Track Talk for the weekend of July 4-6 THE BIG STORY
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
NASCAR Nationwide Series
IndyCar Series
Rolex Sports Car Series
Formula One
Racer of the Week
Yes, He REALLY Said That
Valvoline Winners Last Weekend
This Weekend



THE BIG STORY


Kyle Busch won his sixth Sprint Cup race of the season in Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Busch's No. 18 Joe Gibbs Toyota was inches ahead of Carl Edwards' Ford in turn one when the yellow waved on a green-white-checker finish. Video confirmed the result. Matt Kenseth was third, followed by Kurt Busch and David Ragan. Kyle Busch is now 182 points ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. (eighth).
Also: Dario Franchitti's No. 40 Dodge Sprint Cup team was shut down due to lack of sponsorship… Mark Martin will drive the No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet full-time in 2009 and for 26 races in 2010… Aric Almirola will be the full-time driver of DEI's No. 8 Chevrolet next season… NHRA has shortened the race distance for Top Fuel and Funny Cars to 1,000 feet, from the traditional 1,320 feet (quarter-mile) starting this weekend. The move, a reaction to Scott Kalitta's fatal accident, may or may not be temporary… Rinaldo Capello will return to the Audi ALMS team, replacing Frank Biela… David Coulthard will retire from Formula One racing after this season. Return to Top


NASCAR Sprint Cup Series


Martin Truex Jr.'s No. 1 DEI Chevrolet was impounded by NASCAR when it failed pre-practice inspection. The roof did not fit the templates. Paul Menard won his first career pole Friday with a 185.916 mph lap. He led early and finished 15th in Saturday night's 400. There were several accidents and 11 yellows for 33 laps. A flat tire caused A.J. Allmendinger to create the first caution on lap 20. Dale Earnhardt Jr. entered the pits as the leader but stopped too close to the pit wall and fell to 14th as Kyle Busch went to the front. Earnhardt was back in the lead within 20 laps. Tony Stewart, suffering with the flu, got out of the No. 20 Toyota after about 70 laps and J.J. Yeley (who didn't qualify) took over. He ran well but was caught in a late crash and finished 20th. Elliott Sadler got the wall on lap 110. With about 36 laps left, David Gilliland and Ryan Newman tangled, and in the aftermath Jeff Burton spun. Burton got into another incident later, with Casey Mears, finished 30th, and dropped in the point standings. Newman and Denny Hamlin spun with about 25 laps to go. On a restart with eight laps remaining, Jeff Gordon led Kyle Busch. Four laps later, on the backstretch, Jimmie Johnson, Yeley, Menard, Dave Blaney, David Reutimann, Hamlin and others spun. Gordon, to his regret, gave up the low line just before that and Kyle Busch took the lead. The field came to the line slowly for the last restart. Gordon was tagged by Carl Edwards and spun, but the yellow didn't immediately wave. Then, a mid-pack multi-car wreck involving Michael Waltrip, Sam Hornish Jr., Blaney, Travis Kvapil and others produced a caution, with Busch just ahead of Edwards. He averaged 138.554 mph.Return to Top


NASCAR Nationwide Series


Denny Hamlin got the ninth win this season for Joe Gibbs' No. 20 Toyota in Friday night's Winn-Dixie 200 at Daytona. Four drivers have won in the car. It was the Gibbs team's 100th win. Colin Braun's accident sent the race into overtime but Hamlin held off Kyle Busch's Toyota by .133 second. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third in a Chevrolet. Hamlin averaged 155.761 mph with three yellows for 10 laps. Clint Bowyer (fourth) is 202 points up on Brad Keselowski (fifth). No. 5 crew chief Chad Walter was fined $10,000 for improper language during a TV interview at New Hampshire. Rick Hendrick lost 25 owner points and Landon Cassill 25 driver points.Return to Top


IndyCar Series


Ryan Hunter-Reay won Sunday's Camping World Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, aided by an unusual mistake by Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon. Under yellow, Dixon - in second place behind Darren Manning - spun and was collected by poleman Ryan Briscoe. Dixon was trying for his fourth consecutive win at the Glen. Hunter-Reay moved into second and quickly passed Manning on the restart. He led the final nine laps and beat Manning by 2.4 seconds after 60 laps. Tony Kanaan, who injured his left wrist in a crash during practice when a suspension part apparently broke, was third. The winner averaged 106.403 mph with six yellows for 14 laps. Dixon (11th) is 48 points ahead of Helio Castroneves (16th).Return to Top


Rolex Sports Car Series


Scott Pruett used the high line off NASCAR turn four to edge Alex Gurney and win Thursday night's Brumos Porsche 250 on Daytona's road course. The margin of victory, .081 second, was the closest in series history. Pruett and Memo Rojas averaged 102.690 mph in their Lexus-Riley and extended their championship advantage to 40 points over Gurney and Jon Fogarty in a Pontiac-Riley. The restart came with one lap to go. Pruett and Rojas won for the fifth time this year. Ricardo Zonta and Nic Jonsson were third in a Pontiac-Lola. In GT, Nick Ham and Sylvain Tremblay won in a Mazda RX-8.Return to Top


Formula One


Lewis Hamilton won Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone by 68 seconds over Nick Heidfeld. In wet conditions, Hamilton's McLaren-Mercedes took the lead on lap four, and easily beat the BMW-Sauber driver over 60 laps. Rubens Barrichello was third in a Honda. Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen (fourth) and Felipe Massa (13th) are tied with 48 points.Return to Top


Racer of the Week


Scott Pruett. Beats Alex Gurney to the line at Daytona in Grand-Am's closest finish.Return to Top


Yes, He REALLY Said That


John Andretti, on differences between NASCAR and IndyCar. "When NASCAR guys talk about aero push, they have no idea what aero push is. Going 180 mph around Iowa and getting behind somebody and you pick up a push and you're heading for that wall at 180, that's an aero push that will take your breath. And it just doesn't cost you the position sometimes, but it scares the heck out of you, too." Return to Top


This Weekend


NASCAR Sprint Cup runs Saturday night at Chicagoland, with Nationwide racing on Friday. Trucks run Saturday in Kentucky. NHRA powers in Denver. IndyCars go Saturday night in Nashville. ALMS tours Lime Rock Saturday.


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I.N. Sider is the pen name for an independent motorsports business-person who has a quarter-century of professional experience working in almost every major North American racing series. The writer is not an employee of Valvoline or Ashland Inc. The column is intended to inform, entertain, and stimulate thought on the contemporary motorsports scene. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Valvoline or Ashland Inc.

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"Track Talk" is a summary of the week's racing news and results of nationally televised events. The information has been obtained from on-site reporting plus race telecasts, major news outlets, tracks and sanctioning organizations.