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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 29, 2009 (Vol. 5, No. 9) The World of Wheels is changing. Less event coverage ... points, stats, etc. You'll have to go elsewhere for that. I don't want to do all the work anymore. Most of it I make for myself by trying to be all-encompassing. But it's still a drain, and nobody is paying me for this. Fact is, without advertising, I lose money on the deal. With my years of experience, at the least I should be blogging for someone and getting paid for it. But that's the way it goes when you're dumb enough to devote almost all of your adult working life to newspapering for the ungrateful, especially the last two papers I wrote for, both of which are in Rockford (actually the first 40 years in newspapers weren't bad at all. But the last 10 really sucked). If I had it to do over again, I'd learn another trade, something with a nice strong union. Or I'd go for political office at the state or federal level. Good pay, time off, good "bennies" and retirement and all you have to do is be a dip(bleep) and spew out a load of Pelosi every four or six years. I could qualify. I've proven that. -- On the 25th anniversary of Rick Hendrick's first Sprint Cup win as a car owner, it was more of the same for Hendrick and Jimmie Johnson. An aggressive pass of Denny Hamlin on lap 485 of the Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 gave Johnson the lead March 29 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, and he pulled away to beat Hamlin (Toyota) by .774 seconds. The victory was Johnson's first of the season and 41st of his career; he now has six wins at Martinsville--five in the past six races. All his wins have come with Rockford native Chad Knaus as his crew chief. It was Hendrick's 18th win at the .526-mile track. Tony Stewart (Chevy) ran third, followed by pole-sitter and series points leader Jeff Gordon (Chevy) and Clint Bowyer (Chevy). Ryan Newman (Chevy), Mark Martin  (Chevy), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Chevy), A.J. Allmendinger (Dodge) and Jamie McMurray (Ford) rounded out the top 10. Hamlin, who led a race-high 296 laps, wrested the lead from Johnson with a bold move to the inside on a lap 456 restart. Johnson trailed Hamlin through two short green-flag runs and two cautions before Johnson saw his opportunity seven laps after a restart on lap 478. Entering Turn 3 on lap 485, Johnson nosed beneath Hamlin's No. 11. Hamlin squeezed Johnson to the inside and the No. 48 bounced off the inside curb. Johnson slid up the track, and contact between the two lead cars allowed Johnson to pass for the lead. "I felt like I was a little bit better than the 11 on the long runs," Johnson said. "I was able to stay with him and got closer and closer, and I went into Turn 3 and got inside of him. I think he was trying to not leave me a lot of room, which is what you do, and before I knew it, I was up on the curb and we had made contact and were sliding sideways. It certainly wasn't something intentional. I was just trying to get in there and get the win. I was in there, and he was coming down and we made some contact. Fortunately, neither one of us spun out, and he was able to recover and finish second." Hamlin, who hasn't won a race since his victory at Martinsville a year ago, was gracious in his assessment of Johnson's move. "It's short-track racing--that's all the fans could ask for right there," Hamlin said. "We tried to do our best to hold him off. You fight for every inch around this track, and he got the better of us today. If the roles were reversed, I'd do the same thing--and, believe me, I will if it ever comes back around." For more than 400 laps, it was a two-man show that didn't involve Johnson. Gordon led 141 of the first 155 laps before Hamlin powered inside of him off Turn 4 on lap 156 and held the top spot for 187 laps until Gordon slipped past on lap 343. Six laps later, Hamlin regained the lead in traffic. Quick work in the pits under caution got Johnson out first for a restart on lap 434, and he retained the top spot until Hamlin's dive to the inside on lap 456--a move arranged with the help of teammate Kyle Busch, who was the first lapped car on the inside lane when the field took the green flag for the restart. Busch gave Hamlin enough room to drive to the inside of Johnson as the cars raced toward the first corner. ... NOTES: Six of the top eight positions went to Hendrick cars (Johnson, Gordon, Martin and Earnhardt) and Hendrick affiliates (Stewart and Newman of Stewart-Haas Racing). ... The Busch brothers' streak of three straight wins ended with a whimper. Kurt started second but faded as the race progressed, finishing 18th. A tire problem cost Kyle two laps in the early stages, dropping him to 24th at the finish. ... Gordon extended his lead in points to 89 over Bowyer and 132 over Kurt Busch. ... Qualifying was rained out March 27 and the lineup was set by points, putting Gordon on pole. Qualifying also was rained out for last October's race, giving point leader Johnson the top starting spot. He went on to win the race. Four drivers did not get in: Sterling Marlin, Dennis Setzer, Tony Raines and Derrike Cope. * * * -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. (most everyone's favorite) and Kyle Busch (most everyone's villain) are generating heat. Busch has notched 10 wins in the No. 18 Toyota since joining Joe Gibbs Racing last season while Earnhardt, who supplanted him at Hendrick Motorsports, has one win in same span. "Look at that, Earnhardt's the 'lucky dog'," Busch radioed his crew as Earnhardt was waved past the pace car on lap 320, the first of two times he was the beneficiary of the rule awarding a lap back under caution to the first car not on the lead lap. "Ha, ha, ha!" reported USA Today. After the race, Busch referred to Earnhardt again. "I haven't really paid attention a whole lot to the souvenir sales," he said. "I really don't care about that stuff. I'm not out there to be No. 1 (in popularity). We all know who No. 1 is and forever will be. I go out there to win races to be No. 1 on the race track. I don't think I would enjoy having the most fans. I actually like the way I am, the role I portray. There's probably too much pressure on one guy's shoulders who doesn't seem to win very often." Earnhardt has three wins since 2005. The 34-year-old's winless streak stood at 26 after a 14th-place finish at Bristol. Earnhardt has tried to shoulder the responsibility for his lackluster start, but his enormous fan base has directed much of the blame at crew chief Tony Eury Jr., who is in his fourth full season of guiding the driver. Earnhardt has two wins (Richmond in 2006 and Michigan last season) with Eury, who is his cousin. "He gets criticized so badly," Earnhardt said. "Everybody knows how smart a guy he is, that he is a good mechanic and a solid crew chief. I would rather be crucified than him, because every time I read people are on his case I feel like I am sending my brother to jail for a crime I committed. I feel bad for him, because he just wants to work and have fun." Earnhardt said it's the media. "It's not that hard to stay positive until you get around the media," he said. "You guys have got to take a little responsibility for being so hard on everybody. Some people are going to argue that you all are just calling out to the reality of a situation, but we're trying to work hard and trying to do our job and that's what we do every week. Somebody seems to think we still belong here and so we keep showing up." Car owner Rick Hendrick said he fully backs the combination of Earnhardt and Eury Jr. "What I want to say is that I am 100 percent behind this group. I have no intentions of making any changes. I have all intentions of making it better. And these guys are working their butts off no different than Stevie (Letarte) and Jeff (Gordon) did, and I've got to believe in the next few weeks, we are going to see some real success out of that crowd," said Hendrick. And Busch, who got away from Hendrick, keeps on winning. -- TV ratings for the Cup race at Bristol were down significantly from last year, continuing a trend through the series' first five races of 2009, reported the Charlotte Observer. According to Nielsen Media Research, the race received a final 4.5 national rating on FOX, down 18 percent from the 5.5 rating one year ago. Through the first five races, FOX's weekly TV ratings are down 11 percent. The number of households are down 10 percent and viewers down 12 percent from last season. ABC's coverage of the Bristol Nationwide race received a 1.7 national rating, down from a 2.0 (15 percent) from a year ago. * * * -- Kyle Busch's win at Bristol put him one race behind Jeff Gordon in an interesting category, said jayski.com: The most Cup wins before the age of 25. The top five drivers with the most wins before 25: Gordon 15, Busch 14, Kurt Busch 7, Richard Petty 7 and Junior Johnson 5. At Bristol, Busch won his fifth NASCAR national series event in four straight weeks--Feb. 21, Nationwide and Camping World wins at Auto Club Speedway; March 1, Cup win at Las Vegas; March 7, Camping World win at Atlanta; March 22, Cup win at Bristol. * * * -- Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 team--led by crew chief Chad Knaus, the Rockford native--won the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award at Bristol. The Lowe's Chevy spent the least time on pit road (235.745 seconds) during the 503-lap race. "Bristol is one of the most challenging as far as pit road goes," said Knaus. "There's a lot that goes on and there's not a lot of room to work. The 48 crew did a good job and the fact they were consistent all day getting Jimmie out of the pits helped the No. 48 to a third-place finish." Johnson's over-the-wall crew consists of Mike Lingerfelt (front-tire changer), Art Simmons (front-tire carrier), Jeremy West (rear-tire changer), Andy Brown (rear-tire carrier), Kenneth Purcell (jackman), Rich Gutierrez (gasman), Mike Knauer (catch can) and Ron Malec (eighth man). The team's pit crew coach is Greg Morin. For winning the Tissot award, the No. 48 team will receive $5,000. The team with the most pit-road wins at the completion of the 36-race schedule will earn a $100,000 bonus plus Tissot watches for the driver and over-the-wall crew members. * * * -- Richard Petty Motorsports extended its commitment and will enter A.J. Allmendinger for five additional Cup races. The team had originally planned to race the No. 44 Dodge through Phoenix. With Harrah's stepping up to sponsor the No. 44 at Las Vegas, coupled with the decision to apply the prize money from A.J.'s debut performance in the Daytona 500, the decision was made to field the 44 through the Coca-Cola 600. With no points position to fall back on, Allmendinger qualified for the first five races of 2009 on speed and raced to 16th in owner points. After moving to RPM in late 2008, Allmendinger had qualified on speed in 10 consecutive races, with a best finish of third in the '09 Daytona 500. -- Father and son Kerry and Jeffrey Earnhardt have joined Rick Ware Racing in Nationwide. Kerry will debut with the organization April 4 at Texas in the No. 31 Chevrolet. His son, Jeffrey, 19, is scheduled to make his Nationwide debut May 30 at Dover. Kerry, the "other" son of the late Dale Earnhardt, has 70 career starts in Nationwide, with three top fives and six top-10 finishes. He competed full-time in the series in 2002, finishing 22nd in points. He last raced in the series in 2008. Jeffery has experience in the NASCAR Camping World Series East where he was fifth in points as a rookie in 2007 and 15th last year. Both father and son will be paired with former NASCAR champion crew chief Paul Andrews until they do battle at Atlanta this fall. At that juncture, Clyde McCloud will serve as crew chief for the younger Earnhardt. Atlanta also will highlight three Earnhardts in Nationwide competition. Jeffrey's uncle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., also is slated to compete race there. Jeffrey will race a progressive schedule this year, running seven events as he prepares for 2010 and a Raybestos Rookie of the Year campaign. The Earnhardts will be driving in events when Stanton Barrett will be competing in IRL races. The No. 31 will be the organization's primary car and the No. 41 Chevrolet will be the second car for races in which Barrett, Tim Andrews, Travis Kittleson, Tim Brown (seven-time NASCAR Whelen Modified track champion) or Jeffrey compete. * * * -- Boy, Rusty Wallace just keeps adding sponsors to his Nationwide team while he contemplates taking the operation to Sprint Cup next season. Living Essentials' 5-Hour Energy Extra Strength brand, which sponsors RWR's No. 66 entry driven by Steve Wallace in a handful of Nationwide races, also will sponsor teammate Brendan Gaughan's No. 62 Chevrolet in 13 races this season. The sponsorship will debut April 25 at Talladega. Living Essentials officials said they also would expand promotion of their NASCAR sponsorship through a variety of marketing efforts, including a continuation of the company's national television advertising featuring Steve and his father, team owner Rusty Wallace. Also, the company plans to feature its racing program in a variety of retail outlets during 2009. * * * -- A steady drizzle and intermittent showers March 28 postponed the Camping World Truck Series race. The Kroger 250 now is slated for Monday (March 30) at 11 a.m. CT. .526-mile Martinsville does not have lights for night racing. The drizzle did not prevent the trucks from qualifying, but after Rick Crawford won the pole, the rain increased in intensity. Shane Sieg was second, followed by Johnny Benson, Ron Hornaday Jr., Colin Braun, Kevin Harvick, Max Papis, Matt Crafton, Mike Skinner and Timothy Peters. Points leader Kyle Busch will start 11th. There were only 36 trucks that attempted to qualify for the 36 available spots, so everyone made the field. Crawford won the pole with a lap at 94.737 mph in his Ford. The pole is the sixth for Crawford in 301 career truck series starts, his second at Martinsville. * * * -- NASCAR says it has not received a request from Speedway Motorsports Inc. to realign one of its Cup race dates and send it to Kentucky Speedway despite SMI's assertions to the contrary in a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing, reported the Charlotte Observer. On page 19 of its March 13 annual filing with the SEC, SMI stated, "NASCAR has informed the company that NASCAR does not intend to allow realignment of a Sprint Cup Series race to (Kentucky Speedway) until the KS litigation is resolved. The company has requested realignment of a Sprint Cup Series race at the earliest possible time, and will consider all options if NASCAR denies such realignment request." NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said the sanctioning body agrees with the first assertion but not the second. "There will be no consideration for realignment to Kentucky Speedway while the lawsuit against NASCAR, (International Speedway Corp.) and SMI is pending," he said. "SMI is an unnamed co-conspirator in the suit." In regards to the SEC filing's claim that SMI had requested realignment of one of its Cup races, Poston said, "NASCAR has not received any formal request from SMI for realignment" of its current Cup dates. When asked about the discrepancy, an SMI spokesman said the company declined to comment. SMI completed its purchase of Kentucky Speedway in February. The company agreed last May to buy the track for $78.3 million, including a $63.3 million debt assumption, from an ownership group headed by Jerry Carroll. Kentucky is SMI's only track without a Cup race, although it does host Nationwide and truck races each season. A federal antitrust lawsuit filed in 2005 by the track's original ownership group against NASCAR and ISC remains unsettled in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. * * * -- The NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte will feature nearly 1,000 artifacts on display, a theater screen 65 feet wide and 15 feet high and a video wall with 64 plasma-screen TVs, reported SceneDaily.com. Visitors will carry a card or wristband that has a computer chip in it they may use to activate certain interactive parts of the museum, such as the racing simulation area. Hall executive director Winston Kelley revealed some of the exhibit plans at a Charlotte City Council meeting. The city of Charlotte owns the museum, which is scheduled to open in April or May 2010. The exhibit budget is $31 million. The council will vote April 13 on awarding contracts for exhibit builders, the most well-known to race fans being iRacing.com-owned by Roush Fenway Racing co-owner John Henry (who also owns the Boston Red Sox)--handling the racing simulation software. Electrosonic Inc., whose projects have included the World of Coke in Atlanta and the National Constitution Center, will handle the video components. Kubik Maltibe, whose work includes the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, will fabricate and install the exhibits. The two companies have worked together on several projects with hall of fame exhibit designer Ralph Applebaum Associates. Quickies: In Cup--Hendrick Motorsports marked the 25th anniversary of its first Cup victory at Martinsville, an event team owner Rick Hendrick missed. On April 29, 1984, Geoff Bodine took the new team to victory lane with Harry Hyde turning the wrenches. "I had promised my wife that I would go to a church service with her, and I did that that Sunday, and I didn't know until we got out of church late that afternoon that we had won the race," said Hendrick. "I told Harry we absolutely were going to quit two races before that. And we went on and won Martinsville and went on and picked up enough help to make it through the year. So if we had not won that race 25 years ago, Hendrick Motorsports probably would not be here today." Since the team's inception, Hendrick drivers have won eight Cup championships and the organization has a total of 175 series wins. What started as a five-employee, 5,000-square-foot rented work space has evolved into a 500-employee organization on a sprawling 100-acre campus. ... Aussie Walter Giles, formerly a race engineer for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., was named head engineer for rapidly-growing Tommy Baldin Racing in Cup, and experienced Jennifer Morrell, former team manager for TBR/Evernham Motorsports, will serve as team manager. ... Team owner George Gillett says he has not decided whether to sell his 50 percent stake in the Liverpool Football Club or off-load the Montreal Canadiens, according to the Associated Press. Gillett, who bought into the Ray Evernham operation that's now fronted by legend Richard Petty, owns the event promoter Gillett Entertainment Group, ski resorts, car dealerships and agricultural companies in addition the English Premier League soccer team and the National Hockey League team. Gillett said he has hired financial companies in Canada, the United States and Europe to reassess his varied holdings. ... Talladega said it was cutting the price of an infield ticket from $70 to $40 for the April 26 Aaron's 499. ... 25th running of the Sprint All-Star Race May 16 at Lowe's (SPEED) will feature a 10-lap shootout as its final segment, reviving memories of some of the event's most spectacular finishes. The race will consist of four segments (50 laps, 20, 20 and 10), with a $1 million pay-out to the race winner. ... In Nationwide--NASCAR said the crew chief, owner and driver for the No. 72 team were fined and penalized for fuel that did not meet specifications at Bristol. In addition to having the qualifying time disallowed for the No. 72 Ford driven by rookie Benny Gordon, crew chief Andy Punch has been fined $10,000 and suspended for the next four NASCAR events through April 29 and placed on probation until Dec. 31. Team owner Frank Varischetti was penalized with the loss of 50 owner points while Gordon also was docked 50 driver points. ... Based in Indiana, ML Motorsports has signed an Indiana driver to pilot the No. 70 Chevrolet for the rest of the season. ML parted ways with driver Mark Green and will put 23-year-old Greenwood, Ind., native Shelby Howard behind the wheel of Mary Louise Miller's Biomet/Foretravel Motorcoach ride beginning April 4 at Texas. ... In Camping World trucks--Brian Ickler, who crossed the finish line first in December's Snowball Derby in Pensacola, Fla., in a late model for Kyle Busch Motorsports but was later disqualified, will run some truck races this season with Billy Ballew Motorsports. Ickler, 23, will drive the No. 51 Toyota in at least 10 of the races Busch will miss, starting with the April 25 event at Kansas. * * * INDY RACING LEAGUE (and others) ... -- Tony George signed Ryan Hunter-Reay to drive a second Vision Racing car for the entire 2009 season, thereby saving IZOD's multi-million-dollar advertising and promotional program tied to Hunter-Reay, reported Robin Miller on speedtv.com. A formal announcement was expected, but the 27-year-old American pretty much confirmed it. "It all happened yesterday and we're still getting the contract squared away, but the team is scrambling to put my car together and thankfully I'm going to be racing Indy cars this year," said Hunter-Reay. After last May's Indy 500, IZOD signed Hunter-Reay to a personal services contract and also committed to the IRL for three years. This week, prior to the IndyCar season opener at St. Pete, IZOD's advertising campaign kicks off with a national TV commercial, print ads in Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine and the New York Times in addition to several other promotions involving newspapers, billboards, movie theaters and a clothing line at Macy's. But all this was in jeopardy because Hunter-Reay has been rideless since Rahal/Letterman lost Ethanol as its title sponsor and no longer fields a full-time IRL effort. "IZOD was getting a little anxious and so was I, but it took a lot of people pulling together to get it done and it's worked out really well," said Terry Angstadt, IRL's president of its commercial division. Following a test with Keith Wiggins' team last week in Sebring, Hunter-Reay figured HVM was probably his best option in a second car alongside E.J. Viso. But then Dale Coyne Racing of Plainfield, Ill., also showed interest. "I was talking with Tony (George) yesterday about those two teams when he said, 'I think we (Vision Racing) should do it,'" related Angstadt. "I think he understands Ryan's importance and the fact this IZOD deal has a lot of promising B to B opportunities. I know I work for him but I can't compliment Tony enough for seizing this opportunity. And I also want to thank Keith and Dale for their efforts and they were both very understanding." George was vacationing and unavailable for comment. Hunter-Reay, a winner in Champ Car with mid-pack operations, captured his initial IRL win at Watkins Glen in 2008 and also ran strong on ovals in the one-car Rahal/Letterman effort. Vision Racing had previously scaled back to a single car for Ed Carpenter (George's step-son), having dropped A.J. Foyt IV due to a lack of sponsorship for his entry. -- Not surprisingly, Roscoe's Danica Patrick, who turned 27 on March 25, was last among the four Andretti Green Racing cars in the March 22-23 IndyCar Series open test at 15-turn, 2.38-mile Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. Her top speed for 131 laps on the road course was 116.881 mph, 15th overall of 16 cars present. Marco Andretti was seventh overall at 118.132 for 160 laps, Tony Kanaan was eighth at 117.769 for 151 and Hideki Mutoh was 10th at 117.685 for 165. Said Patrick, who as of early this year is being represented by IMG: "As you know, the road courses have been my weak spot in racing, but with that being said, I think we were able to learn some things that will help me to continue to strengthen my road-course races. It's not really easy to see with my lap times where they are, but I really think we are on the right track with the Motorola car. I'm glad I was able to do a road-course test with my new race engineer, Eddie (Jones), before we head to the Honda Grand Prix of St. Pete in a couple of weeks." But in late February at the oval-track test at Homestead-Miami, she also was 15th with a best speed of 209.333 out of 231 laps. Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe topped that tes at 212.156 with 21 cars on track. Will Power, who drove the No. 3 Team Penske entry, paced the Barber test at 119.213, three-tenths of a second faster than Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti. * * * -- To increase on-track overtaking opportunities, making IndyCar street- and road-course races more exciting for fans, Firestone Racing is introducing the alternate tire concept to all seven of those events in 2009. The alternate tires, which are easily identifiable by their bright red sidewalls, are identical in body construction to the primary black-sidewalled Firestone Firehawk racing slicks. The alternates feature a softer tread compound that yields faster lap times, but as a result trade some compound durability from the primary specification for these faster times. That means two tire specifications (primary and alternate) have been developed for all seven road/street course races. The alternate Firehawk tires, or "reds" as they're commonly called, are available in limited quantities on a race weekend--only three sets per car, with each team required to use at least one unused, "sticker" set for at least two green-flag laps in the race. Thus, the alternate tire concept throws in an element of strategy as each team determines when to utilize its "reds" and for how long in a race. The alternates will play a vital role in the "knockout" qualifying system as well, as teams must decide whether to use a set of "reds" in a particular segment. * * * -- Indy Racing League CEO Tony George got the royal treatment (March 23) at Barber Motorsports Park, said Birmingham (Ala.) News blogger Doug Demmons. He was the guest of honor at a luncheon in the park's motorcycle museum attended by Gov. Bob Riley, Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford and numerous local politicians. Even Talladega Superspeedway president Rick Humphrey was there. Riley proclaimed March 23 to be Indy Racing League day in Alabama. Langford gave George the key to the city and joked he'd need it to get out of jail if the city doesn't get a race date. The object, of course, was to impress upon George how badly everybody wants a spot on the 2010 Indy race calendar. Track officials announced 10,300 fans attended the March 22 open test. Admission was $10 for adults and free for youths 15 and under. -- Brazilian race car driver and "Dancing With The Stars" winner Helio Castroneves owes more than $2.3 million in U.S. taxes because of unreported income and improper deductions over a five-year period, an Internal Revenue Service agent testified March 27 at his tax evasion trial, reported the Associated Press. The total, IRS agent Joann Levitt said, "is everything that should have been on the tax returns but wasn't." Castroneves attorney David Garvin questioned whether Levitt had considered an alternative legal explanation for entries on the tax returns from 1999 to 2004. "You made certain assumptions but you disregarded other evidence, isn't that right?" Garvin asked. "I have rendered an opinion based on all of the evidence," Levitt said. "This was reportable by Helio Castroneves because it was his income." The testimony by Levitt, the final prosecution witness, capped the fourth week of the trial. Castroneves, 33, his 35-year-old sister and business manager Katiucia and Michigan lawyer Alan Miller, 71, each face more than six years in prison if convicted of conspiracy and tax evasion involving about $5.5 million in income. Defense lawyers are expected to begin their case this week but have not said whether Castroneves will testify. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner has previously said he paid little attention to his financial affairs and relied on professionals to handle them. -- I saw Texan Lloyd Ruby race Indy cars at Indy and Milwaukee, but what always struck me about the cowboy hat and boots-wearing guy was he also raced sports car--and was good at it. Ruby, one of the most popular drivers in Indy history, died March 23 in his hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas. He was 81. He competed in 18 consecutive Indianapolis 500s between 1960 and 1977, but never was able to pull off what had always seemed to be the inevitable victory, said the speedway. He led the 500 in five of six starts between 1966 and 1971, only to have something break or else delay him in some fashion while in a commanding position. "He should have won the 500 two or three times," 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner Parnelli Jones said. Ruby led a career total of 126 laps, the seventh highest number by a driver who never won. He finished 12th or higher in 11 Indy starts, his best finish third with a front-engine car in 1964. He qualified in the first three rows seven times, with a best of fifth in 1966 and 1968. Ruby won seven USAC National Championship races, including three at Milwaukee, two at Phoenix and one each at Trenton, N.J., and Langhorne, Pa. In 1970, he won the pole for the inaugural 500-mile race at Ontario, Calif. A standout in post-World War II midget car racing in the Southwest while still in his teens, Ruby never was given credit for his proficiency at road racing. In 1959, he placed second in the fledgling USAC Road Racing series, and in 1961 he drove a privately-entered Lotus in the Grand Prix of the United States at Watkins Glen. Later a key member of Ford's major international effort, he shared the winning car in the Daytona Continental in 1965 and both the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring in 1966. His unlikely co-driver in those three victories was Englishman Ken Miles. Although they were eons apart in their upbringings, and seemingly would have had nothing in common, they bonded like brothers. Ruby was to have partnered Miles in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, but was forced out when the light plane in which he was riding crashed on takeoff from an Indianapolis airport on its way to Milwaukee just a few days before. Eventual Formula One world champion Denis Hulme replaced the injured Ruby, and the Miles/Hulme combination was leading in the late stages when it was decided, for public relations reasons, to "slow down" the leading car and have the twin car of Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon, running second, catch up to have them take the checkered flag in a side-by-side salute. Le Mans officials subsequently ruled because of the order in which the cars had lined up for the "run across the main straight, jump in and take off" start, the McLaren/Amon car had covered a greater distance. By the time Ruby shared the second-place-finishing Ford with A. J. Foyt in the 1967 Sebring race, Miles had died, lost in a testing accident at Riverside, Calif. Decades later, whenever the Le Mans incident or Miles was brought up, tears would well in Ruby's eyes. "He was a very special man, dignified, well-mannered and quiet," said three-time F1 world champion Sir Jackie Stewart, 1966 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. "Not shy, but quiet, and completely out of context with what one would expect a race driver to be. A modest man. Nobody who saw him, if they didn't know, would ever imagine he was a driver until he stepped into the cockpit. And he was very versatile on the track." "A soft-spoken Texas lead-foot with enormous natural talent," Indianapolis 500 veteran and American racing legend Dan Gurney said. "He was not a self-promoting type; he was humble. One of the old-fashioned guys who let the results speak for themselves. He was a potential winner every time he got behind the wheel. A great oval racer who was also a great road racer." Ruby is survived by his wife, Peggy; their son, John; and daughter, Mary Ann. Services were March 28 in Wichita Falls. * * * Quickies: In IndyCar--The 2009 season opens April 5 with the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 1 p.m. CT by VERSUS. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network. The radio broadcast also will be carried on www.indycar.com. The Firestone Indy Lights season begins with a doubleheader race weekend April 4-5 at St. Petersburg. The races will be telecast at 5 p.m. CT April 6 by VERSUS. ... As part of a promotion, Newman/Haas/Lanigan driver Graham Rahal toured the streets of Chicago's Loop March 24 in the IRL street-legal (yes, it has a license plate) two-seater, a rolling VERSUS billboard for the season opener. Rahal, who's often visited family in Chicago, toured part of downtown in the morning for a few media appearances before turning over the wheel to regular chauffeur Steve Barry. Rahal has launched a new Web site, www.grahamrahal.com. ... A lucky Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar fan has the opportunity to win $50,000 in cash through the Indy 500 Race for Cash contest. Fans can enter in three ways from April 1 until May 24, race day. Multiple entries can be submitted, with a limit of one per day. Visit www.indycar.com/raceforcash for contest rules and regulations. ... Takuma Sato is working on a drive in IndyCar, reported Autosport. The 32-year-old lost out on a Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 drive to Sebastien Bourdais this season and is now looking to a potential IndyCar deal which would include his home race at Motegi in September. Sato was in Japan to film a TV ad, and his commercial manager Matthew Winter attended a press event to launch the Motegi race and admitted "we need Honda's help--that's what I'm here to ask for." ... Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford, the driver of the Honda Accord safety car, took a private tour of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum with George Barber, a former racer who founded the museum in 1994 and opened Barber Motorsports Park in 2003. ... Al Unser Jr. will be Grand Marshal for the 35th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach April 16-19. The Albuquerque, N.M., native ran 15 CART races at Long Beach, winning six times, including a remarkable four straight 1988-91, and holds the overall record for laps led with 545. Along with another famed driver, Bobby Rahal, he will be inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame on April 16 and also will compete in the April 18 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, an event he won in 1985. ... In Indy Lights--Sam Schmidt Motorsports announced long-time sponsor and supporter Lucas Oil Products Inc. has signed on to return for 2009. Their partnership started in May 2003 for the Indianapolis 500 and driver Richie Hearn. Beginning in 2005, Lucas Oil partnered with the team in Indy Lights, producing 14 race wins and two championships. ... Genoa Racing said Duncan Tappy will drive its No. 63 in the season opener at St. Pete's. the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Tappy has won nearly 25% of his races, said Genoa's president Mark Olson. Hailing from West Ewell, Surrey, UK, Duncan's first full season in car racing produced 13 consecutive wins in Formula Ford and won the prestigious Formula Ford Festival. ... Team PBIR has signed Charlie Kimball to drive the No. 35 in its first season. The 24-year-old has won in British Formula 3, Formula 3 Euro Series, U.S. Formula Ford 2000 and British Formula Ford. Kimball's career in Europe was sidetracked two years ago when he was forced to stand down from the World Series by Renault after he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. He worked with a team of diabetes specialists to return to optimal physical form and the track 2008. ... Three drivers successfully completed rookie oval testing March 24 at Kentucky Speedway. Jonathan Summerton of RLR/Andersen Racing and Gustavo Yacaman of Sam Schmidt Motorsports were cleared to compete on ovals. French driver Richard Philippe also passed his oval test in a car prepared by series newcomer Genoa Racing. ... Veteran Logan Gomez will return to the series as driver of the No. 24 car fielded by Alliance Motorsports. The 20-year-old native of Crown Point, Ind., has made 33 career starts, including 18 top 10s, seven top fives and a win at Chicagoland. Co-owner Tyce Carlson leads the Brownsburg, Ind.-based team into its second year of competition. * * * FORMULA ONE ... -- What a start for Brawn GP--landing a substantial sponsorship deal with the Virgin Group at the track, sweeping the front row in qualifying and then going 1-2 in the Australian GP March 29 at Albert Park in Melbourne. Last year, as Honda, the team had trouble getting out of its own way. Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello gave the Brawn-Mercedes the 1-2, the same way they qualified. Button controlled the race from the outset, while Barrichello (best finish since leaving Ferrari following the 2005 season) had to recover from a poor start and two collisions, only gaining second after Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault) and Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) tangled while fighting for second. That brought out the safety car and caused the race to end under yellow. Vettel was given a 10-place grid penalty for the next race (Malaysian GP) and the German driver's Red Bull team was fined $50,000 for instructing Vettel to stay on track despite running on three wheels. Defending F1 champ Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) finished fourth but was elevated to third by a post-race stewards' decision that penalized Toyota's Jarno Trulli for overtaking under safety-car conditions. Trulli was given a 25-second penalty which dropped him to 12th. His Toyota team said it would appeal the decision. Hamilton started 18th of 20 because of gearbox problems in qualifying. Toyota's Timo Glock and Renault's Fernando Alonso moved up to fourth and fifth, respectively, in the eventful race. Glock and Trulli started the race from the pit lane after their qualifying times were disallowed; stewards ruled the rear wings on their cars were too flexible. It was the first time since 1977--when Jody Scheckter won for Wolf--that a team won its debut in F1, and the third time a team finished first and second in its first attempt. Alfa Romeo did it in the first-ever GP in Britain in 1950, and Mercedes did it at the French GP in 1954. It was only the second GP win for Button, who is in his 10th year. He averaged 121.649 mph at the 3.3-mile Albert Park circuit. The win capped a remarkable turnaround for the former Honda team which was at risk of disbanding in the off-season when the Japanese automaker pulled out of F1. Team principal Ross Brawn took over the team, which benefited from development spending for 2009 by its former owner last year. "This is a fairy tale ending for the first race," Button said. "Some people may say it's a pity the race finished under the safety car but I don't care, I won the race and that's all I care about." Before the race, Brawn GP confirmed the sponsorship with the Virgin Group in a move that could lead to a clean-fuel revolution in F1. As Autosport predicted earlier in the weekend, Virgin Group became Brawn's first major sponsor. It is not a title sponsorship deal and the team's official name will remain unchanged for now. Virgin Group chairman Sir Richard Branson, who had been linked with a takeover of the former Honda team, said moves to cut costs in the sport and a push by the American Gevo company, in which Virgin is investing, led to the deal to come up with a clean fuel for the sport. Branson flew from London to Melbourne after agreeing to the deal. "We have invested in a company called Gevo, quite a considerable sum of money," said Branson. "All the profits we make from our dirty industries, our airlines, from our train companies are invested in trying to come up with a clean fuel. One of the tasks Gevo have had is to see if they can come up with a fuel for F1, maybe called the Virgin Fuel, that is clean, that doesn't emit any carbon and can perform as well as the dirty fuels that are used in cars to date. I am delighted to say that they have come up with such a fuel and over the next few months we will be trying to talk to F1, talk to the various car companies and see if we can have this fuel introduced as the fuel that F1 uses, so this sport goes from a slightly polluting sport to a clean sport." In the race, Nico Rosberg (Williams-Toyota), Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) and
Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) rounded out the point scorers while Adrian Sutil (Force India-Mercedes) and Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) completed the top 10. It was a tough opening round for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, failing to score a point for the second straight year. Kimi Raikkonen was 16th, Felipe Massa a retirement on lap 46. Button's win and Brawn's performance will be subject to an FIA hearing following this weekend's Malaysian GP in Kuala Lumpur. Ferrari, Red Bull and Renault appealed a stewards' decision in Melbourne to clear Brawn, Toyota and Williams to race, arguing the rear diffusers of the three teams breached F1 regulations. * * * -- Race stewards rejected a protest March 26 against the bodywork of three teams at the season-opening Australian GP, reported the Associated Press. Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull lodged protests after pre-event inspections approved the cars of Williams, Toyota and Brawn. The protest alleged the teams had broken new aerodynamic laws restricting the size of the rear diffuser. After hours of hearings late into the night, the race stewards rejected the protest and cleared the three teams to race with "their designs unchanged." "Following lengthy discussions with the various parties, stewards reiterated their belief that the cars are legal," FIA said in a statement. "That decision is expected to be appealed, which would require a hearing of the FIA's International Court of Appeal. That would be unlikely to take place until after (the) Malaysian Grand Prix." Even before the stewards' hearing, the protesting teams had signaled their intention to appeal if the verdict went against them. Williams, Toyota and Brawn, with their current bodywork, probably would lose any points from Australia if the appeal succeeds. BMW team principal Mario Thiessen indicated an intention to join Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull in the protest, but the team did not make the deadline to do so. New F1 regulations limit the size of the diffuser, and the protesting teams say Williams, Toyota and Brawn bent the rules by using bodywork at the rear of the car that connected with the diffuser and effectively increased its size. The diffuser at the rear of car's under-tray acts to increase downforce, assisting speed, cornering and smooth performance. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner rejected suggestions this row fractured the much-trumpeted cohesion between teams since the creation of the Formula One Teams' Association. "This is a sporting and competitive issue, it has nothing to do with the workings of FOTA. It's nothing personal against the teams, it's simply looking to clarify regulations and our interpretations and others has been different," Horner said. "Our purpose in all of this is to establish the clarity of the regulation, because it has significant impact on how we channel our development." Toyota team principal John Howett said he had no ill will toward the protesting teams, and was confident the Toyota design would withstand any scrutiny. "It's part of the sport we're in," Howett said. "We have studied the regulations in detail and are very confident we have interpreted them correctly. We now just wait for what the stewards or a subsequent court decides." Should the ultimate decision go in favor of Williams, Toyota and Brawn, other teams would be forced to play catch-up to develop their own bodywork to match. * * * Quickies: Wouldn't F1 be a happier place without Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley? ... I don't like the looks of the new F1 cars. The front is weird and the rear wing looks like a box (could Brian France be advising them?). ... Bernie Ecclestone says 26 cars will be on the starting grid next year and a medals system will determine the championship, reported the Associated Press. Ecclestone says at least three new teams, including American entry USF1, are confirmed for the 2010 season. There are 10 teams and 20 cars this year. Ecclestone also says F1's 2010 regulations would include an Olympic-style medals system, with gold for first place. ... The sport's governing body backed down over plans to introduce a new scoring system this season. That format would have determined the championship on total victories rather than points. ... The world's most-watched motor sport faces an 80 percent decline in corporate hospitality guests at some races because of the economic slump, said travel company LSA Ltd., which books hotels for 20 team sponsors and guests. CVC Capital Partners, the private-equity firm that bought a majority stake in F1 for $2.5 billion in 2006, charges as much as $3,940 for a race-day VIP ticket that allows companies to entertain guests in an enclosure where they can drink champagne and rub shoulders with race drivers. LSA managing director Lynden Swainston said requests for hotel bookings fell 80 percent compared with last year for a race in Barcelona, Spain, on May 10 and by 50 percent for the Monaco GP May 24. "Executives don't want to be seen living it up in Monaco while they fire staff back home," Swainston said. ... Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes said it has extended its agreement with Kangaroo TV until the end of 2009. Kangaroo TV has been an official supplier to the team since 2007, providing bespoke Kangaroo TV sets and exclusive team content for its guests and VIPs. ... Red Bull Racing has teamed up with Casio Computer Co. to act as brand ambassador for its Edifice line of analogue watches. * * * DRAG RACING ... -- Tony Schumacher, Ashley Force Hood, Ron Krisher and Craig Treble emerged as winners March 29 at the record-breaking 22nd annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park. The event was the fourth on the 24-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule. Favorable weather conditions throughout the weekend led to a slew of career bests and a pair of national records in the Pro Stock classes. The Pro Stock speed record was toppled three times as fans witnessed the four fastest speeds in Pro Stock history and five of the 10 fastest, and the long-standing Pro Stock Motorcycle ET record also fell. Teammates Schumacher and Cory McClenathan met in the Top Fuel final. It took a holeshot, his second straight in eliminations, to get the job done, 3.881 seconds, 314.75 mph to Cory Mac's quicker-but-later 3.880, 313.66. Schumacher's 57th career win moved him into second in points. Force Hood, who scored her first win less than a year ago, earned her second with a strong 4.12, 306.19 to defeat Jack Beckman's 4.22, 303.43 to move to third in points. It was her first win since getting married. Krisher was late out of the box (.116 to .025) in the Pro Stock final, usually a fatal mistake against Jeg Coughlin, but something went amiss for the Jegs Cobalt as it slowed to 7.05. Krisher collected the win, the eighth of his career, with a 6.587 at a ripping 211 mph to conclude a wild day of Pro Stock action. Steve Spiess pulled off one of the event's big upsets in round one when he beat Greg Anderson on a 6.59 to 6.55 holeshot on a run where Anderson set the national record at 211.99 (backed up by a 211.89 in qualifying) and just missed becoming the first factory hot rod pilot to exceed 212 mph. That barrier fell two rounds later when Mike Edwards ripped off a 212.03 pass to break Anderson's record (211.76 backup in round two) but, like Anderson, did it in a losing cause. Campaigning a 10-year-old bike with a borrowed engine and funded out of his own pocket this season after finishing last season as a rider for Don Schumacher Racing, Treble nonehteless reached his 27th career final and his fourth at this event and scored when he beat rookie Doug Horne, 6.915, 193.46 to 7.76, 155.60. The win was the 13th of Treble's career and boosted him from ninth to third in points. Matt Smith's Nitro Fish/DSR Suzuki had recorded the class' quickest pass and reset Angelle Sampey's 6.871 national record (set in Englishtown 2007) with a 6.865, backed up by his first-round 6.893, but lost the crank trigger in the semifinals against Treble. Antron Brown (TF), Cruz Pedregon (FC), Jason Line (PS) and Andrew Hines (PSM) were the top qualifiers. -- After Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel driver Larry Dixon won the 40th annual AC Delco NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., on March 15, Johnson traveled to Doha, Qatar, to deliver the winner's trophy. The trip was planned before the team won at Gainesville, but with Dixon's Top Fuel win, the trip became the perfect opportunity to deliver the trophy to team partner Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani. "It was cool to be able to give him the trophy in person," Johnson said. "He came to the hotel the first night we were there, and we gave him the trophy; it was great! He was definitely excited that we won a race in our third attempt because he knows how this sport works. Starting a team is one thing, but being competitive is completely different. We knew we could do it, but we didn't know how long it might take." Johnson and team director of racing operations Chad Head originally scheduled the trip to Qatar to attend a race at the new track in Doha. They served in an advisory role for the Doha event. * * * -- NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Rookie-of-the-Year frontrunner Matt Hagan, 26, manages his family's 500-acre Angus cattle farm near Christiansburg, Va. Driving the Shelor.com Dodge Funny Car, he defeated half of John Force Racing's stable of Funny Cars (Robert Hight and Ashley Force Hood) before landing in the semifinals in the third event of the season in Gainesville, Fla. Prior to Gainesville, he had only won one round of eliminations in the six pro events he had entered in his career--in the second race of 2009 in Phoenix. He was seventh in FC points going into Houston Raceway Park after moving over from the IHRA, where he won a class-best three FC events in 2008, ending up third in points. Quickies: In NHRA--"Fast" Jack Beckman, driver of the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing, will change pace on one of his off weekends and drive Lee Jennings' Nostalgia "American Revolution" Camaro at the 28th annual Funny Car Fever at Sacramento (Calif.) Raceway Park April 24-25. More at www.619promotions.com. ... NHRA said Milan (Mich.) Dragway has joined the NHRA Member Track network. The quarter-mile facility was originally built in 1963 and was sanctioned by NHRA until 1972. It also ran under NHRA's flag from 1989-2001. Milan will participate in the North Central Division Summit Racing Series which will culminate with the Summit Series Finals at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis Sept. 18-20. The squad from Milan won the team title at the event in 2001. ... Tom Hammonds, owner/driver of the No. 20 Race for Achievement NHRA Pro Stock team, through his Tom Hammonds Enterprises and in conjunction with the 8th Marine Corps District, launched an expansion for the current Race for Achievement middle school program that now is geared toward high school students. More at www.tomhammondsracing.com ... In IHRA--75-80 Dragway (the location of the track is listed as the intersection of Highways 75 and 80 in Monrovia, Md.) has joined the IHRA family of tracks. The track opened in 1960 by 75-80 Dragway Inc. While still owned by that entity, the property now is managed by Heads Up Racing Inc. and competes by heads-up racing rules only. The track features 1/8-mile racing on Fridays and Saturdays and 1/4-mile racing on Sundays. SPORTS CAR RACING ... -- Bruno Senna, nephew of the late, great Ayrton Senna, didn't get a Formula One ride with Brawn GP, losing out to veteran Rubens Barrichello. But he has landed a ride with the always-tough French ORECA team for the Le Mans Series in Europe and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The young Brazilian from Sao Paulo will team up with very experienced Stephane Ortelli in the Courage-ORECA LMP1 No. 10, while Olivier Panis and Nicolas Lapierre will share the wheel of No. 11 for Hugues de Chaunac's team. Before he races at Le Mans, the 25-year-old will compete in the Catalunya and Spa-Francorchamps 1000kms events of the Le Mans Series. * * * -- Simon Pagenaud has been appointed Peugeot's official reserve driver for Le Mans, and also will join the team for its one-off Le Mans Series appearance at Spa-Francorchamps. The Frenchman drives for the de Ferran Motorsports Acura team in the American Le Mans Series, but at present Acura is only racing in America. That leaves Pagenaud free to race for Peugeot while the ALMS pauses for Le Mans, which he contested with ORECA last year. Peugeot team boss Olivier Quesnel said Pagenaud could race the satellite Pescarolo Sport Peugeot 908 if the factory team did not require him in the 24 Hours. Peugeot is entering its full three-car Le Mans lineup for the Spa LMS race in preparation for the 24 Hours, but Sebastien Bourdais is not available as the event clashes with the Spanish Grand Prix. Pagenaud will take his place alongside Franck Montagny and Stephane Sarrazin. * * * -- In case you've been wondering, Alex Zanardi still is racing--at age 42 after losing both legs in that horrific Indy car crash some years ago and making a miraculous recovery. He now drives for BMW of Italy and Spain in the World Touring Car Championship, and just recently logged finishes of 13th and sixth out of 24 cars at Puebla, Mexico. In my mind, he is a remarkable story every time he goes racing. The WTCC, by the way, is mulling over adding a Russian round in 2010--either at Tolyatti (home base of WTCC manufacturer Lada), Moscow for a street race or St. Petersburg. * * * Quickies: American Le Mans Series--ALMS said it will open its grid for five races to GT3 and Challenge level drivers, which will have the effect of putting more cars on the track. IMSA will oversee selection of drivers in the Challenge Class, ensuring the appropriate level of driver experience. The cars will be the Porsche 997 Cup car utilized in the Patron GT3 Challenge by Yokohama. More at http://www.americanlemans.com/index.php. * * * -- San Manuel Yamaha's James Stewart of Haines City, Fla., won his series-leading ninth race of the season March 29 in front of 36,984 fans inside Toronto's Rogers Centre, the lone race outside the United States for the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship. Just one week after giving away victory with a crash while leading, the 2007 series champion bounded back by leading every lap. With four races left of the 17-race title chase, the championship battle appears to be coming down to the wire. Stewart reduced his deficit to points leader Chad Reed of Tampa, Fla., who was second, to just eight points (293-285) and needs to continue to earn victories to keep pace with the consistent Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rider. It was Reed's ninth runner-up finish of 2009. Factory Yamaha's Josh Hill of Yoncalla, Ore., took a season-best third place. In the AMA Supercross Lites class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Christophe Pourcel of Corona, Calif., won his fourth race of the season to capture his first career Eastern Regional Championship with one race remaining. Racing continues this weekend in Jacksonville, Fla., for the first Supercross race at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium on April 4. * * * -- Attack Kawasaki rider Jamie Hacking was placed on probation for the remainder of the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing season and his minimum one-event penalty assessed March 15 at Auto Club Speedway was suspended. Hacking paid a $4,000 fine and apologized to AMA Pro management for "conduct detrimental to the sport of professional motorcycle racing." The penalties were assessed following the second and final AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL race of the weekend. Hacking used a string of profane language while exiting the press interview area in addition to displaying additional acts of inappropriate behavior in both public and media interviews throughout the weekend, said AMA Pro management. Hacking will be permitted to compete at Road Atlanta but any violations of his probation will result in enforcement of the one-event penalty, in addition to any other fines, penalties or suspensions. All fines paid to AMA Pro Road Racing will be donated to Camp Boggy Creek, a Paul Newman Hole in the Wall Camp located in Eustis, Fla., and the Roadracing World Action Fund. Additionally, AMA Pro Road Racing placed riders Michael Beck, Kevin Boisvert, Mat Mladin, Mark Simon and Dustin O'Hara on probation for failure to participate in a mandatory autograph session. Mat Mladin won both American Superbike races and Danny Eslick captured both SportBike races. More at www.amaproracing.com. * * * Quickies: AMA announced the riders who will contest the 84th International Six Days Enduro for the U.S. World Trophy Team. Returning to take on the world Oct. 12-17 in Figueira da Foz, Portugal, are the riders who rode to a third-place finish on Team USA at last year's event: Destry Abbott, Kurt Caselli, Ricky Dietrich, Jimmy Jarrett, Nathan Kanney and Nathan Woods. * * * OTHER STOCK CAR RACING ... -- ARCA RE/MAX Series: Ken Schrader has entered the April 5 Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 presented by Federated Car Care at Salem (Ind.) Speedway. Schrader has 15 career ARCA victories, including one at Salem in fall 1999. ... Nine-time Salem winner and nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel tested a car he calls "The Don" March 20 at Salem). Kimmel posted back-to-back wins in "The Don" in 2008 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and DuQuoin State Fairgrounds and followed up with victory at Salem, breaking a four-year Salem winless streak. The Salem win came on his father's 80th birthday. ... 2008 UARA Stars champ 17-year-old Jake Crum said he signed with Venturini Motorsports as a developmental driver in ARCA. He joins Joey Logano, Sean Cassie and Alex Yontz in the Venturini shop. * * * -- Lefthander Chassis of Roscoe again is offering its rewards program of product for customers. Details at www.lefthanderchassis.com. Last year, Big 8 Series champion Jeremy Miller won two races earning him $1,000 in product and Donny Reuvers, second in ASA Midwest Tour points after he recorded three wins, netted $2,500 in product, said Lefthander. OTHER OPEN-WHEEL RACING ... -- Chad Kemenah led all 30 laps en route to winning the final World of Outlaws sprint car event at legendary Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix March 28. The victory also marked the first WoO win for his car owner, Jon Kantor of Oklahoma's Kantor Oil Company. Kemenah earned $10,000 for the third victory of his WoO career and the first since 2006. He battled the two winningest drivers in WoO history for the victory, with Sammy Swindell challenging him early and Steve Kinser in the later going. Kinser wound up second, followed by Danny Lasoski, Kraig Kinser and Lucas Wolfe. Swindell faded to 19th. The Outlaws return to action April 10 at Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, Texas, followed by a stop at Houston Raceway Park for the Texas Shootout April 11. -- I see where Tucson Raceway Park out in Arizona has joined American Speed Association as a Level 1 member track. If my memory hasn't completely deserted me, David Deery ran the show at the three-eighth-mile paved oval for a time before returning to Rockford Speedway. Managed by a subsidiary of International Speedway Corp. for many years, Mark Ebert recently assumed the lease the Pima County Fairboard and now it's The New Tucson Raceway Park (TNTRP). Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick and Ron Hornaday Jr. all used the track as a stepping stone. Remember, Arizona is going to lose one of its legendary tracks when Manzanita Speedway ("Manzy") in Phoenix shuts down April 11. ... * * * -- The Milwaukee Mile announced it has extended its marketing agreement with Budweiser and Beechwood Sales & Service, one of Wisconsin's largest Anheuser-Busch distributors. As part of the multi-year deal, Budweiser will be the official sponsor of The Mile in the malt beverage category. More on Milwaukee races at www.milwaukeemile.com. -- Car and Driver and Road & Track are on the block. The economy continues to slice through the page counts--and staffing--at magazines and newspapers across the country, said The Outdoor Wire. AdAge.com reported Boating, Popular Photography, Flying, Elle, Woman's Day and the two automotive magazines are for sale. Hachette Filipacci Media U.S., a subsidary of the French company, is offering them piecemeal or as a bundle of red ink. * * * -- Race of Champions organizers have dropped Wembley Stadium as the venue for the end-of-season all-star event. Event boss Fredrik Johnsson told Autosport a new venue would be announced in the coming weeks, and London's Wembley had been dropped after two events because of a decline in spectator numbers. * * * Rising Stars (up-and-coming young drivers to keep an eye on): ... The Wheeler Company, founded by promotions legend and former president of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, announced its endorsement of 17-year-old, up-and-coming race car driver Jordan Anderson of Forest Acres, S.C. While the endorsement is new, Wheeler has known and unofficially mentored Anderson for more than four years. More at www.thewheelerco.com or www.JordanAndersonRacing.com. ... Gabby Chaves (EuroInternational team) had about as good a weekend as a race car driver can hope for as the 2009 Formula BMW Americas Championships opened in Puebla, Mexico. Chaves won poles for both events and never trailed in either race, both times going wire-to-wire to win. --30-- | |
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