Track Talk - NASCAR + more : )
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04-06-2009, 01:28 PM
Track Talk - NASCAR + more : )
Track Talk for the weekend of April 3 - 5THE BIG STORYJeff Gordon's career-longest 47-race winless streak is over. Many members on the MCF are elated, and SuperMod Wiz is still dancing in the streets in Canada : )The four-time Cup champion won Sunday's Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway by .378 second over Hendrick Chevrolet teammate Jimmie Johnson. Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth completed the top five. Gordon's last win was at Charlotte in October 2007. He's 162 points up on Johnson.
Also: Kevin Harvick won Monday's rain-delayed Truck race at Martinsville… NASCAR will begin doing Cup post-race engine tear-downs at its R&D Center… Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the Australian Grand Prix for providing incomplete information to FIA stewards. Jarno Trulli was reinstated to third place.
NASCAR Sprint Cup SeriesDavid Reutimann clocked the pole Friday at Texas with a 190.516 mph lap. Sunday, Jeff Gordon got around Reutimann and led until lap nine, when David went by. The first yellow didn't come until lap 97, for debris. Matt Kenseth came out of the pits first. Kyle Busch got a pit speeding penalty. On lap 157, Elliott Sadler spun. Reutimann was penalized for pitting outside his pit box. With 103 of the 334 laps to go, Sam Hornish Jr. spun in turn two. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who lost track position by missing his pit and then waiting for a loose lug nut to be attached, took only two new tires and exited up front. Gordon quickly repassed him. Carl Edwards moved around Gordon with 39 laps remaining. David Stremme spun with 31 laps left, triggering a yellow. Gordon's crew got him out first while Edwards' team had problems and he was 11th for the restart. Slower traffic helped Jimmie Johnson, who was adjusting his Chevy all day, close a little on his teammate near the end. Gordon averaged 146.372 mph with six cautions for 30 laps. Edwards finished 10th, Reutimann 11th, and Earnhardt 20th. Jamie McMurray started 36th and finished 38th in the Sears Auto Center/Valvoline Ford after needing to replace his transmission.
NASCAR Nationwide SeriesKyle Busch won his third consecutive series race at Texas in Saturday's O'Reilly 300. He led a track record 178 of 200 laps and beat Tony Stewart by 1.4 seconds. Busch also became the first at TMS to win in this series from the pole. Busch's Toyota averaged 144.096 mph with four yellows for 18 of the 200 laps. Stewart pitted for tires on the last yellow and advanced from seventh place on the restart. Brad Keselowski was third after starting from the back in a backup Chevrolet following a crash during qualifying. Carl Edwards (18th) leads Busch by 38 points.
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing SeriesTony Schumacher, Ron Capps and Jeg Coughlin Jr. were the pro class winners in Sunday's SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In Top Fuel, Schumacher's Army car won for the second straight week. He ran 3.874 seconds, 311.77 mph to best Brandon Bernstein's 4.003, 295.66 mph. Schumacher leads Antron Brown by 18 points. In Funny Car, Capps' won for the third time in five races. His Dodge Charger powered to a 4.182, 297.81 mph win over rookie teammate Matt Hagan's 4.335, 248.89 mph. Jack Beckman qualified 13th in the Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger but lost in the second round. Capps tops Hagan by 106 points. In Pro Stock, Coughlin was the easy winner in a Chevrolet Cobalt as Greg Stanfield went red in his Pontiac GXP. Coughlin's run was 6.715, 205.16 mph. Ron Krisher didn't qualify in the Valvoline Cobalt. Coughlin moved 12 points clear of Jason Line.
IndyCar SeriesRyans ran 1-2 in the season opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, with Ryan Briscoe beating Ryan Hunter-Reay by .46 second. Briscoe passed Justin Wilson on a restart on lap 87 of 100. Wilson finished third. Graham Rahal, who became the youngest polesitter at 20 years, 90 days, was hit by Tony Kanaan at the start and finished seventh. Briscoe averaged 81.542 mph with seven yellows for 28 laps. Junior Strous won both of the season opening Firestone Indy Lights events.
American Le Mans SeriesDavid Brabham and Scott Sharp scored an overall victory in Saturday's 167.4-mile Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg. It was the first for Acura in the P1 class. The duo finished 32.1 seconds clear of the P2 Acura with Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz. Third overall was the P2 Lola-Mazda of Chris Dyson and Guy Smith. Brabham and Sharp averaged 86.665 mph. In GT2, the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister won.
Formula OneHeavy rain caused officials to end Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix after 32 of the 56 scheduled laps, with Jenson Button winning for the second consecutive week in a Brawn-Mercedes. Since the event had not reached three-quarters distance, half-points were awarded. Scoring reverted back to the last completed lap, so Nick Heidfeld was second in a BMW-Sauber and Timo Glock third in a Toyota. Button is five points ahead of teammate Rubens Barrichello (fifth).
Valvoline Winners Last WeekendTony Schumacher, NHRA Top Fuel class, Las Vegas. Ron Capps, NHRA Funny Car class, Las Vegas.
Racer of the WeekJeff Gordon. Wins for the first time at Texas Motor Speedway and extends his Sprint Cup championship advantage.
Yes, He REALLY Said ThatJeff Burton, on Mark Martin influencing other Hendrick drivers to start workout programs. "Fitness is very important. I'm glad to see Mark set a positive influence over there and get people up and running. When a 50-year-old man is in better shape than you are, and you're 30, then you need to get to work."
This WeekendThe Nationwide Series runs Saturday at Nashville.
Last edited by Space; 04-06-2009 at 03:46 PM.
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