Track Talk
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04-13-2010 | 08:38 AM
Track Talk
Track Talk from Valvoline (Source)
THE BIG STORYRyan Newman won Saturday night's Subway Fresh Fit 600k at Phoenix International Raceway based on tire strategy and a green-white-checker finish. Newman's Chevrolet beat Jeff Gordon by .130 second, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Juan Pablo Montoya. Johnson leads Matt Kenseth (sixth) by 36 points.
Also: NASCAR put Jason Leffler on a three-race probation for rough driving in the Nashville Nationwide event . . . Panther Racing will team with Vision Racing to field a car for Ed Carpenter in the Indianapolis 500 . . . Jason Meyers won his World of Outlaws-best fourth A-Feature Saturday night at Oklahoma's Tri-State Speedway.
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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series A.J. Allmendinger put the Valvoline Ford on the pole Friday at Phoenix with a 134.675 mph lap. It was his first Cup pole. The yellow came out Saturday night when Kurt Busch got loose in turn two and was hit by Kasey Kahne on lap 16. Busch then slid down the track and hit the right-side of Denny Hamlin's Toyota. Hamlin lost two laps around lap 136 when he pitted to have the battery changed. Even though Casey Mears was ready to take over, following Hamlin's knee surgery, Hamlin stayed in and finished 30th. Jimmie Johnson passed Juan Pablo Montoya and looked set for his fourth win in the last five PIR races, until Kyle Busch got by. Busch then looked to accomplish a PIR double until the caution came out for a Scott Riggs flat tire with two laps to go in the scheduled 375 lap distance. Newman, who was fifth, pitted for two new tires, as did Jeff Gordon. Johnson and Busch went with four. Gordon restarted as the leader but Newman powered by him for his first victory in 77 races, going back to the 2008 Daytona 500. Allmendinger finished 15th. Newman averaged 99.372 mph after 378 laps with nine yellows for 59 laps
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NASCAR Nationwide SeriesKyle Busch went from 19th with 50 laps to go and won Friday night's Bashas' 200 at Phoenix in spectacular fashion. Busch's Toyota was leading when NASCAR ruled he didn't accelerate properly for a restart, and a 10-car chain-reaction accident behind him stopped the race. Brad Keselowski was called as the leader for the next restart, but Busch jumped ahead of him before the line. NASCAR penalized him with a pit drive-through penalty and Busch returned to the track in 19th place. He moved up to 10th for the last restart with eight laps left and Joey Logano leading. Keselowski bumped Logano for first and then got loose and Busch reclaimed the top spot with five laps remaining. He won by 1.5 seconds over Kevin Harvick, with Keselowski third. Busch averaged 93.872 mph with seven yellows for 37 laps. Keselowski tops Carl Edwards (sixth) by four points.
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IZOD IndyCar SeriesHelio Castroneves got the lead when Marco Andretti had to pit for fuel with eight laps to go and won Sunday's inaugural race at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. Andretti had led the most laps in an event determined by pit strategy and fuel mileage. Castroneves finished .5703 second ahead of Scott Dixon, with Dario Franchitti third. Andretti was fifth. The winning average speed was 106.436 mph over 90 laps with two yellows for five laps. Will Power (fourth) tops Castroneves by 32 points.
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NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing SeriesMatt Hagan got his first Funny Car victory while Larry Dixon, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Andrew Hines also made it to the winner's circle in Sunday's O'Reilly Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park. In Funny Car, Hagan's DieHard Dodge Charger ran 4.390 seconds, 247.57 mph vs. Jeff Arend's 4.714, 231.20 mph in a Toyota Solara. Jack Beckman qualified eighth in the Valvoline/MTS Charger and lost in the first round. Cory McClenathan tops Dixon by 28 points. In Top Fuel, Dixon got his 50th career win. He went 4.541, 222.36 mph for a peddle-fest win over Antron Brown's 4.638, 173.32 mph. John Force leads Hagan by 70 points. In Pro Stock, Coughlin clocked 6.599, 210.77 mph in his Chevrolet Cobalt for a holeshot victory over Allen Johnson's 6.596, 210.77 mph in a Dodge Avenger. Mike Edwards has a 192 point margin over Johnson. Ron Krisher qualified second in the Valvoline Cobalt and lost in the semifinals. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Hines' lap was 6.998, 196.02 mph as Hector Arana turned on the red light. Craig Treble qualified fourth on the Valvoline Suzuki and lost in the second round. Arana is 40 points clear of Eddie Krawiec.
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Rolex Sports Car SeriesScott Pruett and Memo Rojas dominated Saturday's Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park in a BMW Riley, finishing almost seven seconds ahead of Oswaldo Negri and John Pew in a Ford Riley. Ryan Dalziel and Mike Forest were third in a BMW Riley. The winners averaged 90.229 mph with three yellows for 12 of the 108 laps in the two-hour, 45-minute event. Pruett and Rojas are 11 points ahead of Dalziel. In GT, Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato won for the second time in a Mazda RX-8.
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Valvoline Winners Last WeekendLarry Dixon, NHRA Top Fuel class, Houston. Matt Hagan, NHRA Funny Car class, Houston.
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Racer of the WeekDenny Hamlin. Completes the distance in Cup race at Phoenix just days after surgery to repair torn ACL in his left knee.
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Yes, He REALLY Said ThatBryan Sperber, Phoenix International Raceway president, on possible return of IRL to the track. "It's the fans that they're going to have a long road to hoe and building back their confidence . . . Time heals all wounds, but I think the IRL has to go the extra mile and show they're sincere with the fans here in the Valley."
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This WeekendNASCAR is big in Texas with Saturday Nationwide racing and Sunday Cup. IndyCars go Sunday in Long Beach with Saturday ALMS. NHRA takes its chances in Las Vegas. Formula One travels to China.
THE BIG STORYRyan Newman won Saturday night's Subway Fresh Fit 600k at Phoenix International Raceway based on tire strategy and a green-white-checker finish. Newman's Chevrolet beat Jeff Gordon by .130 second, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Juan Pablo Montoya. Johnson leads Matt Kenseth (sixth) by 36 points.
Also: NASCAR put Jason Leffler on a three-race probation for rough driving in the Nashville Nationwide event . . . Panther Racing will team with Vision Racing to field a car for Ed Carpenter in the Indianapolis 500 . . . Jason Meyers won his World of Outlaws-best fourth A-Feature Saturday night at Oklahoma's Tri-State Speedway.
Return to Top
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series A.J. Allmendinger put the Valvoline Ford on the pole Friday at Phoenix with a 134.675 mph lap. It was his first Cup pole. The yellow came out Saturday night when Kurt Busch got loose in turn two and was hit by Kasey Kahne on lap 16. Busch then slid down the track and hit the right-side of Denny Hamlin's Toyota. Hamlin lost two laps around lap 136 when he pitted to have the battery changed. Even though Casey Mears was ready to take over, following Hamlin's knee surgery, Hamlin stayed in and finished 30th. Jimmie Johnson passed Juan Pablo Montoya and looked set for his fourth win in the last five PIR races, until Kyle Busch got by. Busch then looked to accomplish a PIR double until the caution came out for a Scott Riggs flat tire with two laps to go in the scheduled 375 lap distance. Newman, who was fifth, pitted for two new tires, as did Jeff Gordon. Johnson and Busch went with four. Gordon restarted as the leader but Newman powered by him for his first victory in 77 races, going back to the 2008 Daytona 500. Allmendinger finished 15th. Newman averaged 99.372 mph after 378 laps with nine yellows for 59 laps
Return to Top
NASCAR Nationwide SeriesKyle Busch went from 19th with 50 laps to go and won Friday night's Bashas' 200 at Phoenix in spectacular fashion. Busch's Toyota was leading when NASCAR ruled he didn't accelerate properly for a restart, and a 10-car chain-reaction accident behind him stopped the race. Brad Keselowski was called as the leader for the next restart, but Busch jumped ahead of him before the line. NASCAR penalized him with a pit drive-through penalty and Busch returned to the track in 19th place. He moved up to 10th for the last restart with eight laps left and Joey Logano leading. Keselowski bumped Logano for first and then got loose and Busch reclaimed the top spot with five laps remaining. He won by 1.5 seconds over Kevin Harvick, with Keselowski third. Busch averaged 93.872 mph with seven yellows for 37 laps. Keselowski tops Carl Edwards (sixth) by four points.
Return to Top
IZOD IndyCar SeriesHelio Castroneves got the lead when Marco Andretti had to pit for fuel with eight laps to go and won Sunday's inaugural race at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. Andretti had led the most laps in an event determined by pit strategy and fuel mileage. Castroneves finished .5703 second ahead of Scott Dixon, with Dario Franchitti third. Andretti was fifth. The winning average speed was 106.436 mph over 90 laps with two yellows for five laps. Will Power (fourth) tops Castroneves by 32 points.
Return to Top
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing SeriesMatt Hagan got his first Funny Car victory while Larry Dixon, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Andrew Hines also made it to the winner's circle in Sunday's O'Reilly Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park. In Funny Car, Hagan's DieHard Dodge Charger ran 4.390 seconds, 247.57 mph vs. Jeff Arend's 4.714, 231.20 mph in a Toyota Solara. Jack Beckman qualified eighth in the Valvoline/MTS Charger and lost in the first round. Cory McClenathan tops Dixon by 28 points. In Top Fuel, Dixon got his 50th career win. He went 4.541, 222.36 mph for a peddle-fest win over Antron Brown's 4.638, 173.32 mph. John Force leads Hagan by 70 points. In Pro Stock, Coughlin clocked 6.599, 210.77 mph in his Chevrolet Cobalt for a holeshot victory over Allen Johnson's 6.596, 210.77 mph in a Dodge Avenger. Mike Edwards has a 192 point margin over Johnson. Ron Krisher qualified second in the Valvoline Cobalt and lost in the semifinals. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Hines' lap was 6.998, 196.02 mph as Hector Arana turned on the red light. Craig Treble qualified fourth on the Valvoline Suzuki and lost in the second round. Arana is 40 points clear of Eddie Krawiec.
Return to Top
Rolex Sports Car SeriesScott Pruett and Memo Rojas dominated Saturday's Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park in a BMW Riley, finishing almost seven seconds ahead of Oswaldo Negri and John Pew in a Ford Riley. Ryan Dalziel and Mike Forest were third in a BMW Riley. The winners averaged 90.229 mph with three yellows for 12 of the 108 laps in the two-hour, 45-minute event. Pruett and Rojas are 11 points ahead of Dalziel. In GT, Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato won for the second time in a Mazda RX-8.
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Valvoline Winners Last WeekendLarry Dixon, NHRA Top Fuel class, Houston. Matt Hagan, NHRA Funny Car class, Houston.
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Racer of the WeekDenny Hamlin. Completes the distance in Cup race at Phoenix just days after surgery to repair torn ACL in his left knee.
Return to Top
Yes, He REALLY Said ThatBryan Sperber, Phoenix International Raceway president, on possible return of IRL to the track. "It's the fans that they're going to have a long road to hoe and building back their confidence . . . Time heals all wounds, but I think the IRL has to go the extra mile and show they're sincere with the fans here in the Valley."
Return to Top
This WeekendNASCAR is big in Texas with Saturday Nationwide racing and Sunday Cup. IndyCars go Sunday in Long Beach with Saturday ALMS. NHRA takes its chances in Las Vegas. Formula One travels to China.
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