Motorsports FanHouse

Allmendinger Deserves DWI Suspension

Geoffrey Miller — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:53:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Sprint Cup

NASCAR and Richard Petty Motorsports look a little more spineless today.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver A.J. Allmendinger was arrested for DWI early Thursday morning in Mooresville, N.C., after being pulled over and blowing a .08 on a Breathalyzer test -- the legal limit for intoxication in the state. Cited for a misdemeanor, Allmendinger will appear in court on the charge in December.

Allmendinger, though, won't be facing any music from his RPM team or NASCAR -- the same organization that will suspend crew members for racing with an illegal part.

More Coverage: Allmendinger Breath Tested Before Practice

It should be noted that, yes, NASCAR did acknowledge that Allmendinger did something wrong by placing him on probation for the remainder of the calendar year. Consider the move a whole lot less than a slap on the wrist if Allmendinger manages to avoid doing anything particularly stupid in the next two months.

But, further, consider this: within the two sentences NASCAR released Thursday about Allmendinger's punishment, it only mentioned that he broke the catch-all rule in NASCAR's rule book -- rule 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing). Not once is it mentioned that he was punished for the DWI.

It's almost like the broom and rug are fully ready for covering purposes.

The story at Richard Petty Motorsports isn't any better.

The team said Thursday that Allmendinger will participate in all racing, media and sponsor-related activities this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. Team co-owner and namesake Richard Petty acknowledged in a statement that he's "disappointed" in Allmendinger but that "A.J. has taken full responsibility for his actions and will work to make this right."

Up until this season, Petty has long had a stand against alcohol companies being involved with his racing endeavors. His stand was such that he wouldn't participate in beer-sponsored pole awards or a second-tier NASCAR series formerly sponsored by Anheuser-Busch.

A merger this season, though, with George Gillette's operation brought Kasey Kahne's No. 9 Budweiser-sponsored team into the Petty fold -- and Petty enjoyed a public drink of wine in victory lane following Kahne's June win at Infineon Raceway located inside the heart of California's wine country.

That all, of course, is neither here nor there when it comes to Allmendinger's situation, but it is interesting to see the reaction -- or, lack thereof -- from a team and an owner that used to take such an anti-alcohol stand.

Don't get me wrong -- this isn't a piece dedicated to bad-mouthing those who earn drunk driving offenses or one defending them either. They are an extremely serious matter but can, at times, happen to unsuspecting people. For all we know, Allmendinger may try to beat the charge based on his blood-alcohol level being so close to the legal range. We'll find that out in December.

But Allmendinger is a NASCAR driver doing things on a race track that at their primal level mimic what happens on the roadways of America. And unfortunately for NASCAR drivers, there's no apples-to-apples discipline comparison between them and the stick-and-ball athletes of the NBA, NFL or MLB. That's the nature of the beast when what you get paid to do is drive a race car instead of catch a football for a living.

Because of that, somebody, anybody, needed to come down on Allmendinger with a little more force. Allmendinger needed to be suspended from Sunday's race at Talladega.

No, Allmendinger isn't a bad guy and yes, he's acknowledged the mistake he made. A DWI, though, is a mistake someone can only make so many times before it drastically affects the life of someone else. For all we know, Allmendinger was lucky that didn't happen in the wee hours of Thursday morning in North Carolina.

NASCAR sent a message this season by (rightfully or wrongfully) suspending Jeremy Mayfield for his alleged drug abuse, and they should have sent a message again on Thursday saying that driving offenses -- especially alcohol-related ones -- are absolutely not tolerable.

Instead, we're left with what boils down to be an ugly comparison of punishments.

A crew chief pushes the car measurements too far and ends up with a big fine and six-race suspension. A driver drinks a little too much at the dinner table and gets arrested for DWI? "Don't do it again, son."

Something, my friends, doesn't add up there.

Allmendinger Deserves DWI Suspension originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASCAR Makes Risky Late Caution Call

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:36:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Denny Hamlin, Juan Pablo Montoya, Mark Martin

A.J. Allmendinger's car sat quiet across the frontstretch of New Hampshire Motor Speedway with the white flag waving as he flipped the car's starter, trying to crank the engine.

Meanwhile, leaders Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin and Juan Pablo Montoya scrambled for position on the final lap through turns 3 and 4 as the flagman prepared to wave the checkered flag. In a flash, it looked like the finish of the first race of the Chase was going to end in a crushing fashion as Allmendinger sat helplessly in peril.

At the last possible second, NASCAR threw the caution to avoid the collision but also provoked a new topic of discussion for the coming week: when exactly is the best -- and safest -- time to put out the yellow flag on a race's final lap?
Drivers were certainly a confused over the matter, but NASCAR stood firm behind their call. According to the NASCAR Scene, the policy observed by the sanctioning body has the objective of allowing the finish to transpire normally as long as they can safely avoid or will not catch the potentially caution-causing danger.

NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton indicated that NASCAR did everything it could to finish Sunday's Sprint Cup race under green-flag conditions.

"We were waiting to see if the 44 car [of Allmendinger] could get going and get out of the way, and we realized there was a potential blocking of part of the race track," Pemberton said. "You know when the cars are going to get there, and you wait as long as you can to try to not affect the outcome of a race. We felt like we had adequate time when we threw the caution."

Pemberton said NASCAR often waits as long as possible throughout a race.

"We don't like the race to end under caution," Pemberton said. "We felt like we gave enough time for safety's sake, and it is what it is. I believe we wait as long as we can. There are times during the middle of the race when a car will turn around and we bide some time to see if it gets going. It happens quite a bit. It just gets more noticed when it's the last lap of the race."

Jeff Gordon probably summed it up best when he described the communication between himself and his spotter -- generally the person who relays information over the radio when a caution waves. Confusion was the name of the game.

"All I know is my spotter was saying there was a car down low on the front straightaway stopped, and I never heard them say, 'Caution,'" said Gordon after his 15th-place finish. "So everybody was still going, and I saw the caution out of the corner of my eye. I said, 'I never heard the caution' and he said, 'That's because it didn't come out until just now' and I was surprised by that."

Interestingly enough, a very similar situation at New Hampshire in 2003 was the last domino to fall in NASCAR's former policy to allow all-out racing back to the start/finish line when the caution waves. In that instance, Dale Jarrett spun in a very similar fashion on the frontstretch and barely avoided a broadside impact as the field raced for position back to the line.

Just weeks later, NASCAR adopted the current policy that freezes scoring at the point of caution and penalizes drivers who didn't slow to a cautious pace.

The idea of letting drivers race back to the checkered flag is certainly one that needs to take precedence in this discussion. And with that in mind, making the decision from the control tower on when to throw a caution flagis a tough one to make.

Most folks would have guessed Allmendinger would have gotten his car at least cranked and rolling down the frontstretch by the time the leaders were crossing the finish line. But sometimes, a hot race car doesn't start immediately after going for a spin -- something that isn't the fault of a driver.

Knowing that, and seeing that the field was bearing down on turn 3 while Allmendinger, NASCAR probably should have thrown the caution a few seconds earlier. Armchair race director decisions are much easier, though, after seeing how the original played out.

Racing to checkered flag makes the headlines, but Sunday's finish was probably a bit too close for comfort for everyone -- especially Allmendinger.

NASCAR Makes Risky Late Caution Call originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:36:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Talladega Marred by Early 13-Car Wreck

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 16:57:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Brian Vickers, Casey Mears, Clint Bowyer, David Gilliland, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Scott Riggs, NASCAR Crashes, Sprint Cup

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) --The "Big One" hit early at Talladega Superspeedway.

A massive 13-car accident just seven laps into Sunday's race at Talladega Superspeedway took out race favorites and left it open for an unlikely winner to emerge from the field.

The accident started just seven laps into the race near the front of the field when Matt Kenseth appeared to make contact with series points leader Jeff Gordon.

The bump made Gordon's car slide toward the top of the track, and the drivers running around them couldn't avoid the wreck.

"It was a little bit of aggressive driving, but everybody's jockeying for position here in the early laps," Gordon said. "I got squeezed and didn't have anywhere else to go. I saw an opening, went for it, and it closed up in a hurry."

Six of the drivers caught up in the wreck are Chase for the championship contenders. They are Gordon, Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin, winner of last week's race at Phoenix.

"It's Talladega. You expect it," Gordon said. "You just hope to survive it."

Kevin Harvick, Casey Mears, Jamie McMurray, Scott Riggs, AJ Allmendinger, David Gilliland, and Brian Vickers were also involved.

"How could it not happen," Martin said. "It's not guys losing control of their cars. It's so many in such a wad that you can't help but move up or down on each other and it starts a wreck."

DYST V3 test

LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers watches as Mo Williams #2 takes a shoe to the face by Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers after a steal in the closing seconds of the first half at The Quicken Loans Arena on February 8, 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio. (David Liam Kyle, NBAE/Getty Images)

David Liam Kyle, NBAE/Getty Images

Brazil's Diogo (L) vies for the ball with Paraguay's Hernan Perez during their U-20 South American Championship football match in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela on February 8, 2009.(Juan Barreto, AFP/Getty Images )

Juan Barreto, AFP/Getty Images

A Dalmatian looks at its handler as a judge goes to touch the dog during the first day of the 2009 Westminster Dog Show in New York February 9, 2009.(Lucas Jackson, Reuters)

Lucas Jackson, Reuters

Denver Nuggets forward Chris Anderson touches his head during a time out in the first half of their NBA basketball game with the New Jersey Nets in East Rutherford, New Jersey February 7, 2009. (Ray Stubblebine, Reuters)

Ray Stubblebine, Reuters

Margarita Marbler, of Austria, skis to a bronze medal finish the ladies moguls freestyle FIS World Cupskiing qualification at Cypress mountain in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. (Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press/AP)

Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press/AP

West Virginia guard Darryl Bryant (25) is fouled by Providence guard Jeff Xavier (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Morgantown, W.Va. Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. West Virginia won 86-59. (Don Wright, AP)

Don Wright, AP

Missouri's DeMarre Carroll, top, celebrates the Tigers' 62-60 win over Kansas in Columbia, Missouri, Monday, February 9, 2009. (Rich Sugg, Kansas City Star/MCT)

Rich Sugg, Kansas City Star/MCT

David Clarkson #23 of the New Jersey Devils fights Erik Reitz #4 of the New York Rangers during their game on February 9, 2009 at The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey (Al Bello, Getty Images)

Al Bello, Getty Images

Driver Patrick Sheltra (60) begins to spin coming out of the fourth turn during the ARCA 200 auto race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009.

Darryl Graham, AP

Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives serves the ball, in this multiple exposure, to Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic during their Fed Cup tennis match in Brno February 7, 2009.

Petr Josek, Reuters

NASCAR issued a stern warning before the race, telling the drivers to avoid aggressive driving, which is common at Talladega but policed heavily for safety precautions.

Race director David Hoots warned drivers at the prerace meeting to show caution on the track.

"If you're thinking you're getting ready to get too close to crossing over this line then draw back," he said.

Several teams were in the garage trying to repair the cars and get them back on the track and get in more laps in the 500-miles race. Others, like Martin, had already called it a day.

Harvick returned about 50 laps later. Gordon, the points leader, and Kahne also returned.

"Everyone's trying to position themselves," Harvick said. "I don't think it's anybody's fault."

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Talladega Marred by Early 13-Car Wreck originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 26 Apr 2009 16:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Busch, Allmendinger on F1 Team's Radar

Geoffrey Miller — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:11:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, Other Racing Series

Racing series around the world are feeling a growing hole in their wallets thanks to this ol' economy, but that's no matter for a group out of Charlotte, N.C., that's looking to join up with pricey Formula 1.

The upstart -- their taking "USF1" as their working team name -- is aiming to have an American operation field two American drivers in F1 in the near future, and Tuesday, they discussed some drivers -- including a pair of NASCAR names -- they might interested in.

Some of those wheelmen (and a wheel lady, mind you) seem like logical targets, but the others? Well, not so much.

The team, which had started earning a spot on the media map a month or so ago, officially opened up during a televised unveiling at SPEED's brand spankin'-new studios on the north side of Charlotte -- a city that will also double as the team's world headquarters.

F1 television broadcaster Peter Windsor and engineer Ken Anderson -- he formerly worked at the former Haas-CNC Racing in the NASCAR world -- will serve as the team's principles. SPEED's Tom Jensen has plenty of the details they chose to announce Tuesday -- like how it plans to have a fan-friendly facility similar to NASCAR shops and that it will purchase engines instead of build their own -- over on his article about it.

As for those drivers the group is aiming for, they seem to be a collection of drivers with talent and drivers with appeal.

For starters, A.J. Allmendinger, Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick were all explicitly named as candidates.

Allmendinger, of course, is running a partial schedule at the moment in the Sprint Cup Series with Richard Petty Motorsports and has shown signs of tremendous improvement since his rookie stock car season. Prior to NASCAR, he was quite successful in a brief foray with the now-defunct Champ Car.

Andretti -- the son of Michael Andretti and grandson of Mario, each of open-wheel fame -- has been participating full-time in the IRL IndyCar Series since 2006 and has a single win in the series. His grandfather told the AP today that if he could "design" the F1 driver of today, Marco would be it.

Patrick, of course, won her first IndyCar race in 2008 amid being the face of the series for many of past few seasons. Her contract is up with Andretti-Green Racing at the end of 2009 and told the Indianapolis Star today that F1 isn't "No. 1" on her list, but that a "conversation never killed anyone" after being asked about her name being rumored for the pair of rides.

Later, as FanHouse's Holly Cain reported from the IndyCar Spring Training at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida, she was a little more non-committal:

"I'm very flattered to be thought of, for sure. ... Formula One is a very competitive platform, but I don't necessarily know why no one ever spoke to me,'' Patrick said Tuesday after the team mentioned her as a potential driving candidate. "It's not like they contacted me and I gave them the 'oh yeah, that sounds very interesting.' I never heard from anyone.''

Additionally, Marco Andretti seemed a little shocked that his grandfather would make such a presumption.

"It would be risky because it's such a new team, that's all I would say,'' Andretti, 21, said, brushing off the question on his way into a drivers meeting before practice.

NASCAR's hottest young driver at the moment -- the "Shrub" Kyle Busch -- was listed as a "shoo-in" (or is that, shoe-in?) for the ride by Motor Authority, and they also mentioned driver Conor Daly, son of broadcaster and former driver Derek Daly.

Obviously, this new team has a multitude of forces going against it in order to actually get a team on track for 2010, but its certainly interesting to see the names that pop up as candidates.

To me, Kyle Busch -- despite lacking open-wheel experience -- has the most raw talent of the group and I'd probably put Allmendinger in second place. As for Danica and Andretti, its pretty doggone tough to claim they have credentials to prove capability for an F1 ride with just two total wins in major auto racing between them.

Regardless, I'll certainly be following this story sheerly on the fact that Windsor and Anderson plan to run the operation in a completely different manner than all the other F1 hoopla we've seen. That in itself, I think, will make this program a fun one to watch.

Busch, Allmendinger on F1 Team's Radar originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:11:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blame NASCAR's Scheduling, Not Weather, for Daytona Finish

Holly Cain — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Elliott Sadler, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Daytona Int'l Speedway

A friend from Denver -- a new NASCAR fan -- called up the morning after the Daytona 500 disappointed and feeling like he got short-changed.

He said stopping the race 48 laps short felt like watching an NFL game being played in bad weather with the referees just deciding whoever was ahead in the third quarter got the win.

As I explained to him -- and as Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth has unfortunately felt obligated to explain on every talk show appearance he's made since earning his first 500 trophy -- everyone knows the game and Kenseth's team simply played it best.

Every crew chief had the same access to the weather reports and knew rain was on the way. And since the race was well beyond the 101 laps (halfway plus a lap) needed to make it official, it was time to mash the pedal.

And that's exactly what Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, A.J. Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Elliott Sadler and the rest of the top-finishing drivers did. It's called strategy.

NASCAR's problem is getting that message out to new fans or those casual observers that tune in to the biggest races such as the Daytona 500, but don't follow the sport regularly.

Could NASCAR have waited out the rain shower and re-started the race?

As one reporter cynically noted, a couple of FOX's biggest hit shows, "The Family Guy" and "The Simpsons" were on deck anyway. And we know modern day NASCAR is all about what works best for network TV. Clearly, a rain delay didn't.

But maybe the point isn't how the race ended, but when races begin.

NASCAR should have the flexibility to start these races sooner. When bad weather is approaching, speed up driver introductions, run fewer pace laps and nix part of the pre-race entertainment or commercial time-outs. Ninety percent of the fans are there by driver intros and TV could shorten its pre-race show.

Ironically, NASCAR may have to deal with this again this week in Southern California, which is getting deluged with rain.

The late starting times are one of the worst moves NASCAR has made in recent years. For decades, fans could count on a 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon start -- and the consistency was vital in building the fan base and audience.
But like the Daytona 500, this week's race in Fontana, Calif. is a 3 p.m. local start -- 6 p.m. EST. Only two of the 36 races will begin before 2 p.m. -- 10 will be night races.

NASCAR won't be changing its schedule any time soon, so in the meantime, don't begrudge Kenseth his Daytona win.

There may be a lot more decided this way.

Blame NASCAR's Scheduling, Not Weather, for Daytona Finish originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Allmendinger, Mayfield, Riggs and Smith Earn Starting Spots in Daytona 500

Geoffrey Miller — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:16:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Regan Smith, Sprint Cup

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- For Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon, Thursday afternoon's Gatorade Duels at Daytona was a nervous affair because they didn't want to hurt their race cars for Sunday's Daytona 500.

But for four other drivers, just finishing the race high enough in the running order was downright breathtaking.

And for one driver, the feat of qualifying for the Daytona 500 was enough to bring tears to his eyes.
A.J. Allmendinger, Jeremy Mayfield, Scott Riggs and Regan Smith were the four drivers who earned a starting spot in Sunday's Daytona 500 -- the season-opener of the NASCAR season that also doubles as the sport's biggest race -- after finishing just ahead of enough other previously unqualified drivers.

Jeremy Mayfield and A.J. Allmendinger -- they both qualified by way of their finish in the second race of the Duels -- were both incredibly emotional after the race thanks to the long odds they overcame. Allmendinger had to put on his sunglasses following a 10th-place finish secured his 20th-place Sunday start to cover up a few flowing tears.

"For me, you know, it's amazing," said Allmendinger. "There's so many emotions that run through. I've been so nervous over the last couple of days 'cause I've been in this position the last two years, but I really felt like this I deserved to be in the race -- that this team deserved to be in the race."

Allmendinger was overcoming long odds after learning just last week that his No. 44 -- a car he can only race for 10 races as of now in 2009 thanks to a lack of sponsorship -- wouldn't be automatically qualified under NASCAR's Top-35 rule that guarantees last season's Top 35 teams in owner points a spot in the first five races of 2009. The Richard Petty Motorsports team lost its guarantee after the sale of car numbers and their owner points shifted the standings.

Mayfield, on the other hand, was attempting to make the race with a team he put together "23 days ago" (his count) and a team of 15-20 total employees who had yet to recieve a paycheck. Yeah, the $200k+ the team will earn just for starting the race was a little needed.

His No. 41 All-Sport Toyota used a two-tire stop late in the race to earn some much needed track position, and the Owensboro, Ky.-native scored a 9th-place finish.

"We figured we got to make a run for the Daytona 500, got to gamble sometime. It was a gamble being here," said Mayfield. "Another gamble wasn't going to hurt us. We did that. It paid off for us."

"You just can't imagine the pressure that's on a driver and a team to do what we did today. To be out there, sliding around, running for your life," said the driver-owner. "[After the race] I couldn't even talk on the [in-car] radio."

Scott Riggs and Regan Smith were in equally stressful positions, but both secured spots in the "Great American Race."

Riggs, driving for the newly-formed and impressively small Tommy Baldwin Racing, took his unsponsored ride that was formed just six weeks ago to an eighth-place finish that earned him the 17th-starting spot in Sunday's race.

"This is grass-roots right now for us. I mean, you go to the shop, it's a lot of guys are just volunteers, passionate about racing," said Riggs. "They put their heart and soul into it from faith in Tommy, the whole organization. To be able to scrap something together from a month and a half ago to nothing, to be able to put something together, come here, run good, be pretty strong in the pack, get ourselves in the race, it speaks volumes for us."

Smith came to Daytona in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team that, as of just a few months, had planned to stop racing in 2009. Now, they're in the Daytona 500 -- thanks mainly to Tony Stewart's second-place effort in the same race.

Allmendinger, Mayfield, Riggs and Smith Earn Starting Spots in Daytona 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Harvick Snags Wild Bud Shootout Win

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:59:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart

Kevin Harvick has found the key to winning the biggest races at Daytona International Speedway: lead as few laps as possible. Harvick, who won the 2007 Daytona 500 after leading just four laps, led just one Saturday night en route to winning his first Bud Shootout.

His improbable win was just the tip of the iceberg on a wild, full moon Florida night as 28 of NASCAR's stars knocked the dust of the steering wheel in the season-opening exhibition.

"I say we have offseasons from November to February every year," said Harvick. "That was the most exciting race I've been a part of in a long time."

Opting to wait out what proved to be a crash-heavy race, Harvick stayed towards the back of the pack during most of the race before charging to the front when it really mattered.

The 75-lap affair under the lights on the high banks of Daytona's 2.5-miles truly lived up to its wild expectations, after an off-season with limited testing, multiple driver moves and an interesting draw for Shootout starting positions left the the events scheduled to take place following the drop of 2009's first green flag with a myriad of questions.

The race -- the longest in the history of the season-opening event thanks to NASCAR's new format for 2009 -- featured a record eight caution flags. The final yellow flag sealed the deal for Harvick as drivers behind him tangled in Turn 3 of the last lap.

The final wreck happened during a two-lap, green-white-checkered finish after Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears made contact entering the second-to-last corner. Johnson's car slammed the outside wall as Mears spun, collecting Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin while fourth-place finisher Jeff Gordon slipped past the carnage. Gordon's move was the second time that the two-time Shootout winner narrowly escaped a crash Saturday night.

The final crash froze the field immediately, per NASCAR's rulebook, after the yellow flag was displayed -- giving Harvick the win and leaving Jamie McMurray second, Tony Stewart third, Gordon fourth and A.J. Allmendinger an impressive fifth. The race finished in a green-white-checkered fashion, thanks to a crash with just three laps to go involving David Stremme and Greg Biffle coming off turn four.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., as is usual at Daytona, looked strong early by leading 24 laps, but the No. 88 got loose underneath teammate Gordon while battling for the lead and fell to the back of the pack. Just laps later, the drop in position cost Earnhardt Jr. after Paul Menard got loose off turn four and slammed the side of the No. 88.

In a measure of just how wild and crazy Saturday night was, of the record 28 drivers who started the event, just 14 finished on the lead lap.

Harvick Snags Wild Bud Shootout Win originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:59:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Allmendinger, Petty Sign 9-Race Deal

Geoffrey Miller — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 09:53:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Elliott Sadler, Sprint Cup

A.J Allmendinger, after an interesting month of rumors, finally has nailed down a ride for a portion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The former open-wheel driver with five Champ Car wins to his credit and two seasons of Sprint Cup racing with Team Red Bull that ended in 2008 signed with Richard Petty Motorsports Wednesday for up to two years.

The contract, at the moment, has afforded Allmendinger -- ousted by Team Red Bull towards the end of the 2008 season in favor of the unproven, yet talented Scott Speed -- nine races at the start of 2009 including next weekend's Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.

From there, Allmendinger will attempt to race the next eight races in the No. 44 RPM Dodge, including the season-opening Daytona 500. The team's main goal is for A.J. to race the entire season for the now-four car operation at RPM, but as of yet, sponsorship to do so hasn't materialized.

Allmendinger's contract also includes an option for the 2010 season with RPM.

Richard Petty, who merged his Petty Enterprises team with fellow Dodge competitor Gillett-Evernham Racing just weeks ago, had some good words to say about Allmendinger's work with the team so far in 2009.

From the team's press release:

"AJ has a ton of potential," said team owner Richard Petty. "I went testing with him a few weeks ago. When he climbed out of the car I think he went to everyone working on the car asking them questions and wanting to know what was going on. That's the kind of thing you want out of your driver. He's a young guy and I think we can help him and he can help us."

If you'll remember, Allmendinger just a month ago appeared to have lined up a full-time ride with the same Sprint Cup Series team after they had apparently booted a recently-extended Elliott Sadler from his No. 19 car. Over the course of the next week, Sadler's legal team filed notices of a potential lawsuit as some sponsors apparently backed away from the team after the unexpected move.

Sadler was later reinstated to the race car after Petty and GEM merged in a surprising turn of events. Now, Allmendinger and Sadler will have a chance to be teammates for 2009.

Allmendinger, Petty Sign 9-Race Deal originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 09:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Welcome to NASCAR's Silliest Season

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Bobby Labonte, Elliott Sadler, Petty Enterprises, NASCAR Rumors, Sprint Cup, Gillett-Evernham Motorsports

Did you really think the NASCAR world could keep quiet during this offseason?

First, we had Elliott Sadler being canned from his then Gillett-Evernham Motorsports ride just months after signing a multi-year contract extension. A.J. Allmendinger, they said, was taking over the ride.

Then, Richard Petty and the oh-so-struggling Petty Enterprises worked out a merger with GEM, a fellow Dodge team to create a still unnamed four-car team that includes the famed No. 43. Somehow, such a merger was a positive move for Sadler, as he was reinstated to the ride he had originally been taken out of.

Perhaps the newly-formed team didn't want to deal with a near-certain lawsuit Sadler was going to throw their way?

With Sadler back in, the Petty merger complete, Allmendinger signed up to run a handful of races based on sponsorship for the team, the NASCAR world appeared to slow.

Slow, at least, until the former Petty Enterprises driver (effective December, that is) Bobby Labonte was seen popping up in and around Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing -- propelling rumors that he'd be taking over the No. 8 car based on bringing a solid sponsorship package with him.

(Note: Been under a rock the last few months? Here's some info about that whole DEI not being DEI anymore deal.)

So, it seemed, Labonte was to be in at the No. 8, according to the Coke website, Super 8 hotels was on-board.
Aric Almirola, slated originally to drive No. 8, was now thrown to the backburner without sponsorship for a fourth car at EGR.

But, as they say, not so fast.

Tuesday, rumors bubbled up that Labonte had signed a contract with Yates Racing after the team merged with Hall of Fame Racing. Wednesday, such rumors were confirmed with a press release indicating Labonte will now drive the No. 96 Ford sponsored by Ask.com

Over at ThatsRacin, indications were that Labonte had a lunch meeting scheduled with EGR, but called just before to say that he had signed with Yates/Hall of Fame -- meaning Almirola was back in the No. 8.

Looking back at all of this, can you imagine how crazy preseason Daytona testing (it would have finished Wednesday) would have been with this driver carousel?

Welcome to NASCAR's Silliest Season originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unhappy Sadler Readies Contract Breach Suit

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 16:48:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Elliott Sadler, Sprint Cup, Gillett-Evernham Motorsports

I bet this isn't what A.J. Allmendinger signed up for with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports contacted him about driving for the Sprint Cup team in 2009.

Allmendinger, along with GEM, majority owner George Gillett and Ray Evernham Enterprises were named earlier this week in Iredell County (N.C.) as defendents by an attorney representing Elliott Sadler in a possible suit alleging breach of contract, according to David Poole of The Charlotte Observer.

Sadler, as we were surprised about earlier in the week, appears to be on the outs from GEM's No. 19 Dodge in favor of Allmendinger in 2009 -- despite signing a contract extension this past spring with the team through 2010.

Poole noted in the article that "Sadler plans to seek injunctive relief, declaratory relief/specific performance, consequential and punitive damages as a resultof Defendants anticipatory and actual breach of Plantiff's Driving Services Agreement [...]."

All of the legal lingo could more appropriately described as Sadler being extremely irritated and desiring to grab all of the money from GEM he can because of the loss of external revenue (personal contracts, etc.) he stands to lose by not driving in the Sprint Cup Series full time in 2009.

I'd say Sadler stands a pretty good chance to settle for a vast amount of money because there's absolutely no reason for anyone to believe he wasn't able fulfill the his end of the contract. Additionally, it shows just how ridiculous the world of NASCAR contracts have gotten.

In other words, a contract that a driver has with a team should be a guarantee, but instead, it's just a worthless piece of paper in terms of jobs but a very valuable one for a driver who gets canned from his ride because it serves as a method of retribution.

Regardless, the Allmendinger for Sadler move seems complete, and I'm still quite surprised.

Unhappy Sadler Readies Contract Breach Suit originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 16:48:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reports Say NASCAR's Elliott Sadler Shuffled from GEM in Favor of A.J. Allmendinger

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 10:57:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Elliott Sadler, NASCAR Rumors

We knew that Gillett-Evernham Motorsports wasn't so full of Evernham anymore, and we also knew that the Dodge Sprint Cup team was looking to sign recently-dropped Red Bull Racing driverA.J. Allmendinger despite lacking a sponsorship.

Well, reports say that all of that is coming true, but with one incredible twist:

Elliott Sader, who has driven the No. 19 for two years and is under contract for more, is being replaced by Allmendinger.

Say whaaa?

The NASCAR Scene and ESPN are both reporting this matter "according to sources close to the team" and Allmendinger's business managar Tara Ragan has confirmed he is in the final negotiations of signing a contract with the team.

There's no specific confirmation, however, that Allmendinger will replace Sadler. Regardless, such a move -- or a rumor of such a move -- is highly surprising.

Sadler has a contract with the team through 2010 and has become a solid face of the Best Buy sponsorship in NASCAR. His name hasn't been anywhere the rumor mill of losing a ride for 2009, though his season standing of 24th in 2008 doesn't exactly state a great case for him to avoid the driver circus.

Allmendinger was dropped from Red Bull Racing after showing marked improvement throughout the course of his second NASCAR season in lieu of the arrival of Scott Speed to the team. He certainly has the talent the perform in NASCAR and I've made several pleas for this driver to stay around the sport.

Still, this rumor was a big shocker for me, and I don't know if I agree with booting Sadler from No. 19 car. What about you? Would this be a legitimate driver change?

Reports Say NASCAR's Elliott Sadler Shuffled from GEM in Favor of A.J. Allmendinger originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 28 Dec 2008 10:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red Bull: A.J. Allmendinger Not Good Enough

Geoffrey Miller — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:46:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, NASCAR Silly Season, Sprint Cup

FanHouse's campaign to preserve A.J. Allmendinger as a driver for Red Bull Racing has failed, thanks to an announcement from team head Jay Frye Tuesday morning.

From the team's web site:

Red Bull Racing Team and driver AJ Allmendinger have agreed to part ways for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Allmendinger is in his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season driving the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota, which currently sits 34th in owners' points.

"AJ is a talented driver and we really enjoyed working with him," said RBRT Vice President and General Manager Jay Frye. "He's come a long way in just two years and we wish him nothing but the best."

That last line -- "we wish him nothing but the best" -- just seems to have a certain Jay Frye-is-totally-BS'ing-us ring to it, doesn't it?

I say that because it has seemed for a while that Frye was a fan of Allmendinger, but the major team decisions are made over his head by the team owners in Austria.

The part of the statement that does seem true is the "He's come a long way" because indeed Allmendinger has made enormous gains from his first season inside of a stock car just one year ago. He's still bouncing around the Top-35 cut off but already at this point in the season has made three more races than he did a year ago -- despite a 5-race benching -- and in the past 10 races has had 6 Top-20 finishes, or two more than he had in all of 2007.

The announcement also seems to indicate that Allmendinger's duties with Red Bull are relinquished immediately because Craftsman Truck Series driver Mike Skinner -- who tried to help out the No. 84 car when A.J. was benched -- will be driving the car this week during the Sprint Cup Series test at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Over at Jayski, the biggest rumor surrounding Allmendinger's Sprint Cup future is with Chip Ganassi Racing's empty No. 41 car for 2009. With Ganassi's recent performance coupled with some sponsorship issues, the move for Allmendinger to Ganassi leaves me with a bad taste, but it could turn out to be a better situation with an owner who realizes the kid can drive a race car.

As for the No. 84, this has to open the door for former F1 driver Scott Speed to make his Sprint Cup debut in the next few weeks. Fortunately, Red Bull is at least replacing the talented Allmendinger with a guy that can bring a lot to NASCAR with his personality and, hopefully, stock car racing talent.

In the mean time, I'm just going to grimace at the thought of what-could-have-been (victory lane seemed like a great possibility) for Red Bull and a seasoned Allmendinger in 2009.

Red Bull: A.J. Allmendinger Not Good Enough originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GEM Makes Carpentier a Free Agent; Allmendinger Decision Coming Soon?

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:01:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, NASCAR Gossip, Gillett-Evernham Motorsports

Patrick Carpentier is a free man and the word on the future of A.J. Allmendinger & Red Bull Racing seems to be nearing.

On the Carpentier side of things, word came out Wednesday that Gillette-Evernham Motorsports has officially made NASCAR's favorite driving Canuck a free agent after his first season in a race car with fenders.

Carpentier is being let go effective at the end of 2008 in favor of the younger, more marketable but seemingly-similarly (say that five times) talented Reed Sorenson. Sorenson is departing Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 41 ride after having a disappointing foray into the Sprint Cup Series racing with that team.

Carpentier's story is one that just makes you want to frown and say "that just ain't fair" because of his noted improvement from when he started driving a NASCAR (hasn't even been a year yet) to now, on top of his interesting and always honest personality. Given the right opportunity with a patient car owner and sponsor, Carpentier could easily succeed as a solid driver in NASCAR.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that's going to happen, and that's a shame.

Speaking of potential shames (Can you really make that plural? Probably not. Works for me, though.) the future relationship betwee Red Bull Racing and A.J. Allmendinger appears headed toward a crossroads in the very near future with a decision on 2009 coming soon.

Red Bull retained team general manager Jay Frye earlier this week after he traveled to Austria last week to discuss his own personal contract, as well as what the Red Bull driver lineup would look like in 2009. Frye had been linked to a possible move to Stewart-Haas Racing, but a multi-year contract with Red Bull ended that speculation.

Frye's move, though, doesn't indicate much in the way of Allemendinger's future, though here at FanHouse, we took A.J.'s side after his stellar sophomore season in the like-new Toyota operation.

For some reason -- I can't find the exact quote or source -- I'm under the impression that Frye is a fan of Allmendinger and that Frye signing on for more years at Red Bull is only good news for the talented A.J.

I'll claim my bias in this situation because I really feel like A.J. has done more than enough in 2008 to land himself a new contract with Red Bull. What say you, though? Should A.J. stick around at Red Bull? And should Carpentier stick with this stock car thing?

GEM Makes Carpentier a Free Agent; Allmendinger Decision Coming Soon? originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:01:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Allmendinger Deserves Red Bull Ride in '09

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:26:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Toyota, Sprint Cup

A.J. Allmendinger has a lot in common with Patrick Carpentier.

Both are former open-wheel racing drivers. Both have struggled at times to get a strong foothold on NASCAR racing.

And both have now been strung along by their race teams, with Carpentier finally getting the word this week that his services aren't a top priority at his Gillette-Evernham Motorsports home. Allmendinger has yet to receive word on his 2009 plans.

Most people in the NASCAR world would have signed Allmendinger a month ago to an extended contract after the driver has shown an obvious improvement in not only finishing races, but qualifying for them, too. But Red Bull Racing isn't like most other teams.

The operation has its NASCAR base in North Carolina, but most of the big personnel decisions -- like hiring a driver -- are handled by the ownership group in Red Bull's native country Austria. And that ownership group is used to the Formula One train of thought when it comes to driver decisions of waiting until September or October to make plans for the following year.

That has got to be frustrating to Allmendinger for many, many reasons -- the least of which is Scott Speed.

Speed won Red Bull's driver search a few years ago and made his way to F1 under the Red Bull banner. The relationship didn't work out well, but Red Bull kept a hold of Speed and has now pushed him into stock car racing. His best finish is a win in the Craftsman Truck Series race at Dover, and he appears destined to make it to Sprint Cup racing -- possibly as soon as 2009 with Red Bull, which creates the problem for Allmendinger.

Speed would more than likely take over Allmendinger's ride unless another sponsor is found if such a move is made.

And if that move happens, Allmendinger would be out of a ride that he has put a ton of effort into making a competitive one at a point in the NASCAR calendar that would make it very, very tough for him to find a quality ride.

Allmendinger will start second Sunday night in California despite qualifying as a car that was outside of the Top-35, and very easily could be a Top-10 finisher based on how well his teammate Brian Vickers has run recently at 1.5 and 2-mile tracks. And if that happens, the heat will have turned up that much more on the Red Bull folks in Austria to sign Allmendinger immediately.

Allmendinger Deserves Red Bull Ride in '09 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:26:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Consider the Corner Turned for Red Bull

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 23:50:00 EST

Filed under: Brian Vickers, A.J. Allmendinger, Sprint Cup

Team Red Bull, this is your official welcome to NASCAR.

The mood around the TRB shop should be way, way up this week after a very impressive performance by both of its drivers A.J. Allmendinger and Brian Vickers Sunday at Pocono Raceway. After their weekend, TRB can definitely take a foothold as the second-best Toyota team on the Sprint Cup circuit behind Joe Gibbs Racing.

Vickers -- who left Hendrick Motorsports at the end of 2006 to be the lead driver at the startup TRB -- turned in his best finish with a solid second-place run on the steamy afternoon at Pocono. Allmendinger brought his Toyota home 12th for his career-best finish.

Pocono wasn't the first time this season that TRB has made its presence known among the leaders. In fact, it was more of a continuation.

Most memorably, I think, was when Brian Vickers easily had a Top-3 car at the Coca-Cola 600 for the second-straight year two weeks ago. For him, that race ended much too early after a wheel worked its way loose, sending Vickers slamming into the turn one wall.

And then, one week ago, Vickers brought his No. 83 Toyota home 13th at Dover. The recent successful stretch for Vickers has brought him to 17th in the point standings, 112 points out of 12th.

Results like that are a far stretch from a year ago for Vickers. In 2007, he must 13 races, while teammate A.J. Allmendinger failed to qualify for 19.

Allmendinger's season hasn't put him in contention to contend for a berth in the Chase for the Championship come September, but the former open-wheel convert has made noticeable gains in on-track performance.

A few weeks spent on the sideline earlier this season after missing the season's first three events might have been a big part of that. TRB opted to put Mike Skinner in the No. 84 to allow Skinner to diagnose any problems with the team and also to give A.J. an opportunity to sit back, observe, and reflect on what he could do different.

He's made every race since coming back and even won the Sprint Showdown during the All-Star weekend.

I must say that I'm excited to have TRB making strides in their program, as Vickers and Allmendinger both have personalities and driving styles that I'm a big fan of. Vickers truly is a kid that cut his teeth working his way up in the local racing ranks while Allmendinger is truly trying to make himself a better stock car driver.

And plus, it's only good for a sport to have multiple drivers and teams battling for wins each weekend.

Consider the Corner Turned for Red Bull originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 08 Jun 2008 23:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Allmendinger Back With Red Bull at 'Dega

Geoffrey Miller — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:23:00 EST

Filed under: Toyota, A.J. Allmendinger, Sprint Cup

If nothing else, A.J. Allmendinger learned one thing from being benched by his team several races ago in favor of Craftsman Truck Series driver Mike Skinner after missing the first three events of the Sprint Cup season.

His No. 84 is bad no matter who drives it.

"It really gave me a peace of mind because I learned more about what each adjustment does, what [crew chief Ricky Viers] likes to hear and I felt better with Mike saying some of the same things I had been saying," Allmendinger said.

In other words, Allmendinger has seemingly learned some about how to talk about how bad is car is, rather than just post bad lap times.

Red Bull Racing had hoped that Skinner could get the No. 84 back in the Top-35 of owner points as fellow team driver Brian Vickers has done in his No. 83 Toyota. That didn't happen, but the No. 84 is only 111 points out of 35th in 40th position.

With Allmendinger coming back to the car for Friday's qualifying Talladega, the team is hoping that the Toyota restrictor plate qualifying package -- which some have said packs some extra horsepower -- will help Allmendinger put the Camry in the field.

Should Allmendinger make the field, he'll be sporting a very cool silver scheme that RBR paint shop manager Matt Briggs referred to as "bad ass".

A car like that has to make the field, right?

Allmendinger Back With Red Bull at 'Dega originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:23:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red Bull Benches Allmendinger, Skinner In

Geoffrey Miller — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:18:00 EST

Filed under: Brian Vickers, Toyota, A.J. Allmendinger, Sprint Cup

A.J. Allmendinger hasn't made a Sprint Cup series race yet in 2008 and announcement Monday by the team will make that impossible to change in the time being.

Mike Skinner, a Toyota driver from the Craftsman Truck Series, will instead take over temporary duties in the No. 84 Toyota.

From the team's blog, the "Stock Car Ticker":

"We're at a crossroads where we need to make a change that will elevate the No. 84 team to success," said VP and General Manager Jay Frye.

"AJ's our guy and he's a talented driver, but there's a lot being asked of him. In order for him to be successful, we have to get this team pointed in the right direction. We hope we can do that with the help of a veteran driver."

Skinner got a start last weekend at Las Vegas in another Sprint Cup Toyota, Bill Davis Racing's No. 27. Hew qualified the car 5th and wound up 30th, 2 laps down.

Skinner's role in the car will be to help the team make some races to battle for an owner points position inside the Top-35 to help guarantee the Toyota makes race. Additionally, he'll try to help the team evaluate their program from a veteran's prospective.

Allmendinger's teammate Brian Vickers has qualified for each race this season, and after a miserable campaign in 2007, the team simply cannot afford to miss races in a regular fashion.

Red Bull Benches Allmendinger, Skinner In originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:18:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rain Puts Johnson on Auto Club Pole

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:34:00 EST

Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports, A.J. Allmendinger, Ken Schrader, NASCAR Tracks, Sprint Cup

The newly-renamed Auto Club Speedway of Southern California (man, that's a gawdy mouthful) had plenty of laps turned on its banks Friday.

The only problem, though, was that those laps didn't have a single racing vehicle involved.

Rain, seeping water, and more rain prevented all three of NASCAR's series -- Sprint Cup, Nationwide, Craftsman Truck -- from practicing or qualifying Friday, leaving all of the driving duties up to the jet dryers who tried all afternoon to get the surface prepared.

Instead, Saturday will be quite a busy day at ACS (yep, still weird) as both the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series will race, Nationwide will get a practice session, and the Sprint Cup teams will get practice sessions.

As FanHouse stated yesterday, the rain definitely played havoc with teams outside of the Top-35 from last year's owner points who made the trip trying to make Sunday's Sprint Cup Auto Club 500.

While Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon will share the front row, five drivers will head home including A.J. Allmendinger, Ken Schrader, Patrick Carpentier, Burney Lamar and Mike Skinner.

The forecast for Satuday in Fontana looks a little bit better during the day with skies expected to be partly sunny, but there's a 60% chance of rain in the evening when both races are expected to be run. Sunday doesn't look very promising for racing with a 90% chance of rain during the day and 20% that evening. Fortunately, ~~California~~ Auto Club does have lights, and teams would much rather stay deep into the night than have to run a race on Monday.

First rainout of the year in its second race? Let's hope not.

Rain Puts Johnson on Auto Club Pole originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:34:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earnhardt Jr. Makes It 2-For-2 at Daytona

Geoffrey Miller — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:50:00 EST

Filed under: Brian Vickers, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Hendrick Motorsports, Daytona Int'l Speedway, A.J. Allmendinger, Sprint Cup

Check out all of the NASCAR Fanhouse Daytona Speedweeks Coverage. On Sunday, stop by for the live blog of the 50th Daytona 500 at 3:00pm/ET.

Batting one thousand must be getting easier in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the first race of the Gatorade Duels at Daytona Thursday afternoon, his second win in as many races with his new team from Hendrick Motorsports.

Earnhardt Jr., who had to move to the back of the pack prior to the start of the race with a host of other drivers because of engine issues on Wednesday, found himself in sixth place by lap 12, and in the lead by lap 17.

He would lead 26 laps en route to his win, which locks the No. 88 into a third-place start in Sunday's Daytona 500. Without a doubt, Earnhardt Jr. will be a clear favorite to win the golden anniversary of The Great American Race.

Earnhardt Jr. won Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout.

Aside from Earnhardt Jr., Kenny Wallace and Brian Vickers were likely the two happiest people in Daytona after the first of two races Thursday. Both drivers are outside of the top-35 in owner points but managed to lock themselves in the field for the season's biggest race.

Wallace, racing for a team that he was fired from last season, took his Furniture Row No. 87 Chevrolet to an eighth-place finish. In post-race interviews, Wallace said he was "in a zone" and definitely couldn't be happier.

Vickers missed the race one year ago in his first start with Team Red Bull, but an 11th-place finish guaranteed him a spot despite spinning in the first five laps. Teammate A.J. Allmendinger failed to make the show.

Following Saturday's thrilling Shootout, many felt that Thursday's qualifying races would be just as wild, but the first race of the day didn't live up to that expectation.

Kurt Busch dropped out early with an engine problem on lap 9 and aside from Vickers spin, Casey Mears and Elliott Sadler made contact on lap 21, with Sadler hitting the wall. Sadler hit the wall late in the race to force a two lap sprint to the finish with a flat tire.

Stay tuned for results from race No. 2.

Earnhardt Jr. Makes It 2-For-2 at Daytona originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Track Record Eclipsed During Vegas Test

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:51:00 EST

Filed under: Casey Mears, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Juan Montoya, A.J. Allmendinger, Sprint Cup, NASCAR Testing

Juan Pablo Montoya made a big statement Tuesday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to doubters of the NASCAR's next-generation race car for the Sprint Cup series.

Turning a lap of 186.761mph, Montoya would have taken the official track record away from Kasey Kahne (184.856mph in 2007) had it been an official qualifying session.

But one thing Montoya did was to prove that the new race car isn't as slow as everyone thought, and that teams are adapting to the packages well. It should be noted, of course, that teams aren't loudly disapproving of the tires that Goodyear brought like they did last year for the race at Vegas.

As you may recall, Tony Stewart's approval of the tires in '07 terms for describing them was "crap" on the newly configured surface.

As teams, though, head into their travel/work day before testing at California Speedway on Thursday and Friday, the general consensus seems to be that teams are getting a handle on the car and the track in Vegas. That's only good news for race fans.

A.J. Allmendinger, Casey Mears, Kasey Kahne and Reed Sorenson rounded out the five fastest cars at LVMS.

Jeff Burton tore up a race car early Tuesday while Tony Stewart scraped the wall and Michael Waltrip looped his -- all in turn three. The test session was ended a few minutes early after Jeff Gordon laid oil down on the track.

Keep it here at NASCAR Fanhouse for plenty of updates on the Sprint Cup testing in California.

Track Record Eclipsed During Vegas Test originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:51:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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