Sadler on pole at Iowa Speedway
[/media-credit]NEWTON — For the second time in his three Nationwide Series races at Iowa Speedway, Elliott Sadler will start Sunday’s race from the pole.
Sadler makes his third career Nationwide Series start on Sunday at the Pioneer Hi-Bred 250. He recorded the fastest lap of 23.532 seconds during Saturday’s pole qualifying session.
Sam Hornish Jr. will start second, making it the fifth time he has qualified in the top-10 this season. Defending race winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will start third.
Austin Dillion was the field’s fastest qualifying rookie, recording a sixth place effort.
| Starting Lineup | |||||
| Pioneer Hi-Bred 250, Iowa Speedway | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/qual.php?race=10 | |||||
| =========================================== | |||||
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Make | Speed | Time |
| =========================================== | |||||
| 1 | 2 | Elliott Sadler | Chevrolet | 133.911 | 23.523 |
| 2 | 12 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | 133.294 | 23.632 |
| 3 | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 133.114 | 23.664 |
| 4 | 18 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | 133.085 | 23.669 |
| 5 | 31 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 132.514 | 23.771 |
| 6 | 3 | Austin Dillon* | Chevrolet | 132.414 | 23.789 |
| 7 | 11 | Brian Scott | Toyota | 132.22 | 23.824 |
| 8 | 20 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | Toyota | 132.192 | 23.829 |
| 9 | 7 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | 132.042 | 23.856 |
| 10 | 22 | Parker Kligerman | Dodge | 131.937 | 23.875 |
| 11 | 30 | Steve Arpin | Chevrolet | 131.788 | 23.902 |
| 12 | 88 | Cole Whitt* | Chevrolet | 131.217 | 24.006 |
| 13 | 33 | Brendan Gaughan | Chevrolet | 131.146 | 24.019 |
| 14 | 124 | Casey Roderick* | Chevrolet | 130.781 | 24.086 |
| 15 | 199 | Travis Pastrana | Toyota | 130.722 | 24.097 |
| 16 | 19 | Tayler Malsam | Toyota | 130.646 | 24.111 |
| 17 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | 130.473 | 24.143 |
| 18 | 43 | Michael Annett | Ford | 130.392 | 24.158 |
| 19 | 70 | Johanna Long* | Chevrolet | 130.316 | 24.172 |
| 20 | 38 | Brad Sweet* | Chevrolet | 129.993 | 24.232 |
| 21 | 41 | Timmy Hill | Ford | 129.929 | 24.244 |
| 22 | 14 | Jeff Green | Toyota | 129.849 | 24.259 |
| 23 | 44 | Mike Bliss | Toyota | 129.688 | 24.289 |
| 24 | 81 | Jason Bowles* | Toyota | 129.544 | 24.316 |
| 25 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 129.363 | 24.35 |
| 26 | 1 | Mike Wallace | Chevrolet | 129.289 | 24.364 |
| 27 | 50 | T.J. Bell | Chevrolet | 129.231 | 24.375 |
| 28 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Chevrolet | 129.125 | 24.395 |
| 29 | 23 | Jamie Dick | Chevrolet | 129.008 | 24.417 |
| 30 | 10 | Kevin Lepage | Toyota | 128.998 | 24.419 |
| 31 | 54 | Kurt Busch | Toyota | 128.556 | 24.503 |
| 32 | 39 | Josh Richards | Ford | 128.488 | 24.516 |
| 33 | 40 | Erik Darnell | Chevrolet | 128.456 | 24.522 |
| 34 | 52 | Joey Gase* | Chevrolet | 127.396 | 24.726 |
| 35 | 46 | Chase Miller | Chevrolet | 127.386 | 24.728 |
| 36 | 4 | Daryl Harr | Chevrolet | 127.35 | 24.735 |
| 37 | 108 | Tim Andrews | Ford | 127.345 | 24.736 |
| 38 | 15 | Blake Koch | Chevrolet | 127.032 | 24.797 |
| 39 | 47 | Tim Schendel | Chevrolet | 126.812 | 24.84 |
| 40 | 42 | Matt Frahm | Chevrolet | 126.72 | 24.858 |
| 41 | 172 | John Jackson | Toyota | 126.435 | 24.914 |
| 42 | 174 | Mike Harmon | Chevrolet | 125.703 | 25.059 |
NCAT: Defending Series Champion Scott Steckly Leads Practice For Vortex Brake Pads 200
[media-credit name=”Matthew Manor/NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”262″]
[/media-credit]Defending series champion Scott Steckly is beginning his defence of the championship in the right fashion as he leads practice for the Vortex Brake Pads 200 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. He led with a lap time of one minute and 24 seconds.
Coming into this season, Steckly felt prepared and ready to become the first three-time champion in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.
“The offseason is definitely long, but, I think, this year we’re in pretty good shape,” the Milverton, Ontario native says. “In years past it always seemed no matter how much time we had, we were behind from where we wanted or needed to be. I feel we’re ready to go this year. We’ve already tested four times on road courses.”
Despite having 11 wins in the Canadian Tire Series over the years, he has yet to win a road course race. He came close last year as he finished second at both Circuit ICAR and Exhibition Place in Toronto, while finishing fifth last year at Mosport.
“We’ve finished second a number of times over the past several years and I would like to win one,” Steckly says. “But more importantly, we just need to be ready for that part of the schedule. Most of those races are a little shorter and the margin for error is not terribly high.”
Two-time race winner Andrew Ranger was second in final practice, seven tenths off of Steckly. Ranger returns for the full schedule after running some NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
J.R. Fitzpatrick was third in practice, saying on twitter that the car was too tight during practice. In his past five starts at CTMP, he has two wins while leading 91 of 257 laps.
“We’re going for the win,” he said back at the end of March. “That’s one of my favourite tracks and to be one of the guys everybody watches every week when we go there, it’s kind of a cool feeling.”
Last year’s Rookie of the Year Louis-Philippe Dumoulin was fourth as he enters his first season as a teammate to Steckly while Jeff Lapcevich was fifth.
In the earlier practice today, Steckly led Fitzpatrick by two thousandth of a second, followed by Ranger, last year’s race winner DJ Kennington and Scott Steckly.
The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will qualify later this afternoon at 4pm EST. The race is schedule for tomorrow afternoon at 1:30pm EST.
NCATS CTMP 5/20/12 Practice
Final Practice
| Pos | No. | Name | Sponsor | Best Tm | Laps | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Scott Steckly | Canadian Tire | 1:24.156 | 11 | |
| 2 | 27 | Andrew Ranger | Dodge/GC Motorsports | 1:24.941 | 8 | 0.785 |
| 3 | 84 | J.R. Fitzpatrick | Equipment Express | 1:24.982 | 3 | 0.826 |
| 4 | 47 | Louis-Philippe Dumoulin | WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare | 1:25.174 | 10 | 1.018 |
| 5 | 23 | Jeff Lapcevich | Tim Hortons | 1:25.392 | 9 | 1.236 |
| 6 | 02 | Kerry Micks | BDI/Leland/PartSource | 1:25.534 | 8 | 1.378 |
| 7 | 3 | Jason Hathaway | Vortex Brake Pads | 1:25.880 | 8 | 1.724 |
| 8 | 60 | Ron Beauchamp, Jr. | Mopar/Mobil 1 | 1:26.016 | 12 | 1.860 |
| 9 | 17 | D.J. Kennington | Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors | 1:26.367 | 4 | 2.211 |
| 10 | 42 | Peter Klutt | Legendary Motorcar | 1:26.689 | 5 | 2.533 |
| 11 | 90 | Martin Roy * | Veloce/Gamache Truck Center | 1:26.913 | 7 | 2.757 |
| 12 | 99 | Steve Cote * | Whie Motorsports | 1:26.936 | 11 | 2.780 |
| 13 | 21 | Jason White | A&W/Bowers and Wilkins | 1:28.154 | 11 | 3.998 |
| 14 | 5 | Noel Dowler | EMCO-Kohler/Rheem | 1:28.191 | 9 | 4.035 |
| 15 | 56 | Howie Scannell Jr. | Trailers by Jim Bray | 1:28.197 | 12 | 4.041 |
| 16 | 44 | Jarrad Whissell | SMS Equipment/Komatsu | 1:28.273 | 12 | 4.117 |
| 17 | 07 | Isabelle Tremblay | Frank Lyman Design | 1:28.362 | 12 | 4.206 |
| 18 | 97 | Hugo Vannini | Vannini Motorsports | 1:28.608 | 8 | 4.452 |
| 19 | 15 | Steve Mathews | Bill Mathews Motors | 1:28.666 | 5 | 4.510 |
| 20 | 10 | Derek White | Burger Barn | 1:29.271 | 18 | 5.115 |
| 21 | 94 | Dave Coursol * | Carquest Canada | 1:30.023 | 14 | 5.867 |
| 22 | 67 | Dave Thorndyke | Thorsons EVT | 1:30.656 | 8 | 6.500 |
| 23 | 50 | Joey McColm | Give It Your Everything | 1:31.133 | 3 | 6.977 |
| 24 | 81 | Larry Jackson * | B&B Decals/Speedy Muffler Burlington | 1:34.061 | 9 | 9.905 |
| 25 | 29 | Ray Courtemanche Jr. * | Construction Danam Bonzai | 1:36.461 | 13 | 12.305 |
| 26 | 11 | Michael Scholz * | Triad Racing | 1:41.785 | 5 | 17.629 |
First Practice
| Pos | No. | Name | Sponsor | Best Tm | Best Speed | In Lap | Laps | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Scott Steckly | Canadian Tire | 01:25.0 | 104.109 | 6 | 6 | |
| 2 | 84 | J.R. Fitzpatrick | Equipment Express | 01:25.0 | 104.107 | 3 | 7 | 0.002 |
| 3 | 27 | Andrew Ranger | Dodge/GC Motorsports | 01:25.9 | 103.105 | 6 | 7 | 0.828 |
| 4 | 17 | D.J. Kennington | Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors | 01:26.0 | 102.894 | 3 | 4 | 1.004 |
| 5 | 02 | Kerry Micks | BDI/Leland/PartSource | 01:26.4 | 102.400 | 5 | 5 | 1.419 |
| 6 | 42 | Peter Klutt | Legendary Motorcar | 01:26.5 | 102.309 | 4 | 6 | 1.496 |
| 7 | 47 | Louis-Philippe Dumoulin | WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare | 01:26.8 | 101.979 | 4 | 5 | 1.776 |
| 8 | 66 | Robin Buck | Quaker State | 01:27.1 | 101.656 | 4 | 7 | 2.052 |
| 9 | 60 | Ron Beauchamp, Jr. | Mopar/Mobil 1 | 01:27.5 | 101.195 | 2 | 8 | 2.449 |
| 10 | 99 | Steve Cote * | Whie Motorsports | 01:27.7 | 100.978 | 4 | 5 | 2.637 |
| 11 | 3 | Jason Hathaway | Vortex Brake Pads | 01:28.2 | 100.394 | 1 | 3 | 3.147 |
| 12 | 5 | Noel Dowler | EMCO-Kohler/Rheem | 01:28.9 | 99.565 | 5 | 6 | 3.881 |
| 13 | 21 | Jason White | A&W/Bowers and Wilkins | 01:29.0 | 99.457 | 4 | 4 | 3.977 |
| 14 | 44 | Jarrad Whissell | SMS Equipment/Komatsu | 01:29.1 | 99.346 | 2 | 8 | 4.077 |
| 15 | 15 | Steve Mathews | Bill Mathews Motors | 01:29.5 | 98.869 | 6 | 6 | 4.507 |
| 16 | 56 | Howie Scannell Jr. | Trailers by Jim Bray | 01:29.6 | 98.851 | 3 | 3 | 4.523 |
| 17 | 90 | Martin Roy * | Veloce/Gamache Truck Center | 01:29.8 | 98.600 | 3 | 3 | 4.751 |
| 18 | 07 | Isabelle Tremblay | Frank Lyman Design | 01:30.8 | 97.498 | 3 | 3 | 5.766 |
| 19 | 97 | Hugo Vannini | Vannini Motorsports | 01:32.1 | 96.068 | 3 | 3 | 7.117 |
| 20 | 67 | Dave Thorndyke | Thorsons EVT | 01:32.3 | 95.918 | 4 | 4 | 7.261 |
| 21 | 94 | Dave Coursol * | Carquest Canada | 01:32.6 | 95.572 | 7 | 8 | 7.595 |
| 22 | 10 | Derek White | Burger Barn | 01:34.8 | 93.360 | 2 | 4 | 9.790 |
| 23 | 29 | Ray Courtemanche Jr. * | Construction Danam Bonzai | 01:37.4 | 90.895 | 4 | 6 | 12.361 |
Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 12 Charlotte Motor Speedway – NASCAR Sprint All Star Race – May 19, 2012
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[/media-credit]The stars have come home to Charlotte for this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint All Star Race, and this year brings new drivers, a new format, but the same old distinction. A million dollars rides on the driver able to cross the finish line first following 90 or so laps at The Beast of the Southeast. Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All Star Race will be run in 4-20 lap segments, with the four segment-winners staging at the front of the field for the final 10-lap shootout to the wire for the cool million. 90 or more laps will make up the All Star race this year, as only green flag laps count in the final 10-lap shootout.
Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race wins, with three under his belt already. Carl Edwards made his mark on Charlotte Motor Speedway last season when he practically ripped the front end of his Ford Fusion off from the rest of the car, following his turn through the front-stretch grass in celebration of his first NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race win.
Some big names still need to race (or be voted) into the big dance on Saturday Night, namely Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Burton, and Jamie McMurray. The way to earn a ticket to the big dance – finish in the top two of the Sprint Showdown is a surefire way, the other – be at the top of the Sprint Fan Vote. Much like Friday and Saturday night home-track races, there’s an A-main and a B-main tonight in Concord. The Sprint Showdown will be ran in two segments of 20 laps each, with the top two finishers moving onto tonight’s A-main.
With the absence of NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship points comes an extreme level of action and daring driving. Settling for second is never a thought in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race, making it one of my favorite race weekends of the entire Sprint Cup season.
Darlington Recap
The Lady in Black tamed my recent hot streak of winner picks last week, a result of the toughness Darlington Raceway brings to the sport.
I picked last week’s pole-sitter, Greg Biffle to win the Bojangles’ Southern 500, a move that looked fairly promising for 74 or so laps last Saturday Night. Biffle’s car seemed to go away as the laps ticked away, battling loose conditions through the latter of the laps at Darlington. He ran in the top-10 for the majority of the race, but the late-race caution set the field up for a green-white-checkered finsh. Biffle restarted 10th, but his 3M Ford Fusion was too much of a handful to muscle into the top-10, ultimately crossing the finish line in 12th.
My Dark Horse last week qualified for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 in the sixth spot, and ended the race one spot better in fifth. Martin Truex Jr. also battled a loose condition throughout the duration of the race and ran as high as first, but only faltered back to 11th last week. He lead a season high 25 laps and managed to hold his 5th place spot in the championship points standings.
All-Star Picks
There is so much to pick for tonight’s All-Star festivities, so I will try to keep my picks short and sweet this week…
Sprint Showdown
Kicking off tonight’s on-track activities is the B-main or LCQ (if you’re used to motorcycle racing), otherwise known as the Sprint Showdown. The Showdown is packed with guys eager to have a shot at racing for the cool million, but its Martin Truex Jr. and Jeff Burton that will punch their tickets to the big dance by racing their way into the A-main. Both will start in the top-5 for the Showdown and practiced well on Friday.
Fan Vote
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not race his way into the Sprint All-Star race, but will have a shot at the million via JR Nation. The will vote in droves following his third-place effort in the Sprint Showdown, but JR will start last on the grid for the NASCAR All-Star Race by receiving the 2012 fan vote for the second straight year.
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
Here’s the segment winners first:
1- Kyle Busch
2- Jimmie Johnson
3- Jeff Gordon
4 – Tony Stewart
Starting in the top-4 spots of the 10-lap shootout for tonight’s million-dollar purse will be one Toyota and three Chevrolets. In the end, it will be Stewart claiming victory in the All-Star race. He was at Thursday night’s Pit Crew Challenge, and was disappointed when his Stewart-Haas Racing crew was knocked out of the competition in the semi-finals. The defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion is out for revenge tonight and will go home a million dollars richer when the checkered falls.
That’s all for this week, so until next week’s Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500, and Coke 600…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!
