Marcos Ambrose took the lead with just three laps to go in Saturday’s Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen to secure his first career Nationwide Series victory in 59 starts. He received the lead by virtue of Jeff Burton and Jimmie Johnson running out of fuel in the closing laps in an episode of bitter-sweet redemption after all the tough luck he’s suffered in NASCAR road course racing in 2008. He came close, but eventually took a back seat to Kyle Busch in Mexico City … mechanical issues ended his day in Sonoma when he made his Sprint Cup debut … and, a pit road speeding penalty robbed him in Montreal. But, none of that mattered on Saturday when Ambrose finally stood in a NASCAR victory lane for the first time in his life.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I literally could not believe it. I was just praying the car was gonna hold together and I wasn’t gonna get a late caution. But, we got the job done. I feel really good about it, and it’s just a big lift for our team and it feels like everything’s worth it today.”

Marcos didn’t have much time for celebration, though, because the following day served an even much taller task for the Australian native. He was to return once again to Watkins Glen and step behind the wheel of the Wood Brothers Racing no. 21 Ford to make his third Cup Series start, but after qualifying was washed out on Friday, Ambrose would have to start all the way in the back of the field in 43rd at a track where no driver had ever come from deeper than a 16th starting position to win.

Ambrose quickly made people forget that the team he was driving for on Sunday was a team on the verge of obscurity as he climbed his way into the top-15 by the halfway point. Then, with one of the fastest cars on the track, he dashed up inside the top-5 and was sitting in 3rd after Ryan Newman spun with just 13 laps to go. Even with two restarts to try and get it done, though, Ambrose was never able to get around the 2nd place car of Tony Stewart to try and press Kyle Busch for the lead, but if you ask Marcos, he’ll take his top-five Cup finish anyday of the week.

“It’s a big, bad world out here in NASCAR world, and I’m just pleased that I’m able to have a weekend like this to remember,” said Ambrose. “When it’s all said and done, I’ll be able to go home back to Tasmania and tell them how good I was at Watkins Glen on one year.”

It was certainly a well deserved weekend for Ambrose and his team(s). Ambrose has 5 more races remaining on his schedule driving the no. 21 Wood Bros. car before he competes full-time in the Cup Series next year with JTG Dougherty Racing.

Kyle Busch made perfect on his efforts to sweep the road course races in the Sprint Cup Series this season as he nabbed his first career victory at Watkins Glen International on Sunday. He led four times for a race high 52 laps, giving him his 8th win of the season and making him the first driver to win the races at both Infineon and Watkins Glen in the same year since his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Tony Stewart, did it back in 2005. He also won the Nationwide Series race in Mexico City earlier in the year, making him the only driver in NASCAR history to win three road course races in the same season.

After rain canceled Friday’s qualifying session, the field lined up based on their order in the car owner’s points standings, setting Kyle Busch out on the pole position for the start of the race. Kyle led the first lap before handing it over to Dale Earnhardt Jr, who started on the outside of the front row. As Busch dropped back to third in the running order, Earnhardt gradually expanded his lead through the next 28 laps, but found himself in 6th after the field completed their first round of green flag pit stops.

Kyle Busch once again took the race lead on lap 30, and was still in charge when the first caution of the day came out on lap 47. NASCAR made the decision to waive the yellow due to debris on the track that was a result of some loose gravel that had been kicked up on the track. The caution was a huge break for Jimmie Johnson who had just pitted a few laps earlier when he had a rear left tire going down, but because he was running up in the top-five at the time, he was able to make his stop without losing a lap. Once pit road opened up, 14 cars remained on the track, including Johnson. Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart - running 1st and 2nd at the time - also elected to stay out.

Kyle Busch was still the race leader when the field went back to green, but the most impressive story to this point was Marcos Ambrose, who was driving the no. 21 Wood Brothers Ford. He was forced to start dead last due to the car’s position in owner points, but had worked his way all the way up inside the top-15 for the restart.

Kyle Busch moved to the side to allow his teammate, Tony Stewart, to lead a lap and pickup the 5 extra bonus points on lap 53, but Tony returned the favor and let Kyle go back by the following lap, and that was the only movement up front until the leaders again came into pit on lap 56. Juan Pablo Montoya and Jimmie Johnson each led a lap during the exchange of green flag stops. Johnson came into pit on lap 58, which handed the lead back over to Dale Earnhardt Jr.

With more than a 25 second lead, Earnhardt was the only car still out on the track that had not yet made his final pit stop. Despite continuing to lose a second per lap to the 2nd and 3rd place cars, Tony Eury Jr. - crew chief for the no. 88 team - elected to keep Earnhardt out on the track, but the call completely backfired when NASCAR waived the second caution flag on lap 64. The caution was again for loose gravel that Travis Kvapil kicked onto the track when he ran off the track. Earnhardt was forced to pit while the other race leaders remained out on the track, and with just 25 laps remaining, he lined up 37th for the restart.

Kyle Busch was once again deemed the race leader by virtue of Earnhardt’s misfortunes with Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman chasing him. With the laps dwindling down, it almost looked as though we might have another caution when Sam Hornish Jr. spun PJ Jones on lap 70, but both cars were able to get going again, and NASCAR saw no reason to bring out the yellow.

The complexity of the race changed on lap 77 when Ryan Newman got into the corner too hard, resulting in a single car spin in Turn 9. Unable to get his car restarted, he had several close cars as the rest of the field tried to avoid the stalled car as it rolled back out onto the track. NASCAR eventually brought out the third caution, and luckily, the entire field was able to get around Newman without hitting him.

The fourth and final caution came with just 8 laps to go when Michael McDowell spun David Gilliland, setting off a huge multi-car crash that involved 9 cars right near the pit road entrance. Michael Waltrip, Bobby LaBonte, Sam Hornish Jr, Reed Sorenson, Max Papis, Dave Blaney, and Joe Nemechek all got caught up in the mess, and LaBonte appeared to be mildly injured as he was seen limping back to the infield care center.

After NASCAR stopped the race under red flag conditions for more than 40 minutes, they finally got the race restarted with Kyle Busch still in the lead, and behind him were Tony Stewart, Marcos Ambrose, Juan Pablo Montoya, Martin Truex Jr, and Kevin Harvick. Busch took the green flag with just five laps to go with Stewart keeping within a couple car lengths for the first few laps. With about 2 to go, though, Busch started to pull away, and Stewart’s new task became keeping the no. 21 of Ambrose in his rearview mirror. Busch went onto take the checkers, and Stewart was able to fend off Ambrose to give Joe Gibbs Racing a 1-2 finish.

Marcos Ambrose fought off Juan Pablo Montoya to hang onto third, and JPM finished 4th. Martin Truex Jr. held onto 5th to earn his first-ever top-five finish at Watkins Glen. He was followed by the 2006 winner of this event, Kevin Harvick, in 6th. 7th place went to Denny Hamlin, who capped off a solid run inside the top-ten for most of the day. Jimmie Johnson rebounded from his cut tire earlier in the race to finish in 8th. AJ Allmendinger walked away with the best NSCS finish of his career in 9th, also giving him his second top-ten in the last 3 races. Carl Edwards completed the top-ten.

Other Notables:
Matt Kenseth had a pretty quiet day, but finished 12th ….. Kasey Kahne matched his best Watkins Glen finish with a 14th place run ….. Dale Earnhardt Jr. wound up 22nd after his team’s race strategy put him in the back of the field with just over 20 laps to go ….. Jeff Gordon had an eventful day. His team had to have NASCAR black flag him to get him into the pits for the first round of stops after the team’s radio became disconnected. Gordon’s car, unfortunately, handled much like the radio, as his struggles throughout the day led to a 25th place finish ….. Robby Gordon started near the back of the pack and never was able to find his way to the front, finishing with a very disappointing 27th place finish ….. Ryan Newman’s spin on lap 77 led to a 28th place effort, as that team continues to watch their Chase hopes keep slipping away.

Kyle Busch now holds a 242 point lead on 1st in the standings, while Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson both moved past Earnhardt Jr. to take over the 2nd and 3rd spots. Tony Stewart’s back-to-back 2nd place efforts have also moved him up to 7th overall, and he now has a 138 point cushion in the Chase standings. Matt Kenseth also moved up a spot to take over the 12th and final spot in the Chase, moving Clint Bowyer back down to 13th. He’s now 22 points out of the Chase.

Grades:
the Race: 75%
Drama: 74%
Coverage: 90%
Pre-Race: 81%

Overall Grade: 78.4%

Complete Results (from nascar.com):

Sprint Cup Series Standings (from nascar.com):

Image details: USG Sheetrock 400 served by picapp.com

NASCAR will return to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL this weekend. Saturday night’s race will mark the eighth trip to Chicagoland for the Sprint Cup Series, and the first NASCAR event there run under the lights. The 1.5 mile tri-oval track has produced only two repeat winner to-date (Kevin Harvick & Tony Stewart), and no driver has ever won the pole here twice. With the points shakeup that occurred as a result of the mele’ at Daytona last week, all eyes are certain to be focused on the Midwest this week with only 8 races remaining until the official cutoff for the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins.

Recent Winners:
2007 - Tony Stewart
2006 - Jeff Gordon
2005 - Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Recent Polesitters:
2007 - Casey Mears
2006 - Jeff Burton
2005 - Jimmie Johnson

the Usual Suspects:
You can’t visit Chicago without Kevin Harvick ranking amongst your favorites to win the race. Despite some lackluster performances as of late, the no. 29 team showed some positive signs of life at the last three weeks at Infineon, New Hampshire, and Daytona, but consistently managed to find themselves the victim of poor circumstances. Now, Harvick will be looking to get back into Chase contention, and Chicago’s certainly a place he can do it. He’s one of only two 2-time winners here in the Cup Series, and his 8.0 average finish at Chicago ranks best amongst all active drivers.

Tony Stewart’s wins at Chicago in 2007 and 2004 qualify him as the only other repeat winner at Chicago, he’s got the third best driver rating here, and his 5 top-five finishes at the track are tops in the Sprint Cup Series. He’s experienced some extremely bizarre luck this year and has yet to record a victory in 2008 despite being amongst the frontrunners on several occassions, but many people feel that with Smoke finally putting an end to all of the contract speculation, a clear head might be able to finally translate into some marks in the “W” column for the no. 20 team.

Jimmie Johnson recorded five consecutive finishes of 6th or better before finishing 37th here last season, which included a 2nd place finish back in 2004. Johnson’s average finish of 9.2 is second best in the series ….. Matt Kenseth holds the best driver rating at Chicago over the past 3 races, and has been one of the hottest drivers in NASCAR over the past two months as he’s worked himself all the way up to 9th in the points standings. Matt has not yet recorded a win here, but he does have a pair of runner-up finishes in 2005 and 2007 ….. Kurt Busch has never recorded a top-five finish at Chicago, but he does have 5 top-ten’s and holds the best average Chicago finish over the past three races, recording finishes of 8th, 8th, and 6th in that span ….. Jeff Gordon won the 2006 race held here, and has also recorded a total of 4 top-five’s and 5 top-ten’s at Chicago.

the Unusual Suspects:
Running only one race a year here can make it tough to use history as a reference when looking for your sleeper picks this week, but Reed Sorenson should be considered a leading candidate for this position. He’s finished 7th and 12th in his only two visits to the track, and ranks 8th in the series for average driver ratings ….. Sorenson’s teammate at Chip Ganassi Racing, Juan Pablo Montoya, has typically been able to improve - or, at least match - his finishes from his rookie season in 2007. Last year he finished 15th at Chicago, so all indicators are that he should be a solid pick this weekend ….. On the heels of the huge announcement that Tony Stewart will join Haas CNC Racing next year, Scott Riggs has two things in mind: 1) Get his team back inside the top-35 in owner points, and 2) Petition for a ride next season. He finished 15th the last time he raced at Chicago, back in 2006.

the Unusual Slackers:
Kasey Kahne has been one of the better drivers in the series since the middle of May, but Chicagoland Speedway has not had a history of playing nice with the no. 9 team. Kahne has never recorded a top-20 finish at the track, and his average finish of 33.0 is the worst amongst all active drivers with four or more starts at Chicago ….. Martin Truex Jr. is in desparate need of a good finish after a 150 point penalty following Daytona has turned a disappointing season into an even worse one, but he’ll have his work cut out for him as he’s finished 16th and 39th in his only two starts here and will be driving without crew chief Kevin Manion in his corner ….. Denny Hamlin has had some disappointing finishes at some of his better tracks over the last month or so, but this weekend he’ll need to reverse that luck with a good finish at Chicago, where his only two starts have resulted in 14th and 17th place finishes.

Best Driver Ratings (from racingone.com):
1. Matt Kenseth - 126.2
2. Kevin Harvick - 114.6
3. Tony Stewart - 112.2
4. Jimmie Johnson - 107.2
5. Kyle Busch - 105.0

Best Average Finish (from racingone.com):
1. Kevin Harvick - 8.0
2. Jimmie Johnson - 9.2
3. Reed Sorenson - 9.5
4. Clint Bowyer - 9.5
5. Kyle Busch - 10.0

Chicago Facts:
- Kevin Harvick has the slowest race record to-date at 121.200 mph in the inaugural race back in 2001. He also holds the race speed record, clocked the following year, at 136.832 mph.
- No driver has ever won the pole award at Chicago more than once.
- All seven Chicagoland races have recorded between 7 to 10 cautions during the race.
- Chevrolet has won 6 of the 7 Sprint Cup races at Chicago.
- No driver has ever won the race from a top-five starting position, and only two have won from the top-ten.
- 17 drivers in the field have competed in all seven Cup races at Chicago.
- Three drivers have finished runner-up at Chicago that have not won at the track: Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson, and Matt Kenseth.

Storylines for the Weekend:
- Tony Stewart has announced his departure from Joe Gibbs Racing at the completion of 2008, as he will move to Haas CNC Racing as a driver and a 50% owner. The new company will be renamed Stewart Haas Racing, and the team will continue to receive their engines and chassis from Hendrick Motorsports.
- Martin Truex Jr. was docked 150 points for his car failing to meet NASCAR’s roof template prior to last weekend’s race at Daytona. The penalty drops Truex from 14th all the way down to 18th in the standings, and crew chief, Kevin Manion, has been suspended for six races.

Six-Pack Challenge:
Winner - Matt Kenseth
2nd Place - Jimmie Johnson
3rd Place - Kyle Busch
4th Place - Kevin Harvick
5th Place - Tony Stewart
6th Place - Kurt Busch

Lock of the Week - Tony Stewart
Sleeper Pick - Travis Kvapil
Steer Clear of - Martin Truex Jr.

Video footage of Tony Stewart’s win at the 2007 USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway:

Image details: Coke Zero 400 served by picapp.com

With only eight races remaining until NASCAR sets the field for their Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2008, only 223 points separates 8th place Kasey Kahne from 18th place Kurt Busch in the points standings. While that may seem like a lot and perhaps too much to overcome for some, keep in mind that at this time last year, those two positions were separated by 416 points, and 18th place at that point time was consumed by Mark Martin, who was running a part-time schedule and had already missed five races. Something else to keep in mind, though, is that the only driver that sat outside the top-12 in points following the Pepsi 400 at Daytona last year and still went onto make the Chase was Kurt Busch, who then ranked 15th and sat 121 points behind then 12th place, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Now, after a very rocky start to his season, Busch is 18th in the standings and lags 191 points behind Tony Stewart for that 12th spot in the Chase. The bright side? Three weeks ago, Kurt left Sonoma in 23rd, but has since managed to put together a mini-rally for himself with a win at New Hampshire and then a fourth-place effort last week at Daytona. Now, the schedule appears to be headed in Kurt’s favor. Next week, the series will make a stop in Chicago where he has 5 top-ten’s in the seven races run at the track. Kurt also finished 11th or better last year in each of the seven races on the schedule following Chicago, picking up wins at Pocono and Michigan in the process.

Despite currently being “stuck” in 16th place, Brian Vickers is another driver on the move. Ever since the disappointing ending to his strong run at Lowe’s back in May when the wheel fell off of his car, Brian has put together a string of six consecutive finishes of 16th or better. Included in that span of races were 2 top-five finishes at Pocono and Michigan - both races that he had a shot to win late in the race - and, Chicago ranks as one of his better tracks. He has an average finish of 10.3 in three trips to Chicagoland, though he did fail to make the show here last year.

Both Busch and Vickers could be in an excellent position to capitalize on the misfortune of quite a few drivers ahead of them. Though Martin Truex Jr. currently sits 14th in the standings, his team is awaiting word from NASCAR this week as to the severity of the penalty that they will incur for the infractions that occurred prior the race in Daytona. Should Truex be hit with a penalty of 150 points or more - as many suspect he will be - that would immediately drop him down in 18th in the standings, giving him a very long road of recovery.

Just as encouraging for Busch and Vickers fans is the recent slump of Ryan Newman (17th) and Kevin Harvick (13th). Newman has picked up only one top-ten in the last 8 points races, and Harvick’s last top-ten came at Richmond all the way back on May 3rd, a big reason why both drivers have slipped outside of the top-12 in points in recent weeks. David Ragan (15th) could potentially be a threat in hindering either driver’s march towards the Chase, but many people feel that his inexperience is shown with the inconsistency of his finishes, and that will ultimately give the advantage to the other drivers looking to lock onto that spot.

There’s also opportunity for Vickers and Busch with some of the cars that currently reside in the Chase transfer spots. While Greg Biffle (11th) and Tony Stewart (12th) have been two of the most dominant cars on the track this season, they’ve also had arguably the worst luck of any of the drivers in the garage, and there teams could be ready to switch to survival mode at any moment now.

Clint Bowyer (10th) and Kasey Kahne (8th) could also be two of the wildcards in the race for the Chase. After a strong run through the first leg of the season, Bowyer’s progress got hindered somewhere along the way and he’s plummeted through the rankings. After winning at Richmond, he then hit a six-race skid where he failed to finish in the top-ten before rebounding in the past three weeks with a 4th at Infineon and then a 9th last week at Daytona. Meanwhile, Kasey Kahne has managed to save his season with 2 wins, 3 top-five’s, and 4 top-ten’s in the last 7 races, but he also finished 30th or worse in the other three events, proving that the inconsistency of his race team has not gone away completely.

In fact, the only driver currently 8th or worse in the standings that seems to be an inevitable lock for the Chase is the no. 17 team of Matt Kenseth, who is currently in 9th. Ten races into the season, Matt was all the way back in 22nd, and few people were giving him a legitimate shot at rebounding to make the Chase. Now, with 7 top-ten’s in the last 8 races, Matt has gained 14 spots in the standings and has the look of a bonafide championship contender.

But, the good news for Kurt Busch and Brian Vickers is that they don’t need ALL of the other drivers from 8th to 18th to hit a rough patch and hand their points over to them … but, it would certainly help.

Image details: UAW-Ford 500 served by picapp.com

In the face of all of the scrutiny that has overcome NASCAR’s recent development, the Car of Tomorrow, there have also been quite a few tracks that have seen improved racing this year, largely attributed to the new car. Based on what we’ve seen this season and in the limited number of COT races in 2007, here are the tracks that have seen the most improvement:

5. Phoenix International Raceway - Though the racing was never terrible at Phoenix, it wasn’t great, either. The Subway Fresh Fit 500, however, ranks amongst my favorite races of the first half of the season, and that’s even with the outcome being determined by fuel mileage (which is something I can easily get tired of).

4. Infineon Raceway - While road course racing has never been my favorite, I always had a particularly bad perception of Infineon out in Sonoma, CA. While I still didn’t think the Toyota Save/Mart 350 in June was great by any means, I did think that the track had found significant improvement from where it was in years past.

3. New Hampshire Motor Speedway - While the Car of Tomorrow setup doesn’t seem to agree with the 1.5 mile “cookie cutter” tracks thus far, it seems to have done wonders for the action at the 1.0 speedway in Loudon, NH. While I would typically dread the very thought of NASCAR’s visit to New Hampshire, I was very pleasantly surprised and pleased with the action in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 just a couple of weeks ago.

2. Daytona International Speedway - Despite it being the most hyped and celebrated of all tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule, more often than not, the hype seemed to out perform that actual races themselves. That no longer seems to be the case, however, as both the Daytona 500 and the Coke Zero 400 rank amongst the best and most exciting races through the first half of 2008.

1. Talladega Superspeedway - There was quite a bit of uncertainty when the teams unloaded the COT at Talladega for the first time earlier this Spring, but in the end, the Aaron’s 499 resembled something along the lines of an actual race instead of just the crapshoot that it normally is (or was).

Image details: Best Buy 400 served by picapp.com

With the Sprint Cup Series now just one week away from reaching the official halfway marker of 2008, DYN is going to take a look at the 5 most disappointing teams and drivers in the series so far this year:

5. Ryan Newman - no. 12 car - Penske Racing - After missing out on the Chase for the Cup playoffs in each of the past two seasons, Newman came into 2008 - his contract year with Penske - with high hopes of finding some of the magic that he and the no. 12 team had a little earlier in his career. Things got off to a great start when Ryan gave Roger Penske his first-ever restrictor plate win when he won the season-opening Daytona 500, but the season’s been downhill ever since. Newman’s finished inside the top-five only once more since then, and has slipped down to 15th in the standings.

4. Dario Franchitti - no. 40 car - Chip Ganassi Racing - Nobody should have been expecting this team to tally any marks in the win column in Dario’s rookie campaign in the Sprint Cup Series, but sharing a team with Juan Pablo Montoya, many believed that he would be able to use a lot of the second-hand information from JPM’s transition into stock cars last year to his advantage. That has not been the case thus far, however, as Dario has failed to finish inside of the top-20 in any of the ten races he’s competed in this year. Even more disappointing is the fact that he failed to qualify for the road course race in Sonoma, the place where Montoya picked up his first NASCAR win and many felt that Dario would get his best finish to-date. 

3. Elliott Sadler - no. 19 car - Gillette-Evernham Motorsports - Once considered a perrenial Chase contender while racing for Yates Racing, Sadler came to Evernham Motorsports with high hopes when he relieved Jeremy Mayfield of his driving duties in the no. 19 car. Things haven’t really panned out so far, though, as Elliott just recently picked up his first top-five of the season last weekend at Loudon. They have also been unable to improve on their points position from last year. In 2007 he finished 25th in the standings, which is also where he currently sits 17 races into 2008.

2. Jamie McMurray - no. 26 car - Roush-Fenway Racing: In a NASCAR season that’s been dominated with Silly Season headlines, McMurray is one of the remaining drivers that still finds his name on the potential chopping block. Even if he survives 2008 with a job in-hand, he can pretty count on ‘09 being his last year with the organization unless he performs anything short of a miracle. 17 races into the season, McMurray finds himself with only 3 top-ten finishes, and no top-five efforts to show. 2006 - McMurray’s first season with Roush - marked the worst points season of Jamie’s career when he finished 25th. After climbing up to 17th last season, many people felt that he and the no. 26 team were finally beginning to develop some chemistry, but that has not been the case. He dropped as low as 36th in the standings earlier in the year following Bristol. They’ve been able to find a level of consistency since then, but they still find themselves down in 24th in the points, with very little hope of making the Chase.

1. Kurt Busch - no. 2 car - Penske Racing: After the addition of Pat Tryson as the Crew Chief, the team made a late-summer charge in 2007 to get Kurt into the Chase for the Cup, and the they came into 2008 with high expectations across the board. Kurt just recently picked up his first victory of the season last weekend at New Hampshire, but the car still tremendously lacked the desired performance. Furthermore, the win gave Kurt only his third top-ten finish of the season. The team finished 8th in points in 2007, but currently sit 18th overall and find themselves 222 points behind 12th place, Kevin Harvick.

Image details: LENOX Industrial Tools 301 Practice served by picapp.com

Much to pretty much everyone’s surprise, Patrick Carpentier won his first career Sprint Cup pole award when his no. 10 Gillette-Evernham Dodge turned the fastest lap during Friday’s qualifying session, clocking in at 29.349 seconds. Patrick, whom some people feel may be in danger of losing his ride next season, will start Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway from the pole position, lining up on the front row next to Bobby LaBonte, whose fastest lap came in 0.163 seconds slower than Carpentier.

Lining up on the inside of Row 2 will be Scott Riggs, whom like Carpentier, enters Sunday’s race outside of the top-35 in owner’s points, and is in dire need of a good finish. Next to him will be 2006 New Hampshire winner, Kevin Harvick. Row 3 consists of fan favorite, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Reed Sorenson, who returns to the no. 41 Chip Ganassi Dodge after sitting out last week at Infineon. Dario Franchitti and Martin Truex Jr. qualified 7th and 8th, and Matt Kenseth and AJ Allmendinger round out the top-10 starters.

Last year’s race winners at New Hampshire, Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer, qualified 12th and 18th respectively. Carl Edwards qualified 17th; Jeff Gordon qualified 19th; Jimmie Johnson qualified 23rd; and for the second week in a row, Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart turned in lackluster qualifying efforts and will start the race in 27th and 28th. Also for the second consecutive week, the majority of the top-ten starters are drivers currently outside of the top-12. The only drivers to accomplish the feat this week were Earnhardt and Kenseth.

Only two drivers failed to qualify for Sunday’s race. Tony Raines was scheduled to make his first start of the season in the no. 34 Furniture Row Motorsports Chevrolet, but came in 0.020 seconds too slow and failed to make the show. Marcos Ambros was slated to make his second start behind the wheel of the no. 21 Wood Bros. Ford, but was the slowest car on the track and was 0.233 seconds slower than 43rd place qualifier, Joe Nemechek.

Click here for the complete starting grid for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301.

Okay, so they’re actually pretty good friends and probably the furthest thing from being rivals with one another, but still. It’s pretty abnormal for Smoke to run this deep into the season without a Sprint Cup win to show for it, but so far in 2008, he’s managed to do just that. Of course, the racing Gods haven’t really seemed to help Stewart out much in that department, either. What … a pit road speeding violation during the last round of stops at Pocono … the cut tire at Charlotte … the late race wreck at Talladega … the mid-race wreck at Vegas … and, of course, the last lap pass at Daytona … all races that Stewart could have won - but, didn’t.

But, wait … I believe there’s two more, the most recent of which came this past Sunday at Infineon Raceway at the Toyota Save/Mart 350. With only a small handful of laps remaining and Stewart 2nd and Kevin Harvick in 4th, Harvick got into the turn to fast and clipped the no. 26 Ford of Jamie McMurray. McMurray then got into Stewart, once again taking a winning opportunity out of Smoke’s hands, though he did somehow manage to come back for a top-ten finish.

That wasn’t the first time that Harvick took the race out of Harvick’s hands this year, though. When the series ran at Bristol back in March, Harvick was racing Stewart for 2nd place in the last five laps of the race when Harvick got down on the apron going through turn 2, and he climbed up the track and got into Tony, sending him from 2nd to 14th just like that.

Despite attempts from the media, Stewart refused to show any angst towards Harvick following the incident at Sonoma this past Sunday, and all indications are that the two are still on good terms. But, of course, anytime they feel that their friendship has hit a rough patch, I’m sure Kevin will be more than willing to wax Tony again. Eeeewww.

By now, most of you are probably familiar with the many rumors surrounding the status of Casey Mears and the no. 5 team over at Hendrick Motorsports for 2009. Several sources are indicating that Rick Hendrick may have notified Casey last week that his tenure with HMS was coming to an end at the conclusion of this season, and already, the rumor mill has been lit up once again with all sorts of speculations.

The most intriguing, and for once, make-sense of these rumors comes from Lee Spencer over at Fox Sports, where she throws out the notion that Hendrick may be looking to promote Brad Keselowski from the Nationwide Series ranks, where he currently drives for Hendrick affiliate, JR Motorsports. Keselowski, who earned the first NNS win of his career earlier this season, could be Hendrick’s long-term solution to the Joe Gibbs Racing phenom, Joey Logano, but if these sources hold true, Hendrick would likely take a much different approach.

Whereas we could see a fourth team car implimented by JGR next season just to get Logano a full-time ride, Hendrick would approach it from a different angle, engaging Keselowski into a driver/mentor program, pairing him with the guy that’s done just that for a living since retiring from full-time action in 2006 … you guessed it, Mark Martin.

I never thought I’d see the day that Mark Martin would get behind the wheel of a Hendrick-branded car, but I’m seeing it now. ESPN is reporting that Mark has already confirmed that he will depart DEI after this year. In an odd twist to the story, though, they are also reporting that Martin will join the no. 5 team in an effort to make one last full-time run at the championship. That part of it I’m having a tough time buying off on for a couple of reasons. Aside from ESPN’s shakey and somewhat unreliable NASCAR reporting this year, I really feel that if Mark was going to take on another full season of racing, it would’ve been last year when he was well in position to make a bid for the Chase before finally stepping out of the car at Bristol.

Of course, we haven’t thrown nearly enough names into the fire to get the spicy rumor mill that we’ve grown quite accustomed to this year, so nascar.com decided to make sure we all took notice to the comments made by Juan Pablo Montoya on Sunday.

“Is it really true that Casey Mears is out of the 5 car?” was the first thing he said when confronted by reporters following the Toyota Save/Mart 350 at Infineon.

I’ll admit - I’m not too privy to the details of Montoya’s current contract with Chip Ganassi Racing, but that deal’s about to expire, then Juan is a name that has floated under the radar with flying colors, and would certainly add a little more flavor to the silly season gossip. He’s already holding his own over at Ganassi - even in the midst of working with three different crew chiefs during the first 16 races of the season. You have to wonder what the former Formula One star could do in some Hendrick furnished equipment!

So, is Mears on his way out of the Hendrick camp? Yeah, I think he is. It’s a notion that we’ve toyed around with all season long - even before the recent rumors - and, to me, the deck is stacked against him on this one. It’s a make-sense move for HMS to let him go. Bringing Keselowski up through the ranks would allow them to concentrate their championship efforts on the trio of Gordon, Johnson, and Jr. next season … and, even a longshot deal like Montoya would expand their merchandise and fan base even more.

Now, where he could wind up is anyone’s guess. The fourth car over at Richard Childress Racing would be my first inclination, but there are several other possibilities still lingering out there. Even with Greg Biffle expected to announce a re-signing with Roush-Fenway Racing this weekend, a potential slot could still open up there if Jack were to release Jamie McMurray from the organization, as many people were speculating on just a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, issues still do not appear to be resolved between Ryan Newman and the Penske Racing organization, and I’ve even heard talk about Casey headed somewhere like Haas CNC Racing, or even a return to Ganassi.

Yes … Silly Season is still a mess.

*Credit photo to Newscom.

Through 55 years of racing at NASCAR’s top level, the Wood Brothers have established themselves amongst the all-time winningest teams in the sport’s history with an accumulated 97 wins amongst the organization. The organization has housed such legendary names as Cale Yarbrough, David Pearson, Davey Allison, AJ Foyt, Tiny Lund, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd, and Dan Gurney. The team made history in the late 70’s when they were invited to the White House by former U.S. President, Jimmy Carter … Yet, Wood Brothers Racing has not visited Victory Lane since Elliott Sadler’s 2001 win at Bristol Motor Speedway, and the organization has been relegated to one of stock car racing’s proverbial laughing stocks in recent years.

With the team struggling, and the evolution of the NASCAR economy seeming to work against them and the Ford Racing program, team owner Glen Wood sought to keep the driving program afloat by signing veteran drivers Bill Elliott and Ken Schrader to drive the no. 21 Ford for the team in 2007. The end result, however, was less than desirable as the combination failed to net the Wood Bros. a single top-ten finish, and much hasn’t changed in 2008 with Elliott again behind the wheel this year, this time being complimented by Jon Wood on occassion.

So, what does a team do when they’ve fallen so far off of the mark of excellence that they themselves established so long ago? They go out and fetch themselves the 31-year-old Aussie that’s largely credited with the revival of Ford Racing in Australia - Marcos Ambrose. Adequately named the “Tasmanian Devil,” Ambrose, a former Formula Ford Euro Cup and 2x former V8 Supercar Championship Series champion, broke into the NASCAR scene in 2006 when the Wood Brothers / JTG Racing partnership signed Ambrose to compete in full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series. Not being cleared by NASCAR to compete in the first three races of the season, Ambrose was limited to 22 races in which he garnered 4 top-ten finishes, including a pair of 3rd place runs at Nashville and Kansas.

The team then set Ambrose’s sights on the Nationwide Series in 2007, where Marcos tallied 6 top-ten runs through 35 events and ultimately finished 8th in the overall points standings, and was the third highest ranked non-Cup regular in the standings. 2008 has gotten Marcos off to a bit of a slower start in the series, where he currently sits 13th in points, but a 2nd place run at the road course in Mexico earlier in the season prompted a callup from the Wood Brothers this past weekend at Infineon.

Slated to make his long-awaited Sprint Cup debut behind the wheel of the famed no. 21 Ford Fusion, Ambrose got the weekend off to a great start when he was the 7th fastest during qualifying, and then led the final practice session on Saturday. Looking to prove his road course prowess was no joke and that he belonged at NASCAR’s premier level, Ambrose then established himself as one of the top cars in the field and definitely one of the guys to beat on Sunday, though looking at the box score following the race, you’d have never known it unless you’d watched the race yourself.

Marcos ran with the leaders and stayed up around the top-five all day long, even when pit strategies shuffled several of the other race leaders back into the pack. Only some unprovoked contact from Elliott Sadler late in the race kept him from getting the finish he deserved, and yet, even after a 42nd place run, both Ambrose and the Wood Brothers organization were rather upbeat following the race.

“Just awesome,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. Here I am, passing Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, racing with Earnhardt Jr, it’s just fantastic. It’s what I dreamed about, what I dreamed it would be like. It’s certainly like that. It’s just fantastic. It’s just a real shame we couldn’t finish the race.”

While most people probably find it tough to see the silver lining in a 42nd place finish, those that have followed the Wood Brothers throughout the years know that they’ve been far from competitive the last few years, and that even though the finish wasn’t indicative of the good run, it’s a huge morale booster for the organization to have a car run as well as Marcos did on Sunday. Ambrose is now scheduled to compete in seven more Cup events in the no. 21 car, including next weekend at New Hampshire and the August road course race at Watkins Glen.

*Credit photo to Newscom.