Track Talk: NASCAR + More Rac`in
 

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Track Talk for the weekend of Oct. 31 - Nov. 2, 2008


THE BIG STORY

Crew chief Bob Osborne kept Carl Edwards on the track for the last 69 laps of Sunday's Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. In an amazing fuel economy run, the No. 99 Roush Fenway Ford made it to the checkered flag by 8.3 seconds over Jeff Gordon. It was Edwards' eighth win of the year. Gordon, too, stretched fuel mileage to gain his runner-up finish. Jimmie Johnson struggled with handling problems and finished 15th, cutting his advantage over Edwards to 106 points. The Chase standings, with Texas finish in parenthesis: Johnson; Edwards; Greg Biffle (fifth), - 143 points; Jeff Burton (13th), - 212; Gordon, - 255; Clint Bowyer (fourth), - 267; Kevin Harvick (seventh), - 279; Matt Kenseth (ninth), - 393; Tony Stewart (16th), - 404; Kyle Busch (sixth), - 428; Dale Earnhardt Jr. (20th), - 429; Denny Hamlin (17th), - 431.
Also: Lewis Hamilton finished fifth in the Brazilian Grand Prix to beat winner Felipe Massa by one point for the Formula One crown… Tony Schumacher clinched his sixth NHRA Top Fuel title by qualifying No. 1 Saturday and then won Sunday at Las Vegas… Donny Schatz clinched his third consecutive World of Outlaws championship with a runner-up finish Friday night in Charlotte. He then won Saturday night's WoO season finale… Atlanta businessman and racer Ben Johnston purchased the Atlantic series from Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe. Return to Top


NASCAR Sprint Cup Series


Jeff Gordon got the pole Friday at Texas with a 188.469 mph lap. A tire issue caused Tony Stewart to crash during final practice and he started last in a backup Toyota. Sunday, Clint Bowyer passed Gordon for the lead on lap 16. Carl Edwards got to the front on lap 57 as the yellow waved for oil from Reed Sorenson's car. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had to make an extra pit stop due to a loose wheel. Jimmie Johnson struggled with handling issues and fell a lap down to Edwards on lap 96. Edwards dominated throughout the middle portion of the 334-lap event. With 88 laps to go, Travis Kvapil had contact with another car and spun. The next yellow came when Juan Pablo Montoya and David Gilliland crashed. They had bumped a few times before the major impact. NASCAR parked Gilliland for his move. The leaders pitted, but Edwards came out seventh with four new tires, as others took just two new tires. Jamie McMurray assumed the lead. With 13 laps remaining, McMurray pitted for fuel, as did the other front runners. Earnhardt Jr. tried to stretch his gas mileage, but ran dry with five laps remaining and stalled. Edwards slowed and made it to the finish line. He averaged 144.219 mph with five yellows for 26 laps. He led 212 laps. McMurray finished third.Return to Top


NASCAR Nationwide Series


Kyle Busch's victory in Saturday's O'Reilly Challenge at Texas tied Sam Ard's 1983 series record of 10 wins in a season. Busch said in victory lane he'd donate $100,000 to Ard, who has Alzheimer's disease. Busch's Toyota led 174 of the 200 laps and finished .253 second ahead of a charging Carl Edwards. Mark Martin was third. Busch averaged 140.900 mph with five yellows for 20 laps. Clint Bowyer finished sixth and his margin over Edwards fell to 91 points with two races remaining. No. 28 crew chief Chris Rice and No. 52 crew chief Jimmy Means were fined for car violations at Memphis.Return to Top


NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series


Ron Hornaday Jr. got his series-high sixth victory of the season in Friday night's Chevy Silverado 350k at Texas. He finished .957 second up on Kyle Busch's Toyota. Hornaday's Chevrolet got a lap down when it was in the pits when the yellow flag came out. A transporter fire while en route to Texas damaged Busch's Tundra and pit equipment. Johnny Benson passed Todd Bodine for third place on the last lap and thus held on to a six-point margin over Hornaday with two events to go. Hornaday, who led 45 of the 147 laps, averaged 126.220 mph with five cautions for 26 laps. Paul Tracy was 20th in his Truck debut.Return to Top


NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series


Tony Schumacher, Cruz Pedregon, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Chris Rivas won the pro classes in Sunday's ACDelco Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In Top Fuel, Schumacher added to his title season with a 3.806 second, 314.53 mph pass to best Hot Rod Fuller's 3.821, 315.19 mph. In Funny Car, Pedregon ran 4.100, 304.67 mph to beat Robert Hight's 4.111, 304.67 mph in a Ford Mustang. With Tim Wilkerson's round-one loss, Pedregon takes a 12-point lead into the finale at Pomona. Jack Beckman qualified 11th in the Valvoline Dodge Charger but lost in the first round. Wilkerson and Bob Tasca III will have a tuning alliance next season and Wilkerson will switch to Mustang bodywork. In Pro Stock, Coughlin's Chevrolet Cobalt went 6.708, 205.07 mph as Greg Stanfield red-lighted in his Pontiac GXP. Coughlin is 123 points up on Greg Anderson and will clinch the title by qualifying at Pomona. Ron Krisher qualified 12th in the Valvoline Chevrolet Cobalt and lost in the second round. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Rivas' Buell clocked 7.052, 185.79 mph vs. Eddie Krawiec's 7.307, 152.31 mph. Matt Smith is 19 points clear of Krawiec.Return to Top


Formula One


A brief downpour just before the start of Sunday's season-ending Grand Prix of Brazil at Sao Paulo caused a last-minute change to rain tires. Felipe Massa started his Ferrari on the pole and maintained that position after an early sequence of pit stops as crews switched back to dry tires. Lewis Hamilton needed to finish fifth to clinch the world championship and he ran fourth most of the way in his McLaren-Mercedes. Rain returned with about seven laps to go, however, and all but the Toyota drivers came in for rain tires. Massa resumed in the lead after that shuffle, but Hamilton was passed for fifth place by Sebastian Vettel. On the last lap, Toyota's Timo Glock fell back from fourth place as he was still on dry tires. Hamilton passed him in the closing corners to become Formula One's youngest world champion at 23. He finished with 98 points to Massa's 97. Fernando Alonso was runner-up in a Renault by 13.2 seconds after 71 laps. Kimi Raikkonen was third in a Ferrari.Return to Top


Valvoline Winners Last Weekend


Carl Edwards, NASCAR Sprint Cup series, Texas. Tony Schumacher, NHRA Top Fuel class, Las Vegas. Dan Fletcher, NHRA Comp Eliminator class, Las Vegas.Return to Top


Racer of the Week


Donny Schatz. Joins Steve Kinser as the only drivers to claim three straight World of Outlaws titles.Return to Top


Yes, He REALLY Said That


Kyle Busch, on if he'd miss not going to New York City for the Sprint Cup awards. "It wouldn't bother me no it's way too much work."Return to Top


This Weekend


NASCAR is hot in the Valley of the Sun. Trucks run Friday night, Nationwide cars Saturday, and Cup semifinal Sunday.


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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.