Motorsports FanHouse

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Homestead

Geoffrey Miller — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:46:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup

Notes, quotes & commentary from a championship weekend in Homestead.

Well, there you have it.

We, as NASCAR fans in 2009, have seen something that has never been done before in the 61 years of NASCAR competition, and something that could very easily not happen for another 161 years if this sport lasts that long.

Yep, Jimmie Johnson -- the smooth-drivin' Californian -- is the first guy in all of NASCAR's moonshining and intimidating history to take four straight championships at any level. But, strangely, he's not the first to do so in a major stock car racing series.

Frank Kimmel, the longtime ace of the Automobile Racing Club of America, has a streak of championships (albeit in a series that doesn't rival NASCAR Sprint Cup in terms of competitiveness) that Johnson can only look straight up at from this point. From 2000 to 2007, Kimmel's name was the only one to appear on the driver's champion trophy -- a span of 8 years.

Let's hope, for the sake of writing interesting stories at the end of the next four seasons, that Johnson didn't just have his goals realigned thanks to that fact.

It is funny, though, to remember how no one picked him to win the championship this season after three in-a-row from 2006 to 2008. I know I won't make that mistake again.

Here's my pick for 2010: Jimmie Johnson. (and yes, I'm hoping that I'll be wrong.)

Just in case you were needing a reason to flip into that 2010 calendar, expect Feb. 5, 2010 to be the first day of NASCAR Sprint Cup practice for the Budweiser Shootout if the sanctioning body doesn't make drastic changes from last year's Daytona Speedweeks schedule.

You can bet Dale Earnhardt Jr. is more than ready to get back to Daytona -- both to start a new season and to revenge what turned out to be a pretty awful Daytona 500 experience in 2009.

Before we roll into 2010 stuff, though, there's still plenty to talk about from Sunday's race.

One note, I think, that's interesting is how fast Marcos Ambrose's day went down hill after he passed -- and celebrated in humorous form over the radio -- Jimmie Johnson for the lead early in the race. Four laps later, though, Ambrose was on pit road for a flat tire.

A problem with a carbeurator and a few spins on-track later, Ambrose had quickly lost all enthusiasm after coming home with a 35th-place finish. Regardless, it was one heckuva season for the Aussie as he ended up 18th in the season standings and actually made a legitmate case to be a Chase contender over the summer stretch.

I still don't believe this, but Carl Edwards failed to win a race in 2009.

The No. 99 was a bad move at Talladega in 2008 from beating Johnson for the title after a season with 9 wins, and looked like the team that most people thought could overtake Johnson for good in 2009. It wasn't meant to be as the entire Roush-Fenway operation struggled in 2009.

Edwards did finish 7th Sundat at Homestead, his first Top-10 since Fontana in October and just his 14th of the season.

What exactly was Erik Darnell doing on pit road when he decided to stop with cars behind him?

The No. 96 came to an abrupt halt on lap 116 under caution as the back part of the field entered pit road, causing race-ending damage to Richard Petty Motorsports teammates Elliott Sadler and Reed Sorenson.

Obviously, it was an ill-timed move by Darnell, but just as the season started with Sadler essentially losing the Daytona 500 after the rain came a half lap after Matt Kenseth passed him for the lead, Sadler's season ended on a note of bad luck.

On several levels, I'd say, Sunday's race was quite entertaining overall.

From Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Stewart getting in a shoving match (not their first on-track hurrah, mind you) to the three-wide racing we saw after several restarts, I'd say the Homestead finale showed that the Sprint Cup boys get after it much harder when all that's really on the line for most teams is picking up a win in the season-finale.

Obviously, the championship process is something that keeps a layer of continuity throughout a racing season, but I think a way to get a little more action from most races is something that's been said before: make finishing higher in a race have a higher value than it does now.

After all, the best race of the season, hands down I say, was the Sprint All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway. There, it was simple: win the race, or don't win anything.

And boy was that fun.

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Homestead originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FanHouse Warmup: Checker 500

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:23:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Chase for the Sprint Cup

The Essentials

Race: Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500

Where: Phoenix Int'l Raceway
Time: Sunday 3:15 PM ET
TV/Radio: ABC, MRN Radio
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mostly sunny, High 60s
Distance: 312 laps (312 miles)
Pole Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
2008 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

The Storylines

What makes any NASCAR finish exciting, and any sporting event for that matter, is when the unexpected happens. A last-second shot, a last-second touchdown, an underdog felling a Goliath and even a last lap pass -- yes, even Jimmie Johnson smacking the wall last week at Texas -- all create the unanticipated result that feeds into creating the rush of a sporting event.

Unfortunately, the most recent data we have from Phoenix International Raceway doesn't leave a lot of hope that we'll be seeing the unforeseen Sunday afternoon at the 1-miler.

Not to be a downer, but the three most eligible drivers to make history in 2009 with a a Sprint Cup title are the Hendrick Motorsports trio of Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. Coincidentally, they are also the three drivers who have scored the most recent wins at PIR.

Gordon got the ball rolling with a win in 2007 until Johnson won three straight in '07 and 2008. Mark Martin capped the Hendrick ownership of Phoenix earlier this year when his No. 5 drove to victory in the April event.

So unless one of them, say, gets a nudge from Sam Hornish Jr. on or around lap 3 on Sunday, it seems like we'll be seeing more of the same: a Hendrick car out front.

So. Exciting.

Carl Edwards won Saturday's Nationwide Series race at PIR and in the process left Kyle Busch to wait until he makes the start at Homestead next week to clinch the series title.

That, though, wasn't the most exciting feature of the race -- and not the one that might carry over to Sunday's Cup action.

Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski, as we know, aren't exactly best friends after a string of on-track incidents. After Saturday's race, it didn't get any better.

Needless details aside, Hamlin bumped Keselowski for position during the race and Keselowski, in turn, spun Hamlin.

Denny wasn't so happy about it and promised to take the matters into his own hands after the incident. They even had a heated argument outside of the Nationwide Series hauler.

What does that mean? Well, I can't say we know when Keselowski will get the payback, but both he and Denny will be Sunday's race.

FanHouse Warmup: Checker 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:23:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FanHouse Warmup: Dickies 500

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Sprint Cup

The Essentials

Race: Dickies 500

Where: Texas Motor Speedway
Time: Sunday 3:15 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: ABC, PRN Radio
Twitter: @FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, Low 70s
Distance: 334 laps (501 miles)
Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon
2008 Winner: Carl Edwards

The Storylines

Ladies and gentleman, there was nothing wrong with last week's race at Talladega -- if you ask Tony Stewart or NASCAR.

This week, each of them blamed the fan uproar solely on the media (mainly ESPN) for ultimately putting such ideas about the bad racing at Talladega into the heads of fans. Race fans, Stewart and NASCAR feel, were induced with propaganda by television to believe that they were getting shafted by NASCAR.

So, what to make of that?

I'll agree -- ESPN's Talladega broadcast was probably over the top with its insinuations that drivers were staging a boycott of some sort by running single file. That had more to dothough with drivers not wanting to wreck more than wanting to make a statement to the NASCAR brass in the control tower.

But the fact remains: problems are evident with Talladega and they need a solution -- and that's not just another media type trying to influence an dose of fans against NASCAR.

In this new era of the Budweiser Shootout field not being determined by pole winners, the fact that Jeff Gordon has yet to win a pole before this weekend at Texas in 2009 has gone a bit unnoticed.

To be fair, Gordon -- by virtue of the old rules related to past winners of the Shootout and what not -- would have been qualified for the exhibition season-opener already in the old format, but had he gone all of 2009 without starting on the pole it would have stopped a streak previously tallying 16-straight seasons of qualifying at least once on the pole.

Yes, Gordon started up front a few times early in the season when he was the point leader and rain washed out qualifying, but it only counts officially when NASCAR allows teams to take laps. So, thanks to Texas, Gordon makes it 17-straight seasons in winning a pole.

Carl Edwards won eight times in 2008, and two of those came during his season sweep of the '08 Sprint Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway.

You can bet that he'd like to get back in the winning column -- he's yet to find victory lane in 2009 after just missing out on the 2008 title -- and there's no better place to do it for Edwards than Texas.

Kyle Busch could make history on Sunday if he's the one to take the checkered flag.

He'd be the first driver in NASCAR history to win three races during the same race weekend. Busch took the 1st-place honors during Friday night's Camping World Truck Series race and in Saturday's Nationwide Series race at TMS.

Also, it would make a crew chief a winner during his first race on the pit box for the second time in 2009. Dave Rogers assumed duties as Busch's crew chief this week after Steve Addington was removed from the position.

Earlier this season, Drew Blickensderfer -- say that fast, like, twice -- was leading Matt Kenseth during his first race as crew chief when Kenseth won the season-opening Daytona 500. Kenseth then won the second race of the year at California, leaving Blickensderfer batting 2 for 2 in his career.

FanHouse Warmup: Dickies 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Despite Precautions, Talladega Remains Wild Ride

Holly Cain — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR Tracks

Depending on your perspective, Ryan Newman either had the best seat in the house or the worst during NASCAR's last visit to the mighty and unpredictable Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Carl Edwards, Sprint Cup rookie Brad Keselowski and Newman were 100 yards in front of the checkered flag, set to decide the winner amongst themselves, when Keselowski and Edwards collided directly in front of Newman. Edwards' Ford went airborne, bounced off the hood and windshield of Newman's Chevy, then flew into the fencing along the front stretch grandstands in a horrific-looking accident that led the country's sports highlight reels.

If you haven't seen the video, you will. It'll be played over and over and over all weekend as the Sprint Cup Series makes its Chase for the Championship visit to Talladega this week.

And each time you watch it, it will seem amazing that all the drivers were safe -- Keselowski got his maiden Cup victory and Newman went on to a career-best, third place at Talladega. Seven fans, however, were injured by debris that flew off Edwards car, prompting NASCAR and the track to institute some safety upgrades for this Halloween stop at the sport's largest track.

"It was a wild finish and it got a little tense at the end,'' Newman said in the ultimate understatement.

"We want exciting races, but we don't want to see cars airborne either,'' Newman said this week. "It's not safe and we need to collectively work to make sure what happened in the last race at Talladega doesn't happen again.''

After extracting himself from his mangled No. 39 Chevrolet that April evening, Newman immediately declared, "There's no such thing as an over-reaction for safety" and called the day's tightly-packed restrictor plate action, "just crazy."

Championship points leader Jimmie Johnson, involved in a multi-car crash with 10 laps remaining, was even more blunt: "It sucks racing here.''

Edwards somehow managed to climb out of his car unhurt, jog across the finish line, tell his mom in a television interview that he was "okay" and then sternly warned,"NASCAR has put us in this box and we'll race like this until we kill someone and then they'll change it.''

And NASCAR listened.

Sort of.

This weekend, NASCAR has mandated a smaller restrictor plate -- meaning there will be about 10-15 less horsepower for the cars. Talladega Superspeedway has extended the height of its catch fence another eight feet -- making it 22 feet high now -- and hired an engineering firm to "enhance" the fencing materials.

Daytona International Speedway, the other restrictor plate track on the circuit -- has also raised its fencing.

All this will at least give spectators peace of mind. Because of the pack-racing, multi-car crashes aren't going anywhere. They'll just happen at slightly slower speeds.

And let's face it, the "Big One" is part of Talladega's folklore. No one wants to see anyone get hurt, but fans love the unpredictable, from-last-to-first-in-10-laps possibilities that exist here. The baggage with that tight, draft racing is the potential for any driver lapse to create a 15-car melee.

NASCAR has had to balance the thrill of its show with the safety of its competitors and, just as importantly, the safety of its fans. Would NASCAR have reacted with new rules had fans not been hurt?

Newman not only had a front-row seat for the crash but also holds an engineering degree, making his perspective uniquely qualified. He likes the restrictor plate change and the fence modification, but thinks the real issue may be a question of aerodynamics and how to keep the cars from getting airborne in the first place.

"It's just a matter of excitement and strategy and the timing of those things in conjunction with what lap we're on and what there is to expect before the end of the race,'' Newman said.

"Realistically, you never know what to expect.''

And that's the rub ... and the attraction.

For his part, Edwards is scheduled to meet with Blake Bobbitt, the 17-year-old girl who was most seriously injured in April attending her first NASCAR race. Her jaw was broken and had to be wired shut for the remainder of her senior year of high school. After the race Edwards called it the worst feeling he's ever had in racing.

Since then Edwards has called periodically to check on her and the Bobbitt family will be a guest of NASCAR at the pre-race drivers meeting on Sunday.

"She's coming back to the track which is a great example of how passionate our fans are,'' Edwards said. "She's pumped about the race too, so that's cool.''

Despite Precautions, Talladega Remains Wild Ride originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Keselowski Holds Off Busch in Memphis

FanHouse Newswire — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:30:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Nationwide Series

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Brad Keselowski held off points leader Kyle Busch on the final lap to win the Kroger On Track For the Cure 250 in a green-white-checker finish in Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park.

Keselowski was leading when a caution came out with two laps to go because Stephen Wallace spun after tangling with Matt Kenseth. Wallace banged into Kenseth's car after the race and the two had words on pit road.

Keselowski held onto the lead through the overtime segment. Busch finished second and leads Carl Edwards by 215 points in the standings.

More Coverage: Nationwide Race Results | Check Series Standings

Busch was on Keselowski's rear bumper coming out of the final turn. Keselowski got loose but held on for his fourth Nationwide win of the year.

Jason Leffler finished third, while Mike Bliss and Brendan Gaughan completed the top five. Edwards, who won this race last year, was sixth.

There were 14 cautions on the day, with the last one setting up an exciting finish.

Keselowski led 34 of the eventual 254 laps in earning his first victory at Memphis Motorsports Park.

Edwards, Busch and two other Sprint Cup drivers were sent to the rear of the grid to start the race because substitute drivers had qualified for them. The Cup drivers had been at Martinsville earlier in the day preparing for Sunday's race.

Edwards entered the race trailing Busch by 195 points, and his hopes of cutting into the lead appeared to take a hit on the 25th lap. Tony Raines got into the back of Edwards, sending him spinning between turns 3 and 4. Edwards took another shot to the back of his Ford before coming to a stop.

That was one of three early cautions brought on by crashes. The third included pole-sitter Justin Allgaier, who got together with Keselowski.

Allgaier, who entered the race fifth in the points, captured the pole in qualifying earlier Saturday with a lap of 118.1 mph. It was the rookie's first pole in 36 Nationwide races.

He led for the first 34 laps, and eventually finished 19th.

Meanwhile, Edwards and Busch kept moving up through the field. Despite the early crash, Edwards was in fifth and Busch eighth by the 54th lap. Edwards took the lead on lap 62, but Keselowski passed him four laps later.

Busch took over after a restart on the 95th lap, going outside to get in front. Bliss grabbed the lead two laps later and built his lead to 5 seconds as the race reached the halfway point.

After a yellow brought everyone in for pit stops, Busch left pit road first and the other four Cup drivers -- Edwards, Kenseth, Keselowski and David Reutimann -- were in the top 10.

Between cautions and restarts, Edwards held onto the lead through much of the second half of the race. But with 18 laps to go, he ended up in a wreck on the backstretch possibly started when Keselowski got into his back bumper.

That ended any hope Edwards had of repeating his trip to victory lane or cutting into Busch's series points lead.

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.

Keselowski Holds Off Busch in Memphis originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FanHouse Warmup: Banking 500

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:10:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson, Lowes Motor Speedway, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Camping World Truck Series

The Essentials

Race: NASCAR Banking 500

Where: Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.
Time: Saturday 7:30 p.m./EST
TV/Radio: ABC, PRN Radio
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, 40s, 20% rain
Distance: 334 laps (500.1 miles)
Pole Winner: Jimmie Johnson
2008 Winner: Jeff Burton

The Storylines

Carl Edwards may blame last year's loss to Jimmie Johnson in the Chase for the Sprint Cup on a crash at Talladega, but a finish in last year's fall race at Lowe's Motor Speedway provided all the points Johnson needed to win his third consecutive title.

Or, rather, the necessary point.

More Coverage: Race Results | Sprint Cup Standings

Edwards suffered electrical issues early in the 2008 event at LMS that saw his No. 99 roll to a stop on the backstretch. The team got his car fixed in the garage, but he was only able to salvage a 33rd-place finish and earned 67 points in the process.

In his career, Edwards has now averaged a 10th-place finish at LMS. Pending that he would have finished at least 10th, Edwards would have earned 134 points, or 70 more than he did in this race a year ago. The final tally at the end of 2009 campaign between him and Johnson for the title?

69 points.

What, then, does this have to do with Saturday night's race? Despite the fact that -- cue former Arizona Cardinals head coach Denny Green -- the media has pretty much crowned Johnson the champ for 2009 (including yours truly) anything can happen. Silly, stupid things that are completely unexpected. Like electrical problems.

And who knows? A point Johnson misses tonight might be all another contender needs when the smoke settles in Homestead.

Jeff Burton, a.k.a the unofficial mayor of NASCAR, will reach a significant milestone in his long career in the sport when the green flag waves Saturday night.

Burton, the 43-year-old from South Boston, Va., will start his 850th race in the Sprint Cup Series during a season that has been quite a struggle for him and his Richard Childress Racing teammates. Burton is 18th in the standings with just six top-10 finishes in 2009, and tonight's race will mark the one year anniversary of his last Cup win.

As Burton reaches both anniversaries tonight, his hopes have improved after noting this week that he's seeing improvement within RCR.

"I think we've made a swing," said Burton. "I don't think we are where we need to be by any means but if you look at it individually, our teams are starting to run better."

Kurt Busch knows that his team has been decent during the Chase, and obviously he's looking to continue a pretty good run tonight at LMS.

"I feel like this is a great opportunity for us to continue our stretch where we've finished, on average the last few races, in 7.5," said Busch.

In years past, his level of "decent" would likely have been good enough to be in heavy, heavy contention for the title. But coming into tonight's race, he's trailing Jimmie Johnson by some 121 points.

"That's a good average finish, but we're getting beat by better numbers," Busch said. "In years past when Dale [Earnhardt] Sr. was winning championships, or Jeff Gordon, the magic number back then was seven as far as your average finish. With this new Chase format, seven will only get you sixth in points and 121 off the lead."

And he's right. At the moment, Jimmie Johnson is averaging a blistering 3.75 finish. That's tough to beat.

FanHouse Warmup: Banking 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Kansas 400

Geoffrey Miller — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:57:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Chase for the Sprint Cup

If there was any doubt about the impact of clean air in NASCAR, Kansas Speedway pretty much cleared it up.

Simply, the undisturbed air that the leader has on the front nose of his race car gives a decided handling advantage. And don't just ask Tony Stewart, but ask the two other drivers that took two tires during the race's final pit stop on lap 239 -- Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson.

Stewart, who got a jump on the lap 241 restart, got the clean air and held off Jeff Gordon and his four new tires while Kahne and Johnson fell to sixth and ninth respectively.

Gordon tried to claw back to Stewart's bumper after working his way past Greg Biffle for second, and appeared to be pulling closer and closer to Stewart. But Gordon reached a point -- at just over a half second behind Stewart -- that he could just go no further. A factor at that point could have been Gordon's tires wearing away due to his hard driving effort, but Stewart's two tires should have equalized out that effect.

Drivers have noted time and time again -- both with the old and new car -- that closing behind another car often causes a dramatic handling shift. A lot of the change has to do with the decreased air on the nose of the trailing race car, causing the tires to have less force pressed into the track.

The lower pressure on the front end can cause the car to feel tight and not want to turn as well with the front tires.

The Kansas Speedway media center is apparently a chair lighter today after a humorous exchange between Stewart and the assembled post-race media.

Prior to Stewart's post-race press conference, Jeff Gordon had answered a question about the championship format and mentioned something along the lines of Stewart having a big lead had the Chase not reset the field.

Well, NASCAR.com's Joe Menzer wanted to ask a question to Stewart related to the topic, and it set off one of Stewart's infamous sarcastic banters with the NASCAR media.

Here's a little bit of the transcript:

Joe Menzer, NASCAR.com: "Jeff Gordon was in here and mentioned--"
Tony Stewart: "He came in here? Jeff Gordon came in here?"
JM: "Yeah."
TS: "Wow."
JM: "I know, you're amazed."
TS: "That's awesome man. I never would have thought Jeff Gordon would have come in here."
JM: "He was sitting right there, I believe."
TS: "He was sitting right here?" (as Stewart pointed to the chair he was sitting in)
JM: "Yeah, man."
TS: "Oh my God, I'm sitting in the seat Jeff Gordon sat in. That's awesome. Can I take this home? I mean I won the race. Can I take this chair home? Alright. I'll send somebody back for it after I leave. Go ahead, I'm trying to contain myself."

Stewart didn't have to send anyone back, as he wheeled the chair off the stage himself after making another comment that he wants Gordon to sign the chair. All reports say that it made its way into the No. 14 hauler and didn't return from it.

So goes the story of Tony & the Chair.

Roush-Fenway Racing has to be walking a little taller after Sunday's race.

Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, the only two RFR drivers in the Chase, wound up 3rd and 10th, respectively. Late pit calls probably took Biffle from the race win, but he's certainly got to be happy with the results.

Edwards wasn't pleased with his car for much of the day, but still salvaged a decent finish at a track that he certainly expects to do better at. Remember, one year ago Edwards made the bonzai move into turn three on the last lap and came up just short of beating Jimmie Johnson for the win.

While those two may be somewhat pleased with their results after a season of struggles -- the team hasn't won a race since Fontana in February -- Matt Kenseth's No. 17 is actually showing life. Kenseth was a contender up front for the second race in a row and looked to be a contender through the stretch until his engine went south.

Jamie McMurray got lapped and David Ragan got caught up in an early wreck, so not all was good for Roush. But baby steps for the team in the right direction are still steps in the right direction.

After receiving an unusual warning about car measurement tolerances from NASCAR last week, the cars of Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin were once again transported back to the NASCAR research and development center following the race at Kansas.

And there's a possibility that will be a norm for those two cars for the rest of the season.

NASCAR warned those teams that they were within thousandths of an inch of the maximum allowed body measurements after Dover, and has decided that make sure both the No. 5 and No. 48 stay in conformity. Hence the reason both cars were taken back to the R&D center, which is above and beyond what NASCAR normally takes back.

NASCAR is fully in its right to take any car it wants back for inspection, and if it wanted, it could take every car back to the R&D center for testing after race -- though that's highly impractical.

Normally, the sanctioning body takes just the winner's car and a car drawn randomly back to the R&D center for a tight inspection. Sunday, those cars included Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch.

Lots of folks have wondered if NASCAR is trying to sweep something under the rug with Johnson and Martin, but honestly, look at the bigger picture. Think about how tight the Chase would come if both teams would have been penalized with points after Dover.

Think Jimmie Johnson & Mark Martin being reeled back to the pack would draw some interest? I'd say so -- and that would be in NASCAR's favor.

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Kansas 400 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Sylvania 300

Geoffrey Miller — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:58:00 EST

Filed under: Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Chase for the Sprint Cup

We promise to throw a caution with ample time to slow down in the event of a spinning car on this Chase edition of Notes & Quotes.

Pressure? What pressure? Juan Pablo Montoya's run into the Chase for the Sprint Cup is quite the enviable position for most other drivers simply because of the expectations that the former Formula 1 driver has on his back.

Or, make that the lack of expectations.

"I mean, what's the pressure? We made the Chase," said Montoya after his third-place finish. "From now on, anything about that, it's a balance. Come here, first Chase race, put on the pole, finish second. Can I ask for anything else? Not really. A win would be nice, but that will come."

Sure, a win would be nice for Montoya, but you can bet that's a little less important for the Columbian driver than, say, a championship. A title isn't completely a completely off-the-wall possibility for the No. 42 car, based on his slim 55 point deficit to leader Mark Martin and the consistency the team put together in regular season's closing races.

There was plenty of three-wide and otherwise risky maneuvers during Sunday's race -- and not just between drivers with nothing on the line except winning. The Chase drivers were fully involved with the good show we had for several laps.

Denny Hamlin surmised that it had a lot to do with track position and little to do recklessness.

"I think everyone is just -- I think everyone panics," Hamlin said after coming out unscathed in second-place. "When you see at the beginning of the race the top 10 and they're all Chase guys, you're like, man, I've got to fight for every position I can, and track position means so much that I think every hole that you see on the racetrack you immediately go for because it doesn't matter if your car is two tenths faster than the car in front of you. If he runs your line, you're not going to get around him.

"So I think everyone is just jumping to every opportunity that they can, and that's why you see the three wide is everyone is just trying to make up all the spots they can, and a lot of it has to do with the excitement of the start of the Chase."

Restarts played a big role in how two Chase drivers didn't perform as expected on Sunday, and left them both disappointed with their first of ten rounds of NASCAR's championship system.

Jeff Gordon, who looked strong early, ran 15th while Carl Edwards trailed him as the second-worst finishing Chase driver in 17th.

"If you're on the front row, you can get away with it a little bit but being fifth or sixth we just really struggled with the grip on the restarts," said Gordon. "We'd lose three or four spots every restart and then we'd start not being able to gain it back. It just wasn't a good day for us. It's one we've just got to put behind us and go on."

Edwards echoed Gordon's sentiments that the restarts -- especially on the low air pressures of new tires after a pit stops -- really hurt his march to the front.

"Our car just struggled all day and I couldn't go fast," said Edwards. "Once I got strung out I could hold my own and I could run well, but on those restarts I just got killed on the short run."

Thanks to their finishes, each driver has a pretty big hole to dig out of if a run at the championship is a possibility. Edwards sits 11th in points 113 back of leader Martin while Gordon is 10th, 102 back.

Brian Vickers managed an 11th-place finish, but felt like he could have gotten even more had the team not struggled through multiple problems throughout the weekend.

"We're not making it any easier on ourselves as a team," Vickers said. We started the weekend off and had a lot of engine problems in the first practice that put us about an hour and a half behind the competition. Then in the race, we had a lot of problems in the pits and some other problems that I think cost us an opportunity at a top-five."

Otherwise, Vickers called his 11th-place run a "solid finish" to his first ever race as a Chase competitor that leaves him 90 points from the top spot in the point standings.

Give some props to Elliott Sadler for his strong run Sunday at New Hampshire.

The Virginia-native is driving for the same team as Kasey Kahne and has certainly felt the setbacks and growing pains of the various mergers of Richard Petty Motorsports. His 8th-place finish was the best for No. 19 since his 5th-place run at Daytona in February and marked just his fourth Top-10 of 2009.

Remember, just a few years ago Sadler was a contender in the Chase with Yates Racing. His infectious down-home personality would only do good things for the sport if he could get back to being competitive again.

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Sylvania 300 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:58:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FanHouse Warmup: Richmond

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 11:44:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Elliott Sadler, Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kevin Harvick, Sprint Cup

The Essentials

Race: Chevy Rock & Roll 400

Where: Richmond Int'l Raceway
Time: Saturday night 7:30pm/EDT
TV/Radio: ESPN, Motor Racing Network
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mid-60s, Partly Cloudy
Distance: 400 laps (300 miles)
Pole Winner: Mark Martin
2008 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

The Storylines

25 races and 9,706 miles of racing in 2009 boils down to a 400-lap shootout Saturday night that will make the season for the 12 guys who secure a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. And for the guys that don't, well, just consider it to be the wrong end of a make-or-break scenario.

Four drivers have clinched an entry prior to the green flag, while 8 spots and 11 eligible drivers will steal the show Saturday night in Richmond. A scramble it will be.

Pressure? What Pressure? Four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon is one of those four drivers that have nothing but a race win to battle for on Saturday night thanks to scoring enough points to earn a stranglehold of a guarantee on a Chase spot.

He's done it rather quietly, though, and he couldn't be happier with how that's worked in favor of his team heading into the 10-race scramble that follows Richmond.

"There's enough pressure from inside your team and on your own shoulders that you don't want anything adding to that," said Gordon on Friday when asked about if the reduced outside pressure to make and win the Chase is a good thing. "I'm just happy going into it. I've been on both sides of it. As close and as tight and competitive as this series is right now with these cars, I'd prefer to have that. If we had the dominate car that was just going to go wax everybody then I'm fine having the bulls-eye on my back, but that's not the case these days."

The newest expecting father in the Sprint Cup garage wasn't exactly having a good day on Friday while trying to get his No. 19 Dodge tuned up for practice and qualifying.

"We just have a demon in the car right now with our brakes," said Elliott Sadler. "We're not sure what's going to tell you the truth. We've been fighting them all day long and can't get it resolved. It's frustrating. At a track where brakes are most important, we're having brake issues."

Sadler will start 34th on Saturday night, and announced earlier in the week that he and his wife were expecting their first child in March. Kudos, sir.

If Kevin Harvick's confidence means anything for Saturday night, the Bakersfield, Calif., driver just might be stringing together two of his best weekends of 2009 together after Saturday night's race.

Harvick took second place last week at Atlanta for his best finish of what has been a struggle of a 2009 season for the No. 29 group, and from all accounts in both his quotes and Twitter posts, Richmond should be decent as well.

"We're breaking in a brand new car this weekend, and we were pretty good in race trim in practice today," said Harvick after qualifying 19th.

Earlier, he posted to his Twitter account that both his Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series cars were good (he finished 2nd in Nationwide on Friday) and it "should be a fun weekend."

Just two weeks ago, Harvick and team owner Richard Childress confirmed they'd still be working together in 2010 and perhaps that bode of confidence to the team has lit a fire for an end-of-season positive swing.

Carl Edwards, broken foot and all, won the Nationwide Series race at Richmond on Friday.

Strangely, it's not the foot that's been hurting him the most.

"My foot is good," said Edwards. "It's better than my arm pits from these crutches."

Juan Pablo Montoya, currently 8th in points and looking to earn his first ever entry in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, led the pack Friday afternoon in the second and final practice for Saturday night's race. He'll line up 14th on the grid, though.

Montoya's qualifying run put him sixth on the grid of the 11 drivers in contention for a Chase spot. Knowing that, here's how each of those drivers can make a run into the Chase at the end of the 400-lapper -- courtesy of NASCAR statistical services:

#99-Carl Edwards is currently 105 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
-- 24th or better
-- 25th and leads at least one lap or
-- 27th and leads most laps.

#9-Kasey Kahne is currently 96 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
-- 21st or better
-- 23rd and leads at least one lap or
-- 24th and leads most laps.

#2-Kurt Busch is currently 95 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
-- 20th or better
-- 22nd and leads at least one lap or
-- 24th and leads most laps.

#42-Juan Pablo Montoya is currently 88 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
-- 18th or better
-- 20th and leads at least one lap or
-- 21st and leads the most laps.

#39-Ryan Newman is currently 81 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
-- 16th or better
-- 17th and leads at least one lap or
-- 19th and leads the most laps.

#5-Mark Martin is currently 69 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
-- 12th or better
-- 14th and leads at least one lap or
-- 15th and leads the most laps.

#16-Greg Biffle is currently 68 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
-- 11th or better
-- 13th and leads at least one lap or
-- 15th and leads the most laps.

#17-Matt Kenseth is currently 20 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
-- Second and leads at least one lap.
-- Third and leads the most laps.

#83-Brian Vickers currently sits 13th, 17 points ahead of #18-Kyle Busch. He would need to gain 21 points on Kenseth and stay ahead of Busch to clinch a Chase spot. Busch, 37 points behind 12th, needs to gain 17 points on Vickers and 37 points on Kenseth to clinch.

#00-David Reutimann, 132 points behind Kenseth, has an outside shot at clinching. He would have to gain 133 points on Kenseth. A maximum of 161 points can be made up in a given race.

The Storylines

Geoffrey Miller: Kyle Busch

FanHouse Warmup: Richmond originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 12 Sep 2009 11:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Race Fixing or Just Racing?

Holly Cain — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:25:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Ryan Newman, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing

RICHMOND, Va. -- With all the publicity surrounding allegations of cheating and race fixing in Formula One and drag racing this week, it begs the question, would NASCAR drivers ever purposely "help" a teammate win a race, improve a position or gain in the championship standings?

Is it even wrong? Or is it simply a long-practiced element of competition?

"I've already thought about that in regards to my teammates and if there's anything I can do to help my teammates, I'd do it," said Carl Edwards, who has two Roush Fenway teammates still trying to clinch a spot in the Chase for the Championship in Saturday's Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

"This is a team sport and especially at this point in the year, having more of your teammates in the Chase is good."

But what if you're winning the race?

"That's a tough call, if that's what it took and that's what had to happen then that's what I would do," Edwards said.

And if it meant wrecking another driver?

"You can't take somebody out because you're not just taking that person out, you're taking out their team and their sponsors and all that stuff, so I don't think it'll come to that.''

Clearly Edwards draws a line and most of the Sprint Cup drivers felt similarly. But there's a lot on that line Saturday night and the multi-car teams have a natural advantage in terms of determining track position."If I were leading, I don't believe they'd ever put me in that position (to let a teammate win). We haven't even spoken about that this week.''
-- Denny Hamlin

"I'd give 'em second if I was second, but not a win, that's all I would do,'' said Denny Hamlin, whose Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch is trying to race his way into the Chase Saturday.

"If it puts him over the top, you'd give up a position. But there's a lot of races that go on before this. You can't play a game of cards and have only one card in the deck that can help you."

"If I were leading, I don't believe they'd ever put me in that position (to let a teammate win). We haven't even spoken about that this week.''

It's an especially hot topic after allegations that the National Hot Rod Association's all-time winningest driver John Force "threw" a Funny Car class race at the U.S. Nationals last weekend to help another car he owns qualify for the championship playoff format.

Competitor Cruz Pedregon, who failed to make the playoff because of Force's loss to his son-in-law Robert Hight, angrily accused Force of "cheating" and manipulating."

Force has maintained he simply lost the drag race, adding "They're my teams and I'll do what I want with them.''

Renault made headlines Friday as the governing body, FIA, has called the team to appear before the World Motor Sport Council on Sept. 21 to answer to charges of race fixing. There are allegations that the team had one driver, Nelson Piquet crash late in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to bring out a caution and ultimately helped his teammate Fernando Alonso win the race.

FIA President Max Mosley told AUTOSPORT, "Fixing is one degree worse than cheating.''

He has given Piquet immunity if he'll provide evidence in the case and Mosley said he's not ruling out modifying the points finish in the Singapore race or the world championship standings -- now a year later.

The F1 situation is much more serious than what NASCAR drivers are suggesting happens all the time in racing.

"It's been going on ever since the first teammate back in the day,'' driver Ryan Newman said. "Absolutely there are always teams manipulating things ... giving up positions just to get points then giving it back.

"It's a part of racing whether it is NASCAR or NHRA or Indy car, it's part of racing.''

The question is whether that is playing fair.

"Everybody is trying to get the best run they can. Certainly if you have a teammate or a friend or somebody you respect on the track and maybe you have a chance to lead a lap and get points -- just like any other week all year -- that stuff probably happens.

"I certainly don't think you're gonna see teammates or anybody do anything goofy to change the outcome."

When three-time reigning series champ Jimmie Johnson was asked about the possibility of that happening for his teammate Mark Martin, who still needs to clinch a spot in the Chase, Johnson broke out in a huge grin.

"In the experience I've had at Hendrick Motorsports, regardless of the situation, it's not been discussed or even considered.

"I think if we threw something for Mark, I think Mark would get out of the car and whip some ass.

"He wants to go in there and earn it on his own. I don't think he'd tolerate that.''

Race Fixing or Just Racing? originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FanHouse Warmup: Pep Boys 500

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 14:37:00 EST

Filed under: Bobby Labonte, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Sprint Cup

The Essentials

Race: Pep Boys 500

Where: Atlanta Motor Speedway
Time: Sunday 7:47pm/EDT
TV/Radio: ESPN, PRN Radio
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: High 60s, Mostly Cloudy
Distance: 325 laps (500.5 miles)
Pole Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
2008 Winner: Carl Edwards

The Storylines

Sunday night's race might be a last ditch effort to ensure Atlanta Motor Speedway has a spot on the NASCAR schedule, much less two.

And judging by the optimism of AMS track president Ed Clark, the expected attendance is working in his favor.

Clark said earlier this week that the track ticket office set a single-day record for ticket sales on Monday with 2,400 seats being ordered. It was a number that will cost Clark in the coming weeks after he made a bet with the ticket office staff that he'd make lunch if they could sell 1,700 tickets in a day.

Lemon pepper chicken it is.

AMS has been on the rumored NASCAR chopping block thanks to a recent purchase of Kentucky Speedway by the AMS parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc., and SMI head Bruton Smith's desire to have to two races at a track in Las Vegas.

Kurt Busch, the ~~winner~~ dominator of the spring race at Atlanta Motor Speedway will be racing the very same chassis -- 'Hot Rod' -- that won in March at AMS. Crew chief Pat Tryson said that if the car had three-forths of its gusto from the previous AMS race, they'd be in good shape.

Such a fast piece, though, didn't leave driver Kurt Busch wanting to get too deep in offering advice to Erik Darnell for this weekend. Darnell is making his first career Sprint Cup start for Yates Racing.

"My first race was at Dover many years ago it seems like," said Busch. "When they dropped the green flag, everybody was going so fast I didn't know what to do. I just backed out of the gas, went to 43rd and I started over. I ended up finishing 18th that day, but I couldn't believe the pace that everybody wanted to run every lap. That's some of the advice I'd give him."

It's kind of hard to believe that Busch refers to his first race in a sense of "many years ago", eh?

Bobby Labonte was unseated by Darnell for Atlanta and the next seven races thanks to sponsorship issues on that Yates Racing No. 96 car.

The problem was simple: Labonte didn't have sponsorship, but Darnell did. The timing, though, more complex.

Atlanta might as well be Labonte's middle name, as the Texan has six career wins at the 1.54-mile speedway. He'd be on just about anybody's fantasy race team for this weekend.

Fortunately, Labonte managed to find a deal with TRG Motorsports to drive the No. 71 this weekend and the next six races. The deal helped preserve a streak of 569 consecutive Cup races that Bobby has been a part of, just one shy of Jeff Gordon's streak of 570 straight races.

Sunday night's race has been billed as the first Sprint Cup night race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but I don't think I can let that slide. It's not the first night race, but rather, the first scheduled night race.

In November of 1998, the final race of the NASCAR season was scheduled for a Sunday afternoon at AMS, but rain had other plans. The race finally got underway in earnest around 9pm/ET time, meaning the newly-installed lights had truly paid off.

Jeff Gordon led 113 of the 221 laps completed (race was shortened due to time) to score his 13th win of 1998 en route to dominating the championship by some 364 points. The 13 wins is still a modern era record (tied with Richard Petty) and included a mid-season stretch where he won seven of nine races, four of which were won consecutively.

And you thought Kyle Busch's winning habits were bad.

Carl Edwards will be racing with a broken foot in tonight's race, as a result of a frisbee injury this week.

The injury may hurt, but competitor Jeff Gordon doesn't expect it to be a distraction for Edwards on the track.

"You would be surprised when you are in the race car, the engine is loud, there's a lot of vibration and your focus on driving the car can really eliminate a lot of pain and discomforts that are going on and take your mind off of it," said Gordon. "It truly is the perfect example of mind over matter."

It didn't seem to be a problem on Saturday night, as Edwards completed the whole Nationwide Series event and finished 7th.

The Prediction

ESPN's Ed Hinton made note of this in a column this week, and it's hard not to believe the logic. Simply, if you want to know who will prosper when the Chase starts after Richmond next week, just look at who runs well tonight.

Multiple tracks in the Chase fall at 1.5-mile venues, and the format has shown to benefit drivers who can handle those the best. In other words, it's not a surprise that Jimmie Johnson is your three-time defending Cup champ.

He also makes my prediction easy tonight.

Geoffrey Miller: Jimmie Johnson

FanHouse Warmup: Pep Boys 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 14:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Edwards Breaks Foot ... Playing Frisbee

Tom Herrera — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Chase for the Sprint Cup

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Carl Edwards will race this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway despite breaking his right foot playing frisbee.

Edwards is on crutches but was cleared to race in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series by doctors from the University of Missouri. He is from Columbia, Mo., and was injured in a hometown game Wednesday night.

"I know this probably sounds ridiculous to a lot of people, and I could hardly believe it myself," Edwards said Thursday. "I was playing frisbee with a couple of buddies and we both went for the frisbee at the same time. I put my foot on it, my friend dove for it, and the next thing you know, we all heard a pop.

"I knew it was broken and we all kind of looked at each other in disbelief that of all things, I would break my foot playing frisbee."

Edwards has three victories at Atlanta and is the defending race winner. He said doctors told him he'll have no problems using the accelerator.

Edwards is fifth in the Sprint Cup Series standings with two races remaining before the title-deciding Chase for the championship begins. Because of his series-high nine wins last season, he was widely considered the favorite to end Jimmie Johnson's run of three straight titles.

But he's winless this season in NASCAR's top series and has been counting on a hot streak during the 10-race Chase to mount a title run.

Meanwhile, he's turned it up a notch in the Nationwide Series. His win last weekend in Montreal helped him slice Kyle Busch's lead in the standings, and Edwards now trails by 192 points.

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.

Edwards Breaks Foot ... Playing Frisbee originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stunned Edwards Thrives at Montreal

FanHouse Newswire — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Nationwide Series

MONTREAL (AP) -- Carl Edwards was as shocked as anyone.

"I can't believe I won the race,'' Edwards said Sunday after making a stunning pass of Marcos Ambrose on the final turn of the Nationwide race at Montreal. "I just figured he'd take off and run away with it. I guess that goes to show you never give up.''

It was another lost opportunity at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for Ambrose, who has had a chance to win all three Nationwide races conducted on the street circuit since NASCAR began racing here in 2007.

The despair was real on a day that started in sunshine and turned to gloom.

More Coverage: Nationwide Series Standings | Check Schedule

"I just made a mistake at the end there and lost the race,'' Ambrose said. "I feel pretty devastated.''

Edwards couldn't believe what happened because Ambrose led 60 laps over the 14-turn, 2.7-mile course - including 31 in a row before the rain moved in for the second straight year.

Still, the hard-charging Tasmanian figured to be a lock since he grew up racing in the rain. But after overcoming restart after restart in the crash-filled event, Ambrose slipped up at the wrong time.

Edwards won a two-lap sprint to the finish on a track that was both wet and dry in spots from a light rain, making up more than a second on the final lap. Edwards began to close fast on Ambrose entering turn 10, a right-handed hairpin, and that gave Edwards renewed hope.

"I drove a little bit deeper than him and I caught him, and that surprised me,'' Edwards said. "I didn't think I'd catch him in that corner, but I had the benefit of watching his car. He was kind of out there flying. Once I got to him, we came off turn 10, he was spinning the tires, and I thought I might have him.''

Seconds later, Ambrose slid sideways after hitting the rumble strips in turn 14. Edwards slipped past and outraced him down the final straightaway.

"That was an amazing gift,'' Edwards said. "Marcos just made that one mistake that gave me a chance to get by. The difference was the tires and the way the track was changing. As soon as it gets dry, there's so much more grip, and there were places out there I saw that had a little more grip. Maybe I could just see better through my windshield.''

Ambrose survived three other restarts in the final 12 laps of the race, which was plagued by 11 cautions. The race went two extra laps and lasted 3 hours, 49 minutes, 19 seconds, the longest in Nationwide Series history. The Gateway 300 in 1997 lasted 3:48.25.

Ambrose was out to right what went wrong in the previous two Nationwide races at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. In 2007 he led 37 laps and was challenging for the win before he was spun out by Robby Gordon and finished seventh.

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Latest NASCAR Photos

MONTREAL, QC - AUGUST 30: Marcos Ambrose, driver of the #47 Armor All Toyota, and Carl Edwards, driver of the #60 CitiFinancial Ford, race along with others during the NASCAR Nationwide Napa Auto Parts 200 on August 30, 2009 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Marcos Ambrose;Carl Edwards

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Latest NASCAR Images

FILE -- This is a July 2, 2009, file photo showing Bobby Labonte climbing into his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Coke Zero 400 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Yates Racing is taking Bobby Labonte out of its No. 96 car for seven upcoming races because of sponsorship issues.(AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

A member of the NYFD signs the hood of the NASCAR racecar custom-designed to commemorate 9/11 during a marketing event Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 in New York. Driver Benny Gordon and North South Motorsports will race the car to commemorate 9/11 on September 11, 2009 at the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Raceway. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Driver Benny Gordon, third from left foreground, poses with firefighter, police officers, and the NASCAR racecar custom-designed to commemorate Sept.11 Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 in New York. Gordon and North South Motorsports will race the car on Sept. 11 at the Richmond International Speedway in Virginia. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Driver Benny Gordon is photographed during a marketing event to unveil the NASCAR racecar custom-designed to commemorate 9/11, Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 in New York. Gordon and North South Motorsports will race the car on Sept. 11 at the Richmond International Speedway in Virginia. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

The NASCAR racecar custom-designed to commemorate Sept. 11 is unveiled Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 near the World Trade Center site in New York's lower Manhattan. Driver Benny Gordon and North South Motorsports will race the car on Sept. 11 at the Richmond International Speedway in Virginia to commemorate 9/11. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

MONTREAL, QC - AUGUST 30: Carl Edwards, driver of the #60 CitiFinancial Ford celebrates after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Napa Auto Parts 200 on August 30, 2009 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Carl Edwards

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MONTREAL, QC - AUGUST 29: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota is escorted on the grid prior to the start of the NASCAR Nationwide Napa Auto Parts 200 on August 30, 2009 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch

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MONTREAL, QC - AUGUST 30: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota smiles during pre-race activities for the NASCAR Nationwide Napa Auto Parts 200 on August 30, 2009 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch

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Carl Edwards hoists the winner's trophy after his victory in the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson)

MONTREAL, QC - AUGUST 29: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota drives during the NASCAR Nationwide Napa Auto Parts 200 on August 30, 2009 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch

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Last year in the rain, Ambrose led 27 laps but was caught speeding on pit road late in the race and Ron Fellows won the rain-shortened event, the first points race in NASCAR history to be run on rain tires.

It was the third win of the year and 23rd in his Nationwide career for Edwards, who moved within 192 points of series leader Kyle Busch.

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series star Andrew Ranger was third. Former Formula One star Jacques Villeneuve finished fourth on the track named for his father, and Brad Keselowski was fifth. Busch went from fourth to 10th on the final two laps.

Ambrose started from the pole, but everything changed when the rain moved in. The race was halted at the end of lap 61 so the teams could switch to rain tires, slap on windshield wipers, and hook up brake lights.

The race resumed on lap 64 with the street course damp but with no standing water like a year ago. Ambrose quickly cleared the second-place car of Ranger. Edwards then tangled with Ranger and Busch slipped past both for second, with Edwards and Ranger right behind.

Ambrose had a 2.8-second lead after the first time around, but the ninth caution of the race, for debris, erased that margin on the next lap.

Ambrose again assumed control when the race went green on lap 68, but several cars spun out before the 31 cars remaining in the race made a complete trip around. That brought out caution No. 10, six more than last year's race and twice as many as 2007.

Ambrose easily drew clear on the restart on lap 71 and Ranger passed Busch for second. But Steven Wallace set up the two-lap dash to the finish when he made contact with Victor Gonzalez Jr. and slid sideways into a big pack of cars in the second turn to bring out the race-changing final caution.

By JOHN KEKIS, AP Sports Writer

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.

Stunned Edwards Thrives at Montreal originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FanHouse Warmup: Watkins Glen

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:33:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson

The Essentials

Race: Heluva Good! @ the Glen

Where: Watkins Glen Int'l Raceway
Time: Monday 12:00pm/EDT
TV/Radio: ESPN, Motor Racing Network
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Monday Forecast: 88 degrees, 40% Rain
Distance: 90 laps (220.5 miles)
Pole Winner: Jimmie Johnson
2008 Winner: Kyle Busch

The Storylines

We talked a little bit about Marcos Ambrose this week on FanHouse and how he appears to be a good pick to win his first race Sunday at Watkins Glen. Well, after practice, qualifying and Saturday's Nationwide race it's become obvious: you'd be crazy to not look at Marcos Ambrose as a favorite.

Ambrose qualified fourth on Friday and led the two practice sessions in race setup on Saturday before winning the Nationwide Series race. For comparison, last year Ambrose started 43rd in the Sprint Cup race and wound up 4th.

The only thing, however, Ambrose will need to watch out for is those darn barrier walls. During his victory burnout on Saturday, the Australian pancaked the right rear of his Toyota on the frontstretch.

Carl Edwards has a theory on why the racing in the Sprint Cup Series seems to have picked up a notch in the last few weeks -- and it's got to do with job security.

"It's insane. I think it probably has to do more with people's contracts being up in the air and sponsors and everything squeezing for every bit of exposure that we can get," said Edwards. "It's like the whole economy [...] people are racing for their careers and their team's existence. I think that's why you see this type of racing."

A lot has been made this week about Jimmie Johnson never having a win in his incredibly successful Sprint Cup career at a road course. For some reason, lots of people have decided that a guy with three championships shouldn't have a resume without a road course win.

Of course, the Cup Series has raced at those tracks just 6 times in the 108 races that Johnson has raced in during those championship seasons. In half of those races, Johnson has finished in the top-10 and hasn't finished outside of the top-20.

Sure, he's not been dominant, but come on, he's been consistently good and getting better.

Johnson's biggest statement on his road course prowess this weekend at Watkins Glen? Oh, just winning the pole for Sunday's race.

FanHouse Warmup: Watkins Glen originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FanHouse Warmup: Pennslyvania 500

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 10:15:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart

The Essentials

Race: Red Cross Pennsylvania 500

Where: Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa.
Time: Sunday 2:19pm/EDT (Update: Monday: 12:15 pm/EDT)
TV/Radio: ESPN, Motor Racing Network
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: 71 degrees, Rain
Distance: 200 laps (500 miles)
Pole Winner: Tony Stewart
2008 Winner: Carl Edwards

The Storylines

Tony Stewart may have been completely ticked at himself for crashing in practice at Pocono Raceway Saturday, but if the past is any guide, he's going to be just fine for Sunday's race.

Obviously, Stewart is just over a month removed from the last time he started at the back in Pocono and, needless to say, it didn't really hurt him too bad. Stewart went from worst to first in just 77 laps before setting sail towards his first-career points race win in June.

Juan Pablo Montoya wasn't letting last weekend's severe disappointment in Indianapolis keep from looking forward to the weekend, though you can bet the speeding penalty that kept him from winning the Allstate 400 was still on his mind.

He didn't show that Friday during his media visit, however.

"Do I gain anything by wondering or saying or thinking was the speedometer right or the tach right, was NASCAR right, was I wrong?" said Montoya. "Who cares? I moved on, can't change it. Even if they came to me today and said you know what we made a mistake it wouldn't change anything. It is what it is."

Obviously, the loss was a crushing blow, but for Montoya to be ready to look ahead to Sunday's race and not back should mean good things for the rest of his season.

The No. 42 team brought the same car they used at Indianapolis, though Montoya didn't feel it'd behave the same because Pocono is a much rougher track.

Carl Edwards has one big request for NASCAR with the Nationwide Series Car of Tomorrow scheduled for its first races in 2010.

"I hope they take advantage of the opportunity to minimize our dependence on downforce," said Edwards. "I don't know if there's time for that left, but, man, it would the best thing they could do."

Edwards made note that the lack of passing in the race last week in Indianapolis showed what happens when you have too much downforce.

"It's my opinion that the reason for that is our dependence on downforce, and I think that if we were to work on getting rid of that, you'd see races more like races you see at USAC Silver Crown cars and cars like that where it just doesn't matter how close you get to someone."

FanHouse Warmup: Pennslyvania 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 02 Aug 2009 10:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Pocono Qualifying Rained Out

Bruce Ciskie — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:15:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Nationwide Series, Sprint Cup

Being the points leader in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has its advantages. During the 2009 season, there has been more to this than usual.

Sunday's Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway is the 21st race on the 36-race slate this year. On Friday, the scheduled qualifying runs were called off by rain for the fifth time this season. It can be quite the annoying theme, unless you're the points leader.

Because of the washout, points leader Tony Stewart will sit on the pole for Sunday afternoon's race. It's the fourth time this year Stewart will start from the pole without running a qualifying lap. Since he took the points lead, qualifying has been rained out at Pocono's first race, as well as the June race at New Hampshire, and the July 4 Coke Zero 400.

The rest of the front of the field for the start of Sunday's race will be Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, and Carl Edwards fifth. Because there were only 43 cars entered for the race, there were no "go or go home" drivers for qualifying. Sterling Marlin, Scott Speed, David Gilliland, Joe Nemechek, Dave Blaney, Patrick Carpentier, Mike Wallace, and Tony Raines will bring up the rear.

Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Iowa Speedway -- the first time the series has run at that track -- should not have any weather issues. There is a chance of rain late Friday night, but skies should be mostly sunny by the time cars hit the track for qualifying Saturday. Points leader Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, and Kevin Harvick are the only Cup drivers pulling double duty for the weekend.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Pocono Qualifying Rained Out originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daytona Trackside: Earnhardt and Petty

Holly Cain — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:41:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daytona Int'l Speedway, Chase for the Sprint Cup

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Catching up on the news and notes trackside at Daytona International Speedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. met with reporters briefly Friday and seemed pretty much resigned to the fact that he won't be making the 12-driver Chase for the Championship this season. He's currently ranked 19th, 285 points behind 12th place Juan Pablo Montoya with nine races remaining before the Chase field is set Sept. 12.

"It's going to be a real challenge for us to make the Chase,'' Earnhardt said. "We're still mathematically in it but we're not trying to catch just one guy. .. we're trying to catch four or five guys. And it's unrealistic to expect all them guys to have enough trouble.

"For us to top-ten 'em to death ain't gonna get it done. So we've got to run better and even though we have improved it seems, we still need to get better and be able to compete."

Earnhardt, who has 12 wins at Daytona International Speedway (counting all series races), conceded that getting to victory circle is the more pressing goal right now. That would give his team and new crew chief Lance McGrew the kind of momentum it needs for the off-season.

"At the end of the year when you're done racing at Homestead and you've run the last lap and you get out of the car, what kind of feeling do you want to have?

"The one I want to have is that we've fixed it. We've got something that we can feel good about and work on and get all our stuff ready for next year and feel like we can go in and get the job done.

"Right now, that's not how we feel as a team.

"We want to have some wins and some consistency and end the year going,'all right, can't wait 'til next year.' ''

*Lost in the all breaking news and controversy regarding embattled driver Jeremy Mayfield is the good news that the first inductees have been nominated for the soon-to-open NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.

A voting panel will select five people from the ballot, which includes a long list of stock car pioneers from NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., to the original moonshiner runner Junior Johnson to legendary champions Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt to accomplished team owners such as Richard Childress.

It's pretty obvious that that first inductees will have to include France and Petty but there are several schools of thought on who should make the inaugural class beyond those two men.

"If I was doing it, I'd take some from the 1950s, 60s then go to next level,'' Petty said Friday. "I would put the people that got NASCAR started, the people that planted the seed. Then the people that came along next.

"It's going to be a tough decision on the Bill Frances do you put one in or both of them? I would look at history, the people that really got it started. ... If you're not careful you're going to start putting personalities in. ... You have to be careful not to make it a popularity contest.''

*In honor of the 25th anniversary of Petty's 200th and final NASCAR Cup win, which came in this race, the icon will drive the pace car prior for the Coke Zero 400.

"They're going to start me in the front and I haven't got a restrictor plate,'' Petty joked with reporters. "When they throw the flag and I'm getting ready to lap them, they'll throw the flag and I'll come in like a 'start and park' car.

"It really brings back a lot of good memories. This is a very special deal.''

*With rain cancelling Sprint Cup qualifying Friday for the fifth time and shortening three races this year, NASCAR has been under the gun to consider time changes for race starts - specifically, making it more uniform.

The National Football League, for example, starts its Sunday games at 1 and 4 every week. Fans can count on it and schedule their day around the games. As it is now, NASCAR has 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. starts.

Driver Kyle Busch said he'd be in favor of setting earlier, more definitive race times.

"Definitely, for sure,'' Busch said. "With the way NASCAR runs now you need a TV program or you're all confused. If it's a night race, start it at 7 and if it's a day race, 1 or 2. If you're on the West Coast, start it there at 10 a.m."

*After his car went airborne into the catch fence along the front grandstands at Talladega, Ala. in April, Carl Edwards crawled out of the mangled mess, ran across the finish line and then told the television audience that restrictor plate racing might end up killing someone.

In the days after the race, Edwards backed off the strong comments, but many others called for a change in rules that would better prevent the kind of last lap melee that has the potential to send cars airborne endangering the driver and spectator.

Many others felt the incident - when eventual winner Brad Keselowski bumped Edwards from behind - was just a racing incident - severe, but one-of-a-kind and a consequence of the sport.

Edwards moved to block Keselowski from passing him and the two cars collided sending Edwards Ford into the grandstands, where six people were injured from flying debris.

Edwards said at Daytona this week that he really hasn't thought much of the wreck in months and was completely comfortable for Saturday's restrictor plate 400-miler at Daytona.

"Honestly, I've had wrecks that were worse feeling than that by far,'' Edwards said. "That one was pretty wild and the potential for something bad to happen was maybe a little higher.

"If I had to do it over again, I think it would end up probably the same way. At least I'm aware more of the fact that, hey, there's something that can happen that I hadn't thought of before.

"It's funny. In racing you forget about those wrecks quick and then you go do the same stupid stuff again and again.''

Edwards Roush-Fenway Racing teammate said that the calls to change rules or car components as a reaction to the crash weren't really practical.

"Change it to what?'' Kenseth asked. "That's the question.

"Everybody's like, 'the rules have got to change.' They'll (NASCAR) say, what to you guys want to change it to? and then everybody's like, 'I don't know.'

"Certainly the wreck that he (Edwards) had and even me being upside down that Saturday at Talladega, those are the guys that are probably going to make the comments.

"I just don't know what you do. ... You're going to have wrecks, no matter what the package was.''

Daytona Trackside: Earnhardt and Petty originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:41:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Edwards Repeats at Milwaukee Mile

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:30:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Roush Fenway Racing

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (AP) -- Carl Edwards made the most of his one-day Wisconsin getaway, winning Saturday's Nationwide series race at the Milwaukee Mile after taking a brief break from his Sprint Cup duties in California.

It's a repeat victory at Milwaukee and the first Nationwide win of this season for Edwards, who took the lead from fellow Cup commuter Kyle Busch with 44 laps left in the race and wasn't significantly challenged the rest of the way.

Edwards, who also won last year's race at the Mile, did his customary backflip on the frontstretch after taking the checkered flag Saturday.

"I'm just glad I got to do it tonight,'' Edwards said in a radio interview in victory lane.

Busch finished second, followed by Brad Keselowski.

"We just didn't keep up with the track, I guess,'' Busch said in a postrace radio interview. "Carl beat us out there fair and square.''

Rookie Erik Darnell, a part-time Nationwide driver who qualified on the pole earlier Saturday, was running second in the late stages of the race but slipped to fourth at the finish.

Edwards and Busch flew more than 2,000 miles from California earlier in the day, missing qualifying for Saturday's race - meaning they would have to start at the back of the pack after replacement drivers qualified their cars- but arriving in time to take the green flag.

Both drivers quickly made up ground once the green flag dropped, climbing into the top 20 only 18 laps into the race and into the top 10 by lap 55.

Busch then took over the lead on lap 123, coming off pit road first after a round of pit stops under caution. But Edwards began to gain ground on Busch during a subsequent long green-flag run, and some drama developed as a piece of metal began dragging and sparking near Busch's right-rear wheel.

Busch's crew turned in another fast stop under caution on lap 194, getting him off pit road ahead of Edwards, Keselowski and Steve Wallace. But Busch couldn't shake loose of Edwards after the restart, and Edwards took the lead with 44 laps to go - just as Brad Coleman, who spent much of the first half of the race running in the top five, crashed to bring out a caution.

Darnell then took second place from Busch with 30 laps to go, making a bold move to the outside through Turns 1 and 2. Busch retook second place in the closing laps, but it was too late to challenge Edwards for the win.

It was a breakout performance by 21-year-old former USAC standout Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who took over the lead on lap 56. In only his fourth career start in the series for the powerhouse Roush Fenway team, the Olive Branch, Miss., native held the lead through a round of green-flag pit stops until Keselowski passed him on lap 105. Stenhouse finished fifth.

Ron Hornaday Jr., who celebrated his 51st birthday by winning the Camping World Truck series race earlier Saturday, was penalized for speeding on pit road early but rebounded to finish ninth. The trucks race originally was scheduled to run Friday night, but was postponed because of rain.

After making the long flight back to California, Busch is slated to start second in Sunday's Sprint Cup road race at Sonoma. Edwards will start 34th.

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.

Edwards Repeats at Milwaukee Mile originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roush Team Targets Michigan Speedway

Holly Cain — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:45:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing, Sprint Cup

What with Tony Stewart going it on his own just fine, thank you; Kyle Busch smashing trophies in victory lane; Dale Earnhardt Jr. struggling to live up to his hype; 50-year old Mark Martin winning races; and Hendrick Motorsports being, well ... Hendrick Motorsports, the once dominant Roush Fenway Ford team finds itself on NASCAR's attention periphery here at the midseason point.

Three of Roush's five drivers are currently ranked among the championship top-12, but only one -- Matt Kenseth -- has reached victory lane.

Roush drivers have led laps and led them late -- Carl Edwards at Talladega, Greg Biffle at Dover, for example -- but inevitably another story seems to come along and swipe the checkered flag and the spotlight.

Of course, that could all change this Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, where Roush Fenway Racing owns 11 victories -- eight in the past 10 years.

"I think we're a little under the radar obviously," said Greg Biffle, who's ranked seventh in the standings. "The 16-team, we tend to fly under the radar a little bit more. We're there every week, right there, right there. ... And tend not to make too much racket, which does and doesn't bother me that we don't get the attention.

"Pretty much everything I saw and read after the Dover race was about Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson -- 'two of the best drivers in the world, did you see em?' "

"I wasn't even mentioned," Biffle said smiling. "It was like I wasn't even there. I was the one leading. Tony and I battled for position, then he got by me. ...Then the 48 got by me.

"I don't let that bother me, it's just where the storyline is. Sometimes we'll be the storyline and sometimes we won't."

Latest NASCAR Images

NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Brian Vickers, driver of the NASCAR #83 Red Bull Toyota, pulls away after making a full pit stop with the Red Bull Racing pit crew on 7th Avenue in Times Square on June 10, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Jaime L. Mikle/Getty Images for Red Bull) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

Getty Images for Red Bull

NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Brian Vickers, driver of the NASCAR #83 Red Bull Toyota, makes a full pit stop with the Red Bull Racing pit crew on 7th Avenue in Times Square on June 10, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for Red Bull) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

Getty Images for Red Bull

NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Brian Vickers, driver of the NASCAR #83 Red Bull Toyota, makes a full pit stop with the Red Bull Racing pit crew on 7th Avenue in Times Square on June 10, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images for Red Bull) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

Getty Images for Red Bull

NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Brian Vickers, driver of the NASCAR #83 Red Bull Toyota, makes a full pit stop with the Red Bull Racing pit crew on 7th Avenue in Times Square on June 10, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images for Red Bull) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

Getty Images for Red Bull

NEW YORK - JUNE 10: A NASCAR racing lollipop is held in the street before Brian Vickers, driver of the NASCAR #83 Red Bull Toyota, makes a full pit stop with the Red Bull Racing pit crew on 7th Avenue in Times Square on June 10, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images for Red Bull) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

Getty Images for Red Bull

NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Brian Vickers, driver of the NASCAR #83 Red Bull Toyota, makes a full pit stop with the Red Bull Racing pit crew on 7th Avenue in Times Square on June 10, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Jaime L. Mikle/Getty Images for Red Bull) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

Getty Images for Red Bull

NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Brian Vickers, driver of the NASCAR #83 Red Bull Toyota, makes a full pit stop with the Red Bull Racing pit crew on 7th Avenue in Times Square on June 10, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images for Red Bull) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

Getty Images for Red Bull

FILE - This is an April 19, 2008 file photo showing Colin Braun posing for photographers after winning his first pole position in his three-year career, during the NASCAR Nationwide qualifiers in Mexico City. Braun figures there couldn't be a better time for his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory than in Saturday's race at Michigan International Speedway. The 20-year-old Braun, in his second full season driving trucks for Roush Fenway Racing, would love to be the driver to give team co-owner Jack Roush his 50th series victory. (AP Photo/Miguel Tovar, File)

Tony Stewart (14) drives from the garage area for practice Saturday, June 6, 2009, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. Darian Grubb had no intention of leaving his engineering job at Hendrick Motorsports. But when Tony Stewart called him with an offer to be the crew chief of his upstart team, Grubb couldn't say no. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

More often than not, the Roush team is the storyline at Michigan, a driver-favorite 2-miler where the Roush Fenway team has scored at least one victory in the past seven consecutive years -- a track record. The last time the Cup Series raced here (August, 2008), all five of the Roush Fords finished in the top-10.

And as far as team founder Jack Roush is concerned, there's no finer place for the success. He lives outside Detroit and his ROUSH Industries engineering company is headquartered a half hour away from the track. He got his first Michigan win two decades ago with a 30-year-old Martin.

"It's just fun to race in front of the home crowd and we have a history of being successful based on the foundation that Mark Martin put under us 20 years ago," said Roush, who counts a 1997 win during Ford Motor Company's 100th anniversary celebration as his most memorable victory here.

Edwards, Biffle and Kenseth -- who are ranked sixth, seventh and eighth in the championship -- are among the leaders in nearly every statistical category at Michigan in the last four years and considered heavy favorites this weekend.

Edwards holds the top driver rating at MIS, Kenseth is third and Biffle fourth. Edwards, who has two wins in nine Cup starts here, is also tops in Average Running Position (seventh), Laps Run in the Top 15 (90.2 percent) and Fastest Race Laps (134).

"Trust me, I want to win so badly," said Edwards, who won at Michigan last August and is coming off a runner-up effort at Dover on Sunday.

"Even though it's only been 13 or 14 races [since a win], it feels like forever. But I think if we just keep our heads down, I think we'll get what we deserve. And definitely points feel good."

Biffle concurs.

"Big picture, we're right there," said Biffle, adding with a laugh. "We're not lousy by any means."

Roush Team Targets Michigan Speedway originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASCAR Satisfied With Safety Measures

Holly Cain — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:15:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR Crashes, Sprint Cup

Saying they were "glad all the safety devices worked properly,'' NASCAR officials addressed the national media Monday to answer questions in the wake of Sunday's frightening final-lap crash at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway that injured seven fans.

NASCAR Vice President Jim Hunter reiterated the sanctioning body's "number one priority" is the safety of its participants and spectators. And he sent the organization's thoughts to the fans who suffered minor injuries from debris when Carl Edwards' car went airborne and crashed into a fence along the front-stretch grandstands.

Hunter said the sanctioning body would take any steps necessary to ensure safe events. But at this point, there aren't any additional steps to take.

NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said there are no plans to take restrictor plates off the motors at super-fast Talladega, nor get rid of the high banking, nor change the "yellow line" rule.

Basically, NASCAR has to balance the excitement of a good show with the safety of its performers and fans in an inherently dangerous sport. And typically, the fans love the close-quarter, high-speed excitement typical of the two restrictor plate tracks at Talladega and Daytona. Many feel Sunday's race -- with its 57 lead changes and dicey racing -- was the best event of the season.

But fans were injured, and some drivers, such as three-time reigning champ Jimmie Johnson and Edwards, were especially critical of this type of racing.

Johnson said, "It sucks racing here,'' after being caught up in a late race multi-car accident, commonly referred to as "The Big One'' at these tracks.

Edwards, who wasn't hurt in the accident, and even climbed out of his car and jogged across the finish line for good measure, was even more extreme in his comments.

"Hopefully, they can do something somehow to change this style of racing,'' said Edwards, who was leading the race when his car collided with eventual winner Brad Keselowski. "I guess we'll do this until somebody gets killed and then we'll change it, but that's the way it is.''

The criticism isn't new, just fresh in light of Sunday's dramatic finish and spectator injuries.

"Our series races on 22 different race tracks and... not every driver likes all the tracks we run on, some hate restrictor plate tracks and some hate the road courses just as much,'' Pemberton said.

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

Pemberton said NASCAR officials, with a research and development team, were at Roush Racing headquarters in Charlotte on Monday morning looking at Edwards car to see if they could learn anything from the wreckage.

The cars roof flaps deployed as they were supposed to and Pemberton believes the launch into the air came when Edwards' Ford hit another car, not because of any aerodynamic problem with the 2-year-old COTs (Car of Tomorrow). The roll cage was also intact.

NASCAR said it would examine the fencing at the track, but was comfortable with the durability and performance on Sunday. It said seating availability -- including those seats so close to the racing surface -- was each track's call.

"The fence yesterday did what it was supposed to do, it threw the car back onto the track,'' Hunter said. "But we'll analyze the fence and if there's something we come up with after we analyze it, we'll put it into play.''

The three officials dismissed the suggestion they should get rid of the banking -- or even decrease it -- so the cars won't need the carburetor restrictor plates anymore. The plates essentially cut the horsepower in half at the super-fast high banks at Daytona and Talladega. It creates suspenseful "pack" racing but also lends itself to larger multi-car accidents.

"I believe the most exciting races we have are at Talladega and Daytona, and that's a big part of our sport,'' NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby said. "I think there's more value in continuing safety efforts at those tracks than turning those two tracks into flat parking lots.

"Talladega and Daytona are not the only places we have wrecks or even multiple wrecks. There's just always a tendency to sensationalize the wrecks more at those tracks than other places we race at.''

Instead of changing the tracks, the cars or the rules, officials indicated it's a case of needing stricter enforcement of those rules, such as issuing more in-race penalties for aggressive driving.

"We tried letting the competitors police themselves in terms of blocking and bump-drafting,'' said Hunter.

The accident happened as Edwards was leading Keselowski about a half-mile from the checkered flag. Keselowski made a move to pass Edwards, who blocked him. The second time Keselowski tried the move, he got into position and held the line. When Edwards tried to block again, the cars collided and, ultimately, Edwards' car launched into the air.

Darby scoffed at the notion that NASCAR should do away with the yellow line rule that serves as a boundary line at the bottom on the track. Drivers cannot gain a position by driving below that line, which is why Keselowski said he held his driving lane instead of moving down out of Edwards way.

"It becomes a big game of chicken when the track goes from 15 lanes down to three and the yellow line rule has made the width of the track consistent all the way down,'' Darby said. "If you move both cars up two lanes on the track, I believe the same wreck would have happened.''

"What it comes down to is professional drivers controlling cars at high speeds."

NASCAR Satisfied With Safety Measures originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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