This Week in Auto Racing October 8 - 10
Fontana, CA (Sports Network) - The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads west to Southern California for the fourth race in the championship Chase, while Formula One travels to the "Land of the Rising Sun" for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Sprint Cup Series
Pepsi Max 400 - Auto Club Speedway - Fontana, CA
After last Sunday's race at Kansas, the points battle in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship has tightened significantly, with just 101 points separating leader Jimmie Johnson from ninth-place Jeff Burton.
Johnson's second-place finish coupled with Denny Hamlin's 12th-place run at Kansas allowed Johnson to take an eight-point lead over Hamlin.
The Sprint Cup Series now moves on to the two-mile Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA for the fourth race in the Chase.
Johnson, who hails from nearby El Cajon, CA, has been dominant at his home track, as he leads all drivers with five wins here. The four-time defending series champion has finished no worse than 11th in the previous nine races at California, including victories in the last three fall events. He also won here in February. Johnson's first Sprint Cup victory came at California during his rookie season in 2002.
"It's always good to go home," Johnson said. "There is a certain feeling about it. I won my first [Sprint Cup] race there. My 48th race [win] came there, and there are a lot of cool things about that racetrack for me."
The top-seven finishers at Kansas were all Chase contenders, with Greg Biffle notching the win. Biffle came to Kansas 140 points behind, but after his victory, he has moved to within 85 points of the lead.
Biffle is attempting to become the first driver in NASCAR to win a championship in all three of its national touring series. He won the Camping World Truck Series title in 2000 and the Nationwide Series championship in 2002. Biffle came close to a Sprint Cup title in 2005, when he finished just 35 points behind champion Tony Stewart.
"I feel like the other two championships have helped me," Biffle said. "But it would mean so much to me to be able to win the Sprint Cup title. Not it only being my third title in NASCAR with the other two coming or one in every series. But just to win the Sprint Cup title itself, so much goes with that.
"It would be a dream come true for me and certainly fulfill my career. I plan on racing in the Sprint Cup Series for a lot of years to come. It certainly would kind of complete, if you will, a trifecta or make your career complete at any event."
Biffle won the spring race at California in '05.
Kevin Harvick finished third at Kansas and moved to within 30 points of Johnson. Harvick ended the regular season as the points leader, with a series- high 17 top-10 finishes.
When the series ran at California earlier in the year, Harvick chased down Johnson for the lead after a late-race restart, but Harvick scraped the wall with four laps to go, allowing Johnson to drive away for the win.
"In February, I felt like I let one slip away there," said Harvick, whose hometown is in nearby Bakersfield, CA. "I was running [Johnson] down. I just brushed the wall, and the car went really tight. We still had a good finish.
"We're looking forward to going back. Obviously, a lot can change. It's been a hot summer and the racetrack will be different, but it's been a good racetrack for us over the last few years. We need to capitalize this week and make something happen."
Harvick's second-place run in February marked his best finish at California.
Sunday's race will be 400 miles in distance. The series traditionally has run 500 miles at California. The track will host only one race next year, on March 27.
Forty-five teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Pepsi Max 400.
Nationwide Series
CampingWorld.com 300 - Auto Club Speedway - Fontana, CA
Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway could be the next edition of Kyle Busch versus Joey Logano. The last two Nationwide races have featured a fierce battle between the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates.
Two weeks ago, Busch claimed his record 11th win of the season with a near flawless performance at Dover. He led all but eight of the 200 laps. Logano started on the pole and ran in front for the first three laps before Busch took over from there. Logano finished second.
Last Saturday, Logano outran Busch after two late-race restarts to win at Kansas for the second year in a row. Brad Keselowski passed Busch on the final lap to take second, while Busch came in third.
Busch has won three of the last four Nationwide races at California. Logano scored the victory here one year ago.
In February, Logano put on a dominating performance in the Nationwide race at California. However, a caution in the final laps set up a green-white- checkered finish. Logano led the way for the final restart, but he was nudged out of the way by Greg Biffle on the second to last lap. Busch claimed his first win of the season after he passed Biffle coming out the final turn of the last lap. Logano spun out just before he crossed the finish line for a fifth-place finish.
"I'm pretty pumped to get back to California, because I think that track really owes me one from earlier this year," Logano said. "We had a dominant car there back in February and led about 130 laps or so and got moved out of the way by another driver on the green-white-checkered restart. That really stung and was the first of a bunch of races that I feel we should have won this year."
Logano has two Nationwide wins so far this year.
After ending her IndyCar season on a high note with a second-place finish last Saturday at Homestead, Danica Patrick now turns her full attention to NASCAR. Patrick will compete in the final six Nationwide races this season, beginning with California.
"Everyone has been talking about their off-season plans over on the IndyCar side, but for me, I'm excited to have two more months of racing ahead," Patrick said. "This NASCAR journey has been difficult, but I'm still having a lot of fun with all this racing."
Patrick has competed in seven Nationwide races so far this year, with her best finish of 25th coming in June at New Hampshire. She finished 31st at California in February.
Forty-four teams are on the preliminary entry list for the CampingWorld.com 300.
FORMULA ONE
Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka Circuit - Suzuka City, Japan
After winning last week's Singapore Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso gave his world championship hopes a huge boost. Alonso started on the pole and led all 61 laps at Singapore for his second consecutive grand prix victory. The two-time Formula One titleholder also won last month on Ferrari's home turf in Monza, Italy.
Current championship leader Mark Webber from Red Bull Racing has accumulated 202 points so far this season, while Alonso trails Webber by 11 points.
Webber's teammate, Sebastian Vettel, as well as McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button also remain in the title hunt. Hamilton is 20 points behind Webber, and Vettel sits one point in back of Hamilton. Button, the defending F1 champion, is 25 points down.
"I think it remains very tight," Alonso said. "All five contenders still have the same possibilities. Mark has a little bit more with still some margin to have a bad weekend not putting at risk the contention of the championship. For the others, we need to keep catching if we can. We will do our best.
"We do not know if it will be enough to become champion in Abu Dhabi. But we will give it 100 percent. Hopefully, it is enough but people can be sure we will fight until the end."
With four races remaining and the driver and constructors' titles far from being decided, the F1 circuit moves on to the 3.461-mile (5.807 km) Suzuka Circuit this weekend for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Alonso is a two-time Japanese GP winner (2006 and '08). Vettel won this event one year ago. Vettel started on the pole and led all 53 laps for his third of four victories during the 2009 season.
"Suzuka should suit our car, but we still have to go there and prove it," Vettel said. "I think we have a very competitive car this year on all circuits, so we can be confident. Last year [at Suzuka] was very good, and I think we should get a good result again."
Before the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Red Bull had won the pole in 12 of the first 13 races this season. But Alonso has given Ferrari the momentum lately.
Will Alonso continue his hot streak in Japan?
"The momentum is currently with Ferrari going into the race, as they have had two victories on the bounce, but the points situation is still very open," Webber said. "It's nice that I have a little buffer. It's not very big, but it's something I would rather have than not."
Auto Racing Glance
Pepsi Max 400 - Auto Club Speedway - Fontana, CA
Schedule: Friday, practice (ESPN2, 3-4:30 p.m.), qualifying (ESPN2, 6:30-8:30 p.m.); Saturday, practice; Sunday, race, 3 p.m. (ESPN, 2-6:30 p.m.).
Track: Auto Club Speedway (oval, 2.0 miles).
Race distance: 400 miles, 200 laps.
Last year: Jimmie Johnson took the Chase lead en route to his record fourth straight season title, easily pulling away from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon after a late restart.
Last week: Greg Biffle raced to his second victory of the year, beating second-place Johnson by nearly 8 seconds at Kansas Speedway.
Fast facts: The race is the fourth of 10 Chase events. ... Johnson, the February winner at Fontana for his fifth victory in 15 starts on his home-state track, leads the standings - eight points ahead of Denny Hamlin. Kevin Harvick (30 points behind Johnson) is third followed by Carl Edwards (-53), Gordon (-58), Kurt Busch (-70), Kyle Busch (-80), Biffle (-85), Jeff Burton (-101), Tony Stewart (-127), Matt Kenseth (-149) and Clint Bowyer (-252). ... The track will have only one race in 2011 - in March - after staging two a year the last seven seasons.
Next race: Bank of America 500, Oct. 16, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.
CampingWorld.com 300 - Auto Club Speedway - Fontana, CA
Schedule: Friday practice (Speed, 2-3 p.m., 4:30-6 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (Speed, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.), race, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2, 4-7:30 p.m.).
Track: Auto Club Speedway (oval, 2.0 miles).
Race distance: 300 miles, 150 laps.
Last year: Joey Logano raced to his second straight victory and fifth of the season, pulling away from Brian Vickers over the final two laps.
Last week: Logano won at Kansas Speedway to give Joe Gibbs Racing its 16th victory of the season and wrap up Toyota's third straight manufacturers' title. Series leader Brad Keselowski was second.
Fast facts: Kyle Busch, the February winner at the track, has a series-record 11 victories this season for JGR. Busch is second on the Nationwide career victory list with 41 - seven behind Mark Martin. ... Keselowski has a 374-point lead over second-place Carl Edwards with six races left. ... Danica Patrick, coming off a second-place finish last week in the IndyCar finale, is making her eighth start of the season in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 7 Chevrolet. She also will race in the final five events.
Next race: Dollar General 300, Oct. 15, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.
Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka Circuit - Suzuka City, Japan
Site: Suzuka, Japan.
Schedule: Friday, practice (Speed, 1-2:30 a.m.), Saturday, practice, qualifying (Speed, 1-2:30 a.m.); Sunday, race, 2 a.m. (Speed, 1:30-4 a.m., 2:30-5 p.m.).
Track: Suzuka International (road course, 3.61 miles).
Race distance: 191.12 miles, 53 laps.
Last year: Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel led from start to finish.
Last race: Ferrari's Fernando Alonso won the Singapore Grand Prix on Sept. 26 for his second straight victory and fourth of the year.
Fast facts: Alonso is second in the standings, 11 points behind Red Bull's Mark Webber with four races left - three if the Korean Grand Prix fails to pass a track inspection. ... Webber has four victories this year. ... McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, a three-time winner this season, is third in the standings, 20 points behind Webber. Vettel is another point back in fourth. ... Alonso won the 2008 race for Renault.
Next race: Korean Grand Prix (subject to FIA's circuit approval), Oct. 24, Korean International Circuit, Yeongam, South Korea.
Japan GP qualifying delayed until Sunday
SUZUKA, Japan (AP) - Qualifying for the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix was postponed until Sunday morning due to heavy rain that lashed the Suzuka circuit Saturday.
Constant rain resulted in streams of water running across the Suzuka track, and after a few inspection laps by the safety car, it was decided conditions were too dangerous to attempt qualifying.
``It was horrible today, the worst conditions I've experienced in Formula One,'' McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton said. ``I couldn't get to full throttle, not even half throttle.''
Saturday morning's practice session was all but washed out, with most drivers staying in the pits. Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari and Virgin's Timo Glock were the only drivers to set a time in the session, cautiously steering around the sodden circuit.
With the track still likely to be damp when qualifying begins, teams will be using educated guesses on setting up their cars for the session, having entertained themselves most of Saturday making toy boats to send down the mini-rivers in pitlane rather then analyzing practice data.
``Everyone will be in the same situation,'' Hamilton said. ``We've got a good car but a lot of work to do. Generally, we don't make too many changes for wet conditions.''
Hamilton's preparations are behind everyone, as he crashed in Friday's first practice session and by the time the car was fixed, he had time for only a handful of laps in session two.
The Briton is one of five drivers still in the hunt for the championship. Red Bull's Mark Webber leads the standings, and he and teammate Sebastian Vettel dominated Friday practice and appear the team to beat Sunday. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso is second in the championship, with McLaren's Jenson Button also in contention.
Vettel and members of the Red Bull team emerged from their garage after qualifying was called off and applauded fans, who had sat through the heavy rain in the vain hope of seeing some on-track action.
``I know it's not an easy decision to make, as there is a lot of pressure from the TV broadcasters and fans, but in those conditions it's not fair simply because we have no control of our cars,'' Vettel told the BBC.
``For the majority of people outside, it's probably difficult to understand why we can't put our rain tires on and it'll be fine. But the cars weigh only 600-700 kilograms - about half what a road car weighs - and are very low so with some standing water it is easy to start aquaplaning and then it becomes undrivable for us.''
The last time qualifying was postponed until a Sunday for an F1 race was also at Suzuka, in 2004, when a typhoon made conditions impossible.
If the weather is as bad again on Sunday, organizers' next resort would be to start the race in order of the championship standings.