Racing Roundup July 1 - July 3

Hamlin wins at Daytona

Daytona Beach, FL (Sports Network) - Denny Hamlin held off teammate Kyle Busch in a green-white-checkered finish to win Friday night's Winn-Dixie 250 Nationwide Series race at the Daytona International Speedway. The driver of the No.20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 29 of 105 laps. He finished 0.133 seconds ahead of Busch.

The victory was Hamlin's third of the season and eighth of his Nationwide Series career.

Hamlin had fallen two seconds off the pace after his final pit stop, but rebounded when he made the pass on Edwards for the lead on lap 89.

Hamlin drove the same car that Tony Stewart won last week at New Hampshire. Stewart also drove the No.20 Toyota to victory in the series season-opener at Daytona in February.

But it wasn't an easy win for Hamlin as Colin Braun spun and smacked the wall with two laps to go, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. On the final restart, Hamlin quickly pulled ahead of the field, while Carl Edwards was bumped into the infield grass, but made his way back into the pack.

Edwards also had a near miss with pole sitter Bryan Clauson while trying to pass him just past the halfway point. Both drivers were running among the top-five at the time.

Clauson led the field to the green, but was quickly shuffled back in the field as Clint Bowyer moved his way to top spot. Bowyer ran in front for six laps before Dale Earnhardt, Jr. inherited the lead.

The first caution of the night came on lap 14 when Josh Wise spun. Earnhardt, Jr. opted for fuel only on his first stop. Brad Keselowski, Earnhardt, Jr.'s protege, took on two new tires and drove off pit lane just behind Earnhardt, Jr. On the restart, Earnhardt, Jr. ran second to Shane Huffman, who did not pit. But Earnhardt, Jr. got drafting help from Keselowski to pull ahead of Huffman. Three laps later, Edwards made the pass on Earnhardt, Jr. and ran out in front until the next round of stops during the second caution.

Keselowski used pit strategy to his advantage. He took two left-side tires only and was the fastest off of pit lane. Keselowski's strategy worked well for 28 laps when he led the way. Then the tires on his No.88 Chevrolet began to wear as he fell back in the field.

Hamlin, Busch and Earnhardt, Jr. easily passed Keselowski. Keselowski would fall back to seventh before making his final stop. Hamlin and Earnhardt, Jr. exchanged the lead before teams came in for their final round of stop during the green flag with less than 25 laps remaining.

Keselowski made his stop for four fresh tires with 23 laps to go. Hamlin relinquished the lead two laps later.

Edwards won the battle off of pit lane and put himself back in the lead after the round of stops, but Busch was looking to make the move around Edwards. Earnhardt, Jr. and Keselowski were also in pursuit of Edwards.

Busch, Edwards and Hamlin swapped the lead for the next several laps before Hamlin ran out in front for the final 15 laps.

Earnhardt, Jr., Bowyer and Keselowski completed the top-five.

Bowyer will take a 202-point lead over new second-place Keselowski to the next event scheduled for Friday night, July 11th at the Chicagoland Speedway.

Hamilton wins a rainy British Grand Prix

Silverstone, England (Sports Network) - Englishman Lewis Hamilton handled the wet conditions and captured Sunday's British Grand Prix Formula One race. The No.22 McLaren Mercedes crossed the finish line over one minute ahead of Nick Heidfeld.

The victory was Hamilton's third of the season and seventh of his F1 career.

Rubens Barrichello, Kimi Raikkonen and Heikki Kovalainen completed the top- five.

"This is by far the best victory I have ever had," said Hamilton. "It was one of the toughest races I have ever done."

Hamilton was leading Heidfeld and Kovalainen with 23 laps to go when the weather conditions took a turn for the worse. The heavy rain made it difficult for the drivers to keep their cars on the track.

Hamilton, Robert Kubica, Raikkonen and many other drivers had scary off-track moments. The brief period of heavy rain came to a halt just as the leaders were ready to make their final pit stops.

The drivers had to decide if they should take extreme wet tires or stay on the standard wet tires.

Hamilton came down pit road for his final stop with 22 laps to go and stayed with the standard wet. He was banking on the conditions to improve, as reported. The majority of the drivers had the same mind set when they made their stops, although Barrichello was the only driver to take on the extreme wet tires.

When the stops were complete, Hamilton led Barrichello, Heidfeld, Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso with 20 laps to go. Barrichello made the mistake of not taking enough fuel and would have to make another stop, along with Trulli.

Hamilton pulled away from the field and held a comfortable 40-second lead with 15 laps remaining. It was obvious Hamilton was going to win, as long as he didn't crash.

Barrichello made his final stop with 13 to go, while Trulli made his stop on the next lap. Barrichello dropped to third after his stop and Trulli rejoined the field in eighth.

Hamilton had no problems during the final laps and easily cruised past the finish line.

"I was coming to the last lap and I could see the crowd beginning to stand up," said Hamilton. "I was just praying, praying, praying; keep it on the track and just finish. You couldn't imagine the emotions I was feeling inside."

Kovalainen, after winning his first career F1 pole Saturday, led the 20-car field around the wet 3.194-mile Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit for 60 laps of racing.

It didn't take long for the action to start. When the green light came on, Hamilton quickly took his car from fourth position to second by making use of the outside lane. He passed Mark Webber and Raikkonen in the first turn.

Meanwhile on the first lap, the accidents started to pile up. Sebastien Vettel, David Coulthard, Webber and Felipe Massa had incidents early. Vettel's and Coulthard's accidents forced them to bring their cars to the garage. It was not the finish Coulthard was looking for in his last British Grand Prix, as he had announced his retirement, effective at the conclusion of the season, earlier this week.

Kovalainen, in the No.23 McLaren Mercedes, was able to hold off Hamilton, but not for long. Hamilton got around his teammate on the fifth lap and Kovalainen dropped another position a few laps later, when Raikkonen drove past him.

Hamilton's margin was 4.1 seconds after 15 laps of racing. Alonso and Heidfeld completed the top-five.

A cycle of green flag pit stops started on lap 19 as the rain started to fall. On lap 21 the top-two drivers made their way down pit road for service. Hamilton just beat Raikkonen out of the pits to maintain first. The big story was Hamilton changing to the standard wet tires, while Raikkonen decided to stay on his old tires. Alonso also didn't change tires.

Hamilton quickly built a lead of more than 20 seconds, as Raikkonen couldn't get any grip from his tires on the wet track.

Raikkonen dropped back to fourth on lap 28 when Kovalainen and Heidfeld got around him. Raikkonen had to make an unscheduled pit stop on lap 31 for new tires.

Hamilton was way ahead of the field when the rain started to make things interesting.

Raikkonen, Massa and Hamilton are in a three-way tie at the top of the point standings with 48 points apiece.

The next race in the series is set for Sunday, July 20th at the Hockenheim Ring.

Hunter-Reay an upset winner at Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen, NY (Sports Network) - Ryan Hunter-Reay ended Scott Dixon's three-race winning streak at Watkins Glen International and scored his first IndyCar Series victory by winning Sunday's Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen. The No.17 Rahal Letterman Racing driver crossed the finish line 2.4009 seconds ahead of Darren Manning.

Hunter-Reay recorded his first win in his 16th career start.

"I'm so happy, I can't even tell you," Hunter-Reay said. "I was driving my rear-end off those last couple of laps. This team is awesome. They do an amazing job. And now we're in victory circle. It's awesome. This is our dream come true."

He became the fourth first-time winner in the series this year, joining Graham Rahal (St. Petersburg), Danica Patrick (Motegi, Japan) and Ryan Briscoe (Milwaukee).

Hunter-Reay is a two-time Champ Car race winner with him most recent victory coming in June 2004 at The Milwaukee Mile where he led all 250 laps.

Briscoe started on the pole and dominated much of the race. He ran out in front for 37 of the first 42 laps. Dixon, in his quest for a fourth-straight victory at The Glen, ran second to Briscoe for most of the afternoon. Dixon quickly moved from his fourth starting spot to second, but series officials on the first lap penalized Dixon one position to third for jumping the start. However, Dixon quickly recaptured the runner-up spot.

Briscoe and Dixon made their first round of stops on Lap 20. Briscoe beat the points leader out of pit lane and reclaimed the top spot with Dixon back in second when the cycle of stops concluded several laps later.

On Lap 39, the caution flag came out for Vitor Meira who hit hard into the tires between turns nine and 10 after Ernesto Viso made contact with him. The caution set up a round of pit stops for the leaders.

Briscoe's second stop was not as quick as his first as he came out third to Dixon and Hunter-Reay.

Patrick over-accelerated into her pits and hit the wall. Her car sustained a broken nose cone. She made an unexpected second stop to repair the nose before the restart.

Meanwhile, Darren Manning's pit strategy worked to his advantage as he led the field for the restart. Manning made his scheduled stop on Lap 38. He quickly pulled ahead on the restart on Lap 44, but the full course yellow was displayed when Enrique Bernoldi stalled in the run-off in turn one.

Manning's luck seemed to be going his way in the closing laps. A.J. Foyt IV and Milka Duno made contact just before the restart. The extended caution allowed Manning to conserve fuel.

Then a bizarre incident occurred during the caution when Briscoe and Dixon bumped into each other in turn 10. Dixon spun and Briscoe hit him. The two were running just behind leader Manning at the time.

"I was just trying to burn the front tires off of it because some new tires and on the restart I was very loose" Dixon said. "I was trying to heat them up and see if that would help."

Briscoe knew he had a shot at the win, but the incident with Dixon was just simply bad luck.

"It's unfortunate," said Briscoe, who finished 12th . "I guess all of us will mess up every now and then again, but I wish he would have messed up and not gotten me involved in it at that moment."

On the restart with nine lap to go, Hunter-Reay made the pass on Manning and grabbed the lead for the first time.

But another full course yellow, this time for Jaime Camara making contact in turn 6, gave Manning a shot at Hunter-Reay. It would not be as Hunter-Reay pulled to a 1.7-second lead one lap after the restart. He cruised from there to take the win.

Tony Kanaan, Buddy Rice and Marco Andretti completed the top-five.

It was a tough day for two drivers competing for the points battle: Dan Wheldon and Helio Castroneves.

On the first lap, Wheldon got pinched in the middle of the pack and spun. He suffered right-rear damage to his No.10 car. Wheldon did return to track 19 laps later, but was black-flagged shortly after for not keeping up to the required speed on the track. Wheldon returned to pit lane and ended up with a disappointing 24th-place finish.

Things went from bad to worse for Castroneves on Lap 5 when he experienced problems with his gear box. Castroneves started from the rear of the 26-car field after his car had mechanical problems during the first segment of qualifying on Saturday. He returned to track two laps down and ended up with a 16th-place run.

Dixon, who finished 11th, holds a 48-point lead over Castroneves and a 59- point advantage over Wheldon with the next race scheduled for Saturday, July 12th at the Nashville Superspeedway.

Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Coke Zero 400
Matt McLaughlin

The Key Moment: Kyle Busch had Carl Edwards by a fender when half the field finally got around to wrecking behind them.

In a Nutshell: While some fans revel in the unpredictability of plate racing, it all seems all too predictable to me, with a flurry of late race cautions and a blizzard of bent sheetmetal always defining the closing laps.

Dramatic Moment: The final twenty circuits resembled a hooligan’s race at a local dirt track on ten cents a mug keg night.

What They’ll Be Talking About Around the Water Cooler This Week

Maybe it’s time for a little rules alteration. If the yellow flag flies on the final lap of the race, NASCAR ought to give fans one more shot at a green-white-checkered finish. Of course, as wild as things got on the final lap of this year’s Firecracker, if they’d lined them up and tried again it’s likely nobody would have finished the race.

What better way to celebrate America’s birthday than watching a foreign car pull into Victory Lane at Daytona after a Cup race for the first time? Courtesy of the red, white, and sushi, I suppose. Let’s just be glad NASCAR doesn’t race on December 7th.

Related to the above, with their stock price falling to its lowest level since the Eisenhower administration, General Motors announced this week they will not renew any of their track sponsorship contracts for next year. (Stuff like providing pace cars, signage at the track, etc.) Something tells me this is the start of a troubling trend that will eventually lead to one or more of the Big Three withdrawing from the sport of stock car racing.

It’s not perfect, but the limited commercial interruption coverage is simply a must for every NASCAR race going forward.

OK, it surely wasn’t boring there at the end if you’re the type that appreciates seeing the destruction of a few million dollars worth of equipment, but every time I watch this plate race madness, I can’t help but remember the words of the most notable victim of least common denominator racing, the late Dale Earnhardt: “This ain’t real racing, I don’t care what they say.”

Yeah, Mark Martin is nearly 50 and he wants to run a full Cup schedule next year. So what? John McCain is 71, and he wants to be the leader of the world’s greatest Democracy. Life doesn’t end at fifty anymore.

So Brian France thinks everything is going splendidly with NASCAR right now, and there’s no reason to correct the course. That’s the same mindset that saw Captain Edward Smith run the Titanic into an iceberg.

Look for extraordinary penalties to be issued against DEI’s No. 1 car this week. Messing with the new car is a big no-no, and messing with the aero at a plate track is another cardinal sin. Combine the two, and the penalties ought to reset the bar. Even a one hundred point penalty will likely remove Truex from Chase contention this deep into the season.

Will the last person to leave DEI kindly turn out the lights?

Apparently an old buddy of mine in the biz is ready to turn in his media credentials, notebooks, laptops, and microphones because some folks think I’m a journalist. Best of luck in your new career, whatever it is, and I hope this time you find something you’re actually good at. You’d be an instant hit in a summer stock production of Amadeus…

The Hindenburg Award For Foul Fortune

Jeff Gordon went from contending for the lead to an apparent 30th place finish on the final restart.

Jeff Burton has made a career out of being in the right place at the right time, but Saturday night, he seemed to be in all the wrong places at all the wrong times.

Michael Waltrip saw a much needed Top 10 finish go up in a cloud of tire smoke on the final lap.

Jimmie Johnson looked to be contending for a win when he got caught up in a mess not of his own making. A subsequent pit stop put Johnson in the eye of the storm when the poop hit the oscillating blades.

As much as Tony Stewart loves to race, getting out of a competitive car at a track where he traditionally runs well had to be tough for him. You have to wonder if the carbon monoxide is getting to Stewart.

At a track where his teams typically dominate, Rick Hendrick watched three of his cars post finishes outside the Top 20.

The “Seven Come Fore Eleven” Award For Fine Fortune

Kyle Busch got crossed up and sideways in traffic, yet somehow made a miraculous save on the apron and got back onto the track with no real damage. He then went on to win the race.

Kurt Busch wrecked his primary car in the weekend’s only practice session and started deep in the field. Yet at the end, he emerged out of nowhere to snag a fourth place finish.

David Ragan overcame a questionable pit road penalty and several fender benders en route to another Top 5 at Daytona.

No koi were injured in Carl Edwards’ bumpy ride to a runner-up finish.

After the No. 40 team closed down this week, the only ride rookie Dario Franchitti has left is Ashley Judd. If only unemployment were as good for the rest of us…

Worth Noting

Editor’s Note : As with all restrictor plate races, keep in mind some adjustments can be made between the end of the event and the posting of the final results. The official finishing order is expected to be posted by NASCAR around noon EST on Monday.

* Kyle Busch has now won a third of this year’s Cup events (six of 18), and has improved his average finish this season to tenth.

* Busch was the sole Toyota pilot to post a Top 10 finish. The rest of the Top 10 finishers drove three Fords, three Dodges, and three Chevys.

* Patrick Carpentier (14th) posted the best finish by a rookie at Daytona Saturday night. It was Carpentier’s best ever Cup finish.

* Carl Edwards finished second for the third time this season — all three of those times have been to Kyle Busch.

* Matt Kenseth (third) has managed Top 10 finishes in seven of the last eight Cup races.

* Two of Kurt Busch’s (fourth) three Top 5 finishes this season were scored at Daytona.

* Robby Gordon (sixth) enjoyed his best Cup finish since Watkins Glen last year.

* Clint Bowyer (ninth) has Top 10 finishes in three of the last four Cup races.

* Jeff Gordon (30th) has just one Top 10 finish in the last five races.

* Jeff Burton (37th) endured his worst finish of the season.

* Denny Hamlin (26th) has scored just two Top 10 finishes in the last seven races.

What’s the Points?

Kyle Busch extended his lead to 182 markers over Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who displaced Jeff Burton on the second rung of the championship standings. Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Denny Hamlin remained in positions fourth through seventh, respectively.

Matt Kenseth had the best points night, advancing four spots to ninth. Kasey Kahne advanced two spots to eighth, while Clint Bowyer moved up a spot to tenth.

An ailing Tony Stewart abandoned ship and fell three spots to 12th in the standings, just two points ahead of the cutoff line for the Chase. Greg Biffle also tumbled three spots to 11th after finishing dead last; now, he’s just eight points ahead of Stewart.

Kevin Harvick fell a spot to 13th, once again becoming the odd man out. For now, Martin Truex remains a distant 14th, but that will probably change later in the week.

Overall Rating (On a scale of one to six beer cans, with one being a stinker and a six pack an instant classic): We’ll give this one four cans of icy cold brew tossed over the fence at the eventual race winner. (Seriously, y’all gotta cut that stuff out.)

Next Up: It’s 106 miles from Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark… and we’re wearing sunglasses. Hit it!

frontstretch.com

Nationwide Series Breakdown: Winn Dixie 250
Bryan Davis Keith

In a Nutshell: Friday night’s race at Daytona was a true barnburner, slowed by only three cautions and run at a near-record pace. Unfortunately, Friday’s race was also as predictable as a TV movie — with Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas dominating the field.

Once the checkered flag flew, it was Denny Hamlin scoring the win, his third in the Nationwide Series for 2008. Hamlin’s victory also marked the ninth of the season for JGR’s No. 20 team, and the 12th win in 18 races for JGR this season in this division. Though Ford and Chevrolet had strong performers in Carl Edwards and JR Motorsports, respectively, in the end the horses under Hamlin’s hood proved to be insurmountable for any challengers — even for his teammate Kyle Busch, who came home a solid second.

The event marked the second consecutive week of Cup dominance on the Nationwide circuit. Though four Nationwide regulars finished in the Top 10, only Brad Keselowski was able to run with the Cup regulars at the front of the field. Over in the championship battle, Clint Bowyer finished fourth and increased his points lead to 202 over now second place Keselowski, who finished in fifth. Bowyer has now scored eight consecutive Top 10s in Nationwide Series competition.

Who Should Have Won: Brad Keselowski. Though it’s certainly debatable whether any car in Daytona Beach could have outrun the JGR Toyotas on Friday night, Keselowski gets the shout out here for being the Nationwide regular that could. Keselowski proved his mettle Friday night, hanging with an aggressive pack of Cup regulars at the front of the field for the race’s first half — including an impressive 28 lap run in the lead after taking only left side tires when much of the field had four new Goodyears. Keselowski’s car handled well on the long run, and the No. 88 remained smooth enough on green flag runs to avoid scrubbing off speed in the corners. But the JR Motorsports driver’s shot at the win was derailed on his final green flag pit stop, when the front tire changer had troubles changing both front tires. The long stop left Keselowski out of touch with drafting partner Dale Earnhardt Jr., and he could never work his way up back into contention after that. Had Keselowski stayed with the No. 5, however, JR Motorsports may well have proven to be the equalizers to JGR’s Nationwide tyranny.

Worth Noting:

If a reporter had told pole sitter Bryan Clauson that he would end his race in 19th place, Clauson would have likely been disappointed. Well, Clauson finished 19th, and he was disappointed. But that shouldn’t damper what was still a solid showing for the 19-year-old development driver. Clauson’s run was notable for several reasons. On the track, Clauson showed patience and respect to more experienced competitors, running clean in the lead draft, anticipating runs well, and maintaining smooth lines. Clauson’s car didn’t have a scratch on it at race’s end, an accomplishment given how slick this speedway was on Friday night. On a larger scale, though, Clauson did himself and Chip Ganassi Racing big favors with his race. Winning the pole gave the CGRFS camp something to celebrate, after a painful week that saw its No. 40 Cup team shut its doors and 71 employees get the boot. Further, Clauson reminded owner Chip Ganassi that he’s got more left in the chamber than his pet project Dario Franchitti. Ganassi reportedly offered the No. 40 Nationwide car to Franchitti full-time…but after this weekend, Chip better dust off the No. 41 for young Clauson.

Kerry Earnhardt’s 17th place finish was about as uneventful as they come, and won’t set DEI’s impressive annals of restrictor plate racing on fire. But, it was a solid return to racing for the eldest son of Dale Earnhardt, Sr., as well as for DEI’s Nationwide Series program. Earnhardt qualified his part-time ride in the Top 10, and never fell outside the Top 20 for the race’s duration — running competitively and bringing the car home in one piece. The organization had previously announced plans to return to full-time Nationwide Series racing in 2009 for development drivers Jeffrey Earnhardt and Trevor Bayne; but if Friday was any indication, Kerry Earnhardt may be a valuable test driver to use now in order to get the No. 8 team up and running once again. Don’t be surprised if Teresa realizes that, and adds some races to Earnhardt’s schedule…

Better Luck Next Time:

D.J. Kennington and his MacDonald Motorsports team felt that restrictor plate racing owed them one after their strong run at Talladega was spoiled by a flat tire, and they had this race circled on their calendar. Unfortunately, another strong run wasn’t in the cards for the No. 81. After a solid qualifying effort, Kennington and team failed to back up their strong Talladega performance, finishing a distant 29th and never really challenging for a front-running position. Friday night marked an unfortunate underachievement for an underfunded team that will likely have few other chances this season to contend for a top-tier finish.

Mike Wallace has a well-earned reputation for success at restrictor plate racing, and was in position to deliver a Top 10 for his Germain Racing team when his nephew Steve Wallace pushed up the track in Turn 4, putting the GEICO Toyota into the wall and relegating Mike to 22nd at the finish. Livid after the wreck, Wallace gave viewers one of the season’s most memorable interviews, forcing a smile while veins throbbed in his neck as he described how good his car ran and how unnecessary the wreck between him and Steven was. It’s a shame that the camera crews couldn’t have caught up with Mike in time for his words with Steven… it would have made last week’s squabble between Kyle Busch and Juan Montoya look pansy by comparison.

Owner Rick Hendrick had perhaps the best restrictor plate driver in NASCAR driving his car last night, running third with two laps to go. But, when asked what he thought Junior’s chances were, all he could say was he wished he had another engine in his car to compete with what he claimed was a 15 horsepower disadvantage. Later on, Clint Bowyer shrugged off his inability to score the win, because even a monkey could win a race in the No. 20 car. That’s the pulse of the current Nationwide Series field — with one obvious exception — who have become almost cynical about the dominance of the JGR Toyotas. It’s a dominance that owes itself largely to the horsepower advantages that the No. 18 and No. 20 are enjoying on the race track.

Now, there are plenty out there that will scream bloody murder that JGR isn’t winning races solely because of horsepower, and that equating their dominance to Toyota’s engines is just making excuses for the rest of the field. In some ways, they may even have a point. But in a season where the Nationwide Series is attempting to redefine itself, and has made progress in both reducing Cupwhacking and establishing a unique identity for its field, NASCAR has got to do something to stop one team — and a Cup team at that — from running roughshod over the field with Cup drivers in insurmountable cars with all the money and trophies. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Tony Stewart should not be the face of NASCAR’s minor leagues.

Underdog Performer of the Race:

After start and parking for much of the season, Morgan Shepherd shocked the NASCAR community not only by running the distance at Talladega, but by finishing in the Top 15 doing it. Since then, Shepherd and his No. 89 team have gone from field-filler to a legitimate race team, scoring another Top 20 at Darlington and posting some solid qualifying runs as well. For Friday night’s race, Shepherd placed his No. 89 Dodge an impressive 14th position on the grid, and while he finished two laps down in 31st, Shepherd ran the distance again on a hot summer night. Earlier in the season, I cited the No. 89 team as an example of rampant field-filling in the Nationwide Series, but performances like those on Friday night have gotten this team off that ugly list. Well done, Morgan Shepherd.

Quotables:

“It feels good to do this in my final ride in the No. 20 car. I’ve got to thank Kyle [Busch] for sticking with me there at the end. The only way we don’t win this is if Kyle goes for the win. I knew Kyle could go for the win and maybe not succeed, but I knew, as long as he stuck on my bumper, we’d have a 1-2 finish.” – Denny Hamlin on his win at Daytona, the ninth of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 team

“A monkey could win in that car.” – Clint Bowyer on the current hot streak of the No. 20 team

“I thought Tony was in the No. 20 all night. I didn’t know Denny was in it — so congratulations, Denny.” – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. after finishing third to Hamlin and Kyle Busch

Up Next: The NASCAR Nationwide Series will tackle Chicagoland Speedway under the lights for the first time this Friday night, July 11th. Coverage of the Dollar General 300 begins at 7:30 PM on ESPN and 8:00 PM on MRN.

frontstretch.com

RacingOne Rewind: Coke Zero 400
RacingOne.com

A look back at Kyle Busch's 10th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in Saturday's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway including news, notes and observations by the RacingOne staff.

Inside Line
Kyle Busch was in the right place at the right time when the caution flew, in what turned out to be the final lap, and he was ahead of Carl Edwards to claim his first career Sprint Cup win at Daytona. Photos

Keys to Victory Lane
Busch rallied back from a spin and slide early in the race to draft up to the lead pack and put himself into position to challenge for the win when it counted. Complete Results

Zero to Hero
Kurt Busch started his back-up car 36th after crashing his primary in practice and was able to come home fourth.

Hero to Zero
Jeff Gordon was leading with four laps to go until Busch passed him and then was second on the final restart before getting booted by Edwards and spinning out to a 30th-place finish.

Rookie of the Race
Patrick Carpentier dodged several bullets and was able to steer to a 14th-place finish.

Notables
Robby Gordon started the night 37th but came back for an impressive sixth-place finish. Kasey Kahne started 41st and nursed a tire rub late in the race home to pick up a seventh-place finish. And Terry Labonte took the green 43rd in the field and was able to give the Petty Enterprises No. 45 Dodge a 16th-place finish.

Race to the Chase
Jeff Burton had trouble all night with a pair of spins and dropped to third in the standings, with Busch's point lead now 182 over Dale Earnhardt Jr. Tony Stewart tumbled three spots to 12th in the standings after having J.J. Yeley relieve him Saturday night. And Kevin Harvick fell to the 13th spot.

Coke Zero 400 Loop Data Leaders
• Average Running Position: Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 3.0
• Fastest Early In a Run: Kurt Busch - 187.963 mph
• Fastest Late In a Run: Kyle Busch - 184.934 mph
• Fastest Laps Run: Robby Gordon and Kevin Harvick - 8
• Fastest on Restarts: Jeff Burton - 182.013 mph
• Most Passes During Green Flag Conditions: Sam Hornish Jr. - 259
• Laps In Top 15: Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 162
• Quality Passes: Kasey Kahne - 160
• Speed in Traffic: Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 186.154 mph

Pit Stops
• Kyle Busch captured his 10th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in his 132nd career start. Detailed Active Driver Wins
• Busch won the 65th race for car owner Joe Gibbs. Detailed Active Car Owner Wins
• Busch became the 10th driver to win at Daytona from the ninth position. He was the 62nd driver overall to win a race from that position. Starting Position Facts
• Busch won the first race for Toyota at Daytona. All-Time Manufacturer Wins
• Carl Edwards (second) posted his best finish at Daytona in eight starts and only second top-10 finish there.
• Like teammate Edwards, Matt Kenseth (third) posted his best finish at Daytona as well, and second top-five in 18 starts.
• Kurt Busch (fourth) has finished in the top five in four of his last five starts at Daytona.
• David Ragan's fifth-place finish was his third top five of the season and second at Daytona in four starts.
• Robby Gordon (sixth) posted his second straight top-10 finish at Daytona and matched his previous best finish there from the Daytona 500 in 2003.
• Kasey Kahne posted his third seventh-place finish at Daytona (the best he's done there in 10 starts) and fourth straight top 10.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. (eighth) posted his 11th top-10 finish at Daytona in 18 starts.
• Clint Bowyer (ninth) posted his fourth top-10 finish at Daytona in six starts.
• Mark Martin posted his sixth top-10 finish of the season in 13 starts.
• The 162-lap race saw 21 lead changes among 10 drivers and an average speed of 138.554 mph. Lap Summary
• Eleven caution flags were thrown for 33 laps.
• The Coke Zero 400 lasted 2 hours, 55 minutes, 23 seconds.

Lug Nuts
• Gee a bunch of yellows and crashes as the race wound down. Who'd have guessed that would happen in a plate race?
• The TV announcers said Kyle Busch was getting more cheers every week. Not sure what they were listening to Saturday night.
• Did Tony Stewart really have the flu or was he just calling in sick to an almost-former employer?
• It was weird watching Dale Earnhardt Jr. run along-side his old ride at Daytona for a bit there.
• The Hendrick crew went from what looked like a possible sweep, to the garbage dump pretty fast Saturday night.
• Thank you weather forecasters for doing another stellar job and predicting rainouts Friday and Saturday night. Picture perfect skies both nights.

Garage Talk
• "I am more mad at myself than anything else. I let the 18 get by me on the bottom." - Jeff Gordon

• "Before the race, the nurse said she was going to buy us a couple of hours and we got three hours out of it. We still had to go out there and try." - Tony Stewart

• "Anyway, happy I finished third, best I ever finished at Daytona the guys made great adjustments and we were pretty competitive, so it feels good."
- Matt Kenseth

• "We've learned a lot. I've got real high hopes for some races coming up for us."
- Robby Gordon

RacingOne Rating
On a scale of one to 10 bottles of Coke Zero (After all a free bottle is on Kyle Petty) we'll give Saturday night's race a 7. A crashfest at the end marred what was actually a good race with thankfully solid racing, not a follow-the-leader restrictor plate affair. Would have loved to see an upset but the way Kyle Busch's season is going, not surprised to see the No. 18 car win pretty much anyway it can this year. More night racing to follow with the first-ever under the lights visit to Chicagoland Speedway next Saturday night.

Transition drivers struggle
July 6, 2008

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) -The IndyCar race Sunday at Watkins Glen International turned out to be a tough one for the drivers transitioning from the defunct Champ Car World Series.

Bruno Junqueira, a three-time series runner-up in Champ Car, had the best day, finishing sixth, just ahead of fellow transition drivers Mario Moraes, his Dale Coyne Racing teammate, and 19-year Graham Rahal.

But things didn't go as well for Rahal's Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing teammate Justin Wilson, who started on the outside of the front row and wound up 25th in the 26-car field.

``We were happy to be back on a road course because we thought we could capitalize on some points and have a competitive run,'' Wilson said. ``We struggled in the first few laps but, after our first pit stop, we sorted out the handling and are not sure why the car wasn't better. Than we had a gearbox oil leak.''

KV Racing Technology teammates Oriol Servia and Will Power, also expected to be tough on the road circuit after struggling on the somewhat unfamiliar ovals in recent weeks, also wound up with mechanical problems.

Servia, who an among the top five much of the day, finished 23rd after losing electrical power to the gearbox. Power, also in contention early, also had an electrical problem. He was able to finish but wound up 15th.

Conquest Racing's Enrique Bernoldi crashed and finished 21st. Bernoldi was examined and released from the medical center at the track after complaining of lower back pain. But IndyCar officials said he will be re-examined next week before being cleared to drive at Nashville.

Also among the transition drivers, E.J. Viso finished 10th and Mario Dominguez 13th.

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CLOSE CALL: Danica Patrick lost control of her car leaving her pit late in Sunday's race, nearly hitting several of Scott Dixon's crewmen.

Patrick's car hit a tire on the pit lane and snapped around, nosing into the pit wall as the crewmen scrambled for safety. The accident knocked the front wing off her car and one of the crewmen grabbed it and dumped in unceremoniously on the front of Patrick's car in obvious disgust.

``Unfortunately, during the final pit stop of the day I hit a tire leaving the pit and then locked the car up, which caused me to hit the No. 9 pit,'' Patrick said. ``Fortunately, I made no contact with anyone.''

Her Andretti Green Racing team replaced the nose on Patrick's car and she went on to finish 14th, about where she had been running most of the day.

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OUCH, THAT SMARTS: Tony Kanaan crashed hard during the Sunday morning warmup, leaving him with an aching left wrist.

The former series champion said the crash came as the result of a broken suspension. Kanaan showed up for the drivers' meeting about an hour later with a plastic bag of ice on his injured wrist, and he drove in the race with the wrist tightly taped.

His Andretti Green Racing team was able to repair the damaged car, replacing the rear wing and the suspension parts in time the race. That allowed the Brazilian to start sixth, where he qualified, rather than moving to the rear of the 26-car field with a backup car.

IndyCar Series doctors said X-rays on the wrist, which has been broken twice before, were negative.

``It's a wrist that already has 14 screws in it,'' Kanaan said after driving with pain and finishing fourth in the race. ``It's a really sharp pain on the outside bone. Every time I turn to the right, it gives me like somebody's putting a needle in my wrist.

``I was really happy for all those yellows, believe me. It was really painful, but I don't think we had the car to win today anyhow.''

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LEAGUE UPDATE: IRL officials met with IndyCar Series team owners Sunday morning to update them on several issues, including future schedules, the ongoing search for a series sponsor and the recent meeting with engine manufacturers.

``It's something we've never done before,'' IRL spokesman John Griffin said. ``There was no announcements or anything like that. We were just bringing everybody up to date on some things.''

The recent unification of the two American open-wheel series has brought six teams from the defunct Champ Car World Series to IndyCar. IRL officials said earlier this year that the 2009 schedule would be made from a ``clean sheet of paper.''

The IRL also has plans for an all-new car and engine, possibly as soon as 2010. League officials recently met with 12 engine manufacturers in a round-table discussion to toss around ideas and find out what engine rules the companies would like to see the IRL adopt.

In the hunt for a series sponsor, officials have indicated there are ongoing talks with three major companies and that a deal could be done with the next 90 days.

``It was all very constructive and very interesting,'' said Keith Wiggins, owner of HVM Racing, one of the transitional teams. ``It all sounds very good. Now all they have to do is make some of these things happen.''