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Joe Gibbs Racing Looks to Rebound at Indy after Gateway

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SM Staff
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Last weekend’s race at Gateway turned into a nightmare for Joe Gibbs Racing as both of their cars crashed on the same lap.

On lap 152, DiBenedetto blew a tire after contact earlier in the race, which sent him up the wall. After making contact with the wall, he rolled down the track directly in front of his teammate Brad Coleman. The JGR cars ended up 29th and 30th at the end of the race.

Looking to rebound at O’Reilly Raceway Park, both Joe Gibbs Racing Nationwide Series cars will have new sponsors aboard.

Rookie Matt Dibenedetto has Game Plan For Life/I Am Second onboard his Toyota for this Saturday’s Kroger 200.

Game Plan for Life is the title of team owner’s Joe Gibbs’ most recent book which debuted one year ago while I am Second is a movement meant to inspire people of all kinds to live for God and for others.

This will mark DiBenedetto’s fourth start of the year and the fifth of his career.

Kyle Busch, meanwhile, will have FleetLocate on board his Nationwide car as he tries to sweep all of NASCAR’s top three Series races in the same weekend.

“FleetLocate Powered By Joe Gibbs Driven provides companies a cost-saving device for keeping track of their mobile fleets in the field,” according to JGR PR. “It not only can track the location of each member vehicle with state of the art mapping and instantly communicate when vehicles leave predetermined boundary limits, but it also measures and provides detailed reports on excessive engine idling and fuel consumption.”

Busch won’t be doing all the work in all three cars this weekend as Brad Coleman will qualify the Nationwide car for Busch while he practices his Cup car.

“Last year we qualified outside pole and I will do everything I can to give Kyle a great starting position for the Kroger 200 this year,” said Coleman in the team press release. “You always want to be the guy behind the wheel when they drop the green flag but it is also an honor anytime you are in a JGR car and able to work with one of the best all-time drivers in the sport.”

In five previous starts at ORP, Busch has two wins, three top fives, and three top 10s.

Currently, the No. 18 car sits second in the owner’s points, 49 points behind the No. 22 of Penske Racing, while the No. 20 sits third, 146 points behind.

NASCAR still reviewing Edwards/Keselowski accident

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SM Staff
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ESPN.com is reporting that NASCAR officials are still reviewing the incident involving Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski from Saturday’s Nationwide Series race and could announce a penalty Wednesday. The report by ESPN’s David Newton cites multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.

Edwards turned Keselowski after the two exited turn four and headed towards the checkered flag. Keselowski had made contact with Edwards in turn one while the two were racing for the lead and the win. Edwards responded by clipping Keselowski’s right rear in the middle of the Gateway International Raceway frontstretch.

Edwards admitted that the move was intentional and was a reaction to Keselowski’s bump and run in his victory lane interview with ESPN and later in his post-race press conference with the NASCAR media.

NASCAR issued a three-race probation for an incident in an Atlanta Sprint Cup Series race earlier this year to Edwards, when the driver intentionally wrecked Keselowski in the middle of the front straightaway, sending his rival into the air. Keselowski landed on his roof before the car eventually rolled on to all four wheels.

Keselowski appeared to be dazed but would go on to be checked and released from the infield care center after each of the incidents.

“He turned left into me and wrecked me on purpose,” Keselowski said after he was released from the infield care center at Gateway International Raceway. “I gave him the lane, and he still wrecked me. . . . I figured out a way to beat him. He wasn’t happy with me, so he wrecked me. Wrecking down the straightaway is never cool, whether it’s at 200 mph or 120. I’m sorry that’s the way it had to end.”

Keselowski’s father, Bob, who is a former racer himself, said on ESPN’s national television coverage after the wreck that he isn’t going to let Edwards “kill my boy” and that he will “get my own damn uniform back on and take care of this.”

In March, NASCAR president Mike Helton said that the sanctioning body would step in and issue penalties if they believed a line was crossed.

“We made it very clear to (Edwards) that these actions were not acceptable,” Helton said. “We believe (Edwards) understands our position at this point.

“The clear message, I think, we sent in January was that we were willing to put more responsibility in the hands of the driver. But there is a line you can cross and we’ll step in to maintain law and order when we think that line’s crossed.”

During a national media teleconference on Tuesday, four-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon said that he believed Edwards’ actions in the Nationwide Series race Saturday were “over and above what needed to be done.”

“I think it’s been well-documented this year that NASCAR is allowing the racing to be more in the drivers’ hands, to try to stay out of some of those incidents that are judgment calls,” Gordon said. “… But just looking at the incidents, looked to me like Brad got into him a little bit getting into one, but was just racing hard for the position, for the win. Then what Carl did I felt like was definitely out of line. I felt like it was over and above what needed to be done.”

Harvick also said that he believed Edwards’ reaction was over the top.

“I just think that’s way, way out of bounds as far as hooking somebody in the middle of the straightaway,” Harvick said in a telephone interview with Dave Despain on Sunday.

The wreck Gateway cost Keselowski’s points lead to drop from 227 to 168 points. Keselowski finished 14th.

Edwards wins; Keselowski’s blood boils

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SM Staff
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Carl Edwards nudged Brad Keselowski on the final lap to win Saturday nights Nationwide Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway International Raceway.

A late accident involving Justin Allgaier, Tayler Malsam and Joe Nemechek, set things up for a green-white-checkers finish.  

On the final lap, Keselowski nudged Edwards entering turn one.  Edwards fought back on the backstretch and pulled to the outside Keselowski entering turn three. Exiting turn four Keselowski was on the inside and almost clear with the lead heading to the finish line.    Edwards got into the back of Keselowski and turned him first into the outside wall and then he drifted back into the inside wall, bringing out a huge crash on the front stretch.  

“I was really proud how we were racing each other. He was holding me tight and getting me a little loose which was cool. I was rubbing on him a little bit. It was just great racing. I figured out a way to beat him. He wasn’t happy with me, so he wrecked me. Wrecking down the straightaway is never cool whether it’s at 200 mph or 120. I’m sorry that’s the way it had to end.” Keselowski said.   “I think he’s trying to figure out how he can win the points when he hasn’t run very well all year. I don’t think that was cool at all. We had a great Discount Tire Dodge all day long and I think we were the car to beat. It just didn’t happen.” Keselowski later added.  

Edwards did not agree.   “The deal is he’ll eventually learn he can’t run into my car over and over and put me in bad situations. In every situation, there’s an aggressor and there’s someone who reacts. I was not the aggressor in this situation.” Edwards said.   Keselowski said the contact in turn 1 on the final lap was incidental.  

“The way it went, he bumped me and he finished wherever he finished and I still won the race. That’s the only way I could see the race turning out fair.” Edwards said.   Edwards won, Keselowski finished 14th.  

Unofficial Results Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250, Gateway International Raceway July 17, 2010 – Race 19 of 35

Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps
1 8 60 Carl Edwards Ford 190 5 200
2 13 32 Reed Sorenson Toyota 170 0 200
3 1 99 Trevor Bayne Toyota 170 5 200
4 5 98 Paul Menard Ford 160 0 200
5 9 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 155 0 200
6 6 11 Brian Scott * Toyota 150 0 200
7 2 16 Colin Braun * Ford 146 0 200
8 34 7 Josh Wise Chevrolet 142 0 200
9 15 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. * Ford 138 0 200
10 22 34 Tony Raines Chevrolet 134 0 200
11 33 15 Michael Annett Toyota 130 0 200
12 12 70 Shelby Howard Chevrolet 127 0 200
13 26 88 Steve Arpin Chevrolet 124 0 200
14 3 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 131 10 200
15 21 5 Willie Allen Chevrolet 118 0 200
16 10 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 120 5 200
17 4 62 Brendan Gaughan Toyota 112 5 198
18 20 10 Tayler Malsam Toyota 109 0 198
19 39 40 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 106 0 198
20 32 28 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet 103 0 198
21 41 21 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 100 0 197
22 37 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 97 0 197
23 24 38 Jason Leffler Toyota 94 0 196
24 42 23 Alex Kennedy Chevrolet 91 0 196
25 16 12 Justin Allgaier Dodge 88 0 194
26 43 24 Eric McClure Ford 85 0 193
27 17 87 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 82 0 189
28 19 100 Ryan Truex Toyota 79 0 178
29 18 20 Matt DiBenedetto Toyota 76 0 163
30 7 18 Brad Coleman Toyota 73 0 150
31 38 9 Landon Cassill Ford 70 0 102
32 29 27 Kelly Bires Toyota 67 0 62
33 40 43 Brad Baker Ford 64 0 61
34 23 35 Jason Keller Chevrolet 61 0 44
35 31 156 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet 58 0 26
36 11 91 Chase Miller Chevrolet 55 0 24
37 28 90 Danny O’Quinn Jr. Chevrolet 52 0 20
38 27 26 Brian Keselowski Dodge 49 0 13
39 14 37 Kevin Swindell Ford 46 0 8
40 35 89 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 43 0 6
41 25 136 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 40 0 4
42 36 92 Dennis Setzer Dodge 37 0 3
43 30 49 Mark Green Chevrolet 34 0 2

Harvick dominates truck series race at Gateway

By
SM Staff
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Kevin Harvick dominated at Gateway International Raceway in the “lights delayed” Truck Series Camping World 200 race on Saturday. Harvick led 143 of the 160 laps in route to his third win in just four starts in the series.

The truck race was postponed from Friday night because of a power failure that happened just before the race was started.  

Brad Keselowski finished second, Johnny Sauter third, Todd Bodine fourth and Matt Crafton finished fifth.  

It was a very hot a muggy day and after the race series points leader Bodine was found on the floor of the media center trying to cool down.   “Man, I burned my butt bad and my back even got burned. That’s why I laid down on the cold floor.” Bodine said.  

Bodine leads by 101 points over Aric Almirola in the series standings.  

Unofficial Results

Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps
1 1 2 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 195 10 160
2 3 129 Brad Keselowski Dodge 170 0 160
3 5 13 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 165 0 160
4 14 30 Todd Bodine Toyota 160 0 160
5 9 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet 155 0 160
6 7 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 150 0 160
7 6 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 146 0 160
8 16 51 Aric Almirola Toyota 147 5 160
9 10 18 Brian Ickler Toyota 138 0 160
10 13 5 Mike Skinner Toyota 134 0 160
11 23 23 Jason White Dodge 130 0 160
12 2 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 127 0 160
13 25 81 David Starr Toyota 124 0 160
14 19 12 Mario Gosselin Chevrolet 121 0 160
15 21 9 Max Papis Toyota 118 0 160
16 20 90 Brad Sweet Toyota 115 0 160
17 22 15 Steve Wallace Toyota 112 0 160
18 17 7 Tony Jackson Jr. Chevrolet 109 0 159
19 12 60 Stacy Compton Chevrolet 106 0 159
20 33 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb * Ford 103 0 158
21 31 47 Brett Butler * Chevrolet 100 0 158
22 29 186 Jamie Dick Chevrolet 97 0 158
23 24 63 Jack Smith Ford 94 0 158
24 34 1 Carl Long Chevrolet 91 0 157
25 35 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 88 0 153
26 8 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 90 5 150
27 4 7 Justin Lofton * Toyota 82 0 127
28 30 46 Clay Greenfield Dodge 79 0 105
29 18 4 Ricky Carmichael Chevrolet 76 0 79
30 32 6 Jeffrey Earnhardt Chevrolet 73 0 79
31 11 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 70 0 49
32 36 187 Chris Jones Chevrolet 67 0 25
33 27 89 Mike Harmon Chevrolet 64 0 21
34 15 93 Mike Garvey Chevrolet 61 0 19
35 26 95 Dennis Setzer Dodge 58 0 3
36 28 172 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 0 0 1

Dillon dominates at Iowa

By
SM Staff
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Austin Dillon started from the pole and won his first career Truck Series race on Sunday at Iowa Speedway. Dillon held off Johnny Sauter in a green-white-checkered finish to become the second-youngest driver to win a Truck Series race behind Kyle Busch.

Dillon dominated the race by leading the race high of 187 laps.   Dillon, the grandson of owner Richard Childress put the famous No. 3 in victory lane for the second week in a row. Dale Earnhardt Jr. placed the Wrangler No. 3 in victory lane last Friday night at Daytona.  

Dillon appeared to easily have the race in hand, until a late caution flag with 3 laps to go setup one last restart. Dillon took the outside line and easily pulled away in the final laps as the other drivers battled behind him.  

Matt Crafton finished third, Ken Schrader fourth and James Buescher finished fifth.  

Todd Bodine, Brian Ickler and Ron Hornaday were caught up in a wreck around the half way point of the race. Bodine was not pleased with Ickler before the next restart and bumped him from behind. NASCAR black flagged him and he was given a pass through penalty.  

“I don’t know if we had anything for the 3 truck, but we were running pretty good and just got wrecked by the 30 (Bofine) and pretty much rode out the rest of the race. These kinds of races are a little tough to bear, but we’ll be back at it in five days, and that’s a good thing.” Ickler said.  

Bodine finished 17th and holds an 88 point lead over Aric Almirola in the series standings.  

Almirola blew a front tire and hit the wall just 76 laps into the race and finished 28th.   “I blew a right front. It shows you how easy in this sport it is to go from the top to the bottom.” Almirola said.  

Timothy Peters blew an engine halfway through the race and finished 27th.   “The engine just let go. It started popping there about five laps before it actually let go. I can’t complain. Joey Arrington and everybody at Arrington do us a great job week in and week out. That’s racing.” Peters said.    

Unofficial Race Results Lucas Oil 200 presented by SPEED on Mediacom July 11, 2010 – Race 10 of 25

Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps Status
1 1 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 195 10 205 Running
2 5 13 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 175 5 205 Running
3 10 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet 165 0 205 Running
4 13 2 Ken Schrader Chevrolet 160 0 205 Running
5 14 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 155 0 205 Running
6 3 60 Stacy Compton Chevrolet 150 0 205 Running
7 15 5 Mike Skinner Toyota 151 5 205 Running
8 6 162 Greg Pursley Chevrolet 142 0 205 Running
9 21 4 Ricky Carmichael Chevrolet 138 0 205 Running
10 23 81 David Starr Toyota 134 0 205 Running
11 7 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 130 0 205 Running
12 22 12 Mario Gosselin Chevrolet 127 0 205 Running
13 4 18 Brian Ickler Toyota 124 0 205 Running
14 16 21 Chris Eggleston * Dodge 126 5 205 Running
15 11 7 Justin Lofton * Toyota 118 0 203 Running
16 20 186 Jamie Dick Chevrolet 115 0 203 Running
17 9 30 Todd Bodine Toyota 112 0 202 Running
18 29 47 Brett Butler * Chevrolet 109 0 200 Running
19 24 46 Brian Rose Dodge 106 0 199 Running
20 33 1 Carl Long Chevrolet 103 0 199 Running
21 31 6 J C Stout Chevrolet 100 0 199 Running
22 32 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 97 0 198 Running
23 17 23 Jason White Dodge 94 0 172 Running
24 19 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 91 0 171 Running
25 26 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb * Ford 88 0 125 Handling
26 12 7 Donny Lia Chevrolet 85 0 118 Accident
27 8 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 82 0 104 Engine
28 2 51 Aric Almirola Toyota 79 0 75 Accident
29 25 85 Brent Raymer Ford 76 0 40 Brakes
30 18 15 Steve Wallace Toyota 73 0 38 Accident
31 35 48 Chad McCumbee Chevrolet 70 0 27 Vibration
32 36 182 Paddy Rodenbeck Chevrolet 67 0 23 Rear End
33 28 187 Chris Jones Chevrolet 64 0 23 Ignition
34 27 95 Clay Greenfield Dodge 61 0 18 Overheating
35 34 124 Mike Harmon Ford 58 0 15 Overheating
36 30 93 Mike Garvey Chevrolet 55 0 5 Brakes

Spectator vs. Spotter: LifeLock.com 400 Edition from Chicagoland

By
SM Staff
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For an age Route 66 has been a legend among motorists that travel this great nation. Once a year those “kicks” seeking fans of the famed highway join NASCAR spectators in Joliet IL., for the thrill of stock car racing.

The fan friendly facility ,that was built as an answer to the demands of the fans that had cried out for more of the popular and exciting sport, has been a yearly stop on the circuit since 2001. Seven drivers have had the honor of winning in the nine race history at the 1.5 mile oval, among them only two have been able to repeat their success.

This week’s guest has been to Chicagoland Speedway for each of its Cup Series events. Mike Calinoff, spotter for the No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford of Matt Kenseth, hopes he can guide his driver to the long awaited first victory here.

Kenseth is ranked seventh among all active drivers at the Illinois track, finishing as high as second. The team hopes that this is the year they pull off the win.

“Chicagoland is really good. A relatively newer track, but it’s got a lot of room.” Calinoff began.

“The spotter stand gets a little loud here sometimes. The tracks P.A. system is really close to us and it gets a little scrappy sometimes because you can hear the race broadcast in the background when we speak.” Calinoff explained.

“I like spotting here a lot. I know we run well here, so that’s a plus.” He continued.

Kenseth has run well at this track. Since the inaugural race he and his team have recorded two top five’s, four top ten’s, and seven top 20 finishes. His average finish is 11.22 and he has finished as runner up twice. With no DNF’s and no finish here worse than 23rd it is a good track for Kenseth and crew.

With statistics like those of the Roush-Fenway Fords there was no surprise that Calinoff had a firm grasps on the unique challenges this track poses to a team as a whole.

“The track changes a lot with temperature. When we first started out here it was a one-groove racetrack. It took it a while to become two-groove. Now we have two really good distinct grooves which make for really good racing now.” Calinoff said.

Just like most tracks on the circuit Chicagoland Speedway is all about the right set up for the pending weather.

As a veteran spotter coming to a place like Chicagoland, I asked Calinoff about his personal favorites about the area, and the track.

“I like the restaurants in the area. There are a couple really good steak places downtown we like to go to.  I really like coming here I hope they get a second date. I know Kansas might get a second date and Kansas is a really similar track with very similar night life. I always look forward to coming here.” Calinoff said. Competitively speaking his favorite thing about the track in Joliet, “we run well.” Calinoff said. “Not just us,” Calinoff continued, “but a really good track for all the Roush guys. We all know we have a pretty good fighting chance when we get here.”

“You can’t really say anything negative about this place.” Calinoff said. “I like that it’s a Saturday night race, get Sunday all to myself. The racing is good; the stand is good with a good view, no real blind spots. I really don’t have any least favorites when it comes to being out here.” Calinoff looks forward to the weekend ahead as he guides Kenseth and the Crown Royal Black, Roush Ford are the 1.5 mile oval at Chicagoland.

Keep an eye on the No. 17 as it tries to best it’s runner up finishes of the past and see if Kenseth with be this year’s “Romeo” in Joliet.

This Week In NASCAR: NASCAR pondering changes to Chase

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SM Staff
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Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

At a press conference in Daytona last weekend, Brian France confirmed that NASCAR is looking at the going-on six-year-old Chase for the Sprint Cup 10-race playoff system the series implemented in 2004.

France, NASCAR chairman and CEO, said that while looking at the chase is something that isn’t uncommon, the series is looking at even closer it this year.

“We’re (NASCAR) looking at the Chase format very, very carefully, as we always do – maybe even more carefully,” France said.

[media-credit name=”Chris Graythen | Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”400″]
[/media-credit]The goal for NASCAR?  To create more “impact moments” and push the emphasis on race wins to a higher level.

“The main reason is we want to make sure it’s giving us the biggest impact moments it was designed to do,” France said. “That means, it is over a 10-race schedule in itself. Everything to us means pushing the winning envelope to mean what it needs to mean in our sport.

“It’s different because there’s 43 teams, not 1 or 2, 2 or 3, some tournament thing here. We’re in a situation where, you know, in some cases winning can’t be possible. So we can’t have a winner-take-all, per se, like some of the other playoff systems.”

The chase has only undergone two major changes since its debut six years ago.  Debuting with a ten-driver field that competed over a ten-race playoff to decide the series’ champion is now a 12-driver field.  As always, points are rest to 5,000 points after 26 races, but NASCAR has since added ten additional bonus points for every win to a driver’s point total.  Thus “seeding” the drivers based on race wins.

Further decisions on changes to the chase will take place after meetings inside NASCAR over the next few months.

“It wouldn’t be surprising for us to take back the original objectives,” France said. “We’re happy with the Chase. It just means that if we can enhance it in a pretty significant way, we may do that. So that will be the thing that we decide in the next couple of months.”

Changes that have been rumored include an addition of the road source and a change that would make the Chase an elimination type playoff, with positions being eliminated from contention every week or two.

Jimmie Johnson, who has won four-consecutive titles under the Chase format, said that he doesn’t mind some sort of elimination process, but he doesn’t think a winner-take all setup would be fair.

“I don’t mind some type of elimination process, but I think that when you come down to crowning the champion, it can’t be about one race and that option has been thrown around as well,” Johnson said. “I just think that’s unfair.  I think it takes away from the history of our sport and we’re already down to 10 races to crown a champion, to have things reset after nine and winner take all—I just don’t think it reflects and respects what our sport is about.  But I’m just one opinion; I’m sure there are many other out there.”

In the end, however, making sure the chase sticks to the history of the sport is the most important thing to Johnson.

“The thing I keep questioning them on is making sure that it follows the history of our sport and a champion is crowned in a way that respects the past and past champions” Johnson said. “Some of the ideas I’ve heard are absolutely crazy—it’s more of a craps shoot than anything.  That side of it, if it comes down to it, I wouldn’t agree with, but it’s not my series and I don’t get to make those decisions, so we’ll just role with it and see what happens.”

One thing that isn’t likely to change is the number of teams at Stewart-Haas Racing.

According to Tony Stewart, co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing and driver of the No. 14 Chevrolet, there is a “zero-percent chance” of a third team next season.  Well, maybe not a zero-percent chance, as it all depends on sponsorship and funding.

“I would say there’s probably a zero-percent chance we’ll expand to a third team for next year,” Stewart said during a national media teleconference this week. “We’re still trying to fill the void when Old Spice changes this year.  We’re talking to a lot of great people.  There’s a lot of good opportunities out there.  It’s just a matter of finding a pack a package that works for somebody to fill out spot.  There’s still races we’re trying to take care of on Ryan’s car.

“The hard part about it is, it just takes funding.  We could be up to a four-car team very quickly.  But it takes funding to get it done.”

News ‘N’ Notes, Chicago

  • Curtis Aldridge, crew chief for the No. 49 team, was fined $10,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until December 31, 2010 for an improperly attached weight that caused a crash during a Nationwide Series practice session at Daytona last week.
  • Gary Showalter, crew chief for the No. 40 team, was fined $5,000 for a venturi height that was not dimensionally correct.
  • Jeff Gordon is set to make his 600th start of his career.  Amazingly, every one of those starts are consecutive.
  • Jimmie Johnson is a new father.  His wife, Chandra, gave birth to their first child — a baby girl.  Both mother and baby are doing fine, according to a spokesperson for Johnson.  A name has not yet been decided, however Johnson referred to her as “Baby J” in a statement. She weighed 6 lbs., 14 oz. and measured 19.5″ long.  She was born on July 7 at 1:44 p.m. ET in Charlotte, N.C.
  • Johnson is also searching for his first Cup Series win at Chicago — the home track for his crew chief, Chad Knaus.  Chicago joins Homestead, Michigan and Watkins Glen as current tracks that Johnson is winless at.

Parrott named Sadler’s crew chief

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SM Staff
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Richard Petty Motorsports announced that Todd Parrott, who was replaced as the crew chief of Matt Kenseth two weeks ago, will become the crew chief for Elliott Sadler and the No. 19 Ford team.

The duo previously worked together in the 2004 Sprint Cup Series season. That season, Sadler finished the season ninth in Sprint Cup Series points — his best career points finish in the series. Two of Parrott’s 29 wins in the Sprint Cup Series as a crew chief came in the 2004 season with Sadler.

[media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”400″][/media-credit]“We are happy to welcome Todd to our team and reunite him with Elliott,” Robbie Loomis, Vice President of Competition for RPM, said. “We appreciate all of Wally Rogers’ hard work with this team for the first half of the season. He will continue to be a valuable member of RPM.”

Parrott has 15 years of experience as a crew chief in a major, national touring NASCAR series.

Busch wins NNS race at New Hampshire

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SM Staff
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Kyle Busch got his sixth win of the season in the Nationwide Series (NNS) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday. Busch led six times for 126 laps of the 200 laps and in route to his 36th NNS victory.

“It was a good car. These guys did a great job for me. I can’t thank Z-Line Designs, Jim and Monica Sexton (Z-Line Designs owners) enough.” Busch said in victory lane.   Busch also passed Mark Martin in NNS career laps led. Busch has now led 8,117 laps in his career.  

“That’s pretty cool and it comes after beating one of the best, Mark Martin. There’s one more record I’m after and that’s the win record to try to beat him and see how many I can set.” Busch said.   Brad Keselowski finished second, Carl Edwards third, Joey Logano fourth and Trevor Bayne finished fifth.  

Danica Patrick started 25th but spun into the outside wall after contact with Morgan Shepherd just seven laps into the event. “He totally took me out.” said Patrick on the radio. Patrick finished 30th, five laps down. “It was a bummer to get lapped so many times.” said Patrick.  

Keselowski now leads by 247 points over Edwards in the series standings.    

Unofficial Results New England 200, New Hampshire Motor Speedway June 26, 2010 – Race 16 of 35

Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps
1 4 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 195 10 200
2 1 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 175 5 200
3 2 60 Carl Edwards Ford 165 0 200
4 7 20 Joey Logano Toyota 165 5 200
5 18 99 Trevor Bayne Toyota 155 0 200
6 5 12 Justin Allgaier Dodge 150 0 200
7 3 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 151 5 200
8 12 32 Reed Sorenson Toyota 142 0 200
9 19 98 Paul Menard Ford 138 0 200
10 16 23 Brendan Gaughan Chevrolet 134 0 200
11 6 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 130 0 200
12 15 16 Colin Braun * Ford 127 0 200
13 17 88 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 129 5 200
14 14 38 Jason Leffler Toyota 121 0 200
15 13 35 Jason Keller Chevrolet 118 0 200
16 10 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. * Ford 120 5 200
17 9 27 Justin Lofton Ford 112 0 200
18 32 34 Tony Raines Chevrolet 109 0 200
19 38 15 Michael Annett Toyota 106 0 200
20 11 81 Michael McDowell Toyota 103 0 199
21 28 9 Sean Caisse Ford 100 0 198
22 33 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 97 0 197
23 24 87 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 94 0 197
24 34 5 Willie Allen Chevrolet 91 0 197
25 8 21 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 88 0 196
26 27 11 Brian Scott * Toyota 85 0 196
27 41 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 82 0 196
28 37 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 79 0 196
29 40 24 Eric McClure Ford 76 0 196
30 25 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 73 0 195
31 43 139 Charles Lewandoski Ford 70 0 195
32 31 28 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet 67 0 181
33 26 70 Mark Green Chevrolet 64 0 170
34 21 40 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 61 0 147
35 22 10 Tayler Malsam Toyota 58 0 91
36 42 43 Brad Baker Ford 55 0 35
37 29 90 Danny O’Quinn Jr. Chevrolet 52 0 25
38 23 91 David Gilliland Chevrolet 49 0 20
39 36 26 Brian Keselowski Dodge 46 0 9
40 39 175 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 0 0 5
41 30 61 Josh Wise Ford 40 0 3
42 20 37 Kevin Swindell Ford 37 0 3
43 35 92 Dennis Setzer Dodge 34 0 2

This Week In NASCAR: It`s back and so is she

By
SM Staff
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There are two big news items as we roll into New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend — it’s, meaning the Chase, and she, meaning Danica Patrick, are both back.

Starting with “it,” the Race to the Chase is a ten-race prelude to NASCAR’s version of a ten-race playoff, entitled the Chase for the Sprint Cup — you know the thing that Jimmie Johnson has won for the last four years … yeah, that thing.

Johnson, currently second in points, says the Race to the Chase has actually taken some of the emphasis of leading the points before the start of the final ten races away. Although, he and his team still would like to lead it as much as possible.

“It’s definitely a goal,” Johnson said. “I was very excited about having the lead when we did earlier in the year and hated to see it slip away. It’s kind of a funny thing though, if you’re not leading and you’re still in a comfortable spot in the Chase, I guess you start telling yourself, ‘I don’t want to lead right now.’ At the end of the day, we all want to lead as often as possible and as much as possible. I think it’s good for the team to experience that pressure and to have that mindset on the outside chance that it sends a message to the garage area that you could potentially be in the other competitor’s heads, I think it’s an advantage. I think (Kevin) Harvick has done a great job this year leading the points and making a statement that he and his team are championship contenders this year.”

[media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”400″][/media-credit]“She” is Danica Patrick, a NASCAR media phenomenon that has only raced in three Nationwide Series events but has had more stories written about her than Jimmie Johnson has — I think you are beginning to remember her.

“I’m eager to learn the Nationwide car,” Patrick said. “And I think that — I think that the best thing I can do for myself on the NASCAR weekends is really come up with some realistic expectation levels instead of having them be like IndyCar expectation levels where I’m hoping to win and I’m hoping to finish on the podium, those kinds of things.”

Obviously the cars used in NASCAR are much different than those using in the IndyCar Series, leaving Patrick to believe that switching back and forth between the two won’t cause her any issues. She also doesn’t believe that racing in the Nationwide Series has hurt her IndyCar Series efforts.

“I don’t see how racing cars can make you a worse race car driver,” Patrick said. “So I put every ounce of effort into everything that I do. And you know the IndyCar Series has become the most difficult field I’ve been in. The drivers are so good and everybody’s so equal out there that you have an on weekend, and like at Texas for me last weekend, or the weekend before, I almost won the race. Then you have an off weekend and you find yourself in 15th.

“I guess it’s a little bit maybe more like NASCAR. The fields are so good and everybody’s so close, and everything needs to go right. So I’m enjoying the two of them. I think it’s best — I think it’s good for any race car driver to be in the seat a lot, and that’s definitely what I’m doing.”

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