Track Talk for the weekend of February 23-25 THE BIG STORY

THE BIG STORY


Matt Kenseth got the new Roush Fenway ownership group its first two wins, sweeping the weekend's Busch Series and Nextel Cup races at California Speedway. Sunday, in the Auto Club 500, it looked like Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick would get around Kenseth's Ford in the closing laps. After a red flag when David Reutimann crashed hard, however, Harvick's Chevrolet had a flat tire and Kenseth held off Jeff Gordon by .679 second. Jimmie Johnson was third, followed by Jeff Burton and Mark Martin. Martin leads Burton by five points.
Also: Dan Wheldon topped a two-day IRL test at Homestead with a best lap of 214.858 mph. That was in a backup car after he crashed his No. 1 machine . . . Tony Kanaan, not Danica Patrick, will co-drive Andretti Green's Acura at Sebring with Bryan Herta and Dario Franchitti.Return to Top


NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series


Jeff Gordon got the pole Friday for the Auto Club 500 at California, going 185.735 mph. Non-qualifiers included Michael Waltrip, Jeremy Mayfield, A.J. Allmendinger and Ward Burton. Sunday's race was Cup's first using unleaded fuel. Kasey Kahne got around Gordon to lead the first lap. The first of nine cautions waved on lap seven when Scott Riggs, who qualified 30th in the Valvoline/Stanley Tools Dodge, spun in turn two. That incident also involved Jamie McMurray and Reed Sorenson. Riggs finished 41st. Martin Truex Jr.'s engine blew on lap 14 and that signaled what would later happen to teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. After losing oil pressure, Dale Jr. went to the garage, and later returned but spun when the motor failed. He placed 40th. Kahne wound up 38th after engine problems. Matt Kenseth emerged as the top contender and eventually led 133 of the 250 laps. Tony Stewart lost a lap due to a pit speeding penalty and finished eighth. The eighth yellow, for debris, came with Jimmie Johnson leading by two seconds, but he lost four positions in the pits. The green, with 20 laps left, saw Kenseth back in front but Kevin Harvick slowly closing the gap. Greg Biffle apparently tapped David Reutimann into a hard hit with the turn-two wall with eight laps remaining and that brought out the red flag. When the cars restarted, Harvick found he had a tire going flat, and that pit stop left him in 17th place. Kenseth averaged 138.451 mph with 45 yellow laps. The victory, his 15th in Cup, came with engineer Chip Bolin filling in for suspended crew chief Robbie Reiser.Return to Top


NASCAR Busch Series


Matt Kenseth got his 22d win in 200 career series starts in Saturday night's Stater Bros. 300 at California. Kenseth's Ford passed Jeff Burton's Chevrolet on lap 129 of 150 and beat Casey Mears' Chevy to the line by .484 second. He averaged 127.871 mph with eight cautions for 24 laps. Kenseth led a race-high 48 laps. Kyle Busch was third. Dave Blaney provided Toyota with its first pole position but finished 10th. Only 41 cars started, two less than a full field. Kevin Harvick, who is not defending his series title, finished sixth and is 15 points ahead of full-season runner Carl Edwards, who was fourth.Return to Top


NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series


Mark Martin got punted out of the lead by Ron Hornaday with five laps to go and Mike Skinner powered around Hornaday before the yellow waved and won Friday night's San Bernardino County 200 at California. Martin's Wood Brothers Ford was leading the field to a restart when Hornaday accelerated into the back of his truck, sending Mark into the infield. On the two-lap green run to the finish, Skinner's Toyota held off Hornaday by .556 second and averaged 130.933 mph. Jack Sprague was third. Martin wound up 23d. There were six cautions for 19 of the 100 laps. The field was two short of full with 34 starters. Sprague and Skinner are tied for the title lead.Return to Top


[b]NHRA Powerade D

 

Hey Space, the unleaded fuel story was pretty interesting.