ZIPPO 200 News and Notes

Driver to win the Nationwide Zippo 200

Kyle Busch +450
Denny Hamlin +600
Marcos Ambrose +600
Kevin Harvick +700
Patrick Carpentier +700
Jimmie Johnson +1000
Carl Edwards +1000
Ryan Newman +1200
Joey Logano +1200
Boris Said +1500
Max Papis +1500
Dale Earnhardt Jr +1500
Jeff Burton +2000
Matt Kenseth +2000
Clint Bowyer +2000
Field +800

TheGreek

Franchitti wins first Nationwide pole
Sat 9th, August 2008

Watkins Glen, NY (Sports Network) - Dario Franchitti's return to the No.40 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge in the NASCAR Nationwide Series started off with a bang Saturday as he captured his first career Nationwide pole. Franchitti rounded the 2.45-mile road course in 72.696 seconds (121.327 m.p.h.) during the ninth and final group in qualifying.

Franchitti's first pole victory came in his 16th Nationwide start.

"There hasn't been too many up-points, but this is definitely one of them," Franchitti said. "I got to thank the guys at the team. This Fastenal Dodge was really good there. We were a little loose in a couple of areas, but the places it needed to be good, it was."

Franchitti, the 2007 IndyCar Series champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, has not been in the No.40 Nationwide car for Ganassi since a month ago when he finished 26th at Chicagoland. He lost his Sprint Cup ride in July when Ganassi ceased operations of its No.40 team. Franchitti is expected to drive the car in six more Nationwide events this season after Watkins Glen.

Starting alongside Franchitti will be Robby Gordon, who posted the second best time of 73.078.

Jimmie Johnson (73.105) and Denny Hamlin (73.188) will start on the second row.

Other drivers of note and their starting positions are Brad Keselowski (fifth), Kevin Harvick (sixth), Kyle Busch (seventh), Carl Edwards (15th), Clint Bowyer (17th) and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (18th).

Bowyer currently holds a 168-point lead over Edwards in the championship standings. Edwards chipped 12 more points away from Bowyer's lead after a sixth-place finish at Montreal last week. Bowyer came in ninth. Keselowski finished 12th and fell one spot to third, 184 points out of the top spot.

Bowyer has finished 15th and 16th in two starts at The Glen, while Edwards has posted finishes of 11th, 27th and 32nd in his three races there. Keselowski will make his first start there today.

Harvick won last year's race at The Glen. He scored his 31st career victory and moved into a tie with Jack Ingram for second on the series' all-time wins list. Mark Martin holds the record for most victories with 48. Harvick will drive the No.33 Chevrolet.

Burney Lamar, Kenny Hendrick, Derrike Cope, Larry Gunselman and Alex Garcia all failed to qualify.

Today's race is scheduled to start around 3:00 p.m. (et).

Ambrose picks up first Nationwide win at Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen, NY (Sports Network) - Fuel strategy paid off for Marcos Ambrose as he became a first-time race winner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Saturday with a victory in the Zippo 200 at the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International road course. Ambrose made his last stop on Lap 49 and then drove the final 33 circuits without pitting to capture the victory.

Ambrose recorded his first win in his 59th start.

"It feels so good to get it off my back," Ambrose said. "I've come so far for this. All of these guys (on my team) have never won, and I've never won in America. It just feels so good."

Ambrose has come close to winning a Nationwide race on a road course before.

Last week in Montreal, everything went his way until Lap 38 when he slid off the course. Then Ambrose gave up the lead on Lap 42 when he made his final pit stop. He was caught speeding as he entered and exited pit road. NASCAR hit him with a pass-through penalty. Ambrose ended up finishing third.

Ambrose finished second to Kyle Busch in April at Mexico City. He made contact with Boris Said in the late-stages of the race, which cost him a chance at victory.

Ambrose led in the final laps of last year's race at Montreal. But Kevin Harvick took the checkered flag in wild fashion after Robby Gordon spun out the race leader.

This time, Ambrose had a little bit of luck on his side.

Dario Franchitti captured his first career Nationwide pole earlier in the day and led the field to the green flag. On the third lap, Jeff Burton spun in the gravel while he was battling Ambrose for position. Burton remained on the lead lap, but fell back to the 39th place.

Franchitti held a two-second advantage over Jimmie Johnson until the first caution flag was displayed on Lap 11 for an incident involving Wheeler Boys and Burton. Boys hit the wall after Burton hit him from behind.

Ryan Newman's two-tire strategy put him out of the pits first, advancing five positions. Busch did not pit during the caution and led the field for the restart.

The second caution quickly came when Patrick Carpentier and Brad Coleman jumbled on the restart. After the two made contact, Coleman's car rolled up on the right side of Carpentier's machine. Brad Keselowski also got into the back end of Denny Hamlin, putting Hamlin in a spin.

Busch came in for his first stop on Lap 19, handing the lead over to Jason Leffler. Leffler ran out in front for three laps before P.J. Jones smacked Steve Wallace from behind, forcing the third caution. Jones was penalized for aggressive driving and had to restart from the tail end of the lead lap. Meanwhile, Burton inherited the lead on Lap 22 when Leffler made his first pit stop of the day.

Johnson was running third on the restart on Lap 25, but passed Newman for second and then Burton for the lead within one circuit.

Johnson held a three-second lead over Burton just before the caution came on Lap 41 when Sam Hornish Jr. spun and slammed into Antonio Perez.

When the leaders came in for a round of pit stops, Johnson took on four new tires and was the quickest off of pit road. Johnson, unfortunately, was caught speeding as he exited pit road and had to restart 21st.

Franchitti, Newman and Ambrose did not pit and ran first through fourth, respectively, when the race resumed on Lap 45. All three drivers last pitted on the 14th lap.

Franchitti made his final stop on Lap 48, and one lap later, Ambrose and Newman came in for their last stops. All three pitted just before the fifth and final caution flag was displayed for debris.

Burton held the lead for the restart on Lap 54, but Carl Edwards and Clint Bowyer made contact and spun as they headed into turn one. Edwards and Bowyer were running in the top-three at the time. Bowyer fell to 29th, while Edwards dropped to 32nd.

Then things really got dicey as Busch bumped into the back end of Burton while the two were battling for the lead with 21 laps remaining. Both drivers spun, but recovered. Busch captured the lead in the process, with Burton in the second spot.

Meanwhile, Johnson recovered from his pit road mishap as he patiently made his way through the field. He passed Ambrose for the third spot with 17 laps to go.

Burton got even with Busch 14 laps from the finish when he bumped Busch out of the way and grabbed the lead. Johnson and Ambrose moved ahead of Busch for the second and third spots.

Johnson ran out of fuel with less than five laps remaining as Ambrose moved up to second. Then Burton's car slowed the following lap as also ran out of gas. Ambrose grabbed the lead for the second time in the event. He led the final four laps and crossed the finish line 4.335 seconds ahead of Busch.

Matt Kenseth, Harvick and Franchitti completed the top-five.

Burton finished 14th, while Johnson came in 29th.

"I got nailed for speeding on pit road leaving the pit box," Johnson said. "I guess I just didn't know where pit road speed ended. I had the engine off just trying to save fuel, and I got a soft sequence. And I knew we were in trouble, and we were counting on cautions."

Keselowski finished sixth and moved to within 128 points of leader Bowyer, who finished 23rd.

The next race is set for Saturday, August 16th, at Michigan International Speedway.