This Week in Auto Racing November 9 - November 11
November 6th, 2007
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Highlighting this week's action, on the one-mile track in Phoenix, Gordon and Johnson showcase episode 35 of 36 in their head-to-head battle for the Nextel Cup championship.
Nextel Cup
Checker Auto Parts 500 - Phoenix International Raceway - Phoenix, AZ
After racing for 9,449 miles over 34 events, just 712 miles remain in the final two events which make up the "Chase for the Nextel Cup." After winning three consecutive races Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson is in the "drivers seat."
"I know we're racing for the championship and now we have control of it," said Johnson.
Johnson's ninth win of the season, and first ever at the Texas Motor Speedway, finally put him in front of teammate Jeff Gordon. It is also the most wins in a single season since Gordon posted a 13-win effort in his third championship season of 1998.
Johnson had to work awfully hard for the win.
He and Matt Kenseth were locked in a side-by-side battle for the final half dozen laps. The racing was a lot closer than Johnson or owner Rick Hendrick would have liked, with so much on the line, but Johnson felt "comfortable" next to Kenseth.
"There are only a handful of guys that I would feel comfortable racing that hard with at the end, being in the position we're in," Johnson said. "So there aren't many, and Matt is certainly one. I've had a lot of great racing with Matt over the years, and I think we both have respect for one another. We can get in there and do it all without running each other over."
Even with that, there were a couple of times where both drivers lost grip and got close to the wall and the other racer.
"I was thinking, 'We've got an awful lot at stake here, and Jeff was running seventh, and we don't need this,'" said Rick Hendrick.
But Johnson didn't yield and finally got around Kenseth with a couple of laps to go. The pass added 15 points to Johnson's total. The difference means that Johnson owns a 30-point edge instead of 15 with two races to go.
Now it's on to the short, flat one-mile Phoenix International Raceway oval.
Johnson has made eight starts at PIR, yielding no poles, no wins, but six top-10s and an average finish of 7.3.
Gordon as been a little better with three poles, one win and a stunning 14 top-10s in 17 starts.
Barring a complete mental collapse or engine failure, it is not likely that this race will win or lose the 2007 Nextel Cup championship. However, it will set up the final parameters for what should be a great finish at the Homestead-Miami Speedway next week.
Busch
Arizona.Travel 200 - Phoenix International Raceway - Phoenix, AZ
After stumbling to the "finish line" Carl Edwards finally clinched his first Busch Series title last week in Texas.
So with the championship officially out of the way, the only thing that will matter this week for the 43 starters is winning the race. No points racing, this should be 43 drivers with one goal - win.
Clint Bowyer won the spring event edging Matt Kenseth in the process. But it was Kenseth who won last fall, beating out Kevin Harvick by 0.337 second. Bowyer finished fourth.
With 30 laps to go in the April race, Kenseth went to the high side and made the successful pass around Bowyer. Kenseth and Bowyer moved out on Burton in third leaving him more than one second back with 20 laps to go.
Bowyer kept taking a peek to the inside, but couldn't make the move just yet. Then with 14 laps he tried it again and got side-by-side. He edged in front of him, but Kenseth wouldn't go away.
The fun battle was interrupted when Stephen Leicht crashed to bring out one more caution flag.
The race restarted with seven laps to go and Bowyer got off well. In fact, he broke free of Kenseth and Jeff Burton began to pressure Kenseth for second place. The second-place fight left Bowyer to cruise to the checkered flag and his first Busch win of 2007.
Craftsman
Casino Arizona 150 - Phoenix International Raceway - Phoenix, AZ
It's deja vu all over again in the Craftsman Truck Series. Thirteen years ago, in 1995, the season was winding down and Mike Skinner held a small lead over Ron Hornaday Jr. Skinner won the finale to clinch the inaugural truck series title.
After a third-place finish last Friday by Skinner and a late race accident to Hornaday Jr., Skinner brings a 57-point lead to the Phoenix International Raceway.
The differential is one of the closest with two races to go and the closest since Bobby Hamilton brought a slim seven-point edge over Dennis Setzer to PIR in 2004.
But as in the Nextel Cup Series, this matchup is likely to head to Florida with the championship still in doubt. The only way Skinner can clinch this week is a win and "most laps led" bonus while Hornaday Jr. finishes dead last without leading any laps.
However, assuming Skinner starts the final race, Skinner has to leave PIR with a 141-point lead (195 is the maximum you can earn in a race minus 55 for last) to wrap up the championship. That could be done with Hornaday Jr. finishing as high as 18th if everything falls into place.
Hornaday Jr., for one is not ready to give up, particularly at PIR where he has had good success.
"I have two wins at Phoenix International Raceway and I like that track a lot," said Hornaday Jr. "We are taking the truck that we won with at New Hampshire and it is a good truck. Rick Ren (crew chief) and all the guys on the Camping World team have put a lot of hard work into that truck to get it ready for this week."
CHAMP CAR
Gran Premio Tecate - Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez - Mexico City, Mexico
With the Champ Car Series having been decided three week's ago in Surfers Paradise, there seems little to watch in the Champ Car series finale this Sunday.
Mario Dominguez and fellow Mexican David Martinez will be among the favorites at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Martinez finished 10th in his Australian debut.
It will also be the final look for Champ Car fans at Sebastien Bourdais as he is set to embark on his Formula One career in 2008 with Toro Rosso. The four- time series champion (four straight) has put together quite a resume in Champ Car World Series racing.
In 72 starts, the Frenchman earned an amazing 28 poles, 30 wins (41.67%) and 43 podiums. He was even better in 2007 winning seven of 13 events (53.84%).
Bourdais' numbers dwarf those of the all-time series greats A.J. Foyt (67 wins in 369 starts = 18.16%), Mario Andretti (52 wins, 12.77%), Michael Andretti (42 wins, 13.59%) and Al Unser 39 wins, 12.62%).
Of course it is a different era than when those legends drove against each other. In those days, the CART Series was a top series which drivers fought all their life to join. These days, with the IndyCar/Champ Car split having ruined open-wheel racing in America, most of their good drivers seek fame and fortune elsewhere - like Formula One or NASCAR.
Auto Racing Glance
Checker Auto Parts 500 - Phoenix International Raceway - Phoenix, AZ
Schedule: Friday, qualifying (ESPN2, 5:30 p.m.); Sunday, race (ABC, 3 p.m.).
Track: Phoenix International Raceway (tri-oval, 1 mile, 11 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 9 degrees banking in turns 3-4).
Race distance: 312 miles, 312 laps.
Last race: Jimmie Johnson won a dramatic side-by-side duel with Matt Kenseth, grabbing his third straight victory and, more important, wresting the points lead from Jeff Gordon at Texas Motor Speedway. The reigning Cup champion, who began the day nine points behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Gordon, moved out to a 30-point lead with two races remaining in the Chase for the championship.
Last year: Johnson moved one step closer to his first NASCAR championship, leaving Phoenix International Speedway with a firm hold of the points standings. Johnson settled for second place behind winner Kevin Harvick.
Fast facts: Johnson took the points lead for good at Texas last year on the way to his first and only title. He last won three straight races in 2004 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Martinsville and Atlanta. ... Gordon won the April race at Phoenix from the pole, his first victory at the track. ... Six of the 12 drivers in the Chase were officially eliminated from title contention last weekend. ... This will be the final Car of Tomorrow event this season. The series will run the cars full-time in 2008. ... Tony Stewart has finished outside the top 10 in three straight races. But he was the runner-up in two of the last three Phoenix events. ... Kenseth has recorded three straight top-three finishes, but was one of the six eliminated last weekend.
Next race: Ford 400, Nov. 18, Homestead, Fla.
Arizona.Travel 200 - Phoenix International Raceway - Phoenix, AZ
Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, Noon), race (ESPN2 4 p.m.).
Track: Phoenix International Raceway (tri-oval, 1 mile, 11 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 9 degrees banking in turns 3-4).
Race distance: 200 miles, 200 laps.
Last race: Kevin Harvick won another race and runaway points leader Carl Edwards finally wrapped up his first Busch Series championship at Texas Motor Speedway. Edwards, who built a lead of more than 800 points in the first half of the season, stumbled through the second half before putting away the title with an 11th-place run in the O'Reilly Challenge. He leads runner-up David Reutimann by an insurmountable 552 points with two races to go.
Last year: Matt Kenseth used a terrific final restart to hold off Harvick at Phoenix International Raceway, spoiling Harvick's bid to break Sam Ard's record of Busch wins in a season. Ard won 10 races in 1983 and Harvick, a nine-time winner who had already wrapped up the title, had hoped to use wins in the final two events this year to break the mark.
Fast facts: Edwards won the 2005 fall event from the pole and has finished in the top five in four of his five truck starts at the track. ... Harvick picked up his 32nd career Busch victory last weekend, moving him past Jack Ingram into second place behind Mark Martin, who has 47 wins. ... David Ragan has a 31-point lead over Marcos Ambrose in the Rookie of the Year standings.
Next race: Ford 300, Nov. 17, Homestead, Fla.
Casino Arizona 150 - Phoenix International Raceway - Phoenix, AZ
Schedule: Friday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 4:30 p.m.), race (Speed Channel, 7:30 p.m.).
Track: Phoenix International Raceway (tri-oval, 1 mile, 11 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 9 degrees banking in turns 3-4).
Race distance: 150 miles, 150 laps.
Last race: Ted Musgrave broke a 66-race NASCAR winless streak, taking the checkered flag under caution at Texas after the two trucks in front of him crashed going into the first turn of what was supposed to be a green-white finish. Mike Skinner finished third and regained the series point lead by 57 over Ron Hornaday Jr. with two races left. It was the sixth time in seven races Skinner and Hornaday traded the points lead, but it's the largest gap between the drivers in that stretch.
Last year: Musgrave finished 20th in the rain-postponed Ford 200 and edged Dennis Setzer for his first truck championship. The 49-year-old Musgrave became NASCAR's oldest champion, claiming the title after finishing second in 2001 and third the last three years. Todd Bodine won his third consecutive race.
Fast facts: Skinner would earn the championship this weekend if he wins the race and leads the most laps and Hornaday finishes 36th with zero laps led. ... Skinner and Hornaday are the only two drivers who can mathematically win the title. The 57-point differential is the fifth-closest in series history with two races remaining. ... Musgrave's previous win was at Gateway in 2005. ... Willie Allen leads Joey Clanton and Tim Sauter by six points in the Rookie of the Year standings. ... Brendan Gaughan was the runner-up in each of the last two races.
Next race: Ford 200, Nov. 16, Homestead, Fla.
Hendrick maintains edge with Car of Tomorrow, but rest of the Cup teams catching up
The Car of Tomorrow is no longer a mystery.
Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway will be the 16th and final event of 2007 for the big, boxy CoT, which will be used for the entire 36-race schedule in 2008.
A lot has changed since the new cars first ran at Bristol in March, including the attitudes of most of the drivers. To say the least, few if any of the Cup drivers welcomed NASCAR's developmental project.
"Certainly, I was pretty disappointed at the beginning of the year, simply because we couldn't get the car to go," Greg Biffle said. "Obviously, we're going back to Phoenix, where we ran terrible at the beginning of the year. But we also did at Loudon, and then went back to Loudon and ran in the top 10.
"Hopefully, we've made some gains on the car over the season, and that's really going to show up at Phoenix. So, we're kind of waiting to see how we're going to run there. But, if we run decent there, then that will be great for us. That'll be a huge improvement over where we started out."
Two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart said he never did get too down on the new car, expecting the teams would get it figured out.
"No matter what kind of a car it is, it still has four wheels and it's either tight or loose or sliding in a four-wheel drift just like all the other types of cars I've grown up racing with," Stewart said. "It's just another race car.
"It obviously doesn't handle like the cars that we've had, but it wasn't designed to do that. It really hasn't been a big deal. I think it's shown as the year has gone on how professional these teams are and how quick they are to adapt to something new. I think that's the most impressive part of the CoT."
The seven-year project by the folks at NASCAR's research and development center in Concord, N.C., was intended to wind up with a safer, more competitive and more cost-effective car. So far, the safety aspect has been the only one of those that has proven out.
It has cost Cup teams considerably more this year to build both the CoT and the older car, and the level of competition in the first 15 CoT races - the ability to pass and get the cars balanced - has been inconclusive.
The only team that really had the new car figured at the beginning was Hendrick Motorsports, which won the first five CoT events and has won eight of the first 15. Most of the other teams didn't put the effort into developing the new car until after the season began and NASCAR decided to use the CoT full-time, beginning next year.
But five other teams have won seven of the last 10 CoT races, including Roush Fenway Racing (2), Joe Gibbs Racing (2), Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Richard Childress Racing.
"We started out pretty far off, and we gained a whole lot on it," said Biffle, who drives for Roush Fenway. "Obviously, Hendrick was the best in the beginning, and they probably still are, but we've certainly gotten a heck of a lot closer than when we started out?"
PURRING ENGINES: The new engine-building alliance of Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Richard Childress Racing has had its well-publicized problems this season, with a number of failures, most of them in cars driven by DEI's Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The biggest negatives, though, came last month at Talladega, where six of the seven cars entered by the two teams had either engine failures or other engine problems.
But DEI general manager John Story is convinced the merged engine program is on its way to success.
"Well, surprisingly, we feel pretty good about it," Story said when asked about the DEI-RCR venture that is being headed by Richard Childress. "We've had some failures, more than we've anticipated, obviously. But it's actually moving in a positive direction.
"Richard Childress has really taken the bull by the horns with this program. What happened at Talladega was, quite frankly, bizarre, and that's been addressed. All the other issues have been addressed."
Both teams race Chevrolets and at least part of the problem is apparently due General Motors introducing its new R07 engines.
"This R07 engine has been a big research project for everybody," Story said. "Maybe it bit us more than the others, but we're pretty confident. DEI has made a lot of horsepower historically. RCR is legendary for their reliability. Between the two, it's going to be great.
"We're going to have to do some things differently and they're going to have to do some things differently. You put a bunch of bright minds in the room and we're going to be able to take them on next year, no doubt about it."
HE SAID IT: "They don't have to spend $50,000 or $60,000 to build a car, plus they get to take the technology that's been built into these cars by some of the Cup teams. We take an otherwise worthless race car and make some dollars on it. That's a win-win." - Dale Earnhardt Inc. General Manager John Story talking about selling DEI's current Cup cars to ARCA and NASCAR East and West teams when the CoT is used full-time next season.
STAT OF THE WEEK: The championship battle between Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon is even closer than it appears.
Johnson began the 10-race Chase with a 20-point lead over Gordon. Johnson heads into Sunday's race at Phoenix in the lead by 30 points and the battle has been exactly that close in the first eight races of the postseason.
Both led 267 laps and Johnson has totaled 1,322 points to Gordon's 1,312. Overall, Gordon's average finish in the Chase is 4.6 and Johnson's is 5.3.
Besides the race last month at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where Gordon finished first and Johnson was 14th, the furthest either driver finished ahead of the other is six positions.
This week in motor racing
What's new in motor sports heading into this weekend:
1. Three-time IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr. is expected to announce this weekend that he will move to the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series next year for team owner Roger Penske, whose current Cup drivers are Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman.
Hornish will join reigning IndyCar Series champ Dario Franchitti, former Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya and other open-wheel drivers who are making the switch to stock car racing.
Hornish, 28, already has driven in some NASCAR Busch Series races and has tried unsuccessfully to qualify for several Cup races. He and Franchitti will make qualifying runs for the Busch race Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway, and Hornish also will attempt to qualify for the Cup race there Sunday.
2. The Champ Car World Series ends its season Sunday in Mexico City with rookie Graham Rahal still looking for his first victory.
Rahal, the 18-year-old son of former Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar Series team owner Bobby Rahal, has four "podiums," or top-three finishes, this year.
Sebastien Bourdais, his teammate at Newman-Haas-Lanigan Racing, already has clinched his fourth consecutive Champ Car title.
3. The flurry of drivers changing teams for 2008 continues to hurt the market for die-cast cars, clothing and other driver-related merchandise.
Speedway Motorsports Inc., a track operator that also owns half of Motorsports Authentics, one of the leading sellers of such goods, reported an $18-million loss from its portion of the merchandise business for the quarter ended Sept. 30.
The company blamed the loss mostly on "the unprecedented number" of NASCAR driver changes announced this year.
4. Stock car legend Richard Petty plans to move his team's headquarters from its longtime home in Level Cross, N.C., to Mooresville, N.C., near Charlotte, where most of NASCAR's Nextel Cup teams are based.
Petty Enterprises has been in Level Cross since it was founded by Richard's father, Lee, in 1949 shortly after NASCAR was organized as a sanctioning body.
5. In local racing Saturday night, Perris Auto Speedway plans a multi-race program and Ventura Raceway's lineup is led by sprint-car racing.
www.latimes.com