through 16 races, but there have been several occassions where he’s looked promising, including his near-victory at the Corona Mexico 200 road course race where he finished 2nd.

And, of course, we cannot mention road course ringers without including the beloved Boris Said. Boris’ last attempt to compete in a Cup race came at the beginning of the year when he failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, but he did compete in the Nationwide Series race in Mexico, and as some of you may recall, Marcos Ambrose’s road to second traveled through the Boris’ back bumper. If you don’t remember what I’m talking about, go back and read “Ambrose is the Latest Said Head.” With no points on the line, if these two happen to cross paths at some point during the race, well, let’s just say things could get exciting really fast.

Other road course ringers on the entry list for this weekend’s race include Brian Simo, Max Papis, and Brandon Ash.

*Credit photo to Newscom.

Post from: EveryJoe

Road Course Ringers Flood Sonoma

Image details: Corona Mexico 200 served by picapp.com

NASCAR superstar, Kyle Busch, recently sat down with some of the folks over at Nationwide for an exclusive Q&A session. He shares his thoughts on road course racing and what it means for him to have won in Mexico, as well as some of his keys to success in 2008.

After capturing the checkered flag south of the border, Kyle Busch had this to say:  
“It was a good run for us. We had a great race out there. You know, some pit strategy played into it somewhat there towards the middle and towards the end of the race in what was going to happen. We weren’t exactly sure which way to go, but we stuck to our plan. What we had originally anticipated on which was to pit at lap 12, pit at lap 44 to 46 and try to go the rest of the way from there. ”

“We had a caution there at the end, and when we had a green checkered flag, Marcus was pretty good at coming up there.  Fortunately, I built up a bit of a lead there, where I could hold him off. And I got by Pruitt there with a little mistake he made getting into turn four and smoking the tire. From there on out it was a sort of smooth sailing. (I was) just trying to bide my time, hit my marks, and make sure that I didn’t screw up any in order to come home with a victory.”
 
Q. This is your first win on a road course. Can you talk about that racing in this format?
A. “Obviously, being able to win my first race on a road course is pretty special anytime. It’s fun to be able to win to be able to win on a road course, because there’s only certain guys that tend to be able to do it.”
 
“We should have had some better finishes at Watkins Glen in the Cup car a couple of times. I had a shot to win there a couple of years ago.  Finally, to be able to get a win on a road course means a lot. It shows I’m capable of winning anywhere, I guess, so that’s pretty cool.”
 
Q. You’ve won three of these races in a row. Have you done anything different in these last three races compared to the first six of the season?
A. “A little bit. I think there’s been more patience in these three races, which is sort of proving dividends, I guess. Fortunately, in these three races we’ve been pretty much mistake free.  The guys on pit row have been awesome. They’ve been flawless each week and here again today, they were pretty good at getting us out and getting us a gap built up on the pit stops, even though cautions were thrown.”
 
“All in all, it’s just down to smart racing and being able to be smooth and having a good car. Everybody thinks we’re cheating or doing something, but when it comes down to it, this Joe Gibbs Racing Team is just pretty up on top of their game, and myself, I’ve been on top of the wheel. With those two combinations put together, it’s hard to beat.”
 
To hear an audio version of this interview and more about the race in Mexico CityVisit http://www.nationwide.com/about-us/busch-wins-mexico.jsp .
 
Test your knowledge about the NASCAR Nationwide series in the Up to Speed Challenge, an exciting NASCAR fantasy game, with great prizes including a $100,000 grand prize. Visit www.espn.com and enter key word “nationwide” to participate.*Thanks go out to Nancy Smeltzer for providing me with this coverage

Post from: EveryJoe

Exclusive Q&A With Kyle Busch

In the closing laps of the race, Kyle Busch – who had won the two previous Nationwide races this year – was riding on race leader Scott Pruett – who got turned around in the closing laps of last year’s race by his teammate, Juan Pablo Montoya, as those two raced for the win. This year, Busch was also getting annoyed by the tough blocking of Pruett and advised his team over the radio that he would get dumped again if he kept it up.

So, with only nine laps remaining, Pruett finally let Kyle by him, as the no. 18 Toyota cruised on to Busch’s third consecutive Nationwide win, and the first NASCAR road course win of his young career. Pruett was eventually passed by Marcos Ambrose as well for second, and Pruett came across the line in third after leading 36 of the 80 laps. Carl Edwards finished 4th and Patrick Carpentier settled in at 5th.

Marcos Ambrose knocked road course specialist, Boris Said, out of the race with 28 laps left on the ticker. Following the race, Said was not very happy with Ambrose and vowed that he would settle that score with him on the track in the future, though Ambrose was quick to apologize and said that if he had it to do over again, he would.

Clint Bowyer maintained his points lead in the series with a 6th place finish, but now leads Carl Edwards by only 9 points, and the charging Kyle Busch by 66.

Complete Results (from nascar.com):

Nationwide Standings (from nascar.com):

Post from: EveryJoe

“Wild Thing” Does It Again

1/26 – Dover International Speedway – known to racers as “the Monster Mile” – now has a 46’ tall statue known as “Miles” that will stand in the track’s newly created Victory Plaza.  The monument will be the largest attraction at any NASCAR track.  Read More.

1/26 – As Greg Biffle enters the final year of his contract at Roush Fenway Racing, he’s made it a point to state that while he’s listening to all options, staying with Roush is his first choice.  Biffle also talks about how the promotion of Robby Reiser is a huge plus for the organization.  Read More.

1/26 – Kenny Wallace has finally landed a ride in the Nationwide Series with Fitz Motorsports. The car number and sponsor have yet to be announced.  Read More.

1/26 – Team owner Chip Ganassi set a new record by winning three straight Rolex 24 events, this year with the team of Montoya, Franchitti, Rojas, and Pruett.  Read More.

1/28 – This year’s Daytona 500 will carry a record purse of $18,689,238 (about $300k more than 2007’s race).  Read More.

1/28 – The no. 19 Dodge driven by Elliot Saddler will have a tri-mary sponsors in 2008 with McDonald’s, Best Buy, and Stanley Tools all sharing the primary sponsorship role this year.  Read More.

1/28 – Dale Earnhardt Jr. is reportedly upset with the fact that DEI has supposedly removed any indications of his stint with the company since his departure from the team, though DEI claims it’s all a result of a mix-up.  Read More.

1/28 – Kyle Busch has announced that he will participate in the Track Walk at Las Vegas Motorspeedway on March 2. The Track Walk is an event held by the NASCAR Foundation in support of various charities.  Read More.

1/28 – NASCAR rookie Jacques Villeneuve has parted ways with his long-time agent, Craig Pollock.  Villeneuve stated that he no longer needs a manager to handle his affairs.  Read More.

1/29 – Juan Pablo Montoya turned in the fastest lap in the 2 days of Sprint Cup testing at Las Vegas Motorspeedway with a lap of 28.914 in the Tuesday afternoon session.  Read More.

1/29 – Max Papis, a car tester for Hendrick Motorsports, is reported to be looking for opportunities to run the road courses in the Sprint Cup Series this year in addition to his part-time Nationwide schedule for Rusty Wallace Inc.  Read More.

1/30 – Darlington Raceway has announced the debut of their “all-you-can-eat” ticket package.  Read More.

1/30 – “Inside Nextel Cup” on the Speed Channel has changed its name to “This Week in NASCAR” with Steve Byrnes taking over as the new host.  Drivers Michael Waltrip, Ken Schrader, and Greg Biffle will remain as panelists and will be joined by various Crew Chiefs, including Chad Knauss.  Read More.

1/30 – Braun Racing has signed Cup stars Brian Vickers, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin to all run part-time schedules in the no. 10 and no. 31 Toyota Camri’s sponsored by Dollar General in the Nationwide Series this year.  Read More.

Post from: EveryJoe

Wednesday Mid-Week Wrap

I wonder what they would say to Scott Pruett?

Oh no!  Now they are telling him that they thought Formula 1 drivers were pretty aloof but he’s just a really nice guy.
At least when Elliott Sadler started asking questions, they were to the point.  And to Juan’s credit he gave some fairly straight answers.  Neither he nor Scott had won a Busch race yet – they were 1 – 2 and who knew when the yellow might drop.  He thought he was going to make a clean pass but in a split second it didn’t turn out that way.  OK – that’s reasonable – if it’s true.  I think many will be watching him closely over his first full year here.

Here’s the thing – it was just as much his attitude afterwards as it was his action on the track.

Now Chip Gannasi is on and he is very level-headed.  A cool customer and a very winning owner.  He has had Juan as a driver for a long time and if anyone can keep him grounded, his owner can.  I might have to suspend my disapproval for a bit.

It’s an interesting controversy that won’t probably go away soon.

Post from: EveryJoe

NASCAR Driver Juan Pablo Montoya