Mexico 200 preview
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com
This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is taking a week off, sort of a deep breath before they tackle Talladega Superspeedway, which is by far the meanest track on the circuit. Taking center stage in place of the Cup race will be the NASCAR Nationwide Series International event in Mexico. Several Cup regulars will be making the trip to Mexico City led by the top 3 in Nationwide series points, Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, and Kyle Busch.
One disappointment for this years Mexico 200 will be the absence of last season’s race winner, Juan Pablo Montoya. The Columbian driver has had a huge following in Mexico from his days in CART and Formula One and he solidified his place in their hearts with a great win. Montoya may be already feeling the major difference between NASCAR and every other series he’s ever driven for, which is that the series rarely rests and there only a couple off weeks throughout the grueling January through November season.
More than making up for not having Montoya this week is that several car owners have invited the best drivers from Mexico to drive their cars. Adrian Fernandez, Rueben Pardo, and Michel Jourdain will all be given quality cars with a chance to win in their hometown race. All three are skilled road course drivers and all three know every little nuance of the track. Fernandez looks to have the best car among the bunch. He’ll be piloting the No. 5 JR Motorsports car, which is essentially a Hendrick Motorsports car that moved into Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Nationwide shop.
As is the case with every road course NASCAR race, we get hired assassins from all over. Three of the greatest road course sports car drivers in the world will be driving once again in a stock car on a one race contract. Scott Pruett, Brian Simo, and Boris Said Boris said will be making the trip. In addition to those aces, Patrick Carpentier, Max Papis, and Ron Hornaday bring their great driving credentials as well.
The top driver and car combination for this race is likely to be Scott Pruett. Last seasons race that Montoya won was at the expense of Pruett, Montoya’s Ganassi teammate. Montoya was trailing Pruett late in the race and utilized the great difference from open wheeled cars and NASCAR, the bumper. Pruett got a nudge going around a turn and Montoya wins.
Its likely Pruett’s chief competitor will be Kyle Busch with Clint Bowyer close behind, specifically because their cars are just that much better than everyone else’s and will help close the gap that all the other drivers have over them from the technical end. The next three best drive-car combos belong to Carpentier, Fernandez, and Jourdain.
TOP 5 Mexico Finish Prediction
1) #40 Scott Pruett (5/2)
2) #20 Kyle Busch (4/1)
3) #5 Adrian Fernandez (7/1)
4) #2 Clint Bowyer (8/1)
5) #9 Patrick Carpentier (8/1)
Driver to win MEXICO 200
MICHEL JOURDAIN 9/1
SAM HORNISH JR 16/1
BORIS SAID 9/1
BRIAN SIMO 18/1
RON HORNADAY 11/1
PATRICK CARPENTIER 8/1
COLIN BRAUN 20/1
RUBEN PARDO 20/1
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ 7/1
KYLE BUSCH 4/1
SCOTT WIMMER 11/1
LANDON CASSILL 15/1
DAVID RAGAN 18/1
BRAD KESELOWSKI 25/1
SCOTT PRUETT 5/2
CARL EDWARDS 6/1
MARCOS AMBROSE 12/1
MAX PAPIS 14/1
STEVE WALLACE 25/1
DAVID REUTIMANN 25/1
ERIK DARNELL 20/1
JASON LEFFLER 20/1
CLINT BOWYER 5/1
FIELD - ALL OTHERS 12/1
Entry list for Nationwide Series Mexico race shows 48 drivers
SceneDaily.com
The entry list for the Corona Mexico 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race boasts as diverse a field of drivers as any in series history.
Entered in the road race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez are seven full-time Sprint Cup Series drivers, three full-time Craftsman Truck Series drivers, five drivers from Mexico, two from Canada and one each from Australia, Italy and Venezeula.
Forty-eight drivers are entered, meaning five will fail to qualify for Sunday’s race.
The six Cup drivers on the entry list are the four who race full time in the Nationwide Series – Richard Childress Racing’s Clint Bowyer, Roush Fenway Racing’s David Ragan and Carl Edwards and Michael Waltrip Racing’s David Reutimann – as well as Gillett Evernham Motorsports’ Patrick Carpentier (who is from Joliette, Canada), Penske Racing’s Sam Hornish Jr. and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch.
The three truck series drivers entered are Colin Braun (Roush Fenway No. 16), Erik Darnell (Roush Fenway No. 17) and defending series champion Ron Hornaday (Kevin Harvick Inc. No. 33). Darnell is making his Nationwide debut in Mexico.
Mexico City native Adrian Fernandez (JR Motorsports No. 5) leads the contingent of Mexican drivers that includes Ruben Pardo (Fitz Motorsports), Michel Jourdain (Braun Racing No. 32), Jose Luis Ramirez and Antonio Perez.
Alex Garcia (Transnet Racing) is from Caracas, Venezuela, while full-time driver Marcos Ambrose (JTG Racing) is from Launceston, Australia. Driving Rusty Wallace Racing’s No. 64 Chevrolet will be Max Papis of Como, Italy.
Several full-time teams are using road-course drivers for the Mexico race: Davis Motorsports No. 0 (Joe Fox), Front Row Motorsports No. 24 (Brian Simo), Team Rensi Motorsports No. 25 (Boris Said), Chip Ganassi Racing No. 40 (Scott Pruett) and MSRP Motorsports No. 90 (Chris Cook).
Other part-time drivers with full-time teams are Landon Cassill (Phoenix Racing No. 4), Scott Wimmer (Richard Childress Racing No. 29), Burney Lamar (Baker Curb Racing No. 37) and Kyle Krisiloff (CGR No. 41).
Also, Stanton Barrett Motorsports has entered team owner Stanton Barrett's father, Stan, in the No. 31 Chevrolet.
Said back on track in Mexico looking for 1st Nationwide win
April 16, 2008
For Boris Said, this week's NASCAR Nationwide Series event in Mexico City is more than just his first chance to race a stock car since February.
The free spirit from Southern California loves the sprawling city south of the border.
``I've enjoyed traveling the world to race cars, but I also have fun taking in the local sights and experiencing the local culture,'' he said. ``As soon as I get to Mexico City, I look for the street vendor taco stands and order a couple of carne asadas (grilled steak). It is absolutely delicious - I recommend it to all Mexican food lovers.''
More important, Said, a top road racer, will drive the No. 25 Ford Fusion in Sunday's race on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course and will be aiming to win for the first time on the Nationwide circuit - previously known as the Busch Series.
He has finished in the top-five at the last three Nationwide races in Mexico, finishing fifth, second and third.
``This could be the year of the win,'' noted Said, who has a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory. ``I have a great crew and great equipment. My only concern is that I haven't been racing for a while.''
The last time Said raced was in mid-February at the 150-mile qualifying event at Daytona International Speedway.
``I'm chomping at the bit to go racing again,'' he said. ``I'm always pumped about my next race, but I am even more inspired for Mexico after watching the Rocky Balboa effort by Masters champion Trevor Immelman. To me, winning a NASCAR race is like winning the Masters.''
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COMING BACK: Longtime IRL IndyCar Series driver Davey Hamilton has signed with Kingdom Racing to drive in this year's Indianapolis 500.
Hamilton, who came back to racing after undergoing 21 operations and two years of rehabilitation following a devastating crash at Texas Motor Speedway in June 2001, finished ninth at Indy last year, his ninth start in the May race. He best Indy finish was fourth in 1998.
``I will do anything I can to race at Indy,'' Hamilton said. ``I continue to train harder and am putting myself in the best physical shape of my life, because the most important race in the world is the Indianapolis 500. I'd like to thank Kingdom Racing for giving me that opportunity, and I look forward to a great partnership with them.''
The new team is owned by Houston businessman George Del Canto, who hopes the Indy 500 entry will attract sponsorship for the 2009 IndyCar season.
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LOOKING TO EXPAND: NASCAR Sprint Cup star and 2007 Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick and his wife, DeLana, have teamed with NHRA drag racing veteran Bob Vandergriff Jr. to explore fielding a Top Fuel dragster in NHRA competition.
The proposed Harvick-Vandergriff Motorsports would offer its sponsors marketing opportunities in NHRA, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Craftsman Truck and the Nationwide Series.
``The response from the companies we've spoken to already has been tremendous,'' Harvick said. ``We view this as something that would be a natural extension of our current Craftsman Truck and Nationwide Series programs. Bob's a proven leader and innovator, and DeLana and I are happy to be here as his guests.''
Vandergriff and Harvick hope to begin assembling a team and all the necessary components and people within the next two months as they prepare for a 2009 debut.
Pruett Fastest in Happy Hour: #40-Scott Pruett was fastest in the final practice session for the Corona Mexico 200 with a speed of 102.896mph. He was followed by #16-Colin Braun, #25-Boris Said, #20-Kyle Busch, and #59-Marcos Ambrose. #29-Scott Wimmer and #0-Joe Fox made contact early in the session; both suffered only minor sheetmetal damage. Later in the session, Fox spun in turn 6 and backed into the tires. The team will likely go to a backup car (if they have one). There were several other spins and cars off track, but nothing serious.
JAYSKI.COM