Racing Roundup May 22 - May 25

Lia collects first win in Ohio
Sat 24th, May 2008

Mansfield, OH (Sports Network) - Rookie Donny Lia passed David Starr on the final lap to capture Saturday afternoon's Ohio 250 Craftsman Truck Series race at the Mansfield Motorsports Park. The No.71 Chevrolet driver edged out Starr at the finish line by 0.241 seconds.

The victory was Lia's first Craftsman Truck Series win in just his eighth start.

Starr was doggedly holding onto a lead despite pressure from Lia and Todd Bodine when a record 15th caution flag flew with 11 laps remaining.

The race got back underway with just seven laps left. Lia and Bodine battled hard behind Starr for second at the drop of the green flag. Lia won the fight and on the final lap, he bumped Starr, forcing him to the outside. Lia, Starr and Bodine went three-wide going into Turn 3 and coming to the line, Lia was able to squeeze ahead of Starr and Bodine for the victory.

Terry Cook and Mike Skinner completed the top-five.

After winning his first pole of the season, Johnny Benson led the field to the green flag for 250 laps of short-track racing.

Benson maintained the lead early. But the big story was points leader Ron Hornaday Jr. He made his way through the field and when the first caution flag came out on lap nine he was in the top-10.

Hornaday Jr. continued his march to the front during the restart as he moved into the top-five. He found himself in third when the next caution flag flew on lap 38.

During the caution period Starr, running third, was the only leader to come down pit road. Dennis Setzer and Cook also took pit stops.

The drama started during the lap 44 restart when Hornaday Jr. tried to make his way into the lead. After getting around Skinner for second, Hornaday Jr. and Benson battled side-by-side for the lead. They touched and this allowed Skinner to take the inside lane and pass both drivers. Hornaday Jr.'s persistence for the top spot ended with Skinner sending him into the wall.

The leaders took pit stops during the caution period and Hornaday Jr. took his truck to the garage for major repairs.

Shelby Howard and Jack Sprague inherited the top-two spots by not stopping. They finally took their pit stops when the next caution flag came out for Scott Speed/Brendan Gaughan incident. Benson also stopped during the caution to check for damage since he was behind the crash.

Setzer inherited the lead with Starr, Bodine, Sean Murphy and Cook to the restart. Once again the leaders drove like it was the last lap of the race. It resulted in Starr crashing Setzer out on lap 80.

Starr took over the race lead and kept that position until the wild finish.

Bodine jumped to first in the point standings (1,001) with his third-place finish. Rick Crawford (993) remains in second with his 13th-place finish. Hornaday Jr. (937) finished 35th and dropped to fifth in the standings.

The next race in the series is set for Friday, May 30th at Dover International Speedway.

Kahne completes Lowe's sweep
Sun 25th, May 2008

Concord, NC (Sports Network) - Kasey Kahne, winner of the All-Star race, completed a rare sweep by capturing NASCAR's endurance race, the 600-mile Coca-Cola 600 at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. He is just the sixth driver to win both events in the same year.

The No.9 Budweiser Dodge crossed the finish line 10.202 seconds ahead of Greg Biffle, but it was certainly not that easy.

"Tony Stewart had the win right there and had a little problem, so we definitely had some help," said Kahne.

The victory was Kahne's first "regular season" win since October 2006, at Lowe's and eighth of his Sprint Cup career.

As Kahne said, it was Stewart's race with half-a-dozen laps to go. He had plenty of fuel and a five-second lead on Kahne. All he had to do was stay on the track and have the engine stay in one piece. But with three laps to go he blew a right-side tire and slapped the wall. As he slowed Kahne came flying by him with just three miles to go.

Kahne cruised to the checkered flag for a 10-second win over Biffle.

Pole winner Kyle Busch brought the field to the green flag for 400 laps of racing, but everybody knows the race doesn't begin until the sun goes down. Busch led the first 33 laps, but also reported that he was having ignition problems. "Volts down to 12," he radioed.

Brian Vickers inherited the lead as Busch faded through the top-10. Behind him was Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton. Then Johnson took a turn up front, the 13th consecutive race at Lowe's in which he had led at least one lap.

Johnson extended his lead to two seconds, but Robby Gordon slapped the outside wall to bring out the caution flag. Following the caution period, Kurt Busch led a lap, his first since the Daytona 500. Kurt Busch was still the leader at the 100-lap mark and had led a race-high 36 laps.

Now it was Earnhardt Jr.'s time to shine. He passed Brian Vickers for second and went after Kurt Busch. He caught Busch and the two of then pulled away from the field, putting five seconds between them and the pack. But on the next green-flag pit stop, the No.88 crew took more than 24 seconds to get all four wheels on and "Junior" dropped to fifth place, 11 seconds back.

With only one caution flag and a fast pace, just 20 cars remained on the lead lap after 130 laps. A flat tire on Biffle's No.16 Ford dropped the lead lap cars to 19.

Meanwhile, Vickers slid around Kurt Busch for the lead and along with Kyle Busch the trio built a gap between themselves and fourth-place Johnson of almost six seconds. But Kyle Busch's No.18 Toyota broke loose and he brought the car down pit lane under green for new tires which put him down a lap. And on lap 154 Vickers, still the leader, reported a vibration, but he stayed out.

On lap 161, Kurt Busch slammed the wall, twice, to bring out the caution flag. It was a great break for Earnhardt Jr. who was right back within reach of the lead. And for Kyle Busch who got back on the lead lap.

The track was really starting to cool and change as the sun began dropping behind the stands, but Vickers, Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. still led the way. Kahne and Kyle Busch were also improving and both were back solidly in the top-10.

Vickers began to fade and he complained about a loose wheel. Seconds later he slammed into the wall.

Following pit stops in which there were a wide variety of strategies, Earnhardt Jr. took over the lead with Kahne and Jeff Burton. Johnson, who chose to take four tires and fuel, returned to the track in 12th place.

The speeds were getting faster and the top-six cars set their fastest laps of the night right after the restart on lap 195. Earnhardt Jr. and Kahne were clearly the fastest of the fast and built a three-second lead. Then on lap 206 Kahne charged around "Junior" for the lead.

Earnhardt Jr. quickly re-took the lead once they went back to green. "Junior" was flying and by lap 235 was up by almost three seconds. But another caution flag, the seventh of the night, brought him back to the field.

This time it was Kyle Busch who used the two-tire stop to gain the lead. Burton came out second, Tony Stewart third and Earnhardt Jr. fifth. By lap 252 "Junior" was back up to second place after going around the outside of Stewart. Seven laps later Earnhardt Jr. flew past Busch for the lead.

Again, Earnhardt Jr. was the class of the field building the lead to two seconds with 130 laps remaining and three seconds with 120 to go. But on lap 296 he lost a right-front tire and slapped the wall. Then he got hit by J.J. Yeley and his chance of winning was done. But these COT cars are tough and "Junior" would still get a top-five finish.

Stewart inherited the lead after the accident to the No.88 Chevrolet, but Kahne was looking to become just the sixth driver to win the All-Star race and the "600" in the same year and took the lead from Stewart. Kahne's lead was up to two seconds with 80 laps remaining.

But more caution flags slowed the race. Johnson used the first one to make a fuel-only stop and grab the lead with 66 laps to go. Stewart, Kahne and Kyle Busch were just behind.

Kyle Busch was the man pressing the issue. He passed Stewart and got Kahne too, before they reached lap 345. Busch was the fastest car on the track and began to eat into Johnson's lead. He caught him and passed him on lap 346 and off he went. Johnson began to slow even further, he had engine problems. Kahne took over second, but he was almost two seconds behind Busch. By lap 351 Johnson was pulling down pit road - his engine was dead.

Kahne was faster than Kyle Busch and chopping into his lead on every lap. He caught him with 40 laps remaining and passed him two laps later.

There would likely be one final pit stop for everyone to reach the checkered flag. Or would anyone try to go the distance without stopping?

There were some indications that Jeff Gordon would try. He topped of on lap 339, one of the last cars off pit road. Or possibly Hamlin. Or Dave Blaney.

Stewart was gaining on Kahne as the hit the 375-lap mark and Kyle Busch was in third place, but five seconds back and fading. Kahne pitted with 17 laps to go for fuel only. Fifteen laps to go and Stewart was the leader. Two laps later Stewart gave up the lead for fuel.

Only Blaney and Gordon were left on the track. Blaney couldn't make it and Stewart had already overtaken Gordon to become the leader. He had plenty of fuel and a five-second lead on Kahne. It seemed so easy. But then fate stepped in, Stewart's tire blew and his win went to Kahne.

Kyle Busch's third place finish will send him to the next race in Dover with a 94-point lead over Burton. Earnhardt Jr. is in third place, 139 points behind Busch.

Dominant Dixon still needs help to win Indy 500
Sun 25th, May 2008

Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Scott Dixon led 115 of 200 laps, but still needed a great final pit stop from his No.9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing team to capture the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500. Dixon took the checkered flag 1.7498 seconds ahead of Vitor Meira, but the outcome was in doubt until the final few laps.

It was the Auckland, New Zealand native's first Indianapolis 500 victory and the second win for owner Chip Ganassi.

"What a day, I just couldn't believe it," said Dixon. "You just thought something was going to go wrong...but it never did."

On the last pit stop, Dixon was running in second place but his crew put up a lightning 7.0-second stop and he beat Meira to the end line for the race lead which he would never give up.

Meanwhile, Ryan Briscoe and Danica Patrick collided and both were knocked out of the race. By the time the track was cleaned up the green flag dropped with 24 to go. There were four cars within one second, realistically vying for the win - Dixon, Meira, Helio Castroneves and Marco Andretti.

Twenty laps to go and Dixon's margin was 0.2315 seconds. It was half-a-second one lap later after being told by his pit crew he could run "full rich" the rest of the way.

Dixon wasn't saving anything or hiding anything anymore. Fifteen laps to go and he built the lead to 0.7564 seconds. Meanwhile, Andretti moved around Castroneves for third place.

But this was Dixon's race to win and he made no mistakes down the stretch to win the Indianapolis 500 for the first time.

Dixon brought the crowd to its feet as he led the 33-car field to the green flag to start the 92nd running of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

Dixon and teammate Dan Wheldon quickly hooked up but on lap three, Wheldon slipped underneath Dixon to take the lead as the No.9 was already in "fuel conservation mode." Two drivers looking strong early on and moving through the field were Tony Kanaan and Tomas Scheckter. They slid into third and fourth, respectively after just five laps.

A caution flag on lap eight for debris slowed the race and sent almost everyone to pit lane for fuel and tires. Two drivers stayed out - Buddy Rice, the new race leader and Justin Wilson. Wheldon was third, but the first driver off pit lane.

The race restarted on lap 17 and it took just two laps for Wheldon to retake the lead from Rice and he did it pretty easily. Dixon followed his teammate through and they were once again one-two. Wilson was third and the only other car within two seconds of the leader.

Wilson and Rice finally pitted on lap 33, but it left them well back in the pack. Meanwhile, Kanaan and Scheckter inherited third and fourth place.

They were still the leaders when Graham Rahal, the 19-year old who won at St. Petersburg earlier this year, slid off line and into the Turn 4 outside wall to bring out a caution flag on lap 37.

Dixon would lead the field back to the restart on lap 45 with Wheldon, Kanaan and Scheckter all comfortably nose-to-tail.

Then Marty Roth crashed on lap 61 in a similar manner to Rahal. They both got off the "racing line" into the "marbles" and lost all grip ending with the car in the wall. Castroneves caught a piece of the Roth accident and needed a long pit stop to replace the nose piece along with fuel and tires. He returned in 14th place.

The two Ganassi cars continued to show the way as the field approached the 100-lap mark, but at lap 94 Kanaan made a move past both Target cars. He charged past Wheldon in Turn 1 and the lead was his.

Then just as suddenly, on lap 105 Kanaan began to slow and Dixon flew around the outside. AGR teammate Marco Andretti also slid underneath him and it forced Kanaan up into the marbles. When he came back down the track, he collided with Sarah Fisher and both Kanaan and Fisher were knocked out of the race.

Dixon, who had just passed the slowing Kanaan before the accident, was the new leader as they went back to green with 83 laps to go. Behind him, Andretti, Wheldon and Scheckter were keeping pace.

Andretti not only kept pace, but with 79 remaining he charged around Dixon in Turn 1 and took the lead. He was still in first when Wilson spun out just 67 laps from the finish to bring out the caution flag and send the field down pit lane for fuel and tires.

With a 7.3-second stop, Andretti maintained the lead of those who stopped, ahead of Dixon and Scheckter. One pit crew that did the job perfectly was Helio Castroneves' No.3 Team Penske crew that picked up three spots on pit road.

Rookie Mario Moraes stayed out and inherited the lead, but he only had about 10 laps more of fuel. His lead didn't even last through Turn 1 as Dixon charged from third to first on the first green-flag lap.

Alex Lloyd brought out the next caution flag, but it came too early for anyone to make a final pit stop. Still, all except Ed Carpenter came in. Carpenter inherited the lead with Dixon, Meira and Castroneves behind him with new tires and full of fuel. Andretti fell to fifth and Wheldon had problems on pit lane and came out 19th. Scheckter never even made it out pit road with a broken driveshaft.

On the restart, Meira, who has never won an IndyCar race, jumped from third to first and then Dixon got around Carpenter with 40 laps to go.

"Right there I saw an open gap and thought 'I'm not lifting anymore'," said Meira.

Then with 30 laps to go Milka Duno spun to slow the field. They were now within reach of the checkered flag on one more tank of fuel.

It was there that the No.9 Target pit crew made the decisive pit stop that put Dixon out front and helped win him the race.

"The Target guys did a fantastic job," said Dixon.

"We finished second, but this is a very good result compared to the struggles this season, Panther Racing is back," said Meira.

The win also gives Dixon the 2008 IndyCar championship lead.

Hamilton wins in Monaco
Sun 25th, May 2008

Monte Carlo, Monaco (Sports Network) - Lewis Hamilton captured Formula One's glamour event - The Grand Prix of Monaco.

Hamilton became the first Englishman to win Monaco since Graham Hill in 1969. His No.22 McLaren Mercedes crossed the finish line 3.064 seconds ahead of BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica.

The victory was Hamilton's second of the season and sixth of his F1 career.

The win by Hamilton gives McLaren Mercedes their third victory in four years and 15th win on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Felipe Massa, Mark Webber and Sebastien Vettel completed the top-five.

Hamilton had an amazing 40-second lead erased when Nico Rosberg crashed to bring out the safety car with 16 laps remaining.

Hamilton led Kubica, Massa, Sutil and Raikkonen when the race went back to green conditions with just 11 minutes left in a timed race.

The 23-year-old Hamilton had a great restart and was able to pull away from the field.

"I am used to it," said Hamilton when asked about the restart. "I remember last year in Canada I had to do the same thing."

Meanwhile, trouble struck Kimi Raikkonen, the points leader. Raikkonen lost control of his car and hit the back of Adrian Sutil. Raikkonen and Sutil lost crucial positions on the track when they came down pit road for repairs and neither driver scored any championship points.

Hamilton maintained his comfortable margin for the remainder of the race with no pressure from Kubica.

Massa and Ferrari teammate Raikkonen led the field around the tight 2.075- mile, street course to the green flag.

The No.2 Ferrari pulled away from the field early under a light rain and damp conditions. Hamilton settled into the second spot and Raikkonen followed in third.

The rain caused the first big mistake of the race on lap six. Hamilton hit the barrier exiting the Swimming Pool section and in the process punctured his right-rear tire. Hamilton came into the pits for fresh tires. The No.22 McLaren Mercedes rejoined the grid in fifth after his stop.

Fernando Alonso had to come into the pits on lap nine after brushing the barrier. On the same lap, Sebastien Bourdais and David Coulthard crashed. Both drivers didn't return to the track.

The drama continued on lap 13 when Raikkonen served a drive-through penalty for not having his tires fitted in the required three minutes before the race. After his penalty, Raikkonen settled into fourth.

Even though the weather conditions were improving, problems were still occurring on the track. The leader was the victim this time around. Massa spun his car at the Ste Devote section, allowing Robert Kubica to take over the race lead. Massa didn't damage his car and settled into second.

The No.2 Ferrari inherited the first position when Kubica made his first pit stop on lap 26. Kubica rejoined the field in fourth, behind Raikkonen. Meanwhile, Raikkonen's problems continued as he received front-wing damage from a mistake at the Ste Devote section of the course. He took a pit stop for a new nose and fuel.

Massa led Hamilton, Kubica, Mark Webber and Raikkonen. But Massa gave up the first position to pit on lap 33. He came out behind Hamilton, the new leader.

Hamilton and Webber were the fastest cars on the track as they continued to post the fastest lap times. After 40 laps, the margin for Hamilton was 18 seconds.

The No.22 McLaren Mercedes expanded his gap to over 25 seconds. Hamilton's assumption was that Massa and Kubica wouldn't have to pit for the remainder of the race. So he wanted to ensure he would be able to make a stop and maintain the lead.

Some of the drivers decided to switch to their slick tires with the track drying. Alonso was the first driver to switch to the dry tire when he came down pit road on lap 46. Three laps later, Webber came down for dry tires.

Alonso set the new fastest lap with his dry tires on lap 54, showing the field that dry tires was the way to go.

Hamilton made his final pit stop on lap 54. He decided to go with the dry tires, possibly influenced by Alonso. Hamilton was able to come out of the pits ahead of Massa to maintain first. Massa came into the pits three laps later to make the switch, but didn't take any fuel. Massa rejoined the grid in third behind Kubica.

"Fortunately the strategy played to my advantage," said Hamilton about taking dry tires.

Hamilton now leads the point standings with 38 points. Raikkonen's ninth-place finish drops him to second, three points behind Hamilton. Massa (34) completes the top-three.

The next race in the series is set for Sunday, June 8th at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada.