Formula One, Indy, NASCAR WeekEnd Rac'in
#1
05-26-2009, 02:04 PM
Formula One, Indy, NASCAR WeekEnd Rac'in
THE BIG STORY
Racing's biggest weekend ended with Helio Castroneves a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and David Reutimann on top after Monday's rain-delayed and shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte's Lowe's Motor Speedway. Poleman Castroneves passed Scott Dixon for the lead with 59 laps to go and beat Dan Wheldon by 1.9 seconds. It was the 15th Indy win for owner Roger Penske. At Charlotte, Reutimann was in the lead when rain ended the shortest "600" in its 50-year history after only 227 of the scheduled 400 laps. It was the first Cup triumph for the driver and Michael Waltrip Racing.
Also: Jeff Gordon underwent a procedure called a facet block injection in an attempt to alleviate his recurring back pain… Mike Ashley, a three-time NHRA Funny Car winner and owner of Antron Brown's dragster, will drive a Top Fueler in this season's final four races… Paul Tracy will drive for the KV team at Toronto and Edmonton… Larry Rice, two-time USAC Silver Crown champion and midget series titlist and 1978 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year, died at age 63… Wade Cunningham won Friday's Firestone Indy Lights 100… Helio Castroneves and Team Penske won Friday's Indy Pit Stop contest… Joey Saldana won Friday night's World of Outlaws feature in Charlotte.
IndyCar Series
Marco Andretti and Mario Moraes tangled on the first lap at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as Helio Castroneves led the first seven laps. Dario Franchitti passed for the lead on lap eight and stayed there through lap 52. Ryan Briscoe led laps 53-63 but had to make a green-flag pit stop to change tires after his car's handling went away. He wound up 15th. Last year's winner, Scott Dixon, was in front from laps 64-85. After Franchitti led five laps, teammate Dixon went around through lap 141, and led 73 laps, the most of any driver. Castroneves made his move on lap 142. With 66 laps left, Franchitti lost spots in the pits when the fuel hose stuck in the car. He finished seventh. Dixon, with 39 to go, lost time with a loose right-rear wheel nut. He finished sixth. Tony Kanaan crashed when something broke on his car and put him into the straightaway wall. Vitor Meira suffered two broken vertebrae in a crash. Castroneves averaged 150.318 mph with eight yellows for 61 of the 200 laps. Danica Patrick was third, followed by Townsend Bell (who started 24th) and Will Power. Paul Tracy was ninth in his return to Indy. Castroneves became the ninth driver to win the 500 at least three times. He earned a record $3,048,005 from the almost $14.5 million total purse. Alex Tagliani, who didn't qualify but replaced Bruno Junqueira, finished 11th and was named Rookie of the Year. Franchitti leads Castroneves by five points.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
NASCAR suspended driver Carl Long for 12 Cup races and fined crew chief Charles Swing $200,000, the largest penalty in the sport's history, for using an engine that was too big at Charlotte. Thursday night, Ryan Newman won the pole for the 600 with a 188.475 mph lap. After a Sunday rain-out, Newman led the first three laps Monday before Kyle Busch went by. There was a yellow for a passing rain shower on lap seven. Kevin Harvick had a right-front tire go flat and pitted to fix fender damage. Rain caused a red flag after 73 laps. When racing resumed, NASCAR brought the cars to a stop at 3 p.m. for a Memorial Day moment of silence. During a lap-177 rain stoppage, Tony Stewart had a discussion with David Reutimann about aggressive driving. When leader Kyle Busch pitted on lap 222, Reutimann's Toyota stayed out, and rain forced another red flag five laps later. After a long delay, the race was called official, after only 340 of the scheduled 600 miles. Newman finished second, followed by Robby Gordon, Carl Edwards and Brian Vickers. Busch was sixth. Reutimann averaged 120.899 mph with six yellows for 40 laps. Jeff Gordon (14th) is 44 points ahead of Stewart (19th).
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Rain and good gas mileage played into Mike Bliss' hands and he won Saturday night's Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Charlotte. Rain forced a red-flag three laps after Bliss' Chevrolet took the lead from Brendan Gaughan. The race was ended 30 laps short of the scheduled distance, after 170 laps. Bliss' only other series win came at Charlotte in 2004. Kyle Busch started in the back after than engine change, took the lead after about 40 laps, led 98 laps, and finished third in his Toyota. Bliss averaged 129.096 mph with five yellows for 26 laps. Busch is 73 points clear of Carl Edwards (10th).
Formula One
Jenson Button won Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix for Brawn-Mercedes. He finished 7.6 seconds up on teammate Rubens Barrichello and leads him in the world championship by 16 points. It was Button's fifth win of the season. Kimi Raikkonen was third for Ferrari.
Racers of the Week
Team Penske. Pole, pit stop contest, and Indy 500 winners.
Yes, He REALLY Said That
Dirty Tony Stewart, on his relationship with Cup team owner Gene Haas before they became partners. "If I would have tripped over Gene, I wouldn't have known it. I had never met Gene before, had never spoke to him before, and probably saw him at a racetrack and just didn't realize that it was him."But, I would know MCF
ChevyGirl `Jamie when I see her 4-Sure...She drives
my Monte, and that's Hot 4 Sure
This WeekendNASCAR has a Dover tripleheader, with Trucks Friday, Nationwide Saturday, and Cup Sunday. IndyCars zoom into Milwaukee. NHRA goes fast in Topeka.
Racing's biggest weekend ended with Helio Castroneves a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and David Reutimann on top after Monday's rain-delayed and shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte's Lowe's Motor Speedway. Poleman Castroneves passed Scott Dixon for the lead with 59 laps to go and beat Dan Wheldon by 1.9 seconds. It was the 15th Indy win for owner Roger Penske. At Charlotte, Reutimann was in the lead when rain ended the shortest "600" in its 50-year history after only 227 of the scheduled 400 laps. It was the first Cup triumph for the driver and Michael Waltrip Racing.
Also: Jeff Gordon underwent a procedure called a facet block injection in an attempt to alleviate his recurring back pain… Mike Ashley, a three-time NHRA Funny Car winner and owner of Antron Brown's dragster, will drive a Top Fueler in this season's final four races… Paul Tracy will drive for the KV team at Toronto and Edmonton… Larry Rice, two-time USAC Silver Crown champion and midget series titlist and 1978 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year, died at age 63… Wade Cunningham won Friday's Firestone Indy Lights 100… Helio Castroneves and Team Penske won Friday's Indy Pit Stop contest… Joey Saldana won Friday night's World of Outlaws feature in Charlotte.
IndyCar Series
Marco Andretti and Mario Moraes tangled on the first lap at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as Helio Castroneves led the first seven laps. Dario Franchitti passed for the lead on lap eight and stayed there through lap 52. Ryan Briscoe led laps 53-63 but had to make a green-flag pit stop to change tires after his car's handling went away. He wound up 15th. Last year's winner, Scott Dixon, was in front from laps 64-85. After Franchitti led five laps, teammate Dixon went around through lap 141, and led 73 laps, the most of any driver. Castroneves made his move on lap 142. With 66 laps left, Franchitti lost spots in the pits when the fuel hose stuck in the car. He finished seventh. Dixon, with 39 to go, lost time with a loose right-rear wheel nut. He finished sixth. Tony Kanaan crashed when something broke on his car and put him into the straightaway wall. Vitor Meira suffered two broken vertebrae in a crash. Castroneves averaged 150.318 mph with eight yellows for 61 of the 200 laps. Danica Patrick was third, followed by Townsend Bell (who started 24th) and Will Power. Paul Tracy was ninth in his return to Indy. Castroneves became the ninth driver to win the 500 at least three times. He earned a record $3,048,005 from the almost $14.5 million total purse. Alex Tagliani, who didn't qualify but replaced Bruno Junqueira, finished 11th and was named Rookie of the Year. Franchitti leads Castroneves by five points.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
NASCAR suspended driver Carl Long for 12 Cup races and fined crew chief Charles Swing $200,000, the largest penalty in the sport's history, for using an engine that was too big at Charlotte. Thursday night, Ryan Newman won the pole for the 600 with a 188.475 mph lap. After a Sunday rain-out, Newman led the first three laps Monday before Kyle Busch went by. There was a yellow for a passing rain shower on lap seven. Kevin Harvick had a right-front tire go flat and pitted to fix fender damage. Rain caused a red flag after 73 laps. When racing resumed, NASCAR brought the cars to a stop at 3 p.m. for a Memorial Day moment of silence. During a lap-177 rain stoppage, Tony Stewart had a discussion with David Reutimann about aggressive driving. When leader Kyle Busch pitted on lap 222, Reutimann's Toyota stayed out, and rain forced another red flag five laps later. After a long delay, the race was called official, after only 340 of the scheduled 600 miles. Newman finished second, followed by Robby Gordon, Carl Edwards and Brian Vickers. Busch was sixth. Reutimann averaged 120.899 mph with six yellows for 40 laps. Jeff Gordon (14th) is 44 points ahead of Stewart (19th).
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Rain and good gas mileage played into Mike Bliss' hands and he won Saturday night's Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Charlotte. Rain forced a red-flag three laps after Bliss' Chevrolet took the lead from Brendan Gaughan. The race was ended 30 laps short of the scheduled distance, after 170 laps. Bliss' only other series win came at Charlotte in 2004. Kyle Busch started in the back after than engine change, took the lead after about 40 laps, led 98 laps, and finished third in his Toyota. Bliss averaged 129.096 mph with five yellows for 26 laps. Busch is 73 points clear of Carl Edwards (10th).
Formula One
Jenson Button won Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix for Brawn-Mercedes. He finished 7.6 seconds up on teammate Rubens Barrichello and leads him in the world championship by 16 points. It was Button's fifth win of the season. Kimi Raikkonen was third for Ferrari.
Racers of the Week
Team Penske. Pole, pit stop contest, and Indy 500 winners.
Yes, He REALLY Said That
Dirty Tony Stewart, on his relationship with Cup team owner Gene Haas before they became partners. "If I would have tripped over Gene, I wouldn't have known it. I had never met Gene before, had never spoke to him before, and probably saw him at a racetrack and just didn't realize that it was him."But, I would know MCF
ChevyGirl `Jamie when I see her 4-Sure...She drives
my Monte, and that's Hot 4 Sure
This WeekendNASCAR has a Dover tripleheader, with Trucks Friday, Nationwide Saturday, and Cup Sunday. IndyCars zoom into Milwaukee. NHRA goes fast in Topeka.
Last edited by Space; 05-26-2009 at 02:10 PM.
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