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Phil Pash
Phil Pash's World of Wheels (The World of Wheels column by Phil Pash first appeared in now-defunct Chicago TODAY in the early 1970s. It was the first year-round motor sports column in a Chicago paper). Sunday, March 25, 2007 (Vol. 3, No. 12) What Happened on the Track Last Weekend: * Bristol COT Race Produces Gentlemanly Win for Kyle Busch: From the back, with the rear wings, they look like cars in the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship, maybe a Cadillac CTS-V. From the front, they look like throwbacks maybe 30-35 years ago when NASCAR raced those big 'ol boats. But in the debut of the Car of Tomorrow, they had a typical Bristol finish with Kyle Busch, 21, holding off Jeff Burton in a side-by-side battle off the final turn of a green-white-checkered finish to win the Food City 500 (actually 504) March 25. The margin on the .533-mile, 36 degrees banking in turns oval was 0.064 seconds, less than a car length. The COT spent seven years in development as NASCAR tried to build a uniform (spec) car that would cut costs, improve safety and even the competition. It will be used in 16 races this season as NASCAR phases it in through the 2009 season. It's introduction had teams fretting for months over performance and the many unknowns the COT created. But when the race finally began, everything seemed pretty normal. Except for the design of the cars, which have a front splitter and a detachable rear wing, nothing was out of the ordinary. The COT races again this week at Martinsville, another short track, before getting its first true test next month in Phoenix. In addition to the COT story line, a big point everyone was making was Burton could have wrecked Busch and taken the win for himself. But in a NASCAR Busch race at Las Vegas earlier this month, Burton went to the high side off Turn 4 on the final lap and passed Busch for the victory-with Busch crashing across the finish line backward. Busch congratulated Burton for racing him clean on that occasion, and Burton returned the favor this time. "Jeff Burton could have dumped me in turns 3 and 4, but I had some brownie points to use up from our Vegas finish," Busch said. "I guess I used them up all at once. It was a great battle for us." "Kyle has always raced me clean and I tried to return that," Burton said. "I could have used the bumper to move him out of the way and win the race, but I didn't want to," Burton said. "I can lay in bed tonight and wonder 'What if?' but that's what I chose to do. If you can't pass him without knocking him out of the way, do the best you can. He's driven me clean, and that's what I did with him." You have to ask yourself, would Jimmy Spencer have been that gentlemanly? Would Darrell Waltrip? Would Jeff Gordon? Would any NASCAR Nextel Cup driver of 10-15 years ago? David Ragan's spin set up the overtime run and Burton and Busch waged a tight, side-by-side battle for the lead over the final two green flag laps. But Busch was able to keep his CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet ahead of Burton's Cingular Impala SS to notch the victory. Of course, those weren't real Impalas, but purpose-built race chassis with Impala bodywork hung on them. I owned enough real Impalas to know the difference. Still it was a historic victory--first COT win, 600th series win for Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports' 200th NASCAR win (third straight win for Hendrick, Jimmie Johnson won the past two Cup events). It also was Busch's fourth career Cup win. Gordon, who started from the pole and dropped back with handling problems, rallied to finish third for a 1-2-3 Chevy sweep (actually, eight of the top 10 wore the bowtie brand). Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle, one of two Ford drivers in the top 10, rounded out the top five. Jeff Green, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer, Jamie McMurray (the other Ford driver) and Casey Mears completed the first 10 finishers. David Stremme, in 13th, had the top Dodge and Brian Vickers, in 15th, the best Toyota. Tony Stewart was the class of the field early on, leading 257 laps. But under caution with 211 laps to go, Stewart's Home Depot Chevrolet lost fuel pick-up and he went several laps down, before returning to the track to finish 35th. It was reported he bemoaned his bad luck in an expletive-laden rant as his Joe Gibbs Racing team worked under the hood of his car. Busch took the lead with 16 laps to go on a smooth pass around Denny Hamlin in thick traffic and stayed there through a pair of cautions. He had driven away from the competition when the 15th and final caution (15 for 75 laps) set up overtime. With Busch and teammate Gordon running 1-2 at the restart, the two plotted their own strategy with their respective crew chiefs. "Well, good job guys," Busch sighed at the final caution. "We'll do what we can. I can't promise you anything." "Tell that 5 (Busch), if I get a fender underneath him, he better think about the fact that we're teammates," Gordon said. "If I don't get a fender underneath him, I won't move him out of the way." It never mattered, though, as Burton jumped past Gordon on the restart and quickly pulled onto Busch's rear bumper. The race had 14 lead changes among 10 drivers. In addition to Stewart's four times in front for 257 laps, Hamlin led twice for 177 laps and Busch led twice for 29 laps. ... Gordon won the first pole of the COT era with a lap of 125.453 mph March 23. It was his second pole of 2007, 58th of his career and fifth at Bristol. He beat Evernham Motorsports teammates Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler, who qualified second and third in Dodge Avengers. Kahne posted a lap at 125.313 mph, Sadler came in at 125.183. Chevrolet (Impala) and Dodge (Avenger) introduced new models with the COT. Ford is sticking with its Fusion model, and Toyota, in its first year at NASCAR's top level, is using the Camry. More on qualifying below. ... Gordon took over the points lead as Mark Martin, who was on top, skipped the event and turned his keys over to rookie Regan Smith. Smith finished 25th and Martin dropped to eighth in the standings, 162 back. Point leaders: J. Gordon 791, J. Burton 788, Jimmie Johnson 716, Matt Kenseth 697, Harvick 647, Kyle Busch 639, Martin 629, Bowyer 621, Hamlin 606, Carl Edwards 598. ... Remaining Nextel Cup races: April 1, Goody's 500, Martinsville; April 15, Samsung 500, Texas; April 21, Subway Fresh 500, Phoenix; April 29, Aaron's 499, Talladega; May 5, Crown Royal 400, Richmond; May 12, Dodge Avenger 500, Darlington; May 19, Nextel All-Star Challenge, Lowe's (non-points); May 27, Coca Cola 600, Lowe's; June 3, TBA, Dover; June 10, Pocono 500, Pocono; June 17, TBA, Michigan; June 24, Dodge/Save Mart 350, Infineon; July 1, LENOX Industrial Tools 300, New Hampshire; July 7, Pepsi 400, Daytona; July 15, USG Sheetrock 400, Chicagoland; July 29, Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, Indianapolis; Aug. 5, Pennsylvania 500, Pocono; Aug. 12, NEXTEL Cup at The Glen, Watkins Glen; Aug. 19, TBA, Michigan; Aug. 25, Sharpie 500, Bristol; Sept. 2, TBA, California; Sept. 8, Chevy Rock-and-Roll 400, Richmond; Sept. 16, Sylvania 300, New Hampshire; Sept. 23, TBA, Dover; Sept. 30, Kansas 400, Kansas; Oct. 7, UAW-Ford 500, Talladega; Oct. 13, Bank of America 500, Lowe's; Oct. 21, TBA, Martinsville; Oct. 28, TBA, Atlanta; Nov. 4, Dickies 500, Texas; Nov. 11, Checker Auto Parts 500, Phoenix; Nov. 18, Ford 400, Homestead-Miami. ... Winners of past races: Feb. 18, Daytona 500, Kevin Harvick, Chevy; Feb. 25, California, Matt Kenseth, Ford; March 11, Las Vegas, Jimmie Johnson, Chevy; March 18, Atlanta, Johnson, Chevy; March 25, Bristol, Kyle Busch, Chevy (COT). * IndyCar Winner Wheldon Proves to be Man of His Word: Dan Wheldon said his victory in the 2006 season finale was a statement of what to expect in '07 from Target Chip Ganassi Racing. A man of his word. Wheldon became the first IndyCar Series driver to win at the same race track three years in a row, dominating the season-opening XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 under the lights at Homestead-Miami March 24 for the 12th victory of his career. Teammate Scott Dixon was runner-up, 6.4993 seconds behind. Reigning IndyCar champion Sam Hornish Jr., driving the No. 6 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone (all the cars are Dallara/Honda/Firestone), finished third for the second year in a row. Delphi Panther Racing's Vitor Meira was fourth, followed by Andretti Green Racing's Tony Kanaan and Vision Racing's Ed Carpenter. The victory at Chicagoland Speedway last September allowed Wheldon to tie Hornish in championship points, but Hornish claimed his third series title based on the first tiebreaker--victories (his four to Wheldon's two). There appears to be another spirited battle brewing, with two 1.5-mile ovals and a temporary street race on the docket before teams set up shop at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "It's a great way to open up the season," said Wheldon, the 2005 series champion who started from the pole for the fifth time in his career. "I think with Ganassi Racing‑‑this is not a sales pitch, this is the truth--we've worked very hard over the winter to try to perfect what we started last year. I think I definitely underestimated how difficult the transition would be coming to a new team. And I think some of what you saw tonight is just the experience. Hopefully, this bodes well for the rest of the season." Wheldon is familiar with the omen: Four times in the previous six years the driver to win the opener went on to win the league title. Wheldon led 179 of the 200 laps, and overcame a pit stop bobble on Lap 104 to quickly rejoin the lead pack. He passed Dixon for the final time heading into Turn 1 on Lap 119, and the two cars broke away. On Lap 140, the margin was six seconds over Hornish, and the field faded into the South Florida night. "I could stay with Dan, but as soon we got that gap I couldn't quite get there in time," said Hornish, who started on the front row. "It's unfortunate for the Team Penske crew. I said we'd be happy if we came out of here with a top-three tonight, and we did that. We'll move on to our next race and see what we can do." Dario Franchitti, who started third in the No. 27 Canadian Club car for Andretti Green Racing, finished seventh, followed by Vision Racing's Tomas Scheckter and Team Penske's Helio Castroneves. Buddy Rice, making his first start for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, rounded out the top 10. Teammate Sarah Fisher finished 11th. Danica Patrick, in her first start with AGR, was running eighth before she spun and hit the wall while entering the pits for what was supposed to be her final stop. She wound up 14th. The race started nearly an hour late because of a brief rainstorm. Light rain also brought out one of the caution flags. There were three cautions for 32 laps, and five lead changes among four drivers: Wheldon, Kanaan, Dixon and Kosuke Matsuura, who wound up 16th. ... Wheldon turned a fast lap of 214.322 mph to beat Hornish's 214.298 by .0028 seconds for the pole. A year ago, rookie Paul Dana was killed in a two-car crash during the 30-minute warmup, hours before the race. Since then, series officials have done away with the race-day warmups. ... Remaining IndyCar races: April 1, Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Fla.; April 21, Indy Japan 300, Suzuka; April 29, Kansas Lottery 300, Kansas; May 27, Indianapolis 500; June 3, A.J. Foyt 225, Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.; June 9, Bombardier 550, Texas; June 24, Iowa Corn 250, new Iowa Speedway, Newton; June 30, SunTrust Indy Challenge, Richmond; July 8, Watkins Glen Grand Prix, N.Y.; July 14, Firestone Indy 200, Gladeville, Tenn.; July 22, Honda 200, Mid-Ohio, Lexington, Ohio; Aug. 5, TBA, Michigan; Aug. 11, Kentucky 300, Sparta; Aug. 26, Grand Prix of Sonoma, Calif.; Sept. 2, Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix; Sept. 9, Chicagoland Indy 300, Joliet. ... Winners of past races: March 24, Homestead-Miami, Dan Wheldon. -- More on IRL, Danica below.
* Auberlen Leads BMW Grand-Am Win: In just their eighth Daytona Prototype start as a team, No. 05 Luggage Express Team Sigalsport BMW Riley co-drivers Bill Auberlen and Matthew Alhadeff scored their first career Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve overall victory in the Linder Industrial Komatsu Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami March 24. With 11 laps remaining, Auberlen swept to the inside of 2005 Daytona Prototype co-champion Max Angelelli in the No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac Riley in Turn 6 and came out with the lead in a textbook maneuver. Auberlen then spent the remaining laps keeping Angelelli and the rest of the field in his mirrors, and the two-time Rolex Series GT champion went on to win the race by 1.759 seconds. For Alhadeff, who drove the first 21 laps before turning the car over to Auberlen under the day's second of seven full-course cautions, it was his first professional race victory. It was the 25-year-old Alhadeff's eighth Daytona Prototype start and 26th overall Rolex Series start in a career that began in 2005. Angelelli and co-driver Jan Magnussen held on to finish second after finishing third in each of the first two races in the 2007 season. Magnussen started from pole and led a race-high 21 laps in his stint before turning the car over to Angelelli. Interestingly, the No. 10 machine has never won a race from pole. Angelelli led 15 laps before surrendering the lead to Auberlen. It was the 10th consecutive race that Angelelli and Magnussen finished inside the top five positions, and the performance enabled them to move to within one point 92-93 of Daytona Prototype points leader Scott Pruett. Pruett co-drove the No. 01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley to a third-place result alongside Mexican racer Memo Rojas. It was Pruett's second podium result of the season, the other being the overall victory in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona with co-drivers Salvador Duran and Juan Pablo Montoya, and was the first podium result of Rojas' Rolex career. Patrick Carpentier and Milka Duno continued their strong early season performance with a fourth-place performance in the No. 11 CITGO/SAMAX Pontiac Riley. It was their second top-four result of the season to go with a second-place run in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and kept Carpentier and Duno within 13 points of Pruett in the point standings. Floridians Hurley Haywood and JC France rounded out the top five in the No. 59 Brumos Porsche/Kendall Porsche Riley. It was the duo's second top-five result in three races to go with a fourth-place performance in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The top nine cars finished within 10.5 seconds of the winner. ... For the second time in his Grand-Am career, Danish racer Magnussen started from pole after clocking a best lap at 1:14.321 (111.409 mph). Starting second was Jon Fogarty in the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley at 1:14.509 (111.128 mph). Fogarty and co-driver Alex Gurney claimed their first Rolex victory in the Mexico City 400k. ... Remaining Rolex races: April 28-29, Virginia International Raceway, 400 km*; May 19-20, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., 400 km*; May 28, Lime Rock Park, 400 km#; June 9, Watkins Glen International, 6 hours; June 23-24, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, 400 km*; July 5, Daytona, 250 miles; July 14, Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa, 400 km*; July 21-22, Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., 400 km*; Aug. 3, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Quebec, 400 km, Aug. 10, Watkins Glen International, 200 miles+; Aug. 25, Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, Calif., 400 km+; Sept. 15, Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, Utah, 1,000 km; *-Daytona Prototype and GT classes to run separate events, #-GT class only, +-Daytona Prototype class only. -- See where Rockford car finished. * Mazda RX-8 Takes Rolex GT Win: Nick Ham and Sylvain Tremblay in the No. 70 SpeedSource Mazda/Mazdaspeed RX-8 extended their points lead in the GT class by taking their second straight class victory in a wild finish over RJ Valentine and Andy Lally in the No. 66 CRG/Maxter/Rotax/MBA/NFP/F1Air Porsche GT3 at the Linder Industrial Komatsu Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami March 24. Tremblay led 16 laps, but had to hold off a hard-charging Lally over the closing laps to secure the victory in the "hometown" race for his Sunrise, Fla.-based team. He crossed the stripe just .103 seconds ahead of the defending Rolex Series GT co-champion. Ham started second and led 12 laps during his stint before turning the car over to Tremblay. After picking up the first-ever Rolex Series GT victory for Mazda in Mexico City, Ham and Tremblay extended their lead in the GT driver standings to 17 points 96-79 over No. 22 Gatorade/TodayMD.com Porsche GT3 co-drivers Carlos de Quesada and Jean-Francois Dumoulin. For the third consecutive race, Valentine and Lally managed to substantially improve on their result from the previous race with a second-place run. The duo opened the year with a 17th-place class result in the Rolex 24 At Daytona before taking eighth in GT earlier this month in Mexico City. Bryce Miller and Dirk Werner rebounded from a cut tire to complete the class podium in the No. 87 Marquis Jet/IPC/Recaro Porsche GT3 for Farnbacher Loles Motorsports. It was the third consecutive top-four class result for the Farnbacher Loles team, which is in its first full Rolex Series season. The No. 87 machine finished fourth in the Rolex 24, and teammates Leh Keen and Dominik Farnbacher came home second in class from Mexico City. It was the first Rolex Series podium result for Werner and Miller. Keen earned his first career class pole in GT qualifying. * Edwards Holds Off Kenseth for Bristol Busch Win: Carl Edwards dominated the Sharpie Mini 300 NASCAR Busch race, leading nearly half the laps, including the last 60 as he held off Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth over the final dozen laps to win by 0.260 seconds in a crash-filled battle (12 cautions for 103 laps and one red flag) at 533-mile Bristol March 24. NASCAR also confused the issue with a miscue on pit road that gave Edwards, Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman a second chance. Edwards used the free pit stop to get fresh tires and drive away to his first win of the season (10th career) before an estimated crowd of 110,000. "I just can't thank Matt Kenseth enough for racing me that clean," Edwards said. "He's so great here and it meant the world to beat him." Kenseth said he tried to get past Edwards earlier, but couldn't, and wouldn't force the issue. "This place is tough. It's kind of a give-and-take race track and sometimes I struggle when to give and when to take," he said. "I got under Carl two or three times and lifted his left rear tire. He chopped me pretty good, so I had to get it out of the gas. I could have stayed in and got him turned around, but I got out of it." A caution came out with 117 laps to go and NASCAR told its officials to open pit road. But pit road was closed when Busch and Edwards--the leaders--passed the entrance. They didn't stop. But pit road opened seconds later, and the rest of the field did stop. NASCAR blamed that on a delay in changing the lights on pit road and quickly reviewed it. Officials then allowed Busch, Edwards and Newman to pit and line up where they were originally running when the caution came out. "It was a mistake that NASCAR made in this case," president Mike Helton said. "And there's no absolute fix for that. So we felt like the most fair thing to do was to simply say, 'Pit road is open. You can pit if you want to. You don't have to.' There's no absolute clean fix, but we felt like that was the most fair fix." Not everyone agreed. "I don't have any idea what happened," Kenseth said. "The first time by it was closed. NASCAR said to open it over the scanner, but we're still supposed to pay attention to the light. The light was clearly, clearly red. No arguing that. It was closed. It was red. I don't understand why they got their spots back." Had NASCAR not allowed the cars to pit without repercussions, everyone who did pit likely would have passed them soon after the restart. And had the three drivers pitted without NASCAR's blessing, all would have been shuffled to the tail end of the lead lap. "They could have just as easily told us we're just going to have to deal with it," Edwards said. "I appreciate NASCAR helping us out there." Busch was third, with Newman and Clint Bowyer rounding out the first five. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Scott Wimmer and Mike Bliss completed the top 10 as Cup drivers took the top eight spots. Busch had to battle back from a pair of spins, including one that knocked him from the lead pack after contact with Mike Wallace. "I'm not upset at Carl one bit," Busch said. "Lapped cars don't give way to the leaders when they're already a lap down and going their second lap down and (Wallace) was pathetic today," Busch said. "Absolutely, outrageously stupid. He was mad at us because NASCAR gave us a break because they didn't open up pit road right and when I got up to the front there he was trying to knock in my fender and ride along side me. When I tried letting him go, he wouldn't go. He was just being a complete moron." Edwards is one of the few Nextel Cup drivers planning to run the entire Busch Series. After coming up short to Harvick in his bid to win the title last year, Edwards made a big statement about this year's championship. Edwards passed Newman with 35 laps to go and remained in front the rest of the way. There were nine lead changes among six drivers. Edwards led four times for 147 laps. Busch led twice for 89 laps and pole-sitter Steve Wallace led once for 32 laps. Steve Wallace, making his 24th career series start, won his first Busch pole with a lap of 125.387 mph. 2005 August winner Newman qualified second to mark his fourth starting position of third or better in five series starts at Bristol. Point leaders: Edwards 1,005, Harvick 808, Kyle Busch 757, Dave Blaney 714, Kenseth 683, Juan Pablo Montoya 650, Marcus Ambrose 642, Biffle 635, Mike Wallace 623, Bobby Hamilton Jr. 600. ... Remaining Busch races: April 7, Pepsi 300, Lebanon, Tenn.; April 14, O'Reilly 300, Texas; April 20, Bashas' Supermarkets 200, Phoenix; April 28, Aaron's 312, Talladega; May 4, Circuit City 250, Richmond; May 11, Diamond Hill Plywood 200, Darlington; May 26, Carquest Autoparts 300, Lowe's; June 2, TBA, Dover; June 9, Federated Auto Parts 300, Lebanon, Tenn.; June 16, Meijer 300, Kentucky; June 23, TBA, West Allis, Wis.; June 30, New England 200, New Hampshire; July 6, Circle K 250, Daytona; July 14, USG Durock 300, Chicagoland; July 21, Shop n' Save 250, Gateway, Madison, Ill.; July 28, Kroger 200, Indianapolis; Aug. 4, TBA, Montreal; Aug. 11, Zippo 200, Watkins Glen; Aug. 18, Busch Series 250, Michigan; Aug. 24, Food City 250, Bristol; Sept. 1, TBA, Fontana, Calif.; Sept. 7, TBA, Richmond; Sept. 22, TBA, Dover; Sept. 29, Yellow Transportation 300, Kansas; Oct. 12, Dollar General 300, Lowe's; Oct. 27, Sam's Town 250, Memphis; Nov. 3, O'Reilly Challenge, Texas; Nov. 10, TBA, Phoenix; Nov. 17, Ford 300, Homestead, Fla. ... Winners of past races: Feb. 17, Daytona, Kevin Harvick, Chevy; Feb. 24, California, Matt Kenseth, Ford; March 4, Mexico City, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dodge; March 10, Las Vegas, Jeff Bruton, Chevy; March 17, Atlanta, Burton, Chevy; March 24, Bristol, Carl Edwards, Ford * First ARCA Start a Success for 16-Year-Old: At the tender age of 16, James Buescher won the Construct Corps-Palm Beach Grading 250 March 24 at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Fla., in his first career start in the ARCA RE/MAX stock car series. The 2006 ASA Late Model Series Southern champion and Rookie of the Year led 34 laps, including the final 12, en route to the .840-seconds victory. Another young driver making his first start, Bryan Clauson, followed Buescher to the checkered flag. Not only was it Clauson's first start, but it also was his stock car debut. Driving the No. 40 Memorex Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing, Clauson was able to lead laps as well, leading 180-240, on his way to his runner-up finish. Both Buescher and Clauson also scored 10 and five bonus points for qualifying second and third, respectively, earlier in the day. Wayne Anderson, Justin Allgaier (Springfield, Ill.) and Brian Keselowski rounded out the top five. Tim Russell, Frank Kimmel, John Jackson, Justin South and Bryan Silas complete the top-10 finishers. Pole-sitter and Bill Davis Racing developmental driver Bobby Santos III led the most laps at 116, but finished 33rd after being involved in an accident. Santos posted the quickest time of 22.070 seconds in qualifying. The race had 18 caution flags for 95 laps. Kimmel and Allgaier are tied for the point lead. ... Remaining ARCA RE/MAX races: April 7, Nashville Superspeedway, 1.33 concrete; April 22, Salem Speedway, 555 paved; April 27, Kansas Speedway, 1.5 paved; May 6, Winchester Speedway, .5 paved; May 12, Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, KY, 1.5 paved; May 20, Toledo Speedway, .5 paved; June 2, Iowa Speedway, Newton, IA, .875 paved; June 9, Pocono Raceway, 2.5 paved; June 15, Michigan International Speedway, 2 paved; July 7, Berlin Raceway, Marne, MI, .4 paved; July 13, Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, KY, 1.5 paved; Aug. 4, Pocono Raceway, 2.5 paved; Aug. 11, Nashville Superspeedway, 1.33 concrete; Aug. 19, Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL, 1 clay; Aug. 26, The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, WI, 1 paved; Aug. 31, Gateway International Raceway, Madison, IL, 1.25 paved; Sept. 3, DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, DuQuoin, IL, 1 clay; Sept. 8, Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, IL, 1.5 paved; Sept. 15, Salem Speedway, .555 paved; Oct. 5, Talladega, 2.66 paved; Oct. 14, Toledo Speedway, .5 paved * Carmichael Crashes Out of Stock Car Debut: Ginn Racing development driver and supercross/motocross champion Ricky Carmichael made his stock car debut March 24 in a super late model race at Columbia Motorsports Park in Lake City, Fla. Under the watchful eye of Nextel Cup point leader Mark Martin, Carmichael finished third in his heat race. In the feature, he overcame a second-lap incident, but on Lap 7 of 25 his right-front tire went flat, sending his No. 4 Monster Energy Chevy into the wall and a premature exit from the race. Fellow Ginn development driver Matt Martin finished fourth in his heat and seventh overall in the feature. Carmichael's next two scheduled late model races will be April 21 and April 28 at New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. He is expected to compete in a total of 15 late model races this season. Earlier in the week, it was announced Monster Energy will be the primary sponsor of Carmichael's late model program. Monster Energy, the popular energy drink, has been a major sponsor of the 27-year-old Carmichael's supercross and motocross programs. Carmichael made his final AMA supercross start in the Orlando Citrus Bowl last week and now will pursue a career as a stock car driver with Martin vigorously tutoring along the way. * Drivers Injured; Lloyd Wins IPS Opener: Pablo Perez was airlifted to a Miami hospital March 24 because of serious leg injuries after a crash ended the season-opening Indy Pro Series race 10 laps early at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Perez, driving his first race for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, was in serious but stable condition, awake and alert at Jackson Memorial Hospital. He underwent surgery to both legs below the knees and also was scheduled for a CAT Scan. Alex Lloyd claimed his third IPS victory after passing polesitter Chris Festa just a few laps before Perez and Sean Guthrie touched wheels, igniting a five-car crash. The impact sent Guthrie's car hurtling into the energy-absorbing SAFER Barrier and Perez's car into the catch-fencing. Cars driven by Shane Lewis, Micky Gilbert and Joey Scarallo all spun after running through the debris from the Guthrie-Perez crash. Festa, also driving for Ganassi, finished second, followed by rookie Hideki Mutoh, Jaime Camara and Andrew Prendeville. A record 25 cars started the event. Ryan Justice sustained a concussion when he hit the SAFER Barrier after driving through debris from a crash by Wade Cunningham earlier in the race. Justice also was flown by helicopter to Jackson Memorial after he was briefly knocked unconscious. He was later released from the hospital. Lloyd and car owner Sam Schmidt would have preferred to race to the finish. So would have numerous other competitors and team owners. But the serious accident on Lap 47 of the scheduled 67-lap race prevented the Miami 100 from going the duration. Lloyd took the yellow/checkered flags on Lap 57. Festa had given Chip Ganassi Racing its second pole of the weekend; Dan Wheldon started from the point in the XM Satellite Radio Indy 300. Lloyd, who started on the front row, takes the early lead in the series standings after the first of 16 events. The next is a doubleheader (March 31 and April 1 races) weekend on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. * Hines Gives Foyt First Win of 50th Campaign: The No. 14 was back in victory lane in the USAC Silver Crown Series presented by K&N Engineering. Born in the same season A.J. Foyt won the Silver Crown title in a four-race season, Tracy Hines captured the Homestead-Miami 100 March 23, driving for the legendary four-time Indianapolis 500 champion. Hines, in his first race for Foyt as well as first race in the new-generation Silver Crown car, led the final four laps of the 67-lapper for his seventh career series victory after leader Wayne Reutimann Jr.'s car came out of gear on Lap 64. The victory earned Hines $26,000. "The double zero (Reutimann) and the 26 (Aaron Pierce) were the class of the field," said Hines, who started fifth in the No. 14 Green Special C&R/Chevy. With Reutimann and polesitter Pierce, who battled over the first 50 laps, out for the closing laps, Hines pulled away from teammate Pablo Donoso and Cameron Dodson for the first win of Foyt's 50th anniversary in major open-wheel motor sports. Eleven of the 17 cars finished. Rookie Ryan Moore was fourth, while Reutimann came away with fifth, the last car on the lead lap. Pierce won the pole with a speed of 171.423 mph (31.501 seconds), his fourth career No. 1, all on 1.5-mile tracks. The series returns to action May 5 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.
* Saldana Inches Out Shaffer at Bulls Gap: Joey Saldana picked up his second straight win and third of the season in a thrilling battle with Tim Shaffer and Donny Schatz in a World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series race March 24 at Volunteer Speedway, 4-10ths-mile high-banked oval in Bulls Gap, Tenn. Saldana inched out Shaffer at the finish line as the pair exchanged slide jobs over the last several circuits of the 35-lap A-Feature. Saldana took the white flag in the lead with Shaffer closely shadowing him. Saldana was committed to the top side of the track, while Shaffer made up plenty of ground on the bottom. Coming off the third and fourth turns, Shaffer inched ahead of Saldana, but with the momentum he had coming off the 32-degree banking in Turn Four, Saldana was able to win by 0.199 seconds and take home the $10,000 payday. In time trials, Saldana set a track record of 11.696 seconds, 123.119 mph in front of a jam-pracked crowd and his car owner, grand marshal Kasey Kahne. Schatz came home third to earn his ninth top-five finish in the first 10 races of the season. He continues to lead the series standings as he chases his second WoO crown. Three-time WoO champion Sammy Swindell finished fourth in a home-state race for the native of Germantown, Tenn. Daryn Pittman passed more cars than anyone as he charged from 21st to fifth. WoO wraps up its swing through the South on Saturday, March 31, with the first visit to Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Ga., since 1999. * Supercross Star Stewarts Claims Indy Victory: Kawasaki's James Stewart won his eighth Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP/Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series race March 24, beating Yamaha's Chad Reed in front of 54,626 fans at the RCA Dome, Indianapolis. Stewart rallied to take the lead from Reed on lap 14. "I was a little nervous when I saw Chad out front, and I was so far back in the pack," Stewart said. "I have worked hard for everything for my entire life, and that's what I did tonight, worked hard. I am so happy right now." Timmy Ferry, Kawasaki, was third, followed by Grant Langston, Yamaha, and Ivan Tedesco, Suzuki. Stewart leads the World Supercross GP points 304-278 over Reed, and also the AMA Supercross points 285-253 over Reed. Suzuki's Ryan Dungey won the Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites race.
* Brits, U.S. Score Best A1GP Efforts in Mexico: Team Great Britain, with Oliver Jarvis driving, scored its first feature race victory March 25 in the Mexico A1GP round at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City. Jonathan Summerton gave Team USA its best finish ever in the international series, taking second less than two seconds behind. South Africa (Adrian Zaugg) completed the podium. Team Malaysia's Alex Yoong won the sprint race for a double pole weekend. He won the pole for the first race, the sprint, and then by winning that race started on pole for the feature. Jarvis and Australia's Ian Dyk were second and third in the sprint race, which had a start-line collision that damaged the Mexico, Brazil and championship leader Germany cars. Christian Vietoris was driving for Germany while regular driver Nico Hülkenberg fulfilled prior commitments elsewhere. ... Remaining A1GP races: April 15, China, Shanghai International Circuit; April 29, Great Britain, Brands Hatch. Other Items You'll Want To Read: * NASCAR Nextel Cup News, Notes I: Based on March 23 qualifying, the Toyota teams may want to use the Car of Tomorrow everywhere. The Japanese automaker has struggled to get its cars into the first four races this season, and hit a low three weeks ago in Las Vegas when only two of seven Camrys made the field. But five Toyota drivers qualified at Bristol, including A.J. Allmendinger and Jeremy Mayfield, who made their long-awaited season debuts. Allmendinger, a former Champ Car star, has had a rough transition to NASCAR. His Team Red Bull car struggled in qualifying, and he had his heart broken in Vegas when he was bumped out of the race by the final driver attempting to make the field. Brian Vickers, his teammate who scored Toyota's best finish of the season with a 10th at California, qualified 25th. "That was pretty wild," Allmendinger said. "Qualifying for these races is a hard deal, it's one of the hardest things I've ever done in my career. It's easy to get discouraged but I haven't given up." Mayfield, who also missed the first four races, qualified 23rd to put both of Bill Davis Racing's entries in the race. Dave Blaney qualified seventh. "I think we've taken the disappointment of the first four races like men," Mayfield said. "We don't want people to feel sorry for us. Nobody has given up." The struggles continued for Michael Waltrip Racing, which only put Dale Jarrett in the field. Waltrip failed to qualify for the fourth consecutive week, and rookie David Reutimann also missed the cut. The lone bright spot for Waltrip was Jarrett qualified on speed and didn't have to use one of his two remaining provisionals to make the field. Jarrett has used four of his allotted six past champion's provisionals this season. NASCAR's complicated qualifying process assures the top 35 drivers from 2006 a spot in the first five races this year. Starting next week, it switches over to the top 35 current drivers. The rules make for a tense qualifying day now that 49 full-time teams are vying for just 43 spots each week. Sterling Marlin is the only driver not already locked into the field to make all five races. Joe Nemechek, his teammate at Ginn Racing, failed to make the race for the first time this season. Regan Smith, meanwhile, qualified 12th in the third Ginn entry. That car normally is driven by Mark Martin, the current Nextel Cup points leader, but he ended his streak of 621 consecutive starts in his attempt to ease away from a full-time schedule. The failing to qualify list included Kevin Lepage, Dodge; Reutimann, Toyota; Waltrip, Toyota; Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet; Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet; Paul Menard, Chevrolet. ... Changes are on the way at Roush Fenway Racing, which is losing one primary sponsor after this season and has been ordered by NASCAR to drop one of its five Nextel Cup teams by 2010. Ameriquest, the mortgage company that became the primary sponsor of Greg Biffle's No. 16 car this season, has asked Roush Fenway to sell off the final two years of its contract, which expires in 2009. The lender's struggling parent company recently announced a second round of layoffs, and Ameriquest last week pulled out of a 30-year deal as rights holder to the name of the Texas Rangers' ballpark. Roush Fenway also has until the 2010 season to comply with NASCAR's maximum of four cars per organization, announced by the sanctioning body in 2005. The car cap was put in place after all five Roush cars qualified for the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship. Roush tried to pitch the idea that any driver or sponsor currently with the team could stay for as long as they wanted, but NASCAR wanted a more definite timeline. ... Nextel Cup driver and team owner Michael Waltrip has been relieved of his duties as co-host of the Speed Channel show "Tradin' Paint," network officials confirmed to the Charlotte Observer March 23. Waltrip will remain on Speed's show "Inside Nextel Cup" and will continue to work in the broadcast booth for Speed Channel's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series broadcasts. Asked for a reason for Waltrip's departure, Speed spokesman Erik Arneson said the network would not elaborate on internal personnel matters. Speed expects to try out different drivers on the show during the next few weeks, Arneson said. The show is a weekly discussion program which is broadcast from each week's location of the Cup race. It has been hosted by Waltrip and John Roberts since its inception last season and has showcased Waltrip debating NASCAR issues with another media member guest. ... Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, who handles brother Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s business affairs and is general manager of JR Motorsports, was resting comfortably after surgery March 23, said JR's Steve Crisp. She underwent surgery to have a benign cyst removed from her pancreas. "She's good," Crisp said. "Everything went as expected. All indications are that everything is all taken care of." Earnhardt said March 22 his contract negotiations with Dale Earnhardt Inc. were on hold until Earnhardt Elledge could return to the negotiating table. Elledge is married to Jimmy Elledge, crew chief for Reed Sorenson in the Nextel Cup at Chip Ganassi Racing. Jimmy Elledge was not at the track March 23, with Busch Series crew chief Brian Pattie helping fill that role. ... Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher will star in an ABC-TV reality show about NASCAR that begins filming soon and is set to air in June. Cowher will compete against John Elway, Tony Hawk, William Shatner, Laird Hamilton and his wife, Gabby Reese, Serena Williams, Jewel and others, reports WTAE-Channel 4, Pittsburgh's ABC affiliate. Participants will compete in speed, driving from zero to 100 mph, braking and pit crew skills. ... Chevrolet was shooting for several historic milestones at Bristol--600th all-time Cup victory and 61st win for Impala. Impala SS returns to NASCAR competition in 16 Nextel Cup events this season. Impala won consecutive NASCAR titles in 1960 and 1961 as well 60 race wins including the inaugural Impala race in 1959 at Daytona (Bob Welborn, the first race was a 40-lap qualifying race for the Daytona 500; back then it was an official points race). In addition to Impala's success, Chevrolet's history of NASCAR racing accolades includes 23 driver titles, 30 manufacturer championships and 599 victories. Chevrolet's closest competitor for all-time NASCAR victories trails by the equivalent of a full-season of race wins (22). Total all-time NASCAR Cup wins by corporation (1949-present): General Motors Corp. 933 (Chevy 599, Pontiac 154, Olds 115, Buick 65). Ford Motor Co. 676 (Ford 577, Mercury 95, Lincoln 4). Chrysler Corp. 444 (Dodge 194, Plymouth 191, Chrysler 59). ... During their on-track careers, driver Darrell Waltrip and crew chief Jeff Hammond saw victory lane 43 times as a team. Now, as members of the NASCAR on FOX team, both men were honored with their first Emmy Award nominations--Waltrip for Outstanding Event Analyst and Hammond for Outstanding Studio Analyst. NASCAR on FOX, already the recipient of nine Emmy Awards for its coverage from 2001 to 2005, also received 2006 nominations for Outstanding Live Event/Audio and Outstanding Technical Team Remote. The 28th annual Sports Emmy Awards will be presented Monday, April 30, in New York. ... Front Row Motorsports announced it will focus primarily on the No. 37 Dodge for the reminder of the season and the team still plans on running the No. 34 with a limited schedule. ... Car owner Rick Hendrick had 199 combined NASCAR victories going into Bristol: 151 at the Cup level, 23 in Busch and 25 in the Craftsman Truck.
* NASCAR Nextel Cup News, Notes II: After serving a four-race suspension, Robbie Reiser, long-time crew chief of Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DeWalt Ford team, returned at Bristol. By missing the Daytona 500 in February, it was the first race Reiser missed atop the pit box as Kenseth's crew chief since 1999, a streak of 255 races. With the introduction of the COT, the No. 17 team was forced to retire chassis number 89, which had run every race at Bristol since the beginning of 2001, collecting two wins, seven top fives, nine top 10s, one pole and led a whopping 742 laps during that span. ... Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 pit crew, directed by Rockford native Chad Knaus, earned its first Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge win of the season by spending the least amount of time on pit road at Atlanta, helping the team to a victory in the Kobalt Tools 500. Johnson's over-the-wall crew is the reigning Checkers/Rally's champion, having earned five pit crew wins in 2006. The team spent 323.450 seconds on pit road to win $11,000. An additional $111,150 will be presented to the pit crew with the most wins at the completion of the season. The No. 48 Lowe's over-the-wall crew includes: Chris Anderson (jackman), Art Simmons (front-tire carrier), Mike Trower (front-tire changer), Ron Malec (rear-tire carrier), Tim Ladyga (rear-tire changer), Rich Gutierrez (gasman), Mike Knauer (catch can) and Sean Kerlin (eighth-man). The team's pit crew coach is Matt Clark and Knaus is crew chief. ... After the first four races of the season, Michael Waltrip still was in the hole on points. Going to Bristol, he still "owed" NASCAR 27 points as a result of the points he was fined at Daytona and the fact he has missed three of those four races. ... Former NASCAR chairman Bill France Jr. was released from the hospital March 18 and is resting at home, still under the care of his personal physician, NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said. France was admitted to Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach, Fla., on March 14 and diagnosed with a virus. ... BAM Racing welcomed OBOVO.com as a primary sponsor on the No. 49 beginning at Bristol. OBOVO.com, recently re-named from WhatsOnline.com, is a proprietary metacrawler search engine that provides users with high-quality Internet search results from multiple search engines simultaneously. ... Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger were supposed to be on ABC's "Good Morning America" March 21. Montoya was to stop by the set while in New York City for the World Congress of Sports hosted by the Sports Business Journal. ... Kerry Earnhardt's stepfather Jackie Lynn Key died March 15. Survivors include his wife, Latane Brown Key; a daughter; one son, Kerry Earnhardt and wife, Rene, of Mooresville, N.C.; three sisters; a brother, and four grandchildren. ... Good stat from Jayski.com: While there were three weeks between Craftsman Truck Series races, this marks the first time ever that all three national NASCAR series (Cup, Busch & Truck) had back-to-back winners at the same time. Jimmie Johnson won back-to-back Cup races (Atlanta & Las Vegas), Jeff Burton won back-to-back Busch races (Atlanta & Las Vegas) and Mike Skinner won back-to-back Craftsman Truck races (Atlanta & California). ... Dale Earnhardt Jr. got as high as third and was running sixth when he lost eight track positions in the final 25 laps and finished 14th at Atlanta. "There at the end, I don't know what the hell (crew chief) Tony (Eury) Jr. and those guys did to the car, but it was terrible," Earnhardt said. "We ran pretty good all day until the end. It (was) just a poor pit stop. We shot ourselves in the foot just not getting the car handling right there at the end and I'm frustrated as heck about it." ... Before Brian Vickers ended up in the garage with a 42nd-place finish, he became the first Toyota driver to lead a lap in a Nextel Cup race. Vickers led laps 89-91. He was making just his second start of the season in the Team Red Bull No. 83. ... Kevin Harvick's helmet was stolen from his hauler in the Cup garage March 18, but the caper was quickly foiled by speedway security. Police were notified, the individuals were arrested and the helmet was returned. ... Sunoco still is said to be upset about Shell's move into Cup (in which Sunoco is paying NASCAR for "official fuel" sponsorship rights) and is considering legal action against Shell to force it to take down all those Kevin Harvick banners at its 15,000 service stations. Pennzoil/Shell sponsor's Harvick's No. 29 Richard Childress Chevy. ... Michael Waltrip Racing hired Derrick Finley, who had been crew chief for Jeremy Mayfield at Bill Davis Racing, to serve as project manager and part-time crew chief while the suspended David Hyder sits out his suspension. ... Doug Yates has had a chance to pull apart and examine the engines from the first two races in the unleaded era, and he sees some challenges ahead. In fact, Yates said, his engines came within, say, 10 laps of wholesale failure in unleaded's debut at California. "We came back from Fontana and every engine we had was almost broken," said Yates, chief of Roush-Yates Engines, which produces all motors for Ford's NASCAR fleet. "Some were broken and just didn't fail on the track. I've talked to the other engine builders in the garage, and they say this is a way bigger challenge than we all thought it was going to be." ... Richard Petty Driving Experience, in partnership with Clemson University's Automotive Safety Research Institute, announced the launch of its national Safe Driving Program to prevent or reduce highway crashes by high-risk adolescent and young adult participants by measurably improving driver skills, attitudes, knowledge and behavior. More info from clemson.edu/autoresearch/ASRI. ... The 2007 Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride kicks off in Bar Harbor, Maine, on July 14 and will conclude on July 20 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Details from www.kylepettycharityride.com. ... Rusty Wallace, Incorporated (RWI) has hired 17-year-old short tracker Chase Austin as a development driver to run a No. 66 Dodge Charger for the entire 14-race NASCAR Busch East Series, with primary backing from HomeLife Communities.
* NASCAR Busch News, Notes: Culver's, the restaurant chain known for its fresh, frozen custard and ButterBurgers, is broadening its motor sports involvement from a regional program into the national spotlight with a limited 2007 entry into NASCAR. Long-time Culver's Racing driver Frank Kreyer, moving up from regional Late Models, will pilot a Culver's-wrapped Craftsman Truck in two events and a Busch Series car in four. Kreyer has logged a lot of laps at Rockford Speedway. A 36-year-old, life-long Wisconsin resident, Kreyer has been racing on the Wisconsin short-track circuit, first in the Junior Cup Series and then in Late Models, for some 16 years. He won four championships in the Junior Cup Series before moving up in 1999. Kreyer will drive the No. 44 Culver's Chevrolet Silverado fielded by Key Motorsports on March 31 in the Kroger 250 at Martinsville and again May 26 in the NCTS Ohio 250 at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway. Returning to Wisconsin for his initial Busch event, Kreyer will drive the Mac Hill Motorsports No. 56 Culver's Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in the June 23 AT&T 250 at The Milwaukee Mile, the July 21 Busch Series 250 at Gateway, the Kroger 200 at O'Reilly Raceway Park and the Nov. 10 Arizona.Travel 200 at Phoenix. In addition to the NASCAR program, Kreyer will continue driving the No. 99 Culver's Ford Fusion in the Wisconsin Challenge Series, along with selected appearances in the newly-formed ASA Midwest Tour in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota. Appearances at local Culver's restaurants, a staple of Kreyer's association with the brand since he first drove for a consortium of 20 Wisconsin locations, will be made in all race regions. Culver's restaurants are independently owned and operated in more than 350 locations in 19 states. The first location opened July 18, 1984, in Sauk City, Wis. ... Mike Bliss was to run back-to-back races for Fitz Motorsports in the No. 22 Family Dollar/Supercuts Dodge at Bristol and Nashville. Fitz also announced an addition to its team of NASCAR Busch East drivers. Eighteen-year-old Maxime "Max" Dumarey of Belgium has signed a contract to drive and contend for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title in the 2007 series. ... Innovex Golf announced an alliance with Busch driver Kevin Hamlin and the No. 42. The two-way partnership is designed to help further Hamlin's career while expanding the Innovex Golf brand to a wide audience. Hamlin will drive the No. 42 for Chip Ganassi Racing in all the Busch stand-alone events this year. ... Mike Wallace's No. 7 crew scored its first Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge win by taking top honors at Atlanta. The team spent the least amount of time on pit road--189.705 seconds. ... Timothy Peters was scheduled to be behind the wheel of the No. 21 AutoZone Chevrolet for the next six races and 11 of the next 12. Between Bristol and the June 23 AT&T 250 at The Milwaukee Mile, the May 11 Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington will be the only race he'll miss. ... Kevin Conway was slated to wheel Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 18 Z-Line Designs Chevy at Bristol. As the newest member of the JGR driver lineup, Conway will do eight Busch events in 2007. ... Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates development driver Bryan Clauson was to make his stock car debut in the ARCA race at Lakeland, Fla. The 17-year-old racer was to pilot the No. 40 Memorex Dodge in his debut, which also will mark Memorex' first motor sports event as a primary sponsor. The Memorex brand will assume primary sponsorship of the No. 41 Busch Series Dodge later this year during the final 10 races of 2007. Clauson will drive seven of those 10 races, sharing the ride with Reed Sorenson. ... Juan Pablo Montoya was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the Nicorette 300 at Atlanta. Montoya finished eighth, his second top-10 finish in nine career Busch races. He took Raybestos honors for the second time this season and was the only first-year driver to finish inside the top-10. For the first time this season, Montoya took the lead in the Raybestos Rookie standings, holding a five-point edge over Marcos Ambrose (58-53) entering Bristol. Montoya is the only driver to simultaneously lead the Raybestos Rookie standings in both Nextel Cup and Busch since the rookie program was created in Busch in 1989. ... Smith Transport Inc. will be a major associate sponsor for the No. 56 Chevy in Busch and the Nos. 65 and 56 in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series for Mac Hill Motorsports. ... Randy LaJoie's Safer Racer Tour will visit short tracks around the country to educate racers on the importance of safety. Only an estimated 30 percent of short-track race cars are up to safety standards, he said. According to LaJoie, two-time Busch Series champion. getting the safety features in the cars is an uphill battle. Cost issues as well as negative attitudes are huge obstacles. Lajoie hopes to work with drivers, track promoters and even chassis builders to get the word out. His company, the Joie of Seating, has revolutionized the driver's seat and is rapidly becoming the leading seat provider for drivers of all ages. ... Steve Park, whose last NASCAR race was in a Busch car at O'Reilly Raceway Park last August, was in the garage at Atlanta knocking on doors in hopes of finding a ride for 2007. Park said he had a deal to get back in the Busch Series this season, but it fell apart a month before Daytona. ... JR Motorsports will run a Navy SEALs paint scheme in the Winn-Dixie 250 at Daytona. In honor and recognition of the Navy's maritime Special Forces, the No. 88 Navy Chevy that Shane Huffman drives will feature a special black paint job with the SEALS Trident on the hood. ... Fridell Racing Enterprises said it will run a limited Busch schedule this season beginning at New Hampshire June 30 with Roger Carter II, a competitor in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, driving the team's No. 48 FreeFeds.org Dodge. ... RacecarStupid.com said it will be a primary sponsor of AFR Motorsports in the Busch Series. Betty Shannon is owner of RacecarStupid.com, created so racers and race fans can share their experiences on and off the track in all venues of racing. * NASCAR Craftsman Truck News, Notes: The management team at Bobby Hamilton Racing, along with input from Fastenal and Dodge Motorsports, will have Joe Ruttman as a co-driver along with Ken Schrader for the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge. Ruttman, who is tied for seventh on the all-time NCTS race winners list, is no stranger to BHR. The Tennessee native piloted the No. 18 Dodge for the late Bobby Hamilton in 2000 and 2001. Ruttman is slated to drive the truck in seven of the final 22 races on the circuit. His first start will be next month in Kansas City. Texas, Milwaukee, Memphis, Kentucky, Nashville and Gateway tentatively will complete his schedule. Ruttman scored five victories in Hamilton Dodge Rams. He gave the company its first victory, at Phoenix in 2000, the same venue where Hamilton posted his first Cup win in 1996. Ruttman has a total of 13 NCTS victories, 17 poles, 68 top-five and 111 top-10 finishes in 168 starts. ... The No. 21 pit crew of Kelly Bires earned the Craftsman Truck Series Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge win at Atlanta. The team spent 138.698 seconds on pit road. ... Johnny Benson will be sporting a green machine for the Kroger 250 at Martinsville. He will be representing Team Green with 360 OTC adorning the sides of the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Toyota for the first of a scheduled 10 races with the sponsorship. ... The Craftsman Truck Series has a weekend off but Bill Lester was scheduled to be behind the wheel of a Daytona Prototype--the No. 12 RVO Motorsports Pontiac of Rockford's Roger Schramm--in the Rolex Sports Car Series, Linder Industrial Komatsu Grand Prix of Miami race at Homestead-Miami Speedway's 2.3 mile, 11-turn road course. ... Xpress Motorsports, Trinity Marketing and Development LLC and Donate Life of America have partnered to raise awareness of organ donation. Stacey Compton will share driver duties with Matt McCall in the Xpress No. 16 Ford, and with each lap they will honor those who have given the gift of life. More info at xpressmotorsports16.com. ... NASCAR officials tested the horsepower of five Craftsman Trucks following the Atlanta race--Brendan Gaughan, Ken Schrader, Todd Bodine, Rick Crawford, Matt Crafton and Willie Allen--using the chassis dyno machine in the garage. ... Mike Skinner led five times for 67 laps to earn WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors at Atlanta, his second time in 2007. Skinner has led 11 times in three races this season for a total of 119 laps. Skinner won the race at Atlanta, the 21st victory of his 132-race Craftsman Truck career and the 10th victory in the series for Bill Davis Racing. ... Joey Clanton was Raybestos Rookie of the Race at AMS. Clanton finished ninth; his second top-10 in four career Craftsman starts. Kelly Bires finished ninth, his best effort in four career starts. ... Tom Ackerman has replaced Dave McCarty as crew chief for the No. 75 Spears Chevy driven by Dennis Setzer. It was reported McCarty has assumed other duties at the Spears Racing shop. ... Remaining Truck races: March 31, Kroger 250, Martinsville; April 28, Kansas; May 18, Lowe's; May 26, Mansfield, Ohio; June 1, Dover; June 8, Texas; June 16, Michigan; June 22, Milwaukee Mile; June 30, Memphis Motorsports Park; July 14, Kentucky; July 27, O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis; Aug. 11, Nashville Superspeedway; Aug. 22, Bristol; Sept. 1, Gateway International Raceway; Sept. 15, New Hampshire; Sept. 22, Las Vegas; Oct. 6, Talladega; Oct. 20, Martinsville; Oct. 27, Atlanta; Nov. 2, Texas; Nov. 9, Phoenix; Nov. 16, Homestead-Miami. ... Winners of past races: Feb. 16, Daytona, Jack Sprague, Toyota; Feb. 23, California, Mike Skinner, Toyota; March 16, Atlanta, Skinner, Toyota. * Champ Car News, Notes: Don't expect America's two rival open-wheel series to unify anytime soon, said an Associated Press story. Tony George, founder and CEO of the Indianapolis Racing League and it's IndyCar Series, said March 24 at Homestead-Miami Speedway that talks with Kevin Kalkhoven, co-owner of the Champ Car World Series, have been put on the back burner for now. Open-wheel fans, most of whom would love to see the two series running together as one, were excited a year ago when both George and Kalkhoven let it be known they had formed a friendship and opened talks that could possibly lead to unification. The excitement died down quickly, though, as the talks cooled. "That was 12 months ago," George said. "Kevin and I had been talking for four to six weeks, I'd say, prior to that. The reasons for being optimistic were we had had some good social interaction and we'd been kind of talking around some of the bigger issues. I felt those talks were going well, but we were not anywhere near ready to announce a plan for unification. As time went on," George added, "that whole thing changed and we've tried to stay in contact and see each other socially on occasion and have a professional relationship. As of last fall, we've kind of agreed that we don't have a lot to talk about in terms of unification and didn't likely have anything imminent that was going to change that in the next couple of years, but that we'd stay in touch. And, to a certain extent, we've done that." George also said he and his top executives are thinking about adding a couple of non-points overseas races in the fall sometime in the future. "I think there's a case to be made if the right opportunities come, if it's good for the sponsors, if it's good for the teams, if it's good for IndyCar racing in general to do a couple of offshore races," he said. "We could do a couple of races in the mid-September to end of November time frame. We're just looking for the right way to package it. It's conceptually something that I've given consideration to, but nothing has been set in stone." The IRL schedule for 2007 includes 17 races and George said the championship is unlikely to add more than a race or two in the next few years, although he noted there are numerous opportunities popping up. "I think we could add a race or two, as long as they're the right one or two. We have opportunities for new events in new markets," he said. "There's interest from new sponsors, which means healthy teams and a growing series. All those things will start to fall into place and will require strong leadership. But I think we're pretty maxed out, given the fact that we're going from the end of March to the first part of September. Seventeen (races) is pretty tight. We could expand by starting a week or two earlier and run a week later. But we've got to discuss those things with our television partner (ABC/ESPN) who has really been driving this. but we don't disagree with the premise." ... It looks like Rocketsports Racing and RuSPORT Racing are set to work in partnership during the 2007 Champ Car World Series season. RuSPORT driver Justin Wilson revealed the link-up at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. "It's happening, as far as I am aware," said Wilson. "There is only one car in our tent and I'm not sure if they have made an official announcement, but it is my belief that its one car for the season." Alex Tagliani drives for Rocketsports, giving the team its first Champ Car victory at Road America in 2004. "It's the best opportunity I've had in my Champ Car career, working with a hell of a driver like Justin," said. "I said to (team owners) Paul (Gentilozzi) and Dan (Pettit), 'You have no idea how happy I am for this opportunity. Thanks guys!'" It's shaping up as a transitional year for RuSPORT and, to a lesser extent, Rocketsports. The collective RuSPORT culture was shocked last December when team founder Carl Russo transferred ownership to Pettit. RuSPORT ran a second car at the first two open tests of the 2007 Panoz (with Mario Dominguez at Sebring and Oriol Servia at MSR Houston), but sponsorship concerns forced a cutback to one entry. Wilson's car is fully sponsored by computer products wholesaler CDW. After struggling for results in 2006, Gentilozzi decided to focus on one strong entry and re-established his links with the popular Tagliani, who drove for Team Australia in 2005 and '06. For the foreseeable future, RuSPORT will remain based in Loveland, Colo., while Rocketsports maintains its longime home in Lansing, Mich. But their trucks will always be next to each other in the Champ Car paddock. ... The Vegas Grand Prix, which will open the Champ Car season April 8, is a three-day festival of speed and entertainment April 6-8 that will encircle the heart of downtown Las Vegas. The weekend will feature rock concerts, a celebrity poker tournament and other activities. The temporary street circuit is a 2.44-mile, 12-turn course through the heart of "Glitter Gulch." Racing will be a Historic Grand Prix, Atlantics and Champ Cars. Organizers last week announced the lineup for the Friday Night Street Party April 6--country duo Big & Rich with Cowboy Troy, alternative rocker Chris Cornell, rock amalgamation Army of Anyone and up-and-coming indie band the Teddybears. ... The British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame in downtown Vancouver has a permanent exhibit in the new 800-square-foot Greg Moore Wing, dedicated to the late Greg Moore, who died in a crash 10 laps into the 1999 CART finale at the California Speedway. He was only 24. Housed in the B.C. Place football stadium, the exhibit features hundreds of photographs, hours of video footage and various items of memorabilia, such as racing paraphernalia, trophies and posters. There is Moore's first racer--a Radio Flyer wagon painted gold because he disliked the original red, his first go-kart and the Player's/Forsythe car he drove to his first win at the Milwaukee Mile in 1997. Also, an autographed Fender guitar given to Moore by one of his favorite bands, Metallica and the Team Penske racing suit and helmet Moore would have worn in the 2000 CART season. ... 2007 Champ Car schedule: April 8, Las Vegas Grand Prix; April 15, Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach; April 22, Grand Prix of Houston; May 20, Zhuhai City, China; June 10, G.I. Joe's Grand Prix, Portland, Ore.; June 24, Grand Prix of Cleveland; July 1, TBA, St. Jovite, Canada; July 8, Grand Prix of Toronto; July 22, Grand Pix of Edmonton; July 29, San Jose Grand Prix; Aug. 12, Generac Grand Prix, Elkhart Lake, Wis.; Sept. 2, Dutch Grand Prix, Assen, Holland; Sept. 9, Grand Prix of Belgium, Liege; Oct. 21, Lexmark Indy 300, Surfers Paradise, Australia; Nov. 11, TBA, Mexico City; Dec. 2, Grand Prix Arizona, Phoenix.
* Keeping Up with Roscoe's Danica Patrick: At least Danica Patrick wasn't the lowest finisher of the four Andretti Green Racing drivers in the season-opening XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 under the lights at Homestead-Miami March 24. Tony Kanaan was the highest finisher at fifth, the last driver on the lead lap. Dario Franchitti was seventh, a lap down. Danica was 14th after making contact with the wall and Marco Andretti was 20th and last with a mystery mechanical problems. Danica, in her first start with AGR, was running eighth before she spun and hit the wall while entering the pits for what was supposed to be her final stop. "I'm just so disappointed," she said. "I don't make mistakes like that, and I can't believe it happened. I guess the law of averages should tell me that it's possible. When you're pushing 100 percent out there all the time, it is bound to catch up with you. I'm just glad it doesn't happen very often." Andretti, 20, last year's top rookie, said, "I've never been so scared in my life in an IndyCar." Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's Sarah Fisher finished 11th. ... In March 23 qualifying, Dario Franchitti was third fastest at 213.714 mph, followed by Andretti Green Racing teammates Tony Kanaan at 213.474 and Marco Andretti, last year's top rookie, at 212.754. The fourth member of the AGR team, newcomer Danica Patrick, was far less pleased after qualifying 14th at 211.431. She turned practice speeds more than 1 mph faster. "I was just slow," she said, shrugging. "The car felt great. It felt very stuck, very stable. I don't understand why it went so slow. This better not be the way it goes. It's frustrating. We were thinking top six, top eight, no problem. It went well in the last practice and this is all we have to show for it." Sarah Fisher, the other woman in the 20-car field, wound up considerably better, qualifying ninth at 212.501. A year ago, rookie Paul Dana was killed in a two-car crash during the 30-minute warmup, hours before the race. Since then, series officials have done away with the race-day warmups. Dana and Patrick were teammates last season at Rahal Letterman Racing, along with Buddy Rice.
* IRL IndyCar News, Notes: More competition for Danica Patrick? The Roscoe driver, who already has to deal with Sarah Fisher, will have another female to battle for the limelight--Milka Duno, a Venezuelan beauty whom some say is hotter than Danica and may be a better driver. Duno, who lives in Miami, was the first woman to win a major international sports car race in North America (with Andy Wallace at the Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami). She has posted three wins, seven podium appearances, 10 top-five finishes and 26 top-10 finishes in Grand-Am sports cars, and now she's going to run IndyCar races. SAMAX Motorsport owner Peter Baron and CITGO Petroleum Corp. president and CEO Felix Rodriguez announced Duno will drive the No. 23 CITGO Racing/SAMAX Motorsport Dallara in 10 IndyCar Series events this season, including the 91st running of the 500-Mile Race on May 27. After testing and passing her rookie test in early April, Duno will launch her long-time aspirations April 29 at Kansas Speedway. She'll also compete at Texas June 9, Iowa June 24, Watkins Glen July 8, Nashville July 14, Mid-Ohio July 22, Michigan Aug. 5, Kentucky Aug. 11 and the season finale at Chicagoland. She will be the first Latina in the IndyCar Series and when Duno, Patrick and Fisher take the green flag at the 1.5-mile Kansas oval, it will mark the first time in major open-wheel racing history that three females have competed in a race (don't think I'd like to be No. 3). Duno competed in her final Rolex Grand-Am Series Daytona Prototype race for SAMAX Motorsport with CITGO sponsorship on March 24 at Homestead-Miami to concentrate on the IndyCar effort. Her SAMAX IndyCar Series team will be a mix of personnel from her Grand-Am team and veterans of Indy car racing, including Steve Challis as the lead engineer and John Cummiskey as the team manager. Cummiskey has three Indianapolis 500 victories. In her first race of the 2007 Grand-Am season, Duno teamed with Darren Manning, Patrick Carpentier and Ryan Dalziel for a runner-up finish in the Rolex 24 At Daytona--the highest finish ever by a female in the event's 45-year history. Time to step up, Danica. ... Sarah Fisher will compete in all the IndyCar Series races this year--12 ovals and five street/road course events--in the No. 5 prepared by Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. "Sarah tested for the first time on a road course in an IndyCar after the Homestead-Miami Open Test and really proved herself and her abilities," team co-owner Dennis Reinbold said. "She really impressed us and because of this we are making a commitment to put all of our efforts behind her as the driver of the No. 5 car. We want to continue to develop her overall talents, which can only make us stronger as a team as we move forward." The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on April 1 will be Fisher's first non-oval event in an IndyCar Series car. She is the first female in Indy car racing history to sit on a pole. ... A new structure of the sanctioning Indy Racing League was announced by IRL founder and CEO Tony George. Brian Barnhart will serve as president of the competition and operations division and Terry Angstadt will serve as president of the commercial division, effective immediately. George said the new structure will better enable the sanctioning body and its two series, the IndyCar Series and Indy Pro Series, to take advantage of expanding business opportunities in a changing environment. As president of the competition and operations division, Barnhart will be responsible for officiating, technical specifications, innovation, development, safety development and implementation, medical, event logistics and be an IndyCar Series representative on the board of directors of ACCUS, the U.S. representative to the FIA. Barnhart has been with the company since 1994. As president of the commercial division, Angstadt, currently the vice president of marketing for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, will have responsibility for sales, marketing, public relations, broadcast relationships, business planning and development, and organizational operation of the IndyCar Series. Angstadt joined IMS in 2001. The division presidents will jointly focus on promoter relations, venue selection and communications. ... The Indy 300 was the first race run by a racing series using 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol in competition. The change to ethanol, a hotter burning fuel than the methanol that was previously used, cuts horsepower and forced the IndyCar Series to make some technical changes. The series switched from a 3-liter engine to 3.5-liter engine and reset the wing angle by 5 degrees to produce more downforce. "All in all, there's plenty of power and it feels just fine on the track," said Dario Franchitti, who drives for Andretti Green Racing. "The ethanol hasn't really caused any problems at all. I don't think anybody is going to see any difference in the close racing we've had in the past." ... The IndyCar Series has taken another step to make the drivers safer on the race track, adding a safety light to the rear of the cars. Scott Sharp, who drives for Rahal Letterman Racing, called the light a breakthrough. "This light is big and you're not going to miss that when the caution comes out," Sharp said. ... The Nos. 8 and 17 Rahal Letterman Racing cars were moved to the rear of the field for the XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 after their times were disallowed because of failing post-qualifying technical inspection. Scott Sharp, who had the seventh-quickest speed (212.623 mph; 25.1431 seconds) on the 1.5-mile oval, start 19th. Simmons, who had the 17th-quickest lap (211.104), started 20th. "The penalties imposed on the No. 8 and No. 17 cars by the IndyCar Series were purely of subjective interpretation, and Rahal Letterman Racing does not agree with this ruling," the team said in a statement. "Our cars have been in the same configuration since arriving at Homestead, and have passed IndyCar Series technical inspection at various times throughout the weekend. While we don't agree with the ruling, we are confident our cars were legal and therefore eligible within the Indy Car Series rules for competition, and we will now focus our energy on the race at hand and maximizing our results here at Homestead-Miami Speedway." ... Helio Castroneves got a little more than he expected as he joined top women's tennis player Kim Clijsters for an exhibition match at Crandon Park in Miami. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner is an amateur tennis player but had enough game to compete against the former U.S. Open champion, taking a few points from Clijsters in a 12-point tiebreaker. But he quickly turned the tables on her as the two also "raced" IndyCar Series simulators, claiming victory with a friendly taunt to Clijsters: "This is my world." Clijsters, who is ranked fifth in the latest WTA rankings, said she enjoyed being a fish out of water in the race car and meeting Castroneves. "They told me I was going to play an Xbox game, but that is a different kind of controller than what I was used to," said Clijsters, who handed Castroneves her steering wheel as a trophy. "I enjoy meeting other athletes and seeing how they prepare for their sports."
* NHRA Drag Racing News, Notes: NHRA driver Eric Medlen died March 23, five days after sustaining a severe head injury in a crash during a test session at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway. The 33-year-old Medlen, who drove for John Force Racing, never regained consciousness after crashing his Funny Car into a guardrail March 19 at the Florida track. Medlen, one of the most popular drivers in the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series, underwent brain surgery March 20 to relieve the pressure and hemorrhaging and was being kept in a drug-induced coma to promote healing. But doctors said he never showed any improvement. "Eric suffered from severe traumatic brain injury with diffuse axonal injury, or DAI," said Dr. Joseph Layon, Professor of Anesthesiology, Surgery and Medicine and the Chief of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Florida Medical Center. "Survival rates associated with DAI are low." He said that, despite receiving "the most aggressive treatment," Medlen continued to have uncontrollable intracranial pressure. "That is when Eric's family elected to honor Eric's wishes and remove him from the artificial life support systems," Layon said. Team owner and longtime drag racer John Force was devastated by the loss. "He was the leader of my next generation of drivers," Force said March 23. "This loss is a huge blow, not only to the Medlen family but to drag racing and to John Force Racing." In 2004, Medlen took over the Funny Car in which Tony Pedregon won the previous year's championship and was the division's top rookie. He won six times in his first three seasons and never finished outside the top five in driver points. Medlen had a delicate, three-hour craniotomy procedure to relive pressure and hemorrhaging March 20, but remained in critical condition March 21 at Shands at the University of Florida medical center. "We consider ourselves fortunate that Eric is in one of the top hospitals in the world for this type of injury and is getting absolutely the best treatment possible," said John Medlen, Eric's father and crew chief. "We want to thank Eric's friends, fans, sponsors and the entire NHRA drag racing community for their support in this very difficult time for our family," he said. Medlen suffered undetermined injuries when his entry crashed heavily into the rightside guardwall. He was transported via ShandsCair helicopter to Shands. He participated in the March 18 38th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals and stayed around for testing. ... Remaining NHRA schedule: April 1, O'Reilly Spring Nationals, Houston; April 15, SummitRacing.com Nationals, Las Vegas; April 29, Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals, Atlanta; May 6, O'Reilly Midwest Nationals, Madison, Ill.; May 20, Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol, Tenn.; June 3, O'Reilly Summer Nationals, Topeka, Kan.; June 10, Route 66 Nationals, Joliet, Ill.; June 24, SuperNationals, Englishtown, N.J.; July 1, Summit Racing Equipment Nationals, Norwalk, Ohio; July 15, Mopar Mile-High Nationals, Denver; July 22, Schuck's Auto Supply Nationals, Seattle; July 29, Fram Autolite Nationals, Sonoma, Calif.; Aug. 12, Lucas Oil Nationals, Brainerd, Minn.; Aug. 19, Toyo Tires Nationals, Reading, Pa.; Sept. 3, Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Clermont, Ind.; Sept. 16, O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals, Memphis, Tenn.; Sept. 23, O'Reilly Fall Nationals, Ennis, Texas; Oct. 7, Torco Racing Fuels Nationals, Richmond, Va.; Oct. 28, ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals; Nov. 4, Automobile Club of Southern California Finals, Pomona, Calif. ... Winners of previous races: Feb. 11, Pomona, TF-J.R. Todd, FC-Gary Scelzi, PS-Greg Anderson; Feb. 25, Firebird, TF-Rod Fuller, FC-Tony Pedregon, PS-Kurt Johnson; March 18, Gainesville, TF-Tony Schumacher, FC-Ron Capps, PS-Greg Anderson, PSM-Karen Stoffer.
* Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series: The Rock Valley Oil and Chemical Pontiac Riley of team owner Roger Schramm of Rockford and Bill Lester finished 35th out of 44 cars in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve race at Homestead-Miami March 24. They completed 85 laps, six laps behind the winners, after qualifying 20th in DP at 105.853 mph, the last of the DP cars in the field. ... Daytona Prototype race winners Bill Auberlen and Matthew Alhadeff and GT runners-up Andy Lally and R.J. Valentine earned the SunTrust Improve Your Position Awards. Auberlen and Alhadeff came from 15th on the grid to win the race, while Lally and Valentine finished second in GT after starting 16th in class. ... The top-three finishers in the Linder Industrial Komatsu Grand Prix of Miami were powered by different engine manufacturers. BMW claimed its first victory since the 2005 season finale at Mexico City, while Pontiac finished second and Lexus finished third. A fifth-place performance by Hurley Haywood and JC France in the No. 59 Brumos Racing Porsche Riley made it four different engines in the top five. Pontiac leads Lexus 99-93 in the engine manufacturer standings. ... While Mazda picked up its second consecutive Rolex Series GT victory, a second-place run by Porsche enabled to German marque to retain the lead in the GT manufacturer standings. Porsche leads Mazda by three points 99-96. ... Lola Cars International Ltd and Krohn Racing are entering into a new partnership that will produce Lola Daytona Prototypes to race in the 2008 Grand-Am series. The new collaboration of Lola and Krohn has resulted in a new company being formed called Proto-Auto LLC, which has purchased a Grand-Am constructors license from Ontario-based, Multimatic, whose chassis will form the basis of the 2008 Lola car. Several teams have expressed interest in using another competitive chassis to those presently competing in the Grand-Am series. "Lola has a rich and successful history in sports cars that continues to this day. We want to build on that with this significant new project," Martin Birrane, Executive Chairman, Lola Group, said. "Grand-Am is a growing series that fits perfectly with our own ambitions. Everyone at Lola is excited with this new challenge and our partnership with such a strong and competitive team as Krohn Racing. We are sure this new collaboration will open another exciting chapter for Lola Cars competing in the U.S." Under Grand-Am regulations a totally new body is permitted for all constructors to compete in the 2008 season. This is currently underway at Lola's state-of-the-art facility in Huntingdon, UK, where an experienced team of sports car engineers are working in Lola's on-site 50% scale wind tunnel. After research, design and development at Lola, Proto-Auto will operate from a facility in Atlanta, Ga., and will manage the marketing, engineering, parts and logistical support for all teams who campaign the Lola Daytona Prototype. The first team to take delivery of two new Lola cars will be Krohn Racing and the first car is scheduled to test immediately after the end of the 2007 season. Eric Broadley designed Lola cars that competed in a wide variety of series. Established in 1958 by Broadley MBE, Lola is Great Britain's longest-serving manufacturer of racing cars. After an extraordinary rise to prominence, in which it mastered all spheres of the sport from humble club classes to Formula One, and endurance sports racers to Indy cars, Lola has continually been at the forefront of the worldwide motor sport industry. Its enviable position has been consolidated under the ownership of Birrane since 1997, with the introduction of advanced technologies to keep its products winning in the 21st century. Drivers of Lola cars scored points in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship from the marque's debut season in 1962. Lola's roll of honor also includes no fewer than nine CART/OWRS championship titles, three Indianapolis 500 wins and the 1978 USAC Triple Crown, eight U.S./European/Tasman Formula 5000 titles, victory in the 1963 Monaco Formula Junior Grand Prix, the inaugural Can-Am Challenge series of 1966, the 1969 Daytona 24 Hours, the 1973 European 2-litre Sportscar Championship, five successive Can-Am titles, eight Japanese Formula 3000 crowns, numerous FIA International F3000 championships and three sports car championships in 2001 alone. Additionally, Lolas have carried amateur and professional competitors to countless championships and race victories on every major continent. ... Grand American Racing Series crewman Ty Manseau was in critical but stable condition March 23 after being struck by a loose tire in the pits. Manseau of Duluth, Minn., was taken to the trauma center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami with unspecified injuries. He was hit by a tire that came off a Mustang driven by Alex Tagliani as he left pit lane during practice for the March 24 Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami. It's the second time Manseau, who works for SAMAX Motorsports, has been injured in a pit accident. In 1999, while working for Newman/Haas Racing in CART, driver Michael Andretti drove his car over Manseau. Manseau sustained severe muscular injuries and was out of racing for a year. * USAC News, Notes: Madison (Wis.) International Speedway has scheduled a night of open-wheel racing for July 28 with five divisions. USAC Midgets will be joined by the Ford Focus Midgets, Kenyon Midgets, Rascal Outlaws and Formula Indy Racing Association.
* Midget Racing News, Notes: David Gough of Machesney Park returns to UMARA national midget competition in 2007 to go for the hat trick, according to the UMARA Web site. The 1998 and 2004 UMARA champ looks to overcome the disappointments of last season to add a third championship to his resume. Gough, president of the family's 44-year-old business, Gough Heating & Air Conditioning, stormed onto the UMARA scene in 1997 winning Rookie of the Year and backing that up with the national midget championship in 1998. Since then he has amassed more than 25 feature wins, another UMARA championship and a few wins in a sprint car. But 2006 was a disappointing season for Gough. "Our season last year was filled with mechanical failures and disappointment," Gough said. "We started the season with new cars and engines and planned to run the entire USAC national midget schedule. But after two major engine failures before the end of May we changed direction a bit. We ran well at Grundy County with our own car in three events, picking up one win at the Carter/Anderson Classic. We were in contention in the other two before crashing out of one and another engine failure in the other. We also ran well in Glenn Winstrup's pavement winged sprint car, picking up several top fives and an all-time track record at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, Iowa." At age 39, Gough expects to contend for his third UMARA national midget championship this year with crew chief Chuck Johnson again at the helm. Besides helping Gough to his second championship in 2004, Johnson's impressive resume also includes six wins in the BAJA 1000 and several championships in the SODA and CORR off-road series, a national desert championship and the 1994 Sport Truck Series champion at Lake Geneva (Wis.) Speedway, all as a driver. Gough says his plans for 2007 are not yet finalized but he does intend to run for the UMARA championship with his Callahan Motorsports/Fontana Automotive/KMK Media Group pavement midget. "We have purchased the Fontana engine we ran last year from David Ward," said Gough. "David made the purchase too hard to pass up and I really appreciate his continued support of our team." Gough also will drive for Roger and Lara Miller in several dirt midget events and will pilot a pavement winged sprint car and PRA car, both owned by Winstrup, when his schedule permits. * If He's Not Older Than Dirt, Stan Burdick Knows How It Was Moved: For Rockford Speedway fans who like to kid with Stan Burdick that he may be older than dirt, they could be right. The track will mark its 60th anniversary this season, and Stan has been around for every one of them. He can even tell you what all the dirt looked like before it was shaped into the venerable high-banked, quarter-mile oval some people like to call "Wreckford." When the track was built in 1948, "I worked with the guy who dug the race track. E.B. Davis dug the track," said Burdick. Each week, fans and drivers easily recognize Burdick as he stands in the infield and sends each car out, one at a time for time trials. But, more fans and drivers know Burdick as the person who lights the fuse to the firework blast that let's everyone know the racing action is about to begin. "I didn't miss any (events) until just a few years ago," Burdick said. "I thought it was just time to go and see what else was going on." When asked what memories stand out, he recalled when Mark Martin won the 1977 National Short Track Championships and watching his good friend Joe Shear race around the high-banked oval. One of the things Burdick has seen change over the 60 years is the cars themselves. "A lot of changes, different type of cars," Burdick said. "It used to be you just built a car, now it's you buy the parts and you build a car. There is no Yankee ingenuity left. You can't cheat anymore; it used to be the biggest cheater was the winner." One of Burdick's fondest recollections was Hugh Deery, the well-known promoter of the speedway until his passing in 1984. Today, Hugh's widow, Jody, is the promoter. "There were six other people to own the race track before Hugh," Burdick recalled. "Then Hugh bought into it and then Bill Ernest bought into it and they were the two owners. And then they had a disagreement or something and it was either you buy me or I buy you out and Hugh bought Bill Ernest out." Burdick remembers Hugh as an entertainer, "Hugh's idea of the race track was to entertain the people," Burdick said. "It is not a race track, it is an entertainment center where people come to be entertained." Burdick also remembers he was a nice guy to work for and Hugh had a flair for fashion, wearing fancy jackets and a bow tie. "He always had a bow tie on." Burdick received the Hugh G. Deery Memorial Award in 1990. Burdick has no plans on slowing down. "I sure would like to be here for another 60 years," he stated. "It (the speedway) will be here as long as it can be here." The 60th season starts on Saturday, April 7, with the Spring Smash-O-Rama. The 30th annual Spring Classic will take place April 14-15 and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series weekly racing action will kick off on Saturday, April 21. For tickets/more info, call the track office at (815) 633-1500 or visit www.rockfordspeedway.com. * Rockford Speedway News, Notes: CherryVale Mall will host a Rockford Speedway car show March 30-April 1. Twenty race cars will be displayed. ... The track has released its official logo to help celebrate the 60th season of entertaining race fans. The 60th anniversary season starts with the O'Reilly Auto Parts Smash-O-Rama on Saturday, April 7. The logo features the current Speedway logo along with "1948-2007." Tickets are on sale for the Smash-O-Rama and the 30th annual Spring Classic April 14-15. The Wisconsin Challenge Series, Big 8 Series, Mid-American Series and the first Hornet vs. Bandit Challenge all will be in action that weekend. The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series weekly racing action will start on Saturday, April 21. For tickets/more info, call the track office at (815) 633-1500 or visit www.rockfordspeedway.com. ... Race fans can become part of the NASCAR family and excitement by purchasing an Official NASCAR Membership through Rockford Speedway for $90. Numerous exclusive gifts and opportunities are tied directly to becoming a member, including a one-year subscription to Dick Berggren's Speedway Illustrated, Rockford Speedway reserved seat upgrades, an official NASCAR rulebook and a members-only pit tour during the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series event at Rockford on June 2. Interested parties can contact the track box office at (815) 633-1500 or visit the office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. * Other Stock Car Racing News, Notes: NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Matt Kenseth will compete in three Wisconsin races this summer. The Cambridge, Wis., native will drive June 26 in the third All-Star Challenge at Madison International Speedway. Nextel Cup driver Tony Stewart also will be in the race. Kenseth will defend his Slinger Nationals title at the 28th annual Miller Lite Slinger Nationals 250 on July 17 at Slinger Super Speedway. Kenseth also will run the Milwaukee Mile on Aug. 26 in a 50-lap super late model race. For ticket information, check his Web site, mattkenseth.com. ... Madison (Wis.) International Speedway opens its season May 6 with a special Sunday show featuring the Wisconsin Challenge Series, Bandits, Hobby Stocks and Super Cups. The first regular-season Friday race is May 11.
* Go-Kart/Small Car Racing News, Notes: South Beloit's Michael Bilderback set a track record at the KOIL (Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana Legends) Series races at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky. He set the track record March 17 with a lap time of 15.45 seconds. He also placed third in both masters/pro division races, which featured 40 of the top drivers from across the country. ... Mazda North American Operations announced the signing of multi-year contracts with the leading kart racing organizations in the U.S. The commitments further expand Mazda's presence in grassroots road-racing, and represent the largest ever commitment to karting from an automaker. Mazda has signed partnership agreements with multiple sanctioning bodies and events, and will be highly involved with the following: World Karting Association (WKA), Champ Car Rotax Kart Challenge, Snap-on Stars of Karting presented by IndyCar, Superkarts! USA (SKUSA), Newcastle Motorsport Park (Indiana) and the Rock Island Grand Prix (the largest professional kart street race in the world). Mazda's support will consist of both traditional sponsorship funding towards prize money and operating costs, as well as unique benefits such as business-partner pricing on new Mazda vehicles for kart racers who belong to those organizations. Over the past decade, Mazda has become the brand of choice for road-racers across North America. Over 9,000 grassroots racers compete in various classes with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and the National Auto Sport Association (NASA). Now, kids still years away from their driver's license, can start their professional motor sports career in the Mazda family. A driver can begin in karts and progress upwards through the Skip Barber Race Series, Club Racing Formula Mazda, professional Star Mazda and finally to Formula Atlantic, all with Mazda. --30--
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