NASCAR + More 08-11-08
#1
08-11-2008, 04:14 PM
NASCAR + More 08-11-08
THE BIG STORY
Kyle Busch won Sunday's Centurion Boats at The Glen, his eighth Cup victory of the season. After a 40-minute red flag to clear debris from a multi-car crash, Busch's Toyota easily held off Gibbs' teammate Tony Stewart on the restart with five laps to go on the Watkins Glen road course. Busch swept both road course events this season and clinched the top berth in the Chase standings. Marcos Ambrose started in the back in the Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford and finished third, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya and Martin Truex Jr. Busch is 242 points ahead of Carl Edwards (ninth).
Also: J.J. Yeley was released as No. 96 Toyota Cup driver. Brad Coleman will take over at Michigan, after P.J. Jones was in the Camry at Watkins Glen… Martin Truex Jr. will return to DEI in 2009… Donny Schatz passed Jason Meyers with five laps to go in the 30-lap A-main feature to win the $150,000 Knoxville Nationals, winged sprint car racing's most prestigious event… Greg Weld, 64, the 1967 USAC sprint car champion and founder of Weld Wheels, died in Kansas City, Mo. Return to Top
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Friday qualifying at Watkins Glen was rained out, so Kyle Busch started first, while Brian Simo and Boris Said didn't get a chance to make the field. Said then took over Kyle Petty's No. 45. In Sunday's 90-lap race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. passed Busch for the lead on lap two. Jeff Gordon's radio wasn't working so his crew had NASCAR black-flag him on lap 29 to fix the problem. He finished 29th. Earnhardt Jr. pitted on lap 29 and, after that pit cycle, Busch was the leader. Jimmie Johnson, running second, had to pit under green on lap 43 with a flat tire. He finished seventh. There was a full-course yellow for debris on lap 47. With 37 laps to go, Busch allowed Tony Stewart to go by so he could gain five bonus points, then quickly repassed his teammate. Busch and Stewart pitted for the last time with 35 laps remaining. Earnhardt Jr. stayed out until a debris yellow with 27 laps remaining. He finished 22d. With 13 to go, Ryan Newman spun and several cars narrowly avoided him, with Penske Dodge teammate Sam Hornish Jr. giving Newman a push so he could restart. The green waved with nine laps left, but on the next lap, coming out of the last turn, Michael McDowell and David Gilliland had contact. Gilliland's Ford bounced off the tire wall and into traffic. Bobby Labonte, Dave Blaney, Hornish, Newman, Michael Waltrip, Reed Sorenson, Max Papis and Joe Nemechek were involved. Labonte climbed from his car but was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation. Busch beat Stewart by 2.2 seconds and averaged 97.148 mph with four cautions for nine laps. Clint Bowyer trails Matt Kenseth by 22 points for the last Chase position.Return to Top
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Leaders Jeff Burton and Jimmie Johnson ran out of fuel with less than five laps to go, allowing Marcos Ambrose to win his first race, Saturday's Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen. Ambrose's Ford pitted later than Burton and Johnson and was comfortably in front when the yellow came out on the last lap. Kyle Busch, who had a pit penalty and spun with Burton after contact, came back to finish second in a Toyota. Matt Kenseth was third in a Ford. Dario Franchitti earned his first NASCAR pole and finished fifth. Burton wound up 14th and Johnson 29th. Clint Bowyer, who spun after Carl Edwards got under him trying to pass, finished 23d and leads Brad Keselowski (sixth) by 128 points. Ambrose averaged 85.954 mph with six yellows for 15 of the 82 laps. Return to Top
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Johnny Benson won his third straight series race, and fourth in his last five starts, in Saturday night's Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Benson's Toyota got under Erik Darnell's Ford going into turn one with three laps to go and beat him by .889 second. Todd Bodine was third in a Toyota. Benson overcame a pit penalty and handling issues, helped, in part, by gaining 10 spots during a mid-race yellow-flag pit stop. He averaged 115.300 mph with seven yellows for 29 of the 150 laps. Benson's margin over Ron Hornaday Jr. (fifth) is 45 points.Return to Top
NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series
Tony Schumacher won his fourth consecutive Top Fuel race, and 50th national event, in Sunday's Lucas Nationals at Brainerd, Minn. Schumacher's Army dragster powered to a 3.865 second, 310.05 mph 1,000-foot win over Cory McClenathan's 3.900, 306.74 mph. Schumacher tops Antron Brown by 481 points. In Funny Car, Tony Pedregon's Chevrolet Impala took the trophy with a 4.238, 288.89 mph 1,000-foot pass as Jack Beckman red-lighted in the Valvoline Dodge Charger. Beckman had qualified eighth. Tim Wilkerson is 141 points ahead of Pedregon. In Pro Stock, run to a quarter-mile, Kurt Johnson's Chevrolet Cobalt went 6.671, 207.05 mph to best Dave Connolly's 6.696, 206.29 mph in a Cobalt. Ron Krisher qualified seventh in the Valvoline Cobalt and lost in the first round. Greg Anderson leads Johnson by 56 points. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Smith's Buell had a solo 6.973, 188.60 mph run as Angelle Sampey's Buell broke before staging. Andrew Hines leads Smith by 12 points.Return to Top
IndyCar Series
Helio Castroneves ran out of fuel in the last turn of the last lap and Scott Dixon went around him to win Saturday night's Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Castroneves' Penske team tried a different fuel strategy, which allowed him to stay on-track while all the leaders were forced to make splash-and-go pit stops in the closing laps. That put Castroneves six seconds ahead of Dixon, who closed rapidly, and won a series record-tying sixth race. Castroneves finished second for the seventh time this season. Marco Andretti was third. Poleman Dixon finished .5532 second up on Castroneves and averaged 183.650 mph with three cautions for 21 laps. He's 78 points clear of Castroneves. ABC will televise the Indy 500 and four other races through 2012, with Versus the IRL's new cable partner. Tony Kanaan signed a five-year contract extension with Andretti Green Racing.Return to Top
American Le Mans Series
Audi diesels finished 1-2 in Saturday's four-hour run at Road America, with Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr taking the checkered flag 2.4 seconds ahead of Emanuele Pirro and Marcel Fassler. Werner passed David Brabham's P2 class Acura for the overall lead with 20 minutes to go in the 102-lap race. Brabham and Scott Sharp were third overall. In GT1, Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen won in the Chevrolet Corvette C6.R. In GT2, Dirk Werner, Richard Westbrook and Bryce Miller won in a Porsche 911.Return to Top
Rolex Sports Car Series
Brian Frisselle and Mark Wilkins led 78 of the 82 laps to win Friday's Crown Royal 200 at Watkins Glen. The duo finished 1.9 seconds ahead of Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty for their second consecutive series victory. Darren Law and David Donohue were third. The winning average speed was 111.210 mph in mixed wet-dry track conditions. Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas were 13th and now top Gurney and Fogarty by 49 points. Return to Top
Racer of the Week
Donny Schatz. Joins Steve Kinser as the only drivers to win three straight Knoxville Nationals.Return to Top
Yes, He REALLY Said That
Gene Simmons, on IndyCar drivers. "Our drivers are like rock stars. If they weren't driving, they'd be on stage trying to steal your girlfriend."Return to Top
Valvoline Winners Last Weekend
Johnny Benson, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Nashville. Tony Schumacher, NHRA Top Fuel class, Minnesota. Return to Top
This Weekend
NASCAR heads back to Michigan, with Saturday Nationwide Series racing and Sunday Cup. NHRA blasts into Reading.
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