Telcel-Motorola 200 News and Notes

They have some real road racing aces in the race this year.

Busch Series News & Notes - Mexico City

Round Two: Hamlin, Said Ready For Mexico City

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 27, 2007) – For the first time in its short three-year history, the NASCAR Busch Series Telcel-MOTOROLA Mexico 200 can produce a repeat winner.

Denny Hamlin (No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet) is poised to set that standard.

Boris Said (No. 9 Evernham Motorsports Dodge) would like to reverse his second-place finish from one year ago and become the third different winner in three races at the 2.518-mile Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course.

The race – the first of three road-course events on the NASCAR Busch Series schedule this season – has had its share of road-course specialists entered over the past two seasons.

But the opposite of the expected outcome has been the norm as drivers with little or no road course experience – Martin Truex Jr. and Hamlin – have captured the previous wins.

Last year’s victory was the first for Hamlin in NASCAR national series competition.

“I always expected to win my first race on a short track but to win a road course race with a great driver like Boris Said in your mirror is something I’ll never forget,” Hamlin said.

ESPN – the new television home to the NASCAR Busch Series – has added to the momentum of the Mexico City event with a history-making broadcast on Sunday.

ESPN2 will air the race in English and it will be simulcast on ESPN Deportes in Spanish, marking the first Spanish-language telecast of a major sporting event in ESPN’s history.

# Inaugural NASCAR Mexico Series Season Debuts Sunday
The NASCAR Busch Series made history two years ago with its inaugural race in Mexico City – the first points event for the series on international soil.

Now another NASCAR series is preparing for its debut at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the NASCAR Mexico Series, which contests its first-ever race on Sunday as a precursor to the NASCAR Busch Series event.

The formation of the NASCAR Mexico Series is fueling a transition from the country’s historically open-wheel racing fan base to stock car racing.

As the NASCAR Busch Series race continues to establish itself as one of the premier motorsports events in Mexico, the new touring series offers opportunities for Mexico’s top teams and drivers to showcase their talents in a NASCAR-sanctioned system.

The 2007 schedule features 14 races over a nine-month span from March through November. Races will take place on 10 ovals and four road courses in seven of Mexico’s major cities.

Each race is expected to feature an average of 30 cars.

Additionally this year, three NASCAR Mexico Series drivers – including 2006 NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch East Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year Ruben Pardo – plan to run full-time in the Busch East Series.

# Hometown Heroes, Road-Course Aces In Mexico City Mix
Sunday’s race features another stout list of entries, arguably stronger than the first two series events held in Mexico City.

Along with defending race winner Denny Hamlin and his new nemesis, Boris Said, two international superstars bring another one-two punch to the mix.

Columbia’s Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge) will return to his road-course roots and pit his talents against Mexican icon Adrian Fernandez (No. 5 Lowe’s Chevrolet), who has come agonizingly close to capturing a checkered flag in the first two races.

Hometown favorites Michel Jourdain Jr. (No. 17 Dish Network Ford), Carlos Contreras (No. 22 Family Dollar Dodge) and Jorge Goeters (No. 27 Scioto Bank Ford) – who claimed the inaugural Busch Pole at the track in 2005 – also return.

Fellow Mexicans Rogelio Lopez (No. 67 Telmex Dodge) and Antonio Perez (No. 68 Telmex Dodge) are teammates.

Canadians Ron Fellows (No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet), Montoya’s teammate Scott Pruett (No. 41 Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit Dodge) and John Fitzpatrick Jr. (No. 0 Hefty/RACEGIRL Chevrolet) are joined by Australian Marcos Ambrose (No. 59 Kingsford Ford) – who finds himself in 10th place in series points after the first two races. Ambrose is a veteran racer but a rookie in the NASCAR Busch Series.

Venezuelan Alex Garcia (No. 98 Dixien-OmniSource Corp. Chevrolet) looks to transition from open-wheel racing to stock cars.

Road warrior P.J. Jones (No. 21 AutoZone Chevrolet) is a surprise entry in the 2006 series championship car, running in place of reigning series champion Kevin Harvick and his teammate Timothy Peters.

# Early-Season Results Point To Close Manufacturer Race
Ford pulled to within two points of leader Chevrolet in the Bill France Performance Cup standings following Matt Kenseth’s victory at California last Saturday.

Newcomer Toyota is keeping pace with those already in double-digits in points, standing third with 10. Dodge is fourth with six points.

Chevrolet has claimed the first two wins at Mexico City but Ford (2005) and Dodge (2006) have captured Busch Poles for previous events.

# Said’s Stats Create High Expectations
When the NASCAR Busch Series or the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series comes to a road course, it’s time for Boris Said to shine.

Sunday in Mexico City at the world-famous Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez will be no different.

For the second-consecutive season, Said will drive for Evernham Motorsports and the expectation will translate exactly the same south of the border as it does in the U.S.

He’ll be expected to post a top finish. That’s what happens when you win a Busch Pole – as he did last year – and when you dominate the Loop Data statistics – as he does every year.

Of the drivers competing in Sunday’s Telcel-MOTOROLA Mexico 200, Said owns a top track-specific Driver Rating of 119.1 (he has an average finish of 3.5 at the track). He also excels in another key stat – Average Running Position. Said boasts a field-best average running position of 7.494.

Said’s name is peppered throughout the Loop Data stats, usually in the top five.

Along with Driver Rating and Average Running Position, the wild-mane road course specialist holds top-five marks in:
# Speed in Traffic
# Quality Passes
# Fastest Driver by Frontstretch, Far Straightaway and Turns 1-4
# Fastest Green Flag Speed
# Laps in the Top 15

Adding intrigue to Sunday’s race will be the hometown heroes involved in the event. Mexican-born drivers Carlos Contreras, Jorge Goeters, Adrian Fernandez and Michel Jourdain Jr. all own impressive stats at their “home” track.

Contreras, Goeters and Fernandez have top- 15 Driver Ratings while Jourdain has 27 Quality Passes, which ranks in the top 15.

Somehow lost in the fray could be last year’s winner Denny Hamlin. Not typically known for his road-course prowess, Hamlin has a Driver Rating of 110.6, which is second only to Said among the drivers in Sunday’s field.

# ETC
Kevin Harvick (Daytona International Speedway) and Matt Kenseth (California) are the first drivers to sweep NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR NEXTEL Cup wins to open a season. … Some drivers will be making their road course debuts this weekend and went through extensive training in the off-season to hone their skills in preparation for this event and the other two road courses on the 2007 schedule at Montreal and Watkins Glen. Shane Huffman (No. 88 U.S. NAVY Chevrolet) Dodge) attended the Bondurant Racing School. Steve Wallace (No. 66 Homelife Communities Dodge) was tutored by Boris Said. Kertus Davis (No. 77 Dollar General Chevrolet) trained at Virginia International Raceway – his only other “appearance” on a road course came when he was eight-years-old in a go-kart. … Qualifying will utilize a road race format where groups of cars assigned by practice time will have six minutes on the track. A car’s best lap time during the session will be the lap time of record. … The series continues its season-opening cross-country tour March 10 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Teams tested at the 1.5-mile track Feb. 5-6, gathering notes for the intermediate venues on the schedule. Las Vegas will be the fourth different track layout the series has competed on in the first four races this year.

FAST FACTS
The Race: Telcel-MOTOROLA Mexico 200 presented by Banamex
The Place: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
The Date: March 4, 20071
The Time: 2:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN2, 1:30 p.m. (ET)
Track Layout: 2.518-mile road course
Race Purse: $2,512,372
2006 Winner: Denny Hamlin
2006 Pole: Boris Said

No. Driver Pts
1 Harvick 345
2 Edwards 330
3 Kenseth 327
4 Blaney 309
5 Biffle 289
6 Hamlin 280
7 Stewart 272
8 Kyle Busch 232
9 Smith 223
10 Ambrose 203

Schedule (all times local):
Fri., March 2 - Practice,1-2:15 p.m., Rookie Practice,3-3:30 p.m., Final Practice 3:45-5:00 p.m.
Sat., March 3 - Qualifying, 10:30 a.m. (Impound).

www.race2win.net

Driver to win the Telcel Motorola 200

Boris Said +500
Ron Fellows +500
Denny Hamlin +550
Juan Montoya +550
Adrian Fernandez +800
Scott Pruett +900
PJ Jones +1100
Carl Edwards +1100
Greg Biffle +1300
Michael Jourdain Jr +1800
Dave Blaney +2500
JJ Yeley +2500
Jason Leffler +3500
David Reutimann +3500
Field (All Others) +900

@Thegreek

I don't see much at all except Scott Pruett 9/1

The books aren't giving much away at all in this race. 🙁

I don't see much at all except Scott Pruett 9/1

The books aren't giving much away at all in this race. 🙁

Pruett On Pole in Mexico: #41-Scott Pruett will set on pole for the Telcel-Motorola 200 at Mexico Sunday. His qualifying speed was 103.647mph, which is a track record. #22-Carlos Contreras will lineup outside row 1. #42-Juan Pablo Montoya and #27-Jorge Goeters will make up row 2. The remainder of the top 10 during the session were #20-Denny Hamlin, #33-Ron Fellows, #9-Boris Said, #4-Regan Smith, #60-Carl Edwards, and #21-P.J. Jones. With 43 cars at the track, everyone qualified. Notes from qualifying: #1-J.J. Yeley's car was smoking during his qualifying lap and the crew will have to check to see if there is an engine problem. NASCAR found a cracked fuel cell in the #23-Brad Keselowski Chevy. The team missed their qualifying opportunity and will start at the rear of the field. #46-John Young and #98-Alex Garcia also did not make qualifying attempts.

;D Never hurts being on the pole in a road race I always say

www.jayski.com

Mexican NASCAR fans back Montoya in Busch Series in Mexico City
Thu, Mar 1, 2007
By Associated Press

MEXICO CITY -- Juan Pablo Montoya was clearly the center of attention Thursday as Busch Series drivers prepared for NASCAR's third race in Mexico City.

Bodog.com lists Montoya at +500 to win the Telcel-Motorola 200.

The Colombian star who jumped from Formula One to NASCAR late last season gained a strong following in Mexico with Formula N victories back in the 1990s. Now the Mexican fans hope a fellow Latino might finally win a NASCAR race on their soil.

''Montoya heads the stars,'' roared the headline in Mexican daily Diario de Mexico in its preview for Sunday's Telcel-Motorola 200.

''It's an honor to be racing alongside a driver like Montoya, a Latino who has had so much success in racing,'' Mexico City native Jorge Goeters said. ''Montoya is a born champion.''

When NASCAR kick-started it's Mexico City event in 2005, much was made about the Mexican drivers' knowledge of the 2.518-mile Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course and experience racing at 7,400 feet, an altitude that gives the cars a little less downforce, robbing them of grip and horsepower.

The expectations for local drivers appeared to be playing out when Goeters stunned the field by winning the pole.

But Goeter's first NASCAR pit stop was a disaster and the final results looked a lot like any other Busch Series race, with Martin Truex Jr. using an early pit stop to outlast Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards.

In the 2006 Mexico City event, Denny Hamlin won. Mexican driver Adrian Fernandez started in fourth and moved up a spot early, but had a minor crash, injuring his thumb, forcing him to settle for 12th.

Mexican driver Michel Jourdain has raced alongside Montoya at the Hermanos Rodriguez.

''He is a very good driver and he knows this track well,'' Jourdain said. ''Sooner or later, he is make his real impact in NASCAR.''

The curvy track was built for open-wheel racing and there is little opportunity to pass, except near the end of a tight straightaway.

But the track has seen some changes since Montoya was here last. A 1,000-foot long chicane that used to slow drivers on the opening stretch was taken out recently.

Robbie Weiss, NASCAR's managing director for international affairs, said Montoya brings in a lot of Mexican fans who are familiar with open-wheel racing.

''NASCAR is a brand just being introduced here, but every year it becomes more and more known,'' Weiss said. ''A big name like Montoya brings in the open wheel fans. And once people try this product they always discover they like it.''

Weiss said the three years of NASCAR in Mexico has not only helped increase support for NASCAR south of the border, but also in the United States.

Fernandez now appears in Spanish-language television commercials in the United States for car sponsor Lowe's, while Jourdain says he gets especially strong support in areas with big Latino communities such as California.

''We're building a bridge between the Mexican sporting community and the Latino community in the U.S.,'' Weiss said. ''Now you get people watching NASCAR at the Texas Motor Speedway while their relatives are watching it in Mexico City.''

I think I am liking Edwards, Hamlin and Montoya for today. I was leaning towards Pruett but something tells me he can't go pole to pole. Montoya is my favorite but he isn't getting a great price plus he may blow the tranny out of the car since he is used to the push button F1 shifting.

Thoughts?

I am sitty pretty with my Prueet I think 😉

I don't like Montoya at all either and see zero value at this price.

I took R Fellows +05/ B Said and J Wood ev /M Wallace in matchups

Montoya is a punk 😡

Montoya is a punk 😡

I really hate that POS 😡

I love how Pruett blasted that punk ;D

Montoya spins teammate, wins race
Sun, Mar 4, 2007
By Associated Press

MEXICO CITY -- Juan Pablo Montoya spun teammate Scott Pruett to take the lead with eight laps left, then held off Denny Hamlin to win the Telcel-Motorola 200 for his first NASCAR Busch Series victory.

Montoya, the Colombian star who jumped from Formula One to NASCAR late last season, recovered from a bad pit stop to aggressively move from 19th to first, taking the lead when he sent Pruett's car spinning on the 72nd lap.

''I'm very sorry about what happened with Scott,'' Montoya said. ''I thought he saw me and when he came across I had no room to go.''

Pruett was clearly upset.

''Of all the people to take out - your teammate,'' Pruett said. ''That was just lowdown, nasty, dirty driving.''

Hamlin, right behind the two Chip Ganassi Racing drivers at the time, said it was a tough call.

''I wouldn't call it dirty driving, but it was a bit aggressive,'' Hamlin said. ''Juan had the fastest car and he would have taken the lead sooner or later. He was overzealous.''

Hamlin, the winner last year, pressured Monotoya in the closing laps, but couldn't pass on the 2.518-mile Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course's s-curves.

Boris Said finished third in the race that ended with a green-white-checker finish after a late caution. Carl Edwards was fourth, and Pruett finished fifth.

''I'm really glad we won, but really upset that we took out a teammate,'' said Brad Parrott, Montoya's crew chief.

Montoya, who had the dominant car for the entire race, made a green-flag stop on the 45th lap, but a fuel malfunction forced him to return to the pits about 10 laps later. After a caution, he started 19th and quickly moved his way back to the front of the field.

I am sitty pretty with my Prueet I think 😉

I don't like Montoya at all either and see zero value at this price.

I took R Fellows +05/ B Said and J Wood ev /M Wallace in matchups

Split my matchups and got booted by the punk 😀